In the March 1st issue of the Revue des Deux-Mondes, Jules Leclercq publishes a very interesting study of Ceylon under British rule. His description of the island is full of charm. He calls it "the jewel of the southern seas".

It was with great interest, therefore, that we perused the captivating study by M.Leclercq, who will allow us to relate something of it here: "Ceylon," he says, "is the magical land at the very heart of this equinoctial zone, where so many marvellous civilizations have flourished. Ceylon is the East Indies in a nutshell. Brahmins called it "the shining island". Buddhist priests compared it to "a pearl on the forehead of India". The Chinese called it the "Island of Jewels". The Greeks wrote of it as "the land of the hyacinth and the ruby". The Mohammedans assigned it to our first parents as "a new Eden, to console them for the loss of Paradise". Finally, European navigators recounted that the "breezes that passed over Ceylon brought its perfumes to the open sea".