149 



Translations of certain Documents, Family and Historical, found 

 in the Possession of the Descendants of M. Nanclars 

 de Lanerolle, French Envoy to the Court of 

 of Kandy. 



Contributed by L. Ludovici, Esq. 



The documents, of which the following are translations, were 

 met with by me, in the course of a visit to Hangwela, in the pos- 

 session of the descendants of M. Nanclars de Lanerolle, French 

 Envoy to the Court of Kandy in 1685. The Sinhalese originals 

 are written on Ola, and the Dutch on paper. So far as can be 

 tested by historical and traditionary evidence, there is hardly any 

 doubt that the present Lanerolles of Hangwela are the lineal 

 descendants of the French Envoy, but there is nothing in physique^ 

 language, or costume, to distinguish them from the surrounding 

 Sinhalese, except perhaps the fairer complexion common to every 

 member of the family. They profess to be Christians of the Re- 

 formed Church ; and one of their immediate ancestors appears to 

 have held the office of Saperemado Appu or Commissioner, under the 

 Dutch Government. A collateral branch of the family, I under, 

 stand, is settled at Katelowe in the Galle district. The amusing 

 reply of the late Mr. H. E. O'Grady to a petition presented by 

 a member of the family, praying for official rank on the strength 

 of his descent, will be found extracted from the Examiner News- 

 paper of the 28th October, 1869, in the appendix. 



The other letters, relating to the siege of Vienna, &c, were 

 most probably intercepted at Trincomalee by the emissaries of 

 Raja Singha, on their way from Holland to the Dutch Governor 

 of Colombo, and translated into Sinhalese for his information 

 by one of the many " captives" detained by him at Kandy. These 

 documents carry on their face every mark of genuineness, while 



