This is situated at the foot of a rocky hill, out
of which has been hewn a statue of Buddha, thirty-six feet high, and
over this is built the temple, which is small and elegant. The god
is painted with the most glaring colours. The walls of the temple
are covered with handsome red cement, and portioned out into small
panels, in all of which the god Buddha appears al fresco. There are
also a few portraits of Vischnu, another god. The colours on the
southern wall of the temple are remarkable for their fine state of
preservation.
Here, likewise, there is a funeral monument, like that of the Temple
of Dagoha, not however, in the building itself, but under the lofty
firmament of heaven, and shaded by noble trees.
Attached to the temples are frequently schools, in which the priests
fulfil the duties of teachers. Near this particular temple, we saw
about a dozen boys - girls are not allowed to attend school - busy
writing. The copies for them were written very beautifully, by
means of a stylus, on small palm-leaves, and the boys used the same
material.
It is well worth any person's while to walk to the great valley
through which the Mahavilaganga flows. It is intersected with a
countless number of wave-like hills, many of which form regular
terraces, and are planted with rice or coffee. Nature is here young
and vigorous, and amply rewards the planter's toil. The darker
portions of the picture are composed of palms or other trees, and
the back-ground consists partly of towering mountains, in a holiday
suit of green velvet, partly of stupendous and romantic rocks in all
their gloomy nakedness.
I saw many of the principal mountains in Ceylon - giants, 8,000 feet
high; but, unfortunately, not the most celebrated one, Adam's Peak,
which has an altitude of 6,500 feet, and which, towards the summit
is so steep, that it was necessary, in order to enable any one to
climb up, to cut small steps in the rock, and let in an iron chain.
But the bold adventurer is amply repaid for his trouble. On the
flat summit of the rock is the imprint of a _small_ foot, five feet
long. The Mahomedans suppose it to be that of our vigorous
progenitor, Adam, and the Buddhists that of their large-toothed
divinity, Buddha. Thousands of both sects flock to the place every
year, to perform their devotions.
There still exists at Candy the palace of the former king, or
emperor of Ceylon. It is a handsome stone building, but with no
peculiar feature of its own; I should have supposed that it had been
built by Europeans. It consists of a ground floor, somewhat raised,
with large windows, and handsome porticoes resting upon columns.
The only remarkable thing about it is a large hall in the interior,
with its walls decorated with some rough and stiffly executed
representations of animals in relief. Since the English deposed the
native sovereign, the palace has been inhabited by the English
resident, or governor.
Had I only arrived a fortnight sooner, I should have witnessed the
mode of hunting, or rather snaring, elephants. The scene of
operations is a spot on the banks of some stream or other, where
these animals go to drink. A large place is enclosed with posts,
leading up to which, and also skirted by stout posts, are a series
of narrow passages. A tame elephant, properly trained, is then made
fast in the middle of the large space, to entice by his cries the
thirsty animals, who enter unsuspiciously the labyrinth from which
they cannot escape, as the hunters and drivers follow, alarm them by
their shouts, and drive them into the middle of the enclosure. The
finest are taken alive, by being deprived of food for a short time.
This renders them so obedient, that they quietly allow a noose to be
thrown over them, and then follow the tame elephant without the
least resistance. The others are then either killed or set at
liberty, according as they possess fine tusks or not.
The preparations for capturing these animals sometimes last several
weeks, as, besides enclosing the spot selected, a great many persons
are employed to hunt up the elephants far and wide, and drive them
gradually to the watering place.
Persons sometimes go elephant-hunting, armed merely with firearms;
but this is attended with danger. The elephant, as is well known,
is easily vulnerable in one spot only, - the middle of the skull. If
the hunter happens to hit the mark, the monster lies stretched
before him at the first shot; but if he misses, then woe to him, for
he is speedily trampled to death by the enraged beast. In all other
cases the elephant is very peaceable, and is not easily induced to
attack human beings.
The Europeans employ elephants to draw and carry burdens - an
elephant will carry forty hundred-weight; but the natives keep them
more for show and riding.
I left Candy after a stay of three days, and returned to Colombo,
where I was obliged to stop another day, as it was Sunday, and there
was no mail.
I profited by this period to visit the town, which is protected by a
strong fort. It is very extensive; the streets are handsome, broad,
and clean; the houses only one story high, and surrounded by
verandahs and colonnades. The population is reckoned at about
80,000 souls, of whom about 100 are Europeans, exclusive of the
troops, and 200 descendants of Portuguese colonists, who founded a
settlement here some centuries ago. The complexion of the latter is
quite as dark as that of the natives themselves.
