EUROPEAN CLOTHING. 393 
however, saying a word, yet each seeming to won- 
der whether her head, with its new appendages, 
resembled in appearance that of her neighbour. 
The attendants, and others who were not so dis- 
tinguished, after recovering from evident astonish- 
ment at seeing the Huahinian ladies for the first 
time in European caps, were by no means sparing 
in their remarks. Some observed, they were 
perhaps designed to keep the head cool; others, 
to keep it warm; and others supposed they were 
to preserve it from the flies and the musquitoes. 
All agreed that they looked very strange, and the 
wearers appeared to think so themselves; but it 
was supposed to be according to the usage of ladies 
in England,—and to the despotism of fashion, 
even here, all minor considerations were rendered 
subservient. 
The desire to obtain foreign clothing was now 
very great, equal to that with which they sought 
iron tools ; and whenever they procured one article 
of it, it was worn forthwith, without waiting till 
the suit was completed. This often rendered their 
appearance to a European eye exceedingly ludi- 
crous. There was a degree of propriety usually 
manifested by all classes of the females in their 
dress: they either paid more attention to their 
appearance than the other sex, or were better 
informed; and the only inconsistency we ever 
observed was that of a woman’s sometimes wearing 
a coat or jacket belonging to her husband or bro- 
ther. The men, however, were less scrupulous : 
and whether it resulted from their fondness of 
variety, or a supposition that the same clothes, 
worn in different ways, would appear like distinct 
articles of dress, I am not able to say; but I have 
seen a stocking sometimes on the leg, and some- 
