the selling and buying.
They converse freely with strangers, go about unveiled, and shew no
signs of that affected bashfulness, which cloaks the very indifferent
morals of the average Malay woman, but which it is a point of honour
with her to assume when in the presence of men.

In Kelantan, both men and women dress differently from Malays in other
States. The men wear neither coats nor trousers, but they bind a
_sarong_ and three or four sashes about their waists. The _sarong_
generally comes down to the knee, and, when seated, the knee-caps are
often exposed, even in the King's _Balai_,--a practice that would not be
tolerated in any other part of the Peninsula. The women also dispense
with an upper garment, and make up the deficiency by a lavish use of
_sarong_ and scarves. The shoulders and upper portion of the chest,
however, are left bare. These and other practices, cause the Kelantan
Malays to be much despised by the peoples of other Native States, who
regard them as unmannerly and uncouth. Indeed, prior to 1888, few
Kelantan men dared to set foot in Pahang, for, as an old Chief once said
in my presence, the only use a Pahang native had for a Kelantan Malay,
before the coming of the white men, was 'as a thing wherewith to sharpen
the blade of his dagger,' and this, be it remembered, is not a mere
_facon de parler_.

After straining my jaws, doing violence to my tongue, and racking my
throat, I have acquired a working knowledge of the Kelantan _patois_,
and can now understand and speak it almost as easily as I do the more
refined dialects. This has helped me to, in some degree, understand the
people, and, though they have many bad qualities, I like them. In a
rude, rough way, and without the swagger of the Pahang Malay, they are
sportsmen. I shot over one of them for four years, and, until he went
blind, he was as good a retriever as one would desire to possess. At
Kota Bharu bull fights, matches between rams, cocks, quails, and human
prize fighters, are the chief amusement of the people. The latter sport
is peculiar to Kelantan. The fights begin with the ungainly posturing,
and aimless gesticulation, with which all who have witnessed a Malay
sword-dance are familiar, but when the fencers come to close quarters
the interest begins. They strike, kick, pinch, bite, scratch, and even
spit, until one or the other is unable to move. No time is called, catch
as catch can, and strike as best, and where best you may, are