CEYLON COCOA ESTATE 39 



most interesting sight, and though the sky was 

 cloudy the sun appeared often enough to enable 

 us with smoked glasses to watch all the phases 

 of the eclipse. The coolies, and even the Tamil 

 Bungalow servants, acting on orders from 

 their co-religionists in India, observed a strict 

 fast all day until 4 p.m. The idea was, that 

 the day after the eclipse was to be marked by 

 some awful and mysterious event. So great 

 was their anticipation, that I don't feel sure as 

 to whether they were pleased or disappointed, 

 when it passed in the same uneventful style, 

 as most other days in Ceylon. 



On Sunday I went with Mr. M. to the little 

 schoolhouse, where preparations were being 

 made for a short Church of England service to 

 be held in Tamil. The catechist showed me 

 the books he intended using, which consisted 

 of a selection from the Book of Common Prayer, 

 the Bible, and a volume called Tamil Lyrics 

 which I conclude meant hymns. At my 

 request he read me part of the Sermon on the 

 Mount in Tamil. He did so in a most im- 

 pressive and sonorous voice, it sounded grand, 

 but I am told that the translation of the Bible 

 is in such "high Tamil " that very few coolies 

 (who usually speak a kind of low class dialect) 

 can understand it. He afterwards introduced 

 us to his wife, a sweet looking young girl, and 

 their child, a dear little baby of eleven months, 



