full of fish, of which "no one takes any." At the bottom of the dell is a cleared space; in the centre of this is a square tank, or well, the sides of which are formed of blocks of stone, six or eight feet long. Beyond this, almost facing the descent, some twenty feet up the opposite mountain's side, is a cave. To this my companion and I forced our way through the jungle, and came to the conclusion, that this was the cave of Khizr, where, Batúta says, "the pilgrims leave their provisions, and whatever else they have, and then ascend about two miles to the top of the mountain, to the place of Adam's) foot." In the preceding sentence he says, "Near this [cave and on each side of

Now, no other place

the path, is a cistern cut in the rock." that we saw, or heard of,-and we were particularly minute in our inquiries,-answers to such a description. There are the two wells, and the cave; and the distance to the foot print is also pretty fairly estimated. Making due allowance for a few misplacements of positions, which old travellers, who more often than otherwise wrote from mere recollection, were prone to, the account Ibn Batuta gives of the route to the Peak, will in its general accuracy, bear

*

*It is quite possible that the route has been slightly varied since Ibn Batuta wrote. I am inclined to think that the path originally led direct to the dell above described, from some point lower down the ascent to Heramiṭapána, and that the ascent to the Peak was also made direct from it. Heramițipána is however a better situated and more healthy position for a pilgrim station.

comparison with that of any narrative of any writer of the age in which he lived.

*

The slopes of the mountain leading to Heramițipána are thickly clad with noble forest trees. The vegetation on the crest of the ridge, as well as the undergrowth amongst the trees, consists principally of several varieties of the Nilloo plant, which we found in full bloom in the month of September, when too, it is evidently a favorite food of some of the denizens of the forest, for the shrubs bore marks of having been browsed upon in all directions. The Datura arborea also added its quota of magnificent white gigantic trumpet-shaped flowers to the floral beauty of the spot; and the headman and interpreter pointed out to us other flowering plants, some of which are used by the natives for medicinal purposes; such as the Adátodá, the Agal-ádára, the Páwatta, and the Wata-hira.†

*The Nilloo (Strobilanthes) is a brittle jointed plant, well known in the mountain districts of Ceylon, where it formes a complete undergrowth in the forest. When in bloom the red and blue flowers with which it is covered are a singularly beautiful feature in the landscape, and are cagerly searched by the honey bees. Some species are said to flower only once in five, seven, or nine years; and after ripening their seed they die.

†The above are the native names. The Adátodá and the Agal-ádára, are species of the Malabar nut; the Pawatta is the Paretta indica, Willd., the Wata-hira, is a kind of hedge plant, the botanical name of which I am ignorant of.

Stopping at the station on our March excursion just sufficiently long to be able to get a cup of coffee, we started for the Sita-gangula, where we purposed bathing and breakfasting. Two of my companions, younger and lighter than L. and myself, soon shot ahead; but we found (and so did they) that the going down was a very different matter to the going up; then, it was only the lifting muscles that were brought into action, now it was the lowering ones, with the whole weight of our bodies to be sustained, at each descending step, upon our already strained ankles and troubled knees. With the perspiration streaming from every pore, and with feet swollen and inflamed, we hobbled and stumbled on our way, objects of compassion to many who passed us, and especially to one old sympathizing native-our benisons on his venerable head-who pausing to look at us for a few seconds, drew from his wallet a fine orange, and with a smile of encouragement handed us the refreshing fruit,—a gift we most gratefully accepted. By the time we arrived at the river, I was obliged to seek the assistance of a coolie, in addition to that of the alpenstock I grasped. Having resolved upon a bath here, we scrambled up the bare smooth rock in search of a convenient pool, out of sight of the pilgrims at the ford, and in so doing, I came to grief; for on passing one of the fissures between the boulders, my foot slipped, and down I went, feet first, into an ugly-looking hole filled with water, dragging my attendant coolie in with and upon me. Instinctively throwing my arms across the chasm, (about three feet wide), I brought myself up

when immersed to the waist, although I touched no bottom with my feet. The coolie quickly recovered himself and helped me out; but I slipped again at the first step I attempted, and this time went souse up to the arm-pits, receiving blows upon my elbows and knees which did not facilitate my after progress. Helped out again, I stripped off boots and socks, and made my way bare-foot to where my companions were disporting themselves; laughing merrily at my mishaps, which they had witnessed though a crevice between the rocks; an amusement in which I could not help joining, for the whole affair was irresistibly ludicrous. A brisk shampooing, combined with the bracing coldness of the waters, greatly revived us, and our subsequent breakfast on the rocks below was not the least relished meal of our trip. In a small stream which here joins the Síta-gangula, we observed some good-sized crabs, about four inches broad in the body, and were not a little amused at the voracity with which one seized with both claws the wing and breast bone of a fowl, and commer.ced tearing off with its mouth the fragment of flesh that had been left upon it.

The ascent from the river to the Dharma-rája-gala was comparatively easy work-a gentle shove behind from one of the following coolies being a most efficient upward help. When we reached the rock, an English-speaking Sinhalese who there overtook us, gravely declared that no two people could arrive at the same number in counting the steps, it being a standing miracle, ordained by Buddha, that their number should never be exactly known. Unbelievers as

we were, and one of our party having counted them on the journey up, we agreed, for the satisfaction of our informant, to count them again-our interpreter also counting with us. When we came to the bottom and compared notes, each one's count corresponded with the other's-exactly 130; a matter of fact which evidently exceedingly puzzled our casual acquaintance in the smart jacket and comboy.

After passing the ruined resthouse at Diyabetma, when near the site of Getanetul-gala ambalama, a beautiful view of the country below is obtained from an opening on the left of the path. The whole of Gilimalé lies mapped out before the eye, with glimpses of the Kalu-ganga meandering through its plains. Further on, at a lower elevation, on the right of the path, a similar view is obtained of the Kuruwiți valley, watered by the Kuru-ganga. But more welcome to our longing eyes than scenery, however beautiful or picturesque, was the rustic Nilihela ambalama, when we came within view of it. For our progress, slow from the first, had now become most painfully so. D. and G. had long since distanced L. and myself,-and gradually our pace had become reduced to that of a snail's gallop. The old man. who had made his 56th pilgrimage, decrepid from age, and bowed and bent with infirmity, was, with the help of his staff, and son and grandson, proceeding as fast as ourselves, and it became a question whether he or we would reach Palábaddala first, as we passed and repassed each other on the rocky path. He had gone on to the foot-print, while we stayed at Heramițipána, and had returned and recruited