THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. 
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the native inhabitants of their conquered countries received and 
assisted their rivals. 
As nothing can be more contrary to the spirit of the Christian 
religion, than the attempt to impose it on mankind by force, so 
this method lias been uniformly unsuccessful. The Cinglese. 
looked with horror on strange gods, who seemed to delight in 
blood ; and chose rather to leave the sea-coasts to their enemies, 
and find refuge for themselves and their grotesque idols in the 
mountains of the interior. The Portuguese government was, 
however, still weak enough to yield to the arguments of the 
priests, who maintained, that imposing the Christian religion by 
means of the inquisition, was the only sure method of securing 
their dominion. These tyrannical invaders therefore pursued 
the Cinglese to their forests and fastnesses ; and the latter, in 
their turn, made frequent incursions on the sea-coasts, and often 
destroyed the richest plantations of the Portuguese. This desul- 
tory warfare continued for almost a century with much blood- 
shed, and no advantage to either party. The internal govern- 
ment of the natives at that time, indeed, enabled the Portuguese 
to acquire considerable accessions of territory. The jurisdiction 
of the interior w r as parcelled out among a variety of petty 
princes, each of whom w r as the sovereign of his particular tribe, 
or separate valley. It w r as the policy of the Portuguese to stir 
up animosities between these princes, and to prevent their mak- 
ing a common cause for the deliverance of their country. When 
any open quarrel broke out between these islanders, their Euro- 
pean neighbours were ever ready to lend their assistance to 
