however, much superior to the Indian. Indeed, I believe the Chinese have both, but use the Indian one as a stock for grafting upon.

There is a very large plantation of this tree in Chusan, and the fruit was beginning to be brought to the market during my stay there. It was sold at a very cheap rate, and was considered a great luxury by the natives.

I had frequently seen the trees of the Yang-mae, but never when in fruit, so I determined to visit one of the plantations. Starting very early one morning, I crossed over the first range of hills, and found myself in the centre of the island with my view bounded by hills in all directions. On the sides of these inland hills there were large quantities of the Yang-mae. The trees were bushy, round-headed, and from fifteen to twenty feet in height. They were at this time loaded with dark-red fruit, not unlike, at first sight, the fruit of our Arbutus, although very differently formed and much larger. I observed two kinds, one with red fruit, and the other with fruit of a yellowish colour. The trees formed most striking objects on the hill side.

The natives were busily engaged in gathering the fruit and packing it in baskets for the markets. Large quantities are consumed in the city of Tinghae, the capital of Chusan, and a great deal is taken across to the main land. The streets of Ning-po used to be crowded with it during the season. gatherers appeared delighted to see a stranger, and offered me liberal supplies of this fine fruit. It

The

looked very beautiful and inviting, both upon the trees and also as it lay crowded in the little baskets.

On my return from the Yang-mae plantations I spent some time in the old city of Ting-hae. All marks of English possession had entirely disappeared. Tailors, shoemakers, and other tradesmen, with their quaint English names and signboards, so amusing in former days, were now nowhere to be seen. Everything was purely Chinese, and no one, unacquainted with the history of the place, would have suspected that it had been in the hands of the English a year or two before.

After staying for a few days at Chusan I went onward to another of the islands named Poo-too. This is commonly called by foreigners the "Worshipping Island," and is inhabited by the priests of Buddha and their followers. I had two objects in visiting it at this time; the first was on account of my health, which was getting affected by the excessive heat of the weather, and the second was to obtain a copy of some inscriptions which I had observed on a former occasion.

When I landed I walked over the hill in the direction of one of the principal temples, which had been built in a little valley or glen between the hills. On the roadside, by the way, I came to the stones on which the inscriptions had been carved. There were two of them; they looked like little grave-stones, and, as usual in such cases, each had a small place near its base for burning incense.

The characters upon them were not Chinese, and

no Chinaman could read them. I applied to some of the most learned priests in Poo-too, but without success. They could neither read them, nor could they give me the slightest information as to how they came to be placed there.

The characters looked like those of some northern Indian language. One of the stones was evidently less aged than the other. In this, the unknown characters were placed along the top, and a row of Chinese ones below. The latter, when read, appeared to be nothing more than an unmeaning phrase used by the Buddhist priests at the commencement of their worship, "Nae mo o me to fa." What the upper line means, some oriental scholar may possibly be able to say.

ぼ

佛陀彌阿無南

The second stone was evidently very ancient.

There were no Chinese characters upon this.

How, or when, these stones were placed there, it is difficult to form even a conjecture. Buddhism, we know, was imported from India to China, and it is just possible that under these old stones may lie the remains of some of its earliest preachers. Persecuted, perhaps, by the heathens of the time, they sought a

home on the small and solitary island where their remains are now reposing.

As

Having made copies of the characters, I went onwards down the hill, in the direction of a large group of temples. At the bottom of the hill, and in front of the temples, there is a pretty lake filled with the Nelumbium, which was now in full bloom. I came near, I observed a Chinaman fishing in the lake. This rather surprised me, as the Buddhists in this part of China do not take the life of any animal, and never eat animal food,—at least such is their pro

fession. The man evidently knew he was doing wrong, and was hiding behind the pillars of a bridge which is here thrown over the lake. His occupation, however, was soon put a stop to in a most laughable manner. At a little distance on the other side of the bridge stood a group of men whose long flowing garments and shaved tailless heads denoted that they belonged to the Buddhist priesthood. They were evidently watching the movements of the angler with considerable anxiety and interest. At last one of their number, with a bamboo in his hand, left the others and moved towards the bridge by a circuitous route, so as not to be observed by the man who was fishing. The priest managed this so cleverly that he was on the bridge and by the side of the angler before the latter knew that he had been observed; indeed the first intimation he received of his being discovered was from the bamboo, which the priest did not fail to lay pretty smartly over his shoulders.

This scene was now most laughable to all except the trespasser. He seemed at first inclined to turn upon his assailant, but the priest, who was a stout young fellow, laid the bamboo on without mercy. The other priests were also fast coming upon the scene of action. When the delinquent observed them, he evidently considered that "discretion was the better part of valour," and took to his heels, running up the hill with the whole party of priests in full chase after him. He would most likely have been caught, had not my appearance on the scene attracted the notice of his pursuers.