"I followed my guide out of the house and through a grove of trees, till we came to the edge of the lake. A boat was waiting which, when we had entered, carried us silently without any apparent means of progress, to the temple steps, and after we had landed, as silently returned to its former place. When we had walked up the steps and passed between the marble pillars, I saw that a wide-open colonnade extended round a circular inner shrine, which was enclosed with a solid wall. In this wall, and opposite the steps, was a beautiful carved archway, the entrance to which was closed with folding-doors of embossed silver. As we drew near, they opened; at the same moment the moon rose, and I heard again those soft strains of music which had reached me the preceding night whilst I lay watching from the hill. I will try to give you some idea of the scene which was presented to me as I followed the high priest into the temple. "At first the light was so dim that I found it difficult to distinguish objects clearly; but as the moon rose higher, and my eyes became accustomed to the light, the full beauty of the building was disclosed. Although, from outside, the temple seemed divided into three floors, the dome of this inner shrine extended to the summit of the building. The second and third double rows of columns, through which the moonlight now poured, supported the inner dome, and formed covered colonnades from which it was possible either to look down into the temple, or out upon the lake and woods around. As in the Taj of Agra, the walls were covered with writing formed of crystals and other more or less precious stones, while the floor was covered with marble mosaic worked into various designs. In the centre was a clear deep pool, from the surface of which rose seven thin columns of water, one rising fifty feet, and the others which surrounded it about thirty, before they fell in light spray into the circular basin. There were about a hundred persons present, all robed in loose white tunics; some were standing, but the greater number were reclining, or sitting upon tiers of broad marble steps. "With the exception of myself, there were only two present whose dress in any way distinguished them from the others; one was the high priest, who wore round his waist a golden girdle set with what appeared to be precious stones; and the other a woman who was standing near him, on whose breast lay a jewel cut in the shape of a heart, from which proceeded a pale soft light. The woman, whom I rightly judged to be the high priestess, must have been sixty years of age; she was tall and still beautifully proportioned; her hair was silvery white, her complexion smooth and clear; but at the time I hardly noticed any of these details, so absorbed had I become in watching the varying expressions on her face. She was standing in shadow, but the light from the luminous jewel on her breast lit up her features so that they were clearly visible.