626 



MEDIAEVAL HISTORY. 



[PART V. 



" Singha ; " besides which, 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 harbours of the island, pil- 

 grims no longer repaired to the shrines of Buddha ; 

 and even -the inscriptions became obliterated in which 

 the L imperial offerings to the temples were recorded on 

 the rocks. 1 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 vendpr of sweetmeats, or a hut 

 in the solitary 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 Fuh-kien, assisted by 



e desta Ilha Ceilao. Na qual Ilha 

 leixaram huma lingua, a que elles 

 chamam Chingalla, e aos proprios 

 povos Chingallas, principalmente os 

 que vivem da ponta de Galle por 

 diante na face da terra contra o Sul, 

 e Oriente : e por ser pegada neste 

 Cabo Galle, chamou a outra gerite, 

 que vivia do meio da ilha pera cima, 

 aos que aqui habitavam Chinyalla e 

 a lingua delles tambem, quasi como 

 se dissessem lingua ou gente dos Chijo 

 de Galle." Vv BAKROS, Asia, #c., 

 Dec. iii. lib. ii. c. i. DE COTTTO'S 

 account is as follows : " E como os 

 Chins formam os primeiros que nave- 

 garam pelo Oriente, tendo noticia da 



canella, acudiram muitos 'juncos' 

 aquella Ilha a carregar della, e dalli 

 a levaram aos portos de Persia, e da 

 Arabia donde passou a Europa de 

 que se deixaram ficar muitos Chins 

 na terra, e se misturaram por easa- 

 mentos com os naturaes ; dantre quern 

 nasceram huns mist^os que se Jicaram 

 chamando dm- Guilds ; ajuntando o 

 name dos nattiraes, que eram Gattas 

 aos dos Chins, que vieram por tem- 

 pos a ser tao famosos, que deram o 

 seu nome a todos os da Ilha." Asia, 

 8,-c., Dec. v. lib. ch. v. 



1 Suh-Wan-hecn tung-kaou, book 

 ccxxxvi. p. 12. 



