ent in eating,
sleeping, and bathing, that but a small residuum can be spared for
those outside interests which easily drop away from the European when
exiled to a colony beyond the beaten track of travel, and destitute of
that external friction which counteracts the enervating influence of
the tropics. Comfort is at a discount according to English ideas, but
the arrangements of the Hotel Nederlanden, under a kindly and capable
proprietor, render it an exception to the prevailing rule. Each guest
is apportioned a little suite, consisting of bedroom, sitting-room, and
a section of the verandah, fitted up with cane lounge, table, and
rocking-chair. The bathrooms, with porcelain tank and tiles, leave
nothing to be desired, and the "dipper-bath," infinitely cooler than
the familiar tub, becomes an unfailing delight. Ominous prophecies have
emphasised the rashness of coming to Java in the rainy season, but it
has expended its force before January arrives, and though daily showers
cool the air, and the sky is often overcast, no inconvenience is
experienced. Lizards and mosquitoes are few, and in the marble-floored
dining hall of cathedral proportions the absence of a punkah is
generally unfelt, though the fact of a tropical climate is realised at
the slightest exertion. The day begins at 6 a.m. with a cup of the Java
coffee, which, at first unpalatable, reveals by degrees the hidden
excellence of the beverage, brought cold in a stoppered cruet, the
potent essence requiring a liberal admixture of boiling water. At 9
a.m. a solid but monotonous breakfast of sausage, bacon, eggs, and
cheese is customary, with the accompaniment of iced water, though tea
and coffee are provided for the foreign traveller, unused to the cold
comfort which commends itself to Dutch taste. The mid-day _riz-tavel_
from beginning to end of a stay in Java, remains the terror of the
English visitor. Each plate is heaped with a mound of rice, on which
scraps of innumerable ingredients are placed--meat, fish, fowl, duck,
prawns, curry, fried bananas, and nameless vegetables, together with
chilis and chutneys, sembals, spices, and grated cocoanut, in
bewildering profusion. The Dutch digestion triumphantly survives this
severe test at the outset of the meal, and courageously proceeds to the
complementary courses of beefsteak, fritters and cheese. Fortunately
for those of less vigorous appetite, mine host of the Nederlanden, far
in advance of his Javanese frater