22 



. The last thing that Colonel Travers 

 told us for I am sorry to say he is gone away 

 was a pretty little story that he learned at 

 Ceylon. 



When the pearl-fishing in Condatchy Bay is 

 going on, which is, he says, a most lively, amusing 

 scene, the Indians of the continent attend in great 

 numbers, and being occasionally employed, they 

 find ample opportunity to exercise their dexterity 

 in sleight of hand, and every sort of roguery. A 

 set of these Indians contrived an ingenious method 

 of cheating the boat-owner who employed them 

 to open his oysters. While one of them made 

 a preconcerted signal, whenever any pearls worth 

 stealing were found, another at the same moment 

 pretended to conceal about him a few small ones, 

 and while he thus attracted the attention of the 

 superintendents and occasioned some bustle, the 

 real thief was able to secrete his prize. 



This contrivance was discovered by one of the 

 poor Ceylonese who attended the washing of the 

 pearls ; he made it known to the master of the 

 boat, and then, having reason to dread the ven- 

 geance of the thieves, he immediately fled. For 

 some days he proceeded without shelter, till arriv- 

 ing at the hut of a farmer,, who lived near a 

 cinnamon plantation belonging to government, 

 he supplicated him for relief and a lodging. This 

 man was very poor; he had a large family, and 

 could with difficulty shelter the fugitive for one 



