262 
THE ISLAND OF CEYLON. 
for the royal treasury ; and artists are frequently employed 
by the king to make him arms and different works in silver 
and gold, all at their own expence. 
As the government of Candy is completely despotic, 
every subject is of course ready at the call of the sov- 
reign ; and as fear of the Europeans keeps him continually 
on the alert, all the Candians are held obliged to take 
arms without distinction at his command. His regular 
troops, as he calls them, may consist of about twenty 
thousand men. I was led to form this computation from 
the circumstance that an army nearly of that number of 
his regular troops met our embassy near Sittivacca, and 
continued within three miles of us during the whole time 
we remained in the country. So great was his jealousy of 
Europeans, that I am convinced his whole efficient force 
was on this occasion assembled in our neighbourhood ; 
and besides this regular army, large bodies of the Militia 
of the country lay around us in every direction. 
According to the universal usage of despots, who dare not 
venture to trust their own subjects, the king always keep 
about his person a body of Malabars, Malays, and others 
who are not his own natural subjects, but many of them 
runaways from the Dutch. As these troops are entirely 
unconnected with the natives, and depend solely on his favour 
for protection and preferment, he places his chief con- 
fidence in them, and employs them as his constant body 
guard. 
