ellow twisted their tails vigorously,
which must have been intensely painful to them, as they showed by
their actions. Not being able to speak Singhalese, the author promptly
applied the same treatment to the driver's ears, an argument which
required no interpreter, and which proved to be both convincing and
effectual. It was afterward discovered that the tails of many of the
oxen here were absolutely dislocated from this brutal process, used by
the drivers to urge them forward. Though a Singhalese's religion
forbids his taking the life of the meanest insect, it does not seem to
prevent his torturing these really handsome and useful animals. There
is one way in which these mild-eyed, hump-backed creatures
occasionally assert themselves which is somewhat original, and
commands our hearty approval. When they are overtasked and abused
beyond endurance, they are liable to lie down in the middle of the
roadway, and nothing will start them until they choose to get up and
proceed of their own will. So the overladen camel lies down upon the
desert sand, and will not rise until his burden is properly adjusted.

While wilting in the enervating atmosphere, as we pursued our way from
the shore, the thought naturally suggested itself that just then, on
the other side of the globe, our friends at home were probably sitting
before cheerful soft-coal fires and quietly enjoying the genial heat
and the enlivening blaze. It was also remembered that Colombo is
acknowledged to be the hottest city in the Queen of England's
dominions. The sun was far too bright and intense for unaccustomed
northern eyes, and it was a great relief to reach the shelter beneath
the broad piazza of the hotel, though it is but a short distance from
the landing. We were waited upon at the Grand Oriental with an
intelligent and discerning regard for a traveler's comfort, and
assigned to large, cleanly apartments. The rooms were divided from
each other only by partial partitions, which did not reach the
ceilings, the upper portion being left open for the purpose of
promoting ventilation. So intense is the heat in Colombo at times that
this is quite necessary, though such an arrangement does not permit of
the degree of privacy requisite for a sleeping apartment. The hottest
months at this point are February, March, and April, when all who can
do so escape to the hill district.

The Oriental is an excellent and spacious hotel, containing over one
hundred sleeping-roo