! the inhabitants of the plains and coasts, they are stouter, with fairer complexions, and their natural ferocity of aspect | is increased by their never shaving their beards. The lower orders among them go almost naked, forming an extreme contrast with the higher, who are superbly arrayed, in rich tissues and embroidered muslins, which they wear in most lavish profusion. A square cap covers the head, and when they appear abroad, they are accompanied by such a multitude of attendants, as to form a perfect caval cade, part of a leaf of the talipat tree being raised over their head by an attendant, to keep off the scorching rays of the sun, or else a chatta", manufactured of beautiful wicker-work. The Candian territory is no wnere less than six miles distant from the sea. The court was formerly distinguished for being as profoundly practised in intrigue as the most polished courts of more civilized states, and the perfidy of its ministers was, perhaps, without a parallel. This was so notorious, that not the slightest confidence could be placed in their most solemn professions. The Candians are governed by no moral law; every tie of honour is instantly ruptured at the call of interest, and an oath administered with all the solemn mockery of religious obligation, and assented to as a ratification made under the immediate sanction of heaven, instantly evaporates before the ardent sun of gain. Their government was a pure despotism, the state territory being the personal property of the king, who had the power of life and death over his subjects, whom he might condemn without trial, and there was no appeal from his decision. The monarchy, however, was elective, and what was a singular anomaly in their statutes, the sovereign was to be chosen from an alien race, and never from original natives of the island. Great homage was paid to the sovereign. Whenever he appeared abroad, his subjects prostrated themselves before him, but in consequence of the monarchy being elective, the court was the scene of continual cabals, rivalships, and jealousies, while the country was perpetually agitated by factions and conspiracies. On the marriage of their princes an odd custom used to be observed. On the day after the ceremony was concluded, "the. king and queen amused themselves by throwing perfumed balls, and squirting scented water at An umbrella. CINGALESE. each other, a diversion to which the wives of the chiefs were admitted, and of which they were allowed to partake, being quite at liberty to pelt and bespatter even royalty itself. When the king was tired of the exercise, he repaired to an apartment overlooking an adjoining room, in which vessels of scented water, and small copper cups were prepared for use, and in which the chiefs were assembled, only waiting for the appearance of the kine Sweet The Candians are very reserved in their intercourse with foreigners; the little trade which they carried on before the conquest of their territory in 1815, was either transacted within their own territories, or on the frontiers. So little is, even at this time, known of the interior of Ceylon, that the historical account of it given by Robert. Knox, who was twenty-five years a prisoner there, is the most authentic we possess, though published upwards of a hundred and fifty years ago. According to him, the highest and most central portion of the Candian territory con-sists of the Corles of Oudanour and Tatanour, in which, during his captivity, the two principal cities were situated. These districts, distinguished by the name of Conde Udda, are pre-eminent above the rest for elevation and natural difficulties of access, the paths being little more than tracks. of wild beasts, or of equally savage Vedahs. Indeed, nearly the whole of the Candian territories present a constant interchange of steep mountains and deep valleys. Throughout this region, mists and damps prevail to such a degree, as to render it exceedingly unwholesome. From sunset, until long after sunrise, the jungles, which are exceedingly thick, are covered with so dense a fog, than an object is scarcely visible ten yards from the eye. The valleys, being marshy, and full of springs, are excellently well adapted for rearing cattle and cultivating rice; but for the same reason, the exhalations which the sun is constantly drawing from them, are very destructive to the human constitution. Until the year 1815, scarcely any intercourse between the Cingalese and the Candians existed, although there is every reason to believe they were originally one people. Nothing could exceed their mutual hostility, though it is to be hoped that the mild system of government, and equal + DAVY's Account of the Interior of Ceylon. Corles are small districts. distribution of justice, which they are likely to experience, through the humane foresight and moral energy of Sir Alexander Johnston, will gradually render the rough natives of the hills as tractable and inoffensive as their more enlightened brethren on the sea-coast. The mode of Cultivation among the Candian peasantry is to clear a spot of ground, and then leave it fallow the next year: these cultivated tracts are thus alternately in a state of cultivation and in a state of nature, by which process, the face of the country is so altered in the course of a few years, that cleared lands appear where forests were before seen, and what was lately a tract of rich pasture, or of productive arable land, has become a thick impenetrable jungle: no one, therefore, but a person living in the very neighbourhood, can traverse the country with safety Thus defended by their pestilential climate, their forests, and their mountains, the Candians were enabled, for many generations, to defy subjugation, until at length, the tyranny of their sovereign threw their