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serious disturbance at a church in Palliagodda, a village not far from Colombo, because the women of an inferior cast ventured modestly to cover their naked breasts with a small calico jacket, while attending public worship! The superior cast tore the jackets from off their shoulders, and inflicted the punishment of a severe castigation upon them for their presumption! We have preached in the church many times, and know the consequence to have been, that the inferior cast were prevented from attending altogether.

At another place, called Morotto, within 14 ngles of Colombo, where we have likewise preached to large congregations, a native head-man, of an inferior cast, who was on his way to the church to be married, was grossly assaulted by a party of a higher class, and compelled to flee for shelter for himself and trembling bride, because he had presumed to place a comb in his head, which was an improvement on the fashion of his cast, as used by them a century ago.

It is not long since, that, at Calany, a village about six miles off, the body of a poor dead man was sacrilegiously torn out of his grave, because his surviving friends had exceeded the rules of his cast, in the materials in which he was buried. These cases do not excite so much interest in this country as they would in England, because it is an understood thing, that, with respect to dress, &c. every man ought to keep within the bounds of his

own cast.

These are Christians! The moral state of thousands of such Christians in this island, calls loudly for spiritual assistance. And we hope the day is speedily approaching towards its dawn, when the great and good Shepherd, who laid down his life for these poor perishing sheep, shall, by the progress of his gospel, eradicate every unloving principle from their hearts, and make them all one fold, under one Shepherd." John x.

The two principal casts in this island, are the Vellalahs and the Chalias. There are many other distinctions besides, but these are the most prominent. It is a controverted point between them, as to which of those has had the highest origin. The Chalias are generally supposed to have descended from some foreigners, who emigrated to this country from the neighbouring coast: and the Vellalahs have, on all public occasions, the preeminence and precedence. There are clever, respectable, and excellent men, in both, within the circle of our acquaintance; and, of each, who hold under government, places of great public trust, and of considerable importance.

Our new convert was, I have observed, of the Chalia cast; and for the first few years of his life, being taken from his father's family, lived with the Maha, or principal Vidalon Moodeliar of the Mahabadde, or revenue department, where he conducted

himself with great propriety, and gave many indications of an opening mind.

He afterwards lived, at his own request, with the Moodeliar Andriés Mendis Wickremanayke; who, perceiving the brightness of his genius, and his ardent thirst after learning, committed him to the care of the late Walpala, Ennancy, a Budhist priest, by whom he was instructed in the various branches of Cingalese literature, and under whom he made rapid progress in the cultivation of his understanding.

His rising and opening talents, together with his determined perseverance in leaving no means untried for the extension of his capacity, and the improvement of his mind, rendered him, while yet a youth, an object of many pleasing expectations, and of much and general admiration.

He had already fathomed the depths of learning which were within his reach in Ceylon; and being impelled by a restless ambition to excel, he made known to his friends his desire and Besolution to leave the place of his nativity, and to travel into other countries, in pursuit of literature and the sciences.

At this time, the principal members of the Chalia cast viewed him as a proper person, who, by his extraordinary talents, was likely to raise the reputation of their community; and, as he had attached bimself to the religion of his forefathers, and was strongly inclined to the Budhist priesthood, they resolved to procure his regular inauguration to that office, and to assist him to pursue his literary intentions; that they might have a priest of their own cast, who would surpass the Vellalahs in knowledge and attainments, if he could not equal them in their pretensions to dignity of birth.

Accordingly, a popular anxiety was aroused in his favour; and by the generous assistance of Peter de Abreu, Rajapaxe, the present Maha Moodeliar of the Mahabadde, he repaired to pursue his studies in the kingdom of Ava, a country which has long been considered the repository of Budhu knowledge.

But his Budhist patrons were not aware that the measures which they adopted were directly calculated to defeat the end they had in view. They were not aware, that in furnishing him with such means of education, they were disqualifying him for the office which he had to perform, and raising him above the Pagan duties which he had to fulfil.

Here, however, we may discover the evident interference of Infinite Wisdom, who often baffles the deep-laid designs of shortsighted men, and causes them to be instrumental in accomplishing measures diametrically opposed to those which they intend to produce.

In the year 1808, he left Ceylon, for the place of his desire; having under him eighteen youths, who accompanied him as

pupils, with an eye to the priestly office, and with whom his plan was to colonize, on his return, in some part of Ceylon, and to establish a seminary for the education of Budhist priests of his

own cast.

On his way thither, he landed at Negapatan, and proceeding to Madras, he remained there for about five months; which interval he employed in acquiring a knowledge of the Sanscrit language, which is the parent of most, if not all, of the Oriental tongues, and the learned language of the East. Here, likewise, he became acquainted with the Malabar, which he speaks with great ease.

From Madras he went to Ava, and resided for more than two years at Amenapoora, or, The Eternal City. The inhabitants of that country, who are all of the Budhist faith, have a tradition that they received their religion from Ceylon; and as they far exceed this island in the observance of the rites of Budhu, a priest from Ceylon is always considered as being a superior person, and as having something unusually sacred attached to his character.

