rly for the cry of the hounds, and at
length discovering portions of the country which I had never known to
exist.

There is a great pleasure in thus working out the features of a wild
country, especially in an island like Ceylon, which, in every portion,
exhibits traces of former prosperity and immense population. Even
these uninhabited and chilly regions, up to an elevation of seven
thousand feet, are not blank pages in the book of Nature, but the hand
of man is so distinctly traced that the keen observer can read with
tolerable certainty the existence of a nation long since passed away.

As I before mentioned, I pitched my settlement on the verge of the
highland, at the eastern extremity of the Newera Ellia plain, where the
high road commences a sudden descent toward Badulla, thirty-three miles
distant. This spot, forming, a shallow gap, was the ancient native
entrance to Newera Ellia from that side, and the Cingalese designation
for the locality is interpreted "the Path of a Thousand Princes." This
name assists in the proof that Newera Ellia was formerly of some great
importance. A far more enticing name gives an interest to the first
swampy portion of the plain, some three hundred paces beyond, viz.,
"the Valley of Rubies."

Now, having plainly discovered that Newera Ellia was of some great
importance to the natives, let us consider in what that value
consisted. There are no buildings remaining, no ruins, as in other
parts of Ceylon, but a liquid mine of wealth poured from these lofty
regions. The importance of Newera Ellia lay first in its supply of
water, and, secondly, in its gems.

In all tropical countries the first principle of cultivation is the
supply of water, without which the land would remain barren. In a
rice-growing country like Ceylon, the periodical rains are
insufficient, and the whole system of native agriculture depends upon
irrigation. Accordingly, the mountains being the reservoirs from which
the rivers spring, become of vital importance to the country.

The principal mountains in Ceylon are Pedrotallagalla, eight thousand
two hundred and eighty feet; Kirigallapotta, seven thousand nine
hundred; Totapella, eight thousand feet; and Adam's Peak, seven
thousand seven hundred; but although their altitude is so considerable,
they do not give the idea of grandeur which such an altitude would
convey. They do not rise abruptly from a level base, but they are
merely the loftiest of a thousa