NATIVE LADIES ON BOAIiD. '271 



differs from the common sort in being- much finer in 

 texture and workmanship^ besides being dyed red and 

 green^ with intermediate bands of straw colour and 

 broad white stripes of pahn-leaf. It is made of long 

 bunches of very light and soft shreds, like fine twisted 

 grassj apparently the prepared leaf of a calamus or 

 rattan. None of the women that I saw possessed 

 even a moderate share of beauty (according to our 

 notions) although a few had a pleasing expression and 

 others a very graceful figure, but, on the other hand, 

 man}' of the boys and young men were strikingly 

 handsome. We had no means of forming- a judg- 

 ment regarding the condition of the women in a 

 social state, but they appeared to be treated by the 

 men as equals and to exercise considerable influence 

 over them. On all occasions they were the loudest 

 talkers, and seemed to act from a perfect right to 

 ha^'e every thing their own way. It is worthy of 

 mention, that, even in their own village, and on all 

 other occasions where we had an opportunity of 

 observing them, they acted with perfect propriety, 

 and although some indecent allusions were now and 

 then made by the men, this was never done in the 

 presence of the women. Of their marriages we could 

 find out nothing,— one man appeared to have two 

 wi^es, but even this was doubtful. The circum- 

 stance of children being daily brought off by their 

 fathers to look at the ship, and the strange things 

 there, indicated a considerable degree of parental 

 affection. 



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