The Malay Donor Said That
Anyone Carrying It Would Become Invulnerable And Invisible, And That If
You Were To Beat Anyone With It, The Beaten Man Would Manifest All The
Symptoms Of Snake Poisoning!
Mr. Ferney has also given me a kris.
When
I showed it to Omar this morning, he passed it across his face and
smelt it, and then said, "This kris good - has ate a man."
I could not sleep much, there were such strange noises, and the sentry
made the veranda creak all night outside my room; but this is a
splendid climate, and one is refreshed and ready to rise with the sun
after very little sleep. The tropic mornings are glorious. There is
such an abrupt and vociferous awakening of nature, all dew-bathed and
vigorous. The rose-flushed sky looks cool, the air feels cool, one
longs to protract the delicious time. Then with a suddenness akin to
that of his setting, the sun wheels above the horizon, and is high in
the heavens in no time, truly "coming forth as a bridegroom out of his
chamber, and rejoicing as a giant to run his course," and as truly
"There is nothing hid from the heat thereof," for hardly is he visible
than the heat becomes tremendous. But tropical trees and flowers,
instead of drooping and withering under the solar fury, rejoice in it.
This morning was splendid. The great banana fronds under the still,
blue sky looked truly tropical The mercury was 82 degrees at 7 A.M. The
"tiger mosquitoes," day torments, large mosquitoes with striped legs, a
loud metallic hum, and a plethora of venom, were in full fury from
daylight. Ammonia does not relieve their bites as it does those of the
night mosquitoes, and I am covered with inflamed and confluent lumps as
large as the half of a bantam's egg. But these and other drawbacks, I
know from experience, will soon be forgotten, and I shall remember only
the beauty, the glory, and the intense enjoyment of this day.
Quite early the Rajah Moussa arrived in a baju of rich, gold-colored
silk, which suited his swarthy complexion. He sat in the room
pretending to look over the Graphic, but in reality watching me, as I
wrote to you, just as I should watch an ouf. At last he asked how many
Japanese I had killed!!!!
The succession is here hereditary in the male line, and this Rajah
Moussa is the Sultan's eldest son. The Sultan receives 2,000 pounds a
year out of the revenue, and this Rajah 960 pounds.
The Resident arrived at nine, wearing a very fine dress sword, and gold
epaulettes on his linen coat; and under a broiling sun we all walked
through a cleared part of the jungle, through palms and bananas, to the
reception at the Sultan's, which was the "motive" of our visit. The
Sultan, Abdulsamat, has three houses in a beautiful situation, at the
end of a beautiful valley. They are in the purest style of Malay
architecture, and not a Western idea appears anywhere. The wood of
which they are built is a rich brown red. The roofs are very high and
steep, but somewhat curved. The architecture is simple, appropriate,
and beautiful The dwelling consists of the Sultan's house, a broad,
open passage, and then the women's house or harem. At the end of the
above passage is the audience-hall, and the front entrance to the
Sultan's house is through a large porch which forms a convenient
reception room on occasions like that of yesterday.
From this back passage or court a ladder, with rungs about two feet
apart, leads into the Sultan's house, and a step-ladder into the
women's house. Two small boys, entirely naked, were incongruous objects
sitting at the foot of the ladder. Here we waited for him, two files of
policemen being drawn up as a guard of honor. He came out of the
women's house very actively, shook hands with each of us (obnoxious
custom!), and passed through the lines of police round to the other
side of his house into the porch, the floor of which was covered with
fine matting nearly concealed by handsome Persian rugs.
The Sultan sat on a high-backed, carved chair or throne. All the other
chairs were plain. The Resident sat on his right, I on his left, and on
my left the Rajah Moussa, with other sons of the sultan, and some
native princes. Mr. Syers acted as interpreter. Outside there were
double lines of military police, and the bright adjacent slopes were
covered with the Sultan's followers and other Malays. The balcony of
the audience-hall, which has a handsome balustrade, was full of Malay
followers in bright reds and cool white. It was all beautiful, and the
palms rustled in the soft air, and bright birds and butterflies flew
overhead, rejoicing in mere existence.
If Abdulsamat were not Sultan, I should pick him out as the most
prepossessing Malay that I have seen. He is an elderly man, with
iron-gray hair, a high and prominent brow, large, prominent, dark,
eyes, a well-formed nose, and a good mouth. The face is bright, kindly,
and fairly intelligent. He is about the middle height. His dress
became him well, and he looked comfortable in it though he had not worn
it before. It was a rich, black velvet baju or jacket, something like a
loose hussar jacket, braided, frogged, and slashed with gold, trousers
with a broad gold strip on the outside, a rich silk sarong in checks
and shades of red, and a Malay printed silk handkerchief knotted round
his head, forming a sort of peak. No Mohammedan can wear a hat with a
rim or stiff crown, or of any kind which would prevent him from bowing
his forehead to the earth in worship.
The Resident read the proceedings of the council of the day before, and
the Sultan confirmed them.
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