pressible. That it is no novelty to assert this may be verified by a reference to the travels of one Pierce through Western Texas about the year 1760, and which was not known to the writer until he himself had had experience of the fact. If a buffalo is killed, the first attempt is to secure the fat parts of the animal. If a bear is killed, the fat is regarded as a luxury. It was not unusual to see a man taking back to his mess a large cotton bag filled chiefly with fat parts of a buffalo, and containing an infinitely small quantity of flesh. Why should this taste for oily matter arise? It does not continue as a habit. So soon as the supply of it ceased the scurvy appeared, producing, as usual, great want of strength, a general lassitude, inability to move more than short distances without rest; and all wounds produce a horrid and offensive pustulent inflammation extending far beyond the puncture or the wound itself. But though in the instance alluded to scurvy was produced, perhaps the facts do not prove more than the desire under given circumstances to obtain food of an oily nature. The scurvy might have appeared in consequence of a long confinement to animal food alone. In this case it did not appear until all fat matter was lost; but it might have appeared notwithstanding. Three months' subsistence on animal food did not produce it, the fat of the oxen killed not having been lost by travelling. After that time the scurvy appeared. It certainly cannot be shown that it might not have appeared if the animals had remained fat; but this fact, however, is certain, namely, that in a hot and dry country oily food is desired, and is most eagerly secured; for dryness of climate is also one of the conditions under which the desire for it prevails. In the moist atmosphere to the south, nearer the sea, and where the rivers flow closer to each other than they do inland, this anxiety to obtain animal food that is excessively fat is not observed.

From Dickens' "Household Words."

MY PEARL-FISHING EXPEDITION. CEYLON has for centuries been famed for the richness and value of its pearls. Its oyster banks are said to have furnished those which the voluptuous Cleopatra quaffed in

her wine, to the health of Marc Antony. The "Barbaric Pearl" was ever a favorite ornament amongst the Greek and Roman ladies; and it is still as highly prized by the native princes of India. The most costly produce of the Ceylon Pearl Fisheries is carried, by Moorish and Hindoo traders, to the Indian Continent: the least valuable are mostly exported to the countries of Europe.

The reader need hardly be informed that the pearl is a substance found secreted in the flesh of a peculiar species of non-edible oyster, which is met with on the northwest coast of Ceylon, as well as in the Persian Gulf, in the Sooloo Islands, on the coast of Algiers, in the Bay of Panama, and in one or two other places. These oysters are more prettily shaped than the edible oysters of this country. The interior of the shell has a most beautiful mother-of-pearl appearance. The finest pearls are usually found in the beard of the oyster, whilst the smaller varieties, and those known as seed pearls, are met with in the thick part of the flesh. Some have been seen as large as pistol-bullets, and one is on record as having been worth one hundred and ten thousand pounds. The average value, however, of the middling sizes are about three or four pounds; whilst the smaller sizes are to be had for a few shillings.

Since the possession of Ceylon by the British, the Pearl Fishery has proved a source of considerable revenue to the Government; yielding, occasionally, as much as eighty thousand pounds per annum. The season for fishing is during the month of March; just when the force of the northeast monsoon has passed over, and previous to the first appearance of the southwest winds. The oyster banks are situated off a point of land called Aripo, on the west coast of the island, far to the north of Colombo, and not very distant from “Adam's Bridge;” a ridge of rocks crossing the Samubin Channel, nearly from Ceylon to the most southern point of the Indian Continent. The Banks are numerous and mostly of but a few miles in extent; they are out of sight of land, which is here very low, so that to fish them requires some degree of experience and skill. The exclusive right to this Fishery rests with the Ceylon Government; and this right was for many years, sold by public auction or by private tenders to native renters. In

more recent times the Government fished the Banks on their own account, disposing of the oysters, as brought on shore, by auction. On the 25th of February, 1836, I arrived in the Bay of Condaletry, the anchorage of Aripo, a passenger on board the Government Wellington," of whose commander I was the guest. The Inspector of the Pearl Banks was also on board, with his own boat and crew his lugger was fitted up very comfortably with awnings and cushions, precautions I soon found highly necessary on such service.

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Early the next morning I landed with the Inspector at Silawatorre, a small village, distant a few miles from the station at Aripo. This was a most miserable little place, consisting of but a single row of small mud huts standing in hot and dusty solitude, with a few lonely parched-up palms near them; but far as the eye could reach, inland or coastwise, there was nothing to break the monotony of endless sand-plains, save the distant white walls of the "Doric;" a lofty, stuccoed Government building, near Aripo, which glistened and shone so brilliantly in the rays of the morning sun as to make one's eyes blink again. For miles around lay countless heaps of snowy oyster shells, bleached by the suns of many monsoons. Ridge over ridge, heap upon heap, they seemed to have no end; and one might well have imagined that, in years long past, some conflicting armies of oysters had met to do battle on those sea-washed sands, and left their many hetacombs of slain unburied on those wastes.

