341 CEREMONIES ATTENDING THE FUNERAL OF 
deceased has need in the other life. In the mountain a deep 
cavern has been excavated, the entrance to which is in the 
edifice, and is formed of a large stone. It is in this cavern, 
which is extended to the middle of the mountain, in a place 
unknown to the public, that the corpse is deposited. This place 
is only made known to the persons strictly necessary, for they 
fear that in case of war the enemy will try to profane the 
remains of the detunct kin", as has already happened in this 
country; and this is regarded as one of the greatest of misfor¬ 
tunes. From the river to -the tomb a floor has been made 
covered with beautiful mats, and over this floor the coffin was 
borne and the whole of the convoy marched, who also carried 
all the boats and stages with great pomp. At the precise 
hour indicated by the astrologers, the corpse was deposited 
in the cavern, and with it were interred much gold and 
silver, precious stones, and many other valuable objects, and 
then the cavern was closed. This done, three large piles were 
constructed within the compass of the walls. These piles 
were composed of boats, of stages and of every thing that 
had been used in the funeral, and moreover of all the objects 
which had been in use by the king during his lifetime, of 
chessmen, musical instruments, fans, boxes, parasols, mats, 
fillets, carriages &c. &c. and likewise a horse and an elephant, 
of wood and pasteboard. There was also burned separately 
a magnificent boat all gilt, in which had been placed gold, silver, 
and precious stones. This was the boat which had been used 
by the king during his life, and further another very magnifi¬ 
cent boat was burned which bad been built for the express 
purpose of carrying the corpse. The young king applied 
the fire. During all the time of the burning the mountebanks 
who before bad been mounted upon a stage, and whose duty 
it was to chase away the devils, conducted themselves in a 
very singular manner. They danced, leapt, brandished their 
wooden arms, or firebrands, they sung, they shouted menacing 
the demons with all kinds of misfortunes, in order to prevent 
them from entering the cave where the corpse of the king had 
been interred. When all was consumed the new king and 
the mandarins quietly returned to the city. In this ceremony, 
however, several mandarins lost their rank, the least mis¬ 
take about the ceremonial being most severely punished. 
Some months after the funeral, at two different times, there 
were constructed in a forest near a pagoda, two mag¬ 
nificent palaces of wood with rich furnishings, in all things 
similar to the palace which the defunct monarch had inha¬ 
bited. Each palace was composod of twenty rooms, and the 
