| Marriage of the Fig-tree and the Palm | By MR. A. NICHOLL | [96] |
| Fig-tree on the Ruins of Pollanarrua | MR. A. NICHOLL | [97] |
| The "Snake-tree" | MR. A. NICHOLL | [98] |
| The Loris | M.H. SYLVAT | [134] |
| The Uropeltis grandis | M.H. SYLVAT | [195] |
| A Chironectes | M.H. SYLVAT | [207] |
| Method of Fishing in Pools | From KNOX | [210] |
| The Anabas of the dry Tanks | By DR. TEMPLETON | [220] |
| Eggs of the Leaf Insect | M.H. SYLVAT | [251] |
| Cermatia | DR. TEMPLETON | [298] |
| The Calling Crab | [300] | |
| Eyes and Teeth of the Land Leech | DR. TEMPLETON | [302] |
| Land Leeches | DR. TEMPLETON | [304] |
| Upper and under Surfaces of the Hirudo sanguisorba | DR. TEMPLETON | [305] |
| The Bo-tree at Anarajapoora | MR. A. NICHOLL | [343] |
| A Dagoba at Kandy | From a Photograph | [345] |
| Ruins of the Brazen Palace | By MR. A. NICHOLL | [357] |
| The Alu Wihara | MR. A. NICHOLL | [375] |
| The fortified Rock of Sigiri | MR. A. NICHOLS | [392] |
| Coin of Queen Leela-Wattee | [412] | |
| Coin showing the Trisula | [461] | |
| Hook-money | [463] | |
| Ancient and Modern Tom-tom Beaters | From the JOINVILLE MSS | [471] |
| A Column from Anarajapoora | [479] | |
| Sacred Goose from the Burmese Standard | [485] | |
| Hansa, from the old Palace at Kandy | [487] | |
| Honeysuckle Ornament | From FERGUSSON'S Handbook of Architecture | [491] |
| Egyptian Yoke and Singhalese Pingo | [497] | |
| Veddah drawing the Bow with his Foot | By MR. R. MACDOWALL | [499] |
| Method of Writing with a Style | MR. R. MACDOWALL | [513] |
| The "Comboy," as worn by both Sexes | MR. A. FAIRFIELD | [612] |
NOTICE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.
The gratifying reception with which the following pages have been honoured by the public and the press, has in no degree lessened my consciousness, that in a work so extended in its scope, and comprehending such a multiplicity of facts, errors are nearly unavoidable both as to conclusions and detail. These, so far as I became aware of them, I have endeavoured to correct in the present, as well as in previous impressions.
But my principal reliance for the suggestion and supply both of amendments and omissions has been on the press and the public of Ceylon; whose familiarity with the topics discussed naturally renders them the most competent judges as to the mode in which they have been treated. My hope when the book was published in October last was, that before going again to press I should be in possession of such friendly communications and criticisms from the island, as would have enabled me to render the second edition much more valuable than the previous one. In this expectation I have been agreeably disappointed, the sale having been so rapid, as to require a fourth impression before it was possible to obtain from Ceylon judicious criticisms on the first. These in due time will doubtless arrive; and meanwhile, I have endeavoured, by careful revision, to render the whole as far as possible correct.
J. EMERSON TENNENT.
NOTICE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
The call for a third edition on the same day that the second was announced for publication, and within less than two months from the appearance of the first, has furnished a gratifying assurance of the interest which the public are disposed to take in the subject of the present work.
Thus encouraged, I have felt it my duty to make several alterations in the present impression, amongst the most important of which is the insertion of a Chapter on the doctrines of Buddhism as it developes itself in Ceylon.[1] In the historical sections I had already given an account of its introduction by Mahindo, and of the establishments founded by successive sovereigns for its preservation and diffusion. To render the narrative complete, it was felt desirable to insert an abstract of the peculiar tenets of the Buddhists; and this want it has been my object to supply. The sketch, it will be borne in mind, is confined to the principal features of what has been denominated "Southern Buddhism" amongst the Singhalese; as distinguished from "Northern Buddhism" in Nepal, Thibet, and China.[2] The latter has been largely illustrated by the labours of Mr. B.H. HODGSON and the toilsome researches of M. CSOMA of Körrös in Transylvania; and the minutest details of the doctrines and ceremonies of the former have been unfolded in the elaborate and comprehensive collections of Mr. SPENCE HARDY.[3] From materials discovered by these and other earnest inquirers, Buddhism in its general aspect has been ably delineated in the dissertations of BURNOUF[4] and SAINT HILAIRE[5], and in the commentaries of REMUSAT[6], STANISLAS JULIEN[7], FOUCAUX[8], LASSEN[9], and WEBER.[10] The portion thus added to the present edition has been to a great extent taken from a former work of mine on the local superstitions of Ceylon, and the "Introduction and Progress of Christianity" there; and as the section relating to Buddhism had the advantage, previous to publication, of being submitted to the Rev. Mr. GOGERLY, the most accomplished Pali scholar, as well as the most erudite student of Buddhistical literature in the island, I submit it with confidence as an accurate summary of the distinctive views of the Singhalese on the leading doctrines of their national faith.