600 TIIK KriXEl) CITIES. [Part X. 



CHAP. 11. 



AIINERY A^AKUAPOOEA — AXD THE AVEST COAST. 



A day's ride under the shade of the forest brought us 

 from Topare to tlie beautiful artificial Lake of Minery, 

 passmg on om- Avay the tank of Girentalla, wliich, but 

 for the vicuiity of the " inland sea," by whicli it is 

 echpsed, would be regarded as one of the wonders of 

 the island. Universal acclaim pronounces Minery, and 

 the surrounding scenery, to be the most charming sylvan 

 spot in Ceylon. The reservoir is upwards of twenty 

 miles in circumference ; but, as it hes embayed at the 

 confluence of numerous valleys, separated by low and 

 wooded steeps, no pouit upon its margin commands a 

 view of its entu^e expanse. The whole scene, the hills, 

 the hanging woods, and the glassy waters of the lake, 

 seemed to my mind hke visions of Killarney, warmed 

 and illumined by an eastern sun. The level land, where 

 it approached the lake, waved with luxmiant grass, so 

 high that it almost hid the horsemen ; and the shallows 

 were so profusely covered by the leaves and flowers of the 

 lotus as to conceal the still water. 



We rode for a mile along the great embankment, 

 which, although overgrown with lofty trees, remains 

 nearly perfect, and the ancient conduit still gives issue 

 to the pent-up flood that, after fertilising a considerable 

 area, flows m a broad stream to the MahaweUi-oano-a. 



' Co 



We halted for the night in a rest-house, near the resi- 

 dence of tlie head man of the village, close by a little 

 temple consecrated to the memory of the inthvidual by 

 whom the tank was constructed. 



Tills national benefactor was no other than the apos- 



