ACROSS THE EQUATOR. [Frontispiece: TEMPLE, PARAMBANAN. ] ACROSS THE EQUATOR. A HOLIDAY TRIP IN JAVA. BY THOS. H. REID. KELLY & WALSH, LIMITED, SINGAPORE--SHANGHAI--HONGKONG--YOKOHAMA. 1908. [all rights reserved. ] PREFACE. It was at the end of the month of September, 1907, that the writervisited Java with the object of spending a brief vacation there. The outcome was a series of articles in the "Straits Times, " and afterthey appeared so many applications were made for reprints that we wereencouraged to issue the articles in handy form for the information ofthose who intend to visit the neighbouring Dutch Colony. There was nopretension to write an exhaustive guide-book to the Island, but theoriginal articles were revised and amplified, and the chapters havebeen arranged to enable the visitor to follow a given route through theIsland, from west to east, within the compass of a fortnight or threeweeks. For liberty to reproduce some of the larger pictures, we are indebtedto Mr. George P. Lewis (of O. Kurkdjian), Sourabaya, whose photographsof Tosari and the volcanic region of Eastern Java form one of thefinest and most artistic collections we have seen of landscape work. SINGAPORE, _July, 1908_. CONTENTS. FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF BATAVIA 1 THE BRITISH IN JAVA 15 BOTANIST'S PARADISE AT BUITENZORG 23 ON THE ROAD TO SINDANGLAYA 33 SINDANGLAYA AND BEYOND 42 HINDU RUINS IN CENTRAL JAVA 49 THE TEMPLES OF PARAMBANAN 58 PEOPLE AND INDUSTRIES OF CENTRAL JAVA 65 THE HEALTH RESORT OF EAST JAVA 73 SUNRISE AT THE PENANDJAAN PASS 77 HOTELS AND TRAVELLING FACILITIES 87 First Impressions of Batavia. When consideration is given to the fact that Java is only two days'steaming from Singapore, that it is more beautiful in some respects thanJapan, that it contains marvellous archaeological remains over 1, 100years old, and that its hill resorts form ideal resting places for thejaded European, it is strange that few of the British residentsthroughout the Far East, or travellers East and West, have visited theDutch Colony. The average Britisher, weaving the web of empire, passes like a shuttlein the loom from London to Yokohama, from Hongkong to Marseilles. Hethinks imperially in that he thinks no other nation has Colonies worthseeing. British port succeeds British port on the hackneyed line oftravel, and he may be excused if he forgets that these convenientcalling places, these links of Empire, can have possible rivals underforeign flags. There is no excuse for the prevailing ignorance of the NetherlandIndies. We do not wish it to be inferred that we imagine we havediscovered Java, as Dickens is said to have discovered Italy, but webelieve we are justified in saying that few have realised thepossibilities of Java as a health resort and the attractions it has tooffer for a holiday. Miss Marianne North, celebrated as painter and authoress and the rivalof Miss Mary Kingsley and Mrs. Bishop (Isabella Bird) as a traveller inunfrequented quarters of the globe, has described the island as onemagnificent garden, surpassing Brazil, Jamaica and other countriesvisited by her, and possessing the grandest of volcanoes; and otherfamous travellers have written in terms of the highest praise of itsnatural beauties. Its accessibility is one of its recommendations to the holiday maker. The voyage across the Equator from Singapore is a smooth one, for themost part through narrow straits and seldom out of sight of islands cladwith verdure down to the water's edge. Excellent accommodation is provided by the Rival Dutch Mail steamersrunning between Europe and Java and the Royal Packet Company's localsteamers, and the Government of the Netherland Indies co-operates with arecently-formed Association for the encouragement of tourist traffic onthe lines of the Welcome Society in Japan. This Association has abureau, temporarily established in the Hotel des Indes in Batavia, toprovide information and travelling facilities for tourists, not onlythroughout Java, but amongst the various islands that are being broughtunder the sway of civilised government by the Dutch Colonial forces. As our steamer pounded her way out of Singapore Harbour in the earlymorning, islands appeared to spring out of the sea, and seascape afterseascape followed in rapid succession, suggesting the old-fashionedpanoramic pictures of childhood's acquaintance. One's idea of scenery, after all, is more or less a matter of comparison. One passengercompares the scene with the Kyles of Bute; another with the Inland Seaof Japan, at the other end of the world. Yet, this tropical waterway isunlike either, and has a characteristic individuality of its own, nonethe less charming because of the comparisons it suggests and theassociations it recalls. We spent a good deal of our time on the bridge with the Captain, who wascourteous enough to point out all the leading points on his chart. The Sultanate of Rhio lies on the port bow, four hours' sail fromSingapore. Glimpses of Sumatra are obtained on the starboard, and on theway the steamer passes near to the Island of Banka, reputed to containthe richest tin deposits in the world. This tin is worked by theGovernment of the Netherland Indies, with Chinese contract labour; andthe revenue obtained is an important factor in balancing the ColonialBudget. It is interesting to note that the Chinese, who have long minedfor gold and tin in the Malay Peninsula and Archipelago, were quitefamiliar with the rich nature of Banka's soil two hundred years ago, andthat tin from this island was then a common medium of exchange in Chinaand throughout the Far East wherever the adventurous Chinese merchanthad penetrated. The visitor landing at Tandjong Priok, the port of Batavia, after hisexperience of other Far Eastern ports, cannot fail to be struck by theexcellence of the arrangements for berthing vessels and for storingcargo. We British people are so accustomed to the idea that our portsare the best and our trading arrangements unequalled that we areastonished when we discover that our shipping and commercial rivals knowhow to do some things better than ourselves, and that all wisdom is notto be found within the confines of England and among the people who areproud to own it as their place of birth. Our Far Eastern ports owe theirsupremacy to geographical position almost entirely. We have realisedthat during recent years in Singapore, and in our haste to correct themistakes of former officials and residents, the Straits Settlements paidrather heavily when they expropriated the Tanjong Pagar Company whichowned the wharves, docks and warehouses. Tandjong Priok may not handlethe shipping that Tanjong Pagar does, but if they were called upon to doso, we have not the least doubt that our Dutch neighbours would risereadily to the occasion. There is a Customs examination at Tandjong Priok. In our own case, itwas a mere formality, the new duty on imported cameras not applying toour well-used kodak, since it was being taken out of the country again. But we could not help contrasting to the disadvantage of Singapore theexamination of Chinese and other Asiatic passengers. Theoretically, inSingapore, there is no Customs service. It is a free port, and so, theoretically, one may land there free of vexatious examinations, suchas one experiences at some Continental ports or on the wharves at SanFrancisco. But, as a matter of fact, they who have occasion to walkalong the sea front in Singapore may see Asiatic passengers at any ofthe landing places turning out their baggage in sun or rain, whilechentings--the hirelings of the rich Chinese Syndicate which "farms" orleases the opium and spirit monopolies--examine it for opium or spirits. There is no proper landing place, absolutely no proper arrangements foroverhauling baggage, with the result that these poor Asiatics aresubjected to examination under conditions that are a disgrace to a placewhich arrogates a front place in the seaports of the world. They do things better at Tandjong Priok. There is a brief journey by train to Batavia, and there the visitor, having handed over his baggage to the care of the hotel runners atTandjong Priok, ought to take a sado for conveyance to the particularhotel he has selected. The word sado is a corruption of "dos-a-dos. " Thevehicle is drawn by a small pony, and is not comparable with the rickshafor comfort, though the long distances may make the ricksha animpossibility in Batavia. [Illustration: THE TOWN HALL. ] Batavia is favoured in that it has a choice of several good hotels. Whoever selects the Hotel Nederland or the Hotel des Indes will say thatthe other "best Hotels in the Far East" have something yet to learn inthe accommodation of visitors, general cleanliness, and moderation ofprices. One of the first things one ought to do after arrival is to obtain the"toelatings kaart, " at the Town Hall. Armed with this document, which, most probably, he will never be called upon to show, the tourist maytravel in the interior. Without it, he may have trouble. Batavia shares with the French ports of Saigon and Hanoi the honour ofmore resembling a European town than any other ports in the Far East. This, of course, is a matter of opinion, though it is based onacquaintance with every port of importance from Yokohama to Penang, including the principal ports of the Philippines, and we were somewhatsurprised, therefore, when expressing this opinion to a Dutch friend, with his reply: "When I left Singapore, with its fine buildings I felt I had saidgood-bye to Europe!" A little probing soon showed that it was only the two and three-storeyedhouses that created this impression. [Illustration: HOTEL DES INDES. ] One has only to stroll along the Noordwijk in the afternoon and eveningto appreciate the difference between Batavia and Singapore. Aftersundown, so far as Europeans are concerned, with the exception of thelittle life seen under the electric light of Raffles Hotel and the Hotelde l'Europe, Singapore is a dead place. Hongkong is no better. InBatavia it is different. Up to the dinner hour, and after, there is aconsiderable amount of life and light and animation, and if it be astretch of the imagination to compare the Noordwijk or the Rizwijk withthe Boulevard des Capuchins in Paris, or its open air restaurants withthe Cafe de la Paix, it is at least within comparison to say that theresemblance to a Continental town is sufficiently marked to be welcome, while one can have as choice a dinner or supper, with superb wines, inStamm and Weijns or the Hotel des Indes as in the best restaurants ofLondon and Paris. Not the least noticeable feature of all to theobservant visitor will be the punctilio and excellence of the waiting ofthe Javanese table boys. When one saw the carefulness with which eachdish was served, and the superior nature of the side dishes, one thoughtwith a shudder of the sloppy vegetables, the dusty marmalade, and theslipshod waiting of the China boy in some of the hotels it had been ourmisfortune to patronise in British Colonies. In this quarter, the wives and daughters of the Dutch and foreignmerchants drive in comfortable rubber-tyred carriages, having firstdriven to the business quarter to bring home the "tuan besar" or head ofthe family. Greetings are exchanged with friends by the way, and, whilethe young folks stroll off in happy groups, the elders alight to drinkbeer or wine at one or other of the famous open-air restaurants. Thereis a general air of prosperity and a spirit of gaiety which one does notusually associate with our Dutch cousins in the depressing humidatmosphere of Holland. One soon catches the spirit of the place the morereadily if one has spent any time on the Continent. On band nights the Harmonic or Concordia Clubs, two beautiful andcommodious buildings replete with every comfort, become the rendezvousof old and young, and dancing is kept up till half-past eight o'clock. It must be confessed that it made one perspire to see the dancers treada measure to a popular waltz, but there could be no question of theenjoyment of those who participated. There are two Batavias. There is the old town, founded in 1619 as thecapital of the Dutch East Indies upon the ruins of the ancient city ofJakatra. This is the portion of the town where the business is done, with the famous Kali Besar, the Lombard Street and Fenchurch Street ofBatavia. The quarter is not particularly attractive. But after experience of thefilthy Chinese quarters of Singapore, Hongkong and Shanghai, it issatisfying to European self-respect to observe how Dutch officialdom hasasserted the claims of hygiene and cleanliness upon the Asiaticresidents. The objectionable hanging Chinese signboards are noticeablyabsent in Batavia, as in all other towns throughout Java, and somethinghas been done to make less clamant the odoriferous articles of Chinesecommerce. The Dutch have proved that the Chinese are amenable toEuropean notions if only firmness is shown by those in authority. Then there is the residential town, Weltervreden with its broadtree-lined avenues and palatial pavilion hotels and private villaestablishments. In style, the European houses are quite unlike those erected by theSpaniards in the Philippine Islands, or the British in the MalayPeninsula. They are not raised to any great height from the ground. Three or four wide low steps lead on to a capacious white marbleverandah, the lofty roof of which is supported by shapely pillars withGrecian cornices. Upon the polished surface of the ample hall are strewnrugs of beautiful design or the fancy straw matting of the East. Bed-rooms open on either side from this hall, and at the back, openingout upon a spacious court-yard or garden filled with gaily colouredflowers or stately palms, is another wide verandah where meals areserved. The bath-rooms, kitchen, stables, store-rooms and servants'quarters lie beyond the garden. There is everywhere a generousappreciation of space, and doubtless the good health enjoyed by theDutch ladies and their families so markedly in contrast to the Britishcolonists on the other side of the Equator is largely due to the morecomfortable homes in which they are settled. In Java, the bath-room is aspecial feature, and only those who have travelled much in tropicalcountries can appraise it at its true value. It is all in keeping withthe thorough cleanliness of the Dutch people, a feature which impresseditself upon us wherever we travelled throughout the island. Detachedfrom every house of any pretensions, there is a smaller pavilion. Itusually stands in the grounds in front and nearer the roadway, and informer times was spoken of as "the guest house. " Nowadays, eitherbecause