he following day I found myself compelled, by
a quite unexpected occurrence, to return precipitately to
the coast again. Dr. Thwaites and I had been invited to
dinner by his Excellency the Governor. As I was still
limping after my long excursion on foot, and besides had
not had the forethought to take a dress-suit with me, I
considered that, vexatious as it was to decline, I could
not accept this gracious invitation, but instead went my
way. Thus after six exceedingly pleasant days I came back
to Point de Galle and the _Vega_".

[Footnote 385: Yet with one very laughable exception. I wished for
zoological purposes to get one of the common Chinese rats, and with
this object in view made inquiries through my interpreter at a shed
in the street, where rats were said to be cooked for Chinese
epicures. But scarcely had the question been put, when the old,
grave host broke out in a furious storm of abuse, especially against
the interpreter, who was overwhelmed with bitter reproaches for
helping a "foreign devil" to make a fool of his own countrymen. All
my protestations were in vain, and I had to go away with my object
unaccomplished. ]

[Footnote 386: See on this subject W.A. Pickering, "Chinese Secret
Societies" (_Journal of the Straits Branch of the R. Asiatic
Society_, 1878, No. 1, pp. 63-84) ]

[Footnote 387: Concerning their formation and origin see a paper by
K. Nordenskioeld in _Oefversigt af Vet.-akad Foerh_ 1870, p 29. ]

[Footnote 388: Emerson Tennent says on the subject:--The gem
collectors penetrate through the recent strata of gravel to the
depth of from ten to twenty feet in order to reach a lower deposit,
distinguished by the name of _Nellan_, in which the objects of
their search are found. This is of so early a formation that it
underlies the present beds of rivers, and is generally separated
from them or from the superincumbent gravel by a hard crust (called
_Kadua_), a few inches in thickness, and so consolidated as to have
somewhat the appearance of laterite or sun-burnt brick. The nellan
is for the most part horizontal, but occasionally it is raised into
an incline as it approaches the base of the hills. It appears to
have been deposited previous to the eruption of the basalt, on which
in some places it reclines, and to have undergone some alteration
from the contact. It consists of water-worn pebbles firmly imbedded
in clay, and occasionally there occur large l