Middletown transcript., 1873-08-09
Acheen.

II has rarely been heard Of 10 Europe
since the days of tho early Dutch adven-
iurcrs. mud yet |, sa kingdom whose an-
nails aud whose manners are among the
,nost curious conceivable vi all tho ma
tions speaking the Malaynn tongue. the
Achcenese are, 50 to speak. the most elias
sic, preserving, in All almost perfect pari-
ty, the ancient language Of their race
Blu, what and where is Achceny II is a
territory, having numerous ports upon its
coast. opening upon the Bay Of Bengal u,
Que extremity, aud on the Java Sea a, the
other. Acheen Head, the utmost western
p'in, Of the vast island, very familiar TO
Asiatic mariners as a bold aud dis,nc,
iandfall for ships is triangular Territory,
enclosing space Of about 30. 900 squire
miles Il is exceedingly fertile. ,Lickly
populated, md has always been
au object Of ambition to the Dutch. A
stranger arriving in its river capital is
Immediately struck by the appearance Of
lis streets il 80 they can be termed The
city stands like sort of A.iaiic Venice.
on the piles imbeiled in the bottom Of
river. with ~wampy margins. in the
,nds. Of swampy plain; sll the houses
are constructed Of bamboo aud timber
The inhabitants had nobody knows wha,
origin, They are possibly Malays Of the
old stock-which seems. indeed, the
must probable; or they may belong to The
gypsy race everla.,ingly at sea. which
.praug frum the Island Of Cclebes, the
least known in that archipelago. Mo-
honelans IN religion they have, no,with.
standing. never botn known To persecute
dlssen,ent srcts II il, indeed. proyerb
among lhrr ncighbors, AN Achcen man
will curse Christian. aud invite him "a
bread aui sat'-sal,. we are sorry Ia
add, meaning, in the vocabulary Of those
strict rcliglons's aud abstaincr.. strong
wine. Dt course, the Achecue.n IN
trade, are cheats all Drienials anl some
Europeans are they will palm Of upon
the uuwary merchantmen. III tir mnnsp,.
tines. mangns. piue.npplcs, lines aud
orange their beau. onions aud vans
which cost them nothing. ~ rare fruits
and vegetables, in exchange for The rich
est produce of Europe. aud especially of
HOLLAND But hey are Vt great ase in
those laiitnie.. nevertheless fnr thev
can, ~ an incredibly -hot, notice. prtyi,-
I lnn. nnl fyen reGt vessel ielAtrl bY
,fnrn, ihl IN distress They are, INV.
yer wonderfully backward IN p5int ef
manufacturing inlpsrry; they tny neatlA
Al their cl1ihing. Of chrcker.l blue ani
white. fram ireu, Britain. in spite oi
Dutch rrnonstranecs with lan. .eloih,
from Mllras woolrns from York ,hire.
MI So, - II
j peculiarly delicate infeta If their own
Daee they ressrssc ualige cannon found.
fias. though they INV bny up old hfa.,
guns At NnnlUich anl nowhere. except
II Rame af Nirnni eau they meet with
fher competitors in gold anl silver 6li
yfee work 81 much lar their .1ei1l eail.
lltian Their paiitc. It would be imprac.
ti'abls IN ir-crhe. since. for their term,
ef dignity. se have fennd il uttesly i'm.
possible II lind inielligible equivalents
fhrir monarchy il. nnmlnally. an hrrcdi
tarY enc. Limited By assassination but
ahase helaw anl eneirciiug him are an
il,ariies nf sacred ami state . fers. known
an1er fearful ihi wonlerfnl appellation.
sueh as mnl,araia. laksalnana. painka,nnn
handhnras. vrlab,angs. and chahundha
ras Achecn is the untive home. il nav
almost be assorted. Of human ugincss
In feature. in figure, in the color Of hiif
and eyes. in expression. unl in complex.
i'm. its people are The most rernlsiye to
The sight nf all the races in the fnr Eat
They ara aware Of the fact. aud their ra-
iahs have exnsper.iea the Dutch by cn.
aeavarinc 70 purchase specimens Of thu
rreuliar stsle Of beauty which is nursed
amid the sickly swamp. Of Holland TN
" one tribe excels the Acheenese in bur.
barty of arpearauce--ihc Battal,s. re.
puted IN be The last cannibals left upon
the elnbe. They aro raac so hiicous
that it is possible 10 believe ia any
atrocities attributed to them bur
whether or nat. ,hey d. cat hnmau
flesh. though tho statement is testified ID
by European travellers. rennins still
doubtful They dwell around luke a,
the basc Of the mountains no c,hnnlngisl
has ever a.oes,ainri their origin they
have no king. m political Institutions
and no oodc of laws. except that ihes
bury ,heir criminals alive Sa. at IN,
rate. thu Dutch writer's affirm. perhaps /,
n scarcely lees imaginative spri, than did
NJ Alexandra Dumas. when describing
the /" dancing gardens of java. will
ih.ir Bnynaerc groups aud illaminntions