"We have seen a large chunk of the earth; and we have de-
cided that nowhere have we seen the equal in beauty and charm
of Ceylon. And teh very heart of this charm lies in Kandy,
We stopped at 'The Firs,' a hotel on a cliff over a lake, sur-
rounded by giant palms and other trees as large as our old oak,
all covered with a pink flower like a thistle, but soft as a rose.
Everybody called it a different name. Heavenly smells were
everywhere, and beyond the lake those splendid mountain
ranges. The hotel had wide balconies, where we sat and drank
in all this beauty, and heard tropic birds make new music.
It was like a dream, and hardly seemed real."