Annexe C : Notes manuscrites de Godfrey Hewett en dernière page de son ‘The Dusuns of North Borneo’ (Hewett 1923, p.163).
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Lord Jim II |
Histoire |
| « The Sultan is an imbecile youth… » [instead of being 50] | « The present unprincipled and idiotic tyrant [is] Omar Ali » (Low 1848, p.106). « His mind also is weak, approaching to idiotcy » (Ibid., p.108). « This imbecile » (Ibid., p.109). « The Sultan was a man of about fifty years of age, […] with a countenance that very obviously showed the weakness of his mind » (Saint-John 1879, p.69). |
| « … with two thumbs on his left hand… » | « On his right hand he has a malformation resembling a thumb, which stands at an angle from the true thumb » (Low, p.107). |
| « … and an uncertain and beggarly revenue extorted from a miserable population » (Conrad 1900, p.227). | « Sir James Brooke found the Dyaks oppressed and ground down by the most cruel tyranny. They were cheated by the Malay traders, and robbed by the Malay chiefs » (Wallace 1896, p.102). |
| « There were in Patusan antagonistic forces, and one of them was Rajah Allang, … » | « Mr Brooke had visited Brunei for three reasons. The first was, to assure a reconciliation between the Sultan and Muda Hassim. » (St-John, p.68). « Pangeran Usup, however, was the ruling spirit in Borneo ; very active and intelligent, and though nominally a great friend of Muda Hassim’s, was in his heart that prince’s most determined opponent » (Ibid., p.69). |
| « the governor of the river, who did the extorting and the stealing, and ground down to the point of extinction the country-born Malays, who, utterly defenceless, had not even the resource of immigrating » (Conrad, p.228). « Rajah Allang pretended to be the only trader in his country […] but his idea of trading was indistinguishable from the commonest form of robbery […] The two parties in Patusan were not sure which one this partisan most desired to plunder » (Conrad, p.257) | « Sarawak […] had been goaded into rebellion by the ill-treatment of […] the governor of Sarawak » (St-John, p.16). « This is the serra dagang or forced trade. A Malay Rajah will send to a tribe […] a certain amount of salt, iron, and cloths, which the Dyaks are expected to take at a fixed price – generally a very exorbitant one. » (St-John, p.51) « They were cheated by the Malay traders, and robbed by the Malay chiefs [… ] hostile tribes purchased permission […] to plunder, enslave, and murder them » (Wallace, p.102). |
| « The situation was complicated by a wandering stranger, an Arab half-breed, who, I believe, on purely religious grounds, had incited the tribes in the interior (the bush-folk, as Jim himself called them) to rise, and had established himself a fortified camp on the summit of one of the twin hills.[…] Some of the Bugis settlers, weary with endless insecurity, were half inclined to call him in. The younger spirits amongst them, chaffing, advised to ‘get Sherif Ali with his wild men fire the Rajah Allang out of the country’ » (Conrad, p.257). « I saw a line of high blackened stakes, showing here and there ruinously – the remnants of Sherif Ali’s impregnable camp » (Conrad p.263). |
« There was also a village of Malays under the command of an Arab, Sirib Jaffir. […] Sirib Sahib, formerly of Sadong, had retired to this river [= the upper Batang Lupar], and had strengthened the forts of Patusan, until he believed them impregnable. » (St-John, p.91). « By most natives Patusan was considered impregnable […] Sirib Sahib, however, had constructed a formidable fortress […]. In a quarter of an hour, however, the affair was decided » (St-John, p.168). |
| « He [Jim] had mounted Doramin’s old ordnance on the top of that hill ; two rusty iron 7-pounders, a lot of small brass cannon – currency cannon. But if the brass guns represent wealth, they can also, when crammed recklessly to the muzzle, send a solid shot to some little distance » (Conrad, p.263). | « On the 29th the English guns arrived, but it was not till the 31st that they were dragged up to the fort » (St-John, p.39). |
| « ‘Well, anyhow the guns were there, and went off together at sunrise. Jove ! You should have seen the splinters fly’, he cried » (Conrad, p.267). « The whole stockade […] had been already knocked to pieces and only hung together by a miracle. » (p.270). |
« When once in position, however, they soon silenced the fire of the enemy, and struck down the stockade in such a way that a breach was opened by which several men could enter abreast » (St-John, p.39). « The effect was severe : every shot told upon the thin defences of wood, which fell in many places, leaving practicable storming-breaches. Part of the roof was cut away and tumbled down » (St-John, p.43). |
| « Already the legend had gifted him with supernatural powers. […] They believed and said (as the most natural thing in the world) that Jim had carried the guns up the hill on his back – two at a time » (Conrad, p.266). « The popular story has it that Jim with a touch of one finger had thrown down the gate » (p.270). « The tide had turned two hours before its time to help him on his journey up the river » (p.242-243). |
« Was it not natural that they should refuse to believe he was a man ? for of pure benevolence combined with great power, they had had no experience among men. They naturally concluded that he was a superior being, come down upon earth to confer blessings to the afflicted. In many villages where he had not been seen I was asked strange questions about him. Was he not as old as the mountains ? Could he not bring the dead to life ? And they firmly believed that he can give them good harvests, and make their fruit-trees bear an abundant crop » (Wallace, p.103). |
| « They had got into the habit of taking his word for anything and everything. I could have no idea ! Why ? Only the other day an old fool he had never seen in his life came from some village miles away to find out if he should divorce his wife » (Conrad, p.268). | « The chiefs soon grew confidential and begged for advice as to how they were to act to settle their quarrels… » (St-John, p.24). |
| « ‘Were the Dutch coming to take the country ?’ » (Conrad, p.252). | « … and what policy they should pursue towards the Dutch » (St-John, p.24). |
| « You would have to paddle, pole, or track a long weary way through the jungle before you passed beyond the reach of his voice » (Conrad, p.272). | « I was quite alone with them, cut off from all human help, among these enthusiastic head collectors ; but I did not feel at all afraid, for I knew that Rajah Brooke’s name had penetrated thus far, and that I could rest in safety under the shelter of the esteem and respect it inspired » (Pfeiffer 1855, p.89). « I heard the name of [Mr] Brooke mentioned with interest by the Dyaks of the far interior, in spots where even the Malays had never penetrated » (St-John, p.334). |
| « Thus he became the virtual ruler of the land » (Conrad, p.273). | « On the 24th September 1841, I became the governor of Sarawak with the fullest powers » (James Brooke cité par St-John 1879, p.57) |
| Tuan Jim : A Sketch. « Tuan » ; « Tuan Jim » (Conrad 1900, pp.242, 274, 302, 305, 346, 367, 393, 395, 396, 408, 409, 410, 412, 413). | « I heard the name of Tuan 286 [Mr] Brooke mentioned with interest by the Dyaks of the far interior » (St-John, p.334). |
| « I saw three books in the tumble ; two small, in dark covers, and a thick green-and-gold volume – a half-crown complete Shakespeare » (Conrad 1900, p.237). | « as the English planter in Java, who […] turned to the only book he had, the ‘Encyclopædia Britannica’, and beginning at the letter A, read it through to the end » (St-John, p.71). |
« Tuan » en malais est en effet à la fois « Mister » et « Lord ». L’annonce « Tuan-tuan dan Puan-puan » s’adresse à tous les messieurs et à toutes les dames. Cependant, le « monsieur » ordinaire est « encik » (« Inchi » comme l’épèle Conrad (1900, p.289)), et « tuan » est une distinction, qui peut s’élever jusqu’au dewan pertuanan, la chambre des Lords. Sous l’orthographe « Tuhan », ce « Lord » suprême désigne même Dieu.