PLANTS. 
251 
Los Bagnos. The nippis is a beautifully clear fabric, which forms the 
outer shirt-shaped garment of the native men, and the tunic and hand- 
kerchiefs of the women. It is said to be sometimes made of fibres so 
fine that they require to be manufactured under water, because if 
exposed to the sun and air they become too fragile to work. The 
cordage made from this plant is less prized in the Philippines than 
that manufactured from the fibres that grow near the roots of a palm, 
and are of a black colour, forming rope called cabo-negro by the 
Spaniards, by which name the palm itself is also known. The 
cordage is black, and strongly resembles horse-hair. The palm is 
no doubt the anau of the Sumatrans, which Mr. Marsden informs 
us 44 is the Borossus gomutus of Loureiro, the Saguerus pinnatus of 
the Batavian Transact, and the Cleophora of Gaertner.”* 
Late in the afternoon the arrival of the Ambassador, Mr. Ellis, 
and Captain Maxwell, giving the clerigo fresh occasion for astonish- 
ment, he again repeated his circumambulations. At the table of 
His Excellency, at which he was with much difficulty induced to 
take a seat, he gained himself a higher place in our estimation by 
his readiness in giving a complimentary turn to his answers when 
questioned by the Ambassador. Whilst thus situated, his female 
companion and a young girl stood apart at some distance, and 
seemed as much amused with his grotesque appearance as any other 
of the party, expressing their emotion by the most immoderate fits 
of laughter. 
Having passed the night the greater part of us on benches and 
tables in the refectory, or in the chapel surrounded by the images of 
the virgin and of the saints, we again embarked on the lake, and 
after a very boisterous passage arrived at Manilla the same evening, 
and immediately went on board the Alceste. 
Early the next morning we left Manilla Bay with a favourable 
breeze, and were out of sight of land before dark. On the 16th we 
* Marsden’s Sumatra, p. 88. 
K K 2 
