Chap. L] THE LORIS. 133 



such an irrepressible curiosity that, in order to watch 

 his movements, they never fail to betray themselves. 

 They may be seen frequently congregated on the roof 

 of a native hut ; and, some years ago, the child of a 

 European clergyman stationed at Tillipalh having been 

 left on the ground by tlie nurse, was so teased and bitten 

 by them as to cause its death. 



The Singhalese have the impression that the remains 

 of a monkey are never found in the forest ; a behef 

 which they have embodied in the proverb that " he who 

 has seen a white crow, the nest of a paddy bird, a 

 straight coco-nut tree, or a dead monkey, is certain to 

 hve for ever." This piece of folk-lore has evidently 

 reached Ceylon from India, where it is believed that 

 persons dwelling on the spot where a hanuman monkey, 

 S. entellus, has been killed, will die, and that even its 

 bones are unlucky, and that no house erected where they 

 are hid under ground can prosper. Hence when a house 

 is to be built, it is one of the employments of the Jyotish 

 philosophers to ascertain by their science that none such are 

 concealed ; and Buchanan observes that " it is, perhaps, 

 owing to this fear of ill-luck that no native will acknow- 

 ledge his having seen a dead hanuman." ^ 



The only other quadrumanous animal found in Ceylon 

 is the httle loris '\ which, from its sluggish movements, 

 nocturnal habits, and consequent inaction during the 

 day, has acquired the name of the "Ceylon Sloth." 

 There are two varieties in the island ; one of the ordi- 

 nary fulvous brown, and another larger, whose fur is 

 entirely black. A specimen of the former was sent to 

 me from Chilaw, on the western coast, and lived for 

 some time at Colombo, feeding on rice, fruit, and veoe- 

 tables. It was partial to ants and other insects, and 

 always eager for milk or the bone of a fowl. The 

 naturally slow motion of its hmbs enables the loris to 



^ Buchanan's Survey of Bhagul- 

 jwor, p. 142. At Gibraltar it is be- 



lieved that the body of a dead monJ^ey 

 is never found on the rock. 

 ^ Loris gracilis, Geoff, 



K 3 



