squatting at his side. Two other chairs were brought for us. Several
young women, some the Rajah's daughters, others slaves, were standing
about; a few were working at frames making sarongs, but most of them
were idle.
And here I might (if I followed the example of most travellers) launch
out into a glowing description of the charms of these damsels, the
elegant costumes they wore, and the gold and silver ornaments with which
they were adorned. The jacket or body of purple gauze would figure well
in such a description, allowing the heaving bosom to be seen beneath it,
while "sparkling eyes," and "jetty tresses," and "tiny feet" might be
thrown in profusely. But, alas! regard for truth will not permit me to
expatiate too admiringly on such topics, determined as I am to give
as far as I can a true picture of the people and places I visit. The
princesses were, it is true, sufficiently good-looking, yet neither
their persons nor their garments had that appearance of freshness and
cleanliness without which no other charms can be contemplated with
pleasure. Everything had a dingy and faded appearance, very disagreeable
and unroyal to a European eye. The only thing that excited some degree
of admiration was the quiet and dignified manner of the Rajah and the
great respect always paid to him. None can stand erect in his presence,
and when he sits on a chair, all present (Europeans of course excepted)
squat upon the ground. The highest seat is literally, with these people,
the place of honour and the sign of rank. So unbending are the rules in
this respect, that when an English carriage which the Rajah of Lombock
had sent for arrived, it was found impossible to use it because the
driver's seat was the highest, and it had to be kept as a show in its
coach house. On being told the object of my visit, the Rajah at once
said that he would order a house to be emptied for me, which would be
much better than building one, as that would take a good deal of time.
Bad coffee and sweetmeats were given us as before.
Two days afterwards, I called on the Rajah to ask him to send a guide
with me to show me the house I was to occupy. He immediately ordered a
man to be sent for, gave him instructions, and in a few minutes we
were on our way. My conductor could speak no Malay, so we walked on in
silence for an hour, when we turned into a pretty good house and I was
asked to sit down. The head man of the district lived here, and in about
half an hour we started again, and another hour's walk brought us to the
village and where I was to be lodged. We went to the residence of the
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