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THE LIBRARY

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

THE VALE OF DUM3ERA..

OLD CEYLON,

SKETCHES OF CEYLON LIFE IN THE OLDEN TIME :

JOHN CAPPER,

AUTHOR OF THE "THREE PRESIDENCIES OF INDIA,"
THE "gold fields," &C., &C.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY CEYLON ARTISTS.

Colombo :
CEYLON TIMES PRESS

1877.

COLOMBO:
PRINTED BY THE CE7L0N TIMES PRESS COMPANY, LIMITED.

DS
C ' °

*^^ANY of the following Sketches were published in
the early volumes of Dicke2^s' " Household Words,"
more than a quarter of a century ago. Some are now
given for the first time, but nearly all refer to a period
between thirty and forty years ago.

In the hope that these pictures of " Old Ceylon "
may be acceptable to some of those who take an interest
in our beautiful island , they are now brought together, so
that the memory of bye-gone times may not pass away
for ever.

Colombo, September, 1878.

IK.iM^rH

CONTENTS.

The Garden of Flowers fBlustratedJ

Our Cook's Wedding

Coffee Planting in the Olden Time

Dutch Colombo (BlustratedJ

Our Old Clerk

A Galle Legend

A Peep at the " Perahera "

Old English Colombo (lUustrated)

" Old Joe "

Phillip of Brassfounder Street

The Fine Old Native Gentleman (Illustrated)

HuLFSDORP (Illustrated)

The Cinnamon Peeler

Elephants and How to Catch Them

A Happy Valley (Illustrated)

Our Produce Dealer

Number Forty- two (Illustrated)

Our Coffee Mills

A New Year's Day (Elustrated)

Our National Tree .

The Kandyan's Captive

My Pearl Fishing Expedition (Illustrated^

PAGE,
1

17
31

92
102
108
120
125
140
147
154
162
174
183
194
201

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGK,

FRONTISPIECE The Vale of Dumbera.

Little Dochie . . . .11

Dancing the " Caffreina " . . . 50

The Old Tinker . . . .84

Reception of the Governor by the Maha Mudeliyar 105
The Courts at HuLFSDORP . . .113

A Happy Valley . . . .141

Number Forty-two . . , .155

Fishing Boats Making for Shore . .176

Returning from the Pearl Banks . . 202

THE GARDEN OF FLOWERS.

n?HE Coffee Estate on "which I resided was situated in one of
t> the wildest and most beautiful districts of the island of
Ceylon, elevated far above the lixxuriant lowlands, where fra-
grant spices and waving palms told of wide plains and balmy-
winds. The plantation was on a broad table-land, fully three
thousand five hundred feet above the sea level, many miles
removed from the only European town in the interior, and at
least five miles from any other white man's dwelling. Within
a short walk of the lower boundary of my property, was a small
Kandyan village containing within itself the very pith and es-
sence of Cingalese society, a true type of the native community
of the interior. As I mixed so unreservedly and frequently with
the people, and saw so much of their every-day-life, it may be
interesting to give a faint outline of this little hamlet.

Malwattie, which was its name, signifies literally, a " gar-
den of flowers," and such in truth it was, when^I first visited it.
Unlike any European village, there was not such a thing as a row
of houses or huts to be seen : shops were unknown in that primi-
tive place, and until later years, no such incubus as a taver^
keeper or renter was known there. Every little hut or cottage
was carefully shaded from the view of its neighbour, fairly
established on its own account, as much so, as though the in-
mates had written up in barbarous Cingalese characters, " No
connexion with the house next door." I never could learn
that there was any superstition among native hut builders,
as to the variation in the aspect of their domiciles, but certain
it was that no two dwellings faced precisely the same points
of the compass. One would be north-east, and the nearest to
it would be north-east and by oast : you might fancy you had

found another facing a similar point, but on careful observa-
tion you would see that you could not make it any better than
north-east-and-by-east-half-east. I tried the experiment for a
long time, but was compelled at length, to give it up, I had
regularly " boxed the compass" round the entire village, but
in vain.

Partly from long' established custom, and partly from a
desire of shading their dwellings from the heat of the sun, the
Kandyans bury their isolated huts beneath a dense mass of the
rankest vegetation. At a short distance not a sign of human
habitation could be traced, were it not for the thickly growing
tops of bananas, areka palms, and bread-fruit trees, which are
ever found around and above their quiet abodes.

Malwattie formed no exception to the general rule in this
respect ; it was as snugly hedged, and fenced, and grown over,
as was Robinson Crusoe's dwelling after the visit of the sava-
ges. Every tiny hut appeared to possess a maze of its own for
the express purpose of perplexing all new-comers, especially
white men. The entire village did not cover more than an
eighth of a square mile, yet it would have puzzled any living
thing but a bird to have visited all the cottages in less time
than half a day, and very giddy, trying work it would have
been.

Small as was this primitive community, it had its superiors.
The leading men were the priest ef the little Buddhist Vihara,
or shrine ; and the Korale or headman. I will not distress the
reader by putting the names of these men in print, as they
would be perfectly unpronounceable, and moreover, as lengthy
as the approaches to their own dwellings. The entire names
of one Cingalese community would fill a small sized
volume. I will therefore, only speak of these persons as the
Priest and the Korale.

The latter was a rather respectable man, as things go in
Ceylon ; he was negatively irreproachable in character. He
had certainly never committed murder or theft on the Queen's

highway. Perjury had not been charged against him, and as
for the faithful discharge of his few official duties, no one had
ever called that in question, though there were some rather
curious tales afloat on the subject of the last assessment on
rice lands. At the office of the Government Agent of the dis-
trict he was believed to be as active and honest as nine-tenths
of the native headmen, though to be sure that was not saying
very much for him. The villagers looked up to him with the
utmost veneration and respect, and no wonder, for on his fiat
depended the amount of rice tax their lands were to pay. He
was a venerable looking old gentleman, with a flowing white
beard, a keen, quiet eye, and an easy-going habit that might
have been called dignity or lazyness. It was his duty to render
to the Government officers a just account of the industry, if
such a term can be applied to any Cingalese, of his village ; to
furnish returns of the increase or decrease of the population ;
to give notice of all crimes and offences committed ; and in
short to represent the local government in minor details. For
all this, no salary was paid him. He was satisfied with the honor
of the office ; and yet, strange to tell, this Korale had so far
increased his property by gaining nothing, that he was a man
of some substance when I left the place, owning some hundreds
of cattle and rich in pasture lands. Education was unknown
to him ; he could scratch a little Cingalese on the dried leaves
used in place of paper, and I believe could count as far as ten.
His most complicated accounts were all on a decimal system,
and by the aid of numerous symbols known but to himself
and the erudition of the friendly priest, he contrived to trans-
act a multitude of business with the authorities.

The abode of this old patriarch would have furnished a
study for a lover of the antique. Everything seemed in keeping
with his long white board. The doors and windows, the
couches and three-legged table, all were hoary with years.
Even the atmosphere had a musty smell about it, as though it
had boon keeping him company ever since he was a little boy.

In the midst of thick foHage, as bright and green as the
cottage was dark and cankery, it seemed at a distance, like a
huo-e wart on the rich vegetation. The coffee, the bananas, the
cotton, the jambo, the pau-pau grew in wild profusion. Of
what we should call garden, he had none, nor did he need any,
for the friendly villagers kept his daily wants amply supplied
from their own poor scanty patches. At early dawn the little
narrow pathway leading circuitously to his door, might be seen
tracked by men, women and children, laden with fruit, vege-
tables, and eggs for the Korale's larder ; he might well grow
stout and glossy and contented with his lot. There was such
a supply of vegetable diet introduced through his crazy old
doorway each morning, as might have fully satisfied the
vegetarians of Great Britain, with something to spare for the
pigs. But the old gentleman disposed of it all ; for he had a
little colony of feudal dependants hanging about his heels
behind his own barn of a place. These serfs tracked him
wherever he went ; one held a paper umbrella or a talipot leaf
over him in his walks : another carried his stick of office : one
beat off the musquitoes ; another fanned him to sleep with
a punkah. In short they did everything for him, save eat
and sleep, and these functions he performed for himseK to
perfection.

The old Korale was generally pleased with my visits, for
they added to his importance in the eyes of the little commu-
nity. He lived quite alone ; his wife had been dead some years,
and he had lost his only child by fever. His days were mostly
passed in sleeping, smoking and eating, varied occasionally
with a stroll round his rice fields, or those of his neighbours. It
was seldom that he visited Kandy, the ancient capital : as
for Colombo, the wildest freaks of imagination would never
induce him to contemplate a journey so far from his domestic
hearth.

It was a curious sight to behold this ancient being leading
such a hedgo-hog existence : rolling himself up in indolence,

after every meal of rice and curry, in his little darkened,
cavern-like verandah ; and there, if no gnest arrived, falling
asleep until the next meal aroused him from his torpor, I have
found him thus, clad in semi-barbaric pomp, reeking with dirt,
and swelled with importance in a baloon-shaped Kandyan hat,
a flowing robe and loose jacket with shoulder-of-mutton
sleeves, secured by silver bangles ; an enormous mass of white
muslin wrapped, fold upon fold, around his waist. A petty little
mountain stream fell trickling and bubbling past the door,
over stones and sticks, and flowers and herbs, until it was lost
in the rice fields below, playing and gambolling as though
each tiny wave had been some frolicsome wood nymph. Little
could be seen from that shady portal, and not much more
heard, beyond the hum of myriad insects and the distant cry
of jungle birds.

Often have I sat with the Korale chatting on local and
other matters, for he was a man of gossip though of limited
ideas. I tried in vain to make him understand the position
and importance of other countries : of their great superiority
to the Kandyans, and of the features which distinguished us.
people of the west from orientals. He conld not be persuaded
that Europe was larger or a better place than Ceylon ; that
better corn and vegetables were grown in England, than on
the Kandyan hills ; or that a modern drawing-room was a
more comfortable sort of place than a Cing-alese Korale 's recep-
tion room, with earthen floor and leafy ceiling. Of some
description of politics he had gleaned a faint idea from the
reported contents of one of the local newspapers very demo-
cratic in its principles. He had an inkling that things were not
going on as they should do, and that a republic must be the
sort of government suited to the present wants of man, yet
strange to say he connected with his ideas of reform, a return
to those things which the liberality of the British Government
had abolished, forced labour and flogging at the discretion of
the headmen !

The priest was of a far different stamp, not an educated
man in any European sense of the word ; but still with some
glimmering of mind within, just serving to render internal
darkness visible. He of course, could read fluently ; for it was a
portion of his duties to recite verses of their Pitakas or sacred
writings, morning and evening in the Vihara. He possessed a
fair share of curiosity, and a desire to know something of other
places and things. Nay, more, he frequently heard me read a
whole chapter of the Scriptures, with which he was much pleased
and frankly admitted that Christianity was the best religion
next to Buddhism.

His Vihara and dwelling were at one end of the range of
little hills, on the slopes of which the village of Malwattie was
situated, though above them considerably. It was the only
roof covered by tiles ; and, unlike the rest, might be seen at
some distance peeping out from amidst a dense mass of foliage.
To arrive at it the traveller had to wind his way along a weary
length of loose stones that led over low swampy ground, round
the edges of rice fields and up the sides of rather steep hills —
a slip from which bid fair to plunge the wayfarer down some
very ugly places. It was a path that should be trodden by
none but a tight-rope dancer, or a native of the country.

The view from the door of the shrine was highly pictures-
que, commanding a survey of many miles of mountain, forest
and prairie country, through which herds of cattle were dotted
like so many very small mice. His abode was mean in the
extreme, with scarce sufficient to make life supportable. The
rules of his order forbad him to acquire any property, and
he subsisted from day to day on charity — just as did his friend
the Korale.

The priest often visited me on the plantation, and examined
with much curiosity the various books and pictures about the
bungalow. On one of these occasions an incident occurred
which threatened at first to cut short our intimacy ; but was
eventually forgotten or laughed at. I had frequently pressed

my yellow-robed friend to partake of my meal, and taste a
little port wine, of which I knew most of these people are very
fond — but in vain ; he professed the utmost dislike to any
strong drinks, independently of the restriction laid on them by
their rules. One day while conversing with him, I was called
away to the coffee store by one of the labourers, and left him
alone, sitting by my little jungle sideboard. As I was returning
immediately afterwards, and when near the door, I heard a
great coughing and spluttering, and strange choking noises.
Upon entering I found the priest almost dead with a fit of
coughing. He staggered against the wall, his eyes were stream-
ing with water, his hands clenched together, while down his
long golden robes, a jet black stream had made its sable way.
A bottle lay at his feet. The truth flashed across me in a
moment. The wary priest has gone to my sideboard to steal
a taste of the forbidden wine, and had, unfortunately, taken a
good draught from a quart bottle of ink !

Next in importance to the characters already named, was
one Ranghamy the head constable, deputy sheriff, tax collector
and there is no saying what besides. He was the right hand
man of the Korale, not quite so stout, but more thick headed,
save when his own interests were concerned, and then it was
remarkable how his faculties brightened up and illuminated
the social atmosphere of Malwattie. Ranghamy was not a
native of the village, nor of the district ; none had ever
known wheuce he came except the Korale, and he had long
since forgotten. The hydra-headed official had a numerous
progeny of Rangharnies of both sexes, besides a large herd of
sleek, well-favoured cattle ; yet, oddly enough, he had neither
lands whereon to pasture the one, nor salary wherewith to feed
and clothe the other. Still they were all fed, clothed and
pastured. The junior head constable and the little female
deputy sheriffs, and the tax collectors in arms were clad in
whiter robes than any other young villagers. As for the
cattle they might have been exhibited at the Smithfield show,

and won all the prizes by several stone of fat. Whether they
grew thns corpulent from any miraculous interference of
Buddha, or were fattened by some scientific process upon a few
constable's broken staves and collector's decayed tax books, or
whether they were daily driven upon other people's lands
who dared not complain to the Korale, and if they did, could
not expect the head constable to impound his own bullocks,
which of these might have been the case, I never learnt, though
I had my suspicions in the matter. Ranghamy was said to
have realised considerable suras by hiring ont his cattle
to the Moormen who convey rice and salt from the sea
coast on pack bullocks to the interior. Of this prosperity his
dwelling gave abundant proof; for he had not only English
crockery and cutlery, but a decanter mysteriously covered up
with a floor mat, in which it was whispered wine was once seen.
Two pictures in frames, in glaring colors, graced the walls,
while on a kind of shelf was placed, by way of ornament, a jar
with a faded gilt label, inscribed "leeches."

Not far removed from the constable in locality, and dig-
nity of office, was the village peon, and post holder, graceless
and lazy as any within the Central Province of the Island, and
that is saying a good deal : it would have been a difficult thing
to have shown that Puncheyralle, the Post Holder did anything
to entitle him to the name beyond bestowing an occasional
kick on the letter carriers or runners as they passed through
the village ; yet the man grumbled at receiving no more than
five rix-dollars, or seven shillings and sixpence a month, for the
discharge of these onerous duties. Puncheyralle had a rather
bustling little wife, who did all the heavy work for him,
except the kicking : the pigs, the garden, the fowls, all were
in her charge, and while she and the very small children
cooked the meals, and kept the house in order, their lord and
master lay on his back, or beat the tom-tom or native drum,
or perhaps gambled with a neighbour for a few copper
challies.

The remainder of tlie village was made up of families
generally poor enough, who derived their sole support from the
produce of their patrimonial lands. In several instances the
domestic arrangements of these people, with a view of keeping
their little property from dwindling away by frequent divisions,
were singular enough to an English mind. There were two
or three households in which several brothers had but one
mfe amongst them,* and singular as this custom may ap])ear
to Europeans, they dwelt together most harmoniously : indeed
family quarrels were at that time exceedingly rare.

A picture of one of these groups is a portrait of them all.
Poor to abject misery in all but rice and a few fine grains,
these people are invariably landholders, some of them on an
infinitessimally small scale despite the marital arrangements I
have mentioned. At times the family will be large, swelled
by the addition of an aged grandfather or grandmother, or
some such relation, and with, occasionally, a numerous progeny
of all ages. Beyond the culture of their rice, of primary
importance, the ground that produces their few additional
necessaries such as chillies, tobacco and fine grain is lifctlo
enough, A few of them possess one or two buffaloes ; most
of them have a caricature of a pig and a few scarecrows of
fowls; but there is only one milch cow in the entire range
of Malwattie.

It was truly astonishing to see how early the young
children were put to tasks of strength. The boys were made
to look after the buffaloes and the rice-fields, while the girls
were set to weave mats, pound the rice from the husk, fetch
water, and such work. Often have I seen a little delicate child,
six or seven years of age, staggering up a tolerably steep path,
with an infant placed astride accross its little hip, and a huge
earthen chattio of water on its head. Such early toil as this.

* Since the date at which this was wiittcn (1852) Polygamy in the Kandynrv
country has been forbidden by legal enactment.

equally early marriage, and generally poor and scanty diet, lead
to one inevitable result, premature old age.

The Priest «made a pretence at keeping schoocl but I
failed to learn the nature of the instruction he professed ta
give. A dozen dusky infants assembled within the porch of
the Vihare occasionally, and there, squatted on the ground,
chanted a dismal alphabetical chorus : but I never found any
progress made beyond this preparatory arrangement.

There was but one exception to the sameness of the
population of Malwattie ; it consisted of a small household,
not far from the foot of the hill near the Vihara, and closely
adjoining the bullock-track or bridle path leading past my
estate from the highroad. Here, beneath a pretty tope of
neverfadiug trees, where blossom and fruit and sweetest
perfumes played their part all through the year, dwelt a blind
old man and his pretty grand-daughter. The tiny hut they
dwelt in was not more diminutive than neat : so clean, and
white and fresh within; without, all was beauty and order.
Had a whole legion of mountain sylphs and wood-nymphs been
busily employed about the place all night long and every day, it
could not have been kept in more perfect and picturesque neat-
ness. The little fence around the cottage was so nicely trimmed ;
the garden in front so well swept and watered ; the orange and
lime trees so carefully tended, and always so delighted to bear
plenty of fruit for dear little Dochie to gather, that they did not
bend and droop with the heavy clusters of golden wealth, as some
trees would have done, but actually danced and leaped about
in the morning and evening breezes, as though their burden were
no burden but the merest pastime.

Pretty little Dochie, gentle little Dochie, was not more than
twelve years of age when I first made her acquaintance, one
hot morning in the dry season. I caught her gathering some
oleander blossoms and roses, and country jessamine, and thought
I had never seen anything half so lovely, barring her colour.
I reined in my pony and asked her for a draught of water ;

mstead of looking alarmed, as would most of her class wlieu

thus accosted, she smiled good-natur-
edly, and tripped into the Httle cottage.
I was off my nag and in the pretty
n flower-garden when she came out vnth
a cocoa-nut shell of — not water, but
bless the dear child — rich, white, goat's
milk. I am not quite sure, but I
rather think I must have kissed her, as
I returned her the homely flagon ; at
any rate, we became the best of friends,
and it ended in Dochie taking me to
see her old bhnd grandfather, who was
busily working at a net of some sort, and then to inspect one
of the neatest little farm-yards, I had ever seen out of old
England. The whole place was a perfect miracle of industry
and neatness ; and I could not help asking how she managed
to keep it so. It appeared that their neighbours assisted, at
certain seasons, in working the garden and bringing it into
good order, and that the old man helped her to carry the water
from the little bamboo spout, which the villagers had fixed for
them to convey a supply from the hill stream at some distance,
to the extremity of their property.

They appeared to be in want of nothing that could make
them comfortable ; as to money, they had little enough, their
sole earnings being from the sale of her goats' milk, flowers
and fruit to wayside travellers. She assured me, that when
the pilgrims passed on their way to the sacred foot-print on
Adam's Peak, she sold as many flowers and as much fruit as
the garden could produce, and enabled them to be quite ex-
travagant in white cloths and handkerchiefs.

From that time forward I never passed through ^Malwattio
without a draught of fresh milk and a little bouquet gathered
by Dochie's own tiny hand. At length it came to my dis-
mounting regularly, and in course of time, amongst other things

WQ talked of, were books and knowledge. Her dark bright eye^
sparkled as I told her what wonders she might learn if she
could but read English books. The strange art was now her
sole thought, and one day she found courage to ask me how
she could learn it. I hesitated, for I did not quite see how to
help her ; but when I offered to send her a book with the
English alphabet, and moreover, to teach her to read the letters,
her joy was unbounded. In a few months, my pupil had not
only mastered the alphabet, but could spell small words, and
read several short sentences. Not content with this, I talked
to her of religion, and explained the nature and history of
Christianity as well as my ability allowed me. I was not quite
so successful here; but I was content to pave the way for future
labourers, and rejoiced to find her always anxious for truth.

It was, I think, quite a year after my first acquaintance
with Dochie, that one morning I alighted as usual and was
surprised to find my pupil absent, and in her place a young
Cingalese man, evidently of the low country. My surprise was
equalled by his own. In a minute after Dochie came bounding
in with eggs and milk, and some little light cakes just prepared
for the stranger, who, I then perceived, had his arm bandaged,
and altogether looked fatigued and ill. I did not remain long
that day ; and learned, on retiring to mount my pony, that the
stranger had sought refuge there very early that morning,
having in vain begged through the village for a resting-place ;
he had been robbed and beaten during the previous night on
some lonely track, and Dochie hesitated not one moment in
welcoming him within their little dwelling ; and, in her own
singleness and purity of heart, acting the good Samaritan. I
could but admire her kindness ; and yet mixed with admiration,
was a feeling akin to jealousy. I wished that it had been my
fate to have been robbed and beaten, if only for the pleasure
of being tended by the gentle Dochie.

Again months rolled on, the low-country stranger and the
robbers were all forgotten. Changes had been, meanwhile,

stealing over the face of the hitherto changeless Malwattie,
and those not for the better. The worst of all innovations was
the establishment of an arrack tavern in the very heart of the
village. The Government in its anxiety to add to its revenue,
and increase its means of developing the resources of the
country, (I think that was what they termed it) had granted
permission to the renter of the arrack licenses for the Kandyan
country, to establish a few score additional taverns, one of which
novelties was located in, Malwattie ; and soon where before had
been quiet contentment, was nothing but brawling riot. It is
true the Executive presented an antidote with the poison, by
establishing a free school opposite the noisy tavern; but
education stood small chance in competition with arrack, and
for every new pupil at the desk there were a score of fresh
drunkards. This led to an increase in the duties of the police,
and soon after, to a salary to the head-constable ; crime was on
the increase ; law suits were instituted ; families at peace for
several generations, became deadly enemies ; and ere a year
had elapsed since the introduction of the tavern, the whole
social fabric of Malwattie was rent and disrupted into ugly
fragments.

I continued to visit my friends the Korale and the Priest,
both of whom, especially the latter, spoke bitterly of the arrack
nuisance, and looked upon the establishment of the school as a
direct attack upon Buddhism. I saw plainly however, that
there was another and deeper feeling, antagonistic to the
educational scheme, in the bosoms of these leading men of the
place. They felt that by diffusing enlightenment amongst the
poorest of the villagers, the British Government would in time
raise the masses of the people above the level of the headmen,
in which case their influence would at once disappear. Their
unflinching opposition was but little needed, for the native
cultivators could not be made to appreciate that knowledge
which their immediate superiors did not possess. Too prone
to take as their models those above them, the villagers were

■content to remain as tliey knew their fathers had been, and as
they saw Korales and Dessaves were. Unfortunately, those in
charge of Government schools have yet to learn that they have
been toiling with the broad end of the educational wedge
foremost ; that in Eastern countries enlightenment can only
flow downwards, never upwards : that to elevate the Indian
serfs, you must first improve the intellectual capacities of those
whom they ever have, and ever will regard as their patterns.

My progress with the flower-girl]s schooling was satis-
factory, and I had besides, the pleasure of finding her inclined
to cast aside the superstitions of Buddha. lu these tasks I
was at this time aided by the teacher of the Government school, a
Portuguese descendant, who seconded my efforts most zealously.
The months flew rapidly past, and twice a week found me and
Dochie seated beneath the shady foliage of a young orange
tree, deep in our labors.

It was quite the end of the hot season, that I was com-
pelled to leave my plantation and journey across the country
to the opposite coast of the Indian peninsula, in search of
Malabar labourers to secure the coming crop; I was absent
nearly two months, and found myself one cool pleasant day
in August riding homewards across the broad open prairie-
lands adjoining Malwattie. The rich foliage of the jungle
and the gardens shone as brightly as ever in the afternoon
sun. The hill-streams rippled as pleasantly down their stony
courses. Tet the village was no longer the spot I once knew
it ; brawling and angry words were easily met with ; its old
patriarchal peace and simplicity had departed from it. I rode
on musingly, and at length pulled up in front of Dochie's little
garden; I started in my saddle at observing that it also
was changed, and so sadly too. The friendly orange tree
with its yellow fruit and its pleasant shade, was not there.
The oleanders were drooping in the ground ; some of the
fence was torn down, and a vile black bullock, that I could
have massacred on the spot, was cruelly browsing over the

flower-beds. The door was closed ; the shutters were fastened^
I imagined all sorts of calamities to have happened, everything
in short but what was actually the case. I made one brief
inspection of the new neglected place ; then mounted my pony
and rode homewards fearing lest some villager should break
the tale of sorrow.

It was nearly evening when I rode up the winding path
leading to my bungalow, oppressed with a fear of I knew not
what. The old building stood, as it ever had done, quietly
and humbly in the midst of the coffee fields, but I saw at once
there were some changes. I could scarcely believe my eyes
when I beheld in the centre of the little grass plot, facing my
front verandah, some small flowering shrubs and an orange
tree so like the one I had missed from Dotchie's garden that
I began to fancy I was still down in the village, and that the
little flower-girl was peeping at me from behind some of the
coffee bushes.

As I stood looking at the orange tree my servant placed
a letter in my hand, traced in true native style, on a dry leaf
in Cingalese characters. It was from my pupil herself , and told
me in a few simple sentences all that had occurred. I breathed
more freely to find her alive. She was married, she said to a
young and rich Cingalese trader, a christian and inhabitant of
Colombo. She hoped shortly to be admitted a member of our
Church, and thanked me deeply for what I had done for her.
The old blind man her grandfather was with them, and they
were all happy. They trusted I should always bo so. In my
garden, she said, she had caused to be planted the orange tree
I had so often admired and sat under, with a few flowers from
her garden. She prayed that for many years to come, the tree
would yield me plentiful crops of cool, refreshing fruit.

The reader will perhaps smile when I say that, after read-
ing this note, I shed some tears, tears of real sorrow and pain.
Heaven knows I wished the poor girl well and happy ; but
though I never could have looked ou her other than as a gentle

innocent acquaintance, loveable for her simple purity, I felt
her departure keenly. To the many dwellers in the thronged
cities of the west, the loss of such a companion of my wild,
lonely, jungle-life, may appear trivial enough ; yet to me it was
an event.

My servant told me what the little note had omitted.
' Dochie had been wooed and won with true Cingalese brevity,
by the same young low-countryman who had been so kindly
sheltered and tended by her when robbed and beaten, as I
have before told. He had been successful in trade, and had now
a large store in Colombo.

It was long before I ventured again near Malwattie. To
me it was no more a " garden of flowers " and least of all
did I care to pass by the green fence and gate where Dochie's
pretty smiling face had so often welcomed me. At last I
persuaded the old Korale to set some of the villagers to work
and open a new path for me nearer his own bungalow, by
which means I ever after avoided a spot, the sight of which
served but to fill me with vain regrets. The place and the
people were so changed that I soon become a stranger in tha
village.

OUR COOK'S WEDDING.

fN some parts of the East, and especially in the Island of
Ceylon, there are many old customs which the progress
•of civilization has not as yet effaced ; and happily so, for
they serve to keep up a kind and friendly feeling between the
different classes and races of the country. One of these
time-honoured customs is the presence of European or burgher
employers at the weddings or family festivals of their
native servants who seldom omit inviting their masters
and families on such occasions. Being the guest of an old
resident of Colombo, I received an invitation to be present at
the nuptials of his head cook, a Cingalese of good ancestry,
who it appeared was to be united to the ayah or waiting-maid
of a neighbour. They were both Catholics ; and, as such, were
to be married at one of the churches with which the native
section of the town abounds. From some cause, my host
could not attend on the eventful day. I was, therefore, left
to make my way alone to the happy scene, which I learnt lay
at some distance from our bungalow, at the further end of the
long straggling outskirts.

Noon was the appointed time ; the Church of Saint
Nicholas the place ; and in order that I might examine the
locality I was about to visit, and which was entirely new to me,
I left my quarters soon after our breakfast of rice and curry.
It was a truly tropical day : the sea-breeze had not commenced
to blow, and the cool laud- wind had been fairly done up an
hour since. In mercy to the horse and the runner by his side,
I ordered the man to drive slowly. The sky seemed hot and
coppery — too warm to look blue ; and the great orb of Hght
and heat had a sort of lacquered hue that was oppressive in

the extreme. Round the great lake, past the dry, stagnant,
putrid fort-ditch, to that part of the Black Town known as
Sea Street. How different from the quiet, broad Dutch streets,
or the cool, shady lanes and their fine old burgher mansions !
Here all was dust, and dirt, and heat. A dense crowd of
people, of many of the nations of the East, was passing to
and fro, not, as with us, along the pavement — for there was no
footway — but horses, bullocks, carriages, donkeys, and human
beings all hurried along pell-mell : Arabs, Moormen, Chinese,
Parawas, Cingalese, Kandyans, Malays, Chitties, Parsees, and
Bengalis, were jostling each other in strange confusion. I
shuddered as I beheld a brace of overheated bullocks in an
empty cart, rush madly past me into the midst of a whole host
of men, women, and children ; but, strange to tell, no one
seemed any the worse : there was, to be sure, a little rubbing
of shins, and a good deal of oriental swearing on the occasion,
but no more. A vicious horse broke away from his Arab
leader, and dashed across the street, and down a narrow
turning, where women and children seemed to be literally
paving the way ; the furious animal bounded over and amongst
the living pavement, knocking down children of tender years,
and scattering elderly females right and left, but still harm-
lessly. I felt puzzled at this, and concluded that they wera
" used to it."

The thronged street, along which I was slowly travelling,
appeared to be the only thoroughfare of any length, shape, or
breadth. From it diverged, on all sides, hundreds of dwarf
carriage-ways — turnings that had been lanes in their younger
days. They were like the Maze at Hampton Court, done in
mud and masonry. I have often heard of crack skaters
cutting out their names upon the frozen Serpentine ; and, as I
peeped up some of these curious zigzag places, it seemed as
though the builders had been actuated by a similar desire, and
had managed to work their names and pedigrees in huts, and
verandahs, and dwarf-walls. Into these strange quarters few.

if any Europeans ever care to venture; the sights and the
effluvia are such as they prefer avoiding, with the thermometer
standing at boiling-point in the sun. Curiosity, however, got
the better of my caution ; and, descending from my vehicle,
I leisurely strolled up one of those densely-packed neighbour-
hoods, much to the annoyance of my horsekeeper, who tried
hard, in broken English, to dissuade me from the excursion.
Whether it be that the native families multiply here more
rapidly, in dark and foul places, I know not ; but never had I
seen so many thrown together in so small a space. Boys and
girls abounded in every corner. As I passed up this hot,
dusty, crooked lane of huts, the first burst of the cool sea-
breeze came up from the beach, glowing with health and life-
I looked to see how many doors and windows would be gladly
flung open to catch the first of the westerly wind, and chase
away the hot, damp, sickly air within ; but I looked in vain.
Not a door creaked on its rusty hinges, not a window relaxed
its close hold of the frame ; the glorious light of day was
not to be permitted to shine upon the foul walls and floors of
those wretched hovels.

There was business, however, going on here and there.
The fisher and his boy were patching up an old worm-eateo
canoe, ready for the morrow's toil ; another son was hard at
work upon the net that lay piled up in the little dirty verandah.
Next door was a very small shoemaker, sharing the little
front courtyard with a cooper, who did not appear to be
working at anything in particular : but was rather disposed to
soliloquize upon buckets and tubs in general, and to envy the
hearty meal which a couple of crows were making of a dead rat
in the street. Farther on was a larger building, but clearly
on its last legs, for it was held up by numberless crutches. It
was not considered safe to hold merchandise of any description ;
and, as the owner did not desire the trouble and expense of
pulling it down, ho had let it out to a Malay, who allowed
strangers to sleep in it on payment of a small nightly foo. As

I passed by, a crowd of poor Malabar s, just arrived from the
opposite coast of India, were haggling for terms for a night's
lodging for the party, and not without sundry misgivings ; for
some looked wistfully at the tottering walls, and pointed with
violent gestures, to the many props.

Wending my slow way back towards the main street, I
came upon a busy carpenter's shop — a perfect model of the
kind. In this country some carpenters are also carriage-
builders, and the place I then stopped to examine was the home
of one of these. It was a long, low, rambling shed, such as
we might consider good enough to hold cinders or firewood :
the leaf-thatched roof had been patched in many places with
tattered matting ; the crazy posts were undermined by the pigs
in the next yard, where they shared the dirt and the sun with
a heap of wretched children, and a score of starving dogs.
Every kind of conveyance that had been invented since the
flood, appeared to have a damaged representative in that
strange place. Children's shattered donkey-carriages, spavined
old breaks, and rickety triacles of the Portugues period^
hackeries of the early Malabar dynasty, palanquins of Cingalese
descent, Dutch governors' carriages, English gigs, were all
pent up, with irrecoverable cart-wheels, distorted carriage-
poles, and consumptive springs. Had I possessed any
antiquarian experience, I doubt not I should have discovered
amongst the mass an Assyrian chariot or two, with a few
Delhi howdahs. The master-mind of this coach-factory
was a genuine Cingalese who, in company with a slender
youth, was seated on his haunches upon the ground, chisel in
hand, contemplating, but not working at a felly for some
embryo vehicle. After one or two chips at the round block of
wood between his feet, Jusey Appoo paused, arranged the
circular comb in his hair, and took another mouthful of
betel ; then another chip at the wood ; and then he rose,
sauntered to the door, and looked very hard up the little lane and
down it, as though he momentarily expected some dreadful

accident to happen to somebody's carriage in the next street.

Once more in my vehicle, I threaded the entire length
of Sea Street, with its little dirty shops ; the sickly-smelling
arrack taverns ; the quaint of old Hindu temple, bedecked
with flowers and flags inside, and with dirt outside ; and the
whitewashed Catholic churches. Little bells were tinkling at
these churches ; huge gongs were booming forth their brazen
thunder from the heathen temples ; there was a devil-dance
in one house to charm away some sickness, and a Jesuit in the
next hovel confessing a dying man. There was a chorus of
many tiny lungs at a Tamil school, chanting out their daily
lessons in dreary verse, and a wilder, older chorus at the
arrack-shop just over the way, without any pretence to time
or tune. The screams of bullock-drivers ; the shouts of horse-
keepers ; the vociferations of loaded coolies ; the screeching of
rusty cart-wheels begging to be greased ; the din of the
discordant checkoo or oil-mill ; — all blended in one violent
storm of sound, made me glad to hasten on my way, and leave
the maddening chorus far behind. The open beach, with its
tall fringe of graceful cocoa-palms, and its cool breeze, was
doubly welcome. I was sorry when we left it, and drove
slowly up a steep hill : on the summit of which stood the
Church of St. Nicholas, my destination.

A busy scene was there. Long strings of curious-looking
rehicles were ranged outside the tall white church — so white
and shiny in the sun, that the bullocks in the hackeries dared
not look up at it 'I felt quite strange amongst all the motley
throng : and when I stared about and beheld those many carts,
and palanquins, and hackeries, I fancied myself back again in
Jusey Appoo's coach-factory. But then these were all gaily
painted, and some were actually varnished, and had red staring
curtains, and clean white cushions, and radient little lamps.
Nearer the church, were some half-a-dozen carriages, with
horses, poor enough of their kind, but still horses with real
tails. I glided in amongst the crowd, unnoticed, as I too fondly

believed, and was about to take up a very humble position just
inside one of the great folding-doors, when I was accosted by
a lofty Cingalese in gold buttons and flowing robes, with a
gigantic comb in his hair, and politely led away captive, I knew
not whither. Down one side-aisle, and across a number of
seats, and then up another long aisle ; and to my utter discom-
fiture, I found myself installed on the spot, in the unenviable
post of a " Lion" of the day's proceedings. To a person of
modest temperament, this was a most trying ordeal. There
was not another white face there : Cookey had been disap-
pointed, it seemed in his other patrons, and knowing of my
intended visit, had waited for my appearance to capture me
and thus add to the brilliancy of the scene.

I bowed to the bride, with as little appearance of uneasi-
ness as I could manage ; but when I turned to the bridegroom,
I had nearly forgotten my mortification in a burst of laughter.
The tall uncouth fellow had exchanged his wonted not
ungraceful drapery for a sort of long frock-coat of blue cloth,
thickly bedecked with gay gilt buttons, and sham gold-lace :
some kind of a broad belt of gaudy colour hung across his
shoulders : he wore boots, evidently far too short for him,
which made him walk in pain ; and, to complete the absurdity
of his attire, huge glittering rings covered half of his hands.
The lady was oppressed with jewellery which, on these
occasions, is let out on hire : she seemed unable to bend or
turn for the mass of ornaments about her. White satin shoes
and silk stockings gave a perfect finish to her bridal attire.

As the party marched up to the priest, I felt as a captive
in chains gracing a Roman triumph. No one of all that crowd
looked at the bride ; they had evidently agreed among them-
selves to stare only at me, I felt that I was the bride, and the
father, and the best man. I looked around once ; and what a
strange scene it was in the long white church ! There were
hundreds of black faces, all looking one way — at me — but I
did not see their faces ; I saw only their white eyes glistening

in the bright noon-day sun, that came streaming through the
great open windows, as though purposely to show me off. I
wished it had been midnight. I hoped fervently that some of
the hackery bullocks would break loose, and rush into the
church, and clear me a way out. I know nothing of how the
marriage was performed, or whether it was performed at all ;
I was thinking too much of making my escape. But in a very
short time by the clock, though terrifically long to me, I found
myself gracing the Roman triumph on my way out. The fresh
air rather recovered me ; and what with the drollery of handing
the cook's wife into the cook's carriage, and the excitement
of the busy scene, and the scrambling for hackeries, and the
galloping about of unruly bullocks, I felt determined to finish
the day's proceedings, I knew the worst.

I followed the happy couple in my vehicle, suceeded by a
long line of miscellaneous conveyances, drawn by all sorts of
animals. Away we went, at a splitting pace, knocking up the
hot dust, and knocking down whole regiments of pigs and
children. Up one hill, and down another, and round two or
three rather sharp corners, as best our animals could carry up.
At last there was a halt. I peeped out of my carriage, and
found that we were before a gaily decorated and flower-
festooned bungalow, of humble build : the house of the conjugal
cook. Up drove all the bullock hackeries, and the gigs, and
the carts, but no one offered to alight. Suddenly a host of
people rushed out of the little house in the greatest possible
haste. They brought out a long strip of white cloth, and at
once placed it between the bride's carriage and the house, for
her to walk upon. Still there was no move made from any
of the carriages, and I began to feel rather warm. At length
a native came forward from the verandah, gun in hand, I
supposed to give the signal to alight. The iiinii hulJ it at
arm's length turned away his head, as though admiring some
of our carriages and "snap" went the flint; but in vain.
Fresh priming was placed in the pan : the warrior once \nove

nrlmired our carriagen, and again the " snap " was im])otent.
Somebody volunteered a pin for the touch-hole, another
suggested more powder to the charge, whilst a third brought
out a lighted stick. The pin and the extra charge were duly
acted upon. The weapon was grasped : the carriages were
admired more ardently than before : the firestick was applied
to the priming, and an explosion of undoubted reality followed.
The warrior was stretched on his back. Half the hackery
bullocks started and plunged out of their trappings, while the
other half bolted. To add to the dire confusion, my villainous
steed began to back very rapidly towards a steep bank, on the
edge of which stood a quiet, old-fashioned pony in a gig with
two spruce natives seated in it. Before they could move away,
my horse had backed into the ponychaise ; and the last I saw
of them at that time, was an indistinct and rather mixed view
of the two white-robed youths and the old-fashioned pony and
chaise performing various somersaults into the grass-swamp at
the base of the bank.

