12 
attempt to describe—no words would do 
it justice. But I must not omit mentioning 
what I considered the most remarkable 
and curious feature of the scene—the 
shadow of the Peak itself thrown an im- 
mense distance, reaching beyond the hori- 
zon, and plainly visible even on the sky, 
in form a perfect cone. The tract of country 
over which it fell, appeared, from the great 
height from which we viewed it, level to 
the sea; so that this enormous shadowy 
cone appeared as correct and perfect as if 
rawn by rule and compass: I never saw 
any thing more extraordinary or curious. 
We watched it gradually diminishing in 
length as the sun rose, for a long time, 
and then proceeded to take bearings, &c., 
and to ascertain the relative position of 
the most striking objects in view. On this 
elevated and isolated spot, the only noise we 
heard was the loud sound of rushing water, 
and the only living things we saw two but- 
terflies. At the foot of the cone the rushing 
water is not heard. t I took 
a sketch of the temple, &c.1 on the rock; 
and as the day began to overcast, and the 
clouds to threaten rain, we prepared, with 
regret, to leave a spot so remarkable, and 
which we shall, probably, never see again. 
Although this threatened change of weather 
was certainly far from desirable on some 
accounts, still it gave us the advantage of 
viewing the scene under almost every dif- 
ferent aspect it could assume—by the 
serene and placid light of the moon—in 
the glorious and refulgent rays of an 
eastern sun—and in the threatened ap- 
proach of storm and tempest which seemed 
to be gathering around us, the appear- 
ance of dense masses of cloud greatly be- 
low us, through which the rugged tops of 
some of the highest mountains appeared 
like islands in a tempestuous ocean, was 
wonderfully grand, and the descent of the 
Peak, (looking as we did to a fathomless 
abyss into which one false step might pre- 
cipitate us,) not a little terrific. However, 
we got safely to the place where we had 
left our palankeens in an hour; Col. W. 
believe, accomplished it in three quar- 
1 See Tab. I. 
EXCURSION TO 
ADAM'S PEAK. 
ters. Our party on the top of the Peak 
consisted, in all, of forty persons; thirty 
coolies, four servants, an orderly soldier 
of the Ceylon Rifles, a native head-man, 
and a Boodhist priest, with a boy, his at- 
tendant. We were obliged to leave some 
of our people in charge of things left at 
Diabetma, greatly to their disappointment, 
for all were anxious to visit this celebrated 
spot. I confess, I felt very glad to seat 
myself in my little vehicle again, for my 
knees were tottering under me. By the 
bribe of a bottle of arrack, at the end 
of a day's journey, the bearers undertook 
to carry me the whole way, which they, 
fortunately for me, accomplished. Soon 
after we started from Andeamalatenne, the 
threatened rain began to fall, and soon 
increased to a deluge; the rocks became 
so slippery that I expected every moment 
to be precipitated out of the palankeen by 
the coolies falling, which many of them 
did, but fortunately without injury to 
themselves or me, and we arrived safe 
and sound, though thoroughly drenched, 
at Diabetma, a quarter before three P.M. 
As we had necessarily deferred collect- 
ing plants till our return, the rain was a 
great annoyance, preventing our getting 
half of what we wanted, and rendering it 
difficult to preserve those we did gather. 
Much did I grieve at leaving so many 
beauties “to waste their sweetness on the 
desert air" which I had little chance of 
ever seeing again, as every different part 
of the island seems to be clothed with its 
own appropriate vegetation. In different 
regions, of equal height, we have ob- 
served: plants of the same family, and even 
genus, to abound; but rarely of the same 
species. The various, curious and beauti- 
ful Zmpatiens, which we found principally 
between Diabetma and the foot of the 
cone of the Peak, differ, most ass 
from the equally beautiful and curi 
species of the same genus, so numerous 
between Rambodde and Nervera Ellia, and 
in the neighbourhood of Maturatta. The 
Acanthace are also very numerous, and 
very various, from those we have found 
elsewhere ; and the splendid Sonarilas we 
