B A T A V I A. 
garrison. In front of the house a long row of booths was 
erected, in which were exhibited the humours of a Dutch 
fair ; and, what to us was then more interesting, among these 
booths were two or three temporary theatres, on which 
Chinese comedians were entertaining the crowd on our first 
arrival, and they continued to act without intermission the 
whole night. 
Having satisfied our curiosity as to the fair and the fire- 
works, we repaired to the ball room, where the ladies were 
already assembled ; and here we were struck with a very un- 
usual display of finery, the singularity of which at least, if 
not the beauty, very forcibly attracted our attention. Let 
the reader imagine to himself about eighty or ninety ladies 
seated round the sides of a long narrow room, superbly 
dressed in the finest muslins that India affords, spangled with 
gold and silver, and glittering with rubies and diamonds — Let 
him figure to himself an equal number of little female slaves, 
each sitting at the feet of her mistress, and, except as to the 
ornamental parts, nearly as well dressed as herself — Let him 
imagine about half as many, as there were ladies, of tall, 
bright, brazen candlesticks, like those that are sometimes 
seen on the altars of Romish churches, arranged in a row on 
the floor immediately before these splendid beauties, and 
reflecting, like so many mirrors, the brilliant objects to 
. which they were opposed — Let him, moreover, figure to him- 
self at least an equal number of gentlemen, all full dressed 
in coats of cut velvet, shag breeches, bag wigs, and long- 
swords, besides the British officers both naval and military 
in their respective uniforms, to say nothing of the Co7ys 
diplomatiques — And having disposed this assemblage of objects 
7 
