JAUNTS IN THE JUNGLE. 121 



splendid pass of Kadaganarva, before they run the Cey- 

 lon Railway up it (at a gradient of two feet in one), and 

 a thousand other places, whose precipitous grandeur, 

 covered to the very apex with the most luxuriant and 

 varied foliage imaginable, makes them more beautiful 

 than any hitherto-explored scenery transmitted to 

 us through continent tourists and copper-plate. 



A series of Ceylon views would doubtless be an "im- 

 mense hit," and I hereby (at the risk of advertise- 

 ment duty) take the opportunity of offering my ser- 

 vices to do all the " statistical, political, social, and 

 moral" part of the business, for the consideration of 

 half the profits of the work. 



It must have been its picturesque scenic beauty that 

 originally impressed people with the belief that Ceylon 

 was the veritable site of the "real original" Garden 

 of Eden, which is perpetuated by all the remarkable 

 places being christened after our first mortal parent, 

 such as "Adam's Peak," "Adam's Bridge/' &c. 

 How far the geographical part of the theory holds 

 good, I never sought to inquire. 



The variety of the scenery makes it remarkably 

 striking. 



Lying at the foot of the most precipitous moun- 

 tains are numerous plains, divided by streams, or 

 ranges of cocoa-nut or palmyra- trees, and studded at 

 intervals with the large forest or banyan-tree, as 

 regularly as an English domain might be under the 

 hands of the most tasteful artiste. 



