Chap. XVIII. 



THE LUN-KE RIVER. 



365 



CHAPTEE XVIII. 



Ascend the Lun-ke river — A musical Buddhist higli priest — Hoo- 

 shan monastery — Its silk-worms — Mode of feeding them — 

 General treatment — Their aversion to noise and bright light — 

 The country embanked in all directions — A farmer's explanation of 

 this — Town of Mei-clie — Silk-worms begin to spin — Method of 

 putting them on straw — Artificial heat employed — Reeling pro- 

 cess — Machine described — Work-people — Silk scenes in a 

 monastery — Industrious Buddhist priests — Novel mode of catching 

 fish — End of silk season — Price of raw silk where it is produced^ 



I SPENT a week in the midst of this beautiful 

 scenery, and experienced nothing but kindness 

 and civility from the hundreds of natives with 

 whom I came daily in contact. During this time 

 I gained a good deal of information regarding the 

 hilly districts to the westward, which I intended 

 to penetrate before I left this part of the country. 

 I found that a river of considerable size flowed 

 up to the west gate of the city, and apparently 

 emptied itself into the net-work of canals which 

 cover this extensive plain ; and I was informed 

 that it was navigable for upwards of twenty miles 

 to boats much larger than the one I was travelling 

 in. My object now was to get my boat into that 

 river, and as all these rivers and canals are con- 

 nected this was accomplished without the least 

 difficulty. We returned to the south gate of Hoo- 



