Water,
Tea,
Sun,
Fire,
Moon,
Star,
Wind,.
Chicken, Egg, Sea,
Eye,
Hand,
Nose,
Mouth,
Tree, . :
Lew Chew. Japanese.
Mizee, Mi-dsoo.
Chaa, Ts-ga.
Fee, Fi.
Fiee, Fi.
Sichee, Ts’ki.
Huzee, Ho-si.
Hadzee, Ra-zee.
Nuatuee, Ne-wa-ts-ri.
Tom ague. To-ma-go.
Oomee, Oo-mi.
Mee, Me.
Tee, Te.
Hanaa, Ha-na.
Roocliee, Eoo-tse.
Ree, Ri.
Rice,
Sweet potato,
I Pan,
I Wine,
Tobacco,
| Basket chair,
1 Silver,
Iron,
Cap,
Look
Book,
Chair,
Stone,
Swine,
Lexo Chew.
Rumee,
Raraemu,
Nudee,
Tobako,
Ragoo,
Nanzee,
Titzee,
Japanese.
Ro-me.
Ra-ran-da-imo.
Ro-na-be.
Sa-kee.
Ta-ba-ko.
Ra-go.
Si-ro-goone.
Tets\
Hachee-machee, Ba-oosi.
Ra-ga-me, Ra-ga-mi.
Soomuzee,
Tee,
Ezaa,
Boobaa,
S’yo-mots.
R’yokFrokf.
I-si.
Boo-ta.
I t will be Observed that two-thirds cf the words, at least, in the comnara
!riVO°Tt o r 2 are’SrSSSlight differeDCeS °f SpeIliD. he orthography of a language employed hy a fore«i>ganIemro sdte peexnades% m oAree'
or less upon his capricious estimate of the sounds that the strange words
seem to his ear to possess, and accordingly different observers will necessarily
and th e vw if 1 t on investigation, be found considerable affinity
root 2 t S invariably show a common derivation from the same
root. This lexical comparison is all we can here mate TTnfn.t, * i
have no Lew Chew grammar to compare with that of Japan. ™
b e tw e e ^ h T w Chad7 beenTmade *° tte ful1 b ^ rd , as a distinctive mark
between the Lew Chewans or Japanese, and Chinese and Malayan. The men
Lew Chew m youth have almost invariably a rich jet black beard, which in
age becomes as white as snow. The higher classes allow their beards to
grow of .great length, and cultivate them with great care and pride t i d e
the inferior people are obliged by law to cut theirs. The moustache is also
generally worn, but seldom grows very luxuriantly. The hair is ordinarily
of a deep black and is allowed to grow in long locks behind and at the sides
of he head, while the middle of the pate is shaved clean. The h a i l i n g
well oiled and gathered up from the sides and back, is formed into a largf
knot and affixed to the bald place in the head with pins either of gold, silver,
or brass, according to the rank of the wearer.
The Lew Chewan male has generally a well proportioned figure, with
broad and largely developed chest, narrow hips, and a slim waist and neck.
A deformed person is a very rare sight in Lew Chew. The costume is neat,
g r a c e f u l , and suitable to the climate, and its flowing outline is particularly
becoming to the aged, who, with their long white beards, have quite a patriarchal
look. Their dress is a loose robe, with very wide sleeves, which falls
nearly to the ankles, and is gathered in at the waist with a girdle of silk or
grass cloth, to which is attached the invariable pouch containing the pipe
and a supply of tobacco. The cap worn by the higher classes, and called in
the Lew Chewan tongue a hachee-machee, is of cylindrical form, and seems
to be made of two bands crossing each other in a figure of eight form. The
laboring people go invariably barefooted, but the better classes wear a white
stocking, to which, when they go out, a straw sandal is added. A band
from the front passes between the great and next toe, as is seen in ancient
statues. The peasants in the country go bareheaded as well as barefooted,
and are scantily clothed in a coarse cotton shirt, or with a mere cloth about
the loins.
The women are kept so secluded, particularly those of a higher rank, that
it is difficult for a stranger to obtain a sufficient opportunity to investigate
their peculiarities very thoroughly. They are generally short of stature,
and by no means handsome, having a great squareness of face, and more depressed
noses than the men.. Some of the ladies of distinction, the exclusive
few, are described as being tolerably good looking, and of fair complexion.
The women wear a robe very much like that worn by the men, though without
the girdle, while the hair, none of which is shaved, is dressed in the same
style, except that the top knot is rather more in front, and somewhat to the
side of the head. Woman is by no means as high in the social scale in Lew
Chew as she should be, being regarded as a mere slave or chattel, and always
slighted by the men, who seem hardly to notice her, either in the houses
or in the streets, although the females in their deportment toward strangers
show apparently much modesty and amiability.
The Lew Chewans are a remarkably courteous people in their ordinary
intercourse with each other, and in their occasional relations with foreigners.
Their usual form of obeisance is preposterously polite, they clasp their hands
with a spasmodic earnestness.of courtesy, and pressing them to their forehead,
bow so low that it is a marvel how they preserve their centre of gravity. The
ordinary bending of the body, which seems to be to the utmost extent of suppleness
of back, is still further extended on coming into the presence of those
of very high rank, when the polite but inferior Lew Chewan bows so low as
literally to touch, if not to fall upon the ground.
The people of Lew Chew are naturally among the most intelligent of the