238 JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XI. 



the harbour of Punte de Galle* at that time the capital of 

 Ceilon : now, however, Columbo* is the capital.f 



It is, in truth, a beautiful harbour : ships may lie there all 

 the year round, — come in with the sea breeze and go out 

 with the land wind ; but there are dangerous hidden rocks. 

 Therefore, when ships arrive for the first time they have to 

 fire three guns, — those that have been there before, fire one 

 gun, — and after being answered in like manner must wait 

 until a pilot comes on board to show the right passage. A 

 pilot is always on the lookout with his crew upon a high 

 rock in the sea, an hour and a half from the shore, where he 

 has to hoist a big flag to a mast erected there as soon as 

 he sees ships, to warn them to stand off until he meets 

 them. J 



During the night the entrance should not be attempted, 

 the danger is too great. 



Overlooking the harbour is a fort, called the " Black Fort"§ 

 originally erected by the Portuguese, under a false pretext 

 to the king of Candi,\\ of which we shall speak hereafter ; 

 but it is now well strengthened with additional bastions 

 by the Hollanders, who took it by storm from the Portu- 

 guese in 1640. 



To the left, as one approaches, is now the hospital, on the 

 spot where formerly the Portuguese had their mint. Still 

 nearer the town is the bastion " Aggerslot," mounting eight 

 guns, which command the whole harbour. Further up, on 



* Punto de Gallo ; Kolumbo (Dutch ed., 1671). 



f Johann von der Behr says (p. 92) : — " On 9th Nov. [1647J 3 ships with 

 200 soldiers from Oalle came into the roadstead off Negombo, and after 

 anchoring, the soldiers came on shore, . . . the ships were these, the 

 ship Bantam, the yacht Lello, and the yacht Ackersloth. On the 12th the 

 aforementioned ships left under sail for Persia." 



J This can only be "Pigeon Island," which is close off Lighthouse 

 Point, and contained a cocoanut tree at least as recently as 1860. 



§ Dutch Zwart Fort. Heydt says that it may have derived its name from 

 the fact that it had become blackened by the smoke and charcoal of the 

 smiths who worked there. (See Ceylon Literary Register, vol. II., 

 pp. 333, 340.) 



j| Kandi (Dutch ed., 1671). 



