204 B A T A V I A. 
all or any of these people ; but I shall endeavour to give such 
a general sketch or outline of the character and situation of 
the Dutch, tlie Chinese, the Javanese, the Malays, and the 
Slaves, as may serve to throw some light upon their respec- 
tive conditions in this great and once wealthy city, which, 
from a miserable village of thatched hovels, rose into splendour 
and opulence, by the adventurous and successful commerce 
of the Dutch, in the happj^ days of their freedom and inde- 
pendence. 
On our first visit to Batavia, we were received with great 
ceremony at the gates of tlie castle by the old Governor Van 
Alting, accompanied with the wel edele heeren^ composing 
the Council of India. On this occasion Ave all suffered 
greatly from the heat of the climate. It happened to be 
about the middle of the day, when the sun was vertical, and 
not a breath of wind stirring ; the mercury in Fahrenheit's 
thermometer at 89° in the shade ; when, after abundant 
ceremony in the open air, we were introduced into a close 
narrow room, with a couple of windows at one end, nearly 
filled with fat " sleek-headed men," dressed in suits of velvet 
stiffened with buckram. In this narrow room, and mixed among 
these warmly clad gentlemen, we were seated round a table 
covered with crimson velvet, on chairs whose corresponding 
cushions were stuffed with feathers. And though the very ap- 
pearance of the furniture alone was enough to induce a fever, 
two or three little- chafing-dishes with live coals were set on 
the table, for the accommodation of those who were inclined 
to smoke a pipe of tobacco, which, with wine, spirits, and 
cakes, were handed round to the company. 
