Dec. 1848. 



TEMPLES AT TASSIDING. 



319 



praying-machines. The carving round the doors is very 

 beautiful, and they are gaudily painted and gilded. The 



northern temple is quite plain : the middle one is simply 

 painted red, and encircled with a row of black heads, with 

 goggle eyes and numerous teeth, on a white ground ; it is 

 said to have been originally dedicated to the evil spirits of 

 the Lepcha creed. The southern, which contains the 

 library, is the largest and best, and is of an irregular 

 square shape. The inside walls and floors are plastered 

 with clay, and painted with allegorical representations of 

 Boodh, &c. From the vestibule the principal apartment 

 is entered by broad folding-doors, studded with circular 

 copper bosses, and turning on iron hinges. It is lighted 

 by latticed windows, sometimes protected outside by a 

 bamboo screen. Owing to the great thickness of the walls 



