THE PORTAL OF THE TEMPLE. 
205 
to add that myself and friend seated ourselves on^a piece 
of ship-timber, and wrote him down the numbers ad in- 
finituniy which he had no sooner received (the lead-pencil 
being added, to his lively joy) than he commenced count- 
ing on his fingers as high as each number, when, as we 
bent our heads in assent, he put the Japanese character 
opposite to each, and, the' whole being translated in that 
way, he smoothed off a place on the beach, and went to 
work with his sharp stick and a will that caused me to 
look back to my own truant-playing days and blush. 
But all this has nothing to do with the visit which we 
went on shore to pay. 
A walk of some ten or fifteen minutes through the two 
rows of houses that lined the beach brought us quite 
unexpectedly in front of a large wooden structure, to 
which several of the crowd that followed us pointed with 
the explanatory exclamation of “Boos!” “Boos!” which 
we took to imply that it was the quarters of the Bussians, 
and that it would be but polite in us to stop and pay them 
a visit. As we had gone on shore for that purpose, we 
took their advice and turned at right angles into the 
broad and shady avenue, which, after a length of some 
fifty or sixty yards, terminated at the foot of a massive 
flight of stone steps, at the top of which was an equally 
massive-looking portal, guarded on either hand by an 
unknown monster of frightful exterior, carved out of 
wood, and most fancifully painted. 
We passed between these fierce-looking unknowns, 
and entered upon a square and level space of something 
like an acre in extent, from the back of which the 
thickly-wooded hill-side arose, while in the centre was 
