hich is a statue of Jan Pietersen Van Koen, the first Dutch
Governor of Batavia. In the centre of the plain is the monumental
pillar from which it takes its name. It consists of a round column
with a square base, some forty feet in height, surmounted by a
Belgian lion. On the base the following inscription is to be read
in plain Roman characters and excellent Latin:--

"In aeternam, celeberrimae diei duodecimae ante Kalendas Julii
MDCCCXV, memoriam, quo, fortitudine et strenuitate Belgarum
eorumque inclyti ducis Wilhelmi, Frederici, Georgi Ludovici,
principis arausiaci, post atrocissimum in campis Waterlooae
proelium stratis et undique fugatis Gallorum legionibus PAX
ORBIS RELUXIT...." [William Frederick Charles, Vice-king of
India, erected this monument in the year 1827.] "To the
perpetual memory of that most famous day, _June 20, 1815_, on
which, _by the resolution and activity of the Belgians and their
famous General, William Frederich George Ludovic, Prince of
Luxemburg_, after a terrible conflict on the plains of Waterloo,
when the battalions of the French had been routed and scattered
on every side, the peace of the world dawned once more."

Most people will admit that the facts of the famous victory are scarcely
detailed with sufficient accuracy by the inscription. And, indeed, the
American gentleman who accompanied me on my visit remarked that "he
guessed the _lion_ at the top was on the whole inferior in size to the
_lyin'_ at the bottom of the pillar."

Just outside this plain, and opposite one of the small bridges which
leads into the native street termed _Pazer Baroe_, is the theatre, which
is the most picturesque of the modern buildings of Batavia.

In the main road which leads through that part of the town which covers
the site of the original Sundanese capital, Jakatra (meaning "the work
of victory"), there is a desolate-looking house which the visitor will
do well to include in his archaeological investigations. Over the
walled-up entrance of this house the remains of a skull spiked on a pike
are still to be seen. Underneath is a tablet with the following
inscription:--

"_In consequence of the detested memory of Peter Elberfeld, who
was punished for treason, no one shall be permitted to build in
wood or stone, or to plant anything whatsoever, in these grounds
from this time forth for evermore. Batavia, April 22,
1722._"[11]