No. 56.— 1905.] PROCEEDINGS. 
381 
(1) It is my impression that at the period when this memorial was. 
erected, which must have been towards the end of the sixteenth 
or early in the seventeenth century (the former I think), the custom 
of giving fonts or other ecclesiastical furniture or ornaments to 
churches as memorials of deceased persons had not been thought of. 
Memorials took the shape sometimes of chantry chapels or altars, but 
ordinarily of tombstones or brasses more or less elaborate. But a tomb- 
stone was a tombstone and no one thought of substituting for it a font 
or other part of the paraphernalia of a church as a memorial. This 
custom is entirely a modern one — that at least is my impression. 
2 This stone is of a rectangular plan, some 3 ft. 4| in. by 
2 ft. — a very unusual shape for a font I should say. 
(3) At the same time it is not of an unusual shape for a tombstone, 
though unique among Ceylon Portuguese and Dutch memorials. 
(4) The only reason for supposing it to be part of a font is the quasi 
handles at the ends with holes which look as if they were intended 
for poles to be passed through them in order to lift the stone, and 
suggest to Mr. Denham that it might be a font cover. But in my 
opinion these are merely ornamental terminals to the top ridge of 
the stone. The stone is far too heavy for a font cover, and would have 
required four men and two poles to lift it every time the font was 
used, which process would also have involved cutting the inscriptions 
temporarily in half. 
J. P. Lewis. 
GENERAL MEETING. 
Colombo Museum^ March 4, 1905, 
Present : 
Mr. P. Freudenberg, Yice-President, in the Chair. 
Mr.C. Batuwantudawe, Advocate. Dr. H. M. Fernando, M.D., B.Sc. 
Dr. A. J. Chalmers;M.D.,F.R.C.S. Mr. W. F. Gunawardhana, Muda- 
Mr. F. J. de Mel, B.A., LL.B. liyar 
Mr. W. A. de Silva, J.P. Mr. P. E. Morgappah. 
Dr. W. H. de Silva, M.B., C M., Mr. E. W. Pereira, Advocate. 
F.R.C.S. Mr. P. E. Pieris, M.A.. CCS. 
Mr. CM. Fernando, M.A , LL.M. Mr. H. F. Tomalin, F.R.I.B.A. 
Messrs. J. Harward, M.A., and G. A. Joseph, Honorary Secretaries. 
Visitors : One lady and twenty-eight gentlemen. 
Business, 
1. The Chairman : — Gentlemen, before formally opening this 
Meeting, I wish to refer to a happy event which took place at Bombay 
to-day. I mean the wedding of our President, the Hon. Mr. John 
Ferguson. I am sure that I am only giving expression to what the 
Society feels when I say that we offer our hearty congratulations to 
Mr. Ferguson and his bride and wish them all happiness. 
2. Read and confirmed Minutes of last General Meeting held on 
February 6, 1905. 
3. Mr. W. F. Gunawardhana read the following Paper 
