726 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [May 1, l900. 
relatives had only the melancholy satisfaction of 
publisliing tlie aflmiiahle letters which, with the 
appendices addres eel to Baron Von Humboldt, 
form this most interesting volnme. 
GEO. E. DALRYMPLE. 
The George Dalrymple nientioned above was 
uncle to " our Lm/ie ;" lie also had been in Ceylon 
for seven years, duiing whicli time ne had worked 
himself up into a leailing position in a Kandy Firm, 
A tall and very handsome, beardless youth, he 
was popular with all classes and an especial 
favourite with tlieyouno; military officers stationed 
at the Central Capital. One afternoon a bit of 
a lark was proposed, and no sooner said than done. 
Young Dalrymple was dressed as a lady, as near 
as possible ci Za moc/e, the next step was on to a 
higb dog-cart, and one of the officers to drive " her " 
round the Lake ; the chief object being to attract 
the attention of and arouse the jealousy of a 
certain Mrs. S • — ,who had recently begun to 
trot out two daughters. 
Few in the present day of globe-trotters can 
imagine the consternation such a simple event 
causetl in the eaily "fifties." 
Round and round rode the handsome pair, and 
none was more critically interested in the new 
arrival than Mi s. S . Most unfortunately, in 
turning a corner for the third time, right opposite 
her bungalow, the liorse shied. Up went a wheel 
on the parapet and over went the occupants ! 
With a shriek ran Mrs. S to the help of ' the 
lady," the screeching daughters behind her, but 
were shocked and thunderstruck to get hold of 
a top boot ! 
Tiie next upshot was that Master George got a 
badly broken thigh which rendered him a cripple for 
life, and as such was ordered home. We all thought 
he had been injured while out hunting elephant ; 
but Dr. Charsley, w'lo attended him, gave me the 
true version of George's mishap. On returning 
home he started a Flax Works, but falling into 
the hands of Aberdeen Jews the project failed, 
and he went out to Au'^tralia where he did some 
good exploring work. I had thought of accom- 
jianying him, but at the last moment he said " No, 
you would be throwing yourself away, Ceylon 
is the jdace for you," and he offered to recommend 
me to his friend Simon Keii'. Meanwhile, the 
following ad vertisement appeared in the Aberdeen 
Journal: — "Wanted for Ceylon, a young man of 
liberal education, with a knowledge of Agriculture. 
Applicants in own handwriting must state age, 
where educated, and how employed hitherto, good 
references required." 1 answered this and was the 
successful apiilicant. 
START l^OR CEYLON. 
So, early in February, 1858, I sailed in the good 
mahogany ship "Albemarle," 400 tons burthen, 
niy fellow-passengers being Ellis, Tindall, Wern- 
liam, Bruce, Hay, and the brothers Kossiter : — • 
all gone now excepting one of the last-mentioned 
and myself. 
The events of the four and half months, sucli as 
they were, were they not too fully chronicled in the 
Aberdeen Free Press. 
We reacheil Colombo on the lOtli June, a memor- 
able day, of which Padre Ellis, as long as he lived, 
kept up the anniversary, by writing to me, often in 
pawky verse, of which the following is a sample: — 
" Here's health, milk and meal 
To an honest hearty chiel, 
Deil cadge theni in a creel 
Wha doesna wish us baith weel," 
ARRIVAL AND PECULIAR RECEPTION AT 
"OBSERVER" OFFICE. 
Our reception in Baillie Street was peculiar. I 
iiad been asked by .ny fellow-])assenge'S to wiite and 
publish a letter of thanks to Captain Collettfor his 
considerate and unremitting kindness to us during 
the long veyage. Consequently, our first call in 
Colombo was at the Observer Office. Dr. Elliotb 
sat in the Etiitoriai chair, and after glancing over the 
MSS, said in his loud cheery voice, " We shall be 
deloigldeel to insert this ;" but, and again he looked 
at us up and down, with a twinkle in his eye ; 
then leaning back in his chair simply roared: — 
"Come here, Ferguson, and look at this," and 
the liandsome iiead of a man in middle-life looked 
over the screen. " Sample of passengers per 
AlbeiMrle," he said pointing to us, and they 
both laughed in ready chorus ; while we, reddening 
with chagrin and sur|)rise, drew back at the strange 
and unexpected reception. An explanation soon 
followed. Our names had been sent in by the 
Wharf clerk with tiie prefix " if isscs," instead of 
" TlfcssTj." and all Colombo was on the qui vivc 
to see the batch of young ladies, newly arrived ! 
Fred. Wernham and I were hospitably received 
by good genial Sylvester Richmond, whose hearty 
langli was a grand entertainment in itself. Next 
evening found us in Kandy introduced to those 
keen coffee dealers, Sandy Brown and old Gerrard, 
the latter by this time in shady circumstances, 
but full of anecdote ; the point or moial of liis 
reminiscences, however, was not very edifying or 
encouraging to newcomers. Poor old rake ! he 
evidently imagined he was having a ruse out of 
the raw arrivals, little thinking how minutely 
they weighed and appraised him. 
ON THE HILLS. 
My destination was Rangalla, a district that stood 
Al in coffee planters' estimation, and Battegalla, 
which was acknowledged at that time to be the 
finest hill estate in the island. Mr. Duckworth, 
the fortunate proprietor, resided there and received 
me with gieat kindness. His father— one of the 
merchant princes of Liverpool— I had visiced before 
leaving England, meeting the young student 
brotlier, now Canon Duckworth. Battegalla was 
indeed an ideal estate, combining good soil and 
shelter with a glorious view of the rich lowcountry 
beyond, 350 acres bearing at the rate of fully 15 
cwt. per acre, an ample labour supply, rising prices, 
and altogetlier the prospects were as bright as ever 
they were before or since in Ceyloa. Sir Henry 
Ward had just been up dining and complimenting 
the " spirited gentlemen of the district" for having 
maile " a beautiful bandy-road of 9 miles from 
Teldeniya to their splendid estates." 
The second day's tappal brought me a kindly 
letter from A. M. F. telling me he had just seen 
Capt. Collett with an armful of papers from 
Aberdeen containing my contributions on the voy- 
age, and concluded by hoping I wouldn't send all the 
fruits of my pen to Aberdeen-awa, and here began 
another long-cherished friendship. Few outdoor 
occupations could be more attractive than Coffee 
planting in the " fifties." Coolies were more docile 
than they now are, the surrounding Sinhalese less 
corrupted and more respectful. The busy crop 
season was soon over and then came ample leisure, 
the interesting process of pruning, the beautiful 
blossoming time when bumper crops were estimated, 
after which those so minded could readily be spared 
for a sporting trip to Bintenne. Monotoaous as the 
work seemed to many, to me it was a daily deligh*, 
albeit the climate had its drawbacks. 
