THE APE. 39 



animals, where lame and sick Monkies and even 

 those which (without being diseased) chuse to dwell 

 there, are fed and cherished. Twice every week 

 the Monkies of the neighbourhood assemble spoil- 

 taneously in the streets of the city. They then 

 mount upon the houses, each of which has a small 

 terrace or a flat roof, where they lie during the 

 great heats. On these two days the inhabitants al- 

 ways carefully deposit on the terraces rice, millet, 

 or fruit ; for whenever, by any accident, they are 

 prevented from doing it, the disappointed animals 

 become so furious, that they break the tiles^ and 

 commit various other outrages *. — -When the Portu- 

 guese plundered the island of Ceylon, they 

 found in one of the temples dedicated to these ani- 

 mals, a small golden casket, containing the tooth of 

 an Ape. This relic the natives held in such super- 

 stitious veneration, that they offered no less than 

 700,000 ducats to redeem it. The Viceroy, how- 

 ever, in order to discourage their superstition, 

 directed it to be burnt -j-. About three years after- 

 wards, a fellow who accompanied the Portuguese 

 Ambassador, having got a similar tooth, pretended 

 that he had recovered the old one, which so rejoi- 

 ced the PriestSj that we are informed they purcha- 

 sed it for a sum of upwards of 10,000 pounds ster- 

 ling X' 



* Buffon's Qiiad.— t Liutchotten, Voy. p. SS — X Hamilton, 1. S47« 



D4 



