He could not go
himself into every village and every house, and count all the
people; and if he
Ordered it to be done by the regular officers
they would quickly understand what it was for, and the census
would be sure to agree exactly with the quantity of rice he got
last year. It was evident therefore that to answer his purpose no
one must suspect why the census was taken; and to make sure of
this, no one must know that there was any census taken at all.
This was a very hard problem; and the Rajah thought and thought,
as hard as a Malay Rajah can be expected to think, but could not
solve it; and so he was very unhappy, and did nothing but smoke
and chew betel with his favourite wife, and eat scarcely
anything; and even when he went to the cock-fight did not seem to
care whether his best birds won or lost. For several days he
remained in this sad state, and all the court were afraid some
evil eye had bewitched the Rajah; and an unfortunate Irish
captain who had come in for a cargo of rice and who squinted
dreadfully, was very nearly being krissed, but being first
brought to the royal presence was graciously ordered to go on
board and remain there while his ship stayed in the port.
One morning however, after about a week's continuance of this
unaccountable melancholy, a welcome change tool place, for the
Rajah sent to call together all the chiefs, priests, and
princes who were then in Mataram, his capital city; and when they
were all assembled in anxious expectation, he thus addressed
them:
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