the Hotels are more comfortable than in olden times or becausethe railway system has led to a style of life that calls for lesshospitality for travellers, the guest house is more often let tobachelors, who find it easier and cheaper to maintain a smallestablishment of this sort than the bachelor messes or chummeries ofSingapore and Penang. Weltervreden may be compared with a gigantic park, and there areresidences sufficiently imposing to please the lover of architecturalbeauty, even if there is no assertive Clock Tower to emphasise bycontrast the hovels of Singapore's region of slums. The idea of keepingthe various races to their Kampongs may be contrary to British ideas, but in Java it appears to work satisfactorily enough. It is only inrecent years that certain British colonies have been allowed to setapart reservations for European residence, and it would be well if theGovernment of the Federated Malay States, before it is too late, introduced the Kampong system in laying out new towns throughout thePeninsula. A motor-car ride through the residential quarter and round the suburbsof Batavia gives one a good idea of the extent of the town, and, incidentally, of the merging of East and West in the population. FormerDutch residents have left their impress in more respects than one, andone result is a half-caste population which takes a much more prominentpart in the affairs of the island than is the case, so far as we areaware, in any British Colony. There are pretty forms and beautiful facesamong this hybrid race, and we are not astonished that succeedinggenerations from the land of dykes and canals should form alliances thatwed them for ever to the sunny soil of Java. East may be East and Westmay be West, but here at least the lie is given to Kipling'sgeneralisation, false like most generalisations, as to the impossibilityof their blending. The visitor will find the Museums full of objects of interest. OnKoningsplein, young Holland devotes itself to recreation, and evidenceis given here and elsewhere throughout the suburbs of the widespreadpopularity of the English game of football. The Dutch do not follow theBritish Colonial custom of sending their children to Europe. Many areeducated and kept under the home influence in Java, and a fine healthyrace of boys and girls is being reared to play its part in the newNetherlands created by Dutch enterprise and perseverance. Great as isthe Java of the present day, there is justification for believing thatit has a greater future in store. [Illustration] The British in Java It is a constant matter of regret to British travellers who have visitedJava that the island, once in our possession, should have been restoredto Dutch rule. It is not our purpose, however, to discuss the reasons for thatrestoration, contenting ourselves with the reflection that the captureof Java was merely part of the plan for breaking the power of Napoleonand destroying his dream of dominating the East. The alliance ofEuropean Powers having succeeded in encompassing the great Frenchman'sdownfall, there were doubtless good reasons at the time for reinstatingthe Dutch in an island where they had been established for two hundredyears. A perusal of the history of the British Expedition against Java bringsinto strong relief the annihilation of space and the improvements inmarine travel during the past century. It was on April 18, 1811, that the troopships carrying the firstDivision, commanded by Colonel Robert Rollo Gillespie, sailed fromMadras Roads. On May 18, they anchored in Penang Harbour, and on June1, at Malacca. Here they awaited the remainder of the flotilla, and werejoined by Lord Minto, then Viceroy of India; Lieutenant-General SirSamuel Auchmuty, Commander-in-Chief; and Commodore Broughton. Whilehere, the British learned that Marshal Daendels, the DutchGovernor-General, had been recalled, and that General Janssens, with alarge body of troops from France, had landed and taken over the commandin Java. Marshal Daendels had been the Governor-General when the Colony was takenover by the Crown of Holland from the Dutch East India Company. He hasleft the mark of his influence upon the Colony to this day, and many ofthe public works that remain as evidence of the pioneer days were due tohis force of character and initiative. Some of his methods may notcommend themselves to us in these more humane and enlightened days, anymore than they were approved by his great English successor, SirStamford Raffles, such, for instance, as his construction of thepost-road from Anjer Head to Banjoewangi, a distance of over 700 miles, at the cost of from twelve to twenty thousand lives; but it is notalways easy to estimate at a distance of a hundred years the peculiardifficulties and conditions under which European Governors administeredan oriental Colony. If, at times, he exceeded his instructions, asBritish Governors also had to do before they came under the thralldomof a Colonial Department at the end of a telegraph cable, we can forgivemuch in a man who accomplished so much. Sir Stamford Raffles is careful to explain in the preface of his"History of Java" that as "in the many severe strictures passed upon theDutch Administration in Java, some of the observations may, for want ofa careful restriction in the words employed, appear to extend to theDutch nation and character generally, I think it proper explicitly todeclare that such observations are intended exclusively to apply to theColonial Government and its officers. The orders of the Dutch Governmentin Holland to the authorities at Batavia, as far as my informationextends, breathe a spirit of liberality and benevolence; and I havereason to believe that the tyranny and rapacity of its Colonial officerscreated no less indignation in Holland than in other countries ofEurope. " On June 11, the British armada set out on the final stage of itsjourney. We can imagine the imposing show it made as it lay in theroadstead of Malacca, now shorn of its ancient importance and long sincesuperseded as the foremost shipping port in the Far East. The squadron consisted of four line of battle ships, fourteen frigates, seven sloops, eight Honourable East India Company's cruisers, fifty-seven transports and several gunboats--altogether over 100 sail. Composed equally of European and Indian troops, there were upwards of10, 000 men under Sir Samuel Auchmuty's command. The European troopsincluded the 14th, 59th, 69th, 78th, and 89th Regiments of Infantry, Royal Artillery, and Royal Marines, and a small detachment of RoyalEngineers. A course was set for a rendezvous off the coast of Borneo, and on August4, 1811, a landing was effected at Chillingching, a village about tenmiles east of Batavia. To the astonishment of the British Commander, hislanding was not opposed, the defending force being concentrated in theneighbourhood of Weltervreden and Meister Cornelius, to-day the thrivingresidential suburbs of Batavia. General Janssens rejected Lord Minto's summons to surrender. On August 10, Batavia was in the hands of the British troops, and onthat day, after two hours of hard fighting, Weltervreden was captured, the 78th Highlanders having a heavy casualty list amongst theirofficers. The French troops bravely contended every foot of ground, and battles, with heavy losses on both sides, were fought on August 22, August 24, and August 26. Colonel Gillespie, who led the advance in each of theseengagements, performed prodigies of bravery in the latter fight, for weread that "Colonel Gillespie took one General in the batteries, one inthe charge, and a Colonel, besides having a personal affair in whichanother Colonel fell by his arm. " Altogether, the British captured three General officers, 34 fieldofficers, 70 captains and 150 subaltern officers in these fights. The rout of the enemy was complete. General Janssens made his escape toBuitenzorg, thirty miles distant, with a few cavalrymen and the remnantsof his army of 13, 000 men. He did not remain here long, but fledeastwards. A British force was shipped to Cheribon, where a large number of Frenchofficers were captured; and the port of Samarang was next attacked, withthe object of forcing General Janssens back upon Solo, while the easternend of the island was occupied by another British force. On September10, an action was fought outside Samarang, and Janssens, defeated, retreated to Fort Salatiga; but eventually, being deserted by histroops, he opened up negotiations for capitulation. This must have been a bitter experience for General Janssens, for it wasnot only the crowning misery of his defeat but marked the end of hismilitary career, assuming that his Imperial master retained his power inEurope. "Souvenez vous, Monsieur, " Napoleon is reported to have said to himupon taking up his appointment, "Qu'un Génèral Francais ne se laissa pasprendre une seconde fois!" The island having been wrested from the French, the British authoritiesset about the reform of the civil administration. This was not to beaccomplished, however, without a test of strength between the nativesand their new masters. An act of treachery soon called the troops intothe field again. During the Governorship of Marshal Daendels, the Sultan of Djocjakartahad been the most turbulent and intriguing of the native princes, andhis conduct immediately after the British occupation gave occasion forserious uneasiness. Mr. Stamford Raffles, who had been appointed by LordMinto Lieutenant-Governor of Java in December, 1811, went in person tosee the Sultan. A treaty was entered into, under which the Sultanconfirmed to the Honourable East India Company all the privileges, advantages and prerogatives which had been possessed by the Dutch andFrench authorities. To the Company also were transferred the soleregulation of the duties and the collection of tribute within thedominions of the Sultan, as well as the general administration ofjustice in cases where British interests were concerned. This expedition of Mr. Raffles seems to have had exciting experiences, for we read: "The small British escort which accompanied Mr. Raffles, consisting only of a part of the 14th Regiment, a troop of the 22nd Light Dragoons and the ordinary garrison of Bengal Sepoys in the Fort and at the Residency, were not in a condition to enforce terms anyway obnoxious to the personal feelings of the Sultan. The whole retinue, indeed, of the Governor were in imminent danger of being murdered. Krises were actually unsheathed by several of the Sultan's own suite in the Audience Hall where Mr. Raffles received that Prince, who was accompanied by several thousands of armed followers expressing in their behaviour such an infuriated spirit of insolence as openly to indicate that they only waited for the signal to perpetrate the work of destruction, in which case not a man of our brave soldiers, from the manner in which they were surrounded, could have escaped. " For a time, however, an open breach of the peace was averted by the tactof Mr. Raffles and the outward appearance of bravery of the officers andmen accompanying him. Several expeditions were made into the interior to put down pettybrigands, in much the same way as the Dutch are engaged in Flores andCelebes to-day, and a more imposing display of military force had to bemade in Sumatra. In the following year, the Sultan of Mataram in Djocjakarta again becametroublesome, and it was found necessary to send a strong expeditionagainst him. On June 20, the famous Water Castle at Djocjakarta wascaptured by assault, and the Sultan taken prisoner. He was exiled toPrince of Wales Island (Penang), and the Hereditary Prince was placed onthe throne. The ruling native at Solo, who rejoiced in the imposingtitle of Emperor, made terms with the Lieutenant-Governor, and peace wasestablished throughout the island, and was not disturbed seriouslyduring the remainder of the British occupation. Mr. Raffles set himself to establish a more humane administration thanhad hitherto prevailed, and anyone who wishes to realise thethoroughness with which this able administrator set himself to the taskshould read his "History of Java. " It is replete with shrewdobservations of the native customs, industries, antecedents, andlanguages, and shows how little change has been effected in thecharacter and domestic customs of the people during the last hundredyears. The essence of his policy of administration is contained in thefollowing sentence written by him:--"Let the higher departments bescrupulously superintended and watched by Europeans of character; letthe administration of justice be pure, prompt and steady;" and it issatisfactory to one's sense of patriotism to know that that is thespirit which pervades British administration in her Crown Coloniesto-day. Botanist's Paradise at Buitenzorg. To the Singaporean visitor to Java there is a melancholy interest in thelittle monument erected in the Garden at Buitenzorg by Sir StamfordRaffles to the memory of his wife, who died during his residence there. In the conditions under which the island was restored to Holland, it wasstipulated that the monument, in the form of a little Greek temple, should be cared for by the Dutch. The trust has been fulfilled, andthose of us who take interest in the historic chances and changes ofBritain's possessions in the Far East and the personal influence of thebuilders of the Empire, can find food for reflection in the sacrificesmade by those men and women who are ever found on the Empire'sfrontiers. The sight of this memorial among the kanari trees in thetropical island of Java makes us think of the tablet in the littleparish church on the hill at Hendon, near which this woman's husbandlies buried. The inscription runs as follows:-- "Sacred to the memory of Olivia Marianne, wife of Thomas Stamford Raffles, Lieutenant-Governor of Java and its dependencies, who died at Buitenzorg on the 26th November, 1814. "Oh thou whom ne'er my constant heart One moment hath forgot. Tho' fate severe hath bid us part Yet still--forget me not. " The traveller who has only a fortnight or three weeks to devote to Javamust awake betimes. In any event, he must needs be early to takeadvantage of the express trains, and in our case we had only a day todevote to Buitenzorg, where the Governor-General of the NetherlandIndies has his palace. With the exception of the short run from Tandjong Priok, it was ourfirst acquaintance with the railway service, and when we saw the crowdawaiting to entrain at Weltervreden Station we decided to travelfirst-class, contrary to the advice of our friends. It was well we didso on this occasion, for the train was overcrowded; but afterwards wetravelled only