of the Old World. 211 



the Neilgherri mountains and stricken the mightiest 

 denizens of the jungle, muses by day and dreams by 

 night of the dark deep Wynaad forest. 



Those who have never explored a primeval forest 

 can have but a very faint conception of the mysterious 

 effect that absence of light and intense depth of gloom 

 have upon the human mind. The unbroken silence 

 and utter stillness that everywhere pervades its leafy 

 arches, creates a strange feeling of awe and loneliness 

 that depresses the spirits and appals the heart of those 

 who are unaccustomed to wander in its solitudes ; 

 and even the stoutest heart feels overpowered with a 

 strange sensation he can neither account for nor 

 explain the first time he enters, for the voice of man 

 resounds with a strange and startling echo, and even 

 the very hound whines with fear, and couches close 

 to his master's side, afraid of being left alone. Soli- 

 tude is too insufficient a term to convey an idea of the 

 intensely overpowering sensation of desolation and 

 loneliness that pervades these regions ; yet to the 

 hunter, who is accustomed to sojourn in their deepest 

 recesses, the wilderness is a home which he would 

 not exchange for any other ; and as he roams through 

 its boundless expanse of verdure, with no other com- 

 panions but the silent trackers and his dogs, and no 

 guide but a pocket-compass and certain jungle signs 

 not to be understood by the dwellers of cities, he 

 imbibes certain feelings that cannot be entered into 



p 2 



