VOYAGE FROM INDIA TO SIAM AND MALACCA. 169 



tures. The chief idol was only moderate in size ; before it stood 

 two other idols, apparently of the female sex. They had ruby rings 

 and other jewels painted on each of their fingers. Above them 

 there hung canopies which were round and had four divisions, 

 one above the other ; they were ornamented with flowers and tinsel. 



There was another smaller idol, sitting back to back with 

 the chief one ; on the wall at the side of two doors were two 

 hieroglyphic boards, the signs being about four inches long' and 

 painted in equal rows, representing all sorts of animals, flowers, 

 and leaves. They were said to be copies from originals which 

 exist in Inthea in a temple. They represent the footprints of 

 one of their gods. The whole plates were about three feet long 

 and two feet wide. Others say that they are the tables of their 

 Metempsy coses. I could distinguish an archer, a ram, fishes and 

 such signs, and therefore am more inclined to think that they are 

 the tables of their signs of the Zodiac, because some of the 

 Malabars on our coast have similar tables, and the leaves of the 

 ebony-tree, which they call Karingalli, and which occurred often 

 on those tables, are often mentioned in their poems. In the 

 pronaos I found many Saraca trees in full bloom ; I was told, 

 that these flowers furnish a good vegetable. I also found the 

 small parasitical Contorta with orbicular leaves,* of which 

 Rumph has made a drawing in his third volume. It grew abun- 

 dantly on a tree, but had neither blossom or fruit. The ordinary 

 mangestang began to bloom. 



In the afternoon I started on my way back towards 

 our ship and as the water was very shallow in some places, 

 I went on shore. First near a temple, which lay at some 

 distance from the stream and was called Bang-Plung. Here 

 I found Averrhoa acida in full bloom, but most of the blos- 

 soms were male ones, and it is no Overrhoa but a PhijUanthus^ . 

 Cercophyfhun arhorescens began to bloom ; both its leaves and its 

 blossoms are eaten by the natives. There was a plantation of 

 many young trees here. Terminalia Cafappa grew everywhere 

 wild on the banks of the river, specially in such places w^here 

 the water began to be salt. 



At other places I found a KyctantJies ; it had many branches 

 and lancet-shaped leaves, which were shiny on the upper 



* Dtschidia nunumdaria. 

 t Cicca acidisaima. 



