O L D C E Y L ON ,

CHES OF CEYLONLIFEINT
SKET HEOLDENTIME

JOH N CA P P E R ,

AU T HO R OF TH E T H R EE P R ES I D ENC I ES OF mom ,
“ ”
TH E G O LD F I ELDS , &c .
,
&c .

WI TH I LLU S TRA TI ON S B Y CE YLON A R TI S TS .

COLOM BO
C E Y LL
ON TI M E S P R ES S .

1 877 .
 A NY o f t h e fo llo w i n g S k e t ch e s w e re p u b l i s he d i n

th e e ar l y v o l um e s of DI CK E N S
’
HOU S E H OLD VV ORD S ,

m o re t h a n a
q u ar er o f a cen t u r
t y a
g o .
S o me a re no w

i v e n fo r t h e fi r s t t i m e , b u t n e ar ly a ll r e fe r to a e ri o d
g p

b et w een t h i r ty a nd fo r t y years a
g o .

I n t h e h Op e t h a t t h e s e p i ct u re s of OLD CE YLON

m ay b e a cc e t a b le t o s o m e of t h o s e w ho t a k e an i nt e re s t
p

in o ur b e a ut iful i s l a nd , t he y a re n o w b r o u gh t t o ge th e r , so

t h a t t h e m e m o r y o f b y e go n e t i m e s m a y
-
no t p a s s aw a y
fo r e v er ,

CoLOM B o , S ep tember , 1 8 7 8 .

1 1 6 44 8
9
 C O NTE NTS

P A GE

T HE GA R DEN O F F L OWE R S ( Il lus tr a ted)

O UR COO K S WEDDI NG
’

CO FF E E P L A NTIN G IN THE O LDEN T IM E

D U T CH COLOM B O ( Il lu s tr a ted)
O UR OLD CLE R K
A GA L LE LE GEND

A P EEP A T THE P ER A HER A

O LD EN GLI S H COLOM B O ( I llus tr a ted)

O LD J OE
P HILL I P O F B RA S S F OU NDE R S T R E ET
T H E F INE OLD NA TI V E GENTLEM A N ( I llus tr a ted)
H U LF S DOR P ( I llus tr a ted)
T HE CINN A MON P EELE R
ELEPH A NT S A ND H o w To C A T CH T H E M

A H A PPY V A LLE Y ( I llus tra te d )

O UR P R OD U CE DE A LE R
NU M B ER F O R TY TWO ( I llus tra ted)
-

O UR CO FF EE M I LL S
A NEW YE AR S DA Y ( Illus tr a ted)
’

O UR NA TION A L TR E E
THE K A NDYA N S C A PT IV E
’

M Y P E AR L F I s HI NG E! PEDITI ON ( I llu s tr a ted)

 I LLU S TR A TI ONS .

PA GE

F R O NT I S P I EC E T HE V A LE OF B U M B E RA .

LITTLE DOCHI E

DA N CIN G TH E CA F F R EI NA

T HE O LD T IN K ER

R E CEPTION O F THE GO V E R NO R BY THE M A H A M U DELI YA R

T HE CO UR T S A T H U LF S DOR P

A HA PPY V A LLE Y

NU M B E R F O R T Y-Two

F I S HIN G B O A T S M A KIN G F OR S H OR E

R E T UR NIN G FR OM THE P E AR L B A N KS
 THE GA RDE N O F FLOWE RS ‘

fi
C offee E stat e on which I resided was situated in one of
‘

HE
the wildest and most beau t iful districts o f the island of
C eyl o n elevat ed far above t he luxuriant lowlands where fra
, ,

grant spices and wavi ng palms to ld of wide plains and balmy

wi n ds The plantation was o n a broad table land fully thre e
.
-
,

t housand five hundred feet ab o ve t he sea level many mile s ,

removed from t he o nly European t o wn in the interior and at ,

least five miles from any o ther whi t e man s dwelling W i t hi n ’

.

a short walk of t he lower boundary o f my property was a small ,

Kandyan vi llage containing within it se lf t he very pi t h and e s

sen c e o f Cingalese society a t rue t ype o f the nat ive c ommunity
,

o f the interior .As I mixed s o unreservedly and fre quently with

the people and saw so much o f t heir every —
, day life it may b e -
,

i nteres ti ng to give a fa i n t ou t line o f this lit t le hamlet .

M a lw a t t i e which was i t s name signifies literally a gar

, , ,

den of flowers and such in truth i t was w h e n II first visited it

,
”

, .

Unlike any European village t here was n ot such a thing as a r o w

,

o f houses o r huts to be seen : shops were unkn o wn in that primi

tive place and un t il la t er years no such incubus as a tavern

, ,

keeper o r renter was kno wn t here Every lit t le hut o r co tt age

.

was carefully shade d from the vi ew of its neighbour fairly ,

establi shed o n its own account as much s o as t hough the i n

, ,

mates had written u p in barbarous C ingalese chara ct ers No ,

connexion wi th the house next door I never c ould learn

”
.

that there was any supersti t ion among native hut builders ,

a s to the variation in t he aspec t o f t heir d o miciles b u t certain ,

it was t ha t n o tw o dwellings faced pre c isely t he same points

o f the compass One would be north east and t he neares t to
.
-
,

it would be nor t h east and by eas t : you mi gh t fancy you had

-
 2

found another fa c in g a similar point but o n c ar e ful o bser va ,

ti on you would S ee that you could n o t make it any b etter than

nor t h eas t and b y —
- - east—
- half — east I t r i e d t h e experimen t for a
.

l o ng time but was comp e lled at l e ng t h to give it up I had

, , ,

regularly b oxed the compass r o und the e n t ir e vi llage b u t

”

I n va i n .

Partly from long established custom and par tly fr om a ,

desire o f Shadin g their dwellin gs from t he heat of t h e s u n t h e ,

K a n dy a n s bury th e ir isolated huts beneath a dense mass of t h e

rankest vegetati on At a short distance not a Si g n o f human
.

habitation could be trac e d w er e it n o t for th e thickly growi n g

,

tops o f bananas a reka palms an d brea d fr uit tre e s which a r e

, ,
-
,

ever found around and above t heir quie t abo d e s .

M a lw a t t i e formed no excep t ion to t he gen e ral r ul e in thi s

respe c t ; i t w a s a s snugly hedg e d and fen c e d and grown ove r
, , ,

as was Robinson Crusoe s dwelling a f t er the vi sit o f the sava

’

e s Every tiny b u t app e a red t o p ossess a maze of its o w n fo r

g .

t he express purpose of p erplexing all new c o mers e spec ially -

,

w hite men The entire village did n ot cover more than an

.

e ighth o f a square mi le yet it woul d have puzzled any livin g

,

thing but a bird t o have visi t ed all the cottages in l e s s t im e

than half a day and very giddy tryin g work i t would have
, ,

been .

S mall as was this primitive c ommunity it had its superiors , .

The leading men were t he priest e f th e little Buddhist Vihara ,

o r shrine and the K o rale o r h e adman I wi ll not distress t h e .

reader by pu t ting t he names o f these men in print a s they ,

woul d be perfe c tly unpronounceable and moreover a s lengthy , ,

as the approac hes t o their o w n dwelli ngs The entire nam e s .

of o ne Cingalese c ommuni t y would fi ll a small sized

v o lume I will therefore only S peak o f these persons as t h e
.
,

Priest and the Korale .

The latter was a rather resp e c table man as thi n g s g o in ,

Ceylon he was negatively irreproachable in c hara c ter He .

had certainly never c o mmi tted murder or theft on t he Queen s ’

 3

highway Perj ury had no t been charged against him and as

.
,

f o r t he fai t hful discharge o f his few official duties n o one had ,

ever called t hat in que s ti o n though there were some rather

,

c uri o us tales afloat o n t he subje ct of the las t assessmen t on

rice lands A t t he o fli ce of t h e Governmen t Agent of the di s
.

t rie t he was believe d to be as active and honest as nine tenths -

o f t he native headmen though to be sure that was not saying

,

very much for him The villagers looke d up to him wi th the

.

u t most veneration and respec t and no wonder for on his fi a t

, ,

d epended the amount of rice tax t heir lands were to pay He .

was a venerable looking o ld gent leman with a flowi ng whi t e ,

beard a keen quiet eye a n d an easy going habit that might

, , ,
-

have been c alled digni t y or la zyn e s s It was his duty to render

.

t o the Government o fficers a j ust accoun t o f the industry if ,

s uch a term ca n be applied to any Cingalese of his village ; t o ,

furnish returns of t he increase or decrease o f t he popula t ion ;

t o give notice of all crimes and o ff ences c omm it ted ; and in
shor t t o represent the local government in min o r de t ails F o r .

all t his no salary was paid him He was satisfied wi t h the honor
,
.

o f the office ; and ye t strange to tell t his Korale had s o far

, ,

increase d his proper t y by gaining nothing t ha t he was a man ,

o f some subs t ance when I left the pla c e owning some hundreds ,

o f ca t tle and rich in pas t ure lands E ducation was unknown

.

t o him ; he could scrat c h a little C ingalese on the drie d leaves

use d in place o f paper and I believe could count as far as ten
,
.

His mos t complica t ed a ccoun t s were all o n a decimal system ,

and by t he aid of numer o us symbols known but t o himself

and t he erudi ti on of t he fr i endly pries t he contrive d to trans ,

ac t a mul t i t ude of business wi t h t he authori t ies .

The ab o de o f th i s old pat riarch would have furnished a

s t udy for a lover of t he an ti que Everyth i ng seemed i n keeping
.

wi t h his long wh i te beard The doors and wind o ws t h e

.
,

c o uches a n d t hree legged t able all were hoary wi t h years

-
, .

Even t he a t mosphere had a mus ty smell about i t as t hough it ,

had been keepi n g him co m pa ny ever since he was a li t tle b o y .

.
 4

In the midst of thi c k folia g e as bright and green as the ,

c ottage was dark and c ankery it seemed at a di stan c e like a

, ,

h uge wart o n the rich ve g etation The c o ffee the bananas the
.
, ,

cotton the jambo the pau —

,
pau gre w in wild prof usion Of
, .

what we Should call garden he had none n o r did he need any

, , ,

for the friendly villagers kept his daily wants amply supplie d
from their o w n poor scanty patches At early dawn the little .

narrow pathway leadin g c ir c uitously to his door might be seen ,

tracke d by men women and Children laden with fruit v e g e

’

, , ,

tables and eg g s for the K o r a le s larder he might well grow ’

'

s t out and glossy and c ontented with his lot There w as such .

a supply of vegetable diet introduce d through hi s cra zy o ld

doorway each morning as might have fully satisfied t h e
,

vegetarians o f Great Britain with s o mething to spare fo r the

,

pigs But the o ld gentleman disposed o f it all ; fo r he ha d a

.

little c olony o f feudal dependants hanging about his heel s

behind h i s own barn of a pla c e Thes e serfs tracked him .

wherever he went o n e held a paper umbrella o r a talipot leaf

o ver him in hi s walks another carried hi s stick o f offi c e o n e
beat o ff the m u s qui t o e s ; another fanne d him to sleep with
a punkah In short they did every t hing fo r him save eat
.
,

and sleep and these functions he performed for hims elf t o

,

perfection .

The o ld Korale was generally pleased wi th my visits fo r ,

they adde d t o his importance in t he eyes o f the little co m m u

ni t y
. He lived quite alone his wife had been dead some years ,

and he had l o st his o nly child by fever H i s days w e re mostly .

passed in sleeping smoking and eat ing varied occasionally

, ,

with a s t roll round his rice fields o r t hose o f his n e ighbours It

, .

was seldom tha t he vi sited Kandy t h e an cient capital as ,

f o r C olombo the wildest freaks o f imagination would never

,

induce him to contemplate a j ourney s o far from his domesti c

hearth .

I t was a curious sight to b ehold this an c i e nt being l eadin g

such a hedge h o g exis t ence : rolling himself up in indolence
-
,
 5

after every meal of rice and curry in hi s li tt le darkened , ,

cavern like verandah ; and t here if no gu es t arrived fall i n g

-
, ,

asleep until t he nex t meal aroused him fr o m his t o r p o r I have ,

‘

foun d him thus clad in semi barbaric pomp re ek i ng with d i r t

,
-
, ,

and swelle d with importan c e in a b a lo o n — shaped Kandyan hat ,

a flowing robe and loose jacket with shoulder o f mutton - -

sleeves secure d by silver ba ngles ; an enormous mass o f white

,

muslin wrappe d fold upon fold around his waist A petty little
, ,
-
.

mountain stream fell trickl i ng and bubbling past the door ,

o ver stones and s t icks and flowers and herbs un t il it was lost
, ,

in t he ri c e fields below playing and gambollin g as t hough

,

each tiny wave had been some f rolicsome wood nymph Little .

could be seen fr o m t ha t shady p ortal and not much mor e ,

heard beyond t he hum of myriad i nsects and the dist ant cry
,

o f jun g le birds .

Often have I sat with the K o rale cha tt ing o n local and
other ma t ters for he was a man o f gossip t h o ugh o f limi t e d
,

ideas I t ried in vain to make him understand t he positio

.

and impor t ance of o t her c o un t ries o f their grea t superiority

t o the K a n dy a n s an d of the feat ures which distinguished u s
,

people o f the west from o rientals He c o ul d n o t be persuade d .

tha t Europe was larger o r a be tt er place than C eylon ; that

be tt er corn and vege t ables were grown in England than o n ,

t he Kandyan hills ; o r t ha t a modern drawi ng—room was a

more co mf ortable sor t o f place t han a C in g alese K o r a le s recep ’

t ion room with ear t hen flo o r and leafy ceilin g Of som e

, .

descrip t ion of poli t ics he had gleaned a faint idea from t h e

repor t ed con t en t s o f o n e of t he local newspapers very demo
crat ic in i t s pr i nc i ples He had an inkl i ng t hat things were not
.

g oi ng o n a s t h e y sh o uld d o and that a republ i c mu st be th e

,

s o r t of government sui t e d to the present wan t s of man yet ,

s t range t o s a y he c o nnec t e d wi t h his ideas of reform a return ,

to t h o se t h i ngs which t he liberality of t he Br it ish Government

had ab o lished forced labour and fl o gging a t t he discretion of
,

t he h e a d m o n !
 6

The priest was o f a far different stamp not an educated ,

man in any European sense o f the word ; but still w ith some
glimmering of mind within just serving to render internal
,

darkn ess vi sible He o f c ourse c ould read fluently for it w a s a

.
,

p ortion o f his duties to recite verses o f their Pitakas o r sa c re d

wri t ings morning and evening in the Vih ara He possessed a
, .

fair share o f curiosity and a desire to know something o f other

,

places and things Nay more he fre q uently heard me read a

.
, ,

whole chapter of the S criptures with whi c h he w as much please d

,

and frankly admitte d that C hristianity was the best religion

next to Buddhism .

H i s Vihara and dwelling w ere at o n e end o f the ran g e of

little hills o n the slopes o f which the village of M a lw a tt i e was
,

situate d though above them c onsiderably It w as the only

, .

roof c overe d by tiles and unlike the rest might be s e en at

, ,

some distan c e peeping out from amidst a dense mass o f foliage .

To arrive at it the traveller had to wind hi s way alon g a weary

length o f loose stones that le d over low swampy g round round ,

the edges of rice fields and up the si des 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 o r a native o f the c ountry

-
,
.

The vi ew from the door o f the shrine was highly pictures

que commanding a survey o f many miles o f mountain forest
, ,

and prairie country t hrough which herds o f c attle were dotte d

,

like s o many v e ry s m a ll mi c e Hi s abode was mean in the .

extreme with scar c e sufficient to make life supportable Th e

,
.

rules o f his order forbad him to a c quire any property and ,

he subsisted from day to day o n charity—j ust as did his friend

the Korale .

The priest often visite d me o n the plantation and e x amine d ,

with much c uriosity the various books and pictures about the
bun galow On o n e o f these o cc asions an in c ident occurre d
.

which threatene d at first to c ut short o ur intima cy ; but was

eventually forgotten or laughed at I had frequently pressed .
 my yellow — robed friend to partake o f my meal and taste a ,

little port wine of wh i ch I knew most o f these people are very

,

fond — but in vain ; he professed the utmost dislike to any

s t rong drinks independently o f the restriction laid on them by
,

their rules One day while c onversing with him I was calle d
.
,

away to the coffee store by o ne of the labourers and left him ,

alone s i tting by my little jungle sideboard As I was returning

, .

immediately af t erwards and when n ear the door I heard a

, ,

great coughing and splu t tering and strange c hoking noises , .

Upon entering I found the priest almost dead with a fit o f

coughing He staggered against the wall his eyes were stream
. ,

ing wi t h water his hands clenche d together while down his

, ,

long g o lden robes a j et black stream had made i t s sable way

, .

A b ott le lay at his fee t The truth flashed across me in a

.

m o ment The wary priest has g o ne to my sideboard to steal

.

a t as t e of the f o rbidden wine an d had unfortunately taken a

, , ,

g oo d draugh t fr o m a quar t b o tt le of ink

Nex t in imp o rtance t o th e characters already named was ,

o ne Ra ngh a m y t he head constable deputy sheriff tax collector , ,

a n d t here is no saying what besides He was the right hand .

m a n f the Korale no t quite so stout but m o re thick headed

o , , ,

save when his o wn in t erests were co n cerned and then it was ,

remarkable h o w his facul t ies brigh t ened u p and illumina t ed

the social atmosphere of M a lw a t t i e R a ng h a m y w a s not a .

na t ive of the village nor of the distric t no n e had ever

,

kn o wn whe nce he came except the Kor a le and he had long ,

since f o rgo tten The hydra headed o fficial had a numerous

.
-

pr o geny of Ra n gh a i n i e s of bo t h sexes besides a large herd of ,

sleek well —
,
favoured cattle ; ye t oddly enough he had nei t her
, ,

lands whereon to pas t ure the one nor salary wherewith to feed ,

a n d clo t he t he o ther S t ill they were all fe d cl o thed and

. ,

pas t ured . Th e junior head co n s t able and the lit t le female

d epu t y sheriffs and the t ax c o llec to rs in arms were clad i n
,

w hi t er r o bes t ha n any o t her young vil lagers As for the .

ca t tle they migh t have been exhibited at the S m i t hfi e ld show ,

 8

a nd won all the prizes by several st one of fat Whe ther they .

grew thus cor p ulent from any mira c ulous interference o f

Buddha or were fattened by some scientific process upon a few
,

constable s broken staves and colle c tor s decayed tax books or

’ ’

whether t hey were daily dr i ven upon other people s lands ’

who dared n o t co m plain to the Korale and if they did could , ,

not expect the head constable to impound hi s o wn bullocks

“

whi c h of t hese migh t have been the case I n ever learnt though , ,

I had m y s uspicions in the matter R a ng h a m y was said to .

have realised considerable sums by hiring o n t his cattle

to the Moormen who convey rice and salt from t he s e a
coast on pack bullocks to the inter i or Of this prosperity his .

dwellin g g ave ab undant pro o f ; for he had n o t o n ly English

cro c kery and c utlery but a decanter m y steriously covered up
,

with a floor mat in whi c h it was whispere d wi n e was once seen

,
.

Two pictures in frames in glaring c olors graced the wa lls

, , ,

wh ile o n a kind o f shelf was placed by way o f ornament a ja r , ,

with a faded gilt label ins cribed leeches“

,
.

N ot far removed fro m the c onstable in lo c alit y a n d di g ,

n i t y o f offi ce was the village peon and post holder graceless

, , ,

and lazy as any within the Central Province o f the Island and ,

that is sayin g a good deal it would have been a difficult thi n g

t o have sho w n that P un ch e y r a lle the Post Holder did anything
,

t o entitle him to the name beyond bestowing an o ccasional

kick o n the letter carriers o r runners as they passed t hrough

t he village ; yet the man grumble d at receiving no mor e than
fi ve rix dollars o r seven shillings and Sixpence a m onth for the
-
, ,

discharge o f t hese onerous duties P un ch eyr a lle had a ra t he r

.

bustling li t tle w i fe who did all t he heavy work for him

, ,

ex c ept the kicki n g : the pigs the g a rden the fowls all were
, , ,

in her charge an d while s h e and the very small children

,

cooked t he meals and kept the ho use in order their lord and
, ,

master lay o n his ba c k o r beat the tom tom o r native drum

,
-
,

o r perhaps gamble d wi t h a nei ghbour for a few c opper

c hallies
.
 lO

equally early marria g e and g enerally poor and s c anty diet lea d
, ,

to o n e ine vi table result premature o ld a g e

, .

The Priest m ade a preten c e at kee p ing s eh o o cl but I

faile d to learn the n ature o f the instruc t ion he professed t o
give A dozen dusky infants assemble d within the por c h o f
.

the Vihare occasi o nally and there squatted o n the ground

, , ,

c hante d a dismal alphab etical chorus : but I neve r fo und any

progress made b eyo nd this preparatory arrangement .

There was but o n e exception t o the s ameness o f t h e

population o f M a lw a tt i e ; it consi ste d o f a small household ,

not far from the foot o f the hill near the Vihara and cl o sely ,

adj oining the bullock — track o r bridle path lea ding past my
estate from the hi ghroad Here b eneath a pretty tope o f
.
,

n everf a di ng trees where b lossom a nd fr uit a nd s weetest

,

perfum es pl a yed their p a rt a ll throu gh the year dw elt a blin d ,

o ld m a n a nd his pretty gr a nd — d a u ghter The tiny hut they .

dwelt in wa s n ot more dimi n utive tha n neat s o c le a n a nd ,

white a nd fresh wi thin ; witho ut a ll wa s be a uty a nd order

,
.

H ad a whole le gio n of mo unt a i n sylphs a nd w ood nymphs b ee n -

b usily employed a bo ut the pla c e a ll ni ght lo n g a nd every d a y it ,

c o uld n ot h a ve bee n kept in more perfe ct a n d pi c tures que n e a t

n ess The little fe nc e a ro un d the c ott a ge w as s o ni c ely trimmed ;
.

the ga rde n in fro n t s o w ell s w ept a n d wa tered ; the or a n ge a nd

,

l ime trees s o c arefully tended a nd a l wa ys s o deli ghted to b e a r

,

plenty of fruit for dear little Dochi e to ga ther that they did not ,

bend a n d droop w ith the he a vy c lusters of golde n wealth a s som e ,

trees w oul d h av e done b ut a c t ua lly da nc ed a nd leaped abo ut

,

i n the morni n g a n d eve ni ng breezes a s tho ugh their b urde n wer e

,

n o b ur de n b ut the merest p astime .

P retty little Dochi e ge ntle little Do chi e w as not more th a n

, ,

t welve ye a rs of a ge whe n I fi rst m a de her a c qua inta nc e one ,

hot mor ni n g in the dry seaso n I c a ught her gatheri ng s ome

.

Oleander blossoms a nd roses and c o un try j ess a m i ne a nd tho ught

, ,

I had never see n a nyt hi ng half s o lovely b a rrin g her c olour ,

.

I r ei ned i n my po ny a nd a ske d her for a dr a ught o f wa t er

 11

i nste a d of l oo ki n g a la rmed a s w ould mo st of her c las s whe n

,

thus a cc osted s he smile d goo d n at ur ,

-

e dl y a nd trippe d i n t o the li ttle c otta ge

, .

I wa s o ff my na g a n d i n the pretty
fl ower garde n when sh e c ame o ut with
-

a c o c oa —n ut shell of—not w ater b ut ,

b less the dear c hild—ri c h white goat s , ,

’

milk I am n ot qui te s ure b ut I

.
,

rather think I m ust have kiss ed her a s ,

I retur ned her the homely fl a gon at

a ny rate we b e c ame the best o f frie n ds
, ,

a nd it e n ded i n Do chi e takin g me t o

s ee her o ld bli n d gra n dfather who wa s ,

b usily worki ng at a net of some sort a nd then to inspe c t one ,

o f the n eatest li ttle farm y ards I had ever see n out of old
-
,

Engla n d The whole pla c e w as a perfect miracle o f industry

.

a n d neatness and I co ul d not help asking how sh e mana g e d

to keep it so It appeared that their neighbours assiste d at
.
,

certain seasons in workin g the g arden and brin ging it into

,

good order and that the old man helped her to c arry the w ater
,

from the little bamboo spout which the villagers h a d fixed for
,

them to c onvey a supply from the hill stream at some distan c e ,

t o t he extremity o f their property .

They appeared to be in w ant of nothin g that c ould make

them comf o rtable ; as t o money they had little enough their , ,

sole earnings bein g from the sale of her goats milk flowers ’

a n d fruit to wayside travellers She assure d me that when

.
,

the p i lgr i ms passed on their way t o the sacre d f o ot — print on

Adam s Peak she sold as many flowers and as much fruit as
’

t he garden could produce and enable d them to be quite ex

,

t r a v a g a nt in white clo t hs and handkerchiefs .

From that t ime forward I never passed t hrough M a lw a tt i e

wi thou t a draught o f fresh milk and a li tt le bouquet ga t here d
by D o ob ie s o wn t iny hand At length it came to my dis
’

mounting regularly and in c ourse of time amongst other things

, ,
 12

we talke d of w ere books and knowle dg e Her dar k brig ht eyes

, .

sparkle d as I told her w hat w onders s h e might learn if s h e

could but read English books The strange art Wa s n o w h e r .

sole thou g ht and o n e day s h e found c ourage to a sk me h o w

,
’

s h e c ould learn it I hesitate d for I did n o t quite s e e ho w to

.
,

help her ; but when I offered to s end her a b ook with t h e

English alphab et and moreover to tea c h her t o rea d the letters
, , ,

her j oy was unbounde d In a fe w months my pupil had not .

,

only mastere d the alphabet but c ould sp e ll s m al l words a n d , ,

read Several short senten c es No t c ontent with t his I talke d . ,

to her o f religion and explained the nature a n d history o f

,

Christianity a s well as my ability allowe d m e I was not q uit e .

s o successful here ; but I was content to pave the w a

y for futur e

labourers and rej oi c e d to find her always anxious for truth

, .

It was I think quite a ye a r after my first acquaintan c e

, ,

t
w i t h B e chi e that one morning I a li g ht e d as usual and w a s
,

surpris e d t o find my pu p il absent and in her place a youn g ,

Cingalese man evidently of the low c o untry My surprise w a s

,
.

e qualle d by his o w n In a minute after Do chi e c ame boundin g

.

in wi t h eggs and mi lk and some little light ca k e s j ust prepare d

,

for the stranger who I then p erceive d had his a r m band age d
, , , ,

and altogether looked fatigue d and ill I did n o t rem a in lon g .

that day and learne d on retiring to mount my pony that t h e, ,

stranger had sought refu g e there very early that morning ,

having in vain b e g ged through the villag e for a resting—place

he had been robbed and beaten durin g the previ ous night o n
some lonely track and Do chi e hesitated not one moment in
,

wel c oming him within their little dwelling ; and in her o w n ,

singleness and purity o f heart acting the good S am a ritan I , .

could but adm ire her kindness ; and yet mixe d w ith admiration ,

was a feeling akin t o j ealousy I wished that it h a d been my .

fate to have been robbed and beaten if only for the pleasure ,

o f being tended by the g entle Do chi e .

Again months rolle d on the low c ountry stranger and the ,

-

robbers were all forgotten Chan g es had been mean w hile .

, ,
 13

s tealin g over th e fa c e o f the hitherto changeless Ma lvva t tie

’

a n d those not for the better The worst o f all innovati o ns w a s

.

the establi shment o f an arrack tavern in the very heart o f the

vi llage . The Government in its anxiety to a dd to its revenue ,

and increase its means o f developing the resources o f the

c ountry ( I think that was what t hey ter m e d it ) had g rante d
,

p ermission to the renter o f the arrack licenses for the Kandyan

country to establish a few s c ore additional taverns one of which

, ,

novelties was located i n M a lw a tt i e ; and soon where before had

.

b een quiet contentment was no t h i ng but braw ling riot It i s

,
.

true the Executive presented an an t idote wi th the p oison by ,

e stablishing a fr ee s cho ol opposite the noisy tavern ; but

e ducation stood small chance in competition with arrack and ,

for every new pupil at the d esk there were a score o f fresh
drunkards This le d to an increase in the duties o f the p o lice
.
,

and soon after to a salary to the head constable c rime was o n

,
-

the increase ; law suits were institute d ; families at peace for

several generations became deadly enemies ; and ere a year
,

had elapse d sin c e the introduction of the tavern the whole ,

social fabric o f M a lw a tt i e was rent and disrupted into ugly

fragments .

I continued to vi sit my friends the Korale and the Priest ,

b o th o f whom especially the latter sp o ke bitterly of the arrack

, ,

nuisance and l o oke d upon t he establishment o f th e s c hool as a

,

direc t attack upon Buddhism I s a w plainly however that

.
,

t here was ano t her and deeper feeling antag o nistic to the ,

educati o nal scheme in the b o soms o f t hese leading men of the

,

place They fel t that by di ffusin g enligh t enment amongst the

.

poorest o f the vi llagers the British G o vernment would in time

,

raise t he masses of the people above the level of the headmen ,

i n which case t heir influence would at once disappear Their .

un flinching o pp o si t ion was bu t li tt le neede d for t he n a t i v e

,

cultiva t ors could not be made t o appreciat e t hat knowledge

which t hei r immed i a t e superi o rs d i d n o t p o ssess To o prone .

to t a k e as t heir models those ab o ve t hem the vil lagers were,

 14

c ont ent to re m ain as they knew their fathe r s h a d been a nd a s ,

t hey s a w K o r a le s and De s s a v e s were Unfortunately t h e s e in .

,

c harge o f Governme n t schools have yet to learn that they h a ve

been toiling with the broad end of the e ducation al we dge

foremost ; t hat in Eastern countries enlightenment can only
flow downwards never upwards : that to elevate the Indian
,

serfs you must first improve the intellectual capacities o f those

,

w h om they ever have an d ever will re g ard as their pat terns

, .

My progres s with the fl o w e r g irl ’s schoolin g was s a t i S - a

factory and I had besides the pleasure o f fin di ng her incline d

, ,

to c ast aside the superstitions o f Buddha I n these tasks I .

was at this time a ide d by the teacher of the Government s ch o ol a ,

’

Portuguese des c endant who seconde d my efforts most zealously

, .

The months flew rapidly past and twice a week found me a n d ,

‘

Do chi e seate d beneath the shady folia g e o f a youn g oran g e

tree deep in o ur labors
,
.

It was q uite the end o f the h o t season that I was co m ,

p ell e d to le ave my plantation and j ourney across the countr y

t o the opposite c o as t o f the Indian p e ninsula in sear c h o f ,

Malabar lab ourers to se c ure the coming crop I was ab sent .

nearly t w o months and found myself o n e cool pleasant day

,

in Au g ust riding homewards a c ross the broad open prairie

lands adj oining M a lw a t t i e The ri c h foliag e o f the jungle
.

and the g ardens shone as brightly as ever in the afternoon

s un. The hill streams rippled as pleasantly down their stony
-

courses Yet the village was no longer the spot I on c e kne w

.

it ; brawling and angry wor d s were easily met wi th ; its o ld

patriarchal p e a ce a n d simplicity had departed from it I rode
'

o n musingly and at len g th pulle d up in front o f Do chi e s little

’

arden ; I starte d in my saddle at observin th a t it als o

g g
was c han g e d and s o sadly too The friendly oran g e tree
,
.

with its yellow fruit and its pleasant shade w a s n o t there , .

The oleanders were drooping in the g round ; some o f the

fen c e w as torn down and a vi le black bullo c k that I c ould
, ,

have massa c re d o n the spot w as c ruelly bro w s in g over the ,

 I5

fl o w e r -b ed s . Th e door was clo se d

the shut t ers were fas t ene d .

I imagined all sorts of c alamities to have happened every t hing ,

in short but what was actually the case I made one brief .

inspection o f the new neglecte d place then m o un t e d my pony

and rode homewards fearing lest som e vi llager should break
the tale o f sorrow .

It was nearly evening when I rod e up the winding path

leading to my bungalow o ppresse d wi t h a fear of I knew not ,

what The old building stood as it ever had done quietly

.
, ,

and humbly in the midst o f t he coffe e fields but I s a w at on c e ,

there were some changes I could scarce ly b elieve my eyes .

when I beheld in the c entre o f the lit t le grass plot facin g my ,

front verandah some small flowering shr ubs and an orange

,

tree so like the o n e I had misse d from Do t ehi e s g arden that ’

I began to fancy I was still down in the vi llage and that the ,

li t tle fl o w e r girl was peeping at me from behind some o f the

-

coffee bushes .

As I stood looking at the orange tre e my servant pla c e d

a letter in my hand traced in true native style o n a dry leaf
, ,

in Cingalese c hara c ters It was from my pupil herself and tol d

.
,

me in a few simple sentences all that had occurre d I breathed .

more freely to find her alive She was married s h e sai d to a .

,

young and rich Cingalese trader a christian and inhabitant of ,

C olombo She hope d shortly to be admitte d a member o f our

.

Church and thanke d me deeply for what I had done for her
,
.

The o ld blind man her grandfa t her was with them and they ,

were all happy They truste d I should always be so In my

. .

garden s h e said s h e had c au s e d to be planted the oran g e tree

, ,

I had so of t en admire d and sat under wi t h a few flowers from ,

her garden S he praye d that for many years to come the tre e
.
,

would yield me plentiful crops of cool refreshing frui t ,

.

The reader will perhaps smile when I s a y that af t er read ,

i n g this note I she d some tears tears of real sorrow and pain
, , .

Heaven kn o ws I wished the poor girl well and happy bu t

tho ugh I never c ould have looked on h e r other than as a g entle
 16

innocent ac q uaintance loveable fo r her simple purity I felt

, ,

her departure keenly To the many dwellers in the thron g e d

.

cities of the west t he loss o f such a companion o f my wild

, ,

l o nely j ungle —
,
life may appear trivial enough yet to me it was
,

an event .

My servan t told me what the little note had omitte d .

B echie had been wooe d and w o n with true Cingalese brevity ,

by t he same young low —countryman who had been s o kindly

sh el t ere d and tended by her when robbe d and beaten as I ,

have before told He had be en suc c essful in trade and had no w

.
,

a large store in C olombo .

It was long before I venture d a g ain near M a lw a tt i e To .

me it was no mor e a g arden o f flow e rs and least o f all

”

did I care to pass by the green fen c e and gate where Do chi e s ’

pretty smilin g fa c e had s o often wel c ome d me At last I .

persuad ed the old Korale to s e t some o f the villagers to work

and open a new path for me nearer hi s o w n bun g alow by
'

which means I ever after avoided a spot the si ght o f which

,

served but to fill me with vain regrets The place and the
.

people were s o chan g ed that I soo n be c ome a stranger in t h e

village .
 18

the e x treme R o und the great lake past the dry stagnan t
.
, , ,

pu t rid fort —
ditch to that part o f the Black Town known a s
,

S ea Street H o w diff erent from t h e quiet broad Dut c h str e e t s

.
, ,

or the cool shady l a n e s and th e ir fi n e o ld b ur g h e r mansions

,

Here all w a s dust and dirt and heat A d e ns e c rowd of, , .

people o f many of th e nations o f t h e East was passin g t o

, ,

and fro n o t as with u s along the pav e ment—for there w a s n o

, , ,

footway—b ut horses bullock s carr iages donkeys an d human , , , ,

beings all hur r ied alon g p ell — mell Arabs Moormen Chines e , , ,

P a r a w a s Cin g alese K a n d y a n s Malays Chitti e s Par sees a n d

, , , , , ,

Bengalis were j o stlin g each other in strange c o nf usion I

, .

s huddered as I b eheld a bra c e of over h e at e d bul lo cks in a n

e mpty cart rush madly past me into the midst o f a whole host
,

o f men wom e n , and children ; but stran g e t o tell no o n e

, , ,

s eem ed any the w orse : there w a s to b e sure a little r ubbin g , ,

o f shins and a g ood deal o f oriental swearing o n the o c casion

, ,

but no mo r e A vi ci Ou s hors e b r oke away from hi s Arab

.

leader and dashed across the s t r e et and down a narro w

, ,

turning where women and children Seeme d to be li t erally

,

pavi n g the way ; the furious animal bounded over and amongs t
t he li ving pavement knock i ng d o wn children of tender year s , ,

and s c attering elderly females righ t and lef t bu t still harm ,

lessly I fel t p uzzle d at this and c onclude d that th e y wer e

.
,

use d to it .

The t hronged street along whi c h I w as slowly travellin g , ,

appeared t o be the only thoroughfare o f any length shape o r , ,

bread t h From it diverged on all sides hundreds o f dwarf

.
, ,

c arriage —ways — turnings tha t had been lanes in their young e r

day s They were like the Maze at Hampton Court don e i n
.
,

m u d and masonry I have of t en heard o f cr ack skat e r s

.

cu t ting o u t t heir names upon t he frozen S erpentine ; and as I ,

peepe d up some o f these c urious z igzag pla c es it seeme d a s '

,

t hough the builders h a d b e e n act uat ed by a similar desire and ,

had manage d t o work their names and p edigrees in huts an d ,

v era n dahs and dwar f walls , Int o these stran g e quarters fe w

- .
,
 19

if any Europeans ever care to venture ; t h e sights a n d t h e

e ffl uvi a are such as they prefer avoidin g with the thermome t e r ,

standing a t b o iling point in the sun Curiosity however got

- .
, ,

the bet t er of my c aution ; and des c ending from my vehi c le

, .

I leisurely strolle d up one o f those densely packed neighbour -

hoods much to the annoyan c e o f my h o rsekeeper who tried

, ,

hard in br o ken English t o dissuade me from t he excursion

, ,
.

Whether it be that the native families multiply here mor e

rapidly in dark and foul pla c es I kn o w not but never had I
, ,

seen s o many thrown together in so small a spa c e Boys and .

g irls abounde d in every c orner As I passe d up this hot . ,

dusty crooke d lane o f huts the first burst of the cool s e a

, ,

breeze c ame up from the beach glowi ng w ith health and life ,

I looke d to s e e how many doors and windows would be gladly

flung open to c atch the first of the westerly wind and chase ,

away the h ot damp sickly air within ; but I looke d in vain

, , .

Not a door creake d on i t s rusty hinges not a window relaxe d ,

i ts close hold o f the frame the gl o rious ligh t o f day w a s

not to be permitted to shine upon the foul walls and floors o f
those wretched hovels .

There was business however going on here and ther e

, , .

The fisher and his boy were patching up an o ld worm eate n -

canoe ready for the morrow s toil ; an o ther s o n was hard a t

,
’

work upon t he net that lay pile d u p in the li t tle dirty verandah .

Nex t door was a very small shoemaker sharing the littl e ,

fr o nt cour t yard wi t h a cooper who did no t appear to b e ,

working a t anything in particular but was ra t her disposed to

soliloquize upon buckets and t ubs in general and to envy t he ,

hear t y meal which a couple o f cr e w s were making of a dead rat

in t he s t ree t Far t her o n was a larger building bu t clearly
.
,

o n i t s las t legs for i t was held up by numberless cru t ches

, It .

was not considere d safe t o hold merchandise of any des c ripti o n

and as t he o wner d i d no t desire the t rouble and expense o f
,

pulling i t down he had let it o u t to a Malay who allowed

, ,

strangers t o sleep in it o n payment o f a small nightly fee A s .

 20

I passed by a crow d of poor Malabars just arrive d from t h e

, ,

opposite c oast of India wer e haggling for t e rms for a night

,
’

lod ging for the party and not without sundry mis g i vi ngs ; fo r
,

some l o oked wistfully at the tottering walls and pointe d with ,

olent g es t ures t o the many props

, .

W ending my slow way back towards the main street I ,

came upon a busy carpenter s sh o p —a perfect mod e l o f t h e ’

kind In t his country some carpenters are als o carriage

.

bui lders and the pla c e I t hen stopped to examine was the h o m e
,

o f o n e o f t hese I t was a long low ramb ling shed such a s

.
, , ,

we might consider good enough to hold Cinders or fi rewood

the leaf — t hatc he d roof had been patched in many places with
tattered ma t ting ; t he c razy posts were undermin e d by the pigs
in the next yard wher e they shared t he di r t and the sun with
,

a heap o f wretch e d c hildren and a score o f s t a r v mg do g s , .

Every kind of c onveyance that had be en inven t e d since t h e

flood appeared to have a damage d repr e sentativ e in that
,

stran g e place C hildren s shattered donkey carriages spavine d

.
’
-
,

o ld breaks and rickety t r i a cle s o f t h e Por t ugues perio d

, ,

ha c keries of the early Malabar dynasty palanquins of C i ngales e ,

descen t Dutch g overnors carriages Engli sh gigs were a ll

,
’

, ,

pent up with irrecoverable c ar t wheels distor t e d carriage

,
-
,

p oles and consumptive springs

,
Had I p ossesse d an y .

antiquarian experience I doub t not I should hav e dis c overe d

,

amongst the mas s an Assyrian chariot or t w o with a few ,

D elhi howdahs The mas t er mind of this coach —

. fa ct ory -

was a genuine Cingalese who in company wi t h a slende r ,

youth was seate d on hi s haunches upon the g round c hisel in

, ,

hand contemplating bu t n o t working a t a felly for some

, ,

embryo vehicle Af t er o n e o r two chips at the round block o f

.

wood between hi s feet J u s ey A p p o o pause d arrange d the , ,

cir c ular com b in his hair and t ook ano t her mouthfu l of ,

betel ; t hen another c hip at the wood ; and then he ros e ,

sauntere d to the door and looked very hard up the little lane and
,

down it as though he momentarily expecte d som e dreadful

,
 21

accident to happen to somebody s carr i age i n t he nex t s t reet ’

Once more in m y vehicle I t hreaded t he en ti re lengt h ,

o f S ea S tree t wi th its li tt le dir t y shops ; the sickly smelling

,
-

arrack taverns ; the quaint o f o ld Hindu temple bedecke d ,

with flowers and flags inside and wi t h d i rt outside ; and t he

,

whitewashed Catholic ch urches Li tt le bells were t inkling a t .

t hese churches huge gongs were booming for t h their brazen

t hunder fr om the heathen temples ; t here was a devi l dance -

in one house t o charm away some sickness and a Jesuit in t he ,

next hovel c onf essing a dying man There was a chorus o f .

many tiny lungs a t a Tamil school chanting o u t t heir daily ,

lessons in dreary verse and a wilder older chorus at the

, ,

arrack shop jus t over the way wi t hout any pretence to t ime
-
,

or t une The screams o f bullock drivers ; the shouts o f horse

.
-

keepers the vociferati o ns o f loaded coolies ; the screeching of

rus t y cart — wheels begging t o b e greased ; t he din o f t h e
discordan t ch e ck o o o r o i l— mill ;— all blended in one vi olen t
storm o f s o und made me glad to has t en o n my way and leav e
, ,

the m addening chorus far behind The open beach with i t s .

,

tall fringe o f graceful c ocoa —palms and i t s cool breeze was , ,

doubly welcome I was sorry when we left i t a n d drov e

.
,
.

slowly up a s t eep hill : o n t he summi t of which s t ood t he

C hurch of St Nich o las my des t inat ion
.
,
.

A busy scene was t here Long strings o f curious —

. lo o kin g
v ehicles were range d ou t side t he t all wh i te church — s e whit e

and shiny I n the s un that t he bullocks in t he hackeries dare d

,

no t look up at i t I fel t qu it e s t range amongs t all t he motley

t hrong and when I s t ared about and beheld t hose many carts ,

and palanquins and hackeries I fancie d myself back aga i n i n

, ,

J u s e y A p p o o s c o ach —
fac to ry Bu t t hen t hese were all gaily
’
.

pa i n t ed and s o me were ac t ually varn i shed and had re d s t ar i ng

, ,

cur t ains and clean white cushions and rad i en t li tt le lamps

, ,
.

Nearer the church were some half a dozen carriages wi t h

,
- -
,

h o rses poor enough o f the i r kind bu t s t ill horses with real

, ,

tails I glided i n am o ngst t he c rowd unnoticed as I t o o fondly

.
, ,
 22

believed and was about t o take up a very humble position just

,

inside o n e o f the great folding—doors when I was a c costed by ,

a loft y Cingalese in gold buttons and fl o wing robes with a ,

gigantic comb in his hair and p olitely led away captive I knew
, ,

not whither Down o n e side aisle and a c ross a number o f

.
-
,

seats and then up another lon g aisle and to my ut t er d i s co m

,

fi t u r e I found myself installed o n t he spot in the unenviabl e

, ,

post o f a Lion o f the day s pro c ee din g s To a person o f

“ ” ’
.

modest temp erament t his was a most tryi n g ordeal Ther e

,
.

was not another white fa c e there : C o o key had be e n di s a p

pointe d i t seeme d in hi s other patrons and knowi n g o f my
, ,

intende d visit had waite d for my appearanc e to c apture m e

,

and thus add to the brilliancy o f the scen e .

