early and
having a long day before us.

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TRICHINOPOLY: Trichinopoly, like Tanjore, has a history full of
vicissitudes, in which the French and that picturesque figure, Lord
Clive, appear. The temple of Sri Ranngam is situated a mile from the
bridge and three miles from the fort, the entrance being through a
gopura forty-eight feet high; the sides of this passage, one hundred
feet long and forty-three feet high, are richly ornamented. The
monoliths which serve as pillars are forty feet high, and every detail
is on a gigantic scale; this is the largest Hindu temple in India. The
outer enclosure alone is twenty-four hundred and seventy-five by
twenty-eight hundred and eighty feet, and has its elephant, but it wears
a commercial aspect (being filled with bazars) which detracts from the
dignity of the scene. As we penetrated to the interior temple, the
buildings diminished in size and importance; the gopuras, however, are
imposing (there are nine in all), with their profuse decoration, all
being painted and all varying in size.

[Illustration: _Fort Rock, Trichinopoly_]

In the court around the central enclosure is a hall of about one
thousand pillars; these are of granite, eighteen feet in height. On one
side the pillars represent men astride rearing horses, the horses' feet
being supported by the shields of men on foot beside them. This temple
was built about 700 B.C. The tanks are of interest in Trichinopoly, but
less so than in Madura.

The great rock is the most noticeable feature, tunnelled out of which is
a circular staircase with a gateway leading to interior temples, and on
the sides of this passage are pillars with peculiar capitals which seem
to indicate Jain origin. The way upward was dimly lighted, and all
manner of accidents seemed possible. In fact, there was a very serious
accident in 1849, when five hundred persons were killed. At one landing
there was a school of small boys; at another, there were groups of
worshippers making their descent; turning to the left, we saw a small
temple of Siva. In the dim light everything seemed weird and unreal. The
view from the top of the rock was far-reaching, gopuras and temples
gleaming through the green foliage. There were sacred elephants here, as
at Tanjore, standing in the usual receptive attitude; for them small
coins were more acceptable than food, showing how adroitly they had been
trained.

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