the use of nice tools is implied, their failure
is complete. Their cabinet work, in imitation
of that of Europeans, is never fully finished ;
they cannot make a good lock ; they cannot temper
steel or iron, and, therefore, their cutlery is
rude to the last degree. They do not seem
ever to have been acquainted with the manufacture
of glass. I remember having once seen two
antique Hindu images of this material, found
in Java, but never heard of any other specimens
of the same kind, and must conclude they
were brought from the continent of India as
rarities. It is more surprising to find the Indian
islanders ignorant of the cutting or polishing
of the precious stones. Their diamonds are
cut for them by the natives of Coromandel, and
the rubies and sapphires, which they often wear,
they always use in their rough state.
With all these defects, defects inseparable from
their condition in society, the Indian islanders have,
as labourers and'artists, many valuable qualities.
They are persevering and docile, have robust
frames, and are happily devoid of that incurable
biffotrv, in the use of their own tools, and the O v 7
application of their own processes, which characterize
the natives of India. European saws, chisels,
planes, and axes, are readily used by the Javanese
artisan, and even day-labourers and husbandmen
do not refuse to work with European implements
when their superiority over their own is made obvious
to them. With this nation at least, we might
therefore expect, under favourable circumstances,
a progressive improvement in the mechanical arts.