"Elephants are used here for a great many purposes, but they are forbidden to move about the streets of Benares, except in certain hours, because of the accidents arising from the frightening of horses. Horses have an unaccountable fear of elephants and camels, as we saw repeatedly, and on two or three occasions we narrowly escaped being thrown from our carriage by the 'shying' of the horses when passing an elephant. The elephant we had was a stately old beast who would not go faster than a walk, and the fact is we were quite satisfied with that pace. He came very near brushing us off as he went under the trees, and once the howdah where we were seated was brought against a limb so forcibly that for a few seconds we thought we should be spilled out. However, we got safely back to the hotel, and gave a liberal backsheesh to the _mahout_, or driver, who had piloted us on our novel excursion. [Illustration: BUDDHIST TOWER AT SARNATH.] "In the afternoon we went to Sarnath, where the founder of Buddhism is said to have commenced the meditations which resulted in the religion that has more followers than any other in existence. The ruins consist of two towers, about half a mile apart, and the foundations of several buildings which are thought to date from the time of Buddha, or from the century following his death. According to some Chinese writers, who visited Benares in the fifth century of the Christian era, there were formerly several buildings and towers here, and they showed the tank where Buddha bathed, and another where he washed his clothing; on the bank of this last tank there was a flat stone that showed the marks of the cloth where it was spread out to dry, but we couldn't find either the stone or the tank. [Illustration: CARVING ON THE TOWER AT SARNATH.] "Of course we looked at the tower, which is very much in ruins, and has bushes growing on the top and in various places on the sides. There is nothing remarkable about the structure except in its historical associations, and we didn't stay there long; but we have since read the description of the ruins of Sarnath, and the account of the excavations made there. The tower is 110 feet high as it stands at present, and ninety-two feet in diameter at the base, and where the outside stone has not been torn away there are some fine sculptures. They represent flowers and scroll work, and were evidently done by an accomplished artist. The lotos flower is represented more frequently than anything else, and as the lotos was the emblem of Buddha, the sculpture shows that the tower was erected in his honor. There are niches for statues on the sides of the tower, and it is supposed that they once contained the figures of the great preacher, in the sitting posture so common in the Far East.