vertically with alternate stripes of black and silver from head to tail; the other smaller and more slender, of a dusky brown colour with a longitudinal black stripe on either side. Both were bold and fearless, and swarmed about us when we rested, pecking at our limbs with their mouths, and producing a sensation as if we were being pricked with a multitude of blunt pins. Their elegance of form and beauty of colour should make them valuable acquisitions to aquariums, as much so as the Chinese gold and silver fishes, to which one kind seems to be allied. On the opposite side of the plain, running south, and forming its western boundary, flows the Kalu-ganga,-here, at the Gilímalé Parapa-totupola, very picturesque and sylvan, with a fine shelving sandy bed,-a stream altogether to be preferred to bathe in; with its gentle windings, shady banks o'erhung with trees, and placid waters, which "to their resting place serene Came freshening and reflecting all the scene To sport by summer moons had shaped it for themselves " CAMPBELL. The Bandára family came originally from the Maritime Provinces. The cause of their settlement in Gilímalé, we were informed, was as follows.-The grandson of RájaSinha II., King Srí Wíra Prákrama Neréndra Sinha, the last of the Sinhalese born sovereigns of Ceylon, who reigned A. D. 1685-1707, was considerably addicted to drinking, and apt, when in his cups, to resolve upon strange freaks. He was nevertheless, from a Buddhist point of view, a pious monarch, who devoutly repaired and endowed viháras, and otherwise benefited Buddhism and Buddhist priests. One day, when on a visit to Sítáwaka, he took it into his head to wish for a light to be exhibited on the universally supposed inaccessible summit of the mountain Kunudiyaparvate. None of the Kandians would make the attempt, whereupon one Bandára, from Págoda, a village near Cotta, undertook the task, and after spending much time and overcoming many difficulties, succeeded. The king saw the light, and royally rewarded Bandára with grants of land: these lands his descendants still retain. After breakfast, to which our liberal host added plantains, oranges, curdled milk, and a variety of curries, we indulged in a few hours' rest, and did not resume our journey until 31 P. M. Then, divesting ourselves of sundry articles of dress, such as coats, waistcoats and neck-tyes, and grasping light tough sticks some five feet long, courteously presented to us by our host, we went on our way, as light hearted and merry--and I may add, in our purple, plaid, crimson and grey woollen shirts, varied-shaped pith and felt head-gear, and dissimilar cut and coloured nether garments-as picturesque a quartette of pilgrims as ever trode the pilgrim's path in that or any other direction. One of our number, armed with a double barrelled gun, was to sporting 1 tastes inclined, but the number of pilgrims journeying to and fro had made both bird and beast shy of the road we were taking, and sport we had none; an occasional shot or two, however, awoke the echoes of the woodland wilds, and reverberated amongst the mountains that rose on either side of us with a grand and sometimes startling effect. From Gilímalé to Palábaddala, where we purposed sleeping, a distance of six miles, the country begins to assume a more rugged and mountainous appearance; the ascents becoming higher and steeper, and the descents deeper and more difficult; the route in fact traversing some of the outlying spurs of mountains, into a chain of which we were penetrating. Shortly after leaving Bandára Mahatmaya's Walawwa, we came to the Tuntota ferry, which crosses the Hatulaganga; here, at its junction with the Kalu ganga, a broad and rapid, but somewhat shallow stream, overhung with clumps of the tall gracefully waving feathery bambu, and the wide-spread branches of many a noble forest tree. Proceeding onwards through a well wooded country, we crossed the Pahalewala édanda, and the Saman watte ella,-so called, because the land through which the ella flows belongs to the Saman Déwálé. Four low hills followed, from 60 to 100 feet in height, at the bases of which flow 'dolas' of various names. We were now upon the bank of the rushing Maskeliya-ganga. A bridge was being constructed over *Maskeliya,' playing of the fishes. the river in lieu of the old rocky ford,-a difficult passage at best, and at times decidedly dangerous. The site of the bridge was some distance above the ford; a huge precipitous boulder formed a natural abutment on one side, and a masonry one had been built to correspond on the other. The river, rushing from the north down a mountain gorge, strikes and ponds up against a mass of rock that causes it to make an abrupt bend to the west. In making the bend, close to the right of the bridge, it swells into a deep lake-like pool, the waters of which swarm with plump, inky coloured fish, about 18 inches long, with large well defined scales. They were called by the natives oropulle, and were said to be unfit for food; this however is not the case, unless it be at special seasons; but it is certain they are not held in estimation, and are but rarely eaten. This particular part of the river is called Nána-wala, the king Srí Wikrama Raja Sinha, the last of the Kandian sovereigns, having used it as a bathing place. The bridge was about 60 feet in length, in two spans of 30 feet each, supported in the centre by wooden piles: its height above the water was about 30 feet. Coming up to this, and observing that in its then state one half consisted of but two round untrimmed trunks of iron wood trees, between two and three feet apart, and the other of two similarly placed trees, roughly squared; and that the only side support was a loose swinging hand-rail of jungle cane, I paused in dismay, not perceiving the ford, about a hundred yards lower down, and not at all relishing the necessity for venturing along so perilous looking a path. On the opposite side however, numbers of pilgrims were assembled, who had all crossed in safety, and my companions, all more or less accustomed to such matters, encouraging me to make the attempt, on I went, hardly daring to lift one foot after the other, until I reached the squared timber, when I breathed more freely, and in a second or two felt myself wonderfully relieved, as I again trod the solid earth. From the bridge a short ascent led to a patch of comparatively level ground, perhaps 100 feet above the level of the sea, where we were overtaken by a smart shower, and gladly availed ourselves of the shelter of a boutique on the wayside, until it had passed away. The characteristic features of the scenery from the right bank of the Maskeliya-ganga, where we crossed the stream, differ considerably from those we left behind us on our way from Gilímalé. There, it was open, undulatory, park like; and "from the many jessamines, from the various orange flowers, from the citron and lime, from the areka, from innumerable plants and flowering trees arise divers perfumes, which blended in the morning dew and wafted on the early breeze, afforded the most delicate and exquisite fragrance. Here, it was the rising base of a mountain range thickly clothed with magnificent forest trees, straight as pines, and from fifty to seventy feet in height. Gigantic creepers. * Major FORBES' Eleven Years in Ceylon, vol. i. p. 167. T |