100 TOWARDS THE BORDER 



He rather fancied himself as a traveller, and said 

 " Good evening " in Enghsh. 



Asked who he was, he gave the luminous 

 answer, " 1 am Paul at Phihppi — unjustly in 

 chains ! " 



By a most unfair dispensation, he and fifty-four 

 other blackguards were allowed, on market days, 

 to take a cupful of grain for every measure which 

 was sold. They were not above helping them- 

 selves to two or three extra dips. Consequently, 

 when, for instance, there was a drought, these 

 ruffians often thrived while honest men suffered. 

 As may be imagined, they were not popular in 

 the town ! 



After a prolonged drought the Chinese have a 

 custom of blocking up the south gate of the city. 

 We passed one town where this had been done, 

 but for some other reason. They also wreathe 

 their heads with leaves and go to their god praying 

 for rain. Sometimes they take him summarily 

 from where he gesticulates in petrified abandon- 

 ment amid the shadows, and place him in the full 

 glare of the sun, as who should say, " There ! See 

 what it feels like ! " 



Outside Fukiang, in a recess cut out of the hill- 

 side, stands a large mud figure of the Buddha. It is 

 not easy to make out from the road, as scaffolding 

 hides it. 



Tliere is not much variety of bird life, but we 

 saw two large red -billed cranes, ravens, choughs, 

 pheasants, and thousands of pigeons, while a super- 

 stitious person would have found himself in a whirl 

 from calculating the effect of the number of mag- 

 pies he had seen, and whether his luck were up 



