BATAVIA

wheelbarrows în lieu of bamboo baskets^ when digging canals in Yeddo?' ^Why do you saw backward ? ' ' Why do you plane backward ? ' But I cannot talk; I am deaf; I am dumb- I might as well be a horse in Yeddo^ when alone, as a man in the streets ail alone ! "

Captain^ or rather Midshipman Fry wrote thus of Batavia: —

^^Itwould take months to relate the impressions made upon my mind by the numberless objects I met with worth mentioning or describing. I spent three whole days on shore in a perpétuai whirl of excitement. How often I wished for you, Dita,, to gaze with me upon the beautiful scènes and strange objects which we met at every step ! As I write, images crowd upon my brain in wild confusion, and I am ont of patience at my lack of descriptive powers.

" Among the first things that excited our curiosity were the Chinese junks — vessels strange in construction and ornamentation, and carrying an odoriferous freight, of which the perfume Avas far from heavenly, Celestial though it was ! Every jiink bas its joss stuck ail over with rows of little flags.

PARLORS IN JAVA. 77

"Passîng between two long walls or breakwaters^ — wliich form a canal safe and easy of passage, however rough the sea may be outside, — we landed at some stone steps, where we found carriageSj and little horses of most diminutive size. No one walks ; so we entered carrîages ; but we attempted in vain to start. The little horses would not badge nntil, after much whi[> ping np and assistance in pushing and pulling rendered by the bystanders, they finally moved off prancingly.

'' We had to wait some time for the lowerîng of a drawbridge, the mechanism of which was very curions, and interested me much. The sides of the road, and the banks of the canal, were lined with avenues of trees of exceeding richness of foliage, and in great variety. At last w^e reached our hôtel, where we found the gallery fitted up as a parlor, or rather, the parlor outside of the front walls! We were highly pleased with the effect of thèse front-gallery parlors. The resuit was particularly fine at night, when they are lighted up by lamps w^ith many-colored shades hung against the walls.

78 TIFFEN,

" After arrangîng about our rooms^ we asked for lunch^ or tiffen^ as it îs hère called. A little table is set out with chicken stew like our own, besides curry and other East Indian dishes in so great variety as to charm hiingry sailors just from a long voyage. We tasted dish after dish, and ate mangoes and other fruit. The tea is perfectly delightfal^ and would be a great comfort to many a poor old woman who swallows her ^Bohea' with great gusto, but who knows nothing of the genuine article. At dinner we had so many dishes that we were^ I may say, hourS;, tasting them, and the Malays behind our chairs were constantly removing dishes and helping us to others^ done up in a style not to be surpassed even by Créole cooldng^ which it resembles very closely. The curry reminds me strongly of gimîbo filé, The coffee, the real Java^ is delicious."

The following detailed account of a similar dinner^ by a more récent writer,* will be found interesting in thîs connection: —

* Walter A. Eose, in Appleton's Monthly for June,