James Brooke, the second and only surviving son of Thomas Brooke, a
gentleman who had acquired a fortune in the service of the East India
Company, was born in India, April 29, 1803. At an early age he entered
the employ of the same company to whose interests his father had given
his best days. In 1826, as a cadet, he accompanied the British army to
the Burmese war, was dangerously wounded, received a furlough, and came
to England. To restore his health and gratify his curiosity he spent the
year 1827 in travelling on the Continent. His furlough having nearly
expired, he embarked for India, but was wrecked on the voyage, and could
not report for duty in proper season. This was one of those apparently
fortuitous circumstances which so often change the whole aspect of a
man's life. At any rate, it was the turning-point in Mr. Brooke's
career. Finding that his misfortune had cost him his position, and that
he could not recover it without tedious formalities, he left the
service. Uncontrolled master of himself, and endowed with sagacity and
courage of no ordinary stamp, he was ready for any undertaking which his
adventurous spirit or his love of research might dictate. In fact, it
was during this interval of leisure that he embarked for China, and on
his passage saw for the first time the Eastern Archipelago.
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