Hence all the seminaries of public learning were open to him; and, by his address and talents, he appeared rather as a profoundly learned man, travelling for the purpose of communicating instruction, than as one who was journeying in quest of information. He made the best of this circumstance; and nothing escaped his penetrating eye. He acquainted himself with all their most valuable works; and having applied himself to the study of the Burman and Pali languages, with uncommon industry and great success, he was beheld, even by their most learned priests, as a most astonishing character. And, in conse quence of the talent which he displayed, in a controversy with a superior priest of the king of Ava's household, in the royal presence, he was promoted to the dignity of Maha Mayaka, or "A man of high attainments;" and assumed the name and title of Rajegooroo; or, "The learned Teacher to the King."

The Rev. Mr. Chater, one of the Baptist missionaries now in Colombo, was at this time resident in that country; and he has often assured us of the great respect which was paid to our convert by the inhabitants. Many of them made him rich presents of cloth, silks, and money, and various other valuable articles, by which he became greatly enriched, and enabled to make a more splendid appearance than the priests in general are able, or indeed permitted to assume.

He continued in Ava nearly three years, at the close of which period he returned to Ceylon, having been laden with honours and presents by the king of Ava, and being rewarded on account of his abilities and learning, by a great collection of most superbly bound books out of the royal library, by the king's express command.

On his arrival in Ceylon, he built a temple near Galle, at a village called Dadala, where likewise he erected a two-storied house, a thing unknown among the Cingalese natives, after the model of some houses which he had seen in Ava. He likewise gilded the spire of the pyramid attached to his temple, in the manner of those in the Burman country; and commenced quite a splendid establishment.

It is well known that the rules of the Budhist priesthood, as delivered by the founder of their religion, forbid any thing like splendour or self-indulgence, or the amassing of riches in the priestly character. But I have been informed, that the headpriest of each class is not under those restrictions in this respect, by which the commonality are regulated; and hence some of them are opulent beyond conception.

If we bear this in mind, and besides, take into the account, the riches as well as honours which he acquired by his journey to Ava, as well as the ambitious willingness of his cast to support him in all that routine of external show which was calculated to give effect to his learning, and thus to raise him to an eminence, in order to elevate the community to which he belonged; we shall not wonder to find him, on his return to Ceylon, a proud, ambitious, worldly-minded man, and eagerly bent on the acquisition of honour, and the accumulation of wealth.

For the first four years after his arrival in his native island, he principally resided at his temple in the neighbourhood of Galle. He, however, made frequent excursions to different parts of the island, visiting his brethren, the Budhist priests of his own cast, among whom he enjoyed an eminent reputation for the propriety of his conduct, and the superiority of his acquirements.

Nor was his fame confined to his own countrymen. The European gentlemen were frequently led by curiosity to examine his little estate; and often passed the highest encomiums on the taste and judgment, as displayed in his various arrangements. His Excellency Governor Brownrigg, and the Honourable Sir Alexander Johnston, the Chief Justice, at different times honoured him with a visit, and were much gratified with the view of his temple and house, as well as of his very extensive oriental library.

On one of these visits, I have heard the Governor was much surprised and pleased to find a New Testament which he had received from brother Clough, at Galle, lying on the writingtable in his study; and entered into a conversation with him on the subject of Christianity, through the medium of an interpreter, which I believe strongly prepossessed his Excellency in his favour.

The distribution of the New Testament in his own language, by the zealous efforts of the Colombo Bible Society, had cer

tainly aroused his attention with respect to the Christian religion. But from all I can learn, his mind remained as firmly attached as ever to his Budhist principles. In fact, his whole desire seemed placed on eminence in the profession which he had chosen for himself, and in which he had already met with such great success.

After his return to Ceylon, about a year or so, he applied to the Government to be confirmed in those elevations of rank to which he had been promoted in the Burman empire; which request was granted him: and he was besides allowed to adopt some new and and honorary distinctions in his equipage, which he did not feel himself authorised to assume without some sanc tion from our Government.

In the course of last year, (1815) he undertook another jour ney to Colombo, in order to obtain a grant of land in the Matura district; which, I believe, was generously made him. But this was a memorable and momentous journey to him; and was over-ruled by Providence to the production of a separation be tween himself and that line of life in which, till now, had centred all his hopes and expectations of future exaltation and aggran disement.

While in Colombo on this business, he was noticed by several English gentlemen, who, on account of their engagements with the interior provinces of the island, had commenced the study of the Cingalese language; and by whom he was employed to assist them in their studies. By this means he became acquainted with the elements of the English tongue.

It was in the course of the interviews which he thus had with some of these gentlemen, that the subject of Christianity happened to be brought up; and the consequence was, his expressing a desire to debate the question with the Rev. Mr. Bisset, who was known to him as the Governor's domestic chap lain. I have not understood that this desire proceeded from any wish to become a Christian. It appears to have arisen merely from a conviction of the superiority of his own system; and no doubt the victory which he obtained in an argument with a domestic priest of the king of Ava's household, to which I have already referred, led him to anticipate a similar success in the

present instance.

About this time one of the Honourable Members of Council favoured us with a visit for the purpose of inspecting our press, day-school, &c. at which time he happened to mention the cir cumstance to us; and brother Clough and myself expressed a strong wish to have an interview with him.

In this we were shortly after gratified. Mr. Bisset was so kind as to introduce him to us by a short note, stating (what we knew to be the case) that he was too much occupied with very

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