3° 6 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA YS 
CHAP* 
through the centre of the plain, and issues from a 
gap, whence it descends in a succession of falls and 
rapids to the lower country. 
The gap has been dammed by a solid bhund 
of masonry, and, by raising the level between 
two opposing heights, a considerable portion of 
the marshy plain has been converted into a lake. 
This has much improved the general appearance 
of the locality, as in former years it bore the 
somewhat desolate aspect of a peat bog. 
Mr. Le Mesurier, the district magistrate, has 
set a bright example by exerting his energy for 
the benefit of the public. At his own cost he 
established a fish-nursery, to which he applied 
his attention with such success that the lake now 
abounds with trout, all of which have been 
hatched from ova introduced by himself, and 
reared in his own tanks. This officer is an 
energetic sportsman, and he keeps a pack of 
hounds for the hunting of sambur deer (miscalled 
elk in Ceylon), and follows much upon my own 
footsteps of a bygone age. 
It was a peculiar pleasure to revisit this 
settlement, which is the sanatorium of Ceylon, as 
I had worked so earnestly in its foundation during 
my early days. The church which we assisted 
in erecting was there, and the churchyard which 
we had laid out within the forest was now filled ; 
one of the occupants being a much-loved brother, 
who had helped to plan the cemetery when we 
were young. All the graves were kept in beauti- 
