All The Men Have Their Heads Shaved, With The Exception Of A Small Patch At The Back, The Hair On Which Is Carefully Cultivated And Plaited Into A Cue.

The thicker and longer this cue is, the prouder is its owner; false hair and black ribbon are consequently worked up in it, so that it often reaches down to the ankles.

During work, it is twisted round the neck, but, on the owner's entering a room, it is let down again, as it would be against all the laws of etiquette and politeness for a person to make his appearance with his cue twisted up. The women wear all their hair, which they comb entirely back off their forehead, and fasten it in most artistic plaits to the head; they spend a great deal of time in the process, but when their hair is once dressed, it does not require to be touched for a whole week. Both men and women sometimes go about with no covering at all on their head; sometimes they wear hats made of thin bamboo, and very frequently three feet in diameter; these keep off both sun and rain, and are exceedingly durable.

On their feet they wear sewed stockings and shoes, formed of black silk, or some material like worsted; the soles, which are more than an inch thick, are made up of layers of strong pasteboard or felt pasted together. The poor people go barefooted.

The houses of the lower classes are miserable hovels, built of wood or brick. The internal arrangements are very wretched: the whole furniture consists of a worthless table, a few chairs, and two or three bamboo-mats, stools for the head, and old counterpanes; yet, with this poverty, there are always sure to be some pots of flowers.

The cheapest mode of living is on board a boat. The husband goes on shore to his work, and leaves his wife to make a trifle by ferrying persons over, or letting out the boat to pleasure parties. One half the boat belongs to the family themselves, and the other half to the persons to whom they let it; and although there is not much room, the whole boat measuring scarcely twenty-five feet in length, the greatest order and cleanliness is everywhere apparent, as each single plank on board is thoroughly scrubbed and washed every morning. Great ingenuity is displayed in turning every inch of space on board these small craft to advantage, and the dexterity is actually pushed so far as to find room for a tiny domestic altar. During the day all the cookery and washing is done, and though at the latter process there is no want of little children, the temporary tenant of the boat does not suffer the least annoyance; nothing offensive meets his eye; and, at the most, he merely hears at rare intervals the whining voice of some poor little wretch. The youngest child is generally tied on its mother's back while she steers; the elder children, too, have sometimes similar burdens, but jump and climb about without the least consideration for them.

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Words from 53882 to 54402 of 187810