Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-16

accepted. In ten minutes he showing his
manuscript Naehsuehungem among the Deserted
Hindu Temple Worship, and Cutus Sites of the Indies.
excited and happy, spilling and biscuit crumbs
the pages and into his red whiskers. Always
tonshed to discover this last fact he reminded of
Lears old man, you know, who found the larks and
and wrens had nestled in his beard.
But Behrens would have harbored mares it was their
always tempted me to add with Observations the
Theory of Tittlebats, German Pickwick was Beh-
rens. allowing one grain of fact to bushel OF theory
Industry Well, he had scrvener's cramp; and for
seriousness. there stood the writing engine brought
here, at great expense and trouble to the ends of the
earth Midnight oil also, in tins
"My pamphlet, he said in fits of authors modesty
when rather off his guard, "Ny Treatise and when
pansive in talk, @My history, my opus.
Never was opus thrved and fattened on less
Three volumes already on P'rambanan Singosari, and
other nearly fourth, if you Il believe this
place His imagination, at least his theories had caught
fire to that extent from his having grubbed up few
of fallen brick here and there. about pictur
esque and important piece of kankar road in bad
repair, or somebody's old compound wall "Brahmas
Mountain Kingdom" he called it, vanished civiza
ton and all. l told him quite brutally the probable
truththat these people, formerly plainsmen, retreat
ing before Islam had carried their images and temple
fnery into the mountains, and built rough shrines
which decayed the distant threat of the gods, you
might say, faded in the very imminent threat of the
craters. He looked at me woodenly, and said:
"You not an archeologlSt, as serene as when he
first told me that was.
left him to his pleasure and followed mine; except
moves to an evening, six hundred theories move
strange games,-while the volcanoes rumbled and
shuddered in the night.
After poking fun at his theories, must be-eh?-
yes, matter of fact. I'll try. My work SWIM
mngy. The villagers cheerful, sensible. bit like
Sundanese; but with even less etiquette more indie
them kept furnishing with details all marvellous and
They thought him mad, but harmless. | smat-
tered in therdiaect and their admired their char
aCter, and became quite fond OF the old headnan. l
always remembered 1rSt meeting
A MILE above the bungalow it was on the edge of
the main crater, at sunset The headman stood
there alone before grassy mound prayinga reverent
little graybeard simple and devout his scarlet turban
noddng slowly. Beyond the mound there gaped huge
smoking funnel gray and corrugated if lined with
elephant hide the bottom painted sulphur yellow, and
pierced by black hole the bore of which was hardly
bigger than a mans body. 1t all comes back,-the
grows of the crater the smell and bilious shine of the
sulphur below, the shadow of steam rising the
old mans grave smile when he turned and saw l
excused myself in gesture He knelt, bowed his head
to the mound and remained there silent At last he
"The peace of the hills be upon you, he said.
"And on the Lord Magistrate | answered
Walking down the village together he told me that
the mound the altar and sacred forum of their tribe
Here they held yearly festival singing harping veneer
ating the mound png it with flowers and fruits, which
they aferward threw down offerings into the crater.
AT other times alone go there he said "at sunset,
and speak well to the mound, and show respect. 1t
holds very aged secrets even do not know them.
Dark came on before left him; SO he sent me back
to the antquarys with little bodyguard and torches.
When protested, he said gently and seriously
"You do not know, Tuan, how many ghosts and
devils wander about nowadays.
He spoke as from knowledge, long experience. Well
who knows? strange country On quiet nights, up
there when the bowels of the earth kept still, and the
tniest scratch of lizards the wall mating | have
felt-Humph We to deal with facts Can do.
| lent him coolies then to haul bamboo up from the
ravnes helped him to build storehouse, and en-
loved his confidence. delightful old boy-sterlng!
often saw him aoft by the mound at the craters edge,
his figure against the clear mountain sky praying with
1,aa1 ra1ca aI1