ocial life of Batavia has a physiognomy of it own; curioll enough i n ome of it foatlU'e . But it is not thi which strikes th new-comer mosi for ibly. In ce.rtain Byzantine mosaics, the figure repre ented is entirely eclip ed by the magnificence of the backgrottnd. And the ye must grow a customed to tbe plendour of the gold and preciou tone sUl'l'ounding it, hefore it can take in th line of the face.
In a imilar manner, no surmi e can be fOl'med a to the character of Batavia '3ociallifo before the charm ha , at least in part, passed ofr, which it setting
'78
FacLs unit Farwics aboul Jal'a.
moves in roman·e: it is ~llrr IInded by beauty; it 'ondition' an I 'ir tl11l tance are in th mselve a '011)"(:0 ot' clelight.
lt would seem al most nOllgh 1'01' a ~ a t, in th ooI of the ven in,,", 1:0 it und r
th verandah, marking on tltc I aminp:
marbIe nOl', bal f-r ft <:tion a in tral1lJnil water lIntl r a tranquil 'ky 'een from afar: alld thé I'i·h ·tmu"" , groen- relirv el against lla 'kne' - of thc plant on thc t r~ outsid . th ir overy 1 af and hoot, hon lI) on 1 y thc lamplighl" tanc1in uuL )Jarkling uO"ain '1,
Lhe ebon waU of ruO"ht. Frolll without, there come tho hirpin'" of l'Î ·kot.
and the d ep-bl'eath 1 fraCTralle of Ilower - tubero ,gardenia, and datum.
nocturnal blo som. Fram d b twen pillars and arehitrave , great r tan"'le, of ky are seen, inter tellal' azuro, and the ountle s scintillaLion of tal' . Environing BlIeh a th 0 hed a grae and dignity even over the a tion of daily )jfe, When tha sc na is in it elf
o
'h rtly afLer my unival, I \ a' illvit tl Lo ft hall al, the paJac . I wa at, Uil' time tayin'" with {'rienel in tlte. al()ll'lha (LUartCl'; anel Wt. bad a driv. of n 'arly an hout' through av nue oL' tall warinO'in tr e~. Th m wa no wind, not tilt' fainL t 11'outll
or
air: all tlwt , odd ofleav sl,o uo tilT d: 'llJlllllil' IJfoad a hili-top, and ca cade of ma iv' f liag ,making a blackn ~~ again L ki "
all lilllpid with difI'Ll<cd ·tal'light.
BoLwcen tllo va"'uely-di l.! 1'R d t me.
littl liO'ht would n wand then Hal'O up.
and a l'eddi 'b arlll b l'ev al d, th pOl'-tionofal'a "alld,om fl'llit"inabc kt. Ouco,too,we awtb --hinin ofulir with
~om native waLchn n ron hin.,. Rruund it, their fal tl'antYcl di tortod in thc vel'-writhing and hifting ligllt. ne of them bouteu out a hoar ' who goe . ,.
That wa the nly ouud I hard aU tbe time. ilellce and darkne all tLl'ound, allel ov>rhead hij inuous
cour-_1
Ll'acts wnd P(l'IU;ie,~ abonl Juua,
uf th ky, lik :t pal river between
'hol' E' of blacknc. flowing between
th 11 'll~ sUlinuits of thc wal'ingill-tre ', \\ mi"'ht bav been in the hart f n woodland l1lile away from th lOpuloll city, when uddenly the hor e tum d a 'oroer, and there burst upon u' the gl'eat wbit blaze of the palace, hining beyond intel'vening dark-ne e. It seem d like a low-hanging lightning-cloud with myriad of little fhme ,likc parks of aint-Elmo's tire hoverina around, abo e,and undel'neath.
'rho aloft hung immovable, the
. ~t adfa tal' , lowel' down, immovable too, a wide- wuna i1' 1 of eemingly larger luminarie, d fining a tract of darkne s; within th at flame-bound pace, tremblillg hit.her and thither, fit-rul will-o-the wisps, nnd without tbe
hining boundary, rnshin" light that darted by and suddenly stood, and then with jerks and stops drew ever nearer to th great effulgent eloud. The lights of star lantel'Ds, oil-wicks, (md
carriaie-82.
