JOUENAL 



OF THE 'I 



ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY, 

 CEYLON BEANCH. 



THE DUTCH EMBASSY TO KANDY IN 1731-32. 



Diary of Wijesiriwardhana Maha Mudiyanse, otherwise 

 called Lewis de Saram, Maha Mudaliyar. 



Translated from the Sinhalese by 



P. E. Pibbis, CCS. 



Introductory Note, 



The manuscript from which this translation is made 

 consists of thirty-one quarter sheets of thick Dutch paper, 

 which had originally been stitched together to form a book. 

 Two pages appear to be missing at the beginning, one in the 

 middle, and one at the end; but the completeness of the 

 narrative is not seriously affected thereby. 



The loose sheets were discovered among a heap of documents 

 in one of the Matara Walawwas, and have been kindly placed 

 at my disposal by E. R. Gooneratne, Gate Mudaliyar, of Galle.* 



The writing is extremely beautiful and considerably superior 

 to modern print, with hardly an erasure throughout. The 

 language is the stately Sinhalese of the court, and is identical 

 with that employed in the account of King Kirtti §>ri Raja 

 Sinha's Embassy to Siam*f and the importance attached to the 

 language used on State occasions may be judged from the 

 anxiety of the Dutch Governor regarding the inexperience of 

 our diarist's proposed assistant in 1734. % 



* They were the property of the late J. L. Philipsz Panditaratna, 

 Mudaliyar, of Matara. 



f Translated and printed in R. A. S. Journal, vol. XVIII. < 

 % Pielat's Memorie, p. 50. 



p 26-09 



