nine o'clock
So numerous are the Chinese in Java , and so inclined to revolt , that the Dutch government are always careful to provide them with amusements . In each place there is a chief , with the title of `` captain , '' who is answerable for their good conduct . He is obliged to maintain , at his own cost , a troop of female actors , called Bayadeers . They perform , without exception , every night , from nine o'clock till daybreak , in a kind of theatre , in the middle of the street . The play , as far as we could make out , represents the wars of the Tartars against the Chinese . Various chiefs , in different costumes , with their faces smeared black or white , or masked , come to announce a new war , in which they anticipate great success . They harangue the soldiers with violent gestures .