1T i but ('OL' want I' a betteL' word th at nf' 11 thi' tp1'I1 1)(" to\\"n .. 1 (\
designate that pi tur S41H' I'n"('nlhl,'
or
villa-. tudded park and H\'lJnll\O~.
Batavia, 'l'iler i, it i imp, an Irll'1' Batavia, gr y, grilT. allel :Hony [I :lny war- carred city f El1rope- tb .tron!!·
hold whi h tll(' "t('el-rlad ('olon iPt .1' 1620 built on tbp nÜlls
or
lmrnt-dowli Ja 'atm. But, 10n<1 "ilI' abanrloncd hy oldiers and , ea 'eful citi7. 11. alikl', anc!i " 011('(' tltnLely Illamülln: UCf!:rad C'\ 1"
ffic . all. I \\'lll'l'liollse, , ii ha, "111Ik iJlI"
a mor 'uburb- th(' hll in .~ ql1f11'l r
of Batavin- :tli\'c dUl'in ij
r \\.
hom f 30the day ollly, and sinking back-i;lt;;a c1eath·likC' stillne"". n~ ,oon a. tlw I'I1lnhle of til last do\\'n-h'ain ha' fiiod
;tway IIlIlong-its l"'hoinJ! ·tof> tE'. ADel the L'eal Batavia- ilJ l'ontradi. tinction lo whidJ thi "Ilei nt t(uartf'r i called
11 the town "_i as uolike it a if it had
bl'UIi built b~' a di/f r ut order of beings.
Tt i be t de cribed a a y tem of park and avenue, link d by many iI
plea~ant bywayand had w)' path with
'I ,)'('
ttnd ther ti glimp of the Kalil3ahLvia gliding al ng btween th' hamboo grovc on it bank , and every-wh I'C tbe whitelles of Iow pillared hou.e·, tanding IV II back from the road, each in its own leafy gard n. In te ad of wall , a ruw of low tone pillar 110t much higher than mile tone parates private from publi
<Yrounds, 0 that frOlTl a di tance one 'unnot.. c where tb park ends aod th streat begin . Tbe badow of the tall
t I'ee of the avenue keeps the aarden eool: nnd tbe white dust of the road i
31
Faci:; (md 1,'ancie:; (tbout Ja'IJtt.
"prinkl cl with the ft w )" that.li' at-ter cl v r til Hl oth gra. plots and
... h Il- trewn path of thC' villa.
Am ng th -lULU' . of Batavia, th' larg t anel mo. t l' rnal'kahle hy far i tbofamou KoniD" pl in. Itisnotso ll111c.h:ct. 'Quar a . imply a ficlu, va t 'lluugh to build a 'ity 11. dotted frolll place' to pla 'e by ik turinCT 'attl anel hOl'clered on th foUl' iel . of it irr -gular quad ':1110'1 by a tripl l'OW of branching tamal'inel" Prom the 'outh, two aeria] m untain-top over! ok it.
Th bl'owll bare xjJanso f meadowy rrrollnd lyin tlm broadly op n to thr
." , 1
<;ky, with notbiuCT but 'loud ,anel ~lou -like hili-top 1'i inO' ~tbov lt dlstant rampart of tI' , eom. like ,t tra t
?f
llntam d wilderne " trangely et \IJ
the mid t of a city, au 1 all th mol"
,;avage and 101lely fol' the 'e roooth,
'Ul'l'otmdings, Btween tbe toms of
the delicate-leaved bmal'illds, glimpse' ar caught of gateway. and pillared house : thc eastern ide of th quad·
Si
r<lngic is disfigtu'ed by a glaring rail-wa.y-station, And, notwithsta.nding, it I'emains a l'ugged solilary spot, a waste, il'l'oclaimally barren, and which, by th heer tr ngl'J1 of it, IInconquol'ed wilclness, sllbduos its
f'1I vil'onm ent to it own mood, Th· 11 usos, glintincr btween tho trees, . e m mere accident of tho
lanc1-'ap , simply heaps of ton ; the glur-ill'" miJway- tation it elf sink into an incli tinet whitene ',di a oeiated from any idoa of human thought an 1 enter-prise.
