built by the Dutch, and, according to their custom, is without a communion table, and for the most part open. It is kept neatly, but is a good deal out of repair. The native part of the congregation was numerous, and paid great attention to the ceremony, though many were there out of curiosity alone. Mr. Robinson preached in the evening."

"29th August.

"This morning, at three o'clock, we were roused by beat of drum to prepare for our march to Colombo; we formed a long cavalcade of palanquins and gigs, preceded by an escort of spearmen and noisy inharmonious music, and attended by some of Mr. Sansoni's lascarines, who answer in some respects to our peons in Calcutta ; they wear rather a pretty uniform of white, red, and black, and a conical red cap, with an upright white feather in it. Instead of the chattah used with us, these men carry large fans made of the talipot palm, which is peculiar to Ceylon, from six to nine feet in length, over the heads of Europeans and rich natives, to guard them from the sun. The road was decorated the whole way as for a festival, with long strips of palm-branches hung upon strings on either side; and wherever we stopped we found the ground spread with white cloth, and awnings erected, beautifully decorated with flowers and fruits, and festooned with palmbranches. These remnants of the ancient custom mentioned in the Bible, of strewing the road with palm-branches and garments, are curious and interesting."

"30th August.

"We were met by Sir Edward Barnes's carriage, drawn by four beautiful English horses, which took us, with a fresh relay, through the Fort at Colombo, where the usual salute was fired, to St. Sebastian. Here we found a most comfortable house, provided and furnished by Government, on the borders of a large lake, but commanding a fine open view of the sea. This was the residence of the late Archdeacon Twistleton, whose death we have heard much lamented; it is reckoned one of the healthiest spots in the island, always enjoying a fine breeze from the sea. In the evening we dined at the King's house,' that being the name given to the residence of the Governor in this Colony. We were most kindly received by Sir Edward and Lady Barnes, and met a small and agreeable party, but I was much tired, and glad to go home early. The house is a bad one, in the centre of the Fort, but everything is conducted on a handsome and liberal scale by the Governor."

"31st August. "Our morning was, as usual on a first arrival, taken up by visits; in the afternoon we drove in Sir E. Barnes's sociable through the far-famed cinnamon gardens, which cover upwards of 17,000 acres of land on the coast, the largest of which are near Colombo. The plant thrives best in a poor sandy soil in a damp atmosphere; it grows wild in the woods to the size of a large apple-tree, but when cultivated is never allowed to grow more than ten or twelve feet in height, each plant standing separate. The leaf is something like that of the laurel in shape, but of a lighter colour; when it first shoots out it is red, and changes gradually to green. It is now out of blossom, but I am told that the flower is white, and appears when in full blossom to cover the garden. After hearing so much of the spicy gales from this island, I was much disappointed at not being able to discover any scent, at least from the plants, in passing through the gardens; there is a very fragrant-smelling flower growing under them, which at first led us into a belief that we smelt the cinnamon, but we were soon undeceived. On pulling off a leaf or a twig one perceives the spicy odour very strongly, but I was surprised to hear that the flower has little or none. As cinnamon forms the only considerable export of Ceylon, it is, of course, preserved with great care ; by the old Dutch law, the penalty for cutting a branch was no less than the loss of a hand; at present a fine expiates the same offence. The neighbourhood of Colombo is particularly favourable to its growth, being well sheltered, with a high equable temperature; and as showers fall very frequently, though a whole day's heavy rain is uncommon, the ground is never parched.

"The pearl fishery was at one time very productive, but some years ago it entirely failed, and though it has lately been resumed, the success has been small. Ceylon, partly from its superabundant fertility, which will scarcely allow of the growth of foreign plants, and partly from the indolence of the natives, is a very poor colony; the potato will not thrive at all, and it is only at Kandy that any kind of European vegetable comes to perfection. The Governor has a basketful sent down every morning from his garden there; the bread-fruit is the best substitute for potatoes I have met with, but even this is extremely inferior. A plant, something between. the turnip and the cabbage, called 'nolkol,' is good."

"1st September.

"The Bishop held his Visitation, which was attended by all the colonial chaplains and Church missionaries in the island, the

latter of whom were assembled at Cotta for their annual meeting, with the exception of Mr. Mayor, who was detained at Baddêgama by a severe fever, caught on his way down to meet us at Galle. I think there are few sights more impressive than that of a bishop addressing his clergy from the altar; and on this occasion it was rendered peculiarly interesting by there being two regularly ordained native priests among the number, Mr. de Sarum and Christian David, both colonial chaplains; the former has had an English education, and was entered, I believe, at Cambridge; he married a young woman, who came out with him, and who shows her good taste and good judgment in living on the best terms with his family, who are very respectable people of the first rank in the island. The clergy dined with us in the evening."

"2nd September.

