626 



MEDIAEVAL HISTORY. 



[Part V. 



" Singlia ; " besides wliicli, in the alphabet of the Sin- 

 ghalese, n and g combine to form a single and insoluble 

 letter. 



In process of time, every trace disappeared of the 

 former presence of the Chinese in Ceylon — embassies 

 ceased to arrive from the " Flowery Kingdom," Chi- 

 nese vessels deserted the harbom^s of the island, pil- 

 grims no longer repaired to the shrines of Buddha ; 

 and even the inscriptions became obhterated in which 

 the imperial offerings to the temples were recorded on 

 the rocks.* The only mementos which remain at the 

 present day to recall their ancient domestication in the 

 island, is the occasional appearance in the mountain 

 villages of an itinerant vender of sweetmeats, or a hut 

 in the sohtary forest near some cave, from which an 

 impoverished Chinese renter annually gathers the edible 

 nest of the swallow. 



NOTE. 



As it may be interesting to learn the opinions of the Chinese 

 at the present day regarding Ceylon, the following account of 

 the island has been translated for me by Dr. Lockhart, of 

 Shanghae, from a popular work on geography, written by the 

 late lieutenant-governor of the province of Fokhien, assisted by 



e desta Illia Ceilao. Na qual Illia 

 leixavam liuma lingua, a que elles 

 cliamam Cliingalla, e aos proprios 

 poYOs Cliiugallas, principalmente os 

 que vivem da poiita de Galle por 

 dianto ua face da terra contra o Sid, 

 e Oriente : e por ser pegada neste 

 Cabo Galle, chamou a outra gente, 

 que vivia do meio da ilha pera cima, 

 aos que aqui habitaAani Chingalla e 

 a lingua delles tambem, quasi como 

 se dissessem limjua ou tjente dos Chi/o 

 de Galle.'' — De Babkos, Asia, i^-c, 

 Dec. iii. lib. ii. c. i. De Couto's 

 account is as follows : '* E como os 

 Chins formam os primeii-os que nave- 

 garam pelo Oriente, tendo noticia da 



canella, acudiram muitos 'j uncos' 

 aquella Ilba a carregar della, e dalli 

 a levaram aos portos de Persia, e da 

 Arabia donde passou a Europa — de 

 que se deixarani ficar muitos Cbins 

 na terra, e se misturaram por easa- 

 mentos com os naturaes ; dantre qtiem 

 nasceram huns misf^os que se ficaram 

 chamando Cim- G alias ; ajuntando o 

 nome dos naturaes, que eram Gallas 

 aos dos Chins, que vieram por tem- 

 pos a ser tao famosos, que deram o 

 seu nome a todos os da Ilba." — Asia, 

 ^•c, Dec. V. lib. ch. v. 



' Suh- Wan-Men tung-haou, book 

 ccxxxAi. p. 12. 



