190 
WANDERINGS IN CHINA. 
Chap. XII. 
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 monu- 
ments, 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 amusing 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 reception 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 stay. 
While the high-priest was listening to Sing-Hoo he 
drew out of his tobacco-pouch a small quantity of 
Chinese tobacco, rolled it for a moment between his 
finger and thumb, and then presented it to me to fill 
my pipe with. This practice is a common one amongst 
the inhabitants of these hills, and indicates, I suppose, 
that the person to whom it is presented is welcome- 