by the second-class, and found it as comfortable as onecould wish. Indeed, so few persons travel in the first-classcompartments of the trains that we are astonished that any are retainedby the management. Throughout Java we found the railway serviceexcellent in every respect. The carriages are comfortable. Ampleaccommodation is given for each person. It is possible to stow away aconsiderable amount of barang or baggage in the carriages, and fulladvantage is taken of this facility by the Dutch and native travellers. The lavatory accommodation is better than we have seen it in the fastexpresses on the principal lines in England, and on the through serviceexpresses there are restaurant cars where meals may be partaken of at amoderate tariff. We cannot say we always found the food palatable, forthe Chinamen who are in charge appear to have a fixed idea that the"beef-stuk, " which is the pièce de resistance, should be served up raw. In course of time, doubtless, the railway management will be able toturn its attention to the commissariat arrangements, with a view totheir improvement, and, when they do so, we hope they will leave out thebeefsteak altogether and provide more variety and daintier, moreinviting, and more palatable viands. A fair rate of speed is maintained, and it is possible to go fromBatavia to Sourabaya, at the other end of the island, in two days. Thetrains, of course, as in the Federated Malay States, run only fromsunrise to sundown, and the through traveller between the two principaltowns must sleep the night at Maos, where a commodious pasanggrahan orrest-house provides clean, comfortable accommodation and wholesome food. Only on two occasions were we belated on the railway, and both instanceswere due to the one cause, --a wash-out on the line at Moentilan, theresult of a severe thunder and rain storm on the previous day and night. The train was run down cautiously to the gap, passengers crossed over ona temporary bridge to the train waiting on the other side, and thebaggage was transferred by a host of coolies. All this had to be done ina torrential rain-storm, but the railway officials did all in theirpower to make the conditions as little disagreeable as possible, and theonly inconvenience was the late arrival of some of the baggage atDjocjakarta. There was not much of interest on the morning run to Buitenzorg, but theDutch lady who carried on an animated conversation with four gentlemenfor the whole of the hour and a half introduced to us the possibilitiesfor expression in the Dutch equivalents of "Yes" and "No. " We had been prepared by Miss Scidmore's book for the beauties ofBuitenzorg, and for once expectation was more than realised. The Dutch Governor-General van Imhoff was certainly well advised when heselected this position as the official residence of theGovernor-General, and the Dutch horticulturists, than whom there areprobably none better, deserve to be congratulated upon the garden citythey have created out of the primeval jungle. Part of the old palace was built by Governor-General Mossel, one hundredand fifty years ago, and the original received additions during thereigns of Daendels and Raffles. This structure was destroyed by anearthquake in 1834, and the new palace, the first glimpse of which onereceives across an artificial lake, is a worthy residence for theadministrator of the Dutch Indies. The surface of the lake is studdedwith lotus flowers and victoria regia, and the little island in thecentre displays a wealth of the red or rajah palm, feathery yellowbamboo, and dark-green foliage which the lake mirrors in ever-changingpictures. An Alma Tadema or a Marcus Stone would revel in the flowers and marblesof the palace, with its broad stairs and corridors and fine Ioniancolumns and cornices; and a Landseer or a MacWhirter might find endlesssubjects in the deer park by which it is surrounded. The garden is a botanist's paradise. Tropical treasures from Nature'sstorehouse, collected by successive Directors, are arranged with careand precision characteristically Dutch. It was established in 1817 byProfessor Reinwardt, and many distinguished botanists who have lefttheir mark in the scientific world studied here and added to thecollections. As may be imagined, the Dutch were not content with a mereshow place for tropical specimens, and they established five mountaingardens where experiments are conducted, for practical and scientificpurposes, in the cultivation of flowers, plants, vegetables and treesusually found in temperate regions. These gardens are situated in themountains to the south--at Tjipanas, Tjibodas, Tjibeureum, Kadang Badoh, and on the top of Mount Pangerango, that is to say, at heights rangingfrom 3, 500 ft. To 10, 000 ft. The garden at Tjibodas remains, and at theGovernor-General's summer villa at Tjipanas one might imagine one's-selfin a private garden in Surrey or Kent. In the buildings at Buitenzorg, facilities are afforded for foreignstudents, and at the time of our visit a Japanese Professor, from theTokio University, who had studied for three and a half years in Berlin, was making an exhaustive investigation on scientific lines. Everythingthat can be of service to students of botany is to be found here in themuseum, herbarium and library. The general herbarium has been arranged on the Kew model. Besides alarge collection of plants made by Zollinger between 1845 and 1858, itcontains the valuable collections gathered by Teysmann, between 1854 and1870, throughout the Malay Archipelago. Specimens by Kurz and Schefferare also found, together with other recent collections of plants fromBorneo and adjacent islands. Duplicates from the Herbarium at KewGardens and from several of the more famous European herbaria are to befound here, as well as numerous specimens from the botanicalinstitutions of the British Colonies. The Herbarium Horti contains the necessary materials for the compilationof the new catalogue of the Botanic Gardens, and the HerbariumBogoriense contains plants to be found in the neighbourhood ofBuitenzorg. Besides specimens of fruits, there is a comprehensive technicalcollection in the Botanical Museum--fibres, commercial specimens ofrattan, india-rubber, and gutta-percha, barks for tanning purposes, Peruvian barks, vegetable oils, indigo samples, various kinds of meal, resins and damars. There is also a section devoted to forest and stapleproduce. Fuller details of the gardens and environs of Buitenzorg may be found inthe handbook published by Messrs. G. Kolff and Co. , Batavia. One need not be wholly a scientific investigator to appreciate thebeauties of Buitenzorg. There is here one view which has been describedover and over again, oftentimes in the language of hyperbole--the viewof the Tjidani Valley from the verandah of Bellevue Hotel. It is, indeed, difficult to avoid the use of extravagant language in theattempt to describe this beauty spot of Nature. Though he was writing of a beautiful woman, F. Marion Crawford mighthave been describing some beautiful landscape when he wrote in his ownexquisite style:-- "I think that true beauty is beyond description; you may describe thechangeless faultless outlines of a statue to a man who has seen goodstatues and can recall them; you can, perhaps, find words to describethe glow and warmth and deep texture of a famous picture, and what youwrite will mean something to those who know the master's work; you mayeven conjure up an image before untutored eyes. But neither minutedescription nor well-turned phrase, neither sensuous adjective norspiritual smile can tell half the truth of a beautiful living thing. " The noble Roman, prompted to exclaim "Behold the Tiber" as he stood onthe summit of Kinnoull Hill and gazed upon the fertile valley ofScotland's noblest stream, saw no fairer sight than this veritableGarden of Eden in Equatorial Java. Seen in the afternoon when the setting sun is casting long shadows overthe landscape, the scene in the Tjidani Valley is calculated to arousethe artistic senses of the most insusceptible. Miles away, the Salakraises his majestic cone against the blue sky. In the distance, themountain forms a purple background for the picture, purple flecked withsoft white patches of floating cloud. Beneath his massive form, colouris lost in shadowy but closer at hand are the dark pervading greens ofthe trees and vegetation, palms and tree ferns and banana trees helpingby their graceful form to provide the truely tropical features, whilethe equally graceful clumps of bamboo sway and creak in the lightbreeze, their pointed leaves supplying that perpetual flutter andmovement which one associates with the birches and beeches of one'snative land. The cultivated patches on hillside and valley are rich incolour. Here, the yellow paddy is ripening for the sickle; there, it isbright green; alongside, the patient buffaloes are dragging a clumsywooden plough through water-covered soil to prepare for the next crop. The lake-like patches reflect weird outlines, and one almost imaginesthat they catch the brilliant colours from the sun-painted clouds. Down the valley, crossing the picture from left to right is theriver--the Tjidani, --a broad shallow stream when we saw it, in whichmen, women and children are constantly bathing. From the compact kampongnestling among the trees, the native women, clad in bright colouredsarongs, came with babies, who take to the water as if it were theirnatural element. Merry shouts of laughter ascend from the valley as theyoungsters splash about and chase each other. Everything suggestsbeauty and peace and contentment, and as one drinks in the scene it isborne in upon one that the comparison with the Garden of Eden is notinapt. What could one wish for more than a beautiful, bounteous land anda happy, contented people! On the Road to Sindanglaya Long before sunrise, the sound of merry voices arose from the valley. Already the natives were bathing in the Tjidani, and, when the lightcame, the primeval life on which the sun had gone down was reproduced inthe model-like scene spread out before us. Our kreta for the journeyover the Poentjak Pass had been ordered for six o'clock, but withun-Oriental punctuality it was a quarter-past live when the sound ofcarriage wheels broke in upon our dreams. While we sipped our morning coffee, --Java hotel coffee has improvedsince Miss Scidmore anathematised it in 1899, --the sun's rays began topeep over the shoulder of the Salak, and dispelled the morning mists onriver and valley. The Salak's fretwork crater stood out entirelyclear--his form a purple background to the picture gradually unfoldingitself. Nature was everywhere awake. Children's voices in play blendedwith the songs of early workers proceeding to the fields. Butterfliesflitted and floated like detached petals from the flowers. Distanceconverted human figures into larger butterflies, yellow and orange, pink and blue and red. If it were beautiful in the evening, the scenewas enchanting in the morning, and it was with reluctance that we obeyedthe summons to early breakfast, and followed our barang into the kretato begin the journey to Sindanglaya. It was half-past six o'clock when we were salaamed out of the courtyardof the Bellevue by the hotel "boys. " The kreta was not a handsome affair. In fact it was one of the mostdisreputable vehicles it has ever been our misfortune to travel in, andwhen we made acquaintance of the road it had to travel over we must givethe owner credit for an abundant faith in the toughness of the kreta. Itwas a cross between the carromata of the Philippines and a covereddog-cart. There was no aid to mount. By a series of gymnastics wemanaged to get into the driver's seat--our own was behind his but alsofacing to the front. In attempting to get there, a sudden movement ofthe team sent us plunging into the barang, and, in extricatingourselves, head came in contact with the roof and hat went overboard. Eventually we went off with a bound along the main street of Buitenzorg, scattering the fowls obtaining a precarious living in the roadway, andsending cats and dogs and goats flying for safety into the houses. We had now time to examine the points of our team. It was composed ofthree tiny Battak ponies. Two were brown, and one a piebald in which adingy chestnut strove for mastery with a dingier white. No two ponieswere the same in size. One was in the shafts; the other two were intraces alongside. They tapered in size from right to left--the piebaldon the left. The giant of the group had a nasty temper, and when lashed, as he was frequently during the drive, vented his anger upon the patientbrute doing the lion's share of the work in the shafts. Upon the wholethey did their work extremely well, for a great deal was asked of them, and they scarcely deserved the almost continuous flogging to which theywere subjected by our driver. Having travelled over the road from Buitenzorg to Sindanglaya by thePoentjak, without reserve, we advise pilgrims to Sindanglaya topatronise the road from Tjiandjoer. The local guide book remarks withtruth: "The main road to the Poentjak being very steep, it does notafford a quick mode of travelling. At Toegoe, an extra team of horsesmust be added--or karbouws (water buffaloes) used instead of the horses, to pull the carriage at a slow pace up the mountain. Good walkers may, therefore, be advised to do this part of the road on foot, which willtake them about an hour and a half. By doing so they will be more ableto admire this marvellous work of Governor-General Daendels. " We suspect there is a touch of Dutch satire in this last remark. We havetravelled the road, and we are not prepared to parody the old Scot'ssaying:-- "If you'd seen this road before it was made, You'd lift up your hands and bless General Wade" Daendels may have been an admirable gentleman, a brave soldier, and aclever administrator, but his engineering skill did not equal his otherqualities. It would have been much better if the road had never beenmade. Surely no highway was ever more badly graded, and we are notastonished that a practical people like the Dutch set themselves toconstruct a more sensible road by way of Tjitjoeroeg and Soekaboemie. Wehave seen paved mountain paths in China more inaccessible, but not much, and when we dashed up to the Sindanglaya Hotel at 12. 