According to one of the various Cingalese traditions, these Weddàhs are the descendants of a very bloodthirsty, cannibal monarch, who, deposed by his people, was only permitted the alternative of death, or of withdrawing with the ministers of his cruelty to roam for ever amid the solitudes of the forest. The dethroned king chose the latter alternative, and thus became the little-to-be-envied progenitor of this rude savage race. At any rate it seems worthy of note, that these Weddàhs, destitute though they are of the remotest traces of civilization, are still regarded as belonging to the privileged caste. Owing to the shortness of our stay, we unfortunately had no opportunity of visiting the interior of the island, or of seeing these Weddàhs. With difficulty did we tear ourselves from the zone of the cocoa-nut growth, and therefore only got acquainted with two places on the island, Galle and Colombo, the latter the seat of government. [Illustration: INTERIOR OF A HOUSE AT GALLE.] Galle is, from its position, as also from its configuration, indisputably the best and most important harbour in the south and west of the island, as Colombo can only be regarded as an open, insecure roadstead. Founded in the sixteenth century by the Portuguese, conquered at a later period by the Dutch, and finally, at the peace of Amiens, transferred to the English, Galle displays singularly few traces of its different masters. The streets are narrow, but cleanly; the houses are for the most part constructed of earth, with verandahs, or airy colonnades towards the street, and rooms within, plastered to imitate stone, of spacious dimensions, as is desirable, considering the heat of the climate. As one enters from the roadway at once into the sitting apartment, and as the door stands wide open all day to admit a free current of air, a sort of open screen-work is usually put up before the entrance, to prevent a too minute inspection of the interior, by the prying eyes of inquisitive passers-by. At Galle we, for the first time, saw the "Punkah," a sort of fan peculiar to India, which stretches from one end of the roof of the room to the other, and being swung to and fro by a servant produces a refreshing coolness. Here, too, we first became acquainted with the "Gecko" (_Hemidactylus maculatus_), an elegant little house-lizard, which, with graceful agility, runs to and fro upon the walls, windows, and roofs, and speedily becomes as familiar with man as a pet-dog or kitten. They usually make their appearance towards evening, when, without the slightest symptoms of timidity, they begin their surprising evolutions, during which they catch gnats with astonishing dexterity, and although they are disagreeable objects to all new comers, one speedily becomes accustomed to these harmless, innocuous, playful little animals, of which the Ceylonese are in the habit of relating many interesting and amusing anecdotes.