Chap. VIII. 



A VISIT FROM BUDDHA. 



153 



placed a cup of tea before each of them, and the 

 service began. The high-priest uttered a few sen- 

 tences in a half-singing tone, making at the same 

 time a great many motions with his fingers as he 

 placed and replaced a number of grains of rice on 

 the table before him. Two little boys, dressed in 

 deep mourning (white), were engaged in prostrat- 

 ing themselves many times before the table at 

 which the high-priest sat ; and, as a singular con- 

 trast to all this seeming devotion, a number of 

 Chinese were sitting smoking on each side, and 

 looking on as if this was a play or some other 

 kind of like amusement. The other priests had 

 now joined in the chant, which was sometimes 

 slow, and at other times quick and loud, but gene- 

 rally in a melancholy tone, like all Chinese music. 



A priest who was sitting at my elbow now 

 whispered in my ear that Buddha himself was 

 about to appear. " You will not see him, nor shall 

 I, nor any one in the place except the high-priest, 

 who is clothed in the scarlet robe, and has a star- 

 shaped crown on his head — he will see him." 

 Some one outside now fired three rockets, and at 

 once every sound was hushed ; one might have 

 heard a pin drop on the ground ; and the priest 

 at my elbow whispered — "Buddha comes." — 

 " Prostrate yourselves : ah ! pull your caps off," 

 said one to the young priests in white, already 

 noticed. The boys immediately took oif their 

 little white caps, and bent lowly on the straw 

 cushions placed in front of the various altars, and 