15, we thought morehighly of the team that had pulled us over the Pass than we could havebelieved when we formed our first early morning prejudices. Needless to say, it is not a road for a motor car. It would beinadvisable to adopt this route to Sindanglaya if the party includedladies. But, if they have a taste for mountaineering, baggage should besent by rail to Tjiandjoer under the care of some of the party, andcarriages dispensed with at Toegoe and the remainder of the journey madeon foot. As it was, a good deal of our journey up had to be made onfoot over unblinded loose road metal. Going down the other side the driver led the ponies for about a quarterof a mile, and then joined us in the kreta. That downward trip was themost perilous we ever made in anything that runs on wheels, except atrain journey from Manila to Malolos during the Filipino insurrection in1899. Jack London, the Californian novelist, once told us that lifewould not be worth living if it were not for the thrills. We had morethrills than we care to have crowded into one hour on that down-graderun from Poentjak to Sindanglaya. Several times, we retrimmed at therequest of the driver, and we kept the barang from falling upon him, while he manipulated our three rakish adventurers from Battak. When anunusually severe lurch nearly precipitated us into the deep storm-waterchannel on the left or the carefully-irrigated paddy fields on theright, Jehu turned round and grinned a grin of fiendish appreciation, whilst we thanked with fervour the merciful Providence who preserved usfrom destruction, and wondered how long one could hold out with a brokenlimb, without surgical help, should the worst happen. It is theunexpected that happens. We got to Sindanglaya without any more seriousdamage than a bottle of Odol distributed amongst our best clothes. Governor-General Daendels seems to have had a high opinion of thisremarkable highway. We read: "The obstinacy with which he carriedthrough his scheme of constructing the main road to the PreangerRegencies across this summit is really amazing. He never shrank from theterrible death-rate among the wretched labourers, nor from thedifficulties and enormous cost to keep such a road in good condition, for, especially in the west monsoon, heavy rain-showers are continuallywashing the earth off the road. Yet it was by no means necessary. " Letthis be Governor-General Daendels' epitaph! Had not one's attention been distracted by the eccentric performances ofthe kreta, one might well have admired the scenery. Close at hand, theroad teems with fascinating pictures of native life. Only occasionallydoes one see a really beautiful face, but there is a pretty shyness suchas one seldom sees on the roads of a European country. Although we readof the thirty millions of people in Java, there is still, apparently, room for more, and nearly every woman has a brown baby slung upon thehip and others dragging on her sarong, or seeking to efface themselvesbehind her none too ample form. At intervals, old women or youngchildren keep shop, either in nipa huts or on mats under the shade of akanari-tree. In the kampongs or collections of neat little huts whichpunctuate the way, a pasar (market) is being held, haberdashers withcheap glass and fancy wares being in juxtaposition with dealers insarongs and the sellers of fruits and vegetables. On the stoeps of someof the houses, groups of women spin or weave cloth for the nativesarong; some make deft use of the sewing machine of foreign commerce. The road is fringed by a variety of trees and plants which only abotanist would attempt to describe. Colour is given to this fringe bythe magenta bougainvillea, the red hibiscus, the pale blue convolvulus, the variegated crotons, and the orange and red of the lantana, and atplaces the poinsettia provides a predominating red head to thehedge-like greenery. Palms and tree ferns and feathery clumps of youngbamboo are called to aid by Nature's landscape gardener; but they do notshut out the verdure-clad ravines that mark a waterway or the terracedrice-fields which climb almost to the top of the highest summits. We thought we had seen the acme of perfection in rice cultivation andirrigation in China and Japan. But here in Java, we have seen more toexcite the admiration in this respect than in either of these countries. One can only marvel at the completeness of the system of irrigation. Rice is in all stages of cultivation, from the flooded paddy field tothe grain in the ear being reaped by the gaily coloured butterflies ofwomen. Water buffaloes drag a primitive plough through the drenchedsoil, while the bright-faced young ploughboy, by what appears to be asuperhuman effort, balances himself precariously on the implement. On the left, we pass tea gardens, the tufty bushes low to the ground. What strikes us first is the amazing regularity of the rows and thecleanness of the ground. An aroma of tea in the making escapes from theroadside factory and agreeably assails our sense of smell as we joltpast in our kreta. We reached Kampong Toegoe at nine o'clock, refreshed both men andbeasts, and harnessed two more ponies with long rope traces to help usto the summit of the Pass, which was reached at eleven o'clock. Here wemade a deviation on foot to the Telega Warna (Colour-changing Lake)while the ponies rested for the downward journey. The path is adifficult one, and the lake itself is less interesting than the lovelyvegetation by which it is surrounded. Ferns and bracken cover thehillside, pollipods predominating, orchids cling to tree stems, andhigher up, the curious nest-fern and various forms of plant life attractattention. Tree is woven to tree by a network of mighty lianas. The lake itself lies in what must have been the crater in theprehistoric period of activity of Megamendoeng. It is 100 metres inwidth, circular in shape, and about 100 fathoms deep. Fish are found inthe lake, and they are regarded with veneration by the natives. The steepness of the heavily wooded wall that rises hundreds of feetsheer round three sides reminds one of the geyser-studded old crater ofUnzen, in the island of Kyushiu in Japan, "Its gleaming mirror, " theguide book says, "exhibits a wonderful luxury of tints and colours, shifting and changing whenever the gentle mountain breeze ruffles thesmooth surface. " We did not stay a sufficiently long time to experienceany wonderful changes on the lake itself, but the surroundings areloaded with charm. The visitor to Sindanglaya should certainly notneglect to make the trip to the lake. We would recommend an excursion onfoot from the hotel. Once over the Pass, the view on the other side of the large basin-shapedplateau in which Sindanglaya lies is more attractive than on theBuitenzorg side, and, as we were to find on the following morning, abetter idea is obtained of the wonderful industry of the people, and theremarkable extent to which the cultivation of the mountain slopes iscarried on by them. Sindanglaya and Beyond. We had not gone far on our travels before we realised thepresumptuousness of our attempt to "do" Java in a fortnight. It wouldrequire weeks to drink in all the subtle beauties and influences ofBuitenzorg, to get the atmosphere of the place; and to derive thefullest measure of benefit and enjoyment from the visit to Sindanglaya, one would require at least a fortnight. It will ever be matter for regret that we were unable to devote moretime to the beauty spots of Western Java or to make the variousinteresting and health-giving excursions from Sindanglaya's comfortablehotel. We have already said that the ride over the Poentjak Pass shouldbe avoided and the train taken from Buitenzorg to Tjiandjoer. The trainleaving Batavia (Weltervreden Station) at 7. 25 a. M. And Buitenzorg at8. 44 reaches Tjiandjoer at 12. 04. Here, if a carriage has been orderedin advance, a representative of the Sindanglaya establishment meetspassengers, and the journey to the hotel is negotiated in two hours at acost of two and a-half guilders. From Buitenzorg to Sindanglaya the hireof a carriage for passenger and baggage is nine guilders; fromSindanglaya to Buitenzorg it costs seven guilders. The train fare fromBatavia to Buitenzorg is three guilders for first-class and two guildersfor second; from Batavia to Tjiandjoer, it is eight guilders first-classand four guilders and seventy-five cents second. The hotel, which consists of one main building with a number of smalldetached pavilions surrounded by roses and other flowers of thetemperate zone, is situated on the slopes of the Gedéh, and is 3, 300feet above sea level. At this level one is able to move about longdistances during the day without becoming exhausted, and in the eveningthe air is delightfully cool, falling just below 70 degrees the night weslept there. There is a tennis court, and the manager spoke of layingdown another, and with billiards and skittles in the evening and a hotspring swimming bath, near the Governor-General's villa, for healthfulrecreation in the daytime, one need not feel too much the absence ofcity life and companionship. The tariff is the moderate one of sixguilders a day, but it is reduced to five guilders per day when a stayof a week or more is made. The Governor-General's summer residence, Tjipanas, is here, a quarter ofa mile from the hotel. It is a prettily situated bungalow residence, standing quite close to the main road from Tjiandjoer, and surrounded bya garden which transports one at once to the south of England. Here, asin many other places in Java, the notice appears: "Verbodden Toegang;"but a courteous application to the Steward in charge obtains a heartywelcome to inspect the grounds. These are well stocked with dahlias, roses, hortensias, begonias, cowslips, sweet williams, wall-flower, andother old-fashioned flowers, and the bloom-covered fuschias carriedone's thoughts back to pleasant days spent in Devonshire dales. From thelawns sweet-smelling violets perfumed the air. Matchless orchids clungto the trees, and the delicate maiden-hair fern held its own with thehardier varieties. Dusky fir-trees, groups of Australian araucarias, andJapanese oak trees and chestnuts set off the brightness of the flowerbeds. In the park there is a beautiful pond, from the centre of which afountain throws a crystal spray to catch the sun's rays and dispense awealth of glittering diamonds. Hot water is the literal meaning of Tjipanas, and a hot spring in thevicinity of the villa supplies the bath-rooms, as well as the swimmingbath of the Sanatorium. There is a fine view from the villa, but a better prospect is obtainedfrom Goenoeng Kasoer, some hundreds of feet higher, where a formerGovernor-General often took his ontbijtberg (or breakfast). It is nowknown as Breakfast Hill. A silver mine in the neighbourhood was workedfor a time by the John Company. The mountain garden of Tjibodas, mentioned in a previous article, iswell worth a visit. A good walker, starting at six o'clock, can gothere, breakfast and be back at the hotel by noon. But the excursion tobe taken by everyone who stays at Sindanglaya for any length of time isto the falls at Tjibeureum, Kandang Badak and the crater of the Gedéh. Ladies may make the trip in sedan chairs; gentlemen on foot or onhorseback. The falls of Tjibeureum consist of three cataracts, falling400 feet down a perpendicular crag, and the winding road passes throughsome interesting jungle scenery. From Tjibeureum, the path winds up a steep ascent, and through a narrowcleft in the rocks, a natural gateway to which the natives have attachedsome wonderful legends. Hot springs break through the mountain crust andrun side by side with crystal-pure cold brooks, as is often the case onthe mountains in Japan. After a two and a half hours' climb from Tjibeureum, Kadang Badak (orRhinoceros Kraal) is reached. It lies almost half way up the saddlewhich connects the Gedéh with the Pangerango, and although there are nowno traces of pachyderms, it is stated that both this place and theTelega Warna were favourite haunts of the rhinoceros not so very manyyears ago. It is recommended that the climbers should spend the night inthe hut here, and ascend the Pangerango (9, 500 ft. ) at 4 a. M. To seethe sun rise. From the top the view is magnificent. Along a steep and difficult mountain path, the crater of the Gedéh maybe reached in an hour and a half, and the sight of the gigantic craterof this majestic volcano is said to be overwhelming and amplecompensation for the toilsome ascent. It is about two miles distant fromthe Pangerango, and forms the still active part of the twin volcano. Between 1761 and 1832 no eruptions occurred, but seven took place in thetwenty years following, the most terrible and severe being the eruptionof 1840. There were again terrible eruptions in 1886 and 1899, when thevolcano covered the hillsides with huge stones, one over 150 kilogrammesin weight landing three-quarters of a mile away. There are several places in the Preanger Region where the visitor mayelect to stay instead of Sindanglaya, such as Soekaboemi (2, 100 ft. )which has the advantage of being on the railway, Bandoeng and Garoet. All have their own attractions for invalids, and the hotel accommodationis spoken of in terms of the highest praise by all who have been there. When we drove away from Sindanglaya at seven o'clock on the followingmorning, the white crater wall of the Gedéh stood out like a huge lumpof marble in the morning sun. Our route lay through tea, coffee and cocoa plantations, and richlycultivated country to Tjiandjoer--a thriving little mountain town, withan air of prosperity and progress, --where we joined the train at 9. 30a. M. For Padalarang. Here, at 11. 10 a. M. , a change was made to theexpress from Batavia, and Maos was reached at 5. 