There were a few dirty women, and thinfaced children on the beach, whose curiosity had for the moment overcome their sloth. Farther on, under three palms, stood the Adapanaar of Aripo, or headman of the district; a fine gray-bearded old man, attended by his deputy the Maniagar, and a few seedy-looking followers armed to the teeth with paper umbrellas and painted sticks. The Inspector adjourned with these strange-looking officials to a thatched open bungalow, by a small flag-staff, where they were soon engrossed in details respecting the approaching fishery. The scene was altogether so desolate and uninteresting, and the sun was becoming so powerful, that I was glad to return to the ship by the first opportunity—a native canoe.

The following morning we stood out for the “ Banks," near which the anchor was dropped, and for several days the Inspector and his boat's crew were occupied in placing buoys with little blue and red flags attached, upon the edges of the several beds which were to be poked. The weather was oppressively hot; the sky was without a cloud to break the intensity of the sun's rays; the sea-breeze blew faintly and fitfully, scarcely rippling the surface of the water, which seemed as though it were a sea of some molten metal.

On the 5th of March we returned to our anchorage in Condaletry Bay; but this time closer to the shore. I could not help being amused at the pantomimic change which had, during our absence, come over the dull mud-village and dusty plains on shore. It was as though Harlequin had, with his wand, transformed all those piles of shells I had left on the beach, into living masses of dusky human beings. The Genius of the Wonderful Lamp must have given his vessel an extra rub, and conjured up the inhabitants of some subterranean world to astonish us on our return. The very sands of the plain seemed to be redolent of life. The miserable row of low, dirty huts had either been levelled to the ground, or were hidden from sight by numberless gayly-colored booths or Pandals, of all sorts of shapes and sizes, ornamented with the pale green leaves of the Palmyra and Cocoa Palm, and long strips of white cloth. There were thousands of natives flocking and struggling down to the beach, as though they expected us to bring on shore all the wealth of the Pearl Banks. Our anchorage-ground was opposite the little flag-staff; and, about us as thick as they could be moored lay fully two hundred native boats of various sizes, though of one build, being a sort of rakishlooking barge; so sharp and knowing, both forwards and aft, that one might have imagined them to have been bloated and corpulent London wherries. They were each manned by ten oarsmen, a Tandal or steersman, and his deputy, besides a cooley for baling out the water; for most of these craft leak freely. They measure from eight to twelve tons, yet there are very few nails about them; the omnipotent cocoa-nut fibre serving to fasten nearly all Cingalese vessels and boats together.

I could not resist the temptation presented by the motley scene on shore. Accordingly towards the evening, I landed, and mixed amongst the busy, endless throng. It seemed almost incredible that the gay place I then beheld, could have been the same that not many days since I had left so silent and desolate. There was the flag-staff, however, now inclosed by a broken fence, and guarded by a detachment of Malay riflemen. Farther off, towering high above the Pandals and bazaars, was the dazzling white walls of the Doric. It was with the utmost difficulty that I forced my way through the dense moving mass; the noise, the crowd, the heat, the smell, the motley colors, all served to annoy and perplex, whilst they amused. All these thousands were congregated to share in, or derive some profit from, the fishery about to take place. All appeared anxious to learn if the day had been fixed; how many boats would be employed; and for how long. A few of the more respectable traders pressed around me, in the hope of gathering some information on these points; but in vain. Wealthy Hindoo merchants; Moormen and Malabar Chettys from the opposite coasts of India; Parawa traders | from the Madura shore; Arabs, Banians, and Parsees, from Bombay and Madras; dealers from the Persian Gulf; Tamils, Jews, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, half-castes, Cingalese, Malays-all were there, in their many gayly-colored and varied costumes, making up what might well have been taken for a masquerade in the open air.

Long rows of bazaars stretched as far as the eye could reach; gaudily decorated, and filled to the roof with wares and merchandise of every conceivable kind, as though the swarms of visitors were expected to dwell there for a twelvemonth at least. Booths full of sweetmeats, strong liquors, and native drinks, tempted the hungry and the thirsty on all sides. In the middle stood a rather humble-sized building, with a white flag flying from one corner of its leafy roof, and strings of little lamps and flowers hung across the doorway. The sound of heavy tom-toms, and shrilly-shrieking pipes, resounded from within, and told plainly enough its sacred character. It was a temple hastily erected by the priests of the shrine of Ramisseram-a famed sanctuary on the Indian shore-where, it is said

by Bramin legends, Adam rested ere passing over to Ceylon to end his days. Farther on was a Buddhist temple, with its yellow and white flowers, cloths and flags, and its yellow-robed, bald-headed, keen-eyed, old priests. These gentry reap a rich harvest during the fishery by ordinary offerings, the sale of charms for the divers, and lucky "olahs" for those who intend to bid for oysters. Besides all these sources of income, the priests lay claim to charity, or temple oysters, a small proportion from each boatload out of the divers' shares, and which most of the natives are weak and ignorant enough to concede them.

