unwieldy badge of office is about six feet long, generally
made of very gaudy material, and more or less
gilded according to the owner’s rank. Another servant
generally carried a heavy box, from which I concluded
that they were tax gatherers ; others again bundles,
containing master’s best clothes and toilet,—natives,
as a rule, indulge in a greater number of servants than
Europeans do.
On my arrival at Soerakarta, the capital of the little
native state of Solo, I learned that the Emperor was
going to hold a grand reception within a few days on
the occasion of the Javanese feast, “ Garebeg Besar,”
coinciding with the Mahomedan new year, which
accounted for the crowded train, as it is the custom
that His Majesty s subjects come from all parts with
presents of produce and money. This was a splendid
opportunity to witness a ceremony I had so much
heard of. I therefore called at once on the Resident,
to whom I delivered the Governor-General’s letter.
This dignitary was a very tall and bulky gentleman
living in considerable state : he not only invited me to
take part at the Emperor’s levée, at which he proposed
to present me, but also to a grand déjeuner to be given
afterwards at the Residency to all the notables,
European as well as native. This latter I, however,
little cared about 5 and, as I wished to retain my independence
on that day to see all that might be of
interest, I politely declined the banquet, which, I afterwards
heard, had been a very formal and prosy affair,
winding up with the usual loyal toasts.
Besides the Emperor, the nominal Sovereign of the
district, there is another native prince, residing in the
capital, Mangkou Negoro, a rich and more enlightened
man, who affects European manners, dress, and conversation.
He acts as a counterpoise or spy upon the
quasi-ruler of this diminutive empire, whose entire
population is barely 400,000 souls, 10,000 of which are
said to be in the latter’s direct service within the walls
of the Kraton, enclosing park and palace. There is
also a Dutch fort in its immediate neighbourhood conir •
manding the town. The province owes its fertility to
the river Solo and its numerous affluents; the former
reaches the sea in the Strait of Soerabaya, which
separates Java from the island of Madura. The natives
are very docile, and give little trouble to Prince or
Resident; they dress in sarong and blouse, men and
women alike, indigo being principally used for dyeing
common material.
I visited the park, which has little to boast of. There
was a strong bamboo cage in which His Majesty keeps
his tigers, nine m number, which, on state occasions,
are one by one transferred into a large arena to fight