whole towers the purple mass of Adam's Peak; and the eye rests in every
direction on the most luxuriant foliage, with verdurous glades, and
slopes carpeted with flowers.

Point de Galle presents a curious mixture of races. Cingalese,
Kanditons, Tamils from South India, and Moormen, with crimson caftans and
shaven crowns, form the bulk of the crowds that throng its streets; but,
besides these, there are Portuguese, Chinese, Jews, Arabs, Parsees,
Englishmen, Malays, Dutchmen, and half-caste burghers, and now and then a
veiled Arabian woman, or a Veddah, one of the aboriginal inhabitants of
the island. Sir Charles Dilke speaks of "silent crowds of tall and
graceful girls, wearing, as we at first supposed, white petticoats and
bodices; their hair carried off the face with a decorated hoop, and
caught at the back by a high tortoise-shell comb. As they drew near,
moustaches began to show, and I saw that they were men; whilst walking
with them were women naked to the waist, combless, and far more rough and
'manly' than their husbands. Petticoat and chignon are male institutions
in Ceylon."

* * * * *

Madame Pfeiffer, with unresting energy, visited Colombo and Kandy, the
chief towns of the island. At the latter she obtained admission to the
Temple of Dagoba, which contains a precious relic of the god
Buddha--namely, one of his teeth. The sanctuary containing this sacred
treasure is a small chamber or cell, less than twenty feet in breadth. It
is enveloped in darkness, as there are no windows; and the door is
curtained inside, for the more effectual exclusion of the light. Rich
tapestry covers the walls and ceiling. But the chief object is the
altar, which glitters with plates of silver, and is incrusted about the
edges with precious stones. Upon it stands a bell-shaped case about
three feet in height, and three feet in diameter at the base. It is made
of silver, elaborately gilt, and decorated with a number of costly
jewels. A peacock in the middle blazes with jewels. Six smaller cases,
reputed to be of gold, are enclosed within the large one, and under the
last is the tooth of Buddha. As it is as large as that of a great bull,
one trembles to think how monstrous must have been the jaw of the Indian
creed-founder!

[Native boat, Madras: page89.jpg]

* * * * *

Madame Ida Pfeiffer arrived at Madras on the 30th of October. She
describes the process of disembarkation; but as her details are few, and
refer t