Chap. XIIL VISIT FROM THE WORSHIPPERS. 217 
cymbals, and singing “ Nam, nam, nam,” and some 
such unmeaning sounds, with their voices — unmean- 
ing to me at least, for I did not understand them. 
The service lasted, each day, for about an hour, in- 
cluding an interval when the worshippers refreshed 
themselves with sundry copious draughts of saki. 
On the 2nd of July, having heard the tinkling 
and “ nam, nam, nam ” going on for some time, I 
walked into the court in front of the little temple, 
in order to see something of the ceremonies. 
After remaining a few minutes I returned to my 
own quarters, and was soon followed by the whole 
congregation, who came, I suppose, to return my 
visit. Some amongst them were old men who 
could scarcely walk, but the greater part were 
women and children. I received them politely, 
and allowed them to examine my clothes, books, 
and specimens of natural history. One lady took 
hold of my wristband, another handled the neck 
of my shirt, and a third examined the texture of 
my trousers. But the butterflies, beetles, and 
shells were to them most astonishing and incom- 
prehensible. “ Where could I have found such a 
number of these things ? ” — many of which they 
had never seen before. “ What was I going to 
do with them? Was I going to eat them?” 
Those who were wiser than the rest informed the 
others that I was collecting these things to make 
medicine ! And then some stated that I had been 
over all the country gathering these objects ; that 
I had been paying money for them — a statement 
