swallowed by
Cleopatra so long ago, when she drank to the health of Mark Antony,
came from this island.

The space over which the oyster banks extend on the northwest coast of
Ceylon is over twenty miles square in the lower part of the Gulf of
Manaar. If the oysters are gathered when too young the pearls are
small, almost valueless, and therefore a system of survey is carried
on by the English government. Buoys are regularly placed, within
which, and nowhere else on the banks, is fishing permitted during the
regular season set apart for the purpose. Some of the poorest of the
natives eat the pearl oyster, but it is neither palatable nor
wholesome. Perhaps a thousand years hence, people will be expatiating
upon the beauty of these most attractive gems of the Indian Ocean, and
natives will be diving for them.

It seems to be rather extraordinary that with so available a sea
coast, the Singhalese proper are in no wise a maritime people. Beyond
being good fishermen and good managers of boats of their own peculiar
construction, they have little or nothing to do with the ocean. They
scarcely ever embark as seamen for a long voyage, and have no ships of
their own. According to the records of Ceylon, this has been the case
from the earliest period. The Singhalese have ever been essentially an
agricultural race, a small portion devoting themselves to such simple
handicraft as life on the island demanded. They are not traders, even
in our day. Moormen, Syrian Jews, and Parsees monopolize that
occupation, and the few 'longshore sailors are all of the Tamil race.

The immediate district of Trincomalee is not populous, though the soil
is rich and the means of irrigation are abundant for a large number of
rice plantations. It is dependent upon other places for its constant
supplies of rice, fruits, and various necessaries, which are brought
from along the coast both north and south. Were it not for the
presence of the military and the occasional visit of English
squadrons, it would be nearly deserted. Sir Emerson Tennent, thirty
years ago, prognosticated great things for Trincomalee, but it will be
very long before it can come into competition with Colombo. The
breakwater was not in existence at the latter port when Sir Emerson
wrote. That important structure, with other harbor improvements, has
settled the question as to which shall be the permanent commercial
centre of Ceylon. There are several hot springs, eight miles from the