thoughts. That this is the opinion of Alagiawanna Mohottala himself, with respect to the writings of Tottagammuwe, clearly appears from the following servile imitations, not to call them downright plagiarisms. "Look at this picture, and on this." KAVIASEKARA. ගුණ මිනි ම හ ස තන මුද නියු රු වගන්ති ලෝගු KUSAJATAKA. නිත් ඟ කඳුරුමිත රු විනදන[ ු මුදු නිසයුර [ගණ මිණ ම හස යු ර ) සර දළ ද කුල කමල දිවයුර * ඉදිවූ උතුමන් තිලෝගු] It will thus be seen that Alagiawanna Mohottala has copied from the Kaviasakera in the very first stanza of the Kusajatake. Nor is that all. Upon hazard we refer and find the following:— KAVIASEKARA. KUSAJATAKA. තඹුඳුරුව න් ව ත සිත සා න ත සෑ ප සදගම්බකෙරේ සවන නමුණු ද මහ සඟන වෛ පත්මහ සභාව 1 ස් ල සා මොවුන්ස කොද පයින් මදියයිනමුණ සං ස. 6 6 6 යි ස ත ත කවිද මෙදියත Every line is here borrowed; and the last is palpably the same in both, except with a slight transposition of words, and the alteration of into ; and into aę. But take another: Hail (your Excellency! who is like a sun unto the Lotus-like race of Brahmins-who, by reason of thy wisdom. is the teacher of the three worlds-who is a moon u to the lily-like human race-and who is like an ocean tor precious gems. See Translation at p. 38. note (*) In this world who is like unto her. whose heart is rivetted to Budha, whose ear to the Scriptures, and whose happiness is (identical with that of, the priesthood. In this world who is like unto her, by reason of (the ollowing qualities viz.) that her heart, ear, and happiness are (centered) in Budha, the Scriptures, and the Priesthood. Look again at Sewal Sandese, which is ascribed to this writer. It is borrowed in many parts from not only the works of Tottagammuwe (compare our selections at p.p. c., excii., aud the following) but from the Tisara Sandese. Ex una disce omnes. දෙට දෙව් FROM TISARA SANDESA. ලො වි ඉන හා අ ම පී ඩෙ කැ යි සතපිනි තොප ද ක දිට නොක ෙ ලෙ ද ස ඳ කි ණි උසනන්න ඳු නන්ගිලිමල්කැ වී හැ සොබමන්ත ද කනා වු දස දඹු වෝල ගම නි න් ද ක යා නොවි ද කි සි අ ත 6 නුවනි නින්දි බඟ පල නම් ද කු මම යිත හ "Did they not surround you, fair one, under a belief that you were a mass of heavenly manna sent down from heaven for the meritorious beings? Did not the Siddhantas approach thy splendour under an idea that thou wert a cluster of flowers dropt from the Elysium of the Gods? Has no mishap fallen thee in the course of thy journey? Thy sight alone is the benefit which eyes can receive." FROM THE SEWUL SANDESE OF ALAGIAWANNA. ‡ කිර සිදු තූ ලෙගු ලෑඟි අපිඩෙක ය. සිති න් සුරනර මේ මුළු නොම ලඟ වූ ද කූල් ම න් * The beams of Budha's rays proceeded in lines, having dived through Wa-polawa, having thence gone into Bawaga, and having thence spread themselves in the whole universe. The six kinds of marvelous rays of Budha proceeded, having dived through Wa-polawa, having thence risen to Bawaga, and having thence spread themselves on (the ten directions) all sides. Note-Wapolawa, see Clough p. 673, and Bawaga, see ib. p. 489. : For another specimen of this poem, see p. lxxi. නැදුනු යන්නෙන්ගිලි කුස මෙක් වෙමි නිහැ ල ද දඹු වෝ හා පැලඳි යෝ ද උතු දුක කිසැප සේ අ වූ ද තො පදුටු කල මෙ මට සඳ දුටුකිරණ ර "Did not gods and men in ecstacy approach thee under a belief that thou wert a mass of heavenly manna which up-rose from the milky ocean? Did not Siddhantas wear thee on their heads under an idea that thou wert a flower dropt from the Elysium of the Gods? Friend, hast thou returned scatheless without any mishap on thy way? To me thy sight is the same as the moon to the milky ocean." Such are the comparative merits of these two writers, from whom we have above extracted. But it is now time to proceed with the narrative. To Alagiawanna* we are also indebted for a work called Nitisura, and Maha Hatana. The former is rather scarce in the low country, and the latter, to which our limits do not allow of more than a passing allusion, is one of the most esteemed Song-books extant amongst the Singhalese. Shortly after the labours of the writer from whom we have quoted last, Ceylon was shaken to its very centre by the protracted but unsuccessful wars of the Portuguese. This was at the time when Don Constantine was taken prisoner, and Rajasingha II., then 17 years of age, finally