Chap. XIII. 



STRANGE ROCKS. 



227 



with the famous lien-wha, or Nelumbium — a plant 

 held in high esteem and veneration by the Chinese, 

 and always met with in the vicinity of Buddhist 

 temples. All the ground from the lake to the 

 temples was covered with the tea-shrub, which was 

 evidently cultivated with great care, while on the 

 opposite banks, facing the buildings, was a dense 

 forest of trees and brushwood. 



On one side — that on which the temples were 

 built — there were some strange rocks standing like 

 huge monuments which had a peculiar and striking 

 appearance. They stood near each other, and were 

 each from 80 to 100 feet in height. These no 

 doubt had attracted, by their strange appearance, 

 the priests who first selected this place as a site 

 for their temples. The high-priest had his house 

 built at the base of one of these huge rocks, and 

 to it we bent our steps. Ascending a flight of steps, 

 and passing through a doorway, we found ourselves 

 in front of the building. A little boy, who was amus- 

 ing himself under the porch, ran off immediately and 

 informed the priest that strangers had come to pay 

 him a visit. Being very tired, I entered the recep- 

 tion hall, and sat down to wait his arrival. In a very 

 short time the priest came in and received me with 

 great politeness. Sing-Hoo now explained to him 

 that I had determined to spend a day or two on 

 Woo-e-shan, whose fame had reached even the far- 

 distant country to which I belonged ; and begged that 

 we might be accommodated with food and lodgings 

 during our stav- 



Q 2 



