roads being deep with mud and the rivers impassable.
This was no small disappointment, but I was not to
be deterred by obstacles I had often overcome in
India, and started on my formidable journey, merely
taking extra precautions by way of stout ropes and a
few poles.
The difficulties of the road were indeed immense,
and on several occasions I had to walk some miles,
often through swamps, to obtain assistance from the
nearest hut or village. The whole country seemed
to be flooded, and the jungle teemed with leeches,
barely an inch long, which continually crept up my
legs, causing incessant irritation. Altogether I found
the obstacles much greater than I had anticipated; they,
in fact, hourly increased as I proceeded, frequently
through dense forests, where seldom the human voice
was heard. Here also those enormous tree-like creepers
(Butea superba) frequently intercepted my path.
The entire distance between Kandy and Anarajapore,
due north, is about. 90 miles, and there is another
buried town “ Pollanarua ” lying far to the east.
A few rest-houses are scattered about along the route,
although at considerable distances; still they offer
shelter during the night, if nothing else.
In the centre of the island there is a succession of
mountains for a distance of about 1 0 0 miles stretching
from Adam’s peak northward. My road, however,
ran along their base, thus avoiding much fatigue,
but, on the other hand, suffering very severely from
the superabundance of water.
By the evening of the first day I got as far as
Matale, only sixteen miles from Kandy, now reached by
railway ; here I passed the night, and on the following
day I managed somewhat better by making twenty-nine
miles, reaching Damboul late in the evening. Some eight
centuries ago this had been the capital of the Singhalese,
but long before that it had been a very important
town, and its famous cave-temple, which is said to
be nearly 2 , 0 0 0 years old, seems to prove as much.
The entrance to the latter confirms the great skill
employed upon religious monuments at th a t early
period. Its porch is flanked by two massive pillars
of almost Doric simplicity and of excellent proportions,
and is surrounded by some good carving in the solid
rock, representing figures of Buddha, with two large
statues, one on each side in a recess; of these latter,
however, little remains. This entrance led into the
temple where a platform had once supported the
sitting figure of Buddha. The present Vihara, or
monastery, which is attached to all Buddhist temples,
is of a much more recent date and built of brick,
covered with cement.