344 MANNER OE LIFE OF THE EUROPEANS IN BANKA. 
In the morning, at the beating of the drum, I used to rise and to breath 
in the cool air of the early hour before the open verandah of my house, after 
which I took a bath consisting of some buckets of water poured over my 
head by a servant, which is called by the Malays siram. However a bath 
in the river would have been better, yeti dared not venture to go into the 
stream for the alligators, and also for the uncleanliness of the water. 
This bath restored to the body its elasticity much weakened by the nightly 
sweat. After that I dressed, took some refreshments, and went to see my 
patients, then I attended to other business, and at II o’clock breakfasted a 
la fourchette. The remaining trifling affairs I concluded during the diges¬ 
tive process, and took at 12 o’clock my siesta, from which I usually rose 
again at3o’clock, taking then some refreshing fruits, as pineapples, oranges 
or any of this kind, used some lemonade mixed with wine or seltzer-water, 
revisited my patients, and then went a hunting until evening, when I return¬ 
ed, usually tired and torn, but with an excellent appetite, which latter is 
the best thing in the East Indies one can wish for. I then took again a bath 
and dined at 7 or 8 o’clock. The remainder of the evening was spent in 
reading, or, ifl happened to have guests with me, in playing or conversing. 
My house was situated in the centre of the palisaded benting, and con¬ 
structed of wood. It enclosed a verandah in front, 12 feet broad, 4 apart¬ 
ments and a sort of drawing room, used commonly as a sitting and 
dining room. The front-gallery was furnished with two easy couches, the 
same were placed in the dining room beside a large table. The other 
rooms were filled with a dozen of chairs with tables, chests of drawers and 
bed-couches, the latter was covered with a curtain of gauze for protection 
against the musquitoes. Stables, lodgings for servants, kitchen, godowns 
and other buildings appertaining to the house were detached j each was co¬ 
vered with a separate roof. I had nine servants, viz., 1 cook, 1 washerman, 
1 syce, 1 domestic servant, 1 employed in the dispensary, 1 gardener and 
2 police peons. Besides boarding they received from 6 to 15 guilders 
monthly wages. It is difficult to procure good servants at Banka, and 
therefore advisable to take them along with you from Java, especially cooks 
and washermen. The latter employed by me was a Bengalee, who wash¬ 
ed very well, hut soon tore my cloLhes into pieces, by twisting them in the 
air and dashing them against a flat stone. For smoothing the linen a 
goose is used, filled with redhot coals, instead of an iron. 
In Batavia, as in other large places, two servants are sufficient, since 
the different work may be done in the town. For my pleasure and profit I 
laid out a garden, in which, besides pisangs, pineapples and other fine tro- 
