from any strong feeling adverse to loyalty.
They would also enable the authorities to
materially abridge the amount of specie kept in
the local treasuries, which, in the outbreak
of 1857, offered so powerful a temptation to the
troops. They would, moreover, be a strong
inducement to our countrymen to carry money
about with them, as many now do in. Calcutta,
where the notes of the Bank of Bengal are in
circulation, and so prevent that habitual running
up of accounts which plays all kinds of unpleasant
things with limited incomes. But there is
no reason why the rupee should not still take
the same part in the circulation which the florin
is taking in this country, to the exclusion of the
old half-crown, and no reason why this advantage
should not be retained in conjunction with both
a gold and a paper currency.

THREE SIMPLE MEN OF THE EAST.

THE following story was heard by its
present narrator, in Ceylon:

In Kandy, during the days of the Kandyan
kings of the Island of Ceylon, on a pleasant,
cool December evening, three strong men were
sitting in a rest-house, or amblemmay—that is,
a small open building raised for the benefit of
travellers by some pious person, in accordance
with the saying of Buddha, that the gods
reward such works of charity.

As the men sat in, the glow of the sunset,
a middle-aged widow, in deep mourning, came
by. The three men rose and bowed to her.
She also made a bow to them.

"That bow was for me," said one of the men.
"No," said the second, "it was mine." "No,"
said the third, "it was to me she bowed." They
quarrelled over the matter for some time, but
at last agreed that it would be better to run as
fast as they could after the widow, and ask her
to which of them she bowed. They did so,
reached her out of breath, gasped at her their
question, and the only answer they got was,
"To the greatest simpleton among you."

Then they returned to the rest-house calmly,
but only to quarrel again.

"Did I not tell you," said one, "that she
bowed to me? I am the greatest simpleton
here." "No," said each of the other two, "I am
more of a simpleton than you." They quarrelled
thus for some time, and, from words coming to
blows, they fought till they were stopped by the
police, who locked them up for the night in separate
cells, and carried them next day before a
judge. The judge, having heard the cause of
dispute, called upon one of the men to produce
evidence for his claim to be so great a simpleton.

"My lord," said he, "when I was about
eighteen years old, my father and mother set
eyes on a young woman whom they chose to be
my wife. They thought she would be faithful,
industrious, and thrifty. She was expected, also,
to inherit a few fields. She was of the same
caste as ourselves, and of good family.
Proposals, therefore, were made and accepted, and,
soon afterwards, according to the custom of the
country, I had to visit my future mother-in-law,
at whose house, though not allowed to do so by
the strict rules of society, yet, by some
contrived chance, my intended wife would show her
face to me. I had far to travel, and, starting at
mid-day, arrived late in the evening, when I was
most cordially received, and most kindly
requested to stay for the night, and return home
next day. To this I consented, with all seeming
reluctance, although it had been the object of
my journey, and I was fully persuaded that a
glance at my future partner in the cool of the
morning, would be better than one in the dusk
of the evening. I had an excellent dinner, and
slept soundly under a roof which I already
regarded as my own. In the morning I awoke
refreshed, and went out of doors to wash
myself as usual. I found, of course, awaiting me,
a brazen pot full of water for washing my face,
hands, and feet, as well as a piece of wood charcoal
for cleaning my teeth. I finished my
ablutions soon, and, on looking back, observed a
beautiful young woman, who sat at some distance
from me, washing rice for our morning meal.
Her embarrassed air, and some smiles which
stole over her face almost against her will, easily
told me that she was my betrothed; and I, in
defiance of our customs, quietly went near, and
spoke to her, as there was nobody in sight. She
was not so shy as to leave her work and run
away, but stayed, and returned short modest
answers to my questions. At length, I went
very close to her, tapped her on the shoulder,
and playfully taking up a handful of the rice
she was washing, had just put it into my mouth,
when, to our utter confusion, her mother made
her appearance. I quickly removed myself to a
respectable distance, but had not time to bite
or swallow the rice, and so was obliged to keep
it between my gums and cheek. This showed
as a lump, which my mother-in-law who was to
be most unfortunately mistook for a gum-boil.

"'Ah! how are you this morning?' said she.
'You have got a gum-boil.' 'Yes,' answered
I, 'but it does not give me any pain at present,
so I intend to leave it alone till it forms matter.'
'You should not do that, child,' continued she;
'you should get it cured immediately. I shall
send for a doctor.' 'No,' said I, in bitter
desperation, ' we have a very good doctor
practising near our village. I shall, as soon as I
reach home, put myself under his care.' But
my evasions and excuses could not baffle her
officiousness. The doctor was sent for, and,
until he came, she lectured me on the evil of
permitting any sickness to come to a head, and
now and then she felt my gum-boil. The doctor
at length arrived, and he also examined it. He
pronounced it to be one of a very malignant
sort, but curable. Now, during all this time my
officious mother-in-law had her eye on my cheek,
and I had committed myself so far that I could
not undeceive her. Shame at confession of a
falsehood, as well as the fear of exposing my
previous indiscretion, alike kept me silent. I
sat mute with astonishment at the position to