CHAr. XII.J 



T^nLlNQ J CENSUS. 



183 



Matimtiri came first, and those who were far off came last ; 

 and the Eajah received them witli his own hands, and put 

 them away carefully in an inner chamber, in a camphor- 

 wood chest whose hinges and clasps were of silver ; and 

 on every bundle was marlied tlie name of the village 

 and the district from whence it came, so that it mi«i;ht 

 be known that all had heard and obeyed thfi commands 

 of the great spirit. 



And when it was quite ceitain that every village had 

 sent in its bundle, the Rajah divided the needles into 

 twelve cquEfl. parts, and ordered the best steel- worker in 

 Mataram to bring his forge and his bellows and his 

 hammers to the palace, and to make the twelve krisaes 

 under the Eajah's eye, and in the sight of all men who 

 chose to see it And when tliey were finished, they were 

 wrapped up in new silk and put away carefully nntil 

 they might be wanted. 



Now the journey to the monutain was in the time of 

 the east vdml when no rain falls in Lomboek. And soon 

 after the krisses were, made it was the time of the rice 

 harvest, and the chiefs of districts and of villages brought 

 ill their tax to the Eajah according to the number of 

 heads in their villages. And to those that wanted but 

 little of the full amount, the Eajfvh said nothinf^ ; bnt 

 when those came who brought only half or a fourth part 

 of what was strictly due, he said to them mildly, " The 

 needles which you sent from your vUlage were many more 

 than came from such-a- one's viEage, yet your tribute is 

 less than his; go back and see who it is that has not 

 paid the tax. ' And the next year the produce of the tax 

 increased greatly, for they feared tint the Rajah might 

 justly kill those who a second time kept back tlie right 

 tribute. And so the Eajah became very rich, and increased 

 the number of his soldiers, and gave golden jewels to liis 

 wives, and bought fine black horses from the white- 

 skiimed HoUonders, and made great feasts when hb 

 children w^ere born or were man'iedj and none of the 

 Eajahs or Sultans among the ilalays were so great or so 

 powerful the Eajah of Lonibock. 



And the twelve sacred krisses had great virtue. And 

 when any sickness appeared in a village owe of them was 



