11G 
TRA SSI. 
“ ‘ Certainly, master ; it is most excellent (enah 
sekali)’ 
“ 4 You fool I Do you wish to poison me and 
to die yourself?’ 
“ ‘May I have a goitre ( daik gondok), master, 
but it is excellent ! ’ he asseverated, taking hold 
of the foreskin of his throat, by the same token 
that a countryman at home would swear, 
sure’s death ! ’ 
“ Notwithstanding these vehement assurances, 
I made it disappear in the depths of the jungle, 
to the horror of the boy, who looked wistfully 
after it, and would have fetched it back, had I 
not threatened him with the direst penalties if 
I discovered any such putridity in my house 
again, I had then to learn that in every dish, 
native or European, that I had eaten since my 
arrival in the East, this Extract of Decomposi- 
tion was mixed as a spice, and it would have 
been difficult to convince myself that I would 
come by - and - by knowingly to eat it daily 
without the slightest abhorrence. Dampier, 
who mentions it in his * Voyage/ seems to have 
formed his acquaintance with it in a more phil- 
osophic spirit, for he describes it in these terms : 
— 1 As a composition of a strong savour, yet a 
very delightsome dish to the natives. To make 
