THEIR SERVANT.
The servant was of a type new to our friends, and Frank proceeded to make a sketch of him at the first opportunity. He was a Javanese Malay, with features not unlike those of the Malays of Singapore, but his dress was different. He wore trousers of striped cotton, rather narrow in the legs, and without any nicety of fit; above the trousers he had a gaudy shirt, with an embroidered front, and a short jacket of material similar to that of the trousers. Wrapped around his waist, and falling to the knee, he had a skirt that appeared to have been cut from the gayest piece of calico that ever came from the looms of Manchester or Lowell; and it was held in place by a belt. This part of the Malay wardrobe is called a sarong, and is worn by both sexes; it is usually fastened by tying a knot in one corner, and then drawing the sarong tightly around the waist. The knot is passed under the straightened edge of the garment, and is not likely to slip out of place.
Accompanying this servant there was a small boy whose business it was to bring cigars, and fire for lighting them. It seemed to Frank and Fred that the Dutchmen of Batavia were smoking all the time; and Fred suggested that, if the days were as long, there would be exactly as much smoking.
Breakfast was served in the room we have mentioned, and Doctor Bronson and the boys were shown to the seats assigned to them. Frank made a discovery that amused him greatly, and was equally entertaining to his cousin when he learned of it. It was so unlike the custom of any hotel he had ever seen, that he made a note of it to include in his next letter. Here it is:
"The three of us have one servant; and, as far as I can see, he waits on no one else. In each of our rooms there is a little closet, and in this closet there are knives, forks, spoons, plates, etc., for one person. Before breakfast or dinner our servant takes these things to the general table, and when the meal is over he brings them back again, and returns them to their places in the closets. He is responsible for breakage, and is required to keep the articles clean. The only dishes that go to the kitchen of the hotel are the platters, tureens, and similar things, on which the food is brought from the place of cooking."
Fred was busy with his eyes and ears during breakfast, and contributed to the general fund of information as follows:
"The first solid meal of the day in Batavia is called the rys-taffel, or rice-table. It is served about eleven o'clock; and its name goes far to describe its character, as it consists largely of rice. This is the way they serve it: