376 DRESS. 



in one piece." It was then placed on the smooth side of a 

 long piece of wood, and beaten by the women-servants with 

 a wooden instrument, shaped like a square razor- strap, and 

 about a foot long. The four sides of this instrument were 

 "marked, lengthways, with small grooves or furrows, of 

 different degrees of fineness ; those on one side being of a 

 width and depth sufficient to receive a small packthread, and 

 the others finer in a regular gradation, so that the last are 

 not more than equal to sewing silk." They beat the cloth 

 first with the coarsest side and afterwards with the others, 

 ending with the finest : under this treatment it expanded 

 greatly, and might be made almost as thin as a muslin. The 

 different pieces of bark by this treatment were so closely 

 fastened together, that the cloth might be washed and wrung 

 out without any fear of tearing ; but even if it were acci- 

 dentally broken, it was repaired without difficulty, by pasting 

 on a patch with a gluten prepared from the root of the pea ; 

 this was done so nicely that it could not be discovered. This 

 cloth was cool and agreeable to the touch, being even softer 

 than our broadcloth. It is hardly necessary to say that the 

 fineness was regulated according to the purpose for which it 

 was intended. The two first kinds were easily bleached, and 

 then dyed of various colors, generally red and yellow. Both 

 of these were vegetable colors, and not very fast. 



They had various strange and complicated dresses for great 

 occasions, but their ordinary clothes were very simple, and 

 consisted of two parts. One of them was a piece of cloth 

 with a hole " in the middle to put the head through," and 

 long enough to reach from the shoulder to the knee. The 

 other was wrapped round the waist so as to hang down like a 

 petticoat, as low as the knee ; this was called the Parou. Fre- 

 quently also they wore a piece of cloth tied round the head like 

 a turban. The dress of the Queen is thus described by Ellis : * 



* i.e. p. 148. 



