A ship arriving in front of Galle at night must anchor outside, or cruise up and down till daylight, as the pilots never come off during the hours of darkness, no matter what signals are made. The harbor is not an easy one to enter, and requires great care on the part of the pilot to bring a ship safely to anchor. There are several sunken rocks inside, and a stranger would be almost certain to run on them, even with the assistance of a good chart; a steamer was once lost here owing to the delay of only a few seconds in the transmission of an order for the stoppage of the engines, and others have received serious damage from similar causes. Many plans have been devised for improving the harbor by the removal of the rocks, and it is said that contracts have been made recently with some Americans for that very desirable work. [Illustration: RUINS OF A PORTUGUESE CHURCH.] The steamer was brought to the place assigned her, and securely moored, and as soon as this had been done, our friends entered one of the curious little outrigger boats and were carried to the shore. The boys were so pleased with the picturesque beauty of the place that they wished to make a sketch of it, but there was no time to do so, and the proposal was dropped. The port is a delightful nook in the coast of Ceylon, surrounded with cocoa-nut-trees that grow down to the very edge of the water, and have their roots washed by its spray. At one side is the old town or fort, which dates back to the Portuguese occupation of the place, and gives a hint of its age by its venerable appearance. Some of the old buildings are in ruins, as the government does not care to reconstruct them. Point de Galle has very little local commerce, and its chief importance comes from its geographical position. Nearly all the steamers between Europe, on the one hand, and China and the Far East, on the other, touch at Galle for coal, and many thousand tons of this fuel are handled there every month. Some days there are eight or ten arrivals and departures, and rarely is there a day without a steamer entering or leaving. A glance at the position of the place, with reference to other ports of the Indian Ocean and the Eastern seas in general, will show its great importance as a coaling-station. Its name is supposed to be derived from the great number of coral rocks--Galla--on this part of the coast, and particularly in the vicinity of the harbor. [Illustration: A YOUNG NATIVE AT BREAKFAST.]