18. A LETTER FROM CEYLON.


1. MY DEAR CHILDREN,--A week ago I landed in the beautiful island of
Ceylon. It lies to the south of India. Get mother to show it to you on
the globe.

2. I am still under the British flag, the Union Jack. I can see it
waving from the top of a big building. The people of Ceylon are proud to
call themselves British.

3. I have just been for a ride through the streets of the chief town. I
rode in a rickshaw--that is, a kind of large baby-carriage drawn by a
man. My rickshaw had rubber on its wheels, so we went along very
smoothly and quickly.

[Illustration: {Rickshaw with passenger}]

4. Some of the carts are drawn by little bullocks that trot along as
fast as a pony. I often meet carts with a high cover of thatch. These
carts carry the tea, which grows on the hills, down to the ships in the
harbour.

5. Some of the men of Ceylon wear tortoise-shell combs in their hair.
They are very proud of these combs, and some of them are very handsome.

[Illustration: {Ceylon family--a man, a woman, and two babies}]

6. The children of Ceylon seem very happy. They are pretty and clean,
and always obey their parents. Many of them learn to speak and read