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CHAPTER VIII. 



CHUNG-KING. 



Return to town— Catholic and other missions — Visitors — The China 

 Inland Mission — Native post — ^A Taoist temple — The priests 

 hard-up — Chinese banks — An ephemeral town — Across the river 

 — The Catholic cathedral — Charming surroundings of the city — 

 Filth vifithin — Dull evenings — Chess — Malt liquor — A public 

 garden — The walls — Slow progress of the missionaries. 



On our way back to the city on the following day, we 

 turned aside to visit an extensive garden occupying a 

 narrow glen overlooking the Sia Ho, in which are the 

 courtyards, temples, reception-rooms, fish-ponds, winding 

 stone paths, and rockwork mountains of the Kiangsi Guild- 

 hall, in Chinese, Ning Kiang Hui-kwan. The merchants 

 and traders from the distant provinces, assembled in the 

 larger commercial cities all over the empire, have each a 

 guild-house of their own in every important city. The 

 glen above is filled with groves of magnificent bamboos, 

 and the whole place is redolent of vegetation, and, notwith- 

 standing the sunshine, the air was close and damp, like that 

 of a hothouse. In picturesque spots, scattered about the 

 gardens, are handsome pavilions, where parties come to 

 " drink wine," i.e. to dine, and to " shwa," t.e. fl^ner. The 

 usual oranges, camellias, and azaleas filled every vacant 



