
their original 'terrors';' ahd-doOk with regret and envy on the
fortitüde of the Europeans that* these delusions;
!’för^flëlusféhs bwh ahdöbëliëtè' them tö he evëfr whdë they
•groan under their inflüeöèë. Those, however, who live in Golumbo
•and the ötheétótms of the island where they have an opportunity
of profiting by the example of Europeans, have been able to bring
their minds' tö ':a ieomparëib%%tatë v©fstranquil3i^'. x Böïfoë^S
them even: go so • ïar asIto/ set" their inferior^ deities,: a t ©pen idë>-,
fraipoél I t is riot indeed uncommon with the Ginglese, upon
hot;;haViftg their desiies Complied with, »<®r upon meeting • with
a series o f bad luck in spite of theiri a repeated prayers,- to
quarrel with their divinitidsy revile dherrf; • and1 eyen trample their
imagesj under foot. It'fe ^probable that, by -degrees,-intercourse
With Europeans - will entirely do away these superstitious fears,
as th e ' Ciuglese o f ' the towns have- already made considerablë
progress in subduing, their gloomy apprehènsiènsv •
Not so the poor wretched peasants who inhabit - the* more
mountainous parts of the country, and live; at a distance 'from
our settlements. These unhappy peoplë'.have never fob a; moment
their minds free from! the terror of those demons who
seem perpetually to hover around them. Their imaginations are
so disturbed by suchv ideas, that ib is yiot uncommon . tO -see
many driven fco? madness from, this '|santó. Several - Ciuglese
lunaticfes have fallen under my own otfeervationf and upon enquiring
into the circumstances which had deprived them of their
reason, I Universally found that their wretched state was to^-be
traced solely- to the excess óf their süperstitiöüs fears jl
The spirits of the wicked, subordinate-: demons are*the chief
object of fear among thé Ceylonese; ■ and impress their minds
with much more awe -than the more: powerful divinities who
-among *th©$ts- f% t vtlaeir
a ;parricUk,rrpf^ n |^--^tiy^d-.OfeE,.j,|q^|hBr' dqmi-
nion, <ofi^evlhiisphits'-; nor is this idea confined qtp.vtlieHis.eLxes
probablyr?from'the;tjUnconmaomrfreqneHcy?.:o£grbnpdpr-!rSfenrnr)s
th e re ; and the-spmeoparUS^ this - idea current-, evep
amoxigothe' Dutch fehubitants,.irf'
^ There is a, puippusi--,prop£ mfr^uperstitiqus-ppiqipns, in,hthe narrative
ftpjj ouricounfrymjm, M r.. -Kyox;-;/whq Jrimsjelfqbglieygd, that
jhe^had.--heard, in »Ceylon :-t}xei; devil, crying» vajpud- in the-,, nighttime
.with, a-cypipe sqm^tphig jrpsembjiq|g#fthe barking
i , T h©- pr0gEe|^yoj‘i;Ghh^^ion > and a r e n p y a l^ ^ u p eiptA|kiii^
• fears amon g rthe^eylonesg, arfg> ^qatLy/;,qpp|)sed«b^,th,e>lintfirested
arts-: ofritheir/piMstSijtr. apdt.lbeysoW^okiiow:: , how )tqK,make;.;the
devils,forage for them. jT,o - prevents fguij;«being's|olen, the | pep?-
pie hang -.up. .-certain | grotesque.| figures,around |h e' Qrebfrd' and
dedicate jit-Jo^the devils,., after- which^none^qL the? nativ.e«jSeyT
kmese will dare even tpHtouch. the fruit on_ any -account..k J ^yen
itfoftvb'wner will Uiilf jdsq^if, ..till it bq> fc|t#|ifrer^ted
from purple,* t^ j^g eftay .sqmeftof ;it
j$pS the pagoda, wherfc the priests*,. affrr-: fustisreepiyi§g., a pertain
proportion for .themselves, . remove, tho, mentations| with, which
it was dedieated. | If: any part
has been stolen-; by some of «their less scrupulous, ngjgliboora,
they break -out- into the most extravagant - exeerfdiqns. against the
devils who have been base epougli to». betray .thfeplf^e^enfrusted
to thefr.charge*
v* Superstition appears to peryade all classes. o£ vthe ,Ceylonese
equally j> nor aro,lthe ,lp g h ^ | jess,, s^ayedj-by. it., than the most
abject of the people. A curipus .instance gfr,|;hq-qi|edulityjfpffth e