No. 5.— 1850.] 



THE ELU LANGUAGE. 



257 



From my limited reading I have been able to divide the 

 prose compositions into but three classes : (1) the simple or 

 common, (2) the elegant, and (3) the refined. 



(1) The first, which I shall call the " common," is that 

 without ornament, the elegant style of an English scholar. 

 Of this species the following from the Sidatsangardwa is 

 an example : — 



A swarm of bees, which in the morning hover over (in) the 

 lotuses, are like the offspring of darkness walking in quest of their 

 parent of darkness.* 



(2) Of the second, which is the Sinhalese decorated with 

 all the glittering ornaments of compound words, compari- 

 sons, &c, and which in English may be denominated "the 

 verbose," the following is a specimen from the introduction 

 to the Bauddha Satakaya : — 



e3©C3S5 G93€3£9®O0d3 ^9^5 £53325};ftC333@>C5D3S}e3©D2^ C§ (3o© 



©SjS § Sa[oo6>3QoS«>©«nSo*9 <§8c)£3 03cSc^S)d)€)3C3^ 



@©3-eSC5903 &5^5®^CO^f eZ>25^C53£}25) SftSDg geD©t9Q>3S) gS^d" 



Translation. 



Sri Ramachandrabharati, an illustrious Brahmin, born of 

 the family of (Katya), learned in all the rich sciences of logic, 



* This sentence conveys the idea that bees are inactive at night, 

 and that their activity upon the absence of darkness is such, that 

 it may be almost supposed that these children of darkness are in 

 search of the night — -their lost mother. 



