by
two staircases of fifteen or sixteen steps each, the steps being only 2
feet long, so that two persons are unable to ascend side by side. One
of these staircases leads to the great gate of the pagoda, and the
other behind the choir. But the pagoda occupies scarcely half the
platform, the other half serving as a grand area in front. Its form,
like those of the other pagodas, is that of a cross, and in the middle
there rises a lofty dome, with two others a little smaller at the
sides. On the exterior of the building, from base to summit, there are
numerous figures of animals such as rams, monkeys, and elephants,
carved in stone, and all round are niches containing different
monsters. From the foot of each of the three domes up to their summit,
at intervals, there are windows from 5 to 6 feet high, and at each a
kind of balcony where four persons can sit. Each balcony is covered by
a small canopy, and some are sustained by four columns, others by
eight, but then they are in pairs and in contact with one another.
Around these domes there are also niches full of figures which
represent demons, one with four arms, another four legs ; some of them
have the heads of men on the bodies of beasts, with horns and long
tails which twine round their legs. There are, finally, numerous images
of monkeys, and it is a terrible thing to have before the eyes so many
ugly representations. The pagoda has but one door, which is very high,
and on both sides there are many columns and images of men and
monsters. The choir is enclosed by a screen of stone columns 5 to 6
inches in diameter, and no one may enter these except the principal
Brahmans, who have access by a small secret door which I could not see.
When I visited this pagoda I asked some Brahmans who were there if I
might see the great Ram Ram, that is to say the great idol. They
replied that if I gave them something they would go to ask leave of
the'ir Superior; this they did as soon as I had placed two rupees in
their hands. I waited less than half an hour when the Brahmans opened a
door inside the middle of the screen, for on the outside there is none,
the screen itself being closed. I saw across it, at about 15 or 16 feet
from the door, as it were a square altar covered with a piece of old
brocade of gold and silver, and
