THE ISLAND OF JAVA. 193 
poisonous qualities. Thus, for instance, the Dioscorea Dele- 
teria was called the Ubi Upas, which may be translated the 
poisonous potatoe. The seed of a tree bearing a papilionaceous 
flower, and apparently a species of Sophora, was called the 
Upas Bidjie, the poisonous seed. Thus, also, a triangular- 
stemmed Euphorbia, a species of Solanum, a Datura, and seve- 
ral other plants of real or supposed noxious qualities, had all 
of them the word Upas joined to their proper names. In this 
sense, the Bohun or Boon Upas of Foersch would imply neither 
more nor less than a poisonous tree, and not any particular 
species of tree, much less an unconnected individual sui 
generis, bearing the name of U pas. 
It is generally believed in Batavia, that both the Malays 
and Javanese wear crisses or daggers that have been steeped 
in vegetable poison. So was it generally believed in Athens, 
two thousand years ago, that Demosthenes carried poison 
about with him, lodged under the gem of his ring. The one 
appears to be just as probable as the other ; but, whether 
true or false, the Dutch are not less credulous than the 
Athenians were in this respect. We Avere told by the old 
governor of Bantam fort, that when the king of that dis- 
trict is desirous of proving the virtues of a new cris, he calls 
before him one of his slaves, and pricks his arm with its 
point. The value of the instrument is estimated according to 
the length of time which elapses before the poison begins to 
operate and the rapidity with Avhich the victim is dispatched, 
which is stated to take place sometimes in the course of a. 
fcAV minutes. I have read somewhere (I think in Tavernier) 
of an instance of this kind, which, if a fact, evinces a very 
c c 
