158 EVERYDAY LIFE ON A 



cloths to make very comfortable and habitable 

 quarters for my son and myself. Here, I should 

 like to again urge those coming to Ceylon for 

 the first time, to bring with them any pretty 

 cretonnes, muslins, bits of bright silk, art serge, 

 curtains, pictures, and ornaments they can lay 

 their hands on, for they are simply invaluable 

 in making the rooms look homelike. In the 

 low country the dining-room is usually separ- 

 ated from the drawing-room by a broad arch, 

 and unless you have long, full curtains, and a 

 screen, the two rooms might as well be one. 

 Don't grudge a few extra boxes, but bring out 

 everything that is in the slightest degree decor- 

 ative. All such things are very expensive here. 

 The shipping companies are most liberal in the 

 amount of luggage allowed, and even if you 

 have to pay a little extra freight, the satisfac- 

 tion you will derive from the contents of the 

 boxes will be cheap at the price. The neces- 

 saries of life are inexpensive, but luxuries, medi- 

 cines, and articles of household gear, are ruin- 

 ous in price. Many and many a time have I 

 longed for an English " sixpenny halfpenny " 

 shop from which to replenish our stock of 

 kitchen utensils and common articles of glass 

 and earthenware. 



We have only been here a week but already 

 feel much revived by the change of climate. 

 Sickness is a terribly anxious thing, when you 



