“How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, While the stars that oversprinkle All the heavens, seem to twinkle With a crystalline delight; Keeping time, time, time, In a sort of Runic rhyme, To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells From the bells, bells, bells, bells, Bells, bells-- From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.” Within the Wat Chang inclosure, besides the pagoda, are priests’ dwellings, temples, with their idols, a preaching-hall, a library and small parks, with flower and fruit-gardens, ponds, caves and stone statues of Chinese sages and warriors, presenting a scene of bewildering richness. TEMPLE OF THE EMERALD IDOL. The Wat P’hra Keau is the temple where the reigning monarch worships. On the road leading to this temple is another temple, the Wat Poh, where reposes in gigantic state the wondrous Sleeping Idol. This is a reclining figure, 150 feet long and 40 feet high, entirely covered with gold-plate. The soles of this giant figure’s feet are covered with carvings inlaid with pearl and chased with gold. The designs of these carvings represent the many transmigrations of Buddha before he obtained Nirvāna (or, as the Siamese call it, Niphan). On the nails of the toes are engraven Buddha’s ten divine attributes. Beyond this temple are the stables, or, more properly speaking, the Palace of the White Elephant, where the huge creature is housed and cared for royally. [Illustration: THE KING OF SIAM GOING TO WORSHIP AT THE TEMPLE OF THE EMERALD IDOL.] [Illustration: ALTAR OF THE TEMPLE OF THE EMERALD IDOL, SIAM.] Beyond these is the Temple of the Emerald Idol. This is one of the most remarkable and beautiful structures of its kind in all the East. Its model is like that of all the others, but its finish is of a much higher order. The exterior is adorned with lofty octagonal pillars, with quaint Gothic doors and windows, all carved with a great variety of emblems, the lotus and the palm occurring most frequently. This temple, like all Siamese temples, is built of brick, with a number of roofs rising in connected tiers, and reaching out over broad verandas, supported by rows of pillars, the whole covered with white cement. The roofs are usually made of many-colored tiles; at the ends of the ridge-pole are many ornaments, resembling bullocks’ horns in size and shape. The walls and ceiling of the interior are covered with finely-executed paintings. Mrs. Leonowens, an English lady who lived for six years in the palace of the King of Siam, and who thereby enjoyed unusual privileges, thus describes the interior and worship of the Wat P’hra Keau: