looked towards the doorw: cated and saw emerge ella robe priest, who began to ring a bel ith all his might. I moved po him. The music ceased once more at the sound of the bell. On reaching the entrance of this inner chamber I was confronted by a sight not soon forgotten. As I said above, the room was dark and cheerless, but now full of animation and priests, Perhaps fifty monks were there, all clothed in the orthodox yellow surplices, except one. He was clad in the most lant of red robes, and upon his head there was being placed a most peculiar red mitre, in shape something like that worn by Bishops on special occasions, Again, as soon as I was discovered, there was a sudden interference with the ritual. A breath of curiosity rippled over the company as each looked up to see the strange sight. The priests had doubtless been gathered from many inland monasteries, and perhaps had never seen a foreigner before. All, therefore, stared at the strange apparition. The one clothed in red was seated ins rough chair, upon a dais. He looked at tad after the first feeling of curiosity had passed away, with profound pu If a look could have annihilated me, my end had come. However, I stood respectfully by, and showed no intention and felt no inclination to disturb what was going on. When this was evident, I was ignored. Evidently I had arrived just at the moment that the abbot had been enthroned. A monk was just removing his hands from the striking headgear. I waited in some curiosity for what would happen next. Suddenly three priests kneeled before the abbot, and the middle one of the three raised a bowl, filled and heaped up with edibles, and held it to the mouth of his lordship in the chair, The appearance of the food suggested pickles. The newly-created abbot simply sniffed at it, and bowed with stupendous gravity, alter which the food was withdrawn. What the import of this part of the programme was I could not discover. It came to me that, perhaps, it symbolized the duty of the abbot pikdeiys to tarn away from the temptations of gluttony, for whilst this histrionic pantomime was going on, the other priests sented themselves at two long tables, which were heaped up with all kinds of vegetarian foodstuffs, and fell to in good earnest at a good meal, The abbot was expected to content himself with a sniff and a nod, whereupon the basin was removed. The two priests remained kneeling whilst the other priests took their meal, all in silence. The scene was impressive.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.