In Ceylon, as well as in Pegu and Thibet, the Budhists may be said to have very limited power. They are the preceptors and tutors of the sovereign princes of the country, who consequently give themselves up to their direction; consult them upon every occasion, and afford them every kind of support and protection. The policy of this practice produces the utmost benefit to the state. When princes pay honour to the priesthood, and unite with it to promote the same ends, the tranquillity of their dominions is never interrupted. In every part of the globe, the people, who look up to the example of their sovereigns, will not fail to imitate them; and the consequence will be, respect for religion, and fidelity towards their princes; and on the union of these two the welfare of a state depends. CHAPTER XIII. _The Author’s Voyage to Europe.--Short Account of the Isles of France and Bourbon, the Cape of Good Hope, and the Island of Ascension._ On the 20th of April, 1789, the Calypso frigate, after a pleasant and agreeable passage, arrived in the harbour of the Isle of France. The entrance into this harbour is exceedingly narrow and dangerous; but when vessels have once got in they lie at anchor in great safety, as they are sheltered from the wind on all sides, and the landing is remarkably easy. On this island there are a great many high mountains, and among these a volcano, which sometimes darkens the atmosphere by its eruptions, and renders it so hot and thick that asthmatic people can scarcely breathe. Tempests, therefore, are here very frequent and terrible; as is the case in all countries where there are volcanoes, for they attract the vapours and inflammable matter with which the clouds are loaded. Fire always has a tendency to fire. In other respects the air is tolerably pure and healthful, though a little moist in general towards the evening; but in certain months a far more violent heat prevails than on the coast of Malabar, where the atmosphere is at least cooled by the evaporation that proceeds from the rivers and lakes, by which the country is every-where surrounded and intersected. This island lies under the 20th degree of south latitude, whereas Cochin lies under the 10th of north latitude. This makes a difference of 10 degrees, and serves as a proof that the greater or less heat to which people are exposed in different climates does not depend so much on the sun, as on local circumstances that arise from the situation of the country.