e European inhabitants of Solo, by the
splendid entertainments continually given at the imperial command. The
porcelain and glass rooms convey an idea of the boundless hospitality
bestowed; the thousands of wine-glasses being especially noticeable,
for 800 guests are often invited at a time. Treasures of linen and
costly embroidery, silken hangings and velvet banners, gorgeous carpets
and mats of finest texture, are displayed to our admiring eyes, but
possession rather than enjoyment is the keynote of Eastern character,
and the bales and bundles of priceless value, kept in huge cabinets of
fragrant cedar-wood, seldom see the light of day. Long counting-houses
are crowded with native scribes, their brown bodies naked except for
_sarong_ and _kris_, the perpetual rattle of the abacus making a
deafening din, for apparently the smallest sum cannot be added up under
Eastern skies without the assistance of this wire frame with the
ever-shifting marbles. Cramped fingers move wearily over the yellow
parchments, with their long lists of undecipherable hieroglyphics, and
the turbaned heads are scarcely raised until the entrance of the Prince
necessitates the time-honoured salute of the _dodok_, the crouching
posture assumed in the presence of a superior. The needs and luxuries
of the immense royal household render the counting-house a feature of
the utmost importance. The Prince Probolingo has himself forty wives,
and a Harem in proportion to their numbers, the Susunhan's Imperial
Harem far exceeding that of his brother. Wonderful tales are told of
the fairy-like loveliness belonging to these inner palaces, with their
treasures of ivory and sandalwood, cedar and ebony, but they are
jealously guarded from intrusion, and a glimpse of their fantastic
glory seldom permitted to Western eyes. After an exhibition of
gold-encrusted litters and painted coaches of State, used in royal
processions, the Prince, a clever-looking man of forty, takes wine with
his guests. Each stand of solid silver contains six bottles, the
crouching attendants also carrying silver trays of tumblers and
wine-glasses, a gaily clad servitor with a huge silver ice-bowl
bringing up the rear. After drinking the health of His Royal Highness
in iced Rhine wine, we make our adieux, and escape from our splendid
_pajongs_ of rainbow hue on the steps of the Great Entrance, conveying
our thanks through the medium of an interpreter. These faineant princes
learn no tongue but