The Greene County Republican. [volume] (Waynesburg, Pa.) 185?-1867, 1867-04-24
WONDERFUL RUINS IN SIAM.

ueil' eiiii, u iiSioii'hiH, IHiHuaIll
Of the third class, commanding the land
forces of the King IN Siam, writes to a
French paper as follows: For six days
journey OF an elephant, / have traversed
the rams OF Ancor-Nlat, only penetra
ting them at intervals, where explorers
had been before. What have seen OF
monuments, temples, palaces, columns,
stalrcases and piles Of marble, cannot be
told. They would not believe me. The
people of the country say that the ruins
are spread over circle from ten To
twelve leagues Is diameter. What was
the city that existed there, and of wha,
empire was it the capital! | have seen
temples in a good state Of preservation
Except the vegetation that had sprung
up in them) which measured not less
than a league rounl. There are forests
TT marble columns; everything i of mar
be. Although some may haYe disap.
peared beneath the soil. what remains i,
far above what we see az Versailles or
elsewhere In some places they are a,
solid as if built but yesterday. Bat fol
the underground and the effect Of light.
ming, thes, monuments, which the people
say are from four to five thousand years
old, might be to>day in complete preSer.
walton. ] regret that | had no photo-
graphic apparatus, | assure you, and
believe me or not, that the most ceIebra
ted monuments OF ancient or modern
Euroue are az mere barracks compared
with these, while oar palaces and basili
cas-. the Vatican ana Coliseum are lillle
better than dog keanels IN comparison
| WISHED to ascend 10 a temple which ap.
reared to be in good state OF preserva,
liun. There were eleven stair cases, at
I know not how many steps, which mu,,
be ascendei to arrive at the first of the
i've perist les. | commenced my rp.
ward journey at laItopast SIX in III,
morning; at ha'f.past seven | had
scarcely entered The lwer halls Fear.
ing that | might have to descend ,ht
steps III the heat OF the day. was com
PEELED to shorten my visit The wall,
are III ever, part sCulp,uied and orna.
menled The iii st itfect which the sigh,
OF these monuments produced upon me
was one Of anazement. an no ANA
teur to O. iuto ecslacies over smal
things The next morning | climbed
the winding staircase of an immens
tower, situated on an emipence, Arry'
ed at the summit | enjoyed the sight Of
the runs. There are, in localities where
| rave rot yet penetrated, palaces of a
height and grandeur truly colossal
With field glass | examined the de-
tails Their architectural richness is
unriva'led and they extend into the ter
ritory of Combodia, distance OF ten OF
twelve leagues. Picture to yourself how
Paris would appear in 'uius. A few
rough stones, sratterei over diameter
OF two or three leagues at the utmost -
Here there are on the ground, and below
its surface, marble already hewn in sutli
cIent quantities to build. even AS the
giants have built hele, all the cities o.
the universe | have seer the leg OF Q
statue, the great toe Of which was elev'
en- times the length of my hunting rifle
1t Is in marble like the ret, in fact there
is no other stone near except the pieces
of coored marble used for borders, and
for the eyes of the statues There are
pedestals of steps, relt OF their statues
which are more lofty and larger than
Saint Germain rAnxerrois. Think OF
octaganal pyramids cut off at the middle
and all in marble Who has done these
thirgs9 fit was some illustrious dy
nasty, they can have but little satisfic
ton with the oblivion that has enveloped
thei' magnificent monuments. The peo
people of the country have no rea
conception of the builders, although
their literature extends back into tht
centuries much farther than ours,