STATUE OF BUDDHA IN THE GOLDEN PAGODA.
"Around the base of the pagoda are some smaller pyramids of the general shape of the great one, and there are broad steps of stone with more griffins to watch over them. When you get inside the pagoda you find temples and statues in irregular order, as though they had been put there without any general plan; some of the sitting statues are ten or twelve feet high, and we saw some standing ones that must have measured eighteen feet at least. They represent Buddha, or Gaudama, and the largest are of brick and mortar, while the smaller ones are of metal. All are gilded, and some very thickly, and a good many had their garments made of bits of glass that were arranged to give a very pleasant effect. The general appearance of the temples and statues reminded us of those of Siam that we have already told you about, and the object is the same—the veneration of Buddha. It is proper to remark that the pagodas of Burmah are not actually temples, but simply the places where sacred relics are kept, and so the only sanctity the edifice possesses comes from the articles deposited there. The relics in this pagoda consist of eight hairs from the head of Gaudama, or the last Buddha, and a few other things of less importance. We were not permitted to see these relics, but only the shrines containing them.
"I send you also a picture of the statue of Gaudama, so that you may see how a Burmese idol looks. It is not a fine work of art, as the fingers are out of proportion to the arms, and the arms to the body, while the nose and mouth are on a more liberal scale than the most of us would like to have. All these statues have a very happy and contented expression, and some of them actually seem to smile when you look at them.
"From the golden pagoda we went to a pavilion near by, where hangs the Great Bell of Rangoon. All three of us went inside, and there was room for half a dozen more; the Doctor stretched his arms to their full length, and could just touch the edges of the bell with the tips of his fingers. The bell has no tongue or clapper, but is rung by means of a beam swung against the outside. The bells of Burmah are generally tongueless, but the Doctor says that is not the case with the belles.
"This great bell is said to be worth a hundred thousand dollars, as it contains a large amount of gold. Before it was cast the people of all classes crowded around to throw their offerings into the furnace where the metal was melted; women gave the golden ornaments from their ears, and the anklets and armlets that are so highly cherished throughout the East; men threw into the molten mass their golden scabbards, often glistening with jewels, and their costly betel-boxes; and even children came with their toys of copper or baser metals, where they were too poor to give gold or silver. The bell has a delicious tone, and in this respect is said to be the finest of all the great bells of the world.
"When the English captured Burmah, in 1824, they tried to carry the great bell away to England. While they were loading it into the ship the tackle broke, and the bell fell into the river, where it lay till after the country was restored to the Burmese. The latter fished it out and put it back in its place, and since then it has not been disturbed. The natives believed that so long as the bell remained here, and gave forth its sounds, the country could not be conquered; but their theories have been somewhat confused, as the English have had possession of this part of Burmah since 1852.
"The golden pagoda and its enclosure were full of natives coming to their worship, or going from it, while not a few seemed to be there for the sole purpose of idling away the time.