56 



LUXURIOUS TRAVELLING. 



trouble to send on over night his own cook, a Ben- 

 galee, and I believe part of his plate and table 

 furniture that we might be suitably entertained. 

 As soon as we were seated, the Dumang squatted 

 down on the floor, in the front of his dependants, 

 but we begged he would join us at table, which he 

 did with some hesitation. As we finished, the 

 dishes were passed to the people on the floor, be- 

 tween twenty and thirty in number, who broke into 

 small parties around them and helped themselves 

 with their fingers. It was really a most luxurious 

 method of travelling ; for, before we could tire one 

 horse, we found another with fresh spirit awaiting 

 us ; and before we had time to think of being 

 thirsty, we came upon some table spread in the 

 wilderness, as if by enchantment ; as to being 

 hungry, we could not acquire the sensation. More- 

 over, as the entertainment was always osten- 

 sibly provided by the head man of the place, we 

 could not affront him by offering payment for it ; 

 nor was it much expense to him, as the materials 

 were furnished by the contributions of the different 

 villages and people under his government, whom, 

 perhaps, we never saw, and certainly did not know, 

 and therefore could not remunerate. All we could 

 do, was to pay our coolies and attendants for them- 

 selves and their horses. 



I was surprised, on opening the barometer, to 

 find we had already risen so much above Lamajang, 

 the two observations of this morning giving a differ- 



