Chaf. IL] the LANDIXG of WIJAYO. 333 



made good their landing, are met by a " devo " (a divine spirit), 

 who blesses them and ties a sacred thread as a charm on the 

 arm of each. One of the band presently discovers the princess 

 in the person of a devotee, seated near a tank, and she being a 

 magician (Yakkhini) imprisons him and eventually the rest of his 

 companions in a cave. The Mahaivanso then proceeds : "all these 

 persons not returning, Wijayo, becoming alarmed, equipping 

 himself with the five weapons of war, proceeded after them, and 

 examined the delightful pond : he could perceive no footsteps 

 but those leading down into it, and there he saw the princess. 

 It occurred to him his retinue must surely have been seized by 

 her, and he exclaimed, ' Pray, why dost not thou produce my 

 attendants ? ' ' Prince,' she replied, ' from attendants what 

 pleasure canst thou derive ? drink and bathe ere thou departest.' 

 Seizing her by the hair with his left hand, whilst vnih his right 

 he raised his sword, he exclaimed, ' Slave, deliver my followers or 

 die.' The Yakkhini terrified, implored for her life ; ' Spare me, 

 prince, and on thee will I bestow sovereignty, my love, and 

 my service.' In order that he might not again be involved in 

 difficulty he forced her to swear', and when he again demanded 

 the liberation of his attendants she brought them forth, and 

 declaring 'these men must be famishing,' she distributed to 

 them rice and other articles procured from the wrecked ships 

 of mariners, who had fallen a prey to her. A feast follows, and 

 Wijayo and the princess retire to pass the night in an apart- 

 ment which she causes to spring up at the foot of a tree, cur- 

 tained as with a wall and fragrant with incense." It is impos- 

 sible not to be struck with a curious resemblance between this 

 description and that in the 10th book of the Odyssey, where 

 Eurylochus, after landing, returns to Ulysses to recount the 

 fate of his companions, who, having wandered towards the 

 palace of Circe, had been imprisoned after undergoing trans- 

 formation into swine. Ulysses hastens to their relief, and having 

 been provided by Mercury with antidotes, which enabled him 

 to resist the poisons of the sorceress, whom he discovers in her 

 retreat, the story proceeds : — 



'fls (f)dT' syo) S' dop o^v spvacrdfisvos nrapd fxrjpov 

 l^ipKr] srry'ji^a ooars KTufMSvai jxsvsaivwv. k. r. X. 



Et lit] juoi rXflf;;e yf, ^ia, fiiyav opKov u/ifKraai 



Mi'iri jxoi avT<^ 7r/)/(a kukop SovXevaiiiiv uXXo. — Odi/s. x. 1. 343. 