drove. the invaders back to the Maritime provinces. Many Portuguese were compelled at this period to seek safety in the woods of Ceylon, especially of the Kandian Provinces, where their descendants are now only distinguished from the Singhalese by their colour and religion. A day after the capture of Don Constantine, a child was found under a tree. He was apparently of European extraction; and was presented by the King's courtiers to the * It is said that Prangthatane, a poem on " the Fortuguese war" was also a production of this writer. reigning Prince, the father of Rajasingha II., who in his clemency directed that every attention should be paid both to his health and education, directions which were strictly attended to by the ministers. Perhaps the fact of his having been found under a tree, and also of his name answering to the Singhalese of a "Kong tree" Gas-con, has given rise to the tradition now current in Ceylon, that he derived his name from the above circumstance; but it is generally believed that the c..ild was recognised by certain of the king's Portuguese subjects, and was called after his father, a Portuguese named Gascoigne, who perished in the battle which had terminated immediately preceding the period of which we are now writing, A. D. 1640. Gascon evinced great aptitude for learning, and soon mastered the Singalese language. Possessed of a poetical turn of mind, he directed his attention to the Singhalese classics; and especially the Muse. His talents were so extensive, and his attachment to his benefactor so great, that even the narrow and illiberal policy of a despotic monarchy presented nɔ objection to the highest offices of State being thrown open to this foreigner-the descendant of a malignant foe. He rose in due course of time to be the Premier; and continued to receive the same attention from Rajasingha, which he had previously received from his benefactor, the then ruling sovereign, Senaratna. The extensive acquirements of Gascon failed not to produce that respect and esteem on the part of his sovereign, which they deserved. Deep respect and esteem in due time resulted in affection, and affection soon ripened into an intimate friendship, which permitted the minister free access to the Royal household. Thus enjoying the confidence of his sovereign, Gascon was not only the adviser of His Majesty, but his associate and friend; and performed signal service to Ceylon by repressing many attempts of the Dutch, who soon followed the Portuguese in making inroads on the Kadian provinces. His many and valuable exploits are narrated in a poem, composed by himself during the confinement which preceded his execution, brought about under circumstances which we shall now detail. At the time he was in high favour with the King, the Queen-consort was taken ill; and on reference to her horoscope it was ascertained that a Bali offering to the unpropitious planets could alone restore her to health. Directions were accordingly given for the ceremony of the Bali offering, and for the preparation of a figure, as is usual, of the sick personage. Gascon (for we shall call him such) superintended the ceremony; and, in an unlucky hour, unable to restrain his love for the Queen, and to secure a correct representation of her person at the hands of the painter, directed him to mark a part of the figure with a mole, adding, that without it the figure was not a faithful likeness. This circumstance created suspicion in the King's mind; and led to an inquiry, which resulted in the incarceration of the Prime Minister. No person now felt more sincerely for the critical situation of Gascon, and none contributed more to allay those feelings of anguish which had now taken possession of his mind, than the Queen, the cause of his misfortunes. A secret correspondence followed, and we are enabled to present the reader with the two concluding stanzas of that correspondence, one of which is from the Queen, and the other, in reply, from the Minister. FROM THE QUEEN TO THE ADIKAR. තුන් කල තුමුල වන සහා යේමල් ර ස නා වි As the honey loving bee, heedless thro' the forest flies, Where the many coloured flowers tempt him with their rich supplies, |