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not infrequently, the chieftainship of a tribe, are vested among these people in the women, and this may well be a relic of female sovereignty such as is described by Friar John. The palace, if such a building ever existed in northern Borneo, has utterly disappeared, together with its paintings, but there is evidence to show that this part of the island has sensibly degenerated in its arts and in the standard of its civilisation, while its population has dwindled and become debased, ever since its rediscovery by the Spaniards less than four hundred years ago. Nor need we experience much surprise that all tradition concerning the existence of a kingdom of such magnitude and importance as that described by Friar John should have vanished so speedily from the memories of the Borneans, for historical facts of a far more recent date, which are preserved for us in the writings of the European travellers of the sixteenth century, have also passed into oblivion, leaving among the natives of the island not so much as a whisper of story. In the semi-uncivilised lands of Asia dynasties have risen, have flourished, have come to proud maturity, have dwindled, pined and disappeared with a wonderful rapidity, and when the waves of time have closed over them they are forgotten with a completeness which finds few parallels in Europe. It is possible that the dense forests of northern Borneo may even yet yield up to us some traces of the wonderful palace which filled the Franciscan monk with awe and admiration. The difficulty of the return voyage which saw the monk's ship storm driven into a port of Ceylon need not greatly trouble us. A traveller, who fared from