No. 5.— 1850.] 



THE ELTJ LANGUAGE. 



271 



species, an equal number of sounds ; regarding a long 

 sound or the syllable of an sound as being equal to 

 two short ; as in 



Buduguna Alankdre. 



Upon the completion of 2015 years from the era of the death 

 of the Omniscient Supreme Intelligent (Buddha) ; and three years 

 since the installation into regal office, in prosperous Lanka, of 

 King Buwaneka Bahu of worldly renown : — 



ww — w-^wwwwwwww — ww =14 short and 2 long-. 



ww — wwwwwwwwww — ww= 12 d °« 3 dO. 

 ww — wwwwwwwwww — ww= 16 d °- 1 dO. 

 ww— wwwwwwwwww— ww =1 * d °' 2 dO. 



f 14 + (2 X 2) = 18^ 

 We must get < jg J ^ * ^ ~ }g > an equal number of sounds.* 



(14 + (2 x 2) = 18) 

 It will be perceived from the above that a return of the 

 same music in all the lines is not essential to Sinhalese 

 poetry, although it would greatly add to the solemnity of 

 compositions. The writer had been successful in this in 

 the following elegy " To the memory of a friend " who 

 lately met a watery grave : — 



S3 253 ®£)25J @^3w@^3d3 £253 «3i w q& £ 



q 253 do) ®Q ©d} ^€3(3? ©ig^l 3^ 



CO 25) ©d^ ^w@^€33C^ ©3Dd£25j® ^©O c8 3^>25D 



Whilst watching the return of the friend of my heart (and) 

 inquiring from people after his health, the Angel of Death hath at 

 Welipenna snatched him away by stealth, unmindful of our 

 grief ! 



* To the Sinhalese is known poetry of different numbers but uniform 

 in all the four lines. I almost think of this species the numbers of 

 sounds or feet vary from two to twenty-eight. 



