tremely wholesome, nutritious, and enlivening quality. The teeth of children and of grown Cingalese, who do not follow the custom of chewing these articles, are of the most beantiful whiteness and most perfect regularity. "The men, in general, labour but little, where rice is not cultivated; and all the drudgery of life falls upon the women. The possessor of a garden, which contains twelve cocoa-nut, and two jack-trees (the largest species of bread-fruit), finds no call for any exertion. He reclines all day in the open air, literally doing nothing; feels no wish for active employment, and never complains of the languor of existence. What has been ascribed to Indians in general is not inapplicable to these people. They say it is better to stand than to walk, better to sit than to stand; better to lie down than to sit; better to sleep than to be awake; and death is best of all. If the owner of the garden wants any article of luxury which his own ground does not produce, his wife carries a portion of the fruits to market, and there barters them for whatever commodity is required. The only furniture in their houses is a few coarse mats, rolled up in a corner, which are spread upon the earthen floor when the inhabitants intend to sleep; tables, chairs, beds, and all those articles which are considered as necessary in Europe, are here totally unknown. The ideas of the common people seem not to extend beyond the incidents of the passing hour; alike unmindful of the past and careless of the future, their life runs on in an easy apathy, but little elevated above mere animal existence. A state of inaction is the consequence of an indulgent climate; and where nature has been so liberal in her productions, she has left scarcely any incentive to industry. But notwithstanding this prevailing indolence, the botanical knowledge of the Cingalese is so great as to be a matter of surprise in their uncultivated state. The most illiterate peasant can not only tell the rames but the qualities of the minutest plant that is to be found within the precincts of the district which he inhabits. "The son in a family who possesses the greatest natural talents, is considered as the representative of his father, invested with the authority of the first-born, and looked up to by all his brethren with voluntary deference and submission. "The Cingalese are governed through the medium of their own chiefs, who act under the orders of the English servants of his Majesty. The highest class of native magistrates is known by the name of Modclears, who, to mark their rank, may be styled captains, although their employment is more of a civil than a military nature. "All the men in office wear swords of a moderate size, antiquated, and not formidable in appearance. The hilt and scabbard are made of silver. The former imitates the head of a tiger, the latter is curiously embossed, and turned round at the point. The sashes are either of rich gold or silver lace, to which is attached a brilliant star, or cluster of various gems. The design and workmanship exhibited in these decorations are distinguished badges of the particular rank of the wearer. "Subservient to the modelears, to maintain the peace of the country, are men who may be called secretaries, lieutenants, corporals, and private soldiers. In the district of Columbo alone are registered, for the public service, 114 sergeants, 234 corporals, and 2815 families of privates. All these wear swords, but the scabbards of the lower orders are made of wood instead of silver, and their belts of somewhat less rich materials. "A modelear sometimes gives a breakfast, sometimes a dinner to a select party of his British friends, and often a ball and supper to all the European gentry of Columbo. In expences of this nature he is never backward. Spacious bungaloes are often erected for the use only of a single evening, the pillars ornamented with cocoa-nut leaves, the roof spread with white muslin, embellished with beautiful moss, and hung with a profusion of brilliant lamps, the manufacture of European glasshouses. Sometimes wooden platforms, eight inches high, enclosed with rails, are provided for the purpose of dancing, and sometimes well beaten turf forms the only ground for this favourite amusement. "On these festive occasions, the poor labourers whose presents and ingenuity have formed the ground-work of the entertainment, are not forgotten. A shed is erected, and a refreshment provided for them in an obscure corner of the garden, which solicits not the eye of public observation. A long table runs down the middle of the apartment, with benches on each side. Plantain leaves, raised at the edges, form one continued dish, or bor der, along the board, filled with hot rice properly seasoned. A few lamps made of clay, throw a glimmering light through the darkness of the hall. Neither plate nor spoon is used, but every man eats with his right hand in the same manner as the elephant feeds himseif with his probosis. About one hundred naked and contented inhabitants of the province sit down to this plain but plentiful repast, which it is probable they enjoy with higher relish than that which their superiors experience at a table crowded with the rich productions of all the corners of the globe. In general, the poor Cingalese use no other seats or tables than the bountiful earth. After supper, the same open pavilion becomes their bedchamber, and lying down promiscuously on the floor, they enjoy a sweet and undisturbed repose. "In December, 1803, while Lord Viscount Valentia was visiting Governor North, at Columbo, a numerous company of the British inhabitants entertained him one evening with the sight of an exhibition called by the natives a Cingalese play, although, from the rude nature of the performance, it can hardly he ranked among the productions of the