These Were Promised To Be
Ready That Night, So That I Could Start As Soon As I Liked In The
Morning.
After having taken a cup of tea I took my leave, and
slept in the boat.
Some of the men came at night as promised, but
others did not arrive until the next morning. It took some time to
divide my baggage fairly among them, as they all wanted to shirk
the heavy boxes, and would seize hold of some light article and
march off with it, until made to come back and wait until the whole
had been fairly apportioned. At length about eight o'clock all
was arranged, and we started for our walk to Mr. M.'s farm.
The country was at first a uniform plain of burned-up rice-
grounds, but at a few miles' distance precipitous hills appeared,
backed by the lofty central range of the peninsula. Towards these
our path lay, and after having gone six or eight miles the hills
began to advance into the plain right and left of us, and the
ground became pierced here and there with blocks and pillars of
limestone rock, while a few abrupt conical hills and peaks rose
like islands. Passing over an elevated tract forming the
shoulder of one of the hills, a picturesque scene lay before us.
We looked down into a little valley almost entirely surrounded by
mountains, rising abruptly in huge precipices, and forming a
succession of knolls and peaks aid domes of the most varied and
fantastic shapes.
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