46 p. M. It had been ourintention to stay overnight at Bandoeng, strongly recommended by Mr. Gantvoort, the courteous manager of the Hotel des Indes in Batavia, butwe pressed on with the intention of devoting more time to the easternend of the island. It was well we did so, for, shortly after leavingPadalarang, rain began to fall in torrents, and the afternoon and nightwere passed in a severe thunderstorm which was to cause us delay. Partof the line was washed away near Moentilan, and our train was over threehours late in reaching Djocjakarta on the following day. At Maos, there is a commodious, well-built, comfortable passagrahan orgovernment rest-house, where four of us ate our meal in solemn silence, until a query by ourselves when the coffee arrived broke the icy reserveof the quartette, and opened the way for an interesting conversation. It is customary to make fun of English reserve, but our observationconvinced us that the Dutch are no whit behind us in that respect wherefellow-Dutch are concerned. On the other hand, nothing could haveexceeded the kindness and courtesy with which we were treated from oneend of Java to the other. Speaking no Dutch, we had looked forward tomany tedious days, but our fears were needless, for, wherever we went, we met pleasant English-speaking Dutchmen, who proved the mostentertaining of companions, and we take this opportunity ofacknowledging the courteous assistance we received from time to time. Onthe score of not speaking Dutch or Malay, no English man or woman needbe deterred from visiting Java. English is spoken at all the hotels, andthough all the train conductors and stationmasters may not do so, thereis sure to be an educated Dutchman or lady in the car to whom one mayturn for help, which is always readily given. On one occasion, we had an interesting conversation with two nativeofficials attached to the staff of the Sultan at Djocjakarta. These menhad never left the island of Java, yet one of them read and spokeEnglish with ready fluency and perfect accent. Next day, in spite of the delay caused by the wash-out on the line, wewere able to reach Djocjakarta by tiffin time, and devoted the afternoonto the Hindu ruins at Parambanan. [Illustration: THE BARA BUDUR. ] Hindu Ruins in Central Java. A visit to Java would be incomplete did it not include a pilgrimage tothe marvellous products of religious fervour which Buddhism reared inthe plains around Djocjakarta before it went down before theall-conquering onslaught of Moslemism. These ruins testify to an ancientart and civilisation and culture and an instinct of creation few areaware of to-day, and it is hard to resist the temptation to indulge inextravagant language when attempting to describe them as they now stand, partially restored by the Dutch authorities. Miss Scidmore has lavished the wealth of her luxuriant vocabulary uponthem, but neither she, nor any of her predecessors in the work ofpraise, saw them as they stand to-day--a wonder alike to archaeologist, architect, artist and student of comparative religions. Here in thecentre of fertile plains we have the real Java of ancient times. The Dutch had been in possession of the island for two hundred yearswithout discovering the rich deposits hidden beneath the accumulatedmounds of centuries and buried under a mass of tropical vegetation. Tothe active mind of Sir Stamford Raffles the discovery was due. He wentto Java as Lieutenant-Governor in 1811, and during the period it wasunder his control, he had the mounds explored, the ruined templesun-earthed and their historic import co-related with the romanticlegends and poetic records rescued from the archives of the nativeprinces. It was due to the investigations of this great Englishman thatthe date of the construction of the temples was fixed at the beginningof the seventh century of the Christian era, and subsequentinvestigators (prominent amongst whom must be placed Dr. I. Groneman, now and for many years resident of Djocjakarta and Honorary President ofits Archaeological Society) agree in accepting this period asauthentically proved from the ruins themselves. [Illustration] Sir Stamford was of opinion that the temples, as works of labour andart, dwarf to nothing all wonder and admiration at the great pyramids ofEgypt; but since his time, it must not be forgotten, much richerdiscoveries in ancient art and archæological lore have been made inEgypt and Palestine. Alfred Russell Wallace, Brumund, Fergusson, alljoin in the chorus of praise, and the latter, in his "History of Indianand Eastern Architecture, " expresses the opinion that the Boro Budur isthe highest development of Buddhist art, an epitome of all its arts andritual, and the culmination of the architectural style, which, originating at Barhut a thousand years before--that is more thantwenty-one centuries ago--had begun to decay in India at the time thecolonists were erecting this masterpiece of the ages in the heart ofJava. [Illustration] To reach the Boro Budur, one takes the steam tram from Djocja toMoentilan. There a dog-cart may be hired for three guilders, and, takingthe Temple or Tjandi of Mendoet on the way, the Boro Budur may bereached in an hour and a half from Moentilan. Miss Scidmore was able towrite with her customary enthusiasm about this road; but, truth to tell, we found the drive far from pleasant. Until one gets within a quarter ofa mile of the ruins, the surface is bad and some of the small bridges sodangerous that we dismounted at the driver's request. The dog-cart, also, is far from an agreeable vehicle in which to travel, and if abetter carriage could be found we would advise its being hired. Wherever one goes in Java, the public vehicles are in a state of decay, far more disreputable than the gharry of Singapore, and a large numberof the ponies are decrepit and suffering from open sores. If Java is tobecome a tourist country the vehicles should be better supervised. Before setting out from Djocjakarta, the visitor should get the hotelproprietor to communicate with the stationmaster at Moentilan, with theobject of having a more comfortable carriage than fell to our unhappylot through leaving the matter to haphazard. Strictly speaking, the Boro Budur--which means the collection ofBuddas--is not a building in the sense that we speak of St. Paul's orSt. Peter's. A small hill has been cut down and the earthwork surroundedby masonry, uncemented, unjointed, layer upon layer, and there is nocolumn, pillar, or true arch. It is supposed that it was built by someof the first Buddhist settlers from India as the resting place (dagaba)of one of the urns containing a portion of the ashes of Buddha. [Illustration: BAS RELIEF--BARA BUDUR. ] [Illustration: BAS RELIEF--BARA BUDUR. ] It is difficult to describe it briefly, but the following extract fromMiss Scidmore's book seems to us to convey the best idea of thestructure in general terms:-- "The temple stands on a broad platform, and rises first in five square terraces, inclosing galleries or processional paths between their walls, which are covered on each side with bas-relief sculptures. If placed in single line, these bas-reliefs would extend for three miles. The terrace walls hold four hundred and thirty-six niches or alcove chapels, where life-size Buddhas sit serene upon lotus cushions. Staircases ascend in straight lines from each of the four sides, passing under stepped or pointed arches, the keystones of which are elaborately carved masks, and rows of sockets in the jambs show where wood or metal doors once swung. Above the square terraces are three circular terraces, where seventy-two latticed dagabas (reliquaries in the shape of the calyx or bud of the lotus) inclose each a seated image, seventy-two more Buddhas sitting in those inner, upper circles, of Nirvana, facing a great dagaba, or final cupola, the exact function or purpose of which as key to the whole structure is still the puzzle of archæologists. This final shrine is fifty feet in diameter, and either covered a relic of Buddha, or a central well where the ashes of priests and princes were deposited, or is a form surviving from the tree-temples of the earliest primitive East when nature-worship prevailed. The English engineers made an opening in the solid exterior, and found an unfinished statue of Buddha on a platform over a deep well-hole. " [Illustration] We read this description among others before we visited the Boro Budur, and must confess that from none of them did we get a correct idea ofwhat we were to see. It must be seen to be realised. Not evenphotographs give a true conception of the ornate character of thedecorative stonework--the hard but freely-worked lava stone having lentitself easily to the chisel. Like Cologne or Milan Cathedrals, it mustbe examined minutely to grasp the elaborateness of the sculptured work, but, unlike either of these, it does not produce an immediate impressionof grandeur and religious elevation. It is unlike any of the temples inJapan, or, indeed, anywhere, though Ceylon and India may suggestcomparisons. What will strike the visitor as he perambulates these miles ofsculptured terraces is the complete absence of any offensive or indecentfigure. Mere nudity is not, of course, an outrage to the artistic soul;but here there is not even a nude or grotesque figure. Each is draped inthe fine flowing robes of the East, not in monotonous regularity butsuggestive of prince and peasant, princess and maids, down even to thejewels they wear. Strangely enough, no particularly Javanese type offace or figure is represented--all are Hindu, Hindu-Caucasian and pureGreek. It is not our purpose to give elaborate details of this work ofreligious art. The visitor may obtain at Djocjakarta a copy of Dr. Groneman's learned treatise on the subject, a treatise which will teachhim something about Buddhism as well as the Boro Budur, of which Dr. Groneman has made an exhaustive study. With his guide, the sculpturesbecome an open book to the visitor. It is more archæological than descriptive, however, and we mustacknowledge our indebtedness again to Miss Scidmore for the followingpassage to show the scope of the sculptures:-- [Illustration] "The everyday life of the seventh and eighth century is pictured--temples, palaces, thrones and tombs, ship and houses, all of man's constructions are portrayed. The life in courts and palaces, in fields and villages, is all seen there. Royal folk in wonderful jewels sit enthroned, with minions offering gifts and burning incense before them warriors kneeling and maidens dancing. The peasant ploughs the rice-fields with the same wooden stick and ungainly buffalo, and carries the rice-sheaves from the harvest field with the same shoulder poles, used in all the farther East to-day. Women fill their water-vessels at the tanks and bear them away on their heads as in India now, and scores of bas-reliefs show the unchanging costumes of the East that offer sculptors the same models in this century. Half the wonders of that great three-mile-long gallery of sculptures cannot be recalled. Each round disclosed some more wonderful picture, some more eloquent story. Even the humorous fancies of the sculptors are expressed in stone. In one relievo a splendidly caparisoned state elephant flings its feet in imitation of the dancing girl near by. Other sportive elephants carry fans and state umbrellas in their trunks; and the marine monsters swimming about the ship that bears the Buddhist missionaries to the isles have such expression and human resemblance as to make one wonder if those pillory an enemy with their chisels, too. In the last gallery, where, in the progress of the religion, it took on many features of Jainism, or advancing Brahmanism, Buddha is several times represented as the ninth avatar, or incarnation, of Vishnu, still seated on the lotus cushion and holding a lotus with one of his four hands. " In all probability, the masonry was shaken down by an earthquake, theBoro Budur being near three volcanoes. Restorative and preservative workis now being carried on by the Government, and some of the smallertemples in the Djocja district are restored in the original design. [Illustration: THE BARA BUDUR--ONE OF THE GALLERIES. ] [Illustration: THE SMÉROE--13, 000 FEET HIGH. ] There is a small hotel at the Boro Budur where one is recommended tostay when studying details, and we can well believe that sunrise as seenfrom the summit is a sight one should never forget. We saw it in theearly afternoon when the heat vapours from the noontide sun partiallyobliterated the landscape, but even so it was impressive. Except on theright, where the mountains close in the horizon, the eye has a range ofmany miles over fertile alluvial plains, studded with coco and bananaand palm trees, and every other patch of ground cultivated "like a tulipbed. " Miss Marianne North, whose collection of paintings in Kew Gardensmay be familiar to some of our readers, wrote of this view: "The veryfinest view we ever saw. " The Temples of Parambanan. There are other Buddhist ruins in the neighbourhood of the Boro Budur;but the other more important collection is scattered over the regionbetween Djocjakarta and Soerakarta. One small temple, the Tjandi KaliBening, is reputed to be the gem of Hindu art in Java. This we did notsee; but, on another day, in a victoria drawn by four small ponies, keptgoing by the wild gr-r-r-ee gr-r-r-eeing of our native running footman, we drove to the scattered temples on the Plain of Parambanan, where, with the help of another archæological guide by Dr. I. Groneman, we wereable to appreciate the beauties of these 1100-year-old centres ofancient religious devotees. These temples are the most interesting inthe country, though lacking the extent and grandeur of the Boro Budur. Though they do not contain a single genuine Buddha figure, but manyimages of Brahmanic gods, Dr. Groneman says there are many reasons tojustify the opinion that they were built by Buddhists, probably over theashes of princes and grandees of a Buddhistic empire. In his report to Sir Stamford Raffles on these Parambanan ruins, CaptainGeorge Baker, of the Bengal establishment wrote:--"In the whole courseof my life, I have never met with such stupendous and finishedspecimens of human labour and of the science and taste of ages longsince forgot, crowded together in so small a compass, as in this littlespot, which, to use a military phrase, I deem to have been theheadquarters of Hinduism in Java. " In Volume XIII of the "Asiatick Researches or Transactions of theSociety instituted in Bengal for inquiring into the History andAntiquities, the Arts, Sciences and Literature of Asia" (Calcutta, 1820), Mr. John Crawfurd, who, apparently, visited Java in 1816, gives along and interesting description of the ruins on the Plain ofParambanan. He describes the locale as ten miles from Djocjakarta, avalley lying between Rababu and Marapi to the north and a smallersouthern range of high land. A few of the ruins consist of single isolated temples, but the greaternumber are in groups, rows of small temples surrounding larger temples. The shape of the smaller temples is worthy of observation. From thefoundation to the lintels of the doors, they are of a square form. Theythen assume a pyramidal but round shape, and are decorated around bysmall figures resembling Lingas, while a larger Linga surmounts thewhole building, forming the apex of the temple. Invariably, the sites of the temples are adjacent to abundant suppliesof clear water so much desired by the Hindus and so necessary to theperformance of the ritual. Beside two rivers of the purest water, thereis between the villages of Parambanan and Plaosan a small tank, evidently an appendage to the temples. This little piece of water is asquare of about 200 feet to the side. The ground around it is elevated, and there is every appearance of its being an artificial