swallow tails, fully eight inches across its outspread
wings. The birds of Ceylon are mostly the same as
those of Southern India: the roller, the golden oriole,
the hoopoo, the wild pea-fowl, parrakeets, thrushes, fly
catchers, pheasants, etc.; ibis, snipe, and teal amongst
the rice fields and swamps; and occasionally a flamingo
on the lakes. Serpents are not frequent in Ceylon, I am
told; I certainly saw none; but plenty of white ants,
most destructive creatures. Of fishes there are seir, of
the mackerel family, and other small fry.
Kandy and Colombo having been reached in due
time, and a few purchases of curiosities effected in both
places, I left the latter town one early morning for
Galle by coach. The road was in excellent condition,
and we passed, in almost constant succession, clean
picturesque villages, cinnamon gardens and cocoanut
groves; every now and then we came close upon the
sea which cooled the atmosphere very perceptibly.
The entire distance of seventy-two miles was accomplished
in ten hours, being occasionally delayed by
unmanageable horses. At Bentolle, about half way,
we stopped an hour for tiffin, which consisted of a
variety of fish dishes and oysters; the latter, however,
were coarse and unwholesome. The natives on the
coast occupy themselves solely with fishing, and catch
enormous quantities, from a shark to a kind of white
b a it; dried fish and rice forming their principal food,
as in all other Asiatic countries that have access to the
coast.
At four p.m. we reached Galle, and the Oriental
hotel which provides comfortable accommodation.
Its wide verandah, neatly paved with many-coloured
tiles, I found taken possession of by a great number
of travellers, owing to the fresh arrival of two
P. and O. steamers, one from Europe, the other
from China, whilst natives were sneaking about
trying to pawn off bits of coloured glass for precious
stones; others driving a hard bargain for combs,
paper-knives, porcupine spines, and little ebony
elephants; also lace, embroidery, and mats met the
attention of lady purchasers principally, and many
of the articles offered for sale proved a decided
artistic taste on the part of the maker. Although
most of the rings one saw here were worthless, Ceylon
produces a great variety of very beautiful stones,
which mostly find their way to Europe to be cut,
and often return again, in their reduced size but
more marketable form, to Ceylon and India, where
good stones are highly appreciated by the wealthy
class of natives.
Sapphires and cats-eyes, found in the Saffragram