ent day do not profess to remain under water much more than a
minute.

The accounts of Ceylon pearl fisheries are so common in every child's
book that I do not attempt to describe the system in detail. Like all
lotteries, there are few prizes to the proportion of blanks.

The whole of this coast is rich in the biche de mer more commonly
called the sea-slug. This is a disgusting species of mollusca, which
grows to a large size, being commonly about a foot in length and three
or four inches in diameter. The capture and preparation of these
creatures is confined exclusively to the Chinese, who dry them in the
sun until they shrink to the size of a large sausage and harden to the
consistency of horn; they are then exported to China for making soups.
No doubt they are more strengthening than agreeable; but I imagine that
our common garden slug would be an excellent substitute to any one
desirous of an experiment, as it exactly resembles its nautical
representative in color and appearance. Trincomalee is the great depot
for this trade, which is carried on to a large extent, together with
that of sharks' fins, the latter being used by the Chinese for the same
purpose as the biche de mer. Trincomalee affords many facilities for
this trade, as the slugs are found in large quantities on the spot, and
the finest harbor of the East is alive with sharks. Few things surpass
the tropical beauty of this harbor; lying completely land-locked, it
seems like a glassy lake surrounded by hills covered with the waving
foliage of groves of cocoa-nut trees and palms of great variety. The
white bungalows with their red-tiled roofs, are dotted about along the
shore, and two or three men-of-war are usually resting at their ease in
this calm retreat. So deep is the water that the harbor forms a
perfect dock, as the largest vessel can lie so close to the shore that
her yards overhang it, which enables stores and cargo to be shipped
with great facility.

The fort stands upon a projecting point of land, which rises to about
seventy feet above the level of the galle face (the race-course) which
faces it. Thus it commands the land approach across this flat plain on
one side and the sea on the other. This same fort is one of the hottest
corners of Ceylon, and forms a desirable residence for those who
delight in a temperature of from 90 degrees to 140 degrees in the
shade. Bathing is the great enjoyment, but the pleasure in such a
country is