auty of the scenery.
Soon after our arrival at the Hotel Belle Vue, we drove to the Botanical
Gardens, where, like Peradeniya in Ceylon, a revelation awaited us.
Masses of pink lotus, white lilies, Victoria Regia, and other varieties
of the lily family formed great patches of color on the miniature ponds
that were their setting. Orchids in greenhouses and on trees put forth
their graceful flowers; palms of every description, candle trees with
myriads of almost realistic candles which were suspended from the
branches, sausage trees with veritable bolognas hanging from the limbs,
bread-fruit trees, lovely vistas of the graceful banana, and groups of
other foliage or shrubs surrounded us in abundance.

The Governor's spacious residence looks out upon the park on one side,
and a pretty summer-house overlooking a valley gave a picturesque touch
to the place.[4] The ride around the city showed lovely homes set in
varied greens, and a general air of thrift and prosperity prevailed.

The hotel is charmingly located and has pleasant features. It fronts on
a garden, with a wide gallery overlooking the city. A square court in
the rear is encircled by a series of rooms, with the front gallery
looking on the court, and the back gallery facing a valley (the house is
built on a side hill) through which runs a river with a tiny village on
its border; while beyond a wide vista of cocoanut palms rises a range of
mountains, Mt. Salak being the distinctive feature. Both galleries are
well furnished, and here guests assemble when in the hotel. The view
from the rear gallery I have never seen surpassed in breadth, except
perhaps by that in Granada, when from Miss Laird's balcony (near the
Alhambra) we looked down upon the city, with the mountains beyond.

[Illustration: _View of Mt. Salak from the Hotel Belle Vue_]

The Javanese view was enjoyed for hours, as a heavy rain prevented our
afternoon ride, and the letters that should have been written were
somewhat neglected, owing to the view described.

One shrinks at being called at four o'clock in the morning, at having
breakfast at five, and at taking a train at six, but such was our
experience on February 19th. One leaves Buitenzorg for Garoet as the
first streak of dawn appears; as we sped along, we realized more and
more what tropical vegetation and abundant rain could produce, for the
vivid greens and dewy freshness of the foliage surpassed even Ceylon's
landscape, which in its turn