I bowed to the bride with as little appearan c e o f un e a si

,

ness as I could manage but when I turned to the bridegroom ,

I had nearly forgotten my m o r t ifi ca t i o n in a burst of laughter .

The t all uncouth fellow had exchange d his wonte d n o t

ungraceful drap ery for a sort o f long fr o ck coat o f blue clo t h -
,

thickly bedecke d with gay gilt bu tto ns and sham g o ld lace ,

-

some kind o f a br o ad belt o f gaudy c o lour hung across hi s

sh o ulders : he w o re b o ots eviden t ly far to o short for him
, ,

which made him walk in pain ; and to complete the absurdity ,

o f his attire huge glittering rings c o vere d half o f his hands

,
.

The lady was oppresse d with j ewellery w h ich o n these ,

o ccasions is let out o n hire : s h e seeme d unable to bend o r

,

turn for t he mass o f ornaments ab o ut her W hit e sat in shoe s .

and silk st o ckings gave a perfect finish t o her bridal attire .

As the party marched up t o the priest I felt as a captive ,

in chains gracing a Roman triumph No one of all that crow d .

looke d at the bride they had evidently agreed amon g them

selves to s t are only at me I felt that I was the bride and t h e
. ,

fa t her and the bes t man I looked around on c e ; and what a

,
.

s t range scene it was in t he long white church ! There were

hundreds o f black fa c es all looking o n e way—a t me —but I
,

did no t see their faces I s a w only their white eyes glistenin g

 23

in the bright noon day s u n that came streami ng t hrough t he

-
,

great ope n w indows as though purposely to Sh o w me o ff I

, .

wi she d it had been mi dnigh t I hope d ferven t ly t hat s o me of .

the hackery bullocks would break loose and rush in t o t he ,

church and c lear me a way o u t I know n ot hing o f h o w the

,
.

marriage was performed o r whether i t was performe d at all ;,

I was thinkin g too mu c h o f making my escape But in a very .

short time by the clo c k though t e r r ifi ca lly long to me I foun d

, ,

myself gra c in g the Roman triumph o n my way o ut The fresh .

air rather recovere d me and what wi t h the drollery o f handin g

the cook s wife into the cook s carriage and the excite m ent
’ ’

o f the busy scene and the scrambling for hackeries and the
, ,

galloping about o f unruly bullocks I felt determined to fi nish ,

the day s proceedin g s I knew the worst

’

.
.

I followe d the happy couple in my vehicle s uce e d e d by a ,

long line o f miscellaneous conveyan c es drawn by all sor t s o f ,

an i mals Away we went at a spli t ting pace kno c king up the

.
, ,

hot dust and kno c king down whole regiments o f p i gs and

,

children Up o n e hi ll a n d d o wn ano t her and r o und t wo o r

.
, ,

t hree ra t her sharp corners as bes t our animals could carry u s , .

At las t t here was a halt I peeped o u t o f my carriage and.

,

f o und t hat we were before a gaily decora t ed and fl o w e r

fes t ooned bungal o w o f humble bu i ld t he h o use o f t he c o njuga l
,

cook Up drove all t he bull o ck hackeries and t he gigs and

.
, ,

t he carts bu t no o ne offered t o aligh t S uddenly a host of

,
.

pe o ple rushed o ut o f t he l itt le house in the grea t es t p o ssible

has t e They brough t ou t a l o ng s trip of white clo t h and at
.
,

o nce place d i t be t ween the bride s carriage and t he h o use for ’

her t o walk up o n St ill there was no move made fr o m any

.

o f t he carriages and I began to feel ra t her warm

, At leng t h .

a nati ve came forward from t he verandah g u n i n hand I , ,

suppose d to give t he signal to aligh t The m a n held i t a t .

arm s leng t h t urned away his head as t h o ugh adm i ring some
’

o f o ur carr i ages and snap wen t the fl i n t bu t in vain .

Fresh priming was place d in t he pan the warrior o nce more

 24

admire d o ur c arriage s and again t he snap was im p oten t

, .

S omebody volunteere d a pin for the t o uch hole another -

,

suggeste d more p o w der to the c harge whilst a third brought ,

o u t a lighte d s t ick The pin and the extra c harge were duly
.

ac t e d upon The weapon was graspe d : the c arria g e s were

.

admire d more ardently than before the fi r e s t i ck was applie d

t o the priming and an explosion o f undoubted reality followed
, ,

The warrior was stre t che d o n his back Half the hackery .

bullocks starte d and plunged o ut o f their trappin g s while the ,

o t her half bolted To add to the dire conf usion my villainous

.
,

stee d began to back very rapidly towards a steep bank o n the ,

e dge o f whi c h stood a quiet o ld fashioned pony i n a i with -

g g
,

two spruce natives seate d in it Before they could move away .

,

my horse had backe d into the p ony ch a i s e and the last I s a w

o f t hem at that time w a s an indistin c t and rather m ixe d vie w
,

o f the t wo white robed youths and the o ld fashioned pony a n d

- -

c haise performing various somersaults into the rass swamp at -

g
the base of the bank .

Glad to es c ape from the c ontemplation o f my misdeeds I ,

followe d the bridal party into the lit t le house Slowly .

a lighting from her vehicle the lady was receive d by a host o f

busy relations ; some o f whom commenced salaaming to her ,

s ome scattere d showers o f curiously cu t fra g ments o f c oloured

and gilt paper over her and her better half—probably intende d
to represen t the seeds o f their future c he quere d happiness and
troubles ; and then by way o f inducing the sai d see d to
,
l

germinate someb o dy sprinkle d over t he couple a c opiou s

,

down — pouring o f rose — water The little front verandah o f the

.

dwelling was completely hidden beneath a mass o f de c ora

tions o f flowers fruits and leaves giving it at fi rst sight the
, , ,

appearance o f some pla c e between a fairy bower and a Covent

Garden fruit stall The li vi ng dark strea m poure d into the
- .

fairy bower and rather threatene d the floral arrangements

,

ou t side : the door way was qui ckly j amme d up with the c ook s
-
’

nearest and de a rest relatives o f both sexes w hile the s e c o n d

 26

t hen some m o re steaming dishes and th e n an o th e r paus e a n d

, ,

s ome rice —plat es and at las t st r ugglin g and battling amids t

,

the army of relations t he bri degr o om mad e his a ppea rance

,

very h o t and very sh i ny evi d e ntly r ee kin g from t h e kitchen

, .

He had slippe d on hi s blue cloth many buttoned coat and , ,

smile d at his wife and the assemble d c ompany a s though h e

would have us believe he w a s quite c o o l and c omf o r t abl e .

It devolve d up on me to hand o r rath e r dra g t h e bride t o ,

o n e end o f the table opposit e t o wh o m s a t h e r culinary lor d

and master as di g nified and important as th o u g h hi s monthly
, , ,

in c ome had b een t en guineas inst e ad o f t e n rix dollars I - .

s eat e d mys e lf next t o the lady of t h e hut and re sign e d mys e lf ,

to my fat e ; es c ap e w a s out of t h e qu e stion Nothin g sh o rt o f .

fire or t h e f a lling—
, i n of t h e ro o f could hav e sav e d m e , Our .

ri c kety chairs were render e d firm an d secur e a s t h e best

London — made mah o gany s ea ts by t h e c o nti nuous unrel e ntin g
-
,

pr e ssure o f the dense mob b ehind and around us The littl e .

room seeme d built o f faces you might hav e danc e d a polka o r

a wal tz on th e heads o f the c ompany with p erfe c t s e curi t y .

As for the w indo w trap I c ould S e e nothin g but b r i g ht shinin g

-
,

eyes throu g h it .

The c overs were removed a s c ov e rs a re int e nde d to b e

,

but instead o f curi o usly ar range d and many coloured dishe s

,

o f pure and unadulterated Cingalese cook ery as I had in t h e , ,

early part o f the day fondly hop ed there appear e d upon

, ,

them a few overdone dried up j oints a l A ngla es e a skinny

’
’

, ,

c onsumptive baked shoulder of mutton a hard looking boile d -

leg o f a goat ; a shrivelled s p are rib of beef ; a turkey that -

might have die d o f jun gle — fever and a wooden kind of dry lean ,

ham w i t h sundry vegetable s made up this s a d and melan choly

,

show All my gastronomi c hopes s o long cherished ami dst

.
,

t hat heated assemblage vanished with the dish covers and

,
-
,

left me a miserable and dej ecte d being Ten minutes .

previ ously I had felt the pangs o f wholesome hun ger and was
, ,

prepare d to d o my utmost ; at that moment I only felt empty ,

 27

a nd sick C o uld I have reached t he many —buttoned c o ok I

.
,

m igh t have been t empte d to have d o ne him some bod i ly harm ;

but I c o uld n o t m o ve The hos t had t he wretch o f a turkey
.

bef o re him W ell up to the knife —and—fork exercise he

.
,

whipped o ff fr o m the breas t o f the skinny bird two slices o f

t he fines t meat—t he only really decent cuts about i t — and t hen ,

pushing the dish o n t o his next neighbour begge d him t o ,

help himself Of course I had to attend to the h o stess I

.
,
.

gave her a slice o f the sinewy lean ham before me wi t h two ,

legs o f a native fowl and began to think o f an attempt upon

,

the boiled mutton f o r myself ; but there was n o peace f o r me

yet. The bride had never before used a knif e and fork ,

and in her de s perate attempts t o insert the latter into o n e

,

o f the fowl s legs sent it w i th a b o und into my waistcoat

’

, ,

accompanied by a shower of gravy and a drizzling rain o f ,

melted but t er and garlic Feeling more resigned to my .

fate I proceeded t o cut up her ham and chicken and then

, ,

fancie d t he task was done ; but not s o Her dress was s o .

tight the ornaments s o encompasse d her as wi t h a suit o f

,

armour tha t all her attempts to reach her mou t h wi t h her fork
,

were abor t ive To bend her arm was evidently impossible

. .

Once she manage d to get a piece of ham as high as her chin

,

but it c o s t her violen t fractures in several parts o f her dress ;

s o that I became alarmed for what might possibly happen and ,

begge d her not to think o f doing it again off ering to fee d ,

her myse lf Feverish thirsty and weary as I fel t at that

.
, ,

table I could scarcely suppress a smile whe n I found myself

, ,

spoon in hand administering portions o f food to t he newly

,

made w ife Never havi ng had at that peri o d of my existence

.
, ,

any experience in feed i ng babies or o ther li v ing creat ures , ,

I fel t a t first much embarrassed s o mewha t as a man m i gh t ,

feel who only accus to med t o Shave himself tr i es for t he first

, , ,

time in his life to remove t he beard o f s o m e friend i n a p ub li c

,

assembly F o rtunat ely for me t he lady was blessed with a

.
,

rather capa c ious m o u t h ; a n d as I raised t remblingly a nd i n , ,

 28

doubt a pyramid of fo wl ha m and onions upon the bowl o f

, , , ,

the B r i tt a nni a-metal spoon my pati e nt dist e n d e d her j aws i n ,

a friendly and hop eful mann e r .

D urin g my spoon p e rformances I was much startled at

hearing c lose to o ur d oor t h e loud r e port of s everal gun s
, ,

fired in quick succession I imagined at firs t that the military .

had been calle d out to dispers e the mob but as nobody gav e ,

signs of any alarm or un e asiness that c o uld n o t have b een t h e ,

case so I settled in my mind that t h e fri ends o f the family

were shooting some game for the evening s supp er All that ’
.

I partook of at that bridal party was a small portion of very

lean dry b eef and some badly boil ed p otato e s washed down
, , ,

by a draught o f hard sour bee r I essaye d some o f the pastry

,
.
,

for it had a bright and ch e erful look and w a s evi d e ntly very ,

light I to o k a mouthful of some description o f s ug ared puff

.
,

light to the feel a n d pleasant to look at but in reali t y a mos t

, ,

heartless de c eption—a sickly piece of d e c e it it was evi dently

a composition o f b e an fl o ur brown — sugar stal e eggs and -
, , ,

cocoanut o il ; the latter although burning very brillia ntly in ,

lamps and servi c eable a s a dressing to hair n o t being quit e

, ,

e qual to lucca oil when fried or baked To swallow such an

,
.

ab o mination was impossible and watching my opportunity I , , ,

c ontrived a t len g th to c on vey my savoury mouthful beneath

the table This vi l e pastry was suc c ee ded by a plentiful cro p
.

o f fruit o f all kinds from pin e -apple s to dates ,Hecatombs o f .

oranges pyramids o f plantains shoals of sour sops mounds

, ,
-
,

o f mangoes to say nothing of alligator pears

, rh a m b a t a m s -
, ,

custard— apples guavas jamb e es and other fruit as varied

, , , ,

in name and taste a s in hue and form graced that hithert o

, ,

gr aceless board I had marked for immediat e destru ction a

.

brace of custard apples and a glowing corpulent alligator , ,

pear and was even o n the p oint of securing them befor e

,

at t ending to my dark neighbour when a lou d shout followe d , ,

by a confused hubbub was heard outside in front There was , .

a crackin g of whips and a rattling o f c arriage — whee ls and

, ,
 29

alto g ether a huge c ommot i on I n the str ee t which at on c e put ,

a stop to o ur dessert and attracted attention ! from the inside

,

t o t he exterior o f the house My spiri t s revi ved from zer o t o .

summer-heat and then c e up to blood—

,
heat when I learnt ,

tha t the arrivals were a bat c h o f “

Europe gen t lemen ,
”

friends o f the cook s master who had c ome jus t to hav e

’

,
'

a p a s sing peep at the bride and the fun Their approach .

was made known by sundry exclamati o ns in the En g lish

langu ag e and a noise as o f s cuffl i n g at the door
, How .

o ur new friends were to ge t in was a m ystery to me : n o r ,

did the host appear to have any very dis t inct ideas upon
the subje c t He rose from his seat and wi t h his mou t h full
.
, ,

o f juicy pine apple ordere d a way to be cleared for the

-
, grea t
mas t ers but he might as well have re queste d his audit o ry
to become suddenly invisible or to pass o ut through the ,

key — hole There was no such thing as giving way : a few of

.

t he fi r s t cousins grinned and o n e or tw o maternal uncle s

-
,

coughed audibly while the eyes of t he distant relations at t he

,

w i nd o w were glistening more intensely and in greater numbers ,

t han ever The stock of British patience as I rather expected

.
, ,

was q u i ckly exhausted and in a minute o r two I percei v e d

,

near t he door some whi t e faces that were rather familiar t o m e

-
,

at a certain regimental mess table Uncles and brothers i n - .

-

law were rapi dly at a discount and there appeare d every ,

prospect o f mere connexi o ns by marriage becoming relations

by blood S ome g iant of a native venture d upon the hazardous
.

speculat ion o f collaring an o fficer wh o was squeezing past

him and re c eive d a fr i endly and admonitory tap in re t urn
, ,

which a t o nce put him he rs d e com ba t The c o o k e nr a g e d a t .

,
”

t he rudeness o f his c o untryman deal t a shower of kn o ck s ,

am o ngst his family circle t h e visitors stormed the approaches ,

and a t las t carried the covered way ; Cingalese gentry struggled

a n d pushed and t ried in vain t o repel t he invaders
, the fai r
s e x screamed and tried to es c ape , t he m elee became general
and furi o us I ga v e my wh o le a tt enti o n t o t he bride wh o
.
,
 30

kept her seat in the utmost alarm ; her husband was the c entre
o f attra c tion to the c ombatants an d in the mi dst o f a sort
, of

“
f o rlorn hope o f the native for c es the heavily loaded table
,

w a s for c ed from its centre o f gravity Staggering and

.

groanin g beneath the unite d pressure from fruit and fighting ,

t h e wooden fabric reele d and to t tere d and at last went toppling

,

o ver amidst a thunder storm o f ve g etable productions It

,
- .

was i n vain I pulle d at the unhappy bride to save her s h e ,

was a doome d woman and was swept away with the fruity
,

flood When I sought her amidst the wreck and confusi on

. ,

I c ould only dis c over heap s o f damag e d oran g es sour sops ,

-
,

and c ustard apples her w hi t e satin shoes the Chinese fan

-
, , ,

and the four silver meat — skewers By dint o f sundry excava

.

tions the lady was fairly dug o ut o f the ruins and carrie d o ff
, ,

by her female friends ; t h e room was c leared o f the rebelliou s

Cingalese and a resolution c arrie d unanimously that the
, ,

meeting b e adj ourne d t o the co m p ound o r garden at the back .

Under the pleasant shade o f a tope o f beautiful palms we s a t ,

and partook o f the remains o f the feast The relations once .

,

more restore d to good humour amuse d themselves in their

,

o w n fashion ; preparing for the dancing and festi vi ty and

, ,

illuminations that were to take place in th e evening Our

,
.

o w n li ttle party s a t there until some time after sun s et and ,

when we had seen the great c o c oanut — shells with their ,

fl aring wi c ks lighte d up and the t o m toms begin to assemble

, ,
-
,

we deemed it prudent to retire an d seek a wholesome meal

W ith o u r friends .
 COFFE E PLA NTING I N T H E OLDE N TIME .

CH A PTE R I .

N the month o f September 1 8 40 I started fr om Kandy t o

, ,

vi sit a friend who was in charge o f o n e o f the new c off ee

clearings then in progress I was a c companied by a youn g
.

planter well acquainted wi t h the country and the natives and ,

who had o ffere d to act as my g uide The c learin g was distant .

ab out twenty— fi v e miles The route we took since be c ame

.

famous for rebellion and martial law ; and c oncernin g which

o n e of the largest blue books of any session had been concocted .

As there was in those days no Matale Coach we mounte d ,

o ur horses a good hour before day break s o as to ensure -

getting over the most expose d par t o f o ur j ourney before the

s un should have risen very high — a n important matter for man

and beast in tropical c ountries Towards n oon we pulled up

.
,

at a lit t le bazaar o r na tive shop and c alle d for Hoppers and

, ,

C offee I felt that I c ould have eaten almost anything and

.
,

truly one needs such an appetite to get down the dreadful

black draught which the Cingalese remorselessly administer
-

t o t ravellers under the name o f coffee A basin of turb i d

, .

inky l o oking fluid covered w ith a thick s c um o f broken par

-

t i cle s of c o ffee that require to be skimmed o ff with the fin g er

,

such was t he beverage .

The sun was already rather high in the horizon when

we found our s elves suddenly at a turn o f the road in the
mids t of a clearin g “
This was quite a n o velty to me ;
.
”

so unl i ke anything o ne meets with in the low country or

about t he vicin it y o f Kandy The clearing in question
.

lay at an elevat ion o f fully three thousand fee t above the

s e a level
- w hilst the attitude o f Kandy is not m or e than
,
 32

seventeen hundred feet I had never been on a hill estate .

,

and t he only notions formed by me respecting a plantation o f

coffee were of c ontinuous undulating fields and gentle slopes
, ,
.

Here it was not diffi cult to imagine myself amongst the

recesses o f the Black Forest Pile o n pile o f heavy dark .

j ungle rose b efore my astonishe d sight looking like grim

f o r t e s s e s defen ding some hi dden c ity of giants The spo t we .

had opened upon was at the entrance of a long valley o f great

wi dt h o n one side o f which lay the young estate to which we
,

were goin g Before us were as my companion informed me

.
, ,

fi fty acres of felle d jungle in wildest disorder ; j ust as t he

monsters o f the forest had fallen s o they lay heap on heap , ,

crushe d and splintered int o ten thousand fragments Fine .

braw ny old fellows some of them ; trees that had stood many
a storm and thunder pe e l trees that had sheltere d the wild-
,

elephant the deer and the buffaloe lay there prostrate d by a

, , ,

few inches of sharp steel The fall had taken pla c e a g ood .
”

week before and the trees would be left in this state until the
,

end of O ctober by which time they would be sufficiently dry

,

for a good burn Struggling o n from tr u nk to trunk and

.
”

leading o ur horses slowly between the huge rocks that lay

thickly around we at last got through the fall and c ame to
, ,
”

a part o f the forest where the heavy quick cli ck o f m a uy axes ,

t o ld us there was a working party busily employed Bef o re .

us a short distan c e in the j ungle were the swarthy compa c t ,

figures o f some s c ore o r two o f low country Cingalese plying

their small axes with a rapi di t y and precision that was truly
marvellous It made my eyes wink again to s e e how quick ly
.
,

their sharp tools flew ab o ut and how near some o f them went ,

to their neighb ours heads ’

.

In the midst of these busy people I found my planting

fr iend superintending operations in full jungle c ostume A
, .

sort of wicker helmet was o n hi s head covere d with a long ,

padde d white c loth whi c h hung far down his back like a
, ,

baby s quilt A shooting j a cket and trouser s of c h e c ked

’
.
 34

ro c ks a n d streams halting at the top as I s a w the w hole party ,

do Then th ey were range d in order axes in hand on th e

.
,

upper side o f the topmost row of cut trees I got out o f their .

way watching an xiously every movement Al l b ein g ready

,
.

the manager sounded the co u ch sharply t w o score v o ices raise d ,

a shout that made me start again ; forty bright axes gleame d

high in air then s a nk deeply into as many trees which at
, ,

once yi elded to the sharp steel groaned heavi ly waved thei r , ,

huge branches to and fro like drowni ng g iants then topple d , ,

o ver and fell with a stunning cr as h upon the trees bel o w them
, .

These having been cut through previously offered no r e s i s ,

tance but followed the example o f their upper neighb ours

, ,

and fell booming o n those beneath In thi s way the work of .

de struction went rapidly on from row t o row Nothing w a s .

hear d but groaning cra c kin g crushing and splintering it

-
, , ,

w as some little time before I got the sounds well o u t o f my

ears At the time it appeare d as though the whole o f t h e
.

forest world about me was tumblin g to pieces ; only thos e

-

fell however whi c h had b een cut and of such not one w a s
, ,

left standi n g There they would li e after lopping off t h e

.

principal branches until s uffic ien tly dry for the t o r ch that
wo ul d black en their massive trunks and calcine their many ,

bran c hes into dusty heaps o f alkali .

By the time this w a s completed and the men put on t o ,

a fresh c ut we were ready for o u r mid day meal t h e

“
,
-
,

planters breakfast Away we toile d towar ds the Bungalow

’
.

Passing through a few acres o f standing f o rest and over a ,

stream we c ame to a small cleare d space well sheltered from

,

wind and quite snu g in every r espect It was thickly sown

,
.

wi th w at a t a distance I imagined t o b e yo un g let t uces o r

h , ,

p erhaps very j uvenile cabbag e plants bu t I was told this was

,
-
,

t he nursery and those tiny green things w ere youn g

“
,

Coffee plants W i th whi c h it was intende d to form the fu t ure

S o o lo ok a n d e Estate On learning that we had reache d the
.

Bun galow I looked about me to dis c over i t s lo c ality but

,
”

,
 35

i n vain ; t here was no buildin g to be seen ; b ut presently my

host poin t ed out to me what I had not notice d before —a small ,

low roofed t hatche d place close under a proje c ting rock and
-
, , ,

half hid by thorny creepers I imagine d this to be his fowl .

house or perhaps a receptacle for tools but was not a little

, , , ,

astonishe d 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 ab out s i x feet wi de and ,

as high at the walls This small space was lessene d by heap s

.

“
o f tools ,
coils of string f o r lining the ground before
planting sundry boxes and baske t s an o ld ri c kety table and
, , ,

o n e chair At the farther end if anything could be far in

.
,

that hole was a jungle be dstead forme d b y d r i vi n g green

,
‘

st akes in the floor and walls and stretching rope a c ross them , .

I could not help expressing astonishment a t t he miserable

quarters provi de d for one who had s o important a charge an d ,

such c ostly outlay to make My host ho w ever treate d the .

,

mat t er very philosophically Everything he o bserved is goo d .

, ,

o r bad by comparison ; and wretched as the ac c ommodation

a ppeare d to me who had been accustome d to the large airy ,

h ouses o f Colombo he seeme d to be quite satisfied ; indeed he

, ,

t old me tha t when he had finishe d putting up this little c rib

, ,

had move d in his one table and chair and was seated cigar , ,

in mouth inside the still damp mud walls he thought himself

, ,

the happiest of m o rtals I felt somewhat curious to know

.

where he had dwelt previous to the ere c tion of this uni que
building — , whether he had per ched up in the forest trees o r in
holes in the ro c ks as I had heard was done by the wild
,

Ve ddahs o f Bintenna .

I was t old that his first habitation when commencin g

work up t here was suspende d over my head I looked up
,
.

t o the dark dusty roof and perceive d a bundle of what I

,

con c eive d to be o ld dirty brown paper o r parchment skin ,

-
.

P e r ci v i ng my utter ignoran c e o f the arrangement he took ,

down the roll and spread it open outside the doo r It turned
,
.
 36

o ut to b e two o r three hu g e Talipot leav e s wh i c h he as s ure d

me w a s t h e only shelter h e had p ossess ed fo r nearly thre e
months and that t o o during the rainy se as on They migh t
, ,
.

have m easured ten fe e t in len gth a n d p os s ibly five in wi dth ;

,

pretty well for a leaf o r two : th e y wer e us e d b y fasten i n g

a stout pole lengthways to t w o stak es driven in t h e g round ;
the leaves were hung across this r idge p ole mi d — way and t h e -
,

corners o f them made fast by c o r ds : c o mm o n mat s b ein g

hung at ea c h end and under t h e leafy r oof .

Th e Lines a long r o w o f mu d h uts fo r the coolies

“
, ,

appeare d t o be much mor e c om fortabl e than th e ir master s ’

dwellin g B ut this i s n e c essari t h e c ase fo r unl ess th e y b e

.
,

w ell c ared for th e y will not remain o n a r e mote e stat e such ,

as this o n e w a s th e n conside r e d Th e first thin g a goo d.

planter se e s t o i s a roomy and dry s et o f Lin e s fo r t h e

“ ”

people : then t h e Nurs e ry o f c off ee plant s a n d thirdly a , ,

b ut fo r himse lf .

The Sup erinte nden t a s sured m e that n o n e b ut t hos e w h o

had opened an e state in a remote distri ct could form any i de a ,

o f the di ffi c ulties a n d priv a tions en c ountered by the planter .

“
Folks may g rumble as they like down in C olombo o r in , ,

England said my friend

,
”
“
about t h e hi g h sal a ri es p aid t o
,

manag ers but if so me of them had only a m on th of it up

,

here in the r ains I susp ec t they d c hange their n o tions

, ,
’
.
”

He had had t h e g r e ates t d i ffi c uly at fi r st in keepin g b ut

a doz e n m e n o n the pla c e to c lear g round for line s and
nurseries : s o stron g is the obj e c tion felt by Mala bars to ne w
a n d distant pla ntati o n s On o n e oc c asi on h e had be e n qui t e
.

deserte d : even hi s old c ook ran away and he found himself ,

with o n ly a little Cin g alese boy a n d hi s ri c e bis c uit and drie d

, ,

fish all but e xha uste d A s for meat h e had n ot t aste d any fo r
.
,

many days Th ere w a s no help for it h e s a w but to s end o ff

.
,

the little b oy to the nearest vi llag e w ith a ru pe e to buy som e

, ,

food and try to persuade s ome o f the vi llag e people t o c ome

,

u p and assist him When evening c ame on there wa s no boy

.
,
 37

ba c k and the l one ly planter had n o fi re to boil his r ice

,
.

Night came o n and still he was alone : hungry cold and

, , ,

des o late It was a S abbat h evening and he p o inte d o ut to m e

.
,

the large stone o n which he had s a t down to t hink o f his

friends in the o ld c ountry ; t h e re collecti o n of his distan c e
from them and o f his then desolate Crusoe — like position came ,

s o sadly s o bitterly upon him t h at the s t rong man wept like a

,

child I almost fan c ie d I s a w a tear start to his large eye as

.
,

he related the c ircumstan c e .

Durin g that same night as he lay sleeping supperless

, ,

fatigue having overcome hunger a great storm o f rain and ,

wi n d arose and far into the night he was rudely awoke by a

,

sensation of intense col d : looking upwards from his j ungl e

c ou c h he s a w a few stars twinkling between the flyin g mas ses
o f clouds the rain falling on him as he lay A stron g gust o f
, .

wind had swept away the talipot roof and he had no resource ,

but to c reep in beneath his wret c hed sti c k bed and lay ,

shivering there until the c old morning broke .

Ceylon planters are proverbially hospitable : the utmost

stranger is at a ll times sure o f a hearty welcome f o r himself
and his horse On this o c casion my j ungle friend turne d o u t
.
,

the best c heer his small store a fi o r d e d It is true we had but .

,

o n e chair amongst us but that only serve d to give us amuse

,

ment in making seats o f baskets boxes and o ld books A dish

, , .

of rice and curry made of dry salt fish two re d herrings and
, , , ,

t he only fowl o n the estate forme d o ur meal and poor as the

,

repast may appear to those who have never done a g ood day s ’

j ourney in the jun g les of Ceylon I can vouch fo r the keen ,

relish wi th which we all partook of i t .

In the afternoon we strolle d out to inspe c t the first pie c e

o f plantin g on the S o o lo o k a n d e estate It was in extent abou t .

sixty acres divi de d into fields o f t e n acre s by narr o w belts o f

,

tall trees This pre c aution w as adopte d I learnt with a V i ew

.
, ,

to protect the young plants from the vi olence o f the wi nd ,

whi c h at times rushes over the mountains with terrific fury .

 38

U n l ess thus sheltere d by belts o r by staking the youn g plants ,

g e t loosene d o r are whirle d round until the outer bark becomes

,

w orn away and then they sicken and die or if they live yield
, , ,

n o fruit St akin g is simply driving a stout p e g in the

.

ground and faste ni ng the plant steadily to it but it i s an

, ,

e xpensive pro c es s The young trees in these fields had bee n

,

put o ut during the previous rains o f July and thou gh still ,

very small looked fresh and healthy I had always imagine d

,
.

planting o ut to b e a very simple and e asy affair ; but I now

learnt that ex c ee din g c are and skill are re quire d in the opera
tion The holes to receive the youn g co ffee plant must be
.

w ide and deep they can scarcely b e too larg e the earth must ,

be kept well about the roots o f the seedling in removin g it

a n d c are must b e taken that the tap — root b e nei ther bent nor ,

plante d over any stone o r other hard substance ne g le c t o f

these important p o ints is fatal to the prosperity o f the estate .

The yellow droopin g leaves and stunted g rowth soon tell the , ,

proprietor that his superintendent has done hi s work c arelessly ;

but alas I it is then too late to apply any reme dy save that of ,

replantin g the g round .

I left thi s estate impresse d with very different notions

c on c ernin g the life and trials o f a planter in the jun le from
g
w hat I had g athere d from mere C olombo gossip ; and I felt
that superinten dents were not at all overpaid for their skill ,

patie nc e privations and hard work

, ,
.

CH A PTE R I I .

Havin g seen almost the c ommen c ement o f the S ooloo

k ande Co fi e e Estate I felt a strong desire towards the end o f
,

the year 1 8 46 to pay it a se c ond visit while in its full vi g our

, , .

I wi she d to satisfy myself as to the c orre ctness of the many

reports I had heard o f its heavy c rops of i t s fine c ondition its
.
, ,

e x c ellent w ork and not least o f the g oo d ma n a g eme n t d uri n g

, ,
 39

c rop —tim e .My old acquaintance was no l onger i n charge ; he

had been supplante d by a stranger However I went arme d .
,

with a letter from the C olombo agents which would ensure ,

m o re attention than was comprised in provi din g a be d and

a meal .

I j ourneye d this time by another and rather shorter route .

Instead o f taking the M a t elle road I struck o ff to the right

, ,

pas t Davy s Tree celebrate d as the scene o f t h e m a s s a cr e o f a

'
’ F

large b ody of British officers and troop s by the treacherous

K a n di a n s and cr o ssing the M a h a vi lla Ganga at Davy s Ferry
’

made the best of my way across t he beauti f ul vale of D embera ,

and t hence towards t he long range of mountains forming o n e

flank of the K a lli b o kk e valley At the period of my former
.

excursion this long tract of fertile country was one unbroken

mass o f heavy jungle now a dozen large estates with bun
, ,

g a lo w s and extensive w o rks were t o be seen enlivening the

, ,

j ourney and aff ording a much readier passage for t he

,

h o rsemen ; f o r wherever plantations are forme d good j ungle

paths are sure t o b e made The ride was a most interesting
.

o ne ; mile upon mile of e e fi e e lay before and around me in ,

vari ous s t a ges o f growth —from t he young seedling just put o u t ,

to the full bearing bush as heavily laden with red ripe co ffee
-
,

berries as any currant bush in England wi t h i t s fruit

-
.

It was t hen the middle of November and the very height ,

o f the planters harves t All appeared busy as I rode along

’
.
,

gathering on the old pr o per t ies ; weeding and supplyi ng or ”

filling u p failures on t he young es t a t es I halted but once for

.

a cup of go o d wholesome coffee and gladly pushe d o n s o as

, ,

to reach my des t ination in good time for breakfas t .

The many lo vely pr o spec t s o pening before me cause d

some li tt le delay in admiration of t he vi ews and by the time ,

I had ridden t hrough t he last piece o f j ungle and pulled up ,

at the upper boundary of S o o lo o k a n d e t he forenoon was

“
,

well advanced Th e sun was blazing high above me but its

.
,

rays were tempere d by a cool breeze t ha t swept down upon

 40

m e from the neigh b ouring mountain tops The prospe c t from .

that loft y eminen c e was lovely in the e xtreme : steep ridge s

o f co ff ee extende d in all dire c tions bounde d by piles o f ,

massive forest ; white spots here and there t ol d o f bun g alows

,

an d stores ; a tiny c atara c t rushed down some cleft rock o n ,

o n e side ; o n the other a rippling stream ran ently alon

g g ,

thickly studde d with Water cresses Before me in the far - .

distance lay outstret ch ed like a pi c ture s c roll the M a t e lle

, , ,

distri c t with its paddy fields i t s villa g es and its V ihar a s

, , ,

skirte d by a ridge o f mountains an d terminate d by the Cave

Ro c ks of Da m b o o l At my feet far below lay the estat e
.
, , ,

bungalow and works and to the m I made my way by a narrow

, ,

and very steep bri dle path S o precipitous was t h e land just
- .

here that I felt rather nervous o n lookin g down at the whit e

buildings The p athway for a great length was bordere d
.
, ,

by rose bushes in fullest blos som p e rfumin g the air m o st

-
, ,

fragrantly ; as I approached the bun galow other flowering ,

shrub s and plants were mingle d with them a n d in such ,

excellent order was everything there that the place appeare d

to me more like a magnifie d g arden than an estate Ho w .

c hanged sin c e my former visit ! I c ould scar c ely re c ognise .

it as the s ame property The bun g alow was a n imposin g .

lookin g building the v e ry pi c ture o f neatness and comfort

, .

How different to the old Talipot leaf and the dirty li t tle mud -

hut The box of a place I had sle p t in s i x yea rs before would ,

have stood easily in the dinin g room o f this bungalo w A .

wi de verandah surrounded the building the white pillars o f ,

whi c h w e re p olished like marble The windows were mor e .

like doors ; and a s fo r the doors o n e may speak o f them as

, ,

lawyers d o o f A c ts o f Parliament : it w ould be easy to drive a

coa c h and —six through them The superintendent w a s a most
- .

g entlemanly man and s o was

,
his B e n g a le e servant The .

c urry was delightfully hot ; the w ater was deli c iously c ool .

The chairs were like sofas ; and s o ex quisitely c omfortabl e

after my lon g ride that w hen my host rose and su g g este d a
, ,
 42

wood The c offee in the c herry being fed o n to this b y a

.

hopper is for c e d between the perforated barrel and the ch e ck s

,

the proje c ti n g c opper points tear o ff the soft c herry whilst t h e

coffee beans in their parchment c ase fall through th e ch e ck s
, ,

into the large b ox These pulpers ( four in number ) wer e

.

worked by a wa t er w heel of great power and turne d o ut in s i x ,

hours as mu c h coff ee a s w a s g athered by t hre e hu ndred m e n

during t h e w hole day .

From the pul pe r b o x the par c hment co ffe e is ca rrie d alon g

c hannels by wat e r to t h e c isterns enormous s quare woode n ,

vats I n t hes e the pulped coffee is pla c e d just c overed with

.
,

wat er in whi c h stat e it is left for p eriods v a ryin g from twelv e

,

t o eighteen hours ac cording to the j ud g ment o f the manag e r

,
.

The obje c t of t his s o aking i s t o produc e a sli g ht fermentatio n

o f t h e mu c ila g inous matter a dh e ring t o t h e par c h m ent i n ”

o rder to f a c ilitat e its removal a s oth e rwise it would harden t h e

,
.

s kin and
, render the c off e e very diffi cul t to p eel o r c l e an .

When I in spe c ted t h e w orks o n S o olo ok a n d e several c ister n s o f ,

fermented coff ee were b ein g t u rne d o ut t o admit other parcel s

from t h e p ulper and also t o enabl e t h e soaked coffe e to b e
,

wash e d c ooli es were busily employe d sh ovellin g the bean s

,

from o ne c ister n to another ; others w ere lettin g in c lean

“

w ater Some were busy stirring the c ontents o f the c istern s

.

briskly about ; whilst some a g ain w ere lettin g o ff the fou l

, ,

water ; and a few were e ngaged in raking t h e th o rou ghly

washe d c offee from the w a shin g platforms to t h e b a r b a e u e s .

The b a r b a eu e s o n this property w e re very extensive

about twenty thousand s quare f e et all gently slop ed away ,

from their c e ntres and smooth a s glas s They were o f ston e

, .

c oated over with lime well polished and s o whit e that it w a s

, , ,

with diffi c ulty I c ould look at them with t h e s un s hining full

upon their bri ght surfa c es Over these drying g rounds t h e
.

c offee when quite c lean and white is spread at first thi c kly
, . ,
.

but gradually more thinly Four days sunnin g are usually

.
’

re quire d though o cc as ionally many more are ne c essary before

,
 43

the c offee c an be heaped away in the store witho ut ris k o f

spoiling : all that is require d is to dry it s ufi ci e nt ly fo r trans
p ort to Kandy and thence ,to Colombo wher e it undergoes a ,

final curing previ ous to having its parchment skin removed ,

and the faulty and broken berries picke d o u t S carcely any .

estates are enable d to e ffectually dry their c rops owin g to th e ,

lon g continuan c e o f wet weather on the hills .

The dry floor o f this store resembled very mu c h the

inside o f a maltin g house It was nicely b oar de d and nearly
.
,

half full of c offee white and in various stag es o f dryness

, .

S ome o f it at one end was b e in g measure d into two bushel

, ,

bag s tied up marke d and entere d in the packed book ready

, ,

for despat c h to Kandy Everythin g was done o n a system ;

.

the bags were pile d up in tens ; and the loose c offee was kept
in heaps of fixe d quantities as a che c k o n the measuring .

Bag s rakes meas ures twine all had their proper pla c es
, , , , ,

a llotted them Each day s work must be finished o ff hand a t

.
’
-

on c e no putting o ff until to morrow c an be all owe d or c on

-
,

fusion and loss w ill be the c onsequen c e Any heaps o f half .

d rie d c o ff ee permitte d to remain unt urne d in the store or not

, ,

e xpose d o n the barbe c ue will heat and be c ome dis c oloure d

, ,

a n d in that c ondition is kno w n amo n gst c ommer c ial men as

c ountry damaged
”
.

The constant ventilation o f a coffee store is o f primary

i mportan ce in c hecking any tendency to fer m entation in the
uncure d beans ; an ingenious planter has re c ently availe d
himse lf o f this fact and invente d an apparatus which force s
,

a n unbroken c urrent of dry warm air through the piles o f ,

damp c offee thus continuing the c uri n g pro c ess in the midst
,
.

o f the most ra iny weather .

W hen a considerable portion o f t he gathering i s com

le t e d the mana g er has to see to his means of transport before
p , ,

his store i s too c rowded A well c onducte d plantation will

.

have its o w n c attle to assist in c onveying the c rop to Kandy

it will have roomy and dry cattle pens fields o f guinea grass -
, ,
 44

a nd past ure g r ounds atta ch e d as well as a man ure pit int o ,

whi c h all r efuse and the h u sks o f the c offe e are thro w n to b e ,

a ft erwards turned t o val uab l e a cc oun t .

The c arriage o f c offee into Kandy i s p erformed by pack

bullocks and sometimes by the c ooli es wh o c arry it o n thei r ,

heads but these latter ca n seldom b e employe d away from

,

pi c kin g durin g th e c rop time B y eith e r m e ans however .

, ,

transport forms a s eriou s item in t h e exp e ns e s o f a g oo d

many est a t e s Fro m som e o f t h e dist ant plant a ti o n s p os se s sin g
.

n o c attle a n d w ith indiffer e nt j un g le pa ths t h e co nve yan c e o f

, ,

their crops to Kandy will o ften c ost fully s i x s hilli n g s th e

hun d re d weight of c lean c o ffe e e qual t o ab out thre e pence p e r ,

mil e From Kandy t o Colomb o b y t h e c o mm on b ullo c k c ar t

. .
-

o f the c ountry t h e c ost will amount to t w o o r thre e shillin g s

the c lean hundred w ei ght in a ll ei g ht o r nine shillin g s t h e

, ,

hundred weight from the plantati o n to t h e p ort o f shipm en t ,

bein g twi c e a s mu c h for conveyin g it less than a hun d r e d mile s

a s it c osts for freight to Engl a nd about sixteen thousand miles
!
, .

One w ould imag ine that it w o uld not require mu c h Saga c ity t o
dis c ern that in su c h a c ountry a s this a railr o ad would be an
,
’

in c al c ulable b ene fi t t o the whole c omm uni t y To make this .

a pparent eve n to the meanest Cin g alese c apa c ity we may ,

m ent i on that at this p resent time 1 transit is required from

, ,
'

the interior o f the island to its seap orts fo r enou gh c offe e

f o r ship m ent to G r e at Britain alone to make a r ailroa d
‘
,

remun erative W h a t additional qu a ntiti es are required for t h e

.

e spe c ially c offee drinkin g nations which lie b etween Ceylon a n d

the mother c ountry surpasses all present c al c ulation ; enough

,

however is c arrie d a w ay from this i s land in the c our s e o f e very

year the transit o f whi c h t o i t s s e a b o a r d w ould pay for a
, ,
'

net -w ork of rail w ays .

By sai l in g s h i p v i a t he C ap
e. 1 1 84 6 .
 D U TC H COLOM B O

NCE upon a time when good Queen Bess reviewe d her

Q trusty troop s at the Fort at Tilbury and sent her gallant
fleet t o meet the great Armada the countrym en o f Pedro
,

Lopez manned many g uns on the Colomb o ramparts and the ,

flag of Portugal floate d j auntily o ver each gateway W here .

no w is the Fort stood then the Citadel o r inner fortress : the

,

outer walls o f c abook and lim e armed with s mall brass guns
, ,

e x tende d along mu c h o f w hat is Norris Road as far as Saint

’

John s river then a veritable stream running from a portion of

’

the lake to the s e a : this outer wall stretched along its bank
and terminate d at the sea bea ch K a ym a n s Gate and i t s tower
.
’

being then a guarded approach from the open c ountry where ,

the woode d hills o f Wo lfe n dh a l an d Hult s d o r f in the distance ,

were often infested by troops o f the Kin g of C otta in wi ly

ambuscade .

The D utch change d much o f this and though they di d

,

t heir utmost to live at peace wi th the Native sovereigns spared ,

n o pa i ns or cost t o render their strong — hold impregnable ,

F o rts were constructe d at H a n g w e lla P a n e b a k e r e M ut w a ll

, , ,

&c . The outer walls o f Colombo alon g the river banks of S aint
John were demolished the swamp round the Fort was ex
,

cavate d and c onverte d into the present lake the earth removed
,

f r om it g oing to form S lave Island an d a portion of the ram

parts At the same time the late Fort of Colomb o was rebuilt
.

o n a larger scale and o n s c ientific principles and it is suppose d

,

must have occupie d a quarter o f a century in construction .

