and if I tell you my mind, it is, that we shouldn't by no manner of means put firearms in the hands of the niggers; for look you, if they don't play foul, and use 'em agin us, they'll go and shoot themselves." "Nonsense, Bob; the man is a good fellow, and shall have the loan of my rifle," and so saying, I placed it in his hands, telling Fos to make him understand it was to be returned in the morning, the which the chief promised, and left the tent much pleased. Then Bob, choosing the first watch, left to post himself between our two tents, and Fos and I threw ourselves upon our primitive couches— rheumatiz and ague beds, as Bob had termed them. Before, however, I closed my eyes, the boy explained to me the meaning of the timbercutter's roundabout method of borrowing. was as follows: It The Singhalese, whenever they go to beg a favour of another man, wait until the question, "What do you want?" is put to them, however desirous they may be to obtain any given object. It is considered but politeness for them to answer, "Nothing," the origin of which item in their code of civility is the following fable: A certain god came down upon the earth one day, and summoned all living creatures to come before him, promising to give them whatever they might demand. SINGHALESE FABLE. 189 Some desired strength, or legs, and others wings, &c., all of which were bestowed. Then came the white men, and the god asked them what they came for; and they said, they desired beauty, valour, and riches, which were also granted. At last came the Singhalese, and the god inquired of them what they came for. They answered, Nicamara-i.e., they came for nothing; to which the god replied, "Do you come for nothing? then go away with nothing," and the Singhalese, for their compliment, fared worse than the others. And to such an extent has this custom grown in the island, that when one Singhalese proffers a gift to another, although it be a thing he greatly desires, he will say, "Eeppa quienda"-"No, I thank you. How can I be so chargeable to you?" Yet while the words are in his mouth, he will reach forth his hand to receive it. This is curious, but only as showing how very much these semi-savages of Ceylon are like their civilized conquerors. 190 CHAPTER X. BOB IS ASTONISHED AT THE BEHAVIOUR OF HIS KILLED BY BEE NEARLY BEDSTEAD-FOS IS I MUST have slept for about three hours, when, being suddenly awakened, I heard Bob (who having been relieved from the watch by Fos, whose bed he then occupied) grumbling aloud to himself. Irritated at being disturbed, I called out "Hilloa, friend, can't you sleep?" "Sleep! Why, I have been trying for this two hours; but I can't do it, d'ye see." "It is the mosquitoes, Bob," said I. "Is it? Then they must be the biggest and strongest I ever came alongside of, for it seems as if a whole army of 'em was under this bed, trying to run away with me on their shoulders." "Nonsense; it is all fancy. You are overfatigued. Go to sleep, Bob, like a good fellow." Fancy, do ye call it? I tell ye, Master Tom, this bed keeps moving every now and then, as if something was beneath a-bumping it upwards." BOB'S ALARM. "Tut, tut; you're dreaming. man." 191 Go to sleep, "Dreaming, am I? Now, I tell you, Master Tom, it's my opinion that we are just going to sleep atop of an earthquake." What else Bob said I know not, for I fell asleep, and I suppose he must have done the same, for when I again awoke it was bright morning, and I could hear the bustle of the timber-cutters outside the tent. Hilloa, Bob, it's late!" I cried. Bob, who had been between sleeping and awaking, jumped upright in his bed; then, moving backwards, got upon his feet, crying— "Good Lord! it's a mercy I've a leg left.” At the same time I jumped up, and shouted to Fos; for there, at the foot of Bob's bed, crawling from out of the soil, were the head, shoulders, and fore-paws of a crocodile, and we had no rifle at hand. Fos entered. We were standing aghast; but the boy, seeing the cause of our alarm, said— "'Um crocodile no hurt man; no fear." But, as if to satisfy us, he discharged the contents of the weapon into the reptile's brain; and thus died the object of our present terror, and the cause of Bob's uncomfortable night. Now, remarkable as this adventure may appear to you, it is one of no uncommon occurrence in Ceylon; for this reason, that this species of crocodile, during the droughts, when unable to provide their ordinary food from the drying up of the waters, bury themselves in the mud, and there remain in a state of torpor, till the ground becomes again softened by the heavy rains. Bob's crocodile, however, had evidently mistaken the water which had forced its way from the break I have before mentioned for the regular rains; and so, like many another hasty personage, by being too premature, lost not only his opportunity but his life. By way, however, of verifying the statement of the crocodile's habit of burying itself in the ground, I will repeat a story told by a notable governor of Ceylon, who says "In 1833, during the progress of the pearl fishery, Sir R. W. Horton employed men to drag for crocodiles in a pond which was infested with them, in the immediate vicinity of Aripo. The pool was about fifty yards in length, by ten or twelve wide, shallowing gradually to the edge, and not exceeding four or five feet in the deepest part. As the party approached the brink, from twenty to thirty reptiles, which had been basking in the sun, rose and fled to the water. specially weighted, so as to sink its lower edge to the bottom, was then stretched from bank to bank, and swept to the further end of the pond, followed by a line of men with poles to drive the A net, |