we hardly paused until, in the
first swift gloom of sunset, we emerged on the grassy lawn of
Diabetne, beneath the very face of the cone.

"We had to rest for the night in the ruined _Ambulam_, as it is
called; and here, thoroughly tired but sleepless, I lay for some
hours and watched the innumerable stars creep out and crown that
sublime head which rose at first into a fathomless blue that was
almost black, and then as the moon swept up, flashed into unutterable
radiance. Nothing, I am told, can compare with the moonlight of
Ceylon, and I can well believe it. That night I read clearly once
again by the light of its rays my father's manuscript, that no point
in it should escape my memory; then sank down upon my rugs and slept
an uneasy sleep.

"In an hour or two, as it seemed, I was awakened by Peter, who shook
me and proclaimed it time to be stirring if we meant to see the
sunrise from the summit. The moon was still resplendent as we
started across the three miles or 'league of heaven' that still lay
between us and the actual cone. This league traversed, we plunged
down a gully and crossed a stream whose waters danced in the silver
moonlight until the eyes were dazzled, then swept in a pearly shower
down numberless ledges of rock. After this the climb began in good
earnest. After a stretch of black forest, we issued on a narrow
track that grew steeper at every step. The moon presently ceased to
help us here, so that my guides lit torches, which flared and cast
long shadows on the rocky wall. By degrees the track became a mere
watercourse, up which we could only scramble one by one. So narrow
was it that two men could scarcely pass, yet so richly clothed in
vegetation that our torches scorched the overhanging ferns.
Peter led the way, and I followed close at his heels, for fear of
loose stones; but every now and then a crash and a startled cry from
Paul behind us told us that we had sent a boulder flying down into
the depths. Beyond this and the noise of our footsteps there was no
sound. We went but slowly, for the labour of the day before had
nearly exhausted us, but at length we scrambled out into the
moonlight again upon a rocky ledge half-way up the mountainside.

"Here a strong breeze was blowing, that made our heated bodies
shiver until we were fain to go on. Casting one look into the gulf
below, deepened without limit in the moonlight, we lit fresh torches
and again took to the path. Before we h