Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat: In the U. S. Sloop-of-war Peacock, David Geisinger, Commander, During the Years 1832-3-4 — John Shaqi
Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat: In the U. S. Sloop-of-war Peacock, David Geisinger, Commander, During the Years 1832-3-4Roberts, Edmund
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Embassy to the Eastern Courts of Cochin-China, Siam, and Muscat: In the U. S. Sloop-of-war Peacock, David Geisinger, Commander, During the Years 1832-3-4
Roberts, Edmund
Southeast Asia -- Commerce; Southeast Asia -- Description and travel
The master of the ceremonies received us with great politeness and
with much ceremony; he was habited in a robe of crimson, figured with
velvet, having a silk scarf thrown over his shoulders, and wearing a
turban; his teeth were of a deep black, owing to his excessive use of
areca and phunam, and his lips and gums were of a livid hue. Scarcely
were we seated, at a table set apart for our own use, in the midst of
many hundred hungry native revellers, ere twenty-seven dishes, composed
chiefly of sweetmeats, (there not being a particle of meat or fish,)
were upon the table. After tasting a little of each, to show that we
were gratified with the _whole_ entertainment, and partaking of a cup
of tea, we took our leave; areca was offered, as is customary, on our
entry and departure. During the repast, four Javanese stepped out
between the orchestra and danced for our amusement; their movements
were slow, but very graceful, the head looking downward, and the arms
as much in motion as the feet; the former being extended occasionally
rather above the head, and the palms being generally opened outward and
placed in every position, excepting that of closing or clenching.
Two well-constructed piers at this place, running out from a shallow
creek, make a convenient harbour for small-craft, and near its upper
part, is an excellent place for procuring water, which is obtained by
a simple and expeditious process: a hose is connected with casks in
a boat beneath, the latter are filled in a few minutes, so that in
twenty-four hours the ship obtained twelve thousand gallons of water.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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