r point; whilst the gradual rising of the coast has
contributed to give the reef its present altitude.

Balchus tells a most improbable story of fifteen Portuguese frigates
escaping through the passage of Panupam, when pursued by some Dutch
cruisers in 1557. Formerly the Straits were only thirty-five yards
wide, with a maximum depth of six feet of water, but lately they have
been widened and deepened by ten feet, and a little Government steamer
frequently passes through on a tour round the island. At present a
sailing ship going from Bombay to Madras has to make a curve of five
thousand miles in order to weather the Maldives and Ceylon. It seems a
long course for any vessel drawing over ten feet of water to be
obliged to take.

In the centre of the channel there is a little island where a Dutch
establishment for horse-breeding formerly stood, the original stud
having been imported from Arabia. The horses were all turned into
corrals and caught by means of lassos, and then conquered by
domidores, exactly as they are at the present day in South America.
Now the stud is dispersed, the buildings are in ruins, and all that
remains is the Indian pagoda, where religious ceremonies, curious
processions, and dances of nautch-girls occasionally take place and
are attended by great crowds. To the southward again of Adam's Bridge
is the celebrated Gulf of Manaar, from which the best pearls come.

This is an exceptionally good year for pearls, and the price of the
shells went up many rupees per thousand in the first week. The pearl
fishery can be reached in about eight hours by steam from Colombo, and
it would have been delightful to have visited it, had time permitted.
We were shown an oyster with some beautiful pearls in it, all found in
the one shell. When a boat with pearls reaches the shore, the shells
are divided into equal heaps, one-fourth going to the boat's crew, and
three-fourths to the Government Inspector. They keep whichever heap he
chooses to kick; so that, being uncertain which they will get for
themselves, the boat's crew are sure to make a fair division. These
heaps are then divided and sold by auction in thousands, and then
subdivided again and again. Of course it is always a matter of
speculation as to whether you get good pearls, bad pearls, or no
pearls at all, though this last misfortune seldom happens.

The love of gambling is inherent in every Oriental mind, and the
merest beggar with but a few pice in h