masters the Dutch, Chinese, and all others who have disputed their possession of it, having been disposed of in the fire. Stranger than any of their traditions is the ceremony of blessing or worshipping the Bromok, which is held regularly once a year, accompanied by great festal rejoicings. The pilgrims who flock to this festival are generally Brahmins of a not very strict type. Mr. D'Almeida gives a graphic picture of one of these occasions. At a short distance from the principal hut 66 of human beings now made a tremendous rush for the volcano, the first who succeeded in gaining the ridge believing himself favored by fortune, and certain of future good luck. uals then handed their offerings to the priests, who again mumbled a few words over them, after which their owners hurled them down the crater, repeating, as they did so, some prayer or wish." The various families and individ Not satisfied with offerings of cocoanuts and produce, the people proceeded to throw live fowls into the crater. Some of these, however, though more deficient in devotion, were less deficient in sense, than the votaries who sought to victim were twenty mats placed on the Sand Sea, on each of which knelt a young priest, having before him a box of myrrh, aloes, frankinize cense, and other spices which are sold for offerings. At right angles with this row of mats was another row, with the same number of priests, all kneeling in the Arab fashion, their bodies partly resting on the calves of their legs. them; and so they wisely took wing, and flew to some ridge on which they were safe. Stones found near the Bromok at the previous festival were offered for sale, and eagerly bought, as remedies against every possible disease. The The sacerdotal dress consisted of a white gown, over sarongs of Earthquakes are not uncommon in batek, which were tied to the waist by broad Java, but they are generally slight. The red belts. Over the shoulders hung two native theory regarding them is that the bands of yellow silk bound with scarlet, with earth, which is in the form of a tray, tassels and coins hanging from the ends. rests on the horns of a great bull. AnRound the head was a large turban, ornament- noyed by its weight, the bull makes oced with gaudy silk scarves. Before each casional attempts to displace it, and in priest were small packets of plantain leaves, so doing gives it a terrible shake. Hot containing incense, chips of sandal-wood, and springs, impregnated with carbon, are other preparations; wooden censers, from found in some parts of the island. In which arose clouds of aromatic perfumes; and a basket of plaited rattan, containing the centre of a lake called Chondero di water, near which was a goupillon, made of Moeko, "three or four jets like founplantain leaves, with flowers fixed at the top. tains " rise some four or five feet, and Crowds stood within about six paces of the scatter their hot spray around. priests, waiting for the consecration of their margin of the lake consists of "soft, hot various offerings, which were placed on stands mud, sulphureous deposits, and small made of bamboo. The offerings generally blocks of limestone," which have been consisted of cocoa-nuts, plantains, pineapples, The Tologo mangoes, and other fruits; baskets of chickens ejected from the water. recently fledged; pots, prios, and baskets of Leri lake, the waters of which are of a rice; trays piled up with a variety of cakes milky color, seems to be at boiling point, exhaling incongruous smells; strips of calico "the steam rising thick and bubbling, and silk; coins of silver, gold, and copper; as though over a large fire." In the besides numerous other objects. After some same district there is a small cavern minutes spent in prayer, the people going which at certain seasons emits a noxious through all the external forms prescribed by their creed, which often constitute the whole gas. The vapor happened to be escapextent of their knowledge of it, each priest ing at dipped his goupillon into the basket of water, which he took into his left hand, and, muttering some words, sprinkled the offerings as they were brought to him. All the holy men then bowed down, and repeated a loud prayer, which was echoed by the young ponditas and some of the bystanders. The oldest of the priests next rose up, followed by all the others, repeating words which sounded like Ayo! Ayo! Bromok!' probably meaning, 'Forward, forward, to the Bromok!' This was the signal anxiously expected. The mass the time of Mr. D'Almeida's visit. A fowl was thrown into the cavern. The moment it regained its feet, "it attempted to rush up the mountain side, as though some evil genie were at its heels. But before many seconds had elapsed, the whole neck and head seemed suddenly convulsed, and flapping its wings in agony, it rolled over and expired." The natives repair to this spot when they are afflicted with melancholy. "If their low spirits arise from the frus tration of any desired object, they sleep near the lake a whole night; and if they live to see the light of the following day, they feel assured of gaining the object of their wish. If, on the contrary, the poor credulous individual