118 A COLLECTING TRIP 
issuing from its crater. This is the first active voleano 
I have ever seen and I shall never forget it. I took 
several photographs and if these do not come out well 
I shall take others later when we return. We arrived 
here at six o’clock in the evening, after the hottest 
and dirtiest ride we have taken so far. I wish you 
could have seen us when we landed at the railroad 
station, boxes, bundles, trunks and pets. All the ho- 
tels were full and so we were obliged to come to this 
one, the Hotel des Indes. Our room was and still is 
simply black with fleas. I picked over fifty off myself 
yesterday and hundreds today. The food is bad and 
very queer. In the morning for breakfast we had 
eold pickled meats and essence of coffee cold, which 
they serve in a vinegar cruet and then fill up the rest 
with hot condensed milk, a very poor drink. But 
while Tom was out arranging about tickets, etc., 
Katherina and I went out to a restaurant and had 
some delicious food. But you can put up with bad 
eating to see a country like this. We have felt two 
earthquakes since we have been here and by a local 
newspaper we find that a small island, off the island 
of Java, with fifteen hundred inhabitants, entirely 
disappeared the day before yesterday. We have also 
just learned of the Kingston disaster. You see it is 
rather difficult to read a Dutch paper. My clothes 
are holding out beautifully. I mean to have my 
Paquin green suit copied in China in pongee. Much 
love to every one. 
Most affectionately, 
Ros. 
