INDEX TO THE THIRD VOLUME. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF ILLUS- || Essay on good Travellers, 314 TRIGUS LADIES. Her Grace the Duchess of Richmond, 3 Queen of Prussia, 63 Queen of Portugal, 119 Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess of Her R. H. the Duchess of Brunswick, 291 ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. Adventure of a British soldier in America, 208 of M. de Chamfort, 141, 239 Antiquarian Olio, 42, 97, 193 Apothecaries, the two, 210 on Knotting, 319 Female Sex, history of, 302 Former Times, a tale, 35, 86 Hamburgh and Bremen, a description of, 71 History of a Russian young lady, 183 of Paulina, 232 Husband, how to tame a turbulent one, 82 Ladies' Toilette; or Encyclopædia of Beauty, Losses of Prussia by the Peace of Tilsit, 145 My Night-Cap, 218 Occupations of departed souls, 94, 125, 176 Royal Eclipse; or Delicate Facts, 185 Sabina, or morning scenes in the dressing-room Archbishop of York, biographical sketch of, 268 Seymour, an English tale, 135, 200 Avarice, essay on, 78 Barbito, or the Ghost of Cuenca, 315 Bachelor, the old, 82 Singular fashions, $6 Somphronimos; a Grecian tale, 252 Blue eyes; or continuation of Voltaire's Zadig, Speech delivered in a literary society, 189 194 Statistical Survey of Prussia in 1806, 144 Sweden, an original account of, The way to become a Marshal, 148 Tour through Holland by Sir John Carr, 12 Copenhagen, sketch of, and manners of the Vienna, an account of, and manners of its in inhabitants, 261 Connubial story, 324 Criminal (the) a tale, 65, 146 Cure of old age, 241 Definition of a husband by his wife, 73 Description of Poland, 152 habitants, 91 Vicar's tale, 247 War, a dream, 271, 299 FAMILIAR LECTURES ON USEFUL SCIENCES. Dialogue between Somebody and Nobody, 239 || Adjudication of Prizes, 159 TO THE THIRD VOLUME OF Bell's COURT AND MAGAZINE, CONTAINING A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE MOST DISTINGUISHED WORKS OF LITERATURE FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS. HISTORY, TRAVELS, AND BIOGRAPHY. A DESCRIPTION OF CEYLON. ARTICLE L-A Description of Ceylon ; containing an Account of the Country, Inhabitants, and natural productions, with narratives of a Tour round the Island in 1800, the Campaign in Candy in 1803, and a Journey to Ramisseram in 1804. By the Rev. James Cordiner, A. M. late Chaplain to the Garrison of Columbo. In Two Vols. 4to. with Twenty-five Plates. Longman and Co. 1807. THIS work is very properly and handsomely dedicated to the Honourable Frederick North, late Governor of the British settlements in the island of Ceylon. The first volume (445 pages) contains a sketch of the island, a plan of Columbo, three plates of the costume of the country, a talipot tree, a banyan tree, a branch and flower of the cinnamon tree, Cingalese and Malabar alphabets, view of an elephant snare, and eleven plates of views of temples, forts, and striking scenes in the island, all (except the map, plan, and dresses,) extremely well engraven in mezzotinto, from the elegant drawings of the author, made on the spot. At the end is a useful Glossary of a hundred technical terms. We have attentively perused this work, and with great pleasure acknowledge we have never met with any book of travels with which we have been more gratified. It abounds in curious information upon a variety of subjects in a country on which no traveller has written since the year 1681; and the most perfect reliance may be placed on the truth of the whole narrative; which circumstance stamps an inestimable value on the whole work. It has been said that the business of reviewing critics may be divided into three branches; these are, information, correction, and addition. This performance requires no correction, being written in a pure and elegant style, free from repetitions, blunders, deficiencies, and grammatical The second volume (360 pages) contains four engravings in mezzotinto, being views of a pagoda, of a temple, of the Governor's house, and of a curious hanging bridge. Near half this volume consists of the his-errors. Additions to such an unique motory of the Candian warfare; extracts from dern book of travels cannot be made here; the medical reports of the troops serving in so that we have nothing left but to select Ceylon in April 1803; the embassy from such passages as may afford delight as well Columbo to the Court of Candy in 1800; as instruction; these extracts shall be more and Knox's account of the King and go-copious than what we think necessary to vernment of Candy in 1881. make from the numberless travels in Europe. The unconnected quotations will, as we