THE INDIAN OCEAN. 337 
The eye seeks in vain for some variation, some break 
in the vast forest; all is rich massy foliage, like 
enormous heaps of green velvet. The solemn silence 
that prevails, joined with this gorgeous uniformity, 
creates an oppressive feeling of awe and loneliness. 
And when the dews of evening descend, and the 
gentle breeze blows off the land, it comes loaded 
with what have been described as spicy odours, but 
which are, in sober -reality, but the sickly sweats 
produced by immense masses of vegetation in decom- 
position. They bear, in fact, the pestilence upon 
their wings. 
But while this is the general character of the 
great islands, there are exceptions. Java, settled by 
the Dutch, contrasts with Sumatra and Borneo; the 
gloom of the forest is enlivened here and there by 
verdant fields and lawns, while the white villas of 
the Europeans chequer the hills, and give a peace- 
ful and inviting air to the landscape. The smaller 
isles are said to be exquisitely lovely. 
“The sea near Batavia is covered with innumer- 
able little islets, all of which are clothed with lux- 
uriant vegetation. Native prahus, with their yellow 
mat-sails, are occasionally seen to shoot from behind 
one of them, to be shielded from view immediately 
afterwards by the green foliage of another; and 
over the tops of the trees may often be descried 
the white sails of some stately ship, threading the 
mazes of this little archipelago. One group, appro- 
priately named the Thousand Isles, has never yet 
been explored, and its intricacies afford concealment 
to petty pirates who prey upon the small prahus and 
22 2F 
