I more than once heard a great scuffle going on over my bedroom,
which generally ended in a little squeak, indicating that the snake
had killed, and was about to eat, his prey. One of the snakes came out
one day in front of my window, and hung down two or three feet from
the roof. If I had not been previously assured that he was perfectly
harmless, it would have been rather an alarming apparition in the
dark, and, even as it was, I must confess that for a moment I did feel
rather frightened as I watched him spying about, darting his forked
tongue in and out, and looking quite ready for a spring at my face.
_Thursday, April 5th_.--Another early start by the seven o'clock train
to Colombo. We were very sorry to say good-bye to our kind host, and
when we took our departure, we were quite laden with flowers, good
wishes, and messages for mutual friends in England. It was rather a
hot journey down, and the train seemed full, but the scenery was
lovely. As we approached Colombo the heat became greater, and in the
town itself it was almost insupportable.
We breakfasted at the hotel in the fort, where we were joined by Tom.
There is one very curious thing about the hotels here. The
sitting-rooms are all two stories high, with pointed raftered roofs.
The bedrooms are only screened off from each other, and from the
central room, by partitions eight or ten feet high, so that you can
hear everything going on from end to end of the building.
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