THE FAREWELL TO CEYLON AND INDIA
If the tourists had been in a safe place they would have been glad to see a
cyclone on the shore of Madras, on Napier bridge for instance; and it would
have been a grand spectacle to observe the great billows rolling in on the
beach, breaking at a distance of a thousand feet from the land. But they
had all seen great waves, and they were not anxious to see them here. At
her ordinary speed, the Guardian-Mother would arrive at Colombo at one
o'clock the next day. The weather was fine, and the passengers assembled in
Conference Hall to talk with the three experts on board about the various
places they had visited in India.
Lord Tremlyn and Sir Modava were full of information, which they adorned
with stories from history and mythology. The good people from Von Blonk
Park were sorry they had not seen the Temple and Car of Juggernaut, though
they had been fully described to them. They had visited the missions in
Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras, as well as wherever they had found them
elsewhere. They were much interested in them, and regretted that they had
not been able to devote more time to them.
The next forenoon, with the northern shore of Ceylon in sight from the
deck, Lord Tremlyn went upon the rostrum, with the map of the island, and a
portion of the main shore included, on the frame. Though the ship was in
ten degrees of north latitude, the weather was delightful and the sea was
smooth. The thermometer stood at 70°, and the ladies declared that the
temperature was just right.
"You know the location of the island on the southeast of India, and it
takes in about four degrees of latitude and two of longitude, without going
into the matter too finely, with an area of twenty-four thousand seven
hundred and two square miles; about the size of your State of West
Virginia, I find, or as large as three or four of your New England States.
Perhaps the most lovely scenery in the whole world is to be found in this
island. The Greeks and Romans visited it, and it is mentioned in 'The
Arabian Nights,' under the name of Serendib.
"The mountains are near the southern part, and the highest one is Mount
Pedrotallagalla,--don't forget the name, my young friends,--eight thousand
two hundred and sixty feet high. In your visit to Ceylon you will go to
Candy, which will please those with a sweet tooth better than Kandy, as it
is often spelled. Many precious stones are found in Ceylon; and the pearl
fishery is a very important source of wealth, though its value is variable
in different years. In six years only out of the last thirty have the
fisheries been productive, and in the other twenty-four they yielded hardly
anything. In those six years, the largest yield, in 1881, was not quite
sixty thousand pounds, while the smallest noted was ten thousand pounds.
"The fisheries are under government regulation. An official announces when
the work is permitted, and then it lasts only from four to six weeks.
Thirteen men and ten divers are generally the crew of each boat, five of
the latter going down into the water while the other five rest. Each diver
has a stone, weighing forty pounds, attached to a line long enough to reach
the bottom, with a loop near the weight, into which he puts his foot. The
water varies in depth from fifty-four to seventy-eight feet. They work
quickly; for a minute is the usual time they remain in the water, though
some can stand it twenty seconds longer.
"One would suppose that the sharks, which abound in these waters, would
make it dangerous business; but very few accidents occur, for the commotion
about the boats seems to scare them away. When the diver gives the signal
he is hauled up, with his bag of oysters, as rapidly as possible. But the
ladies know more about pearls than I do, and I will say no more about them.
"There are many rivers in Ceylon, rising in the high land, and flowing into
the sea; but none of them are as long as the Mississippi. The climate of
the island is simply magnificent; the average heat in Colombo on the high
lands never exceeds 70°. I shall permit you to describe the flowers after
you have seen them; but the vegetation generally of the island is
exceedingly luxuriant. In regard to animals, the tiger does not reside in
Ceylon. The elephant, generally without any tusks, is the chief ruler in
the forests here. The bear and the leopard are found. There is no end of
monkeys. There are sixteen kinds of bats here, and all your base-ball clubs
could be supplied from the stock; and there is a flying fox, which might
amuse you if you could catch one. He is a sort of bat; and the more of them
you shoot, the better the farmer will be pleased, for they feed on his
fruit. Plenty of birds of all sorts are found in the island. The crocodile
is the biggest reptile found in Ceylon."
