188 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XXI. 



Wijesiriwardhana Maha Mudiyanse was born about the , 

 year 1660, about the very time of the expulsion of the Portu- 

 guese from their settlements in Ceylon ; and the fragments of 

 their language which appear in his narrative are of interest. 

 He was a member of that great family which has supplied more 

 Maha Mudaliyars than any other one family since 1700 ; and 

 his carefully-kept Diary is a valuable record of the cere- 

 monial at Narendra Sinha's Court by one whose nationality, 

 high position, and great experience made him an ideal recorder 

 of the events witnessed by him.* 



The only liberty which I have taken with the original in 

 the present translation is in curtailing the tedious repetition 

 of the record of wearisome formalities. 



Mr. R. G. Anthonisz, Government Archivist, kindly writes : 

 " I have compared this translation with the Dutch official 

 version of the embassy preserved in the Government Archives, 

 with which I find it agrees, barring a few trifling variations 

 of no particular importance. Neither the name of the Dutch 

 Governor during this period nor that of the Ambassador referred 

 to transpires in this diary. The Governor was Stephanus 

 Versluys, who succeeded the tyrant Vuyst in 1729, and who 

 was himself recalled in 1732; the Ambassador's name was 

 Captain Joan Wilhelm Schnee. The embassv started on 

 December 15,1731." 



I have gratefully to record my obligations to Mr. H. W. 

 Codrington, CCS. , for the valuable notes contributed by him. 



Met [16 December 1731] by three Koralas and 



numerous Arachchies and Vidanes. After the customary 

 greetings had been exchanged, he advanced in company with 

 these chiefs (Radalavaru) between two lines of soldiers formed 

 by the three istancis^ which were in attendance to the 

 tdndyama of Avissahawella on this side of the Sitawaka- 

 ganga. Shortly after the MohottalaJ of the Three Korales 

 having asked for and obtained permission from the Ambassador 

 to convey the presents to the further bank, this was accordingly 

 done ; while the letter, the box containing the machine for 

 indicating the hours, which was called orlosia, and the 



* A book published in 1723, in the preparation of which he had a 

 share, is mentioned in the Ceylon Literary Register, vol. II., p. 104. 

 f Port., estancia. 



% I.e., the Disave Mohottala. — H. W. C. 



