No. 44.— 1893.] knox's "ceylon." 



27 



Neither are their steep and Hilly Lands uncapable of beingithus over- 

 flown with Water. For the doing of which they use this Art. They 

 level these Hills into narrow Allies, some three, some eight foot wide* 

 one beneath another, according to the steepness of the Hills, working 

 them and digging them in that fashion that they lye smooth and flat 

 like so many Stairs up the Hills one above another. The Waters at the 

 top of the Hills falling downwards are let into these Allies and so suc- 

 cessively by running out of one into another, water all ; first the 

 higher Lands and then the lower. The highest Allies having such a 

 quantity of Water as may suffice to cover them, the rest runs over unto 

 the next, and that having its proportion unto the next, and so by 

 degrees it falls into all these hanging parcels £ Ground, 



Or this of termites or white-ants : — 



There is a sixth sort called Vaeos.® These are more numerous than 

 any of the former. All the whole Earth doth swarm with them. 

 They are of a middle size between the greatest and the least, the 

 hinder part white and the head red. They eat and devour all that 

 they can come at ; as besides food, Cloth, Wood, Thatch of Houses and 

 everything excepting Iron and Stone. So that the people cannot set, 

 anything upon the ground within their houses for them. They creep 

 up the walls of their houses and build an Arch made of dirt over them- 

 selves all the way as they climb, be it never so high. And if this Arch 

 and Vault chance to be broken, they all, how high soever they were, come 

 back again to mend up the breach, which being finished they proceed 

 forwards again, eating everything they come at in their way. This 

 Vermin does exceedingly among the Chingidays, insomuch that they 

 are continually looking upon anything they value to see if any of 

 these Vaeos have been at it. Which they may easily perceive by this 

 Case of dirt which they cannot go up anywhere without building as 

 they go. And wherever this is seen no doubt the Ants are there. In 

 places where there are no houses, and they can eat nothing belonging 

 to the people, they will raise great Hills like Butts, some four or five 

 or six foot high ; which are so hard and strong that it would be work 

 enough to dig them down with Pick- Axes. 



Knox evidently took the greatest pains to make what he 

 describes clear to his readers, and there is no doubt that his 

 accurate and graphic method, aided by the excellent pictures, 

 bring home to us in a most vivid fashion the customs, appear- 

 ance, and domestic economy of the Sinhalese people. 



From a philological point of view the book is most 

 interesting. We see the changes which the lapse of two 



* Sinhalese Veyo.— B., Hon, Sec. 