The strength that was gained by these means and the more
a ci fl c policy o f the Dutch gave an amount o f se c uri t y to their
p ,

possessions whi c h ultimately emboldened their prin c ipal Offi c ers

 46

and a fe w o f the civilians to build house s at som e dist an ce i n

,

the country a t Hult s d o r f Grand Pass and M a t t aco oly o n the

, ,

banks of t he Kelani At the happy period o f whi c h I Wri te

.
,

Pro c tors had not been invented : trade was i n the han ds o f the
government a nd c omprise d little else than c in nam on and
,

pepper .

Colpetty existed but as a native sub urb : Mut wa ll a nd

Grand Pass were open c ountry dotte d about by a fe w Dutch ,

vi ll a s whilst the Pettah c onsiste d of a number o f pretty stree t s

,

pleasantly shaded by s o o rya trees the house s tenanted by ,

families the heads o f whi c h occupie d responsible posts under

the g overnment N o native trader had then dese cr ate d by his
.

half nude presen c e the many w ell kept ro w s o f pleasant

-
, ,
-

c heery d w ellings .

In the days t o whi c h these pages refer communi c ation ,

with Europe was c arrie d o n t wi c e in ea c h year when the sprin g ,

and autumn fleets left Holland fo r Ceylon laden with the g oods ,

suited t o tropi c al c ountries Transporte d in the spirit to

.

those bye -g one days let us stand upon the Battenbur g bastion
,

and look o ut to s e a wi th the Port Master and his c hief pil ot

J a n s z The mornin g i s bright the air is c ool and c risp fr esh
.
, ,

from Adam s Peak and th e flag o f the D utch republic floats

’

from the mast — head o n the lofty ou t works ere cte d by the wave
w ashe d rocks where on c e stood a Chapel to the Blesse d Vir gin .

The Chapel and the tower have long since disappeare d and the ,

massive rock o n w hi c h they were ere c ted is now partially

levelle d o n the verge of the o ld Galle Buck Between those o ut .

works and the fort walls the Port Master dwelt and they s a y -
,

a prettier house was not to be seen in all Dutch C olombo nor a ,

neater garden o r greener sward o n which o n moonlight ni g hts

, , ,

D utch maids and lads met to do honor to the host s hospitali t y ’

when w as t a pped for o ld c itizens many a store o f ripe s ch e i d a m

,

o r may be well vatte d a rra c k .

A sail a sail ! The si g nal is run up to the mast head an d

, ,

qui c kly a gun is fired from the Commandant s q uarters t o ’

 47

a w aken al l those who may perchan c e be still asleep dozing or

through the early morning Yes it is the spring fleet arrived

.
, ,

jus t i n time for C hristmas An d it is well for stock s o f all ,

kinds are low and even his Excellency has been c ompelle d t o
,

use Kandyan t obacco and Ca lt ur a arrack in the place o f t he

veri t able articles from Holland In less time than it would
.

t ake t o smoke a pipe of the true Virginian weed the fort walls ,

are crowde d wi t h soldiers c ivilians and native followers all

, ,

anx ious to s e e the three ships that are fr eighte d wi th thing s

as dear to the c olonists almost as life On they c ome lazily .
,

their b i g sails flapping listlessly in the faint morning breeze ,

until the roads are re a c hed anchors are dropped and ropes
, ,

are c oiled .

W hat a rush there is o n shore to b e sure ; burly Dutch

officials a cc ustome d to doze away their lives under the s o o r i ya
trees before their offi c es are o n the move : troops are o n the
,

mar c h the La s co r yn guard are turne d o u t with the prover

bial band of tom toms and ree dy shriekin g pipes and away
-
, ,

they go pas t the Justi c e Hall whi c h at that time stood fac ing
the esplanade j ust where the Council Chamb er Audit Ofli ce
, ,

and other publi c buildings n o w look o ut across the s e a —walls .

The present fort Chur c h o f St Peter s was then the Governor s

.
’ ’

house with many recep t ion rooms and a great audi ence hall
,
.

On they march round the esplanade ex t ending partly over the

site o f the present Government house and midway on which ,

s t ood the fine o ld Dutch Church now levelled to the g roun d

and gone and on through the wa t er gate to t he landin g jetty
,
-

where they draw up alongside the mi litary g uard assembled t o

do honor to the C ommander o f the s quadron and the official
new comers
- .

A goodly c rowd gathers about the landing place and wh en ,

the three boa t s from the squadron pull alongside the jet t y t he ,

guard presenting arms and the C ommander and his fellow

,

cap t ains with a super c argo and a few passengers o f both sex e s ,

step upon the soil o f Ceylon there is a grea t c ommotion and

,
 48

much interchan g e o f salutations Away t h e travellers a r e .

whirle d in several u n w e i ldly conveyan c es o f w hi c h ther e are

no specimens in the present day n o t even i n the M use um , .

D o they drive t o the Commandant s to rep ort their arrival to ’

the Governor s to pay their respe c ts

’
To neither o f these but ,

t o t he Church on the esplanade their fi rst a c t o n landing ,

being to return thanks fo r a safe and happy arriva l at their

destination The church in whi c h this offerin g -up o f thank s
.

was mad e i s standin g no lon ger D emolishe d o n t he c apture

,
.
“

o f the fort by the British a p ortion alon e remained standin g

,

u ntil the year 1 8 60 when aft e r having s e rve d a s a powder

, ,

m agazine a n d then an i c e ho us e it was finally razed to t h e ,

ground its sit e forming part o f the esplanade It stood a t

, .

the south — west co r ner o f the public g re e n c los e by wher e ,

a wicket still opens on t h e o ld Galle Bu ck ,

The t h a nk s g i v m g service ove r the Captai ns pro c ee d ,

to the C o mmandant s quart e rs to report their arrival which i s

’

done over a few pipes of ver itable V i r i g i ni a produced in great

triumph by the skippers that c eremony o f Du t ch g ood fellow ‘

s hip being terminate d the par t y pro c eed to the Governor s

,
’
,

palace a rare o ld buil ding of su c h c ap acity that a Dutch

,

regiment could be drille d and p ut through i t s manoeuvr es i n

the publi c r e c e p tion r o om now the body o f St Peter s as for
, .
’

t he audience hall and dining rooms you c ould d rive a c arriag e ,

and four round it with the most perfec t ease with plenty o f roo m
fo r the frisky leaders C re d entials are soon pres e nted and t h e
.
,

new officials who have arrive d by the fleet are introdu c ed and ,

welcomed by Mynheer V a n S omebody This c eremonial ove r .

the party retire to the c apacious verandah in the rear lookin g ,

o u t up on a terra c e o f rare bread t h leadi n g down to prettily

laid o ut walks above a h u ge tank o f water where in mo dern ,

times there flourishe d a garden whi c h later still ha s de g ener ate d

,

into a c ollection o f c arriage shed s and horses stables at t h e ’

servi ce o f government offi c ials though some o f the fi ne o ld

,

trees remain li vi n g monume n ts o f the Dut c h G over n or s rule

,
’
.
 50

vi g orous vitality c ould possib ly find favor in any country s o ,

n ear the equatorial line as Ceylon especially in a Du t ch c olony

,

but it was a dance not perta i ni n g s o much to Hollanders as t o

o ld Portuguese co lonis t s who cherished it and went in for it o n

every permissable o c c a sion Nevertheless it i s a dance admit

.

ting o f mu ch grace and pleasing effe ct when ac c ompanied by

m oderately slow and n o t wi l dly franti c m usi c : the g ently
s weeping undulatio ns o f a profi c ient in the Ca ffr e i n a are a s

pleasing and far more gra c eful than many modern drawing
r o om dan c es.

There are o ther and quieter little parties c oming o ff in

various parts o f the Fort Away beneath the Battenbur g
.

bastion for instance the Port Master Van Cuylenb e r g is enter

, , ,

tainin g a goodly gathering o f friends o n the green before hi s

pre t ty little Villa w here s o o r iya trees have been many year s
,

s t ruggling for a c rooke d and at ti m es doubtful exis t en c e against

t heir dire e nemy the salt s e a wind But there they a r e
,
.

g ood nature d lookin g humpba c ke d dwarfs ready to extend a

-
, ,

friendly b r a nch to any yo un g la d o r maide n loo ki n g for a s eat

 51

on t he soft sandy sward beneath On the night on which thi s .

T o ddy Party was held a good many lads and maidens were
,

acc o mmodated by t heir steady friends the s o o r i y a s s o me o f , ,

whose straggling branches descende d s o low as t o for m

veri t able b o wers wi t hin w hich g o odness only knows what may
have occurred in matters o f flir t ing On an open space away .

fro m the sly s o or iy a s were place d small round big legge d

, , ,
-

p o nderous tables up t o any weight of cakes and t o ddy j ugs .

Oh t hose j olly j ugs of brown ware o f real Haarlem make but

, , ,

fille d wi t h swee t te ddy cup o f Lanka ! H o w t hey leered o u t

-

upon t he assembled gues t s as though to c oax the young

maidens from their snug hiding places H o w proudly the - .

p o r t ly cakes oozing wi t h luscious ghee and sa c charine sub

stances peere d down from t heir l o f t y vantage groun d up o n the
,

humble h o p p a h s that lay pell —

“
mell e n wide delft platters ~

looking as abashed at their flat i n s i g n ifi ca n ce as though hopin g

t o be soon devoured and hid from sigh t .

Bu t bless us long before t he go o d dame Van Cuyle nb e r g

,

and the widow Plaats and t he elderly spins t ers the Van Graafs
, , ,

had half finishe d t heir critical essay on the dress and the
d epor t ment of t he female new comers such games such r o m p i n g s , ,

were a — f oot in t he moonl i ght that mus t have driven a cy n ical

,

o ld o n l oo ker bachel o r like Van Graafs t he

-
powder mas t er , ,

mad wi t h envy But even the nimble —f oot e d Laura the ag i le

.
,

Lyd i a mus t y i eld in t i me fro m fr o lics o me w e a ry ne s s and as

, ,

pre t ty dimple — faced Laura p o s it ively re fused then and there ,

to dance the Ca ffr e i na t here was no t h i ng for i t bu t to take

,

to creat ure c o mfor t s and so i t came t o pass tha t a grea t

,

and happ y ga thering was seen ar o und t hose dumpy p o nderous ,

t ables wh o se l o ads of h o p p a h s and cakes wh o se j ugs of toddy ,

cup rapidly became small by degrees and beau ti fully less un ti l ,

t he w i se o n e s of t he party gav e t he s i gnal fo r d i spersing and ,

all made t heir hap py way to pleasan t h o mes n o t far away to ,

drea m o f t he bright and g o rgeous t hings t h e fleet had brought

a t that gay Chris t mas —ti de .
 OUR OLD CLERK .

HE air about the o ld fort walls in the old fort streets w a s

still and steamy Ne t a leaf o r a twig o n the s o o ri y a
.

trees would have m ov e d for love o r money The s k y looke d

,
.

a s though it had been black leaded and polish e d for the new ,

monsoon that was makin g itse lf heard in t he distanc e far o ut ,

.

a t s e a —pers iring s p a rr o ws des e rt e d t h e hot house tops -

p
~

, ,

c rows forgot to c aw s o stifling w a s the weather in that

“
,
”

sultry month o f Ma y .

In a lar g e rambling corner —

, house near the so uth gate
, , ,

wherein the last King of Kandy had b e e n c o nfined a sta t e

prisoner before embarking o n his Indian exile things wen t ,
)

o n as qu i etly as though a crisp land wind were drif t ing -

thro ugh the cool gloomy offices Our old cl e rk was pl a c i dity .

p ersonified a s c alm and self possessed a s in h i s prime and

,
-
,

yet the idea o f having t o make over the c ustody o f the j ournal
and ledger t o a young English lad as I then was cannot
, , ,

have been altogether agreeable t o o ld S amuel s pride of place ’

B ut there was no help for it : the business o f the firm had

increased the fa i thful ch i ef c l e rk was g r o wing aged apace
, ,

and it was found no longer possible for him t o fulfil the many
multifar ious duties hi t herto entrusted to him s o impli c itly
, ,

a n d s o successfully .

Samuel had been prepared for the chang e and now whe n ,

the time was come when he was to know t he fi rm s ledge r

,
’

no longer he put a bold face o n it and made a Dutch virtue

, ,

o f an English necessity Before inducting me he looked m e

.
,

well over from head to foot smiled half en c ouragingly h a lf

, ,
,

c ompassionately as though he would s a y you don t know

,
“ ’

the w eighty responsibility there is in that ledger and then , ,

 53

taking t he p o nder o us str o ng backed v o l ume fr o m an iron

,
-

safe large and massive enough to have been some fi r m s

,
’

s t rong room placed it bef o re m e wi p ing i t carefully and

, ,

del ic ately wi t h h i s pocke t —han d kerchief Had t he ancien t .

S amuel been b e s t o w m g his eldes t daught e r upon me i n

marri a ge he c ould not have shewn m o re anx i e t y ab o ut m y
,

recep t ion and t reat men t o f t he pr ecious charge en t rusted t o

m y custody No horse —
. dealer c o uld have taken more pa i ns
to indica t e the rare points of a s t eed than d i d t he old clerk , ,

to point ou t th e beau ti es o f his led ger — hi s alas no longer , ,

.

S amuel was a D utchman as much as h i s father and hi s ,

grand fa t her : h i s mother was ju s t as Dutch : and yet h ow

-

d i fferen t t o Knickerbocker s Dutc h men o r t he dwellers on ’

,

t he muddy banks o f the Z uy d e r Z e e There was no ponder o us ,

mellow fram e encased lo o sely in baggy tr o u s ers of any siz e

, .

N o slouch hat no long Du t ch p i pe : S amuel was slim sligh t

, ,

and dry as his own snuff box A b eau t ifully fi tti ng sno w - .
,

white jacket and a yellow wais tc oa t and n ankeen tr o users

, , ,

full wi t h many plea t s round t he waist and a v a st cavern o f a ,

p o cket in which was hidden away a cambric handkerchief o f

such marvellous dimensi o ns tha t o n e might have taken it t o ,

be t he y o unges t baby s sh e e t Thin shoes and whi t e cotton

'
.

socks and above all a ponderous s i lv e r wat ch a n d massive

,

gold chain made up his Indian Dutch ex t erior

, .

He was the fi r m s confiden t ial clerk but he waa a g o od

’

deal more than that he was their chief negotiat o r and adviser
in all delicate treaties wi t h obs t inate na t ive t raders who
n aturally w i shed to have all t he ba r ga i ns arranged after their

o w n indigenous way H e was the grea t r a t ifi e r o f d i fficul t

.

c o ntracts for produ ce or obstina t e sales i n t he mat t er of wares

,

from Manchester S h e fli e ld o r Glasgow He was t he presiding

, , .

genius of t he g o d o wns in which were stored and sorted and , ,

packed rich spices and fragran t seeds and valua b le C o ffe e ;

, ,

he w a s a sort of Holland o — oriental S i m o n the C ellarer in - -

,

whose cust o dy were wonderful c asks and c orpulent strong , ,

 54

h oope d vats and c urious bottle s in dark cobwebby c orners

, , ,

full o f ra t holes : he was the Plutus o f the establishment in

whose custody was all the coin which percolate d through that
multifarious business a n d never was man prouder than when
,

h e strolled o ff to the strong room with the bunch o f massive , ,

j ailer — lo o king key s in h i s b o ny hands as though he had th e

~

o ld Kandyan m o narch still safely in c ustody somewhere and

, ,

was going to interview him But p e rhaps the most in structiv e .

s i ght w as t o s e e the o ld Clerk grapple a r e bellious Moorman ,

or a defiant unbelieving Chetty refusing t o take over an

, ,

invoice of willow — pattern tea p e t s on account of a ch i p in o n e

-
,

o f the sp o uts o r a parcel o f grey domestics

, by reason o f a ,
,

li t tle rustiness o f the iron hoop s outside the bales Samue l .

w o uld in such a deli c ate case inveigle the rebel into a dark
Bast i lle s o rt of room at one end o f the dark inner verandah
-
, .

guarded by a huge p o lygar d o g tha t knew the flavour o f a .

man s calf and ins i de t hat gloomy sanctuary wi t h bolted d o or

’

, , ,

such a cha n ge was wrought o n the r e cusant buyer as non e ,

o t her but t he ancien t clerk could have accompl i shed W hether .

the means e m ployed were m o ral mechanical o r chemical is , ,

to this day a mystery and whether the trade was i n m a m e t i e s

'

o r muslins , Moorman or Chetty invariably came ou t o f t hat

orde a l a change d man the goods were t aken over the
, , ,

pr o missory note si g ned and S a m uel brought forth the baby s

,
’

sheet from his cavernous pocke t and smothered hi s ch i ppy ,

visage in its ample folds in honour of the subtle vict o ry .

In additi o n to all these duties S amuel was t he supervisor

o f all the o ther clerks o f the es t ablishment in the present
~

day they would cal l him D irec t or —General—h e superintended

their work —looked after t heir arithmeti c and their caligraphy ,

a n d woe to the miserable man who had omitte d to carry a

cipher or cross a t or do t an i ! as fo r a blot of ink in
,
“ ”

the a c count sales book we should not like to have been the
,

g u i l t y party that s all Of su c h rare quality was the o ld

’

, .

c hief clerk s training such c unning penmen did he turn out of

’

,
 55

hand that many a government e missary was employed to lure

,

S amuel t o par t with these precious sub o rdinates In va i n the .

Treasurer m ade secret g orgeous offers for a t rusty cashier ; in

va i n t he Aud it or General t empted him for just o ne single
-

acc o un t ant The overtures were received wi t h scorn Be i t

.
.

known that S amuel was pass i ng ri c h o n nine t y pounds ,

a— year but t hen when t hose nine t y pounds were paid to

,

h i m in rix dollars with figures o f dropsical elephants o n t hem

-
, ,

and ea c h rix dollar of eighteen pence British c urr ency would

-
,

purchase half a dozen full— gr own fowls or a coolie load of

eggs o r a hackery load o f country vegetab les and frui t we
,
-
,

may f orm some some sort o f idea of the purchasing value of

the nine t y pounds
Follow h i mhome t o the paternal mansion after office
.

hours : see h i m in the bosom of his family in Z uy d e r S tree t in

the Pettah what an u nr u ffl e d c omfortable old Du t ch b o s o m it
,

was : unfortunately it spoke only i n the Por t uguese tongue ,

which in my ca s e was a slight drawback compell i ng me to ,

c onverse with S amuel and hi s o l i ve branches Regularly as .

Chris t mas Day came round the old c lerk his bosom and hi s
, ,

branches paid a visit to the firm at the C olpetty mansion o n

, ,

which occasion there were any number o f congratulations a n d ,

j okes and questions ; and aft er divers glasses of wine the par t y
, ,

went away in the happiest o f moods .

On Ne w Year s Day the vi sit was returned — a goodly

’

custom and o ne which I rather think m ust have gone out about
,

t he t ime when punkahs and o t her modern cheap innovations

came in C lean and bright as was t he c hief clerk s o ld house
.
’

in Z uy d e r S tree t on any day in the y ear it was cleaner and

, ,

brighter o n t he New Year s festival day The furniture was

’
.

d o ubly bees — waxed the walls were trebly whit ewashed and
, ,

t he glare of t he noon —day sun was sof t ene d in that quite abode ,

by drapery of t he mos t rare and costly chintz Even the .

back yard was made co o l and pleasan t by a n umbrageou s

g roup of bananas thriving in a ri c h st atum of a lluvial bri c k s
r
 56

ch astely pi cked out in white I shall n ot very soon for g et my .

first New Year s visi t repeated through many seasons — to

’

, ,

S amuel s p eaceful happy home ; n o r the genial glow w h ich

’

stole over his dry stolid features a s he held up to his bright ,

eye a glass of the fi r m s rich creamy Cape wine at eighteen

,
’

shillings per dozen une qualled at the figure until he fancie d

, ,

he could s e e an embryo bee s wing in it and h o w he drank the’

fi r m s healt h and the firm drank his a nd his belongings

’

, , .

Those were the days when Wa gh o r n was making his great

Egyptian experiment before R e nt e r w a s invented o r c heap
, ,

chemical c hampagne imported A Dut c h party in the Pettah .

,

o f those days meant ni ne o clo c k to rest after beer and a

,
’

meal o f cake that would have served as capital dead — w eight

for any ship re quiring ballast .

But change s which belon g to o ur c ommon lo t overtook

, ,

Co lo m b o and though the o ld clerk grown older drew three

, ,

hundred pounds per annum he was n o t one whit the ri cher ,

o r happier The firm had built up a larger business and with

.
,

it had arisen a more imposin g stru ct ure than the grim Dutch
Office o f the olden time At S amuel s prayerful re quest they
.
’

had spared o n e portion o f the o ld red bricke d wall that h e -

,

might feast his dim eyes o n the same bricks t hat had been s o
o ften looke d upon by his loved and honoure d master now ,

dead and gone He could s e e it from his office chair but

.
,

that large loft y room was no more the same ; he found it

draughty and c hilly he t o o k c old and at last took ill an d ,

then greatly against his w ill he took a pension but o n the , ,

solemn understandin g that he mi g h t attend the offi c e once a

year to s e e the general a ccounts c losed and the balan c e sheet
, ,
-

drawn o ut And this he did faithfully and c heerfully amids t

.

g ro w in g i n fi r m i t i e s until at length his o w n earthly ac c ount

,

was c losed by o n e fi nal entry in the Wolfen da hl registry

,
.
 58

left the old o ffi ce in proper or d er ; and then leisure ly tu r nin g ,

t he huge key in the o ld ironbound do o r gave it to the head ,

p eo n to deliver to the colle c tor who wa s o f c ourse quie t ly

, , ,

smoking hi s pipe in his o w n verandah The sentry was seen .

to a word exchanged wi t h t he corporal o f the guard and

, ,

J a nz s strutted o u t from under the huge dark archway whi ch

led fr o m the s t rong f o r t o f Poin t —de — Galle t owards t h e
suburb s where many o f the better class of burghers then
,

resided . In those days even t he chief clerk of a publ i c

,

department could no t aff o rd to keep a carriage None indee d .

, ,

but the very highest c ol o nial e fli ci a ls could venture o n such a

pie c e o f extravagance This may be read i ly understood when
.
,

I mention that t he whole o f t he money salary received by

J a n z s in o n e year did n o t amoun t t o mor e than some twen t y
,

p ounds o f o u r English c urrency It is true there were addi.

,

tions in the shape of fees and allo w ances o f o il wood beef

, , , ,

salt and other perquisi t es Nevertheless it d i d no t o n t he

.
,

whole amount t o more t han a very decent living for a youn g

single man .

S uch being the state o f affairs i t canno t be matter fo r ,

surprise that J a n z s should have fel t certain doubts about t he

fut ure rising ami dst h i s happy dreamings as he wended h i s ,

way home to his humble lo w r o o fe d bungalow ; and then c e to

m

Katrina who dwelt wi t h her father no t far away o n an o ld

,

Dutch farm .

If J a n z s had been happy before h o w much w a s his delight

,

increased when the old Du t chman his future father — i n la w

,
-
,

p ointed o ut t o h i m a fine piece o f pasture ground and wood

land which he intende d t e give him on the wedding day .

M o n e y he had little enough of but he had some rich land a n d

, ,

t he young c ouple were to be in possession o f some t hirty

acre s which might one day be made t o yield a comfortable
, , ,

addi t ion to the c lerk s li tt le income Here was a field for

’
.

Ka t rina a n d J a nz s to build hopes upon Thirty acres of forest .

and pasturag e ! The thin g appeare d almos t too extensive to

 59

c ontempl a te in imagi nation The Fort of Galle occupied but

.

t wenty acres and w a s i t p o ssible that he a poor C ustom

, ,

H o use clerk should become t he proprietor o f half as much

,

m ore land than was spanned by that sturdy ramblin g o ld , ,

fortress ?
The next day J a nz s en gaged a canoe to take them both
t o the identical spot ; and after du ty —as soon as c ar goes o f
,

ri c e salt fi s h and coir rope c o uld be hurried throu gh th e

,
-
,
-

usual official r o utine h e hastened fro m the ol d dark office

-
,

and conducte d Ka t arina to t he bank o f the river that flow s

from t he l o f ty m o untain peaks pass t he For t o f Galle into the , ,

Ind i an Ocean Half a n h o u r s nav i gati on by means of poles

.
’

, ,

took them to the scene o f their spe c ulations They passe d .

many a pre tt y re t ire d nook many green paddy fields and palm
,

topes ; many deep shady dells overtopped by clusterin g ,

bamboos and towerin g a r e k a s where the echo o f the c ool ,

s plash i n waterfall was only broken by the low soft note of

g , ,

t he wood p i geon o r chatterin g voice o f the monkey They were

-
,
.

deli ghted beyond their fondest expec t ations with the spo t .

It was so near t o the town ; it was s o deli ghtf ully situated

i t was s o nicely t imbere d ; why there were sufficient trees ,

upon i t t o build half a — dozen b un galows and still leave enou gh

-
,

for pleasan t shade and firewood And then the soil ! J a n z s .

,

i t is t rue d i d not unders t and quite so much about agri c ulture

, ,

as he d i d of en t ries and bonds and re gisters ; but Katrina ,

declare d it was ma gnificent S he had never seen such soi l ; .

why i t would grow anythin g In short they both arrive d at

,
.
,

t he conclusion that a handful o f copper cha lli es flun g broad ,

cast upon t he ground o n any showery mornin g would t ake ,

roo t before n i gh t and grow into rix —

, dollars Re t urnin g h ome .

t hey indul ged in all sorts o f wild speculation s about the future .

K a i r i n a na t urally of an imagi native turn venture d to hint a t

, ,

a re gular farm cows and a ll ; and J a n z s afterwards declare d

,

t hat she even wen t so far as to su ggest a flock o f goats ; bu t

lit tle Katrina always denied the c har ge most stoutly They .
 60

were to c ultivate everything that w ould be wanted fo r food o r

raiment from chillies for c urry up t o c ott on for dresses I n
, .

short they were to have a little E den of their o w n making

, ,

where dis c ord and care should never enter ; w her e only
sweetest blossoms and flowers a n d ri c hest fruits should b e
found ; where nothing that was bad w here everythin g that ,

was g ood should be seen It was to be a bright spot that

, .

Garden by the River .

”

W ell they were married and w ere h appy as all youn g

, ,

married people are and deserve to be and let us hop e always ,

will be In C eylon amongst the Dutch descendants to thi s

. ,
!

day it is a common o c currence fo r you n g c ouples to take up

,

their abode fo r t h e first year o r two o f their married life unde r

the roof o f the bride o r bridegroom s parents It may b e
.
’
.

that e c onomy sometime renders this prudent : o r it may

happen that the young wi fe does not feel quite experien c e d
enough to undertake housekeeping all at once and prefers a ,

little f urther s chooling o n many points o f domesti c details .

Be this a s it may it was a c om m on custom in the days I am

,

w ritin g o f ; and sin c e J a n z s wa s an orphan they took up their

residen c e w ith o ld Le ur e n z his new parent The week o f ,
.

feastin g and festivities and c ongratulati ons over they settle d

, ,

quietly down at the paterna l farm a s c on t entedly and a s ,

happily as thou g h it we r e all their o w n The little stream a t .

the bo t tom of the long la wn that wo und round t h e shrubbery

s o c o a xi ng ly a n d silently did not run more smoothly than th e
,
,

c urrent o f their new found e x istence J a nz s toiled harde r

- .

than ever at e x port and imp e r t duties and oc c asionally ,

e x presse d regret to the head store — keeper an o ld whit e ,

headed Malay that there w as not do uble the quantity of

,

shippin g enterin g the port At his new home the c lerk had .

little t o c omplain o f M any a sa c ri fic e did o ld Lo ur e nz mak e

.

to the c omfort o f the youn g c ouple J a nz s had free and .

unli m ite d a cc ess t o his tob ac c o store and his dozen or two o f -

v enera b l e m e er s c haum s Ja nz s wa s al l o w e d one of the ol d e st

.
 61

and most valuable drinking horns for his o wn special use ;

-

and m oreover J a n z s was permitted t o s i t in the c ool o f t he

, , ,

evenin g under the same wide —

, spreading mango tree and then -
, ,

pipe in mouth fall gently asl e ep while Katrina sang an o ld

, ,

s c rap o f a Dutch song or plied her needle o r drove away the

, ,

mos quitoes from her father and husband .

Yet with all this J a n z s o c casionally felt not q uite a t e ase

, ,

and was ungracious enough to vent his restless mood in

presence o f the father wh o heeded not his desire for a little
,

more independence but quie tly refilled his pipe a nd settled

,
.

the q uestion with the unanswerable argument —pooh ! pooh !

S ometimes the thou ghts of that sweet spot o f wood and dell
by the river si de came a c ross the minds o f t he youn g people
-
,

and they sighed as they thought o f the remote chance o f

seein g it as they had once hoped Ne w and then J a n z s th ought
.

o f raisin g money upon it t o c ulti vate a p o rti o n at least and

, ,

erect a small bungalo w ; but a stranger to such proceedings

, ,

he fan c ie d the scheme was far too wild and visi o nary for a
clerk upon twen t y rix - dollars a month to entertain Each .

time he sighe d and gave up the idea .

Katrina h a d observe d that her f a ther had of late been

absent from the farm more frequently and for longer intervals , ,

t han was his custom ; and that moreover he smoked more , ,

pipes and disposed o f more schiedam during the evening ,

unde r th e mang o tree than s h e ever remembered him to have

-
,

done at any time of her life This state of things lasted for a
.

few months . J a nz s lo n ged more ardently than ever for

eman c ipation ; Katrina sighed for a farm o f their o w n and the ,

father plie d more potently at p i pe and dram .

At length o ld Lou r e n z told hi s c hildren that he had a

mind to go and s e e ho w their li t tle pie c e o f land was looking ,

and if they would go with him perhaps they could contrive ,

amongst them a ll to plan something to be done with it N 0 .

second bidding was neede d A large c overed canoe was pre

.

pared w ith c ushions a nd mats and the party starte d o n their

,
 62

visi t taking with them Katrina s younger sister and brother It

,
’
.

was near t he end o f J an nary — o f all months the most agreeable

in C eylon ; t he evening was so c alm and sof t and fragrant ;

,

t he air appeared to be a s though poured do w n from some other

and puree sphere waf t i ng wi t h it songs o f rich melody and
, ,

scents o f rarest flowers Nature seemed hushed and wrappe d

.

in sweetest peace The monsters of the forests were at res t

.
.

The mountains far away flun g their deep saddening shades ,

o e r many a league o f plain : and even restless man looke d

’

forth and felt subdued .

Their light and well — manned boat went boldly up the

stream car i ng very little about the hu g e tru n ks o f trees that
,

at thi s time o f year are met with in most Indian rivers as ,

thick as pebbles in a mill— pond Torn from their birthplace s

.

by inundations they float down the rapids ; until arrested i n

, ,

their course by some trifling obsta c le they get embe dde d in,

the course o f the river The topes and d olls and grove s
.

appeare d to Katrina and her husband more beautiful than ever

o n that soft evening ; and had not their o wn love d spot been
,

before them they would gladly have landed a dozen times t o

, ,

walk about and admire the romantic scenery At last a bend .

o f the river took t hem s uddenly to where a risin g w ood — c lad

field told of their li t tle domain .

B u t that could not be their land Why it had a beautiful

.
,

little bungalow on it and o n e o f the sweetest g arde n s round

,

it that could b e imagined ; all fenced and quite complete .

There were outhouses too and a huge pile o f firewood and a

, , ,

nice winding path right down to the water s edge Neither ’

.

Katrina nor her husband c ould at first believe that they had
no t hal ted at the wrong spot yet there was the hugh Jack
tree at the landing place and there were the yellow bamboos
-
,

and the green a r ek a s by the little stream that came tumbling

down the hill side like a c hild at play W ell they both
- .
,

declared they had never seen su c h a fairy transformation it

w as l ike a story in som e Arabian book — only a great deal
 63

bette r : for it was all t rue and w o uld n ot disa ppear at daylight
, ,

as man y of such things were sa i d t o d o .

There was no end t o the discoveries made by Katrina and

her sist er in their rambles o ver t he place ; and t hough all was
,

in a very primitive form t here was t he foundation for a

,

thousand comforts and as many pleasures besides

, Old .

Le ure n z seated himself very quie t ly under a huge bread —frui t

tree and enj oyed his pipe and the c o n t emplat ion o f t he
,

happiness he h a d steal t hily best o wed Labour c o s t s but l i t t le

.

in t he East and most of t he ma t erials for the building had

been found o n the spo t Houses are seldom buil t o f brick in
.

C eyl o n even for governmen t use The bes t are usually made
,
. .

of Cabook a ferru ginous clay easily cut from t he hill —s i des

, .

It is quite sof t when found ; but quickly hardens on exposure

t o the air and in ti m e becomes more soli d and enduring than
any cement Much of the work had been perf o rmed by the
.

neighbouring villagers for a li tt le rice o r tobacco s o t ha t a

,

grea t deal had been done for a very lit t le o u t lay It seemed .
,

however to J a n z s as t houg h a li t tle f o r t une mus t have been

, ,

spent upon their land and he was al to ge t her lost i n the

,

c ontemplation o f so much valuable proper t y .

The following week s a w them i n actual posses sion and ,

J a nz s takin g lessons in farming fro m Katrina who assure d

him that if he worked hard enough and lived long enough , ,

he would make an ex c ellent cultivat or By small degrees and .

,

wi t h many kindly helps fro m friends and relatio n s the young ,

couple found they had a tolerable establishment growin g up

in t heir c harge The clerk at the risk o f bl i stering his hands
.
, ,

toiled in the O pening air morning and evening whils t Katrina

, ,

overl o oked a brace o f coolies who laboured through the heat

,

o f t he d a I t was qui t e wonderful t o see how t hings g r o w

y .

and prospere d round and about them No one in t he d i strict .

of Galle produced such delicious plant ains as they grew their

poul t ry was all o we d to be remarkably t he fin e s t in the valley
t heir b ut ter the s w eetest i n the provin c e and as to b e e s none , ,
 64
.

thrive d so well as did those of Katrina W hat w a s better .

s till J a nz s had about this time an in c rease to his salary o f

, , ,

five rix dollars a month s o that o n the whole it mi g ht w ith , ,

t ru t h be said that they prospered and indeed they deserve d

,

to do s o and no o n e though t o f envying them their humble

,

quie t happiness .

In this pleasant way a year rolled past At that ti m e a .

vessel came into the harbour from o ne o f t he Eastern Island s

, ,

noted for i t s fine plantations o f nutmegs a cultivation then

highly remunerative but whi ch the j ealously o f the D ut c h
,

Government rigidly prote c ted by c arefully reser vi n g it t o

“
,

t hemselves The c ommander o f the ship had brought with

.

him in a very c areful manner many hundre ds o f youn g

, ,

nutmeg plants at the re quest and fo r the especial benefit o f

, , ,

the Receiver of Customs at Point de Galle These w er e .

brought o n shore in barrels of earth as ship s stores and left ’

in charge o f J a n z s ; who shortly aft er w ards re c eive d orders t o

,

despat c h them to the c ountry — house o f his superior On e .

barrel was p r e s e nt e d b y t h e c olle c tor to the chief clerk ; w ho

‘

well aware o f the great value o f the nutmeg tree c on c eive d ,

himself to be at once on the high — road to fortune .

It would be diffic ul t to paint the satisfa c tion with which

he knocked o ut th e head o f the b arrel o n its rea c hing t h e ,

door of his little bun g alow and feasted his o w n and Katrina s
,
’

eyes o n th e sight of a hundred youn g nutmeg seedlin g s It .

appeared to him as though a hundred l i ttle guardian angels had

suddenly c ondes c ended to pay him a visit to take up their a b o d e ,

wi t h him fo r the r e m a i n e d e r o f his natural life B ut what .

o

were they to do with them ? Plan t them o f c ourse Yes bu t , .

,

ho w and w here ? Katrina was fo r on c e in her little life , ,

most completely at fault o n a point o f a g ri c ulture ; and it ,

turne d o ut o n enquiry that o ld Lo ur e nz kne w about as much

,

o f the proper treatment agri c ulturally o f the nutmeg tree as

, ,

d i d J a n z s o r any o f h i s offi ce peons o r the o ld b ald heade d

, ,
-

B uddhist priest w ho live d a c ross t h e river .

 66

against There mi ght be to o much s un o r too much wet or

.
, ,

the wind might l o osen them a n d i njure the ro o ts Cat tle o r .

wild animals might get at them and browse o n their tender ,

leaves which would b e f a tal t o t he m Insects might prey

, .

u pon the young s h e e t or the n e w bark S o that alth ough as .

,

Katrina was assure d when the trees did survive a ll these

,

dangers they would be c ertain t o yield a lasting and golden

,

harvest it would n o t be w ithout a long tri al o f watchfulness

,

and c are But s h e was not easily daunted ; the prospect o f

.

the future cheere d o n her little heart against all m i sgivings .

S h e made the sailor -planter sh o w her how t hey fenced in th e

!

nutmeg trees at Penang and th e Moluc c as : how they sheltere d

them from the scorching ray s o f t he noonday s u n and how ,

they protected t hem from t he no c turnal attacks o f porcupine s

and wild h o gs b y weaving prickly b o ughs around them on t h e
,

ground Katrina felt qui t e sure t hat s h e could manage th e

.

wh o le planta t ion and bring every tre e to fu ll bearing ; and the

,

sailor to o k h i s leav e load ed wi t h thanks and homely gifts .

J a n z s though t himself the luckiest and happiest of Cust o m

House clerks t o p ossess s uch a wife and su c h a garden o f
, ,

nutmeg tre es .

Years rolled on i n C e y lon mu c h as such p o rti o ns o f tim e

,

are in the habit of d o ing in other places They brought wit h .

them c hanges in m e n a n d t hi n gs at t h e little sturdy fort o f

Galle not less than elsewhere
, Few changes perhaps wer e
.
, ,

m ore appare n t t han t hose which wer e percep t ible in t h e

nutme g plantation I have describ ed The lit t le white washe d .
-

bungalo w had spread for t h win g s o n eit her side and front an d ,

ends were s hadowed by j essamines and roses Topes o f .

waving co c oa and s a g e palms and broad —

, leaved bananas flung
,

a grateful shade over the la w n and the swe et flower garden ,

,

and the path to the river —side The Lilliputian seedlings were
.

no longer there but in t heir places rose proudly and gra c e

, ,

f ully a whole forest o f bright leaved fl o w e r —Spangle d nutmeg

,
-
,

trees : a n d amongst them might be seen if y o u looked in the ,

 67

right pla c e Katrina still b usy and smiling a nd happy with

, , , ,

J a nz s by her side a n d a group o f little rolli c king c hildren

,

revelling o n t he sof t green grass Unwearying care an d .

wa t chfulness had wrought wonders with those delicate nutmegs

and now t he time had arrived when t hey were about to reap
t he rich reward of perseverance and industry J a nz s con .

s i d e r e d himself as well he might a m a n of some substance

, , ,

In a year or two or more all those beautif ul trees would b e

, ,

i n full b earing ; and if as t hey gave promise t o do th ey bore

, ,

two or t hree hundred nuts each t here would be a little fortune ,

for h i m ; a larger year ly revenue than was enj o yed by his

superior t he C ollec t or of C ustoms a n d all the c lerks and
, ,

pe o ns t oge t her .

Fa t e however had decree d that all t his was n ot to be

, ,
.

Th e se richly promising trees were d e e m e d to an early and

sudden dea t h .

I men t ioned how the collect o r had obtaine d a vast quantity

o f these y oung n u tmeg plants There were several thousands .

o f them , and t heir culti va t i o n had c o st hi m some money an d ,

more t rouble But whether it was t hat he selecte d bad land

.
,

o r had t hem plan t ed improperly o r neglected them af t erwards , .

there is n ot hing on rec o rd t o tell C er t ain it is that his larg e .

,

plan t at ion became a c o mple t e fail ure mu c h t o his vexation , .

T hi s was n o whi t lessened when he learnt and af t erwards , ,

wi t nesse d t he en tire success of his sub o rdinate Ja nz s wi t h hi s

,

l itt le garden o f nu t m eg trees .

V a n Do r t t he collec t or was a weak —

, minded mean —
, spirite d ,

c rea t ure as you will soon see He b r oo ded o ver h i s d i s a p

, .

p o intmen t for many a long day un ti l at leng t h i n t he very ,

abjec t nes s o f his l o w hear t he t hou g h t tha t i f he c o uld n o t

,

succeed nei t her should J a n z s H e knew r i ght well t ha t t here

, .

was a n o ld order in c o uncil forbiddin g any one i n the S t ates

,

General s possessions in the Eas t Indies to cul t iva t e spices save

’

, ,

and excep t i n such Islands as t hey declare d to be s o privilege d ;

namely C eyl o n for cin namon and pepper and Molu cc as a n d
, ,
 68

Penan g fo r the nutmeg a nd clo ve s Confis c ation and imprison .

m ent for the first o ff en c e were the mild c onsequences o f

infringin g thi s law W hat the se c on d offence was to be visite d
.

with was n o t exa c tly known ; but be tter lawyers th a n J a n z s

, ,

were haunted with an in distinct vision that in s u ch a c ase was ,

made a n d provided not h in g short o f t he g allows Ne w Mynheer .

,

V a n Do r t was well a w a re o f the existen c e o f this severe order

when he planted his large piece of ground but h e had re ckone d
o n bein g able to sell his plantati on and retire to Europe before

the authorities at C olomb o c ould hear a nythin g of the matter ;

for in all probability there wer e no t three persons in th e
, ,

i sland who knew o f th e existence o f such stri n gent laws I t .

occurred to him that a s he had fail e d and n early all his trees
,

h ad died he might turn the su cc ess of h i s c lerk t o good

,

accoun t o n his o w n behalf by informin g the Governor o f t h e

,

bold infra c tion o f the laws by J a n z s .

In those q uiet b y — gone times there were but few events

, ,

o f importan c e to c all for any exercise of power by t h e highest

authority in the c olony It w a s theref o re with no little bustle

.
,

that the Governor summoned hi s council t o consider and deter

mi ne upon the contents of a weighty despatch re c eived fro m
Point de G alle This was the letter o f V a n Do r t the c olle c tor
. ,

informin g the m of the hi g h c riminality o f his subor dinate It .

did n o t require mu c h deliberation to set t le the c ourse to b e

pursue d The forbi d den tre es were ordered to be forthwith cut
.

down the p ro perty confiscated J a n z s to b e imprisoned fo r fi v e

, ,

years and the zealous collector t o be rewarded wi t h promotion

,

o n the first opportuni t y .

Turn on c e more to the quiet brigh t spot the garden by , ,

the river Ja n z s was home as usual from his d aily duties I t

.
.

was evenin g Katrina had given her last ord e rs to the gardene r
.

and the stock keeper The c hildren w ere gamb olling o n the
-
.

green sward under the large man g o t ree The favourite nut
- -
.

meg t rees were heavy w ith blossoms the s un w a s still lingering

amongst the topmost b ra nches o f the jambo trees Everythin g .
 69

g ave promise of one more o f tho se m any h a ppy evenings so

prized and loved by J a n z s and his li t tle wife when a canoe ,

dashed heavi ly against the river — bank and forth fr o m it ,

sprang the fiscal of t he distri c t attende d closely by a half dozen ,

-

o f sturdy grim lookin

g Malay peons armed with swords an d
, ,

pikes The offi cer of t he Crown knew J a nz s well : and though

.
,

inclined t o be friendly t owards him had no alternative but t o ,

tell him in a few words the purport of his visi t and the
, , ,

cause —those bright leave d trees wavi n g to the breeze and

-
,

alive w ith merry blossoms The poor c lerk could be with .

d iffic ulty persuaded of the reality o f the s a d news A sight .

o f the Governor s warrant however settle d all doubts and

’

, , ,

J a n z s shortly afterwards stagge ed to the boat between tw o r

,

peons like a drunken man Katrina s a w him to the water s

, .
’

edge and bade him be o f g o o d c heer for all would yet be

, ,

well : though her sinkin g heart g ave the lie to her lips .