Now and then a Ilative trav 1'50S til Held, slowly mOlling along all invi 'ible track, He do not di turb the Ion -lino , Ho i indiCTenou to th pJaco, it natural produ t, almo t a' mllch as the cicada trilling muon'" the «mss blades, th 'nakes darting in and out amon'" th Ol' vico~ of tbe un-bHkec1 soil, alld thel all cattJe, u pOli who' back the erows pereh, There is but olie abid-i lig powel' alld pre 'enee here - Uw uroau
3S
lPacls Ctnd F(t11,cie.~ aboul Java.
-
-brown ficld- tmdor the broad blue ky, sbifting shades and splendours over it, and that horizon of sombre trees all around.
This vast sweep of sky gives the Plein a tone aod atmosphere of its o\\'n. The change in the hour and the
sea-on that are but guess d at from some oeeasional glimp. e in tho str et, here are fully revealed. The sunshine may have been glaring enough among the whitewashed houses of Ryswyk and Molenvliet-it is on the Plein vnly that tropïeal sunshine manifests itself in thc plenitude of its power. :;he great un stands fl.aming in the dizzy heights; from the soorohed field to the ineandescent zenith the air is one blaze, motionless and white-hot, in whioh the taU tnmarinds stand ere and grey, the grass hrivels up to a tawny hay, and the bare oil Wfens and cracks. The intolerabl day is past.
Peopl , rettuning home from thc town, see a. rOieate sheen playing over roofe
34
a?d waUs, a long Cl'imson eloud sailing lugh overhead. Those walking on the Plein behold an apocalyptic heaven and a transflgured earth- a firmamental eonfl.agration-eruptions of scarlet fl.am through incarnadined cloud, rUDllels of fire darting athwart the melting gold and tran lucent green of tbe horizon' hili-top ehanged into crater and tali trees into fountain of zodia al light.
Alld many arethenight ,when, betom-ing aware of a dimness in the moonlit air, 1 have ha telled to the Konings-plein, and found it whitely waving with mi t, a very lake of vapour fitfully heavillg and sinking in
th~
uncel'Lain moolllight; antl rolling airy waves against a hore of uarkl1ess.
Tbc ea~on , to bow they triumph
i~ UÜ bit of oJ:.len CutUltry! When, ultel' the JevulU'ing heat of tbe Ea t MOJl 0011, Llte g od gift of the rains i,,; J:.IOlll'Ctl down from til heaveus alld th tOWll kllOW of llothiug
bu~
impl'ucti .. bi' stre Ls, Uoou~d houses, 35
Faet, ahul Ftt"eiee about J(I,V(I"
:md crumbling walle, then it is a time of l'esurrection and vernal glory for tbe Plein, The tamarinds, gal1nt grey skeletons a few days ago, burst into full-leaved greenness: tbe hard, white, cl'acked soil is uddenly covered with tender gras , fresh a8 the herbage of an April meadow, in th at land offl'cshness Holland, In tbe early morning, the broad young blacles are white with dew, There i a thin silvery l1aze in tbe air, which dissolve-' into a pink and golden radi-anee, a Lha firsL slanting sunbeam,' pierce it. Anel the tree tops, far olf and inelistinct, seem to l'i,;e airily over hollows of blue shade, Not far from the Koning plein thel'e is another quare,
it v 1')' opnosit in aspect anel
chal'acteJ'- tlte ielyllic Duke's Pal'k-very shadowy, fragrant, an 1 green.
One walks in it as in a poef dr am. All around th ere is the ml1ltitudinou budding and blo somillg of faint-oloul'ed flowel's, a play of transparent bamhoo-shadolVs that flit and shift
36
TM Tot n,
over smooth grassplot and shell-strewll path, a ceaseless alternation of glooms anel glorie, Set amidst taIl dark tree, whose topmost brancbes break out into flame-colourcd blossom, thel'e tand ct marbie mansion, tem-ple-like in its severe grace of DOl'ie columns and crownÎl1g fronti pieee, A bend of tbe river enfolds tbe plea ance, murmul'ing, The Park of the Duke . , , , , , , ,On wonders- was he at all like Olivia's princely suitor? and we re these glad s ever haunted by som Violu-like maiden, wooing him all-ul1su,'pe tedly from hi forlom allegianee ? urely, yonder starry orange-grove we re a meet seelle for the final recognition :
-"Doy, thou ha t, said to me n tbou anc.!
times.
