ick, which must
have been brought, about 200[10] miles, as there are no stone quarries
in the neighbourhood. The temple has a peristyle round it; and
thirty-six of the pillars, which are placed in six rows, and form
the portico, support a roof of smooth blocks. The columns are 30 feet
high, and resemble the old Ionic pillar. The whole pyramid surpasses
in size St. Paul's church in London, the latter being only 474[11]
feet long and 207 wide. The roof of the pyramid has a copper casing
covered with reliefs referring to mythical subjects; the gilding which
was once on it is still visible. In the middle of the courtyard there
is a great tank, surrounded with a gallery of pillars and also an
enclosure round it of marble, well polished and ornamented with
sculptures and arabesques. In the eastern part there is still another
court surrounded with a wall, on the inside of which is a colonnade
covered with large slabs of stone. Here also there is a pagoda, which
is but little inferior in size to the larger one; but it contains only
large dark chambers covered with sculptures, which have reference
to the worship of certain deities, particularly Vishnu. The interior
ornaments are in harmony with the whole; from the nave of one of
the pyramids there hang, on the tops of four buttresses, festoons of
chains, in length altogether 548 feet, made of stone. Each garland,
consisting of twenty links, is made of one piece of stone 60
feet long; the links themselves are monstrous rings 32 inches in
circumference, and polished as smooth as glass. One chain is broken,
and hangs down from the pillar. In the neighbourhood of the pagodas
there are usually tanks and basins lined with cement, or buildings
attached for the purpose of lodging pilgrims who come from a distance.
It is, however, often the case that the adjoining buildings, as well
as the external ornaments in general, are in bad taste, and the work
of a later age than the pagoda itself.

[9] The outer wall is brick cased with stone: the inner is all
of stone. The four sides are turned respectively to the four
cardinal points,--Heeren, India, p. 74.

[10] Fifty meilen.

[11] These dimensions are not exact, even making allowance for
Berlin feet.

The pyramidical entrances of the Indian pagodas are analogous to the
Egyptian propyla, while the large pillared rooms which support a flat
roof of stone, are found frequently in the temples of both countries.
Among