Page:Life in Java Volume 1.djvu/114

96 Here, as everywhere else, the Dutch propensity for canals is remarkable. The one here is, in every respect, superior to those we had previously seen, being from eighty to ninety feet in width, and walled on both sides with solid stone work. To the left, facing the sea, is a raised battery, which, like some of ours in the East, being grown over in many parts with grass and moss, presents a most peaceful aspect. Between this battery and the canal are five or six large brick sheds, from whence issue Vulcanic sounds of all descriptions—the hammering of boilers, the hissing noise of steam, the constant whirr of machinery, and all the noises usually heard about an iron foundry. This, as we were informed, is the Government arsenal. The ground on which it stands was formerly a complete swamp. By order of the Government, the mud was dug out to a depth of fourteen feet, and the space filled up with sand and concrete. Ground to the extent of from fifteen to twenty