Tboll nevcl' 1I'0uid t lov IVoman like LO me, " "
The i I'ouy of facts ha willcd it other-wise,
A duke it was, ure enougb, that 37
stood sponsor to the spot. But as (aeeording to French authorities) there are fagots and fagots, even so there are Dukes and Dukes-and vastly more points of difference than of resem-blance between Viola's gentie prince, and that thunderous old Lord of
axen-Weimar, to whose rumbling Kreuzdonnerwetters and Himmels-Sakramellts this abode of romance re-eehoed some fifty years ago. A dis-tant relative to the King of the Nether-lands, he wa indebted to his Royal kinsman's sen se of family lluty 1'01' these snug quarters, a very considerable ineome (from the N ational 'l'reasury) and the post of an Army Commander, which upheld the dignitary in the pensionel'.
His tastes were few and simpie, and saving the one deligllt of hi soul, a I enurious youth, and the hardship of the Napoleollic upremacy having su thoroughly taught him the habit, that it had become a econd nature to him; anu would !lot be ousted now by the mere
38
'l'he Town.
fact of his having become rieh. He was proud of his parsimony, too-prouder even than of his wcaring, remarkable as it was and, amid t the pomp and
eireum-tanee he had 0 late in life attained
t~, neglected not the hum bIe taJents which had solaeed hi less affiuent days.
o that, looking upon the many goodIy acres around his palace, lying barren of all save grass, flowers, blossoming trees, and sueh like useless stuff, he at once saw what an unique oppor-tunity it wouJd afford him for tbe exer-ei e of his favourite virtue. And, set-ting about the matter in his own thorough-going way, cut down tbe trees, ploughed up the grassplot , and had the grounds neatly laid out in onion-beds, and plantations of the sirih, whicb tbe J avane e loves. Here one might meet the Duke of a mOl'lling- a portly, bald-pated, red-faced oid warrior witb a pl'odigious " meer-schaum " protruding from his bristling white beard, stars, crosses, and
gold-39
Facls a1ul Fancies about Jav(t.
Iace all over bis genera I's uniform, and a pair of Ii t slippers on his rheumatic old toes. An orderIy walked behind him, holding a goJd-edged ' sunshade o\"e1' hi shining pata.
And, every now and then, tbe Duke would stop to look earnestly at bis crop , and, stooping witb a groaning of bi flesh, and a cr aking of hi, 'tigbt tuuic, straighten some trailing plant, or flick off an in ect from th sirih le:1\'e .
" Tbe Dukc was in his kitchen-garden, A counting of bis money,"
as one might vary the nUl'se1'y rhymc.
For money it was he counted, when bc gazed 0 long and earne tly at his vegetables- the alchemy of hi thrifty imagination tuming every young talk and sprouting leaflet into a bit of metal, adorned ,nth his Royal kinsman's effigy. and when tbe green pennies-to-be were plentiful, weIl content was tbe gardener ; and if not-" Mountains and vales and fioods, heard Ye tho e oaths ? ' 'fradition has kept all echo of
40
them. Th y wcr something ql!.Ïte out of t.IJ common order, and with ct , tyI.' and sound 0 emphatically I,h(-'ir own a~ 10 bafnr imitatiol1, anel rend r d 'rip-LioJl a bop Ie ta k.
~or did this ol'igwality wellr ft' a~.
in tlte COlli' of tlime, tbe worthy Dukfo egan lo fOl'g"t tbe langl1ag- ol' tht, 1<'athoJ'land. 1"01', 10 ing bi· G l'IIlaJI.
he found not hi DlltcL, alld the expl' j,,-. ion' he om po. cd ouL of lIclJ odels and 'nds of tlle two langllagc" a he ould lay tongll to, would La\' a tonished the builders of Babel 'fower. Fortu-nately, ho\\'ever, hi angel' wa aR :-:hol't-lived a it wa violent, :md, wh n th la t thund rclap of .Kreu1.millionen Himmel Donner vetter had g1'uduallv died awa.y in an indi -tinct l'umbling, h' would lIlU0101l hi . att ndant 1'01' a light Lo l' kindie hi ]lipe with a' C DI now thou bla k pi '-dog ,. tbat oltnded <juit>
t'l'ÏencUy. od ol I 1 IUf>tel' )' at bot-tom, h tl'el:l.ted his depenu nt' kin Hy,
.\nd never enl away a b {!gal'
penn.·-41
I/acts (trui lla'twies allo'ut Java.
lp!,,~. "Doitle "t ShOllJd have written
,
fOl" hi~ donatioJUo IJe\'cr Xt 'cded that
;1111 unt.
