I >
rows down the long hall, and on the stalactite ledges,
there is a numerous company of Buddhas, a fraction
only of the multitude that was once here. Yet, at a
glance, one can see that many types and ages are
represented. The guano lies in black heaps on the
floor, and the odour is sickening, There are two exits,
one above a great rock that bars the cave’s mouth,
chosen of the winged tenants in their daily flight to
PHA-GAT
the se a ; the other is below the rock, and, as I stand
in its shadow a moment before departing, there is a
wonderful view from it, of the still face of the river,
of shadowy hills beyond, and a flaming sunlit sky. I
step from the cave into my boat, and slip down the
river to Kogun.
A narrow %ater of the Salwin curves below it,
encircling an island rich with river-grasses, with fields
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