presumably, the mas more crashed forth their music. This was the signal that the function was loss of dignity, rolled out of his chair, and from the dais to the floor. Moreover, after the ingrained Chinese fashion, each began to disrobe himself where he was, as he moved, whereupon in a promiscuons crowd, helter-skelter, like a flock of sheep, though more disarranged, they all pushed their way, and one another, through " door at the other end of the room, and left me standing there quite alone and full of wonder at the sudden collapse of the whole scene of display. For the moment I was taken aback at the sudden collapse of the imposing cere-many. However, I determined to follow on with the trail in order to ascertain what, if any thing, might happen next. In my quest I passed an open door and looked in, There I discovered a dozen priests, those who had lately been at the solemn ceremony; but they were rinsformed now. Every vestige dignity had been thrown aside, anu they lounged on divans, in the most every-day dress that a Bud-diiist monk can wear. Some were already smoking—_ tobacco, and others bad taken opium pipes into their hands. As I looked into the room, still carrying my gun, one of the priests shouted out, "A foreign devil thou, what dost than want?" With a frown, that boded no good to them, I replied, "If a foreign devil am I, then Chinese devils are you." The bolt went home. They gave a look of blank astonishment that anyone should suggest that these monks, the beloved of the Rulers of the Western Paradise, were Chinese devils. I not so?" Iadded. Then one exclaimed, "The foreigner is right." There followed general laugh and the spell was broken. I was invited to enter and was hospitably treated.
In the conversation that followed I found that a new abbot had indeed been enthroned that day. I elicited, moreover, by inquiry, that the mode of is quite democratic. The monks are not hampered with any Erastian interference. A voting paper sent to every priest in the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.