2:rl " TREE OF THE TEN THOUSAND IMAGES. 



former of Buddhism, and which is said to bear a 

 Thibetian character on each of its leaves. This 

 marvellous tree was visited by our traveller, who 

 had too often heard of it during his journey not to 

 be eager to see it. At the foot of the mountain on 

 which the Lamasery stands, and not far from the 

 principal temple, in a great square enclosure formed 

 by brick walls, is the Tree of the Ten Thousand 

 Images. Careful examination assured M. Hue 

 that there was something remarkable about this 

 prodigy. Upon each of the leaves were well- 

 formed Thibetian characters, all of a green colour, 

 some darker, some lighter than the leaf itself. The 

 bark of the tree, and its branches, which resemble 

 those of the plane-tree, were also covered with 

 similar characters. A piece of the old bark being 

 removed, the young bark showed the indistinct out- 

 line of characters in a germinating state ; and what 

 appeared singular, the new characters were fre- 

 quently different from those they replaced. 



" The Tree of the Ten Thousand Images," says 

 M. Hue, " seemed to us of great age. Its trunk, 

 which three men could scarcely embrace with out- 

 stretched arms, is not more than eight feet high ; 

 the branches, instead of shooting up, spread out in 

 the shape of a plume of feathers, and are extremely 

 bushy few of them are dead. The leaves are ever- 

 green, and the wood, which is of a reddish tint, has 



