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 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. So I told them I could not
wait, as I wanted to see the house and then to go shooting in the
forest. This seemed to puzzle them, and at length, in answer to
questions, very poorly explained by one or two bystanders who
knew a little Malay, it came out that no house was ready, and no
one seemed to have the least idea where to get one. As I did not
want to trouble the Rajah any more, I thought it best to try to
frighten them a little; so I told them that if they did not
immediately find me a house as the Rajah had ordered, I should go
back and complain to him, but that if a house was found me I
would pay for the use of it. This had the desired effect, and one
of the head men of the village asked me to go with him and look
for a house. He showed me one or two of the most miserable and
ruinous description, which I at once rejected, saying, "I must
have a good one, and near to the forest." The next he showed me
suited very well, so I told him to see that it was emptied the
next day, for that the day after I should come and occupy it.
On the day mentioned, as I was not quite ready to go, I sent my
two Macassar boys with brooms to sweep out the house thoroughly.
They returned in the evening and told me that when they got
there the house was inhabited, and not a single article removed.
However, on hearing they had come to clean and take possession,
the occupants made a move, but with a good deal of grumbling,
which made me feel rather uneasy as to how the people generally
might take my intrusion into their village. The next morning we
took our baggage on three packhorses, and, after a few break-
downs, arrived about noon at our destination.
After getting all my things set straight, and having made a hasty
meal, I determined if possible to make friends with the people. I
therefore sent for the owner of the house and as many of his
acquaintances as liked to come, to have a "bitchara," or talk.
When they were all seated, I gave them a little tobacco all
around, and having my boy Baderoon for interpreter, tried to
explain to them why I came there; that I was very sorry to turn
them out of the house, but that the Rajah had ordered it rather
than build a new one, which was what I had asked for, and then
placed five silver rupees in the owner's hand as one month's
rent. I then assured them that my being there would be a benefit
to them, as I should buy their eggs and fowls and fruit; and if
their children would bring me shells and insects, of which I
showed them specimens, they also might earn a good many coppers.
After all this had been fully explained to them, with a long talk
and discussion between every sentence, I could see that I had
made a favourable impression; and that very afternoon, as if to
test my promise to buy even miserable little snail-shells, a
dozen children came one after another, bringing me a few
specimens each of a small Helix, for which they duly received
"coppers," and went away amazed but rejoicing.
A few days' exploration made me well acquainted with the
surrounding country. I was a long way from the road in the forest
which I had first visited, and for some distance around my house
were old clearings and cottages. I found a few good butterflies,
but beetles were very scarce, and even rotten timber and newly-
felled trees (generally so productive) here produced scarcely
anything. This convinced me that there was not a sufficient
extent of forest in the neighbourhood to make the place worth
staying at long, but it was too late now to think of going
further, as in about a month the wet season would begin; so I
resolved to stay here and get what was to be had.
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