774 Notes, chiefly Gelogical, [No. 166. 



tary lines, which I found to give 1416 feet. Coimbatore town lies about 

 sixteen miles to the E. by N. of that singular gap in the Western 

 ghauts, the Paulgaut Pass ; it is laid out on the surface of a high plain 

 in regular and broad streets, lined with houses having tiled roofs, and 

 verandas in front. The houses have rarely an upper story, and are 

 inferior to those of Salem. Near the middle of the town stand the 

 remains of a palace built or rebuilt by Tippoo, who made it his occa- 

 sional residence. It is used as a kutcherry and depot for tobacco, which 

 is brought here in large quantities from the interior for export to 

 the Malabar Coast. The palace hardly deserves the name. It is a 

 terraced, massive building, with open quadrangles, closed by ponder- 

 ous gates. A neat mosque is pointed out as also erected by Tippoo. 



About a mile on the rising ground to the NE. of the town stand 

 the barracks and officers' quarters, occupied by two companies of 

 Infantry and their officers, from the garrison of Trichinopoly. Here 

 is also the Chapel and burial ground of the Church Mission. The 

 Traveller's bungalow and post office are in the town. The fort is a 

 complete ruin. There are also a Roman Catholic Chapel, four mission 

 schools, and two private English schools. 



About 'five miles westerly, at Perur, is a temple to Siva, called 

 Mailehittumbra, celebrated for its sanctity, and as having been one of 

 three pagodas spared by Tippoo. The others were those of Seringa- 

 patam and Mailcotta in Mysore. The natives assert that this temple 

 was built 3000 years ago by one of the Pandion kings of Madura ; but 

 I did not find any inscription on stone to corroborate such an assertion. 



The temple itself is neither grand nor beautiful; but the style 

 and rudeness of the architecture and sculpture indicate a considerable 

 antiquity. 



The province of Coimbatore was formerly part of the Chera king- 

 dom. Perur, just mentioned (or the city), is supposed to have been one 

 of its greatest towns, and the Talakad, on the banks of the Cauvery, 

 which separates the northern extremity of Coimbatore from Mysore is 

 said to be on the site of its ancient capital (Dalavanpura.) 



I cannot find that the present capital town, Coimbatore, was of any 

 great ancient importance; it probably rose upon the decay of its 

 neighbour Perur. The descendants of the old sovereigns, the Velar 

 Rajas, still exist, I am told. 



