126 
VOYAGE OF THE POTOMAC. 
[February, 
as they must have observed the party well armed for defence ; 
for, besides a guard of marines, there was Miss Polly Hopkins 
keeping a steady eye upon the multitude, under the immediate 
direction of a midshipman. 
Po Adam, the friendly rajah, was, during this time, nearly a 
constant visiter on board ; distinguished at all times for an inde- 
pendent bearing and manly deportment. He seemed not the least 
elevated on account of his present reception on board the frigate ; 
though he could not conceal, and indeed often expressed, the 
satisfaction he felt at her arrival, " authorized by what he had long 
considered to be a powerful nation, a part of whose duty he, Po 
Adam, felt assured, was to do justice to his motives ; and that his 
acts with regard to the Friendship had been approved by the gov- 
ernment and people from whom she came. His fort at Kio is 
strong, and well manned by his vasgals and hired adherents, who,, 
for a small stipend in money, some dried fish and rice, with an 
occasional quid of opium, were always to stand by and defend 
him." • 
Po Adam, in stature, is rather below the middle, size, and though 
his forehead is rather retiring, his eyes bespeak a mind ever 
awake to all that is passing around him. One feature in the face 
of this intelligent and high-minded rajah is very peculiar, as being 
so materially different from that of the generality of his country- 
men ; and that is, a finely formed aquiline nose ; a feature which 
most of his countrymen have so clumsily wrought upon their faces, 
that any beauties they may otherwise possess, are, in most in- 
stances, thrown into the shade. Though his mouth is rather wide, 
his lips are thin, teeth strong and regular, and of shining ebony 
blackness, produced by a constant chewing of the betele-nut ; a 
practice to which all his countrymen are inveterately addicted,- 
and of which they are very fond, on account of the slight exhil- 
arating effect it produces. Their principal stimulus (never using 
spirits) is opium, an article of trade which has entered largely into 
the transactions of the coast in the purchase of pepper. Like the 
rest of his countrymen, he always went barefoot, and his dress 
consisted merely of a pair of short white cotton trowsers, put on 
over a pair of drawers ; a shirt without a collar, made of the 
same texture ; and a long, rich silk sash around his loins, which 
not only supplied the place of suspenders, but also that of a belt 