The work of destruction did not o c cupy much time Four .

peons with sharp axes in a d e but a small matter o f t hose young

, ,

and delicat e trees and in ab out half the time t hat was usually ,

spent in watering t hem they were all laid prostrate on the ,

ground The cl i cking of those bright axes fell sadly enough

.

o n Ka t rina s ear ; each blow seemed to her to be a deadly

’ ’

wound aimed a t herself and as the last o f those lo n g t ende d ,

-

and much loved trees fell heavily to the g r o u nd her courage

-
,

and spirits fle d and she gave vent to her feelings in a flood of

,

t ears .

Next morning she left that once love d spot sad and spirit ,

less ; and t aking her little ones wi t h her placed them in safe t y
, ,

with her fat her She then sought her husband in his prison
.
,

to comfort a nd console him as best sh e might None t here ,

.

knew whence the blow c ame ; so li t tle indeed did the sufferers , ,

dream of how matters stood t hat a few days after the ca t as , ,

t r o p h e Katrina waited on the collect o r and besought him

, , ,

f o r the sake o f J a nz s long service to intercede for him and

’
, ,

obtai n a remission o f the cruel senten c e .

 70

W eeks passed away and it appeared th at there was small

,

chan c e of any pardon from the Governor who viewed with the ,

g reatest displeasure any contravention o f the Imperial la w s .

J a nz s abandoned himself to dispair : h i s friends c onsidered

him a lost man All but Katrina gave up hopin g fo r him She
. .

never for a moment los t si ght of a n y chan c e whi c h s e emed to

r o m i s e su cc ess Ni ht and day s h e sou ght for some friendly
p g .

ai d t o c arry o ut her plan That scheme was to present a .

petition t o t he Governor in person he was reported to be a ,

j ust man though desp o tic in the administration o f the laws

, .

Kat rina felt certain that he knew n o t all the facts o f their
little history thou gh t he c ollector had assured her everythin g
,

had been told him A m on gst ot he r s who m sh e sought for

.

advice and ai d was t he minister o f their little chur c h wh o

, ,

listene d to her with the patien c e of a c hild He knew a good .

deal of their history though not aware o f the facts conne c te d

,

wi t h their p ossession o f t he fatal nut m e g s He heard Katrina .

tell her s a d story pit i e d her c ondole d with her bade her t o
, , ,

be o f g ood cheer and fi nally sent her away full o f faith a nd

, ,

hope .

The good old mi nister s a w at once the wi c kedness o f the

collector for he kne w who had laid the char g e agains t J anz e
,
.

He went boldly thou gh carefully to work satisfie d himself

, ,

o f the fa ct o f V a n Do r t havin g planted nutme g s o n a larger

s c ale than his clerk though uns uccessfully : drew up a peti t ion
,

to t he Governor obtained t he s i gnature o f J a n z s and the n

, ,

proceeded w ith it to C olo m bo and laid it with hi s o w n hands ,

at t he fee t o f their ruler The good man was heard pa ti ently

.

and i n twenty four hours af t er perusal o f t he pe t it i on instruo

-
,

t i o ns were sent o ff to Galle to the C o mmandant to insti t ute the ,

m ost searchi ng inquiry into the who le c ase .

It only remains t o relate how the wicke d c olle c tor w as

d ete c t ed and dismisse d the service
, J a n z s was n o t only .

restore d to the p ossession o f his lands but re c eived the ,

appointment o f colle c tor o f Galle as c ompensation fo r his ,

 71

impris o nment And s o all went well N o ne was m o re deli gh t ed

. .

than Ka t rina who however w ould n o t be sat isfie d un ti l they

, , ,

w ere once m ore quie t ly settle d on their pretty farm by t he ,

river side There for long years afterwards they live d in t he

.
, ,

enj oyment of heal t h and a m ple means wh i c h were aft er all

, , ,

brought t hem i ndirectly by t heir nutmeg p lan t a t ion an d

, ,

t hough none of t hose ominous t rees wer e any longer grow i ng ,

there were hundreds of others which yielded amp le s t o r e s o f

,

luscious grateful fruit and flun g a cool and balmy shade o er

,
’

streams and flowers in many a q ui t e n e ck of tha t s w eet garden

,

by the river .
 A P EE P A T T H E PERA HERRA .

F the reli gious festivals o f the B u ddhist s o f Ceylon that ,

known as the P e r a h e r r a i s the most important It i s .

observe d at Kandy t h e cap ital o f the an c ient King s o f

,

Ceylon and at R a t n a p o o r a the c hief town o f the S a ffr a ga m

,

district Few g ood Buddhists w ill b e absent from t hese

.

reli gious O b servan c es ; and whole families may be see n j ourney

i n g o n foot fo r many mile s over mountains throu gh dense
, ,

j un g les and unwholesome s w amps alon g hot sandy pathways , , ,

l oade d with their pittan c e o f food and t h e more bulky presents

o f fr uit ri c e o i l and flowers to lay upon the holy shrine
, , , ,

o f Buddah to b e eventually d e vo u re d by the insa t iable

,

priests .

I n the month of July 1 8 40 I had a p eep at the celebr a te d

, ,

P e r a h e r r a o f R a tn a p o o r a where the shrine sacred to the

,

memory o f Saman rivals in attra c tion the gr ea t Dalad a

,

Maligawa o f Kandy Like its mountain c ompetitor it has i t s

.
,

reli c of Buddha enshrine d in a ri c hly j ewelled c asket whic h ,

i s made an obj ect of es pe c ial veneration t o the votaries of that

o d Saman was t h e brother o f the famed Rama the M alabar
g . ,

conqueror who i n vaded Ceylon in ages lo n g past and ,

extirpated from its fl owery shore s the ra c e o f migh t y giants

who had held its people in subj e ction fo r many c enturies a
“

s ort o f oriental Kin g Arthur To S a man was g iven the .

distri c t o f S a ffr a g a m ; and the people o f that c ountry at hi s

death promote d hi m to the dignity o f a diety as a slight
,
.

token o f t heir regard .

The R a t n a p o o r a festival is the more attractive by reason

o f i t s being made the o cc asion o f a large traffic in precious

s tones with whi c h the nei g hbourhood abounds In this w ay

, .
,
 74

As the sun rose above the line of black rocks in t h e

distance its rays lit up these misty monsters of the flood
, ,

imparting to them life — like tints which gave them beauty and , ,

forms they h a d n o t known b efore As these s un lit fog s .

-

rolled o n a thous a nd shapes move d fi t fully amongst them

,

troops o f wild horsemen ; crystal palaces with g ilded gates ;

g ri m fi gures playin g at b o p eep ; hills t owns and c astles-
; , ,

w ith many a ship at s e a and lovely cottages in quiet s unny

,

g lades ;
— all these and more see m ed
, ther e W ith the s e a .

breeze a ll that array of c loudy c reations departed leaving t h e

, ,

air hot and stifling from the reflection o f the sun s rays in the
'

endless flood about me But where were the poor S ingales e

.

villagers t heir families and their g oods amidst all this wreck
, , ,

As I j ogg e d alo ng the c ry o f a c hild the c rowin g o f a co ok

, , ,

the bark o f a d o g floated across the o c ean of mist but w hen c e ,

c ame they ? I looke d to the right and t o the left I strained .

m y eyes straightfor w ard but not a soul o r a feather o r a , , ,

head was to be seen Presently the fog cleare d away and

.
,

I c ould s e e over head into the t rees There c hairs tables

- .
, ,

c hatties paddy p ounders b oxe s o f c loths children i n cot s

,
-
, , ,

men women cats dogs all were seen in o n e strange medley

, , , , ,

c uriously e ns co n s e d amongst the wide spreadin g branches of ~

th e trees Over their heads and o n each si de mats and

.
,

co c oanut leaves were hun g to keep o ff rain and da m p fogs ,

whilst ag ainst each side o f the tree was place d a thick notche d
sti ck which serve d as a ladder for the whole party Her e
,
.

a n d there canoes were to be seen paddled acr o ss the fi elds to ,

keep up c ommuni c ation between the different villages I t .

was a strange but desolate spectacle and I w as glad to find ,

mysel f at last free fro m the w atery neighbourhood and on c e

, , ,

more ridin g o n terra fi r m a .

During the heat o f 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 o f a dark lookin g cave -

,

b y the side of a runnin g stream of mountain w ater Tying .

 75

my p o nv to a bu sh I entered at the lo w a r c hway a n d foun d ,

myself at once in ut t er darkness ; but after a short time I

began to dis ti n gui sh obj ects and then s a w close to me o n e
, , ,

whom I should have least l o oked for in that stran ge desolat e ,

spot It was a Chinaman t ail and all My first idea was as I

.
, .

looked at the figure throu gh the dim li ght of the c ave that it ,

was no t hing more than a lar ge C hina jar o r perhap s a huge , ,

tea chest left there by s o m e traveller ; bu t when th e great

-
, ,

round face relaxed into a grin and the little pe a like eyes ,
-

winked and the tail moved and the thick lips uttered broken
, ,

E nglish I t ook a proper view o f the matter and w i she d m y

, ,

c avern acquaintance good morning “

I soon gathere d the .

occupation o f Lee Chee in this s t range place : the cave w e

-

were then i n was one of the many in that nei g hbourhood in

, ,

which a particular k i nd o f swallow builds the e dible nests s o

highly prized b y the C hinese and Japanese for c onversion int o
s o ups s t ews and for ought we know int o tarts The China
, , , .

man told me what I was scar c ely prepared t o l earn that h e ,

rented from the C eylon G o vernment the priv i lege to seek

these birds nes t s in t he d i stri c t for which he paid the yearly
’

s um o f o ne hundred dollars or seven pounds ten shillin g s

, , .

Procuring a chule or native torch the Chinese nest hunte r

, ,

showed me long ledges o f shelving rock at t he t o p of t h e

cavern where o n whole legi o ns o f curious little gummy —l i k e
excres c ences w ere suspended ; s o me were perfect nests others ,

were in c o urse o f formati o n a n d these latter I learnt were ,

t he m o st v a l ued ; t hose which had had t he young birds reare d

in them bei n g ind i fferen t ly t h o ugh t of and were only bou ght ,

by the lower orders of soup makers Having reste d myself .

and p o ny I once more pushe d on for R a t na p o o r a where I ,

arrived hea t ed jaded a n d dusty by h i gh n oo n

, , , ,
.

A ch a t t i e ba t h seld o m f a ils t o refre sh t he Ind i an traveller ,

and fit him for t he enj o yment of his m eal In t he cool o f t he .

eveni n g I s t rolled ou t t o wat ch the prepara t i ons for t h e

nightly fes t ivi t ies These con t inue for a b out a for tni ght
.
,
 76

chiefly af t er sunset tho ugh devo t ees m a y be seen lay ing t he i r

,

simple offerings at the foot of the shrine during m o s t par t o f ,

the af t ernoon The little bazaar o f the town was alive wi t h

.

business ; a ll vestiges of its wanted fil t h and wretchedness

were hidden beneath long strips of white li n en and garlands
o f c o coanut leaves and flowers hung around by bands of bright

red cl o th Piles of tempting wares were t here ; b eads bangles

, , 7

a n d scarfs t o de c orate ; ri c e j aggery and s w e a t m e a t s to eat

, , ,

and innumerable liquors to drink were placed in profuse ,

a rray. The street s and lanes poured forth long strings o f

.

human beings heated wi th the sun flushed with drink and

, , ,

bedizened with trumpery j ewellery and mock finery Poo r , .

tillers o f the soil ; b e g ge r ly fishermen ; mendicant pe elers ;

half—starved coolies ; lean si ckly w omen and p o o r imma t ure
, , ,

children p assed onwards in the motley thro ng buryi n g thei r

, ,

every — day misery benea t h the wild mirth of a ni gh t or t w o

at the P e ra h e rr a .

Foll o wing the livin g dark stream as c losely as the heat , ,

d u s t and strange odo urs would allow me I arriv e d at length , ,

near to the t emple of S aman The edifice of which I caugh t .

,

a dis t an t glimpse was half concealed beneath t he heavy

,

luxur i an t foliage of cocoanut t e pes a r e k a s plantains and , , ,

banyan trees An o c ea n o f human heads fille d up the space

.

around the bu i lding from whi ch pro c eeded the well kn o wn

,
-

sounds of the reed and tom tom Gay flags flut t ered from - .

the four corners and the lofty pinnacle in the c entre ; wreaths
o f flowers plaited leaves and ribb o ns of many colours waved
,

jauntily from roof t o door ; whilst round the pillars of th e

walls and door posts clustered rich bun c hes o f most temptin g
-

frui t
.

C lose by this busy scene another group was formin g ,

under a lar g e and lofty pandal o r open bungal o w Forcing , .

my way to o n e c orner o f the she d I found a c ompany o f ,

Indian j ugglers c o n sisting o f t w o men a girl and a c hild of ,

perhaps three years The men w ere habited in strange

.
 77

unc o u t h dresses w ith large strings o f heavy black beads r o und

,

t heir necks ; t he girl was s i m p ly and neat ly clad in wh it e w it h

s i lver ba n gles and anklets and a necklace of na ti ve d i am o nd s
, .

I t would be imposs i ble t o de t a i l all the i r extraordinary

perf o rmances which far exceeded anything I had ever read
,

o f t heir ar t The q uan ti t y of ir o n and brass —

. ware wh i ch
t he y contrived t o swallo w was t ruly marvell o us ; t en p enny
nails clasp knives & c were all trea t ed as s o m any i tems
,
-
,
.
,

o f pas t ry on confecti o nery and I could but picture to myself ,

t he havo c a d o zen of t hese corm o ran t s would c ommi t i n a n

i ronmonger s shop ’

Near the t emple all was noise a n d c onfusion and i t was ,

w i t h some d i fli cult y that I forced my way through the dense

crowd and reached the steps o f t he venerated shrine The

,
.

priest s t ati oned a t the entrance made a way in for me as well

as he could bu t t he pressure ins i de was in t ense Hundreds of
, .

men a n d women pressed eagerly f o rward to reach t he fl i gh t

o f s t eep s t one s t airs which led up t o the sacred depositary It .

was as bad as a c rush t o get in t o t he Crystal Palace My .

passage was s o slow t h at I had time t o examine and ad m i re

t he fine ant i que carve d w o r k on the pillars and ceil i ng of the
entrance hall as we ll as on t he tall pilasters which line d t he
-
,

ample staircase There was a beauty o f style and a h i gh

.

degree o f finish abou t th i s work that could not be a tt ained in

C eyl o n in the presen t d a y Arrive d at length at t he inner . , ,

t emple or sacre d shrine ab o ve I passed wi t h t he res t be t ween , , ,

a richly bro c aded cur t ain which hu n g in f o lds across t he

en t rance a t the to p o f t he stairs and sto o d before the fame d ,

relic of Buddha or rather the j ewelled casket which con t ained

it
. I fel t disappointmen t at the spe ct acle here arising , ,

perhaps fr o m my taking no interest in t he exh i bitio n as a

religi o us cerem o ny and l o oking at i t merely as a n emp ty
,

show not far removed from the status of Bartholomew Fair

,
.

The strong glare o f a hundre d ligh t s t he hea t and crowd o f ,

s o many i n so s mall a place th e sickly pe rfume o f t h e p ile s of

,
 78

Buddha fl o wers heaped before the shrine by the pilgrims the ,

deafenin g discordant din o f a score of t o m toms and vile -

screeching pipes m ade me glad enough to des c en d t h e stairs

,

an d flinging a rupee into the poor — box of the temple to es c ape ,

on c e m o re into fresh air .

From the votaries o f Saman I entered another crowd ,

assembled round a gaily dec o rated building which I at on c e ,

p erceive d was a Hindoo temple Here to the sound o f much

.

music and by the li ght of many lamps a group of youn g

,

dancing girls were delighting the m otley crowd There wer e .

but three o f them o n e a fi n ely made tall sylph like c reatur e

,
-
, ,
-

with really g ra c eful movements t h e others younger stouter , ,

and far less pleasing A good deal of pains had evidently

.

been taken wi t h their dress to the value of twenty thousand

,

dollars The graceful little j a cket which the c hief dance r

.

w e r e over her flowing white robes sparkled and glistened wi t h ,

something which was quite new to me a s articles o f ornamen t

alon g t he e dg e o f her pure white garment shone a whole host
o f fi r e fl i e s w hich by some ingenious arrangement had been
-

secured to the a strange and pleasing n o vel t y

to the appearan c e o f her attire as s h e swep t gra c efully around
,

in slow and measured steps The musi c to which these peopl e

.

dance i s an ything but pleasing to an English ear : indeed ,

there i s s c arcely a trace o f rhy t hm in it yet t hey c ontrive to

m easure their mazy and diffi c ult dance by its notes with
admirable pre c ision Long c us t om has s o attache d them to
.

their empty meaningless music t hat they c an appreciate n o

o ther I am c ertain that M Julian s band woul d scarcely b e
. .
’

listene d to by the Singalese if they were a fe w tom toms within -

heari ng It is a c urious fact that in the districts from which

.

these N autch girl s are brou g ht education is s o rare that ,

they are g enerally the only lay persons within many days ’

j ourney w ho c an either read o r write The priests can a ll

,
.

read if n o t w rite and they take c are t o ins t ruct the temple
, ,

girls in order to enable them to le a rn the vari ous songs and

 79

le g ends f o r recital at their periodic festivals The rest of the .

p o pula ti on t h ey keep in the densest i g norance .

Leavi n g the d a ncers and priests I strolled towards t he

broad Kaloo ganga whose quiet palm shaded banks stood o ut
-
, ,
-

in t he sweetest co n trast to the n o isy revelry I had just beh e ld .

The moon was near the full and ri sing high above t he many
,

rich g reen topes o f palms and droopin g plantains lit u p ,

the pea c eful scene wi t h marvellous radiance It is hardly .

possible to conceive the magi c beauty o f moonlight in the

tropics those who have wi t nesse d it c an never forget their
feeli n g under its influence The master han d o f our fi n est
.

painters might attempt to depict i t 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 .

it bears the impress of somethi n g half u n e a r thy and it re ,

the test i mony of the huge fea t hery leaves as they wave
breeze to assure o n e t hat the whole scene is no t ficti t ious
,
.

Fully as bright and radiating though sof t er in i t s hue than

,

the broad sunshine the moon poured down in l ivin g streams

,

its gifts of e ther — li ght ; The mons t er palms the slender a r e k a s , ,

the feathery bamboos an d tamarinds revelled in the harmony

and gl o w o f radiant moonlight which leapin g down in, ,

phosphorescent waves spran g on from leaf to flower from bud ,

t o herb and streaming throu gh the wavin g seas of giant

, ,

emerald grass died sparkli n g at his feet

, .

S ome o f t he topes along this gentle river grew s o thickly

that not the faintest ray of li ght found its sof t w ay amongst
them the deepest shade was there and only in one of these ,

c ould I tra c e any ves t iges of living beings A lit t le hut was .

buried far away i n the i n t m o s t re c esse s o f a tope all bright ,

above all gloo m below The door was open a n d fro m i t shone
, . ,

a f aintly glimmering li ght ; so tiny was the ray amidst that

heavy shade so distan t did it seem that it defied all c onception
, ,

o f space a n d made my eyes ache to aze at it I at length

, g .
, ,

d is t in g ui she d faint sounds p r o ce e d in g from it They were .

 80

t h o se o f a regular harmo n y S trolling nearer I heard th at .

t hey p r o ce e d e d fr o m cultivated voices W ha t a se n sation .

The music w a s that of the

“

Evening Hymn l and it came ”

u p o n me with t he echoes of the uncou t h Babel o f hea thenism

I had just left still ringin g in my ears W hen I re c overed

,
.

from the pleasant surprise I found that the sin gers were th e ,
.

family of a native missionary who had embra c ed Christianity .

The next day the bazaar was crowded with dealers in an d

d i gg ers f o r precious st o nes Hundreds of Moormen Ch e tt i e s
.
, ,

A rabs Parsees and Singalese were busily employed in t he

, ,

barter and a most noisy operation it was In the neighbour .

ho o d e f R a t na p o o r a exist many tracts o f c lay ey and gravelly

land rich in rubies sapphires garnets tur q u o ise and cats eyes
, , , , ,
-
.

For the privilege o f digging for these or of siftin g them from

t he sands of s o m e o f the rivers the nati ves pay heavy rents to ,

Government ; often s u b lettin g the g round at lar g e profits

-
, ,

to needy spe c ulators Their harvest is usually offered for

.

sale dur i ng the P e r a h e r r a and be their g ains what they may

t hey are generally rid o f the whole amount before the end
o f the festival The existen c e o f this source o f wealth i s
.

unfortunately a bane rather than a blessin g t o the district

,

f o r whole villages flock to the g e m grounds delving an d -

,

sif t ing for weeks together utterly neglectin g t heir rice fields
,

a n d gardens . Arra c k taverns have mul t iplied intempera n ce ,

has increased long tracks o f fertile land have ceased t o be

,

s e w n with paddy and the c ountry people o ft e n buy their fo o d

,

from s t rangers in place o f growin g i t as formerly , .

St ru gglin g and forcing a way through the busy crowd

were to be seen one o r two H i ndoo fakeers m ost repulsive ,

obj e c ts depending for subsistence o n the alms of pil g rims and

,

others One o f these wret c hed c reatures in t he fulfilment of a

.
,

v o w o r as an a c t o f fan c ie d righteousness had held hi s left arm

, ,

for so man y years ere c t above hi s head that it c ould not n e w

b e m o ved—and g ew transfixed ema c iated a n d bony It
,

r
, .

seemed more like a dry withered stick tie d to the bo dy than

, ,
 O L D E N GL I S H C O L O MBO

LD C olombo — the Co lo mb
,
o of o u r ea r ly d ays — the heart
.
'

o f o u r c ity
— the C o lomb o Fort o f t h e g ood o ld
,
“ ”

sleepy times i s numb e red w ith t h e thin g s whi c h for m a part o f

,

history The pi c k a nd m a m e t i e have undon e t h e solid work

.

o f many w e a ry years What on c e formed t h e glory o f that

.

rare o ld sturdy fortre s s i s levell e d t o t h e dust and trample d

, , ,

u nder foot C ooli e s with a v a la ng a h s hav e effe c te d w hat n o

.
,

e nemy ev e r dar ed att e mpt fo r it w as found when c anno n , ,

were b r o ught to bear exp e rimentally o n the walls at shor t .

range t h e heavy rou nd shot had n o e ffec t b u t t o find a

,

resting pla c e w ithin t h e e arth e n bo wels that lay beyond t h e

-

massive walls .

The picturesque in thes e modern days cannot hold its o w n

against th e pra c tical - effe c t must yi e ld to usefulness and s o ,
,

the g rass — g rown b a ttlements t h e fi n e o ld croo k

, e d s o o ri y a .

tre es the bastions the loop hol ed w alls the an c ient gateway
, , , ,

the h e avy drawbridge fell to make C ol o mb o more spacious , ,

breezy and healt h ful but not more c he e rful to lo ok on We

, .

m iss the ra re o ld walls and thei r many asso c iations althou g h ,

c han ges have c ome over the pla c e sin c e first i t was Colombo an d ,

even in thi s o ur o w n time we fai l to re c ognis e some portion s

that we kne w o f o ld All that remain o f the ancient f o rt and
.

its d w ellin g s a r e h ere and th e r e a few o ld Dutch houses ,

an c ient g able ends that had never seen aught but on e o r two
-

s tragg ling passers — b y a n d the fe w s o o r i y a trees and mouldy

,

w alls over the w ay : these may now look o u t a c ross an o pen

s pa c e upon o ld o c ean and watch the w hite sailed merchantman
,
-

float t o t h e horizon like some bright nautil u s until it fade s

from si g ht .
 83

The la b r i nt hi ne entran c e to the fort s c ar c e w ide e nou g h

,

for t w o carriages to pass gave the o ld gri m m e a t and g ateway

,

a sma c k o f feudal times savoring o f o ld mystery and o f

, ,

beleaguering armies w hi c h made w ar a g ainst those sturdy

battlemen t s but all in vain , .

And t he dear old shady walks upon the ramparts w hen c e ,

we have for many a year looke d o ut upon the set t ing s un and ,

wat che d the tiny sails o f fishing c raf t mel ting away i n
dis tan c e un t il lost amidst fl e e cy clou d s o n the horizon
, .

To the resident o f the present time the Pettah i s sough t

as rar ely as possible ; the heat and noisy c rowd and c hokin g
d ust g iving it an unenviable reputation
, Who would lin g e r
.

there from choi c e : who passes throu gh it but from ne ce s

s i ty
. But let u s i nvoke the aid o f some good spirit and
c onjure up an evenin g s c ene in that same quarter forty
years a g o .

At the sea-side c orner of Main Street lookin g o ut upon the

Racket Court ground and the Lotus Pond stand o ne o r t w o ,

q uaint o ld tenements In one o f

. these w as born and passed
his infancy the late Queen s Advo c ate a man who left his
,
’

mark behind him At the opposite c orner overlookin g the

.
,

burial ground is a lon g stret c h of buildings w ith upper flo o rs

-

a n d verandahs skirting the side street and large Dut c h rooms

with ample doors and windows Here dwells a thrifty busy .

, ,

c arriage b uilder and harness maker destine d at a late rdate to

- -

lay the foundation o f an ample fortune by means o f C off ee

planting then in its infancy : beyond these o n either side
, ,

shade d by pretty s o o r iy a and a fe w O leander trees the wide ,

verandahs are alive with Burghers and their numerous little one s .

Each dwellin g has its quota : lamps are burning bri ghtly above
them the sound o f merry laughter in all o f songs and musi c
, ,

in many make up a livin g panorama that the traveller through

,

the Pe t tah o f to day c ould not realise Beyond these dus t y

- .

limits and a w ay dow n S ea Street there has been no c hange

,

w i thin t he memory of living man The same c ro w de d .

 84

fraternity of gauze clad por tly Che tt i e s with c old c al c ulating

-
, ,

eye s and thrifty ways lodged in t he same human war rens wi t h

,

the same gaily c oloured ships painted o n the house walls

-
,

floating on seas of r ainbow hues The Hindoo temple i s .

p erhaps s o me wha t more wickedly ornate and horribly g rote s que

than of o ld but otherwise there is n o chan g e in the thro nged
,

Ch e t t i e s quarters From early mornin g till far into the ho ur s

’

o f night these ea er thrif t y dealers toil ever fattening o n their

g , ,

ceaseless industry .

K a ym a n s Gate a gate no lon g er where a S wiss Guar d

’

, ,

on c e kept watch and ward ,

i s still the b usy centre o f

a po o r and stru ggli n g
populat i on The half— fe d .

mechanic m a y be seen
fol lowing his vocation at
all h ours The o ld Tinker .

at the corner who com

bi n es the art o f soldering
leaky coff ee po t s and ram
shackled lanthorns wi t h ,

the more important c raf t

of undertaker slaves a t ,

his task all throu gh the

sultry day chatting at ,

o d d mo m ents with the small children who by means of ,

coir yarn bridles are play ing at horses on a pile o f co fii n s

-

c lose b y
- .

From these s c enes outside the wal ls let us in imagination

pass a c ross t he drawb ridge and entering the crooked gate w ay
, ,

take a survey o f the streets within the Fort w hen the evening ,

meal is o ver and the resi dents civil military and mercantile
, , , , ,

are loun ging in their verandahs o r droppin g in upon nei ghbours

, ,

which in those primitive times was the c ustom The streets , .

are still where they were but ho w c han g e d the d w ellin g s and
,
 85

the dwellers One by one the old tene m ents have given
place t o lof t y o fli ce s and now how few old buildin g s remain
,

t o t ell the story of o ther t imes .

In t hose days t here were not many Europe a n residents

o utside t he fort A s t raggling few in t he n ear p orti o n of
.

C olp etty one o r two in S lave Island and a t Kew —point an d ,

C aptain s Gar d en and abou t a s many in M ut w a ll The maj ori t y

’

by far d w el t within the walls H i gh m ilit a ry officials resided

.

in those times wi t hin walls which form to day a tailor s cutt i n g -

’

room in Hospital lane Merchants resi d ed in o n e half o f a

.

house wh ilst t hey carried on t heir business in t he other por t ion

,

and when the day s w o rk was over t h e verandah in fron t

’

forme d t he fam i ly sit t ing room to w h ich mili t ary and c ivilia n
,

neighb o urs res o r t ed as a ma tt er o f course Queen St reet .

l o oked in up o n Prince S treet whilst hospi t al i tie s were ,

exchanged between Baillie St reet and Chatham S treet A .

s t r o ll t hrough the for t after dinner was a ple a san t mode o f

passing t he t i m e dropping in firs t on o n e neighbour and then
,

on another un t il t he eveni n g round was completed The

, .

s o und of music and o f mirth resounde d within the old grim

,

grass —grown walls and if in those days society were small and
am use m en t s fe w a n d simple t here were rare ly complaints of
,

dulness early hours were t he rule t h o ugh there were a few ,

r o ys t ering mercantile o r mili t ary spiri t s men o f a stamp ,

tha t have long since passed away who t oo of t en for t heir healths
,
’

sake hel d revels towards the hours o f morning Tradit i on has

, .

to ld how o nce when some of these roysterers were trenching upon

d ayl i ght and during a heavy pause between t heir songs and
laugh t er the voice s of birds j us t wakin g t hrilled i n their ears
, ,

from t he branches of a s o o r iy a tree clo se by Enraged at t he .

tiny voiced rebuke o ne of the revellers calle d to a sleepy

,

servant Boy g o out and stop the n o ise of those c o nfounded

“
, ,

birds
Young offi c ers then dwelt in Baillie S treet ; and wel l
do I remember the astonishment caused by the discovery of a
 86

huge c oa c h w heel beneath t he wooden flooring o f o ne o f the

-

humble tenements on the o cc asion o f some repairs bein g carrie d

on,
and how the neighbours were puzzle d to a c count fo r its
deposit there until o ld De Silva the ancient c lerk o f the Kandy
, ,

coach office hearing o f the discovery re c ognized the w heel and

, ,

remembere d its history Tw o young offi cers o f H M 1 8 th

. . .

Irish live d once upon a time in t hat i denti c al house and Sil v a
, ,

remembered well when the c oach o fli ce was j ust opposite and ,

how early o n e morning w hen the c oa c h was abo ut to be

horse d in i t s tri weekly j ourney to Kandy o n e of the wheels
-
,

was missing S earch was made in vain t he wheel w as never

.

discovered and the conse quence w as that no coa c h left that

,

day for the mountain capital The young o fli ce r s had hidden

.

the wheel under t he wooden flooring o f t h eir bedroom and ,

there it had re m aine d until a c cidently unearthed .

In these latter times c o ffee has c han g ed all this .

M e chants need every foot o f room that i s available withi n the

r

F ort O ffic ers have been driven to their military q uarters

.

Civilians have taken flight in all directions and no w without ,

the walls r i c e is doing in the Pettah what cofl e e h a s

, ,

a cc omplishe d within The Burgher element has re c e d e d

.

before the ab sorbing Ch e tt i e s and Moormen and o n e may .

stroll alon g Main Street o r K ey z e r Street o n any fine moonlight

night and hear no sound of musi c or soft voi c e within t he
, ,

walls meet no gra c eful forms and s e e no dark bright eye o r

, , ,

well turne d ankle in w ide illu m inated verandahs

, .
 O L D J OE .

N the early days of c ommercial l i fe in the East when the ,

pagoda tree flourished in Ceylon r eady to be shak e n by

any resolute hand Old J o e r e igned supreme in Col o mb o
,
”

Ba c helors society as the King o f Good F ellows — the Lord of

’

c onviviality The smallnes s of t h e uno ffi cial c ircl e in th o s e

.

primitive times was fully compensated f o r by t h e extent

,

of its hospital i ty No strangers of any res p ec tability n o

.
,

c ommanders o f any of the few shi p s which frequented o u r

port were allow ed t o take refuge in the dr e ary wastes o f the

,

Government Rest House — a sombr e low ro o fed building ,

-
,

whi c h occupi e d the sit e of the pres e nt Telegraph Offices .

There was a hearty w e l c om e ; a cor dial gree t ing under the ,

roof o f each o n e o f t he mercantile c o mmuni t y with detached ,

room in t he rear of their houses for bachelors and hot t i ffi n ,

at the offices in the f o rt that could at any time be made to d o

,

duty for a hearty dinner .

The subj ect o f this no t ice was the head and I might a d d , , ,

the body o f a c ommer c ial fi r m of g o od po siti o n the o t her part

n e r constituted the legs run n in g about in all possible direc t i o ns
, ,

touting for busi ness and it w a s whispered no t particular a s

, , ,

to h ow he ob t aine d i t J o e was t h e impersonation o f

.
“ ”

honor : Donald was supposed t o have b ee n if not the invent o r ,

,

at any ra t e t he most d i li g ent propoun d er o f the phil o sophi c

,

maxim , Make money h ones t ly if y o u can but m ake money :

, ,

So comple t ely were t hey the represen t atives of opposites t hat n o ,

o n e coul d have believed they could have continued lon g to gether

as par tners in business : nor would t hey but tha t e a ch was content
to le t t he o t her gang his ain ga i t Had Donald s nam e .
” ’

been Phelim or Ro ry y o u would s t ill have felt persuaded he

,
 88

w as from north of the Twee d w h ilst on the other hand nob o dy

could undertake to affirm and indee d nob o dy care d whether
, ,

J o e had been born nor t h or south of the border — co untry .

In business matters Donald was the touter Joe was th e ,

purveyor . W hat one angled for and lande d th e other ,

preserved and usually with c onsummate good humour a n d

, ,

unbroken faith How of t en wa s the senior hurt a n d vexe d

’

by the promises of his j unio r s o diffi c ult of realization h ow

,

coarsely savage was the other wi t h the scrupulous exactit u d e

wi t h which every busine ss stipulation was more t han fulfille d
i n the spirit if not in the letter D onald was the ogre t h e
, .
,

evil genius o f the offi c e : from de wy morn to sultry eve hi s

chief aim app ear e d t o be to ma ke every wretch ed subordinat e
still more wret c he d than he w a s by fault fi n di n g by finin g b y
,
-
, ,

storming ; in fact by every conceivabl e mode o f wo rrying

,

I t was j o yous and thrill i ng to hear t h e so u nd ship i n—sight -

,

fr om the fl a g staff orderly as he peeped into the o gre s den 3

'
“
-
,

for all knew t hey would b e free from their tormentor f o r that
day and perhaps the followin g Thrus t ing the huge broad
, , . ,

brimmed whitey—
, brown fluffy be a ver on his un c ombed shaggy ,

head snatching up hi s ponde rous white cotton umbrella and ,

graspin g in one hand a lon g tin case o f e state plan s he made

rapidly for the wharf and slipping into the first canoe
,
“

ordered the bo a tman to pull o ff to th e strange ship the fi r s t ,

t o board her in the h ope of c atchin g a constituent o r two in

want o f a fine block of land in an a cc essible salubrious and ,

pictures q ue distri c t of which his firm always had a number on

,

hand ready surveye d with th e boundaries an d bridl e pat hs cut

, ,
- .

The whole establish m ent from the Dutch b ook keeper ,

-

down to the Ta m il offi ce sweeper and errand boy breathed more ,

freely and nothing in this sublunary sphere would have cause d

them collectively and i ndivi dually more heartfelt satisfa ct ion
than for a g ale of wind to h ave sprung up and c arrie d a
par t icular c anoe round the Island as far as the Great Basses o r ,

for t he matter of that to Tr i n co m a li e ,

.
 90

Bun g alo w so named from the c ard partie s made up there on

,

the Saturday night ( we will s a y nothing about S unday )

w hen they were j oined by Jo c k Anderson and some few other
kindred spirits o f the Ceylon Rifle Regiment To attempt a .

sket c h o f the s c enes enacted within that river -side bungalow ,

famed later for its many happy family g atherings is beyond my ,

p ower and present purpose Suffi c e it to s a y that o n e

.
,

Saturday ni ght was spent pretty mu c h as another varied only ,

by the g uests who drove down to M ut w a ll point t o p artake o f

the fun a n d froli c .

On som e o cc asions c ards were i g nored when an unusually

large number of the Rifles were present more es p e c ially
”
, ,

when Jo c k and a well — remembered theatrical member of th e

Bar were there the festive board had attractions superior t o
,

the whist table and s on g s nay even d ances formed the staple
, , , ,

o f the no c turnal r evels I m a y here mention t h e fact that

.

“
Old J o e though burly in person was nimble o f foot and
”

, ,

a m ost g ra c eful dan c er despite his bulk Many a time and oft
, .
,

to w ards the small hours o f the morning the ponderous old ,

Dut c h table at whist bun galow would be cle a red of all bottle s
and glass and Joe bein g c alled upon ki cking o ff his shoes
, , ,

w ould dan c e o n e o f his favorite Highland dances a reel or flin g , ,

w hatever it might chan c e to be o n the well polished su rface

, .

At this same b ungalo w there were on S undays meetin g s ,

o f what were known as the Beef Steak C lub the members of ,

w hi c h c omposed o f merchants military offi cers and c ivil , ,

servants met there to dis c uss the best beef steaks that could
,
-

be pro c ured and the ripest o f c ountry bottled ale from the only
,
-

re c ognised brewery o f those days —Hodgson and Abbot s I t ’

was in c onnection with o n e o f these Sunday af t ernoon parties ,

e longa t ed well into evenin

g hours that a chara c t eristi c story i s
,

rela t ed of Jo c k Anderson Brave as a lion the major was

.
,

docile as a lamb towards the j uniors o f his re g iment who m he ,

appeared to regard as his spe c ial prot e g é s One o f the se nior ’

l i eutenan t s bu t re c ently arrived from Europe had a turn fo r ,

 91

b ullv i n g , one o c ca s ion went so far with his insolen c e

and on

towards o n e o f the young subs present that it be c ame evident ,

the new comer was bent o n a quarrel S eein g this Jock . ,

Anderson rose and tappin g the irrepressible lieutenant o n the

shoulder beckoned him to follow into the verandah There in
,
.
,

a few b lunt words the maj or gave the other a piece o f his
,

mind . They were there as the guests of the mer c hants and the ,

harmony o f the evenin g must not and should not be disturbed .

It was e v ident lieutenant s e and s e wished to provoke a duel

- -

‘
but he the major never allowed his boys to go o ut he ’

, ,

a lways acted for them and on the present o c casion b —dash —h e

, y ,

would be found ready the next morni n g at gun fi r e to put a -

bullet through any part of the lieutenant s body he choose to ’

name — and b y— dash —h ed do it too I t is s c ar c ely

’

.
-
,

necessary to add that the maj or s reputation as a shot w as

’

such that the quarrelsome party subsi d ed and slunk ba ck to ,

the table a subdued and pea c eful man

, .
 PHILLI P O F BR A S S F O U N DE R S T R EE T .

N eastern c ountries well as in t he west there is a clas s

as ,

o f men who appear to be as essential in the transac t i o n of

daily business a s pen ink and paper In t he sunny tropic s

, , , .

j ust as in fo ggy London the Broker i s a necessity o f o u r ,

daily business life I am not about t o describe t he race o f

.

fast young vivacious Englishmen who rush frantica lly round

the corners o f o ur streets and suddenly disappear in som e
merchants office with all the ga spin g anxiety born o f a
’

R e nt e r s t ele g ram stamped o n his face No I have in my

’

, .
,

min d a s t out middle aged party fro m Jaffna once —fr om

,
-

Ch e e k o o S t reet more recently i n a s no w white t u rban ,

-
,

marvellously turned up slippers and with apparently all the

-
,

fami ly line n swathed about his middle W hy he cam e from .

J a ffna why he did n o t hail from Trincomalee or Ba t t i c aloa

, ,

o r even K a i t s I could never quite make o ut any more t han

, ,

I c ould solve the twin problem why scarcely any but t h e ,

J a ffna ri a n s are employed as brokers !

Once upon a t ime perhaps thirty — fi v e years ago o r suppos e
, ,

we s a y the round forty i t was not s o In those primeval

“
, .

times our Broker wa s one Phillip S a v e ri m u t t u a sort o f ,

bamboo o f a Ca ni co p u lly in a ridiculous hat wi t h peake d corners ,

proj ec t ing in front and a c o olie — load o f bed —

, curtain rings in
his ears But these gentry are not s o numerous n o w and with
. ,

the ex c eptions proving the rule Jaffn a reigns supreme i n ,

c ountinghouse and bank .

It may n o t perhaps be amiss if in this pla c e I indulge

, , , ,

in a brief g limpse at history wi t h referen c e t o these two classes

o f Brokers s o c ompletely distin c t and dissimilar
,
At t he early .

period to whi c h I have already made referen c e namely 1 8 3 7 , ,

 94

pickers c oolies and bottle washers When there were no

, .

banks to do a discount b usiness bills were c olle cted in regular

,

c ourse by the Firm o r rather by its Ca ni co p ully and he had

, ,

for t his special duty a subordinate Ca ni co p ully A g reat man .

was S a v a r i m ut t u in those days and when in the spring tid e ,

-

o f the coffee season wi t h fully three s c ore coff ee pi c kers

, ,

at work in the offi c e yard s t rewn with parchment c offee with ,

a squall o f ra in c omin g o n a doz en ch e t t i e s takin g delivery o f

,

p i e c e g oo d s from the godowns a c art — load o f rupees c omin g

,

in from a Madras vessel and a Fren c h ski p per with t w o o r

'

three boxes o f soverei gns to be left in ex c hange for c innamon

an d o i l our Broker was in the full blaze and splendour o f h i s
,

glory It was amusin g t o s e e hi m patroni se the Fren chman

.

in Tamil with his c apa c ious mouth full o f betel bullyin g t h e

, ,

coolies and splutteri ng at the women and coaxin g the ch ett i e s , ,

all in the same breath and with the same s e t o f f e atures : a n d

h ow when the day s work was over and the Firm drove a w ay
,
’

in t he mild family bandy of the peri od he ga thered hi s sno wy

-
,

robes ab out him like an oriental Ro m an and strode solemnly ,

to hi s stu ffy little home in Brassfounder Street .

The brokers o f those early days were the sole ne g otiator s

between the British mer c hants and the Chetty dealers o f
Ceylon the back b one o f native trad e
“

.
,

The N a tt u co t t a Ch e tt i e s are those to whom I am referrin g

they c ame over from the Ne g apatam dis t ri ct never for a ,

permanency usually for a period o f five years at the end o f

, ,

whi c h time their a cc ount s with the fi r m in South India must

be square d up to a point and no doubtful entries left fo r their
,

su cc e ssors to deal with .

One of the most important and probably lu c rative bran c he s

o f the Chetty trade o f the olden time h a s departed fro m them

th ey no lon g er deal in raw cotton the whole t rade i n whi c h w a s ,

transferre d to Tut i co r m when the cash advan c e system w a s

abolished : their dealings are n e w c hiefly c onfined t o m a nufa c
t ur e d c otton g o o d s r i ce a n d c off ee : the s e at a ny r a te for m thei r
, , ,
 95

principa l ar t icles o f trade and s o me of them deal in them very

,

largely to an extent indeed scarcely c o n ce i v e a b le by t hose n o t

,
.

acquainted wi t h the class There are some Che t ty firms who

.

trade in all these ar t icles but as a rule t he cloth merchants

,

or piece goods Ch et t i e s deal in no other ar t icles whils t rice ,

mer c hants are g enerally prepared t o traffic in coffee though ,

as they confine t hemselves to the native quali t ies and t hese ,

y early de c rease in quantity their business in , this ar ticle o f

produce is on the wane Of these several descriptions of C hetty
.

firms there are about o n e h undred and fifty in C olomb o ,

nearly all havin g branches at Galle Kandy Gampola Badulla , , , ,

H a ld a m ulle Ratnapura and o t her stations con d ucted on th e

, , ,

same system as the principal Colombo branches for t he latt er ,

Firms are but representa t ives of o r partners in Chetty House s

in Negapat am and elsewhere and their dealin g s are regula t e d ,

by well established custom .

S ome of these firms are very wealthy o ne Chetty being ,

reported to have o ut in advan c es in rice and cash to plan t ers , ,

as much as But we must sta t e that on t he whole , ,

there is not nearly the same amount o f capital embarked in t he

Ch e t t i e s busi n ess in C eylon as in former days when a large
co tt on busi ness was done in Colombo : t he t ransference o f that
business t o Tuticorin has shorn t he l o cal native t rade of much
o f its old presti ge The Na tt u co t t a Ch e t t i e s have always
,

carried o n business with their own capital they are not borrowers , ,

on the contrary they lend : they of course d i scount notes

received from purchasers of their goods but even t hen not t o ,

any great extent Cauti o us in t he extreme in all their m o ney

.

transac t ions t hey can yet appreciate t he s t erling quali t ies o f

,

the European merchan t and P lanters o f good s t anding and i n ,

them they will place unbounded c o nfidence Men s opinions .

