oks
quite tempting to the uninitiated, it is dangerous and to be avoided,
for within its pulp lies the seed which produces the deadly poison
known as strychnine. The natives believe it to be an antidote to the
poisonous bite of the cobra, but doubtless it would prove equally
fatal.

There is no deficiency of fruit trees in this north-western district.
The jack especially abounds with its valuable product, each one of
which weighs from ten to twenty pounds. The tamarind also thrives, and
yields its fruit without care or thought on the part of man. Here and
farther north the blue lotus with lilac petals is sprinkled over the
ponds and lakes in vast quantities.

There are some extremely interesting and mysterious ruins not far
inland from Trincomalee, which show remains of handsomely carved stone
work, such as the capitals of tall monoliths, but of whose real
history nothing is known. Even legend fails us here, and groping
conjecture is at fault. Two thousand years and more have passed away
since these structures were reared. Not only have the temples,
monuments, and palaces once existing here nearly crumbled into dust,
but it is even forgotten who their builders were. What a comment upon
the pride which gave them birth. What lessons history teaches us
touching this folly. Egyptian kings, ages ago, built pyramids to
contain their mummified bodies; in the nineteenth century of our
period, these mummies are sold to European museums as curiosities.

The salt marshes and lagoons in this vicinity are famous for the
multitude of aquatic birds and waders which frequent them. Among these
the prevailing species are egrets, herons, sandlarks, and plovers,
while in the jungle great numbers of the pea-fowl are to be met with
at all seasons of the year. The Ceylon pea-fowl, of which we have
before spoken, is remarkable for its size and the beauty of its
plumage. It is unmolested by the natives, but Europeans find the flesh
palatable and nutritious. All this country is stocked with a great
variety of small birds, such as finches, fly-catchers, thrushes, and
the ubiquitous sparrow, as well as their natural enemies, eagles,
hawks, and falcons,--birds of prey which exhibit most wonderful
sagacity in seeking for victims with which to appease their appetites.
They remain securely hidden until a small bird is seen upon the wing,
when they dart towards it with a rapidity quite impossible for the
human eye to follow. In a moment after the r