“‘My brother, Truna Jaya, when I was at Tagal I made a vow that this, my creese—Blaba—should never be sheathed until in your breast.’
“On these words the nobles brought the unhappy man to the foot of the throne, from whence the Susunan, rising, stabbed him to the heart; and then commanded every noble to strike his creese into his body. The corpse being thus mangled, the Susunan arose again, crying in a loud voice:
“‘Let his heart be devoured.’
“The chiefs, obedient, rushed upon the body again, and, tearing out the heart, divided it into fragments of a nail’s breadth, devouring it accordingly. The head they laid at the foot of the throne, but it was afterwards carried in procession before the Susunan; and when he retired at night to rest, he used it as a mat to wipe his feet upon. To such a demon,” concluded the Chinese, “had the vile Hollanders changed a prince of Java!”
“The savage beast!” exclaimed my brother; “but where were the civilized Dutch all this time?”[B]
“Standing with arms folded, looking upon the scene; and that, too, oh, noble youth, although their generals had pledged their knightly honor for Truna’s safety.”
“It is a horrible tale, and almost impossible to believe,” said I; nevertheless, it was gospel truth.
“It is but one of many, many incidents in the history of this land, that has sown hatred in the hearts of its people to the Dutch,” replied the Chinese; “but,” he added, “before thy servant relates another story, he prays of the noble youths to partake of this fruit—it is fresh-gathered.”
And, oh! how our eyes sparkled, as he brought from his bag some slices of that most delicious of all known fruits, a mangosteen. This fruit, it is said, meets the approbation of persons of the greatest diversity of tastes in other matters—whether that diversity arises from peculiarity of constitution or from national habits and antipathies. It is mildly acid, and has an extreme delicacy of flavor, without being luscious or cloying. In external appearance it has the look of a ripe pomegranate, but is smaller and more completely globular. A thick rind, hard on the outside, but soft and succulent within, incloses large seeds or kernels, surrounded by a soft, semi-transparent, snow-white pulp, now and then having a very slight crimson blush. This pulp is the edible part of the fruit, and persons in robust health may, without prejudice, eat a much larger quantity of it than of any other.
And as we had been some time without refreshment, we partook of this mangosteen to an extent that would have been injurious with any other fruit.