’

a n d feelings necessarily undergo consi d erable cha n ges wi t h

time and circums t ances but we can re call to mind in the days
,

when Banks did no t exist in Ceylon when every merchant ,

had his stro ng room in whi c h his supplies of rupees from

-
 96

Madras were st o red i n stout ba gs containing from £ 1 00 to

,

£ 2 50 each dul y labelled wi t h tickets bearing the ini t ial s o f

,

o n e o f the par t ners : large sums o f money were fre quent ly

pai d away t o Ch et t i e s f o r rice fr o m t he c o as t or for native ,

c o d ee fr o m the interior and I ca n remember when a ,

cart l o ad o f bags o f ru pees were rem o ved by t he C hetty dealer

-

wi t hou t coun t ing having impli c i t faith in the fi r m s initials

,
’
.

O ccas io n a lly the C hetty would at the expiry o f a week o r s o ,

s t ate t hat a few rupees were found wanting in o n e o f t he bags ,

upon which t he c o ins were handed over to him wi t hout question .

In t he g o o d o ld fashioned days o f w hi ch I am writing

, ,

and indeed down to a much more recent period t he Ch e tt i e s ,

when they ma d e a con trac t wi th the merchant fo r coffee o r

c otto n invariably receive d nine tenths of t he value o f the
,
-

cotton and half o f the value of the coffee several mon t hs i n ,

a nticipatio n o f the delivery o f the produce When we add t hat .

in their purchases o f cotton g o ods or other British merchand i ze ,

they as invariably to o k all the c re dit they c ould get some idea ,

m a y be f o rmed of the advantages t hey possessed in their C ey lon

t rading operations .

W e have lik ened t he m to the Is raeli t es a n d as buyers ,

a nd sellers they may W ell c o mpare with the gen t lemen o f

Duke s Pla c e and H o u n d s d i t ch They will haggle for days
’
.

over a few rupees b u t when t he bar gain is str u ck adhere to i t

, ,

wi t h marvell o us tenaci t y In nearly all merchant s o fli ce s t h e re

.
’

i s what i s known as the broker s r oo m in which the Ch e t t i e s

“ ’

,
”

con gregate for g o ssip business or perhaps fo r epis t ol at o ry

, ,

purposes There they prepar su c h le tt ers as must leave by

. e

the af t ernoo n t a pp a lDa n d they make free use o f t he pens ink , ,

-
and paper S f the o ffice for the purpose s o that t here is some ,

e c o nomy as well as conve n ience in t he use of the bro ke r s room ’

.

An incident once occurred in connection with this o ld established

custom of letter writi n g s t r o ng ly i llu s t ra ti v e of Che tty charac t er
, ,

and which is therefore worth recalling A well known Chet t y .

-

of standing and rather por tly presence i n addition to a free use ,

 98

an es c ort for all g oods to and from the Wharf and at that work ,

w ill probably remain several years a cc ordin g to hi s qui c knes s

a n d aptitude . He will then b e made salesman to the fi rm ,

keeping an a cc ount of all goods coming in and g oi ng out and ,

a tte n ding to the general d ealings o f the H ouse Fro m that .

position he i s raised to the offi ce o f a ssist a nt a cc ountant then ,

m ade an a cc o untant : a y ear o r two m or e a nd he will b e

a ppointed s ub m a n ager a n d fi n ally m ana er representi n
-
g g of t e n ,

v ery l a r e interests
g N otwithstanding this the highest salary
.

that is g enerally paid t o any o f them i s Rs ,

a year som e .
,

a r e i n re c ei t o f as little as Rs 3 5 0 As f t h su b ordinate s
p . o r
. e

their pay i s most i ns i g nifi ca nt —usu a lly a fe w rup ee s their food , ,

o n e o r t w o c l o t h s a n d a mat
,
Very l ittle busines s i s d o n e by
.

Che tt i e s in the morning : sh o rtly befor e n oon the manage r ,

hi s assistant and the a cc o u nt a nt will sally forth fo r t h e d ay s

’

w ork leavin g the sa l e sman a n d the offi ce boys t o attend t o

,

b uyers : in t h e evenin g a fter s u nset t he day s p r o c ee d ings a r e

,
’

p osted up in the books and ,a r e g ula r a cc o u ut mad e out a n d r ,

m oney tr a nsa c tions between o ne fi r m and oth e rs a r ranged .

I t is not a little remarkable that a s a rule Chett i e s make s c a r c ely ,

an
y use o f B anks for the c us t o dy o f their money p refe r ring t o ,

r etain po ssession o f it themselves and k e e in it in a ponderou s

p g
,

c hest o n w hich th e a c coun t an t sleep s a t n ight This pra c ti c e .

a rises fro m n o mistrust o f the Ba nk s b ut fr o m other c onsider ,

e tions . They do not c are to go to the e x p e ns e o f c heque book s

when they c an pay away t heir money without c harge again ,

in the event o f death there i s no diffi cul t y about drawin g o ut

m oney there is also their practi c e o f makin g cash loans to ea c h
,

o ther for p urp o ses o f trade which is invaria b ly done at night

, .

Ch e t t i e s seldom trouble t h e lawyers whose se r vi c e s have t o ,

b e dearly pur chased N early all differe nc es amongst themselve s

.

a r e settled by the arbitration o f a c ertain number o f the oldes t

a n d most e x perien c ed o f their body wh o are c alled wh en thu s

, ,

‘
a ssembled a N agaram an swering t o t he B e ng a le e P uncha ye
’ ”

, ,

o r th e European Trib un al o f Commer c e I t i s very ra rely ”

.
 99

i ndeed that any a pp eal i s ev e r taken from thei r de c i sion whi c h

, ,

i s a c ted upon at on c e with most impli c it relian c e upon i t s !

justi c e O cc asional ly it m ay h a pp e n t hat some headstrong

.

‘
Ch e tt i e w ill refuse to c omply w ith t he de c i s io n o f the Na g aram
’

in whi c h rare c ase an interdi c t w i ll b e i s sued forbidding a ny

tran sa c tion with the refra c t ory p a rty who deprived o f all c redi t
,

o r c ounten a n ce amon s t the m i s v e r y s oon b rou g ht to reason

g , .

The Nagaram takes c og ni z an ce o f not o nly d isputes b ut ,

o ffen c es w hi c h a r e punished by fi ne s paid to o ne o f t he

two Hindoo Temples in Sea Street dedi c ated to the idol ,

Th e Nagaram is held in o ne o f thes e ”

S up e r m a ni a n “ ”
“
.

temples o r at the ofli ce of o ne of the oldest and w ealthi e st

,

Ch e t t i e s .

S o mu ch re g ar d s t he Colombo Ch e t t i e s but alas fo r

as , ,

the S a v e ri m ut t us a nd the A na nd a p p a s of these latter days ,

their numbe r i s de c reasin g : a rival had appeared o n t he

field destined at no distant day to s upplant t he m and their s i n
,

the no t unl uc rative tasks o f t he c ounting house and the g odown .

All the Asiati c i n vaders of Ceylon have c om e f ro m the N orth ,

a n d tr ue to histori c al tra d itions J affua depu t ed Mutt u S a w m y

, ,

the one eyed to herald the w ay for a fli g ht o f young Jalfna ri a ns

-
, .

Ho w M uttu S a w m y had m a n y year s before settled i n

, ,

C olombo a s trader and money l ender a nd h o w from small ,

begi nnin g s he had c ome to be the ve ry N apoleon o f Colo m b o

fi nan ce the fr i end o f Sir Robert Horton t he ne c essity o f high
, ,

c i vilians and their wives the dispense r o f pearls shawls and

, ,

o ffi c ial and co m mer c ial situations is it no t a matter o f history

, ,

a nd did he not i m port nephews c ousins and sons i n law whose

,
- -
,

n a me was le g ion and fr om that time have they no t with

,

persevering and careful industry earned for themselves .

more favor than their old patron s shaw ls and pearls c ould ’

e ver win 9

No w a— days although there are still o ne or two A na nd a p p a s

-
,

lin g ering about the outskirts o f c ommerce o u r Broker i s a ,

Manip ay Ta mil gar be d i n fl o w ing r ob e s of p ur est w hit e a nd

,
 1 00

am ple turban Like th e Na t tu co tt a Chetti es he b egan life i n

the most humble c apa c ity —h a s made himself a ll that h e i s
.
,

When a mere b oy he c ame down fro m t h e N or th just as Di c k ,

Whittington walke d into London looki ng o ut fo r the g ol d e n ,

pavi ng stones If he did no t dis c over the pr e c iou s m etal

.

un der hi s feet he w a s not lon g in findin g a g ood d e al of dirt

, ,

and many odorous cesspits a nd noxious d rain s fe s t e ri n g i n

the noon — day sun round abou t th e c row d ed home h e sou gh t
,

in Ch e ck o o Street the house of hi s father s friend : t he r e h e

,
’

was put under that most useful c ourse o f tr a inin g lear nin g t o ,

exist o n the smallest p ossible modi c u m of ri c e a nd s alt fi sh

per diem Ho w he spent a year i n keen obs e rvati ons o f a ll
.

a bout him h o w he w a s at len g th started fairl y o n t h e hi g h

,

roa d to fortun e b y bei n g installed in a m e r c hant s o ffi c e o r ’

,

suppose I s a y in a b a ck veranda h in P ri nc e Street h ow he ,

performed the important and res po n sible duties o f taking pres s

c opies o f letters and listenin g round c orners when b ar g ain s
,

w ere bei ng hat che d and earnin g ki c ks fo r his inquisitiveness

, ,

all this i s known as matters o f family tradition though it m ay ,

n o t be written in the chronicles o f youn

g J e ffn a .

To day he i s a man o f substance and ca n u ndertake t o

-
,

a dvan c e loans o f startling a m ount t o men o f n ee d havin g ,

a realisable se c urity to o ffer T w enty years in the purs ui t of

.

c otton a nd c offee c ontra c ts in the d isposal of hundr e ds o f

,

ri c e c argoes and o f many thousands o f pa ckag es o f B ritish

m anufa c tures fr o m Man c hester Glas g ow a n d Paisley a ll o f
, ,

which brou ght with them a c ommission from the Ch e tti e a nd

Singhalese dealers have added greatly t o hi s store a n d o ur
, ,

broker i s now able to m ake lar g e donations t o the te m ple i n

S ea Street to build sundry capacious d w elling s for Europe a n s
,
.

in the Ci nn amon Gardens at a smart rental t o ere c t a s howy ,

resi d en c e for himself with a pair of gr anite e lephants t o g uard

the g ate — way and in many w ays to earn for himself the regard
,

o f British residents a n d t h e admiratio n and envy o f indi g e n ou s

dwellers in Colombo .
 TH E F I N E OLD N A TI V E GE N T LE MA N .

AM no t prep a red to assert that the r a c e o f fi ne old Nativ e

Gentlemen i s exti n ct : far from it : there are spe c imen s
t o be m e t with at the pre se n t time lackin g fe w o f the q ualitie s
,

o f their an c estors and in many respe c t s w orthy des c endant s

,

o f worthy sires But altered cir c ums t an c es modern edu ca tion

.
, ,

a nd a rowi n g in di ff erence towards them o n t he part o f the

g
government have g radually worked ch anges in their c hara c ter
, .

Half a c entury a g o the an c ient presti g e o f the M ud eliya r s w a s

u nimpaired ,
and the same re m ark ap p lies t o the Chiefs o f
t he Kandyan distri c ts a s t o those o f the Maritime P rovin c es .

There w ere no brum m a g em M u de liya rs in those d ay s Rank .

w as n o t c onferred fo r the ere c tion o f a pandhal the c on c o c tio n ,

o f an address o r fo r a few
, years servi ce i n a provin c ial
’

K ac h cheri M u d e liya r s were in those olden times o f the fi rs t

.
,

Sin ghalese families o f the land a n d a s s u c h w ere invariably

,

re g arded with r espe c t by the people w ho w ere e ver ame nabl e

to their a uthority Thus the fine o ld Na tive G entleme n of
.
,

bye gone days w ere links i n the c h a in w hi c h c onne c ted t he

-

g ove r ni ng w ith the governed .

Create d fou r c enturies a g o by the Portu gu ese ruler s o f

the Maritime pro vi n c es c ontinued w ith mu c h c onsideration
,

by the Dut c h a n d upheld by the ear ly B ritish government t h e

,
,

M u d eli ya rs were re c o g n ised a s the nobility o f the Sin g hales e

people In those days a Mu d e liya r wa s the Lord o f t he M a nor
.

the owner o f many broad a c res —a sort of feudal baro n o f th e

,

s o i l dwellin g in the o ld paternal mansion

, surroun d ed by a n ,

a rmy o f retainers w ho w e re ready a t a ll time s t o d o hi s

biddin g and w ork his w ill That w ill w a s that the peopl e
.
,

o f his distri c t shoul d prosper a nd b e happy Th e ir i nt ere s t s .

 1 03

were his c are ; and no one n ot even t he most humble of the ,

poorest villag ers but c ould app r oa c h hi m and seek hi s help

,

in time o f need .

The Walauwa of the M u d e liy a r was the audien c e hall in

which he sat morning and eve ni ng to receive and listen to
such as c ame t o hi m wi t h c o mplaints o r prayers There he .

t alked over t he affairs o f the dist rict wi t h his subordinate

headmen gave orders f o r w ork to be executed o r tithes to
,

be c ollec t ed : there he re c eived his friends and c hatted fo r

an hour o r two eac h day His hospi t ali t y was as unbounde d .

as his means were amp le His larde r was al w ays w ell fi lle d .
-

with game and fruit and his cella r with g ood c heer
,
.

In his home — dress he affected a n e gligen c e borderi ng o n

the un t idy though h i s almirahs we re full o f the ri c hes t
,

fabrics from t he looms o f Holland in c loth and velvet ; a nd ,

his strong boxes c ontained t h e finest diamonds and rubie s .

On ordinary o c c asions he is content with a plai n white c ambri c

,

clo t h and loose white c oat The only expensive a rti c les whi c h .

h e affe c ted in daily life were hi s gold mounted spe cta c les and
,
-
,

a j ewelled toba cc o box for t he M u d e liya r o f the olden tim e

,

indulged in t he n a rcotic leaf Happy i n t he possession o f .

wealth be y ond what even avari c e could covet he dreamt n o t ,

o f adding to his acres by t h e s e acts o f ex t ortion o f which we

,

now hear so much Possessing power and influence whi c h

.
,

gave t o his m erest wish the fo rce o f a command he knew n o ,

d i sappointment and enjoying honours which if inherited f rom

,

his fa thers he is e q ually certain can only des c end to his sons
, ,

n either jealousies nor rivalries disturbed the easy equanimity

o f his mind His s q le ambition was to s ee the honoured name
.

w hi c h had c ome dow nto him from five generations perpetuated ,

in his son and if ever he c on des c ended to ask a favor it w a s

, ,

in c onne c tion with thi s fond as pi ration Hence it w a s tha t .

the his t ory o f the last Maha Mud e liy a r o f the g reat and noble
H ou se o f I lla ng a k oo n furnishes an episode c o n t aining no t a
,

few o f the elements o f feu dal presti g e and interest .

 1 04

It was in about the year 1 8 1 0 when Governor Sir Thomas ,

Maitland visited the S outhern Provin c e that the Maha M ud eli y a r ,

I lla n g a k o o n entertaine d his Excellency at his mansion near

,

Matara The s pa c ious dining room was lit in a mann e r that

.

eye had never till then beheld The floor w a s cover e d with
”

t hi ckest and softest o f D utch carpets the f urnitur e was o f ,

e bony and calamander richly c arved and m as sive withal The .

plate was of t he purest silver heavily chased and all the wor k , ,

o f native artists A hund r e d servan t s fl i t t e d hither a n d

‘
.

thith er The luxuries of i c e wer e then unkno w n but a larg e

. ,

e arthenware t ank half fi ll e d with salt p e t re and water did dut y

fo r a refri g erator ; and a dozen bottles o f the c hoices t

Madeira were s t andin g in the coolin g li qui d The o ld Dutch .

clock an elaborate work o f a rt itself st ruck seven and t h e

, , ,

Maha M u d eliya r emerged fro m an inner c hambe r dres se d i n ,

full c ourt c ostume : his hair was do n e up in the usual knot ,

held by an ample c omb o f the p urest a m ber c olo u red t or toise

shell while a c urved c omb to match c ir cums c ribe d a forehead
, , ,

the open i ntellectual breadth o f whi ch was dis p laye d t o greate r

a dvantage by this c ontrivan c e His coat was o f the fines t
“

broad c loth o f marine blue while the large solid gol d ,

buttons that s t udded it from c uff to w aist and the ri c hly ,

w orked fro g s in place o f the ordinary loops gave to thi s

“ ”

article o f dress a splendour that was dazzling t o look upon .

The s t u d s s i x in number that buttoned up the shirt c ollar and

,
’

,
-

leame d f r om his snow w hite shirt front c onsisted o f a sin le

-
g g
-

diamond each o f the size o f a lar g e pea The waistcoat

, .

buttons that c onfined the am plitud e o f a bosom heaving with

e motion were also brilliants o f the fi rst wa t er
, From his .

ne c k dangled a massive chain to which was attache d a medal ,

a gift to his father from the Dut c h Government in re c ognition

o f life lon g service s

-
The cloth that serve d fo r his neth e r
.

g arment was o f the fi nest c ambri c and o f the purest w hite

, ,

a n d silk sto c kings and pumps c ompleted an attire the tou t ,

e ns em ble of w hi c h if w anting i n li ht n ess l a c ked n othin i n

g , g ,
 1 06

before them would grow u p in health and stren gth and ,

worthily m a m t a i n the ancestral honors o f his h o use The .

fa m ily sword and the ri ch la c e belt were then handed to the

Governor who pr o ceeded to invest the boy o f scarce seve n
years wi t h the rank and 1 ns 1 g n1 a o f Mu d e li y a r of t he M o r o w a k
Korle Three British cheers hailed the newly made M ud e li ya r ;
.
-

glasses were filled all round and hi s health drunk in brimmin g

,

bumpers The boy m u d e liy a r was in due c ourse sent to the

.
-

se m i n ary at C olombo where he acquired the knowled g e t h a t

,

w a s to qualify him fo r the position he w a s d estined to fill .

Hi s salary i n the meantime was regularly pa i d and accumulated ,

in t o a resp e ctable s um by t he time b e attained t o manhood

a ii d w ent back t o t ake up the M u d eliya r s hip Before th e
g ood o ld man w a s gathered unto h i s fathers he had the ,

satisfaction o f seeing his s o n rise t o the A ttep a ttu M u d e liy a r

ship That s o n too lived to a good o ld age and lef t his name
.
, ,

his wealth and his honours to his s o n who n o t unworthily

, , , ,

perpetuates the glories o f their house as M u d e liy a r o f the

B e lli g a m Korle and M u d e liy a r o f the G o vernor s Gate ; and s o
’

long as nobility o f bir t h combined with much personal worth

,

continue to evoke a sentimen t o f regard may the illustrious ,

house o f I la n g a k o o n never want an heir in whom t hose vir t ues

are refle c ted ! B ut the c iviliza t ion o f the day and other ,

c irc umstances are fast unloosing th o se ties which bound t he

people t o their hereditary Chiefs A little knowled ge a li t tle
.
,

influen c e and a little favour are now the three essen t ials o f a
, ,

M ud e liya r .

N o t lon g er than thirty years a g o the Govern o r o f C eylon

made it hi s spe c ial care that once a year at least the native ,

C hiefs o f the maritime and mountai n provinces were bidden to

his hal ls to partake of the liberal hospitality o f their sovereign s ’

representative There after witnessing the mazy dan c e supper

.
, ,

was served for the Chiefs in o n e lon g hall radient with ligh t ,

a n d hung with trophies and emblems o f their native land .

The G overnor w alked amon g st them held c o n ver s e w ith one ,

 1 07

and the other and bef o re leaving the festive hall stood at o n e
,

end o f t he centre table and proposed the health of their Queen ,

responded t o with hearty loyal ty This good o ld c ustom is .

observed no longer A quarter o f a c entury has passed away

.

sin c e Kandyan and Low country C hiefs w ere thus bidden to the
festive board and we must not wonder that they feel the
,

slighting neglect W e must cease to marvel how it has happene d

.

that t here is no lon g er the same feelin g the same public spirit ,

amongs t t hem that few o f the m preserve their an c ient

,

prestige and
, that too of t en the d e ce n d e n t s o f the old feudal
lords of the soil fall into habits that destroy alike thei r
,

influence and their self r espe c t - .

N ot alo nein the negl ec t o f former hospitalities towards

them do the native Chiefs o f Ceylon find their presti g e
lowered : they c omplain and with good reason o f penniless
, ,

boys c utcherry clerks o r low —

,
caste adventurers baskin g 1 11
,

the favor o f indiscreet o fli ci a ls t hrust into the responsible o ffice

,

o f K o rle Mu d e li ya r to the destru c tion o f all respe c t and the

,

subversion of all discipline within the distri c t How this .

mistaken disregard of native usages aff ects the relations o f

o n e headman with another may be imagined when I t e ll how ,

a M o h a n d i r a m or infe ior headman has been known to re c eive

r
,

the M u d eliya r his C hief seated whilst the latter fel t c ompelle d
, , ,

t o stand in the presence of the inferior offic er o f a higher

caste .
 H U LF S DOR P

T is o n e of England s proudest boasts that wh erever her

’

flag is unfurle d wherever her suprema cy i s esta b lished

, ,

there s h e carries the bless i n g s o f liberal institutions : s he

conquers but to s e t free The s a me j ustice which is provide d
.

for the proudest s o n o f Albion is sent forth a c ross the waters

,

to attend o n the meanest swarthy subje ct o f Her Majesty ,

in distant India At the same time this beautiful feature o f

.
,

o u r c onstitution admirably a s it reads o n paper excellen t as

, ,

it sounds to the ear but too fre que ntly fails in its mission o f
,

mercy and in o ne way o r the other proves rather the reverse

, , ,

o f an unmiti g ate d blessin g to those for whose special bene fi t

it w a s wafted over the seas In India pr o per the way to .

,

justice open though it i s intended to be becomes s o overgrown

, ,

with rank bribery and ext o rti o n t hat the poor Ryot h a s small ,

chan c e of passin g the threshold the very attempt to do s o

subj e cts him to cruel relentl e ss persecution I n other pla c es
,
.
,

Ceylon amon g st the rest matters are w idely different here

, ,

s o broad and open is the highway to the law that none are ,

shut o ut from it but unfortunat ely the Singhalese are fond ,

o f disputation in every shape havin g a dislike for action

, ,

they make up the deficiency in talk ; in addition to which ,

their innate love o f importance i s gratified by the refle c tio n

that for their sake and at their instan c e the great E urope
, ,

master as they term the judge is busi ly o cc upied books and

, , ,

all included for days together S 0 powerf ul has this

, .

Singhalese passion for litigation be c ome th a t i t is matter o f ,

notoriety in this c ountry that legal pro c eedings are instituted

, ,

in c ases involvin g no g reater stake than the o n e fourth part -

o f a c o c oanut tree o r the s i x tee n th s hare of a s terile paddy

,
 1 10

harmoni ously with the e fli uv i a from t he baz aar around , w here

fi sh and meat blister and bla c ken in the burning s un w hil e ,

files o f dozing oily natives lay steaming upon h eaps o f fi lth ,

adding their o w n unclean aroma to the h o t sickly atmospher e ,

The neighbourhood is dense teemin g w i th dirt a n d c hil ,

dren The co ffi n makers are driving a roarin g trade ; espe c i ally

.
-

o n e by the arrack tavern for half t he folks round the c orner ,

died the ni ght pre v iously o f putrid fish sour pine a pple s and ,
-
,

stagnant drains and the other half were e x pe cted to die o n

,

the next day I urged my sorry ha c k o n at the t op o f his

.

speed fully five miles an hour p a st the crazy o ld Dutch

, ,

houses and the dus ty tumble down M o o r m e n s dwellin g s up

,
-
’

t he steep hill o n the brow o f which stood a whole c olony o f

,

b uildin gs lar g e and s m all old a n d new

, Thi s spo t was , .

H ulfs d o r p when c e in days lon g past the Dut c h army wh i c h

, , ,

besi e g ed ancient C olombo —then in the han ds o f th e Portu g uese ,

-poured a storm o f shot upon th e fortifications It w as . ,

afterwards the country residen c e of the D utch gove rnor the

, ,

present Supreme Court house h a vin g been tenante d by a -

l o n g line o f sovereign Mynheers The spo t is pleasant enough .

after the dreadful streets below c ommanding a fine view over ,

the fort to seaward and enj oyin g an o c casional breeze when

, ,

there is any A portion of the g reat triangular blo c k of buildings

.

a round the green fa c in the road is devoted to the S upre m e

g , ,

Court another part to the District Court and a third to th e

, ,

Poli c e Court and sundry o fli ce s o f Re c ord Around and about

, .

this pile o f law has sprun g up a busy mass o f quaint ,

queer lookin g edifices o f all shapes styles and sizes These are
-
, .

t he houses o f business o f the fraternity o f pro ctors Dut ch , ,

Portuguese Tamil and S in ghalese wh o if they a s s o me

, , , , ,

m ali c ious people s ay be really infli c ted on t h e natives as a

,

chastisement fo r their sins do their best to fulfil their mission , .

Ea ch d oorway was ch e ck e d up by hungry appli c ants fo r la w

groups of liti g ants squatted beneath the c lumps o f dusty bananas
in the little stony c ourt yard in front c ou n ting up their -
,
 111

witnesses as commercial articles not for export it is true but

, ,

for home use and are valued by a well unders t ood sliding scale
,
- -
.

A witness in a murder case if he be a stout s w earer costs five

, ,

rix dollars ; in a land suit witnesses may be had for two or

-
,

three dollar s bur glary o r c a ttle — stealing witnesses are che a per ,

they c ost about a dollar each ; whils t a few copper c e i ns will

obtain all the swearin g you wan t and somethin g over in an ,

ordinary ass a ul t case .

I hasten o n past all t hese s c enes to the S upre m e C ourt

, , ,

whose labor wa s just commencing for the day The c ourt .

house wherein s a t t he Puisne Justi c e in criminal sessions ,

w as a long rambling shed of a pla c e not unlike a paved barn ,

with a tiled roof Makin g my way i nto the body of the Court
.
,

I found it filled with t he representat ives of almost every nation

in the eastern hemisphere blended with Dut ch Portuguese
, , ,

and English I migh t have taken it for a masquerade by day

.

light were it no t for t he Court o n the lit t le ra i se d stage at o n e

end w ith t he dirty li o n a nd unic o rn and the fi gure of Justi c e
, ,

looking quite kn o cked up by the climate The judge wore a .

very comical appearance i n sp it e o f his gravi t y S ea t ed .

upon an ope n pla t f o r m on a level w i t h our faces I c ould s e e ,

plainly en o ugh as he crossed his legs t ha t he w o re h i gh —

,
lows
,

w hich requ i red mendin g w it h queer —looking wors t ed so c ks

, .

I n a ricke tt y s o r t o f sheep —pen on one side s a t the j ury

-a mo tley ble nding of several nati o nalities The fore .

man was studyin g t he c o at o f arms over the jud g e s head ’

w ondering when t he li o n and unic o rn would finish fi g hting for

the c rown The res t of t he jurors were either dozing or
.

a m using t hemsel v es i n t he best way they could O pposite t he .

j ury w a s a large parr ot s cage wi t hout any top ; this was the
’

witness box Further aw a y t here was ano ther parrot cage i n

-
.
,

w hich the crier o f t he c o ur t tried to keep o rder by c reating

more noise tha n all t h e d is t urbers put t ogethe r .

Grouped a b o u t a sha b by looking ale — house table c o vere d

-
,

with a rusty clo th of some imp o ssible c olour were t h e ,

 1 12

E uropean auditory and some three o r four barristers a nd

pro c tors the former o f mixed races the latter natives
, , .

An important c ase was o n : a native was bein g t ried for

murder and the court was c ro w ded t o s u ff o c ation The prisoner . .

a hag g ard broken spiri t ed man was do c ke d opposite t h e

,
-
,

j udge and glanced in a wild frightened manner from hi s

, , ,

counsel to the Court and then to t he j ury wonderin g what it

, ,

all meant ; he had confesse d his guilt and why need they t a ke ,

s o much trouble with him The c ounsel for the prisoner w as

o n hi s le g s about t o s a y so m et h ing : he was a E uropean a ,

hale portly bold m a n with a twinkling cunni ng eye and a

, , , ,

shinin g fa c e I was rather at a loss to kn o w if he were goin g

.

to m ake a spee ch o r sin g a comi c son g but i t ende d in his

, ,

c halle n g ing the best part o f the jur o rs the best part in every -

s ense , for when he s a t down the foreman who had bee n , ,

study i n g the lion and uni c orn s o d eeply and all his fello w
E uropeans had disappeared replace d by others o f a kindred ,

hue w ith the prisoner .

It was a long and tedious affair that trial despite the , ,

man s c onfession and as all the intri c ate native evidence had
’

to be translated and r e translat ed I soon g rew tire d of the -

,

sce n e and bent m y steps towards the minor courts c lose by

,
.

B etween the two localities were l o ng dusty verandahs openin g

into lit t le dens o f offices where I s a w through the dirty barred
,

windows a strange c ollection of mouldy wooden c upboards

, ,

ricketty desks and armless o ld chairs heaps of dusty papers

were there too and with them smoke dried natives redolent of
,
-

heat and the d irt as though they were c onvicted criminals

,

-Singhalese lawyers c ondemned for their enormous c rimes

to t oil for the rest o f their lives over perplexing suits and
gh o st like do c u m ents There were d eputy re g istrars and trans
- .
-
,

lators and pro c ess cle rks and a host o f other legal subordinates
, , ,

c aged up like wild beasts at a fair How different from the ,

vi c inity o f the law c ourts at home ! There everythin g i s cool ,

solemn sile nt orderly ; here it is all g laring sunshine dirt

, , , ,
 1 14

at the doorw ay envyin g hi m the b rief importan c e he w a s

,

a bout to assume in open court .

Around the entran c e t o thi s c ro w ded s eat o f j u sti c e ,

w e re w edg ed in c ompa c t masses s c ores of c urious a nd a nxiou s ,

list e n er s Amidst that c ro w d o f Sin ghalese Moors M alay s

.
, , ,

Tamils and many other ra c es I observed an o ld wom a n s e a t e d

, ,

by the li nt a l o n the brick floor g rasping wi t h clasped hand s ,

s ome c urious little bun c h o f leaves a n d flo w ers ; a n d a s s h e

r o c ke d her body to and fr o mutterin half aloud some w ordy

g , ,

j umble I observed that s h e c ast her eyes at interva l s upo n

,

a t a ll youn g man her s o n doubtless w ho raised above the c row d

, , , , ,

c oul d both s ee and hear what w as passin g in c our t Thei r .

c ase w as then o n and the man was evidently tele graphin g t o

,

her the p ro gre s s of the suit The bun c h o f fl o w er s in h e r .

h an d s was a Buddhist c harm given by their villa g e priest t o ,

e nsure s ucc ess I failed however in as c ertainin g the valu e of

.
, ,

the c ase The last w itness was not needed

. The j u dge .

s ummed up but briefly ; there w a s a momentar y silen c e in that

Babel pla c e t he assessors c on c urred — the o ld wom an c e a sed

-
,

to ro c k herself s h e dropped the,

fl o w e r —
charm it was a n evil ,

o men to do that a busy hum in c ourt told all w as over the

d ark s c owl o n the tall man s brow needed no interpretation
’

h e s pra n g do w n from his e levated per c h and ran t o t he poor ,

o ld w o man She had falle n d o w n in a fit a nd lay apparently

. ,

motionless o n the p avement .

My dre s s and c olour obta ined for me an entran ce w ithi n

t he doors , and af t e r a time a seat near the bench w hen c e I , ,

c ould w at c h th e proceedings and note the many strange a c tors ,

.

P er c hed in a rather roomy but lo w pulpit t he j ud

, g e w as ,

l istenin g to the opening o f a fresh c ase from a youn g but leadin g

’

pro ctor who leant over with his elbo w restin g on hi s Honour s
,

desk in the most familiar m ann e r i ma ginabl e j ust a s o ne ,

ight be dis c ussin the state f t h w eather t h e q u a li t y of

m g o e o r
”

yeste rday s dinner A lon g tab le w a s bef or e th e Court

’
.
“
,

a t a sh ort distan c e at w hi c h w er e s eated t he ,

Co l ombo B ar ,
 1 15

a m o t ley g roup and c uri o us to look o n They w ere Dut c h .

Portugese Tamil and S inghalese : some w ere steady g oing

,
-

business like m en and s o me were very sh a rp gentry indeed

-
, ,

especially o ne little par ched fello w w ith c lose c ropped hair

and c areworn featu res : but t h ere were several w hom y o u
c o uld not by any imag inative fa c ulty c onnect with the Bar
, , .

One curious obj e c t o ut at elbows leant listlessly over the dirty

, ,

table starin g at the sparrows up in the r o of w hilst another

, ,

b r i e fl e s s member o f t he fraternity amused himse lf by emptying

the c ontents o f an inkstand into his neighbour s pocket ’

The case then o n though o n e o f very c ommon o c curren c e

, ,

seemed to me a rather prepossessin g o n e from the fa c t o f i t s ,

being a question o f a bond debt : a suit w hi c h ho w ever ,

easily t o be settled by actual do c umentary proof neve rtheless ,

offered ample s c ope for a vast deal of very hard S i nghalese

swearing o n both sides and o f c ourse in pre cisely opposite
, , ,

directions It involved a rather smart amount fo r a native to

.

meet n o t less than o n e hundred and twenty two pou nds

,
-

British c urrency ; I m afraid to say h o w much i t wa s in the

’

benighted coin of the island but more than I should li ke t o ,

count Well the plaint iff swore as hard as a curry stone that
.
,
-
,

the d e fen d e nt owed t he mone y and the defendant vo w e d ,

rat her harder I t hought t hat he did not o w e s o mu c h a s

, ,

a single copper—challie Plainti ff c hu ckled all over as h e

.

produ c ed the defendant s bond for t he precise amount It ’

. .

was examined and conned over and looked at in all possibl e ,

w ays by every o ne interested until at last the judge w as o n ,

the point o f de c iding as a matter o f c ourse w hen th e ,

defendant produced a do c ument very similar in appearan c e

and handed it to the judge It was a release in full for the .

amount duly signed by t he plaintiff a n d as duly w itnessed

, ,
.

Never shall I forge t the S trange l ook o f humbled mor t i

fi ca t i o n and disappointed rage visible in the plainti ff s fa c e
’

n o r the g low o f merry burs tin g triumph that pu c kere d up t h e

o ily c o untenan c e of the s uc cessf ul defendant Th e c ase was .
 1 16

suddenly made as c lear one way as the moment b efore it had

been e q ually lucid The judge decided against the plaintiff
.

wi t h all c osts and a severe le c ture ; whi c h a s it afterward s ,

appeared he deserved from a far more serious poin t of vie w

,

than w a s a t the t ime believed I was a g ood deal puzzled at

.

the stupidi t y o f t he man who c ould thus bring an a c tion for a

deb t o f whi c h he had granted a discharge ; but the puzzle w a s
cleared up a day or two afterw ards when I learnt all t h e ,

parti c ulars from the proctor for the d efendant in the matter .

The lawyer had been waited upon in his offi ce by hi s

c lient in the bond case who c ame to thank him for the
,

trouble he had taken in conducting his defen c e Af ter a fe w .

introdu c tory c ivilities the proctor c on g ratulated his n ativ e

,

fri end on the success whi c h had attended him in his re c en t

suit and remarked o n the great ne c essity that existed fo r
,

c arefully preserving all do c u m ents relat i ng to c ash transac tions

espe cially su c h as bore referen c e to propert y The S inghales e .

l ooked at his lawyer very hard with a peculiar ex pression of ,

deep c unnin g stealing over his sable c ountenan c e He drew .

his c hair somewhat nearer to him and glan c in g c autiously

round the room to as c ertain if any o n e was within ear shot -
,

told him in a low half whisper that he had never paid the
-
,

money . The pro c tor as may easily be imagined was

”
, ,

astounded at this admi ssion a lt hough from his lon g acquai nt

,

ance wi t h the native character he was g enerally prepared to

hear a good deal o f rascality and dupl i city He begged his .

client to explain what he mean t ho w he ca m e by t he dischar g e

whi c h t he pla i n t iff had not attempted to disprove or s e t aside ,

if as he said he had not paid the money

, , .

The late defendant dre w still more confidentially near to

h i s lawyer s seat lookin g hi m steadily in the fa c e as if t o
’

, ,

wat c h the effect his c ommunication would have on him he ,

whispered in his ear that he had n o t only never pai d plaintiff

the money in dispute but that he had never o w ed him the
,

a mount , nor any sum of money w hatever Thi s wa s a fearful

 118

interest had happened fo r e very tongue w as in a c tion eve ry ,

bar e arm w a s fl un g about as thou g h there had been a g e ne ral

attack o f St Vitus s dan c e amongst the native population
.
’
.

G reat white eyes g lared fi ercely o n their neighbours bla c k

hair streame d over ex c itable oleaginous shoul ders musli n
,

turbans and snow w hite s c arfs danced about and blended

-
,

madly with Turkey red c loths and c hintz sarongs ; bloodthirsty

-

lookin g m o u st a ch o e s curled to their uttermos t tips i n rank

de fi an c e while toba cc o and betel j ui c e fle w about in c opiou s
,
-

showers and mu c h nearer to m e than I c ould have d esired

,
.

What did it all mean Was the poor wret ch of a murderer ,

self condemned a s he had been a bout to suff er the e x trem e

-
,

penalty o f the la w then and there o n the spot just t o g iv e

, , ,

dame Justice an appetite for h e r afternoon meal I vent ure d

“

to questi o n a respe c table looking man by m y side in c lean

-
, ,

white r aiment b ut the poor c reature m uttered somethin g

that might have been Ethiop i c o r S cla v o ni c I tried a t hi n .

weazen fa c ed old m a n in spe c ta c les and c loth garments a n d

-
,

the oddity replied in Port ugese

Forcin g my way i nto the body o f the c ourt I at len gt h ,

a s c ertained from a half caste pr o ctor that although t h e prisoner

-
,

had plea d ed guil ty and the evidence and summing u p o f t h e

,
-

j u d ge were dead against him the j ury had a c quitte d the man
,
.

They knew far better than he did whether he was o r w a s not .

guil t y and in their wisdom had decided t hat he w as mist aken

,

in his self c ondemnat i on Th e pris o n e r —the prisoner n o

-

l o nger —
.

c ould n o t be persuaded that he heard aright ; w hen

I rea c he d the thronged table fa c ing the d e ck I f o und hi m ,

s taring va c antly about him w i th his long bony han ds claspe d

, ,

fi rmly tog ether ; the person in char g e o f hi m in vain tried t o

m ov e hi m from t he s pot Th e offic ials were c onversing
.

to g ether in deep earnest w hispers evidently a s astonished as

, ,

the poor c reature they had j ust being trying ; after a brief
ti me they dismissed the jury havi n g probably had suffi c ient
,

o f their labour for th a t d a

y a nd for m a ny d ay s t o c om e ; a nd
 1 19

eventually the c ourt rose and adj ourned over until the
following morning to allo w themselves time to digest their
,

astonishment .

As I drove home from witnessin g these strange scenes I ,

c ould n o t resist pondering upon the crooked ways o f orientals

up o n the dim moral perceptions o f o u r fellow subje ct s in the
-

Ea s t I c alled to mind the hackneyed Exeter Hall phrase o f

.

We are all brethren and thou ght how mu c h better for the
,

true advancement o f the human family it would be if w hilst , ,

admitting the abstra c t truth of the above senten c e men pause d

,

a while ere working o ut the theory by o n e universal rule o f

legislation ; if they would bear in mind that there is a season
“

for all things . Su ch w orldly wise philanthropists have yet t o

-

w e are —
”
learn that in regar d to their - all brethren idea
-
,

wha t is sau c e fo r the goose is n ot always sau c e for the

,

g a n der.
”
 TH E C I N N A MO N PE E LE R .

VER the boisterous ocean steam — borne fo r many a stormy

,

d a y to where the white man trades on sunny shores ,

over the burni ng plains a c ross the cloud clapped ran g es an d

,
-
,

then on c e more into the plains where slaves delve in the bowels
o f the earth fo r pre c ious metals the bales o f spi c e are borne, ,

and the lon g strin g of mules leave their ri c h burthens On .

stormy seas o f snow c lad lands across dessert tra c ks within the
-
,

distant Russian town where the grand pinna c le o f a Greek

chur c h rears its solemn front : soft trains o f melody as c end
within the sacred pile a n d the rich streams o f in c ense rise from
many an altar I n the orange grove jus t off the Plaza where
. ,

the grass is thi c k and soft a n d the S nowy blosso m lends its
,

fra g ran c e to the sweet air o f southern Spai n a group o f ,

laughing damsels seated on the velvet sward s i p their tiny ,

cups o f chocolate and pour o ut their little stores o f scandal

, .

Dow n in a dark dank c ellar —

,
lookin g va ulted spa c e a mill —
stone ,

moves steadily unwearied ly ; n o motive power i s seen but a

, ,

grim looking silent man in leather apron armed with a giant

-
,

brush and heavy r o d t ends to the mash o f subs t ances crushin g

,

beneath the stone into fine powder almost impalpable

, , .

Into all o f these into the powder ground for Thorley s

,
’

Cattle F ood into the tiny c up o f chocolate sipped by young ,

Spanish d amsels into the incense o n the altar into the daily
, ,

d rink w ithin th e fever sticken depths o f quicksilver mines

-
,

o ur own spe c ial spi c e enters a part o f the c omposition Steam .

ers are frei g hted with it mules are laden w i th it droskies are
, ,

filled with i t w agg ons and vans are piled and heaped with
,

it until it has be c ome hard to s ay ho w much o f it is a

,

ne c essary and how mu c h a lu x ury

,
.
 1 22

costly w a s it S c attered in uncertain quantities alon g the

.

s ea —c oast and in some o f the j ungles and c hen a lan ds of the

,

interior it was in those early d ays and even up to t he Dutch

, ,

time colle c ted chiefly in payment o f tribute from the Ka n dy a n s

, ,

or in lieu of taxes by the low country S i nghalese - No .

c ultivati o n of the plant was then attempted n or was it even ,

brought t ogether o r preserve d in special locali t ies unti l a

c en t ury later when the Dutch keenly alive to their interests
, ,

in all commercial matters took to cinnam o n cultivation if that

, ,

name c ould be appli ed to mere clearin g o ut of masses o f plants ,

keeping down low jungle and drai ning the ground from
,

s tagnant water That this was all that could have been done
.

by the Dutch Government i s evident from t h e records o f the

,

cinnamon department o f those days .

But there was yet another reason for this cultivation

bein g preferred to the old method o f collection The i r .

frequent warfare with the K a ndya ns rendered it of t en di fficult

and some times impossible to pr o cure the quantity needed to
m ake up t heir b i annual shipments to Europe hence it be c ame
-
,

a matter o f policy to secure a supply qui t e independen t ly o f

that hi t herto gathered in the Kandyan jungles .

The c ultivat i on o f the spi c e in the present time is c arried ,

o n by labor o f any description but t he operation of peelin g i s

,

with but few exceptions in the hands of t he chalias o r as they

, ,

were termed under the Dutch the mahabadde “

d erive d
”
, ,

from the w ords great tax the chalia people havin g been
“
,

compelled to pay a heavy tax to the government in prepare d

c innamon In the present day whilst t hey are free from th e
.
,

tribute they are deprived o f the many privile ges enj oyed by
,

their ancestors being paid for the results o f their labor at

,

c ertain understood rates whi ch are suffi c iently productive ,

when a man is expert and has a wife and o ne or t w o c hildren

to assist him : vill a g es in the Galle distri c t are the pla c es o f
residen c e o f large numbers o f peelers but they have been ,

m uc h s c attered sin c e 1 8 3 3 whe n the monopoly in the spice

 1 23

trade was abolished In th o se palmy days the cinnamo n

.

peelers had their o w n headmen and could be tried for an ,

offence only by their European superintendent a G overnment ,

offic i al who was sw o rn in as magistrate of the mahabadde .

