principle, an Australian carries his swag
with a lurch forward.

While he was busied with the pikulan, the cooly talked over the affairs
of the _Tuan Ingris_ (English gentleman) to a crowd of natives. Suddenly
I heard the word _kuda_. Fortunately _kuda_ (horse) was one of the words
I knew: and I at once ordered the kuda to be brought. Half a dozen
natives set off to find it. It turned out to be a very diminutive pony,
but I was not prepared to criticize.

We set out from the inn under brighter auspices. The cooly slung my
Gladstone bag at one end of the pikulan, and another small bag, with a
big stone to balance, at the other. He moved with an elastic step, as if
there was no greater pleasure in the world than carrying bags up
mountain paths, and beat the kuda hands down.

Relieved of the fatigue of walking, I could admire the mountain scenery.
As we climbed higher and higher, the stretches of green country grew
more extensive, and the blue mountains seemed to grow loftier in the
distance. Once over the saddle of the mountain, we descended rapidly
into a region of almost virgin forest. Ferns and large-leaved trees
overhung the path; from the verdant undergrowth there sprang at
intervals the vast round trunks of the rosamala trees. In the branches
high above, and beyond the range of any gun, the wild pigeons fluttered
and cooed. The spaces between the great trees were filled by a
background of dense forest.

About five o'clock the red roofs of the plantation came in sight. In
another five minutes I was being-welcomed with Anglo-Saxon heartiness.
"Ah!" said H----, as he looked at my little pony. "I sent you down a
horse that would have brought you up within the hour. You should have
gone to Tji Reingass; that is our station, not Soekaboemi. Johnston
ought to have known. Come in."

In H----'s comfortable den I soon forgot the various _contretemps_ of my
journey to Tji Wangi.

CHAPTER IX.

THE CULTURE SYSTEM.

Financial system previous to the British occupation--
Raffles' changes--Return of the Dutch--Financial
policy--Van den Bosch Governor-General--Introduction
of the culture system--Its application to sugar--To
other industries--Financial results of the system--
Its abandonment--Reasons of this--Present condition
of trade in Java--Financial outlook.

As I have already mentioned, the Colonial Government succeeded the Dutch
East India Company in the administration of Java towards the end