74 THE RIFLE AND HOUND IN CEYLON, chap. IV. 



The post-holder and a whole crowd of awakened 

 coolies now assembled, and they all at once declared 

 that the man had a devil. The fact is, he had a fit of 

 epilepsy, and his convulsions were terrible. Without 

 moving a limb he flapped here and there like a 

 salmon when just landed. I had nothing with me that 

 would relieve him, and I therefore left him to the 

 hands of the post-holder, who prided himself upon his 

 skill in exorcising devils. All his incantations pro- 

 duced no effect, and the unfortunate patient suddenly 

 sprang to his feet and rushed madly into the thorny 

 jungle. In this we heard him crashing through like a 

 wild beast, and I do not know to this day whether he 

 was ever heard of afterwards. 



The Cingalese have a thorough belief in the 

 presence of devils ; one sect are actually ' devil-zvor- 

 skipperSy but the greater portion of the natives are 

 Bhuddists. Among this nation the missionaries make 

 very slow progress. There is no character to work 

 upon in the Cingalese : they are faithless, cunning, 

 treacherous, and abject cowards ; superstitious in the 

 extreme, and yet unbelieving in any one God. A 

 converted Bhuddist will address his prayers to our 

 God if he thinks he can obtain any temporal benefit 

 by so doing, but, if not, he would be just as likely to 

 pray to Bhudda or to the devil. 



I once saw a sample of heathen conversion in 

 Ceylon that was enough to dishearten a missionary 



