This wonderful relic is kept in a temple dedicated to Buddha, and guarded by priests of the religion of the Far East. Near the centre of the temple there is a room about twelve feet square, with no windows, and only a single narrow door; the atmosphere is hot and damp in consequence of the lack of ventilation, and the mass of jasmine, lotos, and other flowers that are brought there daily as offerings to the deity of the temple. Whenever visitors come to the temple the priests assemble, and consequently the room becomes crowded to an unpleasant degree. This was the state of things when our friends entered. One of the priests who spoke English acted as guide, and sent a companion to bring the key of the shrine that contained the relic. This shrine was of the shape of a bell, and stood on a solid silver table in the centre of the apartment; inside of the shrine was a smaller one of the same shape, and then another and another, and finally, in the last and smallest, the tooth was displayed resting on a golden lotos flower. Great reverence was shown to the relic by the priests that were standing around, and all seemed glad of the coming of visitors, as it gave them an opportunity to see the object they prized so highly. [Illustration: THE LOTOS FLOWER.] The boys thought Buddha must have been a man of more than gigantic size if the relic really belonged to him, as it is nearly two inches long, and resembles the tooth of a crocodile much more than that of a man. No one is permitted to touch it; but for several years after the capture of Kandy by the British the tooth was in their possession, and during that time it was carefully examined. It was pronounced nothing but a piece of ivory which had become yellow with age, and possibly from lying so long on the golden lotos. The latter is a very pretty work of art, and an excellent representation of the lotos flower as it appears on the walls of Egyptian and Indian temples. This tooth has a curious history. According to the Buddhist chronicles, it was secured at the funeral of Buddha and carried to a temple in India, where it was kept 800 years. Then there was a war for its possession, and the king who held it sent his daughter with it to Ceylon: she concealed it in the tresses of her hair, and was wrecked on the coast of India, where the tooth was buried for several days in the sand. Then a new ship was obtained, the tooth was dug up, and the journey to Ceylon completed.