Ceylon Past and Present (Hurst and Blackett, illustrated, 21s.), by
Major Enriquez, furnishes, in the somewhat ugly formalism of 416 numbered paragraphs, a digested account of the geology, human history, zoology (especially of butterflies), and a general description of Ceylon. The leading features in the book are the description of the numerous and magnificent monuments which are so closely connected with the island's history, and the emphasis it lays on the importance of the introduction of Buddhism in the third century B.C., "an event that has profoundly influenced the destinies of Southern Asia." Major Enriquez trails a rather provocative coat in asserting that "Nationalism in the East, of course, is pt rly a political stunt," and he might note that the Portuguese conqueror of Ceylon was named Almeida and not Almedia.
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