At one of the large ornamented arrackbooths, a crowd of boatmen and divers was assembled, listening to the lusty harangue from a tall ungainly figure, I could scarcely distinguish amidst so many in the throng. I found out that he was a Shark-Charmer, and reaped no little gain from his vocation. The divers, I learned, were so persuaded of his mystic powers over the monsters of the deep, that no bribes or threats would induce them to venture in the sea without his presence. This "Charmer" stood quite six feet high, a dark, long-haired Bramin, with bright, catlike eyes, and heavy shaggy eyebrows. His black hair was matted together with dirt and filth; his skin was marked in many places with mysterious characters in chalk; his brawny neck and arms were ornamented with strings of heavy black beads. It was hardly to be wondered at, that such a character should possess some influence over the benighted Indians-the boatmen and divers; it was not difficult, however, to perceive that most of his excitement was derived from the little squat bottles which graced the dirty shelves of the Arrack Bazaar.

After a lapse of four days, spent by the Inspector, the Magistrate of the District, the Government Agent, and the Adapanaar, in various arrangements;-in publishing notices and issuing instructions connected with the fishery—the first diving day was determined on, and the boats, to the number of two hundred, were forthwith put in readi

respective complements of divers, were to leave precisely at midnight, so as to arrive on the banks before daylight, the wind being at that time off the land and in their favor. In order to see as much as possible of their proceedings, I remained to accompany the fleet with the old Adapanaar in his ten-oared cutter. I lay down at dusk in a small shed attached to the temporary military quarters, intending to snatch a few hours' repose. But I soon found sleep was quite out of the question; the noise in the bazaars was greater than ever, and it was with an effort that I made myself heard by the attendants, above the din of voices, tomtoms, and pipes. I walked out and found the boatmen and divers, far from attempting any rest previous to their heavy labors, merry-making on the sea-beach. Many were dancing, many beating time on the tom-tom; hundreds were chanting their wild songs, and all had been well supplied with toddy and arrack. The night was pitchy dark, and but few stars were visible over the bright glare of many torches. A huge bonfire blazed over the flag-staff, lighting up bazaars, palm-trees, and temples, in one lurid glare, and flinging a few rays on the distant shining walls of the Doric. The Shark-Charmer, too, stood in all his glory, on the summit of one of the vast heaps of blanched oyster shells: he was holding forth to the assembled crowd with shouts and wild gesticulations, and as the glare of the fire shot past him, he appeared to be clothed in flame, whilst his gaunt arms flung titanic shadows along the distant plain, like those of a monster windmill hard at work in the midnight breeze.

The appointed time drew near; a gong sent forth a few notes of thunder, and with magic suddenness the dancing, singing, and drinking ceased. The Shark-Charmer stole away, no one knew where; some thought to pray, more probably into the Arrack Bazaar; the boatmen, divers, and Government Peons, crowding down the beach and through the water, passed to their appointed posts in the boats. More than four thousand human beings packed themselves into those frail-looking craft, and yet they were not so crowded as not to leave room for the oysters. The Adapanaar led me to his cutter; we seated ourselves, and he gave orders to the head Tandal, or commodore of

the fleet, to make all ready. Then arose a low indistinct murmur, which gradually swelled into hollow thunder: the echo of many thousands of voices. The boatmen rose up on their benches, flung high their arms, opened their huge mouths, and rolled their shining eyes. What could all this mean? Was it a revolt? No, the Shark-Charmer was missing from his post; without his potent presence not a boat of all the fleet would put to sea. A detachment of Peons, and a few Malay riflemen were dispatched in search of the "holy" truant. In a few minutes they returned leading the charmer of the deep staggering along in a most mysterious manner, and flinging his arms about as though possessed. The Peons rolled him unceremoniously into one of the boats, where he fell on the flooring with a heavy crash.

