A 31ALAY NAUTCH. 165 



All four dancers were dressed alike, except that in the 

 elder girls, the body of the dress, tight fitting and shewing 

 the figure to the greatest advantage, was white, with a cloth 

 of gold handkerchief tied round it under the arms and fas- 

 tened in front, whilst in the case of the two younger, the 

 body was of the same stuff as the rest of the dress. Their 

 feet of course were bare. 



We had ample time to minutely observe these particulars 

 before the dance commenced, for when we came into the Hall 

 the four girls were sitting down in the usual Eastern fashion. 

 on the carpet, bending forward, their elbows resting on 

 their thighs, and hiding the sides of their faces which were 

 towards the audience with fans, made I think of crimson 

 and gilt paper which sparkled in the light. 



On their arms they wore numbers of gold bangles and 

 their fingers were covered with diamond rings. In their 

 ears also they had fastened the small but pretty diamond 

 buttons so much affected by Malays, and indeed now, by 



Western ladies. 



On our entrance the Band struck up, and our especial 

 attention was called to the orchestra as the instruments 

 were Javanese and seldom seen in the Malay Peninsula. 



There were two chief performers, one playing on a sort of 

 wooden piano — the wooden keys being the only resemblance, 

 for with them the machinery of the instrument began and 

 ended — knocking the notes with pieces of stick which he held 

 in each hand — The other, with similar pieces of wood, played 

 on inverted bowls of metal. 



Both these performers seemed to have sufficiently hard 

 work, but they played with the greatest spirit from 10 p. in. 

 till -5 a. m. 



The other members of the Band consisted of. a very small 

 boy who played, with a very large and thick stick. on a gigan- 

 tic gong a very old women who beat a drum with two sticks, 

 and several other boys who played on instruments like trian- 

 gles. 



All these performers, we were told with much solemnity, 

 were artists of the first order, masters and a mistress in their 

 craft, and I think they proved the justice of the praise. 



