The reader has already had glimpses of the feelings which prompted this expedition.  In a communication to the “Geographical Register” he more fully unfolds his views; and from this and from his familiar letters it is not difficult to gain a clear idea of the character and motives of the man.  That his ardent mind had been fired by a study of the career of his great predecessor, Stamford Raffles, is evident.  That he was himself one of those energetic, restless natures, to which idleness or mere routine-work is the severest of penalties, is equally evident.  He had, moreover, a large share of that kind of enthusiasm which the cool, sagacious men of this world call romance, and which delights to fasten on objects seemingly impossible.  He was like the old knights, rejoicing most when the field of their devoir was distant and dangerous.  Yet not altogether like them.  He was rather a man of the twelfth century, disciplined and invigorated by the hard common-sense and sharp utilitarianism of the nineteenth century.  And we must not forget that he honestly wished to benefit the native races.  Every page, nay, almost every line, in his journals and letters, bears witness to his profound compassion for the despised and downtrodden Dyaks.  Aside from this, when we remember that he was a genuine Englishman, proud of his native land and thoughtful always of her aggrandizement, we need be at no loss to understand his motives.  He went forth to gratify a love of adventure, “to see something of the world and come back again,” to extend a little the realms of scientific knowledge, to suggest, perhaps, some plans for the improvement of native character, and last, but not least, to learn whether there might not be opened new avenues for the extension of British trade and British power.

That the methods by which these objects were to be attained were not very well defined even to his own mind is clear.  He himself said, “I cast myself upon the waters, like Southey’s little book; but whether the world will know me after many days, is a question I cannot answer.”  And some years after, alluding to a charge of inconsistency, he said, “I did not embrace my position at once; and indeed the position itself altered very rapidly; and I am free to confess before the world that my views of duty and responsibility were not so high at first as they have since been.”  Without doubt his direct and primary purpose was investigation.  He took with him men of some scientific knowledge, himself being no mean observer; and he proposed to prosecute, wherever opportunity occurred, researches into the geography, natural history, and commercial resources of these islands.  If he had ulterior ends, as yet they existed in his mind as fascinating dreams, rather than well-defined plans.

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