Batum

“ The clouds cannot leap the gigantic bulwark of the mountains at this south-eastern angle of the sea; they cling to the fir-clad slopes or put out hands and scale the escarpments until they become exhausted and dissolve. The town was soon behind us as we wound along the foot of the range on the narrow respite of the shore—Batum, with her grim defiance of the written law of Europe, with her peaceful situation at the gate of the oil industry, of which she receives the products by the railway from the Caspian to distribute them over all the world ”

“ In the town there is absolutely nothing to attract the stranger’s attention; a few mosques and churches, petroleum refineries, half a dozen European shops, some half-finished public buildings, [4] and the embryo of a public garden on the shore serve as an excuse for a walk; but if the traveller happens to hit upon a spell of wet weather, he will soon have seen all he wants to see of Batum, and will get out of its atmosphere of marsh gas and petroleum as soon as possible.
The only daily train leaves at eight o’clock in the morning ”

“ On the way I spent half a day at Suhum—a charming little town buried in luxuriant, un-Russian greenery, and one day at the Monastery, at New Athos. It is so lovely there at New Athos that there is no describing it: waterfalls, eucalyptuses, tea-plants, cypresses, olive-trees, and, above all, sea and mountains, mountains, mountains. From Athos and Suhum I went to Poti; the River Rion, renowned for its valley and its sturgeons, is close by. The vegetation is luxuriant. All the streets are planted with poplars. Batum is a big commercial and military, foreign-looking, cafe’-chantant sort of town ”

“ Batum, see p. 570. Long after starting we continue to enjoy, in clear weather, a grand *View of the snow-clad central chain of the Great Caucasus (p. 570) . The rugged mountains of the Lazistan, covered with snow in winter, become visible as far as the Kolat Dagh (about 7540 ft.) and are equally impressive. There are numerous small towns on the coast, but the only one called at by the steamers is Rizeh (the ancient Rhizūs) , the first seaport 572beyond the Turkish frontier, which is almost hidden by a forest of fruit-trees. ”

“ After all, you and I are Europeans among Orientals; that is a bond between us; and you will not take amiss advice honestly given by one European to another. You may not credit it" (Frank didn't) , "but up to the present I have stood between the Turks and you. But for me your life would not have been worth a snap. Now I am about to leave the city for the front. The Turkish army, led by German officers, is about to deal a smashing blow to the barbarous Russians in the Caucasus, and to occupy Batum. ”

“ From Batum to Constantinople. 726 M. Steamship Lines (agents at Batum, see p. 570; at Constantinople, see pp. 538, 539) . 1. North German Lloyd (Mediterranean & Levant Service; p. 563) , from Batum every alternate Sat., in 4 days, viâ Trebizond, Samsun, and (if required) Ineboli (fare 80 or 56 marks) .—2. Russian Steam Navigation & Trading Co. (Anatolian line) , from Batum every other Thurs. night (from Constantinople Frid. aft.) viâ Rizeh, Trebizond, Kerasun, Ordu, Samsun, Sinope, and Ineboli, in 61⁄2 days (fare 112 or 84 fr., food extra) .—3. Austrian Lloyd, from Batum Frid. ”

“ Batuta relates that during the interval of desolation the king mounted on the roof of his palace, and seeing the city empty and without fire or smoke said, "Now my heart is satisfied and my feelings are appeased."
Ibn Batuta was a member of this king's court, and had every opportunity of forming a just conclusion. He sums up his qualities thus: —
"Muhammad more than all men loves to bestow gifts and to shed blood. At his gate one sees always some fakir who has become rich, or some living being who is put to death. ”

“ There are more impressions of more feet and a coarsely carved linga, Siva’s fecundating attribute, transformed by Muhammadan piety into the miracle working staff of a Moslim santon. Hardly greater interest is awakened by the primitive statues Kota Batu derives its appellation from, “city of stones”, which form a sort of Ruhmes Allee, lining the path from the main road to the bath-house, with many of the same pattern scattered to right and left. ”