'I'here is a lalt: vf .111 A. D. C., hi:.
:\l'lJointcd almoner JOl' tlte tim(' , havinc "
ullO day come to hi111 w'th a subscri} -tioJl list, on whieh the cu tomary doit ligured a His · 'eren Highne~' the Duke of Saxen Weimar' . contriblltion
,
' aud hinting at wbat he considered tbe diSpt'oportion hetween thc exigllity of thc gift, and the wealth and worIdly tatiol1 of tbe giver. He must bave b en a very ra h A. D. C. Tbe Duke tLlrned llpon him like a savage bull.And, aftel' a volley of oatbs: Too little ! he 1'Oare 1: Too little! and again, TOD
little ! I wouJd have you know younkel'; tbat a doit i a great deal when one has nothing at all !
It was a ery de profundis-laughable and half contemptible as it sounded
,
the echo from unforgotten depths of misery.
He had known what it meant ., ta .. 2
'llhe '1'011' ,1.
have nothing at all.' Wherefor
,
anel for those winged word in whi h he uttered the knowleclge, let hL on ion-bed be forgivell him. Of the outrage he eommittcd, only the memory i left- the efrect h:lYe lon~ince heen obliterat d: bountiful tropi -cal natur having alrain hower d h \.
trea, ure," f leaf ancl finw l' ov r t.hp b ggar ct gal'den alld re-I'I' te I, in tllPil' pI ace , the "1' en tower, \lf 11 l' tree .
Hij wijk, Ko rdwijk, nncl MlnvliPL.
th . mmf'reial qLl:ntpl''' or Il:ltavifl, [lJ'P mol' Eur peall in n'lJi j, I,han til, Koning 'pI iJl: tliP hou::!l'''' - !top,; rOl' th ....
Illn ... t part- al'p. huiH in traight l'O\\'~:
"id walk l,ol'd r th "trü tso :md n Iloi .. y litjjc ::it ·êllll- Hl' pants a nd mLtle, pa t frum Illorninrr tiU night. But, with th sc Euro]) all, tl'ait Jaran se
harac-tel'i~ti , minrrle, iJnd Iho l't'~lIlting lf()cl is a 11101-\\ "Ul'iOll, on '. someWltal bo\\'ilderin y wi thaI I (I rltt: n ,\V-COlli I' in it mixtl11'e of the unknowll with tlH' familiar. Ab olutely commonplar
43
F'a.cts and Fo,ncie/S ahout J4114.
• hops are approaehed through gardens, the sidewalks are strewn with flowerp of the flame-of-the-forest: and at the treet-eorner, in. tend of abs, 011. find the nondescript sadoo, it driver.
gay in a flower cl rou !in ve. t 'md a
~audy headkerchief, luatting cro -leg ed on the ba k ~eat. .·0 l'llwijk i'"
unique, an Am terdam . gracht" in n tl'opical etting. Imagine a long straight cnnal, a gleam of gr en-brown water between walls of r ddi h ma ou1'y- spau-ned from place to place by a bridge, and shaded by tIJ. oftly-tinted Innfagf' of tamarincl n eithel' ido a \Vid . r1usty road arid gard n. wel tering iJl the un, a nd glaring white hnn-/{al \\. : the fipl" hlue of tho t1'opi<;al .. ky ov l' it alJ. :alldily-paintrd" pr:lO ..
