tives themselves, but come it will, sooner or later. Then the
importance of Trincomalee as a naval station will be realized, while
Colombo, as a fortified depot, will be shown as second only to Malta
and Gibraltar. Trincomalee, it should be remembered, is four hundred
miles nearer to Calcutta than Colombo.

Scientists have found the harbor and immediate neighborhood of
Trincomalee remarkable not only for the reasons already named, but
more especially for its unique shells and interesting forms of marine
life. There are several groups of animals found here which creep upon
the bottom of the sea, and which are elsewhere unknown. All alongshore
one sees a queer little fish, three or four inches in length and of a
dark brown color, which has the capacity of darting along the surface
of the water, and of running up the wet stones with the utmost ease
and rapidity, as well as of creeping across the damp sand. It climbs
the smooth face of the rocks in search of flies and other insects,
adhering to the surface so firmly as to resist the assault of the
on-coming and receding waves. These little amphibious creatures are
so nimble that it is almost impossible to catch them with the hands.
The coast on this side of Ceylon has long been celebrated for the
beauty and variety of the shells which it produces, of which immense
quantities have been sent to various parts of the world. Pearl oysters
are found here in large beds, though they are obtained in greater
abundance farther north of Trincomalee, at a point ten or twelve miles
off the coast. Here, at a certain spot, beds have existed for
thousands of years, and are annually dredged for, or we should rather
say, dived for, by organized companies. Pearl oysters are also found
in large numbers in the Gulf of Manaar, between this island and the
continent of India. The season chosen for the pearl fishery, which
gives employment to large numbers of the natives, is naturally when
the sea is most calm, that is, between the termination of the
northeast and the commencement of the southwest monsoons. This period
occurs in March and the early part of April, when a fleet of pearl
fishermen may be seen anchored at the pearl banks, as they are called,
all under the supervision of a government officer, who controls the
operations.

The reader hardly requires to be told that these pearls for which
Ceylon is celebrated are found secreted within certain non-edible
oysters. The interior of this spec