As they left the temple, after paying the priest for showing them the sacred relic, one of the boys asked if Buddhism was the only religion in Ceylon.
"Not by any means," answered the Doctor. "According to history, Buddha had a great deal of trouble in converting the Cingalese, as they were very ardent idolaters, and addicted to the worship of trees and serpents. Portions of the ancient faith still continue in the universal dread that the Cingalese have of killing a cobra; they will not destroy it with a blow from a stick or stone, but they put it in a bag and throw it in a river, so that it can have a chance of escape. Until very recently there was a temple at Jaffna dedicated to the snake goddess, and maintained by some of the descendants of the idolatrous priesthood.
"The Cingalese," the Doctor continued, "have great faith in demons, and every village has its demon-priest who lives upon the fears of the people. Everything that goes wrong is ascribed to the demons; and if a man falls sick or is injured, the priest is called to drive away the evil spirit that has caused the trouble.
"The most numerous demons are the yakkoes, who are supposed to live in old trees, and for this reason the natives will not have any old trees near their dwellings. They also set aside the fruit of certain trees in their gardens for the use of the demons, and sometimes a portion of the rice crop in a field is left ungathered for the same purpose. There is a general belief in sorcery and witchcraft, especially in the north of the island: the most of the native doctors are sorcerers, and when they cannot perform a cure with medicines they resort to incantations."
TRAVELLING IN CEYLON.--WILD ELEPHANTS AND THEIR HABITS.--ENCOUNTER WITH A BUFFALO.--FROM KANDY TO NEWERA-ELLIA.
A day was devoted to letter-writing, and to drives and walks around Kandy, and then the boys asked the Doctor where they were to go next.
"There are two or three routes from which to choose," was the reply, "and each has its own peculiar advantages, or the reverse. I have been considering them, and have selected the one that gives us the most to see in the little time we have at our disposal. We will start to-morrow morning for Newera-Ellia, which is on the road to Adam's Peak."