resting on his crown; on State
occasions the chief waiters at the hotel appear in an exceedingly high
head piece perched above their customary shell ornament, which they told
us was the style of a hundred years ago.

The jinrikisha man here is the first person to gain your attention; so
winning are his ways and so rapid his pace that he is justly popular for
a short spin to the very interesting shopping district, where almost
everything may be found, the jewels holding the interest of the stranger
above all else. But, alas, the pearl, Ceylon's home product, is to be
had only at fabulous prices and not then in its perfection. We had heard
of the lure of the pearl in the Gulf of Manaar (separating Ceylon from
India), and of all the fairy-tale adventures involved in the search for
it, and so we were disappointed in our failure to see perfect specimens.

The heat in Colombo was not oppressive, but, as in other places, there
are flying punkahs and electric appliances for cooling the air; then
there are fans in one's room to use at will, for these Easterners like
comfort and secure it at whatever cost, and the denizens of the West
soon fall into their ways, even adopting the English custom of four
o'clock tea. The spacious entrance hall at the Galle Face Hotel
presented an animated appearance, with beautifully gowned ladies, and
their attendants, seated around little tables sipping tea and consuming
fruit-cake and sandwiches.

* * * * *

NUWARA ELIYA: On Tuesday morning, January 28th, we left Colombo for the
north. The mountain resort of Nuwara Eliya is a great boon even to the
inhabitants of sea-swept Colombo; and it is also appreciated to its full
by the tourist who has been surfeited with the close atmosphere of
cities or grown tired of sea voyages. We had been told that the scenery
combined the wildness of Switzerland with the peculiar charm of the
Welsh mountains; hence we felt that a new experience awaited us. The
railway ride there confirmed our first impression of Ceylon's fine
growth of trees and shrubs, the road leading first through lowlands with
endless cocoanut and other palms; while of all the blossom-laden trees
the gold mohr, with its wealth of scarlet blossoms, surpasses every
other. Later, rice-fields and tea plantations alternated, the latter
even covering the sides of mountains. The scenery grew bolder as we went
along, and at the Junction we took the narrow gauge for our