126 COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 



figure as learned men, and are held in great respect by 

 the simple-minded Javanese. There are probably under 

 15,000 of this race, who are thus numerically far inferior 

 to the Europeans. But as among the Chinese are reckoned 

 the half-bred race who, little by Kttle, are becoming insen- 

 sibly mingled with the Javanese, so the term European 

 embraces all those who can claim European blood for two 

 generations. Throughout the archipelago there is none 

 of the feeling towards the Eurasian which is so marked a 

 feature in India, and people of mixed blood are to be seen 

 at almost every social gathering in the large towns — a 

 result to which the long term of service without furlough 

 endured by the Dutch officials has helped to contribute. 

 Yet, despite this classification, the Europeans in Java are 

 far from being numerous. Had the island been an English 

 colony it would long ago have been the home of large 

 numbers of planters, engineers, and professional men and 

 artisans. The Dutch Government, however, have, until 

 lately, discouraged the settler in every possible way, 

 making the island, as it were, their private property. 

 Even now, although these difficulties have been removed, 

 and European immigrants are permitted, it cannot be said 

 that much in the way of help or encouragement has been 

 afforded them, and the settler is rarely permanent. 



Of all the languages spoken in Java, Javanese is the 

 most important and most widely employed. Its alphabet 

 is peculiar, it is based on the Dewanagari, and is found 

 in inscriptions and manuscripts of the 12 th century, 

 although in its present form it is not more than 400 

 years old. Professor Keane considers the language to be 

 the most cultivated of all the Malayan tongues, and inter- 

 mediate in structure between the simple Malay and the 

 more developed Tagalog of the Phihppines. Omitting the 

 kawi, or ancient language, there are two distinct forms 



