ut that taken inwardly it is poisonous. The
skilfulness of the Singhalese in their preparation of poisons, and their
addiction to using them, are unfortunately notorious traits in the
character of the rural population. Amongst these preparations, the one
which above all others excites the utmost dread, from the number of
murders attributed to its agency, is the potent kabara-tel--a term which
Europeans sometimes corrupt into _cobra-tel_, implying that the venom is
obtained from the hooded-snake; whereas it professes to be extracted
from the "kabara-goy[=a]." Such is the bad renown of this formidable
poison, that an individual suspected of having it in his possession, is
cautiously shunned by his neighbours. Those especially who are on
doubtful terms with him, suspect their servants lest they should be
suborned to mix kabara-tel in the curry. So subtle is the virus supposed
to be, that one method of administering it, is to introduce it within
the midrib of a leaf of betel, and close the orifice with chunam; and,
as it is an habitual act of courtesy for one Singhalese on meeting
another to offer the compliment of a betel-leaf, which it would be
rudeness to refuse, facilities are thus afforded for presenting the
concealed drug. It is curious that to this latent suspicion has been
traced the origin of a custom universal amongst the natives, of nipping
off with the thumb nail the thick end of the stem before chewing the
betel.

[Footnote 1: Hydrosaurus salvator, _Laur_. Tail compressed; fingers
long; nostrils near the extremity of the snout. A black band on each
temple; round yellow spots disposed in transverse series on the back.
Teeth with the crown compressed and notched.]

[Footnote 2: In the _Mahawanso_ the hero Tissa, is said to have been
"afflicted with a cutaneous complaint which made his skin scaly like
that of the _godho_."--Ch. xxiv. p. 148. "Godho" is the Pali name for
the Kabara-goy[=a].]

[Illustration: THE KABARA-GOYA.]

In the preparation of this mysterious compound, the unfortunate
Kabara-goya is forced to take a painfully prominent part. The receipt,
as written down by a Kandyan, was sent to me from Kornegalle, by Mr.
Morris, the civil officer of that district; and in dramatic arrangement
it far outdoes the cauldron of _Macbeth's_ witches. The ingredients are
extracted from venomous snakes, the cobra de capello, the Carawilla, and
the Tic-polonga, by making incisions in the head of these reptiles and
s