Glad to escape from the contemplation of my misdeeds, I
followed the bridal party into the little house. Slowly
alighting from her vehicle the lady was received by a host of
busy relations ; some of whom commenced salaaming to her,
some scattered showers of curiously cut fragments of coloured
and gilt paper over her and her better half — probably intended
to represent the seeds of their future chequered happiness and
troubles ; and then, by way of inducing the said seed to
germinate, somebody sprinkled over the couple a copious
down-pouring of rose-water. The little front verandah of the
dwelling was completely hidden beneath a mass of decora-
tions of flowers, fruits, and leaves, giving it at first sight the
appearance of some place between a fairy bower and a Covent
Garden fruit-stall. The living dark stream poured into the
fairy bower, and rather threatened the floral arrangements
outside : the door-way was quickly jammed up with the cook's
nearest and dearest relatives of both sexes ; while the second

cousins and half -uncles and aunts blocked up the little trap-
door of a window with their grizzly, grinning visages. The
room we were in was not many feet square : calculated
to hold, perhaps, a dozen persons in ordinary comfort ; but,
on this occasion, compelled to welcome within its festive
mud-walls at least forty. A small oval table was in the centre ;
a dozen or so of curiously-shaped chairs were ranged about
the sides, in the largest of which the bride was seated. The
poor creature was evidently but ill at ease : so stiff and heavily-
laden with ornaments. The bridegroom was invisible, and I
felt bound to wait upon the lady in his absence. The little
darkened cell was becoming fearfully hot : indistinct ideas of
the Black Hole at Calcutta rose to my heated imagination. A
feverish feeling crept over me, not a little enhanced by the
oriental odours from things and persons about me. The
breeze, when it did manage to squeeze itself in, brought with
it the sickly perfume of the myriads of flowers and leaves
outside. Upon the whole, the half hour or so which elapsed
between our arrival and the repast, was a period of intense
misery to me, and vast enjoyment to the cook's family circle.
There was nothing to while away the hot minutes : I had to
look alternately at the bride, the company, and the ceiling ;
the company stared at myself and the lady ; while she,
in her turn, looked at the floor, hard enough to penetrate
through the bricks to the foundation below. In the first
instance I had foolishly pictured the breakfast, or whatever
the meal was to be, set forth upon some grassy spot in the
rear of the premises, under the pleasant shade of palms and
mangoe trees.

But the vulgar crowd must be kept off by walls ; and the
little oval table in the centre of the cabin was to receive the
privileged few, and to shut out the unprivileged many.

Dishes reeking hot, and soup-turcons in a state of vapour,
were passed into the room, over the heads of the mob ; for,
there was no forcing a way through them. A long pause, and

then some more steaming- dishes, and then another panse, and
some rice-plates ; and at last, strugg-ling- and battling amidst
the army of relations, the bridegroom made his appearance —
very hot and very shiny, evidently reeking- from the kitchen.
He had slipped on his blue cloth, many buttoned coat, and
smiled at his wife and the assembled company as though he
would have us believe he was quite cool and comfortable.

It devolved upon me to hand, or rather drag the bride to
one end of the table ; opposite to whom sat her culinary lord
and master, as dignified, and important, as though his monthly
income had been ten guineas instead of ten rix-dollars. I
seated myself next to the lady of the hut, and resigned myself
to my fate ; escape was out of the question. Nothing short of
fire, or the falling-in of the roof, could have saved me. Our
rickety chairs were rendered firm and secure as the best
London-made mahogany-seats, by the continuous unrelenting
pressure of the dense mob behind and around us. The little
room seemed built of faces ; you might have danced a polka or
a waltz on the heads of the company with perfect security.
As for the window-trap, I could see nothing but bright shining
eyes through it.

The covers were removed, as covers are intended to be ;
but, instead of curiously arranged and many coloured dishes
of pure and unadulterated Cingalese cookery, as I had, in the
early part of the day, fondly hoped, there appeared upon
them a few overdone, dried up joints a V Anglaise ; a skinny,
consumptive baked shoulder of mutton ; a hard-looking boiled
leg of a goat ; a shrivelled spare-rib of beef ; a turkey that
might have died of jungle-fever ; and a wooden kind of dry, lean
ham, with sundry vegetables made up this sad and melancholy
show. All my gastronomic hopes, so long cherished amidst
that heated assemblage, vanished with the dish-covers, and
left me a miserable and dejected being. Ten minutes
previously, I had felt the pangs of wholesome hunger, and was
prepared to do my utmost ; at that moment, I only felt empty

and sick. Could I have reached the many-buttoned cook, I
might have been tempted to have done him some bodily harm ;
but I could not move. The host had the wretch of a turkey
before him. Well up to the knife-and-fork exercise, he
whipped off from the breast of the skinny bird two slices of
the finest meat — the only really decent cuts about it — and then,
pushing the dish on to his next neighbour, begged him to
help himself. Of course, I had to attend to the hostess. I
gave her a slice of the sinewy lean ham before me, with two
legs of a native fowl, and began to think of an attempt upon
the boiled mutton for myself ; but there was no peace for me
yet. The bride had never before used a knife and fork,
and, in her desiperate attempts to insert the latter into one
of the fowl's legs, sent it with a bound into my waistcoat,
accompanied by a shower of gra\'y, and a drizzling rain of
melted butter and garlic. Feeling more resigned to my
fate, I proceeded to cut up her ham and chicken, and then
fancied the task was done ; but not so. Her dress was so
tight, the ornaments so encompassed her as with a suit of
armour, that all her attempts to reach her mouth with her fork
were abortive. To bend her arm was evidently impossible.
Once, she managed to get a piece of ham as high as her chin ;
but it cost her violent fractures in several parts of her dress ;
so that I became alarmed for what might possibly happen, and
begged her not to think of doing it again, offering to feed
her myself. Feverish, thirsty, and weary as I felt at that
table, I could scarcely suppress a smile when I found myself,
spoon in hand, administering portions of food to the newly-
made wife. Never having had, at that period of my existence,
any experience in feeding babies, or other living creatures,
I felt at first much embarrassed, somewhat as a man might
feel who, only accustomed to shave himself, tries, for tho first
time in his life, to remove the beard of some friond in a public
assembly. Fortunately for me, tho lady was blessed with a
rather capacious mouth ; and, as I raised, tremblingly and in

doubt, a pyramid of fowl, ham, and onions, upon the bowl of
the Brittannia-metal spoon, my patient distended her jaws in
a friendly and hopeful manner.

During' my spoon performances I was much startled at
hearing, close to our door, the loud report of several guns
fired in quick succession. I imagined at first that the military
had been called out to disperse the mob, but as nobody gave
signs of any alarm or uneasiness, that could not have been the
case ; so I settled in my mind that the friends of the family
were shooting some game for the evening's supper. All that
I partook of at that bridal party was a small portion of very
lean, dry beef, and some badly boiled potatoes, washed down
by a draught of ha,rd, sour beer. I essayed some of the pastry,
for it had a bright and cheerful look, and was evidently very
light. I took a mouthful of some description of sugared puff,
light to the feel, and pleasant to look at, but in reality a most
heartless deception — a sickly piece of deceit : it was evidently
a composition of bean-flour, brown-sugar, stale eggs, and
cocoanut oil ; the latter, although burning very brilliantly in
lamps, and serviceable as a dressing* to hair, not being quite
equal to lucca oil, when fried or baked. To swallow such an
abomination was impossible, and, watching my opportunity, I
contrived at length to convey my savoury mouthful beneath
the table. This vile pastry was succeeded by a plentiful crop
of fruit of all kinds, from pine-apples to dates. Hecatombs of
oranges, pyramids of plantains, shoals of sour-sops, mounds
of mangoes, to say nothing of alligator-pears, rhambatams,
custard-apples, guavas, jamboes, and other fruit, as varied
in name and taste, as in hue and form, graced that hitherto
graceless board. I had marked for immediate destruction a
brace of custard apples, and a glowing, corpulent alligator-
pear, and was even on the point of securing them before
attending to my dark neighbour, when a loud shout, followed
by a confused hubbub, was heard outside in front. There was
a cracking of whips, and a rattling of carriage- wheels, and

altoo-etlier a huge commotion in the street, which at once put
a stop to our dessert, and attracted attention 'from the inside
to the exterior of the house. My spirits revived from zero to
summer-heat, and thence up to blood-heat, when I learnt
that the arrivals were a batch of "Europe gentlemen,"
friends of the cook's master, who had come just to have
a passing peep at the bride and the fun. Their approach
was made known by sundry exclamations in the English
lansruaare, and a noise as of scuffling at the door. How
our new friends were to get in, was a mystery to me : nor
did the host appear to have any very distinct ideas upon
the subject. He rose from his seat, and, with his mouth full
of juicy pine-apple, ordered a way to be cleared for the " great
masters;" but he might as well have requested his auditory
to become suddenly invisible, or to pass out through the
key-hole. There was no such thing as giving way : a few of
the first-cousins grinned, and one or two maternal uncles
coughed audibly, while the eyes of the distant relations at the
window were glistening more intensely, and in greater numbers
than ever. The stock of British patience, as I rather expected,
was quickly exhausted, and in a minute or two I perceived
near the door some white-faces, that were rather familiar to me
at a certain regimental mess-table. Uncles and brothers-in-
law were rapidly at a discount, and there appeared every
prospect of mere connexions by marriage becoming relations
by blood. Some giant of a native ventured upon the hazardous
speculation of collaring an officer who was squeezing past
him, and received a friendly and admonitory tap in return,
which at once put him Jiors do combat. The cook,"enraged at
the rudeness of his countryman, dealt a shower of knocks
amongst his family circle ; the visitors stormed the approaches,
and at last carried the covered way ; Cingalese gentry struggled
and pushed, and tried in vain to repel the invaders ; the fair
sex screauied, and tried to escape ; the mcles became general
and furious. I gave my whole attention to the bride, who

kept her seat in the utmost alarm ; her husband was the centre
of attraction to the combatants, and in the midst of a sort of
" forlorn hope " of the native forces, the heavily loaded table
was forced from its centre of gravit}'-. Staggering and
groaning beneath the united pressure from fruit and fighting,
the wooden fabric reeled and tottered, and at last went toppling
over, amidst a thunder-storm of vegetable productions. It
was in vain I pulled at the unhappy bride, to save her ; she
was a doomed woman, and was swept away with the fruity
flood. When I sought her amidst the wreck and confusion,
I could only discover heaps of damaged oranges, sour-sops,
and custard-apples, her white satin shoes, the Chinese fan,
and the four silver meat-skewers. By dint of sundry excava-
tions, the lady was fairly dug out of the ruins, and carried off
by her female friends ; the room was cleared of the rebellious
Cingalese, and a resolution carried unanimously, that the
meeting be adjourned to the compound or garden at the back.
Under the pleasant shade of a to]je of beautiful palms, we sat
and partook of the remains of the feast. The relations, once
more restored to good humour, amused themselves in their
own fashion ; preparing for the dancing, and festivity, and
illuminations, that were to take place in the evening. Our
own little party sat there until some tinve after sunset, and
when we had seen the great cocoanut-shells, with their
flaring wicks, lighted up, and the tom-toms begin to assemble,
we deemed it prudent to retire and seek a wholesome meal
with our friends.

COFFEE PLANTING IN THE OLDEN TIME.

Chapter I.

WN the month of September, 1840, I started from Kandy to
C^ visit a friend who was in charge of one of the new coffee
clearings then in progress. I was accompanied by a young
planter well acquainted with the country and the natives, and
who had offered to act as my guide. The clearing was distant
about twenty-five miles. The route we took since became
famous for rebellion and martial law ; and concerning which
one of the largest blue books of any session had been concocted.
As there was in those days no Matale Coach, we mounted
our horses a good hour before day-break so as to ensure
getting over the most exposed part of our journey before the
sun should have risen very high — an important matter for man
and beast in tropical countries. Towards noon, we pulled up
at a little bazaar, or native shop, and called for " Hoppers and
Coffee." I felt that I could have eaten almost anything, and
truly one needs such an appetite to get down the dreadful
black-draught which the Cingalese remorselessly administer
to travellers, under the name of coffee. A basin of turbid
inky-looking fluid covered with a thick scum of broken par-
ticles of coffee, that require to be skimmed off with the finger :
such was the beverage.

The sun was already rather high in the horizon when
we found ourselves suddenly at a turn of the road in the
midst of a " clearing." This was quite a novelty to me ;
so unlike anything one meets with in the low country or
about the vicinity of Kandy. The clearing in question
lay at an elevation of fully three thousand feet above the
sea-level, whilst the attitude of Kandy is not more than

seventeen hundred feet. I had never been on a hill estate,
and the only notions formed by me respecting a plantation of
cofEee, were of continuous, undulating fields and gentle slopes.
Here it was not difficult to imagine myself amongst the
recesses of the Black Forest. Pile on pile of heavy dark
jungle rose before my astonished sight looking like grim
fortesses defending some hidden city of giants. The spot we
had opened upon was at the entrance of a long valley of great
width, on one side of which lay the young estate to which we
were going. Before us were, as my companion informed me,
fifty acres of felled jungle in wildest disorder ; just as the
monsters of the forest had fallen so they lay, heap on heap,
crushed and splintered into ten thousand fragments. Fine
brawny old fellows some of them ; trees that had stood many
a storm and thunder-peal, trees that had sheltered the wild
elephant, the deer, and the buffaloe, lay there prostrated by a
few inches of sharp steel. The "fall" had taken place a good
week before, and the trees would be left in this state until the
end of October, by which time they would be sufficiently dry
for a good "burn." Struggling on from trunk to trunk, and
leading our horses slowly between the huge rocks that lay
thickly around, we at last got through the " fall," and came to
a part of the forest where the heavy, quick click of many axes
told us there was a working party busily employed. Before
us a short distance in the jungle, were the swarthy compact
figures of some score or two of low country Cingalese plying
their small axes with a rapidity and precision that was truly
marvellous. It made my eyes wink again, to see how quickly
their sharp tools flew about, and how near some of them went
to their neighbours' heads.

In the midst of these busy people I found my planting
friend, superintending operations in full jungle costume. A
sort of wicker helmet was on his head, covered with a long
padded white cloth, which hung far down his back, like a
baby's quilt. A shooting jacket and trousers of checked

country cloth ; immense leech-gaiters fitting close inside the
roomy canvas boots ; and a Chinese-paper umbrella, made up
his singular attire.

To me it was a pretty, as well as a novel sight, to watch
the felling work in progress. Two axe-men to small trees ;
three, and sometimes four, to larger ones : their little bright
tools flung far back over their shoulders with a sharp flourish,
and then, with a " whirr," dug in the heart of the tree, with
such exactitude and in such excellent time, that the scores of
axes flying about me seemed impelled by some mechanical
contrivance, sounding but as one or two instruments. I
observed that in no instance were the trees cut through, but
each one was left with just sufficient of the stem intact to keep
it upright ; on looking around, I saw that there were hundreds
of trees similarly treated. The ground on which we were
standing was extremely steep and full of rocks, between which
lay embedded rich veins of arable soil. Where this is the
case, the masses of stone are not an objection ; on the contrary
they serve to keep the roots of the young coffee plants cool
during the long dry season, and, in like manner prevent
the light soil from being washed down the hill-side by heavy
rains. My planter-friend assured mo that if the trees were
to be at once cut down, a few at a time, they would so encum-
ber the ground as to render it impossible for the workmen to
gain access to the adjoining trees, so thickly do they stand
together, and so cumbersome are their heavy branches. In
reply to my inquiry as to the method of bringing all these
trees to the ground, I was desired to wait until the cutting on
the hill-side was completed, and then I should see the
operation finished. ^

The small axes rang out a merry chime — merrily to the
planter's ear — but the death-knell of many a fine old forest tree.
In half-an-hour the signal was made to halt, by blowing a
conch shell : obeying the order of the superintendent, I
hastened up the hill as fast as my legs would convey me, over

rocks and streams halting at the top, as I saw the whole party
do. Then they were ranged in order, axes in hand on the
upper side of the topmost row of cut trees. I got out of their
way, watching auiiously every movement. All being ready
the manager sounded the conch sharply, two score voices raised
a shout that made me start again ; forty bright axes gleamed
high in air, then sank deeply into as many trees, which at
once yielded to the sharp steel, groaned heavily, waved their
huge branches to and fro, like drowning giants, then toppled
over, and fell with a stunning crash upon the trees below them.
These having been cut through previously, offered no resis-
tance, but followed the example of their upper neighbours,
and fell booming on those beneath. In this way the work of
destruction went rapidly on from row to row. Nothing was
heard but groaning, cracking, crushing, and splintering ; it
was some little time before I got the sounds well out of my
ears. At the time it appeared as though the whole of the
forest-world about me was tumbling to pieces ; only those
fell, however which had been cut, and of such not one was
left standing. There they would lie after lopping off the
principal branches until sufficiently dry for the torch that
would blacken their massive trunks, and calcine their many
branches into dusty heaps of alkali.

By the time this was completed, and the men put on to
a fresh " cut," we were ready for our mid-day meal, the
planters' breakfast. Away we toiled towards the Bungalow.
Passing through a few acres of standing forest, and over a
stream, we came to a small cleared space well sheltered from
wind, and quite snug in every respect. It was thickly sown
with -what at a distance I imagined to be young lettuces, or,
perhaps, very juvenile cabbage-plants, but I was told this was
the " nursery," and those tiny green things were young
Coffee plants with which it was intended to form the future
Soolookande Estate. On learning that we had reached the
" Bungalow," I looked about mo to discover its locality, but

in vain ; there was no building to be seen ; but presently my
host pointed out to me what I had not noticed before — a small,
low-roofed, thatched place, close under a projecting rock, and
half hid by thorny creepers. I imagined this to be his fowl-
house, or, perhaps, a receptacle for tools, but was not a little
astonished when I saw my friends beckon me on, and enter at
the low, dark door. This miserable little cabin could not have
been more than twelve feet long by about six feet wide, and
as high at the walls. This small space was lessened by heaps
of tools, coils of string for '' lining " the ground before
planting, sundry boxes and baskets, an old rickety table, and
one chair. At the farther end, if anything could bo far in
that hole, was a jungle bedstead formed by driving green
stakes in the floor and walls, and stretching rope across them.
I could not help expressing astonishment at the miserable
quarters provided for one who had so important a charge, and
such costly outlay to make. My host however, treated the
matter very philosophically. Everything, he observed, is good
or bad by comparison ; and wretched as the accommodation
appeared to me who had been accustomed to the large, airy
houses of Colombo, he seemed to be quite satisfied ; indeed, he
told me, that when he had finished putting up this little crib,
had moved in his one table and chair, and was seated, cigar
in mouth, inside the still damp mud walls, he thought himself
the happiest of mortals. I felt somewhat curious to know
where he had dwelt previous to the erection of this unique
building, — whether he had perched up in the forest trees or in
holes in the rocks, as I had heard was done by the wild
Veddahs of Bintenna.

I was told that his first habitation when commencing
work up there, was suspended over my head. I looked up
to the dark dusty roof, and perceived a bundle of what I
conceived to be old dirty brown paper, or parchment-skin.
Perciving my utter ignorance of the arrangement, ho took
down the roll, and spread it open outside the door. It turned

out to be two or three huge Talipot leaves which he assured
me was the only shelter he had possessed for nearly three
months, and that too, during the rainy season. They might
have measured ten feet in length, and possibly five in width ;
pretty well for a leaf or two : they were used by fastening
a stout pole lengthways to two stakes driven in the ground ;
the leaves were hung across this ridge-pole mid-way, and the
corners of them made fast by cords : common njats being
hung at each end and under the leafy roof.

The " Lines," a long row of mud huts for the coolies,
appeared to be much more comfortable than their master's
dwelling. But this is necessarily the case, for unless they be
well cared for they will not remain on a remote estate, such
as this one was then considered. The first thing a good
planter sees to is a roomy and dry set of " Lines" for the
people : then the " Nursery" of coffee plants, and thirdly, a
hut for himself.

The Superintendent assured me that none but those who-
had opened an estate in a remote district, could form any idea
of the difficulties and privations encountered by the planter,
" Folks may grumble as they like, down in Colombo, or in
England," said my friend, "about the high salaries paid to
managers, but if some of them had only a month of it up
here, in the rains, I suspect they'd change their notions."

He had had the greatest difficuly at first in keeping but
a dozen men on the place to clear ground for lines and
nurseries : so strong is the objection felt by Malabars to new
and distant plantations. On one occasion he had been quite
deserted : even his old cook ran away, and he found himself
with only a little Cingalese boy, and his rice, biscuit and dried
fish all but exhausted. As for meat, he had not tasted any for
many days. There was no help for it he saw, but to send off
the little boy to the nearest village, with a rupee, to buy some
food, and try to persuade some of the village people to come
up and assist him. When evening came on, there was no boy

back, and the lonely planter had no fire to boil his rice.
Night came on, and still he was alone : hungry, cold, and
desolate. It was a Sabbath evening, and he pointed out to me
the large stone on which he had sat down to think of his
friends in the old country ; the recollection of his distance
from them and of his then desolate Crusoe-like position, came
so sadly, so bitterly upon him that the strong man wept like a
child. I almost fancied I saw a tear start to his large eye, as
he related the circumstance.

During that same night, as he lay sleeping supperless,
fatigue hav'ing overcome hunger, a great storm of rain and
wind arose, and far into the night he was rudely awoke by a
sensation of intense cold : looking upwards from his jungle
couch he saw a few stars twinkling between the flying masses
of clouds, the rain falling on him as he lay. A strong gust of
wind had swept away the talipot roof, and he had no resource
but to creep in beneath his wretched stick bed, and lay
shivering there until the cold morning broke.

Ceylon planters are proverbially hospitable ; the utmost
stranger is at all times sure of a hearty welcome for himself
and his horse. On this occasion, my jungle friend turned out
the best cheer his small store afforded. It is true, we had but
one chair amongst us, but that only served to give us amuse-
ment in making seats of baskets, boxes, and old books. A dish
of rice, and curry, made of dry salt fish, two red herrings, and
the only fowl on the estate, formed our meal ; and poor as the
repast may appear to those who have never done a good day's
journey in the jungles of Ceylon, I can vouch for the keen
relish with which we all partook of it.

In the afternoon we strolled out to inspect the first piece
of planting on the Soolookando estate. It was in extent about
sixty acres, divided into fields of ten acres by narrow belts of
tall trees. This precaution was adopted, I learnt, with a view
to protect the young plants from the violence of the wind,
which at times rushes over the mountains with terrific fury.

Unless thus sheltered by belts or by " staking-," the young plants
get loosened, or are whirled round until the outer bark becomes
worn away, and then they sicken and die, or if they live, yield
no fruit. " Staking" is simply driving a stout peg in the
ground, and fastening the plant steadily to it, but it is an
expensive process, The young trees in these fields had been
put out during the previous rains of July, and though still
very small, looked fresh and healthy, I had always imagined
planting out to be a very simple and easy affair ; but I now
learnt that exceeding care and skill are required in the opera-
tion. The holes to receive the young coffee plant must be
wide and deep ; they can scarcely be too large, the earth must
be kept well about the roots of the seedling in removing it ;
and care must be taken that the tap-root be neither bent, nor
planted over any stone or other hard substance : neglect of
these important points is fatal to the prosperity of the estate.
The yellow drooping leaves, and stunted growth, soon tell the
proprietor that his superintendent has done his work carelessly ;
but alas ! it is then too late to apply any remedy, save that of
replanting the ground.

I left this estate impressed with very different notions
concerning the life and trials of a planter in the jungle from
what I had gathered from mere Colombo gossip ; and I felt
that superintendents were not at all overpaid for their skill,
patience, privations, and hard work.

Chapter II.

Having seen almost the commencement of the Sooloo-
kande Coffee Estate, I felt a strong desire towards the end of
the year 1846, to pay it a second visit, while in its full vigour.
I wished to satisfy myself as to the correctness of the many
reports. I had heard of its heavy crops, of its fine condition, its
excellent work, and not least, of the good management during

crop-time.- My old acquaintance was no longer in charge ; lie
had been supplanted by a stranger. However, I went armed
with a letter from the Colombo agents, which would ensure
more attention than was comprised in providing a bed and
a meal.

I journeyed this time by another and rather shorter route-
Instead of taking the Matelle road, I struck off to the right,
past Davy's Tree, celebrated as the scene of the^^massacre of a
large body of British officers and troops by the treacherous
Kandians ; and crossing the Mahavilla Ganga at Davy's Ferry,
made the best of my way across the beautiful vale of Dombera,
and thence towards the long range of mountains forming one
flank of the Kallibokke valley. At the period of my former
excursion this long tract of fertile country was one unbroken
mass of heavy jungle : now, a dozen large estates, with bun-
galows and extensive works, were to be seen, enlivening the
journey, and affording a much readier passage for the
horsemen ; for wherever plantations are formed good jungle
paths are sure to be made. The ride was a most interesting
one ; mile upon mile of coffee lay before and around me, in
various stages of growth — from the young seedling just put out,
to the full-bearing bush, as heavily laden with red ripe coffee
berries as any currant-bush in England with its fruit.

It was then the middle of November, and the very height
of the planters' harvest. All appeared busy as I rode along,
gathering on the old properties ; weeding and " supplying " or
filling up failures on the young estates. I halted but once for
a cup of good wholesome coffee, and gladly pushed on, so as
to reach my destination in good time for breakfast.

The many lovely prospects opening before me caused
some little delay in admiration of the views ; and, by the time
I had ridden through the last piece of jungle, and pulled up
at the upper boundary of " Soolookando," the forenoon was
well advanced. The sun was blazing high above me, but its
rays were tempered by a cool breeze that swept down upon

me from the neighbouring mountain tops. The prospect from
that lofty eminence was lovely in the extreme : steep ridges
of coffee extended in all directions, bounded by piles of
massive forest ; white spots, here and there told of bungalows
and stores ; a tiny cataract rushed down some cleft rock, on
one side ; on the other a rippling stream ran gently along,
thickly studded with water-cresses. Before me in the far
distance, lay outstretched, like a picture scroll, the Matelle
district, with its paddy fields, its villages, and its Tihares
skirted by a ridge of mountains and terminated by the Cave
Eocks of Dambool. At my feet, far below, lay the estate,
bungalow, and works, and to them I made my way by a narrow
and very steep bridle-path. So precipitous was the land just
here that I felt rather nervous on looking down at the whit©
buildings. The pathway, for a great leng-th, was bordered
by rose-bushes, in fullest blossom, perfuming the air most
fragrantly; as I approached the bungalow, other flowering
shrubs and plants were mingled with them, aud in such
excellent order was everything there that the place appeared
to me more like a magnified garden than an estate. How
changed since my former visit ! I could scarcely, recognise
it as the same property. The bungalow was an imposing
looking building, the very picture of neatness and comfort.
How different to the old Talipot-leaf and the dirty little mud
hut ! The box of a place I had slept in six years before, would
have stood easily in the dining room of this bungalow. A
wide verandah surrounded the building, the white pillars of
which were polished like marble. The windows were more
like doors ; and, as for the doors, one may speak of them as
lawyers do of Acts of Parliament : it would be easy to drive a
coach-and-six through them. The superintendent was a most
gentlemanly man, and so was his Bengalee servant. The
curry was delightfully hot ; the water was deliciously cool.
The chairs were like sofas; and so exquisitely comfortable
after my long ride, that, when my host rose and suggested a

walk down to the works, I regretted that I had said anything
about them, and had half a mind to pretend to be too weary
for a walk.

The store was a spacious, zinc-roofed building : it was
boarded below, but the sides upwards were merely stout
raili), for ensuring a thorough circulation of air through the
interior. It presented a most busy apjjearance. Many strings
of Malabar coolies were flocking in, along narrow paths, from
all sides, carrying bags on their heads, filled with the ripe
coffee. These had to pass in at one particular door of the
store, into the receiving-floor, in the upper part of the buildin;^-.
A cangany was stationed there to see each man's gathering
fairly measured ; and to give a little tin ticket for every
bushel, on the production of which the coolies were paid at
the end of the month. Many coolies had their wives and
children to assist them in the field, and these brought home
very heavy bags of coffee likewise.

Passing on to the floor where the measuring was in
progress, I saw immense heaps of ripe, cherry-looking fruit
waiting to be passed below to the pulpers. All this enormous
pile must be disposed of before the morning, or it will not be
fit for operating on, and might be damaged. I saw quantities
of it already gliding downwards, through little openings in the
floor, under which I could hear the noise of some machinery
in rapid motion, but giving out sounds like sausage machines
in full " chop." Following my guide, I descended a ladder,
between some ugly-looking wheels and shafting, and landed
safely on the floor of the pulping room. " Pulping" is the
operation of removing the outer husk, or " cherry," which
encloses the parchment-looking skin containing a pair of
coffee beans. This is performed by a machine called a pulpor.
It is a stout wooden or iron frame, supporting a fly-wheel and
barrel of wood covered with sheet copper, perforated coarsely
outwards, very like a huge nutmeg-grater. Tlie barrel is
made to revolve rapidly, nearly in contact with two chocks of

wood. The coffee in the cherry being fed on to this by a
hopper, is forced between the perforated barrel and the chocks ;
the projecting copper points tear off the soft cherry whilst the
coffee beans, in their parchment case, fall through the chocks
into the large box. These pulpers (four in number) were
worked by a waterwheel of great power, and turned out in six
hours as much coffee as was gathered by three hundred men»
during the whole day.

From the pulper box the parchment coffee- is carried along'
channels by water to the cisterns, enormous square wooden
vats. In these the pulped coffee is placed, just covered with
water, in which state it is left for periods va-rying from twelve'
to eighteen hours, according to the judgment of the manager.
The object of this soaking is to produce a slight fermentation
of the mucilaginous matter adhering to the " parchment," in
order to facilitate its removal, as otherwise it would harden the
skin, and render the coffee very difficult to peel or clean..
When I inspected the works on Soolookande, several cisterns of
fermented coffee were being turned out to admit other parcels-
from the pulper, and also to enable the soaked coffee to be-
washed, coolies were busily employed shovelling the beans
from one cistern to another ; others were letting in clean
water. Some were busy stirring the contents of the cisterns
briskly about ; whilst some, again, were letting off the foul
water; and a few were engaged in raking the thoroughly-
washed coffee from the washing platforms to the barbacues.

The barbacues on this property were very extensive ; —
about twenty thousand square feet, all gently sloped away
from their centres, and smooth as glass. They were of stone
coated over with lime, well polished, and so white, that it was
with difficulty I could look at them with the sun shining full
upon their bright surfaces. Over these drying grounds the
coffee, when quite clean and white, is spread, at first thickly,
but gradually more thinly. Four days' sunning are usually
required, though occasionally many more are necessary before

the coffee can be heaped away in the store without risk of
spoiling : all that is required is to dry it sufficiently for trans-
port to Kandy, and thence to Colombo, where it undergoes a
final curing previous to having its parchment skin removed,
and the faulty and broken berries picked out. Scarcely any
estates are enabled to effectually dry their crops, owing to the
long continuance of wet weather on the hills.

The " dry iioor" of this store resembled very much the
inside of a malting house. It was nicely boarded, and nearly
half full of coffee, white and in various stages of dryness.
Some of it, at one end, was being measured into two bushel
bags tied up, marked and entered in the "packed" book, ready
for despatch to Kandy. Everything was done on a system ;
the bags were piled up in tens ; and the loose coffee was kept
in heaps of fixed quantities as a check on the measuring.
Bags, rakes, measures, twine, all had their proper places,
allotted them. Each day's work must be finished off-hand at
once ; no putting off until to-morrow can be allowed, or con-
fusion and loss will be the consequence. Any heaps of half
dried coffee, permitted to remain unturned in the store, or not
exposed on the " barbecue," will heat, and become discoloured
and in that condition is known amongst commercial men as
*' country damaged."

The constant ventilation of a coffee store is of primary
importance in checking any tendency to fermentation in the
uncured beans ; an ingenious planter has recently availed
himself of this fact, and invented an apparatus which forces
an unbroken current of dry warm air, through the piles of
damp coffee, thus continuing the curing process in the midst
of the most rainy weather. •

When a considerable portion of the gathering is com-
pleted, the manager has to see to his means of transport, before
his store is too crowded. A well conducted plantation will
have its own cattle to assist in conveying the crop to Kandy ;
it will have roomy and dry cuttle-pens, fields of guinea grass,

and pasture grounds attached, as well as a manure pit into
which all refuse and the husks of the coffee are thrown, to be
afterwards turned to valuable account.

The carriage of coffee into Kandy is performed by pack-
bullocks and sometimes by the coolies, who carry it on their
heads, but these latter can seldom be employed away from
picking during the crop time. By either means, however,
transport forms a serious item in the expenses of a good
many estates. From some of the distant plantations possessing
no cattle, and with indifferent jungle paths, the conveyance of
their crops to Kandy will often cost fully six shillings the
hundred weight of clean coffee, equal to about three pence per
mile. From Kandy to Colombo by the common bullock-cart
of the country the cost will amount to two or three shillings
the clean hundred weight, in all, eight or nine shillings the
hundred weight from the plantation to the port of shipment,
being twice as much for conveying it less than a hundred miles
as it costs for freight to England, about sixteen thousand miles.*
One would imagine that it would not require much sagacity to
discern that, in such a country as this a railroad would be an
incalculable benefit to the whole community. To make this
apparent even to the meanest Cingalese capacity, we may
mention that, at this present time,f transit is required from
the interior of the island to its seaports for enough coffee
for shipment to Great Britain alone, to make a railroad
remunerative. What additional quantities are required for the
especially coffee drinking nations which lie between Ceylon and
the mother country, surpasses all present calculation ; enough
however is carried away from this island in the course of every
year, the transit of which to its seaboard, would pay for a
net-work of railways.

* By sailing ship via the Cape. | f 1846.

DUTCH COLOMBO

fNCE upon a time wlien good Queen Bess reviewed her
trusty troops at the Fort at Tilbury and sent lier gallant
fleet to meet the great Armada, the countrymen of Pedro
Lopez manned many guns on the Colombo ramparts, and the
flag of Portugal floated jauntily over each gateway. Where
now is the Fort stood then the Citadel, or inner fortress : the
outer walls of cabook and lime, armed with small brass guns,
extended along much of what is Norris' Road as far as Saint
John's river, then a veritable stream running from a portion of
the lake to the sea : this outer wall stretched along its bank
and terminated at the sea beach. Kayman'sGate and its tower
being then a guarded approach from the open country, where
the wooded hills of Wolfendhal and Hultsdorf in the distance,
were often infested by troops of the King of Cotta in wily
ambuscade.

The Dutch changed much of this, and though they did
their utmost to live at peace with the Native sovereigns, spared
no pains or cost to render their strong-hold impregnable.
Forts were constructed at Hangwella, Panebakere, Mutwall,
&c. The outer walls of Colombo along the river banks of Saint
John, were demolished : the swamp round the Fort was ex-
cavated and converted into the present lake, the earth removed
from it going to form Slave Island and a portion of the ram-
parts. At the same time the late Fort of Colombo was rebuilt
on a larger scale and on scientific principles, and it is supposed
must have occupied a quarter of a century in construction.
The strength that was gained by these means and the more
pacific policy of the Dutch, gave an amount of security to their
possessions which ultimately emboldened their principal officers

and a few of the civilians, to build houses at some distance in
the country, at Hultsdorf, Grand Pass and Mattacooly on the
banks of the Kelani. At the happy period of which I write,
Proctors had not been invented : trade was in the hands of the
government, and comprised little else than cinnamon and
pepper.

Colpetty existed but as a native suburb : Mutwall and
Grand Pass were open country, dotted about by a few Dutch
villas, whilst the Pettah consisted of a number of pretty streets
pleasantly shaded by soorya trees, the houses tenanted by
families the heads of which occupied responsible posts under
the government. No native trader had then desecrated by his
half-nude presence, the many, well-kept rows of pleasant
cheery dwellings.

In the days to which these pages refer, communication
with Europe was carried on twice in each year, when the spring
and autumn fleets left Holland for Ceylon, laden with the goods
suited to tropical countries. Transported in the spirit to
those bye-goiie days, let us stand upon the Battenburg bastion
and look out to sea with the Port Master and his chief pilot
Jansz. The morning is bright, the air is cool and crisp, fresh
from Adam's Peak, and the flag of the Dutch republic floats
from the mast-head on the lofty outworks erected by the wave
washed rocks where once stood a Chapel to the Blessed Virgin.
The Chapel and the tower have long since disappeared, and the
massive rock on which they were erected is now partially
levelled ou the verge of the old Galle Buck. Between those out-
works and the fort walls the Port-Master dwelt, and they say
a prettier house was not to be seen in all Dutch Colombo, nor a
neater garden, or greener sward on which, on moonlight nights,
Dutch maids and lads met to do honor to the host's hospitality,
when was tapped for old citizens, many a store of ripe scheidam
or may be well vatted arrack.

A sail, a sail ! The signal is run up to the mast head, and
quickly a gun is fired from the Commandant's quarters to

awaken all those who may perchance be still asleep or dozing
through the early morning. Yes, it is the spring fleet arrived,
just in time for Christmas ! And it is well, for stocks of all
kinds are low, and even his Excellency has been compelled to
use Kandyan tobacco and Caltura arrack in the place of the
veritable articles from Holland. In less time than it would
take to smoke a pipe of the true Virginian weed, the fort walls
are crowded with soldiers, civilians and native followers, all
anxious to see the three ships that are freighted with things
as dear to the colonists almost as life. On they come lazily,
their big sails flapping listlessly in the faint morning breeze,
until the roads are reached, anchors are dropped, and ropes
are coiled.

What a rush there is on shore to be sure ; burly Dutch
ofiicials accustomed to doze away their lives under the sooriya
trees before their offices, are on the move : troops are on the
march ; the Lascoryn guard are turned out with the prover-
bial band of tom-toms and reedy, shrieking pipes, and away
they go past the Justice Hall which at that time stood facing
the esplanade, just where the Council Chamber, Audit Oflace
and other public buildings now look out across the sea-walls.
The present fort Church of St. Peter's was then the Governor's
house, with many reception rooms and a great audience hall.
On they march round the esplanade extending partly over the
site of the present Government house, and midway on which
stood the fine old Dutch Church now levelled to the ground
and gone, and on through the water-gate to the landing jetty
where they draw up alongside the military guard assembled to
do honor to the Commander of the squadron and the official
new-comers.

A goodly crowd gathers about the landing place, and when
the three boats from the squadron pull alongside the jetty, the
guard presenting arms, and the Commander and his fellow
captains with a supercargo and a few passengers of both sexes,
step upon the soil of Ceylon, there is a great commotion and

mucli interchange of salutations. Away the travellers are
whirled in several unweildly conveyances of which there are
no specimens in the present day, not even in the Museum.
Do they drive to the Commandant's to report their arrival, to
the Governor's to pay their respects ? To neither of these, but
to the Church on the esplanade, their first act on landing
being to return thanks for a safe and happy arrival at their
destination. The church in which this offering-up of thanks
was made, is standing no longer. Demolished on the capture
of the fort by the British, a portion alone remained standing-
until the year 1860, when, after having served as a powder
m agazine and then an ice house, it was finally razed to the
ground, its site forming part of the esplanade. It stood at
the south-west corner of the public green, close by where
a wicket still opens on the old Galle Buck,

The thanksgiving service over, the Captains proceed
to the Commandant's quarters to report their arrival, which is
done over a few pipes of veritable Viriginia produced in great
triumph by the skippers : that ceremony of Dutch good fellow-
ship being terminated, the party proceed to the Governor's
palace, a rare old building of such capacity that a Dutch
regiment could be drilled and put through its manoeuvres in
the public reception room, now the body of St. Peter's : as for
the audience hall and dining rooms, you could drive a carriage
and four round it with the most perfect ease with plenty of room
for the frisky leaders. Credentials are soon presented, and the
new ofiicials who have arrived by the fleet, are introduced and
welcomed by Mynheer Van Somebody. This ceremonial over
the party retire to the capacious verandah in the rear, looking
out upon a terrace of rare breadth leading down to prettily
laid out walks above a huge tank of water, where in modern
times there flourished a garden, which later still has degenerated
into a collection of carriage sheds and horses' stables at the
service of government ofiicials, though some of the fine old
trees remain living, monuments of the Dutch Governor's rule.

Under a massivo tamarind tree were ranged many seats
and small tables ; and here in the cool evening His Highness
the Governor, and his chief officers were wont to find solace
in pipes and schiedam, after the heated labor of the day. To
this favorite spot the new arrivals were conducted, the ladies
from the fleet being consigned to the Grovernor's wife and her
family. Need it be said how earnestly the news of old
fatherland, of friends at home, of many long forgotten folk
were listened to, and how doubly welcome to the half-starved-
out officials were some stout flagons of the best Hollands and
a portly packet of fragrant Virginia. How the flavor of those
importations gave new zest to the guests' recitals of home
events, and how vast clouds of smoke rose and disported them-
selves amidst the wide branches of the tamarind tree above,
until supper was announced, when the guests followed the
slow steps of mine host towards the great refectory hall
where ponderous tables bore generous fare for all comers.

