Chap. XIII. JOUR^^EY WITH MR. WANG. 



285 



best I could to merit such kindness and politeness. 

 But I shall not attempt a description of a Chinese 

 dinner which, like the dinner itself, would be 

 necessarily a long one, and will only say that, 

 like all good things, it came to an end at last, and 

 Mr. Wang having finished his in the kitchen and 

 taken a supply in his pockets, declared himself 

 ready for my service. 



Our road led us up to the head of the valley in 

 which the temple stands, and then it seemed as if 

 all further passage was stopped by high moun- 

 tain barriers. As we got nearer, however, I 

 observed a path winding up round the mountain, 

 and by this road we reached the top of a range of 

 mountains fully a thousand feet higher than any 

 we had passed, or 4000 feet above the sea. 

 When we reached the top the view that met our 

 eyes on all sides rewarded us richly for all the 

 toil of the morning. I had seen nothing so grand 

 as this since my journey across the Bohea moun- 

 tains. On all sides, in whichever direction I 

 looked, nothing was seen but mountains of various 

 heights and forms, reminding one of the waves of 

 a stormy sea. Far below us, in various directions, 

 appeared richly cultivated and well wooded val- 

 leys ; but they seemed so far off, and in some 

 places the hills were so precipitous, that it made 

 me giddy to look down. On the top where we 

 were there was nothing but stunted brushwood, 

 but, here and there, where the slopes were gentle, 

 I observed a thatched hut and some spots of culti- 