dramatic art. The stage was a green lawn; and this open theatre was lighted with lamps supported on posts, and flambeaux held by men. "The entertainment commenced with the feats of a set of active tumblers, whose naked bodies were painted all over with white crosses. They walked on their hands, and threw themselves round, over head and heels, three or four times successively without a pause. Two boys embracing one another, with head oppos⚫ed to feet, tumbled round like a wheel. The young performers, singly, twisted their bodies with a quickness and flexibility which it would be difficult to imitate in a less relaxing climate. Two men, raised up on stilts, walked in among them. Pieces of bamboo were tied round their legs, reaching only a little above the knee, and elevating them three feet from the ground. They moved slowly, without much ease, and had nothing to support them but the equipoise of their own bodies." After this there were men dancers, groups of masks, &c. "An excellent imitation of a wild bear next sprung upon the scene of action. The head and tail were perfect, and the character was well supported; but like all the others, it remained too long in view; and as the spectators wearied the effect diminished. "But the prettiest part of the entertainment was a circular dance by twelve children, about ten years of age. They danced opposite to one another, two and two, all courtesied at one ' time, down to the ground, shook their whole bodies with their hands fixed in their sides, and kept time to the music with two little clattering sticks in each hand (like castaniets). Going swiftly round, being neatly dressed, of one size, and perfect in the performance, this youthful dance produced a very pleasing effect, and brought to remembrance the pictures of the fleeting hours. "The exhibition concluded with love scenes between men and women, which appeared, to an English eye, as bordering upon indecency. "The Cingalese who profess the religion of Mahomet, appear to be a mixed race, the prin cipal of whose progenitors had emigrated from the peninsula of India. They are a much more active and industrious body of people than either the Christians or followers of Buddha. Among them are found merchants, money-changers, jewellers, carpenters, taylors, and all the useful tribes of mechanics. In cutting precious stones, and making rings and other ornaments of gold, they are particularly neat-banded and ingenious. One of their favourite ornaments is a ring set completely round with samples of all the stones which the island produces. "The occupation of washing is performed only by men, on the banks of rivers or lakes, by dripping the garments in the water and striking them against a flat stone. No scap is used; and the sun rapidly performs the operation of the most effectual bleaching." We must refer to the work for an account of the language, and shall only mention from it : "The greater part of the men can read and write; but these accomplishments are not All their incommunicated to the women. struction is received, and their knowledge expressed by word of mouth" Near Columbo two white children, born of black parents, were to be seen :— “They belong to that class of the human species denominated Albinos. Their whiteness is pale and livid, their hair, eye-brows, and eyelashes are perfectly white, and of a very fine soft texture. The iris of the eye is of a beautiful blue, and the white extremely pure: their eyes are very weak and generally closed. They cannot see in bright sun shine. Their constitution is languid, and they never stir from the door of the hut in which they were born, unless when carried in their mother's arms. father and mother are both Cingalese of the poorer sort, apparently healthy, and have a son younger than either of the Albinos, perfectly black, and as stout and robust as any of his countrymen." The The Albinos of England which we have seen, were all of a fair and healthy complexion; the iris of their eyes red like blood; in the whiteness of their hair, the feebleness of their sight, their languid constitution and other particulars they appeared to resemble those which have just been made in the flap of the ear to extend to an extraordinary size, so that a man's hand may pass through it, the lower parts being stretchel till they touch the shoulder. The earrings measure eleven inches in circumference, and in each there is often set a single precious stone, most commonly a ruby. Persons of the higher ranks occasionally wear white sleeved waistcoats, with small gold buttons. The lower orders are often destitute of turbans. 66 The dress of the women consists of a single piece of muslin, folded round the waist, hanging down instead of a petticoat, and thrown over one shoulder to conceal the breasts. These ladies who put it on with taste, leave one leg nearly up to the knee, as well as one shoulder bare, and let the garment fall upon the other leg down to the auk'e. The fashion is graceful and becoming. Nothing is worn on the head; the hair is neatly combed, an "The Candians having been originally one people with the Cingalese, do not differ from them more than the inhabitants of the mountains of any other country differ from those of the plains or sea-coasts. Their manners are les polished, and the constant wearing of their beards adds to the natural ferocity of their appearance. Their dress shall be described hereafter; it is evident that no part of their attire is borrowed from that of Europeans.ointed with oil, and turned up before and be Indian costume has been copied in England; but the fashion of India never changes. The dress of the inhabitants there is the same at this day as it was as far back as history reaches. "The Candians are confined to the centre of the island; and no part of their territory is les than six miles distant