178 COACHING IN CEYLON 



on the road. I gladly accepted. His plan 

 was to sleep at Bentota — as famous in 

 Ceylon for Its oysters as Whitstable Is In 

 Eneland — and drive the same horse on in 

 the morning to Kalutara railway station. 

 As far as Bentota all went well ; but, 

 unfortunately, during the night there our 

 steed was badly griped, and quite unfit to 

 proceed next day. We were, how^ever, able 

 to fall back on a " coolie coach," a waggonette 

 full of natives, of which we had the box seat. 

 As the ponies were very small, I could not 

 help asking the driver when we had got half- 

 way to Kalutara if he were not going to 

 change horses. He replied that he was, 

 about a mile further on. 



Accordingly, in about twenty minutes' 

 time the coach stopped. I saw no fresh 

 horses nor stabling, not even a native hut 