”

No w the peeler is bu t o ne of the common multitude amenable

, ,

t o the ordinary c ourts and obliged to be content with four

,

or five p o unds British cur rency at the end o f the cinnam on

harvest wi t h which and the produ c e of the fraction of
, ,

a field a nd a miserable fenceless garden he has to do

, ,

hi s best t o pay for rice a fe w common c l o ths and a little

, ,

salt — fi s h curry —
, st uff 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 wi th t he demon wan t and even o n h olidays he ,

a n d his belon g ings c ut but sorry figures amids t t he genial

g a t heri n gs of the village c o mmunity .

There is no doubt that t he abolition of r a jak a ri a and

the privileges o f the mahabadde have not be tt ered the
“
,

c o nd it ion of t he c i nnam o n peelers I n t he early d a ys of .

3r i t i s h rule he was won t to receive from t h e Govern m ent

two thirds of a measure of rice daily wi t h a measure o f salt
-
,

per mon t h and subs i s t ence money a t t he rate of t hree pen c e

,

a day besides freedom fr o m t o l ls ferries & c in c o nsideration

, , , .
,

o f which he w a s bound t o deliver 8 0 lbs to 1 00 lbs o f . .

c i nnamon properly prepared Aft er the aboli t ion of t his

.

sys t em t he G o vernmen t paid t he m according to the quanti ty

,

and qual ity of the spice delivered 5 5d 5 d and 4 % d per , ”

.
, .

pound But t he ra t e now is much lower and when the

. ,

exactions of t he ca ng a ni e s and pet t y headmen have been

satisfied t here i s not more t h an t he sum we have men ti oned
,

wi t h wh i ch t o support their families B ut even this amount .

is far more than is ever to uched by large numbers o f cultivators

t he peeler is however an improviden t m a n : migrating fro m
, ,

his village for months i n t he year and herdin g w ith n umbers ,

 1 24

‘
of others in the estate lines “
he falls into improvident
, ,

thoug htles s ways indul g es in frequent potations and when at

, ,

len g th he returns to his villag e with his hard earned b ut -

g r eatly reduced sto c k of c oin he has lost mu c h of hi s

,

in c lination for w ork : he turns t o his field and his g arden

with stolid indifferen c e and by the time his c ash has nearly
,

me lted away he finds t he season fo r c u ltivation almost over

, ,

the field bearing abundant c rops o f weeds and the g arden ,

overgro w n w ith b rambles He si ghs heavily as h e sees t h e

.

ne c essity for a ctio n in the redu c ed si z e o f his ri ce bag .

Work fo r hire h e will not : he may per c han c e g o o ut on a

,

fi shin g b out o r he may i ns i st o n the wife and c hildren b ea tin g

,

o ut some c o 1 r husks if he b e in the G alle district and w ith

, ,

the fi bre h e may work up a p i ng o e load o r two of c o ir yarn i n

-

order to barter it for toba cc o and food but anything like ,

s ustaine d industry i s alto ether forei n to t h e dreamy natur e

g g
o f the c i n namon peele r .
 1 26

perfor m ances by these huge creatures that my feeling towards ,

t hem was raised from tha t o f m ere wonder to something ,

more akin to respe c t and admiration .

I n the c ourse o f my early morning rides about the vi c inity

o f Colombo I frequently reined in my steed to watch the quiet
,

labours o f a couple o f elephants in the servi c e o f the Govern

ment These huge animals were g ener a lly employed in th e
.

C ommissariat timber — yard o r the Civil En gineer s department

,
’

ei t her in removing and stowin g logs and planks or in rolling ,

about heavy masses o f stone for buildin g purposes I c oul d .

not but admire the precision with whi c h they performed their
allotted task unai ded save by their own sagacity They were
, , .

o n e mornin g hard at work though s lowly pilin up a quantity

g , ,

o f heavy pieces o f timber ; the lower row o f the pile had been

already laid down with mathematical precision s i x logs side by

, ,

side These they had fi rst pushed in from the adj oining wharf ;
.

and when I rode up they were engaged in bringin g for w ard

, ,

the next s i x for the se c ond row in the pile It was c urious to .

observe those uncouth animals seize o n e o f the heavy le g s

at each end and by means o f their trunks lift it up o n the
, , ,

logs already placed and then arrange it crosswise upon them

, ,

wi t h the most perfe c t skill I waited whilst they t hus pla c ed

.

the third row ; feelin g a curiosity to know h o w they would

pro c eed when the timber had to be lifted to a greater height .

S ome o f the logs weighed about twelve hundred wei ghts -

.

There was a short pause before the fourth ro w was tou c hed ;
but t he di fli cult y was no sooner per c eived than it w as over c ome .

The sagaciou s animals selected two strai ght pieces o f timber ,

place d o n e end o f ea c h piece on the g round wi th the other

resting o n the top o f th e pile s o as to form a sliding way for
the next logs and having seen that they were perfectly steady
,

and in a strai g ht line the four le g ge d labourers rolle d up the

,
-

slope they had thus formed the s i x pieces o f timber for the , ,

fourth layer o n the pile N ot the least amusin g part o f the

.

performan c e wa s the c areful s urvey o f the pile ma de by o ne

,
 1 27

of the eleph ants after placing each le g to asc ertain if it were

, ,

laid perfectly square wi t h the rest .

The sagacity o f these creatures in detecting weakness

i n the jun g le bridges thrown across s o me o f the streams i n
-

C eylon is not less remarkable I have been assured that

, .

when c arryi ng a load they invariably press one o f their fore

,

feet upon the earth —covering of the bridge to try its strength
and that if it feels too weak to carry them a c ross they will
, ,

refuse to proceed until l i ghtened o f their le a d O n one such .

oc c asion a driver persisted in com pelling his elephant to c ross

a bridge agai nst the evi dent wish of the animal ; and as was ,

expected by his comrades the ro t ten structure gave way , ,

elephant and rider were pre c ipitated into the river and the ,

latter w as drowned .

H avin g thus been much prepossess ed in fa v or o f these

d ocile creatures I lear nt with con siderable interest in the
,

lat ter part of the year 1 8 4 9 that an elephant kraal was in ,

preparation in the W estern Province o f Ceylon not m any

, ,

m iles from C olombo .

The word kraal signifies simply a trap ; inasmu c h as the

wild elephants are caugh t by partly drivin g and partly entic i ng ,

them within a large en closed space o r trap It is assuredly ,

.

mu c h safer sport than elephant shoo ting and generally attracts ,

a large number o f spe c tators I may here m ention that in .

spite o f the s chol a stic auth o rity o f Me ver s S pelling Book the ’

wild elephants o f C e ylon are far from being nei t her fierce
nor mischiev o us At times t hey descend upon the low
.

country from t heir moun t ain fastnesses in such numbers and

with such feroci ty as to carry with them destruc t ion and often
, ,

death Elephant kraals are therefore resorted to f o r the

.
, ,

double pur pose o f ridding a neighbour h o o d of these danger ous

visit o rs and supplying the Govern m ent wi t h fresh beasts o f
,

lab o ur for their timber yards and building establishments

- .

On these occ a sions the natives o f t he dis trict turn o ut e n m a s s e

—from the rich M ud eliya r to the poorest c ooly—to assis t
 1 28

without remuneration ; all being interested i n the su cc es s o f

the aff air .

The whole province was alive w ith e xc itement : nothing

was talked o f at mess table o r at Government H o use but the
-
, ,

approa ching kraal Half C olombo it was said would be there

.
, ,

and as the weather promised to be so fair I c ould no t resist

, ,

the temptation to witness the trapping o f a s c ore o r t w o o f

those unr ulv monsters o f the fores t ,

S uch excursions are always undertaken by parties o f thre e

o r more f o r the sake o f comfor t
, I j oined four friends fo r the
.

occasion ; two g entlemen and two ladies mother and dau ghter
, ,
.

They were well a c quain t e d with the Government A g ent o f the

locali t y who had promised the m shelter and g ood a ccom
, ,

m o d a t i o n for wi t nessin g the kraal A ll arrangements having .

been completed our servants gaily turbaned a c companied by

, ,

a swarm of coolies b earing provisions beddin g and other

, , ,

comforts star t e d o ff o n e fine moon —

,
li ght night and at a ,

l i t t le before day break o n the following morning we followe d

-
,

them o n the road ; the ladies in a small pony chaise and -

,

myself a n d friend on our na g s Lon g before nightfall we .

reached the villag e adj oi nin g the scene o f sport We neede d .

no g uide to the local i ty for the narr o w road was c rowded with
,

travellers hastening in o ne direc t ion Every des c ription o f .

veh i cle lined the way ; from the C ol onel s light tandem to ’

the n ative bullock hackery wi th its ungreased s q ueakin g ,

wheels .

The scene at the village was singularly s tr an g e and

excitin g It was close to the banks of the Ca la ny a river o f
, ,

s o me size and rapidity Along the pal m — . shaded shore were

moored numberless boats ; many o f the m large flat c oun t ry
barges o r pad e boats c ontai ning parties o f visitors fro m
, ,

Colombo who had prudently determined to take up their

,

ab o de in th e se floatin g residen c es for the night The villag e .

hu t s had been thrown open to the Eng lish visitors after having ,

been well c leane d and white w ashe d Their doors w ere g aily
- .
 130

e xa mple and mountin g the rude stair c ase obtain e d

, g oo d ,
a

view o f what was g oin g 0 11 Before u s lay a large ope n spa c e

.
,

in extent about t w o a c res i r re g ular in shap e and of very uneve n

, ,

s urface A fe w stout trees were s tanding at intervals withi n

.

it ; beside w hi c h were to be seen g roups o f natives c arryin g

lon g white w ands for all th e world like s o many b la ck steward s
,

o f some publi c dinner o r ball Around this plot o f g r o und

.

g re w a w all o f dense j ungle ; and on lookin g into t his I , ,

per c eived that it had been made artificially stron g by inter

twinin g amon g st i t the heavy trunks o f trees l o n g b a m b oos , ,

a n d jun le rope o f enormou s

g
- thi c kness A t fi rst si ght thi s . ,

n at ural w all did not appear t o be anythin g more than

o rdinary j un le ; su c h as mi ht easily be f o r c ed by an
g g y
ordinary v illag e b uffalo W e were ho w ever assured by t he
.
, ,
.

n ative maste r o f the c ere m onies the head Kor a le tha t thi s
, ,

jungle would resist the fi er c est attacks o f the stron gest

Kandy an e lephant At on e end o f t h e en c losure I pe rc eived a
.

narro w opening partly c overed with li g ht brambles and

,

branches of trees This w as the entrance t o the kraal ; s o

.

a rra n e d
g as to wear a natural appearan c e Beside thi s .

carefully c on c ealed gate w ay were hidden a nu m ber o f a c tiv e

villag ers ready prepare d with hu g e t runks o f tree s a n d
,

jung le rop e with whi c h they were t o secure t h e passa g e

-
,

a ainst any attempts a t ret urn s o soo n a s t h e el e ph a nt s w e r e

g ,

t rapped .

The novelty o f o ur sit uation the w ild solitude o f j un g l e

a round us the pi c tures q ue appeara nc e o f the m a ny g roups o f
n atives w ithin and about the kraal the stories o f elephant
s hootin g and trapping and narrow es c apes w ith s undry
, , ,

referen c es to portly baskets and boxes of provisions ; a ll helpe d

t o make the day pass away rapidly and c o m for ta bly e nou g h .

E vening ho w ever brought with it a g eneral debat e as t o w h a t

, ,

s ho uld be done ; for there w ere still no si n s o f ga m e b e in g

g
n e a r and fe w o f us desired to spend the ni g ht in that ope n
s p ot unl es s un d e r a stro n g i n d u c e m e n t
, The di s c us s i o n e nde d
.
 131

by an adjournment t o the village and the P a d é boat where w e ,

s lept soundly .

The follow ing day was spent pretty mu c h as had been

the first S ome o f the vi sitors gave stron g signs o f impatience ;
.

a n d towards evenin a few o f worse te m per that the rest

g , , ,

d e c lared the whole a fl a i r a complete take — i n and took their ,

d eparture fo r Colombo Just then intelligen c e w a s re c eive d

.
, ,

by m eans o f scouts that the eleph a nts to the number o f forty

, ,

were in full mar c h towards the kraal This set us all o n th e .

tip t o e o f expectation Every o n e betook himself to hi s

- .

a ppointe d pla c e Ladies shrank away from the front seats

.
,

a n d I dete c t e d o n e o r two o f my o w n s e x c astin g anxiou s

glances towar d s t he stairs A n equal bustle w as visible w ithin
.

the kraa l The head Korale rushed about full o f importan c e ;

.

the bla c k stewards with their white wands g rouped themselve s ,

into parties o f three o r four at irregular intervals amongst ,

the jungle surrounding the open spa c e and especially about ,

the entrance but what duty was to be performe d by thes e

g en t ry was
,
more than I c ould divine It is true ( I was told .

by a native c hief ) that it would devolve o n them to drive back

an
y o f the elephants when c aught
, in the kraa l in the event of ,

t heir attemptin g to for c e the surrounding defences ; but the

i dea o f these poor creatures —some o f them mere boys —bein g

o f any servi c e with their little white sticks appeared so absur d
, ,

and al t oge t her ridi c ulous that I thou g h t I was being hoaxe d
,

by the Korale .

The shades o f evening descended and s c outs c ontinued ,

t o arrive from the drivin g par t y with injunctions to hold ,

e verything in readiness fo r t he herd were coming o n

, The .

few t or c hes that had been lef t to dispel the gloom were put
o u t o r removed from sigh t
, The moon had not risen Every
. .

tongue was silent save a few lo w whispers at intervals Eye s

, .

were eagerly strained towards the opening through whi c h the

herd was expe c ted to rush Every ear was o n the stret c h to .

c at c h the m ost remote sounds in that dire c tion One mi ght .

 132

have fancied from the death —like stillness o f the place that
, ,

we were there awaiting o ur o wn fate instead of that o f ,

elephants .

W e did n o t wait lo n g in this suspense A distant .

shouting burst suddenly u pon o ur startled ears l t drew .

rapidly nearer and soon we c ou ld distin guish the viole n t

,

cracking and snappin g o f branches o f trees and low jungle .

Then we heard the quick tramp o f many pondero us and huge

feet There w a s no doubt but that the animals were cl o se
.

upon us ; for torches were visi b le in the direction from which

they were coming : indeed the distant jun gle appeared to be
alive with lights Every native stood to his arms such a s
.
,

they were I c ould s e e the wh it e wands glimmering about in

.

the black forest at o ur feet some score o r two of r ifl e — barre ls ,

l on g and ugly — lo o kin g instruments o f native make were , ,

protruded from various poi n ts S everal o f the ladie s of o u r

.

party wept ; and I verily believe that som e o f t he male s

“

wished inwardly that they wer e o f the other s e x to have the ,

pr i vile g e o f fainting and being carried ou t of reach o f danger .

But there w a s little time for atten ti on even to frightened ladies

, .

Our eyes were fixe d upon the m o ving and rapidly approaching
ligh t s They appeared to burn less brightly as they came
.

nearer : then some disappeare d and so o n the whole were ,

extin g uished and all was plun ged in darkness S till o n came
, .
,

the furious monsters : bamboos c rashed ; t he thick j ungle flew

about in splinters A heavy t rampin g and t earing and
.
,

snapping asunder o f branches — and t here they were safely

, ,

within the kraal Then arose a shou t as if t he clouds and ear t h

.
,

were about to m eet o r to do some t hing o u t o f t he common

,

w ay I bent forward to c atch a peep at t he enemy The

.
.

native body guard wave d their white wands The entrance

- .

was barred up in a t winkling and the tor ches brought f o rward

,

to enable us t o witness the pro c eedings w hen a volley of loud ,

uproarious lau gh t er fell upon our ears blended with ex c lama ,

tions o f angry disapp oint m ent All eyes w ere strained towards
.
 134

line and had taken it into their unruly heads to treat themselves
,

t o a gambol a c ross so m e s c ore o r t w o a c re s o f prairie land

where they were amusing themselves with a good round game ,

despite the c oaxing o f a de c oy consisti ng of t wo tame elephants .

It was c lear that nothin g would be done o n that ni ght and o ur ,

merry parties betook themselves ba c k t o the villa g e .

Our number were e vidently o n the de c line ne x t d ay .

The patien c e o f many had been exhausted T ow ards e venin g .

intelli g ence was brou ght in that thirty fi v e e le p hants o f a ll

,
-
,

sizes were in f ull mar ch towards u s ; a n d shortly afterwards , ,

the G overnment A g ent o f the distri c t and the native chief of

,

the Korl e c ame in from the drivin g to see that all w a s

, ,

made ready fo r the proper reception o f the jun gle visit o rs .

Again all w a s hurry and bustle Provisio n baskets and

.

nervous ladies were sent to the r e ar : win e bottles were pla c e d

in reserve and sundry parting salutes were m ade with pa c ket s
,

o f sandwi c hes . O n c e more silen c e re i gned over the kraal

t o r ches were removed : the g uards and wat c hers were doubled ,

and an e x tra supply o f the li t t le w hite wands brou ght t o th e

front .

It was about two hours after d ark when we heard t h e

first distinct shouts o f the drivers who were s lowly forci n g
,

the elephants towards the kraal ; the t w o tame ones leading

the w ay and pointin g o ut the advantages o f t h at parti c ular
,

path to their jun g le friends Those sounds seemed to approa c h

.

us at irre g ular intervals Sometimes it appeared as thou g h t he

.

animals were not to be moved o n any a cc ount a nd then the ,

shou t i ng died away ; a g ain they d rew rapidly near ; then

paused ; then forward until we fancie d we c ould disti n gu is h
,

the fall o f the elephants hu ge feet amon g st the thi c k under

’

wood A t last there was no mistake abou t i t ; they wer e

.

c lose upo n us Our anxiety and c urio s ity became inte n s e

. .

The tearin g an d tramplin g amon gst the jun gle was deafenin g .

G iant bamboos and bran c hes o f trees appeared to be snappe d

a s un der by t h e o n—c omin g herd like s o many w al ki ng-s ti ck s
,
 1 35

i n a way in short which made me tremble fo r the strength of

, ,

the kra a l and o f o ur own elevated pla t form

, .

But there was little time fo r refle c tion o f any kind A .

shot o r t w o was fired in the rear o f the advancing herd ,

f o llowed by a trampling o f the leading elephants The moon .

at that moment began to peep over the distant r a ng e of low

hills ; and by its faint light I could distinguish the dens e jungle
, ,

bending and giving w a y o n every side , and amongs t it sundry

huge black forms rushing about in savage d i sorder like ,

mountain masses up heaved by some c on vulsion of nature

-
.

The two de c oys entered the enclosure at a brisk but steady

trot and stationed themselves under the clump o f trees
, ,

without any noti c e being taken o f the m indeed o n e o f them ,

nodde d knowingly to the Korale near him a s mu c h as t o s a y , ,

It s all right o ld fellow ! On c ame the wild elephants

’

,
”

at a thunderin g pace tearin g and bending and smashing

, ,

everything b efore the m ; t r um p e t ing and roaring at full pitch ,

In another moment they were within the bo undaries o f our

fortress .

N ever shall I forget t he wild stran g e beau t y o f that ,

uproarious mome n t The moon was no w shining sufficiently

.

o n the kraal to light u p the more open parts o f it ; away under

the deep shade o n one side could be seen a dense movin g , ,

mass o f livin g c reatures ; huge mis —shapen a n d infuriated , , ,

trembling with ra g e and fati g ue Lighted chu les were gleaming .

thi ckly like fi r e fl i e s amidst the n eigh bourin g jun gle Felled
,
-
, .

trees and rope barred up the narrow way forming o n e monster ,

gate whilst busy g roups of villagers white wands in hand , ,

moved to and fro and wat c hed the furious herd More lights
, .

were brought to the front and a b lazing fire was kindled ,

outside the en tran c e whi c h whilst it served to light up the

, ,

whole kraal deterre d the sava g e strangers from attemptin g

,

anythin g in that dire c tion .

I t was soon evident that t he prisoners were not goin g to

t a k e matters very q uietly T w o o f the stoutest of t heir
,
 136

number slowly adva nced and examined the w alls to see where ,

an openin g might most easily be forced And now we w ere .

not less astonished than deli ghte d at t he use made o f those

tiny white wands which had before served only to raise o ur
,

con t empt W herever t he two ele phant sp i es approached the

.

j ungle walls of their prison they w ere m e t by o n e o r two

-
,

villa g ers who gently wave d before them little snow white
,
-

switches and lo as if by some spell o f p otent forest magi c

, ,

the be asts turned ba c k s k r i nki ng from contact with the little

,

wands Point af t er point was thus tried but all in vain ; the
. ,

snowy magic sticks were thi ck within t he jungle and silently ,

b eat back the advancin g foe .

W hile the two scouts were t hus en ga g ed on their

explorin g expedition the tame elephants approa c hed the
,

remainder of t he herd and walke d slowly round them shakin g

, ,

their shaggy ears and waving high in air their c urling trunks ,

as though t e v would s y Move at your p e ri l

h a
“
, One of t he .

ca ptives a somewhat juvenile and unsophi sticated elephant

, ,

ventured t o move fr o m the side of i t s maternal p arent t o tak e ,

a survey o f our stand when tame elephant Number One went

,

u
p to the off ender and sent ,him back w ith an enormous fle a
in his ear ; tame elephant Number Tw o bestowing at the same
moment a smart tap on i t s skull
'

Busier work was at hand The s co uts evidently disguste d .

,

with the result o f their operations upon the outworks appeare d ,

to be preparing f o r a s or ti e and treated wi t h the most re c kless

,

levity the admonitory tap s of the elephant poli c emen which

h owever seeme d to be far les s unpleasant to them than a
,

tickle o n the snout from o ne o f the pigmy white wands It .

w a s plain that they intended to c arry their obj ect by a co up d e

tr u nk ; but a s c ore o f rifles peered forth Th e ladies then shut ,

their eyes and stopped their ears ; an elderly gentleman at

,

my elbow asked in a t r e m ulo u s whisper what the guns were

, ,
“
,

for ?
”
The i nquiry was replied to by a loud trumpeting from
o n e of the pair o f rebels —
a ha rsh s c reamin ,g roa r like t h e ,
 1 38

These two havin g been disposed o f and a degree o f c alm ,

restored the g eneral attention w a s directed to w ards the herd

, ,

whi c h still remained in their original positi on For a time .

fear seemed to hold them motionless ; but when the extremity

o f their d anger rose before them a number o f the boldest ,

made a d esperate rush at the entran c e but were easily turne d ,

back when t he watchers stirred u p the great guard — fi re ,

whilst from other part s o f the kraal they were soon repelled
, ,

by an appli c ation o f white wands In this way a good h o ur .

w a s spent at the end o f which time the c reatures appeared t o

,

give up the idea o f any further aggressive pro c eedin g s and ,

remained sub dued and c alm .

A dan g erous task had still to be performed—that o f

securing the best o f the herd for t amin g Half a — dozen o f the .
-

most a c tive and skilful o f the villagers crept slowly and care
fully towards the frightened group ; ea c h havin g a l o n g stou t
cord o f j ungle — rop e in his hand wi t h a runnin g noose a t o ne end ,

o f it
. W ith stealthy cat like steps these daring fellows went
,
-
,

amongst t he herd making some o f us t remble for th eir safety

, .

Each o f them sele cted o n e o f the largest and s t ronges t o f t he

group behind whi c h they crept ; and having arranged the
, ,

lasso fo r action they applied a finger gently t o t he right heel

,

o f their beast who feeling t he tou c h a s though that o f some

,

inse c t slowly raised the leg shook it and repla c ed it o n the

, , ,

ground The men a s the legs were lifted placed the running
.
, ,

nooses beneath them s o that the elephants were quiet ly ,

trapped unknown to t hemselves and with t he utmost ease

, , .

They then slipped rapidly away with the ends o f the ro p es ,

and immediately made them fast to the trunks of the nearest

trees The ropes however w ere far from bein g suffi ciently
.
, ,

strong to hold an elephant who mi g ht put o ut his strength .

It was therefore ne c essary t o secure them still fur t her but by

, ,

g en t le means The t w o tame elephan t s were then pla c ed o n

.

active service they were evidently perfectly at home and ,

required no dire c tions for their w ork Walkin g slo wly up t o .

 1 39

the nearest of the s i x c aptured animals they be gan to urge ,

him tow a rds the tree to which he w a s fastene d At first the .

c reature was s tubborn ; but a few taps o n his great skull and ,

a mighty push on his carcase sent him a yard o r two nearer

,

his desti n at ion As he proceeded the man in c harge o f the

.
,

rope gathered in the slack o f i t ; and s o matters went o n

between this party—a tap a push and a pull—until at length
, ,

three o f the elephants were c lose to as many trees Two other .

villagers then c ame forw a rd wi t h a stout iron chain The .

t ame an i mals placed t hemselves o n e o n each side o f a

prisoner pressi n g him bet w een them so tightly as to prevent
,

the poss i bility of his moving In a minute o r two the great

.

chain was passed several times round the hind le g s and the
tree ; and in this way the captive was lef t ; helpless and faint
,

wi t h s t ruggling The other five were similarly treated After

. .

w hich our party dispersed pre tty well tired and quite prepared
, ,

for bed .

Early next morning I paid a last visit to the kraal alone ,

my friends were fairly worn o ut The remaind e r o f the .

elephants had been either shot or had for c ed their way out in
o n e or two places The six captured ani m als were quiet —as
.

well t hey m i gh t be af t er t hei r long fas t and incessant

,

s t ruggl i ng Towards the end of t ha t d a y a very small portion

.
,

o f food was supplied to t hem just suffic i en t to keep the m alive

, .

I n this way they were t o remain f o r a week or t w o when if , ,

found sufficiently reduced in strength and temper they were ,

t o be walked about fas t ene d between two tame companions

, ,

wh o a ssis t ed very e ffectually i n t heir daily edu c ation — not ,

perhaps in the most gen t le and polite manner but still much
, ,

to the purpose .

At the end of two or three months the wild and unruly ,

destroyin g monster o f t he j un gle migh t be seen quietly ,

and submissively piling logs o f t imber i n the Government

yard with a purpose like intelligen c e lit t le short of that o f
,

man .
 A HAPPY V ALLEY

HERE was a spot n o t far from Lanka s latest capital s o ’

ri c h in sylvan scenery s o favo r ed by nature in s o il and ,

climate and locality that they w ho knew its brightnes s t h e

, ,

sunny cheerful life o f those w ho dwelt there called it Th e

, ,

Happy Valley .

The Vale o f D a mbera was n o t always what i t is Ther e .

w a s a time when f r om o n e end to the o t h er t he sweet arom a

, , ,

o f the c offee blossom blende d with frag r ance from the lime
,

and oran g e flowers loaded the air with perfume One lon g
, .

undulatin g stretch o f c offee gardens from R a ja h w e i la at o n e ,

extremity to Ya h a g ah a Pitiya at the oth er gav e pleasant homes

, ,

and busy oc c upati o ns f o r a dozen European s whose well kep t -

bungalows were d o tted through the valley I t Wa s a good .

mornin g s ride from o n e end to the other ; and in those day s

’

w hen coffee fields were interspe rsed w i t h j ungle and wild

spots o f lo w underwood and swam py gr o und t her e was game t o ,

b e found for the seeki n g —game in abundance large and s m all ,

.

K o n d e s a lli e with i t s s y lva n h o mestead and its long

,

undulatin g fields of co fi e e was t he parent of the m all Abou t , .

the Manager s pretty bungalow there were signs o f English ,

c are and thrift ; a p o ulty yard with c ows and pigs roamin g
about in happy indolen c e ga ve to the place an air o f comf or t
,

whi c h was good to s e e The p lan tati o n was threaded by many

.

winding roads bordered by rose trees bloss o m i ng in o n e

c ontinuous round o f never endin g summer -
.

To the north o f t his c harming spot was then to be seen ,

the smaller but not le ss pictures que plantation o f Gal Madua ,

e qually undulatin g e qually rich in verdure and fertility equ ally

, ,

well roaded Beyond it was situated the li t tle model estate

.
,
 1 42

banyan and other trees through the lon g vista o f whose

,

pleasan t foliage an an c ient Dag oba w a s v isible far in the

d istance besides which stood a
,
“
B ansela in which an o ld
priest had dwelt fo r a life —time : fro m Ya h a g a h a Pitiya t o
this pre t t y sylvan spot was a favorite evenin g stroll and
, ,

there the planter and hi s family often sau ntered ; and

sea t ed at the o ld man s porch held c onverse w ith him o n
’

subjects upon which he loved to speak —the past history o f

his country the heroic deeds of a lon g race of soverei gns
,

passed away .

On the south side o f the Valley were adj oi nin g , ,

K o n d e s a lli e the thrivin g picturesque estate o f P a lli k e lle partly

, , ,

o f c o ffee partly su ar and the D e e a lle C o ffee plantation

g
, g , ,

and beyond that t he fi ne property of R a ja hw e lla w hose rich , ,

deep loamy soil and excellent situation marke d it o u t fo r a

, ,

lo ng a n d p r o s p e r o u s career Between these various properties

.
,

were open grass lands patenas on which the estate c attle

, ,

found abundant pasturag e and across whi c h the Mana gers

,

we r e able to enj oy a good morning canter when work fell ,

slack which it did not of t en ; for in those early days labor was
,

far less plentiful than at present : the fe w Tamils obtainable ,

had to be supplemented by Kandyan villager s a most fi ckle ,

a n d uncertain c lass o f workmen with an o c casional draft o f

,

low country Sin ghalese a still more unstable element in the

,

planter s c alculation o f work t o be done

’
.

Nowhere in all Ceyl o n was there a t that time su ch a wide

stretch o f Coffee as in the Vale o f Dum b e r a The mountains .

and vallies of the Kandyan country were then o n e vast mass

o f forest untou c hed by planter s axe save here and there a
,
’

small solitary clearing the n urseries o f a future giganti c

,

industry On t he Ha n t a n e and Huna s g i r i a ranges away upon

. ,

the Knuckles in the K a lli b okk e valley and anon in P u s ila v a

, , ,

gaps had been made in the d ense jun gle but fe w a nd far ,

between S een from above these pioneer c learings would

.
,

a ppear like spe c ks o n the w ide ocean o f fore s t b elo w w it h ,

 1 43

here a n d there at lo n g intervals a small curli n g wrea t h o f

!

smoke rising from the planter s solitary b ut of mud and talip o t

’
.

Not a mile of roadway was to be seen throughout tha t grea t

stretch of forest ; n o t a bridge spanned a ny river ; all save
o ur
“
Happy Valley was a vast expanse o f jungle soli t ude
”
,

t he silence of which was only br o ken by the roar o f the

elephant the tre a d of the bu ffalo o r the c ry o f some winged
, ,

dweller in the woods disturbed by villag e sp o rtsmen

, .

Travellers and holiday makers fr o m the central c apital were

-
,

in those days attra ct ed by the novelty of Coffee estates in full

,

vigor to drive to the Ko n d e s a lli e ferry stroll over the

, ,

cultivated fields look in at the sugar works call o n the

, ,

Manager and drive ba c k to Kandy c onvinced that they had

, ,

beheld the germ o f what was o n e day in the remote future ,

to become a marvellously expande d a n d wealth — bestowing

en terprise It has re al i sed a ll these expecta ti ons to the full
.

but a las at the cost of how many lives ho w many shattere d ,

fortunes and broken cons t i t utions !

Then all was bri ght sunny hopefulness S easons and
, ,
.

markets were less uns t able than they have since been found :
the vir gin s o il was full o f undeveloped vig o r and yielde d ,

readily abun d ant c rops wi t hou t a t hought of fertilisin g agen t s

,
.

If salaries were in those days small they were at least ample ,

for the planters wants ; when full grown fowls were thre e
’

pence e ach eggs two shillin g s a hundred ; and as for beef

, ,

you c ould have the shooting of a buffalo o n any f o g gy morning ,

when c attle trespassers f o und the i r forbidden way amongst

the young fields o f P a llik e lle sugar c ane .

I t was not all sunshine in tha t fertile valley : there was a

price to be paid for the wonderful abundance of the cr o ps ,

that season after season were ga thered on the B umbera plan

t a ti o ns
. If the soil were fer t ile it was rank with noxious ,

exhalations : but recently O pened b y t he axe the plough or ,

the m a m o t i e i t was found that what favored vegetable life

, ,

was fatal to animal health In those portions o f th e valley

.
 1 44

whi c h bordered o n the steam y banks o f the Ma h a vi lla g anga ,

fever asserted full sway and carried o f its vi c tims by the

,

S core So terrible was its e ffe cts that o n s ome o cc asions a ll

.
,

field work c ame to a dead lock ; every available c ooly o n

the De e g a lle estate was fully o cc upied in attending to t h e
sick or burying the dead The Europeans did not escape
. .

S uperintendents were invalided rapidly and the Manag er a , ,

well known planter of iron constituti on and o f ma rvellou s

spirits was the only person on the estate who was not
,

prostrated by the s c ourge In the end disease swept away

.
,

the whole available for c e o f coolies o n the estate and it became ,

a very serious question as to h o w the growin g c rop o f Coff ee

w a s to be gathered and c ured Coolies must be had ; but where
.
,

was the question The estate was s o notorious in Kandy an d

.

its neighbourhood fo r unhealthiness that it w as in vain to ,

h ope for recruits in that directi on A fine pie c e of finesse w a s

.

resorted to in order to seduce unsuspe c tin g Ta m ils to t h e

,

locality To have sent o n e of the superintendents stricken

.

with fever as the y were to enlis t coolies would have been as

, , ,

futile as to have men t ione d the name of the estate for which
their servi c es were require d : a wiser plan was carried into
su cc essf ul exe c ution The servi c es o f a yo u ng r u ddy faced
.
, ,
-

planter from o n e o f the adjacent estates w ere se c ured and h e ,

was despatched with a fair supply o f r upees and a co up le o f

burly ca n ga ni e s not to Kandy but to M a t elle o n the n orth
, ,

road t he haltin g place of immi grant c oolies o n their way

, ,

from the c oast o f India There a few s c ores o f them were

.

engaged by the hea lthy — lookin g planter mar c hed in safe ,

c ustody by a c ir c uitous route to the vale of Dum b e r a and there ,

handed over to the c are o f the De e g a lle superintendent who ,

w ith sunken cheeks and ho llow eyes mustered them o n t he

barb e c ue and c ommen c ed by administerin g a stron g dose of
quinine to them all round B efore a month was spent the
.

l i ves of half their number we re as good as forfeited and the ,

rest we re sore smitten w ith a mortal fear .

 1 46

la nt h a n a c al i m for i t s o wn the fai re s t fi e ld s i n t ha t fa i r va lley .

The buffal o tra mpled d o wn t h e ho n e ys uckle a nd t he vin e t he ,

w ild bo a r m ad e hi s home a d mi d st t he r o s e s : a nd w here t he

n c w nc a ll
p r attlin g s ou d s o f ti ny v o i e s e r e o e h e a rd, t h e ja ck
s hrieke d at n ight -fall .

O nc e mor e a c han ge ha s co m e o ver t hi s b ri ght v a l e

o f s unshin e on c e more the c h e erf ul s o und s of p l ea sa nt voi c e s
a r e heard o e r many a n a c r e a nd o n c e a g a i n h u man ind u s tr y
’
,

a s s e r t s i t s s upre m a c y o ver t h e j un l e O n e l a r e heart e d

g .
g
toiler ha s mad e hi s home do wn th e r e a nd b y t he s he e r ,

for c e of s kilfu l l abor ha s res c ued th e l a n d fr o m b a rr e n n e s s a nd ,

m a d e i t wha t i t wa s i n o l de n l o n g -forgot te n t i mes a

, , H a p py
V all ey .
 OUR PRODUCE DE ALER .

EN m s ile a n h o u r — n o t a y a rd l e s s
, d a shi n g throug h ,

horse -trap s a nd w ater g ullies in the road o v e r tr e a ch ero us ,

h eap s o f broke n m etal a lo n g t h e e d g e s o f dan g ero us drain s

, ,

s kirtin
g gu l y -l ookin
g c ulverts o n g oes that fast -trottin g mar e
, ,

black a s ni ght sleek a s ve l vet safe a s a nythin g throu gh

, , ,

Panadura dashin g into Mo r o t uw a s c arin g ha ckery bullo cks

, , ,

s c attering g roups o f c hildren at R a t m a la n e a n d flyin g lik e a ,

puff of dark w ind past s ober hired horse s alon g Colpetty .

The whip is a middle a g e d Sin g halese c lad in purest w hite , ,

w ith showy g old buttons o n his jacket wat c h and c hain and , ,

the tallest o f marvellous c omb s in his hair He is a dealer i n .

produ c e g enerally b ut i n t w o arti c les espe c ially

, Matthe s .

A p p oo was in early life mu c h attached t o c oir and i n p urs uin g ,

the bent o f his affe c tion in the dire c tion o f that spe c ial arti c le ,

he had be c ome an adept He kne w to a ni c ety h o w mu c h.

ja ckwood dye badly c olored yarn would stand w ithout ,

betrayi n g the hand of the manip ul ator and had made money ,

by the de vi c e But yarn was slo w w ork and he eventually

. ,

ab a ndoned hi s fi rst love fo r t wo other more attra c tive because ,

more remu nerative obj e c ts —c in n amon and plumbag o There , .

is no sort o f similarity in these two o n the c ontrary — o ne i s ,

very heavy the other is very li ght —o ne is d ug from the

,

bowels o f the earth the other is shaved o ff if w e may s o s a y

, , ,

from the earth s surfa c e There is this however in c ommon

’
.
, ,

between them they are both valuable articles and are both
, ,

s usceptible o f a g ood deal o f manipulation so mu c h s o i n deed , ,

that they mi ght almost be c lassed as a r t manufa c tures instead -

,

o f as raw -prod uc ts s eein how mu c h cooking nt r into

g , e e s

t heir c ompo s itio n .

 1 48

Matthes be g an hi s c ommercial and manufa c turin g caree r

at an early age : he had served his time to an uncle and under ,

him had a c quire d a knowledge o f many lit t le matters which ,

w ere afterwards turned to profitable ac c ount o n a larger sc a le

at fourteen he had be c ome an adept at bargaining for c in
namon sort i ng it and even at making it up whi c h is the
, ,
”

te chnical o r artistic term for blendin g the bark o f the real

cinnamon plant w i t h that of spurious spice o r o f trees which
, ,

have no relationship to the laurus family There i s a n “

.

a c tive trade c arried o n in America in wooden nutmegs Ceylon .

c an e qually boast its guava c innamon and its laterite ,

plumba g o .

Behol d ing the dashin g w hip o f the Gal le r e a d o n e ,

would s c arcely imagine the h u mb leness o f h i s first be gi n n i ng s

in the o utskirts o f M aradana : beneath th e shady roof o f a
primitive hovel and a ri cketty out— , house rented at ei gh t ,

shillings a month he mapped o ut his future career c ont ent t o

, ,

hi d e his time with small beginnings his c heap and simpl e ,

c onveyance at that period o f his life w a s a bullo c k ha ckery -

.

His fi rst essays i n the dyin g o f wor t hless coir yarn yielde d ,

him pro fi t and g ave hi m the means to lay in a sto c k o f palm

,

oil
,
”
w hi c h he distributed with great tact amongst t he ,

storekeepers and head c oolie s o f t he principal e xporter s i n

the Fort .

I t was a saying o f a former popular Governor o f Ce ylon

‘
,

that the best lubricator fo r the wheels o f the State i s

“
,

c hampagne : the State wheels ran pleasantly enough in hi s

time Matthes was o f pretty mu c h the same O pinion in regard
.

to the w heels o f fortune sparin g neither t hirty shilling

,

c hampag ne o r two guinea bran dy with gilt labels Thos e

,
- .

w ho spend but little o n themselves can afford to be liberal t o ,

others especially wh e n spra t s are g iven to c at c h herrin gs and

, ,

even lar ger fi s h No wonder then that the little shady hovel
.
, ,

a n d i t s ri c ketty godowns in th e bla c k slums o f Maradana ,

w ere soo n ex c hanged for a tile d dwelli n g and a ran g e of s olid ,

 1 50

d istillation of c innamon
fter w ard s w h e n dry by the
o i l, and a ,

slightest touch o n each end o f a bundle o f the fal s e gu a va

pipes wi t h a c loth saturated w ith c heap c innamon o il whi c h
, ,

leave s behind it a searchi n g and tolerably perman e nt aro m a ,

this perfume and the tast e lef t by c innamo n w ater a r e quit e ,

s uffic ient fo r the newly c au g ht shi p per o f nativ e produce ea g e r ,

a s he i s to develop t h e r esour c es o f t he c ountry a n d add t o

his o w n F o r the buyer w h o has been t w o o r three year s i n

.

the country and h a s had an awakenin g t o a sense o f t he

,

e x istence of
gu ava trees !
in Ceylon o ur dealer h as othe r
,

varieties o f spi c e almo s t a s w orthless b u t les s easy o f

, ,

dete c tion : these are t he produ c e o f spurious varieties o f the

c innamon plant g rown in the jungles o f the interior and
, ,

w hen c ut youn g presentin g a g ood deal o f the E

,
e xt e r n a l

a ppearan c e o f the genuine a rti c le : this too is doctored in t h e

m anner pres c ribed and as ea g erly bou g ht by the advance d

,

g riffi n A third mode o f manipulation is by false pa c kin g

.
,

w hi c h c onsists i n fi llin g t h e c entres o f pipes o f g o od c innamon

with pieces o f g uava bark o r o f spuri ous c innamon : thi s
requires skilful operation and when well worked is no t easi ly
detected The sale o f guava o r j ungle bark w hi c h probably
.
,

c osts about s i x pen c e the p ound in Colombo in pla c e o f spi c e ,

w o rth from eighteen pen c e to two s hil lin g s in ordinary years ,

must be a lu c r a tive business i f a dealer c an transa c t much o f it ,

a n d that much o f it does c han e hands at these pri c es advi c e s

g ,

from home assure us equally with the in c reasin g wealth o f

,

M atthes and his co traders - .

The plumba g o trade has gr own up m arvellously o f lat e

from small be ginnin gs it has c ome to be like o ur friend ,

M atthes amon g st shippers in great request Its val ue ha s , .

double d and i t s exports have trebled in n ot very man! year s

,
.
7
.

In M i nc in g La n th i s guava sp i c
e e is t e rm ed sassa f ass b k t h ug h w hy i
r ar
, o s

d i fii cult to u n d st a n d as h sassa f ass

er , t e r t re e is t t a l ly d i ff n t i g w th a n d q ua l i ty
o er e n ro

fro m t he gu a va t ree .
 151

In former times it was k n o wn c hie fly as a lubrica nt and a ,

p olishin g po w der for fi r e g rates and some other su c h purpose s

-
, .

N ow its c hief us e is in the c onstru ction o f c ru c ibles fo r meltin g

obstinate metals and a g ain fo r a very different purpose i n
, ,

the m anufa ct ure o f pen c ils in substitution o f Cum b erland lead

w hi c h is be c o m in g more s c a r c e and dearer year by year F or .

b oth these latter p urposes it is essential that the arti cle b e

p ure and free from sand o r soil o f any kind and in proportio n ,

to this quality i s its value A shipper who is c areful on thi s

.

point w ill insist o n seei ng every barrel fi lled and pa cke d

i n his o w n yard before payin g fo r it yet w ith all thi s
, ,

pre c aution he is not unfre q uently sold by a c lever legerdemai n

,

between storekeepers and de a lers who o cc asionally manag e t o

,

p a c k a w ay some o f the c abook c overed by plumbago artfully

rubbed over it S ome wholesale frauds o f this kind have bee n
.

kn own t o take pl ac e always o f c ourse with c onnivan c e o n th e

, ,

p a rt o f s ome subordinate i n the shipper s e mp loy Th e mos t’

.

notable instan c e o f the kind occurred some dozen years a g o ,

when a loss o f nearly a thousand pounds was sustaine d by a ,

larg e e x porter o f plumba g o who had m ost c arefully seen t o

the fi l lin g pa c kin g a n d marking o f every barrel o f the fines t
,

p lumba g o . Our frie n d the c lever manipulator o f guava

c i n namon , was in thi s c ase equal to the o cc asio n He had .

s upplied t he fi ne s ilvery mineral and the b arrels a n d hi s m e n ,

h ad assisted in markin g the pa c kages for the merchant Hi s .

pro c edure was t o fi ll a like number o f similar barrels w ith

rubbishin g plumbago dust mark the pa c kage s with the sam e
,

numbers and marks whi ch are usually very simple generally ,

o n e or a t most two l etters , send his barrels to the wharf

o n the same day w ith the o t hers and then for a dextrous
,

quick hand to g o c aref ully round in the dead o f the night ,

a n d by the light o f a dark -lanthorn mark a cross o r a star

,

b e lo w the distinguishi ng letter o n all the barrels o f good

plumbag o O n the morro w when the c oolies went to load
.

t he pl um b a g o in boa ts th ey n aturally loaded the b a rrel s

,
 152

c ontainin g the rubbish as they alone had the mark indicated in

the shipping order the others w ith the star beneath the initial
,

letter they o f course left o n the wharf and these were

, ,

afterwards ei t her removed to the dealer s premises o r s old a s

’

they stood on the wharf ready for shipment and being found ,

o f first rate quality fetched a hi gh price It is s c arcely

, .

ne c essary t o add that the shipper who had such a long a n d

angry c orresponden c e with his American c onstituents t o ,

whom he made the c onsignment never s ucceede d in tra c ing

,

the manner o f the fraud o r the perpetrators .