"But the snakes, your lordship?" suggested Felix.
"There are a few poisonous snakes; and the two worst are the cobra and the
ticpolonga, the latter a sort of viper; and the former is an old friend of
yours, Mr. McGavonty. The people are called Singhalese, but more generally
Cingalese, and are believed to be the descendants of immigrants from the
region of the Ganges. There are other races here, as the Malabars. The
religion of Ceylon is the Buddhist, and it has a very strong hold upon the
natives here as well as in Burma.
"Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, is said to have visited Ceylon three
times, and to have preached his doctrines here. His sacred footstep on
Adam's Peak, 7,420 feet high, the second highest elevation in the island,
is still adored by the people. But the most sacred relic here is the tooth
of Gautama, kept in an elegant shrine and carefully guarded at Candy. But
it is said to be well known that the Portuguese destroyed the original; and
the substitute is a discolored bit of ivory, without the least resemblance
to a human tooth. There are many temples, sacred caverns, some of them
sculptured like those near Bombay.
"There is something like ancient history in connection with Ceylon, dating
back to 543 B.C.; but it would be hardly edifying to follow it. It has also
a Portuguese, a Dutch, and a British period; and it was finally annexed to
the British crown by the Treaty of Amiens, in 1802.
"Thirty years ago coffee was the principal commercial production of the
island; but a kind of fungus attacked the leaves of the trees, and within
ten years the planters were obliged to abandon its cultivation to a great
extent, though it is still raised. Cacao, which is the name of the
chocolate-tree, while cocoa is the name of the product, is cultivated to a
considerable extent; so are cinchona, cardamoms, and various spices; though
Bishop Heber's lines--
'What though the spicy breezes
Blow soft o'er Ceylon's isle,'
are not applicable to the island as formerly.
"It has become evident in very recent years that Ceylon might become a
great tea-growing region, and the planters are now largely engaged in its
culture. A dozen years ago only 3,515 pounds were raised; ten years later
over 12,000,000 pounds of tea was the crop; and this year it is still
greater. The population in 1891 was 3,008,466. It has a governor, who rules
with an executive council of five, of which the officer in command of the
troops is one."
"Can your lordship tell me the salary of the governor-general of India?"
asked Captain Ringgold.
"I figured it up at one time in your money, and forgot to mention it. If I
remember rightly, it was $125,400; and that of the governor of Ceylon is
$20,000," replied Lord Tremlyn. "The former gets two and a half times the
salary of your President. I have nothing more to say of the island, but
after a concert by the band, Sir Modava will tell you something about the
principal towns;" and as he retired the audience separated, for it was to
be a promenade concert.
"I was asked just now by Mrs. Blossom about missions here in Ceylon," said
the Hindu gentleman as he took the stand. "The English Baptists sent
missionaries here eighty years ago; the Methodists a year later; the
Americans three years later; and the Church of England five years after. A
great deal of Christian teaching has been done in Ceylon, though I am not
able just now to give you statistically the results of missionary work; but
it has included the establishment of schools, female seminaries, and even
collegiate institutions, carried on by the missionaries, outside of the
government system of education.
"Point de Galle, at the south-western extremity of the island, is a town of
forty-seven thousand inhabitants, and has a good harbor in a sheltered bay.
It was formerly the principal coaling and shipping station in this part of
India; but all this has gone to Colombo. The Orient line of steamers, whose
principal business is with Australia, sends some of its ships here; and
most steamers of the Peninsular and Oriental line, called the 'P. & O.' for
short, touch here. A great deal of freight had to be reshipped at Point de
Galle for various ports of India.
"The name was given to the place by the Portuguese, and its meaning is
doubtful. _Galles_ is the French of Wales, and _La Nouvelle
Galles_ is New South Wales; without the final _s_, the word means
an oak-apple, in French. As I heard one of the 'Big Four' say this morning,
'You pay your money and take your choice,' as to the signification of the
word. At any rate, the importance of the place is gone, and Colombo has
captured its business and its prominence.