breathes his last before the morning breaks, his death is attributed, not to the gas, but to the vengeance of a pungooroo, or evil spirit." Another lake, called Warno, which is about three hundred yards long, presents a diversity of colors truly extraordinary. "One portion was bright yellow, another a beautiful emerald green, another light blue, then rose, orange, and milky white; the various hues gradually passing into each other." This phenomenon cannot be attributed to atmospheric influence, inasmuch as the lake is always the same during the wet or dry mon soons. The lakes and rivers of Java, though numerous, are generally of insignificant size. In very few cases are the rivers navigable, but they are largely used for purposes of irrigation. The temperature of the island is singularly equable, ranging near the sea-level from seventy to ninety degrees. In the higher levels it is more various. There is no snow at any season. Even the loftiest mountain summits are clothed, in the coldest weather, with but a thin sheet of hoarfrost. In some districts there is a slight miasma, arising more perhaps from the want of proper sanitary precautions than from any unhealthiness of the soil; but, generally speaking, the climate is exceedingly healthy, and favorable to the growth of the produce of temperate latitudes. The flora and fauna are particularly rich and diversified. On the lower lands are found palms, bananas, amaranthaceæ, aroids, euphorbiaceae, and papilionaceous legumens. Higher up are oaks and laurels, forests of gigantic figs and bamboos, ferns and orchids of almost every variety, and nepenthes. There are more than a hundred species of mammals, including tigers, leopards, bats, monkeys, several families of deer, and a white rhinoceros. Of birds there are nearly one hundred and eighty species. Snipes, storks, and herons are found in large quantities on the marshy lands; there are eight species of eagles, and seven of owls. Besides these, there are partridges, quails, pigeons, pelicans, and a very singular variety of the cuckoo. Fish are plentiful; there is a good supply of oysters; but fresh-water fish are generally inferior. It is to be regretted that Mr. D'Almeida furnishes but little information respecting the natural history of the island. A story or two about alligators and tigers, with here and there an account of a wild boar hunt, scarcely satisfy the scientific reader. The early history of Java is lost in utter obscurity. No records are reliable until 1478, when the Hindu religion was overthrown, and the Mohammedan enthroned in its place. The Dutch, to whom the island now belongs, made their appearance first of all in 1595. In 1610 they had become powerful enough to build a fort, near the site on which the town of Batavia now stands. For a long time they were engaged in incessant war with the natives, who were compelled to succumb to a higher civilization. Province after province was ceded to the victors; and at the present time the native princes own scarcely one fourteenth of the island, and even they are tributary and dependent. The Dutch confine themselves mainly to the suburbs of the town of Batavia, which is a place of no mean pretensions. In the business quarter there are many stately warehouses, of red brick, liberally decorated with florid ornaments, and of immense size. In the European quarter there are "fine spacious-looking shops, occupied by European tailors, chemists, milliners," etc., and also "elegant mansions situated in the midst of carefully- tented gardens, large government buildings, and a fine club house, which goes by the name of the Harmonie." An extensive green, a mile square, "faced with fine large houses, and traversed by roads lined with rows of trees on each side," and a race-course, which owes its existence to the enterprise of the English residents, give a European aspect to this quarter of the town. Another quarter is occupied by Chinese colonists, who are to be found here in swarms, as, indeed, in almost every other place in which money may be made. It must be up-hill work for them in Java, for they are heavily taxed by the Dutch. When they enter as settlers, when they assume the rank of citizens, and when they leave, they are mulcted most heavily. Notwithstanding, they manage to make their way, and some of them acquire considerable wealth. Among the many odd customs which distinguish the Chinese in Java is one which would startle the young ladies of England. Beneath the windows of their houses is often to be seen an empty flower-pot, "lying horizontally on the portico roof." Its posi tion cannot be accidental, because it is seen in so many cases. Nor can it be looked upon as a religious symbol, for then there would probably be one on each house. It is nothing more nor less than a matrimonial advertisement, the plain English of which is: "A young lady is in the house. Husband wanted." The Chinese in Java are regarded with great jealousy both by the Dutch and natives, though they are far more tolerable than in their own country, or in Singapore and Penang. In 1740 a mob composed of soldiers and natives attacked the Chinese, and slaughtered ten thousand of them in a