ike a letter V from the bottom of the canoe,
form the masts, and support a single square sail, which is immensely
large in proportion to the size and weight of the vessel.

The motion of these canoes under a stiff breeze is most delightful;
there is a total absence of rolling, which is prevented by the
outrigger, and the steadiness of their course under a press of sail is
very remarkable. I have been in these boats in a considerable surf,
which they fly through like a fish; and if the beach is sandy and the
inclination favorable, their own impetus will carry them high and dry.

Sewing the portions of a boat together appears ill adapted to purposes
of strength; but all the Cingalese vessels are constructed upon this
principle: the two edges of the planks being brought together, a strip
of the areca palm stern is laid over the joints, and holes being
drilled upon each plank, the sewing is drawn tightly over the lath of
palm, which being thickly smeared with a kind of pitch, keeps the seams
perfectly water-tight. The native dhonies, which are vessels of a
hundred and fifty tons, are all fastened in this simple and apparently
fragile manner; nevertheless they are excellent sea-boats, and ride in
safety through many a gale of wind. The first moving object which met
my view on arrival within sight of Ceylon was an outrigger canoe, which
shot past our vessels as if we had been at anchor.

The last object that my eyes rested on, as the cocoa-nut trees of
Ceylon faded from sight, was again the native canoe which took the last
farewell lines to those who were left behind. Upon this I gazed till
it became a gray speck upon the horizon and the green shores of the
Eastern paradise faded from my eyes for ever.

How little did I imagine, when these pages were commenced in Ceylon,
that their conclusion would be written in England!

An unfortunate shooting trip to one of the most unhealthy parts of the
country killed my old horse "Jack," one coolie, and very nearly
extinguished me rendering it imperative that I should seek a change of
climate in England. And what a dream-like change it is!--past events
appear unreal, and the last few years seem to have escaped from the
connecting chain of former life. Scarcely can I believe in the bygone
days of glorious freedom, when I wandered through that beautiful
country, unfettered by the laws or customs of conventional life.

The white cliffs of Old England rose hazily on the horizon,