An Historical, Political, and Statistical Account of Ceylon and Its Dependencies, Volume 1 |
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An Historical, Political, and Statistical Account of Ceylon and Its Dependencies Charles Pridham No preview available - 2019 |
Common terms and phrases
Adigaar Anuradhapoora appear army arrival attended Badulla Batecalo body Brahmins British brother Buddha Buddhist called capital caste ceremony Ceylon CHAP chiefs cinnamon cloth coast cocoa-nut coffee Colombo colony command commenced Coromandel coast court cultivation dagobah Dalada death Dissave district Don John dress Dutch duty elephants Emperor enemy English European favour fire fishery force Gaimono Gautama Gautama Buddha gods gold Government Governor ground hands head headmen honour India inhabitants interior island Jaffna Kandian Kandy King King's Korles labour land Maha Major Davie Malabar Malays manner maritime provinces ment miles Modeliars monarch native Negombo occasion offered officers oysters palace party pearl person Portuguese possession Praackrama present priests prince principal Ptolemy punishment Raja Singha received reign relic religion respect rice royal sent Singhalese slaves soon succeeded success Taprobane temples throne tion Tissa trees Trincomalee troops Upasampada Veddahs village whole wihare
Popular passages
Page 249 - Her chest should be capacious; her breasts, firm and conical, like the yellow cocoa-nut, and her waist small—almost small enough to be clasped by the hand. Her hips should be wide; her limbs tapering; the soles of her feet, without any hollow, and the surface of her body in general soft, delicate, smooth, and rounded, without the asperities of projecting bones and sinews.
Page 412 - When he is ready to ascend, he gives a jerk to the rope, and the munduc, who holds the other end of it, hauls it up as speedily as possible. The diver, at the same time, free of every incumbrance, warps up by the rope, and always gets above water a considerable time before the basket.
Page 187 - British nation, which has cut off the most ancient and noble families in his kingdom, deluged the land with the blood of his subjects, and, by the violation of every religious and moral law, become an object of abhorrence to mankind.
Page 363 - ... of making. In bringing water to his fields and insuring them a constant supply, the judgment and skill of the cultivator are most exercised. Sometimes it is conducted two or three miles along the side of a hill, and occasionally it is even carried from one side of a mountain to another by means of wooden pipes.
Page 412 - The rope passes through a hole in the top of the stone, above which a strong loop is formed resembling a stirrup-iron, to receive the foot of the diver. The diver wears no clothes, except a slip of calico about his loins; swimming in the water, he takes hold of the rope, and puts one foot into the loop or stirrup on the top of the stone. He remains in this perpendicular position for a little time, supporting himself by the motion of one arm.
Page 216 - Laws. but the Will of the King, and whatsoever proceeds out of his mouth is an immutable Law. Nevertheless they have certain antient usages and Customes that do prevail and are observed as Laws ; and Pleading them in their Courts and before their Governors will go a great way.
Page 186 - By one blow of a sword, the head of this noble child was severed from his body; streaming with blood and hardly inanimate, it was thrown into a rice mortar; the pestle was put into the mother's hands, and she was ordered to pound it, or be disgracefully tortured. To avoid the disgrace, the wretched woman did lift up the pestle and let it fall.
Page 293 - Boodhists, the followers of this system, do not believe in the existence of a Supreme Being, self-existent and eternal, the creator and preserver of the universe: indeed, it is doubtful if they believe in the existence and operation of any cause besides fate and necessity, to which...
Page 249 - Her hair should be voluminous, like the tail of the peacock,; long, reaching to the knees, and terminating in graceful curls; her eyebrows should resemble the rainbow; her eyes, the blue sapphire and the petals of the blue manillaflower. Her nose should be like the bill of the hawk; her lips should be bright and red, like coral on the young leaf of the iron-tree. Her teeth should be small, regular, and closely set, and like jessamine buds.
Page 205 - ... and of an unwholesome climate, producing disease. The sufferings of the natives were of a more severe kind and complicated nature.