The Adapanaar gave the final signal amidst a momentary hush; a small fieldpiece was fired from the base of the flagstaff, half-a-dozen rockets shot into the air and scattered themselves in a thousand stars over our heads, and away went the two hundred boats in gallant style! A loud, discordant shout was raised on shore, answered lustily by the crews and divers, and then all was still again. The land breeze was fresh; the water smooth as glass; and our fleet made rapid way. The large, yellow bamboo masts pointed high in air, with their enormous, beautifully white transparent sails filling with the breeze, and lit up by the bonfire on shore, seemed as though they were a host of huge winged creatures of the deep, hastening to their sea-homes far away. On the soft cushions of our roomy craft, I laid me down beneath the awning's shade, and slept some quiet hours. I started from my rest on hearing some one near me giving orders in a loud voice. It was still dark, and looking out I perceived a bright small light not very far distant. It was a signallight at the mast-head of the “Wellington." We were close to the "Banks," and in a few minutes I was on board the vessel. The fleet went astern, and there quietly awaited daylight. By the time we had sipped a cup of hot coffee, and smoked a cheroot, it was broad daylight, and then a move was made. I passed once more to the soft cushions of the cutter, the Adapanaar saw all ready, and in a few minutes a gun was fired, and off we went as before.

The fishing-grounds lay above half a mile ahead of the bark, and arriving on them, it occupied some time to arrange the many boats in proper order, so as to prevent delay or confusion. The sun had risen, bright and gorgeous, over the land. All eyes were turned towards the "Wellington," awaiting the expected signal to commence operations. Five divers in each boat were mounted on the gunwales, armed with their divingstones, nets, and ropes; the remaining five stood eagerly watching them. The Inspector was standing on the vessel's poop-the boatswain by his side, with the signal halyards in his hands. Minutes seemed hours. At last there was a move on deck, and the signal-flag rose slowly upwards; the unionjack fluttered in the morning breeze, and just as it touched the mast-head a thousand divers, with their stones and nets, plunged silently in the sea. I shall not easily forget the sensation I experienced when I saw the crowd of human beings sink, as by magic, in the depths below, leaving but a few bubbles to mark their downward path. I pulled out my watch; a minute elapsed and not one of all the thousand appeared; a minute and a quarter-a minute and a half -three-quarters-two minutes-still not a soul rose to the surface. I dreaded some fearful calamity. Two minutes and a quarter had flown; the drops of perspiration gathered thickly on my forehead; my hands trembled, so that I could scarce hold my watch. I turned to the Adapanaar in an agony of anxiety, but he was sitting calm and quiet as an oyster. How gladly my heart beat when I saw first a dozen heads and shoulders, then fifty, then five hundred and more, ascend to the surface, bubbling and spluttering, as well they might after such a submarine excursion. And then the bustle and excitement began in good earnest, on all sides. The boatmen helped to pull in the nets full of oysters: the divers, but little fatigued, climbed over the boats' sides, and saw their fish counted into distinct heaps by the Peon in charge of the boat. Each net appeared to have brought up from fifty to seventy oysters. As the last of the divers came over the boats' sides, the five hundred who had quietly waited their turn, rose up, and, with their nets and stones, plunged in as their comrades had before them, as rapidly and as silently.

The arrangements for diving are exceedingly simple:-the diving-stone is a piece of granite, conical-shaped, and weighing about ten pounds; through one end of it a double cord of coir is rove, of sufficient length to reach the bottom easily, one end of it being secured to the boat. When about to plunge in, the diver places his right foot on the stone and between the double cord, using it as a stirrup; the weight suffices to hasten his descent, and on arriving at the bottom, the stone is cast away and pulled up by the boatmen, so as to be clear of the net-rope: this rope is stouter and single. The diver seizes the hoop of the net firmly between the toes of his left foot-for the natives use their toes as actively as we do our fingersand when on the bank below, grasps the net in his left hand, flings himself flat on his face, and sweeps the oysters rapidly into his coir bag with his right hand. When he has secured sufficient fish, he gives his comrades above the signal by jerking the netrope; they immediately commence hauling it in. To give himself an impetus upwards, the diver lays hold of the net for a second or two, then raises his hands together above his head, and rapidly floats to the surface.

From the commencement of the diving, the old Shark-Charmer had stationed himself on the stern of the boat, which was in the centre of the fleet: occasionally he muttered a short prayer or charm, flourishing his long arms about in his accustomed manner; but at intervals he descended to sip something from a cocoa-nut shell bottle, doubtless to aid him in his exorcisms. During one of his potations, and about one hour before mid-day, we were suddenly startled by hearing a shrieking and howling in one of the distant boats, followed by a terrible commotion and loud cries of "The shark! the shark!" Our boat was immediately pulled to the scene of commotion, and there sure enough, one of those monsters of the deep had been at work. A poor diver was being pulled into the boat, lacerated, and bleeding profusely, the water all around being deeply tinged with blood. One leg was nearly severed from his body, and the pain had caused him to faint away. The alarm went rapidly round from boat to boat; the divers left the water, and it was soon evident that there would be no more fishing on