284 



MK. WANG. 



Chap. XIII. 



to Buddha. The expected visitors, who appeared 

 to be the farmers and other respectable inhabi- 

 tants of the neighbourhood, were arriving in con- 

 siderable numbers, and each one as he came in 

 prostrated himself in front of the table. 



As the valley in which the temple is placed is 

 fully 3000 feet above the sea, I felt the air most 

 piercingly cold, although it was only the middle 

 of October, and hot enough in the plains in the 

 daytime. So cold was it that at last I was 

 obliged to take refuge in the kitchen, where Mr. 

 Wang was busy with his preparations for the 

 dinner, and where several fires were burning. 

 This place had no chimney, so the smoke had 

 to find its way out through the doors, windows, or 

 broken roof, or, in fact, any way it could. My 

 position here was, therefore, far from being an 

 enviable one, although I got a little warmth from 

 the fires. I was, therefore, glad when dinner was 

 announced, as there was then some prospect of 

 being able to get the services of Mr. Wang. The 

 priests and some of the visitors now came and 

 invited me to dine with them, and, although I was 

 unwilling, they almost dragged me to the table. 

 In the dining-room, which was the same, by- 

 the-bye, in which they were worshipping on my 

 arrival, I found four tables placed, at one of which 

 I was to sit down, and I was evidently considered 

 the lion of the party. They pressed me to eat 

 and to drink, and although I could not comply 

 with their wishes to the fullest extent, I did the 



