PASSANGERANG OF BATU. 117 



excellent pandopo in front, facing the Arjuno, which 

 rose due north of us at a few miles distance. They 

 said we could easily ascend the Arjuno in two days 

 from Batu, as there was a house more than half way 

 up, which we could ride to in one day. For this, 

 however, we had not time, more especially as it 

 would require arrangements and preparations which 

 we had not made. The neighbourhood of Batu is 

 rather rocky, and the roads stony, whence its name ; 

 Batu being both Malay and Javanese for " stone." 

 The view from our pandopo was very beautiful till 

 noon, when the mountains began rapidly to accumu- 

 late dark clouds round their shoulders, which pre- 

 sently rolling down their sides, sent forth peal after 

 peal of rattling thunder that echoed grandly from 

 hill to hill, and then settling down upon the valley, 

 shrouded everything from sight in a deluge of thick 

 heavy rain till near sunset, when it as rapidly cleared 

 off, and soon after dark not a cloud was to be seen. 

 These afternoon showers not only refreshed the 

 air by moisture, but were accompanied by a consi- 

 derable fall of temperature. To-day, for instance, 

 on our arrival at Batu, at 11 a.m. the thermometer 

 stood at 80° Fahrenheit in the shade, at 4 p.m. it 

 had fallen to 71°? and at 9 p.m. to 68°, which felt 

 quite chilly. At 6 the next morning it was only 

 65°. The height of Batu above the sea is 2,778 

 feet by my observations of the barometer. Even at 

 Malang and Pakis, at least 1000 feet lower, the 

 thermometer at sunrise was not above 67°. It is, I 