excavation. Thewhole tank, when visited by Mr. Crawfurd, was covered with blue lotus, the flower of which is so conspicuous an ornament of the sculptures ofthe temple. Then, as now, there was no evidence of Hindu descendants of the buildersof these religious houses and places of worship, but the Javanese are astolerant of various religious cults as the Chinese or the Japanese, andthe visitor need not be surprised to find native visitors making whatappears to be a pilgrimage to some particular shrine. Mr. Crawfurd found barren women, men unfortunate in trade or at play, persons in debt and sick persons propitiating the Goddess Durgá, "smeared with perfumed unguents or decked with flowers. " This worship, too, was not confined to the lower orders. His Highness the Susuhunanwhen meditating an unusually ambitious or hazardous scheme madeofferings to the image. These temples are built of a hard dark and heavy species of basalt, thechief component of the mountains of Java. The stone is usually hewn insquare blocks of various sizes, as is the case with the Boro Budur. Therespective surfaces of the stones which lie on each other in thebuilding have grooves and projections which key into each other as inthe best masonry work to-day. They are regularly arranged in the wallsin such a manner as to give the greatest degree of strength and solidityto the structure, and nowhere is cement or mortar utilised. There are nohuge pillars or single blocks such as may be seen in other prehistoricedifices, and neither in boldness of design nor imposing grandeur havethe temples presented any difficulties to the builders. There is nothingupon a great scale, nothing attempted outside the reach of the mostobvious mechanical contrivance or the most ordinary methods of commoningenuity. The chief characteristic is the minute laboriousness of theexecution. Nevertheless, the temples excite the imagination, and sendthe thoughts back to those primeval days when men sought to expresstheir religious feeling through these elaborate monuments of hewn stone. The Tjandi Kalasan, one of the most beautiful of the temples, is theonly ruin in Central Java of which the exact date of construction hasbeen learned with any degree of accuracy. This was ascertained from astone found in the neighbourhood, inscribed in nâgari characters. Twoversions of the inscription were made--one by the Dutch scholar, Dr. J. Brandes, and the other by the Indian, Dr. R. G. Bhandarkar. Dr. I. Groneman makes use of both versions to compile the following:-- "Homage to the blessed (or, reverend) and noble Târâ. "May she, --the only deliverer of the world, who, seeing how men perish in the sea of life, which is full of incalculable misery, is sure to save them by the three means--grant you the wished for essence, the salvation of the world by the Lord of gods and men. "The guru (_i. E. _ teacher) of the Sailendra prince erected a magnificent Târâ temple. At the command (or, the instance) of the guru, the grateful ----(?) made an image of the goddess and built the temple, together with a dwelling (vihara, monastery) for the monks (bhikshus) who know the great vehicle of discipline (Mahâyâna). "By authorisation of the king, the Târâ temple and the monastery for the reverend monks have been built by his counsellors, the pangkur, the tavan, and the tirip (old Javanese civil officers, perhaps soothsayers or astrologers). "The deserving guru of the Sailendra king built the temple in the prosperous reign of the king, the son of the Sailendra dynasty. "The great king built the Târâ temple in honour of the guru (to do homage to the guru) when 700 years of the Saka era were past. "The territory of the village of Kâlasa was bestowed on the congregation of priests (monks) in the presence of the pangkur, the tavan and the tirip, and the village chiefs (as witnesses). "This great (incomparable) endowment was made by the king for the monks. It is to be perpetuated by the (later) kings of the Sailendra dynasty, for the benefit of the successive reverend congregations of monks, and be respected (maintained) by the wise pangkur, the good tivan, the wise tirip and others, and by their virtuous wives (according to Dr. Brandes, but "their virtuous foot-soldiers" according to Dr. Bhandarkar). "The king also begs of all following kings that this bridge (or, dam) of charity, which is (a benefit) for all nations, may be perpetuated for all time. "May all who adhere to the doctrine of the Jinas, through the blessings of this monastery, obtain knowledge of the nature of things, constituted by the concatenation of causes (and effects), and may they thrive. "The ---- prince once more requests of (all) future kings that they may protect the monastery righteously. " This inscription, showing clearly that the temple was consecrated toTârâ, the sakti of the deliverer of the world, the fourth Dhyâni Buddha, Amitâbha, the Târâ of the Buddhists of the Northern Church (Mahâyâna, orthe "Great Vehicle"), leads Dr. Groneman to the opinion that thisparticular temple was completed in the year 701 of the Saka era, or 779of the Christian era. No trace of the Târâ image was found; but this isnot to be wondered at when we note the presence of other images in thegardens of private residences in Djocjakarta, and even farther afield, and remember the destruction wrought by foreign soldiers and foreign andnative vandals. People and Industries of Central Java. In the plains going eastward through Central Java from the PreangerRegencies to the mountains of the Teng'ger Region, one cannot fail to bestruck by the remarkable change in the appearance of the natives. TheSoendanese of the West may not have the resource and thoughtfulness ofthe people of the plains, the Javanese, but they have brightness andvivacity which make them more attractive. Their bent of mind isreflected in the bright colours of their dress. In this and otherrespects, they resemble the Japanese women. In the plains, sombreness ofdress is a characteristic--the browns of Mid-Java changing to an almostuniversal dark blue in the west, reminding the traveller of the Chineseand the inhabitants of the southern Japanese islands. Everywhere, the male Javanese carry the kris or native knife in thegirdle. There is much variety in the blades, handles and sheaths ofthose weapons, real native damascene blades costing considerable sums. One taking a superficial trip through the island is at a loss tounderstand why the natives should be armed. According to all accounts, they are a peaceably inclined people, and give their Dutch rulers verylittle trouble; and if they were at all quarrelsome amongst themselves, the handy weapon would be a source of grave danger. In course of time, perhaps, the knife will disappear as did the sword of civilised Europe acentury or more ago. A traffic in Birmingham manufactured krises andknives is done at Djocjakarta and Soerakarta, as well as at Samarang, Sourabaya and Batavia, and anyone who wishes to make a collection ofnative weapons should be careful to have the assistance of an expert todetect the sham from the real. The same remark applies to the purchase of sarongs. The ordinary sarongof commerce is manufactured in Lancashire, whence an excellent imitationof the native manufacture is exported. Tourists are also catered for ina native block-stamped variety, which is at least a colourable imitationof the real article. Wherever we went, however, we could see that thenative art had not been lost entirely. Women sit outside their littlehuts by the roadside tracing the most elaborate designs in brown andblue dye upon the cloth with tiny funnel-shaped implements. This cloth is styled bátik. According to the ground of white, black orred, it is known as bátik látur púti, bátik látur irang, or bátuk láturbang. To prepare it to receive the design, the cloth is steeped in ricewater, dried and calendered. The process of the bátik is performed withhot wax in a liquid state applied by means of the chánting. Thechánting is usually made of silver or copper, and holds about an ounceof the liquid. The tube is held in the hand at the end of a small stick, and the pattern is traced on both sides of the tightly drawn suspendedcloth. When the outline is finished, such portions of the cloth as areintended to be preserved white, or to receive any other colour than thegeneral field or ground, are carefully covered in like manner with theliquid wax, and then the piece is immersed in whatever coloured dye maybe intended for the ground of the pattern. The parts covered with waxresist the operation of the dye, and when the wax is removed, by beingsteeped in hot water till it melts, are found to remain in theiroriginal condition. If other colours are to be applied, the process isgone over again. It will thus be seen that a considerable amount ofskill is required. In the ordinary course, the process of the bátikoccupies about ten days for common patterns, and from fifteen toseventeen days for the finer and more variegated. Some of the sarongs worn by the native aristocracy and the Europeanladies are not only beautiful in pattern and working but most expensivein price. In our excursions in the neighbourhood of Djocjakarta, we had ampleopportunity of seeing the industry of the Javanese. Wherever one went, there were long processions of stunted women bravely carrying enormousburdens on their backs, often with a baby slung in the slandang astridethe hip. The cheery, coquettish look of the Soendanese was absent here. All seemed to be borne down by the seriousness of a strenuous physicallife. No songs arose from the fields; scarcely a head was raised fromthe laborious planting of tufts of paddy roots as our kreta rattledpast. While mothers toiled in the fields, children played near theroadways, or now and then assisted their parents. We were surprised to see in these fertile plains how prevalent goitre isamongst the women. In the drive from Moentilan to the Boro Budur, atleast one in twenty were so afflicted. We commented on this fact to anative official while waiting for our tram at Moentilan, and he assuredus that it is remarkably prevalent amongst the common people, but thatthe men do not suffer in the same proportion as the women. The diseaseis named "kondo" by the Javanese. We do not know whether any scientificinvestigations into the disease have been carried out by the Dutchofficials; but it would be interesting to know why it should be soprevalent in this area. Goitre is usually associated with people livingin mountainous regions, yet we never noticed it in the Preanger andscarcely at all on the mountains of East Java. Since the above was written, we have had an opportunity of consultingSir Stamford Raffles' History of Java. He found goitre prevalent in bothJava and Sumatra, but is careful to explain that it was observed incertain mountainous districts. The natives ascribed it to the quality ofthe water, but, says Sir Stamford, "there seems good ground forconcluding that it is rather to be traced to the atmosphere. In proof ofthis, it may be mentioned that there is a village near the foot of theTeng'ger mountains, in the eastern part of the island, where everyfamily is afflicted by this malady, while in another village, situatedat a greater elevation, and through which the stream descends whichserves for the use of both, there exists no such deformity. These wensare considered hereditary in some families, and seem thus independent ofsituation. A branch of the family of the present Adipati of Bandung(1811-15) is subject to them, and it is remarkable that they prevailchiefly among the women of the family. They never produce positivesuffering nor occasion early death, and may be considered rather asdeformities than diseases. It is never attempted to remove them. " [Illustration: SULTAN OF DJOCJA'S SOLDIERS. ] We reached Djocjakarta in the ordinary way through Maos. It may be thatcircumstances may take the traveller off the beaten track, and we areindebted to a friend for the following brief description of the tripfrom Samarang to Djocja over the mountains:-- "The usual journey from Samarang to Djocjakarta is made by way of Solo (Soerakarta), but the route is devoid of interest, the railway running through low country under rice cultivation. I would suggest the far more interesting route via Willem I. Starting at 5. 57 a. M. Or 8. 17 a. M. , Djocja is reached at 2. 16 p. M. Or 5. 10 p. M. The 10. 50 a. M. Train, I found, went only as far as Magelang, so I started at 2. 9 p. M. , and, after a delightful run, reached Kedoeng Djattie, a fine junction station, where we changed cars. The next two hours' run is through foot hills, strips of forest and lovely vegetation, glimpses being obtained every little while of pleasant valleys, rice fields and distant hills as the train climbed up to Willem I. This point we reached about 5 p. M. , in time to enjoy the refreshing cool breezes and to admire the beautiful view and sunset on a small mountain opposite the hotel. "Next morning, I caught the train (8. 54 a. M. , ) which leaves Samarang at 5. 57, and after a short run reached a station where our engine was changed for one working on the cog-wheel system, the grade being too heavy for the ordinary locomotive. The train winds and circles round hills cultivated, for the most part, to their summits. Upwards we climbed till we were in the clouds and the air became quite bracing and invigorating. Tiffin should be ordered through the guard before starting from Willem I. , and it will be handed into the train. "It was about one o'clock when we reverted to the ordinary locomotive, and began the descent to Djocja, through Magelang. To anyone who has to visit Samarang, I would recommend this trip. " The principal sight of Djocja itself is the Water Castle. This trip neednot occupy more than a couple of hours, and its appreciation dependsupon the taste of the visitor. Earthquakes have played havoc with thebuildings, but sufficient is left in the way of tunnels, grottoes, bathing ponds and dungeon-like rooms. Everywhere are signs of decay anddesolation; nevertheless, it is possible, with a little knowledge ofcomparatively recent Javan history, to reconstruct the scenes enactedhere in the days when the native sultans were more powerful in the landthan they are to-day. For a small fee, a native pilots one through thecarved archways, underground halls and subways and cells. As one standsin the large banqueting hall, it is possible to conjure up theceremonials of a past age, and, in the mind's eye, to group retainersround the Sultan and the members of his harem, while gaudily dressedcourtesans sang and danced for the entertainment of "the quality. " The Health Resort of East Java. Tosari on the Teng'ger mountains was the goal of our travels. We wereanxious to escape from the heat of the plains, for the sun had nowcrossed the Equator, Java was in its summer season and the rains mightcome any day. From Djocjakarta, we should have arrived in Sourabaya intime for riz-tafel, but the wash-out at Moentilan still caused a delayof traffic and we were two hours late in reaching our destination. Sourabaya is the most important port and business centre of Java, butthis fact notwithstanding many of the foreign business houses stillmaintain their headquarters in Batavia. As a place of residence, eachhas its good points, and those who have lived in both are divided inpreference. Possibly we were not in either long enough to form a lastingopinion, but we stayed so long in Sourabaya that we prefer Batavia. Itwould be sheer ingratitude, however, not to acknowledge the heartywelcome we received from the British colony in Sourabaya, and thepersonal help of members of that community. Here where the principalbusiness of Java is conducted, as elsewhere throughout the Far East, itwas satisfying to one's patriotism to see the respect in which Britishcommercial enterprise and integrity is held by native and Europeanalike, and that the most cordial good feeling exists on all sides. To reach Tosari, the visitor proceeds first of all by train toPasoeroean, leaving Sourabaya (Goebeng Station) at 6. 42 a. M. , andreaching Pasoeroean at 8. 23. Here a single-pony carriage is engaged(two and a-half guilders) as far as Pasrepan, where a change is made toa two-pony carriage (three guilders). This conveyance takes one toPoespo, 2, 600 feet above sea-level. A halt is made for tiffin in thisdelightful little hotel, whose pleasant looking proprietress, unfortunately, does not speak English. The remainder of the journey tothe Sanatorium (6, 000 feet) is made in the saddle or by sedan chair. Ofthis ride and a subsequent excursion we have painful recollections, butanyone accustomed to the saddle will enjoy this ascent through mountainscenery and vegetation, and even more the morning trip down to Poespo, through the forest, when returning to Sourabaya. Tosari has been described as the Darjeeling of the Netherland Indies. Here within four days' journey from Singapore, one may obtain a completechange of climate, and if there were only more frequent direct steamercommunication between Singapore and Sourabaya, we predict withconfidence that Tosari would become a favourite health resort for thosewho live on the northern side of the Equator. The rooms are comfortable, the food is good, the facilities for amusements at nightfall are ample, the walks and excursions are inexhaustible and the views aremagnificent. The tariff (seven guilders per day--$4. 90 in Singaporecurrency) is higher than that of any other hotel in Java, but those whointend to stay for a fortnight or more could probably arrange morefavourable terms. There is a resident doctor who has graduated in the Schools of TropicalMedicine, and when we were in Tosari there were visitors from Burma, Siam, Singapore, Penang, and all parts of Java, recruiting from malariaand other ailments peculiar to Far Eastern residence. But they were notall invalids, and formed a bright, companionable party. The Teng'gerese who people this mountainous region are a race apart. Their religion is a mixture of paganism and Buddhism, and, thoughreputed to be kind and honest, they are an ignorant, uncouth, unculturedpeople. They dwell _en famille_ in large square houses without windows, in isolated kampongs on the projecting ridges of the mountains. The doorof each house is on the side nearest the Bromo crater, and as iftradition gave them cause to fear another destructive eruption theyworship this volcano. Dirt prevails everywhere, and in consequence ofthe cool climate and the scarcity of water they seldom bathe, a factthat is very noticeable after one's acquaintance with the people of theplains. To go to Tosari without seeing the Bromo is tantamount to going to Romewithout entering St. Peter's. The journey is made on pony or in a sedanchair, by way of the Moengal Pass and the Dasar or Sand Sea, which is inreality the enormous Teng'ger crater, inside of which there are threemore craters, the Bromo being the only one showing signs of activity. A better view and more impressive is obtained from the Penandjaan Pass, a description of which is given in the next chapter. Another trip worth making is to the lakes in the saddle-back mountainbetween the Teng'ger and the Seméroe. From this high plateau, the ascentof the Seméroe or Mahameroe is fairly easy and will prove attractive tothose who are fond of mountaineering. It is the highest volcano in Javaand has a perfect cone. The crater, from which smoke and ashes areconstantly ejected, is not on the summit but is formed on the south-eastside. The visitor who does not wish to retrace his steps to Poespo andPasrepan may return to the plains by way of Malang or Lawang throughbeautiful sub-tropical and tropical mountain scenery. Sunrise at the Penandjaan Pass. When a sharp rap came to our door at two o'clock in the morning tosummon us for a ride to the Penandjaan Pass, we repented the rashpromise to carry out this over-night project to see the sun rise. It wasno use to curl one's-self up under two heavy blankets and pretend thatwe had not heard. The "jongus" was insistent. Up we had to get, effect ahasty toilet in ice-cold water by the aid of a flickering lamp, and stepinto the outer darkness and mount the pony waiting beside our bedroomdoor. Unfamiliar constellations shed a cold light on the hillside. Our thickest clothing was penetrated by a searching though slightbreeze, as our little rat of a pony, guided by the syce, clamberedbravely up the brae that led through Tosari village. The road bore away to the left, and we were soon slipping and joltingdown a mountain path that sank into a crater-like ravine. It was like adescent into the infernal regions. Disaster seemed inevitable. A mistakeby the pony or the slightest lurch would have precipitated us down somehundreds of feet; but the guide knew his way and so did the pony, as, sure-footed and cautious, it picked its way, first on one side of theroad and then on the other, descending, descending, lower and lower, where the pale light failed to penetrate. The hill on the other sideloomed so high that one could not believe there was a way out. Pit-pat, pit-pat went the pony with steady step, now on hard road now on yieldinglava mud, across fragile bamboo bridges covered with bamboo lathing, down, down, down till at last we reach the ford. The seat was not aneasy one for the unaccustomed rider, whose hands and feet were chilledalmost beyond feeling by the unwonted cold. But it was arm-chair easecompared with the experience on the other side, as the pony pluckilypounded his way up the zigzag path for the summit of the hill. Howeither guide or pony could see a path will ever remain a puzzle. Theover-hanging vegetation blotted out any recognisable landmarks; not eventhe ribbon of a road was visible to the eye. But the top was reached, and believing we were now on the level road for Penandjaan we tried toopen up conversation with our guide. It is not easy to carry on a connected conversation with a native of theTeng'ger when one's Malay vocabulary consists of about twenty words--andhalf of these numerals--and the native's knowledge of the Englishlanguage, as one soon learned, consists entirely of "Yes" and "No. " Yet, it is wonderful what one will attempt in the dark--the loneliness wasso overpowering that one felt compelled to break the awesome silence. [Illustration: ROAD TO TOSARI. ] But the conversation soon flagged, and one was thrown back upon one'sown thoughts. And as the road once again shaped for another crater-likeravine, plunged in inkier darkness and shrouded in solemn stillness, thoughts surged rapidly through one's mind. The first thing that hadattracted our attention as we mounted our pony was the delicious smellof roses in the grounds of the Tosari Hotel. Since nothing could belearned from the syce, nothing could be seen, nothing could be heardexcept the occasional bark of a dog from a remote hut on the hillside orthe tuneful tingle of a bell on the neck of the uneasy occupant of anunseen cow-shed, one tried to learn something by the sense of smell. Atfirst, the morning air was snell and sharp; there was an earthy aromawhich suggested nothing but decaying vegetable matter, but soon it wassucceeded by a pungent penetrating odour which made one wonder whenceits source. This pungency remained for the remainder of the morning'sride, almost to the top of the mountain pass, some 9000 feet abovesea-level, and we ascertained on our return that it proceeded from theenormous cabbages grown by the mountaineers for the markets on theplains of East Java. As we plunged deeper into the forest, it was impossible to make out morethan a dull outline of a white jacket and the white shoulder of ourpiebald pony. Had we not known that the guide was there, we might havewondered how the wonderful jacket succeeded in floating through space. The pony had no head to our sight; the reins we held in our hand mighthave been dispensed with so far as they acted as a guide to the pony, who picked his own foothold and followed the white jacket. With painfulpersistence, he picked the edge of the precipitous declivity which waslost in the bottomless abyss. Once only we lost our way. Turn after turn was negotiated safely, firstdown into the bottom of the ravine and through the mountain torrent, then up the hillside again, mysterious zigzag after zigzag, and one hadbecome reconciled to the jolting motion of the pony, the steady tramp ofhis tiny hoofs, and his heavy breathing where the path was steepest, andgave one's-self up to reverie. How terrible, we thought, must have beenthe scene on the mountain slopes when the enormous craters of theTeng'ger range were belching forth their death-dealing streams of lava, their showers of ashes and stones and choking sulphurous fumes! Howinsignificant was man before the powerful agencies of Nature! How brightwere the occasional stars one saw wherever there was a break in thetrees that lined our path! How wonderful that each of those stars, thoseplanets, might be peopled by beings puzzling over the disputed facts ofthe Creation, as we were; who might also be worrying over a futureexistence and the redemption of a sinful people; who might beendeavouring to solve labour problems and trade disputes and discussingwhether free trade or preferential tariffs were best for a nation'swelfare! Was there somebody up in one of those other planets on a pony'sback, as we were, robbing one's-self of much-needed rest to reach amountain top to see the sun rise? These and other thoughts kept recurring to one when, suddenly, as if ithad been shot, the pony planted his forefeet and refused to follow theguiding lead of the syce. We had made a wrong turning and the syce all but slipped over aprecipice. Had it not been for the pony's instinct, all three of uswould have been plunged into Eternity, and some of the problems of theprevious moment might have been solved. Out came the syce's matches, as he clung to the pony's bridle. Notnearly so bright as the lambent phosphorescence from the fireflies whichflickered across our path, the puny light of the match was sufficientfor the guide to pick up the ribbon-like path, and once more we were onour way to the top. Three deep ravines were traversed before we made the final upwardmovement, and then Nature's lamp lights were being shut out in hundredsat a time as the soft dawn began to diffuse itself. With Dawn's lefthand in the sky, we thought of Omar Khayyam's stanza, and felt impelledto cry out to the sleepers in the hollow-- Awake! for Morning in the Bowl of Night Has flung the stone that puts the Stars to Flight: And lo! the Hunter of the East has caught The Sultan's Turret in a Noose of Light, The dawn had been preluded by the awakening chirrups of songsters in thewood. A shriller note was struck by some feathered Daphnis piping to hisChloe. Deep down in the valleys and in the villages perched perilouslyon projecting ledges of the mountain, faint twinkling lights began toappear, and the lowing of the cattle and the answering and re-echoedcrowing of rival poultry-yards sent the thoughts back to Homeland scenessome 10, 000 miles away. As we stood on the wall of the enormous crater, overlooking the SandSea, and watched the long shafts of golden light shoot up to the zenithfrom behind the mountain peaks to the East, we felt that our ride hadnot been in vain. To be abroad at early dawn in the tropics is to enjoy the mostdelightful period of the day. An English essayist has well expressed theexhilaration one feels: "There is something beautiful in the unused day, something beautiful in the fact that it is still untouched, unsoiled. "Only those who have stood on the hill tops, far removed from the hauntsof men, have any true idea of the grandeur of Nature and theinsignificance of man. The sun rose speedily in the full power of his golden radiance to paintthe landscape. There was no transition. Out of the darkness there rose aview, enormous, diversified, impressive. Miles away on the west, the five summits of the Ardjeono had been thefirst to reflect the rays hidden from us. Penanggoenan's sugar-loaf topsoon caught them up and passed them on to Kawi's three lofty peaks. Tothe south, was the Seméroe, Java's loftiest volcano; to the east, theYang Plateau; to the north, the sea and the island of Madoera. We couldtrace the coast-line 9, 000 feet below, away westward beyond Sourabaya, where white-crested surf beat silently upon the streak of yellow sand. The vast plains of East Java showed a pattern of variegated colour, which stretched out to the cultivated slopes of the hills. Mountainhamlets and villages on the plains sent out blue vapours from morningfires. The rivers were distinguishable by their leafy fringe as much asby the reflection of the blue sky overhead. Between us and the YangPlateau, there were rolling billows of white cloud, tipped by thecolours from the sun's spectrum. But it was the panorama spread out like a model beneath our feet whicharrested attention and impressed one most. We stood on the edge of anenormous crater--the Teng'ger--with a circumference of fifteen miles. Where, in prehistoric times, flames and ashes and lava had boiled andbelched, there was now a sea of yellow sand, out of which stood otherthree volcano peaks--the Battok, the Bromo, and the Widodarèn--showingpurple in the morning