Every morning a great market is held on the water. The
people come in boats from all the country round, bringing fruit and
vegetables to sell, and they paddle up and down the city till they have
sold their goods.
The Sultan's palace is built upon the bank, close to the water; and the
front of his palace is open; so that it is easy to come in a boat, and to
gaze upon him, as he sits cross-legged on his throne, arrayed in purple
satin, glittering with gold.
There is a mosque in Bruni; but it is built only of brick, and has
nothing in it but a wooden pulpit; and hardly anybody goes there, though
a man stands outside making a loud noise on a great drum, to invite
people to come in.
THE DYAKS.
These are a savage people who inhabit Borneo. They lived there before the
Malays came, and they have been obliged to submit to them. They are
savages indeed. They are darker than the Malays; yet they are not black;
their skin is only the color of copper. Their hair is cut short in front,
but streams down their backs; their large mouths show a quantity of black
teeth, made black by chewing the betel-nut. They wear very little
clothing, but they adorn their ears, and arms, and legs, with numbers of
brass rings. Their looks are wild and fierce, but not cunning like the
looks of the Malays. They are not Mahomedans; they have hardly any
religion at all. They believe there are some gods, but they know hardly
anything about them, and they do not want to know.
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