The Savannah morning news., 1902-11-01
A MALAY SULTAN IN ENGLAND.
Amusing Experiences of the sultan
of Pernk.
From the London Standard.

from the LONDON STANDARD.
In the September number of Black
wood, Mr.. Hugh Clifford, C. M. c., in
an article called Plotting Princes" re-
lates some amusing "reminiscences of
the many occasions upon which 1t has
been his duty to act as conductor to
various Malayan royalties. During the
coronation festivities he was officer in
attendance upon the Sultan of Perak
and his companions, all of whom, with
the exception of the Sultan himself,
who had been in London before, were
amazed beyond measure at the size
and appearance of London. During
part of their stay the weather was
very cold:
ION the night of their arrival went
through the suite of rooms which had
been placed at our disposal, for the
purpose of seeing that all was we'll
with my friends; and II was fortunate
that l did so, for / found two of the
chiefs sleeping on the outside of their
beds, with only a silk coverlet, such
as is used In their own country, pulled
up about their necks. They were shiv-
ering miserably, and l reused them,
and inquired what they were doing.
they replied in a most woe-begone
fashion that they were trying to get TO
sleep, and that they considered the cir
cumstances somewhat adverse. They
had a courteous reluctance to say any
thing deprecatory concerning the eli
mate of my native land, but IL was
plain that ii met with their unqualified
disapproval. 1 suggested to them the
advisability of getting intoA their beds,
and they gazed at me wonderingly.
Have they any insides?' they asked
In their own country a sleeping mat is
a sleepingmat, and bedclothes do not
exist, wherefore a bed had never been
presented to their imaginations as any
thing save a mat upon which to lie.
pulled open their beds, popped them
in tucked them up, turned out the
light, and bade them tell me how they
liked the unusual experience. Next
morning they were loud In their praise
of the new discovery and of European
ingenuity. How great they exclaim-
ed, is the intelligence of the white
folk! Those sleeping-mats, which have
insides to them, are indeed a splendid
inventionn"
The Sultan constantly expressed the
pride he felt at being so much greater
than any of the seven and-twenty pre-
decessors of his family who have ruled
over his country-they, he said, were
frogs beneath an inverted cocoanut
SHE'LL The colonial review made a
oeep impression upon his Highness. lie
Sdlu W 1llilOIIs
% These be but samples of the Kings
sc'6iers in distant lands. / saw our
own people-a mere eos en- or so-yet I
know for how many that dozen stands.
Mine Is but a tiny country, while
others that have sent rB:n here to-day
are vast. What a tremendous host do
those whom we have seen this morning.
repI esentl Never sine Allah first
made the world iafh there been so
mighty a gathering! And this host is
the host Of my Kingl L. is a splerlii
tfirg to think that one telongs to such
an enlpire-that one is part Of It! None
OF my forbears, slowed away in their
forCst IS, enjoyed the greatness that is
mine. in that / am myself a portion of
something so very great!' That speech
came from his heart, was no mere ORR
entail hyperbole, for he spoke to me as
friend to friend, and was not sparing
of his criticisms when occasion arose.
When his nephew related to
him the plot of Mr.. Stephen Phillips
'Paola and Francesca a performance
of which he had witnessed the Sultan
shook his head That is an evil tale
of very degrading character he said.
1T is not fitting that such a story
should be told, far less acted, more
especially in the presence of ladies!'
And when he was informed that the in
cident was historically accurate, that
only served to increase the gravity of
his disapproval. That such a thing
should have happened is very shame
full he said, and surely IL were better
to suffer 1T to be forgotten. Why re-
vive these ancient scandals? And why
should our pity be asked for folk so ut
terly depravedY"