The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1874-03-13
NUMBER 6

. ions at once, but the man, who was naked
except for bTeech- clout, took m notice
of them. He put his hand heavily but not
Tnkindly upon my breast, gave me pierc-
ing, long Look, and said in excellent French,
Are you brave man ?' Try me - L
said. Instantly, without another word,
he bandaged my eyes with part of long
white robe | wore be snapped his fingers
suddenly, whispering in my ears, Not a
word, for your life - and the next mo-
ment found myself seized in the hands Of
several strong men, and borne some dis
tanCe along a devious way, ascending and
descending several times. At last ! was
put down, the baudage was quietly re-
q moved, ana found myself squatted on a
stone floor, between Soondatch aud WOun-
/ Iajac, who, with bowed heads and faces
partly shrouded in their white robes,
squatted like statutes of Buddha. their
knees and shins fiat To the ground. their
launches resting upon their heels, their
hands spread palms downward upon their
knees, their eyes DETECTED. and look Of
deYOut reverence and abstract meditation
in their cOuntenanceS. The light was dim
. TO my unaccustOmed eyes, but all around,
+ as far as l could see, were white rohed
/ wOrShippers cTOuchcd in TIE same attitude
7 of silent reverence.
/ BY degrees, as my eyes grew used 10
/ the dim gloom, began to look about me.
. The place was square vault, so lofty that
! could not see the ceiling, and | should
say not less than hundred PAGES long aud
wide. All around the sides rose gigantic
columns carved into images OF Buddha
always, yet a thousand variations from the
central plan, a thousand freaks of fancy,
, a thousand gTOtesquesieS, through which
shone, the more effectively fur the depart
uTeS. the eternal calm, the Stagnant imper-
tuI bed ecstacy of apathy of Buddha's re-
marlkable face, with the great pendant
/ ears, and the eyes looking ont beyond you
/ into the supreme wiStleSSness of Nelhau-
! a face that once seen can never be forgot
/ ten. BY degrees | came to see the plan OF
/ Its evidently subterranean vault, and 10
/ look with wonder upon the simple grand
) eur of its massive architecture. which was
! severely plain, except so far as the carving
| of the great column went. At the fur
thest end of the hall, resting against the
columns, was a raised dais or platform,
covered with rcd cloth. This stage was
raised between three and four feet above
the floor Of the vaslt, aId was about thir-
ry-five or forty feet deep and one hundred
and fifty broad. Behind it a curtain of
red cloth hung down from the capitals of
the towering columns. IN front of the
stage. just above the spot where the pulpit
I Of the orchestra in a Greek theatre would
. be. was tripod shaped altar, with a broad
! censer upon it. in which was burning =
scented oil mixed with gums and aromat-
! ic woods, that diffused through the whole
vault pungent, sacTamental odOr.
! Suddenly there was wild and start
ling crash of barbaric music from under
the stage-gongS, drums, cymbais, and
! hOrns-and with wonderful alertncss and
a really indeScribable effect a band of
naked men came out from behind the cur
/ tains bearing each a scented torch in his
/ band, climbed the columns with the aEiii
/ ty of monkeys, and lighted each hundred
lamps strung from the bstse almost of the
columns sheer up to the apex of the vault,
which I could now see, rose III a lofty dome,
that doubtless pierced far up into the inte-
rior of the pagoda proper, the appearance
of which outside l have described. The
illumination of the multitudinouS lamps
was very bright and brilliant, too soft to
be dazzling OF OveTpOwenng, yet 50 penc-
tIating and pervasive that one missed
nothing of the perfect light Of the day. 1
could distinctly trace the ascending and
diminishing rings of the cupalo above us,
and the rows of brick, only thinly white
washed. that supported 1t.
The ain of the horrible orchestra IN
creased and a band of old women came
out from under the stage singing (Or ratL-
er shrieking out the most diab'lical chant
that ever heard. The red curtain fiut-
tered little. there was q dull thud- and
there. right before rs. alongside the censer
stood very old man, and wrinkleu. with
long hair and beard white as cotton fleece.
His finger nails were several inches long,
and his sunken jaws were horribly dIversi-
fed with two long teeth, yellow and ogre
ish. He was naked. except for a brCech
cloth, and his shrunken muscles Shons
with oil. He took the censer in his hands
aud blew his breath into 1t until the flame
rose twenty feet high, red and furiodsi
then with a sudden jerking motions he
tossed the burning oil towards the crowd
+ IL. ~
them a broad sheet of terrible tiame-iG
d, scended upen them shower Of roses aud
iapOnicaS. more than could be gathered III
4 cdTt Turning the censcr bottom up
ward, he spun it for minute upon The
point of his thumb nail, then flung it dis
dainfully away towards the audlencc. IL
struck the pavement with metallic clang.
bounced and rose. with sudden eXpanse of
wings, a shrieking eagle. frightened hor-
ribly. and seeking fight to the summit Of
the dome. The old man gazcd a moment
upwards, tlIen, seiZing the tripod upon
which the censer bad stood, he sent its
legs apart with a nervous hand, straight
ened them against his knee, and hurled
them dartlke towards the eagle. They
glanced upwards with gilded flash, and
instantly the eagle came tiuttcring down
to the pavement in cur midst, dead, I'D
three horrible cobrat cOiled about him,
and lifting their hooded heads dcfiantIy
and flashing anger ont of the'r glitterilg
eyes. The music shIieked ,lill wilder, the
snakes coied and plaitCd themselves to
gtther in a Tythmic dance, lifting the dead
eagle upon their heads, and presto right
in cur N idst thee stood the tripod again,
with its tiickeling flame, and its incense
Savored b-eath. \ more perfect Illusion
never ". as seen,
nat = Norodom," whispered Woun-
! ajac "a my ear. Anotheractor now came
uPCn the scene whom l recognized to be
,De tall athlete. Tepada. Behind him
came the smaller man, whose name, Woun-
Tajac informed me. was Minhman, and q
boy, probably twelve years old. called
Tsinski. These four began some OF fthemoSt
wonderful athletic exhibitions thar can be
conceived. 1t is impossible 70 believe un-
less you saw 1t, what work these men put
their muscles to. ] am not going 70 pro-
woke the incredulity of your readers by at
tempting to describe the majority q .hem.
In one feat Tepada seized NorOGoIn by his
long white beard, held bin OF at arll :