The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-02-05
AMONG THE TEMPLES.
An Interesting Letter From Our
Regular Chinese COrre-
spOndenf.

1 we ltil CnaHSHal OdIuTudJ diteT
noon, July 18th, passed Ningpo early
Sabbath morning, and at noon anchor
ed within half mile of Pootoo, ont
of China's sacred islands, among
whose tempted hills ali seagirt and
vintage clad, We were to spend oul
short two weeks vacation. We spent
| q quiet Sabbath aboard the "Kiane
Teen, and just as eventiie was wrap.
ping sea and land in mystic loveliness,
voice familiarly sweet fell upon my
ear, and | turned from the charming
sunset scene to meet an old friend, a
fellow passenger across the Pacific,
Mrs. DR.. Lord, wife Of the American
Consul at Ningpo. 1t was like a
glimpse of home. to thus meet one who
had a few things in common with our
homeland memories. Early Monday
morning we went ashore in one of
the life boats which Capt. Steele kind
ly placed at our disposal. The first
beams of the morning sun were kissing
the mountain tops when our boat
touched The rocky shore, landing us
safely, although the waves ran high,
and more than once dashed their foamy
spray over us. Scrambling up the
steep Cliff, we found a stone paved
path. that led to an immense open
gateway, where after much loud talk
ing we secured chairs and started for
our temple home, the great Liang
Ding, the covered gateway to the
largest temple Of this island Of tenn
pies, called the "Western corner Of
Heaven" Our sedans were made
wholly of bamboo, and unlike those
in the city were opened and furnished
with foot rests, which are indispensa-
bic in thisrugged country. Over hills
almost perpendicular, through smiling
valleys, occasionally resting beneath
the covered arch of some vineclad
gateway, we passed swiftly along the
stone paved path until we reached
Long Beach, at the farther extremity
of which was our temple. We were
not 10th to exchange thr steep noun
tain way for the painless beach, al
though the incoming tide swept
around,the coolies feet and white cres-
ted breakers lowered high above US.
The Liang Ding having been previous
ly occupied by foreigners was not al
together unhomelike in appearance;
there were few glass windows, the
idols had all been thrust into a dark
corner. Who would not feel blessed,
sheltered hy imperial tiles, within
sight of old Neptune. The long rest
ful days that followed were very sweet
TO me, although, with my crippled
foot, | was scarcely able to walk to
and from the beach; yet | could not
leave without visit to Purgatory, one
of the wonders.of this wonderful island
High tide and strong east wind are
the favorable conditions to visit this
awful place, if one would see it i'll all
its weird grandeur, and these were
given us on the eve Of the typhoon.
The breakers along our own quiet
beach were running high and dashing
furiousl y against many rocks i had
thought beyond their reach. We took
chairs, and at the first summit met a
hermit whose long grey hair bound
about the brow with fiIlet of straw
hung in wild confusion around his tat
tered shoulders. He held kind of
basket toward us, which with his own
5eggarly aspect was the nearest ap-
proach to begging | had seen on the
island. We passed new temples, and
one rare sight, caught glimpse of
woman's face. Water buffaloes were
grazing on the mountain side, and we
passed many little terraces sweet and
verdant with vegetation. We passed
a sand ridge that would surely inter-
est geologists since it lies between two
ridges whose soil was strictly non allu-
vial. 1t traverses the entire island,
forming pretty little beaches on either
side. Over this treacherous sand and
up almost perpendicular heights,
where thr steps are hewn out Of solid
stone, our pchair sbearers travelled as
swiftly as ordinary people would on
level ground. Once sudden curve
caused our hearts to stand still with
fear, for to us sitting in our chairs it
seemed as though We must be hurled
below. This safely rounded we were
in sight of the purlieus of the inferno.
relittlestone steps lead tS cliffover-
hanging d stormreft boulder against
whose side the sea lashed its foaming