"Colombo is the capital of Ceylon. It is about seventy miles from Point de
Galle, on the south-west coast of the island. It has a population of almost
127,000, which has been increased at the expense of Galle, as we generally
call it to economize our breath. It is located on a peninsula, with the sea
on three sides of it, with a lake and moat on the land side. By the way,
Mr. Woolridge, do you happen to remember the Italian name of Christopher
Columbus, whose discovery of America you are to celebrate at Chicago this
year?"
"Cristoforo Colombo," replied Morris promptly. "I read it on his monument
at Genoa last summer."
"Quite right, my young friend; and that is where the capital of Ceylon
obtained its name, which the Portuguese gave it, in honor of the great
discoverer, only twenty-five years after the great event of his life. The
buildings are about the same as you will observe in all British colonial
towns, and I need not mention them. You will ride out to Lake Colombo, and
visit the cinnamon gardens there. The breakwater, which has been the making
of the city, cost £600,000; for it is an entirely safe harbor, with every
facility for landing and embarking passengers and goods. I believe nothing
is left to you but to see what his lordship and I have described."
Sir Modava retired from the stand; and the band started into an overture,
which was hardly finished before the bell for lunch sounded. Before the
collation was finished the ship had taken a pilot, and in due time the
Guardian-Mother came to anchor at her last port in India proper. As the
ship came into the harbor she passed abreast of the Blanche, and was
greeted with three cheers, which were promptly and vigorously returned.
Accommodations had been bespoken by Lord Tremlyn, and early in the
afternoon the party were quartered in the Elphinstone. Carriages were
obtained, and before night they had visited the principal parts of the
town, and even the cinnamon gardens, in which they were greatly interested;
and some of the ladies told what it was good for, both as a spice and a
medicine.
"I suppose you know all about cinnamon, Mrs. Belgrave," said Sir Modava, as
they were looking at the trees.
"I only know enough about it to put it in my apple-pies when I make them."
"This island produces the finest article in the world. It is a very old
spice, mentioned in the Old Testament, though I forget the name by which it
is there called," added the Indian gentleman.
"But I did not suppose it grew on a tree; I had an idea it was a root."
"No; it is the inner bark of the trees before you. They are from twenty to
thirty feet high, and are sometimes a foot and a half through. But the
cultivated plant is not allowed to grow more than ten feet high. The leaves
average five inches long, and taste more like cloves than cinnamon. There
are two crops a year in Ceylon, the first in March, the last in November.
The bark is taken off with considerable labor and care, and when it dries
it curls up as you find your stick cinnamon."
"I used ground cinnamon," added the lady.
"It is the same thing, passed through the mill. Cassia is another species
of cinnamon, and its oil is often substituted for the true oil; and very
likely you buy it ground for the real thing."
The experts explained some other plants, especially cinchona, one of the
most valuable medicinal plants, from which Peruvian bark, quinine, and
other drugs are made, in which the three doctors were much interested. The
company returned to the hotel; and after dinner the Italian band gave a
concert on the veranda, as they had done in every city where the tourists
remained overnight, which called forth repeated rounds of applause from the
citizens of Colombo.
The next morning the travellers proceeded by railroad to Kandy, which Sir
Modava insisted was the right way to spell it. The route was mostly through
an elevated region, and when they reached the place at noon they had
attained an elevation of 1,665 feet above the sea. They remained at Kandy
three days, and were sorry the commander would not allow them to stay
longer, for it was the most delightful region they had yet visited. They
were in sight of the lofty mountains of the island before mentioned.
They found here the remains of ancient temples from one hundred and fifty
to four hundred feet high; and one of them was built to contain the shrine
of Gautama's tooth, and another for his collar-bone, both of which the
English believe are frauds. Another was the Brazen Palace, nine stories
high, and supported on sixteen hundred pillars. But most of the party took
no interest in these structures, they had seen so many more that were
larger, grander, and finer. They saw here the sacred Bo-tree, of which they
had before been informed.
With great regret they left Kandy, and were soon in Colombo again. The
Guardian-Mother was announced to sail the next day early in the afternoon.
