INTRODUCTION. 



THERE is no island in the world, Great Britain itself 

 not excepted, that has attracted the attention of authors 

 in so many distant ages and so many different countries 

 as Ceylon. There is no nation in ancient or modern 

 times possessed of a language and a literature, the 

 writers of which have not at some time made it their 

 theme. Its aspect, its religion, its antiquities, and 

 productions, have been described as well by the classic 

 Greeks, as by those of the Lower Empire ; by the 

 Romans ; by the writers of China, Burmah, India, and 

 Kashmir ; by the geographers of Arabia and Persia ; 

 by the mediaeval voyagers of Italy and France ; by the 

 annalists of Portugal and Spain ; by the merchant 

 adventurers of Holland, and by the travellers and 

 topographers of Great Britain. 



But amidst this wealth of materials as to its vicissi- 

 tudes in early times, there is an absolute dearth of in- 

 formation regarding the state and progress of the island 

 during more recent periods, and its actual condition 

 at the present day. 



I was made sensible of this want, on the occa- 

 sion of my nomination, in 1845, to an office in con- 



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