698 



CEYLON. 



Ceylon. 



Principal 

 towns. 



Candy. 



Beason than during the prevalence of warm dry wea- 

 ther. It is remarkable, however, that these changes 

 affect the negroes and the natives of the continent 

 much more severely than the Europeans. 



These monsoons pass slightly over the interior, and 

 do not produce any considerable effect. The seasons 

 in the mountains are regulated by different laws, and 

 do not exactly correspond to either of the monsoons. 

 But this part of the island is not entirely free from 

 the dreadful storms which commit such terrible ra- 

 vages in tropical climates. There it rains incessant- 

 ly during the months of March and April, while at 

 that period it is perfectly dry in the low parts of the 

 country : the thunder and lightning are also awful 

 to a degree beyond the conception of a stranger. 

 See Perceval's Account of Ceylon ; Cordiner's Descrip- 

 tion of Ceylon, vol. i. ; and Asiatic Annual Register. 



On this island there are few towns of any consi- 

 derable importance. In the province of Tallanuur, 

 is the city of Candy, the capital of the interior, 

 and the chief residence of the prince. It is situated 

 in the midst of lofty mountains, covered with thick 

 jungle. The passes to it are narrow and difficult, and 

 are intersected with thick hedges of thorn. Fences 

 of a similar kind are also drawn round the hills in its 

 vicinity, like so many lines of circumvallation ; and 

 through them, the only passage is by gates of the 

 same thorny materials, which are so constructed as to 

 draw up and to fall down by means of ropes connect- 

 ed with them. When the natives are forced to re- 

 treat within these barriers, they cut the ropes, and 

 then it is impossible to force a passage unless by 

 burning the gates, which is attended with consider- 

 able difficulty and danger, in consequrnce of the green 

 state of the bushes, and the constant annoyance 

 which the enemy from behind them give the assailants. 

 These hedge-rows are the principal fortifications of 

 Candy. The town itself is a poor miserable place, 

 and is surrounded by a mud wall of no strength 

 whatever. It is about two miles in length, and con- 

 sists of one broad street, with a number of smaller 

 streets, which at different places proceed from it as 

 so many branches. These streets are in general dirty ; 

 the houses are poor and mean ; they are built chiefly 

 of mud, are thatched with straw and leaves, and have 

 miserably small apertures instead of windows. They 

 are all raised on terraces about five feet above the level 

 of the ground, and there are some stone steps which 

 lead up to every door. A few of the houses at the 

 upper end of the principal street are tiled and white 

 washed. The only buildings of consequence in Candy 

 are some of the temples of Buddhu, and the palace 

 which is situated at the head of the great street. The 

 latter is built of a kind of cement, which is perfectly 

 white, and is adorned with stone gateways. It is a 

 square of immense extent, but a considerable part of 

 it is not yet completed. In it are a great number of 

 rooms, the walls of which present a multitude of in- 

 scriptions, and are painted with the most grotesque 

 figures. Among others, it contains two temples to 

 Buddhu, one Hindoo pagoda, the cemetery of the 

 kings of Candy, and an immense variety of arsenals 

 and storehouses. When the British army entered 

 this city in 1803, they found part of the palace con- 

 sumed by the flames, the inhabitants having set it on 

 fire before they evacuated the town. However, many 

 'of the apartments were still entire, and contained 



some elegant sets of glass and china-ware, and a few Ceylon. 

 golden cups adorned with filigree. The walls of x *"-y-" 

 one of the rooms were completely covered with fine 

 glasses, about seven fret high and four feet broad. 

 Another room supposed to be the place of private 

 devotion, contained a gigantic brass image of Buddhu 

 in a sitting posture, and two smaller figures of a si- 

 milar form. Amongst some of the stores was found 

 a profusion of soft paper made of the bark of trees : 

 the sheets were rolled up, and some of them measured 

 twenty feet in length. There w;'s also a vast collec- 

 tion of bows, arrows, and walking sticks, exquisitely 

 painted, displaying a richness of varnish, colouring, 

 and ornament, which probably could not be equalled 

 in Europe. The other principal towns in the interior 

 are Diglig^y Neur, and Nilemby Neur, both of which 

 are only a few miU-s distant from the capital. The 

 ruins of some other cities, which appear to have been 

 larger and better built than any of these, shew that 

 the country was once in a more flourishing condition 

 than it is at present. 



Of the European part of the island, Columbo is Columbe. 

 the capital. It is a large and beautiful town, is built 

 on a regular plan, and much in the European style, 

 though few of the houses are above one ^tory in 

 height. That part of it called the fort, is about a 

 mile and a quarter in circumference ; it occupies a 

 situation almost insulated, and is defended by 300 

 pieces of heavy cannon. This division of the town 

 is inhabited chi -fly by the British, the Pettah by the 

 Dutch and Portuguese, and the suburbs by the na- 

 tive Ceylonese. Including all these different classes, 

 Columbo, according to Mr Cordiner, contains up- 

 wards of 50,000 inhabitants. There is probably no 

 place in the world where so many different languages 

 are spoken, and which displays such a variety of na- 

 tions, manners, and religions. Besides the European 

 inhabitants and the proper natives of the island, you 

 find almost every race of Asia : Moors of every class ; 

 Malabars, Travancorians, Malays. Hindoos, Gentoos, 

 Chinese, Persians, Arabians, Turks, Maldivians, Ja- 

 veans, and natives of all the Asiatic isles ; Persus, or 

 worshippers of fire, who would sooner allow their 

 houses to be burnt to ashes, and themselves to perish 

 in the flames, than employ any means to extinguish 

 them; together with a number of Africans, Caffres, 

 Buganese, besides the half casts, people of colour, 

 and other races which proceed from a variety of the 

 original ones. Columbo is a place of considerable 

 trade: m 1802, the customs amounted to 19, 160. 

 The harbour, however, is difficult of 'access during a 

 considerable part of the year, and is very insecure for 

 large vessels. The other principal towns in the Bri- 

 tish territories, are Trincomalee and Point de Galle. 

 The former is one of the most valuable acquisitions 

 on the island, on account of its excellent harbour, 

 which is of incalculable importance to our Indian 

 possessions, as the whole of the Coromandel coast 

 presents nothing but open roads, so that on the ap- 

 proach of the monsoons, all vessels were obliged to 

 stand out to sea to prevent inevitable destruction ; 

 and there are also many parts of the coast which 

 could be approached during only a tew months of the 

 year, whereas the harbour of Trincomalee now af- 

 ford* them, at all seasons, a near and safe retrea?. See 

 jRercival ; Cordiner, vol. i. ; Asiatic Register, vol. vi. Agricul- 



The soil of Ceylon ia, in general, of a sandy na- mre. 



