in
side and anon the city of Kandy could be seen sot down in a sort of a
valley on the mountain. We had our dinner at the Queen's Hotel, and
from there sallied out to see the sights. Not fur from the hotel wuz a
artificial lake three milds round, built by some king. His very name
is forgotten, whilst the water of this little lake he dug out splashes
up on the shore jest as fresh as ever. All round the lake is a
beautiful driveway, where all sorts of vehicles wuz seen. Big
barouches full of English people, down to a little two-wheeled cart
drawed by one ox. Crowds of people, jewels, bright color, anon a poor
woman carrying her baby astride her hip, men, wimmen, children, a
brilliant, movin' panorama.

The tooth of Buddha is kep' in a temple called Maligawa, or Temple of
the Tooth, and I laid out to have a considerable number of emotions as
I stood before it. But imagine a tooth bigger than a hull tooth brush!
What kind of a mouth must Lord Buddha have had if that wuz a sample of
his teeth? Why, his mouth, at the least calculation, must have been as
big as a ten-quart pan! Where wuz the beauty and charm of that
countenance--that mouth that had spoke such wise words?

I don't believe it wuz his tooth. I hain't no idee it wuz. No human
bein' ever had a mouth big enough to hold thirty odd monsters like
that, let alone this noble prince, "with godlike face and eyes
enwrapped, lost in care for them he knew not, save as fellow lives."
There is a mistake somewhere. There wuz lots of natives round
worshippin' it. But I felt that if Prince Siddartha could speak out of
Nirvana he would say:

"Don't worship that tooth, Josiah Allen's wife; it hain't mine
nor never wuz; but worship the principles of love and compassion
and self-sacrifice I tried to teach to my people." And almost
instinctively I sez, "I will, Prince Siddartha, I will."

And Josiah sez: "What say, Samantha?" And I sez:

"Let's go out, Josiah, and see the sacred tree, Bo, that they
worship."

"I'll go," sez Josiah, "but you won't git me to worship no tree, I can
tell you that. I've cleared off too many acres and chopped and sawed
too much cord wood to worship a tree."

"Did I ask you to, Josiah?" sez I. "It would break my heart to see you
bend your knee to any idol. But this is the oldest tree in the world;
it is over two thousand years old."

"Wall, it ort to be cut down, Samantha, if it is that age; it is
seasoned and would make crackin' good lumber."

O