previous season, he, or his supporters, had made a foray upon the temple, and succeeded in carrying away the offerings, which are, in the aggregate, of considerable value. To prevent a similar procedure this season, the law had been appealed to, and by order of the District Judge, the value of all the offerings must be paid into Court, until the right to them of one or other of the claimants has been legally decided.* Notwithstanding all our wraps and rugs, the cold was so intense that we shivered again, and our teeth rattled together like castanets: so that we joy fully welcomed the appearance of a fire, and watched with an unwonted interest the preparations made for boiling a caldron of rice conjee. Priest, policeman, pilgrims, interpreter, coolies, and all connected with our party, crowded into the small rooms, whose bare mud walls and low roof reminded one of an Irish cabin; a resemblance heightened in its effect by the crooning way in which, with coat collars turned up about our ears, and rugs drawn over our heads, we huddled together over the difficult-to-be-kindled and slow-burning embers, and stoically endured the eye-smarting, sneeze-exciting, larynx-irritating, cough causing smoke they emitted, for the sake of the warmth which gradually began to temper the biting keenness of the surrounding atmosphere. *Through the obliging courtesy of the learned Advocate of the Supreme Court, Mr. C. L. Ferdinands, one of the leading Counsel engaged in the case, I am enabled to give, in Appendix J, some interesting documents relating to the mode of appointment, and succession to the office of Chief-priest of the Peak. The water for the cooking was brought from the well(some say spring, but I doubt the possibility of there being a spring at such an elevated point far above all immediate surrounding mountain tops)-a little distance northwest of, and about thirty feet below the terrace wall. This water is said to possess many and peculiar properties, and is held in as much repute by pilgrims as is the precious water from the holy well Zem-zem at Mecca by every hadji amongst the faithful and turbaned Islamites. In due course the conjee was ready and handed round: and what with it, and the fires, about which we sat and stood, and the smoke which filled the rooms, we at last regained something like our natural warmth, and began to feel ourselves again. We had just resolved upon lying down, as best we might, for a sleep, when a messenger came to say that the house was wanted for the accommodation of the family of the Ratémahatmayá of Kuruwițí Kóralé, who had just made the ascent; and out we had to turn, which we did willingly enough, for ladies, young and old, were now the parties to be accommodated. This Ratémahatmayá, an able, active and intelligent Kandian Chief, was educated at the Colombo Academy, and is believed to be a Christian, although his family are Buddhists; his presence therefore appeared more that of the natural protector of his family, than as a co-worshipper with them.* He offered to obtain for our use the *An appu once told his master, apologetically, that he went on pilgrimage to the Kelani vilára aud dágoba, "to please the womans." priests' house on the Peak, but this we would not consent to. Returning therefore once more to the terrace, we stationed ourselves near the entrance at the southern angle, and watched the companies of pilgrims as they came up. The ascent from the bambu shed at the Ehela-kanuwa is usually made without a pause; the peril appearing so great that any check, allowing a glance around or beneath, might bring on giddiness and result in fatal falls.* Many, if not most of the women were completely worn out with fatigue by the time they had attained this point; they had therefore to be assisted up the acclivity by their male companions, who hauled them on to the terrace, and bore them, faint and utterly exhausted, to the nearest shrine, where they bent them down and forced them to make the requisite prostrations, and then carried them, all senseless as they weresome in death-like swoons--to be recovered by the care and * Under ordinary circumstances, weather permitting, any one with a cool head and steady nerves, may go up and down these cliffs with perfect safety. But accidents do sometimes occur, though happily but rarely. Major Forbes mentions, that in 1815, "several natives were blown over the precipice, and yet continued clinging to one of the chains during a heavy gust of wind; but in such a situation, no assistance could be rendered, and they all perished." And Dr. Davy was informed, that only a fortnight before his visit to the Peak, in April 1817, two natives looking down the precipice," became giddy, and frightened, fell, and were dashed to pieces." In April, 1869, three natives were said to be blown down the precipice by the force of a fierce storm that then came on; and it was alleged, that at the same time several others perished from fatigue, and the intensity of the cold to which they were exposed. attention of their friends, wherever they could find a vacant space to go to. The heavens above us were clear, the stars were shining bright, and the glorious full-orbed moon was scarcely past the zenith. From the Peak, ablaze with light, to the Heramitipána station, similarly lighted up, the whole of the pilgrims' path was filled as it were with a living chain of fire, connecting the two points together, and formed by the torches of the multitudes going to and fro. On our right, to the north, above, and beyond Heramiṭipána, towered Unudiya, the gigantic rocky Alp that crowns the Kunudiyaparvaté; to our left, and almost rivalling in height the mountain just mentioned, was the Bena Samanala. These, with the Peak on which we stood, sublimest of them all, rose sharp and distinct, from two to three thousand feet above the clouds, which like an immense plain of snow, with irregular rifts blown into fantastic shapes along the level, hid all below from view. The mother-of-pearl tint of the apparent plain, the moon-lighted tops of the fleecy rifts, the darkened shade of their caverned sides, and the shadows they threw upon the motionless mantle of cloud and mist thus suspended in mid-air, and spread westwards to an illimitable distance, was a spectacle that once seen can never be forgotten, and well illustrated the inspired assertion of the Royal Psalmist, that "the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handywork." The wonderful beauty of this scenery of the skies did not however prevent us from noticing what was going on around. On the Ratémahatmaya's family coming up to view the foot-print, one of their retinue unceremoniously swept from off the altar-table the whole of the floral offerings previously placed there, and pitched them over the terrace wall, in order to make room for those his party were about to present. The chief himself seemed to take little heed of anything but the welfare of the ladies of his family, the younger members of which were evidently greatly interested, and not a little amused, by the novelty of all they saw. They were welcomed by the musicians with a special burst of wild discords, improvised to do them honor in the presence of the assembled crowd. The night had considerably advanced, and the east,— hitherto bounded by the dark mountain ranges whose outlines broke black against the deep blue sky,-began to shew indications that day-break was at hand. The cloudless blue paled into grey, The red grew crimson, then aflame With brighter brightness all became, While dawn and dayspring spread. As the advancing light became more and more diffused, the mountain chains of the central zone grew more distinct, and the stars above grew dimmer and yet more dim. Then, heralding the advent of the sun from his tabernacle at the end of the heavens, the morning star arose from behind |