112 SOME OLD MALAY MSS. 
probably belongs to an earlier period, and may have been in the 
Harleian collection for many years before it came to the British 
Museum. It is remarkable that in this letter the word Sinnyor 
should be used in addressing an English captain. Internal 
evidence leads to the conclusion that the letter was written to 
the English captain at Jambi, on the East coast of Sumatra, 
from the neighbouring State of Birni, and not from Brunai in 
North Borneo; the spelling of the two words would be the 
same in Malay, but the Malay has been transliterated Birni in 
the text for the following reasons: In the first place it is diffi- 
cult to believe that an embassy would be sent such a distance as 
from Brunai to Jambi for the purpose of procuring saltpetre and 
blankets, when the same articles could probably have been 
obtained much more easily from the Spaniards; and secondly 
the two countries are spoken of as being ‘as if they were one 
country,’ which seems to exclude the possibility of the letter 
having been written from Brunai. On the other hand it is not 
so easy to account for the use of the word Sznnyor if the latter 
was written from Birni as it would be if it came from Brunai, 
where Portuguese and Spanish influence were very strong. Itis 
mentioned, however, by Marsden that in 1629 a Portuguese 
squadron ascended the Jambi river to attack some Dutch ships 
which were sheltering there, from which it would appear that 
the Portuguese had made their power felt in that neighbour- 
hood. The English Company, as well as the Dutch, had an esta- 
blishment at Jambi,.and it seems probable that the letter was 
written after that establishment was opened, but the date can- 
not be fixed with any accuracy. The handwriting of this letter 
is particularly good, and the traces of Arabic influences on the 
orthography, which are so strong in A. B. and C., are absent 
here. The letter da/ is here frequently written with three dots 
under it, which appears to me to be an indication of Javanese 
influence, for in that language there are two “d” sounds, one 
of which is distinguished at the present day when writing in 
the Arabic character by placing three dots under it. The ga 
in this letter also frequently has the three dots under it, as the 
Javanese write it, but that is no criterion, for the same method 
of writing it will be found in A., B. and ©. The Javanese 
titles adipati and pangéran were evidently in use at Jambi when 
this letter was written. The Azati in this letter are caused by 
