I have seen at Badoer many that were dead. They
were dressed in white shrouds, and were buried in the earth;
If I die at Badoer, and I am buried beyond the dessah,[27]
eastward against the hill, where the grass is high;
Then will Adinda pass by there, and the border of
her sarong will sweep softly along the grass,…
I SHALL hear it.”
Saïdjah arrived at Batavia. He begged a gentleman to take him into his service, which this gentleman did, [[334]]because he did not understand Saïdjah’s language;[28] for they like to have servants at Batavia who do not speak Malay, and are, therefore, not so corrupted as others, who have been longer in connexion with Europeans. Saïdjah soon learned Malay, but behaved well; for he always thought of the two buffaloes which he should buy, and of Adinda. He became tall and strong, because he ate every day, what could not always be had at Badoer. He was liked in the stable, and would certainly not have been rejected, if he had asked the hand of the coachman’s daughter. His master even liked Saïdjah so much that he soon promoted him to be an indoor servant, increased his wages, and continually made him presents, to show that he was well pleased with his services. Saïdjah’s mistress had read Sue’s novel,[29] which for a short time was so popular: she always thought of Prince Djalma when she saw Saïdjah, and the young girls, too, understood better than before how the Javanese painter, Radeen Saleh, had met with such great success at Paris.
But they thought Saïdjah ungrateful, when he, after almost three years of service, asked for his dismissal, and a certificate that he had always behaved well. This could not be refused, and Saïdjah went on his journey with a joyful heart.
He passed Pisang, where Havelaar once lived many years ago. But Saïdjah did not know this, … and even [[335]]if he had known it, he had something else in his soul which occupied him.… He counted the treasures which he was carrying home. In a roll of bamboo he had his passport and a certificate of good conduct. In a case, which was fastened to a leathern girdle, something heavy seemed to sling continually against his shoulder, but he liked to feel that.… And no wonder!… this contained thirty piastres,[30] enough to buy three buffaloes! What would Adinda say? And this was not all. On his back could be seen the silver-covered sheath of the kris,[31] which he wore in the girdle. The hilt was certainly very fine, for he had wound it round with a silk wrapper. And he had still more treasures! In the folds of the kahin[32] round his loins, he kept a belt of silver links, with gold ikat-pendieng.[33] It is true that the belt was short, but she was so slender.… Adinda!