THE COAST OF JAVA* 
3 
at once Max Havelaar’s exquisite simile, where 
he speaks of “Holland's magnificent empire of 
Insulinde, which winds about the equator like a 
garland of emeralds/' These islets we passed 
now so close as to see distinctly the forms of 
tropical vegetation, the huts, and even the dusky 
inhabitants ; again at such a distance that we 
could only contrast the rich hues of their ver- 
dure with the deep blue of the sea. The coast 
of Java, nearer Batavia, presents a singular ap- 
pearance : for miles into the interior it seems 
elevated above the sea-level scarcely more than 
the height of the trees that cover it, and nothing 
can be seen save the sea-fringe of vegetation in 
front of a green plain, behind ’which rise the 
hills of Bantam and the Blue Mountains, as the 
old mariners call the peaks of Buitenzorg. 
It w T as already dark when we moored in the 
roads of Batavia, one of the greatest centres of 
commerce in all these seas, where rides a fleet 
flying the flags of all nations, H., who had 
returned to Batavia from a prolonged tour in 
Sumatra to meet me, now joined me, and took at 
once all responsibility. Transferred into a steam- 
tender, w r e approached the mouth of the long 
canal by which the town of Batavia is reached ; 
and having passed on shore at the Custom House, 