Not only the high officials grow merry on this red-letter
day for all Colombo, but citizens of every degree, — the lower
officials, the troops, the military and civil underlings have all
reason for rejoicing, now that the spring fleet has come, and
brought letters from friends and good cheer for every body-
Beer Street, now known as Chatham Street, is alive with
mirth and music : there is dancing and revelry within every
other house : a corner building with huge gables, looking out
upon the fort canal, where now a British wine merchant holds
goodly stocks of costly liquors, a merry motley party chiefly of
under civilians were entertained by the Captain of the Burghers.
The evening meal being over, the tables were moved aside, and
to the sound of mirth-provoking music the whole party joined
in the frantic movements of the Ceylon " CafEreina," a kind of
tropical " Cancan," in vogue to the present time. It is a dance
admitting of considerable latitude in regard to the movements
of legs and arms ; and it may bo said of the head too, and one
might almost marvel how it camo to pass that a dance of such

vigorous vitality could possibly find favor in any country, so
near the equatorial line as Ceylon, especially in a Dutch colony ;

but it was a dance not pertaining so much to Hollanders as to
old Portuguese colonists who cherished it and went in for it on
every permissable occasion. Nevertheless it is a dance admit-
ting of much grace and pleasing effeet when accompanied by
moderately slow and not wildly frantic music : the gently
Sweeping undulations of a proficient in the Caffreina are as
pleasing and far more graceful than many modern drawing-
room dances.

There are other and quieter little parties coming off in
various parts of the Fort. Away beneath the Battenburg
bastion for instance, the Port Master, Van Cuylenberg, is enter-
taining a goodly gathering of friends on the green before his
pretty little Villa, where sooriya trees have been many years
struggling for a crooked and at times doubtful existence against
their dire enemy, the salt sea wind. But there they are
good-natured looking, humpbacked dwarfs, ready to extend a
friendly branch to any young lad or maiden looking for a seat

on the soft sandy sward beneath. On the night on which this
" Toddy Party" was held, a good many lads and maidens were
accommodated by their steady friends, the sooriyas, some of
whose straggling branches descended so low as to form
veritable bowers within which goodness only knows what may
have occurred in matters of flirting. On an open space away
from the sly sooriyas, were placed small, round, big-legged
ponderous tables up to any weight of cakes and toddy jugs.
Oh, those jolly jugs of brown ware, of real Haarlem make, but
filled with sweet toddy-cup of Lanka ! How they leered out
upon the assembled guests as though to coax the young
maidens from their snug hiding-places. How proudly the
portly cakes oozing with luscious ghee and saccharine sub-
stances, peered down from their lofty vantage ground upon the
humble " hoppahs " that lay pell-mell on wide delft platters,
looking as abashed at their flat insignificance as though hoping
to be soon devoured and hid from sight.

But bless us, long before the good dame Van Cuylenberg
and the widow Plaats, and the elderly spinsters, the Van Graafs,
had half finished their critical essay on the dress and the
deportment of the female new comers, such games, such rompings
were a-foot in the moonlight, that must have driven a cynical
old on-looker bachelor like Van Graafs, the " powder master,"
mad with envy. But even the nimble-footed Laura, the agile
Lydia, must yield in time, from frolicsome wearyness and as
pretty dimple-faced Laura positively refused then and there,
to dance the Caffreina, there was nothing for it but to take
to creature comforts, and so it came to pass that a groat
and happy gathering was seen around those dumpy, ponderous
tables whose loads of hoppahs and cakes, whose jugs of todd}^-
cup rapidly became small by degrees and beautifully less, until
the wise ones of the party gav6 the signal for dispersing, and
all made their happy way to pleasant homes not far away, to
dream of the bright and gorgeous things the fleet had brought
at that gay Christmas-tide.

OUR OLD CLERK

(^^HE air about the old fort walls in the old fort streets was
}^ still and steamy. Not a leaf or a twig on the sooriya
trees, would have moved for love or money. The sky looked
as though it had been black leaded, and polished for the new
monsoon that was making itself heard in the distance, far out
at sea, — perspiring sparrows deserted the hot house-tops, —
crows forgot to " caw," so stifling was the weather in that
sultry month of May,

In a large, rambling, corner-house, near the south gate„
wherein the last King of Kandy had been confined a state
prisoner before embarking on his Indian exile, things went
on as quietly as though a crisp land-wind were drifting
through the cool gloomy offices. Our old clork was placidity
personifi^ed, as calm and self-possessed as in his prime, and
yet the idea of having to make over the custody of the journal
and ledger, to a young English lad, as I then was, cannot
have been altogether agreeable to old Samuel's pride of place.
But there was no help for it : the business of the firm had
increased, the faithful chief clerk was growing aged apace,
and it was found no longer possible for him to fulfil the many
multifarious duties, hitherto entrusted to him, so implicitly
and so successfully.

Samuel had been prepared for the change, and now when
the time was come, when he was to know the firm's ledger
no longer, he put a bold face on it, and made a Dutch virtue
of an English necessity. Before inducting me, he looked me
well over, from head to foot, smiled half encouragingly, half
compassionately, as though he would say "you don't know
the weighty responsibility there is in that ledger," and then.

t'dking the ponderous, strong-backed volume from an iron
safe, large and massive enough to have been some firm's
strong room, placed it before me, wiping it carefully and
delicately with his pocket-handkerchief. Had the ancient
Samuel been bestowing his eldest daughter upon me in
marriage, he could not have shewn more anxiety about ray
reception and treatment of the precious charge entrusted to
my custody. No horse-dealer could have taken more pains
to indicate the rare points of a steed, than did the old clerk,
to point out the beauties of his ledger, — liis alas, no longer.

Samuel was a Dutchman, as much as his father and his
grand-father : his mother was just as Dutch : and yet how
different to Knickerbocker's Dutchmen, or the dwellers on
the muddy banks of the Zuyder Zee. There was no ponderous
mellow frame, encased loosely in baggy trousers of any size.
No slouch hat, no long Dutch pipe : Samuel was slim, slight
and dry as his own snuff-box. A beautifully fitting, snow-
white jacket, and a yellow waistcoat, and nankeen trausers,
full with many pleats round the waist, and a vast cavern of a
pocket in which was hidden away a cambric handkerchief of
such marvellous dimensions, that one might have taken it to
be the youngest baby's sheet. Thin shoes and white cotton
socks, and above all a ponderous silver watch and massive
gold chain, made up his Indian Dutch exterior.

He was the firm's confidential clerk, but he waa a good
deal more than that : he was their chief negotiator and adviser
in all delicate treaties with obstinate native traders who
naturally wished to have all the bargains arranged after their
own indigenous way. He was the great ratifier of difficult
contracts for produde, or obstinate sales in the matter of wares
from Manchester, Sheffield, or Glasgow. He was the presiding
genius of the godowns, in which were stored and sorted, and
packed, rich spices and fragrant seeds, and valuable Coffee ;
ho was a sort of Hollando-oriental Simon-the-Cellarer, h\
whose custody wore wonderful casks, and corpulent, strong-

hooped vats, and curious bottles in dark, cobwebby corners
full of rat holes : he was the Plutus of the establishment, in
whose custody was all the coin which percolated through that
multifarious business, and never was man prouder than when
he strolled off to the strong room, with the bunch of massive,
jailor-looking keys in his bony hands, as though he had the
old Kandyan monarch, still safely in custody somewhere, and
was going to interview him. But perhaps the most instructive
sight was to see the old Clerk grapple a rebellious Moorman,
or a defiant, unbelieving Chetty, refusing to take over an
invoice of willow-pattern tea-pots, on account of a chip in one
of the spouts, or a parcel of grey domestics, by reason of a
little rustiness of the iron hoops outside the bales. Samuel
would in such a delicate case inveigle the rebel into a dark
Bastille-sort of room at one end of the dark inner verandah,
guarded by a huge polygar dog that knew the flavour of a
man's calf, and inside that gloomy sanctuary, with bolted door,,
such a change was wrought on the recusant buyer, as none
other but the ancient clerk could have accomplished. Whether
the means employed were moral, mechanical or chemical, is
to this day a mystery, and whether the trade was in mamoties
or muslins, Moorman or Chetty invariably came out of that
ordeal, a changed man, the goods were taken over, the
promissory note signed, and Samuel brought forth the baby's
sheet from his cavernous pocket, and smothered his chippy
visage in its ample folds in honour of the subtle victory.

In addition to all these duties Samuel was the supervisor
of all the other clerks of the establishment : in the present
day they would call him Director-General — he superintended
their work — looked after their arithmetic and their caligraphy,
and woe to the miserable man who had omitted to carry a
cipher, or cross a " t " or dot an " i " ! as for a blot of ink in
the account sales book, we should not like to have been the
guilty party, that's all. Of such rare quality was the old
chief clerk's training, such cunning penmen did he turn out of

hand, that many a government emissary was employed to lure
Samuel to part with these precious subordinates. In vain the
Treasurer made secret gorgeous offers for a trusty cashier ; in
vain the Auditor-Genei^al tempted him for just one single
accountant. The overtures were received with scorn. Be it
known that Samuel " was passing rich, on ninety pounds
a-year " : but then, when those ninety pounds were paid to
him in rix-dollars, with figures of dropsical elephants on them,
and each rix- dollar of eighteen pence British currency, would
purchase half a dozen full-grown fowls or a coolie load of
eggs, or a hackery-load of country vegetables and fruit, we
may form some some sort of idea of the purchasing value of
the ninety pounds.

Follow him home to the paternal mansion after office
hours : see him in the bosom of his family in Zuyder Street in
the Pettah : what an unruffled, comfortable old Dutch bosom it
was : unfortunately it spoke only in the Portuguese tongue,
which in my case was a slight drawback, compelling me to
converse with Samuel and his olive branches. Regularly as
Christmas Day came round, the old clerk, his bosom and his
branches, paid a visit to the firm at the Colpetty mansion, on
which occasion there were any number of congratulations, and
jokes, and questions ; and after divers glasses of wine, the party
went away in the happiest of moods.

On New Year's Day the visit was returned, — a goodly
custom, and one which I rather think must have gone out about
the time when punkahs and other modern cheap innovations
came in. Clean and bright as was the chief clerk's old house
in Zuyder Street, on any day in the year, it was cleaner and
brighter on the New Year's festival day. The furniture was
doubly bees- waxed, the walls were trebly whitewashed, and
the glare of the noon-day sun was softened in that quite abode,
by drapery of the most rare and costly chintz. Even the
back yard was made cool and pleasant by an umbrageous
group of bananas thriving iu a rich stratum of alluvial bricks

chastely picked out in white. I shall not very soon forget my
first New Year's visit, repeated through many seasons, — to
Samuel's peaceful happy home ; nor the genial glow which
stole over his dry stolid features, as he held up to his bright
eye, a glass of the firm's rich creamy Cape wine, at eighteen
shillings per dozen, unequalled at the figure, until he fancied
he could see an embryo bee's wing in it, and how he drank the
firm's health, and the firm drank his, and his belongings.
Those were the days when Waghorn was making his great
Egyptian experiment, before Renter was invented, or cheap
chemical champagne imported. A Dutch party in the Pettah,
of those days, meant nine o'clock to rest, after beer and a
meal of cake that would have served as capital dead-weight
for any ship requiring ballast.

But changes, which belong to our common lot, overtook
Colombo, and though the old clerk grown older, drew three
hundred pounds per annum, he was not one whit the richer
or happier. The firm had built up a larger business, and with
it had arisen a more imposing structure than the grim Dutch
Office of the olden time. At Samuel's prayerful request, they
had spared one portion of the old red-bricked wall, that he
might feast his dim eyes on the same bricks that had been so
often looked upon by his loved and honoured master, now
dead and gone. He could see it from his office chair, but
that large lofty room was no more the same ; he found it
draughty and chilly : he took cold and at last took ill, and
then greatly against his will, he took a pension, but on the
solemn understanding that he might attend the office once a
year, to see the general accounts closed, and the balance-sheet
drawn out. And this he did faithfully and cheerfully amidst
growing infirmities, until at length his own earthly account
was closed, by one final entry in the Wolfendahl registry.

A GALLE LEGEND.

^I'ANZS LEYDEN was as happy and jovial as it was possible
^ for any ordinary Custom-House clerk to be, in tlie
sea-girt, sunny isle of Ceylon, The sleepy, apethetic peons
were perfectly taken aback as they watched the ebullition of
Dutch mirth that gushed from the person of the little chief
clerk. The oldest Custom-House underlings did not remember
to have seen so much jollity within the dark, dusky walls of
that strange, straggling old building; no, nob since they were
little boys, and first learnt to enjoy betel, Janzs was so elated,
that he made a very poor day's work of it, in his large,
solitary, prison-like office : he pretended, once or twice, to be
deeply immersed in some tables of exports : but it wouldn't
do : one column of figures danced about before his eyes, with
its vis-a-vis, and the totals at the bottom went up the middle
and down again, to the merry country dance, which he could
not leave off whistling. When he began a letter, he got to,
" It having come to the knowledge of the authorities that
certain kegs of brandy have " — he suddenly remembered that
the man he was addressing, was hanged for smuggling last
October. At last, after nibbing one or two pens, and untying
and re-tying a few bundles of very neglected and extremely
dusty papers with faded red-tape, he gave up the idea of being
busy. The truth was, that Janzs was about to be married; that
day week was to be the happy period, and as that was the first
event of the kind in his life, he conceived himself privileged to
be elated, and not altogether fit for office work.

Finding an excuse for closing the Custom-Houso at an
unusually early hour, the chief clerk saw that the establish-
ment (two subordinates, and three peons) had departed and

left the old office in proper orrler ; and then, leisurely turning'
the huge key in the old ironbound door, gave it to the head
peon to deliver to the collector, who was, of course, quietly
smoking his pipe in his own verandah. The sentry was seen
to, a word exchanged with the corporal of the guard, and
Janzs strutted out from under the huge dark archway which
led from the strong fort of Foint-de-Galle towards the
suburbs, where many of the better class of burghers then
resided. In those days, even the chief clerk of a public
department could not afford to keep a carriage. None, indeed,
but the very highest colonial officials could venture on such a
piece of extravagance. This may be readily understood, when
I mention that the whole of the money salary received by
Janzs in one year, did not amount to more than some twenty
pounds of our English currency. It is true, there were addi-
tions in the shape of fees, and allowances of oil, wood, beef,
salt and other perquisites. Nevertheless, it did not on the
whole amount to more than a very decent living for a young
single man.

Such being the state of affairs, it cannot be matter for
surprise that Janzs should have felt certain doubts about the
future rising amidst his happy dreamings, as he wended his
way home to his humble low-roofed bungalow ; and thence to
Katrina, who dwelt with her father not far away on an old
Dutch farm.

If Janzs had been happy before, how much was his delight
increased when the old Dutchman, his future father-in-law,
pointed out to him a fine piece of pasture ground and wood-
land which he intended to give him on the wedding day.
Money he had little enough of, but he had some rich land, and
the young couple were to be in possession of some thirty
acres, which might, one day, be made to yield a comfortable
addition to the clerk's little income. Here was a field for
Katrina and Janzs to build hopes upon. Thirty acres of forest
and pasturage ! The thing appeared almost too extensive to

contemplste in Imagination. The Fort of Galle occupied but
twenty acres, and was it possible that he, a poor Custom-
House clerk, should become the proprietor of half as much
more land than was spanned by that sturdy, rambling, old
fortress ?

The next day, Janzs engaged a canoe to take them both
to the identical spot ; and after duty — as soon as cargoes of
rice, salt-fish, and coir-rope could be hurried through the
usual official routine — he hastened from the old dark office,
and conducted Katarina to the bank of the river that flows
from the lofty mountain peaks, pass the Fort of Galle, into the
Indian Ocean. Half an hour's navigation, by means of poles,
took them to the scene of their speculations. They passed
many a pretty retired nook, many green paddy fields and palm
topes; many deep shady dells, overtopped by clustering
bamboos and towering arekas, where the echo of the cool
splashing waterfall was only broken by the low, soft, note of
the wood-pigeon, or chattering voice of the monkey. They were
delighted beyond their fondest expectations with the spot.
It was so near to the town ; it was so delightfully situated ;
it was so nicely timbered ; why, there were sufficient trees
upon it to build half-a-dozen bungalows, and still leave enough
for pleasant shade and firewood. And then the soil ! Janzs,
it is true, did not understand quite so much about agriculture,
as he did of entries and bonds, and registers ; but Katrina
declared it was magnificent. She had never seen such soil ;
why, it would grow anything. In short, they both arrived at
the conclusion that a handful of copper challies, flung broad-
cast upon the ground on any showery morning, would take
root before night, and grow into rix-dollars. Returning home
they indulged in all sorts of wild speculations about the future.
Kairina, naturally of an imaginative turn, ventured to hint at
a regular farm, cows and all ; and Janzs afterwards declared
that she even went so far as to suggest a flock of goats ; but
little Katrina always denied the charge most stoutly. They

were to cultivate everything that would be wanted for food or
raiment, from chillies for curry up to cotton for dresses. In
short, they were to have a little Eden of their own making",
where discord and care should never enter ; where only-
sweetest blossoms and flowers and richest fruits should be
found ; where nothing that was bad, where everything that
was good, should be seen. It was to be a bright spot that
" Grarden by the River."

Well, they were married and were happy, as all young
married people are and deserve to be, and let us hope always
will be. In Ceylon, amongst the Dutch descendants to this
day, it is a common occurrence for young couples to take up
their abode for the first year or two of their married life under
the roof of the bride or bridegroom's parents. It may be
that economy sometime renders this prudent : or it may
happen that the young wife does not feel quite experienced
enough to undertake housekeeping all at once, and prefers a
little further schooling on many points of domestic details.
Be this as it may, it was a Gommon custom in the days I am
writing of ; and since Janzs was an orphan they took up their
residence with old Lourenz, his new parent. The week of
feasting and festivities, and congratulations over, they settled
quietly down at the paternal farm, as contentedly and as
happily as though it were all their own. The little stream at
the bottom of the long lawn that wound round the shrubbery
so coaxingly and silently, did not run more smoothly than the
current of their new-found existence. Janzs toiled harder
than ever at export and import duties, and occasionally
expressed regret to the head store-keeper, an old white-
headed Malay, that there was not double the quantity of
shipping entering the port. At his new home the clerk had
little to complain of. Many a sacrifice did old Lourenz make
to the comfort of the young couple. Janzs had free and
unlimited access to his tobc.cco-store and his dozen or two of
venerable meerschaums. Janzs was allowed one of the oldest

and most valuable drinking-horns for his own special use ;
and, moreover, Janzs was permitted to sit, in the cool of the
evening, under the same wide-spreading mango-tree, and then,
pipe in mouth, fall gently asleep, while Katrina sang an old
scrap of a Dutch song, or plied her needle, or drove away the
mosquitoes from her father and husband.

Yet with all this, Janzs occasionally felt not quite at ease,
and was ungracious enough to vent his restless mood in
presence of the father, who heeded not his desire for a little
more independence, but quietly refilled his pipe, and settled
the question with the unanswerable argument — pooh ! pooh !
Sometimes the thoughts of that sweet spot of wood and dell
by the rivei'-side came across the minds of the young people,
and they sighed as they thought of the remote chance of
seeing it as they had once hoped. Now and then Janzs thought
of raising money upon it, to cultivate a portion at least, and
erect a small bungalow ; but, a stranger to such proceedings ,
he fancied the scheme was far too wild and visionary for a
clerk upon twenty rix-dollars a month to entertain. Each
time he sighed and gave up the idea.

Katrina had observed that her father had of late been
absent from the farm more frequently, and for longer intervals,
than was his custom ; and that, moreover, he smoked more
pipes and disposed of more schiedam during the evening,
under the mango-tree, than she ever remembered him to have
done at any time of her life. This state of things lasted for a
few months. Janzs longed more ardently than ever for
emancipation ; Katrina sighod for a farm of their own, and the
father plied more potently at pipe and dram.

At length old Lourenz told his children that he had a
mind to go and see how their little piece of land was looking,
and if they would go with him, perhaps they could contrive
amongst them all to plan something to be done with it. No
second bidding was needed. A largo covered canoe was pre-
pared with cushions and mats, and the party started on their

visit, taking Avith them Katriua's younger sister and brother. It
was near the end of January — of all months the most agreeable
in Ceylon ; the evening was so calm, and soft and fragrant ;
the air appeared to be as though poured down from some other
and puree sphere, wafting with it songs of rich melody, and
scents of rarest flowers. Nature seemed hushed and wrapped
in sweetest peace. The monsters of the forests were at rest.
The mountains far away flung their deep, saddening shades
o'er many a league of plain : and even restless man looked
forth and felt subdued.

Their light and well-manned boat went boldly up the
stream, caring very little about the huge trunks of trees that
at this time of year are met with in most Indian rivers, as
thick as pebbles in a mill-pond. Torn from their birthplaces
by inundations, they float down the rapids ; until, arrested in
their course by some trifling obstacle, they get embedded in
the course of the river. The topes and dells and groves
appeared to Katrina and her husband more beautiful than ever
on that soft evening ; and, had not their own loved spot been
before them, they would gladly have landed a dozen times, to
walk about and admire the romantic scenery. At last a bend
of the river took them suddenly to where a rising wood-clad
field told of their little domain.

Bub that could not be their land. Why, it had a beautiful
little bungalow on it, and one of the sweetest gardens round
it that could be imagined ; all fenced and quite complete.
There were outhouses, too, and a huge pile of firewood, and a
nice winding path right down to the water's edge. Neither
Katrina nor her husband could at first believe that they had
not halted at the wrong spot : yet there was the hugh Jack
tree at the landing-place, and there were the yellow bamboos
and the green arekas by the little stream that came tumbling
down the hill-side like a child at play. Well, they both
declared they had never seen such a fairy transformation : it
was like a story in some Arabian book — only a great deal

better : for it was all true, and would not disappear at daylight,
as many of such things were said to do.

There was no end to the discoveries made by Katrina and
her sist^, in their rambles over the place ; and though all was
in a very primitive form, there was the foundation for a
thousand comforts, and as many pleasures besides. Old
Lourenz seated himself very quietly under a huge bread-fruit
tree, and enjoyed his pipe and the contemplation of the
happiness he had stealthily bestowed. Labour costs but little
in the East ; and most of the materials for the building had
been found on the spot. Houses are seldom built of brick in
Ceylon, even for government use. The best are usually made ■
of " Cabook," a ferruginous clay easily cut from the hill-sides.
It is quite soft when found ; but quickly hardens on exposure
to the air ; and in time becomes more solid and enduring than
any cement. Much of the work had been performed by the
neio-hbouring villagers, for a little rice or tobacco ; so that a
groat deal had been done for a very little outlay. It seemed,
however, to Janzs, as though a little fortune must have been
spent upon their land, and he was altogether lost in the
contemplation of so much valuable property.

The following week saw them in actual possession, and
Janzs taking lessons in farming from Katrina ; who assured
him that if he worked hard enough, and lived long enough,
he would make an excellent cultivator. By small degrees, and
with many kindly helps from friends and relations, the young
couple found they had a tolerable establishment growing up
in their charge. The clerk, at the risk of blistering his hands,
toiled in the opening air, morning and evening, whilst Katrina
overlooked a brace of coolies, who laboured through the heat
of the day. It was quite wonderful to see how things grew
and prospered round and about them. No one in the district
of Galle produced such delicious plantains as they grew ; their
poultry was allowed to be remarkably the finest in the valley ;
their butter the sweetest in the province, and as to bees, none

thrived so well as did those of Katrina. What was better
still, Janzs had, about this time, an increase to his salary of
five rix dollars a month ; so that on the whole, it might, with
truth, be said that they prospered ; and indeed they deserved
to do so, and no one thought of envying them their humble
quiet happiness.

In this pleasant way a year rolled past. At that time a
vessel came into the harbour, from one of the Eastern Islands,
noted for its fine plantations of nutmegs ; a cultivation then
highly remunerative, but which the jealously of the Dutch
Government rigidly " protected," by carefully reserving it to
themselves. The commander of the ship had brought with
him, in a very careful manner, many hundreds of young
nutmeg plants, at the request, and for the especial benefit, of
the Receiver of Customs at Point de Galle. These were
brought on shore in barrels of earth as ship's stores, and left
in charge of Janzs ; who, shortly afterwards received orders to
despatch them to the country-house of his superior. One
barrel was presented by the collector to the chief clerk; who,
well aware of the great value of the nutmeg tree, conceived
himself to be at once on the high-road to fortune.

It would be difficult to paint the satisfaction with which
he knocked out the head of the barrel, on its reaching the
door of his little bungalow, and feasted his own and Katrina's
eyes on the sight of a hundred young nutmeg seedlings. It
appeared to him as though a hundred little guardian angels had
suddenly condescended to pay him a visit, to take up their abode
with him for the remaineder of his natural life. -But what
were they to do with them ? Plant them, of course. Yes, but
how and where? Katrina was, for once in her little life,
most completely at fault on a point of agriculture ; and, it
turned out on enquiry, that old Lourenz knew about as much
of the proper treatment, agriculturally, of the nutmeg tree as
did Janzs, or any of his office peons, or the old bald-headed
Buddhist priest who lived across the river.

Great was the satisfaction of the chief clerk and his little
wife to find that one of the sailors of the vessel, which had
brought the plants, understood the mode of culture, and
was willing to come out to their farm and put them thoroughly
in the way of rearing fine nutmeg trees. Leave was obtained
from the skipper, and the sailor was soon installed as hired
cultivator under Katrina's own inspection. When Janzs
arrived home after the first day's operations, he was astonished
to find a number of moderately sized pits dug throughout his
best ground, at regular and distant intervals. He was with
difiiculty persuaded that these gigantic holes were necessary
for the reception of the Lilliputian plants. The sailor assured
him that unless the holes were made at least five feet deep,
and as wide as the outer branches of the future tree were
expected to extend, the plant would not thrive. The roots were
of the most delicate texture ; and it was only by forming for
their reception a roomy bed of light generous earth that they
would be enabled to arrive at the vigour necessary for the full
nourishment of the tree, and the perfection of abundant crops
of fruit. Janzs held up his hands in pure astonishment ; but
he supposed it was all right, when the two coolies flung basket
upon basket full of surface soil, and river mud, and dead leaves
and weeds, into these holes ; and when the sailor — gently as
a nurse with a young infant, placed two seedlings in each hole,
a few inches apart, filled in some more rich loamy earth around
them, pressed them softly down, and then finished the cere-
mony by a copious baptism of river-water from a cocoanut
shell — Janzs was so pleased with the imposing appearance of
the new plantation that he did not heed the sailor's reason for
placing the little seedlings in pairs ; it was to insure a sound,
healthy plant, the stronger of the couple being left, whilst
the more delicate plant was pulled out at the end of the first
six months.

This, however, was not all the care that was needed for
the young plants. A score of contingencies had to be guarded

ao-ainst. There mio-ht be too much sun, or too much wet, or
the wind might loosen them and injure the roots. Cattle or
wild animals might get at them, and browse on their tender
leaves, which would be fatal to them. Insects might prey
upon the young shoot or the new bark. So that although, as
Katrina was assured, when the trees did survive all these
dangers, they would be certain to yield a lasting and golden
harvest, it would not be without a long trial of watchfulness
and care. But she was not easily daunted ; the prospect of
the future cheered on her little heart against all misgivings.
She made the sailor-planter show her how they fenced in the
nutmeg trees at Penang and the Moluccas : how they sheltered
them from the scorching rays of the noonday sun, and how
they protected them from the nocturnal attacks of porcupines
and wild hogs, by weaving prickly boughs around them on th©
ground. Katrina felt quite sure that she could manage the
whole plantation, and bring every tree to full bearing ; and the
sailor took his leava loaded with thanks and homely gifts.
Janzs thought himself the luckiest and happiest of Custom-
House clerks, to possess such a wife, and such a garden of
nutmeg trees.

Years rolled on in Ceylon, much as such portions of time
are in the habit of doing in other places. They brought with
them changes in men and things at the little sturdy fort of
Galle, not less than elsewhere. Few changes, perhaps, were
more apparent than those which were perceptible in the
nutmeg plantation I have described. The little white-washed
bungalow had spread forth wings on either side, and front and
ends were shadowed by jessamines and roses. Topes of
waving cocoa, and sago palms, and broad-leaved bananas flung
a grateful shade over the lawn, and the sweet flower garden,
and the path to the river-side. The Lilliputian seedlings were
no longer there, but in their places rose, proudly and grace-
fully, a whole forest of bright-leaved, flower-spangled nutmeg
trees : and amongst them might be seen, if you looked in the

right place, Katriua, still busy, and smiling, and happy with
Janzs by her side, and a group of little rollicking children
revelling on the soft green grass. Unwearying care and
watchfulness had wrought wonders with those delicate nutmegs ;
and now the time had arrived when they were about to reap
the rich reward of perseverance and industry. Janzs con-
sidered himself, as well he might, a man of some substance,
In a year or two, or more, all those beautiful trees would be
in full bearing ; and if, as they gave promise to do, they bore
two or three hundred nuts each, there would be a little fortune
for him ; a larger yearly revenue than was enjoyed by his
superior, the Collector of Customs, and all the clerks and
peons together.

Fate, however, had decreed that all this was not to be.
Those richly promising trees were doomed to an early and
sudden death.

I mentioned how the collector had obtained a vast quantity
of these young nutmeg plants. There were several thousands
of them, and their cultivation had cost him some money, and
more trouble. But whether it was that he selected bad land,
or had them planted improperly, or neglected them afterwards,
there is nothing on record to tell. Certain it is, that his large
plantation became a complete failure, much to his vexation.
This was no whit lessened, when he learnt, and afterwards
witnessed, the entire success of his subordinate Janzs with his
little garden of nutmeg trees.

VanDort, the collector, was a weak-minded, mean-spirited
creature, as you will soon see. He brooded over his disap-
pointment for many a long day ; until at length, in the very
abjoctuess of his low heart, he thought that if he could nob
succeed, neither should Janzs. Ho know right well that there
was an old order in council, forbidding any one in the States-
General's possessions in the East Indies, to cultivate spices, save
and except in such Islands as they declared to be so privileged ;
namely, Coylun for cinnamon and pepper, and Moluccas and

Penang' for the nutineg and cloves. Confiscation and imprison-
ment for the first offence were the mild consequences of
infringing this law. What the second offence was to be visited
with, was not exactly known ; but better lawyers than Janzs,
were haunted with an indistinct vision, that in such a case was
made and provided nothing short of the gallows. Now, Mynheer
VanDort was well aware of the existence of this severe order
when he planted his large piece of ground ; but he had reckoned
on being able to sell his plantation and retire to Europe before
the authorities at Colombo could hear anything of the matter ;
for, in all probability, there were not three persons in the
island who knew of the existence of such stringent laws. It
occurred to him that, as he had failed and nearly all his trees
had died, he might turn the success of his clerk to good
account on his own behalf, by informing the Governor of the
bold infraction of the laws by Janzs.

In those quiet, by-gone times, there were but few events
of importance to call for any exercise of power by the highest
authority in the colony. It was therefore, with no little bustle
that the Governor summoned his council to consider and deter-
mine upon the contents of a weighty despatch received from
Point de Galle. This was the letter of VanDort the collector,
informing them of the high criminality of his subordinate. It
did not require much deliberation to settle the course to be
pursued. The forbidden trees were ordered to be forthwith cut
down, the property confiscated, Janzs to be imprisoned for five
years, and the zealous collector to be rewarded with promotion
on the first opportunity.

Turn once more to the quiet, bright spot, the garden by
the river. Janzs was home as usual from his daily duties. It
was evening. Katrina had given her last orders to the gardener
and the stock-keeper. The children were gambolling on the
green-sward under the large mango-tree. The favourite nut-
meg trees were heavy with blossoms ; the sun was still lingering
amongst the topmost branches of the jambo trees. Everything

gave promise of one more of those many happy evenings so
prized and loved by Janzs and his little wife, when a canoe
dashed heavily against the river-bank, and forth from it
sprang the fiscal of the district, attended closely by a half-dozen
of sturdy, grim looking Malay peons, armed with swords and
pikes. The officer of the Crown knew Janzs well : and, though
inclined to be friendly towards him, had no alternative but to
tell him, in a few words, the purport of his visit, and the
cause — those bright-leaved trees waving to the breeze, and
alive with merry blossoms. The poor clerk could be with
difl&culty persuaded of the reality of the sad news. A sight
of the Grovernor's warrant, however, settled all doubts, and
Janzs shortly afterwards staggered to the boat, between two
peons, like a drunken man. Katrina saw him to the water's
edge, and bade him be of good cheer, for all would yet be
well : though her sinking heart gave the lie to her lips.

The work of destruction did not occupy much time. Four
peons, with sharp axes, inade but a small matter of those young
and delicate trees ; and, in about half the time that was usually
spent in watering them, they were all laid prostrate on the
ground. The clicking of those bright axes fell sadly enough
on Katrina's ear ; 'each blow seemed to her to be a deadly
wound aimed at herself, and as the last of those long-tended
and much-loved trees fell heavily to the ground, her courage
and spirits fled, and she gave vent to her feelings in a flood of
tears.

Next morning she left that once loved spot, sad and spirit-
less ; and, taking her little ones with her, placed them in safety
with her father. She then sought her husband in his prison,
to comfort and console him, as best she might. None there
knew whence the blow came ; so little, indeed, did the sufferers
dream of how matters stood, that, a few days after the catas-
trophe, Katrina waited on the collector, and besought him,
for the sake of Janzs' long service, to intercede for him, and
obtain a remission of the cruel sentence.

Weeks passed away, and it appeared that there was small
chance of any pardon from the Governor, who viewed with the
greatest displeasure any contravention of the Imperial laws.
Janzs abandoned himself to dispair : his friends considered
him a lost man. All but Katrina gave up hoping for him. She
never for a moment lost sight of anji chance which seemed to
promise success. Night and day she sought for some friendly
aid to carry out her plan. That scheme was to present a
petition to the Goveimor, in person : he was reported to be a
just man, though despotic in the administration of the laws.
Katrina felt certain that he knew not all the facts of their
little history, though the collector had assured her everything
had been told him. Amongst others whom she sought for
advice and aid, was the minister of their little church, who
listened to her with the patience of a child. He knew a good
deal of their history, though not aware of the facts connected
with their possession of the fatal nutmegs. He heard Katrina
tell her sad story, pitied her, condoled with her, bade her to
be of good cheer, and finally sent her away, full of faith and
hope.

The good old minister saw at once the wickedness of the
collector, for he knew who had laid the charge ao-ainst Janzs.
He went boldly, though carefully, to work : satisfied himself
of the fact of VanDort having planted nutmegs on a larger
scale than his clerk, though unsuccessfully : drew up a petition
to the Governor, obtained the signature of Janzs, and then
proceeded with it to Colombo, and laid it with his own hands
at the feet of their ruler. The good man was heard patiently
and in twenty -four hours after perusal of the petition, instruc-
tions were sent off to Galle to the Commandant, to institute the
most searching inquiry into the whole case.

It only remains to relate how the wicked collector was
detected, and dismissed the service. Janzs was not only
restored to the possession of his lands, but received the
appointment of collector of Galle, as compensation for his

imprisonment. And so all went well. None was more delighted
than Katrina, who, however, would not be satisfied until they
were once more quietly settled on their pretty farm, by the
river side. There, for long years afterwards, they lived in the
enjoyment of health and ample means, which were, after all,
brought them, indirectly, by their nutmeg plantation : and
though none of those ominous trees were' any longer growing^
there were hundreds of others, which yielded ample stores of
luscious grateful fruit, and flung a cool and balmy shade o'er
streams and flowers, in many a quite nook of that sweet garden
by the river.

-#^ig##4^

A PEEP AT THE " PERAHERRA."

i^/|\ F the religious festivals of the Buddhists of Ceylon, that
^^ known as the Perahorra is the most important. It is
observed at Kandy, the capital of the ancient Kings of
Ceylon, and at Ratnapoora the chief town of the Saffragam
district. Few good Buddhists will be absent from these
religious observances; and whole families may be seen journey-
ing on foot for many miles, over mountains, through dense
jungles and unwholesome swamps, along hot, sandy pathways,
loaded with their pittance of food and the more bulky presents
of fruit, rice, oil, and flowers, to lay upon the holy shrine
of Buddah, to be eventually devoured by the insatiable
priests.

In the month of July, 1840, I had a peep at the celebrated
Peraherra of Ratnapoora, where the shrine sacred to the
memory of Saman, rivals in attraction the great Dalada
Maligawa of Kandy. Like its mountain competitor, it has its
relic of Buddha enshrined in a richly jewelled casket, which
is made an object of especial veneration to the votaries of that
god. Saman was the brother of the famed Kama, the Malabar
conqueror who invaded Ceylon in ages long past, and
extirpated from its flowery shores the race of mighty giants
who had held its people in subjection for many centuries, a
sort of oriental King Arthur. To Saman was given the
district of Saffragam ; and the people of that country at his
death, promoted him to the dignity of a diety, as a slight
token of their regard.

The Ratnapoora festival is the more attractive by reason
of its being made the occasion of a large trafiic in precious
stones, with which the neighbourhood abounds. In this way

the great, part of the BiidJhists manage to combine commerce
with devotion.

The road to the Saffragam district was, in the time at
which I travelled along it, a very barbarous and dangerous
affair, differing widely from the excellent traces which existed
through most of the maritime provinces of Ceylon. It was
then, in fact, little more than a mere bullock -track, or bridle-
path, with no bridges to aid in crossing the streams which
intersect it. The journey from Colombo to Ratnapoora may
now be easily performed in one day : at that time it required
a good nag and careful diligence to accomplish it in two ;
whilst swollen rivers often caused serious delay.

Day dawned as I got clear of the Pettah or Black Town
of Colombo, and crossed a small stream which led me to the
jungle or village road I was to follow. In England, we should
call such a muddy lane ; but here one knows little between the
good high roads and the bullock-track. Strange as it may
sound to home ti-avellers, one is often glad to sco the sun rise,
and feel it warm the heavy damp air in the tropics. Before
me lay a long straggling line of low jungle, indicating the
road : far away in the distance rose the high, bluff hill and
rocks towering over the once royal domain of Avishawella.
Around on ovory side, was water, completely hiding the fields
from view and only allowing a bush or a tree, or a hut-top, to
be seen peeping up through the aqueous veil, dotting the wide
expanse like daisies in a field. The rains had flooded the
whole of the low country which, inundated by many mountain
torrents, could not discharge the mass of streams neai-ly so
fast as it received them. Over and across all this watery
wilderness huge masses of misty vapour came rolling and
tumbling along as though shroiiding some titanic water-spi'ites
who had been keeping it up ratljer late the night before, and
were not quite sure of the way homo. One might have
imagined indeed, that it was some universal washing-day and
that the groat lid of tho national co[)por had just boon lifted.

As the sun rose above the line of black rocks in the
distance, its rays lit up those misty monsters of the flood,
imparting to them life-like tints, which gave them beauty, and
forms they had not known bafore. As these sun-lit fogs
rolled on, a thousand shapes moved fitfully amongst them :
troops of wild horsemen ; crystal palaces with gilded gates ;
grim figures playing at bo-peep ; hills, towns, and castles ;
with many a ship at sea, and lovely cottages in quiet sunny
glades; — all these, and more seemed there. With the sea
breeze, all that array of cloudy creations departed, leaving the
air hot and stifling from the reflection of the sun's rays in the
endless flood about me. But where were the poor Singalese
villagers, their families, and their goods, amidst all this wreck ?
As I jogged along, the cry of a child, the crowing of a cock,
the bark of a dog floated across the ocean of mist, but whence
came they ? I looked to the right and to the left. I strained
my eyes straightforward, but not a soul, or a feather, or a
head was to be seen. Presently the fog cleared away, and
I could see over-head into the ^trees. There chairs, tables,
chatties, paddy-pounders, boxes of cloths, children in cots,
men, women, cats, dogs, all were seen in one strange medley,
curiously ensconsed amongst the wide-spreading branches of
the trees. Over their heads and on each side, mats and
cocoanut leaves were hung to keep off rain and damp fogs,
whilst against each side of the tree was placed a thick notched
stick, which served as a ladder for the whole party. Here
and there canoes were to be seen paddled across the fields, to
keep up communication between the different villages. It
was a strange but desolate spectacle, and I was glad to find
myself, at last, free from the watery neighbourhood, and once
more ridinfj on terra firma.

During the heat of the next day I turned aside to a
shady green lane. A mile along this quite pathway I was
tempted to rest myself at the mouth of a dark-looking cave,
by the side of a running stream of mountain water. Tying

my pony to a bush I entered at the low archway, and found
myself at once in utter darkness ; but after a short time I
began to distinguish objects, and then saw, close to me, one
whom I should have least looked for in that strange, desolate
spot. It was a Chinaman, tail and all. My first idea was as I
looked at the figure through the dim light of the cave, that it
was nothing more than a large China jar, or, perhaps a huge
tea-chest, left there by some traveller ; but when the great,
round face relaxed into a grin, and the little pea-like eyes
winked, and the tail moved, and the thick lips uttered broken
English, I took a proper view of the matter, and wished my
cavern acquaintance " good morning," I soon gathered the
occupation of Lee-Chee in this strange place : the cave we
were then ia, was one of the many in that neighbourhood, in
which a particular kind of swallow builds the edible nests so
highly prized by the Chinese and Japanese for conversion into
soups, stews, and for ought we know, into tarts. The China-
man told me what I was scarcely prepared to learn, that he
rented from the Ceylon Government the privilege to seek
these birds' nests in the district, for which he paid the yearly
sum of one hundred dollars, or seven pounds, ten shillings.
Procuring a chule, or native torch, the Chinese nest hunter
showed me long ledges of shelving rock at the top of the
cavern whereon whole legions of curious little gummy-like
excrescences were suspended ; some were perfect nests, others
were in course of formation, and these latter I learnt were
the most valued ; those which had had the young birds reared
in them being indifferently thought of, and were only bought
by the lower orders of soup makers. Having rested myself
and pony I once more pushed on for Ratuapoora, where I
arrived, heated, jaded, and dusty, by high noon.