But let it not be supposed that all produ c e deal e rs are a s

M atthes A p p o o given to manipulations o f a doubtful kind It
, .

is not s o W e do n o t care to venture o n any guesses as t o

.

the prop ortion whi c h manipulating dealers bear to the plain

and straight for w ard dealin g contra c tors w ho c onscientiously
-

g ive y o u the article they profess to sell suffi ce it t o s a y there

are somewhat too many o f the former to make the life o f a
young beginner at merchandising quite o n e o f velvet and
roses That t hey are thus numerous is matter for deep regret
.
.

B ut o n the o t her hand there are dealers Singhales e and

, ,

Tamil whose word may be taken as their bond and w hose

, ,

goods will pass the most cunning scrutiny without fail o r fault .

M eantime Mat t hes has married the dowere d dau ghter o f a

wealthy cart —contractor and has taken a suburban villa so m e
,

w here i n the direction o f Mount Lavinia s o as to be handy f o r

the plumbago business He h a s a number o f pits givin g
.

empl oyment to some scores of w orkpeople who bring to the ,

surface many to n s o f the mineral monthly A t first M atthes .

had no idea but t h at o f getting a fe w facilities from t h e

,

headmen in the matter of royalty but w hen his pada— , boats

were delaye d sometimes for weeks together for the M u d e liy a r
, ,

to come and s e e t o the wei ghing o f the plu m bago he became ,

s o exasperated ahat it needed small persuasion t o indu c e him

to despat c h his boat loads of the mineral with out the operation
,

o f w eighin g o r the for mality o f payin g the royalty ; and non e

,
 N U MBE R F O R T Y TW O -

HE true original Number Forty —

, two —o f whi c h a c opy
may be seen in any of the thousands o f towns and citie s
between Ne pa ul and Ceylon - is situated in the very heart o f
the black town o f Colombo amidst the streets in w hi c h ,

dwell natives half c a stes and Eurasians , or country born

,
-
,
-

des c endants o f Europeans : it is to be found in the chief

thoroughfare o f the town if su c h a term as tho roughfare c an
,

properly be a p plied to the narrow choked up stree t boilin g , ,

o ver wi t h h o t c oolies and enraged bullo c k —

, drivers .

This state o f tropic a l c on glomeration will be m o re readil y

understood when I mention that the c arriage way o r street -

i s the only passage available for pedes trians a nd e q uestrians ,

for bipeds and quadrupeds The Dut ch when masters o f t h e

.
,

place had provi ded every house with broad luxuriant verandahs
, ,

covered in a nd ni c e ly paved ; so that the dwellers in the tow n

migh t n o t only s i t out under shade in the open a i r at
eventide ; b ut during the furio us heat of the day c ould walk
, ,

from o ne end o f the street to the other under these broad and
pleasant c overed ways No w ! many o f these verandahs have
.
,

been appropriated and railed o ff as open re c eptacles o f all ,

sorts of merchandise Where in for m er j olly days radiant

.
,

D utchmen sat and smoke d their pipes and quaffed S chiedam , ,

are no w piled up motley goods t o temp t the unwary

passer — by
. Where buxom merry—eyed lasses once flirted with
,

incipien t burgomasters are shiploads o f ri c e and c argoes

, ,

o f curry stu ff s .The perfume o f the rose and the O leander

a r e supplanted by t he c austi c fra rance o f garli c and salt fi s h -
g .

A . D
. 1 848 .
 15 5

D o tted along these fragrant street among rice stores iron , ,

d epots and d ried fi s h warehouses

,
are t he shops o f the ,

Moorman traders the only a t tractions for Europeans in this

,

uarter Your regular Moorman shopkeepers o r bazaar —

men
q .
, ,

possess such t e r r ifi ca lly unpronounceable names that by c ommon ,

c onse nt the i r English customers designates them by the numbers

,

o f their shops In this way a little thin—

. fa c ed shrivelled u p
, ,
-

Moorman a small port i on o f whose name consists o f Meera

,

Le b b e S le m a Le b b e Tamby A h a m a d oe Le bb e M a r ca ir is cut ,

d o wn to Number Forty eight which is the title he is known by

-
.

The most flourishin g o f t hese gentry i s certainly Number

Forty t wo a pertly oily skinned
-
,
-
,

well conducted Moorman with

-
,

a remarkably well shaved head -

,

surmounted o n i t svery apex by a

ridiculously little colored c ap like ,

an infantine bee — hive His bazaar .

is admitted on all hands especially ,

am o ngst t he fair sex to be first ,

“

chop Yet a stranger woul d

.

imagine that the fiscal had pos

session o f the pla c e and We s o n
the poin t o f selling off by auc ti o n
the en t ire con t ents so conf u sed ,

m ot ley an appeara nce d o t hey wear .

The doorway narrow a nd low is j ealously guarded by a

, ,

pile o f g rinds t ones surmoun t ed by a brace of soup tureens o n

,
-

t he o ne side and by tools a nd weapons o f o ff ence o n the

,

o t her ; so tha t t he chances are tha t in trying to escape the ,

Newcastle and S t affordshire Charybdis you ge t caugh t upon

t he sharp poin t s of t he Sheffield Scylla Once past t hese .

dan gers however you forge t all your anxie ty and nervousness
, ,

i n the bland sunny c o un t enance o f Number F o r t y — t wo He i s .

t ruly deligh t ed to see you he is so anxious t o pla c e t he whole

,

c o n t en t s o f his s t ore a t your c omplete d isposal t hat o ne mi ght ,

 1 56

fa nc y his sole obje c t in life w as t o minister to the pleasure o f

t he En glish c ommunity .

N umber Forty— two directs y our attention in the most ,

wi nnin g manner to a choice and very dusky c olle c tion o f

,

han g in g lamps o f the most grotes q ue fashion His fowlin g .

pie c es are pointe d o ut t o y o u as perfect marvels If y o u .

require any bla ckin g brushes o r padlocks o r Windsor soap

'

, , ,

o r smokin g c aps o r tea kettles ,

he possesses the m in every
-
,

possible variety just o ut by the very latest ship

,
.

Our bazaar is by no means aristocrati c O n the c ontrary . ,

it i s most de c idedly republi c an in all i t s tenden c ies It a d mits .

o f no distin c tion o f rank s The h i g hest born wares are placed

.

o n an e q ual footin with the most low l y mer c handise the m ost
g ,

plebeian goods Earthenware j ostles cut glass ; ironmongery

.
-

—and some of it rare and rusty too—elbo w s t he ri che st

por c elai n ; vulgar tin ware h o b — nobs wi t h silks and satins
- .

Tart fruits and p i ckles revel in th e arms o f forty yards o f the

-

best c rimson velvet Pi c kled salmon in tins are enshrine d

“

a mon st Co nv e nt r y ribbons
g .

I don t happen to require a ny o f hi s perfumery o r

’

preserves n o r am I anxious about muslins or plated c andle

,
-

sti c k s I simply want to sele c t a few very plain wine — glasses ,

and I know th ere are none better than at Number Forty two - .

Pil e s after piles o f the fragile glass — ware are raked o ut from
u nder a mass o f agri c ultural impleme n ts and it is really ,

marvellous to s e e ho w harmlessly the brittle thin g s are

t o w s le d and tumble d about amo ngst ponderous wares and
m assive goods How pea c efully the lions a n d the lambs o f
.

manufa c tures repose tog e ther wi t hin the dusty dark walls o f
Forty two - .

My friend with the bee — hive c ap is never disconcer t ed

b y any d emand however o u t o f the common way From
, .

ships an c hors and chain cables down to small m i nni k i n —

’ ’
pins ,

he has a s upply o f every possible variety o f w ares I have .

often asked for thi ngs that I nev er d rea m t o f requirin g just ,
 1 58

Thi s class o f Indian shopkeepers have m oreover a very , ,

confused a n d mystified c on c eption o f the real value o f some

g oods . They c an tell you to a trifle the worth of a dinner —
s et ,

o r o f a dozen o f Dutch hoes bu t in millinery a n d other fan c y ,

a rti c les they are often fearfully mistaken

, A Moorman buys .

w hat i s termed in technical langua g e a Chow chow invoice ”

-
, ,

in other wor d s a mixed assortment o f hardware and software

, ,

o f w o r k a b le s and wearables He i s told the l ot i s valued at a

.

hundred pounds sterling ; he o ffers eighty and takes them at ,

ninety He refers to the invoice o n openin g o ut the goods

.
,

and g ets o n very well in pri c in g them until he comes to su c h

things as ribbons gloves lace & c ; which are the dear and
, , ,
.

which the c heap he cannot possibly tell and he therefore ,

ti c kets t hem at s o much the yard o r the pair all r o und as the ,

c ase m a y be In this way I o ften pick up a glori ous bargai n

.

at Forty two buying kid gloves fo r ei ghteen pen c e for whi c h

-
,
- -
,

in London I should have to pay a t leas t four shillings ; and a

trifle o f real Brusse ls lace for my wife at the price o f the very ,

c ommones t Nottin g ham ar t icle .

The fo rtunes o f F o rty — t w o were once placed in the most

imminen t je o pardy fr o m a circums t an c e whi c h happene d in his

shop while I was there and whi ch became at the time the
, , ,

food o f all the hungry gossip mongers o f the pla c e My frien d -

.

had a Moorish assistant remarka b ly a ct ive but dissipated a n d ,

imper t inent He was ugly beyond measure and when he

.
,

grinned which he frequen t ly would do in spite o f stri c t

,

injun c tions to the contrary he distended a caver n o f a mouth

,

that was perfectly h i deous Th i s c reature had o n e day become

.

unusually excited a n d it appears in the fervour o f his j ollity

,

had laid a wa ger wi t h a young neighbour o f kindred habits ,

that he would kiss the first female customer w ho should s e t

foot wi t hin hi s master s sh o p o n that m o rning be s h e fair o r
’

dark I c an imagine the h orror with wh i ch poor Forty—

. two
beheld his gr i nning deputy ful fi l his en g a g ement by saluting
the fair cheek o f an En g lish lady and that lady -a s chan c e ,
 159

would have i t — the w ife o f o ne o f the high le g al fun c ti o naries

of the r
place The affair was hushed up as mu ch as it c ould
.

be but in the end it oozed o ut and people s o far from

, ,

d eser t ing Number Forty two a c tually flo c ked to it to hear the

-
,

parti c ulars o f the affair The offender was dismissed but n ot

.

unt i l he h ad imparted to tha t parti c ular shop an unenviable

celebrity that might have ruined i t s owner .

There are other numbers besides Forty — two which enjoy ,

a considerable reputation all things considered but they , ,

c ertainly lack the fa shionable repute o f t he aforesaid For .

instance there is Number Forty seven a remarkably well

,
-
,

conducted man very steady very c ivil and ex c eedingly

, , ,

pun c tual in settling his accounts with the mer c hants who
estee m him accordingly Thi s worthy Moorman transa c ts
.

business much ;o n the same prin ciple as his nei ghbours but ,

unlike Forty— two and o n e o r two other active numbers he i s ,

given t o in d ulge in certain s i es ta s during the hea t o f the day

, ,

which no influx o f customers can debar him from enjoyin g As .

the hour o f high noon approaches he spreads his variegated mat ,

u pon the lit t le dirty ricket t y

, queer lookin g c ou ch under the
, ,
-
,

banana tree in the ba c k 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 c ourage to venture within

such a c ooped up shut i n pit o f a yard dreamin g o f c ustomers
-
,
-
, ,

accounts and pro missory notes Durin g this slumber it is .

,

in vain fo r any o n e to attem pt to coax a yard o f muslin o r a ,

fi s h kettle o ut o f the inexorable For ty seven

-
The somniferous -
.

spell has des c ended upon his d warfy deputy w h o rather than , ,

wake his master would forfeit his chance of Paradise ; and he

, ,

n o less drowsy himself opens o n e eye and his mouth only to

, ,

assure you tha t the article you re quire is not to be found in

their shop Yo u insist that it is Yo u know where to lay
. .

your hand upon i t The d eputy Forty seven shakes his drow sy
.
-

head i n s o mnife rous unbelief Yo u seek it o ut from i t s dusty

.
,

murky hidi ng pla c e a nd produc e it before his unw i lling fa c e

-
, .
 1 60

He opens another eye smile s nods to you a nd i s aw ay

, , ,

again far into the seventh heaven There is no help fo r .

i t but to appropriate the article and p ay fo r it o n your next

,

visit .

Number Forty — eight is a small bustlin g variety o f

Moorman m a kin g a vast show o f doin g a lar g e s t rok e o f
,

business ; but a s far as I c ould ever per c eive doing nex t

, ,

to nothing He bou ght largely paid as regularly as mos t

.
,

o f other nu m bers was c onstantly opening hug e pa c kin g

,

c ases and c rates and sorting o ut their c ontents into heaps ;

,

but I never remembered t o have seen a single c ustomer w ithin

his shop How the man lived w a s fo r a long tim e a perfe c t
.
, ,

mystery t o me ; but I learnt at length that he disposed o f hi s

pur c hases entirely by means o f i t i ne r e nt ha wkers w h o a rmed
w ith a yard—measure and a pair o f s c ales and follo w ed by a ,

pa c k o f loaded c oolies g roanin g under hu g e tin cases and

buffalo skin t r unks perambulated fr o m town to village fro m
-
, ,

house to hut and by dint of wheedlin g puffing and flattering , , ,

su cc eeded in returning with a b a g full o f c oin .

F o r Number Si x ty t w o I en t ertained a more than ordinary

-

respe c t U nlike hi s Moorish brethr e n he possessed a remark

.

ably rational name — S e yb o Dora Original ly a hawker he

, .
,

had by his steady c ondu c t w o n the c onfiden c e o f the mer c hants ,

who supplied him with goods wherewith to open a store , at a

time when su c h pla c es did not exist in the town F rom small .

beginnings he rose to great transactions ; and ne w beside a ,

flourishing trade in the bazaa r c arried o n pretty extensive ,

operations in many smaller towns throu g hout the c ountry I t .

w a s by no mea n s an unusual thin g fo r this simply c lad -

mean — lookin g trader to purchase in one day fr o m o ne mer c hant ,

muslins to the value o f a thousand po unds c ro ckery for half ,

that amount and perhaps g lassware fo r a s mu ch more F o r

, , .

these he would pay down o ne fourth in hard c ash and s o great

-
,

w as the confiden c e reposed in him that hi s bags o f rupees , ,

labe l led and endorsed w ith hi s n ame and t he a mount of t hei r

 OUR COFFEE MI L L S .

HE fi ne o ld En glish g entleman w h o sits a t home at ease

, ,

and sips hi s mornin g e e fi e e w ith the Ti m es upon hi s

,

knees i s utterly powerless to fathom the depth o f human

,

i ng enuity w hich durin g the l a st quarter o f a c entury have

, ,

been bro ught into the servi c e o f the c offee g rower a n d t h e

c offee c urer The fru g al hous e -wif e may marvel a t the rapid
.

s trides w ith whi c h the Ceylon arti c le has ri s en in publi c estima

tion and g eneral value at home and abroad until it has nearly ,

attained the fore most pla c e amon g s t the c offee s o f the world .

The ra c e fo r pla c e between the coffee producing c ountrie s

-

o f t h e w orld h a s been a lon g and a waitin g r a c e

, s o far a s ,

Ceylon w a s c on c erne d She kne w that the Mo c ha staple

.

w as a stron g opponent w hile the J amai c a and C osta Ri c a

,

c onfedera c ies had long bee n favorites in the field and could ,

a lways command the odds : s h e did n o t c are m uc h fo r Brazils ,

a n d a s fo r Java s h e wa s n o t fi t for any distan c e W ell fo r . ,

y ears past ,
M o c ha has had all the runnin g at heavy odds ,

s a y 1 00 to 8 5 w ith Jamaica a g ood se c ond at 90 t o 60 and

, ,

Costa Ri c a well o n her quarter at 8 5 t o 65 Ceylon al l t h e ,

w hile w aitin g steadily upon them at 7 0 to 5 0 with Ri o and ,

Ja va i n the c rowd B ut places have been c han g ed lately

.
,

there was some very c lose runni ng in 1 8 61 and now we find ,

the Ceylon berry h a s re gularly overhauled the Jamai c a favorit e

a n d the Costa Ri c a pet and left them behind a n d is makin
, g ,

c apital running for fi rst pla c e We shall e x pe c t t o hear in t he

.

ne x t report that the Ceylo n fi lly h a s w o n c leverly by a neck

, ,

wi th Jamai c a and Costa Ri c a c ompletely d i stan c ed .

Ho w all this ha s happened does n o t take lon g t o tell s o ,

w e w ill te l l it and pass o n to e x p l ain the means a nd applian c e s

 1 63

ne w in use throughout this c ity fo r maintaining t h e hi gh ,

position its chief produ c e has attained The c ultivatio n o f .

c offee in Ceylon has been all along carried on under many ,

disadvan t ages and drawba cks Fickleness of seasons instability

.
,

o f markets un c ertainty o f labor supply dearness and scar c ity

, ,

o f transport and after all a l on g voya g e to market

, , , To meet .

s o many drawbacks o u r planters s e t themselves to s e e ho w

they c ould lessen the c ost o f produ ction and curin g and ,

enhan c e the value o f their product by greater c are in the

preparation The latter obj ect has led by slow degrees to
. ,

such improvements in machine ry pro c esses and applian c es that , ,

c offee c uring has be c ome a scientifi c pro c ess an d hen c e the

-
,

presen c e o f s o many extensive buildin g s and tall c himneys

whi c h are to be seen in every dire c tion i n the neighbourhood
o f Colombo .

Forty years ago whe n c off ee curin g was in its earlies t -

stages o f infancy su c h a thing as a Coffee mill did no t

,

exis t . The whole of the then small c rops were dried o n

mats spread in the front and back yards o f C olombo fort
offi ces : n o t a bean o f it w a s dried o ut o f the fort and the ,

peelin g o r removal of t he par c hment covering of the berry wa s

e ffe c ted ei ther b v hand —
peelers o f a very rude and c umbrou s
make or by peelers worked o ff the engines o f two o i l mills
, .

It was if we remember righ t ly in the year 1 8 40 that t h e

, ,

firs t regular co ff ee curing es t ablishment was formed o ut

-

of the fort o n the a c tual site o f Messrs S a b o na di e r e and

,
.

C ompany s mills where may still be seen a small portion o f the

’

original o ld walls and doorways : well do we remember whe n

the foundations o f t hat unpreten d ing c o ff ee -c uring store were
laid how British mer chan t s c ame o ut to look a t them and
, ,

shaking their scepti c al heads pronounced the firm whi c h was

,

en ga ged i n the building no better than insane for that all

, ,

the estates in Ceylon could never grow c offee enough to c ove r

those vast brick barb e cues ; and as for th e peeler w heels shod -

w ith iron why o f c ourse they would c r ush a ll t he c o ffee int o

, ,
 1 64

triage ! S uch were the predicti o ns o f the Colombo m a gnate s of

’

1 8 40. We have lived t o s e e thirty coffee mills each o f t en time s

the c apacity o f the original coffee m i ll in Slave Island and all ,

fi nd ample work whilst the weight and speed of the peeler

,

wheels have been doubled .

An ac c ount o f t he pro c ess c arried on in any o ne of the s e

m a ny mills will represent the work o f the whole fo r although ,

the spe ci al arrangeme nts and disposition o f dryin g ground ,

peel i ng house and picking and packing s t ores may di fi er in

-
,

c ertain details they all fo llo w o n e general principle

,
.

A stranger t o Ceylon and unacquain t ed with the v i s s i ci t u d e s

o f o ur climate and t he condi t i on in which much of the firs t
,

parcels o f coffee are received fro m the es t ate s might w e l l ,

marvel at t h e massive c haracter of the buildi ngs and the very ,

finished m a nner in which every appl i ance is co mp l e ted We .

may as w ell inform those who are unacquainted wi t h the fact ,

that in the early months of the coff ee seaso n s a y fro m Octobe r ,

to far int o December t he weather is m o st variable and t h e

, ,

par c hment coffee received from the planters is o ften satura t ed ,

with moisture to such an extent as to require a full week o f

good Colombo sunshine to free it o f su p erfluous wate r to s a y ,

nothing of dryin g it fo r t he mill Of c o urs e t his makes t he

.
,

c uring rather c o stly and the freigh t by railway very high

, ,

as the c harge for carriage is b y wei gh t B u t i t i s of t e n .

unavoidable from long—con t inued rains up —country c o mbi n ed ,

with a rush o f ripe cherry blocking u p the p lan t e rs stores s o ’

as to prevent them from turning i t over and th e refore rathe r ,

than run the risk o f heating th ey c onsent to ext r a fr e ight by

,

railway and extra growls from t he Colom b o cure rs .

During O c tober and Nove m ber the manager of a c offe e

,

mill leads a mos t harrassing life ; anxious t o take advantag e

o f every blink of sunshine to air and if poss i bly w arm hi s wet ,

par c h m ent he is c o m pelled to ru n risks and cover his wid e

,

b a r b a e u e s a s t hinly as may be and perh a ps before it has had

, ,

a n hour o f fre s h w arm m or n i n g a i r u o n it a h e a vy squall

, , p ,
 1 66

her a llowan c e o f c offee fo r the day s work is brought t o the ’

pre c ise spot c lose to an open breezy w indow where s h e works

, ,

her mat will be spread fo r her an d on e might almost i mag i ne

,

thou gh it would no doubt be a gross libel o n the male portion

o f the establishment that the bushel which
, measured her b a g
o f e e fi e e could not have been nearly s o larg e as that whi c h
mete d o ut the daily allowance o f her neighbou r the haggard
.
,

lookin g woman with a squallin g child .

W hilst these ladies are strolling in and assu m ing their

allotted tasks a score o r two o f coolies will be busy c arryin g
,

o ut fro m the re c eiving store and spreading not too thi c kly
, ,

but a cc ordin g t o the weather the parchment c offee fo r the ,

day s drying o n barb e c ues fa c ed with bri c ks and tarred havin g

’

suffi c ient s le p e to run o ff rain water In the evening o f .

the second day it will be c arried into another store near to the
peelin g house and next day spread o ut o n a b a r b a cue further
-
,

u p the yard until by successive days exposure i t has b e c ome

’

suffi c ie ntly d ry and hard to be pla c ed in the troughs o f the

peeling— mill and subje cted to the rapid fri c tion o f the metal
faced w heels .

Thoroughly well dried parchment coffee is rapidly c leane d

by bein g rubbed briskly between the hands w hen t he ,

parchme nt falls into dust and the beans are found ready fo r
,

packing The peelin g mill of the present day diff ers only
.
-

from that o f early times in bein g larger better hun g mor e , ,

rapidly propelled and o f metal throughout with a corru g at ed

,

fa c e The me c hanical arrangements for removin g the coffee

.

and parchment dust known as chaff from the mill and

“ ”
,

separa t in g them by means o f far mers o r winnowers vary i n ,

diff ere n t esta blishments but i n all the process i s the same
,

s o likewise w e may s a y o f the ma c hinery fo r separatin g t h e

b eans o f va rious sizes by m eans o f sizers and removin g t h e

pea—
,

berry and broken beans all of which are separate ly pa c ked

,

and marke d : the means fo r effe c tin g thes e obje c t s a r e

ide n ti c ally t h e s a m e i n a ll mi lls b ut m o di fi e d or c om b i n e d
,
 1 67

with lifting apparatus a c cording to the requirements of each

,

place.

In the early c off ee days o f Ceylon all that w a s done to

t h e beans aft er bein g freed from the ch a ff wa s t e pick o u t
d amaged o r defe c tive pie c es : afterwards the pea berries were -

removed by h a nd and it was not until in more recent times

,

that it was found worth while to size the c o ff ee a n operation ,

at first performed by hand but eventually by sizers w orked

,

by steam power The coff ee curer has ascertained that the

.

triflin g additional c ost of sizin g is far more than compensate d

by the enhan c ed value o f the c offee which is found to roas t
better w hen o f even size Greater care i s also taken to remove
.

fro m the sound portion o f the sample every bean in the

slightest de gree injured as it is found that the smallest c ut
,

from the pulper is apt to favor decay before rea c hin g the home
market and seriously a fi e ct the flavor o f the article
,
.

The appliances for weighing and packing do n o t differ

m aterially i n any o f the mills nor does the preparation of th e
,

packa ges in which great care i s exercised to the end that

, ,

when turned o ut o f the coolies hands they may be not only ’

s e a - worthy but c off ee —

, wor t hy in o t her words sound strong
, , ,

a n d sweet .A good charring in the inside o f the cask will no

d oubt remove any sli g ht resinous taint but generally speaking , ,

care is used to employ only good sweet wood How a su ffi c ient .

supply is to be obtained ten years hence at the present rate o f ,

c onsumption of eighty thousand casks a year is o n e of those ,

thin gs no c offee curer can undertake to explain Up to the .

year 1 8 40 all c offee from Ceylon w ent home in bags ; in that

year a small experiment was made by shipping pea— berry i n
smal l boxes lined with paper : but this was a failure ; the good
wo ods were found too costly and the c heap woods such as Hal
,

a n d Da w a t a imparted an objectionable flavor to the contents .

Ultimately ke g s with the insides charred w ere tried with ,

su cc ess : then larger barrels and eventually c asks o f s i x to

,

nine hun dredweights ea c h .

 1 68

P a ck e d in c asks o f various sizes s o as to se c ure better

s tow a ge o n ship board they are c arefully marked with a vie w
,
-
,

to placin g the head staves per p endicul a r when in the ship s

-
’

hold pressure above bein g found t o damag e the ends when

,

this pre c aution i s not taken From the ti m e the casks o f.

coff ee leave the mills un til t he y are on boa rd s hip they do

, ,

n o t part c ompany w ith a stout t a r p a uli n e s o ne c essary is it ,

that damp should not in any way penetrate the packages and ,

hen c e it i s that added t o all the c are that is given to o ur chief

,

arti c le o f export within the mills it is cared fo r up to i t s latest

,

m oments in Ceylon .

An ac c ount o f o ur c offee m ills would be m anifestly

im perfe c t wi t hout a sli g ht sket c h o f the presiding geni us t he ,

store — keeper wh o fo r many a year in olden days was master

,

o f t he situation .

The ori ginal of the type I am about to des c ribe may be ,

said to belong to a race nearly extinct in the present day

born o f the ne c essities o f t heir time they have been gradually ,

swept away by the necess i ties o f a more advan c ed state o f

t hings and are n o w only to be met with in the bye —ways o f
,

busine s s han gin g o n to the skir t s o f new c omers unskilled in

,

their fi lchi ng s and c aptivated by the lo w rate o f salary w ith

,

whi ch they are content a s a c loak to daily and nightly,

swindles .

Your proper store man is a Sin ghalese but I c ould

-
,

prod uc e Malays fully as skilled in the craft o f t he professional

store keeper as a ny Te p a ni s o r Jua ni s
-
,
“ “
In the early
”
.

days of c off ee in Ceyl o n there were but few mills o r stores

,

that c ould aff ord the salary o f a European manager and it ,

was moreover c onsidered t hat o n s o m e su c h principle as that

c ontained in the o ld sayin g o f S e t a thief t o c atch a thief
”

there was no person better able to w ork natives than a na t ive , .

This highly popular delusion obtained c reden c e for a s c ore o f

years d urin g w hich time the amount o f fr a ud and peculation
,

that w as perpe t rat e d throu gh the Colombo c off e e s tores w a s ,

 1 70

ide a s o f the purc hasin g powers o f thirty ri x d o llars m o nthly -

,

in the hands of their native subordinate gaily de c ke d as h e ,

Wa s and gorgeously attired when o n New Year s Day he and

’

all hi s belongings paid their annual visit to the head o f t h e

fi rm as in duty bound in all the glory of walkin g rainb o w s
,
.

As years rolled o n so passed away the simpli c i t y o f the

primitive store — keepers and their morality ever elas t i c
, , ,

underwent a c hange fo r the worse The small c opper c oin s ,

were found t o o insi g nifi c ant for the enlar g ed ideas o f Te p a ni s

,

and his fellows Silver was c oveted but silver c ould not b e
.
,

had from the weekly recipients o f w age s and s o the indi g enou s ,

ingenui ty o f the ra c e sou g ht for it in another d ire c tion ,

where fine viens o f the pre cious metal were quickly found ,

c onstituting an ever yielding e l— dorado veri t able diggings o f ,

a pparently prolifi c yield This ri c h vein of metal was worke d

.

pretty mu c h a s follows — ca r t m e n and boatm a n b r in g in g

c offee from the interior to the stores were almost invariably ,

s hort in their deliveries sometimes very mu c h s o o cc a sionally

, ,

only to a small extent ; for this a deduc tion had to be mad e

from their hire and it was therefore only a q ues tion of amount
, ,

o f the c ompromise to be arrived at between the measurer o f

c offee and the c arriers in order to arrange the li t tle differen c e

,

a n d se c ure fo r the latter a clean receip t and full balan c e o f

hire Of course when coffee advanced in pr i c e the indu c ement

.
,

to sell the par c hment o n the way was s o m uc h the greate r , ,

a n d in su c h c ases t he store keeper was treated more li b erally

-

in t h e matter o f fees It may seem stran g e to some o f o u r

.

r eaders that this system o f bare faced fr aud has never bee n
,
-

e xposed w hen i t is known that t he owners o f stores o r their

, ,

E uropean offi ce assistan ts in their daily mornin g visits to t h e

,

mills failed to dete c t the cheat as i t was the cus t o m t o s e e

, ,

any re c ently arrived lots of coffee measured in their presen c e ,

occasionally by way o f check as they supposed but in vain

, ,

t h e m easurement invar i a bly turned o ut rather better tha n

u sual and s o all s uspi c ion w a s lull e d

, I r e m em b e r a c as e .
 17 1

whi c h o cc urred many years a g o in w hi c h a c off ee c urer havin g

,

been ass ured b y a dis charged coolie that tricks were played , ,

manag ed to have two bags o f estate coff ee secretly removed

f m m o n e o f the carts conveying it to the store by the c ooli e ,

in q uestion I n the m orning the par c el of c offee was foun d

.

to have been measur e d and turned o ut c orrect in the bushel s ,

though t w o bags were state d to be short in the tally On .

finding this t he proprietor of the store ordered the par c el to

be r e measured before him expecting to find the quantity
-

s hort but not so the number of bushels was found to tally

, ,

exactly with that entered in the receipt and t he coffee c urer ,

w as non plussed The aff air is managed i nthis way i n order

-
.
'

to p r event the possibility o f detectio n by occasional checks in

the measurement by o n e o f the principals suffi cient par chment ,

was invariably taken fr o m another lot to make up the corre c t

quantity and thus dete ction bec a me impossible But it wi ll
, .

be said what about the out turn of the various lots

- ? If a
certain number o f bushels of parchment were being c onstantly
received s h or t th e re m ust have been an eventual defi c iency in
,

the quantity o f clean c off ee shipped : this w as what happened ,

and this fa c t fully explains the very irregular o ut — turn o f

estate c offee in those days which was known to range be t wee n
,

4 : 60 and 5 5 0 bushels t o the hundred weight After a .

time t hese irre gular results led to searchin g enquiries and

unpleasant questio ning and so the wily store keepers resorte d
,
-

to ano t her dodge in order to conceal the short re c eipts o f

,

parchment in their s t o re s they professed to sh i p more c offee

than a ct ually left their mill s by marking the casks i n ex c es s
‘

o f their a c tual c ontents : some pounds o n each cask did not

,

create suspicion and o n arrival i n London t he differen c e was

,

supposed to have arisen from d r i a g e o n the voyage home .

The tri c k o f false marking has been known to have

extended to the tare o f the c ask whi ch being marked on t h e
,

packa ges less than it was necessarily made i t appear tha t there
,

w as more c offee in it than w as a c tually the c ase and this has ,

 1 72

been kno w n to have been restored to in order to c over th e ,

wei ght of a quantity O f good c lean estate c offee remove d from

the mills during the day t i me under the preten c e o f it being
-
,

bla c k and havin g been sold t o a c onfederate outside a t a

n ominal figure a little bla ck coffee being placed o n the top o f
,

each bag o f the g ood To what e xt ent this latter s y stem o f

.

robbery w as carried o n it would be i m possible t o form any

,

O pinion but there is no doubt that the total o f the fraudulen t

,

g ain s o f native store -keepers and o f so m e few not natives

, by
birth but by pro c livities has been very large indeed We
, , .

have been a ssured that frauds hav e been perpetrated in t h e

measurement o f c off ee even whe n most ri g orously w at ched by
a European store keeper o f undoubted inte rity : it has been
-
g
managed by a c onfederate se c retin g himself behind a heap o f
b ag s of c offe e i n the evenin g and bein g lo c ke d i n all ni g ht
, ,

e mployed the short spa c e o f the early da w n in makin g u p

the de fic ien c y i n hi s lot by a b s tra c tion fro m a nother par ce l

,

n ear at hand .

But there are sour c es o f g ai n fo r the model stor e keepers -

,

other than in the bean itself The stores have t o be e nl arge d

.

by the a ddition o f another e xtensive w in g a n e w pi c kin g

house and a ne w upper —
, story a ll o f w hi ch involve a g ood deal
,

o f consultation bet w een M a r i ca r the c ontra ctor and T e a ni s

p , ,

the store — keeper g enerally o n Sunday at the villa residen c e

,

O f the latter The result o f thes e diplomati c c onferen c e i s

.
,

that M a r i ca r O btains the c ontra c t afte r de d u c ting a c ertai n

amount w hi ch had been added for the e x press purpose o f bein g
redu c ed by the zealous and faithful Te p a ni s in the interests o f
his respe c ted e mployer About the sam e period a ne w house i s
.

c ommen c ed in the Cotta road o n a ni c e plot of ground

a cq uired by the honest in d ustry o f T e p a ni s the masonry w or k ,

i s done by M a r i ca r s men the b ri cks c ome from the sam e

’

kiln as furnish the materials for the ne w st o re buildin g ,

l i kewise the c a rpenter s work a n d a year after w ards Tep a ni s

’

as to nishes his n umero us c ir cl e of fri e n ds by i nf ormi ng th em ,

 A NEW YE A R S DA Y ’

HERE are some o f our fello w subj e c ts in the E a st wh o

-
,

appear to have been rather unfairly d ealt w ith b y

,

w riters of I ndian books and colonial histories inasmu c h as

, ,

no noti c e has been taken o f them save in t h e offic ial c ensus

, ,

in w hi c h by the w ay they fi g ure rather prominently as

, ,

re gards number I allude to the Bur gher inhabitants o f o ur

.

lar g e c olonial town s within the tropi c

I n Euro p e the term “
Bur gher w as applied in O lde n ,

days to all citi z ens o r d w ellers in prin c ipal towns carrying o n

, ,

trades o r professions therein In the East o r rather within

. ,

the tropi c s it is used to desi g nate the descendants o f the old

,

Portu g uese and Dut c h c olonists a clas s at once numerous and

,

respectable At the Cape Colony they form the maj ority o f

.

s ettlers ; but in the tropi c al settlements o f Ceylon Singapore , ,

et c they are outnumbered by other race s W hen the forme r

. ,
.

i sland w as taken possession o f by the British forces many o f ,

the Dut ch c ivil servants returned to Holland or mi g rated t o

Java ; but v e ry many lacked the means to travel o r preferre d ,

remainin g wher e they had been born Their descendants .

have c ontinue d t o fi ll many leading posts in the c olonial

e stablishments and nearly all the minor appointments in t h e
,

judi c ial and revenue departments are bestowed upon these

and the Portu guese Burghers The Dut c h have been and are
.
,

to this day very c arefu l not to intermarry w ith any Sin ghalese
thus their habits and their c hara c ters have under g one but
little c han g e The Portu guese o n the other hand have bee n
. , ,

far less s c rup ulous on this poi nt ; and their des c endants O f t h e
prese n t day a r e t o be s ee n of e very s h a d e a nd g rad e from ,
 1 75

t he well clad medical student t o the half starved ill clad

-
, ,
-

me c hanic or the indolen t bazaar- keeper .

If the English colonists contrive to monopoli z e the best

ber t hs in the servi ce the Burghers have mana g ed to se c ure to
,

t hemselves the most com fortable dwellings with the best ,

gar dens The same jealous exclusiveness w hich has s o

.

com pl e t ely separated these two c lasses impels the European ,

to take up his residence in a quarter as far removed as possible

fr o m the suburbs usually occupied b y the Burghers The .

English mer chants and civil servants will be found lo c ated

a l on
g the edge of some high road w ithin a very small patch ,

o f burnt up padd oc k -
Their tenements are o f n o parti c ular
.

order being m o stly long rambl i ng whitewashed pla c es A

, .

few palms make an attempt a t shading the hot verandah

i n front : while t he small tufts o f c innamon bushes are to be
seen s t ru g glin g f o r life in parched sand evidently dis g uste d ,

with their cir c umstance How different the dwellings o f the

.

Burghers ! S ome o f these it i s true are in the midst o f , ,

the Pettah o r native town but most o f them will be found ,

s ca t tere d ab o ut in quiet shady lanes Many are quite hidden

,
.

from the passer —b y amidst dense little c lus t ers o f fruit

,

trees rose bushes and evergreens—concealed amidst leaves

, ,

and flowers as snugly as though they were s o many huge ,

red bricked bird s nes t s

-
’
.

I t is seldom indeed that anything occurs to break the

,

dull monotony o f life in the East With few publi c amuse .

~

ments no promenades colonists seldom meet ea c h other save

, ,

in their c hur c hes Ther e are howeve r a fe w days in the

.
,

y ear when a li tt le change in this clo c k work existen c e takes

-

place amon gst the Bur gher population ; when hard visaged
Dut chmen relax the stern rigidity O f their bronzed features ,

and put on some ga y suit o f many c olors When portly .

dames rouse up for the emergen c y startle the quiet family ,

halls w ith their busy ton gues and s c are the Old house dog ,
-

w ith the vivid brilliancy o f bri gh t riban ds and ne w la c e .

 1 76

One o f these very fe w a n d mu ch prized o cc asions i s N e w

Year s Day
’
.

I n the afternoo n o f the first day i n January 1 8 5 0 I , ,

strolled o ut from the o ld sturdy fort o f Co lombo over a ,

lumbering w ooden draw bri d ge through some o f the broa d,

prim lookin g streets O f the nat i ve t own The bland s e a breeze

-
.
-

played c oyly with the feathery foliage o f the tall palms and
a r ek a s, and waved against t h e azure s ky many a tope o f
broad — leaved bright green bananas Away upon the breezy
,
-
.

o c ean far o u t from land a li t tle fl e e t o f fishin g c an oes w e re

,

dis c ernable m aking their swift way to shore w ith welcome loads ,

t h e toilers o f the deep eager t o be with their friends and

’

j oin in the glad rej oi c in g s o f that w elcome New Year s Day .

The native bazaar at the corner o f the town w ith o n e e nd

, ,

juttin g o ut upon the s e a w as for o n c e c lean and gay The

,
.

dealers in fi sh fruit a n d c urry stuffs appeared to have put o n

, ,
-

new c lothes w ith the New Year The hu g e white turbans . ,

and g ilt ed ged muslin s c arfs glistened in the noon day s un

-
,
-

and g org eous many c oloured vests a n d wrappers v i ed i n the

, ,
 178

the hidden treasures on the tray and 10 ! there were dis c overe d
,

—not piles of glittering se quins and emeralds and rub ies a s

, , ,

I had expe c ted but a few bun c hes o f yellow p lanta ins som e
, ,

green oranges a handful o f limes half a —dozen pine —

, app les
,
-
,

and a h o mely looking c ake frosted with su gar These wer e

-
.

the universal New Year Offe r ings amongst that simple c om

munity given as tokens o f good fellowship and nei ghbourly
,
-

feelings ; and as su c h welcomed a n d cheerfully responded to

, .

Little corpulent glasses o f cordials o r s chiedam were ha nded , ,

round amongst all arrivals ri c h o r poor ; g ood wi shes wer e

,

exchan g ed ; a few stale j okes were cra c ked ; inquiries wer e

made for the g randmother who was t oo in firm to j oin t h e
party ; and away went the neighbou rs with anothe r slave and
another heap of hidden gi ft s to the next a c quaintanc e
,
.

These presents are not confined to mere e quals ; t he mos t

hu m ble menial scrapes a few chall i es together for t h e occasio n
and lays at h i s master s feet an oblation of fruits and flowers
’

The very grass c utter the miserable han g er—

-
, on of

stables con t rives s o mehow to get a few pines and plantain s

,

a blue and white dish and poverty -s t ri c ken though s h e b e

o n - -
; ,

pours out her simple g ifts b efore her mast e r with g entl e ,

di g nity .

Group after group went through the town Gay partie s .

continued to amuse themselves in m a ny a dusty v e randah .

S cores o f meerschaums sent forth c ir c lin g clouds of frag rant

white sm o ke ; while m any a dreamy Dut chman nodded in hi s
high backed richly carved chair o f ebony
-
,
- The hour o f .

vespers approached There were heard dozens o f tinklin g

.

little b ells ; and forth came scores o f damsels clad in pure

w hite .
Again the d us t y streets w ere busy and alive a n d .

many o f the good Catholi c verandahs lost their c hief c harmers .

S t rayi n g on w ard from this bustling nei ghbourhood I ,

rea c hed the outskirts of the to w n where are to be seen so m e

,

O f the prettiest and most retired of the B urghers dwelling s ’

.

These are mostly fi ne old mansions O f red brick w i t h solid , ,

 179

g ri m lookin
-
g g able —
ends frowning d own upon the O ld rusty
ates and the great round wall by the forest o f plantain —trees
g ,
.

I found myself standing before one o f these in a sweet green ,

lane lined w ith lofty palms spreadin g go r e k a s and huge india, ,

rubber trees The heavy wall in front hid the sturdy m ansion
.

from my view ; but the ga t es bein g O pen I obtained a peep of ,

the oriental paradise within Rare O ld fruit — trees o n the grass .

plot were well laden with clustering many c oloured fruit ! ,

They must have been in bea ring when t he old gentleman i n

the easy chair and t he pink c otton t rousers and black scull
, ,

c ap was a mere child How cool the pla c e looke d amidst all
,
.

that dense green foliage ! One might almost ha ve c augh t a

c old in the head by merely looking in at t he g at e : the s un
evi dently never troubled the lit tle children playin g o n the
grass under the t hick cluster o f mangoes sour—sops and , ,

plantains except perhaps for a few min utes at n oon W ha t

, , ,
.

a jolly old house it was t o be sure with verandahs as large a s

, ,

the Burlin g t on Ar c ade in London ; and su c h win dows ! They

looked like s o many roofs o f hot houses le t sideways into the -

walls ; and as for the doors one might have fancied from t heir , ,

size t hat the family were in the habi t o f keeping their c arria g e
,

i n the back parlour or setting ou t the dinner —table in the

,

doorway : there would have been abundance of room i n either

c ase and a little to spare to o !
,

There were n i ce beds o f flowers on each side of the large

grass plot and oran ge trees ; and t he passer b y peepin g in far
-
,
-

enough as I did m i ght have caught a gl i mpse o f o n e o r two

, ,

pairs o f small pre tty fee t and faces to mat ch hid d en away , ,

c osily amon g the rose s and oleanders W ell t hese are nice .
, ,

quiet enjoyable pla c es and mu c h better t han the ho t dus ty

, , , ,

dignified rabbit hut c hes of t he English on t he o t her s i de o f

-

the for t !
I passed on as my fancy led me until I c ame to an o ther ,

stout D utch residence which plea s ed me t hough no t so much

,

as the other had done I t w as al t oge ther another description

.
 1 80

of house though doubtless pleasant enoug h in i t s way It

, .

stood c lose upon the road with all the garden behind it s o ,

that o ne s a w nothing but red bricks and little Dutch tiles .

