422 



THE XOETHERN FORESTS. 



[rAKT IX. 



Even dLU'iiijT; the doniiiiion of the Dutch, Bintenne 

 continued to be a place of dignity and importance; 

 they spoke of it as the " finest city in the island, with a 

 spacious palace belonging to the emperor." ^ It was in 

 tliis palace, that Spilberg was received in 1602 by one 

 of the queens of Kmg Senerat, at an interview, of which 

 the admiral has left a lively description.^ The town 

 now contains no memorials of its former greatness, 

 except a few carved stones that mark the site of ancient 

 edifices. 



By following a shady path for a few hundred yards 

 from the temple, we come upon a splendid view of the 

 MahaweUi-ganga and of the magnificent hill-country 

 from which it here emerges on the fertile plains, across 

 whose level it pursues its sohtary course to the sea. 

 Immediately belihid are the Kandyan Mountains, and 

 the ancient pass of Galle-pada-huUa, or the " path of 

 one thousand steps," ^ which led towards Kandy from 

 the now forgotten city of Meda-maha-neuera ; and to 

 the left tower the lofty hills of Oovah, presenting one 

 of the grandest imaginable examples of bold mountain 

 scenery. At our feet rolled the great river, now swollen 

 and turbulent from the recent rains ; its stream as broad 



^ Yalexttx, OkcI en Kicinv Oost- 

 Indien, ch. ii. p. 40. 



^ Spilbeeg, Voidf/e, SiT., toI. ii. p. 

 424. Spilberg speaks of tliis lady as 

 a daughter of the late King AVimala 

 Dhanua, " tille du feii Eoi tie Candy 

 qui etoit une des feninies du rcg- 

 iiaut." — Ibid., p. 42.5. If so, it must 

 have been a former wife, as Senerat 

 married his widow, the Queen Donna 

 Catharina." — See ante,Yo\. II. Pt. Ti. 

 ch. ii. p. 30. 



^ Tlio following description of this 

 singular pass as it existed in 181.3, 

 ■will sei"\-e to give an idea of the 

 strength of the " natm-al fortifica- 

 tions" by which the kings of Kandy 

 considered thcmsehes beyond the 

 risk of iuA-asion from the low 

 country. " Our first labour was an 



ascent up the Galle-pada-hulla Pass 

 by a path which I cannot otheiTX'ise 

 describe than by sapng that it was 

 the most abrupt and precipitous that 

 it has ever been my lot to see. Our 

 horses were not merely useless but 

 an encumbrance, from the extreme 

 hazard to which they were exposed ; 

 and it was only by the most laborious 

 efforts tluit we could prosecute our 

 jom-ney. After an ascent of about 

 four miles, bringmg us to an eleva- 

 tion of 4000 feet above the path we 

 had left, we supposed our difficulties 

 were ended ; but in this we were 

 mistaken, and the road Avas of the 

 same description, alternately ascend- 

 ing and descending all the way to 

 Kandy." — Ceowtuee's 3Imwnan/ 

 Notices, S)C., 1813. 