country, in 1815, under British domination. THE MALABARS. THE Malabars of Ceylon are a sort of hybrid race, combining the Hindoo and Mohammedan usages, some of them preferring the religion of the prophet of Mecca to that of Brahma, but observing many of the old customs, such as burning the dead, swinging to recover cast, of which they are equally tenacious with the strictest Hindoos of the continent. They are much stouter, more active and enterprising, than the Cingalese, who are so addicted to laziness, that a favourite maxim with them is, "It is better to stand than to walk; it is better to sit than to stand; it is better to lie down than to sit; it is better to sleep than to be awake, and death is the best of all*." The Malabars, however they may excel the native islanders in activity and enterprise, have neither their urbanity, honesty, nor hospitality. They are fraudulent to the last degree, and with that base casuistry in which the selfish Hindoo glories, justify their frauds as the necessary policy of their social condition. Their clothing does not differ much from that of the inhabitants of the peninsular coasts immediately within the neighbourhood of Ceylon: they wear, however, (a distinction, I believe, peculiar to themselves,) ear-rings of such immense weight, as to extend the pendulous lobe of the ear to the shoulder, leaving an aperture from which those ponderous ornaments are hung, large enough to admit a man's hand. These earrings measure nearly a foot in circumference, and in many of them are set single gems of considerable value. The than that of the Cingalese, and they want tocte in this class is much more becoming the array of their persons, though nothing can be more simple than their attire. It consists of a single piece of muslin, folded round the waist, hanging below the knee, and gracefully thrown over the shoulder, so as completely to cover the body, but leaving the arms bare. They wear much smaller ear-rings than the men; their ears are, consequently, not so much disfigured. They put nothing on the head, the hair being neatly combed and turned up behind and before. They do not clothe their children until six years old, and the boys frequently run naked to the age of eight. Swinging to recover cast†, which used to be practised to a considerable extent in Ceylon by the Malabars, has been put a stop to by the British Government, in consequence of an accident which occurred at Columbo, during this ceremony, in the year 1799. While the devotee was in full swing, the cross-beam to which the rope was attached gave way, and he was flung upon the ground with such force as to cause his death upon the spot. The people immediately attributed this fatal mischance to the evil eye of a Mohammedan, who was among the by-standers, innocently gazing at the ceremony. Under this silly delusion they attacked him with the most ungovernable rage, and would, no doubt, have sacrificed him to their blind fury, had not some English officers interposed and prevented the accomplishment of their deadly purpose. Many of the crowd imagining that the displeasure of their god was excited, which they considered to be exhibited in the fatal frustration of the sacrifice, gashed their bodies with knives in the most frightful manner, and passing iron hooks through the lips of the wounds, went dancing among the crowd with the most frantic gestures, in order to appease the anger of their incensed deity. See CORDINER's History of Ceylon. Their Besides the three general classes of inhabitants, there are many Malays residing in Ceylon, who have been banished from Sumatra and Malacca, by the Dutch Governments there. Some of them are persons of rank, possessing large properties. They have complexions of a light copper-colour, with small eyes and flattish noses. dress is graceful, being more after the fashion of the Persians than of the Hindoos. They generally go barefooted, and with a silk-handkerchief neatly tied round the head. The women simply wear a short cotton boddice, fitted tight to the shape, a calico drapery, like the Malabars, round the hips, with a loose mantle gracefully thrown ove the shoulder, like a Highland scarf. J. H. C. THE RICH MAN AND HIS GOODS.-A FABLE. In goods laid up on earth alone: He toil'd and groan'd for more and more. I mark'd him in a busy scene ; His hand was strong, his vision keen. His spacious premises were full Was that of flannel, thick and warm. These well-wrought blankets may be spread, But such was not AVARO's plan: Laid up his goods. 'Twas thought by some, Possessions, with increasing years, Avaro died, and people said Try other chests!" But these, forsooth, When pride or int'rest prompts the deed? That man's effects are nothing worth, M. INSIGNIFICANCE OF MAN IN THE I was yesterday, about sunset, walking in the open As I was surveying the moon, walking in her brightness, and taking her progress among the constellations, a thought rose in me, which, I believe, very often perplexes and disturbs men of serious and contemplative natures. David himself fell into it, in that reflection, "When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that thou regardest him!" In the same manner, when I considered that host of stars, or, to speak more philosophically, of suns, which were then shining upon me, with those innumerable sets of planets, or worlds, which were moving round their respective suns; when I still enlarged the idea, and supposed another heaven of suns and worlds rising still above this which we Composite. Corinthian. The Hindoo is considered the most ancient of the discover, and these still enlightened by a superior three styles, and partakes in a great degree of the firmament of luminaries, which are planted at so great a distance, that they may appear to the inhabitants of