Page:Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (IA journalofstrait781881roya).pdf/103

 deserve it best. On this subject, it is now many years ago that I had the pleasure of the company of Sir, Chief Justice of New Zealand, when I was surprised to learn of the familiar knowledge which that learned lawyer had of the minute Analysis by of the Polynesian languages.

, in first applying himself to the geology of the Malayan Peninsula, displayed great fortitude and contempt of danger, proceeding as he did in his excursions in a small sempan into coves and crecks notoriously infested with pirates. But even more so did he display these admirable qualities when penetrating the wilds of Johor, Pahang and Kedah. About this period he had removed to Sungei Kallang, near Singapore, while I, bound by my official duty, remained in town.

I remember, after he had been on one of those expeditions for several weeks, I was suddenly aroused late in the evening by what appeared to be his spectre. The next moment I saw him tottering, when I rushed forward and grasped my friend, leading him to a chair.

He had just returned from exploring the Indau, Johor, and Muar, crossing the jungles of the interior, and after many adventures amongst the wild tribes and escapes from flooded rivers, alligators, &c., he found means to return to Singapore. Weak, weary and sick, he made his way to my house, as the nearest one, likely to administer to his immediate wants. In this, I need not say there was no laxity.

In the latter years of our intercourse, I observed him to be principally devoted to philology. On this subject, his range of enquiry was as wide as it was persevering. I finally left the Far East in 1855, before he had entered into the midst of his labours in this direction: yet I had had fair opportunity of seeing his close application to the science of language. All languages were equally attacked by him European, Asian, African, American, and Polynesian—in their glossarial, phonetic and idiomatic phases, and particularly the latter. The extent of the learning evidenced by his papers is surprising, even now after the lapse of a quarter of a century, if we consider that they were published before the present facilities were offered or at hand to the student, which are now so abundantly provided by the publication of the vocabularies and grammars of, , , , and a host of others.