The most fatal effects of ignorance in the healing
art are exemplified in venereal complaints.
The natives are unacquainted with the use of mercury
in the cure of this malady 5 and although in
their excellent constitutions, and under the advantages
of a vegetable diet, many cures are probably
effected without it, still many fall victims,
and evert a stranger cannot pass some oE th e
highways without observing many objects in the
last and most loathsome stages of this disorder.*
The treatment of women in child-birth is judicious,
or at least discreet, for nothing is done to
impede the operations of nature; The facility of
the process of parturition in a warm climate, is the
most obvious and greatest advantage possessed by
its inhabitants over the natives of temperate regions.
The pains of labour are of such short continuance,
and, consequently, produce so little exhaustion,
while the tendency to inflammation art
the constitution is so small, that women, in many
parts of the east, are frequently seen going „ about
their usùal domestic occupations in a - few days,
nay, sometimes in a few hours, after child-birth.
After this account of the state of thé medical
art among the Indian islanders, I shall proceed to
describe their Music: '' Each tribe has its distinct
national airs, but it is among the Javanese alone
that music assumes the semblance of an art.
These people have, indeed, carried it to a state of
improvement, not only beyond their own progress
in other arts, but much beyond, I think, that of all
other people in so rude a state of society. This is
most remarkably displayed in the construction
and composition of their musical instruments
and bands. These instruments are either mnd
instruments, stringed instruments, or instruments
of percussion. The two first are remarkably rude,
and it is only in the last that the perfection of Javanese
music is to be discovered. I shall offer the
reader a short description of all these in succession,
and afterwards proceed to give a description of
their musical system. In doing this, I am happy
to say, that my own deficiencies are supplied by
the skill and learning of Dr Crotch, the well
known author of the “ Specimens of the various
Styles of Music.” I supplied this gentleman with
a variety of Javanese airs, taken down by my friend
Mr ; Scott of Java, and he had the advantage of inspecting
the fine collection of musical instruments
belonging to Sir Stamford Raffles at the Duke of
Somerset’s. On the subject of Javanese music he
addressed a letter to me, the words of which I
shall quote without alteration on every material
point.
Of the wind instruments the rudest and earliest
is the Angleliing. This instrument is confined to
the mountaineers of. Java, particularly those of
the western end of the island. It consists of a