No
wonder that the proud king had enemies, for he was a monster of cruelty.
His palace is still to be seen. See that high tower, and that open
gallery at the top! There the _last king_ used to stand to enjoy the
sight of his subjects' agonies. Those who had offended him were killed in
the Court below,--killed not in a common manner, but in all kinds of
barbarous ways,--such as by being cut in pieces, or by swallowing melted
lead. At length the Cingalese invited the English to come and deliver
them from their tyrant; the English came and shut him up in prison till
he died, and now an English governor rules over Ceylon.
The greatest curiosity to be seen at Kandy is a TOOTH! a tooth that the
people say was taken out of the mouth of their Buddha. It is kept in a
splendid temple on a golden table, in a golden box of great size. There
are seven boxes one inside the other, and in the innermost box, wrapped
up in gold, there is a piece of ivory, the size of a man's thumb,--that
is the tooth of Buddha! Every day it is worshipped, and offerings of
fruit and flowers are presented.
COLOMBO.
This is the chief _English_ town of Ceylon, as Kandy is the chief
_Cingalese_ town. The English governor lives here, but he has a house at
Kandy too, where he may enjoy the cool mountain air. There is a fine road
from Colombo to Kandy, broader and harder than, English roads; yet it is
out through steep mountains, and winds by dangerous precipices.
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