A chattie bath seldom fails to refresh the Indian traveller,
and fit him for the enjoyment of his ineal. In the cool of iho
evening I strolled out to watch the preparations for the
nightly festivities. These continue for about a fortnight,

chiefly after sunset, though devotees may be seen laying their
simple offerings at the foot of the shrine, during most part of
the afternoon. The little bazaar of the town was alive with
business ; all vestiges of its wanted filth and wretchedness
were hidden beneath long strips of white linen and garlands
of cocoanut leaves and flowers hung around by bands of bright
red cloth. Piles of tempting wares were there ; beads, bangles,
aud scarfs to decorate ; rice, jaggery, and sweatmeats to eats
and innumerable liquors to drink, were placed in profuse
array. The streets and lanes poured forth long strings of
human beings, heated with the sun, flushed with drink, and
bedizened with trumpery jewellery, and mock finery. Poor
tillers of the soil ; beggerly fishermen ; mendicant peelers ;
half-starved coolies ; lean, sickly women, and poor, immature
children, passed onwards in the motley throng, burying their
every-day misery beneath the wild mirth of a night or two
at the Peraherra.

Following the living dark stream, as closely as the heat,
dust and strange odours would allow me, I arrived, at length
near to the temple of Saman. The edifice, of which I caught
a distant glimpse, was half concealed beneath the heavy
luxuriant foliage of cocoanut topes, arekas, plantains, and
banyan trees. An ocean of human heads filled up the space
around the building, from which proceeded the well-known
sounds of the reed aud tom-tom. Gay flags fluttered from
the four corners and the lofty pinnacle in the centre.; wreaths
of flowers, plaited leaves and ribbons of many colours waved
jauntily from roof to door; whilst round the pillars of the
walls and door-posts clustered rich bunches of most tempting
fruit.

Close by this busy scene, another group was forming
under a large and lofty pandal, or open bungalow. Forcing
my way to one corner of the shed, I found a company of
Indian jugglers consisting of two men, a girl and a child of
perha^js three years. The men were habited in strange

uncouth dresses, with large strings of heavy bkick beads round
their necks; the girl was simply and neatly clad in white with
silver bangles and anklets, and a necklace of native diamonds.
It would bo impossible to detail all their extraordinary
performances, which far exceeded anything I had ever read
of their art. The quantity of iron and brass- ware which
they contrived to swallow was truly marvellous ; ten penny
nails, clasp-knives, &c., were all treated as so many items
of pastry on confectionery, and I could but picture to myself
the havoc a dozen of these cormorants would commit in an
ironmonger's shop.

Near the temple all was noise and confusion, and it was
with some difficulty that I forced my way through the dense
crowd, and reached the steps of the venerated shrine. The
priest stationed at the entrance made a way in for me as well
as he could, but the pressure inside was intense. Hundreds of
men and women pressed eagerly forward to reach the flight
of steep stone stairs which led up to the sacred depositary. It
was as bad as a crush to get into the Crystal Palace. My
passage was so slow that I had time to exa,mine and admire
the fine antique carved work on the pillars and ceiling of the
entrance-hall, as well as on the tall pilasters which lined the
ample staircase. There was a beauty of style and a high
degree of finish about this work that could not be attained in
Ceylon in the present day. Arrived, at length, at the inner
temple or sacred shrine above, I passed, with the rest, between
a richly brocaded curtain which hung in folds across tho
entrance at the top of tho stairs, and stood before tho famed
relic of Buddha or rather the jewelled casket which contained
it. I felt disappointinent at the spectacle here, arising,
pci'haps from my taking no interest in tho exhibition as a
religious ceremony, and looking at it merely as an empty
show, not far removed from the status of Bartholomew Fair,
Tho strong glare of a hundred lights, tho heat and crowd of
so many in so small a place, tho sickly poi'fumo of the piles of

Buddha flowers heaped before the shrine by the pilgrims, the
deafening discordant din of a score of tom-toms and vile
screeching pipes, made me glad enough to descend the stairs
and flinging a rupee into the poor-box of the temple, to escape
once more into fresh air.

From the votaries of Saman I entered another crowd,
assembled round a gaily decorated building, which I at once
perceived was a Hindoo temple. Here to the sound of much
music, and by the light of many lamps a group of young
dancing girls were delighting the motley crowd. There were
but three of them, one a finely-made, tall, sylph-like creature
with really graceful movements ; the others younger, stouter,
and far less pleasing. A good deal of pains had evidently
been taken with their dress, to the value of twenty thousand
dollars. The graceful little jacket which the chief dancer
wore over her flowing white robes, sparkled and glistened with
something which was quite new to me as articles of ornament :
along the edge of her pure white garment shone a whole host
of fire-flies which by some ingenious arrangement had been
secured to the dress, and gave a strange and pleasing novelty
to the appearance of her attire, as she swept gracefully around
in slow and measured steps. The music to which these people
dance is anything but pleasing to an English ear : indeed,
there is scarcely a trace of rhythm in it ; yet they contrive to
measure their mazy and difBcult dance by its notes with
admirable precision. Long custom has so attached them to
their empty meaningless music that they can appreciate no
other. I am certain that M. Julian's band would scarcely be
listened to by the Singalese if they were a few tom-toms within
hearing. It is a curious fact that in the districts from which
these Nautch girls are brought, education is so rare that
they are generally the only lay persons within many days'
journey, who can either read or write. The priests can all
read, if not write, and they take care to instruct the temple
girls in order to enable them to learn the various songs and

legends for recital at their periodic festivals. The rest of the
population they keep in the densest ignorance.

Leaving the dancers and priests I strolled towards the
broad Kaloo-ganga, whose quiet, palm-shaded banks stood out
in the sweetest contrast to the noisy revelry I had just beheld.
The moon was near the full, and rising high above the many
rich green topes of palms and drooping plantains, lit up
the peaceful scene with marvellous radiance. It is hardly
possible to conceive the magic beauty of moonlight in the
tropics : those who have witnessed it can never forget their
feeline: under its influence. The master hand of our finest
painters might attempt to depict it, but the affair would be a
dead failure ; and did it succeed, strangers to these climes
would pronounce it an unnatural painting. Even in its reality/
it bears the impress of something half unearthy, and it requires
the testimony of the huge feathery leaves as they wave to thel
breeze, to assure one that the whole scene is not fictitious. \
Fully as bright and radiating, though softer in its hue than
the broad sunshine, the moon poured down in living streams
its gifts of ether-light. The monster palms, the slender arekas,
the feathery bamboos and tamarinds revelled in the harmony
and glow of radiant moonlight, which, leaping down in
phosphorescent waves sprang on from leaf to flower, from bud
to herb, and streaming through the waving seas of giant,
emerald grass, died sparkling at his feet.

Some of the topes along this gentle river grew so thickly
that not the faintest ray of light found its soft way amongst
them : the deepest shade was there, and only in one of these
could I trace any vestiges of living beings. A little hut was
buried far away in the iutmost recesses of a tope, all bright
above, all gloom belov, . The door was open, and from it shone
a faintly glimmering Ught ; so tiny was the ray amidst that
heavy shade, so distant did it seem, that it defied all conception
of space, and made my eyes ache to gaze at it. I, at length,
distinguished faint sounds proceeding from it. They were

those of a rog'ular liariiiony. Strolling nearer I heard that
thoy proceeded from cultivated voices. What a sensation !
The music was that of the " Evening Hymn ! " and it came
upon me with the echoes of the uncouth Babel of heathenism
I had just left, still ringing in my ears. When I recovered
from the pleasant surprise, I found that the singers were the
family of a native missionary who had embraced Christianity,

The next day the bazaar was crowded with dealers in and
digo;ers for precious stones. Hundreds of Moormen, Chetties,
Arabs, Parsees, and Singalese were busily employed in the
barter ; and a most noisy operation it was. In the neighbour-
hood of Ratnapoora exist many tracts of clayey and gravelly
land, rich in rubies, sapphires, garnets, turquoise, and cats-eyes.
For the privilege of digging for these or of sifting them from
the sands of some of the rivers, the natives pay heavy rents to
Grovernment ; often sub-letting the ground, at large profits,
to needy speculators. Their harvest is usually offered for
sale during the Peraherra ; and be their gains what they may
they are generally rid of the whole amount before the end
of the festival. The existence of this source of wealth is
unfortunately, a bane rather than a blessing to the district •
for whole villages flock to the gem-grounds, delving and
sifting for weeks together, utterly neglecting their rice fields
and gardens. Arrack taverns have multiplied, intemperance
has increased, long tracks of fertile land have ceased to bo
sown with paddy, and the country people often buy their food
from strangers in place of growing it, as formerly.

Struggling and forcing a way through the busy crowd
were to be seen one or two Hindoo fakeers, most repulsive
objects, depending for subsistence on the alms of pilgrims and
others. One of these wretched creatures, in the fulfilment of a
vow, or as an act of fancied righteousness, had held his left arm
for so many years erect above his head, that it could not now
be moved — and grew transfixed, emaciated and bony. It
seemed more like a dry, withered stick tied to the body, than

a part of itself. The otlier fakeer had closed his hands for so
long a period that the finger-nails had grown through the palms
and projected at the back of them : these miserable-looking
objects appeared to reap a tolerable harvest, and seemed to be
then in no pain.

Under the shade of a banyan tree, a grave-looking
Moorman was amusing a crowd of boys and women with the
recital of some wonderful legend or silly tale. The trade of
story-telling, in the East, is still a profitable one, if I might
judge from the comfortable appearance of this well-clad talker.

When I left Ratnapoora crowds were still flocking into
the town, for on the morrow the huge temple elephants were
expected to march in procession through the place, decked
out in all kinds of finery, but it was a wearisome spectacle,
and I was heartily glad to find myself once more on my
pony quietly winding through green paddy-fields and under
shady topes.

OLD ENGLISH COLOMBO

fLD Colombo, — the Colombo of our early days, — the heart
of our city, — the Colombo "Fort" of the good, old
sleepy times, is numbered with the things which form a part of
history. The pick and mamotie have undone the solid work
of many weary years. What once formed the glory of that
rare, old, sturdy fortress, is levelled to the dust and trampled
under foot. Coolies with avalangahs, have effected what na
enemy ever dared attempt, for it was found, when cannon
were brought to bear experimentally on the walls at short
range, the heavy round shot had no effect but to find a
resting-place within the earthen bowels that lay beyond the
massive walls.

The picturesque in these modern days cannot hold its own
against the practical — effect must yield to usefulness, and so
the grass-grown battlements, the fine old crooked sooriya
trees, the bastions, the loop holed walls, the ancient gateway^
the heavy drawbridge, fell to make Colombo more spacious,
breezy and healthful, but not more cheerful to look on. We
miss the rare old walls and their many associations, although
changes have come over the place since first it was Colombo, and
even in this our own time we fail to recognise some portions
that we knew of old. All that remain of the ancient fort and
its dwellings are here and there a few old Dutch houses,
ancient gable-ends that had never seen aught but one or two
straggling passers-by, and the few sooriya trees and mouldy
walls over the way : these may now look out across an open
space upon old ocean, and watch the white-sailed merchantman
float to the horizon like some bright nautilus until it fades
from sight.

The labrinthine entrance to the fort, scarce wide enough
for two carriages to pass, gave the old grim moat and gateway
a smack of feudal times, savoring of old mystery, and of
beleaguering armies which made war against those sturdy
battlements, but all in vain.

And the dear old shady walks upon the ramparts, whence
we have for many a year looked out upon the setting sun, and
watched the tiny sails of fishing craft melting away in
distance, until lost amidst fleecy clouds on the horizon.

To the resident of the present time the Pettah is sought
as rarely as possible ; the heat and noisy crowd and choking
dust, giving it an unenviable reputation. Who would linger
there from choice : who passes through it but from neces-
sity. But let us invoke the aid of some good spirit and
conjure up an evening scene in that same quarter forty
years ago.

At the sea-side corner of Main Street looking out upon the
Racket Court ground and the Lotus Pond, stand one or two
quaint old tenements. In one of these was born and passed
his infancy, the late Queen's Advocate, a man who left his
mark behind him. At the opposite corner, overlooking the
burial-ground is a long stretch of buildings with upper floors
and verandahs skirting the side street and large Dutch rooms
with ample doors and windows. Here dwells a thrifty, busy,
carriage-builder and harness-maker destined at a later date to
lay the foundation of an ample fortune by means of Coffee
planting, then in its infancy : beyond these on either side,
shaded by pretty sooriya and a few oleander trees, the wide
verandahs are alive with Burghers and their numerous little ones.
Each dwelling has its quota : lamps are burning brightly above
them, the sound of merry laughter in all, of songs and music
in many, make up a living panorama that the traveller through
the Pettah of to-day could not realise. Beyond these dusty
limits, and away down Sea Street there has been no change
within the memory of living man. The same crowded

fraternity of gauze-clad, port!}'- Chetties, with cold calculating"
eyes and thrifty ways, lodged in the same human warrens with
the same gaily -coloured ships painted on the house walls,
floating on seas of rainbow hues. The Hindoo temple is
perhaps somewhat more wickedly oi'nate and horribly grotesque
than of old, but otherwise there is no change in the thronged
Chetties' quarters. From eai-ly morning till far into the hours
of night these eager thrifty dealers, toil ever, fattening on their
ceaseless industry.

Kayman's Gate, a gate no longer, where a Swiss Guard

once kept watch and ward,
is still the busy centre of
a poor and struggling
population. The half-fed
mechanic may be seen
II following his vocation at
all hours. The old Tinker
at the corner who com-
bines the art of soldering
leaky coffee pots and ram-
shackled lanthorns, with
the more important craft
of undertaker, slaves at
his task all through the
sultry day, chatting at
odd moments with the small children, who by mea.ns of
coir-yarn bridles are playing at horses on a pile of coffins
close-by.

From these scenes outside the walls let us in imagination
pass across the drawbridge, and entering the crooked gateway,
take a survey of the streets within the Fort, when the evening
meal is over, and the residents, civil, military, and mercantile,
are lounging in their verandahs, or dropping in upon neighbours,
which in those primitive times, was the custom. The streets
are still whore they were, but how changed the dwellings and

tho dwellers ! One by oue the old tenements have given
place to lofty offices, and now how few old buildings remain
to tell the story of other times.

In those days there were not many European residents
outside the fort. A straggling few in tho near portion of
Colpetty : one or two in Slave Island and at Kew-point, and
Captain's Garden ; and about as many in Mutwall, The majority
by far dwelt within the walls. High military officials resided
in those times within walls which form to-day a tailor's cutting
room in Hospital lane. Merchants resided in one half of a
house, whilst they carried on their business in the other portion ;
and when the day's work was over, the verandah in front
formed the family sitting room, to which military and civilian
neighbours resorted as a matter of course. Queen Street
looked in upon Prince Street, whilst hospitalities were
exchanged between Baillie Street and Chatham Street. A
stroll through the forfc after dinner was a pleasant mode of
passing the time, dropping in first on one neighbour and then
on another, until the evening round was completed. The
sound of music and of mirth resounded within the old grim,
grass-grown walls ; and if in those days society were small and
amusements few and simple, there were rarely complaints of
dulness : early hours were the rule, though there were a few
roystering mercantile or military spirits, men of a stamp
that have long since passed away, who too often for their healths'
sake, held revels towards the hours of morning. Tradition has
told how once when some of these roysterers were trenchingupon
daylight and during a heavy pause between their songs and
laughter, the voices of birds just waking, thrilled in their ears
from the branches of a sooriya tree close by. Enraged at the
tiny voiced rebuke, one of the revellers called to a sleepy
servant, "Boy, go out, and stop tho noise of those confounded
birds ! "

Young officers then dwelt in Baillie Street ; and well
do I remember tho astonishment caused by tho discovery of a

-t

huge coach-wlioel beuoath the wooden flooring of one of the
humble tenements on the occasion of some repairs being carried
on, and how the neighbours were puzzled to account for its
deposit there, until old De Silva, the ancient clerk of the Kandy
coach ofBce, hearing of the discovery, recognized the wheel and
remembered its history. Two young ofiicers of H.M. 18th
Irish, lived once upon a time in that identical house, and Silva
remembered well when the coach office was just opposite, and
/ how early one morning when the coach was about to be
horsed in its tri-weekly journey to Kandy, one of the wheels
was missing. Search was made in vain : the wheel was never
discovered, and the consequence was that no coach left that
day for the mountain capital. The young officers had hidden
the wheel under the wooden flooring of their bedroom, and
there it had remained until accidently unearthed.

In these latter times coffee has chanped all this.
Merchants need every foot of room that is available within the
Fort. Officers have been driven to their military quarters :
Civilians have taken flight in all directions ; and now, without
the walls, rice is doing in the Pettah, what coffee has
accomplished within. The Burgher element has receded
before the absorbing Chetties and Moormen, and one may
stroll along Main Street or Keyzer Street on any fine moonlight
night, and hear no sound of music, or soft voice within the
walls, meet no graceful forms, and see no dark bright eye, or
well turned ankle in wide, illuminated verandahs.

"OLD JOE."

^Tf N the early days of commercial life in the East, when the
•53* pagoda tree flourished in Ceylon ready to be shaken by
any resolute hand, " Old Joe" reigned supreme in Colombo
Bachelors' society, as the King of Good Fellows — the Lord of
conviviality. The smallness of the unofiicial circle in those
primitive times, was fully compensated for by the extent
of its hospitality. No strangers of any respectability, no
commanders of any of the few ships which frequented our
port, were allowed to take refuge in the dreary wastes of the
Government Eest House — a sombre, low- roofed building,
which occupied the site of the present Telegraph Offices.
There was a hearty welcome ; & cordial greeting, under the
roof of each one of the mercantile community, with detached
room in the rear of their houses for bachelors, and hot tiffin
at the offices in the fort, that could at any time be made to da
duty for a hearty dinner.

The subject of this notice was the head, and, I might add,,
the body of a commercial firm of good position : the other part-
ner constituted the legs, running about in all possible directions^
touting for business, and, it was whispered, not particular as
to how he obtained it. "Joo" was the impersonation of
honor : Donald was supposed to have been, if not the inventor,
at any rate, the most diligent propounder of the philosophic
maxim, " Make money, honestly if you can, but make money.'*
So completely were they the representatives of opposites, that no
one could have believed they could have continued long together
as partners in business : nor would they but that each was content
to let the other " gang his ain gait." Had Donald's name
been Pholim or Kory, you would still liavo felt persuaded ho

was from north of the Tweed : whilst on the other hand nobody-
could undertake to affirm, and indeed, nobody cared whether
Joe had been born north or south of the border-country.

In business matters Donald was the touter, Joe was the
purveyor. What one angled for and landed, the other
preserved, and usually, with consummate good humour and
unbroken faith. How often was the senior hurt and vexed
by the promises of his junior, so difficult of realization : how
coarsely savage was the other with the scrupulous exactitude
with which every business stipulation was more than fulfilled
in the spirit, if not in the letter. Donald was the ogre, the
evil genius of the office : from dewy morn to sultry eve his
chief aim appeared to be to make every wretched subordinate
still more wretched than he was, by fault-finding, by fining, by
storming ; in fact, by every conceivable mode of worrying-
It was joyous and thrilling to hear the sound " ship-in-sight,""
from the flag-staff orderly, as he peeped into the ogre's den r
for all knew they would be free from their tormentor for that
day, and perhaps, the following. Thrusting the huge, broad-
brimmed, whitey-brown fluffy beaver on his uncombed, shaggy
head ; snatching up his ponderous white cotton umbrella, and
grasping in one hand a long tin case of estate plans he made
rapidly for the wharf, and slipping into the first canoe,
ordered the boatman to pull off to the strange ship, the first
to board her in the hope of catching a constituent or two in
want of a fine block of land in an accessible, salubrious and
picturesque district, of which his firm always had a number on
hand, ready surveyed, with the boundaries and bridle-paths cut.

The whole establishment, from the Dutch book-keeper
down to the Tamil office sweeper and errand boy, breathed more
freely ; and nothing in this sublunary sphere would have caused
them collectively and individually more heartfelt satisfaction
than for a gale of wind to have sprung up and carried a
particular canoe round the Island as far as the Groat Basses, ar
for the matter of that, to Trincomalie.

The book-keeper strolled into the cool, inner office, where
was seated old Joe in loose attire, his shirt front flung wide open,
with two or three letters upon his desk waiting replies
at a convenient season. The burly chief treated his head
clerk as a trusted, faithful servant, and did not scruple to
consult him on many a knotty point in native dealings or
European commerce. The office-boy, no longer awed by
Donald's presence, peeped in at the sanctum door, revelled for
a few moments in the refulgence of the great presence within,
and then stepped to the back verandah, where he listened to
stories from the one-eyed bottle-washer who was preparing for
racking off three whole casks of Hodgson and Abbot's pale ale.

Four o'clock was the signal for closing up the heavy
work of the day, and preparing for the outgoing tappal ; for at
that date, there was but a mail coach to Kandy on each
alternate day, and none other. At the half hour, neighbours
looked in ; York Street came round the corner, King Street
looked up the Chief of Prince Street, and there being no
Chamber of Commerce, old Joe's was the established house of
call for most of the mercantile community without families
to take them home. But how compact that body : seven firms,
three of them with married partners, loft about half a dozen
commercial bachelors as the declared votaries of the rosy god.

The daily, or rather nightly round of social life in those
Colombo days, must, if the historian keep a faithful record, be
pronounced decidedly fast, and occasionally furious, carried too
often into the wee hours of the morning. At old Joe's the
nocturnal arrangements were discussed and determined : some-
times the party were to meet at the chief bachelor's mansion,
closely adjoining Captain's Garden ; sometimes in the long back
office room at the fort premises of Blackbird and Company, one
of the few old Dutch houses still remaining in Prince Street,
facing the General Post Office : but regularly once a week from
Saturday noon until early on Monday morning, the resort of
these juviul worshippers of Bacchus was the old Whi^t

Bungalow, so named from the card parties made up there on
the Saturday night (we will say nothing about Sunday)
when they were joined by Jock Anderson and some few other
kindred spirits of the Ceylon Rifle Regiment. To attempt a
sketch of the scenes enacted within that river-side bungalow,
famed later for its many happy family gatherings, is beyond my
power and present purpose. Suffice it to say, that one
Saturday night was spent pretty much as another, varied only
by the guests who drove down to Mutwall point to partake of
the fun and frolic.

On some occasions cards were ignored : when an unusually
large number of the " Rifles " were present, more especially,
when Jock and a well-remembered theatrical member of the
Bar were there, the festive board had attractions superior to
the whist table, and songs, nay, even dances, formed the staple
of the nocturnal revels. I may here mention the fact that
" Old Joe" though burly in person, was nimble of foot, and
a most graceful dancer, despite his bulk. Many a time and oft,
towards the small hours of the morning, the ponderous old
Dutch table at whist bungalow would be cleared of all bottles
and glass, and " Joe," being called upon, kicking off his shoes
would dance one of his favorite Highland dances, a reel, or fling
whatever it might chance to be, on the well polished surface.

At this same bungalow there were on Sundays, meetings
of what were known as the Beef Steak ('lub, the members of
which composed of merchants, military ofiicers, and civil
servants, met there to discuss the best beef-steaks that could
be procured, and the ripest of country-bottled ale from the only
recognised brewery of those days — Hodgson and Abbot's. It
was in connection with one of these Sunday afternoon parties,
elongated well into evening hours, that a characteristic story is
related of Jock Anderson. Brave as a lion, the major was
docile as a lamb towards the juniors of his regiment, whom he
appeared to regard as his special proteges. One of the senior
lieutenants but recently arrived from Europe, had a turn for

buUving, and on one occasion went so far with, his insolence
towards one of the joung subs present, that it became evident
the new comer was bent on a quarrel. Seeing this, Jock
Anderson rose and tapping the irrepressible lieutenant on the
shoulder, beckoned him to follow into the verandah. There, in
a few blunt words, the major gave the other a piece of his
mind. " They were there as the guests of the merchants, and the
harmony of the evening must not and should not be disturbed.
It was evident lieutenant so-and-so wished to provoke a duel
but he, the major never allowed ' his boys ' to go out, he
always acted for them, and on the present occasion, by — dash — he
would be found ready the next morning at gun-fire to put a
bullet through any part of the lieutenant's body he choose to
name, — and by — dash — h'ed do it too." — It is scarcely
necessary to add that the major's reputation as a shot was
such that the quarrelsome party subsided, and slunk back to
the table, a subdued and peaceful man.

PHILLIP OF BRASSFOUNDER STREET.

fN eastern countries as well as in the west, there is a class
of men who appear to be as essential in the transaction of
daily business, as pen, ink, and paper. In the sunny tropics
just as in foggy London, the Broker is a necessity of our
daily business life. I am not about to describe the race of
fast young vivacious Englishmen who rush frantically round
the corners of our streets and suddenly disappear in some
merchants' office with all the gasping anxiety born of a
Renter's telegram, stamped on his face. No, I have in my
mind a stout, middle-aged party from Jaffna once — from
Checkoo Street more recently, in a snow-white turban,
marvellously turned-up slippers, and with apparently all the
family linen swathed about his middle. Why he came from
Jaffna, why he did not hail from Trincomalee or Batticaloa,
or even Kaits, I could never quite make out, any more than
I could solve the twin problem, why scarcely any but the
Jaffnarians are employed as brokers!

Once upon a time, perhaps thirty-five years ago, or suppose
we say " the round forty," it was not so. In those primeval
times our Broker was one Phillip Saverimuttu, a sort of
bamboo of a Canicopully in a ridiculous hat, with peaked corners
projecting in front, and a coolie-load of bed-curtain rings in
his ears. But these gentry are not so numerous now, and with
the exceptions proving the rule, Jaffna reigns supreme in
countinghouse and bank.

It may not, perhaps, be amiss, if in this place, I indulge
in a brief glimpse at history with reference to these two classes
of Brokers, so completely distinct and dissimilar. At the early
period to which I have already made reference, namely 1837,

and indeed, for a dozen years afterwards, the Canicopully class
of brokers, cashiers and bill-collectors were alone in the
official and commercial world of Colombo. Their ancestors
had migrated to Ceylon from the opposite coast of India during
the later period of the Portuguese rule, as merchants, and were
well received by the Europeans, especinlly by the Dutch, who
had a keen eye to business, and saw that these traders were a
reliable and most useful class of men. Eventually many of
them weie employed by the Dutch Government as cashiers in
the Custom House, the Treasury and the Commissariat, for
the fact of their having embraced the Roman Catholic religion
did not stand in their way with the Dutch who were content
so long as they employed only Christians.

During the early days of British rule, the CanicopuUies,
who had never abandoned their occupation as traders, took
employment under English merchants, as brokers, and in this
capacity continued to act until a comparatively recent period,
when they began to be supplanted by another branch of the
same caste of Tamils, the Hindoo Tamils of Jaffna, or more
properly speaking, of the district of Manipay in the Peninsula
of Jaffna : these too, like the CanicopuUies, are of the Vellale
caste, but of an inferior branch : there are, in fact, several of
these, as it is a fact that the Tamils of other districts who
never leave their homes in search of employment in Colombo,
will not associate with this particular class of migratory Tamils,
We are assured that a Tamil from another district, having
married the daughter of a Manipay Hindoo, nevertheless had
his food cooked, and partook of it separately from his wife.
How they arranged with regard to their children I am not
informed.

Our original Broker, old Phillip Savarimuttu, performed
functions unknown to your modern Jaffnarian : not only was
he head cashier, and as such in charge of the strong-room,
and of the promissory notes in course of collection, but he
was custodian of the godowus and iuspcctor-gonoral of coffee

pickers, coolies and bottle washers. When there were no
banks to do a discount business, bills were collected in regular
course by the Firm, or rather by its Canicopully, and he had
for this special duty a subordinate Canicopully, A great man
was Savarimuttu in those days, and when in the spring-tide
of the coffee season, with fully three score coffee pickers,
at work in the office yard strewn with parchment coffee, with
a squall of rain coming on, a dozen chetties taking delivery of
piece goods from the godowns, a cart-load of rupees coming
in from a Madras vessel, and a French skipper with two or
three boxes of sovereigns to be left in exchange for cinnamon
and oil, our Broker was in the full blaze and splendour of his
glory. It was amusing to see him patronise the Frenchman
I in Tamil, with his capacious mouth full of betel, bullying the
coolies and spluttering at the women, and coaxing the chetties,
all in the same breath and with the same set of features : and
bow, when the day's work was over, and the Firm drove away
in the mild family-bandy of the period, he gathered his snowy
robes about him like an oriental Roman, and strode solemnly
to his stuffy little home in Brassfounder Street.

The brokers of those early days were the sole negotiators
between the British merchants and the Chetty dealers of
Ceylon, the back bone of native trade.

The Nattucotta Chetties are those to whom I am referring :
they came over from the Negapatam district, never for a
permanency, usually for a period of five years, at the end of
which time their accounts with the firm in South India must
be squared up to a point, and no doubtful entries left for their
successors to deal with.

One of the most important and probably lucrative branches
of the Chetty trade of the olden time has departed from them :
they no longer deal in raw cotton, the whole trade in which was
transferred to Tuticorin when the cash advance system was
abolished : their dealings are now chiefly confined to manufac-
tured cotton goods, rice and coffee : these, at any rate, form their

principal articles of trade, and some of them deal in them very
largely, to an extent indeed, scarcely conceiveable by those not
acquainted with the class. There are some Chetty firms who
trade in all these articles, but as a rule the cloth merchants
or piece goods Chetties deal in no other articles, whilst rice
merchants are generally prepared to traffic in coffee, though
as they confine themselves to the native qualities, and these
yearly decrease in quantity, their business in this arcicle of
produce is on the wane. Of these several descriptions of Chetty
firms there are about one hundred and fifty in Colombo,
nearly all having branches at Galle, Kandy, Gampola, Badulla,
Haldamulle, Ratnapura, and other stations, conducted on the
same system as the principal Colombo branches, for the latter
Firms are but representatives of or partners in Chetty Houses
in Negapatam and elsewhere, and their dealings are regulated
by well established custom.

Some of these firms are very wealthy, one Chetty being
reported to have out in advances, in rice and cash to planters,
as much as .£50,000. But we must state that, on the whole,
there is not nearly the same amount of capital embarked in the
Chetties business in Ceylon as in former days when a large
cotton business was done in Colombo : the transference of that
business to Tuticorin has shorn the local native trade of much
of its old prestige. The Nattucotta Chetties have always
carried on business with their own capital, they are not borrowers,
on the contrary they lend : they of course discount notes
received from purchasers of their goods, but even then not to
any great extent. Cautious in the extreme in all their money
transactions, they can yet appreciate the sterling qualities of
the European merchant and Planters of good standing, and in
them they will place unbounded confidence. I\Ieu's opinions
and feelings necessai'ily undergo considerable changes with
time and circumstances, but we can recall to mind in the days
when Banks did not exist in Ceylon, when every merchant
had his strong-room in which his supplies of rupees from

♦

Madras were stored, in stout bags containing* from £100 to
,£250 each, duly labelled with tickets bearing the initials of
one of the partners : large sums of money wei'e frequently
paid away to Chetties for rice from the coast, or for native
coffee from the interior, and I can remember when a
cart-load of bags of rupees were removed by the Chetty dealer
without counting, having implicit faith in the firm's initials.
Occasionally the Chetty would at the expiry of a week or so,
state that a few rupees were found wanting in one of the bags,
upon which the coins were handed over to him without question.

In the good, old fashioned days of which I am writing,
and indeed down to a much more recent period, the Chetties
when they made a contract with the merchant for coffee or
cotton, invariably received nine-tenths of the value of the
cotton and half of the value of the coffee, several months in
anticipation of the delivery of the produce . When we add that
in their purchases of cotton goods or other British merchandize,
they as invariably took all the credit they could get, some idea
may be formed of the advantages they possessed in their Ceylon
trading operations.

We have likened them to the Isvaelites, and as buyers
and sellers they may well compare with the gentlemen of
Duke's Place and Houndsditch. They will haggle for days
over a few rupees, bnt when the bargain is struck, adhere to it
with marvellous tenacity. In nearly all merchant's offices there
is what is known as "the broker's room," in which the Chetties
congregate for gossip, business, or perhaps for epistolatory
purposes. There they prepare such letters as must leave by
the afternoon tappal, and they make free use of the pens, ink,
and paper of the office for the purpose, so that there is some
economy as well as convenience in the use of the broker's room.
An incident once occurred in connection with this old established
custom of letter writing, strongly illustrative of Chetty character,
and which is therefore worth recalling. A well-known Chetty
of standing and rather portly presence, iu addition to a free use

of a certain firm's stationery, used frequently to lounge up to
tte " Rag " partner, and hold up his addressed letter for a
postage stamp, which was of course never refused. But one day,
in an evil hour for the British merchant, he ventured to ask
his portly Chetty friend, through an interpreter, if he were
aware that stationery and postage stamps cost money, did he
imagine that merchants obtained them for nothing ; — Moona
Koona Roona eyed the Britisher for a minute, whilst he
scratched his massive shoulders, and then lessening his girdle,
took from his pouch and laid on the table an Oriental Bank
note for one hundred rupees, and strode haughtily out of the
office and up the street. Horrified at the unexpected result of his
question, the merchant sent after the Chetty, but Moona Koona
was proudly obdurate : he did not receive back the note for
many days afterwards, and we believe, was never again as
frequently, or as largely a buyer from the firm in question.

That the Nattucotta Chetties should be excellent men of
business, need not be matter for surprise, when it is known they
are initiated into the mysteries of figures and bargaining from
their earliest days : hence the marvellous rapidity and exactness
of their calculations, worked out on a simple ola, or dried leaf,
with an iron style. The entire caste follow no other occupation
than that of traders : they look forward to the business as their
inheritance, and accordingly begin life betimes, and in the most
humble capacity : a chetty lad though of wealthy parents, must
work his way upwards on the same footing as others, and both
in this respect, and in the custom of serving a certain period
of their lives in another country, approach very closely to the
practice amongst the young artificers of Germany. At as early
an age as six or seven, they will leave the parental roof and
begin life beyond the seas, with one of their neighbours, in the
capacity of cook-boy or office-menial. After gaining some
experience in the ways of the Chettie world, and becoming
tolerably adept at arithmetic, the young apprentice will be
promoted to the post of wharf-boy, in which capacity he forms

an escort for all goods to and from the Wharf, and at that work
will probably remain several years according to his quickness
and aptitude. He will then be made salesman to the firm,
keeping an account of all goods coming in and going out, and
attending to the general dealings of the House. From that
position he is raised to the office of assistant accountant, then
made an accountant : a year or two more and he will be
appointed sub-manager and finally manager, representing often
vei-y large interests. Notwithstanding this the highest salary
that is generally paid to any of them, is Ks. 1,500 a year, some
are in receipt of as little as Rs. 350, As for the subordinates
their pay is most insignificant — usually a few rupees, their food,
one or two cloths, and a mat. Very little business is done by
Chetties in the morning : shortly before noon the manager,
his assistant and the accountant will sally forth for the day's
work, leaving the salesman and the office boys to attend to
buyers : in the evening after sunset, the day's proceedings are
posted up in the books, and a regular account made out, and
money transactions between one firm and others arranged.
It is not a little remarkable that as a rule, Chetties make scarcely
any use of Banks for the cusiody of their money, preferring to
retain possession of it themselves, and keeping it in a ponderous
chest on which the accountant sleeps at night. This practice
arises from no mistrust of the Banks, but from other consider-
ations. They do not care to go to the expense of cheque books
when they can pay away their money without charge : again,
in the event of death there is no difficulty about drawing out
money, there is also their practice of making cash loans to each
other for purposes of trade, which is invariably done at nig'ht.
Chetties seldom trouble the lawyers, whose services have to
be dearly purchased. Nearly all differences amongst themselves
are settled by the arbitration of a certain number of the oldest
and most experienced of their body, who are called, when thus
assembled, a 'Nagaram,' answering to the Bengalee " Punchaye"
or the European " Tribunal of Commerce." It is very rarely

indeed, that any appeal is ever taken from their decision, which
is acted upon at once with most implicit reliance upon its
justice. Occasionally it may happen that some headstrong
Chettie will refuse to comply with the decision of the 'Nagaram'
in which rare case an interdict will be issued forbidding any
transaction with the refractory party, who deprived of all credit
or countenance amongst them, is very soon brought to reason.
The ' Nagaram ' takes cognizance of not only disputes, but
offences which are punished by fines paid to one of the
two Hindoo Temples in Sea Street, dedicated to the idol
" Supermanian." The " Nagaram " is held in one of these
temples, or at the office of one of the oldest and wealthiest
Chetties,

So much as regards the Colombo Chetties, but alas, for
the Saverimuttus and the Anandappas of these latter days,
their number is decreasing : a rival had appeared on the
field, destined at no distant day to supplant chem and theirs in
the not unlucrative tasks of the counting house and the godown.
All the Asiatic invaders of Ceylon have come from the North>
and true to historical traditions, Jaffna deputed Muttu iSawmy,
the one-eyed, to herald the way for a flight of young Jaffnarians.

How Muttu Sawmy had, many years before, settled in
Colombo as trader and money lender, and how from small
beginnings he had come to be the very Napoleon of Colombo
finance, the friend of Sir Robert Horton, the necessity of high
civilians and their wives, the dispenser of pearls, shawls and
official and commercial situations, is it not a matter of history,
and did he not import nephews, cousins and sons-in-law, whose
name was legion, and from that time have they not with
persevering and careful industry, earned for themselves
more favor than their old patron's shawls and pearls could
ever win ?

Now-a-days, although there are still one or two Anandappas
lingering about the outskirts of commerce, our Broker is a
Mauipay Tamil, garbed in flowing robes of purest white and

100

ample turban. Like thu Nattucotta Chatties, lie began life in
the most humble capacity — has made himself all that he is. —
When a mere boy he came down from the North, just as Dick
Whittington walked into London, looking out for the golden
paving stones. If he did not discover the precious metal
under his feet, he was not long in finding a good deal of dirt,
and many odorous cesspits and noxious drains festering in
the noon-day sun, round about the crowded home he sought
in Checkoo Street, the house of his father's friend : there he
was put under that most useful course of training, learning to
exist on the smallest possible modicum of rice and salt fish
per diem. How he spent a year in keen observations of all
about him, how he was at length started fairly on the high
road to fortune by being installed in a merchant's office, or
suppose I say in a back verandah in Prince Street, how he
performed the important and responsible duties of taking press
copies of letters, and listening round corners when bargains
were being hatched, and earning kicks for his inquisitiveness,
all this is known as matters of family tradition, though it may
not be written in the chronicles of young Jaffna.

To-day he is a man of substance, and can undertake to
advance loans of startling amount to men of need, having
a realisable security to offer. Twenty years in the pursuit of
cotton and coffee contracts, in the disposal of hundreds of
rice cargoes and of many thousands of packages of British
manufactures from Manchester, Glasgow and Paisley, all of
which brought with them a commission from the Chettie and
Singhalese dealers, have added greatly to his store, and our
broker is now able to make large donations to the temple in
Sea Street, to build sundry capacious dwellings for Europeans
in the Cinnamon Gardens at a smart rental, to erect a showy
residence for himself with a pair of granite elephants to guard
the gate-way, and in many ways to earn for himself the regard
of British residents and the admiration and envy of indigenous
dwellers in Colombo.

101

When some few years ago, his daughter was married to
a swell young broker of the town, was any thing ever known
to equal the lavish outlay on those nuptial festivities ? Half
the civilians, three-fourths of the military and the whole of
the mercantile community were invited to grace the festive
board with their presence, and many of them graced it. The
band of H. M. 150th Regiment was in attendance, though no
doubt many of the turban'd guests would have preferred
tom-toms, whilst a party of remarkably pretty and extremely
naughty Nautch girls twirled round in velvet and silver jackets,
and richly embroidered robes, to a most suggestive air.

But "our broker" is a very different looking personage
to Eamalingam in his daily domesticity. Stretched at full
length on a couch never desecrated by the brush of the
furniture cleaner of Brassfounder Street, surrounded by a
doubtful looking table, and a few ricketty chairs which know
not the filth of bees-wax and turpentine, he smokes his early
weed in the scantiest of gauzy raiment. There is a sweet
simplicity about his homely indigenous life : the crockery is
of the plainest, the chippiest and the crackedest : the water
from a cocoanut quenches his thirst ; his rice cost him little
enough, and as for the etceteras, they are supplied by willing
and devoted clients who minister to his gastronomic tastes
from sheer gratitude in the sense of favors yet to come. The
labors of the day over, he can return to the bosom of his
family, rather a capacious one by the bye, and sitting in the
cool of evening under the shade of the family vine, typified
by a group of leafy bananas, and closing his eyes, Philip
dreams the dream of his divinities — commission, interest, and
buksheesh.

