GREAT LOO-CHOO ISLAND. 215
of a different colour from the dress, and in general richly
ornamented with wrought silk and gold flowers. The folds
of the robe overhang the belt, but not so much as to
hide it: the whole of the dress folds easily, and has a
graceful and picturesque appearance. The garments worn
by the children were often gaudily printed with flowers. In
rainy or cold weather, a sort of great coat was worn by the
Chiefs tonly, of thick blue cloth, buttoning in front over the
robe, and tighter both in body and sleeves than the other.
This cloth resembled the coarse cloth used in China; and it
looked like woollen manufacture, and may possibly have been
originally brought from England. The sandals worn by all
ranks were exactly the same; they were formed of straw
wrought into a firm mat to fit the sole of the foot, smooth
towards the foot, and ragged underneath: a stiff smooth
band of straw, about as thick as one's little finger, passes
from that part of the sandal immediately under the ancle
and over the lower part of the instep, so as to join the sandal
at the opposite side; this is connected with the foremost part
of the sandal by a short small straw cord which comes
between the great toe and the next one. The upper classes
wore stockings of white cotton, not unlike our half stockings,
except that they button at the outside, and have a
place like the finger of a glove for the great toe.
Their hair is of a je t black, and is kept glossy by juice