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Discourse of the Hon. T. S. Raffles.

names; and the supposed mansion of Arjuno, as before noticed, is still traced upon Gunung Prahu.

These works, in common with almost every composition in the language, are composed in regularly measured verses; and as far as we can judge, from the partial translations which have been made from them, through the medium of the Javanese, they do credit to the power of the language and the genius of the poet.

Historical compositions are divided into two general classes, termed Pakam and Babat; under the former are considered the Romo and B'rata Yud'ha; the institutions and regulations for princes and the officers of state and law, entitled Kopo Kopo, Jogol Muda and Kontoro; works on astronomy and judicial astrology, termed Wuku; and works on moral conduct, regulations and ancient institutions, termed Niti Sastro and Niti Projo. Under the Babat are classed chronological, and other works on modern history, since the establishment of the empire of Mataram.

There are in use, for ordinary and popular compositions, five different kinds of regular measured stanzas, termed Tembang, adapted to the subject treated of, whether heroic, amorous, or otherwise; these are termed Asmoron Dono, Dandang Gula, Sinom, Durmo and Pankgur. In the higher compositions, and particularly in the Kawi, these measures are still more varied, and in number upward of twenty, twelve of which correspond in name with the stanzas used in the poetry of continental India.

In repeating these compositions, they are chaunted, or rather drawled out, in regular metre, according to rules laid down for the long and short syllables. Dramatic representations of various kinds form the constant recreation of the higher classes of society, and the most polished amusement of the country. These consist of the Wayang Kulit or scenic shadows, in which the several heroes of the drama, represented in a diminutive size, are made to perform their entrances and exits behind a transparent curtain. The subjects of these representations are taken either from the more ancient works of the B'rata Yud'ha or Romo, and then denominated Wayang Purwo, or from the history of Panji, the most renowned hero of Java story, and then termed Wayang Gedog. The Wayang Wong, in which men personify the heroes of the B'rata Yud'ha and Romo, is also termed Wayang Purwo. They have also the Topeng, in which men wearing masks, personify those immortalized in the history of Panji; and the Wayang Klitik or Koritchil, not unlike a puppet-shew in Europe, in which diminutive wooden figures personify the heroes of Majapahit.

These dramatic exhibitions are accompanied by performances on the Gamelan, or musical instruments of the Javanese, of which there are severa distinct sets; the Salindro, which accompanies