Chap. XIV. 



NIGHT QUARTERS. 



243 



ing these hills, have had stones, with large letters 

 carved upon thern, let in or built into the face of these 

 rocks. These, at a distance, have a most curious 

 appearance. 



The old priest with whom I had taken up my 

 quarters seemed miserably poor ; the piece of ground 

 attached to the temple for his support was very small. 

 Now and then one of his own sect, who came to 

 worship at the temples amongst these hills, left him a 

 small present, but such visits were " few and far 

 between." And there was nothing grand or imposing 

 about his temple to attract the rich and great, except 

 indeed the scenery which surrounded it. 



Having given the old man some money to purchase 

 a dinner for myself and my men, I made a hasty 

 meal and went out to explore the hills. I visited 

 many of the tea- farms, and was successful in pro- 

 curing about four hundred young plants. These 

 were taken to Shanghae in good order, and many of 

 them are now growing vigorously in the Government 

 tea plantation in the Himalayas. 



The old priest and his wife could not afford to 

 burn either candle or oil, and were therefore in the 

 habit of retiring very early to rest. As the night 

 was wet and my quarters far from comfortable, I soon 

 followed their example. Sing-Hoo, who was in the 

 room with me, said he had no confidence in these 

 Fokien men, as he called them, and that he would let 

 down the trap-door of our garret and make all fast 

 for the night before we went to sleep. However 

 soundly I sleep, the least noise of an unusual kind is 



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