few days. The interior of Java is peopled mainly by the natives, who are of the Malayan type, of short stature, high cheek bones, brown complexion with a shade of yellow, and keen black eyes. The traveller who wishes to visit the Vorsten Landen, or country of the native princes, must provide himself with a passport, after satisfying the authorities as to his profession, his last place of residence, and the length of time he intends to spend in Java. For the convenience of travellers a system of posts has been established. These are generally at distances of ten miles. "On ordering his first horses, the traveller is expected to state the intended day's journey, and the intimation to this effect travels from post to post." Hence little time is lost, especially as the horses are kept at full gallop, and run at the rate of twenty miles an hour. This pace, however, is only kept up by the efforts of the lopers, who, like the donkey-boys at Cairo, terrify the poor animals with their voices and whips. The coucer, or coachman, confines himself merely to volleys of that kind of whip cracking which a Javanese driver alone can produce. The great drawback to the postal system is that you can never be sure of your horses when you have ordered them, Any government officer, who requires horses for the discharge of his duties, can countermand the orders of travellers, and use the horses himself. Sometimes the journey is varied by a sail on the canals, of which, of course, there are very many. A Dutchman could not exist without canals. Some of the canals in Java are from eighty to ninety feet in width, and walled on both sides with solid stone work. In the canal boats the company is often more picturesque than pleasant. Groups of greasy natives, for want of something else to do, occupy themselves" in examining minutely each other's flowing tresses men as well as women-proclaiming ever and anon, by a dexterous movement of the finger and thumb, the capture made, the victim slain!" The The Javanese have no regular police force, and yet they contrive to maintain throughout the whole country the most perfect quiet and order. Instead of the complicated police systems of Europe, a plan of village government is adopted, which has the charm not only of simplicity and cheapness, but of the summary administration of justice. townspeople of Java constitute its police. Each town is divided into so many districts, the division being generally regulated by the localities of the various races. Each of these districts is "under the supervision, and to some extent the jurisdiction, of the most influential man of the neighborhood, who is generally of royal blood, or very high standing. Under this official is the Capalla, whose duty it is to appoint the watches day and night, "the male members of every family taking in turn the duty of watchman.' He occasionally visits the stations, reports to his superior, and supplies the night passes, "without which none can stir out of their campong after eight in the evening." All delinquents are brought first of all to him. If their offence is trivial, he disposes of the case. But when the offender has been guilty of a more serious criminality, the affair is placed "in the hands of the Tumungong, or Pangeran, who, in turn, if the matter proves too intricate for him, sends it up to the European magistrate, who settles it according to Dutch law." The grand advantage of this system is, that every villager has a kind of respon sibility for the good behavior of his Though the island of Java is held by the Dutch, a sort of native sovereignty is yet maintained in the Vorsten Landen. The Susuhunan, whose person is held sacred by the natives, is called Kaiser by the Dutch, and by the English the Emperor of Java. There is a second sovereign, of inferior power, 66 who is called the Sultan. Both of these are spoken of as though they were independent princes. But they are almost nonentities, their only glory being titular, and their only independence being that they are allowed to manage their own affairs of state, and to let their lands to Europeans or Chinamen without enforcing the usual tribute of one third. They, as well as all the princes who hold landed property, are permitted to maintain a small army-a kind of militia-but each regiment must have a Dutch major, captain, and ensign. Between the emperor and the sultan there is some little jealousy, the latter having recently declined to offer the homage which his predecessors were wont to pay to the Susuhunan; but, on the whole, they seem very well satisfied. with their position. The present Susuhunan, Pakoe Bewono VIII., who was seventy-six years old at the time of Mr. D'Almeida's visit, was so averse to filling the throne of the Bewonos, that on the demise of his father he steadily refused to occupy the vacant seat, giving up his right in favor of his brother." The brother's reign was short, and again he waived his right in favor of another brother. On the death of this brother, in 1859, the old man had no alternative but to take the reins, and he has managed them to the satisfaction of all parties. His native style and title runs thus: Pakoe Bewono, Susuhunan of Soerakarta, Senopati, Ingalago, Ngabdoer, Rachman, Ponotogomo. With all these titles he is wretchedly poor, and cannot obtain credit from the tradespeople, without producing a written order from the Dutch Resident. Indeed, the poor old man is so much under the authority of the Dutch, that he is not allowed to drive beyond a certain limit without acquainting the Resident of his intention, and reporting, on his return, the places he has been to." His private life is somewhat eccentric. He spends the day in a house adjoining his palace, and at night sleeps on a sofa which is never placed two nights consecutively in the same position or the same room. Sometimes, even when it is raining, he obstinately insists on sleeping out of doors on a mat. The Dutch attribute these eccentricities to his fear of the treachery of the natives. The natives H themselves say that "he prefers the open air because he can commune, in the silence of the night, with the spirits of by gone monarchs, or hold converse with his temporal and spiritual adviser, Ngaisatomy, who by day hides herself in a large cannon covered with red cloth, and caged round by trellis-work of bamboo, and is only exhibited to the public on grand occasions." It is believed that this modest and invisible counsellor warns the emperor of the approach of danger. Mr. D'Almeida was honored with an interview with his Majesty. After passing through a vestibule, the floor of which " was strewed with ends of cigars, roccos, tobacco, and other refuse," and the walls "daubed with red in patches, marking the spots where the careless inmates had expectorated the betel-nut, etc., after having chewed it," the visitors waited until their arrival was announced by "two dirty old women, who, to their profession of cake-venders to the court, added that of porters also." A native band having struck up a wild air, the procession, marshalled by some officers of the court, marched to the Pringitan, or Audience Hall. once more. "As we approached," says Mr. D'Almeida, "within a few steps of the Pringitan we bowed to his Majesty, who graciously acknowledged this mark of respect by a slight inclination of his head. Mounting the steps, we stopped again on the top one, and all bowed, the officers saluting him with their swords. After advancing a little farther towards him, we came to a dead halt, for the third and last time, and, when about a yard from his royal person, lowered our heads All that remained now was the process of introduction, and Colonel Jhaving presented us to his Majesty, who shook hands with us, we all set down in a semicircle, in the centre of which, seated on a chair, cushioned with red velvet, was the Susuhunan. His head-dress consisted of a black kerchief, to which were attached several diamond ornaments. In the middle, just above his forehead, was a yellow dahlia, cut and trimmed so as to look like a brooch, in the centre of which blazed a large diamond. He is the only native prince who is entitled to wear this flower on his head, the ornament being regarded as a distinctive emblem, showing that he is looked upon as the most sacred of native princes throughout the whole archipelago. Round his neck were three long collars of diamonds, emeralds, and gold, in addition to a massive gold chain; and His Majesty is a widower, and has of this interview "his sister-in-law, niece, never kept a seraglio. On the occasion and two daughters, the latter looking almost as aged and wrinkled as their father, were seated on his right hand." Behind these were dancing-girls and various female attendants, whose movements were very peculiar. "Whenever they were required to minister to the wants of his Majesty or the ladies, they crawled with knees doubled, so that the heels almost touched the nether part of the thighs.' They never touched the ground with their knees, and could only have acquired the ability to balance their bodies by long and painful practice. All the servants who came within a short distance of the Pringitan "fell on their knees and made obeisance to the Susuhunan, by raising both hands, clasped as though in prayer, till on a level with their nose." The same kind of salute was given to the Sultan, and the same ceremonies were observed when Mr. D'Almeida paid him a visit. The Sultan keeps a seraglio, which the lady of our traveller was permitted to enter. Her pen furnishes a vivid sketch of this visit: were "In a low kind of bungalow assembled several women, mostly very young, and all dressed in a costly native fashion. Some of the party were playing a Chinese game of cards. All looked up on our entrance, but soon resumed their occupation, alternately playing, chewing tobacco, betel, and seri-leaf, and using their spittoons, one of which was placed by the side of each person. Most of them were good-looking, with magnificent dark eyes, drooping lids, and long, curling lashes. Their hair was dressed with care, being all drawn back from the face, and arranged in two loops behind, in which chumpaka and molor flowers were inserted by some, whilst others wore diamond pins. The ear was made unnaturally large by immense ear-rings, in shape exactly like a small cotton-reel, about |