ENTER BANKALANG. 145 



a great many people along- the road, who all 

 stood reverently aside to let us pass, and many 

 turned their backs on us, which is a native mark 

 of respect, meaning, I suppose, that the inferior 

 is not worthy or does not dare look upon his supe- 

 rior. 



On entering Bankalang, we found the road lined 

 on each side by spearmen, who stood about three 

 yards apart from each other, holding up their long 

 lances, and each in a different posture, frequently a 

 striking but rather theatrical attitude. Behind 

 the spearmen were other people squatted down, 

 just in front of the bamboo fences of the kampongs, 

 between which the road passed, and from which the 

 music of the gamelang, or native band, resounded 

 on all sides. We came in at a corner of the great 

 central square, or "green," and passing a large 

 brick mosque, before which a guard of infantry was 

 drawn up, with a standard, that was lowered as we 

 went by, we turned short to the right, and driving 

 down the middle of the square, reached the gate of 

 the Sultan's palace. This gateway was in a brick 

 wall, in front of which was a broad ditch, crossed 

 by a wooden bridge, and defended by a few guns. 

 Here native infantry, in a Dutch uniform of blue 

 and yellow, and armed with musket and bayonet, 

 took the place of the spearmen, and lined the road. 

 After passing one or two other walls, through 

 similar gateways, we halted in front of a very large 



VOL. IX. l 



