Page:Life in Java Volume 1.djvu/133

Rh them from the sun; and by the side of these were wire baskets of fragrant orchids. When I was told what this place had been a year ago, I seemed to realise the Arab tale of Sheddad's garden springing from a desert.

The Artillerie Constructie Winkle, or Military Arsenal, is situated in the town, not far from the Hotel, or Herren Logement. I will not weary the reader with a description of what they may see in our own arsenals. Suffice it to say that most of the men employed are soldiers, who offer their work voluntarily, and for it receive an additional allowance; and that the army, with the exception of firearms and guns of a large calibre, is supplied with all necessaries from this establishment.

Our hotel was a fine spacious building—that is to say, the house itself; but so anxious had its proprietor been to increase the number of dormitories, that almost every available space in the yard behind was crowded with small out-houses, like Rh