."Iide down th clark wat!'I': nativl' women pa IIp and down the Ri ht ol' stone 'teps thnt lim 1 " fl' m tht' water'~
edge to tho treet, a flowel' tuck to their gleaming wet hail'; tbe tribe of fruit-vandol' aDd ellers of wret drink and
44
The TOI/·II .
cakes have e tablished themselves along the. parapet, in the shade of the t ama-rinds; and the na.tive crowd, 'oming and going all day long, make. a kalei-do oopic play of rololU's a10nl! th~ . tiIJ rlark cana!.
From the Iittlc ·tation aL th corner of oordwijk anel:M lenvliot, a team-car run along th cnDal down to th suburbs : oyel'y quarter of au houl' i1 come pa t, pnffiDg alld rattling: aml
very time' th' third-clo s compart-ment i. ohokinrr full of nativ s. Thr fever anel th fret of EUl'opean Jil' have eized upon thr e lei uoly I'iental too.
They have aban loneel their il'ih- 'he\\' -ing alld day-drpam-ing llpon the FiqllU1'1'
of mattin 0' in th ('001 eOrnfll' flf
I he hOIl ,th dtl~ty 1 ath alon" wlii h r.h y u~eel I,) tl'lIdgt:'in Indian file, wh n
thpl'p \\'[1'" nn III'~ent nec . it'y 1'01' g in,2'
t,t) markt't· iJnd beh ld them all p rch 'ct
upon thi~" oevil'a enginp,' ",hoJ'e they ,·nnnOT. even it down in the way t,hey were taught to •. hurklillg on th ir
hnn-45
kers."
Tbe skippers and cargoes are more cODservative in their ways-owing, per-haps, to their constant communion with tbe deliberate stream, sauntering along on its way from the hills to the sea, at its own pace. Tbey take life asy ; paddling a,long over the shifting hal -lows and mud-banks ofthe Kali (river) in the same leisurely way their forbears did; bringing red-tiles, brick., and earthenware in flat-bottomed boat: I'
pushing along rafts of bamboo- tem .
\"hich they have feU cl In til woods up-stream. As they me float-ing down the canal, the l'aft of green bamboo, with the thin tip 'UI'-ving upwards like tail :Ind sting of veuomous insects, have a fan ta tieal appearance of living, writhing thillg~.
which the native raftsman ems to be for ever fighting with hi: long pole.
Af ter dal'k, when the tOl'ch at th prow blaze.' Ollt lik tho f'rngle
baleful eye of th monstrou!' 48
Tke Town.
Lhing, the day-dream rleepen' jnto
;t lIightmure. And, shuddering, one remembel's ghastly legends of river-dragollR and el'pents that haunt tbe ,ea, ~wimJl1ing- np-stl'eam to ravish
~Olll wret 'hed morta!. Tbe native ho at . appe~1 to merrier thoughts.
With th -taring white-and-black gaal eyes paiut d upon tbe pl'OW, and the row of red, blue, yeUow, nnd green lozeng arl'Ungecllike scale along the side , they l'emind olle irresistibly of grotesque fishe fol' those big ebi!-dren, the Javanese, to play with their Iittle boats- at house-keeping.
Tbey eat drink, sleep, and live in th prao. _~ roof of plaited bamboo leave help' to make the stflrn into a emblance of a hut: and here, whilst the owner push es along the floating home by means of a. long pole and a deal of apparent exertion, his wife sits cook-in'" the rice for the family meal over a braziel' fuU of live coals: and the chil-dren turn bie about in happy nakedness.
+7
F'acts and Fancies ahout Java. Jllvanese babies, by the way, alway ..
'cem happy. What do they amuse
them elve with, on wonder? 'fhey do not em to Imow ally game', and playt.hings they have nOllo, ex 'ept the tanjong-flower tltey Ulake necklace of.
and pcrchancc ome luekle' ock-l'oaeh rotlnd wbo") hind leg tb y tie a thread LO mak him walk th way he ·h ould. Til ir pal'ent.·
~ioltanllnodan orthodoxy debal's thelll from the so iety of thoir natural com-panions- the dogs : al1d, as for eats, that last resource of ull-amused childhood in Emope, they hold them aCl'ed.
~ioltanllnodan orthodoxy debal's thelll from the so iety of thoir natural com-panions- the dogs : al1d, as for eats, that last resource of ull-amused childhood in Emope, they hold them aCl'ed.