light. The Battok is a perfect cone, thelava-covered sides standing out in clearly defined ridges like thebuttresses of a Gothic structure. The Bromo is the only one of the threenow active. As we gaze down, we are startled by a deep groaning noise, and out of the wide crater mouth there issues a mass of grey smoke andashes laden and streaked with fire. Simultaneously, a huge mass ofcloud, cruciform in shape, is shot up hundreds of feet into the air fromthe Semeroe. It rests a few seconds above the bare, ash-strewn cone, andthen drifts heavily to westward, to make way for the next eruption. [Illustration: SAND SEA, WITH BROMO AND SEMEROE. ] These indications of Nature's activity in the crucible at the earth'scentre make one reflect on the possible consequences of the next greatconvulsion, and the fate that is in store for those intrepid villagerswho have perched their primitive huts on the very edge of the Teng'gercrater. With these reflections, we turn away from one of the most solemnand impressive sights it has been our privilege to witness, silentlymount our pony and retrace our steps for the snugly-situated Hotel atTosari, no longer regretting, nay, rather thankful, that we had resolvedand achieved our resolution to climb the Penandjaan Pass to see the sunrise. [Illustration: SMOKE PLUME--THE SMÉROE. ] Hotels and Travelling Facilities Before going to Java, the tourist ought to make himself acquainted withthe outlines of the history of the island since it came under Europeandomination. Half the charm of European travel, if one is something morethan a mere unreflective globetrotter, lies in the historic associationsof the places visited, and it is the comparative absence of this qualitywhich robs new countries of the interests they would otherwise possessfor educated people. Scenery alone surfeits the appetite. In Java, as in most Oriental countries, the traveller feels that he ismoving in an atmosphere of antiquity, and though it has become amisnomer to refer to "The Unchanging East, " it is borne in upon one thatin the large group of islands comprised in the Philippine and MalayArchipelagoes, from Luzon in the north to Java in the south, from Samarin the east to Sumatra in the west, centuries of western contact hasleft but a slight impress upon the characters of the people. Changesthere are, undoubtedly. Modern civilisation has advanced like aresistless wave and gradually engulfed an older civilisation, but herein Java one feels that the change has not been so decisive; and railwaysand canals and cultivation notwithstanding, the difference in generaladvancement between the Javanese and the Japanese is most marked, andeven the Chinese, conservative though they are in most ways, have morecharacter and look more hopeful soil for the reception and developmentof western ideas. A solid foundation for the trip to Java may be laid by perusing SirStamford Raffles' history, the second edition of which, published in1830, will be found in Raffles Library. It covers the whole period fromthe time the Portuguese arrived in the Farther East in 1510 to theBritish occupation. Making Malacca his headquarters, Albuquerque sentvarious expeditions to the surrounding islands, and Antonio de Abrew washis emissary to Java and the Moluccas. The Dutch appeared in 1595, obtaining their first footing in the East Indies at Bantam, the EnglishEast India Company establishing a factory at the same place in 1602. Of the capture of Java by the British troops brief details have alreadybeen given. An interesting account of "The Conquest of Java" is given by CaptainWilliam Thorn, a Dragoon officer, who served on the staff of one of thebrigadiers. It was written in 1815 while he was on his way back toEngland, and is so plentifully illustrated with field maps as to addinterest to one's visit to Batavia and Buitenzorg and the seaports ofSamarang and Sourabaya. We are indebted to Dr. Hanitsch, the Curator, for the following list ofbooks on Java in Raffles Library:-- The Dutch in Java; 1904, by Clive Day. Java, Facts and Fancies; 1905, by Augusta de Wit. Facts and Fancies about Java; 1908, by Augusta de Wit. Life in Java, 2 vols; 1864, by W. B. D'Almeida. Voyage Round the World; 1870, by Marquis de Beauvoir. With the Dutch in the East; 1897, by W. Cool. Geschiedenis der Nederlanders of Java; 1887, by M. L. Deventer. From Jungle to Java; 1897, by Arthur Keyser. Java; 2 vols. , 1861, by J. W. Money. Java; 1830, by Sir Stamford Raffles. Führer auf Java; 1890, by L. F. M. Schulze. The Conquest of Java; 1815, by William Thorn. A Visit to Java; 1893, by W. B. Worsfold. Rambles in Java; 1853, (anon. ). The Hindu Ruins in the Plain of Parambanan; 1901, by Dr. I. Groneman. The Tjandi-Bäräbudur in Central Java; 1901, by Dr. I. Groneman. Bôrô-Boedoer op het Eiland Java; 1873, by F. C. Wilsen, 2 vols. In addition to a selection from the above-named, the intending visitorshould read "Java: The Garden of the East" by Miss E. R. Scidmore, 1898, and the Rev. G. M. Reith's "A Padre in Partibus" will be foundentertaining. Much must depend upon the notions of the tourist as to the cost of atrip in Java, but our experience is that Java is the cheapest country wehave ever visited. The hotels are superior to those found in theinterior of Japan, and, as the guilder, which has a value of 70 cents inSingapore currency or about 1s. 7¾d. In English currency, may be takenas the unit of value for travelling purposes, our readers will see at aglance what a fortnight or three weeks' trip is likely to cost from thefollowing hotel rates:-- Hotel des Indes, Batavia 6 guilders per day Hotel Bellevue, Buitenzorg 6 " " Hotel, Sindanglaya 6 " " Hotel Garoet 6 " " Gov't. Hotel, Maos 4 " " Hotel Mataram, Djocjakarta 5 " " Hotel Simpang, Sourabaya 6 " " Sanitorium, Tosari 7 " " Hotel du Pavilion, Samarang 5 " " There are a few extras, and the servants are civilised enough to expectsmall tips. Charges for liquors are invariably reasonable. The hotels are scrupulously clean and the accommodation excellent, andin a tropical country one appreciates the facilities for bathing. In his delightful poem of "Lucile, " Owen Meredith wrote:-- We may live without poetry, music and art; We may live without conscience, and live without heart; We may live without friends; we may live without books; But civilised man cannot live without cooks. He may live without books, --what is knowledge but grieving? He may live without hope, --what is hope but deceiving? He may live without love, --what is passion but pining? But where is the man that can live without dining? Here the poet leaves the realms of poetic fantasy to record a simplefact of everyday life--one which is appreciated by every man and womanirrespective of nationality or temperament. As in all other matterspertaining to the comfort of the European in the tropics, the Dutch, inthe matter of food, seem to us to have achieved better results than wehave in the British Colonies. The "riz-tafel" may not appeal to theEnglish palate, but there is no lack of clean, wholesome dishes, andside dishes that make us wonder at the toleration of the traveller withthe Indian and Colonial caravanserai. The tourist who visits Java aftertraversing India will be agreeably surprised at the difference in favourof the Dutch Colony in this respect. In the matter of the personal attention to their guests by themanagement of some of Hotels in the interior, and the supply ofinformation, there could easily be an improvement, and doubtless therewill be a great change when tourist traffic becomes more general, as itpromises to do in the near future. Our own experience was that we wereleft, almost invariably, to the tender mercies of the servants, and asone's Malay was limited this led to avoidable inconvenience. Nothing, however, could exceed the courtesy and attention of themanagement at the Hotel des Indes, in Batavia, and the Hotel du Pavilionin Samarang, and the Manager of the Hotel at Sindanglaya. We have already mentioned Stamm and Weijns Restaurant in Batavia. Coupled with it for excellence of table is Grimm's famous restaurant inSourabaya. This year, thanks to the efforts of some of the leading hotelproprietors, the government of Netherlands India has awakened to thepossibilities of Java as a country for tourists. Co-operating with theHotels and steam-ship companies, special inducements were held out tovisitors during the months of May and June, in the way of reduced fares, and the success of the venture will doubtless lead to its continuance. The Koninklyke Paketvaart Maatschappij (Ship's Agency, late J. Daendelsand Co. ) issues tickets at single-fare rates to Batavia and Sourabaya, the fare to Batavia and back being $45; to Sourabaya and back $63; andto Batavia and along the Coast Ports to Sourabaya and back to Singapore(sixteen days on board ship) $74. The tickets are available by thesteamers of the Royal Nederland Line and the Rotterdamsche Lloyd. Travel by rail throughout the Island is cheap. For the convenience ofvisitors with limited time to devote to Java, a tourist ticket has beenarranged. This may be obtained from the Steamship Company in Singapore. The price is $40 (Singapore currency). The tour laid down by the couponscovers the whole of Java from Tanjong Priok, the port of Batavia, to theeasternmost end of the island beyond Sourabaya on the way to Tosari andBromo. Buitenzorg and the Preanger health resorts may be visited on thetickets, the famous Hindu ruins near Djocjakarta, and the health resortsof Eastern Java. The journey may be broken wherever the tourist cares tostay, and the ticket is available for sixty days. Directions are printed on the ticket in English in regard to baggage andother matters, and a small outline map is a useful adjunct. Throughout the island, the carriages for hire are execrable. Thefour-pony victoria which took us from Djocjakarta to the Buddhist ruinsat Parambanan had not gone half a mile when one of the wheels came off, and we were lucky to escape without serious damage. It will alwaysremain a marvel to us how the ramshackle kreta held together which tookus from Buitenzorg to Sindanglaya, over the Poentjak Pass, and we areastonished that the Dutch authorities, who are exacting in otherrespects, do not exercise a wholesome supervision over the poniesemployed in these cross-country carts and carriages, for a more wretchedcollection of horseflesh could scarcely be imagined. We have already commented on the Toelatings Kaart. This relic of a pastage, which did not add much to the revenue, and impressed oneunfavourably with a rigid officialism at the port of entry that did notobtrude itself upon one's notice in the interior, may now be avoided bythe traveller registering at the Tourist Bureau. In our own case, wewere never called upon to produce the kaart. The general impression left by one's visit to Java is the excessivecleanliness of town and country and the widespread cultivation. Thereare, of course, black spots in the towns; but they are as nothing to thetraveller who has perambulated the native quarters of any British Colonyin the Far East. When we think of the millions of dollars Hongkong hasexpended to cope with filth-created plagues and to reduce the nativerookeries of China town, it fills us with the highest admiration forDutch administration in Java. The Government of the Straits Settlementsis entering upon a similar campaign to rectify past sins against thelaws of sanitation and hygiene, and hundreds of thousands of dollarsmight have been available for other purposes had the Chinese beenhandled as the Dutch handle them in Batavia, Samarang and Sourabaya. Itmay be overdoing the cult for whitewash to whiten the walls of everybridge and the stack of every sugar mill in the country, but it ispleasing to the Europeans to see that one nation has been successful incarrying its ideas of cleanliness into the tropics and in making theOriental conform to the ordinary laws for the protection of the healthof the common people. To those of our readers who may be induced to visit Java, we wouldtender a few words of advice. If it is intended to compress a tour of the principal places we havenoted into a fortnight's holiday, travel, if possible, to Sourabaya, andgo first of all to Tosari. After a few days there, Djocjakarta should bemade the headquarters for a two or three days' inspection of theBuddhist ruins, and then Bandoeng could be made a halting place while adecision is arrived at as to whether Sindanglaya, Soekaboemi or Garoetis to be visited next before going on to Buitenzorg and Batavia. Werecommend this course because there is a more frequent service ofsteamers between Batavia and Singapore, and by ascertaining the sailingdates while at some of the Preanger health resorts one is able to timeone's arrival at Batavia and so avoid the heat of the seaport. We have painted Java in rosy colours because we found it beautiful, thepeople companionable and the conditions agreeable. It is possible thatothers may go over our tracks without deriving a tithe of the enjoyment. No one should travel unless he has a genius for travel and a readyadaptability to prevailing conditions. He should bear in mind that it ishe who is the odd piece in the machinery, and that unless he adjustshimself to the other working pieces he will only have himself to blameif things do not run smoothly. If Java is visited in the right spirit, we have not the least doubt that the traveller will be delighted withall he sees and experiences, and will come away with an assuredconviction that it was no exaggeration which styled the island "TheGarden of the East. " [Map: JAVA. ] Transcriber's Notes: Inconsistencies in the hyphenation of words preserved. (court-yard, courtyard; over-night, overnight) Pg. 52, the phrase: "collection of Buddas". The author might have meant"collection of Buddhas", as "Buddha" is used elsewhere in the text. However the author's original spelling is preserved. Pg. 55, "daning" changed to "dancing". (and maidens dancing. ) Pg. 63, the title "tivan" is also spelled "tavan" in two instances inthe preceding paragraphs. As it is unclear which spelling the authorintended, the original spelling is preserved in all cases. Pg. 70, unusual time expression "2. 9 p. M. " The original text ispreserved. (so I started at 2. 9 p. M. , and, after) Pg. 74, duplicated word "at" removed. (reaching Pasoeroean at 8. 23) Pg. 90, text contains the expression "1/7¾d" which, for clarity, hasbeen rendered as "1s. 7¾d. " (or about 1s. 7¾d. In English currency) In the original text, the author was inconsistent with respect towhether the "ae" ligature was used in the word "archæological". Thisinconsistency has been preserved.