TEMPLE ON ADAM'S PEAK.
"'When you stand all panting and exhausted on the summit, you find yourself on a little terrace surrounded by a low wall, and containing a temple which is held in place by iron chains that go over its roof. The temple itself is on a mass of rock at one side of the terrace, and inside of the temple is the famous sri-pada or footprint.
"'When you examine the footprint you cannot help thinking that Adam, or Buddha, or whoever stepped there, must have been a person of extraordinary size, as the print is about five feet long by two and a half in width. It is apparently a natural indentation in the rock, extended artificially to represent the shape of the human foot. There was formerly a cover of solid gold over the footprint, but it was lost long ago, and the only cover there at present is made of brass.
"'The pilgrimages of three classes of religionists are made to this temple—by Mohammedans and Malabar Christians in honor of Adam, and by Buddhists in honor of the founder of their religion. The three are often mixed together during the month of March, which is the time of the greatest number of visitors; but in spite of this mingling, and the opposite views professed by the pilgrims, there is no quarrelling, and all seem impressed with the solemnity of the place, and the magnificence of the view from the mountain. The panorama is a very fine one; the southern half of Ceylon lies before you like a map, and away in the distance you see the sunlight sparkling on a beach of shining sand, while beyond it the light plays on the waves of the ever-restless sea. The rivers wind through the plain like threads of silver in a rich carpet, and the breezes from the cinnamon groves and the flowers in perennial bloom bring delicious odors to your nostrils. The man who can look from the top of Adam's Peak, when the clouds have vanished and the great picture is spread before him, and not be impressed by the sight, must be made of something little better than the inanimate earth.
"'On the summit is a spring from which the pilgrims drink; occasionally leaves are found floating on the water of this spring, and the natives believe it has a connection with paradise, and that these leaves come from there. There is also a spring near Deabetine; the leaves that are found in it are thought to come from a garden that Adam established not far away, but anybody who tries to find it will never be allowed to return to his friends.
TROPICAL GROWTH NEAR RATNAPOORA.
"'There were two of us who made the ascent, accompanied by four local guides and servants to help us along. When we came back to Ratnapoora our men said we could return to the sea by the way of Caltura, by descending the Kalu River, as the current was swift and the journey would take only a short time. They procured us a boat which consisted of two hollow logs a few feet apart, and connected by a platform; on this platform we had a comfortable place to sit, while a couple of boatmen stood at bow and stern and managed the craft. We had several narrow escapes from being overturned in the rapids; but all went well, and we arrived safely at the great road where we took the coach for Colombo.'"
The letter was finished at a late hour in the evening, and soon after the closing words had been written the boys were snug in bed. The next morning they started for the return journey to Colombo; while descending one of the long hills between Newera-Ellia and the railway-station a part of the harness of their team gave way, and the coach was overturned on the very edge of a ravine where a brook rattled along a couple of hundred feet below. Had they gone two yards farther they would have tumbled down the whole distance and been dashed to pieces, and it is fair to believe the entire trio felt that they had had a very narrow escape. The driver told them that accidents were of rare occurrence, but he admitted that once in a while they had something of the sort. Of late years the road has been considerably improved by the authorities, but it is yet far from being complete.