The dinner was
cooked and served in European style; the table decorated with gold and
silver epergnes full of flowers, on velvet stands, and with heaps of
small cut-flower glasses full of jasmine. We were waited on by the
Malay servants of the establishment, dressed in grey and yellow, and
by the Governor's Madras servants, in white and scarlet. The Maharajah
and his native guests were all in English evening dress, with white
waistcoats, bright turbans, and sarongs. The room was large and open
on all sides, and the fresh evening breeze, in addition to the
numerous punkahs, made it delightfully cool. The Maharajah is a strict
Mohammedan himself, and drinks nothing but water. I spent the three
hours during which the dinner lasted in very pleasant conversation
with my two neighbours. We returned on board soon after eleven
o'clock.
[Illustration: Maharajah of Johore's House.]
_Monday, March 19th_.--Mabelle and I went ashore at six o'clock for a
drive. It was a glorious morning, with a delightfully cool breeze,
and the excursion was most enjoyable. We drove first through the old
town of Johore, once of considerable importance, and still a place of
trade for opium, indigo, pepper, and other tropical products. Nutmeg
and maize used to be the great articles of export, but latterly the
growth has failed, and, instead of the groves we had expected to see,
there were only solitary trees.
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