the sun rises in the east, there suddenly appears upon
the western sky the vast reflex of the peak, as clearly defined as
though a second and precisely similar mountain were actually there.
Through the shadow, which seems to have some peculiar telescopic
effect upon the atmosphere, one sees Colombo distinctly, though it is
nearly fifty miles away. As the sun rises higher, the great mysterious
shadow fades slowly away like a ghostly phantom, growing less and less
distinct, until presently the west is also suffused with the waking
and regal glow of the morning.

Then is spread out before the view a scene of inspiration, rich in
contrasting effects and remarkable for its variety of lovely tints.
One may search half a lifetime without discovering anything to equal
its combined charms. The mountain stretching east and west, the
verdant plains, the picturesque tea and coffee plantations, the groves
of oranges, palms, bananas, and other tropical fruits, are as distinct
to the view as though within an arrow's shot. What a charming picture
to frame and hang within one's memory.

According to the priests, four Buddhas have visited the peak. The
first was there B. C. 3001, the second B. C. 2099, the third B. C.
1014, and the fourth, Gautama, B. C. 577.

Adam's Peak is by actual measurement the fifth elevation in point of
altitude among a list of one hundred and fifty mountains varying from
three thousand to seven thousand feet in height. It is doubtful if the
existence of so well-defined and extensive a mountain range in this
equatorial island is generally realized. One would like to know what
could have been the primary and real inducement for selecting this
spot as a sanctuary. The Buddhists think that the miraculous
impression of Buddha's foot has made the place sacred; the Hindus
revere it as being marked by the foot of Siva; the Mohammedan
considers it holy as bearing the footprint of Adam; and so on. How
came Hindus, Buddhists, and Mohammedans alike to attribute special
sanctity to this particular mountain? Such unanimity of sentiment
among widely differing sects must have had its rise, it would seem, in
some legitimate cause, and not in the mere chance selection of a
shrine.

A late writer upon the subject of Adam's Peak refers to the fact that
in the Septuagint, the word "Serendib" is found in Genesis viii. 4,
instead of Ararat, as being the place where Noah's ark rested after
the deluge! Serendib, it should be rememb