There w as no peeping in there through a ny open gates ; ,

n o c atchin g the daughters q uietly among the flowers .

The o w ner o f the house c hance d to be enjoying his pipe

in the c apa c ious doorway ; and seein g me surveying the
premises he at on c e rose fe o m his quiet seat an d bade m e
,

welcome When he learnt my desire to examine his mansion

. ,

h e gladly c on d u c ted m e throu g h the buildin g to the garden .

The prin c ipal r oom o r hall was o f g reat size I believe yo u .

might h a ve driven a stage c oa c h whi c h very frisky leade rs

-
, ,

round the dinner t able w ithout fear of to uching the army of

,

ch airs ranged along the walls I c ould almost fancy the .

builder had made a mistake and roofed in a good part o f the

,

road I looked up and when at lengt h I discovered the roof

.
, ,

I wondered whether the sparrows building t heir nests s o high

there ever felt giddy and fell d own and killed themselve s
,

u pon the tile d floor The other rooms were less ample but
. ,

all spa c ious enough and wel l fille d with ebony and calamander
,

furniture There was a degree o f polish about the windows

. ,

a n d a sort o f rakishness in the couch c overs and o t toman

drapery whi c h filled m e with admiratio n; while the very
,

s c reen in the doorway had a jaunt y air about it w hi c h there

w as no resist i ng .

Right and left from the large house extended ba ck ward ,

t w o ranges o f sleeping apartments and stores with lon g stone ,

terraces fi lle d wi t h flowerin g shru b s in giganti c pots At

,
.

the farther end were rows o f hu ge suspiciously shaped jars ,

-
,

lookin g as though they belonged to Ali B a b e and the Forty

Thieves At the termination Of this pottery w ere w ide flight s
.

o f steps leadin g to a neatly laid out g arde n full o f the ri c hes t

-
,

flowers and g reenest shrubs and most temptin g fruit tree s

, ,

the eye ever s a w o r fancy pi c tured Ther e was a small

, .

fountain in the mid s t w ith a seat by the side and rou n d i t

, ,
 1 82

and patiently s a t it out Peal after peal of thunder rent the

.

air I t see m ed as though all the powder—

. magazines in the
world were being blown up Firs t there wa s a cr acking and
.

sp litting as o f gi gantic sheets o f metal torn a sunder then a

,

heavy rumbling like ten thousand loaded waggons being

gall o ped across an iro n bridge The air w a s n o longer
.

darkened ; every foot o f atmosphere s eemed al i ve with light

ning life By the glare I could s e e some of the noble palms
.
,

—a t least seventy feet hi gh—bending to the gale like willow

wan ds and literally s w eepin g the g round with their feathery
,

leaves More than one u p o n that terrible night was shivered

.
, ,
’

into splinters by the li ghtni n g ; and many a s t ub b o r n o n e

that w ould n o t bend lay c rushed and helpless o n i ts sandy
,

g rave.

The howlin g of the wind the thu n der — peals the heavy
,

drops h a d well —
,

pat tering o f the huge rain — ni gh stunned me , .

In nature however as with man the fiercest outbreaks are the

, , ,

soonest quelle d In half an hour the moon shone out again in

.

un dimme d beaut y The air was cal m and hushed : and the
.

par c hed earth and herbs grateful for su c h a copious draught

, ,

sent many a fra g rant blessing on the bree z e to tell their ,

thanks .
 OUR NATIONAL TREE

O dwellers in Ceylon the co c oanut palm c alls up a w ide

,

range o f ideas ; it asso c iates itself with nearly every

want and convenience o f native life
,
It mi ght tempt a .

Sin ghalese v i llager to assert that if he were placed upon the

earth wi th nothin g else whatever to minister to his ne c essities
than the co coanut tree he could pass h i s existen c e in happiness
,

and contentment .

W hen he has felled o n e of these trees after it has c eased

bearing ( say in its seventieth year ) with its trunk he builds ,

his b ut and his bull oc k —

stall which he tha t ches wi t h its leaves
, .

His bolts and bars are slips of the bark ; by whi c h he als o
suspe n ds the small shelf which holds his sto c k of home made -

u t ensils and vessels He fen c es his li tt le plot of c hillies

.
,

t oba cc o and fine grain wi t h the lea f stalks The i n fant is

, ,
-
.

swun g to sleep in a rude net of co i r stri n g made from the -

husk of the fruit ; its m eal o f rice and scraped cocoanut is

b oi led over a fire o f cocoanut shells and husks and is eaten ,

o ff a dish formed of the plai t ed g r een leaves o f t he trees with ,

a spoon cut o ut o f the nut shell When he goes a — fi s h i ng by

- .

tor c h light his net is o f cocoanut fibre the torch or c hule

-
, ,

i s a bundle o f drie d cocoanut leaves and fl o w e r stalks : the -

little c anoe is the trunk o f the c o coa palm tree hollowed by -

,

his o w n hands He carries home his net and string o f fish

.

o n a yoke o r pingo formed o f a c ocoanut s t alk

, ,
W hen he i s .

thirsty he drinks O f the fresh juice of the young nut ; when

,

he is hungry he eat s its sof t kernel If he have a mind to be

,
.

m erry he sips a glass O f arrack distilled from the fermente d

, ,

j uice and he flavours his c urry with vine gar made from this
,

toddy Should he be si ck his body will be rubbe d with

.
,
 1 84

co c o anut o i l ; he swee t ens his c offee w ith ja g gery o r c o c oanut ,

sugar and softens it w ith c o c oanut milk ; it i s sipped by t he

,

light o f a lamp c onstru c ted from a c o c oanut shell and fed by

, ,

c o c oanut o i l Hi s doors his windo w s his shelves hi s c hair s

.
, , , ,

the water— g utter under the eaves a ll are made from the w ood ,

o f the tree His spoons his forks his basins his mugs hi s
.
, , , ,

salt c e l lars his jars hi s c hild s money—

-
, box are all c onstru c te d
,
’

from the shell o f the nut Over his c ou c h when first born .
,

and over hi s grave when buried a bun c h o f c o c oanut blossom s ,

is hun g t o c harm away evil spirits

, .

This palm is assiduously c ultivated in Ceylon in top es , ,

o r plantations and it was lon g believe d that the rude nativ e

sys t em o f culture was the best : b ut experien ce has shown t h e
falla c y o f this O pinion Hen c e the Singhalese c ontinue t o .
,
.

fi nd the manual labor but the En gli sh m an provides skill and ,

implements .

There is a good re a d to within a c ouple o f miles of the

plantation I am about to des c ribe ; s o that t he visito r h a s
little diffi c ul ty in performing this much o f the j ourney Th e .

remainin g two miles lie through a sandy tra c k o f very flat

an d rather uninterestin g country Here and there amidst a .
,

maze o f paddy fields a r e ca nut topes and patches of lo w tho r ny , ,

j ungle are dotted little white walled huts They are mu c h

,
- .

cleaner than any su c h near the towns o f Ceylon attache d

to ea c h is a small sli p O f ground rudely fen c ed and half , ,

cultivat ed with a few sweet potatoes some c hill i es and a

, , ,

lit t le t obacco and fi ne grain It was midday when I started .

o n fo o t t o t h i s es t a t e The sun w a s blazin g above in

,
.

unclouded glory Unde r the shade o f a breadfruit tree the .

,

owner o f the fi rs t hut I got to was do zin g and c hewing

betel nut evidently tastin g in anti c ipation the blis s of
-
, , ,

Buddha s paradise The wife w as poundin g up somethin g for

’
.

curry ; the children were by her side —the boy s smoking

tiny c he roots the girls twistin g mats It was fortunate fo r
,
.

me that the sandy path wa s over-s hado w e d b y j ungle tre e s ,

 186

beauty heightened o n a nearer inspe c tion ! Walking clos e

under the shado w of their lon g and ribbon like leaves I c oul d -
,

s e e h o w thi c kly they were studde d w ith golden r een frui t -

g
in every stage o f gro w th The sight was absolutely marve llous
.

w ere su c h trees s o laden painted by an artist his produ c tio n

, , ,

w ould in all probability be pronoun c ed unnatural They

, , .

appeared more like some fairy c reations g o t up for my sp e c ial ,

a m usement resemblin g nearly t he s e g or g eou s trees whi c h i n

, ,

my youth I deli ghte d to read about in the Arabian Ni ghts

, ,

g rowin g in subterranean gardens and yieldin g pre c ious stones , .

They hung in grape like c l usters around the crest o f the tre e ;
-

the lar g e g olden ripe nuts below smaller and g r eener fruit ,

j ust above them follo w ed b y s c ores o f others in all stages

, ,

from the blossom bud to the half grown ; it w as impossibl e

- -

to c at c h a g limpse o f the ste m s o thi c kly di d the fruit han g ,

o n all sides I made an attempt t o c ount them

. thirty
fi ft y—eighty — o n e hundre d —I c ould go no further ; thos e
little fellows near the t o p p eepin g up like s o many tiny dolls
,
’

heads defied my most c areful numeration ; but I feel confiden t

,

there must have been quite t w o hundre d nuts o n that o n e

palm Abo v e the cl usters of ri c h fruit were two feather lik e
.
-

flowers white a s snow and smooth and glossy as polishe d

, ,

ivory ; they had j ust burst from their sheaths and a mor e ,

deli c ate lovely picture could s c ar c ely be ima g ined

, .

A co c oanut t ree in a native Singhalese tope will some ,

times y ield fifty nuts i n t w elve months ; but the average o f

them seldom give more than t w enty fi v e in the year I t i s -
.

therefore very evi dent that European skill may be employe d

beneficially on this c ultivation as well as o n any other , .

I was at first ra t her startled at perceiving a tall half nake d i

-

Singhalese away in the distance with a gun at least half a s ,

long again as himself long bla c k hair over his shoulders and
, ,

bunches o f somethi ng han g ing a t h i s girdle He w as w at c hin g .

some game amongst the trees ; at last he fired r a n pi c ked up , ,

s m
o ethi n g and stu c k it
, in his g ird l e What c o u ld it b e ?
.
 187

P arrot pi g eon
, j ungle fo w l
, I t w as only a poor little
or - ?

s quirrel ; and there w ere at least two s c ores of these pretty

c reatures hangin g at the waist o f the mighty hunter !
Fortunately I c ould speak the native language and was no t
, ,

long in learning the c ause o f this slau ghter It appe ared that .

in addition to their pretty bushy tails gl o ssy coats an d , ,

playful g ambols the squirrels have very sharp and active teeth
,
-
,

and an un c ommon relish for the sweet tender buds o f the

c o c oanut flower which they nip o f an d d estroy by s c ores
, ,

and o f c ourse lessen by so much the future c rop of fruit ,

.

H a n d s full o f the buds lay half eaten around ea c h tree and I -

,

no lo n g er fel t astonished at this spe c ies of sportin g .

The g round had evidently been w ell c leared from jungle

plants not o n e o f su c h was t o be see n in all this track : a
,

stout and healthy looking g ras s was springing up alon g the

-

avenues ; whilst at intervals patches o f Ind ian c orn sweet , ,

po tat o es g uinea grass and other produ c ts —intende d fo r

,
-
,

c attle fodder duri n g dry w eather when the wild grasses fail
-

gave tints o f varied luxuriance to the s c ene .

The ground at this part o f the estate sloped a little and ,

I c ame to a n open spa c e somewhat marshy in appearan c e , .

A number o f c attle young and O ld were browsing about o n

, ,

the long grass o r sipping a draught from the c lear stream

,

which ran thr o u gh the low ground They were c onfine d .

wi t hi n a rude but stout fe nc e and o n one s i de was a ra n ge o f ,

low sheds for their shelter The cattle appeared in good .

c o ndition ; they were purchased when very youn g from the , ,

drovers who bring t hem in hundreds from the Malabar coast ;

a n d m a ny were the n fit for the cart the carriage o r th e knife ,
.

A t the end was a manure she d and outside stood a keeper s ,

’

hut wi t h a store attached in which were piled u p dried

, ,

guinea grass maize et c

-
, , .

The manure — pit was deep and large and in it lay the true ,

se c ret o f t he magical productiveness of the trees I had j ust

s een . Good seed planted in light free soil w e l l c lear e d ,
 1 88

an d drained will produ c e a fi ne healthy tree in a fe w y ears ;

,

an d if to this b e adde d occasional supplies o f manure and a

f e w waterings during the dry season an abundant yield o f ,

fruit will m o st assuredly reward the toil and outlay o f th e

c o c oa nut cultivator
- .

Leaving thi s sp o t I strolled through the next field to s e e

, ,

what a number o f little boys were so busy about There wer e .

a d ozen dark urchins running about fro m t ree t o tree ;

,

s ometimes they stoppe d clambered up and a p peare d to hav e

, ,

very part i cular business to transact at t he stems of the leaves ;

but oftener they passe d contented with a mere glan c e upward s
at the fruit They had a shar p pointe d ins t r um ent in t h e
.
-

hand : whilst at the wrist O f each was hung a co c oanut shell .

I paused t o s e e what o n e of these children was sear ching fo r

.

half hi d as th e little fellow was amongst the giganti c leaves .

Intently scrutinizing his moti ons I O bserved t hat he forced ,

th e lit t le shar p instrument into the ve y body o f the tre e r

down it w ent to t he inmost core o f the giant ste m : all h i s

s t ren g th was employed ; h e straine d and st r uggled amon g s t
the huge l eaves as though he were enga ged in deadly strif e
w i t h som e terrible boa o r c hee t ah A t last he se cured hi s .

antagonist and descende d with somethin g alive small and

, ,

black and impaled on the barbed p oint o f t h e l i ttle w e apon

,

a few questions elici t ed the whol e secret The co c o anut tre e . ,

i t seems has many ene m ies b esides squirrels : t he elephant

, ,

the w ild hog t he rat the whi t e ant t he porcupine the monkey
, , , , ,

and a large wh it e worm ei t her a tt ach it when young o r r o b

, ,

it of its fruit w h e n mature Bu t t h e most numerous and .

perseverin g enemy which i t has to encounter f r om the age of

three years until long af t er it produces frui t is coor o om tm ya
'

, ,

o r cocoanut beetle ; a black hard coa t e d creature wi t h beautiful

, ,

wings and a most powerful little tusk which it employs w ith

, ,

fatal activity to open a way into the stems o f the palms Its .

labours commen c e in the evening and b y early morning it ,

w ill be burie d half a — dozen in ches d eep in the very c ent re Of

-
_
 1 90

and powdere d wood from the body o f the tree There amids t .
,

the ruin wa s the enemy that has c aused so mu c h mischief and

,

l abour . It was an unsightly worm about four in c hes in ,

length and as thi c k as one s small fi ng er having a d ull w hit e

,
’

b ody and black head I the n began to w onder what had nex t
.

to be don e whether the tree w ould d i e after all this ha c kin g

,

and maimin g Would the medi c ine — . man now b e s ent for ?
N o The interior o f the wounde d tree as w ell as the aperture
.
, ,

w as thoro ughly freed from dirt an d de c ompose d fi b r e —whi c h

m i ght have aided in hat c hin g any eg g s left by th e worm —and
fi nally the root was c overe d up and the openin g and inside o f ,

th e palm ti gh tly filled with clay I was assure d that no t .

more than o n e o f ten trees thus treated ever fails t o re c over , ,

i ts health .

The n o ct ur a l atta c ks o f elephants a r e c he c ke d by mean s

o f lighte d fi res and an occasional shot o r t w o durin g the n ight
, .

Wild hogs and p or c upines are c aught in traps and h un ted by ,

do g s The monkeys are shot do w n like the s quirrels and

.
,

t h e w hite ants are poisoned In spite o f all these measures

.
,

however an estate often su ffers very severely and its pro

, ,

d u ct i v e n e s s is mu c h interfered with by these depre dators .

The soil over whi c h I had as y e t passe d had been o f o ne

uniform descrip t ion —a light sandy earth c ontaining a littl e ,

vegetable matter and but a little Afterwards I arrived at a

, .

tra c t o f plante d l and quite d ifi e r e nt fro m its nature and mod e

,

o f c ultivation It w a s o f a far stiffer c hara c ter deeper i n

.
,

c olour and more weedy This portion o f the estate was i n

,
.

former days a swamp in which the por c upine t he wild h o g, , ,

a nd the ja c kal delighte d to dwell sheltered from t he

, ,

e n c roa c hment o f man by a dense mass o f lo w j un g l e thorns , ,

and ree ds To drive away these destru c tive c reature s fro m

.

the vi c i n ity o f the youn g palms t h e ju ngle was fi red durin g , ,

dry weather It w as then per c eived that the soil o f t his

.

morass although w e t and rank from its position w as o f a mos t

,

l uxuri ant ch ara c ter a fe w deep drains w e r e ope n ed through

 1 91

the c entre c ross drains were cut and after o ne season s

, ,
’

expos ure t o the purifying a c tion of the atmosphere and rain ,

the whole of it was planted and it no w gi v es fair promise o f

,

being one day the finest fi eld in the plan t ation .

From this low ground I strolled through some lon g

avenues of trees o n the right ; their long leaves prote c te d m e
from the heat of the afternoon s un which was still considerable , .

Th e trees o n this side were e v i d e nly older : they had a g reater

number o f ripe fruit ; and further away in the distan c e might
be seen a multitude of m e n and boys busily engag ed in bearing
a w ay the h ug e nuts in pairs to a path o r rude cart tra c k
, ,

where a ea/ngcm y or native overseer was o cc upied in c ountin g

, ,

them as they w ere tossed into the bullock cart The expertnes s .

o f the b o y s in climbin g these smooth lofty and br a n c hles s ,

trees by the aid o f a small band formed by twisting a portion

,

o f a c o c oanut leaf was truly astonishin g

, In a moment their .

small feet g rasped the trunk aided by the twisted leaf whilst
, ,

their hands were employe d above ; they glided upwards and ,

with a quick eye detected the riper fruit whi c h rapidly , ,

twisted from their stalks were flung to the ground Their

, .

c ompanions below were busy in removing the nuts whi c h for ,

youn g c hildren is no easy task ; the nuts fre quently w eigh i n g

fi fteen or twenty pounds ea c h with the husk o r outer skins o n
,

them The natives have a simple but ingenious method o f

.

tyin g them together in pairs by whi c h means the boys c an

,

c arry two o f them with ease when otherwise o ne would be a

,

task o f difficulty The nu t s have little if any stalk : the

. , ,

pra c ti c e therefore is to slit up a portion o f the husk ( whi c h i s

the coir fibre in i t s natural state ) pull out a suffi c ient length
,

without breaking i t and thus tie two together ; in this w ay

,

the little urchins scamper along w ith the nuts slun g a c ros s
their shoulders scarcely feeling the weight
,
.

I followed the loaded c a rts They were halted at a lar g e

.

en c losure inside of whi c h were hu ge pens formed o f jungle

,

sti c k s a b o ut ten feet i n hei ght ; into these the n uts w ere
,
 1 92

stored and re c ounted ; a c ertain number only bein g kept i n

each as the pens are all o f the sa m e dimensions Adj oinin g
, .
,

was another an d still larger spa c e lyin g lower with som e , ,

deep dit c hes an d pits in the midst Here the outer husk i s .

stripped o ff prepar a t ory to breakin g th e nut itself in order to

,

obtai n the kernel which h a s to be dried before the o i l c an be

,

expressed Into the pits o r ditches the husk is flun g and

.
,

left i n water ten o r fourteen days when it is remove d a n d ,

beaten o u t o n stones to free the elastic fibre from dirt and

,

us el ess vegetable matter This i s a most disagreeable opera

.

ti on for the sten c h from the half—

, putrid husks is very stron g .

The fi bre after being well drie d on the sandy ground

, ,

undergoes a rude assortment into three qualitie s in referen c e ,

c hiefly to c ol our and i s then delivere d over to the rope m aker

, ,

who works it up into yarn m m o r j unk as re quire d Freed , , , .

from their outer coverin g the n uts are either sold fo r making
, ,

c urries in which they form a promi n ent feature o r they are

, ,

kept fo r drying ready for the o il— mill .

Havin g learned this much I strolled throu gh the s mall ,

green field and along a patch o f guinea grass t o s e e wha t was -

,

going o n in that direction The neat lookin g building

.
-

adj oining was the superintendent s bun g alow and the long ’

she ds an d open spa c es in their front an d rear were for dry in g

the nuts into what i s termed copp em h in which state they are ,

ground up fo r pressure I t was a busy s c ene indeed and the

. ,

operations re quire constant vi g ilance o n the part o f the

manager ; y e t all th e work i s carried o n in the rudest way ,

and with the most si m ple implements Half a —dozen stout .

-

lads were seate d c ross legged o n the groun d each with a hea p
-
,

o f nuts by hi s side The rapi dity with which they seize d

.

these and with o n e sharp blo w o f a heavy knife split them

, , ,

pre c isely in half and flun g them away into other heaps was
, ,

remarkable I t seemed to be done with scar c ely an e ff ort

.
!

yet o n han dli n g the broken nut o n e c ould not help being ,

str uc k with i t s thi c k n e s s and stren g th Smaller boys w er e .

 KA NDYA NS CAPTIV E
’
THE .

EVER had s un shone bri ghter o r s k y looked more serenely ,

blue and heaven — like o r early mornin g -breeze breathe d ,

softer o r palm trees waiv e d more g ra c efully o r flo w ers looke d

, ,

more s w eetly than s un and s k y and bree z e and palms a n d

, , , ,

flowers o n mornin g o f the Christmas day o f whi c h I write i n ,

the ninth year from t h e openin g o f this century wh e n Kan dy ,

look ed from wh e re o ur captive s a w it with palac e at his fee t ,

and to w n stret c he d far away lik e a tile d c itad e l amidst a fort ,

of stra w ! .

Above t h e town o f Kandy o n a g rassy knoll j ust in t h e ,

rear of t h e present pavilion g r o unds not far above w h ere stand s ,

the Jud g es bun g alow w as at the tim e I writ e a s mall buildin g

’

, ,

placed amidst a top e o f tre es as a bird would hide its nest .

The hut for it was little e lse was looped around with c reepin g
, , ,

flowerin g plants and o n the littl e g rassy knoll before it w e r e

,

groups pf ros e s j asmin and other tropical flo w ers g ivin g

, ,

eviden c e o f more than nativ e c are and taste B en e ath a .

spreadin g tamarind tree t h e captive o f th e Kandyan monarch ,

s a t a pale and tho u g htful m a n gazin g o ut o n the hills that

, ,

fa c e d him o n the w est thinking o f Christmas in Old Engla n d , ,

o f Christmas where the yul e — lo g blazed and w here thos e ,

w hom h e never more should s e e his c hildren played lau g hed , , , ,

a n d wondere d why he did not c ome .

The captive was not alone At his f ee t just as a pette d .

spaniel s a t a youn g girl with fold ed hands and t houghtful

,

fa c e knowin g well his wanderin g thou ghts a nd know i ng ho w

,

n d n a t i v u l n n b u t t h y a l b u i l d i n g s a n d T m pl w a ll w d t
U er e r e o e e ro e es e re o e o

c n s t u c t d f s t n b ic k a n d t i l s a ll th s w f m u d t h a t c h d w i th s t a w
’

be o r e o o e
,
r e : o er e re o e r .
 1 95

vain for him though no t for her c ontent to let him think and ,

gaze in s i len c e The little house was decorated with ferns

.

and roses and many fl o w ers taken prisoners from the woods
by Lenna s hand in honour o f the day the Christians greatest
’

,
’

festival .

Six years had passed sin c e the fearful tra g e dy w hi c h

pla c ed the captive in the K a n dy a n s hand : those years had ’

told heavily upon him Horr o r remorse grief terror had at .

, , , ,

length given place to resignation He had brough t himself to .

feel that in his lonely prison life he had to expiate the o n e -

,

s a d error c osting how many lives

,
Five years o f the six had .

been past in still drearier solitude in one o f the royal prisons ,

near Bad ulla !

His c onfinement at firs t close though not
.

rigorous had been gradually relaxe d until he was left

,

unguarded By degrees he had acquire d the native ton g ue

.

from that mos t teachable o f all agencies female lips The ,

.

young daughter of the chief to whose care he w as c onfided ,

took womanly pi ty o n his loneliness and d i d much to lighten ,

the sadness o f his captivity From her he had learnt the .

first words of native lan g uage and in turn instru c ted her in ,

English .

The girl w as quicker than the ma n and lon g before he ,

c ould m ake himself clearly understood in the verna c ular s h e ,

c ould talk to him in Oriental S axon The key to language .

on c e found the rest soon c ame : the bo o k which had never left
his hands which was his daily study that book was an obj e c t
, ,

o f her c uriosity By slo w degrees almost w ord by word he .

, ,

told her the good tidings in that volume He related the .

w onderous hi story that i t chronicled He taught her from the .

precepts of its pages until they thought as one and read together , .

In d a y s f h K an d y a n S v ig n s h w t h p l a c s w h ic h h
t he o t e o e re t e re e re re e e to t e

p i s n s w t a ns p t d
r o er e re n a B a d u l l a f l ig h t fl d f an k ;
r or e , o ne i h
e r
,
or o
'

en e rs o r o ne n t e

S v n K l f c im i na l s f a d p d y ; an d a th i d i h Bi n t nna d ist ict

e e o ra e s , or r o ee er e r
,
n t e e r

i m m di at l y b l w L g ll
e e T an s p tat i n
e o t h is l ca l i t y w as quiv al n t d ath
a a a . r or o to o e e to e ,

as i w as th n p st i l nt a l that n n wh w n t th w k n w n
t e so e e i ,
tu n o e o e e re e re o t o re r .
 1 96

Durin g his banishment to Badulla repeated messa g es had

reached him from the king inquirin g o f his health w ants and , ,

wishes sometimes making temptin g offers if he would forswear

,

al legian c e to hi s sovereign At length the ord e r had gon e .

forth to remove him to the c apital It was a long and weary .

j ourney in those days from Badulla t o Kandy : a chai r o n pole s

c onveye d him to t h e royal city L e nna would not remain .
‘

behind and s o the litter was given up t o h e r wh e n the road

,

lay through ru gg ed or steep pla c es and wh e n th ey c ame t o ,

pleasant smooth sward sh e walked by hi s side and thus they , ,

c ame to Kandy where the kin g received his captiv e gra ciously .

Five years of p ea c e had soothed the tyrant and he bade hi s ,

nobles lodge their prisoner wher e h e p le a s e d and s o h e c hos e ,

the hill side knoll wh en c e h e c ould lo o k to w ards the wes t

- .

Twelve months in Kandy had r e c on c il e d him some w hat to h i s

c aptive life and in frequent interviews w ith th e royal d espo t
,

h e found m ore disposit i on t o sh e w kindness s o th a t s o m e time s

h e b egan t o hope Hi s Maj esty had l e arnt t h e s e as on o f t h e
.

Chris t ian s Festival had a r rived an d it w as his gra ciou s

’

pleasure that the day sh o uld be a h o liday and that h e would ,

in proper state give audien c e to th e English offic er in the gre a t

“
Hall o f The audien c e h a ll o n o rdinary occasion s
was the buildin g now used as th e District C o urt immediately ,

facing the Kutcherry which was th e n a portion o f t he royal

palace On special occasi ons su ch as the present t h e re c ep
.
, ,

tion was in the Hall o f S eals a lofty open building o n t h e ,

ground w here now stands the Kandy Girls S ch ool adj oining ’

the Dewale and fa cing th e e splanade o n which there w a s

,

ample room for the royal t r o o p s t o b e paraded The house ,

.

now oc c upied by the Government A g ent w a s used as a Hall

o f Spe c ta c le 1 from the windows of
”
whi c h the Queen and

So c a ll d f m i b i n g h p lac i w h i ch a ll p s nt s f m vassa l s
e ro ts e t e e n re e ro or

fo reig n u l s w
r er d p si t d a n d w h t h i s a l s w b k n
e re e o e ,
e re e r e e re ro e .

1 D a v y m n t i n
e s t h is
o b ui l di n g ( C h a p ! p as h Q u n s pa l a c b
. . . t e ee
’
e ut

th is a cc d i n g m y i n f ma n t w as i nc ct
or to or ,
o rre .
 1 98

At noon precisely it please d his Kandyan Majesty t o c o m e

,

forth His subjects receive d him as an Oriental r ace eve r

.

re c eive d a despot wh o delights in the royal game o f heads

and tails They re c eive d him with a great deal o f feeling
.
,

especially about the region o f the n eck T hey held their .

b r eath as he drew near felt a tightness a bout their throats as

,

he passe d and when he had gone on hi s way men involuntarily

, ,

rai sed t heir hands and their heads to make quite certain that
they were in their right place Raja Singha rode the royal .

coa c h a present from the English Governor the British

, ,

captive walking by his side That was a wonderful c oa c h the .

,

Lord Mayor s was as nothin g to it ; gold and glass and

’

precious stones and silver bells and velvet c ushions and g old
, , ,

la c e were o n it and many other things too pre c ious to be put

, ,

o n paper but not too precious to b e s old by an o ld D utch

,

a u ct i o n e r in C olombo whither it wa s despat c he d pie c e —

, meal
af t er the c apture o f the city by the British Four stately .

black horses drew the carriage at funeral pace to the Hall o f

S eals where Raj ah Singha alighted The c aptive also entere d .

followe d at a respectful distance by the royal betel— box and the

imperial spittoon the gold stick and silver sp oon in waiti n g
, ,

the r o yal Ministers aud scores o f Lord Lieutenants and De

, ,

puty Lieutenants o f counties S eated in hi s chair o f State the .

,

King motione d t he c aptive to stand near his royal person an d ,

b ade him watch the evolutions o f the imperial coach and four ,

a n d the wheeling past o f the household brigade o f Plantain

Eaters There was o n e small band o f thirty two amidst the

.
-

motley tro o ps which marched past a gloomy ban d o f r uffi a n s

, , ,

nearly nude and carryi n g gri m — looking instruments in their

hands These were the royal torturers each o f the thirty —
. two ,

havi ng a different grade o f the art o f torment to inflict They .

carried human gridirons toasting forks of Cyclopean dimensions , ,

awkward looking surgical a n d dentists instruments and as ’

these thirty — two s c owled o n the people the c rowd shrank ,

back in hate and terror !

 99

Upon the whole it was a gala si ght ; there were as many

j ewels about the royal person and the c hair of State as would ,

have establishe d an ordinary j eweller in business But nobody .

c ared mu c h about the j ewels o r the c hair o f State ; they

,

gazed intently at the royal fa c e fo r smiles there meant ,

promotion frowns somethin g very d i fl e r e nt Th e c aptive w a s

, .

arrayed by royal c omman d in t he uniform o f a g eneral o ffi cer

who had re c ently been waylaid and kno cked over in the lo w
c ountry The lords of the household w e r e th eir b e st c oronation
.

robes and the h eadmen were marv e ls o f greatness about the

,

b ody ; to s e e the miles o f snow white c loth about them y o u ,

might have taken them fo r cotton lords o r looking at their

enormo us rotundity that ea c h o ne was a lord —
,

, mayor w ith hi s
c orporation The c aptive thought not o f the military
.
”

rabble and the glass coach and four but when questioned he
, ,

replied t o royalty like a book read ba c kwards and as it ,

happened that his Maj esty had partaken o f a good omele t

c urry that morning there was not a life missin g when all
,

was over Every o ne c arried home his head bet w een his
.

shoulders And so the barbarous band stru c k up a dismal

.

clang the savage troops fire d their rusty g in gh a lls the peopl e
, ,

shouted the royal elephants sent forth their shrieking c ries

, ,

fl ag s wave d and weapons glis t ened i n the noon day s un b ut -

he in w hose honor all this turmoil rose heede d it not H e , .

s a w but o ne small g roup o f t iny figures playing a s last h e ,

s aw them o n a bright autumn day —his o w n loved c hildren ,

o n the grass beneath the apple trees -

Twelve months passed a w ay and another Christmas Day,

arrived : aga i n the bright blue s k y and morning breeze and ,

flowers and palm trees wel c ome d all livin g things but they
,

wel c omed not the c aptive Lenna was there a lo ne still gazin g
.
,

westward fo r t h e comin g o f those whose faith w as her

o wn .
 200

Behind the shady tamarind tree in a q uiet nook ther e

, ,

was a g rave o n whi c h the g rass w a s fresh

.

Five y ea rs later when British troops planted Old England s

’

fl a g upon the royal pala c e men aske d ab out the c a ptive aud
,

hi s home. They were shewn the humble c ottage then in ruins ,

and the quiet spot b ehind the tamarind tree A g roup o f

.

offi c ers was seen standin g around the spot un c overe d ; there
w e re t he n two g raves !
 2 02

The f o llowing morning we stood o ut for the banks

near whi c h t h e an c hor was dropped and for several days the
,

S uperintendant and his boat s crew were o c cupied i n placing

’

buoys with little blue and red flags attached upon the edges
,

o f the several beds which were to be fishe d The weather was

.

oppressively hot ; the s k y was without a cloud to break the

intensity o f t h e sun s rays
’
.

O n the 5 t h of Mar c h w e r e turn e d to o ur anchorage i n

Co n d a t chy Bay ; but this tim e c loser to the shore What a
.

c han g e had c ome over the pla c e ! The very sands o f

the plain seemed to b e redolent of life The miserable row
.

o f low dirty huts had either be en levelled to the round or

, g .

w ere hidden from sight by numberless gaily — c oloure d b ooth s

o f all sorts of shapes and sizes ornamented with pale green
, ,

leaves o f t he p a lm y r a h and co c oa palm and lon g strips o f

white cloth There were thousands o f natives flo ckin g and
.

struggling do w n to the bea c h as thou gh they expe c ted us

,
 2 03

to bring on sh o re all the wealth of the pearl banks Our .

anch o rage gr o und was o pposite t he little fl a g —

- staff ; and abou t
u s as t hick as they could be m o ore d lay fully tw o hundre d ,

native b e a t s o f various sizes though of one bu i ld being a short

, ,

rakish — looki n g barge ; s o sharp and knowing both f o rwards ,

and aft tha t one might have imagined them to hav e been
,

bloate d London wherries They were each manned by ten

.

oarsmen a t indal or steersman and h i s deputy besides a

'

, ,

cooly for bal i ng out the water for most of t hese craft leak ,

freely They measure fr o m eight to t wel v e tons yet t here

.
,

are very few nails about them t he omnipotent cocoanut fibr e ,

s erving to fasten nearly a ll Indian vessels and b o ats t ogether .

Af t er a lapse of four days spent by the Superintendant ,

the magistrate o f t he dis t rict the government a g ent and , ,

the A d a p a n a a r in various arrangemen t s in publ i shing notices

and issuing ins t ructions connec t ed w ith the fi s h e r —
y t h e first
a

d iving day was fixed and the boats to the number o f two
,

hundred Were f o r t h w ith in readiness

,
.

The day pre vi ous to the fishery the Wellingt o n “

,

o n ce more s t ood out for the banks w ith the S uperintendant

a n d his boat s crew on board

’
The b oats w i t h their respective
.

c omplemen t s of divers were t o leave precisely at midnigh t

, ,

s o as to arrive on the banks bef o re day light the wind being -

,

at that time o fl t he land and in their favour In order .

to s e e as much as poss i ble of their proceedings I remained to ,

a ccompany the fleet with the o ld A d a p a n a a r in his ten — oare d

cu t ter I lay down a t dusk in a small she d atta c hed to the
.

temporary military quarters intending to snatch a few hours

,
’

rep o se But I soon found sleep was quite out of the questi o n ;
.

I walked out and found the b oatmen and divers far fr o m

’

a t temp t ing any res t previ o us t o their heavy lab o urs merry ,

making o n t he s e a —beach So me were danc i ng some beating

.
,

t ime on the t o m —t o m ; sc o res were chaun t ing t heir w i ld

songs and all had been well supplied wi t h t oddy and arrack
, .

Th e night was pitchy dark a n d bu t fe w s t ars were v is i ble

,
 2 04

over the bri ght glare of many tor c hes A huge bonfire blaze d .

o ver the fl a g — s t aff lighting up bazaars palm —

,
tre e s and t emples , ,

in one lurid glare an d flinging a few rays o n t h e distant

,

shining walls on the Doric The shark charmer t o o stoo d .

-
,

in all his glory o n the summit of o n e of th e vast h e aps o f

,

blanche d oys t er shells he was holding forth to the ass e mble d

crowd with sh o uts and wild gest i culati ons and a s the glar e ,

of the fire shot pas t him h e appea r e d t o be c loth e d in flame

, ,

whilst his gaunt arms flung long shad o w s ov e r t h e distant

plain like those of a monst er win d m ill hard at w o rk in t h e
,

midnight bree z e .

The appoi n t ed tim e drew nea r ; a g on g sen t fo rth a fe w

notes o f thund e r ; and ins t antly all n e i s e s c ease d The s hark .
s :

c harm e r stole a way no o n e kne w wh e r e ; som e th o ught t o pray

, ,

m ore probably into t h e arrack baza a r t h e boatm e n divers !

, ,

a n d gov e rnment peons crowding do w n t h e b ea c h and through

the water passed t o th e ir app o inted posts in t h e b oats M o r e

, .

than four thousand human beings packed the mselv e s into t hos e
frail -l o okin g craft ; and y e t they w e re n o t s o crowde d as not
to leave room for the oyste r s .

The A d a p a n a a r gave the final signal amidst a momentary

hush a small fi e ld pie c e w a s fi red from the bas e of t h e
-

fl a g staff ; and a w ay went o n e hundr e d boats in gallant

-

style A loud disc o rdant shou t w a s rais e d on sh o re answere d .

,

lustily by the cre w s and divers and all w a s still a gai n Th e , .

land breeze was fresh the w ater w as s m o bt h a s glass and o u r

fleet made rapid way The large yellow bamboo masts p o inte d
.

high in air with their enormous b eautifully white t ransparent

, , ,

sails fillin g with the bre ez e and li t up by the b o nfire on shore

, ,

seemed as though they w ere a h o st of h u ge winged c reature s

o f the deep .

On the soft cu shio n s of our roomy craft I laid me d o w n

beneath the a w ning s shade a n d slept some q uiet hours I
’
.

started from my rest o n hearin g some o n e near me g ivin g

o rders i n a lo u d voi c e I t w as s till dark a n d lookin g o ut I
.
 2 06

m ight , after such a submarine excursion And the bustle and .

excitement began in good earnest o n all sides The boatmen , .

helpe d to pull in the baskets full o f oysters the divers but ,

little fatigued climb ed over the boat s side s and s a w their fi s h

,
’

counte d into distinct heaps by the peon in c harge o f the boat .

Each appeare d to have brought up from fif t y to seventy

oysters A s the last o f the divers came over the boats sides
.
’

the five hundre d who had quietly waited their turn rose up
and with their baskets and stones plunge d in as their
, ,

comrades had before them as rapidly and a s silently

, .

The ar ran g ements f o r divi n g are exceedingly simple

the divi ng stone i s a piece o f granite conical shaped and
-
,
-
,

weighing about ten pounds ; through o n e en d of it a double

c ord of coir is rove o f suffi c ient length to reach the botto m
,

e asily o n e end o f it being secure d to the boat

, When about .

plungin g in the diver places his right foot o n the stone a n d

,

between the double c ord using it as a stirrup ; the weight

,

s uffi ces to hasten his descent and on arrivi ng at the bottom

,

t he stone is c ast away and pulle d up by the boatmen s o as to ,

b e clear o f the basket rope : this rope is stouter and single , .

The diver seizes the hoop o f the basket firmly betwee n the
toes of his left foot —fo r the natives u s e their toes as a c tively as
w e do o u r fi n g e r s —and when o n the bank below grasps the ,

basket in his left hand fl i n g s himself flat o n hi s fa c e and ,

s weeps the oysters rapidly into hi s coir bag with h i s r i ght hand ;

When he has secured sufficient fi s h he gives hi s comrades ,

a bove the signal by j erkin

g the rope they immediately com
mence hauling it in To give himself an impetus upwards the
.
,

diver lays hold o f the rope for a second or two then raises hi s ,

hand together above his head and rapidly floats t o the surface
,
.

The day s w ork over the fleet pushe d shorewards the

’

, ,

breeze came up from the south — west fi t fully at first then ,

steadily : up w ent the great spider legged bamboo masts and -

,

the wide winge d sails and th e sharp n o sed boats slippe d

-
,
-

noi s elessly la nd w ards .

 2 07

The whole o f the fleet having reache d the shore a party ,

o f Malay r i fl e m e n and p eons cleared an open space between

,

them and the c rowd on the beach s o as to allow the unl o ading,

of the boats whi ch was at on c e commenced The oysters were

, .

divi ded on the sandy shore into four e qual parts three o f
, ,

wh i ch went to the Government the remaining fourth was ,

share d amongst the boatmen the divers the tindal and the, ,

boat — owner the divers re ceivi ng twi c e as much as the boat men -
,

and the owner s rather more than the divers The Government .

oysters were c arrie d up i n basket to large bamboo enclosure s

calle d co t t o o s where they were kept until sold by auction on
,

the following day The other share o f the fi s h was dispose d

.

o f in a simi lar way ; though sometimes they were retained by

, ,

their own ers on their o w n a cc ount and the pearls found in ,

them sold afterwards .

There were many wealthy traders there from all parts o f

India ; but many more had wi th diffi c ulty s c rape d together
sums varying from a dozen p a g o d a s jt o a dozen d o llars men
w h o had purchase d o r borrowe d the means o f bidding at this
intoxi c ating au ction men who had left their famished families
without the means of obtaining a mou t hful o f ri c e : who had tor n
the gold bangle s and ear — rings from their wives and children ,

and melted them into ingots to d eal in the maddening trade

o f Aripe. S ome returned home rich beyond their expe c tations
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 o f repla c ing monies taken by

,

them from sources o f trust—ruined in means and reputation .

All this happens at every pearl fishery and is not to be ,

prevented save by o ff erin g the fish in l a rger lots whi c h

, ,

t hough it might not prove quite s o remunerative to t h e

Government would save much evil and s uffering
,
.

S ome con c ep t ion may be formed of the immense masse s

o f oysters which at these times lay putrifying o n t he burning

sands of Aripe w h e n I mention that ea c h b o at will bring o n

,
 2 08

sh o re in o n e trip fr om ten t o twenty t housands of fish making

, , ,

a daily to t al o f from o ne to t w o millions for the whole fleet .

The extremely hazardo us re sults o f these auctions may be

gathered from the fa c t t h a t w h i ls t i n some i nstances as many
, p

as s i x pea rls o f various weigh t s and values are found in o n e

oyster of lar g e siz e o n e hundre d oysters may b e opene d
,

w ithout finding in them a single pearl .

Th e native s o f India have a singular bel i ef with regard to

the o rigin o f pearls : it i s that those beautiful c oncretions a r e
,

c ong e ale d dew —drops which Buddha in certain months showers

, , ,

upon t h e ear t h and are c augh t by the oy sters w hilst floating

,

o n the waters to br e athe The priests ever alive to their

.
,

o w n interests k eep up the strange belief and make it t h e

, ,

pret e xt for e xactin g from the divers and boa t men o f their
faith what are terme d c harity oysters for the use o f
B uddah who wh e n thus propitiated according to their
, , ,

showin g w il l r e nder th e fi sh mor e ri c h in pearls in future

,

sea s o ns,
 U NI V ER S I TY O F CA LI F OR NI A LI B R A R Y

Thi s b o o k i s DU E o n th e la st d a t e s t a m p ed b elo w .

F or m L9
-
s om ( B 8 994 s 4 ) 4 4 4
 l
q GARYFACIL
Y
T
I

PLEé sE 0 0 NOT REMOV E

THIS BOOK CA RD

lBRfi fiY

University Rese arch Libra ry