“ He was a pirate, no doubt, of a cruel and savage disposition, entertaining a hatred of the Christian race, and accustomed to garnish his trees and vines with such stray professors of Christianity as happened to fall into his hands. "This Turk he had—" is a master-stroke—a truly Shakspearian touch. There are few things like it in the language.
[3]
And every holth she drunk unto him
Vos, "I vish Lord Bateman as you vos mine!"
A most affecting illustration of the sweetest simplicity, the purest artlessness, and holiest affections of woman's gentle nature. ”

“ Batu was the more willing to hurry forward to Hungary, since he had learned that Michael of Chernigoff and Daniel of Galitch had gone to that kingdom. This, however, did not change his plan, though it may have hastened its execution, for the campaign against Galitch and Volynia was notable for swiftness. Batu on his way took through falsehood Ladyjin, a town which fought stubbornly and refused to yield. He promised the people in case they surrendered [243] to spare them and their town. At last they respected his word and surrendered. He slew every man to the last one. ”

“ In 1835 they sailed from Batavia to Padang, [446] and thence came directly up the coast to the Batu Islands, Pulo Nias, and this bay. From this village they went up into the interior toward Lake Toba, and when about fifty miles distant they were attacked and killed by the Battas.
Considering the friendly reception given the former missionaries, I do not think this journey promised such an unhappy issue.
The Battas certainly do not eat human flesh for lack of food, nor wholly to satisfy revenge, but chiefly to gratify their appetites. ”

“ Since the foundation of the town, the seashore has silted up to such an extent that the original harbour of Batavia, in which the Dutch East Indiamen of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries lay at anchor, has been abandoned, and a new port has been constructed at a point six miles to the eastward. The harbour works at Tanjong Priok, as the [64] present port of Batavia is called, and the railway which connects the port and town of Batavia, are one among many improvements set on foot in the island since the inauguration of a public-works policy by the Colonial Government in 1875. ”

“ Batavia does not enchant me. The heat is tremendous. We have determined to-day to go and seek freshness on the wooded slopes of Buitenzorg, the summer resort of the Dutch Resident, situated a few hours out of Batavia. The railway-line from Batavia to Buitenzorg is one of the most picturesque in the world. ”

“ Batavia, called by some writers, the Queen of the East, on account of its wealth and the beauty of its buildings, is situate very near the sea, in a fertile plain, watered by the river Jaccatra, which divides the town. The sea-shore is on the north of the city; and on the south the land rises with a very gentle slope to the mountains, which are about fifteen leagues inland. ”

“ Batavia, April 14, Anno 1772.
You 'll find the story in any book: the chap was a half-caste Guy Fawkes who conspired to deliver Batavia to the King of Bantam, was caught, tried, and torn asunder by horses. I nosed about and went through a hole in a side wall: nothing in the compound but green mould, dried stalks, dead leaves, and blighted banana trees. The inside of the gate was blocked with five to eight feet of cement. The Dutch hate solidly. ”

“ Bata-gopit lies at the foot of a volcano-mountain of that name, from whence, at the time of an eruption, the natives procure sulphur, to be afterwards employed in the manufacture of gunpowder. The little kingdom of Butar lies north­eastward of the preceding and reaches to the eastern coast, where are the places named Pulo Serony and Batu Bara; the latter enjoying a considerable trade; also Longtong and Sirigar, at the mouth of a great river named Assahan. Butar yields neither camphor, benzoin, nor gold, and the inhabitants support themselves by cultivation. ”

“ They treat those remote subjects more kindly, so that they may not attack, or that others may obey with more willingness.” The cruel and savage Batu was sometimes fond of charming those princes who bowed down before him, and of showing magnanimity in treatment, and at such times he seemed the most kindly host possible. ”