They

"Mr. Walbeoffe, the manager of the cinnamon gardens, goodnaturedly sent some of the cinnamon peelers to our bungalows, that we might see the way in which the spice is prepared. brought with them branches of about three feet in length, of which they scraped off the rough bark with knives, and then, with a peculiar-shaped instrument, stripped off the inner rind in long slips; these are tied up in bundles, and put to dry in the sun, and the wood is sold for fuel. In the regular preparation, however, the outer bark is not scraped off, but the process of fermentation which the strips undergo when tied up in large quantities removes the coarse parts. The peelers are called 'chaliers'; they are a distinct caste, whose origin is uncertain, though they are generally supposed to be descended from a tribe of weavers who settled in Ceylon, from the continent, about six hundred years ago; in the interior they now pursue their original occupation, but those in the maritime provinces are exclusively employed in peeling cinnamon. They earn a great deal of money during the season, but their caste is considered very low."

"3rd September.

"The Bishop has been much engaged since our arrival in preparing a plan, which he discussed to-day with Sir E. Barnes, for restoring the schools, and the system of religious instruction which we found established by the Dutch, and of uniting it more closely with the Church of England. At a very small annual expense, this plan would, he thinks, be the means of spreading not merely a nominal, but real Christianity through the island. There is

also another object which he has, if possible, still more at heart, which is giving the native 'proponents,' or catechists, such facilities for education as would gradually fit them for admittance into holy orders, and make them the groundwork of a parochial clergy; he has been much pleased by the anxiety which they show for the improvement of their scholars, but they have not the means of acquiring knowledge sufficient to enable them to teach others, and are many of them ill-informed, though very good men. Books are scarce in Singhalese and Tamul, and he is anxious to prevail on some of the colonial clergy to translate a few of the more popular works into these languages. In these and in various other suggestions which he has made to both chaplains and missionaries, he has, almost universally, met with the readiest concurrence; and he has often expressed to me the extreme gratification which he has derived since we have been here, from witnessing the exemplary conduct of the whole Church Establishment, and the readiness with which they have entered into his views.

"The Bishop preached this morning at St. Thomas's; the church was very full, and, as it has no punkahs, the heat was great. It is a remarkably ugly, inconvenient building; indeed, it was not originally intended as a church by the Dutch, and the Colony is too poor to build another. There is a mural tablet in it to Bishop Middleton, who was here at two different periods."

"6th September.

"Early this morning the Bishop went to Cotta, a Church Missionary station, about six miles from Colombo. Mr. Lambrick, whom I remember tutor, some years ago, in Lord Combermere's family, is at present sole missionary there, and performs the important duties of the station in a most exemplary manner; the number of inhabitants in the district is very great; there are eight schools in the village, containing near two hundred children, of whom a few are girls, besides several in the adjoining hamlets; and he has two services every Sunday in English and Singhalese, as well as occasional weekly duty in the schools; there is no church. Mr. Lambrick is now engaged in a translation of the Old Testament and the Gospels, part of which is printed.

"While the Bishop was at Cotta, Mr. Lambrick read him an address in the name of all the missionaries, in which, besides giving him an account of their respective stations, they asked his advice on several important points, of which the principal related to prayer-meetings at each other's houses, and to the baptism of native children.'

The growing catholicity of Reginald Heber is seen in the In each of the written answer which he gave to the address. great centres of India and Ceylon the representatives of all the Reformed Churches of Europe and America have long been in the habit of holding a missionary conference once a month, at which breakfast is preceded by an hour of prayer, and The followed by the reading of a paper and discussion. custom was then new, the relations between the Christian sects were then more uncertain, and the missionaries had not then always received the professional training which all those of the churches and regular societies have now long enjoyed. Addressing clergymen of his own Church, so loyal a theologian could not but exalt their calling, but he even humbled himself in the fulness of the spirit of "that grace which fell on St. Paul" when he wrote to the Corinthians the thirteenth chapter of his first epistle :

"COLOMBO, 13th September 1825. Having been consulted by "MY REVEREND BRETHREN you and the other clergy of this archdeaconry on the propriety of engaging with missionaries of other religious sects in solemn conference on topics connected with your work among the heathen, such as are now statedly holden at Jaffna and at this place, I have first to express my thankfulness to God for the brotherly and tolerant spirit which, since my arrival in the island, I have noticed among those who, with less or greater differences of opinions, and discrepancies of doctrine and discipline, abundantly to be deplored, yet hold, as I am persuaded, the same faith in the Cross, and shall be found, as I trust, in the last day, on the same Rock of Salvation. Nor am I less thankful to the Giver of all good things for the affectionate and orderly spirit which I find in you, my brethren, and which has led you, voluntarily, to submit a question in which your hearts, as I have reason to believe, are much engaged, to the counsel of your ordinary. May God continue and increase this mutual confidence between us, and conduct it, and all things else, to His glory and our salvation!

"The meeting in question has been described to me as a conference of ministers and missionaries, in a certain district, held in each other's house in rotation, attended by the ministers or missionaries themselves, their wives and families, and occasionally These meetings are by devout laymen from their vicinity.