THE FINE OLD NATIVE GENTLEMAN.

fAM not prepared to assert that the race of fine old Native
Gentlemen is extinct : far from it : there are specimens
to be met with at the present time, lacking few of the qualities
of their ancestors, and in many respects worthy descendants
of worthy sires. But altered circumstances, modern education,
and a growing indifference towards them on the part of the
government, have gradually worked changes in their character.
Half a century ago the ancient prestige of the Mudeliyars was
unimpaired, and the same remark applies to the Chiefs of
the Kandyan districts as to those of the Maritime Provinces.
There were no brummagem Mudeliyars in those days. Rank
was not conferred for the erection of a pandhal, the concoction
of an address, or for a few years' service in a provincial
Kachcheri. Mudeliyars were in those olden times, of the first
Singhalese families of the land, and as such were invariably
regarded with respect by the people who were ever amenable
to their authority. Thus, the fine old Native Gentlemen of
bye-gone days were links in the chain which connected the
governing with the governed.

Created four centuries ago by the Portuguese rulers of
the Maritime provinces, continued with much consideration
by the Dutch, and upheld by the early British government, the
Mudelijars were recognised as the nobility of the Singhalese
people. In those days a Mudeliyar was the Lord of the Manor,
the owner of many broad acres, — a sort of feudal baron of the
soil, dwelling in the old paternal mansion, surrounded by an
army of retainers who were ready at all times to do his
bidding and work his will. That will was, that the people
of his district should prosper and be happy. Their interests

103

were his care ; and no one, not even the most humble of the
poorest villagers, but could approach him and seek his help
in time of need.

The " Walauwa" of the Mudellyar was the audience hall in
which he sat morning and eveniag to receive and listen to
such as came to him with complaints or prayers. There he
talked over the affairs of the district with his subordinate
headmen, gave orders f >r r^ork to be executed or tithes to
be collected : there he received his friends and chatted for
an hour or two each day. His hospitality was as unbounded
as his means were ample. His larder was always well-filled
with game and fruit, and his cellar with good cheer.

In his home-dress he affected a negligence bordering on
the untidy, though his almirahs were full of the richest
fabrics from the looms of Holland, in cloth and velvet ; and
his strong boxes contained the finest diamonds and rubies.
On ordinary occasions, he is content with a plain white cambric
cloth and loose white coat. The only expensive articles which
he affected in daily life, were his gold-mounted spectacles, and
a jewelled tobacco box, for the Mudeliyar of the olden time
indulged in the narcotic leaf. Happy in the possession of
wealth beyond what even avarice could covet, he dreamt not
of adding to his acres, by those acts of extortion of which we
now hear so much. Possessing power and influence, which
gave to his merest wish the foice of a command, he knew no
disappointment, and enjoying honours which if inherited from
his fathers, he is equally certain can only descend to his sons,
neither jealousies nor rivalries disturbed the easy equanimity
of his mind. His sole ambition was to see the honoured name
which had come down to him from five generations, perpetuated
in his son, and if ever ho condescended to ask a favor, it was
in connection with this fond aspiration. Hence it was that
the history of the last Maha Mudeliyar of the great and noble
House of Illangakoon, furnishes an episode containing not a
few of the elements of feudal prestige and interest.

104

It was in about the year 1810, vvlien Governor Sir Thomas
Maitland visited the Southern Province, that the MahaMudeliyar
Illangakoon, entertained his Excellency at his mansion near
Matara. The spacious dining room was lit in a manner that
eye had never till then beheld. The floor was covered with
thickest and softest of Dutch carpets, the furniture was of
ebony and calamander richly carved and massive withal. The
plate was of the purest silver heavily chased, and all, the work
of native artists. A hundred servants flitted hither and
thither. The luxuries of ice were then unknown, but a large
earthenware tank half filled with saltpetre and water did duty
for a refrisrerator : and a dozen bottles of the choicest
Madeira were standing in the cooling liquid. Tho old Dutch
clock, an elaborate work of art itself, struck seven, and the-
Maha Mudeliyar emerged from an inner chamber, dressed in
full court costume : his hair was done up in the usual knot,
held by an ample comb of the purest amber coloured tortoise-
shell, while a curved comb to match, circumscribed a forehead,
the open intellectual breadth of which was displayed to greater
advantage by this contrivance. His coat was of the finest
broad cloth of marine blue, while the large solid gold
buttons that studded it from cuff to waist, and the richly
worked " frogs" in place of the ordinary loops, gave to this
article of dress a splendour that was dazzling to look upon.
The studs,^six in number, that buttoned up the shirt-collar and
gleamed from his snow-white shirt-front consisted of a single
diamond, each of the size of a large pea. The waistcoat
buttons that confined the amplitude of a bosom heaving with
emotion, were also brilliants of the first water. From his
neck dangled a massive chain, to which was attached a medal —
a gift to his father from the Dutch Government in recognition
of life-long services. The cloth that served for his nether
garment, was of the finest cambric and of the purest white,
and silk stockings and pumps completed an attire, the tout
ensemble of which, if wanting in lightness, lacked nothing in

105

ceremonial importance. Immediately a flourish of trumpets
announced the arrival of the Governor, the Mudeliyar descended
to his portico, and there received the representative of his
sovereign, with a dignified yet respectful welcome, removed
alike from misplaced familiarity and cringing servility, I

will not attempt any description of that dinner, the wine
that was drunk, or the toasts that were proposed and
responded to ; but one thing I may note, though calculated to
surprise my readers, — that not only was the conversation
between host and guest carried on in Portuguese, but most of
the speeches and the replies wore in that language. The
dinner at an end, a venerable retainer of the house who had
carried the Mudeliyar in his arms as a child, brought in the
sole heir of the house of lUangakoon. The happy and proud
father presented him to the Governor, who took him on his
knee, and after speaking a few kind words, placed him on the
table. The Governor rose and at the same time the assembled
guests stood up : he made a short address full of compliments >
to the host, and expressive of the hope that the little boy

106

before them would grow up in health and strength, and
worthily maintain the ancestral honors of his house. The
family sword and the rich lace belt were then handed to the
Governor who proceeded to invest the boy of scarce seven,
years with the rank and insignia of Mudeliyar of the Morowak
Korle. Three British cheers hailed the newly-made Mudeliyar ;
glasses were filled all round, and his health drunk in brimming
bumpers. The boy-mudeliyar was in due course sent to the
seminary at Colombo, where he acquired the knowledge that
was to qualify him for the position he was destined to fill.
His salary in the meantime was regularly paid, and accumulated
into a respectable sum by the time he attained to manhood
and went back to take up the Mudeliyarship. Before the
good old man was gathered unto his fathers, he had the
satisfaction of seeing his son rise to the Attepattu Mudeliyar-
ship, That son too lived to a good old age, and left his name,
his wealth, and his honours to his son, who, not unworthily,
perpetuates the glories of their house as Mudeliyar of the
Belligam Korle and Mudeliyar of the Governor's Gate ; and so
long as nobility of birth, combined with much personal worth
continue to evoke a sentiment of regard, may the illustrious
house of Ilangakoon never want an heir in whom those virtues
are reflected ! But the civilization of the day, and other
circumstances are fast unloosing those ties which bound the
people to their hereditary Chiefs. A little knowledge, a little
influence, and a little favour, are now the three essentials of a
Mudeliyar.

Not longer than thirty years ago the Governor of Ceylon
made it his special care that once a year at least, the native
Chiefs of the maritime and mountain provinces were bidden to
his halls to partake of the liberal hospitality of their sovereign's
representative. There, after witnessing the mazy dance, supper
was served for the Chiefs in one long hall, radient with light
and hung with trophies and emblems of their native land.
The Governor walked amongst them, held converse with one

107 !

and the other, and before leaving the festive hall stood at one
end of the centre table and proposed the health of their Queen,
responded to with hearty loyalty. This good old custom is
observed no longer. A quarter of a century has passed away
since Kandyan and Low country Chiefs were thus bidden to the
festive board, and we must not wonder that they feel the
slighting neglect. We must cease to marvel how it has happened
that there is no longer the same feeling, the same public spirit
amongst them ; that few of them preserve their ancient
prestige, and that too often the decendents of the old feudal
lords of the soil, fall into habits that destroy alike their
influence and their self-respect.

Not alone in the neglect of former hospitalities towards
them do the native Chiefs of Ceylon find their prestige
lowered : they complain, and with good reason, of penniless
boys, cutcherry clerks, or low-caste adventurers basking in
the favor of indiscreet officials, thrust into the responsible office
of Korle Mudeliyar, to the destruction of all respect and the
subversion of all discipline within the district. How this
mistaken disregard of native usages affects the relations of
one headman with another may be imagined, when I tell how
a Mohandiram or inferior headman, has been know;n to receive
the Mudeliyar, his Chief, seated, Miilst the latter felt compelled
to stand in the presence of the inferior officer of a higher
caste.

HQLFSDORP

w T is one of England's proudest boasts that wherever her
^ flag is unfurled, wherever her supremacy is established,
there she carries the blessings of liberal institutions : she
conquers but to set free. The same justice which is provided
for the proudest son of Albion, is sent forth across the waters
to attend on the meanest swarthy subject of Her Majesty,
in distant India. At the same time, this beautiful feature of
our constitution, admirably as it reads on paper, excellent as
it sounds to the ear, but too frequently fails in its mission of
mercy ; and, in one way, or the other, proves rather the reverse
of an unmitigated blessing to those for whose special benefit
it was wafted over the seas. In India proper, the way to
justice, open though it is intended to be, becomes so overgrown
with rank bribery and extortion, that the poor Ryot has small
chance of passing the threshold : the very attempt to do so
subjects him to cruel, relentless persecution. In other places,
Ceylon amongst the rest, matters are widely different : here,
BO broad and open is the highway to the law, that none are
shut out from it ; but unfortunately, the Singhalese are fond
of disputation in every shape, having a dislike for action,
^hey make up the deficiency in talk ; in addition to which,
their innate love of importance is gratified by the reflection
that for their sake, and at their instance, the " great Europe
master," as they term the judge, is busily occupied, books and
all included, for days together. So powerful has this
Singhalese passion for litigation become, that it is matter of
notoriety, in this country, that legal proceedings are instituted
in cases involving no greater stake than the one-fourth part
of a cocoanut tree, or the sixteenth share of a sterile paddy

109

field. Nor are these the worst features in this state of things :
the litigious spirit begets a host of evil passions in family
circles, leading not unfrequently to acts of violence and even
bloodshed. So strongly has this passion for law taken hold of
the native population, that there are very few Singhalese who
wiU not willingly risk their little all to carry some frivolous
point against a neighbour, or a near and dear relation. This
state of society has raised up a race of harpies of the law,
whose name is truly legion, who thrive on the follies of the
litigants, and who too frequently fan the slumbering embers
into a blazing flame.

Of all the strange scenes which in the East strike a new
comer with their novelty, few appear so remarkable as a
Singhalese court of justice. There is in it such an odd jumble
of western and eastern life, of European forms and oriental
fashions, that the beholder, gazing on the scene for the first
time, feels rather at a loss to know if he be in a court of law^
at a mock auction, or at a debating club.

The Criminal Sessions were on at Colombo with a rather
smart sprinkling of cases for the judge, who was sitting
in the tribunal, situated outside the fort, at some little distance*
The origin of these Courts being removed from the precincts
of the fort is curious. It is said that during the Dutch sway
in Ceylon, when the Supreme Court held its sitting within the
fortified walls of Colombo, an attempt was made by the then
governor, Rip Van-something, to overawe the judges in some
cases in which he was officially interested, whereupon they
claimed from their High Mightinesses of the Netherlands, the
privilege of holding session without the walls, which was
granted, and has been continued ever since.

A ride to the Courts at Hulfsdorp, overlooking the long
busy town of Colombo, is by no means a pleasant affair on a
hot, choking day during the dry weather. The red, scorching
dust blinds and burns one like so much quicklime. The
stench from many a half -dried ditch and stagnant drain blends

110

harmoniously with the effluvia from the bazaar around, where
fish and meat blister and blacken in the burning sun, while
files of dozing oily natives lay steaming upon heaps of filth,
adding their own unclean aroma to the hot sickly atmosphere.
The neighbourhood is dense, teeming with dirt and chil-
dren. The coffin-makers are driving a roaring trade ; especially
one by the arrack tavern, for half the folks round the corner
died the night previously of putrid fish, sour pine-apples, and
stagnant drains, and the other half were expected to die on
the next day. I urged my sorry hack on at the top of his
speed, fully five miles an hour, past the crazy old Dutch
houses and the dusty, tumble-down Moormen's dwellings, up
the steep hill, on the brow of which stood a whole colony of
buildings, large and small, old aud new. This spot was
Hulfsdorp, whence, in days long past, the Dutch army which
besieged ancient Colombo — then in the hands of the Portuguese,
—poured a storm of shot upon the fortifications. It was,
afterwards, the country residence of the Dutch governor, the
present Supreme Court-house having been tenanted by a
long line of soveraign Mynheers. The spot is pleasant enough
after the dreadful streets below, commanding a fine view over
the fort to seaward, and enjoying an occasional breeze, when
there is any. A portion of the great triangular block of buildings
around the green, facing the road, is devoted to the Supreme
Court, another part to the District Court, and a third to the
Police Court, and sundry offices of Record. Around and about
this pile of law has sprung up a busy mass of quaint,
queer-looking edifices of all shapes, styles and sizes. These are
the houses of business of the fraternity of proctors, Dutch,
Portuguese, Tamil, and Singhalese, who, if they, as some
malicious people say, be really inflicted on the natives as a
chastisement for their sins, do their best to fulfil their mission.
Each doorway was chocked up by hungry applicants for law :
groups of litigants squatted beneath the clumps of dusty bananas
in the little stony court-yard in front, counting up their

Ill

witnesses as commercial articles, not for export it is true, but
for home use, and are valued by a well-understood sliding-scale.
A witness in a murder case, if he be a stout swearer, costs five
rix-dollars ; in a land suit, witnesses may be had for two or
three dollars ; burglary or cattle-stealing witnesses are cheaper,
they cost about a dollar each ; whilst a few copper coins will
obtain all the swearing you want and something over, in an
ordinary assault case.

I hasten on, past all these scenes, to the Supreme Court,
whose labor was just commencing for the day. The court
house wherein sat the Puisne Justice in criminal sessions,
was a long rambling shed of a place, not unlike a paved barn
with a tiled roof. Making my way into the body of the Court,
I found it filled with the representatives of almost every nation
in the eastern hemisphere, blended with Dutch, Portuguese,
and English. I might have taken it for a masquerade by day-
light were it not for the Court on the little raised stage at one
end, with the dirty lion and unicorn, and the figure of Justice
looking quite knocked up by the climate. The judge wore a
very comical appearance in spite of his gravity. Seated
upon an open platform on a level with our faces, I could see
plainly enough, as he crossed his legs, that he wore high-lows
which required mending, with queer-looking worsted socks.

In a ricketty sort of sheep-pen on one side sat the jury
— a motley blending of several nationalities. The fore-
man was studying the coat of arms over the judge's head,
wondering when the lion and unicorn would finish fic^htinfr for
the crown. The rest of the jurors were either dozing or
amusing themselves in the best way they could. Opposite the
jury was a large parrot's cage without any top ; this was the
witness-box. Further away there was another parrot cage, in
which the crier of the court tried to keep order by creating
more noise than all the disturbers put together.

Grouped about a shabby-looking ale-house table, covered
with a rusty cloth of some impossible colour, were the

112

European auditory and some three or foiir barristers and
proctors, the former of mixed races, the latter natives.

An important case was on : a native was being tried for
murder and the court was crowded to suffocation. The prisoner.
a haggard, broken-spirited man, was docked opposite th^
judge, and glanced in a wild, frightened manner, from his
counsel to the Court, and then to the jury, wondering what it
all meant ; he had confessed his guilt, and why need they take
so much trouble with him ? The counsel for the prisoner was
on his legs about to say something : he was a European, a
hale, portly, bold man, with a twinkling, cunning eye and a
shining face. I was rather at a loss to know if he were going
to make a speech, or sing a comic song, but it ended in his
challenging the best part of the jurors — the best part in every
sense, for when he sat down, the foreman, who had been
studying the lion and unicorn so deeply and all his fellow
Europeans had disappeared, replaced by others of a kindred
hue with the prisoner.

It was a long and tedious affair, that trial, despite the
man's confession, and as all the intricate native evidence had
to bo translated and re-translated, T soon grew tired of the
scene, and bent my steps towards the minor courts close by.
Between the two localities were long dusty verandahs opening
into little dens of offices, where I saw through the dirty barred
windows, a strange collection of mouldy wooden cupboards,
ricketty desks and armless old chairs : heaps of dusty papers
were there too, and with them smoke-dried natives redolent of
heat and the dirt, as though they were convicted criminals
— Singhalese lawyers condemned for their enormous crimes
to toil for the rest of their lives over perplexing suits and
ghost-like documents. There were deputy-registrars, and trans-
lators, and process clerks, and a host of other legal subordinates,
caged up like wild beasts at a fair, How different from the
vicinity of the law courts at home ! There everything is cool,
solemn, silent, orderly ; here, it is all glaring sunshine, dirt

113

noise, dust, and effluvia. The very pariali dogs curl up their
sickly noses and scamper hastily past.

Forcing my way through a mob of rather moist Malabars
and steaming Singhalese, I reached the District Court, where
the provincial judo;e sits all the year round in civil jurisdiction.
The court-yard in front, the enclosed space in the rear, the
filthy verandahs at the two ends, all were densely studded
with anxious groups of natives, smoking, talking, drinking,
quarelling, crying. Under the gloomy shade of some
bread-fruit trees, were ranged many members of some
Singhalese family who had evidently travelled from a
far-off village, to be present at the hearing of their case.

Out rushed a peon froui the crowded court, oud bawling
out some dreadfully singular name, he rushed back again as
suddenly as though he just remembered having left all his
earthly treasures within reach of those hungry lawyers, and
there was no time to be lost. The family group watched the
summoned witness as he disappeared amidst the army of suitors

114

at the doorway, envying him the brief importance he was
about to assume in open court.

Around the entrance to this crowded seat of justice,
were wedged in compact masses, scores of curious and anxious
listeners. Amidst that crowd of Singhalese, Moors, Malays,
Tamils, and many other races, I observed an old woman seated
by the lintal on the brick floor, grasping with clasped hands
some curious little bunch of leaves and flowers ; and as she
rocked her body to and fro, muttering (half aloud some wordy
jumble, I observed that she cast her eyes at intervals upon
a tall, young man, her son doubtless, who, raised above the crowd,
could both see and hear what was passing in court. Their
case was then on, and the man was evidently telegraphing to
her the progress of the suit. The bunch of flowers in her
hands was a Buddhist charm, given by their village priest to
ensure success. I failed, however, in ascertaining the value of
the case. The last witness was not needed. The judge
summed up but briefly ; there was a momentary silence in that
Babel-place, the assessors concurred — the old woman ceased
to rock herself, she dropped the flower-charm, it was an evil
omen to do that ; a busy hum in court told all was over ; the
dark scowl on the tall man's brow needed no interpretation,
he sprang down from his elevated perch, and ran to the poor
old woman. She had fallen down in a fit, and lay apparently
motionless on the pavement.

My dress and colour obtained for me an entrance within
the doors, and after a time, a seat near the bench, whence I
could watch the proceedings, and note the many strange actors.
Perched in a rather roomy, but low pulpit, the judge was
listening to the opening of a fresh case from a young but leading
proctor, who leant over with his elbow resting on his Honour's
desk in the most familiar manner imaginable, just as one
might be discussing the state of the weather or the quality of
yesterday's dinner. A long table was before "the Court"
at a short distance, at which were seated the " Colombo Bar,"

115

a motley group and curious to look on. They were Dutch
Portugese, Tamil and Singhalese : some were steady-going
business-like men, and some were very sharp gentry indeed,
especially one little parched fellow with close cropped hair
and careworn features : but there were several whom you
could not, by any imaginative faculty, connect with the Bar.
One curious object, out at elbows, leant listlessly over the dirty
table, staring at the sparrows up in the roof, whilst another
briefless member of the fraternity amused himself by emptying
the contents of an inkstand into his neighbour's pocket.

The case then on, though one of very common occurrence,
seemed to me a rather prepossessing one, from the fact of its
being a question of a bond debt: a suit which, however
easily to be settled by actual documentary proof, nevertheless
offered ample scope for a vast deal of very hard Singhalese
swearing on both sides, and, of course, in precisely opposite
directions. It involved a rather smart amount for a native to
meet, not less than one hundred and twenty-two pounds
British currency ; I'm afraid to say how much it was in the
benighted coin of the island, but more than I should like to
count. Well, the plaintiff swore as hard as a curry-stone, that
the defendent owed the money, and the defendant vowed
rather harder, I thought, that he did not owe so much as
a single copper-challie. Plaintiff chuckled all over as ho
produced the defendant's bond for the precise amount. It
was examined and conned over, and looked at in all possible
ways by every one interested, until at last the judge was on
the point of deciding as a matter of course, when the
defendant produced a document very similar in appearance
and handed it to the judge. It was a release in full for the
amount, duly signed by the plaintiff, and as duly witnessed.

Never shall I forget the Strange look of humbled morti-
fication and disappointed rage visible in the plaintiff's face,
nor the glow of merry bursting triumph that puckered up the
oily couutonauco of the buccussful defendant. The case was

IIG

suddenly made as clear one way as the moment before it had
been equally lucid. The judge decided against the plaintiff
with all costs and a severe lecture ; which, as it afterwards
appeared, he deserved from a far more serious point of view
than was at the time believed. I was a good deal puzzled at
the stupidity of the man who could thus bring an action for a
debt of which he had granted a discharge ; but the puzzle was
cleared up a day or two afterwards, when I learnt all the
particulars from the proctor for the defendant in the matter.

The lawyer had been waited upon in his office by his
client in the bond case, who came to thank him for the
trouble he had taken in conducting his defence. After a few
introductory civilities, the proctor congratulated his native
friend on the success which had attended him in his recent
suit, and remarked on the great necessity that existed for
carefully preserving all documents relating to cash transactions
especially such as bore reference to property. The Singhalese
looked at his lawyer very hard, with a peculiar expression of
deep cunning stealing over his sable countenance. He drew
his chair somewhat nearer to him and glancing cautiously
round the room to ascertain if any one was within ear-shot,
told him in a low half-whisper, that he " had never paid the
money." The proctor, as may easily be imagined, was
astounded at this admission, although from his long acquaint-
ance with the native character he was generally prepared to
hear a good deal of rascality and duplicity. He begged his
client to explain what he meant ; how he came by the discharge
which the plaintiff had not attempted to disprove or set aside,
if, as he said, he had not paid the money.

The late defendant drew still more confidentially near to
his lawyer's seat, looking him steadily in the face, as if to
watch the effect his communication would have on him, he
whispered in his ear that he had not only never paid plaintiff
the money in dispute, but that he had never owed him the
amount^ nor any sum of money whatever ! This was a fearful

117

staggerer to the lawyer, who looked all sorts of questions
at his client. The latter perceiving that his riddle was not
likely to be solved without his own assistance, condescended
to detail every particular relating to the recent suit. He had
been on bad terras, he said with the plaintiff, who was a
neighbour, for some months past, owing to his having obtained
a judgment against the latter in a trifling land case. The
plaintiff had been heard to say, that he would one day be
revenged on him, and the Singhalese are tolerably true to
their word in all these matters — the attempt was expected.
The revenge taken was to forge a bond from the defendant
to plaintiff for such an amount as must have effectually ruined
the former ; the deed was well drawn up, properly attested
and duly witnessed by men who, for a rupee a head, were
in court for the purpose, and actually did swear to the
genuineness of defendant's signature. The man would
assuredly have been ruined as was intended, but that he
happened to be as clever a rogue, and as unscrupulous as his
adversary. He had heard the old proverb about sharp
instruments cutting two ways, and acted upon it ; for he
concocted a forged discharge to the forged bond, signed by
twice as many witnesses as the bond itself, and some of whom
were the same parties who professed to have witnessed the
execution of the latter, and who, for a little higher bribing,
came into court to swear by the sacred tooth of Buddha, that
they had seen the plaintiff sign and deliver the discharge !
The proctor went home that day a wiser man by a great
deal, than when he entered his little offico in the morning, and
deeply impressed with the difficulties flung round the path of
justice by the crookedness of the native character.

Having related the denouement of the above little plot,
I must terminate my day at the Colombo courts. After tho
decision of the case just alluded to, I bent my steps back to
tho Supremo Court, which was at that moment in a state of
intense commotion. It was evident that something of groat

118

interest had happened ; for every tongue was in action, every
bare arm was flung about as though there had been a general
attack of St. Vitus's dance amongst the native population.
Great white eyes glared fiercely on their neighbours ; black
hair streamed over excitable, oleaginous shoulders ; muslin
turbans and snow-white scarfs danced about, and blended
madly with Turkey-red cloths and chintz sarongs ; bloodthirsty-
looking moustachoes curled to their uttermost tips in rank
defiance, while tobacco and betel-juice flew about in copious
showers, and much nearer to me than I could have desired.
What did it all mean ? Was the poor wretch of a murderer,
self-condemned as he had been, about to suffer the extreme
penalty of the law, then and there, on the spot, just to give
dame Justice an appetite for her afternoon meal ! I ventured
to question a respectable-looking man by my side, in clean,
white raiment ; but the poor creature muttered something
that might have been Ethiopic or Sclavonic. I tried a thin
weazen-faced old mnn in spectacles and cloth garments, and
the oddity replied in Portugese !

Forcing my way into the body of the court, I at length
ascertained from a half-caste proctor, that although the prisoner
had pleaded guilty, and the evidence and summing-up of the
judge were dead against him, the jury had acquitted the man.
They knew far better than he did whether he was or was not
guilty, and in their wisdom had decided that he was mistaken
in his self-condemnation. The prisoner — the prisoner no
longer — could not be persuaded that he heard aright ; when
I reached the thronged table facing the dock, I found him
staring vacantly about him, with his long, bony hands clasped
firmly together ; the person in charge of him in vain tried to
move him from the spot. The ofl&cials were conversing
together in deep, earnest whispers, evidently as astonished as
the poor creature they had just being trying ; after a brief
time they dismissed the jury, having probably had sufficient
of their labour for that day and for many days to come ; and

119

eventually the court rose and adjourned over until the
following morning, to allow themselves time to digest their
astonishment.

As I drove home from witnessing these strange scenes, I
could not resist pondering upon the crooked ways of orientals ;
upon the dim moral perceptions of our fellow-subjects in the
East. I called to mind the hackneyed Exeter Hall phrase of
" We are all brethren," and thoug-ht how much better for the
true advancement of the human family it would be, if, whilst
admitting the abstract truth of the above sentence, men paused
a while ere working out the theory by one universal rule of
legislation ; if they would bear in mind that there " is a season
for all things." Such worldly-wise philanthropists have yet to
learn that in regard to their " we-are-all-brethren" idea,
what is " sauce for the goose," is not always "sauce for the
gander."

THE CINNAMON PEELER.

h^ VER the boisterous ocean, steam-borne for many a stormy
"^ day to where the white man trades on sunny shores,
over the burning plains, across the cloud- clapped ranges, and
then once more into the plains where slaves delve in the bowels
of the earth for precious metals, the bales of spice are borne,
and the long string of mules leave their rich burthens. On
stormy seas of snow-clad lands, across dessert tracks within the
distant Russian town where the grand pinnacle of a Greek
church rears its solemn front : soft trains of melody ascend
within the sacred pile and the rich streams of incense rise from
many an altar. In the orange grove just off the Plaza, where
the grass is thick and soft, and the Snowy blossom lends its
fragrance to the sweet air of southern Spain, a group of
laughing damsels seated on the velvet sward, sip their tiny
cups of chocolate, and pour out their little stores of scandal. —
Down in a dark, dank cellar-looking vaulted space, a mill-stone
moves steadily, unweariedly ; no motive power is seen, but a
grim-looking silent man in leather apron, armed with a giant
brush and heavy rod, tends to the mash of substances crushing
beneath the stone, into fine powder, almost impalpable.

Into all of these, into the powder ground for " Thorley's
Cattle Food", into the tiny cup of chocolate, sipped by young
Spanish damsels, into the incense on the altar, into the daily
drink within the fever-sticken depths of quicksilver mines,
our own special spice enters a part of the composition. Steam-
ers are freighted with it, mules are laden with it, droskies are
filled with it, waggons and vans are piled and heaped with
it, until it has become hard to say how much of it is a
necessary, and how much a luxury.

121

Well may Spaniard, Russian, or Mexican dream of the
sunny land where grows this precious spice, as a bright spot
on earth, green, fresh and tropically radiant, teeming with
vegetable and insect life, where in the far off, olden, scriptural
times, gallies were freighted with ivory, apes and peacocks, —
with pearls, and spice, and perchance, with gold of Ophir.

But who, and what, and where are the oriental workers
who produce this precious spice ? Are they rich or poor,
honored or spurned, exalted or debased, free or slave ?
Within a low-roofed shed in which to enter, though not of
lofty stature, one must stoop, a row of silent, half-clad, half-fed,
quarter-washed, dark-skinned workers are seated on the
ground, plying a curious little knife which scrapes and scatters
the outer cuticle from long, half-round strips of young sapling
bark. These pieces are the cinnamon bark removed from the
ripe sticks on the previous day, left in a pile to undergo a
sort of semi-fermentation, and when scraped clean and sorted
carefully and trimmed scientifically, and packed and piped
delicately, one within the other, to the extent of three or four,
according to the thinness of the quill, or the fancy of the
quiller, they become the famed cinnamon of Ceylon, unique
in its quality, unrivalled in its production. Other countries
have essayed to grow it, — Java, China, India, Manilla, — and for
aught we know, other countries have started, as rivals in the
culture, but from cause of soil, or climate, or cultivation, or all,
failure has boon the final ending, and to this day Ceylon is the
sole country of the fragrant spice.

It was no doubt, owing to the presence of this precious
spice in quantities along the western sea-borde, not less than
the rich fertility of the country, which induced the early
European adventurers to fix on this harborless side of the
island, for a trading settlement, instead of in the vicinity of
Trincomalie with its miles of bays and inland waters, wherein
all the navies of the world might ride at anchor. The
spice, was, however, but seldom seen in Europe, so scarce and

122

costly was it. Scattered in uncertain quantities along tlie
sea-coast, and in some of the jungles and chena lauds of the
interior, it was in those early days, and even up to the Dutch
time, collected chiefly in payment of tribute from the Kandyans,
or in lieu of taxes by the low-country Singhalese. No
cultivation of the plant was then attempted, nor was it even
brought together or preserved in special localities until a
century later, when the Dutch, keenly alive to their interests
in all commercial matters, took to cinnamon cultivation, if that
name could be applied to mere clearing out of masses of plants,
keeping down low jungle, and draining the ground from
stagnant water. That this was all that could have been done
by the Dutch Government, is evident from the records of the
cinnamon department of those days.

But there was yet another reason for this cultivation
being preferred to the old method of collection. Their
frequent warfare with the Kandyans rendered it often difficult
and sometimes impossible to procure the quantity needed to
make up their bi-annual shipments to Europe, hence it became
a matter of policy to secure a supply quite independently of
that hitherto gathered in the Kandyan jungles.

• The cultivation of the spice in the present time, is carried
on by labor of any description, but the operation of peeling is
with but few exceptions, in the hands of the chalias, or as they
were termed under the Dutch, the " mahabadde," derived
from the words " great tax," the chaiia people having been
compelled to pay a heavy tax to the government in prepared
cinnamon. In the present day, whilst they are free from the
tribute, they are deprived of the many privileges enjoyed by
their ancestors, being paid for the results of their labor at
certain understood rates which are sufficiently productive,
when a man is expert and has a wife and one or two children
to assist him : villages in the Galle district are the places of
residence of large numbers of peelers, but they have been
much scattered since 1833 when the monopoly in the spice

trade was abolished. In those palmy days the cinnamon
peelers had their own headmen, and could be tried for an
offence only by their European superintendent, a Government
official who was sworn in as magistrate of the " mahabadde."
Now, the peeler is but one of the common multitude, amenable
to the ordinary courts, and obliged to be content with four
or five pounds British currency at the end of the cinnamon
harvest, with which, and the produce of the fraction of
a field, and a miserable fenceless garden, he has to do
his best to pay for rice, a few common cloths, and a little
salt-fish, curry-stuff, and oil. Take him when you will, the
peeler never presents a cheerful exterior, his dress and bearing
give no outward token of prosperity ; the unwashed cloth and
uncombed hair tell eloquently of the daily struggle that is
going on with the demon want, and even on holidays he
and his belongings cut but sorry figures amidst the genial
gatherings of the village community.

There is no doubt that the abolition of rajakaria and
the privileges of the " mahabadde," have not bettered the
condition of the cinnamon peelers. In the early days of
British rule he was wont to receive from the Government
two-thirds of a measure of rice daily, with a measure of salt
per month, and subsistence money at the rate of three pence
a day, besides freedom from tolls, ferries, &c., in consideration
of which he was bound to deliver 80 lbs. to 100 lbs. of
cinnamon properly prepared. After the abolition of this
system, the Government paid them according to the quantity
and quality of the spice delivered, 5 id., 5d., and 4|d. per
pound. But the rate now is much lower, and when tho
exactions of the canganies and petty headmen have been
satisfied, there is not more than the sum we have mentioned
with which to support their families. But even this amount
is far more than is ever touched by largo numbers of cultivators :
the peeler is, however, an improvident man : migrating from
his village for mouths in the year, and herding with numbers

124

of others in the estate "lines," he falls into improvident,
thoughtless ways, indulges in frequent potations, and when at
length he returns to his village with his hard-earned but
greatly reduced stock of coin, he has lost much of his
inclination for work : he turns to his field and his garden
with stolid indifference, and by the time his cash has nearly
melted away, he finds the season for cultivation almost over,
the field bearing abundant crops of weeds, and the garden
overgrown with brambles. He sighs heavily as he sees the
necessity for action in the reduced size of his rice bag.
Work for hire, he will not : he may perchance go out on a
fishing bout, or he may insist on the wife and children beating
out some coir husks, if he be in the Galle district, and with
the fibre he may work up a pingoe-load or two of coir yarn in
order to barter it for tobacco and food, but anything like
sustained industry is altogether foreign to the dreamy nature
of the cinnamon peeler.

ELEPHANTS, AND HOW TO CATCH THEM.

c^ HE elephant is associated with my earliest recollections of
® school-boyhood. Well do I remember the huge black
picture of the unwieldy animal in Mayor's Spelling Book,
the letter-press describing the creature as " not only the
largest, but the strongest of all quadrupeds," which is beyond
all question ; and furthermore, that " in a state of nature, it is
neither fierce nor mischievous ;" which is the very reverse of
fact, as hundreds of sugar and coffee planters, as well as many
a traveller could testify. In later years, I enjoyed a peep at
the sleepy-looking creature, cooped up in a sort of magnified
horse-stall, at the Zoological Gardens, in the Regent's Park,
and well I remember wondering how so much sagacity and
thoughtf ulness could be attributed to so apathetic and cumbrous
an animal.

The reader of Roman and (Irecian history may gather
how Pyrrhus for a time mastered the hardy veterans of Rome,
by moans of these then little-known and terrible creatures ;
and how Alexander found hundreds of them opposed to him
in the army of the Indian monarch. Keaders of more recent
history may learn how these animals formed a portion of
the vast armies of most of the Indian Nabobs, with which
the British forces came in contact. But twelve short
months ago, the elephant graced the civic triumph of the
newly-elected Lord Mayor of London, to the unmitigated
astonishment and delight of thousands of little boys and elderly
females.

Much, however, as I had heard and read of the elephant,
I never properly appreciated this animal, until I had been
a dweller in Eastern lands where I was witness of such

12(3

performances by these huge creatures, that my feeling towards
them was raised from that of mere wonder, to something
more akin to respect and admiration.

In the course of my early morning rides about the vicinity
of Colombo, I frequently reined in my steed to watch the quiet
labours of a couple of elephants in the service of the Govern-
ment. These huge animals were generally employed in the
Commissariat timber-yard, or the Civil Engineer's department,
either in removing and stowing logs and planks, or in rolling
about heavy masses of stone for building purposes. I could
not but admire the precision with which they performed their
allotted task, unaided, save by their own sagacity. They were
one morning hard at work, though slowly, piling up a quantity
of heavy pieces of timber ; the lower row of the pile had been
already laid down, with mathematical precision, six logs side by
side. These they had first pushed in from the adjoining wharf ;
and, when I rode up, they were engaged in bringing forward
the next six for the second row in the pile. It was curious to
observe those uncouth animals seize one of the heavy logs
at each end, and, by means of their trunks, lift it up on the
logs already placed, and, then arrange it crosswise upon them
with the most perfect skill. I waited whilst they thus placed
the third row ; feeling a curiosity to know how they would
proceed when the timber had to be lifted to a greater height.
Some of the logs weighed about twelve hundred-weights.
There was a short pause before the fourth row was touched ;
but tHe difiiculty was no sooner perceived than it was overcome.
The sagacious animals selected two straight pieces of timber,
placed one end of each piece on the ground with the other
resting on the top of the pile so as to form a sliding way for
the next logs ; and, having seen that they were perfectly steady
and in a straight line, the four-legged labourers rolled up the
slope they had thus formed, the six pieces of timber, for the
fourth layer on the pile. Not the least amusing part of the
performance was, the careful survey of the pile made by one

127

of the elephants, after placing each log, to ascertain if it were
laid perfectly square with the rest.

The sagacity of these creatures in detecting weakness
in the jungle-bridges thrown across some of the streams in
Ceylon, is not less remarkable. I have been assured that
when carrying a load, they invariably press one of their fore-
feet upon the earth-covering of the bridge to try its strength ;
and, that if it feels too weak to carry them across, they will
refuse to proceed until lightened of their load. On one such
occasion a driver persisted in compelling his elephant to cross
a bridge against the evident wish of the animal ; and, as was
expected by his comrades, the rotten structure gave way,
elephant and rider were precipitated into the river, and the
latter was drowned.

Having thus been much prepossessed in favor of these
docile creatures, I learnt with considerable interest in the
latter part of the year 1849, that an elephant ki-aal was in
preparation, in the Western Province of Ceylon, not many
miles from Colombo.

The word kraal signifies simply a trap ; inasmuch as the
wild elephants are caught by partly driving, and partly enticing
them within a large enclosed space, or trap. It is assuredly
much safer sport than elephant shooting, and generally attracts
a large number of spectators, I may here mention that in
spite of the scholnstic authority of Mavor's Spelling Book, the
wild elephants of Ceylon are far from being " neither fierce
nor mischievous." At times they descend upon the low
country from their mountain fastnesses in such numbers and
with such ferocity, as to carry with them destruction, and often
death. Elephant kraals are, therefore, resorted to for the
double purpose of ridding a neighbourhood of these dangerous
visitors, and supplying the Government with fresh beasts of
labour for their timber-yards and building establishments.
On these occasions the natives of the district turn out en masse
— from the rich Mudeliyar to the poorest cooly — to assist

128

without remuneration ; all being interested in the success of
the affair.

The whole province was alive with excitement : nothing
was talked of at mess-table, or at Government House, but the
approaching kraal. Half Colombo, it was said, would be there ;
and, as the weather promised to be so fair, I could not resist
the temptation to witness the trapping of a score or two of
those unruly monsters of the forest.

Such excursions are always undertaken by parties of three
or more, for the sake of comfort. I joined four friends for the
occasion ; two gentlemen, and two ladies, mother and daughter.
They were well acquainted with the Government Agent of the
locality, who had promised them shelter, and good accom-
modation for witnessing the kraal. All arrangements having
been completed, our servants gaily turbaned, accompanied by
a swarm of coolies, bearing provisions, bedding, and other
comforts, started off one fine moon-light night ; and, at a
little before day-break on the following morning, we followed
them on the road ; the ladies in a small pony-chaise, and
myself and friend on our naj^s. Long before nightfall we
reached the village adjoining the scene of sport. We needed
no guide to the locality, for the narrow road was crowded with
travellers hastening in one direction. Every description of
vehicle lined the way ; from the Colonel's light tandem, to
the native bullock hackery with its ungreased, squeaking
wheels.

The scene at the village was singularly strange and
exciting. It was close to the banks of the Calany, a river of
some size and rapidity. Along the palm-shaded shore were
moored numberless boats ; many of them large flat country
barges, or pade boats, containing parties of visitors from
Colombo, who had prudently determined to take up their
abode in those floating residences for the night. The village
huts had been thrown open to the English visitors, after having
been well cleaned and white-washed. Their doors were gaily

129

ornamented with strips of red and white cloth, flowers, and
the fresh pale-green leaves of the cocoa-palm. When the
little cottages were lit up for the evening, they looked
extremely pretty.

