Page:Life in Java Volume 1.djvu/273

Rh its surface; and on the opposite side another of the same description, but smaller. At the corners of the large square were placed spouts, representing the heads of hideous serpents, connected with a conduit which ran all round the square, and by means of which the waste water from the tanks emptied itself, flowing from thence to the adjacent brook, and petrifying in its course everything it touched.

In all probability this was formerly a sacrificial altar, used in the time of the Buddhists, as the Hindoos of the present day frequently bathe their calf or goat before laying it on the altar for sacrifice.

In a small hut, a short distance from this, there are several of these mineral springs, the water of which we found, on tasting it, to be ferruginous. The deposit on the sides and bottom of each tank was quite red, and the water clear as crystal. Between the hut and the square was a large flooring,