great calm and peace.

Sometimes they stand in the midst of a populous town and we ride
through long streets between dirty houses, swarming with ragged women,
filthy men, and screaming children; suddenly we come to the dilapidated
entrance of our temple, pass through a courtyard, close the huge gates
and are in another world.

We leave early every morning and the boys are up long before dawn. As
we sleepily open our eyes we see their dark figures silhouetted against
the brilliant camp fire, hear the yawns of the _mafus_ and the
contented crunching of the mules as they chew their beans.

Wu appears with a lantern and calls out the hour and before we have
fully dressed the odor of coffee has found its way to the remotest
corner of the temple, and a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and oatmeal is
awaiting on the folding table spread with a clean white cloth. While we
are eating, the beds are packed, and the loads retied, accompanied by a
running fire of exhortations to the _mafus_ who cause us endless
trouble.

They are a hard lot, these _mafus_. Force seems to be the only thing
they understand and kindness produces no results. If the march is long
and we stop for tiffin it is well-nigh impossible to get them started
within three hours without the aid of threats. Once after a long halt
when all seemed ready, we rode ahead only to wait by the roadside for
hours before the caravan arrived. As soon as we were out of sight they
had begun to shoe their mules and that night we did not make our stage
until long after dark.

In the morning when we see the first loads actually on the horses we
ride off at the head of the caravan followed by a straggling line of
mules and horses picking their way over the jagged stones of the road.
It is delightful in the early morning for the air is fresh and brisk
like that of October at home, but later in the day when the sun is
higher it is uncomfortably hot, and we are glad to find a bit of shade
where we can rest until the caravan arrives.

The roads are execrable. The Chinese have a proverb which says: "A road
is good for ten years and bad for ten thousand," and this applies most
excellently to those of Yuen-nan. The main caravan highways are paved
with huge stones to make them passable during the rainy season, but
after a few years' wear the blocks