Page:Life in Java Volume 2.djvu/292

 27G LIFE IN JAVA. '

probably been feasting on the strawberries, scampered away, and soon vanished under the thicket. Dismounting, Ave walked a short distance from the hut to a piece of ground slightly elevated, from which we had a most extensive view of the surrounding country. To the north we had the pro- vince of Buitenzorg, with its principal town of the same name, forming, from the number of its white houses, a conspicuous object in the view, like some holy city on a pleasing eminence. Not far from it was the Residency of Batavia, beyond which was the sea of Java. The mountainous country of the Preanger was to the south, with the Indian Ocean just discernible in the distance. At a first glance the hills and mountains looked quite small, like so many miniature or toy mountains; but, as our eyes became more familiar with the vastness of the scene before us, we seemed better able to under- stand our own exalted position, and their height and extent. On the west lay the province of

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