tten or perverted
by succeeding ages to the purposes of a ridiculous superstition. It is
elaborately carved and painted with numerous symbols, each of which
has a profound significance. The liturgy of the Siamese connected with
it consists of fifty measured lines of eight syllables each, and
contains the names of a hundred and eight distinct symbolical
objects,--such as the lion, the elephant, the sun and moon in their
cars drawn by oxen, the horse, the serpents, the spiral building, the
tree, the six spheres, the five lakes, and the altar--all of which are
represented on the foot. This list of symbolical allusions is recited
by the priests, and forms an essential part of the ritual of worship.
The Siamese priests say that any mortal about to arrive at the
threshold of Nivana has his feet emblazoned spontaneously with all the
symbols to be seen on the Phrabat.

The Siamese acknowledge only five genuine Phrabats made by the actual
feet of Buddha. They are called the Five Impressions of the Divine
Foot. The first is on a rock on the coast of the peninsula of Malacca,
where, beside the mark of Buddha's foot, there is also one of a dog's
foot, which is much venerated by the natives. The second Phrabat is on
the Golden Mountain, the hill with the holy footstep of Buddha, in
Siam, which Buddha visited on one occasion. The impression is that of
the right foot, and is covered with a maradop, a pyramidal canopy
supported by gilded pilasters. The hollow of the footstep is generally
filled with water, which the devotee sprinkles over his body to wash
away the stain of his sin. The third Phrabat is on a hill on the banks
of the Jumna, in the midst of an extensive and deep forest, which
spreads over broken ranges of hills. The Phrabat is on a raised
terrace, like that on which most of the Buddhist temples are built.
The pyramidal structure which shelters it is of hewn stone ninety feet
high, and is like the _baldacchino_ of a Roman Catholic church. There
are four impressions on different terraces, each rising above the
other, corresponding to the four descents of the deity. The fourth
Phrabat is also on the banks of the Jumna. But the fifth and most
celebrated of all is the print of the sacred foot on the top of the
Amala Sri Pada, or Adam's Peak, in Ceylon. On the highest point of
this hill there is a pagoda-like building, supported on slender
pillars, and open on every side to the winds. Underneath this canopy,
in the centre of a