from the sea-shore. In February 1802, an ambassador from Candy, attended by two other nobles of the count, arrived at Columbo. They were conducted to the Government-house from their lodging, in three Dutch carriages borrowed for the occasion. They insisted that the chariot doers should be kept open, that they might not pear like prisoners in a place of confinement; and it was with much difficulty they were persuaded to allow the coachman to sit on the boxes in a more elevated situation than themselves. The ambassador delivered a long message from his Sovereign to the Governor, standing in an erect posture, without any action, and singing in a monotonous tone, like Choolboy repeating a task in a language Lich he does not understand. "The Malabars, who occupy one half of the cast, and form one half of the subjects of the British government in Ceylon, differ greatly from the Cingalese. They are stouter, more active and enterprising, but less innocent and more fraudulent. Their clothing is entirely composed of white calico and muslin. The dress of the men is a piece of either of these kinds of cloth wrapped round the loins, and reaching down to the ankles, a light turban tied loosely round the head, and large bunches of earings. They encourage the aperture hind. Small earrings are worn in the higher bells. as well as "A considerable number of this race profess the Mahometan religion, and are generally distinguished by the name of Moors, or Lubbies. One street in the extensive village beyond the outer-town of Columbo is entirely inhabited by this class of people. They are pediars, jewellers, tailors, fishermen and sailors. Many of them speak Cingalese and Portuguese, Malabar. Their women are scarcely ever allowed to be seen by strangers; even when they are exhibited at a marriage ceremony, they are stationed in an inner chamber, and closely veiled. When a man has occasion to transport his wife from one place to another, if he cannot afford the expense of a palanquin, he places her cross-legged upon a bullock, so completely covered from head to foot with a white sheet, that not a particle of her skin can be discerned, nor can she see which way she is going; the husband walks by her side." In 1800, the author set out on his tour round the island. From the account of it, we shall give the following detached particulars, premising that our limits will not allow us to enlarge on them as much as we wish, and as the work merits. A stupendous mountain of stone is described as being one entire rock of a smooth surface, rising in form of a cube, on two sides completely perpendicular. "We ascended its highest summit on the most gently rising side, by a winding flight of stairs, formed of five hundred and forty-five steps of hewn stones. These steps must have "Each palanquin is generally attended by thirteen bearers. Only four carry at a time; they are relieved every quarter of an hour, and shift the pole from the shoulder of one to that of another without stopping. The thirteenth man acts as cook to the set, and carries as his burden, all the culinary matters." At a ball at Jaffnapatam, given by an English officer to the principal European inhabitants, twenty young ladies made their appearance, who were born in Ceylon of Dutch parents. On many parts of the coast are quantities of sand of a strong shining black, re been a work of prodigious labour, and are said to have been constructed fifteen hundred years ago, long before any European conquerors ap-sembling filings of steel. It does not seem peared in the island."-For the particulars of to be applied to any other purpose than the prospect, the book is referred to. thrown on paper after writing on it with ink. Hanging birds' nests are next described; and many picturesque descriptions of the country are given. We are then presented with a very particular account of an elephant hunt (in 34 pages), which will not admit of being mutilated by extracts, and which is accompanied by a pleasant and accurate view of an elephant snare. In the third volume of the Asiatic Researches, published in 1789, is a long and very particular account of the method of catching wild elephants, by John Corse, Esq. In the first part of the Philosophical Transactions for 1799, is another paper, which contains much curious information on the manners, habits, and natural history of the elephants, by the same gentleman. Our author says: "The elephants of Ceylon are from ten to eleven feet in height, and are divided into three classes. The first of these is distinguished by long tusks standing upwards, and besides being the most elegant in appearance, is likewise remarkable for a superior degree of intelligence. The second is provided with shorter tusks, descending perpendicularly; and the third, the most numerous, is entirely destitute of those appendages. "Of the seventy elephants at first captured, only four had long tusks. "The udder of the female is placed between the fore-legs, and consists of two dugs hanging down, one on each side of the breast, like inverted cones. The milk has the flavour of a filbert. A foot of one of the elephants was roasted and appeared at the governor's table. When salted and kept in vinegar for a month it becomes tender, scarcely distinguishable from hung beef. The first volume concludes with an excellent description of the cocoa tree: the other palms, the two bread-fruit trees, the banyan, talipot, the cotton-tree, the tamarind, the cashew, and other trees and shrubs are also well described. The great bamboo reed shoots up in stools of a considerable number from the same bottom; and the canes, which are nearly as thick as a man's thigh, grow to the height of from fifty to eighty feet. The leaves are small, narrow, and pointed, and spring from the knots. The whole is tapering, and waves gracefully in the wind. The