He Endeavoured To Wrest It From Me, When, Luckily, I Saw In The Distance Two English Soldiers, Who Hastened Up In Answer To My Cries, And, On Seeing This, The Fellow Ran Off.

I related my adventure to the soldiers, who congratulated me on the recovery of my luggage, and conducted me to the barracks, where one of the officers was kind enough to give orders that I should be conducted to another hotel.

My first visit was to the temple of Dagoha, which contains a valuable relic of the god Buddha, namely, one of his teeth, and, together with the out-buildings, is surrounded by a wall. The circumference of the principal temple is not very considerable, and the sanctuary, which contains the tooth, is a small chamber hardly twenty feet broad. Within this place all is darkness, as there are no windows, and inside the door, there is a curtain, to prevent the entry of any light. The walls and ceiling are covered with silk tapestry, which, however, has nothing but its antiquity to recommend it. It is true that it was interwoven with gold thread, but it appeared never to have been especially costly, and I cannot believe that it ever produced that dazzling effect which some travellers have described. Half of the chamber was engrossed by a large table, or kind of altar, inlaid with plates of silver, and ornamented round the edges with precious stones. On it stands a bell-shaped case, measuring at the bottom at least three feet in diameter, and the same in height. It is made of silver thickly gilt, and decorated with a number of costly jewels; there is a peacock in the middle entirely formed of precious stones; but all these treasures fail to produce any very great effect, from the clumsy and inartistic fashion in which they are set.

Under the large case there are six smaller ones, said to be of pure gold; under the last is the tooth of the all-powerful divinity. The outer case is secured by means of three locks, two of the keys belonging to which used to be kept by the English governor, while the third remained in the custody of the chief priest of the temple. A short time previous to my visit, however, the government had restored the two keys to the natives with great solemnities, and they are now confided to one of the native Radschas, or princes.

The relic itself is only shown to a prince or some other great personage; all other people must be content to believe the priest, who, for a small gratuity, has the politeness to describe the size and beauty of the tooth. The dazzling whiteness of its hue is said to eclipse that of ivory, while its form is described as being more beautiful than anything of the kind ever beheld, and its size to equal that of the tooth of an immense bullock.

An immense number of pilgrims come here every year to pay their adoration to this divine tooth.

"Where ignorance is bliss, 't is folly to be wise." How many people are there among us Christians who believe things which require quite as great an amount of faith? For instance, I remember witnessing, when I was a girl, a festival at Calvaria, in Gallicia, which is still celebrated every year. A great multitude of pilgrims go there to obtain splinters of the true cross. The priests manufacture little crosses of wax, on which, as they assure the faithful, they stick splinters of the real one. These little crosses, wrapped up in paper and packed in baskets, are placed ready for distribution, that is, for sale. Every peasant generally takes three: one to put in his room, one in his stable, and another in his barn. The most wonderful portion of the business is that these crosses must be renewed every year, as in that period they lose their divine power.

But let me return to Candy. In a second temple, adjoining that in which the relic is preserved, are two gigantic hollow statues of the god Buddha in a sitting posture, and both are said to be formed of the finest gold. Before these colossi stand whole rows of smaller Buddhas, of crystal, glass, silver, copper, and other materials. In the entrance hall, likewise, are several stone statues of different gods, with other ornaments, most of them roughly and stiffly executed. In the middle stands a small plain monument of stone, resembling a bell turned upside down; it is said to cover the grave of a Brahmin.

On the outer walls of the principal temple are wretched daubs in fresco, representing the state of eternal punishment. Some of the figures are being roasted, twitched with red-hot pincers, partly baked, or forced to swallow fire. Others again, are jammed between rocks, or having pieces of flesh cut out of their bodies, etc., but fire appears to play the principal part in these punishments.

The doors of the principal temple are made of metal, and the door posts of ivory. On the first are the most beautiful arabesques in basso-relief, and on the second, in inlaid work, representing flowers and other objects. Before the principal entrance, four of the largest elephant's teeth ever found are stuck up by way of ornament.

Ranged round the court-yard are the tents of the priests, who always go about with bare, shaven heads, and whose costume consists of a light yellow upper garment, which nearly covers the whole body. It is said that there were once 500 officiating priests in this temple; at present the divinity is obliged to content himself with a few dozen.

The chief part of the religious ceremonies of the Buddhists consists in presents of flowers and money. Every morning and evening a most horrible instrument, fit to break the drum of one's ear, and called a tam-tam, together with some shrill trumpets and fifes, is played before the door of the temple.

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