3 FEBRUARY 1872, Page 25

Adam's Peak. By William Skeen. (Stanford).—This is a very com-

plete monograph upon an interesting subject, the "Holy Mountain" of Ceylon, with the great relic, which is to the Buddhist what the Caaba is to the Mohammedan—the "Sacred Footprint " of Buddha. The " foot- print" is a not particularly remarkable depression in the rock, which, "by adding a lot of cement," and bits of tile, and other "devices," has been made to look something like the impression of a foot on a some- what large scale ; it is more than five feet long. But the mark would have been much the same, as one of Mr. Skeen's friends suggested, if Buddha had sat down upon the rock instead of stepping upon it. The volume before us gives us a very full and vivid description of the natural scenery of the place, and of the worship of which it is the scene, together with "legendary, traditional, and historic notices." Why does Mr. Skeen indulge in such a wild fancy as "that the worship of nature will perhaps be man's last faith "?