Washington sentinel., 1853-10-19
ITO be co,,ti,sued.)
A Night In Java.

About sundown We again reached a post,
where we could stay all night, and, having
made good long stretch that day, the sun
burning down upon us in his full power, felt
rather tired. So, after supper of rice, cakes,
hot coffee, chicken, and several fruits, bearing
leaves and seeds did not know, was ready
to lie down, when the sounds of an anklong,
close to the thin bamboo wall Of the house,
began to give music; and not five minutes later
q noise commenced with bamboo, voices, sticks,
BELLS and the Lord knows what. jumped up
in despair to see what was the matter, that l
might try afterward what could do in the way
Of sleep. There had 1.-THE neighbors had
got up o real rOayiag, and what would become
| of me? The best thing | could do was to join
in the festvity, and see as much of it as /
could particularly as the dancers, which / had
never seen in this way had some attraction for
me. They were four Chinese girls, who had
collected in small square and open bamboo
shed, in the middle of which large lamp with
four bright burning wicks were swinging.
Their faces were painted white, they had their
hair combed smooth, and parcel of brass or
such like trinkets fastened upon it. Their
many colored dress, of partly silken, partly cot
ton stuff, was held up by a broad, richly, but
tastelessly, ornamented belt, high under the
arms, covering the breast completely. Their
feet also were rs naked as their arms, but round
the arms and wrists they had fastened some
golden or bronze bracelets. The natives are
very good judges of metals, knowing very well
the difference, not only between gold and the
meaner metals, but also between true Jewels
and counterfeit stones--they, therefore, do not
like to wear anything but the genuine metal;
and do without, if they cannot get it. The
Chinese, however, are not SO particular.
The dance of these girls was slow, not un-
| ora oafn1 n,nyanaot rounI tho 1omp-bo yioor
some smilitude in its character to the Califor-
MIA tandango. The principal gesticulations
seemed to be the turning of the hands, which
| they twisted and turned about in most extra
ordinary manner, by bending them backward
| and forward, their arms at the same time almost
always stretched downward. In one of the
hands, or rather between the fingers, they held
q small fan, hiding their faces frequently be-
hind it; but not in bashtulness far from it
only, ] think to give those screams they called
u song more sound. They sang Malay, and a
part Of it must have been Sunda, for / could
not understand the least of it, while the men in
the crowd broke out frequently in a perfect
roaring laughter. Afterward some of the men
commenced taking part in the dance-if a
movement can be so called where parcel of
girls and young men slide about without the
least apparent regularity, now here, now there.
One young fellow, the last who stepped in,
pleased me most; and the reader can create
for himself an excellent idea of his performance
if he will only imagine man entering per-
tectly dark room, and feeling for matches, or
something else convinced that there is some
where there fox-trap into which he is likely
to step every minute, which makes, therefore,
the greatest caution necessary. So the man
stepped, so he slipped through the dancers,
seeming to shrink back in horror when he
touched one of the dresses, or the posts of
the shed; and the anklong was rafting
away in the meantime uninterruptedy. At
last, could stand it no longer, for the move
mens continued the same, as well as the noise,
and went back to my couch thinking l would
drop to sleep anyhow, being over-iatigued; but
not was not possible; they kept that anklong
shaking III my ears, till jumped up in despair,
threw my blanket over my shoulder, and run.
ming to the iarthest Of the kampong or village
--ay, even farther, where the sawas COM
menced-I wrapped myself in my blanket, and
lying down under a single cocoanut tree,
though fine drizzly rain was coming down,
fell fast asleep directly. When l awoke next
morning was wet through, but had rested as
well as ever.
Gererstueeker's Toyage round the World.