Chaf. in.] 



NATIVE DINKEE. 



161 



articles furnish the basis of their cookery, — rice and 

 the flesh of the coco-nut ; — appas ^ (cakes made of the 

 former) supply their morning repast, with a scanty al- 

 lowance of coffee ; and curries, in all their endless variety, 

 furnish their afternoon meal. The use of metal of any 

 kind scarcely enters into their arrangements ; their 

 houses are framed without iron, tlieu' implements 

 fashioned in wood, and their cooking utensils are clay. 

 The broad leaves of the plantain serve as a substitute 

 for plates ; and in fiu'ther illustration of their vegetable 

 economy, the nuts of the penela tree^ fui'iiish them 

 with a substitute for soap, and possess all its detergent 

 qualities.^ 



But the residences of the headmen are of a very dif- 

 ferent class, and exliibit European taste engrafted on Sin- 

 ghalese customs. A dinner at Avhich my family were 

 received by the Maha Moodhar de Sarem, the Chief of 

 highest rank in the maritime pro\dnces, was one of the 

 most refined entertainments at which it was our good 

 fortune to be present in Ceylon ; the furniture of his 

 reception-rooms was of ebony richly carved, and his plate, 

 chiefly made by native artists, was a model of superior 

 chasing on silver. The repast, besides pastry and dessert, 

 consisted of upwards of forty dishes ; and, amongst other 

 triumphs of the native cuisine, were some singular, but by 

 no means inelegant, chefs-d'oeuvre^- — brinjals boiled, and 

 stuffed with savoury meats, but exhibiting ripe and un- 

 dressed fruit, growing on the same branch, and bread-fruit, 

 baked and seasoned ivith the green leaves and flowers, fresh 

 and iminjured by the fire. 



The present aspect of the " cinnamon gardens," which 



1 Called "hoppers" by the En- 

 glish. 



^ Scqmuhis emaryinatus, AVahl. It 

 is generally preferred by the horse- 

 keepers, who say that soap renders 

 dark horses grey. 



* Anotlier useful seed in Ceylon is 

 the marking-nut, the produce of the 



VOL. II. M 



Kiri-hadidla tree (Semccarpas Ana- 

 cardiion, Linn.), between tlie kernel 

 and the peric-ai-p of whii-h is con- 

 tained a senii-iiuid varnish, as black 

 and as durable as the nitrate of silver. 

 It is plentiful iu the bazaars of Co- 

 lombo. 



