called the Sat-mahal Prasada or Seven-storied House, which, in a rough way, is quite analogous to the Boro Bodor.

But the structure nearest to it in general design, that I have seen or heard of, was one visited by Mr. Oldham and me in 1855, at Mengoon above Amarapoora. It was thus described from my journal. "Further north there is an older pagoda of very peculiar character. The basement which formed the bulk of the structure consisted of seven concentric circular terraces, each with a parapet of a curious serpentine form. These parapets rose one above and within the other like the (seven) walls of Ecbatana described by Herodotus..... .. .. In the parapet of every terrace were at intervals niches looking outwards, in which were figures of nats* and warders in white marble, of half life size. A great circular wall enclosed the whole at some distance from the base. It was difficult to ascertain the nature of the central structure, so shattered was it by the earthquake. The whole (though round instead of square in plan) had a great general resemblance to the large ancient pyramidal temple in Java called Boro Bodor, as described by Raffles and Crawfurd; but this Mengoon structure was not, I think, very old, and I doubt if the resemblance was more than accidental. At the foot of the hills some hundred yards to the westward there was another pagoda of similar character which we did not visit."+

I retract the notion that the resemblance was purely accidental. It is one of many analogies between Burma and Java in architecture, arts, and manners, of which the history is unknown, though some of them doubtless came from India with the religion which was once common to both. One idea struck me after seeing the Burmese edifice which I will mention. This is, that both it and the Boro Bodor were meant in a way as symbols of the great world-system of the Buddhists, mount Maha Meru surrounded by its seven concentric ranges of mountains. Nor is this inconsistent with Mr. Fergusson's theory of Boro Bodor. There are seven stories both in the Burmese edifice and in that of Tennent's Ceylon. At Boro Bodor there are but five galleries with parapets, but there are six terraces now visible, and the plates in Raffles show that there was a seventh and lower terrace which has not been uncovered. As to Boro Bodor

Burmese devtas or genii.

+ Mission to Ava in 1855, p. 172.

being square instead of round that is a trifle! The plate on the table before you will show that the Tibetan Buddhists do represent mount Meru and its seven ridges as square.*

you

The highest of the volcanic mountains of Java, rising to 12,234 feet above the sea bears the name of Meru (Sumeru), as the local representative of the apex of the mythical world.

Above the crowning dome the Dutch authorities have ereeted seats with a small roof to shade visitors, very welcome and useful, however incongruous. We were unfortunate in weather, but the view from the summit must in a clear atmosphere be quite unique. Casting your eyes beyond the grey and shattered domes which hold in durance the eternally meditative Buddhas at your feet, you overlook the whole valley of Kadú with its gentle slopes and terraces. Line behind line, in infinite perspective, lie the dense groves of cocoa-nut and fruit trees which alone indicate the sites of Javanese villages, the intervals being filled up by a garden-like tillage of rice, sugar, indigo, and a vast variety of other crops. Close behind rise the fantastic peaks and cliffs of the calcareous mountains of Menóreh whilst the panorama in front is framed in by the huge peaks of Sumbing and Sindoro, Mir-Babu and Mir-Api, respectively 11,021, 10,321, 10,227 and 9,208 English feet in height above the sea.

I will dwell no longer on Boro Bodor, but pass to Brambánan, to which I was unfortunately only able to give a part of a day. It lies close on the borders of the two states of Djokjokarta and Solo, about ten miles from the former capital and immediately south of the noble cone of Mir-Api. The remains here are very numerous and interesting, but I will notice only a few points.

The first piece of antiquity that attracts the eye in travelling from Djokjo is a temple in a field close by the road, called by the people "Chandi Kali Baneng;"+ Chandi being an Indian word which is still applied to all such Hindu remains in Java. This was a beautiful building, and exceedingly interesting to me from its strong resemblance, both in plan and in the details of ornament, to some of the Burmese temples at Pagán. Like many of these, it was a square

*See Musei Borgiani.......

Cosmogonia Indico-Thibetana &c., Romae MDCCXCIII. p. 231. No. 1466 in As. Soc. Library.

+ See Fig. 6.

See particularly in Mission to Ava the temple of Senphyokoo. Pl.

in plan, with porches on all four sides making it cruciform; three of these porches forming separate chapels, and the fourth, (that to the east), an entrance. Mr. Oldham will remember that these words describe many of the temples that we have explored together in Burma, most accurately. The lower part, to a height of 7 or 8 feet, was occupied by rich and bold base mouldings, much injured, and above this was the level of the entrance, reached by steps. There were no images remaining within, but on the northern and southern sides were the remains of sculptured standing figures holding lotuses apparently, and over the door of one side was a small figure of Buddha. The exterior faces were adorned with highly decorated niches, each surmounted by the grinning head so often spoken of, and a canopy in relief representing an architectural facade. Above this was a very heavy and rich double cornice in great dilapidation, the lower cornice supported by a frieze of little human figures, Atlaslike, bearing it on their hands. The interior was a chamber of about 26 feet square roofed in by the usual false vault in the way shown in the section; there were here traces of a fine coat of plaster which evidently had at one time covered the whole of the building, and was found even on some of those points which were most richly sculptured, such as the fine scroll work on the pilasters at the angles. This is a very singular feature, and I have little doubt that it was universal in these buildings. The use of lime is entirely rejected as a cement in the joints of the building, but adopted as a coating to the most elaborate surfaces of stone-work. Exactly the same was the case at Pagán, only admirable brick-work was there substituted for stone. If the object was the preservation of the building, it is difficult to understand why the stones should not have been laid with mortar. We know that even the sculptured cave-walls of Ellora and Ajunta have been similarly coated with plaster, and that there it was to give a ground for colouring. Probably the object here was

the same.

*

Fig. 12. There is, I find, a description of this temple, with a plan and section in Raffles, but no view. It is by Captain G. Baker whom Raffles employed to draw and survey the remains, and I may mention that he seems to have accepted all the ignorant talk of the sepoys who were with him as authoritative, and consequently has misleading descriptions of the figures as representing Krishna, Sita, &c. The figure which he calls Sita appears to be the small Buddha over the door; and the whole building appears to have been purely Buddhist.

E