valley into a reservoir, from which it is again
led through this arduous country until it at length reaches the land
which it is destined to render fertile.

There has been a degree of engineering skill displayed in forming
aqueducts through such formidable obstacles; the hills are lined out in
every direction with these proofs of industry, and their winding course
can be traced round the grassy sides of the steep mountains, while the
paddy-fields are seen miles away in the valleys of Ouva stretched far
beneath.

At least eight out of ten of these watercourses are dry, and the
masonry required in the sudden angles of ravines, has, in most cases,
fallen to decay. Even those water-courses still in existence are of
the second class; small streams have been conducted from their original
course, and these serve for the supply of the present population.

From the remains of deserted water-courses of the first class, it is
evident that more than fifty times the volume of water was then
required that is in use at present, and in the same ratio must have
been the amount of population. In those days rivers were diverted from
their natural channels; opposing hills were cut through, and the waters
thus were led into another valley to join a stream flowing in, its
natural bed, whose course, eventually obstructed by a dam, poured its
accumulated waters into canals which branched to various localities.
Not a river in those times flowed in vain. The hill-sides were terraced
out in beautiful cultivation, which are now waving with wild vegetation
and rank lemon grass. The remaining traces of stone walls point out
the ancient boundaries far above the secluded valley now in cultivation.

The nation has vanished, and with it the industry and perseverance of
the era.

We now arrive at the cause of the former importance of Newera Ellia, or
the "Royal Plains."

It has been shown that the very existence of the population depended
upon the supply of water, and that supply was obtained from the
neighborhood of Newera Ellia. Therefore, a king in possession of
Newera Ellia had the most complete command over his subjects; he could
either give or withhold the supply of water at his pleasure, by
allowing its free exit or by altering its course.

Thus, during rebellion, he could starve his people into submission, or
lay waste the land in time of foreign invasion. I have seen in an
impregnable position the traces of an ancient fort, evidentl