ed once, is
brought from K'ung-shan, is finely smelted here, then conveyed most of
the way to Peking by pack-mule, the expense in thus handling, from the
time it leaves the mine to its destination at Peking, being several
times its market value. Nothing but copper is sought from the ore, and a
good deal of the gold and silver known to be contained is lost.

I passed an old French priest as I was going to Tong-ch'uan-fu the next
day. He was very pleased to see me, and at a small place we had a few
minutes' chat whilst we sipped our tea. In Yuen-nan, I found that the
Protestants and the Romanists, although seeing very little of each
other, went their own way, maintaining an attitude of more or less
friendly indifference one towards the other.

The last day's march to Tong-ch'uan-fu is perhaps the most interesting
of this stage of my journey. Climbing over boulders and stony steps, I
reached an altitude of 8,500 feet, whence thirty li of pleasant going
awaited us all the way to Lang-wang-miao (Temple of the Dragon King).
Here I sat down and strained my eyes to catch the glimpse of the compact
little walled city, where I hoped my broken arm would be set by the
European missionaries. The traveler invariably hastens his pace here,
expecting to run down the hill and across the plain in a very short
space; but as the time passed, and I slowly wended my way along the
difficult paths through the rice fields, I began to realize that I had
been duped, and that it was farther than it seemed. Two blushing
damsels, maids goodly to look upon, gave me the sweetest of smiles as I
strode across the bodies of some fat pigs which roamed at large in the
outskirts of the city, the only remembrance I have to mar the
cleanliness of the place.

At Tong-ch'uan-fu the Rev. A. Evans and his extremely hospitable wife
set my arm and did everything they could--as much as a brother and
sister could have done--to help me, and to make my short stay with them
a most happy remembrance. It was, however, destined that I should be
their guest for many months, as shall hereinafter be explained.

* * * * *

A trio of Europeans might have been seen on the morning of Monday, May
10, 1909, leaving Tong-ch'uan-fu on the road to Yuen-nan-fu, whither the
author was bound. Mr. and Mrs. Evans, who, as chance would have it, were
going to Ch'u-tsing-fu, were to accompany me for two days before turning
off in a southerly direction when