SUMATRA. * 167 
perfons of rank onlj^. This diftindtion, artfully mvcnted for the pur- 
pofe of keeping the vulgar at a diftance^ and infplring them with refpe<ft 
for what they cannot under ftand^ does not take place in any part of Su- 
matra, among the inhabitants of which, difparity of fituation is not at- 
tended with much refer v^e, or diftancc of behaviour between the 
perlbns. 