.sOtJial Li/e.
lamps seem d all to ha" been rat -tered from that central glo\\'. A' w
!lrew nearer, it cloud-like a pe t
hanged to the emblanc of an alabas-ter grotto the firc in it white COl'
treaked with lin _ of black, and the~e
line' broaden cl and I n"thell cl until they gr w int ~ lid ,haft. : when tlw
·olumn. of f 11l' 10ctO'ia tood r n~aled,
ri inD' f!'Om til!' heicrh1 01' :1 m~l'hl
terra' .
f u. eend d the whit t p . I wa. iJl the \'ery hemt f til' light. Tht' pillars, th floor, th \Va 11::. , un l tJll' \. i 1 -ing seemed to mad ot liU'ht. .\nd . suddenly, I had a ense of honl -comÎn'y,
\Vhy, I kne\V all thi very w 11! I had known it fol' yeal' , 1'01' e\'er 0 10nl-, ever in(;6 the time ",hen J ti t n d t
fail'Y tale and in thp. hcuutifnlly-h nn I book- J lUust not tou·h it. allel I kIt lil)' Itan(\f; b bind 111 hael, to
\Vi h tand tltc t!'lllptat.ion wa, .IIOWII the pi ture or tIlt' l'af,tle whel' Uw 'leel inn- Beautv lived. t Ili~ht,. Jyino'
a
facts CL1td IJ'a/ncies abottt Java.
wid awake up to quite ni ne o'clock [ aw iL a plain a could be, growin up al'ounc1 tbe lamp, with thc "'ronud -,rI as , hade fol' a clipola. Later on wh en I could l'ead my elf. and al 0
limb tI' a tbe boy in tbe village had taugbt lU itting all tI1l'0ugh th drow y umm l' afternoons in th forked branch of an oId, crook d pear-tree with Han Ander en talon my knee I l'ebllilt the Ca tle on a bolder calc for the Li tl Mermaiden. Ala ! h wa n \'er to live the!'! ntiI, at la t wh n Romeo cros ed tbc thl'e hold, and Juliet turned and tood at gaze, a bul' t of lUU ic fiooded tbe widening halls, cntwined coupl mo\' d lik
fiower~ that way in the evening wind, and, btween th tall olumn , L aught a glimp f th .. ky aml all 'th littie tal'.·' Now, l had ent red th 1 ala e my lf. Th gr al La Franc rose., and th . Mal'é hal Niel that "-ll in 'hO\V>l':; of gold OY l' th·
cl of thc marbIe U 1'11. , had blldded in 84
Soai4l tile.
my dream-garden. The music played : and in the vast hall I knew so weIl, the polonaise began to unwind its slow coils, with a flash of gold,lace and of diamonds, a gleaming of bare shoulders, and a wavy movement of silken trains, who e hues enriched the pale marbie und rfoot. . . . "We should move into th is place, I think," said my partner.
ince, I have been to many entertain-ments. It is but hone t to ay that at
ome I have enjoyed myself exceedingly;
pouring rains, and thc croaking of frogs al most in the house notwithstanding:
and that at others I have felt my eyes burning with tears of uppressed yeam-ing. It i true this ha not happened of ten : but, when it ha , not all the tars in their courses, nor all the constellation in th ir fixed plu.ce , could in pirit m : and the p rfume of th tuberose gav'
lil a headach . I look at the e thing by aa -light now: and om of them ) nnd cUl'ious and not altogethel' beauti-ful. One especially: the official chara
'-85
ter of sociallife in the best circles. lt seems as if discipline regulated matters of pleasure as strictly as matters of business. A man will go to his chief's party as he wonld to his office of a morning j nevel' dreaming of staying away: and imposing old ladies l'e ent the presence of the wrong partner at a.
whist tabIe, as if it were an obstacle in their husband's career. It is as if they could not, even for one evening, forget the struggle for existence, and a if they regarded a dinnel' or a dance as au en-gagement with the enemy j a brisk assault to carry by storm ome pJace that had long stood a regular siege-a lively skirmish in which everything that comes to hand is a w apon for either attack or self-defence. One cannot be too well equipped, in thi gr at battle of officiallife. Intellect i an excellent weapon, but it i not the ol1ly ne: and though zeal is indispen ablc, it is not enough. There are too many intelli-gent and con eientiou. mell jostling
86
Social Life.
each other already. To pass them by, the ambitious man must be more than merely intelligent and eonseientious.
He must ehoose some pecÎal talent-any talent provided it be sp eial. Where
merits are equal, the upererogatory talent deeide the ontest. For a man at all weil bom and weIl bred,
aceom-plislunents of the soeial order are the easiest to aequire: besides, these seem-ingly futile thin"s are in reality the most important. It is the men of the world who get the good places: while stay-at-home chudge may af ter ten years still stay at home and drudge.
Aecordingly, soeial accomplishments are wh at a wise man \Vill strive to acquire.
And, before anything el se, let him see that he play a good game of ards. All elderly gentlemen like cards: all chiefs of department are elderly gentlemen:
therefore, all chiefs of departments like eards. Hence these many and long drawn out parties, where I sat at little green tableB until, dear Godl those very
S1
Facls anit FMwie alxmt Java.
