VII 



DAILY LIFE 121 



kerosene lamps. The men gather round the fire- 

 places in the gallery and discuss politics, the events 

 of the day, the state of the crops and weather, the 

 news obtained by meetings with the people of 

 neighbouring houses, and relate myths and legends, 

 folk-tales and animal stories. The women, having 

 put the children to bed, visit one another's rooms 

 for friendly gossip ; and young men drop in to join 

 their parties, accept the proffered cigarette, and 

 discourse the sweet music of the keluri} the nose- 

 flute, and the Jew's harp (Figs. 17, 18, 19). Or 

 Romeo first strikes up his plaintive tune outside 

 the room in which Juliet sits with the women folk. 

 Juliet may respond with a few notes of her guitar" 

 (Fig. 20), thus encouraging Romeo to enter and 

 to take his place in the group beside her, where 

 he joins in the conversation or renews his musical 

 efforts. About nine o'clock all retire to bed, save 

 a few old men who sit smoking over the fires 

 far into the night. The dogs, after some final 

 skirmishes and yelpings, subside among the warm 

 ashes of the fireplaces ; the pigs emit a final squeal 

 and grunt ; and within the house quietness reigns. 

 Now the rushing of the river makes itself heard in 

 the house, mingled with the chirping of innumer- 

 able insects and the croaking of a myriad frogs 

 borne in from the surrounding forest. The villagers 

 sleep soundly till cock-crow ; but the European 

 guest, lying in the place of honour almost beneath 

 the row of human heads which adorns the gallery, is, 

 if unused to sleeping in a Bornean long house, apt 

 to be wakened from time to time throughout the 

 night by an outburst of dreadful yelpings from the 

 dogs squabbling for the best places among the ashes, 

 by the prolonged fit of coughing of an old man, by 

 an old crone making up the fire, by the goats squeal- 

 ing and scampering over the boats beneath the 



1 See Chap. XVIH. 2 See Chap. V, 



