Page 121 - Malay sketches

VAN HAGEN AND CAVALIERO

by this happy inspiration and laughed heartily at
his own ingenuity.
The declared that his
gossips Highness was
always requested to give a tangible proof of his
approval in the shape of gunpowder and lead, and
that he gave them to every applicant with strict
On this the Sultan told me
impartiality. point
nothing, and I was not indiscreet enough to inquire,
but as Selangor is no more free from gossip than its
neighbours, I put the statement down to irrespon-
sible chatter.
All this is, however, by the way. Certain Rajas
held certain important strategical points from which
other Rajas kept trying to oust them, and the fight
waxed hottest about Klang, the principal port of
the State, and Kuala Lumpor, the principal mining
centre.
As to Klang, it had just been captured by a
notable warrior named Raja Mahdi, and its whilom
defenders driven out when the Sultan gave his only
daughter in marriage to Tunku dia Udin, brother of
the Sultan of Kedah. The Sultan's son-in-law
espoused the cause of those who had been driven
from Klang, and, as he was created Viceroy and
had powerful support in Singapore, matters were
further complicated.
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