THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. 
189 
state, arid those which respect religious affairs. The Arabic 
is the character which they employ on these occasions. 
For writing, as they clo not understand the art of making 
paper, they employ the leaf of the talipot tree. From these 
leaves, which are of an immense size, they cut out slips, 
from a foot to a foot and a half long, and about a couple 
of inches broad. These slips are smoothed, and all excres- 
sences pared off with a knife, and are then, without any 
other preparation, ready to be used. A fine pointed steel 
pencil, like a bodkin, and set in a wooden or ivory handle, 
ornamented according to the taste of the owner, is employed 
to write or rather engrave their letters or characters on these 
talipot slips which are very thick and tough. In order to 
render the characters more visible and distinct, they rub 
them over with oil mixed with charcoal reduced to powder, 
and this lias the effect also of rendering them so permanent, 
that they can never be effaced. When one slip is not suf- 
ficient to contain all that they intend to write on any par- 
ticular subject, they string several together by a piece of 
twine passed through them, and attach them to a board in 
the same way as we file news-papers. 
Palm leaves are sometimes employed for the same pur- 
pose, but those of the talipot both from their breadth and 
thickness are preferred. Few of the natives, and those only 
of the higher order who have much connexion and long 
accounts to keep with the Europeans, employ any other 
materials in writing than those which I have just described. 
