Page:Life in Java Volume 2.djvu/301

Rh There are several European mansions and bungalows in the town; and the Chinese, who muster strong at Buitenzorg, have erected some very fine dwellings.

As the air is cool, and the temperature in general varies but very little, it is considered a healthy retreat for invalids; and being only fifty miles from Batavia, it is the favourite resort of business men who can steal a week or so from their constant routine of work.

About two miles from the town is the Batoe Tulis. On this stone, or rock, is an inscription in characters somewhat resembling Javanese, but intelligible to no native. Below it is a long dark slab, on the surface of which are footprints like those of a child, the feet close together, and the toes distended. No one seems to know anything about these curious stones. Even tradition, which is ever ready to supply the blank left by history, is silent respecting them. Notwithstanding their