129: Batavia, called by some writers, the Queen of the East,
on account of its wealth and the beauty of its buildings, is situate
very near the sea, in a fertile plain, watered by the river Jaccatra,
which divides the town. The sea-shore is on the north of the city; and
on the south the land rises with a very gentle slope to the mountains,
which are about fifteen leagues inland. One of these is of great height,
and is called the Blue Mountain. The early history of this city is given
in the tenth volume of the Modern Universal History, to which the reader
is referred for information which it would perhaps be tedious to detail
in this place. Batavia, the reader will easily imagine, has been much
impaired by the calamities of her European parent; but, indeed, for some
considerable time before they commenced, she had very materially
declined in consequence and power.--E.]

The Dutch seem to have pitched upon this spot for the convenience of
water-carriage, and in that it is indeed a second Holland, and superior
to every other place in the world. There are very few streets that have
not a canal of considerable breadth running through them, or rather
stagnating in them, and continued for several miles in almost every
direction beyond the town, which is also intersected by five or six
rivers, some of which are navigable thirty or forty miles up the
country.[130] As the houses are large, and the streets wide, it takes up
a much greater extent, in proportion to the number of houses it
contains, than any city in Europe. Valentyn, who wrote an account of it
about the year 1726, says, that in his time there were, within the
walls, 1242 Dutch houses, and 1200 Chinese; and without the walls, 1066
Dutch, and 1240 Chinese, besides 12 arrack houses, making in all 4760:
But this account appeared to us to be greatly exaggerated, especially
with respect to the number of houses within the walls.

[Footnote 130: The river Jaccatra, as has been mentioned, runs through
the city, viz. from south to north, and having three bridges, one near
the castle, at the lower end, another at the upper end, and the third
about the centre of the town. It is from 160 to 180 feet broad, within
the city, and is fortified, though indifferently, at its mouth, which,
however, is of less importance, as a continually increasing bar renders
access to the city by it impracticable for large vessels.--E.]

The streets are spacious and handsome, and the banks of the ca