24 



CEYLON BRANCH 



danger is to be apprehended lest Satan should seek to profane 

 the baptismal Christianity of such children by the instrumen- 

 tality of their apostate parents, in whose possession and under 

 whose influence they grow up, to the dishonor of Jesus our 

 King. Thus will the truth suffer unnecessarily, the seal of 

 the covenant will be prostituted, and Satan take occasion to 

 triumph in appearance over nominal christians, who have been 

 prematurely and rashly baptized, but who in reality are his 

 property." 



About this time a false prophet arose among the Singha- 

 lese who excited some attention. I have translated the 

 account given of him in the Ecclesiastical report of 1681, not 

 vouching however for the accuracy of names, on account of 

 the difficulty I have found in deciphering the handwriting. 



"A certain person took refuge here in 1675 who had 

 been dwelling for several years in the territories of the King 

 of Kandy, where he had dissuaded the inhabitants from the 

 practice of devil-worship, and taught the worship of God alone 

 as being more in accordance with the doctrine of Butta or 

 Buddu. This person gathered to himself in the King's terri- 

 tories a great number of followers, who regarded him as a 

 remarkable personage ; but when it was discovered that, under 

 the pretext of religion, he was endeavouring to make disaf- 

 fected towards the Emperor Rajah Singha a great portion of his 

 kingdom, he retreated from thence to these parts. The present 

 Emperor Rajah Singha had many step-brothers, born of the 

 same mother Dona Catrama, but of another father, Timala 

 Darma, while Raja Singha was of her second husband ; both 

 husbands having been Emperors of Ceylon. Raja Singha 

 though the youngest, succeeded to the throne. Of his brothers 

 one was prince of Galle, who died without issue, and the other 

 prince of Matelle, who had a son, some say his own and others 



