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

THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY EVENING, APRIL 27, 1867

WONDERFUL IZULVS IN SIAAt

f the
General Perrin, a Frenchman, mandarin of
third class, commanding the land forces of
King in Siam, writes to a French paper as, ot,
lows :—" For six days' journey of an elelotily
I have traversed the ruins of Ancor-Niat, °1340
penetrating them at intervals, where exPl°l.6,
had been before. What I have seen of In°o4
meets, temples, palaces, columns, staircases, "ila
piles of marbles, cannot be told. They 11°Itti
not believe me. The people of the enteio
say that the ruins are spread over a cer•
of from ten to twelve leagues in diatnie
What was the city that existed there, all'acri
what empire was it the capital ? I have tbe
temples in a good state of preservation (exeePvhiell
vegetation that had sprung up in them), vfroo
measured not less than a league round. Tnerefbie•
forests of marble columns ; everything is of Int tbe
Although much may have disappeared beneatilat
soil, what remains is far above what we se care
Versailles or elsewhere. In some places they for
as solid as though built but yesterday. 13titi g,
the undergrowth and the effect of ligh.„n llO
these monuments, which the people say are frci°4
four to five thousand years old, might be t°,.;no
in complete preservation. I regret that 1135%0
photographic apparatus, I assure you, and bempito
me or not, that the most celebrated rnonnill:eys
of ancient or modern Europe are as mere bare 00,
compared with these, while our palaces and 'tot
licas, the Vatican and Coliseum are little beep
than dog-kennels in comparison. I wished to 1.5000
to a temple which appeared to be in a gooli._!aseih
of preservation. There were eleven stan't be
of I know not how many steps, which 1nt1,55430.
ascended to arrive at the first of the five Peri°';!, sis
I commenced my upward journey at half-pas'elf
in the morning; at half-past seven I bad sn3rhole
entered the lower halls. Fearing that I might, 00
to descend the steps in the heat of the day, is
compelled to shorten my visit. The walls lot
every part sculptured and ornamented. The o 9
effect which the sight of these monloll,-
produced upon me was one of amazetnenl" sll
am no amateur to go into ecstacies over,„stiog
things. The next morning I climbed the Wl'o3l
staircase of an immense tower, situated on an ."e0
uence. Arrived at the summit I enjoyed thef 7,1'0
of the ruins. There are, in localities where J- Priar
not yet penetrated, palaces of a height an."od
deur truly colossal. With a field-glass I exaill'ita.
the details. Their architectural richness
rivalled, and they extend into the territory- of rote
bodia, a distance of ten or twelve leagues. Pc A
to yourself how Paris would appear in ruins' r of
few rough stones, scattered over a diatt3eteseo
two or three leagues at the utmost• pee,
there are on the ground, and below its surfs 0
marble already hewn in sufficient quantitleall
build, even as the giants have built bere'of sti
the cities of the universe. I have seen the leg o the
statue, the great toe of which was eleven tin!e, the
length of my hunting rifle. It is in marble like the
rest, in fact there is no other stone near except fee
pieces of coloured marble used for borders, all AO
the eyes of the statues, which are more inftKilt
larger than Saint German l'Auxerrois. Th-ail
octagonal pyramids cut off at the middle, If
it
marble. Who has done these things ? WO!
some illustrious dynasty they can have but loped
with the oblivion that has ovef tl3°
their magnificent monuments. The people °.,derot
country have no real conception of the bul'ece
although their literature extends back into the
tunics much farther than ours.