s. Its marble floor is strewn with splendid rugs and
tiger-skins; hanging from the ceiling are enormous cut-glass
chandeliers; set in the walls, on either side of the scarlet-and-gold
throne, are life-size portraits of the present Sultan's father and
grandfather done in glazed Delft tiles, which seem more appropriate for
a bathroom than a throne-hall. From each end of the apartment
scarlet-carpeted staircases, with gilt balustrades, lead to the second
floor. Under one of these staircases is a sort of closet, with glass
doors, which looks for all the world like a large edition of a
telephone booth in an American hotel. The doors were sealed with strips
of paper affixed by means of wax wafers, but, peering through the
glass, I could made out a large table piled high with trays of precious
stones, ingots of virgin gold and silver, vessels, utensils and images
of the same precious metals. It was the state treasure of Koetei and
was worth, so the Resident told me, upward of a million dollars.

When I was at Tenggaroeng the young Sultan, an anaemic-looking youth in
the early twenties, had not yet been permitted by the Dutch authorities
to ascend the throne, the country being ruled by his uncle, the Regent,
an elderly, affable gentleman who, in his white drill suit and round
white cap, was the image of a Chinese cook employed by a Californian
friend of mine. Upon the formal accession of the young Sultan the seals
of the treasury would be broken, I was told, and the treasure would be
his to spend as he saw fit. I rather imagine, however, that the Dutch
_controleur_ attached to his court in the capacity of adviser will
have something to say should the youthful monarch show a disposition to
squander his inheritance.

Up-stairs we were shown through a series of apartments filled to
overflowing with the loot of European shops--ornate brass beds, inlaid
bureaus and chiffoniers, toilet-sets of tortoise-shell and ivory,
washbowls and pitchers of Sevres, Dresden and Limoges, garnish vases,
statuettes, music-boxes, mechanical toys, models of all ships and
engines, and a thousand other useless and inappropriate articles, for,
when the late Sultan paid his periodic visits to Europe, the
shopkeepers of Paris, Amsterdam and The Hague seized the opportunity to
unload on him, at exorbitant prices, their costliest and most unsalable
wares. Opening a marquetry wardrobe, the Regent displayed with great
pride his collection of uniforms and cerem