It was at once evident that there was not nearly sufficient
accommodation for all the guests. One of our party started
in search of his friend, the Government Agent, but in vain;
he had gone off in quest of the elephants, reported to
be coming up fast from the neighbouring dense jungles.
Consequently, we were left to our own resources. After some
delay, we succeeded in obtaining the use of one small room for
the ladies ; whilst, for ourselves, we sought shelter, for the
night, beneath the friendly and capacious roof of one of the
Fade boats, where we found a hearty welcome from a party of
young, rollicking coffee-planters.

Day had not appeared next morning when we were afoot :
and having sipped a cup of vile, half-boiled coffee, we started
to explore the wonders of the kraal, followed, of course, by
our servants, with sundry tin boxes and a hamper.

The neighbourhood in which the kraal was formed,
consisted of rugged, undulating ground, pretty thickly covered
with stout jungle. Heavy, low forest trees studded the stony
land, interwoven with thorny brambles, cacti, bamboos, and a
species of gigantic creeping plant, called appropriately, jungle-
rope, for it is strong enough to bind the stoutest buffalo that
ever roared. A number of narrow paths had been cut through
the jungle leading from the village to the kraal. Through one
of these winding, prickly tracks, we bent our slow way, seeing
little around us save hugely-branched trees, and thickly-matted
underwood. Half-an-hour's walk brought us to a halt. We
were at the kraal. I looked around ; but the only indications
of the industry of man in that wild spot, were sundry covered
platforms, raised amongst the leafy branches of trees, some
twelve feet from the ground. These places contained seats,
and were already filling with visitors : we followed the

130

example, and mounting the rude staircase, obtained a good
view of what was going on. Before us lay a largo open space,
in extent about two acres, irregular in shape, and of very uneven
surface. A few stout trees were standing at intervals within
it ; beside which were to be seen groups of natives carrying
long white wands, for all the world like so many black stewards
of some public dinner or ball. Around this plot of ground
grew a wall of dense jungle ; and, on looking into this, I
perceived that it had been made artificially strong by inter-
twining amongst it the heavy trunks of trees, long bamboos,
and jungle-rope of enormous thickness. At first sight, this
natural wall did not appear to be anything more than
ordinary jungle ; such as might easily be forced by any
ordinary village buffalo. We were, however, assured by the
native master of the ceremonies, the head Korale, that this
jungle would resist the fiercest attacks of the strongest
Kandyan elephant. At one end of the enclosure I perceived a
narrow opening, partly covered with light brambles and
branches of trees. This was the entrance to the kraal ; so
arranged as to wear a natural appearance. Beside this
carefully concealed gateway were hidden a number of active
villagers, ready prepared with huge trunks of trees and
jungle-rope, with which they were to secure the passage
against any attempts at return, so soon as the elephants were
trapped.

The novelty of our situation ; the wild solitude of jungle
around us ; the picturesque appearance of the many groups of
natives within and about the kraal ; the stories of elephant
shooting, and trapping, and narrow escapes, with sundry
references to portly baskets and boxes of provisions ; all helped
to make the day pass away rapidly and comfortably enough.
Evening, however, brought with it a general debate as to what
should be done ; for there were still no signs of game being
near ; and few of us desired to spend the night in that open
spot, unless under a strong inducement. The discussion ended

131

by an adjournment to the village and the Fade boat, where we
slept soundly.

The following day was spent pretty much as had been
the first. Some of the visitors gave strong signs of impatience ;
and towards evening, a few, of worse temper that the rest,
declared the whole afEair a complete take-in, and took their
departure for Colombo. Just then, intelligence was received,
by means of scouts, that the elephants to the number of forty,
were in full march towards the kraal. This set us all on the
tip-toe of expectation. Every one betook himself to his
appointed place. Ladies shrank away from the front seats,
and I detected one or two of my own sex casting anxious
glances towards the stairs. An equal bustle was visible within
the kraal. The head Korale rushed about full of importance ;
the black stewards with their white wands, grouped themselves
into parties of three or four, at irregular intervals amongst
the jungle surrounding the open space, and especially about
the entrance : but what duty was to be performed by these
gentry, was more than I could divine. It is true (I was told
by a native chief) that it would devolve on them to drive back
any of the elephants, when caught in the kraal, in the event of
their attempting to force the surrounding defences ; but the
idea of these poor creatures — some of them mere boys — being
of any service, with their little white sticks, appeared so absurd
and altogether ridiculous, that I thought I was being hoaxed
by the Korale.

The shades of evening descended, and scouts continued
to arrive from the driving party, with injunctions to hold
everything in readiness, for the herd were coming on. The
few torches that had been left to dispel the gloom were put
out, or removed from sight. The moon had not risen. Every
tongue was silent, save a few low whispers at intervals. Eyes
were eagerly strained towards the opening through which the
herd was expected to rush. Every ear was on the stretch to
catch the most remote sounds in that direction. One might

132

have fancied, from the death-like stillness of the place, that
we were there awaiting our own fate, instead of that of
elephants.

We did not wait long in this suspense. A distant
shouting burst suddenly upon our startled ears. It drew
rapidly nearer, and soon we could distinguish the violent
cracking and snapping of branches of trees and low jungle.
Then we heard the quick tramp of many ponderous and huge
feet. There was no doubt but that the animals were close
upon us ; for torches were visil;le in the direction from which
they were coming : indeed the distant junole appeared to be
alive with lights. Every native stood to his arms, such as
they were. I could see the white wands glimmering about in
the black forest at our feet : some score or two of rifle-barreis,
long and ugly-looking instruments, of native make, were
protruded from various points. Several of the ladies of our
party wept; and I verily believe that some of the males
wished inwardly that they were of the other sex, to have the
privilege of fainting and being carried out of reach of danger.
But there was little time for attention, even to frightened ladies.
Our eyes were fixed upon the moving and rapidly approaching
lights. They appeared to burn less brightly as they came
nearer : then some disappeared, and soon the whole were
extinguished, and all was plunged in darkness. Still, on came
the furious monsters : bamboos crashed ; the thick jungle flew
about in splinters. A heavy tramping and tearing, and
snapping asunder of branches, — and there they were, safely
within the kraal. Then arose a shout, as if the clouds and earth
were about to meet, or to do something out of the common
way. 1 bent forward to catch a peep at the enemy. The
native body-guard waved their white wands. The entrance
was barred up in a twinkling, and the torches brought forward
to enable us to witness the proceedings, when a volley of loud
uproarious laughter fell upon our ears, blended with exclama-
tions of angry disappointment. All eyes were strained towards

133

the clump of trees in the centre of the enclosure, where we
beheld a dozen or two of flaming chides or torches, waved to and
fro by some score of half -frantic villagers ; and there, as the
glare of torch light burst through the dense gloom, we beheld
couching together, in place of forty huge elephants, a knot of
village buffaloes, panting, and trembling, and tossing their
heads. A survey of those creatures told us how the matter
stood. There had been torches fastened to their horns, and
one or two of them had the remains of chules hanging to their
tails. There could not bo a shadow of doubt that the affair
had been a cruel hoax, and we were not long in ascribing the
origin of it to the real perpetrators — the party of young coffee-
planters with whom I had slept in the Pade boat.

The laughter of the evening, however, was not yet at an
end. The light of innumerable chules, now moving about,
discovered to us three nervous gentlemen snugly perched high
among the branches of a tree close by our si and. They had
made a rush up, in the first alarm of the onset ; but, however
easy fear had made the ascent, they evidently found it a
somewhat difficult cask to descend All eyes were at once
fixed upon the unlucky climbers, whose struggles to reach
the lower branches were hailed with roars of furious laughter.
Elephants, and buffaloes, and hoaxers were for the moment
forgott 'u. One of them was the District .Judge, a somewhat
cumbrous personage ; another, was an Assistant Agent, and
the third, a ( 'ommissioner of the Court of Requests, a thin
wiry fellow with a remarkably red face. There they wore,
kicking, and straining, and struggling in as pretty a fix as
any of the Civil Service had ever found themselves ; and it was
not until some bamboos and ropes had been handed up to
them, that they were able to reach the stand, and thence wend
their way off the scene.

By the time the kraal was cleared, the night was far
advanced, and the moon high in the horizon. Advice then
reached us that the elephants had made a detour from the

134

line, and had taken it into their unruly heads to treat themselves
to a gambol across some score or two acres of prairie land ;
where they were amusing themselves with a good round game,
despite the coaxing of a decoy consisting of two tame elephants.
It was clear that nothing would be done on that night, and our
merry parties betook themselves back to the village.

Our number were evidently on the decline next day.
The patience of many had been exhausted. Towards evening
intelligence was brought in, that thirty-five elephants, of all
sizes were in full march towards us ; and, shortly afterwards,
the Government Agent of the district, and the native chief of
the Korle, came in from the driving, to see that all was
made ready for the proper reception of the jungle visitors.
Again all was hurry and bustle. Provision baskets and
nervous ladies were sent to the rear : wine bottles were placed
in reserve, and sundry parting salutes were made with packets
of sandwiches. Once more silence reigned over the kraal :
torches wore removed : the guards and watchers were doubled,
and an extra supply of the little white wands brought to the
front.

It was about two hours after dark when we heard the
first distinct shouts of the drivers, who were slowly forcing
the elephants towards the kraal ; the two tame ones leading
the way, and pointing out the advantages of that particular
path to their jungle friends. Those sounds seemed to approach
us at irregular intervals. Sometimes it appeared as though the
animals were not to be moved on any account, and then the
shouting died away ; again they drew rapidly near ; then
paused ; then forward, until we fancied we could distinguish
the fall of the elephants' huge feet amongst the thick under-
wood. At last there was no mistake about it; they were
close upon us. Our anxiety and curiosity became intense.
The tearing and trampling amongst the jungle was deafening.
Giant bamboos and branches of trees appeared to be snapped
asunder by the on-coming herd, like so many walking-sticks —

135

in a way, in short, which made me tremble for the strength of
the kraal, and of our own elevated platform.

But there was little time for reflection of any kind. A
shot or two was fired in the rear of the advancing herd,
followed by a trampling of the leading elephants. The moon
at that moment began to peep over the distant range of low
hills; and, by its faint light, T could distinguish the dense jungle
bending and giving way on every side, and amongst it sundry
huge black forms rushing about in savage disorder, like
mountain masses up-heaved by some convulsion of nature.
The two decoys entered the enclosure at a brisk but steady
trot, and stationed themselves under the clump of trees,
without any notice being taken of them ; indeed, one of them
nodded knowingly to the Korale near him, as much as to say,
" It's all right, old fellow !" On came the wild elephants
at a thundering pace, tearing and bending, and smashing
everything before them; trumpeting and roaring at full pitch.
In another moment they were within the boundaries of our
fortress.

Never shall I forget the wild, strange beauty of that
uproarious moment. The moon was now shining sufficiently
on the kraal to light up the more open parts of it ; away under
the deep shade on one side, could be seen a dense, moving
mass of living creatures ; huge, mis-shapen, and infuriated,
trembling with rage and fatigue. Lighted chutes were gleaming
thickly, like fire-flies, amidst the neighbouring jungle. Felled
trees and rope barred up the narrow way, forming one monster
gate ; whilst busy groups of villagers, white wands in hand,
moved to and fro, and watched the furious herd. More lights
were brought to the front, and a blazing fire was kindled
outside the entrance, which, whilst it served to light up the
whole kraal, deterred the savage strangers from attempting
anything in that direction.

It was soon evident that the prisoners were not going to
take matters very quietly, Two of the stoutorft of their

136

number slowly adv^anced and examined the walls, to see where
an opening might most easily be forced. And now we were
not less astonished than delighted at the use made of those
tiny white wands, which had before served only to raise our
contempt. Wherever the two elephant spies approached the
jungle-walls of their prison, they were met by one or two
villagers, who gently waved before them little snow-white
switches ; and, lo ! as if by some spell of potent forest magic,
the beasts turned back, skrinking from contact with the little
wands. Point after point was thus tried, but all in vain ; the
snowy magic sticks were thick within the jungle, and silently
beat back the advancing foe.

While the two scouts were thus engaged on their
exploring expedition, the tame elephants approached the
remainder of the herd, and walked slowly round them, shaking
their shaggy ears and waving high in air their curling trunks,
as though thev would say, ''Move at your peril." One of the
captives, a somewhat juvenile and unsophisticated elephant,
ventured to move from the side of its maternal parent, to take
a survey of our stand, when tame elephant Number One went
up to the offender, and sent him back with an enormous flea
in his ear ; tame elephant Number Two bestowing at the same
moment a smart tap on its skull.

Busier work was at hand. The scouts, evidently disgusted
with the result of their operations upon the outworks, appeared
to be preparing for a sortie, and treated with the most reckless
levity the admonitory taps of the elephant policemen : which
however, seemed to be far less unpleasant to them than a
tickle on the snout from one of the pigmy white wands. It
was plain that they intended to carry their object by a coiip de
trunk ; but a score of rifles peered forth. The ladies then shut
their eyes, and stopped their ears ; an elderly gentleman at
my elbow, asked, in a tremulous whisper, "what the guns were
for?" The inquiry was replied to by a loud trumpeting from
one of the pair of rebels, — a harsh screaming roar, like the

137

hollow sound of a strained railway whistle, very much out of
repair. We had scarcely time to look at the poor brute
creating this disturbance, when we heard the sharp crack of
a dozen rifles around us — so sharp indeed, that our eyes
blinked asfain. Down tumbled one of the monsters with thick
torrents of hot, savage blood, pouring from many a wound
about his head and neck. His companion was not so easily
disposed of, though badly wounded. Lifting his enormous
trunk in the air, and bellowing forth a scream of defiance,
he made a rush at the jungle-wall. The two elephantine
policemen who had been narrowly observing his proceedings,
then made in between him and the ramparts, and succeeded in
turning him from his purpose ; but only to cause him to renew
his fierce attack upon another part of the defences. He
rushed at full speed upon the spot where our stand was
erected, screaming and lashing his great trunk about him, as
a schoolboy would a piece of whipcord. I felt alarmed. It
seemed as though our frail tenement must yield at the first
touch from the mighty on-coming mass of flesh, bone and
muscle. Ladies shrieked and fainted by the dozen : gentlemen
scrambled over each other towards the stairs, where a decidedly
downward tendency was exhibited. I would have given a
trifle, just then, to have been where the day before were
the Judge and the Collector, high amongst the branches. But
in much less time than I take to relate it, the furious animal,
smarting under many bullet wounds, had reached the verge of
our stand, heedless of the cracking of rifles, whose leaden
messengers flew round his head and poured down his shoulders,
many harmless. One last crack and down the monster fcU^
close at our feet. That shot was the work of a mere lad, the
little son of a Kandian Koralo, who, coolly biding his time,
had fired his piece close at the creature's ear. Leaping from
his place, the urchin flung aside his long tapering rifle, and
drawing forth his girdle-knife, severed the elephant's tail
from the carcase, as his just trophy.

138

These two having been disposed of, and a degree of calm
restored, the general attention was directed towards the herd,
which still remained in their original position. For a time
fear seemed to hold them motionless ; but when the extremity
of their danger rose before them, a number of the boldest
made a desperate rush at the entrance, but were easily turned
back when the watchers stirred up the great guard-fire,
whilst, from other parts of the kraal, they were soon repelled
by an application of white wands. In this way a good hour
was spent, at the end of which time the creatures appeared to
give up the idea of any further aggressive proceedings, and
remained subdued and calm,

A dangerous task had still to be performed — that of
securing the best of the herd for taming. Half-a-dozen of the
most active and skilful of the villagers crept slowly and care-
fully towards the frightened group ; each having a long stout
cord of jungle-rope in his hand, with a running noose at one end
of it. With stealthy, cat-like steps, these daring fellows went
amongst the herd, making some of us tremble for their safety.
Each of them selected one of the largest and strongest of the
group, behind which they crept ; and, having arranged the
" lasso" for action, they applied a finger gently to the right heel
of their beast, who feeling the touch as though that of some
insect, slowly raised the leg, shook it, and replaced it on the
ground. The men, as the legs were lifted, placed the running
nooses beneath them, so that the elephants were quietly
trapped, unknown to themselves, and with the utmost ease.
They then slipped rapidly away with the ends of the ropes,
and immediately made them fast to the trunks of the nearest
trees. The ropes, however, were far from being sufficiently
strong to hold an elephant who might put out his strength.
It was therefore, necessary to secure them still further, but by
gentle means. The two tame elephants were then placed on
active service : they were evidently perfectly at home, and
required no directions for their work. Walking slowly up to

139

the nearest of the six captured animals, they began to urge
him towards the tree to which he was fastened. At first the
creature was stubborn ; but a few taps on his great skull, and
a mighty push on his carcase, sent him a yard or two nearer
his destination. As he proceeded, the man in charge of the
rope gathered in the slack of it ; and so matters went on
between this party — a tap, a push, and a pull — until at length
three of the elephants were close to as many trees. Two other
villagers then came forward with a stout iron chain. The
tame animals placed themselves one on each side of a
prisoner, pressing him between them so tightly as to prevent
the possibility of his moving. In a minute or two the great
chain was passed several times round the hind legs and the
tree ; and, in this way the captive was left ; helpless and faint
with struggling. The other five were similarly treated. After
which our party dispersed, pretty well tired, and quite prepared
for bed.

Early next morning I paid a last visit to the kraal, alone ;
my friends were fairly worn out. The remainder of the
elephants had been either shot or had forced their way out in
one or two places. The six captured animals were quiet — as
well they might be, after their long fast and incessant
struggling. Towards the end of that day, a very small portion
of food was supplied to them, just sufficient to keep them alive.
In this way they were to remain for a week or two, when, if
found sufficiently reduced in strength and temper, they were
to be walked about, fastened between two tame companions,
who assisted very effectually in their daily education — not,
perhaps, in the most gentle and polite manner, but still much
to the purpose.

At the end of two or three months, the wild and unruly
destroying monster of the jungle, might be seen quietly
and submissively piling logs of timber in the Government
yard, with a purpose like intelligence little short of that of
man.

A HAPPY VALLEY.

fHERE was a spot not far from Lanka's latest capital, so
rich in sylvan scenery, so favored by nature in soil and
climate and locality, that they who knew its brightness, the
sunny, cheerful life of those who dwelt there, called it "The
Happy Valley."

The Vale of Dumbera was not always what it is. There
was a time, when, from one end to the other, the sweet aroma
of the coffee blossom, blended with fragrance from the lime
and orange flowers, loaded the air with perfume. One long
undulating stretch of coffee gardens, from Rajahwella at one
extremity, to Yahagaha Pitiya at the other, gave pleasant homes
and busy occupations for a dozen Europeans whose well-kept
bungalows were dotted through the valley. It was a good
morning's ride from one end to the other ; and in those days
when coffee fields were interspersed with jungle and wild
spots of low underwood and swampy ground, there was game to
be found for the seeking, — game in abundance, large and small.

Kondesallie, with its sylvan homestead and its long
undulating fields of coffee, was the parent of them all. About
the Manager's pretty bungalow, there were signs of English
care and thrift ; a poulty yard with cows and pigs roaming
about in happy indolence, gave to the place an air of comfort
which was good to see. The plantation was threaded by many
winding roads bordered by rose trees blossoming in one
continuous round of never-ending summer.

To the north of this charming spot, was then to be seen
the smaller but not less picturesque plantation of Gal Madua,
equally undulating, equally rich in verdure and fertility, equally
well loaded. Beyond it, was situated the little model estate

of Talwattie, younger and smaller ; and beyond that, again,
further to the north, amidst broad acres of green patanas and
pretty sylvan glades, and vallies and some topes of palms and
arekas, was Yahagaha Pitiya, the bungalow of which stood on
a green knoll from which no signs of coffee were visible, every
planted field being hid by belts of jungle or groves of jak and
bread-fruit trees. From this charming spot, this oasis amidst
oases, the sweetest glimpses of scenery were to be had.

The huge rock at Matale, the lofty peak of Hunasgiria,
the Knuckles range, the Medamahanuwera hills, and away to
the west, the beetling crest of Hantane towering above many
a hill and valley. Nearer was to be seen a wide expanse of
undulating grass land, threaded by strips of paddy fields, with

here and there a Headman's rustic dwelling, revelling amidst
a thick grove of palms and jaks. For many a long mile, the
wide expanse of verdure lay stretched like a carpet, until, in
the distance, woodland and dells and undulating hills wcro
blended in one broad green landscape.

At one extremity of this " Happy Valley " the path led to
a pretty grassy walk ovorsluidcd by massive, wide spreading

142

banyan and otlier trees, through the long vista of whose
pleasant foliage an ancient Dagoba was visible far in the
distance, besides which stood a " Pansela " in which an old
priest had dwelt for a life-time : from Yahagaha Pitiya to
this pretty sylvan spot, was a favorite evening stroll, and
there the planter and his family often sauntered ; and
seated at the old man's porch, held converse with him on
subjects upon which he loved to speak — the past history of
his country, the heroic deeds of a long race of sovereigns
passed away.

On the south side of the Valley, were, adjoining
Kondesallie, the thriving, picturesque estate of Pallikelle, partly
of cofEee, partly sugar, and the Deegalle Coffee plantation,
and beyond that the fine property of Rajahwella, whose rich,
deep, loamy soil and excellent situation, marked it out for a
long andprosperous career. Between these various properties,
were open grass lands, patenas, on which the estate cattle
found abundant pasturage, and across which the Managers
were able to enjoy a good morning canter, when work fell
slack, which it did not often ; for in those early days labor was
far less plentiful than at present : the few Tamils obtainable,
had to be supplemented by Kandyan villagers, g, most fickle
and uncertain class of workmen, with an occasional draft of
low country Singhalese, a still more unstable element in the
planter's calculation of work to be done.

Nowhere in all Ceylon was there at that time such a wide
stretch of Coffee as in the Vale of Dumbera. The mountains
and vallies of the Kandyan country were then one vast mass
of forest, untouched by planter's axe, save here and there a
small solitary clearing, the nurseries of a future gigantic
industry. On the Hantane and Hunasgiria ranges, away upon
the Knuckles, in the Kallibokke valley, and anon in Pusilava,
gaps had been made in the dense jungle, but few and far
between. Seen from above, these pioneer clearings would
appear like specks on the wide ocean of forest below, with

here and there "at ]ong intervals, a small curling wreath of
smoke rising from the planter's solitary hut of mud and talipot.
Not a mile of roadway was to be seen throughout that great
stretch of forest ; not a bridge spanned any river ; all save
our " Happy Valley" was a vast expanse of jungle solitude,
the silence of which was only broken by the roar of the
elephant, the tread of the buffalo, or the cry of some winged
dweller in the woods, disturbed by village sportsmen.
Travellers and holiday-makers from the central capital, were
in those days, attracted by the novelty of Coffee estates in full
vigor, to drive to the Kondesallie ferry, stroll over the
cultivated fields, look in at the sugar works, call on the
Manager, and drive back to Kandy, convinced that they had
beheld the germ of what was one day in the remote future,
to become a marvellously expanded and wealth-bestowing
enterprise. It has realised all these expectations to the full ;
but alas at the cost of how many lives, how many shattered
fortunes and broken constitutions !

Then, all was bright, sunny hopefulness. Seasons and
markets were less unstable than they have since been found :
the virgin soil was full of undeveloped vigor, and yielded
readily abundant crops, without a thought of fertilising agents.
If salaries were in those days small, they were at least ample
for the planters' wants ; when full grown fowls were three
pence each, eggs two shillings a hundred ; and as for beef,
you could have the shooting of a buffalo on any foggy morning,
when cattle trespassers found their forbidden way amongst
the young fields of Pallikelle sugar cane.

It was not all sunshine in that fertile valley : there was a
price to be paid for the wonderful abundance of the crops,
that season after season were gathered on the Dumbera plan-
tations. If the soil were fertile, it was rank with noxious
exhalations : but recently opened by the axe, the plough or
the mamotie, it was found that what favored vegetable life,
was fatal to animal health. In those portions of the valley

144

which bordered on the steamy banks of the Mahavilla ganga,
fever asserted full sway, and carried of its victims by the
Score. So terrible was its effects, that on some occasions all
field work came to a dead lock; every available cooly on
the Deegalle estate was fully occupied in attending to the
sick or burying the dead. The Europeans did not escape.
Superintendents were invalided rapidly, and the Manager, a
well known planter of iron constitution and of marvellous
spirits, was the only person on the estate who was not
prostrated by the scourge. In the end, disease swept away
the whole available force of coolies on the estate, and it became
a very serious question as to how the growing crop of Coffee
was to be gathered and cured. Coolies must be had ; but where,
was the question . The estate was so notorious in Kandy and
its neighbourhood for unhealthiness, that it was in vain to
hope for recruits in that direction. A fine piece of finesse was
resorted to, in order to seduce unsuspecting Tamils to th©
locality. To have sent one of the superintendents stricken
with fever, as they were, to enlist coolies, would have been as
futile as to have mentioned the name of the estate for which
their services were required : a wiser plan was carried into
successful execution. The services of a young,, ruddy-faced
planter from one of the adjacent estates were secured, and he
was despatched with a fair supply of rupees and a couple of
burly canganies, not to Kandy, but to Matelle on the north
road, the halting place of immigrant coolies, on their way
from the coast of India, There a few scores of them were
engaged by the healthy-looking planter, marched in safe
custody by a circuitous route to the vale of Dumbera, and there
handed over to the care of the Deegalle superintendent, who
with sunken cheeks and hollow eyes mustered them on the
barbacue and commenced by administering a strong dose of
quinine to them all round. Before a month was spent the
lives of half their number were as good as forfeited, and the
rest were sore smitten with a mortal fear.

145

But though disease played havoc with some portions of
this happy valley, it was upon the whole a cheerful, pleasant
spot and something more, for it was oftentimes the scene of
much boisterous roystering mirth. Tradition has told many a
tale of noisy gatherings on Saturday evenings, of Knuckles*
Bricks and Dumbera boys in the Deegalle bungalow. How the
revels were kept up until far into Monday morning, when
steeds were saddled in hot haste, and many an aching
head throbbed hotly as the muster-ground was reached at
day-light-

The small bungalow in which these protracted revels were
held, has long since disappeared : its site thickly overgrown
with thorny brushwood and lanthana, was once sought for by
friends of one of the early planters and was at length
discovered by the vast memorial-mound of empty bottles piled
up about the lonely spot.

The daring spirits of those early times who sometimes gave
too much to the rosy god, and wasted in revelry the energies
that were often overtaxed in heavy continuous work, amidst
privations unknown to planters of to-day, rarely if ever trenched
on the proper hours of work, but gave Avithout stint to their
employers every hour of thought and toil that could be
claimed. But hardy as were these planting pioneers, they were
but mortal : there were limits to their endurance, and those
bounds too often reached, claimed, though late, all the penalties
that disregarded laws of nature could exact.

Times have changed since then, and so have places. Years
have rolled onwards remorselessly, blighting many a fond hope.
A panic time of trouble and dismay brought desolation to the
valley once so happy. Beggared proprietors and bankrupt
agents sought aid in vain from penniless bankers, and in the
end well cared for estates with bungalows, and works and
coolies' lines, were sold for less than the land once cost. Money
seemed to have fled the countiy, and so men grew callous and
let the bramble usurp the place of coffee, and the relentless

146

lanthana claim for its own the fairest fields in that fair valley.
The buffalo trampled down the honeysuckle and the vine, the
wild boar made his home admidst the roses : and where the
prattling sounds of tiny voices were once heard, the jackall
shrieked at night-fall.

Once more a change has come over this bright vale
of sunshine ; once more the cheerful sounds of pleasant voices
are heard o'er many an acre, and once again human industry
asserts its supremacy over the jungle. One large hearted
toiler has made his home down there, and by the sheer
force of skilful labor has rescued the land from barrenness, and
made it what it was in olden, long-forgotten times, a " Happy
Valley."

OUR PRODUCE DEALER

fEN miles an hour, — not a yard less, dashing through
horse-traps and water gullies in the road, over treacherous
heaps of broken metal, along the edges of dangerous drains,
skirting ugly-looking culverts, on goes that fast-trotting mare,
black as night, sleek as velvet, safe as anything, through
Panadura, dashing into Morotuwa, scaring hackery bullocks,
scattering groups of children at Ratmalane, and flying like a
puff of dark wind past sober hired horses along Colpotty.
The whip is a middle aged Singhalese, clad in purest white,
with showy gold buttons on his jacket, watch and chain, and
the tallest of marvellous combs in his hair. He is a dealer in
produce generally, but in two articles especially. Matthea
Appoo was in early life much attached to coir, and in pursuing
the bent of his affection in the direction of that special article,
he had become an adept. He knew to a nicety how much
jackwood dye badly colored yarn would stand, without
betraying the hand of the manipulator, and had made money
by the device. But yarn was slow work, and he eventually
abandoned his first love for two other more attractive, because
more remunerative objects, — cinnamon and plumbago. There
is no sort of similarity in these two, on the contrary — one is
very heavy, the other is very light — one is dug from the
bowels of the earth, the other is shaved off, if we may so say,
from the earth's surface. There is this, however, in common
between them, they are both valuable articles, and are both
susceptible of a good deal of manipulation, so much so indeed,
that they might almost be classed as art-manufactures, instead
of as raw-products, seeing how much " cookiug " enters into
their composition.

148

Matthes began his commercial and manufacturing career
at an early age : he had served his time to an uncle, and under
him had acquired a knowledge of many little matters, which
were afterwards turned to profitable account on a larger scale :
at fourteen he had become an adept at bargaining for cin-
namon, sorting it and even at " making it up," which is the
technical or artistic term for blending the bark of the real
cinnamon plant, with that of spurious spice, or of trees which
have no relationship to the " laurus " family. There is an
active trade carried on in America in wooden nutmegs. Ceylon
can equally boast its guava cinnamon, and its " laterite "
plumbago.

Beholding the dashing " whip " of the Galle road, one
would scarcely imagine the humbleness of his first beginnings
in the outskirts of Maradana : beneath the shady roof of a
primitive hovel, and a ricketty out-house, rented at eight
shillings a month, he mapped out his future career, content to
bide his time with small beginnings, his cheap and simple
conveyance at that period of his life was a bullock-hackery.
His first essays in the dying of worthless coir yarn, yielded
him profit, and gave him the means to lay in a stock of " palm
oil," which he distributed with great tact, amongst the
storekeepers and head coolies of the principal exporters in
the Fort.

It was a saying of a former popular Governor of Ceylon,
that "the best lubricator for the wheels of the State, is
champagne :" the State wheels ran pleasantly enough in his
time. Matthes was of pretty much the same opinion in regard
to the wheels of fortune, sparing neither thirty shilling
champagne, or two-guinea brandy with gilt labels. Those
who spend but little on themselves, can afford to be liberal to
others, especially when sprats are given to catch herrings, and
even larger fish. No wonder then, that the little shady hovel,
and its ricketty godowns in the black slums of Maradana,
were soon exchanged for a tiled dwelling, and a range of solid

149

godowns, at we nre afraid to guess how much monthly rent,
in one of the main thoroughfares, at a convenient distance
from water carriage, and not very remote from the family
abodes of the storekeepers of two large buyers of native
produce. Cheerful, and occasionally not unprofitable evenings,
were spent in the society of the said storekeepers, who sipped
Matthes's liquor in the front verandah, and chatted about coir,
cinnamon, and plumbago, iu the most satisfactory manner,
until it was hard to say which were more sold, the produce or
the masters.

But no matter how many corks were drawn on these

occasions, the dealer was up at the usual hour to take his early

bath, and seek for the early worm, which he generally managed

to find. Coffee and hoppers despatched, his people began to

arrive, and by seven o'clock operations were in full play.

There were the cinnamon, storing rooms, the coir steeping

rooms, and beyond all, in later days, in another compound,

the plumbago manufactory, in which cart loads of " laterite,"

or vulgarly " cabook," were converted into the finest plumbago,

by the skilled myrmidons of this ' Wizard of the Bast.'

Within his long range of godowns, there were many chambers

with intricate divisions and entrances, all piled with produce

in various stages of manipulation, and we may as well add

in varied modes, to suit the different tastes or capacities of

the dealer's buyers. For the lately landed British merchant,

fresh and green from the environs of Coruhill, Matthes had

bales of the smoothest and most golden looking spice that

ever Spanish Don set eyes upon : these were the produce of

an extensive tract of young guava trees in Saffragam, peeled,

prepared and dried as cinnamon, and so closely resembling

it in general appearance, savo that it was too pale and too

smooth, that unwary buyers might easily be imposed upon by

it ; but what about the sweet odour and the still sweeter-taste

peculiar to the bark of cinnamon : this is managed in a few

hours by immersion in largo tubs of the waste water from the

: 150

distillation of cinnamon oil, and aftei'wards when dry, by the
slightest touch on each end of a bundle of the false guava
pipes, with a cloth saturated with cheap cinnamon oil, which
leaves behind it a searching and tolerably permanent aroma,
this perfume and the taste left by cinnamon water, are quite
sufficient for the newly caught shipper of native produce, eager
as he is to develop the resources of the country and add to
his own. For the buyer who has been two or three years in
the country, and has had an awakening to a sense of the
existence of guava trees* in Ceylon, our dealer has other
varieties of spice, almost as worthless, but less easy of
detection : these are the produce of spurious varieties of the
cinnamon plant, grown in the jungles of the interior, and
when cut young, presenting a good deal of the [external
appearance of the genuine article : this too is doctored in the
manner prescribed, and as eagerly bought by the advanced
griffin. A third mode of manipulation is by false packing,
which consists in filling the centres of pipes of good cinnamon
with pieces of guava bark or of spurious cinnamon : this
requires skilful operation and when well worked is not easily
detected. The sale of guava or jungle bark, which probably
costs about six pence the pound in Colombo, in place of spice
worth from eighteen pence to two shillings in ordinary years,
must be a lucrative business if a dealer can transact much of it,
and that much of it does change hands at these prices, advices
from home assure us, equally with the increasing wealth of
Matthes and his co-traders.

The plumbago trade has grown up marvellously of late :
from small beginnings it has come to be, like our friend
Matthes amongst shippers, in great request. Its value has
doubled, and its exports have trebled in not very many years.

* In Mincing Lane this guava spice is termed sassafiass bark, though why is
difficult to understand, as the sassafrass tree is totally different in growth and quality
from the guava tree.

151

In former times it was known chiefly as a lubricant, and a
polishing powder for fire-grates, and some other such purposes.
Now its chief use is in the construction of crucibles for melting
obstinate metals, and again for a very different purpose, in
the manufacture of pencils in substitution of Cumberland lead
which is becoming more scarce and dearer year by year. For
both these latter purposes it is essential that the article be
pure and free from sand or soil of any kind, and in proportion
to this quality is its value. A shipper who is careful on this
point will insist on seeing every barrel filled and packed
in his own yard, before paying for it, yet with all this
precaution, he is not unfrequently sold by a clever legerdemain
between storekeepers and dealers, who occasionally manage to
pack away some of the cabook covered by plumbago artfully
rubbed over it. Some wholesale frauds of this kind have been
known to take place, always of course, with connivance on the
part of Bome subordinate in the shipper's employ. The most
notable instance of the kind occurred some dozen years ago,
when a loss of nearly a thoiisand pounds, was sustained by a
large exporter of plumbago who had most carefully seen to
the filling, packing and marking of every barrel of the finest
plumbago. Our friend the clever manipulator of guava
cinnamon, was in this case equal to the occasion. He had
supplied the fine silvery mineral and the barrels, and his men
had assisted in marking the packages for the merchant. His
procedure was to fill a like number of similar barrels with
rubbishing plumbago dust, mark the packages with the same
numbers and marks which are usually very simple, generally
one or at most two letters, send his barrels to the wharf
on the same day with the others, and then for a dextrous
quick hand to go carefully round in the dead of the night,
and by the light of a dark-lanthorn, mark a cross or a star
below the distinguishing letter on all the barrels of good
plumbago. On the morrow when the coolies went to load
th» plumbago in boats, they naturally loaded the barrels

152

containing the rubbish as they alone had the mark indicated in
the shipping order, the others with the star beneath the initial
letter, they of course left on the wharf, and these were
afterwards either removed to the dealer's premises, or sold as
they stood on the wharf ready for shipment, and being found
of first rate quality, fetched a high price. It is scarcely
necessary to add that the shipper who had such a long and
angry correspondence with his American constituents, to
whom he made the consignment, never succeeded in tracing
the manner of the fraud or the perpetrators.

But let it not be supposed that all produce dealers are as
Matthes Appoo, given to manipulations of a doubtful kind. It
is not so. We do not care to venture on any guesses as to
the proportion which manipulating dealers bear to the plain
and straight-forward dealing contractors who conscientiously
give you the article they profess to sell ; suffice it to say there
are somewhat too many of the former to make the life of a
young beginner at merchandising quite one of velvet and
roses. That they are thus numerous is matter for deep regret-
But on the other hand, there are dealers, Singhalese and
Tamil, whose word may be taken as their bond, and whose
goods will pass the most cunning scrutiny without fail or fault.
Meantime Matthes has married the dowered dauohter of a
wealthy cart-contractor, and has taken a suburban villa some-
where in the direction of Mount Lavinia so as to be handy for
the plumbago business. He has a number of pits giving
employment to some scores of workpeople, who bring to the
surface many tons of the mineral monthly. At first Matthes
had no idea, but that of getting a few facilities from the
headmen in the matter of royalty, but when his pada-boats
were delayed, sometimes for weeks together, for the Mudeliyar
to come and see to the weighing of the plumbago, he became
so exasperated ^hat it needed small persuasion to induce him
to despatch his boat loads of the mineral, without the operation
of weighing, or the formality of paying the royalty ; and none

153

were the wiser. That which he adopted at first in self-dtf ence,
he now practices from force of habit, and as he keeps a store
of good Kquor always at hand, the overworked headman does
not trouble himself to enquire whether the amount of royalty
paid by Matthes can possibly represent the extent of business
he must do to build up the fortune he is evidently making.

NUMBER FORTY-TWO.

fHE true, original Number Forty-two — of which a copy
may be seen in any of the thousands of towns and cities
between Nepaul and Ceylon — is situated in the very heart of
the black town of Colombo, amidst the streets in which
dwell natives, half-castes, and Eurasians, or country-born
descendants of Europeans : it is to be found in the chief
thoroughfare of the town, if such a term as thoroughfare can
properly be applied to the narrow, choked up street, boiling
over with hot coolies, and enraged bullock-drivers.

This state of tropical conglomeration will be more readily
understood when I mention that the carriage-way or street
is the only passage available for pedestrians and equestrians,
for bipeds and quadrupeds. The Dutch, when masters of the
place, had provided every house with broad luxuriant verandahs,
covered in and nicely paved ; so that the dwellers in the town
might not only sit out under shade in the open air at
eventide ; but, during the furious heat of the day, could walk
from one end of the street to the other under these broad and
pleasant covered ways. Now,* many of these verandahs have
been appropriated and railed off, as open receptacles of all
sorts of merchandise. Where in former jolly days, radiant
Dutchmen sat and smoked their pipes, and quaffed Schiedam,
are now piled up motley goods to tempt the unwary
passer-by. Where buxom, merry-eyed lasses once flirted with
incipient burgomasters, are shiploads of rice, and cargoes
of curry stuffs. The perfume of the rose and the oleander
are supplanted by the caustic fragrance of garlic and salt-fish.

* A. D. 184.8.

155

Dotted along these f rfigrnnt street, among rice stores, iron
depots, and dried fish warehouses, are the shops of the
Moorman traders, the only attractions for Europeans in this
quarter. Your regular Moorman shopkeepers, or bazaar-men,
possess such terrifically unpronounceable names that, by common
consent, their English customers designates them by the numbers
of their shops. In this way a little, thin-faced, shrivellod-up
Moorman, a small portion of whose name consists of Meera
Lebbe Slema Lebbe Tamby Ahamadoe Lebbe Marcair, is cut
down to Number Forty-eight ; which is the title he is known by.
The most flourishing of these gentry is certainly Number

Forty-two; a portly, oily-skinned,
well-conducted Moorman, with
a remarkably well-shaved head,
surmounted on its very apex by a
ridiculously little colored cap, like
an infantine bee-hive. His bazaar
is admitted on all hands, especially
amongst the fair sex, to be "first
chop." Yet a stranger would
imagine that the fiscal had pos-
session of the place and \^as on
the point of selling off by auction
the entire contents, so confused
and motley an appearance do they wear.

The doorway, narrow and low, is jealously guarded by a
pile of grindstones, surmounted by a brace of soup-tureens on
the one side, and by tools and weapons of offence on the
other ; so that the chances arc that, in trying to escape the
Newcastle and Staffordshire Charybdis you get caught upon
the sharp points of the Sheffield Scylla. Ouco past these
dangers, however, you forget all your anxiety and nervousness
in the bland sunny countenance of Number Forty-two. He is
truly delighted to see you, he is so anxious to place the whole
contents of his store at your complete disposal, that one might

156

fancy his sole object in life was to minister to the pleasure of
the English community.

