this place all is darkness, as there are
no windows, and inside the door, there is a curtain, to prevent the
entry of any light. The walls and ceiling are covered with silk
tapestry, which, however, has nothing but its antiquity to recommend
it. It is true that it was interwoven with gold thread, but it
appeared never to have been especially costly, and I cannot believe
that it ever produced that dazzling effect which some travellers
have described. Half of the chamber was engrossed by a large table,
or kind of altar, inlaid with plates of silver, and ornamented round
the edges with precious stones. On it stands a bell-shaped case,
measuring at the bottom at least three feet in diameter, and the
same in height. It is made of silver thickly gilt, and decorated
with a number of costly jewels; there is a peacock in the middle
entirely formed of precious stones; but all these treasures fail to
produce any very great effect, from the clumsy and inartistic
fashion in which they are set.

Under the large case there are six smaller ones, said to be of pure
gold; under the last is the tooth of the all-powerful divinity. The
outer case is secured by means of three locks, two of the keys
belonging to which used to be kept by the English governor, while
the third remained in the custody of the chief priest of the temple.
A short time previous to my visit, however, the government had
restored the two keys to the natives with great solemnities, and
they are now confided to one of the native Radschas, or princes.

The relic itself is only shown to a prince or some other great
personage; all other people must be content to believe the priest,
who, for a small gratuity, has the politeness to describe the size
and beauty of the tooth. The dazzling whiteness of its hue is said
to eclipse that of ivory, while its form is described as being more
beautiful than anything of the kind ever beheld, and its size to
equal that of the tooth of an immense bullock.

An immense number of pilgrims come here every year to pay their
adoration to this divine tooth.

"Where ignorance is bliss, 't is folly to be wise." How many people
are there among us Christians who believe things which require quite
as great an amount of faith? For instance, I remember witnessing,
when I was a girl, a festival at Calvaria, in Gallicia, which is
still celebrated every year. A great multitude of pilgrims go there
to obtain splinters of the true cross. The p