ClIAP. XII. 
VIEW OF WOO-E-SHAN. 
187 
by Mr. Ball, tlius describes it : " Of all the mountains of 
Fokien those of Woo-e are the finest, and its water the 
best. They are awfully high and rugged, surrounded by 
water, and seem as if excavated by spirits; nothing 
more wonderful can be seen. From the dynasty of Csin 
and Han, down to the present time, a succession of 
hermits and priests, of the sects of Tao-cze and Fo, have 
here risen up like the clouds of the air and the grass of 
the field, too numerous to enumerate. Its chief renown, 
however, is derived from its productions, and of these tea 
is the most celebrated.'' 
I stood for some time on a point of rising ground 
midway between Tsong-gan-hien and Woo-e-shan, and 
surveyed the strange scene which lay before me. I had 
expected to see a wonderful sight when I reached this 
place, but I must confess the scene far surpassed any 
ideas I had formed respecting it. There had been no 
exaggeration in the description given by the Jesuits, or 
in the writings of the Chinese, excepting as to the 
height of the hills. They are not " awfully high 
indeed, they are lower than most of the hills in this 
part of the country, and far below the height of the 
mountain ranges which I had just crossed. The men 
who were with me pointed to the spot with great pride, 
and said, "Look, that is Woo-e-shan! have you anything 
in your country to be compared with it ? " 
The day was fine, and the sun's rays being very 
powerful I had taken up my position under the 
spreading branches of a large camphor-tree which 
grew by the roadside. Here I could willingly have 
remained until night had shut out the scene from 
