s, were all that was to be
seen. None of them had any pretensions to elegance, being built of
the simplest masonry. In the former of these edifices are preserved
the bones of the persons who have been burnt, and among them are
also buried the rich Chinese, whose heirs pay pretty handsomely to
obtain such an honour for them. At a little distance stands a small
tower, eight feet in diameter and eighteen in height, with a small
pit, where a fire can be kindled, in the floor. Over this pit is an
armchair, to which the deceased bonze is fastened in full costume.
Logs and dry brushwood are disposed all round, and the whole is set
fire to, and the doors closed. In an hour they are again opened,
the ashes strewed around the tower, and the bones preserved until
the period for opening the mausoleum, which is only once every year.

A striking feature in the garden is this beautiful water-rose, or
lotus-flower (nymphaea nelumbo), which was originally a native of
China. The Chinese admire this flower so much, that they have ponds
dug in their gardens expressly for it. It is about six inches in
diameter, and generally white--very rarely pale red. The seeds
resemble in size and taste those of the hazel; and the roots, when
cooked, are said to taste like artichokes.

There are more than a hundred bonzes who reside in the temple of
Honan. In their ordinary dress, they differ nothing from the common
Chinamen, the only means of recognising them being by their heads,
which are _entirely_ shaved. Neither these nor any other priests
can boast, as I was told, of being in the least respected by the
people.

Our second excursion was to the Half-way Pagoda, so called by the
English from its lying half way between Canton and Whampoa. We went
up the Pearl stream to it. It stands upon a small eminence near a
village, in the midst of immense fields of rice, and is composed of
nine stories, 170 feet high. Its circumference is not very
considerable, but nearly the same all the way up, which gives it the
look of a tower. I was informed that this pagoda was formerly one
of the most celebrated in China, but it has long ceased to be used.
The interior was completely empty; there were neither statues nor
any other ornaments; nor were there any floors to prevent the eye
from seeing to the very top. On the outside, small balconies
without railings surround each story, to which access is gained by
steep and narrow flights of stairs. These