Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-06-13
History of a Famous Chinese PagOda.


The celebrated Porcelain Tower,
near Nanting, China, is described Ey
traveller, who says: '' In the quiet even
ing we made our way out of the city by
the south gate, through q well-con-
structed tunnel, and shortly stood upon
an eminence whose surface was mass
of debris, consisting of broken bricks,
tiles and plaster several feet thick.
This was all-an that was left of that
which, for its historic beauty, the in.
genuity of its construction, and its
great cost, took rank with the wonders
of the world-the famous Porcelain
Tower. It must have been very beau
tiful in its perfection, if we accept the
statements Of its various historians,
who differ so little in their accounts
that one does for all. From them we
learn its form was octagonal, nine sto-
ries high, tapering as it rose to the
height of 261 feet from the ground, the
circumference of the lower story being
120 feet.
1.-The body of the pagoda was Of
brick, but its face was. composed Of
porcelain tiles of many eelors. Each
story formed Kind of saloon, through
which ran the spiral staircase leading
TO the. summit, and whose walls were
covered with small gilded idols resting
in inches, the entire apartment richly
painted and gilded. Each story was
defined by a projecting cornice of green
tiles from whose points gilded bells
were hung. lI.a
"The roof was oVerlaid with copper,
and above it rose a mast thirty feet
high, capped by 3 golden ball and
cOiled about BY an immense band of
iron, appearing like rings from below.
The base of this shaft was an iron ball
formed of two halves, the outer surface
of which is magnifcently embossed. /
say is, for one-half rests where, it fell,
the only tangible thing in the mass of
ruin. The other half, weighing twelve
tons, being broken by the fall, was re-
cast into a temple bell.
"Standing before the half which is
left, we query who were they that
fashioned this beautiful casting, worthy
the hand of a masterP Whose writing
and inscription embellished its face,
unlike any Chinese workmanship
Whose skill was great enough in A. ID.
1430 to place a ball of iron thirtY-six
feet in circumference, weighing twenty
four tons, upon a pedestal 261 feet
highP This ball was the receptacle of
various treasures calculated to ward of
all evil Influences, among which were
" bright, shining Jewels" pearls,
books, gold, silver, thousands of strings
Of cash, satin, silk and priceless medi-
cine. e-f
"The number of bells on the struct-
ure was 152, and the interior was il-
Eliminated by several hundreds Of
lamps, while the exterior required 128
to light it. 1t took nineteen years to
build it, and cost $3,515,078.
"Of all this, not ore story rests on
the other; lightning, fire and war have
laid their hands upon it, and it fell, its
final destroyers being the T@ping reb-
els, about twenty years ago. 1t stood
in the grounds of Buddhist Monastery,
which fell at the same time prey to
the fanatieism and rapacity of the in
VadeTs. One work Of art within the
grounds escaped destruction, q pure
white marble tortoise, bearing upon
his back . perpendicular tablet with
an inscription. This, with one solitary
priest, keeps watch and ward over the
ruins of bygone glory"
HERE is one of the anecdotes told in
Germany about the family discipline
OF the Crown Prince, g he and his
wife, the Princess Royal of England,
like other parents, ike their little boys
to be clean. Their eldest boy had
childish delight in being saluted BY
the guards at the palace whenever he
passed. Complaint was brought to his
father that the Prince refused to take
his bath, and his father, desiring to
punish him, forbade the customary sa-
lutte. The little fellow became indig-
nantat the slight, and complained to
his father that he was treated with dis
respect. Then Prince Fritz said to his
young hopefnl: My son, no guard
likes to salute an unclean Prince The
boy took his bath submissively ever
after"
In Paterson. N. j., thirty manufsct-
uring establishments employ over 5000
men.