On my second stay at Colombo on my way to Calcutta, I was present at the landing of Arabi Pacha, the Egyptian patriot, whom I often met, and from whom I elicited many interesting details of the events which culminated in his exile. Poor Arabi! I often think of him, and of the harsh cruelty with which he has been treated, not by England, but by his own people. Had it not been for the countenance he got from the British Government—and more particularly the talented, warm-hearted men who undertook and managed his defence—his blood, not his liberty, would have been the price of his patriotic devotion to his country. In selecting Ceylon for his exile, England showed her appreciation of the man’s worth. Besides its loveliness, Ceylon is inhabited by people of the same faith. But all the gilding one may lay on to the cage fails to hide the bars. While Arabi moves in apparent freedom in Colombo, his movements are those of the caged lion.
One cannot be in Colombo many days without feeling an inclination to see Kandy—a trip which can be accomplished without much inconvenience or heavy tax on one’s exchequer. In this instance, however, matters were made even easier. The Colonial Secretary, Mr. (now Sir) J. Douglas had been requested by His Excellency Sir James Langden, the Governor, to invite me to pay him a visit in the hills, so that I only required to pack up my portmanteau and drive to the railway station, where I met my chaperon.
From the very start to the landing at the station in Kandy the scenery is without any exception most charming. Every single thing on the line of road has its charm—the vegetation, the quaint villages, the scenery, baffles description. I did not go there a novice—I had already visited nearly every part of the globe—but I humbly confess the trip to Kandy fairly put the extinguisher on all I had seen until I visited the Himalayas; and even then I have not yet made up my mind whether I prefer the latter; they may be grander, but I doubt if they are better.
II.
THE PARAHERRA.”
WHILST at Kandy I had an opportunity to witness the Parraherra, which is the greatest Buddhist religious ceremony.