S O O L O O. 
335 
We now learned the reason why the Sultan could not be seen: it 
was Friday, the Mahomedan Sabbath, and he had been at the mosque 
from an early hour. Lieutenant Budd had been detained, because it 
was not known when he would finish his prayers; and the ceremonies 
of the day were more important than usual, on account of its peculiar 
sanctity in their calendar. 
Word had been sent off to the ship that the Sultan was ready to 
receive me, but the messenger passed us while on our way to the 
shore. After we had been seated for a while, the Datu asked if we 
were ready to accompany him to see the Sultan; but intimated that 
no one but Captain Hudson and myself could be permitted to lay eyes 
on him. Being informed that we were, he at once, and in our pre¬ 
sence, slipped on his silken trousers, and a new jacket, covered with 
bell-buttons; put on his slippers, strapped himself round with a long 
silken net sash, into which he stuck his kris, and, with umbrella in 
hand, said he was ready. He now led the way out of his house, 
leaving the motley group behind, and we took the path to the interior 
of the town, towards the Sultan’s. The Datu and I walked hand in 
hand, on a roadway about ten feet wide, with a small stream running 
on each side. Captain Hudson and the interpreter came next, and a 
guard of six trusty slaves brought up the rear. 
When we reached the outskirts of the town, about half a mile from 
the Datu’s, we came to the Sultan’s residence, where he was prepared 
to receive us in state. His house is constructed in the same manner 
as that of the Datu, but is of larger dimensions, and the piles are rather 
higher. Instead of steps, we found a ladder, rudely constructed of 
bamboo, and very crazy. This was so steep that it was necessary to 
use the hands in mounting it. I understood that the ladder was always 
removed in the night, for the sake of security. We entered at once 
into the presence-chamber, where the whole divan, if such it may be 
called, sat in arm-chairs, occupying the half of a large round table, 
covered with a white cotton cloth. On the opposite side of the table, 
seats were placed for us. On our approach, the Sultan and all his 
council rose, and motioned us to our seats. When we had taken 
them, the part of the room behind us was literally crammed with 
well-armed men. A few minutes were passed in silence, during 
which time we had an opportunity of looking at each other, and 
around the hall in which we were seated. The latter was of very 
common workmanship, and exhibited no signs of oriental magnifi¬ 
cence. Overhead hung a printed cotton cloth, forming a kind of 
tester, which covered about half of the apartment. In other places 
the roof and rafters were visible. A part of the house was roughly 
