41 o Voyage of the Novara. 



worn, the stones being rubbed quite smooth. Under the damp 

 shade of the forest are found a vast quantity of the most beau- 

 tiful ferns and Zycopodium (Club-moss ; or Wolf's-claw, as it is 

 called in Sweden, whence the Linneean name) ; from the delicate 

 beauty of the Jungermania (Star-tip), to the tree-like fern, 

 Filius PhyllophisidoSy which vies with the giants of the forest. 

 The more deeply shaded spots are adorned here with beautiful 

 balsams, a genus of plants which, besides being unusually 

 luxuriant and beautiful in this district, exhibits certain pecu- 

 liarities of form not usually met with. 



At one place, called Nihilabellagalla, there was pointed out 

 to us, at a few paces to the side of the road, near a rugged pro- 

 jecting rock with a steep declivity in front, a narrow valley 

 which seemed to be closed in by perpendicular walls of rock 

 on the opposite side. This cul de sac, we were informed, was 

 a favourite resort of numerous wild elephants. A shot fired 

 at this point, with the gun directed towards the rocks opposite, 

 returned a thundering echo. 



By 4 P.M. the last halt, or resting-place, was reached, 

 above which the singular-looking cone towers sheer overhead, 

 some 500 or 600 feet high. The vapours which, during the 

 entire day, had been playing about the summit, from time to 

 time lifted like a veil, as though to indulge us with an oppor- 

 tunity of beholding this sublime mountain-peak under the 

 magical effect of twilight. Our native retinue, which had 

 gathered fresh accessions of strength at every place we passed, 

 and now consisted of from 24 to 30 persons, showed no in- 



