134 



The Antiquities of the 



[No. S2, 



a lawn as this may stand, an ancient Cromlech or Druidical ring, to 

 complete the illusion you have fallen into that you are actually explor- 

 ing the antiquities of England or Wales. The happy dream is how- 

 ever but momentary ; altering your position, it is at once dispelled, 

 and you are restored to the consciousness of being still in India, by 

 the prospect of the plains of Coimbatore or Mysore spreading far and 

 wide below you. 



One of the most attractive spots in the region of precipices is Saint 

 Catherine's Fall, about four miles South East of Kotagherry. At 

 this place the bed of a stream which has descended hitherto with but 

 a gentle inclination, grows narrower and is suddenly interrupted by 

 a deep chasm, into which the waters leap from the crest of a preci- 

 pice. To obtain a full view of the Fall, it is necessary to descend the 

 almost upright bank of the ravine, which is accomplished by the aid 

 of overhanging trees, and roots in the soil. Reaching the foot of 

 the Fall you are amply repaid for the trouble of the descent, in the 

 prospect of a stately column of water, upwards of 200 feet high, de- 

 scending in front of you, amidst scenery of the most stupendous cha- 

 racter. This Fall will not however bear comparison with the lower 

 falls of Papanassum and Courtallum, being less voluminous than ei- 

 ther. It more resembles the upper or first Fall of Courtallum, which, 

 as those who have visited that Oasis of the south part of our Presi- 

 dency, will remember, is lofty and occupies the breadth of a ravine. 

 The interest I took in Saint Catherine's Fall was greatly enhanced 

 by a statement of my guide, subsequently corroborated by the testi- 

 mony of the neighbouring Burghers. He said that on a ledge or 

 platform in the side of the cliff above us, and overlooking the water- 

 fall, was a stone perforated with a cylindrical hole, and related a mar- 

 vellous story of an elephant having been chained to the stone by 

 means of the hole, and forced to occupy the rocky platform by its 

 owner, in the days of the Pandaver. Although unable to satisfy my- 

 self of the existence of the perforated stone, from the united evidence 

 of the Natives I have no doubt it actually exists ; and dismissing the 

 tradition I believe the stone is in reality, 



A Tolmen 



or " hole of stone," as its name imports literally, and which is 

 another relic of the Druidical religion. The Tolmen of England was 

 either an immense stone balanced on the points of a rock, so as to 



