CHIN LIEN, BUDDHIST ABBOT OF THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAIN

the mountain, he found a man distributing tracts which he had carried thither in two Standard Oil Company's tins. Mr. Huang at first thought that he was some Christian bookseller, as he saw that the pilgrims rejected his proffered tracts and treated him as an intruder. But when he received one of the tracts he found that it was entitled "Six Precepts given to Burners of Incense by the Holy Emperor of the Southern Mountain." But stranger still was the substance of this tract, an outline of which follows:

1. Let burners of incense be truly filial, as this is the first of the hundred virtues; for if you are filial and never burn incense you will have a good reward, whereas, if you are not filial, no amount of burnt incense or journeying to the sacred mountain will bring you reward.

2. Thou shalt put away licentiousness, for this is the greatest of all sins.

3. Thou must exhibit brotherly love, for fighting over inheritances makes the burning of incense of no avail.

4. Thou shalt not drown infant girls, for though you may not be punished in this world, you shall certainly suffer in the world to come.

5. Thou shalt not engage in lawsuits, which only result in the loss of property and the sorrow of parents.

6. Better than with the burning of incense in every place would I be pleased if you saw to it that your children were educated and trained in deportment; if the farmer faithfully tilled his field; if the merchant were honest and used just scales; if friends were sincere, and high and low, old and young were without deceit; and if everyone did his duty in that state of life unto which he has been called. Since this pamphlet has come into my possession, I have tried in every way to find out who was responsible for it, but without success. It would seem that it were the work of some unknown prophet who has learnt the lesson from Confucius, or elsewhere, that righteousness is better than vain oblations. But he was rejected by the worshippers because he offered them no power of accomplishment. His pamphlet is truly a forerunner of the preaching of the Gospel of the righteousness which is of God. by faith in His Son.

Unfortunately the weather was very unfavorable for photography throughout Mr. Huang's stay, so that he was unable to obtain a general view of the whole mountain, but the accompanying Chinese map will give a general idea of the place.

There are seventy-two named peaks, the highest of which is the Sacred Mountain. The map states that this peak reaches to the North Star, attaining an altitude of 97,300 feet. When one

realizes that the Chinese are told that in all the world outside the highest mountain reaches only 29,000 feet, is it strange that the Southern Mountain should seem to be the gate of heaven? I think that there is no wilful exaggeration, but that the measurement is a surface one from the bank of the river to the top of the mountain.

As one approaches the mountain temples rise on every side, but the main temple area is near its foot. In front are the three gates, though the central one is sacred and never used. Entering by either of the side gates one passes up several flights of steps past pretty little pavilions until the imperial library is reached. This Mr. Huang reports to be empty. Just beyond this is the main temple, the illustration of which shows it to be one of the finest in all China. The double row of beautifully moulded stone columns with the fretwork between is most imposing. In this temple is found an idol of the "Holy Emperor" of the Southern Mountain, while in a temple just behind are idols of his

that they know what evils there are in the world and would escape them, but know not how. One would hardly say that they had a deep sense of sin. It is rather a sense of misery and fear. This system of pilgrimage is a mixture of Confucianism and Buddhism, the former furnishing the spiritual power in its emphasis upon filial piety, and the latter offering an outlet in its temples full of idols before which incense may be burned and prostrations made.

In the illustration a group of men may be seen gathered on the temple stairway. They are engaged in brightening copper coins on the eye of the stone dragon, which here, as in all Chinese temples, forms a part of the temple approach. These brightened coins are used as talismans to keep off injurious influences.

At the very top of the mountain are two immense incense burners, one of which is used by those praying for health

and long life for living parents, the other by those praying that their departed parents may soon be enabled to pass into their next Buddhist existence. Near this point is a precipice named Self-sacrifice Peak, from the top of which certain pilgrims cast themselves as a sacrifice to the gods in behalf of their parents.

The proximity of such a temple, and the evident yearning of the people as expressed in this and many other relig ious forms of which something may be told another time-leads us to hope that before many years we may be enabled to erect in the capital city, in the midst of this people, such a fitting temple of the living God as may arrest the attention of all these seekers after truth and salvation; that they may be led to enter its portals and hear of Him whose ears are ever open to the prayers of His faithful children, and hearing, they may turn unto Him and be saved.