pith of the young shoots makes a good pickle. A very particular account of the cinnamon is given at large, fom which it appears that the quantity of cinnamon sent yearly to England amounts to four thousand bales, each of ninety-two pounds weight, for which the East India Company pay to government the stipulated price of sixty thousand pounds sterling, and carry it home at their own expence. The second volume begins with the account of an excursion by sea and land, to the island of Ramisseram, about three and twenty miles from the north-west coast of Ceylon, and five or six miles from the opposite coast of Coromandel. "This island is entirely dedicated to the purposes of religion, and affords a genuine display of Indian hospitality; no plough is allowed to break the soil; and no animal, either wild or tame, is permitted to be killed on it. Black cattle abound here, and appear in groups lying in the streets. They furnish the inhabitants with the greatest luxury of their food, which is confined entirely to milk, and the productions of the vegetable world.” A grand temple is thus described: "Two hundred Brahmins are attached to this temple, and supported in indolence and luxury by its endowments. "At every corner of the walls of the temple, and in every street in the town stand little pagodas, dedicated to particular deities. "We travelled from the great Pagoda to Pombon, on the opposite side of the island, a distance of eight miles. The road is paved all the way with smooth stones, each six feet in length, and four feet broad, and the greatest part of it is nobly shaded by the most beautiful and majestic trees which India produces. All the large trees in this superb avenue are surrounded with smooth terraces of masonry, raised several feet from the ground, on which travellers rest in comfort, completely sheltered from the rays of the sun." This volume contains the journies of three different English gentlemen about the coast of Ceylon, in the first of which is an account of the natural salt pans, and the manner of collecting the salt. A Narrative of the Campaign in 1803; or, Candian Warfare. A medical report of the troops. purpose of covering them. In the dance they occasionally held out, in one hand, the end of the mantle, presented it to one another, threw it carelessly over the shoulder, and folded it loosely round the waist. The greater part of them bad broad gold rings round their necks, their ears covered with jewels, a stud set with precious stones in the left nostril, loads of rings about the ankles and wrists, and brilliant rings on the fingers and toes. Fifteen of these girls belong to the temple, and they give what money they receive towards its support. They are prohibited from marrying, but are not bound down to a life of virginity. When they bear children, the daughters are brought up to follow the profession and employments of their mothers, and the sons are educated as musicians for the service of the pagoda, or temple. The jugglers, in slight of hand, excel those of Europe. Many of their exhibitions require such flexibility of body, and such perfect command over every joint, that they could not be imitated in a cold climate. A man sits on the ground, with no other clothing but a piece of of muslin round his waist, twirls a large iron ring on each great toe, bends backwards, keeps four hollow brass balls in a circular motion in the air, and makes them pass in their course between his legs, which are likewise constantly moving one over the other; at the same time he threads a quantity of small beads in his mouth, without any assistance from his hands. And Knox's account of the King and The various tricks with cups and balls he exgovernment of Candy. "In Ramisseram several Brahmins waited on us one afternoon, accompanied by five welldressed dancing-girls, who entertained us with their exhibitions for upwards of an hour. They th mselves appeared to feel as much amusement in the performance as the assembly which crowded round them. The girls, in the course of dancing, displayed their hands and arms in singular and various positions, and their persons in every graceful attitude. Sometimes they approached and receded, saluted one another, kneeled in a liue, joined hands, and went round in a circle, singing and keeping every joint in motion. Two of the girls appeared to be about sixteen years of age, and three of them nearly thirty. They were neatly dressed after the Malabar fashion; and no part of their persons was uncovered except their arms, feet, and ankles, and a few inches in the middle of the back. Beneath the flowing garment which forms the principal picce of dress, they wore short shifts firmly girded under their breasts, and not longer than necessary for the bibits with admirable dexterity, while his arms are perfectly naked. He shows a snake, a foot in length, coiled under one of the cups, and then draws the animal out of his mouth, without a possibility of the deception being detected. He puts a piece of iron twenty-one inches perpendicularly down his throat. The iron has blunt edges, and has somewhat the form of a spit, but rounded at the point. Before commencing the operation, he moistens it with his lips, and erects his mouth in a line with his throat. After the piece of iron is down, he places a horizontal brass wheel on the point of the handle; on the wheel are fixed rockets, to to which he sets fire, and it whirls round with great rapidity in the midst of the flames and noise, he all the time holding the handle of the spit steadily in his hand. Having been trained to this operation from his infancy, his throat is rendered callous. appears as if he felt uneasiness while the steel is in his body, but he never acknowledges it, although he is very thankful for a glass of brandy when he draws out the instrument. In Sometimes he |