s race horses or a collector of his porcelains. As for the palms,
I had no idea that so many varieties existed until I visited
Buitenzorg--emperor palms, Areca palms, Banka palms, cocoanut palms,
fan palms, cabbage palms, sago palms, date palms, feather palms,
travelers' palms, oil palms, Chuson palms, climbing palms over a
hundred feet long--palms without end, Amen. Small wonder that the palm
is regarded with affection wherever it can be grown, for what other
tree can furnish food, shelter, clothing, timber, fuel, building
materials, fiber, paper, starch, sugar, oil, wax, dyes and wine?

But, when all is said and done, nothing in those splendid gardens, not
the stately avenue of kanari trees whose interlacing branches form a
nave as awe-inspiring as that of some great cathedral, not the rare and
curious orchids which would arouse the envy of a millionaire, appealed
to me so powerfully as a little Grecian temple of white marble, all but
hidden by the encircling shrubbery, which marks the sleeping-place of
Lady Raffles, wife of that Sir Stamford Raffles who once was the
British lieutenant-governor of Java. It pleases me to think that it is
toward this little, moss-grown temple that the bronze statue of the
great empire-builder, which stands on the Esplanade in Singapore, is
peering with wistful eyes, for on its base he carved these lines:

"Oh thou whom ne'er my constant heart
One moment hath forgot,
Tho' fate severe hath bid us part
Yet still--forget me not."

* * * * *

Batavia, the capital of the Indies, is built on both banks of the
Jacatra River, in a swampy and unhealthy plain at the head of a
capacious bay. Just as New York is divided into the boroughs of
Manhattan and the Bronx, so the metropolis of Netherlands India is
divided into the districts of Batavia and Weltevreden, the suburb of
Meester Cornelis corresponding to Brooklyn. Batavia is the business
quarter of the city; Weltevreden the residential. The former, which is
built on the edge of the harbor, is very thickly populated and, because
of its lowness, very unhealthy. Only natives, Malays, Chinese and Arabs
live here and the great European houses which were once the homes of
the Dutch officials and merchants have either fallen into decay or have
been converted into warehouses and shops. The Europeans now live in
Weltevreden, or Meester Cornelis, though they have their offices in the
lower town. Both