Number Forty-two directs your attention, in the most
winning manner, to a choice and very dusky collection of
hanging lamps of the most grotesque fashion. His fowling-
pieces are pointed out to you as perfect marvels. If you
require any blacking brushes, or padlocks, or Windsor soap,
or smoking caps, or tea-kettles, he possesses them in every
possible variety, just out by the very latest ship.

Our bazaar is by no means aristocratic. On the contrary,
it is most decidedly republican in all its tendencies. It admits
of no distinction of ranks. The highest born wares are placed
on an equal footing with the most lowly merchandise, the most
plebeian goods. Earthenware jostles cut-glass ; ironmongery
— and some of it rare and rusty too — elbows the richest
porcelain ; vulgar tin-ware hob-nobs with silks and satins.
Tart-fruits and pickles revel in ihe arms of forty yards of the
best crimson velvet. Pickled salmon in tins are enshrined
amongst Conventry ribbons.

I don't happen to require any of his perfumery or
preserves, nor am I anxious about muslins or plated-candle-
sticks : I simply want to select a few very plain wine-glasses,
and I know there are none better than at Number Forty-two.
Piles after piles of the fragile glass-ware are raked out from
under a mass of agricultural implements, and it is really
marvellous to see how harmlessly the brittle things are
towsled and tumbled about amongst ponderous wares and
massive goods. How peacefully the lions and the lambs of
manufactures repose together within the dusty dark walls of
Forty-two.

My friend with the bee-hive cap is never disconcerted
by any demand, however out of the common way. From
ships' anchors' and chain cables down to small minnikin-pins,
he has a supply of every possible variety of wares. I have
often asked for things that I never dreamt of requiring, just

157

to try the wonderful resources of Number Eorty-two, and sure
enough he would produce the articles one by one. I thought
I had caught him once when I requested to look at a few
warming-pans, and pictured to myself how hugely chap-fallen
he would appear, to be obliged to confess that he had no such
things in his store. But not a bit of it. He stole away very
placidly into some dismal dark hole of a place, amongst a
whole cavern of bottles and jars, and just as I pictured him
emerging into broad daylight, dead-beaten, he came upon me
radiant and cheerful as ever, bearing a gigantic and genuine
" warming-pan," apologising to me, as he removed the coating
of dust from it, for having but that one to offer — it was the
last of his stock.

There was one peculiarity about ray friend with the bee-hive,
which must not be omitted. He never made any abatement
in the price demanded for his articles, be they of the latest
importation, or the remains of an invoice standing over since
he first started in business. A shop-keeper in nearly any other
country in the world would, at the end of a certain number of
years, clear out his old stock, and dispose of it as he best
could, to make room for new wares. But not so Number
Forty-two ; nor indeed any other number in that bazaar.
There lay the old-fashioned cotton-prints, and silk waistcoat
pieces, and queer-looking ribbons of no colour at all. Years
have rolled past since they first entered their present abode.
The merchant who imported them died of a liver attack a
dozen years since. They would not sell in eighteen hundred
and thirty, and therefore are not very likely to move off in
eighteen hundred and forty-eight ; but the same price is affixed
to them now as then, and the only chance for their disposal
would seem to be by the direct interposition of a fire or an
earthquake. Number Forty-two had doubtless hoard that
wines are improved by age, and ho may possibly imagine that
some mellowing and enriching process goes on in a lapse of
years, with regard to silks and muslins.

158

This class of Indian shopkeepers have, moreover, a very-
confused and mystified conception of the real value of some
goods. They can tell you to a tinfle the worth of a dinner-set,
or of a dozen of Dutch hoes, but in millinery and other fancy
articles, they are often fearfully mistaken. A Moorman buys
what is termed in technical language, a " Chow-chow" invoice,
in other words, a mixed assortment of hardware and software,
of workables and wearables. He is told the lot is valued at a
hundred pounds sterling ; he offers eighty, and takes them at
ninety. He refers to the invoice on opening out the goods,
and gets on very well in pricing them until he comes to such
things as ribbons, gloves, lace, &c. ; which are the dear and
which the cheap he cannot possibly tell, and he therefore
tickets them at so much the yard or the pair all round, as the
case may be. In this way I often pick up a glorious bargain
at Forty-two, buying kid-gloves for eighteen-pence, for which
in London I should have to pay at least four shillings ; and a
trifle of real Brussels lace for my wife, at the price of the very
commonest Nottingham article.

The fortunes of Forty-two were once placed in the most
imminent jeopardy from a circumstance which happened in his
shop while I was there, and which became, at the time, the
food of all the hungry gossip-mongers of the place. My friend
had a Moorish assistant remarkably active, but dissipated and
impertinent. He was ugly beyond measure, and when he
grinned, which he frequently would do in spite of strict
injunctions to the contrary, he distended a cavern of a mouth
that was perfectly hideous. This creature had one day become
unusually excited, and it appears in the fervour of his jollity
had laid a wager with a young neighbour of kindred habits,
that he would kiss the first female customer who should set
foot within his master's shop on that morning, be she fair or
dark. I can imagine the horror with which poor Forty-two
beheld his grinning deputy fulfil his engagement by saluting
the fair cheek of an English lady, and that lady — as chance

159

would have it — the wife of one of the high legal functionaries
of the ''place. The affair was hushed up as much as it could
})e, but in the end it oozed out ; and people, so far from
deserting Number Forty-two, actually flocked to it to hear the
particulars of the affair. The offender was dismissed ; but not
until he had imparted to that particular shop an unenviable
celebrity that might have ruined its owner.

There are other numbers besides Forty -two, which enjoy
a considerable reputation, all things considered, but they
certainly lack the fashionable repute of the aforesaid. For
instance, there is Number Forty-seven, a remarkably well-
conducted man, very steady, very civil, and exceedingly
punctual in settling his accounts with the merchants who
esteem him accordingly. This worthy Moorman transacts
business much on the same principle as his neighbours, but
unlike Forty-two and one or two other active numbers, he is
given to indulge in certain siestas during the heat of the day,
which no influx of customers can debar him from enjoying. As
the hour of high noon approaches, he spreads his variegated mat
upon the little, dirty, ricketty, queer-looking couch, under the
banana tree in the back court-yard by the side of the well, and
there, under the pleasant leafy shade, he dozes off, fanned
by such truant breezes as have the courage to venture within
such a cooped-up, shut-in pit of a yard, dreaming of customers,
accounts and promissory notes. During this slumber, it is
in vain for any one to attempt to coax a yard of muslin, or a
fish-kettle out of the inexorable Forty-seven. The somniferous
spell has descended upon his dwarfy deputy, who, rather than
wake his master, would forfeit his chance of Paradise ; and he,
no less drowsy himself, opens one eye and his mouth only, to
assure you that the article you require is not to be found in
their shop. You insist that it is. You know where to lay
your hand upon it. The deputy Forty-seven shakes his drowsy
head in somniferous unbelief. You seek it out from its dusty,
murky hiding-place, and prodjuco it before his unwilling face.

160

He opens another eye, smiles, nods to you, and is away
again far into the seventh heaven. There is no help for
it, but to appropriate the article and pay for it on your next
visit.

Number Forty-eight is a small bustling variety of
Moorman, making a vast show of doing a large stroke of
business; but, as far as I could ever perceive, doing next
to nothing. He bought largely, paid as regularly as most
of other numbers, was constantly opening huge packing
cases and crates, and sorting out their contents into heaps ;
but I never remembered to have seen a single customer within
his shop. How the man lived was, for a long time, a perfect
mystery to me ; but I learnt at length that he disposed of his
purchases entirely by means of itinerent hawkers who armed
with a yard-measure and a pair of scales, and followed by a
pack of loaded coolies groaning under huge tin cases and
buffalo-skin trunks, perambulated from town to village, from
house to hut ; and by dint of wheedling, puffing, and flattering,
succeeded in returnino^ with a bag full of coin.

For Number Sixty-two I entertained a more than ordinary
respect. Unlike his Moorish brethren he possessed a remark-
ably rational name, — Saybo Dora. Originally a hawker, he
had by his steady conduct won the confidence of the merchants,
who supplied him with goods wherewith to open a store, at a
time when such places did not exist in the town. From small
beginnings he rose to great transactions ; and now, beside a
flourishing trade in the bazaar, carried on pretty extensive
operations in many smaller towns throughout the country. It
was by no means an unusual thing for this simply-clad
mean-looking trader to purchase in one day from one merchant,
muslins to the value of a thousand pounds, crockery for half
that amount, and perhaps, glassware for as much more. For
these he would pay down one-fourth in hard cash, and so great
was the confidence reposed in him, that his bags of rupees,
labelled and endorsed with his name and the amount of their

161

contents, were received and placed in the strong-room of the
Englishmen without being counted, Saybo Dora's name on
the packages gave them currency.

So much for their business aspect ; but once I paid a visit
to Forty-two in his private dwelling. In one of the dullest,
dirtiest, and most squalid-looking streets of the black town
dwelt he of the bee-hive and portly person. The hut was
perched high up on a natural parapet of red iron-stone, with
a mound of rubbish in front. The day had been fearfully hot'
even for India ; the very roadway was scorching to the feet
thouCTh the sun had set, yet the tiny windows and the
ramshackling doors were all closed. Nobody was lying dead
in the house, as I first imagined might be the case. They
had only shut out the heat.

I found Forty-two enveloped in a sort of winding-sheet,
reclining on some coarse matting, and smoking a very large
and dirty hookah. A brazen vessel was by his side, a brass
lamp swung from the ceiling; and, on a curiously carved
ebony stand, was a little sort of stew-pan minus a handle
filled with sweatmeats. In an adjoining part of the dwelling,
divided off only by some loose drapery for want of a door, lay
sprawling on the earthen floor a leash of infantine, embryo
Forty-twos; while, shrouded in an impenetrable mass of
muslin, crouched Mrs. Forty-two, masticating tobacco leaves
and betel nut. Smoking, eating sweetmeats and curry, and
sleeping, form the sum total of the earthly enjoyments of this
race of people. Their sole exception to this dreary, caged
existence being an occasional religious festival, or a pilgrimage
to some shrine of great sanctity, when the muslin-shrouded
wife, the muslin-less children, the sweetmeats, the hookah and
the brazen vessels are packed into a hackery which, with its
huge white bullock, jingles and creaks over the ruts and stones
as though the wheels and axle had got a touch of Saint Vitus's
dance, and for that one day, at any rate, Number Forty-two
may be fairly said to be out of town.

OUK COFFEE MILLS-

^HE fine old English gentleman, who sits at home at ease,
^ and sips his morning coffee, with the Times upon his
knees, is utterly powerless to fathom the depth of human
ingenuity, which, during the last quarter of a century have
been brought into the service of the coffee grower and the
coffee curer. The frugal house-wife may marvel at the rapid
strides with which the Ceylon article has risen in public estima-
tion and general value at home and abroad, until it has nearly
attained the foremost place amongst the coffees of the world.

The race for place between the coffee-producing countries
of the world, has been a long and a waiting race, so far as
Ceylon was concerned. She knew that the Mocha staple
was a strong opponent, while the Jamaica and Costa Rica
confederacies had long been favorites in the field, and could
always command the odds : she did not care much for Brazils,
and as for Java she was not fit for any distance. Well, for
years past, Mocha has had all the running at heavy odds,
say 100 to 85, with Jamaica a good second at 90 to 60, and
Costa Rica well on her quarter at 85 to 65, Ceylon all the
while waiting steadily upon them at 70 to 50, with Rio and
Java in the crowd. But, places have been changed lately :
there was some very close running in 1861, and now we find
the Ceylon berry has regularly overhauled the Jamaica favorite
and the Costa Rica pet, and left them behind, and is making
capital running for first place. We shall expect to hear in the
next report, that the Ceylon filly has won cleverly by a neck,
with Jamaica and Costa Rica completely distanced.

How all this has happened does not take long to tell, so
we will tell it and pass on to explain the means and appliances

163

now in use throughout this city, for maintaining the high
position its chief produce has attained. The cultivation of
coffee in Ceylon has been all along, carried on under many
disadvantages and drawbacks. Fickleness of seasons, instability
of markets, uncertainty of labor supply, dearness and scarcity
of transport, and, after all, a long voyage to market. To meet
so many drawbacks our planters set themselves to see how
they could lessen the cost of production and curing, and
enhance the value of their product by greater care in the
preparation. The latter object has led by slow degrees, to
such improvements in machinery, processes, and appliances that
coffee-curing has become a scientific process, and hence the
presence of so many extensive buildings and tall chimneys
which are to be seen in every direction in the neighbourhood
of Colombo.

Forty years ago when coffee-curing was in its earliest
stages of infancy, such a thing as a Coffee mill did not
exist. The whole of the then small crops were dried on
mats spread in the front and back yards of Colombo fort
offices : not a bean of it was dried out of the fort, and the
peeling or removal of the parchment covering of the berry was
effected either by hand-peelers of a very rude and cumbrous
make, or by peelers worked off the engines of two oil mills.
It was, if we remember rightly, in the year 1840 that the
first regular coffee-curing establishment was formed out
of the fort, on the actual site of Messrs. Sabonadiere and
Company's mills, where may still be seen a small portion of the
original old walls and doorways : well do we remember when
the foundations of that unpretending coffee-curing store were
laid, how British merchants came out to look at them, and
shaking their sceptical heads, pronounced the firm which was
engaged in the building, no better than insane, for that all
the estates in Ceylon could never grow coffee enough to cover
those vast brick barbauuos ; and as for the peeler-wheels shod
with iron, why of course, they would crush all the coffee into

1C4

triage ! Such were the predictions of the Colombo magnates of
1840. We have lived to see thirty cojffiee mills each of ten times
the capacity of the original coffee mill in Slave Island, and all
find ample work, whilst the weight and speed of the " peeler "
wheels have been doubled.

An account of the process carried on in any one of these
many mills will represent the work of the whole, for although
the special arrangements and disposition of drying ground,
peeling-house and picking and packing stores, may differ in
certain details, they all follow one general principle.

A stranger to Ceylon and unacquainted with the vissicitudes
of our climate, and the condition in which much of the first
parcels of coffee are received from the estates, might well
marvel at the massive character of the buildings, and the very
finished manner in which every appliance is completed. We
may as well inform those who are unacquainted with the fact,
that in the early months of the coffee season, say from October
to far into December, the weather is most variable, and the
parchment coffee received from the planters, is often saturated
with moisture to such an extent as to require a full week of
good Colombo sunshine to free it of superfluous water, to say
nothing of drying it for the mill. Of course, this makes the
curing rather costly, and the freight by railway very high,
as the charge for carriage is by weight. But it is often
unavoidable from long-continued rains up-country, combined
with a rush of ripe cherry blocking up the planters' stores, so
as to prevent them from turning it over, and therefore rather
than run the risk of heating, they consent to extra freight by
railway and extra growls from the Colombo curers.

During October and November, the manager of a coffee
mill leads a most harrassing life ; anxious to take advantage
of every blink of sunshine to air and if possibly, warm his wet
parchment, he is compelled to run risks and cover his wide
barbacues, as thinly as may be, and perhaps before it has had
an hour of fresh, warm, morning air upon it, a heavy squall

165

sweeps over the ground, and ere three-fourths of the damp
cofEee can be gathered up, and placed within shelter, the
barbacues are swimming from the effects of the watery-
downpour.

When cofEee is received from the estate, unless the season
be far advanced, and there be hot dry weather up-country,
the bean inside the parchment is usually so soft as to yield to
pressure : as it would be impossible to remove the parchment
from it in this condition, as the soft cofEee berry could not
be preserved with so much water in its composition, it has to
undergo a good deal of exposure to the sun.

It is not necessary in describing the process of cofEee
curing and packing, as carried on in Colombo, that we should
give a sketch of any particular establishment. The mode of
procedure is identical in all of them, though there may be
modifications of arrangements in some not to be found in
others, and some of the larger or more recently erected mills,
have mechanical appliances for economising labor, not to be
found in others. Apart from these arrangements, however,
there is no essential difference in any of them.

Whether you enter the Blooming-hall Mills, or the United
Channel Island Stores, or the New Banff establishment,
between six or seven o'clock in the morning, the sight which
meets your eye is pretty much the same. The female part of
the indigenous population, will be streaming in to perform
their daily task of coffee-picking, some Singhalese, some Tamil,
some with sleeping babies, or toddling children, some free from
incumbrances, and thinking only of their new comboy of the
richest magenta, and their gorgeous hair-pin, receiving the
gate-keeper's knowing wink of the left eye, as an understood
and legitimate tribute to their personal attractions. And
here we may mention that in the coffee-picking world, fully
as much as in the western, civilized world, " kissing goes by
favor," and it is quite pleasant to see how readily the store
coolies lighten the labors of a pretty and unencumbered picker;

166

her allowance of coffee for the day's work is brought to the
precise spot, close to an open breezy window where she works,
her mat will be spread for her, and one might almost imagine
though it would no doubt be a gross libel on the male portion
of the establishment, that the bushel which measured her bag
of coffee could not have been nearly so large as that which
meted out the daily allowance of her neighbour, the haggard-
looking woman with a squalling child.

Whilst these ladies are strolling in and assuming their
allotted tasks, a score or two of coolies will be busy carrying
out from the receiving store, and spreading not too thickly,
but according to the weather, the parchment coffee for the
day's drying on barbacues faced with bricks and tarred, having
sufficient slope to run off rain water. In the evening of
the second day it will be carried into another store near to the
peeling-house, and next day spread out on a barbacue further
up the yard, until by successive days' exposure it has become
sufficiently dry and hard to be placed in the troughs of the
peeling-mill and subjected to the rapid friction of the metal-
faced wheels.

Thoroughly well dried parchment coffee is rapidly cleaned
by being rubbed briskly between the hands, when the
parchment falls into dust, and the beans are found ready for
packing. The peeling-mill of the present day differs only
from that of early times in being larger, better hung, more
rapidly propelled, and of metal throughout with a corrugated
face. The mechanical arrangements for removing the coffee
and parchment dust known as "chaff" from the mill, and
separating them by means of fanners or winnowers, vary in
different establishments, but in all the process is the same :
so likewise we may say of the machinery for separating the
beans of various sizes by means of sizers, and removing the
pea-berry and broken beans, all of which are separately packed
and marked : the means for effecting these objects are
identically the same in all mills, but modified or combined

167

with lifting apparatus, according to the requirements of each
place.

In the early coffee days of Ceylon all that was done to
the beans after being freed from the chaff was to pick out
damaged or defective pieces : afterwards the pea-berries were
removed by hand, and it was not until in more recent times
that it was found worth while to size the coffee, an operation
at first performed by hand, but eventually by sizers worked
by steam power. The coffee curer has ascertained that the
trifling additional cost of sizing is far more than compensated
by the enhanced value of the coffee which is found to roast
better when of even size. Greater care is also taken to remove
from the sound portion of the sample every bean in the
slightest degree injured, as it is found that the smallest cut
from the pulper is apt to favor decay before reaching the home
market, and seriously affect the flavor of the article.

The appliances for weighing and packing do not differ
materially in any of the mills, nor does the preparation of the
packages, in which great care is exercised, to the end that
when turned out of the coolies' hands they may be not only
sea-worthy, but coffee-worthy, in other words sound, strong,
and sweet. A good charring in the inside of the cask will no
doubt remove any slight resinous taint, but generally speaking,
care is used to employ only good sweet wood. How a sufficient
supply is to be obtained ten years hence, at the present rate of
consumption of eighty thousand casks a year, is one of those
things no coffee curer can undertake to explain. Up to the
year 1840 all coffee from Ceylon went home in bags; in that
year a small experiment was made by shipping pea-berry in
small boxes lined with paper : but this was a failure ; the good
woods were found too costly, and the cheap woods such as Hal
and Dawata imparted an objectionable flavor to the contents.
Ultimately kegs with the insides charred, were tried with
success : then larger barrels, and eventually casks of six to
nine hundredweights each.

168

Packed in casks of various sizes so as to secure better
stowage, on ship-board, they are carefully marked with a view
to placing the head-staves perpendicular when in the ship's
hold, pressure above being found to damage the ends when
this precaution is not taken. From the time the casks of
coffee leave the mills, until they are on board ship, they do
not part company with a stout tarpauHne, so necessary is it
that damp should not in any way penetrate the packages, and
hence it is that, added to all the care that is given to our chief
article of export within the mills, it is cared for up to its latest
moments in Ceylon.

An account of our coffee mills would be manifestly
imperfect without a slight sketch of the presiding genius, the
store-keeper, who for many a year in olden days was master
of the situation.

The original of the type I am about to describe, may be
said to belong to a race nearly extinct in the present day :
born of the necessities of their time, they have been gradually
swept away by the necessities of a more advanced state of
things, and are now only to be met with in the bye-ways of
business, hanging on to the skirts of new comers unskilled in
their filchings, and captivated by the low rate of salary with
which they are content, as a cloak to daily and nightly
swindles.

Your proper store-man is a Singhalese, but I could
produce Malays fully as skilled in the craft of the professional
store-keeper, as any " Tepanis " or " Juanis." In the early
days of coffee in Ceylon, there were but few mills or stores
that could afford the salary of a European manager, and it
was moreover considered that on some such principle as that
contained in the old saying of " set a thief to catch a thief,"
there was no person better able to work natives, than a native.
This highly popular delusion obtained credence for a score of
years, during which time the amount of fraud and peculation
that was perpetrated through the Colombo coffee stores, was

169

such as would have constituted a handsome fortune for most
men, and actually did constitute a good many fortunes to the
successful Tepanis's and Juanis's of the New Banffshire stores,
and the United Channel Islanders' Mills of those ever to be
lamented days, now all dead and gone. As the rings on the
cocoanut tree indicate the age of the palm, so the jewellery
and the general mounting of our model store-keeper, are
pretty safe indications of his years in the profession. The first
two years of his toils and depredation at the mills, are marked
by pearl buttons and tortoiseshell sleeve-links in his jacket
and linen, a bullock hackery being his then ordinary mode of
conveyance ; the third and fourth years form the silver age of
" Tepanis" when sleeve links and buttons of that metal supplant
pearl, when the pony carriage replaces the hackery : gold
buttons, a watch and chain, a horse and carriage, mark the
last and crowning stage of the successful store-keeper, the
horse being required not so much to convey him daily to and
from the stores, as to carry him to the Cinnamon gardens, to
superintend the building of the block of extensive dwelling-
houses, which his " savings" have enabled him to erect at
considerable outlay.

As with the growth and expansion of all other industries,
there have been cycles and gradations in this branch of our
local industries, fructifying to the especial advantage of Tepanis
and his like. In the days of store-keepers' simplicity, when
they served their employers, even as the house dog his master,
they were content with the trifling fee in copper coin invariably
extracted from the palms of Singhalese toilers, on each weekly
pay-day, trifling in detail but important in the solid aggregate
of accumulated pay-day fruits. There was not much to be
said against this practice : at any rate though vicious in
principle all contributed alike, and none would have performed
a better day's work if freed from the small exactions. It
formed a pretty addition to the humble salary of the store-
keeper, so humblo indeed that employers must have had strange

170

ideas of the purchasing powers of thirty rix-dollars monthly,
in the hands of their native subordinate, gaily decked as he
was and gorgeously attired when on New Year's Day, he and
all his belongings paid their annual visit to the head of the
firm as in duty bound, in all the glory of walking rainbows.

As years rolled on so passed away the simplicity of the
primitive store-keepers, and their morality, ever elastic,
underwent a change for the worse. The small copper coins
were found too insignificant, for the enlarged ideas of Tepanis
and his fellows. Silver was coveted, but silver could not be
had from the weekly recipients of wages, and so the indigenous
ingenuity of the race souoht for it in another direction,
where fine viens of the precious metal were quickly found,
constituting an ever yielding el-dorado, veritable diggings of
apparently prolific yield. This rich vein of metal was worked
pretty much as follows : — cartmen and boatmen bringing
coffee from the interior to the stores, were almost invariably
short in their deliveries, sometimes very much so, occasionally
only to a small extent ; for this a deduction had to be made
from their hire, and it was therefore, only a question of amount
of the compromise to be arrived at between the measurer of
coffee and the carriers, in order to arrange the little difference
and secure for the latter a clean receipt and full balance of
hire. Of course when coffee advanced in price, the inducement
to sell the parchment on the way, was so much the greater,
and in such cases the store-keeper was treated more liberally
in the matter of fees. It may seem strange to some of our
readers, that this system of bare-faced fraud has never been
exposed, when it is known that the owners of stores, or their
European office assistants, in their daily morning visits to the
mills, failed to detect the cheat, as it was the custom to see
any recently arrived lots of coffee measured in their presence,
occasionally, by way of check as they supposed, but in vain :
the measurement invariably turned out rather better than
usual, and so all suspicion was lulled. I remember a cafee

171

which occurred many years ago, in which a coffee curer having
been assured by a discharged coolie, that tricks were played,
managed to have two bags of estate coffee secretly removed
from one of the carts conveying it to the store, by the coolie
in question. In the morning the parcel of coffee was found
to have been measured and turned out correct in the bushels,
though two bags were stated to be short in the tally. On
finding this the proprietor of the store ordered the parcel to
be re-measured before him expecting to find the quantity
short, but not so, the number of bushels was found to tally
exactly with that entered in the receipt, and the coffee curer
was non-plussed. The affair is managed in this way : in order
to prevent the possibility of detection by occasional checks in
the measurement by one of the principals, sufficient parchment
was invariably taken from another lot to make up the correct
quantity, and thus detection became impossible. But it will
be said what about the out-turn of the various lots ? If a
certain number of bushels of parchment were being constantly
received short, there must have been an eventual deficiency in
the quantity of clean coffee shipped : this was what happened,
and this fact fully explains the very irregular out-turn of
estate coffee in those days, which was known to range between
4 : 60 and 5 : 50 bushels to the hundred weight. After a
time these irregular results led to searching enquiries and
unpleasant questioning, and so the wily store-keepers resorted
to another dodge, in order to conceal the short receipts of
parchment in their stores : they professed to ship more coffee
than actually left their mills, by marking the casks in excess
of their actual contents : some pounds on each cask, did not
create suspicion, and on arrival in London the difference was
supposed to have arisen from driage on the voyage home.

The trick of false marking has been known to have
extended to the tare of the cask, which being marked on thf>
packages less than it was, necessarily made it appear that there
was more coffee in it than was actually tho case, and this has

172

been known to have been restored to, in order to cover the
weight of a quantity of good clean estate coffee removed from
the mills during the day-time, under the pretence of it being
black and having been sold to a confederate outside at a
nominal figure, a little black coffee being placed on the top of
each bag of the good. To what extent this latter system of
robbery was carried on, it would be impossible to form any
opinion, but there is no doubt that the total of the fraudulent
gains of native store-keepers, and of some few not natives by
birth, but by proclivities, has been very large indeed. We
have been assured that frauds have been perpetrated in the
measurement of coffee even when most rigorously watched by
a European store-keeper of undoubted integrity : it has been
managed by a confederate secreting himself behind a heap of
bags of coffee in the evening, and being locked in all night,
employed the short space of the early dawn in making up
the deficiency in his lot, by abstraction from another parcel
near at hand.

But there are sources of gain for the model store-keepers,
other than in the bean itself. The stores have to be enlarged
by the addition of another extensive wing a new picking
house, and a new upper-story, all of which involve a good deal
of consultation between Maricar, the contractor, and Tepanis
the store-keeper, generally on Sunday at the villa residence
of the latter. The result of these diplomatic conference is,
that Maricar obtains the contract after deducting a certain
amount which had been added for the express purpose of beings
reduced by the zealous and faithful Tepanis in the interests of
his respected employer. About the same period a new house is
commenced in the Cotta road on a nice plot of ground
acquired by the honest industry of Tepanis, the masonry work
is done by Maricar's men, the bricks come from the same
kiln as furnish the materials for the new store building,
likewise the carpenter's work, and a year afterwards Tepanis
astonishes his numerous circle of friends, by informing them

173

what a ridiculously small sum that house cost him : they cannot
imagine how it was done for the money, all except his younger
brother, who puts his tongue in his cheek, and winks quietly
at Tepanis as he drinks off another glass of that fine, nutty,
after-dinner sherry of 1833, advertised at 22s. Qd. the dozen.

A NEW YEAR'S DAY-

ST HERE are some of our fellow-subjects in the East, who
^ appear to have been rather, unfairly dealt with by
writers of Indian books, and colonial histories, inasmuch as
no notice has been taken of them, save in the official census,
in which, by the way, they figure rather prominently as
regards number. I allude to the Burgher inhabitants of our
large colonial towns within the tropics.

In Europe the term " Burgher " was applied, in olden
days, to all citizens or dwellers in principal towns, carrying on
trades or professions therein. In the East, or rather within
the tropics, it is used to designate the descendants of the old
Portuguese and Dutch colonists, a class at once numerous and
respectable. At the Cape Colony they form the majority of
settlers ; but in the tropical settlements of Ceylon, Singapore,
etc., they are outnumbered by other races. When the former
island was taken possession of by the British forces, many of
the Dutch civil servants returned to Holland or migrated to
Java ; but very many lacked the means to travel, or preferred
remaining where they had been born. Their descendants
have continued to fill many leading posts in the colonial
establishments, and nearly all the minor appointments in the
judicial and revenue departments are bestowed upon these
and the Portuguese Burghers. The Dutch have been, and are
to this day very careful not to intermarry with any Singhalese ;
thus their habits and their characters have undergone but
little change. The Portuguese, on the other hand, have been
far less scrupulous on this point ; and their descendants of the
present day are to be seen of every shade and grade, from

175

the well-clad medical student, to the half starved, ill-clad
mechanic or the indolent bazaar-keeper.

If the English colonists contrive to monopolize the best
berths in the service, the Burghers have managed to secure to
themselves the most comfortable dwellings, with the best
gardens. The same jealous exclusiveness which has so
completely separated these two classes, impels the European
to take up his residence in a quarter as far removed as possible
from the suburbs usually occupied by the Burghers. The
English merchants and civil servants will be found located
along the edge of some high road, within a very small patch
of burnt-up paddock. Their tenements are of no particular
order, being mostly long rambling whitewashed places. A
few palms make an attempt at shading the hot verandah
in front : while the small tufts of cinnamon bushes are to be
seen struggling for life in parched sand, evidently disgusted
with their circumstance. How different the dwelling's of the
Burghers ! Some of these, it is true, are in the midst of
the Pettah or native town, but most of them will be found
scattered about in quiet, shady lanes. Many are quite hidden
from the passer-by, amidst dense little clusters of fruit-
trees, rose bushes, and evergreens — concealed amidst leaves
and flowers as snugly as though they were so many huge,
rod-bricked bird's nests.

It is seldom, indeed that anything occurs to break the
dull monotony of life in the East. With few public amuse-
ments, no promenades, colonists seldom meet each other save
in their churches. There are however, a few days in the
year when a little change in this clock-work existence takes
place amongst the Burgher population ; when hard visaged
Dutchmen relax the stern rigidity of their bronzed features,
and put on some gay suit of many colors. When portly
dames rouse up for the emergency, startle the quiet family
halls with their busy tongues, and scare the old house-dog
with the vivid brilliancy of bright ribands and new laco.

17G

One of these very few and much prized occasions is New
Year's Day.

In the afternoon of the first day in January, 1850, I
strolled out from the old sturdy fort of Colombo, over a
lumbering wooden drawbridge, through some of the broad
prim-looking streets of the native town. The bland sea-breeze
played coyly with the feathery foliage of the tall palms and
arekas, and waved against the azure sky many a tope of
broad-leaved, bright-green bananas. Away upon the breezy
ocean far out from land, a little fleet of fishing canoes were

discernable making their swift way to shore with welcome loads,
the toilers of the deep eager to be with their friends and
join in the glad rejoicings of that welcome New Year's Day.
The native bazaar, at the corner of the town, with one end
jutting out upon the sea, was for once clean and gay. The
dealers in fish, fruit, and curry-stuffs appeared to have put on
new clothes with the New Year. The huge white turbans,
and gilt-edged muslin scarfs, glistened in the noon-day sun ;
and gorgeous, many coloured vests and wrappers vied, in the

177

brilliancy of their tints with the piles of many-hued fruits
and balmy flowers. The very fish and vegetables appeared
cleaner than usual ; while spices, condiments and sweetmeats
looked down from many a loaded shelf upon the passer-by.

Leaving this motley scone, I passed on to the heart
of the dwelling-places of the middle-class of Burghers.
Before every house was an ample verandah partly veiled
by an open bamboo-curtain. In these lofty, cool retreats were
seated the many families of the place, receiving or giving the
good wishes of the season. Once upon a time the streets
were graced by rows, on either side, of shady spreading
sooriya-trees bending over the footways, and peeping in at the
verandahs, to see how the inmates were getting on ; winking
the large eyes of their yellow tulip flowers at the daughters,
and enticing pretty birds to come and sing amongst the leafy
branches. But this was in the good old days of sleepy
Holland. Now all are gone — green boughs, winking flowers,
and singing-birds : more's the pity !

As I passed along I met many groups of old, young
and middle-aged, evidently families, in full native holiday
costume. They were in each case followed by two or more
turbaned, fierce looking domestics, bearing enormous trays
piled up with something hidden from vulgar gaze by flowing
veils of muslin. I could not help calling to mind the pro-
cessions of slaves in the Arabian Nights, which we are
informed followed the steps of Caliphs and Viziers, bearing
with them huge presents of precious things from subterranean
worlds. I watched some of those domestic embassies and
perceived that they entered the houses of some of the
neighbours ; there was a groat fluster and bustle, and no end
to talking and laughing in tho long verandahs. I entered
the dwelling of a Dutchman to whom I was known, and found
one of these family groups within. A rare merry scene it
was : the deputation had just arrived ; friends were shaking
hands ; tho groat black slave of tho Arabian Nights uncovered

178

the hidden treasures on the tray, and lo ! there were discovered
— not piles of glittering sequins, and emeralds, and rubies, as
I had expected, but a few bunches of yellow plantains, some
green oranges, a handful of limes, half-a-dozen pine-apples^
and a homely-looking cake frosted with sugar. These were
the universal New Year offerings amongst that simple com-
munity, given as tokens of good-fellowship and neighbourly
feehngs ; and as such, welcomed and cheerfully responded to.
Little corpulent glasses of cordials, or schiedam, were handed
round amongst ail arrivals, rich or poor; good wishes were
exchanged ; a few stale jokes were cracked ; inquiries were
made for the grandmother who was too infirm to join the
party ; and away went the neighbours with another slave and
another heap of hidden gifts, to the next acquaintance.
These presents are not confined to mere equals ; the most
humble menial scrapes a few challies together for the occasion
and lays at his master's feet an oblation of fruits and flowers.

The very grass-cutter, the miserable hanger-on of
stables, contrives somehow to get a few pines and plantains
on a blue-and-white dish ; and poverty-stricken though she be,
pours out her simple gifts before her master, with gentle
dignity.

Group after group went through the town. Gay parties
continued to amuse themselves in many a dusty verandah.
Scores of meerschaums sent forth circling clouds of fragrant
white smoke ; while many a dreamy Dutchman nodded in his
high-backed, richly-carved chair of ebony. The hour of
vespers approached. There were heard dozens of tinkling
little bells ; and forth came scores of damsels clad in pure
white. Again the dusty streets were busy and alive, and
many of the good Catholic verandahs lost their chief charmers.

Straying onward from this bustling neighbourhood, I
reached the outskirts of the town, where are to be seen some
of the prettiest and most retired of the Burghers' dwellings.
These are mostly fine old mansions of red brick, with solid.

179

grim-looking gable-ends frowning down upon the old rusty-
gates, and the great round wall by the forest of plantain-trees.
I found myself standing before one of these, in a sweet green
lane lined with lofty palms, spreading gorekas, and huge india-
rubber trees. The heavy wall in front hid the sturdy mansion
from my view ; but the gates being open, I obtained a peep of
the oriental paradise within. Rare old fruit-trees on the grass-
plot were well laden with clustering, many coloured fruit !
They must have been in bearing when the old gentleman in
the easy chair, and the pink cotton trousers, and black scull-
cap, was a mere child. How cool the place looked amidst all
that dense green foliage ! One might almost have caught a
cold in the head by merely looking in at the gate : the sun
evidently never troubled the little children playing on the
grass under the thick cluster of mangoes, sour-sops, and
plantains, except, perhaps, for a few minutes at noon. What
a jolly old house it was, to be sure, with verandahs as large as
the Burlington Arcade in London ; and such windows ! They
looked like so many roofs of hot- houses let sideways into the
walls ; and as for the doors, one might have fancied, from their
size, that the family were in the habit of keeping their carriage
in the back parlour, or setting out the dinner-table in the
doorway : there would have been abundance of room in either
case, and a little to spare too !

There were nice beds of flowers on each side of the large
grass-plot, and orange trees ; and the passer-by peeping in far
enough, as I did, might have caught a glimpse of one or two
pairs of small pretty feet, and faces to match, hidden away
cosily among the roses and oleanders. Well, these are nice,
quiet, enjoyable places, and much better than the hot, dusty,
dignified rabbit-hutches of the English on the other side of
the fort !

I passed on as my fancy led me, until I came to another
stout Dutch residence, which pleased me though not so much
as the other had done. It was altogether another description

180

of house, thougli doubtless pleasant enough in its way. It
stood close upon the road with all the garden behind it, so
that one saw nothing but red bricks and little Dutch tiles.

There was no peeping in there, through any open gates ;
no catching the daughters quietly among the flowers.

The owner of the house chanced to be enjoying his pipe
in the capacious doorway; and seeing me surveying the
premises, he at once rose feom his quiet seat and bade me
welcome. When he learnt my desire to examine his mansion,
he gladly conducted me through the building to the garden.
The principal room or hall was of great size. I believe you
might have driven a stage-coach, which very frisky leaders,
round the dinner table, without fear of touching the army of
chairs ranged along the walls. I could almost fancy the
builder had made a mistake, and roofed in a good part of the
road. I looked up, and when at length I discovered the roof,
I wondered whether the sparrows building their nests so high
there, ever felt giddy and fell down and killed themselves
upon the tiled floor. The other rooms were less ample, but
all spacious enough, and well filled with ebony and calamander
furniture. There was a degree of polish about the windows,
and a sort of rakishness in the couch covers and ottoman
drapery, which filled me with admiration ; while the very
screen in the doorway had a jaunty air about it which there
was no resisting.

Right and left from the large house, extended backward
two ranges of sleeping apartments and stores, with long stone
terraces, filled with flowering shrubs in gigantic pots. At
the farther end were rows of huge, suspiciously-shaped jars,
looking as though they belonged to Ali Baba and the Forty
Thieves. At the termination of this pottery were wide flights
of steps leading to a neatly laid-out garden, full of the richest
flowers, and greenest shrubs, and most tempting fruit trees
the eye ever saw, or fancy pictured. There was a small
fountain in the midst, with a seat by the side, and round it

181

lay scattered childrens' toys. On the whole, this was a pretty
place, but not so natural and home-like as the other ; besides,
the stifE terrace and the jars of the Forty Thieves rather
marred its natural beauty, whilst adding to its air of romance.

The evening was magnificent. A young and lovely moon
flung many a pale ray of light among the gorgeous foliage
that danced in the cool sea-breeze. The vast Indian Ocean
broke peacefully in phosphorescent waves curling upon a
pebbly shore. The air was soft and still, broken only by fitful
echoes from some merry-making party in the distance.

My drive home led me by the sea-shore, and as I gazed
out upon the far ocean, I noticed a little black shadow on
the horizon, like a ship or as the shadow of some mon-
strous winged thing. Tired of watching, I lay back and
dozed. I looked out aoain, and started to find how dark
it had become. The horse-keeper, too, was urging the animal
to its utmost speed. The little black speck on the horizon
had swollen to a mighty, hideous mass of thunder-cloud.
Already half the heavens were shrouded in pitchy darkness,
I opened my carriage window and looked out. The storm waa
coming up with giant strides ; some distance out at sea, a
wall of smoking, hissing, bubbling rain joined the clouds and
ocean, and shut out. all beyond. I could hear that mighty
cataract of tempest fall with a roaring sound, nearer and
nearer. Before me, all was dark and stormy : behind, the
many groves of waving palms still slept in early moon-light
beauty. The distant hills wore clear and bold, and seemed so
near, as though my voice could reach them.

It was in vain my horse was urged onward : the storm
was swifter than any living thing. The great black smoking
wall came hissing on ; and from its darkened crest, loud peals
of thunder burst. I have been in many a storm in my day,
but this was the most magnificent I ever beheld. To go onward
became absolutely impossible ; so fierce was the tempest. The
driver thoroforo turned the horse's head away from the sea,

182

and patiently sat it out. Peal after peal of thunder rent the
air. It seemed as though all the powder-magazines in the
world were being blown up. First there was a cracking and
splitting, as of gigantic sheets of metal torn asunder ; then a
heavy rumbling like ten thousand loaded waggons being
galloped across an iron bridge. The air was no longer
darkened ; every foot of atmosphere seemed alive with light-
ning life. By the glare, I could see some of the noble palms
— at least seventy feet high — bending to the gale like willow
wands, and literally sweeping the ground with their feathery
leaves. More than one, upon that terrible night, was shivered
into splinters by the lightning; and many a stubborn one
that would not bend, lay crushed and helpless on its sandy
grave.

