New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-02-18
SUBTERRANEAN PAGODAS.
BY (PIERRE LOTT.

all Jay long III a. NiniTSt Juhh'
The heat was oppressive and the weather very
gloomy The low stores We're covered with grass
the fresh green grass .of ArTi-their green velvet
border where the buffalo were grazing slowly
passed before my eyes
Ice-Loo said We must drink Sanction
again. and poured the rice brandy mo our
little bright hucd china cups.
We were living fiat on the rnats in the bottom
Of the unl1. with our heads resting Oh the hard
round stickstwhch are the Chinese pillows
A very low, curved canopy. stretching above us
like the backsOf fish. with framework IKE
vcrtelroc. paye us the feeling,o of being prsoned
in some creatupe's body
Small round holes afforded view of the
dcsolatc region through which we were passing
Where were we going? For several hours we
had crept along under the back of this bamboo
tortoise full Of expectation and curiosity con-
cerninr some wonderful things Lcc-Loo was TO
show us.
1t was a long distance. and we had long
siesta The songs of the rowers rose ever ana
anon. like Chinese lamentation.
I've must drink some more sam-chou' Where
could we be going. Lce-Ioo dressed in green and
orange; Shang-Tee in sky-blue; in white?
Numbed by remaining motionlcss so long. like
three mummios in the same sheath we lay nat
under our shelter Ny companions had taken
good care not TO lie OH their long sllken queues.
which they had rolled up on their breasts. The
roof the brandy and the heat duled their
brains Through the little holes we saw constantly
the green velvet pastures and the bufaloes huge
animals wallowing on the grass and ooze, clumsy
as hippopotami, actually antedluvian in mould,
stretching their fierce. stupid heads toward the
Junk as they scented US.
They smelt the a"rid odor of the junk. where
the yellow sailors are in the habit of cooking
shcll-fsh, and then Lec-Loo. as man Of fashion,
had his own perfume-a combination OF musk
aud pepper.
These memories. recalled by something. know
not what are very vivid. | recOllect even the
smallest details Of the excursion. the interior
of the Junk even the intricate Intervening OF
our bamboo covcr-the silk figures raised upon
Lee-I.oo's robe. the nets and lines hung on the
framework. and the idol which protected the
fishing We had started from Fai-Fo early that
morning. and the wonderful thing we were to
visit was the Pagoda Of the Marble Mountain,
which iec-I>oo said was very beautiful.
Iee-Loo himself suddenly appears before me,
with his skeleton figure arrayed in loose robes,
his shaver head. and his long queue tied with
ribbon, a fiat yellow face. but possessed Of a
certain charm due TO its youth, intelligence and
aristocracy. The eyebrows. inclined by nature
to meet, but separated and thinned by the razor,
formed above the bright eyes two lines as clear
the strokes OF pen
Our rowcrs were four young girls. who stood
sometimes erect sometimes leaning forward
their huge flexible oars. Where we Law we saw
them above us through the holes in
phagus. and they. too, occasionally bent down to-
look at us, their smiles displaying teeth coated
with black polish
Around us were the endless stretches Of green
velvet, through which the lagoon wound like a
long serpent. and, above. the sinister gloom Of
the motioneSs clouds.
Yet we moved forward. aided by current
Of which the calm surface Of the lagoon gave
sign sort of latent velocity which exists in
these sluggish waters.
The Marble Mountain was approaching: each
bend in the lagoon brought it nearer: rising from
the fiat plain it looked like rock in the midst
Of the sea its monstrous. grotesque indcnt1tions
were outlined against the sky: it resemblcd a
u gigantic pagoda amid the fiat expanse of
u desert.
We touched the low shore amid the and
grass. We obliged TO pass through Il
midst of herd of bufalocs which had gathered
there. Every neck Outstretchcd. all the
stcamng nostrils were dilated, seeming the coming
European.
/ was afraid of the huge staring eyes, the
forest Of horns.
Don't move! - SAID Ie"-IoO.
The Asiatics who had no cause for fear. went
to call the laborcrs who at work in the
rice-fieds, and the natives OF Asia. whom the
bunaloes love. formed living hedge through
which I passed
After tho pasture lands came stretch OF arid
sand. dcsolate region which recalled the wilder
moss Of Sahara.
The Marble Mountain drew nearer: at q dis
tance il a violet hue, il sombre
gray, with strange clefts and fssures, twisted
in Chinese forms. with all kinds OF unfamiliar
vegetable growths clingng TO it in tangled,
dropping masses Around it nothing was visi-
bile save the desolate sands. Yet perceived
that approaching a holy placc-here
and there ancient tombs began to appear. mark
ing the graves Of mandarns and bouzes. Then
natural spires OF gray marble at intervals
from the level sand like the spires OF church
The Marble Mountain itself, which was now close
at hand, towering above our heads. was merely
collection of single, disconnected peaks. The
marvel their height and bold outlines, how
they stood erect, and how many wonderful
blooming plants grew there.
The place was crowded with people. People
who ran forward, perched the peaks pushed
aside the branches 10 watch the new Corners
Hdeous faces Long tails Aha. they were
apes. members of the monkey family, ourang-
outangs. shot fired in the air made them all
vanish
The Marble Mountain is vertical everywhere
"Lce-Loo, where is this grand pagoda ~
Lee-Lno smiled
"You will It."
~ see nothing but the mountain. the marble
peaks, and the hanging masses of verdure7
Lee-Ioo, in his green and orange robes. said
that we must ascend the mountain, and led the
way. In fact. there huge marble staircase
cut in the living rock rubbish and sand con-
ceaed the entrance. We assembled il. and we
might have Imagined ourselves in some fairy
garden. began to understand that the mountain
itself was the pagoda, the most marvellous one
in Anam. In every cleft, every chink in the