M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1860-12-27
An Interesting Picture of Batavia
and its Hotels.

! capital OF the Island OF Java, aOOu
which we know comparatively little
draws the following graphic picture o
the place, which will be found quit
, intorestingi
Now about Batavia and the hotel a
|, which | am stopping. How many il
New York believe that on the oppo
, site side of the globe, ten thousand
miles nearer the sun, hotels to com
pare with the Oriental magnifcenco o
the New York hotels can be found p
, But such is the iacs.
Everything VIC see horeis so entire
y different from what | lave seen o.
, ever imagined before, it is hard to tel
where or how to begin. In all til,
imaginary wilds OF speculative fancy
| had never dreamed of any thing Il
come up to Or compare with Batavia
The place approaching nearest to it j!
the East Indies, or, in fact, in any par
Of the world, is Calcutta, and that b.
many is considered not equal to 3ata
via.
The hotel at which am stopping il
the Hotel des Indies, situated in tho
new or upper town, some half dozer
miles from the water, This is faiI
specimen of five or six others within
half a mile of each other. My hotel
and grounds cover ten acres. The
whole ground, like the rest OF the city
is one immense forest Of trees and Ca
nails. The trees remind one very
much OF the elms of New Haven.-
Houses are placed two or three hun.
dred feet back from the street; in front
the yard is filled with trees, literally
alive with birds, and every variety oil
of plants and flowers. Every house
has a stoop or plazzi in front, on
which, mornings and evenings, cit
beautifully.drossed ladies and children,
The houses are white as the driven
snow. In front are bird-cages, ele.
CANT lamps, beautiful pictures and
steel engravings, handsome marble
top tables, rocking chairs, lounges,
&c. These articles are mostly of
French mannfactnre ofAhe nicest.des.
cription.
One can ride here for miles on roads
as smooth as a floor, and SEQ nothing
different from what have described.
At night the city is ono blaze oflight
from lamps no gas is allowed, The
streets swarm with Malays, Javanese
and Cinnamon, but no negroes. They
are very civil and attentive as waters,
and generally honest. Rooms are left
open, and articles ofall kinds left ex.
posed without being stolen. There
are nc beggars to be mot with in the
streets.
Tue hotel at which am Stopping
the main building two stories high,
with an immense piazzi in tront-is
connected on each side by buildings
like railroad depots, three or four hun.
dred feet long. Each suite Of rooms
contains room enough to make two,
three and even half q dozen ordinary
rooms such as we get at hotels in the
United States. In front and back are
bath. h.houSes, fountains, flower, gardens,
and out houses for cooking and for
servants. Marble floors, tiled roofs,
ceilings from twenty to twenty-five
feet high, no carpets, and but few cur
tains.
Meals are served up in about the
same style as at the frst.class hotels
in New York.
The habits of living are quite differ.
ent. At daylight coffee aud tea are
taken TO your room; at eight same,
with light refreshments; twelve break
fast, and a! seven dinner. Coffee and
tea are always ready, day or night,
same as baths. No extra charge
take them or not, as you please. No
business is done in the street in the
middle OF tho day, on account Of the
heat. Nights and mornings are cool
and delightful; birds are singing all
night.
The thermometer stands about 90 0
throughout the year; it does not vary
from this two degrees. The Ameri.
can Consul and one other are the only
Americans in town. The island o.
Java contains population Of 10000,
900; the city of Batavia 100000
There are three distinct races here
the Malays, Javsnese and Sundanese
All speak different languages, and
neither can understand the other
This classi fication does not include the
Chinese, of which there are several
thousand.
Java is larger and more populous
than Sumatra, Borreo, or any of the
neighboring islands. 1t is one Of the
richest and most productive islands in
the Indian Ocean. 1t abounds with
tigers, leopards, anacondas and pois-
onous insects ofall kinds, but not SO
bad as CeSlon, where the average
number of persons killed ana carried
off by tigers from Singapore is one
person a day throughout the year