Page:Life in Java Volume 2.djvu/266

 250 LIFE IX JAVA.

apart from the rest of the building, which is ap- proached by a bridge, goes by the name of the uyer clnmhoo, or curtain of water. In a large alcove in this apartment, once gorgeously fitted up, the Sultan used to enjoy his siesta, the curtain that protected his privacy consisting of a cascade, which, like a transparent veil, fell gently before him.

The materials employed in this building are the same as those used by the Chinese in making their artificial grottoes and rockeries, viz, mud, mortar, and cement, studded profusely with shells, flint, and large round pebbles.

I was told that this chateau was the work of two ingenious, hard-working Chinamen, whose patient toil and unwearied labour the cruel and jealous Sultan rewarded by depriving them of their eyes. Fearful lest any of the neighbouring princes, his rivals, might attempt the construction of a similar palace, he conceived that this cruel act was the only means by which the accomplishment of such

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