Chap. I.J 



GEMS. 



33 



the king of the island, " a span in length, without a 

 flaw, and brilliant beyond description."^ 



The extent to which gems are still found is sufficient 

 to account for the early traditions of their splendour 

 and profusion ; and fabulous as this story of the ruby 

 of the Kandyan kings may be, the abundance of gems 

 in SafFragam has given to the capital of the district 

 the name of Ratnapoora^ which means hterally " the 

 city of rubies."^ They are not, however, confined to 

 this quarter alone, but quantities are still found on the 

 western plains between Adam's Peak and the sea, at 

 JSTeuera-elha, in Oovah, at Kandy, at Mattelle in the 

 central province, and at Euanwelh near Colombo, at 

 Matura, and in the beds of the rivers eastwards towards 

 the ancient Mahagam. 



But the locahties which chiefly supply the Ceylon 

 gems are the allu\dal plains at the foot of the stu- 

 pendous hills of Safli'agam, in which the detritus of the 

 rocks has been carried down and intercepted by the 

 shght elevations that rise at some distance from the 

 base of the mountains. The most remarkable of these 

 gem-bearing deposits is in the flat country around 

 Ballangodde, south-east of Katnapoora ; but almost 

 every valley in communication with the rocks of the 

 higher ranges contains stones of more or less value, and 

 the beds of the rivers flowing southward from the 

 mountain chain are so rich in comminuted fragments 

 of rubies, sapphires, and garnets^, that their sands in 



^ TraveU of ^Iknco Polo, a Vene- 

 tian, in tJie Thirtee)dh Century, Lend. 

 1818. 



•i In tlie vicinity of Ratnapoora 

 there are to be obtained masses of 

 quartz of tbe most delicate rose 

 colour. Some pieces, wbich were 

 brought to me in Colombo, were of 

 extraordinary beauty ; and I have 

 reason to believe that it can be ob- 

 tained in pieces large enough to be 

 used as slabs for tables, or formed 

 into vases and columns. I mayobsen'e 



VOL. I. D 



that similar pieces are to be found 

 in the south of Ireland, near Cork. 



^ Mr. Bakee, in a work entitled 

 Tlie Rifle and the Hound in Cei/lon, 

 thus describes the sands of the Manic 

 Ganga, near the ruins of Mahagam, 

 in the south-eastern extremity of the 

 island : — " The sand was composed 

 of mica, quartz, sapphire, ruby, and 

 jacinth ; but the large proportion of 

 ruby sand was so extraordinary that 

 it seemed to rival Sinbad's story of 

 the vale of ""cnis. The whole of this 



