165 



COLOMBO. 



[Part VII. 



fortifications and siUTounded tliem on all sides with 

 valuable plantations of the spice. Xow that cmnamon 

 has become secondary in importance ; and the great cen- 

 tral mountains adapted for the cultiu^e of coffee may be 

 rendered equally accessible from the harboiu^s of Galle 

 or Trincomalie ; the question ^dll at no distant day de- 

 mand solution, whether the vastly increased commerce 

 of Ceylon can be adequately accommodated at Colombo ; 

 and whether the interests of the island may not necessi- - 

 tate the transfer of the capital to some more suitable and 

 commodious seaport. 



The most picturesque spots in the environs of the town 

 he to the north of the fort on the angle between it and 

 the embouchm'e of the river Kalany ; and here, after a 

 visit of a few weeks to the Governor, we took up om* 

 residence at Ehe House, a mansion built by ^Ir. Anstru- 

 ther, my predecessor in office. It stands on the ridge of 

 a projecting headland, commandhig a Avide prospect over 

 the Gulf of Manaar ; and in the midst of a garden con- 

 taining the rarest and most beautifid trees of the tropics, 

 tamarinds, j ambus, nutmegs, guavas, mangoes, and oranges, 

 the graceful casuarinas of Austraha, and the beautiful 

 traveller's palm ^ of Madagascar. 



ELIE HOUSE, COLOMBO. 



' Itavenahl spcciosa. 