The howling of the wind, the thunder-peals, the heavy
pattering of the huge rain-drops, had well-nigh stunned me.
In nature, however, as with man, the fiercest outbreaks are the
soonest quelled. In half an hour the moon shone out again in
undimmed beauty. The air was calm and hushed : and the
parched earth and herbs, grateful for such a copious draught,
sent many a fragrant blessing on the breeze, to tell their
thanks.

OUR NATIONAL TREE.

^T dwellers in Ceylon, the cocoanut palm calls up a wide
^ range of ideas; it associates itself with nearly every
want, and convenience of native life. It might tempt a
Singhalese villager to assert that if he were placed upon the
earth with nothing else whatever to minister to his necessities
than the cocoanut tree, he could pass his existence in happiness
and contentment.

When he has felled one of these trees after it has ceased
bearing (say in its seventieth year), with its trunk he builds
his hut and his bullock-stall, which he thatches with its leaves.
His bolts and bars are slips of the bark ; by which he also
suspends the small shelf which holds his stock of home-made
utensils and vessels. He fences his little plot of chillies,
tobacco, and fine grain, with the leaf-stalks. The infant is
swung to sleep in a rude net of coir-string made from the
husk of the fruit ; its meal of rice and scraped cocoanut is
boiled over a fire of cocoanut shells and husks, and is eaten
off a dish formed of the plaited green leaves of the trees, with
a spoon cut out of the nut-shell. When he goes a-fishing by
torch-light his net is of cocoanut fibre, the torch, or chule
is a bundle of dried cocoanut leaves and flower-stalks : the
little canoe is the trunk of the cocoa-palm tree, hollowed by
his own hands. He carries home his net and string of fish
on a yoke, or pingo, formed of a cocoanut stalk. When he is
thirsty, he drinks of the fresh juice of the young nut ; when
he is hungry, ho eats its soft kernel. If he have a mind to be
merry, he sips a glass of arrack, distilled from the fermented
juice, and ho flavours his curry with vinegar made from this
toddy. Should ho bo sick, his body will bo rubbed with

184

cocoanut oil ; he sweetens his cofEee with jaggery, or cocoanut
sugar, and softens it with cocoanut milk ; it is sipped by the
light of a lamp, constructed from a cocoanut shell, and fed by
cocoanut oil. His doors, his windows, his shelves, his chairs,
the water-gutter under the eaves, all are made from the wood
of the tree. His spoons, his forks, his basins, his mugs, his
salt-cellars, his jars, his child's money-box, are all constructed
from the shell of the nut. Over his couch when first born,
and over his grave when buried, a bunch of cocoanut blossoms
is hung, to charm away evil spirits.

This palm is assiduously cultivated in Ceylon, in topes,
or plantations ; and it was long believed that the rude native
system of culture was the best : but experience has shown th&
fallacy of this opinion. Hence, the Singhalese continue to
find the manual labor, but the Englishman provides skill and
implements.

There is a good road to within a couple of miles of the
plantation I am about to describe ; so that the visitor has
little difficulty in performing this much of the journey. The
remaining two miles lie through a sandy track of very flat
and rather uninteresting country. Here and there, amidst a
maze of paddy fields, arecanut topes, and patches of low thorny
jungle, are dotted little white-walled huts. They are much
cleaner than any such near the towns of Ceylon ; attached
to each is a small slip of ground, rudely fenced, and half
cultivated, with a few sweet potatoes, some chillies, and a
little tobacco and fine grain. It was midday when I started
on foot, to this estate. The sun was blazing above in
unclouded glory. Under the shade of a breadfruit tree, the
owner of the first hut I got to was dozing and chewing
betel- nut, evidently tasting, in anticipation, the bliss of
Buddha's paradise. The wife was pounding up something for
curry ; the children were by her side — the boys smoking
tiny cheroots, the girls twisting mats. It was fortunate for
me that the sandy path was over-shadowed by jungle trees.

185

or my progress would have been impossible. Not a breath of
air was stirring amidst that dense mass of vegetation ; not
a twig or a leaf could be persuaded to move ; the long and
graceful paddy stalks glittered and sparkled in their watery
resting places, as though they were made of the purest
burnished gold. The buffaloes had taken to their noon-day
watering places. The birds were evidently done up, and
were nowhere to be seen ; the beetles crawled feebly over the
cooler shrubs, but they could not get up a single hum or a buzz
amongst them all ; even the busy little ants perspired, and
dropped their lilliputian loads. Well, the dry ditch and
thorny fence that form the boundary and protection of the
estate were at least reached, and the little gate and watch-
hut were passed. The watcher, or lascoryn, was a Malay,
moustachoed and fierce; for the" natives of the country can
rarely be depended on as protectors of property against their
fellow-villagers. A narrow belt of jungle trees and shrubs
had been left quite round the plantation, to assist in keeping
out cattle and wild animals, which are frequently very
destructive to a young cocoanut estate, in spite of armed
watchers, ditches and fences. Passing through this little belt,
I found, on entering, an entirely new scene : before and
around me waved gracefully the long shining leaves of three
hundred acres of cocoanut palms, each acre containing, on an
averao-e, eighty trees. It was indeed a beautiful and interesting
sight. Two-thirds of these trees were yielding ample crops,
though only in their tenth year; in two years more they will
generally be in full bearing. Unlike the rudely planted
native garden, this estate had been most carefully laid down ;
the young plants had all been placed out at regular intervals
and in perfectly straight lines, so that, looking over the estate
in either direction, the long avenues presented one unbroken
figure, at once pleasing to the eye and easy of access. But if
these interminable masses of palms appeared a lovely picture,
when regarded at some little distance, how much was their

18G

beauty heightened on a nearer inspection ! Walking close
under the shadow of their long and ribbon-like leaves, I could
Bee how thickly they were studded with golden-green fruit
in every stage of growth. The sight was absolutely marvellous :
were such trees, so laden, painted by an artist, his production
would, in all probability, be pronounced unnatural. They
appeared more like some fairy creations, got up for my special
amusement, resembling nearly those gorgeous trees which, in
my youth, I delighted to read about in the Arabian Nights,
growing in subterranean gardens, and yielding precious stones.
They hung in grape-like clusters around the crest of the tree ;
the large golden ripe nuts below, smaller and greener fruit
just above them, followed by scores of others in all stages,
from the blossom-bud to the half-grown ; it was impossible
to catch a glimpse of the stem, so thickly did the fruit hang
on all sides. I made an attempt to count them : — " thirty —
fifty — eighty — one hundred " — I could go no further ; those
little fellows near the top, peeping up like so many tiny dolls'
heads, defied my most careful numeration ; but I feel confident
there must have been quite two hundred nuts on that one
palm. Above the clusters of rich fruit were two feather-like
flowers, white as snow, and smooth and glossy as polished
ivory ; they had just burst from their sheaths, and a more
delicate, lovely picture could scarcely be imagined.

A cocoanut tree in a native Singhalese tope, will some-
times yield fifty nuts in twelve months ; but the average of
them seldom give more than twenty-five in the year. It is
therefore very evident that European skill may be employed
beneficially on this cultivation, as well as on any other.

I was at first rather startled at perceiving a tall half-naked
Singhalese away in the distance, with a gun at least half as
long again as himself, long black hair over his shoulders, and
bunches of something hanging at his girdle. He was watching
some game amongst the trees; at last he fired, ran, picked up
something, and stuck it in his girdle. What could it be?

187

Parrot, pigeon, or jungle-fowl ? It was only a poor little
squirrel ; and there were at least two scores of these pretty-
creatures hanging at the waist of the mighty hunter !
Fortunately, I could speak the native language, and was not
long in learning the cause of this slaughter. It appeared that
in addition to their pretty bushy tails, glossy coats, and
playful gambols, the squirrels have very sharp and active teeth,
and an uncommon relish for the sweet tender buds of the
cocoanut flower, which they nip of and destroy by scores,
and of course lessen by so much, the future crop of fruit.
Handsfull of the buds lay half-eaten around each tree, and I
no longer felt astonished at this species of sporting.

The ground had evidently been well cleared from jungle
plants, not one of such was to be seen in all this track : a
stout and healthy-looking grass was springing up along the
avenues; whilst at intervals, patches of Indian corn, sweet
potatoes, guinea-grass, and other products — intended for
cattle-fodder during dry weather when the wild grasses fail —
gave tints of varied luxuriance to the scene.

The ground at this part of the estate sloped a little, and
I came to an open space, somewhat marshy in appearance.
A number of cattle, young and old, were browsing about on
the long grass, or sipping a draught from the clear stream
which ran through the low ground. They were confined
within a rudo but stout fence, and on one side was a range of
low sheds for their shelter. The cattle appeared in good
condition ; they were purchased, when very young, from the
drovers who bring them in hundreds from the Malabar coast ;
and many were then fit for the cart, the carriage or the knife.
At the end was a manure shed, and outside stood a keeper's
hut, with a store attached, in which were piled up dried
guinea-grass, maize, etc.

The manure-pit was deep and large, and in it lay the true
secret of the magical productiveness of the trees I had just
seen. Good seed planted in light freo soil, well cleared

188

aud drained, will produce a fine healthy tree in a few years ;
and if to this be added occasional supplies of manure and a
few waterings during the dry season, an abundant yield of
fruit will most assuredly reward the toil and outlay of the
cocoa-nut cultivator.

Leaving this spot, I strolled through the next field, to see
what a number of little boys were so busy about. There were
a dozen dark urchins, running about from tree to tree ;
sometimes they stopped, clambered up, and appeared to have
very particular business to transact at the stems of the leaves ;
but oftener they passed contented with a mere glance upwards
at the fruit. They had a sharp-pointed instrument in the
hand : whilst at the wrist of each was hung- a cocoanut shell.
I paused to see what one of these children was searching for
half hid as the little fellow was amongst the gigantic leaves.
Intently scrutinizing his motions, I observed that he forced
the little sharp instrument into the very body of the tree :
down it went to the inmost core of the giant stem : all his
strength was employed ; he strained and struggled amongst
the huge leaves as though he were engaged in deadly strife
with some terrible boa or cheetah. At last he secured his
antagonist, and descended with something alive, small and
black, and impaled on the barbed point of the little weapon :
a few questions elicited the whole secret. The cocoanut tree,
it seems, has many enemies besides squirrels : the elephant,
the wild hog, the rat, the white ant, the porcupine, the monkey,
and a large white worm, either attach it when young, or rob
it of its fruit when mature. But the most numerous and
persevering enemy which it has to encounter from the age of .
three years until long after it produces fruit, is cooroominiya,
or cocoanut beetle ; a black, hard coated creature, with beautiful
wings, and a most powerful little tusk, which it employs with
fatal activity to open a way into the stems of the palms. Its
labours commence in the evening, and by early morning it
■will be buried half-a-dozen inches deep in the very centre of

189

the tree, where, if not detected and removed, it feeds on the
soft pithy fibres, deposits its eggs, and does not depart in less
than two or three days. These holes are always made in the
softest and sweetest part of the tree, near the crown ; and in
young plants they prove seriously hurtful ; checking the
growth, and impairing the health of the future tree. In a
morning's walk an active lad will frequently secure as many aa
a score of these cooroominiyas, which after being killed, are
strung upon lilliputian gibbets about the estate, as a warning
to their live friends.

Farther on I perceived, gathered in anxious consultation,
three of the lads around a tree that was loaded with fruit ;
they looked up at the leaves, then at the root, then at tha
trunk. At last one little fellow started off, swift-footed as a
hare, and was soon out of sight. The others began scraping
the earth from the root as fast as possible : and all the
information they would impart was ^^ledcle gaha," or sick tree;
so that there was nothing for it but to imagine that the little
messenger had been despatched for the doctor. He soon
came back, not with the medicine-man, but a mamootie, or
Dutch hoe, and a cattle, or sharp bill-hook. And then the
busy work went on again. I little more time than I take to
tell the story, the soil was removed from about the root, a
hole was discovered in the trunk, and its course upwards
ascertained by means of a cane probe. With the cattie, one
of the boys commenced cutting and opening midway in the
trunk of the tree. On looking up, I perceived that the patient
gave unmistakeable symptoms of ill-health. The long leaves
were drooping at the end, and tinged with a sickly-yellow ;
many of the nuts had fallen off, and others had evidently half
a mind to follow the example. The flower, which had just
burst above, hung down its sickly head, weeping away the
germs of what had else been fruit. The hole was now
complete ; it was large enough for the smallest boy to force
his hand in ; and it soon brought away a basket full of pith

190

and powdered wood from the body of the tree. There, amidst
the ruin, was the enemy that has caused so much mischief and
labour. It was an unsightly worm, about four inches in
length, and as thick as one's small finger, having a dull white
body and black head. I then began to wonder what had next
to be done, whether the tree would die after all this hacking
and maiming. Would the medicine-man now be sent for ?
No. The interior of the wounded tree, as well as the aperture,
was thoroughly freed from dirt and decomposed fibre — which
might have aided in hatching any eggs left by the worm — and
finally the root was covered up, and the opening and inside of
the palm tightly filled with clay. I was assured that not
more than one of ten trees, thus treated, ever fails to recover
its health.

The noctural attacks of elephants are checked by means
of lighted fires, and an occasional shot or two during the night.
Wild hogs and porcupines are caught in traps, and hunted by
dogs. The monkeys are shot down like the squirrels, and
tho white ants are poisoned. In spite of all these measures,
however, an estate often suffers very severely, and its pro-
ductiveness is much interfered with by these depredators.

The soil over which I had as yet passed had been of one
uniform description — a light sandy earth, containing a little
vegetable matter, and but a little. Afterwards I arrived at a
tract of planted land, quite different from its nature and mode
of cultivation. It was of a far stiffer character, deeper in
colour, and more weedy. This portion of the estate was in
former days a swamp, in which the porcupine, the wild hog,
and the jackal, delighted to dwell, sheltered from the
encroachment of man by a dense mass of low jungle, thorns,
and reeds. To drive away these destructive creatures from
the vicinity of the young palms, the jungle was fired, during
dry weather. It was then perceived that the soil of this
morass, although wet and rank from its position was of a most
luxuriant character ; a few deep drains were opened through

191

the centre, cross drains were cut, and after one season's
exposure to the purifying action of the atmosphere and rain,
the whole of it was planted, and it now gives fair promise of
being one day the finest field in the plantation.

From this low ground I strolled through some long
avenues of trees on the right ; their long leaves protected me
from the heat of the afternoon sun, which was still considerable.
The trees on this side were evidenly older : they had a greater
number of ripe fruit ; and further away in the distance might
be seen a multitude of men and boys busily engaged in bearing
away the huge nuts in pairs, to a path or rude cart track,
where a cangany, or native overseer, was occupied in counting
them as they were tossed into the bullock cart. The expertness
of the boys in climbing these smooth, lofty and branchless
trees, by the aid of a small band formed by twisting a portion
of a cocoanut leaf, was truly astonishing. In a moment their
small feet grasped the trunk, aided by the twisted leaf, whilst
their hands were employed above ; they glided upwards, and
with a quick eye detected the riper fruit, which, rapidly
twisted from their stalks, were flung to the ground. Their
companions below were busy in removing the nuts, which for
young children is no easy task ; the nuts frequently weighing
fifteen or twenty pounds each, with the husk or outer skins on
them. The natives have a simple but ingenious method of
tying them together in pairs, by which means the boys can
carry two of them with ease, when otherwise one would be a
task of difficulty. Tho nuts have little, if any, stalk : the
practice therefore is to slit up a portion of the husk (which is
the coir fibre in its natural state) , pull out a sufficient length
without breaking it, and thus tie two together ; in this way
the little urchins scamper along with the nuts slung across
their shoulders, scarcely feeling the weight.

I followed the loaded carts. They were halted at a large
enclosure, inside of which were huge pens formed of jungle
sticks, about ten feet in height ; into these the nuts were

192

stored and recounted ; a certain number only being kept in
each, as the pens are all of the same dimensions. Adjoining,
was another and still larger space, lying lower, with some
deep ditches and pits in the midst. Here the outer husk is
stripped ofE, preparatory to breaking the nut itself in order to
obtain the kernel, which has to be dried before the oil can be
expressed. Into the pits or ditches the husk is flung, and
left in water ten or fourteen days, when it is removed and
beaten out on stones, to free the elastic fibre from dirt and
useless vegetable matter. This is a most disagreeable opera-
tion, for the stench from the half-putrid husks is very strono-.
The fibre, after being well dried on the sandy ground,
undergoes a rude assortment into three qualities, in reference
chiefly to colour, and is then delivered over to the rope maker,
who works it up into yarn, rope, or junk, as required. Freed
from their outer covering, the nuts, are either sold for making
curries, in which they form a prominent feature, or they are
kept for drying ready for the oil-mill.

Having learned this much, I strolled through the small
green field and along a patch of guinea-grass, to see what was
going on in that direction.. The neat-looking building
adjoining was the superintendent's bungalow, and the long
sheds and open spaces in their front and rear were for drying
the nuts into what is termed copiJerah, in which state they are
ground up for pressure. It was a busy scene indeed, and the
operations require constant vigilance on the part of the
manager ; yet all the work is carried on in the rudest way,
and with the most simple implements. Half-a-dozen stout
lads were seated cross-legged on the ground, each with a heap
of nuts by his side. The rapidity with which they seized
these, and, with one sharp blow of a heavy knife, split them
precisely in half, and flung them away into other heaps, was
remarkable. It seemed to be done with scarcely an effort :
yet on handling the broken nut, one could not help being
struck with its thickness and strength. Smaller boys were

193

busily employed in removing these he^ps of split fruit to the
large open spaces, where others, assisted by a few women,
were occupied in placing them in rows close together, with the
open part upwards, so that the kernels may be fully exposed
to the direct rays of the sun. In this way they remain for two
day, when the fruit partly dried, shrinks from the shell, and is
removed. Two more days' exposure to the sun in fine weather,
will generally complete the drying process. The kernels are
then called copperah, and are brittle and unctuous in the hand.

To convert this material into oil, the natives employ a
very primitive mill, worked by bullocks, and called a chechoo ;
this process is very slow, and the oil never clean. Europeans
have however obviated these objections, and manufacture the
cocoanut oil by means of granite crushers and hydraulic presses
worked by steam power. This is chiefly done in Colombo, to
which place of course the copperah has to be conveyed. The
refuse of the oil-presses, the dry cake or poonac, is very useful
as food for cattle or poultry, and not less so as a manure for
the palm-trees, when moistened, and applied in a partially
decomposed state.

Not a particle of this valuable tree is lost. The fresh
juice of the blossom, which is broken off to allow it to flow
freely, is termed, as we have said, toddy, and is drunk, when
quite new, as a cool and pleasantly refreshing beverage ; when
fermented, it is distilled, and yields the less harmless liquor
known as arrack.

All these operations are not carried on with ease and
regularity. The Singhalese are an idle race ; like many better
men, their chief pleasure is to perform as little work as possible.
This necessitates a never-ending round of inspection by the
European manager, who, mounted on a small pony, paper
umbrella in hand, visits every corner of the property at least
once in a day, often twice. Neither is it unusual for hiui to
make " a round" during the night. On the whole therefore,
he enjoys no sinecure.

THE KANDYANS' CAPTIVE.

EVER had sun slione brighter, or sky looked more serenely
^^ blue and heaven-like, or early morning-breeze breathed
softer, or palm trees waived more gracefully, or flowers looked
more sweetly, than sun, and sky, and breeze, and palms and
flowers on morning of the Christmas day of which I write, in
the ninth year from the opening of this century, when Kandy
looked from wh»re our captive saw it, with palace at his feet
and town stretched far away, like a tiled citadel amidst a fort
of straw.*

Above the town of Kandy on a grassy knoll, just in the
rear of the present pavilion grounds, not far above where stands
the Judges' bungalow, was at the time I write, a small building
placed amidst a tope of trees as a bird would hide its nest.
The hut, for it was little else, was looped around with creeping,
flowering plants, and on the little grassy knoll before it were
groups pf roses, jasmin and other tropical flowers, giving
evidence of more than native care and taste. Beneath a
spreading tamarind tree, the captive of the Kandyan monarch
sat, a pale and thoughtful man, gazing out on the hills that
faced him on the west, thinking of Christmas in Old England,
of Christmas where the yule-log blazed, and where those
whom he never more should see, his children, played, laughed,
and wondered why he did not come.

The captive was not alone. At his feet just as a petted
spaniel, sat a young girl with folded hands and thoughtful
face, knowing well his wandering thoughts and knowing how

* Under native rule none but the royal buildings and Temples were allowed to
be constructed of stone, brick and tiles ; all others were of mud thatched with straw.

195

vain for him though not for her, content to let him think and
gaze in silence. The little house was decorated with ferns
and roses and many flowers taken prisoners from the woods
by Lenna's hand in honour of the day, the Christians' greatest
festival.

Six years had passed since the fearful tragedy which
placed the captive in the Kandyan's hand : those years had
told heavily upon him. Horror, remorse, grief, terror, had at
length given place to resignation. He had brought himself to
feel that in his lonely prison-life, he had to expiate the one
sad error, costing how many lives. Five years of the six had
been past in still drearier solitude, in one of the royal prisons
near Badulla.* His confinement at first close though not
rio-orous, had been gradually relaxed until he was left
unguarded. By degrees he had acquired the native tongue
from that most teachable of all agencies, female lips. The
young daughter of the chief to whose care he was confided,
took womanly pity on his loneliness, and did much to lighten
the sadness of his captivity. From her he had learnt the
first words of native language, and in turn instructed her in
English.

The girl was quicker than the man, and long before he
could wake himself clearly understood in the vernacular, she
could talk to him in Oriental Saxon. The key to language
once found the rest soon came : the book which had never left
his hands, which was his daily study, that book was an object
of her curiosity. By slow degrees, almost word by word, he
told her the good tidings in that volume. He related the
wondorous history that it chronicled. He taught her from the
precepts of its pages, until they thought as one and read together.

* In the days of the Kandyan Sovereigns there were three places to which the
prisoners were transported, one near Badulla, for light offenders of rank ; one in the
Seven Korales, for criminals of a deeper dye ; and a third, in the Bintenna district
immcdiitcly below Lagalla. Transportation to this locality was equivalent to death,
as, it was then so pettllential, tiiat nunc whu went there were known to return.

196

During his banishment to Badulla repeated messages had
reached him from the king, inquiring of his health, wants and
wishes, sometimes making tempting offers if he would forswear
allegiance to his sovereign. At length the order had gone
forth to remove him to the capital. It was a long and weary
journey in those days from Badulla to Kandy : a chair on poles
conveyed him to the royal city. Lenna would not remain
behind, and so the litter was given up to her when the road
lay through rugged or steep places, and when they came to
pleasant smooth sward, she walked by his side, and thus they
came to Kandy where the king received his captive graciously.
Five years of peace had soothed the tyrant, and he bade his
nobles lodge their prisoner where he pleased, and so he chose
the hill-side knoll whence he could look towards the west.
Twelve months in Kandy had reconciled him somewhat to his
captive life, and in frequent interviews with the royal despot
he found more disposition to shew kindness so that sometimes
he began to hope. His Majesty had learnt the season of the
Christian's Festival had arrived, and it was his gracious
pleasure that the day should be a holiday, and that he would
in proper state give audience to the English officer in the great
"Hall of Seals."* The audience hall on ordinary occasions
was the building now used as the District Court, immediately
facing the Kutcherry which was then a portion of the royal
palace. On special occasions, such as the present, the recep-
tion was in the Hall of Seals, a lofty open building on the
ground where now stands the Kandy Girls' School, adjoining
the Dewale, and facing the esplanade on which there was
ample room for the royal troops to be paraded. The house
now occupied by the Government Agent was used as a Hall
of Spectacle f from the windows of which the Queen and

* So called from its being the place in which all presents from vassals or
foreign rulers were deposited, and where their seals were broken.

-}■ Davy mentions this building (Chap. X. p. 321) as the Queen's palace ; but
this according to my informant, was incorrect.

197

ladies of the household could witness all public festivities, or
as the case might be, public executions, which in those days
were scenes of protracted barbarity. The royal executioner,
the king's elephant, was kept close by, ready to do his horrid
bidding at a word or sign.

It was in the morning of this day, the captive and his
companion were gazing from beneath their favorite tamarind
tree : he looked towards the west, and then gazed down upon
the busy scene below, upon the gay streamers and many-
colored flags that floated from roof, and tree, and leafy arch.
Crowds of villagers came flocking in by the various paths :
there were then no roads beyond the town, save one for
a portion of the way to the royal palace at Hangurankette.
Priests in yellow robes were clustering about the Maligawa ;
chiefs of all degrees in white and crimson robes, were
gathering near the palace, and the little island in the lake was
made gay with flowers and music.

The hour of reception was at high noon, and as the time
approached, the crowd below became denser and noisier, and
the harsh drums and shrieking pipes, belched foi*th a bar-
barous melody that made a Saxon's ear feel strangely. It was
the Christian's Pcrraharra, and as the captive object of all this
turmoil walked slowly and calmly, almost sorrowfully, towards
the busy scene, he was followed by a wandering army of
gazers, most of whom looked upon a white man for the first
time. Miles of white cloths, acres of bright red, oceans of
many colored drapery were spread along the dusty ground or
festooned along the shabby walls and palace. About the latter
nil was hushed as a sleeping child : they had a rather
unpleasant way of stopping noises in that part of his Majesty's
dominions, which generally proved efficacious. The still-
ness that was scarcely human, was in ill-keeping with the
fiendish pictures on the temple walls close by, on which were
painted plaintive shrieks and groans and other issuings of
human agony.

198

At noon precisely, it pleased his Kaudyan Majesty to come
forth. His subjects received him as an Oriental race ever
received a despot who delights in the royal game of " heads
and tails." They received him with a great deal of feeling,
especially about the region of the neck. They held their
breath as he drew near, felt a tightness about their throats as
lie passed, and when he had gone on his way, men involuntarily
raised their hands and their heads to make quite certain that
they were in their right place. Raja Singha rode the royal
coach, a present from the English Governor, the British
captive walking by his side. That was a wonderful coach, the
Lord Mayor's was as nothing to it; gold and glass, and
precious stones, and silver bells, and velvet cushions, and gold
lace, were on it, and many other things too precious to be put
on paper, but not too precious to be sold by an old Dutch
auctioner in Colombo, whither it was despatched piece-meal
after the capture of the city by the British. Four stately
black horses drew the carriage at funeral pace to the " Hall of
Seals " where Rajah Singha alighted. The captive also entered
followed at a respectful distance by the royal betel-box and the
imperial spittoon, the gold stick and silver spoon in waiting,
the royal Ministers, and scores, of Lord Lieutenants and De-
puty Lieutenants of counties. Seated in his chair of State, the
King motioned the captive to stand near his royal person, and
bade him watch the evolutions of the imperial coach and four,
and the wheeling past of the household brigade of Plantain
Eaters. There was one small band of thirty-two amidst the
motley troops, which marched past, a gloomy band of ruffians,
nearly nude and carrying grim-looking instruments in their
hands. These were the royal torturers, each of the thirty-two
having a different grade of the art of torment to inflict. They
carried human gridirons, toasting forks of Cyclopean dimensions,
awkward looking surgical and dentists' instruments, and as
these thirty-two scowled on the people, the crowd shrank
back in hate and terror !

199

Upon the whole it was a gala sight ; there were as many
jewels about the royal person and the chair of State, as would
have established an ordinary jeweller in business. But nobody
cared much about the jewels, or the chair of State ; they
gazed intently at the royal face, for smiles there meant
promotion, frowns something very difEerent. The captive was
arrayed by royal command in the uniform of a general officer
who had recently been waylaid and knocked over in the low
country. The lords of the household wore their best coronation
robes, and the headmen were marvels of greatness about the
body ; to see the miles of snow white cloth about them, you
might have taken them for cotton lords, or looking at their
enormous rotundity, that each one was a lord -mayor with his
" corporation." The captive thought not of the military
rabble, and the glass coach and four, but when questioned ho
replied to royalty like a book read backwards, and as it
happened that his Majesty had partaken of a good omelet
curry that morning, there was not a life missing when all
was over. Every one carried home his head between his
shoulders. And so the barbarous band struck up a dismal
clang, the savage troops fired their rusty ginghalls, the peoplo
shouted, the royal elephants sent forth their shrieking cries,
flags waved and weapons glistened in the noon-day sun : but
he in whose honor all this turmoil rose, heeded it not. Ho
saw but one small group of tiny figures, playing as last ho
saw them on a bright autumn day — his own loved children,
on the grass beneath the apple-trees !

Twelve months passed away, and another Christmas Day
arrived : again the bright blue sky and morning breeze, and
flowers, and palm trees welcomed all living things ; but they
welcomed not the captive. Lenna was there alone, still gazing
westward for the coming of those whoso faith was her
own.

200

Behind the shady tamarind tree, in a quiet nook, there
was a grave on which the grass was fresh.

^» *^ Jj^ ?p 5|C

Five years later when British troops planted Old England's
flag upon the royal palace, men asked about the captive aud
his home. They were shewn the humble cottage then in ruins,
and the quiet spot behind the tamarind tree. A group of
officers was seen standing around the spot uncovered ; there
were then tivo graves !

MY PEARL FISHING EXPEDITION.

fN the 25th February, 18 — , I arrived in the Bay of
Condatchy, the anchorage of Aripo, a passenger on
board the Government barque " Wellington." The Superin-
tendant of the Pearl Banks had invited me to accompany
him, and I had gladly accepted the offer.

Early the next morning, I landed with the Superintendant
at Silawatorre, a small village distant a few miles from the
station at Aripo. This was a most miserable little place
consisting of but a single row of small mud huts standing in
hot and dusty solitude, with topes of shady palms near
them; but far as the eye could reach inland or coastwise,
there was nothing to break the monotony of endless palm plains
save the distant white walls of the " Doric ;" a lofty stuccoed
government building at some distance, which glistened and
shone brilliantly in the rays of the morning sun.

There were a few dirty women, and thin-faced children
on the beach, whose curiosity had for the moment overcome
their sloth. Further on under some palms, stood the Ada-
panaar of Aripo or head man of the district ; a fine grey-
boarded old native, attended by his deputy the Maniagar, and
a few seedy4ooking followers armed to the teeth with paper
umbrellas and painted sticks. The Superintendant adjourned
with these strange-looking officials to a thatched open bungalow
by a small flag-staff, where they were soon engrossed in
details respecting the approaching fishery. The scene was
altogether so desolate and uninteresting, and the sun was
becoming so powerful, that I was glad to return to the ship
by the first opportunity.

202

The following morning we stood out for the banks
near which the anchor was dropped, and for several days the
Superintendant and his boat's crew were occupied in placing
buoys with little blue and red flags attached, npon the edges
of the several beds which were to be fished. The weather was
oppressively hot ; the sky was without a cloud to break the
intensity of the sun's rays.

On the 5th of March we returned to our anchorage in
Condatchy Bay ; but this time closer to the shore. What a

change had come over the place ! The very sands of
the plain seemed to be redolent of life. The miserable row
of low, dirty huts had either been levelled to the ground or
were hidden from sight by numberless gaily-coloured booths
of all sorts of shapes, and sizes, ornamented with pale green
leaves of the palmyrah and cocoa palm and long strips of
white cloth. There were thousands of natives flocking and
struggling down to the beach, as though they expected us

203

to bring on shore all the wealth of the pearl banks. Our
anchorage-ground was opposite the little flag-staff ; and about
us as thick as they could be moored, lay fully two hundred
native boats of various sizes, though of one build, being a short
rakish-looking barge ; so sharp and knowing, both forwards
and aft, that one might have imagined them to have been,
bloated London wherries. They were each manned by ten
oarsmen, a tindal or steersman and his deputy, besides a
cooly for baling out the water, for most of these craft leak
freely. They measure from eight to twelve tons, yet there
are very few nails about them, the omnipotent cocoanut fibre
serving to fasten nearly all Indian vessels and boats together.

After a lapse of four days spent by the Superintendaut,
the magistrate of the district, the government agent, and
the Adapanaar in various arrangements ; in publishing notices
and issuing instructions connected with the fishery— the first
diving day was fixed, and the boats to the number of two
hundred. Were forthwith in readiness.

The day previous to the fishery, the " Wellington "
once more stood out for the banks with the Superintendaut
and his boat's crew on board. The boats with their respective
complements of divers, were to leave precisely at midnight,
so as to arrive on the banks before day-light, the wind being
at that time off the land and in their favour. In order
to see as much as possible of their proceedings, I remained to
accompany the fleet with the old Adapanaar in his ten-oared
cutter. I lay down at dusk in a small shed attached to the
temporary military quarters, intending to snatch a few hours'
repose. But I soon found sleep was quite out of the question ;
I walked out and found the boatmen and divers far from
attempting any rest previous to their heav^y labours, merry-
iiiakiug on the sea-beach. Some were dancing, some beating
time on the tom-tom ; scores were chaunting their wild
songs, and all had been well supplied with toddy and arrack.
The night was pitchy dark, and but few stars were visible

204

over fclie bright glare of many torches. A huge bonfire blazed
over the flag-staff, lighting up bazaars, palm-trees, and temples
in one lurid glare, and flinging a few rays on the distant
shining walls on the Doric. The shark-charmer too, stood
in all his glory, on the summit of one of the vast heaps of
blanched oyster shells : he was holding forth to the assembled
crowd with shouts and wild gesticulations, and as the glare
of the fire shot past him, he appeared to be clothed in flame,
whilst his gaunt arms flung long shadows over the distant
plain, like those of a monster windmill hard at work in the
midnight breeze.

The appointed time drew near ; a gong sent forth a few
notes of thunder ; and instantly all noises ceased. The shark-
charmer stole away, no one knew where ; some thought to pray,
more probably into the arrack bazaar ; the boatmen, divers,
and government peons crowding down the beach and through
the water, passed to their appointed posts in the boats. More
than four thousand human beings packed themselves into those
frail-looking craft ; and yet they were not so crowded as not
to leave room for the oysters.

The Adapanaar gave the final signal amidst a momentary
hush ; a small field-piece was fired from the base of the
flag-staff; and away went one hundred boats in gallant
style ! A loud discordant shout was raised on shore, answered
lustily by the crews and divers, and all was still again. The
land breeze was fresh : the water was smooth as glass ; and our
fleet made rapid way. The large yellow bamboo masts pointed
high in air, with their enormous, beautifully white, transparent
sails filling with the breeze, and lit up by the bonfire on shore,
seemed as though they were a host of huge winged creatures
of the deep.

On the soft cushions of our roomy craft T laid me down
beneath the awning's shade and slept some quiet hours. I
started from my rest on hearing some one near me giving
orders in a loud voice. It was still dark and looking out I

205

perceived a bright small light not very far distant. It
was a signal-light at the mast-head of the " Wellington."
We were close to the " banks" and in a few minutes I
was on board the vessel. The fleet went astern, and there
quietly awaited day-light. By the time we had sipped a
cup of hot coffee, and smoked a cheroot, it was day-dawn,
and then a move was made. I passed once more to the
eoft cushions of the cutter, the Adapanaar saw all ready,
and in a few minutes a gun was fired and off we went as
before.

The fishing-grounds lay above half a mile a-head of the
bark, and arriving on them it occupied some time to arrange
the many boats in proper order, so as to prevent delay or
confusion. The sun was rising bright and gorgeous over the
land. All eyes were turned towards the " Wellington,"
awaiting the expected signal to commence operations, five
divers in each boat were m.ounted on the gunwales armed
with their diving stones, nets and ropes ; the remaining five
stood eagerly watching them. The Superintendent was standing
on the vessel's poop, the boatswain by his side with the signal
halyards in his hands. Minutes seemed hours. At last
there was a move on the deck, and the signal-flag rose slowly
upwards ; the Union-jack fluttered in the morning breeze,
and just as it touched the mast-head, five hundred divers, with
their stones and nets, plunged silently in the sea. I shall not
easily forget the sensation I experienced when I saw the crowd
of human beings disappear in the depths below, leaving but a
few bubbles to mark their downward path. I pulled out my
watch ; a quarter of a minute elapsed, and not one of all the
hundreds appeared ; then a half, and then three quarters ; still
not one rose to the surface. I turned to the Adapanaar in
a tremor of anxiety, but he was sitting calm and quiet as an
oyster. How gladly my heart beat when I saw first a dozen
heads and shoulders, then fifty, then a hundred and more,
ascend to the surface, bubbling and spluttering, as well they

206

migfht, after such a submarine excursion. And tlie bustle and
excitement began in good earnest, on all sides. The boatmen
helped to pull in the baskets full of oysters ; the divers, but
little fatigued, climbed over the boats' sides and saw their fish
counted into distinct heaps by the peon in charge of the boat.
Each appeared to have brought up from fifty to seventy
oysters. As the last of the divers came over the boats' sides,
the five hundred who had quietly waited their turn rose up
and, with their baskets and stones, plunged in as their
comrades had before them, as rapidly and as silently.

The arrangements for diving are exceedingly simple : —
the diving-stone is a piece of granite, conical-shaped, and
weighing about ten pounds ; through one end of it a double
cord of coir is rove, of sufficient length to reach the bottom
easily, one end of it being secured to the boat. When about
plunging in, the diver places his right foot on the stone and
between the double cord, using it as a stirrup ; the weight
suffices to hasten his descent, and on arriving at the bottom
the stone is cast away and pulled up by the boatmen, so as to
be clear of the basket rope : this rope is stouter, and single.
The diver seizes the hoop of the basket firmly between the
toes of his left foot — for the natives use their toes as actively as
we do our fingers — and when on the bank below, grasps the
basket in his left hand flings himself flat on his face, and
sweeps the oysters rapidly into his coir bag with his right hand.
When he has secured sufficient fish, he gives his comrades
above the signal by jerking the rope ; they immediately com-
mence hauling it in. To give himself an impetus upwards, the
diver lays hold of the rope for a second or two, then raises his
hand together above his head, and rapidly floats to the surface.

The da3^'s work over, the fleet pushed shorewards, the
breeze came up from the south-west fitfully at first, then
steadily : up went the great spider-legged bamboo masts, and
the wide-winged sails, and the sharp-nosed boats slipped
noiselessly landwards.

207

The whole of the fleet having reached the shore, a party
of Malay riflemen and peons, cleared an open space between
them and the crowd on the beach, so as to allow the unloading
of the boats, which was at once commenced. The oysters were
divided on the sandy shore, into four equal parts, three of
which went to the Government, the remaining fourth was
shared amongst the boatmen, the divers, the tindal and the
boat-owner; the divers receiving twice as much as the boat-men,
and the owners rather more than the divers. The Government
oysters were carried up in basket to large bamboo enclosures
called cottoos, where they were kept until sold by auction on
the following day. The other share of the fish was disposed
of in a similar way ; though, sometimes, they were retained by
their owners on their own account, and the pearls found in
them sold afterwards.

There were many wealthy traders there from all parts of
India; but many more had with difiiculty scraped together
sums varying from a dozen pagodas _,to a dozen dollars ; men
who had purchased or borrowed the means of bidding at this
intoxicating auction : men who had left their famished families
without the means of obtaining a mouthful of rice : who had torn
the gold bangles and ear-rings from their wives and children,
and melted them into ingots to deal in the maddening trade
of Aripo. Some returned home rich beyond their expectations :
but many went back ruined, beggared, and broken-hearted,
unable to repay their loans, while some fled in terror to strange
lands, having lost the means of replacing monies taken by
them from sources of trust — ruined in means and reputation.
All this happens at every pearl fishery, and is not to bo
prevented, save by offering the fish in larger lots ; which,
though it might not prove quite so remunerative to tho
Government, would save much evil and suffering.

Some conception may bo formed of the immense masses
of oysters which at these times lay putrifying on tho burning
Bands of Aripo, when I mention that each boat will bring on

208

shore, in one trip, from ten to twenty thousands of fish, making
a daily total of from one to two millions for the whole fleet.
The extremely hazardous results of* these auctions may be
gathered from the fact, that whilst in some instances as many
as six pearls of various weights and values are found in one
oyster of large size, one hundred oysters may be opened
without finding in them a single pearl.

Th» natives of India have a singular belief with regard to
the origin of pearls : it is, that those beautiful concretions are
congealed dew-drops, which Buddha, in certain months, showers
upon the earth, and are caught by the oysters whilst floating
on the waters to breathe. The priests, ever alive to their
own interests, keep up the strange belief, and make it the
pretext for exacting from the divers and boatmen of their
faith what are termed " charitj'- oysters" for the use of
Buddah, who, when thus propitiated, according to their
showing, will render the fish more rich in pearls in future
seasons-

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