The sun., 1897-12-04
~ pooKs.
Continued FROM serenth Page.

writing In 1869. called 1t tho hnest ana most
interesting tropical island In the worio' tho
most fertile. productive, and populons island In
the tropics" and the life OF tho Java planter has
often beon described as tho ideal tropical exist
onco; yet to-day, to tho globe trottor and the
traveller In search OF the interesting and the
beautiful. the place is almost terra tnco0n0d.
Sir Stamford Raffles's monumental History OF
JAVA Is out Of the reach OF the ordinary
reader. and though Mr.. Joseph Conrad mas
written a couple OF novels that give some
glimpscs OF tho strange and wonderful life Of
the Dutch East Indies. Miss Eliza Rudamah
Scidmore. whose "Jinrikisha Days" Is ono OF
the best of the lighter books Of Japanese travel.
has now. in Java. the Garden OF the East
1.-THE Century Company. given us the nrst salts
factory series Of sketches Of life and travel in
this tropical paradise. One explanation OF the
lack OF available Information lies In tho fact
that tho Dutch colonists have never welcomed
or encouraged the tourist. Tho Dutch brain,
says Miss Scidmore "is slow and suspiciops.
and tho idea being fixed fast that no stranger
comes to Java on kindly or hospitabe er'
rands, the colonial authorities must know
within twenty.four hours why ono visits
the Indies. They demand ones name, age.
religion. nationality, place Of nativity, and
occupation, tho name OF tho ship that
brought the suspect to Java and the namo
OF tho Captain-an odious threat lurking
in this latter query OF holding the unlucky mar
liner responsible should his importation prove
an expense or an embarrassment to tho island.
The tourist, pure and simple. the sight
seer and pleasure traveller, is not yot quite COM
pretended" Too many disagreeabe truths
have been told about Dutch methods and rule,
and, while all writer's the subject have
been full of admiration for the gentle, courteous
and ever hospitable Javanese, the true aristo-
Gratis of the East Indies, they have said many
uncomplimentary things Of the Dutch and have
almost invariably inveighed against the discom-
fort, annoyance and expense OF travel in the
country over which the latter rule. Especially
curious is the transformation wrought in the
phlegmatic Hollander and in his womenfolk
when they arc transplanted from tho fenlands
to the tropics and not the least interesting parts
of the book arc some OF the writer's descriptions
OF the hotol and social life in Batavia.
We had seen some queer things in the streets
lolng barefootcd and in startling dishabilie
In splendid equpages-but concluded them to be ser.
wants hall. .castes but there In the hotel
dress parade that beggars description, and
founding on the last the first day in the coun
try womans vanity and mans conventional ideas
evidently wilt at the lne and formaties pass the
equator when distinguished citizens and officials
roam and lounge about hotel courts in pajamas and
bath slippers and Dare ankled women, clad
only In the native sarong skirt, and white dress
ing Jacket, unconcernedly about their affairs in
street and public places until afternoon. 1t dsha
billie beyond all burlesque pantomme and only ship
wreck desert island would seom sufficient excuse
for women being seen in such ungraceful. unbe-
coming african undress that reveals every defect
while concealing beauty that loveliness
come. and that has neither color grace. pio-
turesqueness to recommend IT,
In the evening all this is changed. and the wo-
men are gorgeous in their heavy silks and velvets
and magnificent jewels and the men in broad
cloth and brilliant uniforms. Society is brill
liant, formal, and by lamplight impressive; but
when by daylight one meets the Same fair beau
ties and bejewelled matrons sockless. in sarongs
and Tapping slippers. the disillusionment is
complete" Miss Scidmore. while writing pri-
marily with the object Of entertaining and in
teresting her reader. has compressed a great
deal of information within her pages while WISE
ly emitting. far possible, the ordinary globe
trotter's statistics gathered at second or third
hand, and her chapters on the Culture Sys-
tem," plantation life, and the magnificent
Buddhist temples Of Boro Boedor and Mendoet
show evidence Of q good deal of study and re-
search. Now that an Amsterdam steamship
company has published a trustworthy guide to
the Dutch East Indies with this and with Miss
Scidmore's volume the tourist who can defy
dyspepsia and docs not object to roughing it
should find Java almost well worth a visit as
Japan. The volume Is we'll illustrated.
In the introduction to his essay OH Social
Life in Old Virginia Before the War" (Scrib-
ners), Mr.. Thomas Nelson Page makes protest
that is not untimey. Generations OF Uncle
Tommers" have travelled the country from end
to end, giving picture Of Southern life that,
powerful as it was as an argument in its original
form, Is not one that the Southerner would will
lingly have stand as q final portrait. Says Mr..
Page:
The drama is ono ofthe accepted modes of Judging
OF passing life 1t is assumed to be reasonably true
reflection Of the life II pretends portray II this
standard shall be accepted. what a life that must
have been that existed in the South! The blood.
hounds, brute and human. that chased delicate
women for sport have mainly been given up. But
their'place has been taken by different species of
barbarian II possible, even more unreal than those
they supplanted Quite large crop OF socalled
Southern plays. or. ut least, plays in which
southerners have figured. has OF late been
introduced on the STAGE and the supposititious
Southerner is as absurd creation the wit of
ignorance devised. The Southern girl is usual.
ly underbred little provincial. whose chief char
acterstic is to say "reckon" and real" with
strong emphasis in every other sentence Ana the
Southern gentleman ia a sloven whose linen has
never known starch who clips the endings of
his words; says "sah" at the end OF every
sentence. and never uses "r" except in the last
| syllable of "nigger." With n slouched hat,
slovealy dress. plentiful supply OF "sahs" and
surred speech exclusively applied to nggers" he ID
equipped for the stage. And yet It is not unkindiy
meant only patroniEIngly. which is worse. That
Thackeray, Matthew Arnold. Lawrence. and other
visitors whose English passes current declared after
visit to America that they found the purest English
speech spoken in Virginia, goes for nothing.
A very pleasant picture 1t is that Mr.. Page has
given us Of n typical Virginia home. idealized
perhaps, rs every picture is, by the haze of time
but stamped with the impress of sincerity and
truth. The old "woather-b board" house. built OF
timber cut in the virgin forest and set In O
grove OF oaks and hickores. naples. ash and
locusts, with lllacs and syringas in tho gardens
and roses everywhere; the "offico" In the
yard whore the dogs and guns were kept, and
the servants houses kehouse. washhouse,
and carpenters shop-set round the yard, with
" the quarters" in the distance, and. surround.
ing all. the fields OF waving grain. green or gold
m he IN he. in