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The National Geographic Magazine 



Sir Edwin Tennent says of one of 

 them: "Even with the facilities which 

 modern invention supplies for economiz- 

 ing labor, the building of such a mass 

 would at present occupy 500 brick-layers 

 from six to seven years and would in- 

 volve an expenditure of at least a million 

 sterling ($5,000,000). The materials are 

 sufficient to raise 8,000 houses, each with 

 20 feet frontage, and these would form 

 thirty streets each half a mile in length. 

 They would construct a town the size of 

 Ipswich or Coventry; they would line an 

 ordinary railway tunnel 20 miles long, or 

 form a wall one foot thick and ten feet 

 high, reaching from London to Edin- 

 burgh." How long it took the original 

 builders to construct these monuments is 

 entirely a matter of conjecture. 



Besides the Dagobas, there are many 

 other objects of interest, not the least 

 of which are the "Yogi" stones, divided 

 into nine or twenty-five squares, at which 

 the Buddhist priests were accustomed to 

 gaze in order to get their minds in a 

 proper frame for contemplation of the 

 Infinite. 



One is greatly impressed by the num- 

 ber and beauty of the Jokunas, or bath- 

 ing places. Simple, even severe, in de- 

 sign, they are found near the sites of all 

 the important buildings. Those which 

 have been restored are beautiful in their 

 simplicity and proportions. Before each 

 of the buildings, and taking the place of 



the threshold, is one of the most unique 

 remains of this ancient civilization. Al- 

 though different in beauty and workman- 

 ship, they are all nearly the same. They 

 have been dubbed "Moonstones," and 

 that inexpressive term has to do duty for 

 something both beautiful and artistic. 



In shape they are half circles, but the 

 words cannot do justice to the beauty and 

 originality of the design. In concentric 

 circles come first the border of lotus 

 leaves, then a procession of lions, horses, 

 Brahmany bulls, and elephants (see pic- 

 ture) ; another design of lotus leaves, and 

 inside that a similar procession of geese. 

 The center is taken up by half of the con- 

 ventional lotus flower. 



Probably a majority of people will be 

 interested most by the fact that here is 

 the oldest tree in the world. Its age is 

 about 2,200 years and is undoubtedly au- 

 thentic. It was brought to Ceylon about 

 300 B. C, and was a branch of the tree 

 under which the Buddha Gautama sat 

 when he attained Buddhahood. Greatly 

 revered by the pilgrims, it has a temple 

 erected in its honor. Through centuries 

 it has been respected and spared by all. 

 During its lifetime most of the world's 

 history has been made. It was already 

 old when Christ brought his message to 

 the world, and standing in its present 

 spot it witnessed the rapid rise of 

 Anuradhapura and saw it sink to its pres- 

 ent position of ruin and oblivion. 



THREE OLD PORTS ON THE SPANISH MAIN 



By G. M. L. Brown 



Member op the National Geographic Society 



FEW expressions in English litera- 

 ture have given rise to more 

 confusion than the term "Span- 

 ish Main." Applied originally, it would 

 appear, to the waters of the Caribbean 

 Sea and that part of the Atlantic Ocean 



traversed by the treasure ships of Spain, 

 it gradually included the adjacent coasts 

 of the continent, until, with most modern 

 writers, it has come to mean this alone, 

 and "sailing the Spanish Main," for- 

 sooth, will hereafter be an anachronism 



*This is the first of two articles by Mr Brown ; the second, "Across the L,lanos," will appear 

 in an early number. 



