_Transactions at Batavia, and Departure from that Place._
The next day, which by our account was the 28th, but by the account of
the Dutch at this place; was the 29th, we having lost a day by having
steered westward a year, we anchored nearer to the town, and saluted the
water-fort with eleven guns, which were returned. We found here above a
hundred sail great and small, and among others, a large English ship
belonging to Bombay, which saluted us with thirteen guns.
There is always lying here a Dutch commodore belonging to the company,
who, among his countrymen, is a person of very great consequence. This
gentleman thought fit to send his boat on board of me, with only the
cockswain, in her, who was a very dirty ragged fellow: As soon as he was
brought to me, he asked whence I came, whither I was bound, and many
other questions, which I thought equally impertinent, at the same time
pulling out a book, and pen and ink, that he might set down the answers;
but as I was impatient to save him this trouble, he was desired
immediately to walk over the ship's side, and put off his boat, with
which he was graciously pleased to comply.
When we came to this place, we had not one man sick in either of the
ships; but as I knew it to be more unhealthy than any other part of the
East Indies, as the rainy season was at hand, and arrack was to be
procured in great plenty, I determined to make my stay here as short as
possible. I went on shore to wait upon the Dutch governor, but was told
that he was at his country-house, about four miles distant from the
town. I met however with an officer, called a shebander, who is a kind
of master of the ceremonies, and he acquainted me, that if I chose to go
to the governor immediately, rather than wait for his coming to town, he
would attend me; I accepted his offer, and we set out together in his
chariot. The governor received me with great politeness, and told me,
that I might either take a house in any part of the city that I should
like, or be provided with lodgings at the hotel. This hotel is a
licensed lodging-house, the only one in the place, and kept by a
Frenchman, an artful fellow, who is put in by the governor himself. It
has indeed more the appearance of a palace than a house of
entertainment, being the most magnificent building in Batavia; nor would
a small edifice answer the purpose, for as there is a penalty of five
hundred dollars upon any person in the city who shall suffer a stranger
to sleep a single night at his house, the strangers who make it their
residence are never few: All the houses indeed have a stately appearance
on the outside, and are elegantly fitted up within, and we were told
that the Chinese, of whom there are great numbers at this place, were
the architects. The city is large, and the streets well laid out, but
they have greatly the appearance of those in the cities of Holland, for
a canal runs through most of them, with a row of trees planted on each
side: This is convenient for the merchants, who have every thing brought
up to their own doors by water, but it probably contributes to the
unhealthiness of the place; the canal, indeed, as the city is built in a
swamp, might be necessary as a drain, but the trees, though they have a
pleasant appearance, must certainly prevent the noxious vapours that are
perpetually arising, from being dispersed, by obstructing the
circulation of the air. The number of people here is incredible, and
they are of almost every nation in the world, Dutch, Portuguese,
Chinese, Persians, Moors, Malays, Javanese, and many others: The
Chinese, however, have a large town to themselves, without the walls,
and carry on a considerable trade, for they have annually ten or twelve
large junks from China; and to these the opulence of the Dutch at
Batavia is in a great measure owing. The beef here is bad, and the
mutton scarce, but the poultry and fish are excellent and in great
plenty. Here are also the greatest variety and abundance of the finest
fruit in the world, but the musquitos, centipedes, scorpions, and other
noxious vermin, which are innumerable, are extremely troublesome,
especially to strangers. The roads, for many miles about the city, are
as good as any in England: They are very broad, and by the side of them
runs a canal, shaded by tall trees, which, is navigable for vessels of a
very large size: On the other side of the canal are gardens of a very
pleasant appearance, and country-houses of the citizens, where they
spend as much of their time as possible, the situation being less
unwholesome than the city; and there are so few of them who do not keep
a carriage, that it is almost a disgrace to be seen on foot.
At this place I continued from the 28th of November to the 10th of
December, when, having procured what refreshments I could for my people,
and taken on board a sufficient quantity of rice and arrack, to serve
for the rest of the voyage, I weighed anchor and made sail. The fort
saluted me with eleven guns, and the Dutch commodore with thirteen,
which I returned; we were saluted also by the English ship. We worked
down to Prince's Island, in the strait of Sunda, and came to an anchor
there on the 14th. In this passage, the boats came off to us from the
Java shore, and supplied us with turtle in such plenty, that neither of
the ship's companies eat any thing else. We lay at Prince's Island till
the 19th, and during all that time we subsisted wholly upon the same
food, which was procured from the inhabitants at a very reasonable rate.
Having now taken on board as much wood and water as we could stow, we
weighed, and got without Java Head before night: But by this time a
dangerous putrid fever had broken out among us; three of my people had
died, and many others now lay in so dangerous a condition that there
were little hopes of their recovery: We did not, however, bury one at
Batavia, which, notwithstanding our stay was so short, was thought to be
a very extraordinary instance of good fortune; and our sick gradually
recovered after we had been a week or two at sea.