Page 206 - Malay sketches

MALAY SKETCHES

peer in beauty. The laudator temporis acti is a
common and flourishing plant in Malaya.
In the two children born before the elopement, it
is difficult to trace any resemblance to their mother.
Maimunah died years and years ago, the victim
of a malignant disease ; but Sleman still lives in his
own country, his hair is getting grey, but otherwise
he shows few signs of age. Time has only inten-
sified the courteous bearing and quiet repose of
manner which seem to fitly accompany his gentle
winning voice ; no one would suspect that this
man, almost single-handed, carried off the chief
spouse of an Oriental prince, and then defied the
whole country to take her from him.
There are no local bards to record Sleman's story
in deathless song, and the people are so impregnated
with vice that they seek for no excuses to palliate
his conduct, and have no condemnation for this
ruthless destroyer of Iskander's happy home. But
they are Muhammadans, and seldom allow them-
selves the luxury of burning moral convictions. I
have never seen a missionary proselytising amongst
the Malays, but many years ago I was told that a
came to full of zeal
Christian missionary Malaya
and confident of success. He began with a man
who seemed an earnest, truthful person, anxious to
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