ACCOUNT OF JAVA AND BATAVIA.

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are often therefore as ignorant of the world and of manners, as upon their wedding-day. It is not that they have no capacity to learn, but the men have no inclination toteach.

The men generally go dreffed in the Dutch fafhion, and often wear black.

As foon as you enter a houfe, where you intend to flop for an hour or more, youare defined by the mafter to make yourfelf comfortable by taking off fome of yourclothes, &c. This is done by laying afide the fword, pulling off the coat and wig (formoft men wear wigs here), and fubftituting in the room of the laft, a little whitenight-cap, which is generally carried in the pocket for that purpofe.

When they go out on foot they are attended by a Have, who carries a funfhade(called here fambreel, or payang) over their heads; but whoever is lower in rankthan a junior merchant may not have a Have behind him, but mult carry a fmall fun-fhade himfelf.

Moft of the white women, who are feen at Batavia, are born in the Indies. Thofewho come from Europe at a marriageable age, are very few in number. I fhall there-fore confine my obfervations to the former.

Thefe are either the offspring of European mothers, or of oriental female Haves, whohaving firft been miftreffes to Europeans , have afterwards been married to them, andhave been converted to Chriftianity, or at leaft have affumed the name of Chriftians.

The children produced by thefe marriages, may be known to the third and fourthgeneration, efpecially by the eyes, which are much fmaller than in the unmixed pro-geny of Europeans .

There are likewife children who are the offspring of Portuguefe, but thefe neverbecome entirely white.

Children born in the Indies, are nick-named Liplaps by the Europeans, althoughboth parents may have come from Europe .

Girls are commonly marriageable at twelve or thirteen years of age, and fometimesyounger. It feldom happens, if they are but tolerably handfome, have any money,or any to expert, or are related to people in power, that they are unmarried afterthat age.

As they marry while they are yet children, it may eafily be' conceived, that they donot poffefs thofe requifites which enable a woman to manage a family with propriety.There are many of them who can neither read nor write, nor poffefs any ideas ofreligion, of morality, or of focial intercourfe.

Being married fo young, they feldom get many children, and are old women atthirty years of age. Women of fifty in Europe look younger and frefher, than thofeof thirty at Batavia. They are, in general, of a very delicate make, and of an extremefair complexion ; but the tints of vermillion which embellifh our northern ladies arewholly abfent from their cheeks ; the fkin of the face and hands is of the moft deadlypale white. Beauties muft not be fought amongft them ; the handfomeft w r hom Ifaw U'ould fcarcely be thought middling pretty in Europe .

I hey have very fupple joints, and can turn their fingers, hands, and arms, in al-tnoft every direction •, but this they have in common with the women in the WeftIndies, and in other tropical climates.

I hey are commonly of a liftlefs and lazy temper; but this ought chiefly to beaferibed to their education, and the number of flaves, of both fexes, that they alwayshave to wait upon them.

Ihey rife about half paft feven, or eight o’clock, in, the morning. They fpend thevol. xi. c c forenoon