VII
THE JÔGET
Every footstep fell as lightly
As a sunbeam on the river
LONGFELLOW's Spanish Student
MALAYS are not dancers, but they pay profes-
sional performers to dance for their amuse-
ment, and consider that “the better part” is with
those who watch, at their ease, the exertions of a
small class whose members are not held in the
highest respect. The spectacle usually provided is
strangely wanting in attraction ; a couple of women
shuffling their feet, and swaying their hands in
gestures that are practically devoid of grace or even
variety—that is the Malay dance—and it is accom-
panied by the beating of native drums, the striking
together of two short sticks held in either hand, and
the occasional boom of a metal gong. The enter-
tainment has an undoubted fascination for Malays
but it generally forms part of a theatrical perform-
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