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PILGRIMAGE TO LANKA 63

Mahæ Seng and the Sæma◊era Chang hardly supported the rolling of the ship ;
Taken by nausea and dizziness, they could not keep still. (Verse 84)

A brief description of the ship was also given :

A long explanation was necessary
For those who had never travelled or who did not know.
The ship that we have embarked on was very big,
It measured 20 fathoms wide and more than 100 fathoms in length. (Verse 87)

Life on the ship was subject to the rules that every traveller was required to

follow, particularly anything related to hygiene. The monks discovered for the first time
the sanitary measures adopted by Westerners and it was for them a not pleasant experi-
ence, but they recognized them as necessary to avoid any contagion.

On the ship, everything was for sale. There were a physician in the clinic
And security was provided by the police, under the authority of a superintendent.
We were called every day for an auscultation
To avoid any risk of contagion. (Verse 88)

The crew of the ship, especially the Chief and his braids, made a nice impres-
sion on the monks. They discovered, for the first time, a world that they were far from
imagining.

He used to give us instructions that we should remember.
He was called “ Captain ”, as I said.
Thirties, he was white, strong and handsome.
The officers differed by their ranks and all of them had an imposing presence.
(Verse 90)

Besides the hygiene, security measures were drastic, because an incident could
arise at any time. Such a discipline did not fail to mark the narrator, who noted meticu-
lously all he saw.

Guards were positioned on all sides
Fearing that giant waves could fall down on ship.
At the sight of one of them, they fired the cannon,
To burst it and then allow the ship to move forward. (Verse 91)

In the text, gigantic fish were mentioned, which we translated as “ whales ”, as

these monsters of the seas were very numerous at the beginning of the twentieth century.
But to say that Næga, mythical creatures similar to snakes, and that crocodiles, animals
of freshwater, could constitute a danger to the ship, indicates that the monks had a vague
concept of the world which surrounded them.