The Sun.
London, England, 1867-04-27 00:00:00

WONDERFUL RUINS IN SIAAL

General Perrin, a Frenchmanmandarin of 1"7.
the
third class, commanding the land forces of ti
King in Siam, writes to a French paper as f°
ant,
lows :—" For six days' journey of an eleph,
I have traversed the ruins of Ancor-Niat, on
penetrating them at intervals, where explorero
had been before. What I have seen of innnu'd
meats, temples, palaces, columns, staircases, and
piles of marbles, cannot be told. They worry
not believe me. The people of the conotrfo
say that the ruins are spread over a cit.°
of from ten to twelve leagues in diameter;
What was the city that existed there, and °i
what empire was it the capital ? I have seen
temples in a good state of preservation (except
vegetation that bad sprung up in them), willefe
measured not less than a league round. There „.3ie,
forests of marble columns ; everything is of tsar the
Although much may have disappeared beneath t
soil, what remains is far above what we see at
Versailles or elsewhere. In some places they n'r
as solid as though built but yesterday. Bat f°
the undergrowth and the effect of lightning:
these monuments, which the people say are fri°ll,-"r
four to five thousand years old, might beto-u3;;
in complete preservation. I regret that I had no
photographic apparatus, I assure you, and be is
me or not, that the most celebrated montlillels
of ancient or modern Europe are as mere barrack.
compared with these, while our palaces and
liras, the Vatican and Coliseum are little bbet a
than dog-kennels in comparison. I wished to ascent,
to a temple which appeared to be, in a good stn,..d
of preservation. There were eleven staircas;
of I know not how many steps, which nntst, s,
ascended to arrive at the first of the five peristyinbc
I commenced my upward journey at half-Past
in the morning; at half-past seven I had sear,c've
entered the lower halls. Fearing that I rnighti-ts
I A'
to descend the steps in the heat of the day, ja
compelled to shorten my visit. The walls, are 0
every part sculptured and ornamented. The firts
effect which the sight of these monuniell
produced upon me was one of amazement. 0
am no amateur to go into ecstacies over $133.,„
things. The next morning I climbed the windlllP
staircase of an immense tower, situated on an e 13311,;
nence. Arrived at the summit I enjoyed the sig:„,
of the ruins. There are, in localities where I hay
"
not yet penetrated, palaces of a height and
deur truly colossal. With a field-glass I exauline
.
the details. Their architectural richness is
rivalled, and they extend into the territory of Calnr;
bodia, a distance of ten or twelve leagues. FietuA
to yourself how Paris would appear in ruins. of
few rough stones, scattered over a diatneterrnrs
two or three leagues at the utmost. 1,"-",,
there are on the ground, and below its stirta-v;
marble already hewn in sufficient quantities
all
build, even as the giants have built here,
the cities of the universe. I have seen the leg tihe
statue, the great toe of which was eleven times he
length of my hunting rifle. It is in marble like the
rest, in fact there is no other stone near except for
'for
pieces of coloured marble used for borders, and
the eyes of the statues, which are more lofty n'"of
larger than Saint German l'Auxerrois. Thinill
octagonal pyramids cut off at the middle, and a' as
marble. Who has done these things ? If ib,";ttle
some illustrious dynasty they can have bat ~ecl
satisfaction with the oblivion that has env the
their magnificent monuments. The people of ro
country have no real conception of the bail-deo;
although their literature extends back into the Ce
`.cries much farther than ours.