heavy silver-fringed clouds floating ab o u t; presently
these seemed to unite and form one sheet of brilliant
silver, gradually assuming rose and yellow tints, and
spreading over the entire sky, growing deeper and
richer in tone until the fiery orb has disappeared,
leaving the heavens enveloped in bright crimson and
gold, whilst to the east a rainbow in all its beauty
still lingers for a short space, when gradually all
disappears, and one seems to awake as from a dream..
Such sights are rare indeed.
We have now reached the elevated plateau upon
which Kandy is situated, 1,678 feet above the level
of the sea. The scenery becomes tamer, the trees
less lofty, even the palms look stinted compared
with those we have left behind, and here and there
huge black boulders heave in sight. We soon pass
a tall monument erected to the memory of Captain
Dawson, who was the surveyor of this magnificent
mountain-road, eventually utilized for the railway,
and who died at Colombo in 1829. There is a pretty
garden at the .station close by, gay with poinsettise
and rose bushes, an extraordinary contrast to the wild
scenery hitherto passed through.
At last we approached the old capital of Ceylon,
four hours after having quitted Colombo, and a very
pretty town it appeared to be as far as it was possible
to judge by the bright moonlight. Twilight does
not exist in the tropics, and had it not been for
Selene riding the heavens, we should have reached
our destination in utter darkness. At the Queens
hotel I arrived just in time for dinner; there were
many visitors, chiefly planters, and in the course of
the evening I was able to collect all the information
I required for further exploration of the island.
On the morning a beautiful sight presented itself
from my windows ; in front, a very large artificial lake
surrounded, as far as the eye could reach, by mountain
ranges of undulating outline, with huts and villas
scattered about along the water’s edge and m the
recesses of the lower slope; to the left the native
town running backwards, consisting almost entirely
of one long street, and parallel with it on the
other side, an excellent road lined with fruit trees,
which leads to the Botanical Garden. Skirting the
lake beyond the town is a handsome drive encircling
a large grass-plot; here a crowd of natives m
picturesque costumes was already moving about,
amongst them one or two Kandian chiefs in white
pantaloons, a gorgeous jacket with balloon-shaped
sleeves, and a large flat hat surmounted by a point ot
curious shape,-all waiting the sound of the gong
calling them to the famous Dalada temple, situated