driven away their rivals the Portuguese, had conquered
the natives of Macassar, and fully established
their authority over all this part of the island. Opposite
the fort is the “ Societeit,” or Club-House—
for every place of any considerable size in the Netherlands
India has one or two of these pleasant
resorts, where newspapers and periodicals are received,
and all the social Europeans gather in the
cool evenings to enjoy a “ pijt ”—a small glass of
gin with bitters—or “ a potje van bier,” in just the
way that Irving pictures the happy moments of Rip
van Winkle. Any member may introduce a stranger,
who is at once considered one of the fraternity; and
I formed many pleasant acquaintances and passed
many pleasant hours in this way. Beyond the clubhouse,
on a street beautifully shaded with tamarind-
trees, are the hotel and residence of the governor. I
called on him, for, as I was travelling under the
patronage of the government, it was expected that
I should present myself before the highest official
of each place that I might chance to visit, and thus
express my sense of the kindness of the government
toward me; and, at the same time, do what the
etiquette of the land required. The governor here
most kindly offered me post-horses free, if I would
stop and travel in the territory under his immediate
command. After the heat of the day was passed,
two of my merchant-friends gave me a ride through
the town, and a mile or two out into the adjoining
country, to visit the tombs of the native princes who
ruled that region before the arrival of Europeans.
These tombs had, originally, been enclosed in a
house, but the roof was already gone, and the walls
were rapidly crumbling away. At the foot and
head of each grave was a square pillar. Near by
¡were the ruins of a building which may have been
[the residence of one of these princes. It was, like
¡the house enclosing the tombs, about thirty feet
¡square, with an entrance on one side. In the front,
land right and left sides, were two ranges of holes,
probably designed for windows. The upper ones
were small, but the lower ones were a foot and
a half in diameter. Its walls were eighteen inches
t hirkj and of the common coral rock. Several steps
led up to the entrance, and this and the windows
were grotesquely ornamented. De Cauto informs
ins that these people were accustomed | to bum
1 their dead, and collect the ashes in urns, which they
[inter in separate fields, where they erect chapels, and
[for a year the relatives bring food, which they place
[on their tombs, and which the dogs, cats, and birds
■carry off.”
We then took a delightful walk through the
I adjoining forest of waringin-trees and cocoa-nut and
[betel-nut palms, and again and again I wished I
Icould have photographic views of the scenery
■around us to show to my friends, for words utterly
¡¡fail to convey any idea of the rich grouping of the
palms and shrubbery, and festooning vines about
Bus, as the setting sun shot into the luxuriant foliage
long, horizontal pencils of golden light.
Here we found the coffee-tree growing wild, and
»near by we came to the tomb of a rich native merc
h a n t. It was a low, square building, surmounted