RAJA DONAN. 245 



prepare for death. By mutual consent, Raja DONAN proceed- 

 ed to put on the magic garments which his mother had sent 

 on board in a box, which he always kept at the head of his 

 bed. Gr-r-r went the key as it grated in the lock, cr-r-r 

 creaked the hinges as the lid was raised;"* then the magic 

 clothes were taken out and put on one by one, trousers and 

 girdle, kris and jacket, skirt (sarong) and turban, f When 

 RAJA DONAN was dressed, he girded on his sword, — 



pedang janawi jantan 



mata-nia sa-lebar daun padi 



pedang ber-sama-sama jadi dengan iya-nia — 

 (" a straight sword of the kind called janawi, the blade of 

 which was of the breadth of a leaf of rice ; the sword which 

 had been supernaturally produced at the time of his birth - ") 

 and he went on deck and walked about in his finery, and his 

 old uncle's heart was heavy within him and his tears fell as 

 he watched the boy and thought of what might befall him. 



All this time the fleet was approaching. It was the fleet of 

 Raja Chamar Laut of Mundam Batu, who was on board the 

 leading ship — the Biduri. When he espied thepraku of RAJA 

 DONAN (the Bunga Rampei or " mixed flowers "), he ordered 

 some of his people to board her and enquire where she came 

 from, where she was bound for, how many persons she carriedf 

 what was the name of her commander, what merchandise she 

 had on board, why she was waiting where she was, and did 

 her crew know the customs, observances, language and reli- 

 gion of "the men of the sea" (orang laut). 



Some idea of the size of the Biduri may be formed from 

 the fact that the galley which was lowered to take the officer 

 who was sent on this mission was of seven and a half koyans 

 burthen and was manned by forty-four rowers ! To the sur- 

 prise of the officer when he approached the Bunga Rampei, 

 he saw no one but a pretty child. To Raja DONAN, therefore, 

 he put the questions which he had been ordered to convey. 



* Ber-kernt bunyi kitnchi, ber-kemyut bunyi tudong. 



f The original raconteur repeated, in the description of Raja Donan's dress 

 almost the whole of the lines already employed in another story in describing the 

 dress of Sri Rama. These I have suppressed to avoid repetition. 