“ Modern Batavia had 111,763 inhabitants on December 31, 1894, less than a tenth of whom are Europeans, with 26,776 Chinese and 72,934 natives. While the eighteenth-century Stadhuis might have been brought from Holland entire, a steam tramway starts from its door and thence shrieks its way to the farthest suburb, the telephone “hellos” from center to suburb, and modern inventions make tropical living possible.
The Dutch do not welcome tourists, nor encourage one to visit their paradise of the Indies. ”

“ Besides these enumerated nations, which contribute to form the population of Batavia, there are several Armenians and [pg 131] some other Asiatics who reside there occasionally for the sake of trade, and stay no longer than their affairs require, All the inhabitants around Batavia, and for a track of about forty leagues along the mountains of the country of Bantam, are immediately subject to the governor-general, who sends drossards or commissaries among them, to administer justice, and to collect the public revenues ”

“ Batavia, the capital of the Dutch dominions in India, and generally supposed to have no equal among all the possessions of the Europeans in Asia, is situated on the north side of the island of Java, in a low fenny plain, where several small rivers, which take their rise in the mountains called Blaeuwen Berg, about forty miles up the country, empty themselves into the sea, and where the coast forms a large bay, called the Bay of Batavia, at the distance of about eight leagues from the streight of Sunda. ”

“ The country around Batavia is extremely beautiful, and it may be said that nature and art seem to strive which shall have the greatest share in adorning it. The air is sweet and mild, the land extremely fertile, and the face of the country finely diversified with hills and vallies, all laid out in regular plantations, beautiful canals, and whatever can contribute to render the country pleasant and agreeable. ”

“ Batavia proper is a commonplace city of featureless streets, brick-walled canals, and ramshackle public buildings, but the residential town of Weltevreden, suggesting a glorified Holland, combines the quaint charm of the mother country with the Oriental grace and splendour of the tropics. ”

“ In the environs of Batavia are a number of villages, some inhabited by Malays, and others by Chinese, who visit the island in great numbers, and carry on a considerable trade, notwithstanding the persecutions to which they have at times been subject. In various beautiful spots, both near the city or the neighbouring hills, and along the sea-shore, are found the large and handsome country residences of the chief merchants and other authorities connected with the Company. There are five principal roads which lead from the city towards the country, and which are planted with high and shady trees. ”

“ Bateman shook hands with her. She had dark, splendid eyes and a red mouth tremulous with laughter; but her skin was brown, and her curling hair, rippling down her-shoulders, was coal black. She wore but one garment, a Mother Hubbard of pink cotton, her feet were bare, and she was crowned with a wreath of white scented flowers. She was a lovely creature. She was like a goddess of the Polynesian spring. ”

“ I am told that the ladies never wear hats or bonnets, [Pg 357] and that the only thing of that sort ever seen in Batavia is when foreigners first arrive here from other parts of the world. A ladies' hat-store in Batavia would not be a paying speculation.
"On certain evenings there is music on the King's Square; and at such times everybody goes there to hear it. The crowd is large but very fashionable, as it is the proper thing to go there; and no one who can get out will venture to miss the performance. ”

“ And Eva did not find Batavia the ideal city of Eurasian civilization which she had pictured it at Labuwangi. In this great money-grubbing centre, every trace of spontaneity had vanished and life became degraded to an everlasting seclusion in the office or at home. People never saw each other save at receptions ”

“ Owing to the distance intervening between each house, Batavia, although numbering only 70,000 inhabitants, apparently covers a larger area than Paris, and as the wealthy classes are concentrated in the upper quarters of the town, just as they are in the West End of London, it is there that one may see all that Batavia has to show of luxury, comfort, and elegance. ”

“ Batavia is the metropolis of the Dutch trade and settlements in India, and is well situated for the spice trade, which they have entirely in their own hands. There are seldom less than twenty sail of Dutch ships at Batavia, carrying from thirty to fifty and sixty guns each. Abraham van Ribeck was governor-general when we were there. His predecessor, as I was informed, had war with the natives of the island, who had like to have ruined the settlement ”