It is one of our hardest woods, and such trees live, they say, five or six hundred years.

There are some which are known to be even older than that." "Well, it is clear that the staircase came up here; but we have no means of knowing how far the point we reached is below this.

I should say that the stones we saw are the remains of the pavement and roof, for you see these great blocks that formed the walls don't go as far as the middle, where there is a great depression.
Still, of course, the steps may have come up on one side or the other, and not just in the middle of this little temple--for, no doubt, it was a temple.
"Now, you see, the reason for the steps up to that little square room are explained.

Probably those three chambers were the apartments of the principal priests, and from them they could either go out on to the roof of the temple; or could, by taking the upper staircase to this point, leave or enter without observation.
"Now, let us be off." On arriving at their tree shelter, they found that the Burman had got a meal ready and, after partaking of this, Meinik, with the man, started to buy provisions.

It was fortunate that Stanley had, before starting from Prome, drawn some twenty pounds' worth of silver from the paymaster.