Now this happened at the beginning of a day destined to become most notable among those spent at Angkor.
By noon we were at Ballambong, where lies concealed in the very heart of the forest a minature Nagkon Wat, not lacking interest to the professed antiquarian, but to us it seemed decidedly tame.
We had gone into the jungle accompanied only by one old priest whom we had taken pains to propitiate by frequent gifts of brandy and tobacco. Although only three miles distant from Angkor, the journey had been a hard one, since every step of the way took us through a dense tropical tangle, keeping me in momentary dread of dangling pythons, prowling tigers and other pleasing diversions.
Nevertheless the trip was not without enjoyment. The day was perfect, and as the rainy season was now close upon us, such days were not to be despised. Maurice was full of life and spirits, and Philpot certainly at his best. Jovial always, he seemed to surpass himself in joviality on that particular morning. Witty upon all occasions, he kept us in a constant roar of laughter by his quaint remarks and comical sayings. More than all this, it was a pleasure to listen as he unfolded his vast stores of knowledge. Not a plant, not a tree nor shrub, but he had the name, botanical and vulgar, at his tongue’s end, and as he rattled on, discoursing learnedly at one moment, telling a witty and often broad anecdote the next, I could not but wonder where and when the man had found time to learn all these things, and how it happened that one whose manners and acquirements certainly seemed to fit him for many elevated positions, had become so complete a nomad—a wanderer on the face of the earth.
We remained at the ruins three hours, during which time Philpot took a series of views of the temple and the most notable of the bas-reliefs.
I remember how he sang over his work, stopping only to light his pipe—the tobacco had been begged from Maurice—and to quiz the old priest, who followed us about like a dog, watching our operations with awe.
Meanwhile I kept myself busy studying inscriptions and dreaming over the lost glories of this wonderful land. I pondered upon the problems which Angkor and its environs offer to the antiquarian. I fancied these old temples in their glory, with a mighty city surrounding them.
