On Board the "Rocket"Adams, Robert C. (Robert Chamblet)
History
On Board the "Rocket"
Adams, Robert C. (Robert Chamblet)
Seafaring life
the waywardness of the ponies by the frequent practice of building
embankments at the sides of the roads; and some escape their dangers by
using good horses from Australia, or, occasionally, fine Arab steeds.
The hotel at which we arrive is a two-story building, and in the rear
extend lines of one-storied structures, with wide walks covered by
verandahs, upon which the rooms all open. Upon my first arrival at
this hotel I entered the office, but saw no person there, unless Mr.
Darwin's friends should insist that I applied that term to a large
monkey, who was seated upon the table engaged in pouring the contents
of a capacious inkstand upon the open pages of the hotel register. My
presence ended this evidence of a dawning fondness and aptitude for the
fine arts.
Allow me to describe a day's life as a sample of the mode of existence
among the foreign residents. In the morning one is awakened by a
servant entering the room with a cup of tea; looking out upon the
verandah, another servant may be seen engaged in cleaning the shoes.
He plucks a flower from a plant close at hand, rubs it over the
shoe and then applies the polishing brush, with brilliant effect.
This is called the shoe-plant; and nature makes another appropriate
arrangement in producing the soap tree, with the fruit of which the
hands may be cleansed. Seizing the towels, one next proceeds, in his
sleeping costume, across the court yard to the bath house; this is a
room paved with tiles, containing a large tank of water. The mode of
bathing is that practised by the natives. Standing alongside the tank
the person dips out water in a small bucket and pours it on the head.
This becomes a very favorite method of performing ablution. Returning
to the room, the sleeping costume is laid aside for the habiliments of
the day; but it demands a description, for few things are more peculiar
or essential to a comfortable life in the East. It consists of loose
trousers, called pajamas, and a jacket, called bajou. The pajamas are
made of colored calico, the more brilliant in color and startling in
pattern the better. They are gathered about the waist with a string.
The bajou is of white calico, buttons closely about the throat and
reaches to the hips. This dress is worn not only at night, but whenever
in the day one is free from business or society. The first morning I
spent in Java I encountered a lady robed in white. I averted my eyes,
but saw another lady approaching, and then another; and finding them
unconcerned, I gained assurance enough to inspect their costume. I
learned that in the Dutch settlements in the East Indies ladies adopt
a dress corresponding somewhat to that of the native women, which they
wear during the heat of the day, and only appear in European costume
in the evening. This dress consists of the "sarong," or loose skirt
of colored calico reaching to the ankles, and the "cobaiya," a white
sack descending to the knees. Sandals are worn, but no stockings. The
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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