- - - -
-table seemed a leep, 1md my faint heart was all but tanding till.
But I played on. li or my thre partners did; and they had excellent reasons for 0 playiJ1g on. Thou<Yh, to the superficial observ r, th y we re taking their plea. ures IabOl'i u. Iy, they took better thing than their plea ure: a chance of preferment. They had heard ballads being suno- and said about the man wbo tormed tbc high plu es witb bis chair for asteed and a pack of cards for shield and spear, aud utterly defeated and drove out the garrison of quill-armed men. Th e things have been. And onee upon a time, there wa a Head of a Department, who held th official virtues to be stati tic, di i-pline, and ards: but the greate t of these was eard. By hi play, he judged a man. A woman he did not judge at all: conceiving her to be a non-card-playin""
being. And her sitting down to a game, notwithstanding her declared and organic inability, WilS to him the
88
, '0 'ial Lij"e.
abomination of desolation. BuL Ie young eivil servants cOllie to him. Alle happy Lhat young eivil sen'ant who could, alld would and did stand up to him, anel even defeat hilll utterly, to th ' greatel' alory of cal'd" ! For tbi mail wa' a tl'Uly great soul: .md h'
pl"-e
I'r 'd the honou!' of thc "'am very fal' illdeed to hi own a a play 1'.. till, a all r ads I ad to l:{,01l1', 0 a good many I ad to )Jref'l'1l1 nt. If onc great Illan love' cards, ILnothol' i pal'-tial to a good dinnel', und i .\lIO ·t
affabl over pàté d~ foi "'ra, anel a bottie of Burgundy. Alld a thÎl'd-thi~
one, PI' umably th prolId fa h l' of prctLy dilllght l'~-ha a pr dilectioll
fOl' dan' . . '0 tl1at a lI1all may ('ho St:
lli own path upward,; allel if h(, will not pby why 11 may dan .
And dar.ce th y do in Batuvia, witll fervour and as lduity. 11 'a t
mOIl-Boon night , when Lha very cri k U-judg it t 0 hot 1'01' th' practi c
(Ir
chil'piJlg, natche uf 'Lrau z waltz s 11
Fa ·t" lL/UI. F'a//,/;iel> Id'Dltl Jnea.
1l1<1." bp ·augbt Roating out on the heav)'
:Iir: :lnn luminolls ,hape be seen
, vil'li lig i n Home bl'iIliantly-lighted
front-~al1ery. nul of every t.en] rsone you Illeet. lIill al" enthllsiastic waltzer : alld that ninth one, the fieriest fanatic of th m all, is ure to be a. young civil , I'Vallt, thu "with victory and witb melody ' pursuing his upward patb 1,0 the height of official honours.
~othin arrest him in hls career.
The gallery too narrow for his evolu-tions does not exist. Th hours strike in vain on his deaf ears. One exhausted partner aftel' another he has led back to her mamma and the restora-t ivl' champagne- up and his ardonr
I. n t a whit abr.ted, though his
hair m to be prinkled with
diamond-du t, and hi· cheeks have llnk t tbe pallor of that wilted lily, his oUar- the la t of tbe posy g,\thered at home, and thrown away dl'ooping into a 'orner of the dreBsing-room, olf tha vcrandah. Thie ie 8ublime
80
8~ftllAfe.
courage, indeed. As one lookt! at him, one is reminded of lndian braves, who, at tbe fint outburst of the war-whoops, put on their very best paint, and their ehinieBt mocassins, and hurry to thr gatbering of the chiefs, there to dan 'l"
the war-dance: not inelegantly Ot·
without hidden meaning: a h p\'anc and twirl, a prophesy of Bcalp-wreatheu triumpbs.
But dancing- like virtue- may b argued to be its own reward. And, as Bueh, it but partiaUy fits into th Iy tem of amusement con idered a a meanB to preferment. Fo\' th triumpli.·
of ths principle, cOll1mend me to a reception. Each great man' day- fol' iL is his observe, and not hi wife's- i
&nnounced befor hand in th news-papers, or printed, one in a long li t n a separate slip of pap l' Wllich yotl n11l t
stick up in I,h corner ol' yout' minor: so that there shall be 110 PI' taxt
r
I' ignorance. '1'0 JlIakc <lRl>Ul'tlIl' doubly ure, yOtl put f\ penl·iJ mflrk a~ain'l91
th nam and " day' of your own pal'ticular great man. On the appointed date, as tbe clock strikes sev n, you go. From afar you s e thc blaze of hi front "'allery: the drive hines lI'ith Illultitudinous arriage-Jamps, and fwcry TH w anel then, a' another vehicle
draw~ up. tha ma trof th hou.e is .een d "ndinO' the v randab-step ,to help om lady to alight from ht'l' cal'-riage, witb gray courtesy offering hel' hi.
lum to conllu ·t hel' towarus the boste .