the former as the stars do to us; in short, whilst I pursued this thought I could not but reflect on that little insignificant figure which I myself bore amidst the immensity of God's works. characters of the Persian architecture, and of the fragments found at the ruins of Persepolis, both of which are supposed to be of even still greater antiquity than the Hindoo. The Hindoo columns are much lighter in form, and more covered with minute ornaments than the Egyptian, while the Grecian and Roman orders are distinguished from both; from the Egyptian by their more slender and graceful appearance, and from the Hindoo by their greater simplicity of ornament. Were the sun which enlightens this part of the creation, with all the host of planetary worlds that move about him, utterly extinguished and annihilated, they would not be missed more than a grain of sand upon the sea-shore. The space they possess is so exceedingly little in comparison of the whole, that it would scarce make a blank in the creation. The chasm would be imperceptible to the eye that could take in the whole compass of nature, and pass from one end of the creation to the other; as it is possible there may be such a sense in ourselves hereafter, or in creatures which are at present more exalted than ourselves. We see many stars by the help of glasses, which we do not discover with our naked eyes; and the finer our telecopes are, the more still are our discoveries. Huygenius carries this thought so far, that he does not think it impossible there may be stars, whose light has not yet travelled down to us since their first creation. There is no question but the universe has certain bounds set to it; but when we consider that it is the work of Infinite Power, prompted by Infinite Good-column; the arch (by which numerous stones, when ness, with an infinite space to exert itself in, how can our imagination set any bounds to it !-Spectator. THERE is no accounting for the difference of minds or inclinations, which leads one man to observe with interest the developement of phenomena, another to speculate on their causes; but were it not for this happy disagreement, it may be doubted, whether the higher sciences could ever have attained even their present degree of perfection. HERSCHELL. The different ornaments and carvings on the Egyptian columns were originally painted of various colours, and these colours were all what are called mineral colours; that is, they were prepared from metals, earths, and other mineral substances: and so advanced must the Egyptians have been in chemistry, that although these colours have been, in some instances, exposed to the air for nearly three thousand years, they are still as bright and perfect as if they had been only lately applied. To account for the massive form of the Egyptian columns, we must remember that many of their temples were not built, but absolutely excavated from the solid rock; and when they were constructed of different pieces of stone, the blocks of which they were formed were of immense weight, it being necessary that they should reach from column to properly placed, were made to support each other by their own weight,) was not at that time invented. The architects of Hindostan appear to have been held in great estimation, and were evidently related to the chief people of the country. In an ancient work on architecture, the following singular obser vations occur on the requisite qualifications of the different artisans employed in building. *See Saturday Magazine, Vol. V., p. 147. "An architect (sthapati) should be conversant in all sciences; ever attentive to his avocations; of an unblemished character; generous, sincere, and devoid of enmity and jealousy. "Of nearly equal qualifications with him, should be the (sútragrahi); he may be either the son or disciple of the (sthapati); he should be particularly skilled in mathematics, and be strictly obedient to the will of the (sthapati). "A (tacshaca), who is thus called from part of his avocation being to pare rough wood, should be of a cheerful temper, and well versed in all mechanical arts. "A (vardhaci) is he who is dexterous in joining wood, and uniting other materials one with another; he should be of a calm disposition, and acquainted with drawing and perspective. "As it is impossible to build houses, and the like, without the aid of the four descriptions of artisans, let the enlightened twice-born gratify them in every respect, so that buildings may be erected. Brahmins and others, belonging to the first, second, and third classes of Hindoos. In "Woe to them who dwell in a house not built according to the proportions of symmetry. building an edifice, therefore, let all its parts, from the basement to the roof, be duly considered." Great care was also taken in the choice of the ground for the purpose of building on, and many ceremonies were performed previous to the commencement of the undertaking. After describing what is considered good ground, that which is to be avoided, is noticed as follows. "That which has the form of a circle, or a semicircle, containing three, five, or six angles, resembling a trident or a winnow, shaped like the hinder part of a fish, or the back of an elephant, or a turtle, or the face of the cow, and the like, situated opposite to any of the intermediate quarters, north-west and the like; abounding with human sculls, stones, worms, ant-hills, bones, slimy earth, decayed woods, coals, dilapidated wells, subterraneous pits, fragments of tiles, limestones, ashes, husks of corn, and exposed to the wafted effluvia of curds, oil, honey, dead bodies, fishes, &c.; such a spot I should be avoided on every account." LONDON. Published by JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, WEST STRAND; and sold by all Booksellers |