[9] On the flat coast of Coromandel there are no harbours; and, for that reason, neither people nor goods can be conveyed on shore from ships, but in these _shilingas_. This labour is very dangerous even for such small vessels, as the flatness of the coast for so great an extent renders the breakers extremely violent. The English, in all their wars, have lost many of their ships for want of a harbour on the eastern coast; and therefore it is of the utmost importance to them to have possession of the excellent, safe, and spacious harbour of _Trinconomale_, on the east side of the island of _Ceylon_. _F._ [10] See _Sonnerat, Voyages aux Indes_, vol. i. p. 1. p. 13. Sonnerat, who was an excellent draftsman, and possessed some knowledge of natural history, came very young to India, and was hotheaded because he conceived himself to be a man of importance on account of these talents.--Law de Lauriston was a descendant or relation of Law who made himself known by his speculations under the regency of the Duke of Orleans. _F._ [11] We have here a striking instance of the truth of the observation, that travelling in distant countries, among people of different manners, customs, and religious opinions, tends to inspire men with more liberal sentiments, and to render them more tolerant. _F._ [12] The fiction respecting Hayder Aly’s mean extraction, &c. has been long ago refuted. See _Sprengel’s Hyder Ali_, in the preface, p. 6. _F._ [13] The most modern and authentic history of India shews that all the European East India Companies followed the example of the Dutch, and of merchants became warriors. _F._ [14] See on this subject Guyon’s _Histoire de l’Indostan_, vol. iii. p. 220-224, and _Recherches hist. et geograph._ par Anquetil du Perron, part i. p. 174.--The author here delineates the state of the French trade with strong and ugly colours; but, it cannot be denied, with a considerable degree of truth. _F._ [15] These animals are called improperly _white ants_. The appellation _termites_, from the Latin systematic name _termes_, is better. There are various kinds of them, but only in warm countries, which are all equally destructive, and occasion great devaluation, not only in sugar plantations, but also among furniture and clothes in habitations. _F._ [16] About 2s. 6d. sterling.