BRITISH BORNEO. 33 
I need scarcely say that horseplay and practical joking are 
unknown, contradiction is rarely resorted to and “ chaff”’ is 
only known in its mildest form. The lowest Malay will never 
pass in front of you if it can be avoided, nor hand anything 
to another across you. Unless in case of necessity,a Malay 
will not arouse his friend from slumber, and then only in the 
gentlest manner possible. It is bad manners to point at all, 
but, if it is absolutely necessary to do so, the forefinger is 
never employed, but the person or object is indicated, in a 
sort of shamefaced way, with the thumb. It is impolite to 
bare a weapon in public, and Europeans often show their 
ignorance of native etiquette by asking a Malay visitor to let 
them examine the blade of the £rvzs he is wearing. It is not 
considered polite to enquire aiter the welfare of the female 
members of a Brunai gentleman’s household. For a Malay 
to uncover his head in your presence would be an imperti- 
nence, but a guttural noise in his throat after lunching with 
you is a polite way of expressing pleased satisfaction with the 
excellence of the repast. This latter piece of etiquette has 
probably been adopted from the Chinese. The low social 
position assigned to women by Brunai Malays, as by nearly 
all Mahomedan races, is of course a partial set-off to the gene- 
ral courtesy that characterises them. The average intelligence 
of what may be called the working class Malay is almost as 
far superior to that, say, of the British country bumpkin as 
are his manners. Mr. H. O. FORBES says in his “ Naturalist 
in the Eastern Archipelago”’ that he was struck with the 
natives’ acute observation in natural history and the accuracy 
with which they could give the names, habits and uses of 
animals and plants in the jungle, and the traveller cannot but 
admire the general handiness and adapability to changed cir- 
cumstances and customs and quickness of understanding of 
the Malay coolies whom he engages to accompany him. 
Cannot one imagine the stolid surprise and complete obfus- 
cation of the English peasant if an intelligent Malay traveller 
were to be suddenly set down in his district, making enquiries 
as to the, to him, novel forms of plants and animals and ask- 
ing for minute information as to the manners and customs of 
