In old Ceylon . efinablequality—something unreal and ghostly. So one drives off, perhaps, down the long level road toMount Lavinia. The way is thick with natives, lithe,tall, and dark, hurrying cheerfully on innumerable busi-nesses. Stark little babies wallow and babble in the dust—delicious little round things, inconscient as kittens, andno less attractive. Far on beneath overhanging cocoanut-palms goes the highway, threading a cool jungle ofgreenery. Bungalows of the well-to-do appear on eitherside—dachshunds among houses—immensely long-bodied,with no legs to speak of, mere enormous roofs, s
In old Ceylon . efinablequality—something unreal and ghostly. So one drives off, perhaps, down the long level road toMount Lavinia. The way is thick with natives, lithe,tall, and dark, hurrying cheerfully on innumerable busi-nesses. Stark little babies wallow and babble in the dust—delicious little round things, inconscient as kittens, andno less attractive. Far on beneath overhanging cocoanut-palms goes the highway, threading a cool jungle ofgreenery. Bungalows of the well-to-do appear on eitherside—dachshunds among houses—immensely long-bodied,with no legs to speak of, mere enormous roofs, squatteringon the ground, from which they rise on tiny pillars almostinvisible beneath their projecting eaves. Every brilliantblossom crowds their gardens, and their protecting hedgesare made of Hibiscus, drooping its blossoms everywhere,sheeny silken single roses -? of enormous size ; daintytassels of pure vermilion with a long fluffy paint-brushstigma protruding. Rosa-smensis, the single big Hibiscus,. The Elephants bathing at Katugastote. ROUND COLOMBO 43 stars its frail boughs like rare roses ; the Tassel hangs froma thread-like stem, and wavers gently in the hot come native shops and hovels—primitive affairs,open to the day, heaped v^^ith salt fish, grain, mysteriesenveloped in green leaves. Chafferers linger, haggle,stay to chatter. Then comes by an old monk in yellowrobe, his begging bowl making a bulge at his back, andafter him his acolyte, carrying his necessaries. Tall Moor-men, fan-bearded, swagger here and there ; darker blacksappear amid the light browns of the Cinhalese. Restlessglad vivacity is the keynote of all the hurrying, hoveringthrong. And yet still there remains about the scene itscurious impression of unreality. Mount Lavinia lies some miles out from Colombo. Atthe last, having passed several entrances to Buddhistshrines, the road turns aside, down a soft avenue, anddebouches on the sea. On a small hillock sits the famoushotel, gazing s
Size: 1302px × 1919px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectsrilankadescriptiona
