igher class wear it in the girdle, and though
unrepresented in the sculpture of Javanese temples, the _kris_ is
ascribed to the days of Panji, a Hindu warrior whose feats form the
libretto of a popular drama, though his authenticity appears uncertain.
The changes in local costume and character, as seen in wayside
villages, enliven the journey until we reach the mountain gateway of
Tjadas Pangeran, "the Royal Stone," flanked by flashing waterfalls, and
forming the entrance to the region supreme in natural scenery, archaic
art, and literary interest. The black cone of Goentoer, "the thunder
peak," accentuates the red blaze of the declining sun on the intricate
rice-mosaic of green and gold in the divinely beautiful plain revealed
through the rocky cleft. Amid the many glories of Javanese landscape,
the poetic glamour of these palm-girt levels lingers longest in the
memory, for the world-famed picture known as "The Plains of Heaven"
might have been inspired by the haunting loveliness of these rolling
uplands. Our railway carriage contains a native Regent, his principal
wife, and a pretty daughter. Javanese princes are made ostensible
rulers of native districts, but associated with Dutch Residents as
"Elder Brothers," who may be more accurately termed compulsory
advisers. Without a measure of despotic authority exercised by the
fraternal partner, the spendthrift Malay would cause perpetual
hindrance to insular development and commercial prosperity. The old
Regent, with embroidered military jacket glittering above his
elaborately-patterned _sarong_, looks a grim and forbidding figure, and
evidently regards his womenkind as beneath notice. His head is tied up
in a black kerchief, and a brilliant Order conferred by the Queen of
Holland adorns his breast. Madame, in magenta shawl and purple gown,
travesties European costume. Diamonds blaze incongruously on arms and
neck, a scarlet flower in oily black braids completing her startling
attire. The girl, in yellow _sarong_ and pink cotton jacket glorified
with rubies and pearls, shows her high breeding in slender wrists,
delicate hands, and bare feet of exquisite modelling, a red stain of
henna drawing attention to their statuesque contour. She staggers
beneath a load of impedimenta belonging to her princely father: bags,
bundles, and a heavy cloak. Javanese parents of exalted rank treat
their daughters with disdain, the approved discipline of family life
consisting in stamping an i