aleh subsequently returned to his native country, and D'Almeida
found him residing in an artistically furnished house with large and
beautiful gardens near Batavia. In the course of this visit he was asked
whether there were any other Javan artists who had attained similar
proficiency. He replied, "Cafe et sucre, sucre et cafe, sont tout-ce
qu'on parle ici. C'est vraiment un air triste pour un artiste."

[Footnote 7: At the time of writing I have come across the following
paragraph in the Java news column of the _Singapore Free Press_ for
February 23, 1892: "The _Nieuwsblad_ notes the arrival of a Turk from
Singapore in the _Stentor_, who is suspected of having the intention to
stir up the natives of Java. The police are paying attention to him."]

The artistic perception inborn in the Javan natives is nowhere more
clearly manifested than in the colour and form of their dress. Nothing
impresses the visitor more quickly or more pleasantly than the gay and
graceful groups which throng the streets or roads. The light cottons and
silken cloths which the natives wear are admirably suited to the
climate, and an exquisite taste seems to govern the selection of colours
and the fashion of wearing their garments. Both men and women alike wear
the _sarong_, a long decorated cloth wound round the lower limbs and
fastened at the waist; over this the former wear a _badjoe_, or short
open jacket, and the latter a _kabaia_, or cloak, closed at the waist by
a silver pin (_peniti_), and reaching down almost to the bottom of the
sarong. Over the right shoulder is gracefully flung a long scarf called
a _slendang_, used by mothers to carry their babies, and by the men as a
belt when they are engaged in any active work. A square cloth (_kain
kapala_) is worn on the head by men; it is folded in half diagonally,
and then folded over and round the head until it looks much like a
turban. On the top of this a wide straw hat (variously shaped) is
carried, to protect the wearer against the sun. The women, on the
contrary, wear nothing but their glossy black hair, or carry a bamboo
umbrella if they wish for a similar protection.

The native weapons are the bamboo spear, and the short wavy sword called
a _kriss_; but the only arm they carry nowadays is a _golok_, or
straight piece of iron with a handle and sheath, used for lopping off
boughs and cutting wood. The better class of natives use European
furniture, but the ordinary peasants and artisans,