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 bad 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
where I was to be lodged. We went to the residence of the
village chief, who conversed with my conductor for some time.
Getting tired, I asked to be shown the house that was prepared
for me, but the only reply I could get was, "Wait a little," and
the parties went on talking as before.
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