1827 



176 VOYAGE TO THE 



guide a piece of bread which he had in his basket. It 

 was thankfully accepted, but with a smile at the arti- 

 May, fice having failed. At a village called Aseemee he 

 surprised two females standing at a well filling their 

 pitchers; they scrutinized him for some time, and 

 then ran off to their homes. 



The villaii;e contained about fifty houses ; and was 

 almost hid from view by a screen of trees, among 

 which were recognised the acacia, the porou of the 

 South Seas, and the hibiscus rosa sinensis, but the 

 greater part of the others appeared to be new ; they 

 formed a lively green wood, and gave the village an 

 agreeable aspect. In one of the cottages a boy of 

 about six years of age was seated at a machine made 

 of bamboo resembling a small Scotch nuickle wheel, 

 spinning some very fine cotton into a small thread. 

 Though so young, he appeared to be quite an adept 

 at his business, and was not the least embarrassed at 

 the approach of the strangers. A quantity of thread 

 ready spun lay in the house ; there was a loom close 

 by, and some newly manufactured cloth, which ap- 

 peared to have been recently dyed, was extended to 

 dry outside the house. Near this cottage there were 

 broken parts of a mill, which indicated the use of 

 those machines, and circular marks on the earth, 

 showing that this one had been worked by cattle. 

 About a mile and a half to the southward of Abbey 

 Point, near a steep wooded eminence, which we 

 christened Wood Point, there was another village 

 named Oofoomee, through which Mr. Collie passed, 

 preceded by his guide, who warned the female part 

 of the inhabitants of his approach in order that they 

 might get out of his way. His guide was delighted 

 when he directed his steps toward the ship, as he was 



