Unofficial letters of an official's wife [by] Edith Moses.

AN OFFICIAL'S WIFE

It was only with great difficulty and after much
diplomacy that the Sultan was persuaded to come
aboard the transport. He was afraid it would compromise his dignity, but after he was convinced that
he must come, he donned a gold embroidered suit,
and allowed himself to be escorted to the ship. A
salute was fired, the marines were drawn up on
deck; and the Commissioners received him with due
solemnity. Following the Sultan was a motley crew
of half-naked Moros, who acted as his suite. They
wore gay turbans and sashes, with barongs, or
large knives, sticking in their belts. Several wore
tight trousers of silk, but others wore simple costumes of bath towels. After the speeches of welcome the Sultan was introduced to us, and he told
us he would like to present us to his wives if we
had the time. He has about fifty. You can imagine how the children enjoyed this gay scene. They
flew about from one side of the ship to the other,
standing on deck stools to look at the guests. They
were presented to the Sultan, but I noticed they
shook hands very gingerly with him. After luncheon we all went ashore to a native entertainment in
honor of the American authorities, and the afternoon was taken up watching the strange dances for
which these folk have a great reputation. A dance
representing the catching of a swarm of bees was
most realistic. An old man performed it, and it
was evidently well done, for the assembled natives
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