to lie on my knees, and remain there, turning all sorts of
things over in her little sphinx's head, or perhaps not thinking of
anything, retaining that beautiful, charming, hereditary pose of that
noble and dreamy people, the hieratic pose of the sacred statues.

In a large brass dish I had brought provisions, cakes, fruits. The apes
came nearer and nearer, followed by their young ones, who were more
timid; at last they sat down round us in a circle, without daring to
come any nearer, waiting for me to distribute my delicacies. Then,
almost invariably, a male more daring than the rest would come to me
with outstretched hand, like a beggar, and I would give him something,
which he would take to his wife. All the others immediately began to
utter furious cries, cries of rage and jealousy; and I could not make
the terrible racket cease except by throwing each one his share.

As I was very comfortable in the ruins I had my instruments brought
there, so that I might be able to work. As soon, however, as they saw
the copper fittings on my scientific instruments, the monkeys, no doubt
taking them for some deadly engines, fled on all sides, uttering the
most piercing cries.

I often also spent my evenings with Chali on one of the external
galleries that looked on to the lake of Vihara. Without speaking we
looked at the bright moon gliding over the sky and throwing a mantle of
trembling silver over the water, and down there, on the further shore,
the row of small pagodas like elegant mushrooms with their stalks in the
water. Taking the thoughtful head of my little mistress between my
hands, I printed a long, soft kiss on her polished brow, on her great
eyes, which were full of the secret of that ancient and fabulous land,
and on her calm lips which opened to my caress. I felt a confused,
powerful, above all, a poetical, sensation, the sensation that I
possessed a whole race in this little girl, that mysterious race from
which all the others seem to have taken their origin.

The prince, however, continued to load me with presents. One day he sent
me a very unexpected object, which excited a passionate admiration in
Chali. It was merely one of those cardboard boxes covered with shells
stuck on outside, and they can be bought at any European seaside resort
for a penny or two. But there it was a jewel beyond price, and no doubt
was the first that had found its way into the kingdom. I put it on a
table and left it there, wondering