JAVA 153 



cany a hat, even if he do not wear it. Under ordinary 

 circumstances no head-coverinsr is ever worn durincj 

 the daily evening walk or drive. Balls are frequent, 

 and the hospitality offered to the stranger in Java is on 

 the most liberal scale. The ceremonial and state surround- 

 ing the person of the Governor-General is as great as 

 that attending our own Viceregal court in India, and some 

 of the sultans have retinues and surroundings not less 

 magnificent than those of our own native princes. 



Travel in Java has of late years been considerably 

 simplified by the construction of an elaborate railway 

 system, which serves chiefly the central and eastern parts 

 of the island, placing Samarang, Surabaya, Surakarta, 

 Jokjokarta, Chilatjap, and all the other large towns in 

 communication with each other. Batavia is the starting- 

 point of another system in the western portion of the 

 island, which is very soon to connect with this at 

 Chilatjap. At the beginning of 1890 there were 762 

 miles of railway open to traffic, of which about half 

 belongs to the State. There are also nearly 150 miles 

 of steam tramway. The magnificent road system, which 

 forms a network over the whole of Java, connecting all 

 the principal towns, is very largely due to the initiative 

 of Marshal Daendels, who at the beginning of this cen- 

 tury constructed the great trunk road from end to end 

 of the island, 800 miles in length. The law which 

 compels every peasant to give a certain number of days' 

 work upon the roads, results in their being kept in ex- 

 cellent condition, and the posting system which serves 

 them is equally good, although extremely expensive. The 

 post-houses are at short intervals along the main road, 

 and the traveller may either get coolies or horses to 

 carry him, day and night, at the rate of ten miles an 

 hour. 



