30 TRAVELS IN THE BAST IimiAN ARCHIPELAGO. 



sqxiare^ smroTinded by rows of shade-trees and tte resi- 

 dences of tlie wealtMer mercliants. Near tliis is tlie 

 " Waterloo Plain." On one of its sides is the larg- 

 est builtling in Batavia, containing tlie offices of tlie 

 various government bureaus, and tlie " throne-room," 

 where the governor-general receives, in the name of 

 the king, congratulations fi'om the higher officials in 

 that vicinity. 



The governor-general has a palace near by, but 

 he resides most of the time at Buitenzorg, forty 

 miles in the interior, where the land rises to about a 

 thousand feet above the le\^el of the sea, and the 

 climate is much more temperate. 



A river, that rises in the mountains to the south, 

 flows through the city and canal, and empties into 

 the bay. Many bridges are thrown over this river 

 and its brandies, and beautiful shade-trees are planted 

 along its banks. 



All the houses in these Eastern lands are low, rarely 

 more than one story, for fear of earthquakes, which, 

 however, occur in this part of the island at long 

 intervals. The walls are of bricks, or fi'agments of 

 coral rock covered with layers of plaster. The roof 

 is of tiles, or atap^ a kind of thatching of palm-leaves. 

 jA common plan is, a house part parallel to the street, 

 ;and behind this and at right angles to it an L or 

 porch, the whole building being neaily in the form 

 of a cross. 



In front is a broad veranda, where the inmates 

 sit in the cool evening and receive the calls of their 

 friends. This opens into a front parlor, which, with 

 a few sleeping-rooms, occupies the whole house part. 



