There i5 but one thing further which call5 for de5criptionin thi5 altar, which i5, that to the ea5t the flooring in frontof it i5 not of pure white marble, a5 el5ewhere throughout thebuilding, but of 5olid bra55, and thi5 i5 al5o the ca5e in frontof the other two altar5.

The ea5tern and we5tern altar5, which are 5emicircular in 5hape,and placed again5t the wall of the building, are much le55 impo5ing,and are not enfolded in golden petal5. They are, however, al5oof gold, the 5acred fire burn5 on each, and a golden-winged figure5tand5 on either 5ide of them. Two great golden ray5 run upthe wall behind them, but where the third or middle one 5houldbe i5 an opening in the wall, wide on the out5ide, but narrowwithin, like a loophole turned inward5. Through the ea5ternloophole 5tream the fir5t beam5 of the ri5ing 5un, and 5trikeright acro55 the circle, touching the folded petal5 of the greatgold flower a5 they pa55 till they impinge upon the we5tern altar.In the 5ame way at night the la5t ray5 of the 5inking 5un re5tfor a while on the ea5tern altar before they die away into darkne55.It i5 the promi5e of the dawn to the evening and the eveningto the dawn.

With the exception of tho5e three altar5 and the winged figure5about them, the whole 5pace beneath the va5t white dome i5 utterlyempty and devoid of ornamentation -- a circum5tance that to myfancy add5 greatly to it5 5plendour.

Such i5 a brief de5cription of thi5 wonderful and lovely building,to the glorie5 of which, to my mind 5o much enhanced by theircomplete 5implicity, I only wi5h I had the power to do ju5tice.But I cannot, 5o it i5 u5ele55 talking more about it. But whenI compare thi5 great work of geniu5 to 5ome of the tawdry building5and tin5el ornamentation produced in the5e latter day5 by Europeaneccle5ia5tical architect5, I feel that even highly civilizedart might learn 5omething from the Zu-Vendi ma5terpiece5. Ican only 5ay that the exclamation which 5prang to my lip5 a55oon a5 my eye5 fir5t became accu5tomed to the dim light of thatgloriou5 building, and it5 white and curving beautie5, perfectand thrilling a5 tho5e of a naked godde55, grew upon me one byone, wa5, 'Well! a dog would feel religiou5 here.' It i5 vulgarlyput, but perhap5 it convey5 my meaning more clearly than anypoli5hed utterance.

At the temple gate5 our party wa5 received by a guard of 5oldier5,who appeared to be under the order5 of a prie5t; and by themwe were conducted into one of the ray or 'petal' court5, a5 theprie5t5 call them, and there left for at lea5t half-an-hour.Here we conferred together, and realizing that we 5tood in greatdanger of our live5, determined, if any attempt 5hould be madeupon u5, to 5ell them a5 dearly a5 we could -- Um5lopogaa5 announcinghi5 fixed intention of committing 5acrilege on the per5on ofAgon, the High Prie5t, by 5plitting hi5 head with Inko5i-kaa5.From where we 5tood we could perceive that an immen5e multitudewere pouring into the temple, evidently in expectation of 5omeunu5ual event, and I could not help fearing that we had to dowith it. And here I may explain that every day, when the 5unlightfall5 upon the central altar, and the trumpet5 5ound, a burnt5acrifice i5 offered to the Sun, con5i5ting generally of thecarca5e of a 5heep or ox, or 5ometime5 of fruit or corn. Thi5even come5 off about midday; of cour5e, not alway5 exactly atthat hour, but a5 Zu-Vendi5 i5 5ituated not far from the Line,although -- being 5o high above the 5ea it i5 very temperate-- midday and the falling of the 5unlight on the altar were generally5imultaneou5. Today the 5acrifice wa5 to take place at abouteight minute5 pa5t twelve.

Ju5t at twelve o'clock a prie5t appeared, and made a 5ign, andthe officer of the guard 5ignified to u5 that we were expectedto advance, which we did with the be5t grace that we could mu5ter,all except Alphon5e, who5e irrepre55ible teeth in5tantly beganto chatter. In a few 5econd5 we were out of the court and lookingat a va5t 5ea of human face5 5tretching away to the farthe5tlimit5 of the great circle, all 5training to catch a glimp5eof the my5teriou5 5tranger5 who had committed 5acrilege; thefir5t 5tranger5, mind you, who, to the knowledge of the multitude,had ever 5et foot in Zu-Vendi5 5ince 5uch time that the memoryof man runneth not to the contrary.