THE BATTLE OF THE WOMEN
Woman is the lesser man, and all her passions matched with
mine,
Are as moonlight unto sunlight, and as water unto wine.Locksley Hall.This is a true story. Also, unlike most of the tales which I have to tell concerning
my Malay friends, it is garnished with a moral; and one, moreover, which the
Women's Rights Committees would do well to note. I should dearly like to print
it as a tract, for distribution to these excellent and loud-talking institutions, but,
failing that, I publish it here, among its unworthy companions.
To those who live in and around a Malay Court, two things only take rank as the
serious matters of life. These are the love intrigues, in which all are more or less
engaged at peril of their lives, and the deeds of daring and violence,—long past
or newly done,—of discussing which men and women alike never weary. People
talk, think, and dream of little else, not only in the places where men congregate,
but also in the dimly lit inner apartments, where the women are gathered
together. In the conduct of their love intrigues, men and women alike take a very
active part, for the ladies of the Peninsula are as often as not the wooers of the
men, and a Malay girl does not hesitate to make the necessary advances if the
swain is slow to take the initiative, or fails to perceive the desire which she has
conceived for him. In the matter of fighting, however, the women—who are as
often as not the cause—act usually as mere spectators, taking no active part
themselves, though they join in a shrill chorus of applause when a shrewd blow
is given, and delight greatly in the brave doings of their men. Nevertheless, the
warlike atmosphere, with which she is surrounded all the days of her life,
sometimes infects a young Malay Princess, and urges her to do some daring deed
which shall emulate the exploits of her brothers, and shall show her admirers
how dashing a spirit, and how great a courage are hers.
It was during the hot, aching months, which, in Merry England, go to make up