flatter ourselves, excite the curiosity of our readers, and interest them so as to induce them to peruse the whole work. The author in his Preface says, "The manner of ensnaring and taming the wild elephants, the mode of diving for the pearloysters, the stripping of the cinnamon-bark, and the process of collecting natural salt, are all described from actual observation and authentic documents." He resided in Ceylon from 1799 to 1804. This island, shaped like a pear, is situate between six and ten degrees of north latitude, and is two hundred and eighty miles in length, and one hundred and fifty in breadth. Our countryman, Sir J. Maundevile, visited this country in the thirteenth century. "After the Portuguese reached the shores of Ceylon in 1505, they maintained a superiority in the island for one hundred and fifty-three years, during which time they were engaged in constant struggles with the natives, and latterly with the Dutch, who succeeded in expelling them in the year 1658. The dominion of the States-General continued, with little interruption, until the year 1795 and 1796, when the coasts of Ceylon were finally taken possession of by the British arms. The "The territory which now belongs to Great Britain forms a belt round the island, extending, in some places, not more than six, in others thirty, and on the northern side even sixty miles into the interior country. inland provinces, cut off from all communication with the sea, and occupying the greater part of the island, are still retained by the King of Candy, whose capital is situate in the centre of his dominions. "Almost the whole circumference of the coast is lined with a sandy beach, and a broad border of cocoa-nut trees, behind which are seen double and treble ranges of lofty mountains covered with wood. The northern parts of the island are flat, and frequently indented with shallow inlets of the sea." "The interior, or Candian territories, contain many hundreds of mountains, some of which, as well as the extensive plains between thein, are highly cultivated. "Access to the country is difficult on account of its natural barriers, and the greater part of it continues still to be very imperfectly known. The insalubrity of the climate, and the almost constant hostilities of the Portuguese, Dutch, and English with the natives, have, in a great measure, prevented the researches of travellers. Excepting the lines of three or four different rugged paths to Candy, our acquaintance with the nature of the inlaud district is extremely limited. "The highest mountain in the island is Adam's Peak, lying sixty miles from Columbo; no European subject of Great Britain has ever visited it. "The heat of the climate is not so intense as might be expected in a situation so near the equator. In general, it is more temperate and uniform than in any part of the neighbouring peninsula. No climate in the world is more salubrious than that of Columbo; and a person who remains within doors while the sun is powerful, never wishes to experience one more "The days and nights are nearly equal throughout the year; the atmosphere is almost always serene; the moonlight is clearer than in England, and the sun may be seen to rise and set almost every day in his brightest lustre. "Precious stones are plentiful, and found of upwards of twenty different sorts, but the greater part of them are of an inferior quality. There is no real diamond in the island. The gems of greatest value are the cat's-eye and the emerald. A perfect cat's-eye of the size of a hazel nut is worth one hundred and fifty pounds sterling. It is a pseudo-opal, a white ray runs across its diameter on one side, aad, moving from one end to the other, meets the eye in which ever way it is turned. Strictly speaking, there are no roads in Ceylon; and wheel carriages can only be used in the neighbourhood of the larger European settlements, which are all situated on the sea coast. A person travels here in a wild and woody region destitute of roads, and his journey may be compared to an excursion in a large garden or park where there are no arti ficial walks. "The revenue of Ceylon, although much greater than under the Dutch administration, is not sufficient to defray the expence of the various establishments placed there by the British government. The annual income does not at present exceed £. 