M

OST of our friends know that St. Luke's, Shanghai, is a hospital for Chinese men, but as there is none for women in the immediate vicinity of St. Luke's, the women and babies who need care as outpatients come to us. From the time of my arrival in China it has fallen to me to care for those of them who come to the surgical department. The picture tries to illustrate how and where the work is done. The dispensary opens at two o'clock, but any time after one the crowd has begun to collect and by two it is next to impossible to make one's way through it. There are men stationed there whose duty it is to keep order, but the Chinese are not experts in this

capacity, yet we are trying very hard to have order at St. Luke's.

On entering the waiting room you find a long line of women or mothers with their babies to be looked after, and one is always sure of a cordial welcome from the mothers at least, if not from the babies. Why should the poor babies be enthusiastic when, as they suppose, you have come only to make them suffer?

After your own hands are scrubbed you begin with the one at the top of the line and go on down, dressing one after another as fast as possible for about two hours, and usually to the tune of four or five other babies who are anticipating trouble long before their time has come.

Poor little ones! They certainly seem

to have their own share of suffering in this big world of China, and the sort that I am thinking of at the present time comes principally from a lack of cleanliness. They are almost never brought to the hospital until they are half covered with sores. The other day I opened eight abscesses on the head of one baby, and we have done even more than that, too. Even if the babies have no love for us, there is no doubt in anyone's mind but that most of the mothers have. The amount of confidence they place in one at times is really appalling.

Before the afternoon is over you have said "Ueh ian kak chi" dozens of times to their "zia zia." "Ueh ian kak chi" is the answer you give to "zia zia," which means "thank you."

Once in a while you may have a woman dressed in silk get down on her knees to express her thanks. That gives you a queer feeling down the spine and you make haste to help her up and to try to tell her how much more you would like to do for her.

When the work is all finished you come away feeling tired and decidedly dirty but glad the work is yours to do.

It must be somewhat of a comfort to those at home who are helping St. Luke's, as it is to us out here, to know what a tremendous amount of suffering is being relieved in this land by their efforts.

HE BELIEVES IN THEM

The rector of a Connecticut parish, who believes in missions and missionaries because he has seen them at work, has the following to say concerning his experience:

I

HAVE lately seen with my own eyes something of the ways and the works of missions in the Far East: in Egypt, India, China, Japan, Korea and the Philippines. The missionaries of whatever religious body-and I met representatives of several-are a prime lot. Men or women, they are of the very best, fit to shine anywhere in any calling; and among them our own hold a place of eminence, the peers of the best. Their work, too, is pre-eminently successful. Its value in educational and philanthropic directions, through cure and prevention of disease, and through the inculcation and illustration of Western civilization, is spoken of with respect by practically all, even by those who have not yet quite unlearned the old-time sneer at their purely evangeliz. ing effort. And they are still the interpreters, the translators, and the philologists, as they have been from the beginning.

Americans cannot afford to go back on such excellent types of Americanism; and should our Church withdraw her support from her own representatives, it would be the occasion of bewilderment, I am sure, among all the rest.

T

HE Ute Indian Reservation, though but a small corner of Bishop Spalding's missionary district, is a vast section of country in Eastern Utah. The bishop's extra journey into the reservation last March was conspicuous for its novel and exciting experiences. At best this journey is exceedingly roundabout. It takes four days to reach Whiterocks, which is only about 200 miles from Salt Lake City, for the Wasatch Mountains stand between like a barrier. One takes the train into Colorado, makes a perilous journey over Baxter Pass by a narrow-gauge railway to Dragon, Utah, and thence embarks on a stage trip for two days which involves crossing Green River.

In Perils by Water

The bishop had taken me with him, to leave me at Whiterocks for a few weeks, and upon arriving at Dragon we were confronted with the news that no passengers would be allowed to proceed the next day on account of ice-jams in

the rivers ahead. But the bishop, whose time was limited, insisted the next day on setting out, and the stage authorities. out of deference to his wishes, sent him along with the mail. Things went well enough till it came to crossing White River. Here the bishop had to be swung up a considerable ledge of rocks by the rope used for lifting the mail bags, after which, nothing daunted, he kept on to Chipeta Well, where the mail-driver received word to go no further. This was being stranded indeed! and the next day (the ice had gone out of the river just a short while after the bishop's athletic exploit) when the rest of us caught up with him he was quite willing to admit that the laugh was on him. When he had rejoined us he made the thirteenth passenger and we continued our trip with the ominous knowledge that Green River still remained uncrossable. After travelling for nine miles through three feet of water we reached Green River about nine at night. The river had not broken up, but the ice was covered with a