OBITUARY 



Me. Abeahaai Hale. (Dec. 7, 1854— Apeil S, 1919) 



Mr. Hale, who retired from the F. M. S. Civil Service in 1911 

 lifter twentv-seven years* service, died on April 8th in his sixty- 

 fifth year. He vras one of the earliest, surviving members of the 

 Society and contributed several notes and papers to early numbers, 

 his principal contribution being on " Folk-lore and the Menang- 

 kabau Code in the Xegri Sembilan " Journal XXXI. He always 

 lamented with that delightful candour which characterized him, 

 that his literary talent was untrained : but for all that it was a 

 very genuine talent. Had " The Adventures of John Smith in 

 Malaya " been written two centuries ago, its author would have 

 ranked with Defoe. Hale had an extraordinary faculty for vivid 

 detail. 



Less than a fortnight before he died, he wrote me a letter full 

 of his usual enthusiasm for Malaya and his abundant interest in 

 life: and enclosing a photograph of himself as a private in the 

 Kent Volunteer 'Fencibles. For me as for many others it was a 

 pleasure to have known him and served under him. 



R. 0. W, 



Jour Straits Branch R. A. Soc, No. 81, 1920. 



