Palms and Pearls: Or Scenes in CeylonBentley, 1892 - 317 pages |
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Common terms and phrases
Adam Adam's Peak animal Anuradhapoora areca beautiful Bêche-de-mer betel bird blossoms Brahmans brown Buddha Buddhist called century Ceylon champac cinnamon coco coffee Colombo colour coolie creature dagoba dark Dutch earth eggs elephant eyes feet high feet long fish flesh flowers foot footprint fruit Ganga Gautama Gautama Buddha gems gneiss green growing hand head height inches long India insects island Jaffna jungle Kandy Kandyan king known land large numbers larvæ leaf leaves less live London look Malabar Marco Polo miles mosquitoes mountain native never night NOTE Nuwara Eliya oyster palm pearl oyster pearls pilgrims plant Pollonaruwa Portuguese pounds Prakrama priests rock round rubies sacred says seen shells Singha Singhalese snake species spots Sri-pada stand stem stone taliput Tamul taste temple Tennent thick Thuparamaya tree Trincomalee tropics variety Veddahs vegetable wanderoo wood yellow
Popular passages
Page 268 - The mountain wooded to the peak, the lawns And winding glades high up like ways to Heaven, The slender coco's drooping crown of plumes, The lightning flash of insect and of bird, The lustre of the long convolvuluses That...
Page 229 - It was a goodly sight to see That venerable tree, For o'er the lawn, irregularly spread, Fifty straight columns propt its lofty head; And many a long depending shoot, Seeking to strike its root, Straight like a plummet, grew towards the ground. Some on the lower boughs which crost their way, Fixing their bearded fibres, round and round, With many a ring and wild contortion wound; Some to the passing wind at times, with sway Of gentle motion swung; Others of younger growth, unmoved, were hung Like...
Page 111 - The Idolaters come thither on pilgrimage from very long distances and with great devotion, just as Christians go to the shrine of Messer Saint James in Gallicia. And they maintain that the monument on the mountain is that of the king's son, according to the story I have been telling you; and that the teeth, and the hair, and the dish that are there were those of the same king's son, whose name was Sagamoni Borcan, or Sagamoni the Saint. But the Saracens...
Page 136 - Rocks rich in gems, and mountains big with mines, That on the high equator ridgy rise, Whence many a bursting stream auriferous plays : Majestic woods, of every vigorous green, Stage above stage, high waving o'er the hills ; Or to the far horizon wide diffused, A boundless deep immensity of shade.
Page 285 - ... fathoms, and there they remain as long as they are able. And there they find the shells that contain the pearls [and these they put into a net bag tied round the waist, and mount up to the surface with them, and then dive anew. When they...
Page 247 - Tembul, to gratify a certain habit and desire they have, continually chewing it and spitting out the saliva that it excites. The Lords and gentlefolks and the King have these leaves prepared with camphor and other aromatic spices, and also mixt with quicklime. And this practice was said to be very good for the health.4 If any one desires to offer a gross insult to another, when he meets him he spits this leaf or its juice in his face.
Page 137 - The panorama is perhaps the grandest in the world, as no other mountain, although surpassing it in altitude, presents the same unobstructed view over land and sea. Around it to the north and east the traveller looks down on the zone of lofty hills that encircle the Kandyan kingdom, whilst to the westward the eye is carried far over undulating plains threaded by rivers like cords of silver, till in the purple distance the glitter of the sunbeams on the sea marks the line of the Indian Ocean.
Page 217 - The leaf being dried is very strong and limber, and most wonderfully made for men's convenience to carry along with them, for though this leaf be thus broad when it is open, yet it will fold close like a lady's fan, and then it is no bigger than a man's arm. It is wonderfully light; they cut them into pieces and carry them in their hands.
Page 218 - It is wonderful light, they cut them into pieces, and carry them in their hands. The whole leaf spread is round almost like a Circle, but being cut in pieces for use are near like unto a Triangle : They lay them upon their heads as they travel with the peaked end foremost, which is convenient to make their way thro the Boughs and Thickets.