pal routes are, however,
comparatively good. There are a few rest-houses, as they are called,
owned and kept up by the government, where the traveler can find a
shelter beneath which to sleep, but that is about all; bed and bedding
he is supposed to carry with him. It is the same in India proper.
Hotels are to be found, as a rule, only in the large cities. One must
depend upon his own resources in traveling over this island, when off
the beaten tracks, and must carry along his domestic necessities.

Nelson, without due consideration we think, declared the harbor of
Trincomalee to be "the finest in the world." The place has a
population of about fifteen thousand, and is the most important
English naval station in the East, with an extensive dock-yard and
marine workshops for the refitting of large war-ships. But as to the
harbor being the finest in the world, that is an extraordinary and an
unwarranted expression. One is inclined to doubt if Nelson had visited
Sidney, Australia, Rio Janeiro, Brazil, or Nagasaki in Japan, when he
pronounced that eulogium upon Trincomalee. Hongkong, China, which name
signifies "good harbor," is infinitely superior to this vaunted port
of Trincomalee.

In the year 1672, during the possession of the island by the Dutch, a
French squadron surprised and took possession of the place, but the
Dutch immediately retook it.

The beauty, scenery, and general excellence of this harbor are
undoubtedly worthy of special mention. It is dotted with verdant
isles, and is securely land-locked, so that when the heavy monsoons
may be sweeping furiously along the coast, all is as calm inside of
Fort Frederick as an inland lake. Like the harbor of Sidney, the
entrance is dominated by two rocky headlands, but they are much
farther apart. The harbor has such depth of water as to enable vessels
of heavy draught to lie close to the shore and discharge or take in
cargo without the aid of lighters. This is a very unusual advantage in
Eastern waters. When the English took the place from the Dutch, they
added to the fortifications, intending that it should be the naval
port of the island for all time. It is the best harbor of refuge in
all India at this writing. One cannot but anticipate that England, in
the near future, must enter upon a great struggle to maintain her hold
of India. It may be from a well-organized uprising of the native
tribes, or it may originate from some outside nationality, seconded by
the na