uropeans have in chewing tobacco. It is used with the
areca-nut, the product of the graceful areca-palm. They thus take,
unconsciously, as a corrective to their somewhat acid food, a
combination of carminative, antacid, and tonic. Every Singhalese
carries in his waist-cloth a box containing some nuts of the areca and a
few fresh leaves of the betel pepper, as also a smaller box to hold the
chunam or lime. The mode of taking it is to scrape down the nut, and to
roll it up with some lime in a betel leaf. On chewing it, much saliva
is produced of a bright red colour, with which the lips and teeth are
completely stained, giving the mouth a most unpleasant appearance.

While we were seated at breakfast we observed a dark small figure moving
out in the skirts of the forest nearest to us. At first I thought it
was a monkey; and so did Nowell, who was going to fire at it, but Mr
Fordyce happily restrained him.

"Let us see what the creature will do," said he. "I am not at all
certain that it is not a human being."

After looking about cautiously, the figure came out of the shade of the
wood, and then we saw that it was really a human being--a large-headed,
mis-shapen man, with long black hair hanging half-way down his body, the
only clothing he wore being a piece of dirty cloth round his waist. He
looked starved and wretched, so we held out some food to him. He eyed
it wistfully, but seemed to have the same fear of approaching us that a
strange dog would. We observed that our followers looked at him with
expressions both of mistrust and disgust, so I volunteered to go and
take him some food. I put it on a plate, and carried it towards him.
He looked at it without saying a word, and then seized it with both
hands, and ate it up with the greatest avidity. He had evidently been
nearly starving, when the smell of our cooking operations brought him to
our encampment. I signed to him that I would get him some more food,
when he sat himself down on the grass at a short distance only from our
circle, and near enough for Mr Fordyce to speak to him. Our friend
addressed him in a variety of dialects, and at last he answered with
some scarcely articulate sounds. After a short conversation had taken
place, Mr Fordyce said:--

"The man is a remnant of one of the tribes of Veddahs. They are the
most degraded, or rather least civilised of all the people of Ceylon.
They are divided into Rock Veddahs, Village Veddahs, and Coas