• 'hA I'i , I,'xtend. a IV leoming; hand, h 0' hol' n wly-arrived crU st to ba srat d, [lnd I' urn fl a Ianguid con vel'-satioll with the "reat lady at h l' I'igbt.
nlo s, inl I, 1, tho new ar1'Ï\'al be a gr atol' lady in whiel! 'a e tbe formel'
UCCl1plll1 will ccd to 11 I' the plac of bomlur and content hel' elf with th opx(-. 800n, around the big ll1arble topped tabIe, th irc'le i;o drawn, onc-half of it hining like the rainbowed sky: the other blaek a innermoBt darkne. s : ne ~emi-eircl of' women:
92
another of men: as strictly eeparated
&s we are taught tbat tbe ebeep and goat8 sball be, on a certain day. I can-not but think that the men must be con-SCiOU8 of the fact, and its dire symbolism.
}I'or, as of ten as not, they get up, and stand unbappily together in the fartbest corner of the verandah, and, with cigara and cigarc tea, make littlo cloude to hide themselves from tbe children of the light shining far off, and drink sherry out of little glasses, and in deep meditation. Until, suddenly, the booming of the eight o'clock gun breaks th spell. Every watch is taken out of every waistcoat-pocket, and s t aright. Every countenance fl'ightens, and the greatest man of aU-not Lancelot, Ol' any lesser man, for his life !- catching a look from his lady, sitting mournful in her place, . te ps forward, and boldly claims her fol' his OWI1 again. Then the others follow, the host still conducting each fair olle back to her arriage: and in another
9a
moment the verandah is left desolate, and that reception is a thing of tbe past.
Not more than two or three of the guests have interchanged a word witb either host or hostess beyond these con-ventional phrases of welcome and good bye; and unless some members of the aame coterie have been sitting together, -Batavia society is as fuil of coteries as
• pine-apple is of seeds-they have not
I had much conversation among them-selTes either. Of pleasul'e, there has been nothing, of profit so much as may be derived from seeing and being seen.
It is almost as it was at tue Court of Louis XIV. Acte de présence has been made: and th at is all; but, as it seems, it is enough. This is, indeed, a triumph of the bureaucratie principle.
In "Java "-as the Bataviaus eaU the rest of the island, in curious con tra-distinction to the capital- this principle rules with even greater despotism: it
&SSUlDes the importance of a.u arti·1 of faith. Batavia, aftel' all, that " ubl1l'b
114
BociaZ Lift.
of tbe Hague," is too much inBuenced by tbe manners and opinions of the Mother Country to be accounted a colonial town. And, among the colonial ideas it is thus gradually discarding, is that one of tbe ex-treme importance and super-eminence of office. In Holland, society metes with a different measure. And the knowiedge, perpetually forced on him, that the Honourable of Batavia must sink into plain Mr. Jansen or Smit ofthe Hague, is sobering enough to keep tbe vanity of even the most arrogant official within decent limits. Not to mention the fact that, among his fellow-citizens, there is a large proportion of non-officials, not at all eager to acknowledge even his temporary 8uperiority. Whilst in IC Java," where communication with the civilized world is much les8 frequent and much more difficult, old colonial notions have retained their pristine vigour. The" Resident" of a little 3' ava station is still very muoh wbM
ti
Facls ulld FU1U-"Ï.eS MOUt Java.
bis predeeessor, tbe "Merebant," was in the days of the East-India Company, a veritable little king. The gilt
Cl payong" held over bis head on official occasions seems a royal canopy, and his gold-Iaeed uniform-cap a kingly crown in the eyes of his temporary sub-jects. The native ehiefs revere him as their u elder brother." Ris own sub or-dinates naturally look up to him. Tbe planters, who, in their transactions with the native population-bad keepArs of contract8, on the whole- are dependent upon his deeision, need to be, :tnd to continue on good term with him. And when it is further taken into eon-sideration that the soeial life of the station must be exaetly what he cho08es to make of it, it will be evident why even absolutely inde-pendent persons should seek to be in his good graces. Thus the man lives in an atmosphere of adulation. If there be a lack of humour or an abundance of vanity in his
com-88
position, he will take hi. IlSIllJcio-roya.lt,y t;eriouJy, :lI1d stri ·tly ox.:wt hOOlagfJ .
position, he will take hi. IlSIllJcio-roya.lt,y t;eriouJy, :lI1d stri ·tly ox.:wt hOOlagfJ .