The time for parting with Lord Tremlyn, Sir Modava Rao, and Dr. Ferrolan
had nearly arrived. The hosts of the party had provided a grand dinner for
the last one. The governor and a number of officials, the American consul,
and others had been invited.
Lord Tremlyn presided with Captain Ringgold on his right; and after the
fine dinner had been disposed of the commander was the person called upon
to respond to the first toast, "The Guardian-Mother and her Passengers."
The name announced was received with the most tremendous applause, and "For
he's a jolly good fellow!" was sung by Englishmen, assisted by the
Americans, including the ladies.
Captain Ringgold began his speech, for which he had prepared himself, and
reviewed the incidents which had occurred since the survivors of the
Travancore had been taken from their perilous position. He set forth the
obligations to which his passengers and himself were under to the
distinguished gentlemen who had conducted them through India. He was
frequently interrupted by hearty applause, and his speech was as eloquent
as it was sensible; and it was worthy a Senator in Congress.
Lord Tremlyn was equally eloquent in the acknowledgment of his obligations,
and those of his friends, to the noble commander and his ship's company;
and possibly he was a little extravagant in some things that he said, but
that was excusable on such an occasion. The next person presented was Mr.
Louis Belgrave, who declared that he represented the "Big Four," which
puzzled the strangers, though he explained the term and where it came from.
The boys had been happy all the time. They admired and loved the noble
gentlemen under whose guidance they had had six weeks of the best time in
all their lives. When he said what he had to say, he approached the
chairman with a large and handsome frame in his hand, containing a
testimonial from the passengers, attested by the autographs of all, which
he presented to Lord Tremlyn, with the best wishes of all the signers, who
had profited so extensively from their kindness, for the health, happiness,
and length of days of the trio.
This ceremony, not set down in the programme, brought forth rapturous
applause and ringing cheers. The band played, and everybody seemed to be
enjoying the happiest moment of his life. All the principal personages at
the table made speeches, of which the Indian reporters, if any were
present, have not given in their reports. It was a remarkably joyous
occasion, and it was two o'clock in the morning when the banquet-hall was
cleared.
All the forenoon was spent in exchanging the parting greetings. Both Lord
Tremlyn and Sir Modava invited any or all of the party who might be in
India or in England to visit them; and the commander and Mrs. Belgrave, as
well as the others, extended similar invitations to the three gentlemen.
After tiffin, when the party started for the steamer that was to convey
them to the two ships, it seemed as though all the citizens of Colombo,
with their ladies, had gathered to assist in the parting benedictions. The
military band alternated with the Italian, cheers without number rent the
air, and the party had all they could do to return the salutes, and answer
all the kindly words spoken to them by entire strangers.
The steamer cast off her fasts, and then the din was greater than ever. The
guests at the banquet went off to the ships, from the smoke-stacks of which
the black smoke was pouring out, as if to emphasize the reality of the
departure. All manner of courtesies were exchanged, but finally the
passengers were all on board of the Blanche and Guardian-Mother. A salute
was fired from the heaviest guns on both vessels, the screws began to turn,
the final words were shouted, and the steamers stood to the southward.
It required some time to digest the sights the voyagers had seen in India;
but when, a few days later, the Nickobar Islands were reported off the port
bow, the "Big Four" began to think and wonder what new and strange climes
they were to visit. They were inclined to believe they had seen everything
that was worth seeing in the civilized world, and they had some decided
views of their own in regard to the future. They were eager to engage for a
time in something more stirring than gazing at palaces, churches, temples,
and other wonders of the great cities; and they were not diffident in the
expression of their wishes when the commander called a meeting in
Conference Hall to consider what ports the Guardian-Mother should visit
next, as well as to inform the tourists in regard to the islands in the
immediate vicinity. Those who are interested in the decision of the
company, and in the events which followed in consequence of it, are
referred to the next volume of the series: "HALF ROUND THE WORLD; OR, SOME
ADVENTURES AMONG THE UNCIVILIZED."