RESIDENCE OF A WEALTHY FOREIGNER.
As they approached Colombo there were occasional glimpses of houses among the trees, and the boys were not surprised to learn that the cocoa forest was considered a desirable place of residence for the foreigners in Colombo who could afford homes out of the city. Avenues of palms led from the road to the dwellings, and in several instances there were evidences of liberal expenditure and excellent taste in the arrangement of the houses and their surroundings. Seven or eight miles from Colombo the planter called the attention of the boys to an island that was just visible through the trees, and was separated from the land by a very narrow channel. He explained that it was a favorite resort of the foreigners in Colombo when they wished to indulge in sea-bathing, and that a railway had lately been completed to it.
It was about eight o'clock in the morning when the coach rolled from the edge of the forest and out upon an open space which is used as a drilling-place for troops, and also for the races in which the residents of the city indulge occasionally. On the sea-front of this area the surf was breaking, and the pure breeze from the waters was a grateful refresher after the ride of the night. As they rose to the crest of the ridge the boys came in sight of the red walls of the city; in less than a quarter of an hour they were at the door of the principal hotel of Colombo.
SCENE ON THE COAST NEAR COLOMBO.