kable, and was the gift of King Mindon, the next to the last
king of Burma. While from its great height it is scarcely visible, it is
really thirteen and one-half feet high and is hung with about fifteen
hundred bells, many of them gold. When heard at night, the effect is
magical.

The southern entrance has a pair of gryphons, and beyond them is the
entrance arch, which is inferior to the rest of the edifice. Here may be
seen venders of many kinds, selling gold leaf (which is used by pilgrims
on the surface of the pagoda), books, papers, toys, and offerings to
place on the altar; and the scene around the stalls is instinct with
life and gayety. Brightly dressed women and children, coquettish girls,
nuns, and beggars all assemble here.

There are four flights of stairs, east, west, north, and south, leading
up to the platform; the southern one being mostly used, as it looks down
upon the thoroughfare. The western stairs have been closed to
worshippers, as the place is now a British fortress.

It is impossible to describe the many objects of interest on this
immense platform. Four chapels at the foot of the pagoda are guarded by
colossal figures of the sitting Buddha, and in the farthest recess, in a
niche, is a small Buddha, the gilding of which is discolored by the
smoke from many thousands of tapers and candles.

On each side of the pagoda are chapels with tapering roofs and upturned
eaves, and within them are seated images of the Buddha covered with
gold. These attract large numbers of worshippers, and with the myriad
waxen tapers produce an impressive effect.

[Illustration: _Shwe Dagon Pagoda at Rangoon_]

[Illustration: _Entrance gateway, Shwe Dagon Pagoda_]

[Illustration: _Chapels on platform around Shwe Dagon, Rangoon_]

The chapels are decorated with screens of fine wood carving. The
coloring is also very striking, the outside being of vermilion and gold,
the inside of green, gold, and purple.

Hundreds of Buddhas of various sizes are seen in all directions,
sitting, standing, and reclining; and on the outer edge of the platform
are small pagodas, each with its ti, or umbrella, and also holding its
usual offerings of fruit, flowers, or small gifts. Seen at twilight and
as the candles are being lighted, it is almost bewildering, even
uncanny, as I found one evening when there alone with my guide, the
renowned Abraham, who, even though a rigid Mohammedan, assumed a devout
attitude.

Another prominent