Page:The empire and the century.djvu/753

 by the archæological department show that the five acres on the summit, which can now only be reached by ladders, were covered with well-constructed and ornamented buildings, while ample attention had been paid to the questions of water and sanitation. The frescoes then painted in a gallery that is now reached by a perpendicular wire-rope ladder, which hangs 8 feet from the overhanging side of the rock, are perfectly fresh, and after an exposure of 1,500 years show clearly the dresses and jewelled ornaments of the royal ladies there depicted with their attendants. In 1898 the Emperor of China sent an expedition to Ceylon, which captured and carried away to China all the members of the reigning family, who were kept in confinement for a number of years, until at length the Emperor chose a King from among them, and sent him back to resume the kingdom.

In 1505 Western civilization first made a permanent settlement by means of the Portuguese, who landed by arrangement with the King of Cotla, and thirteen years later built a fort at Colombo. In 1658 Manaar was taken by the Dutch, who ultimately ousted the Portuguese, and continued in possession of the maritime provinces until 1796, when Colombo surrendered to the British.

In 1808 hostilities began against the independent kingdom of Kandy, and in 1815 the Kandyan kingdom was acquired rather by invitation of the inhabitants, who revolted from the atrocious cruelties of the King, Raja Singa, than by conquest. And fix)m that date begins the history of the island as an important portion of the glorious Empire, of which the island forms one of the most prosperous and exquisitely beautiful units.

Ceylon lies between 5° 55' and 9° 51' N. latitude. The island north of 7° 30' is quite flat, with an average rainfall of about 89 inches, of which nearly four-fifths falls between October and January, and a mean annual temperature of 81° This average temperature is almost identical all round the littoral, and the south-east of the