Page:History of the Indian Archipelago Vol 2.djvu/309

 IN THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO. QG5 bounty of the sovereign, these masses of food are emphatically and figuratively denominated " moun- tains." After being duly exhibited in procession, they are carried to the houses of the nobles of rank, according to their size and qualities, and, being thrown down in their court-yards, there ensues among the retainers of the chiefs an indecent but amicable scramble for them. That portion of the festivities of the day which have their origin in the connection with the Euro- pean authority, are not the least remarkable, or least at variance with the duties of good Mussel- mans. No sooner is the injunction of the Koran^ the distribution of charity complied with, than uine is served, and half a dozen bumpers are quaffed off by the Mahomedan monarch and his subjects, to the health of their European allies and them- selves. The evening, by long established custom, is passed at the residency of the European chief, where may be seen every year the strange spec- tacle of a Mussulman prince and his court cele- brating the festi'val of the sacrifice^ or comme- morating the death and nativity of the Prophet^ by a Bacchanalian feast in the house of a Chris- tian ! * Highness the Sultan of Java on such occasions.
 * The author has often had the honour of entertaining his