Page:The Mythology of All Races Vol 12 (Egyptian and Indo-Chinese).djvu/377

Rh ground in this direction. The largest of these hillocks still bears the name of "the Hill of the Standard of the Ly." The foundations of the ancient buildings can be traced to this day, and the whole of the ground is so covered with fragments of tiles, broken pottery, and bricks that very little else can be seen. In those days Hanoi went by the name of Thanh-long, which means "the City of the Dragon," and the raised causeway was constructed to protect it from floods. Tradition declares that the palace which stood here was pulled down by one of the kings of the Ly Dynasty. The particular monarch is not named, but it is said that he ordered the destruction of the palace because his only son died there, and then caused a temple to be constructed in its stead. The shrine was constructed over the foundations of the palace, and it was discovered, when repairs were being carried out some years ago, that the army joined the King in erecting it, because two columns were found inscribed "Hu‘u Kwan" and "Ta Kwan," which mean the right and left wings of the army. The temple itself contains absolutely nothing of interest, neither statues, works of art, nor inscriptions. In front of it is a wide sheet of water fringed by huge banians and having in the centre a wooded island which is said to cover the head of another dragon under the water. At the bottom of the stairs leading down to the paved causeway stands an altar, quite out in the open, with tho, the character for longevity, carved on it, and it is much frequented by men who are growing old. A little farther on, at the very foot of the two stone flights of steps which give approach to the temple, is a tiny shrine, closed with a blind. This is sacred to a malevolent female spirit who lives in the woods and who is said to have pursued and slaughtered the men sent out to cut down the trees to furnish the timber required for the building of the temple. She went on doing this until it occurred to some one to appease her by building a shrine in her special honour. This scheme was successful, but one wonders that she was not made more violent than ever. The