TOUR FROM SOURABAYA, THROUGH K.EDIRI, &C. 165^- 
with an incrustation of soot which, would soak into h ant ^ 
form a permanent dry drusf i rubbed with the hand, it com¬ 
municates no black color, and in the course of three or four 
centuries, since when we must consider the place as neglected, 
any matter of this natnre would have mouldered and dropped 
off. The idea that it is a natural deposit of Petroleum or 
Naptha percolating through the rock, is even more absurd, 
as some indication ought then to be found of it, on the external 
mass of the rock, besides analogy does not support the idea. 
The unsavory odour which is perceived in the grotto does 
not come from Petroleum but from the bats which nestle 
in the inner cells. Here and there a pedestal shows that 
images have formerly been more numerous in the cliambeis, 
and in a piece of flat ground in front of the grotto are 
several smallish stone statues, which however cannot boast 
of any great perfection. Out of the south side of the 
southern doorway is seen protruding the head of a Naga or 
Serpent cut out of the rock, and as if guarding the approach. 
From the north side of the northern doorway may still be 
traced the remains of a long line of insciiption, cut upon the 
outer face of the rock almost as far as it extends in a 
northern direction ; this is above the rugged pathway by 
which the grotto is approached. It is now very indistinct,, 
and would be quite illegible even were the character 
understood. The nature of the rock itself has been unfavo¬ 
rable for its preservation, being softish trachyte containing 
imbedded in it nodules of a harder volcanic stone, the 
projecting lump of rock is only about 50 feet high and can 
easily be ascended so as to stand over the apartment below. 
Selio Mangling faces towards S. E. and by E, and being 
a little higher than the valley of Kediri, commands a pretty 
prospect of the sawahs near the river, and of the mountains 
of Klat and Kawi beyond in the distance. It has evidently 
been constructed with a religious object, and has served as 
a place of penance to devotees, it is cut out of the solid rock 
which is rather soft and porous trachyte; very probably some 
original cavity in the rock was availed of, but even suppos¬ 
ing such to have been the case, still a good deal of labour 
must have been bestowed to bring it into its present state. 
The execution upon the whole is rude, and does not display 
any great constructive art The tradition of the country 
ascribes its construction to Kili Suchi, who they say was a 
princess of the royal family of Madjapahit, entrusted with 
the government of this province. The Regent of Kediri, 
from whom I had my information, says that Kili Suchi had 