226,600. While the are entirely shut up in the heart of the country, and have never been subdued by any foreign power. common expenditure of the island amounts || ject to the British government. The Candians to £.330,000, occasioning a yearly charge on his Majesty's treasury of £.103,400. In this state of the revenue the produce of every source is included, allowing £.40,000 sterling as the average gain by pearl fisherics. The East India Company pays £.60,000 yearly for cinnamon. "The English circle at Columbo consists of about one hundred gentlemen, and only twenty ladies; but the other European settlements can muster three hundred respectable persons, and nearly an equal number of both sexes. "Two weekly clubs are established at Columbo. At one of these the principal amusement is cards. It is held about four miles from the fort, and consists of twelve members, who give dinners in rotation, and generally invite twelve strangers. The other club is for the purpose of playing at quoits, the cocoanut trees affording a pleasant shade at all hours of the day. "The rent of the most magnificent mansion in Columbo amounts only to £.300 per annum; a good family house may be procured for £. 100. An unmarried man must keep a palanquin and a one-horse chaise. Ten palanquin bearers, the common set at Madras, cost there above £. 100 per annum, and onethird more at Columbo, where the maintenance of a horse costs £.50, double the sum necessary to keep one at the former settlement. No bachelor can keep house comfortably at Columbo for less than £.800 a year. "On the 17th July, 1805, when the Hon. Frederick North was preparing to leave his government, the civil, judicial, and military officers resident at Columbo presented his Excellency with a piece of plate of the value of one thousand guineas, and an address which concludes: We beg leave to offer to your Excellency the respectful expression of our gratitude and esteem, our grateful acknowledgments for the uniform kindness we have enjoyed under your government, and our unfeigned and fervent wishes for your future health and happiness.' "There is a tribe of wild people who inhabit the mountains, they are not many thousands in number." We must refer to the fourth chapter of the work for further particulars. Many of "The Cingalese of both sexes have uniformly black eyes, and long smooth black hair, which they always wear turned up, and fastened on the crown of the head with a tortoiseshell comb, or other instrument. the higher classes of people who are not exposed to the rays of the sun, have complexions so extremely fair, that the ladies seem lighter than the brunettes of England. In all ranks, the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet are white. "The dress of the common people is nothing more than a piece of calico, or muslin, wrapped round the waist. They wear no earrings; their ears are not pierced. "The dress of the women in the highest stations is of the same form of that of the poorer sort, but their clothes are finer, and a greater quantity is worn. "The garment which the ladies use instead of a petticoat, is often of coloured silk, or satin, over which is thrown white muslin embroidered with flowers, and spangled with gold. The shift, which is always the upper covering, is trimmed round the bottom with lace, and decorated at the sleeves with ruffles of the same materials. On the head are gold and tortoiseshell combs, and pins set with clusters of precious stones. They have neat earrings of a similar description, and slippers of red and white leather. By their side is hung a small box of gold or silver, in which are deposited the necessary refreshments of betel-leaf, arecanut, and chunam, a fine species of lime made of calcined shells. These three articles are caten together, and are a luxury of which all ranks partake. A slice of the areça-nut and a "The great body of the inhabitants of Cey- pinch of chunam, are rolled up in a betel-leaf, lon is divided into three classes, Cingalese, put into the mouth, and chewed; from the Candians, and Malabars. The first and second mastication of the three together, the saliva is are descended from the aborigines of the island;|| rendered of an ugly red, which is not the case the third consists of the offspring of colonies when the nut and leaf are eaten without the which have emigrated from the Indian penin- lime, the teeth and lips acquire a reddish sula. Each class contains about five hundred tinge, as if coloured with Peruvian bark, which thousand persons, making the whole popula- has a disgusting appearance to an European, tion one million and a half. The Cingalese but is esteemed ornamental by an Asiatic. occupy the coasts of the southern half of the The nut corrects the bitterness of the leaf, island, those of the northern half are peopled and the lime prevents it from hurting the with Malabars. Both these classes are sub-stomach; united together they possess an ex |