CHAP. L] THE LOEIS. 133 



such an irrepressible curiosity that, in order to watch 

 his movements, they never fail to betray themselves. 

 They may be frequently seen congregated on the roof 

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

 European clergyman stationed near Jaffna having been 

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

 by them as to cause its death. 



The Singhalese have the impression that the remains 

 of a monkeyuft'e never to be found in the forest ; a belief 

 which they have embodied in the proverb that " he who 

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

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

 live 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, that even its bones 

 are unlucky, and that no house erected where they are 

 hid under ground can prosper. Hence when a dwelling 

 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." 1 



The only other quadrumanous animal found in Ceylon 

 is the little loris 2 , 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 vege- 

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

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

 naturally slow motion of its limbs enables the loris to 



1 BUCHANAN'S Survey of 

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



lieved that the body of a dead monkey 

 is never found on the rock. 



2 Loris gracilis, Geoff". 

 K 3 



