The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1875-07-03

strand of silk. A tall man suddenly ap
peared, could not see from whence, He
was middle-aged, athletic, and had most
peculiar cunning, selfpossessed look oI
person and intelligence.
"Tapada' y exclaimed both of my com
panions at once, but the man, who was
naked except for a breach-clout, took nj
notice Of them. He put his hand heavily
but not unkindly upon my breast, gave
me a piercing, long leok, and said, in ex.
cellent French, "Are you brave man p
TRY me ~ | said. Instantly, without an
other word, he bandaged my eyes with q
part Of the long white robe | wore he
snapped his fingers suddenly, whispering
in my ear, "Not word, for your life =
and the next moment | found myself seized
in the hands of several strong men, and
borne some distance along devious way,
ascending and descending several times
At last | was put down, the bandage was
quietly removed, and I found myself squat.
ted on stone floor, between Soondatch
and Woun-Tajac, who, with bowed heads
and faces partly shrowded in their white
robes, squatted like statues of Boodha
their knees and shns fat to the ground
their launches resting upon their heels,
their hands spread palms downward upon
their knees, their eyes DETECTED, and a
look Of devout reverence and distracted
meditation in their countenances. The
light was dim to my unaccustomed eyes,
but all around as far as | could see, were
white-robed worshippers crouched in tn,
attitude Of silent reverence.
By degrees, as my eyes grew used to
the dim gloom, began to look about me.
The place was square vault, 50 lofty that
/ could not see the ceiling, and | should
say not less than hundred PAGES long and
wide. All around the sides rose gigantic
columns, carved into images of Boodha
always, yet with thousand variations
from the central plan, a thousand freaks
offancy, n thousand grotesquesies, through
which shone, the more effectively for the
departures, the eternal calm, the stagnant
imperturbed ecstacy of apathy of Boodha $
remarkable face, with the great pendant
ears, and the eyes looking out beyond you
into the supreme wistlessness of Nieban
"A face that once seen can never be for
gotten. BY degrees l came to see the
plan of this evidently subterranean vault,
and to look with wonder upon the simple
grandeur Of its massive architecture, which
was severely plain, except so far as the
carving of the great columns went At
the furthest end of the hall, resting against
the columns, was raised dais or platform
covered with red cloth, This stage was
raised between three and four feet above
the floor of the vault, and was about thir-
ty-five or forty feet deep and one hundred
and fifty broad. Behind it curtain of
red cloth hung down from the capitals of
the towering columns. In front of the
stage, just about the spot where the pulpit of
the orchestra in Greek theatre would be,
was n tripod-shaped altar, with broad
censer upon it, in which was burning a
scented oil, mixed with gums and aromat-
ic woods, that diifused through the whole
vault a pungent, sentimental odor.
Suddenly there was wild and startling
crash of barbaric music from under the
stage-gongs, drums, cymbals, and horns
and with wonderful alertness and a
really indiscribable effe,t band of naked
men came out from behind the curtains
bearing each scented torch in his hand
climbed the columns with the agility of
monkeys, and lighted each hundred
lamps, strung from the base almost of the
columns sheer up to the apex of the vault
which, | could now see, rose in lofty
dome, that doubtless pierced far up into
the interior of the pagoda proper, the ap-
pearances Of which outside have describ.
ed. The illumination from these multi
tudinous lamps was very bright and brilliant,
too sort to be dazzling or overpowering,
yet so penetrating and pervasive that one
missed nothing of the perfect light of the
day. l could distinctly trace She ascend
ing and diminishing rings of the cupola
above us, and the rows of brick work, only
thinly yhitewashed, that supported it,
The din of the horrible orchestra in-
creased, and band of old women came
out from under the stage singing Cor rath-
er shrieking OUT the most diabolical chant
that ! ever heard The red curtain fiut-
tered little, there was dull thud, and
there, right before us, alongside the cen.
ser, stood a very old man, but wrinkled,
with long hair and beard white as cotton
fleece. His fnger-nails were several inch
es long, and his sunken jaws were horribly
diversified with two long teeth, yellow and
ogreish. He was naked, except for
breech-cloth, and his shrunken muscles
shone with oil. He took the eenser in his
hands and blew his breath into it until
the fame rose twenty feet high, red and
furious then, with a sudden jerking mo.
tion, he tossed the burning oil towards the
crowd of squatting spectators. 1t shot to-
wards them broad sheet of terrible fame
it descended upon them shower of
roses and japonicas, more than could have
been gathered in cart. Turning the
censor bottom upward, he spun it for a
minute upon the point of his long thumb
nail, then flung it diSdainfully away to-
wards the audience It struck the pave.