chairs and with our guide pursue our way on foot.
If by chance a shop is entered a gaping crowd so surrounds you that you
are not only in danger of being robbed, but of losing your guide. The
foreign quarters are separated from the mainland by a stream of water
connected by two bridges. A wall encircles the native quarter and the
gates are closed at night and guarded; the discharge of firecrackers in
the early morning announce their opening, and from the river boats
another discharge, almost deafening, which is supposed to keen them from
the "evil one" through the day.

The Temples of Confucius, Buddha and Shinto religions are much alike in
their construction. One of the most famous of these is that of the five
hundred Genii, founded in five hundred, the year of our Lord, and was
rebuilt forty years ago. In the midst of these immortal five hundred
images is that of "Marco Polo," who visited here in the twelfth century.
The Temple of Horrors, whose tableaux in brass and wood represent the
punishments meted out to those in Buddha's purgatory, boiling the
culprit in oil, or grinding him in a mill, or still worse, to place him
in an upright position between two planks of wood and then sawing him in
pieces--all these pleasant reminders are heightened by the
reincarnation against the will of a man's soul into that of a wild
beast, destined to another life here on earth, which is too realistic to
dwell upon.

The Examination Hall, where all males from eighteen to eighty years of
age may compete for honors, is well worth a visit. Stalls are built for
12,000 students, in which are placed a table and chair. Once the man is
seated there is no release for three days. A strict watch is kept to
prevent any communication; even if a death occurs a hole must be knocked
in the surrounding wall to transport the body, for under no
circumstances are the gates opened during the trial. A subject for an
essay is given, and each applicant is forced to render an example of his
ability. Less than two score of these receive degrees, and from this
examination they go to a higher court in Pekin and there high honors
await them in official positions. No caste is observed. The water clock,
built five hundred years ago, is composed of three copper vessels placed
on top of each other with an indicator in the lower one. The passing of
time is indicated by the raising of the water in this lower one, into
which trickles the same fluid from those above. Th