Page:Ling-Nam; or, Interior views of southern China, including explorations in the hitherto untraversed island of Hainan (IA cu31924023225307).pdf/128

 124 Ling-Nam.

back living branches in full flower. ... I have dedicated it to Mr, H——’s amiable and accomplished wife, the frequent companion of his journeys into the interior, who on these occasions has the charge and preparation, ew officio, of the botanical collections, a task for which the excellently dried specimens prove her to have been specially designed by natural selection.”

Beyond Fi-loy the face of the country changes. Hills and mountains take up most of the space, leaving ouly narrow plains along the river, or small valleys inland, for the cultivation of rice. Bamboo groves along the bank, and a sparse growth of pines and cedars on the hills, add to the attractions of the scenes through which we pass. The rocks in many places assume peculiar shapes, one in particular, to which our attention is called, being in the form of a huge drum resting on the top of the hill, placed there, as the natives believe, for the use of super- natural beings. Just beyond this “Stone Drum” the rocky barriers come down to the water's edge, and form the gorge known as the “Great Temple Pass.” Its jagged sides project into the river, making it a difficult point for the boats to pass. From the top of the jutting cliff that rises abruptly from the water, a fine stretch of hill country, with the river winding through the midst, extends to the north and to the south, A few miles above this point the stream is again confined to a narrow channel by the walls of “ Censer Pass;” the broad sheet of the water above, enclosed in a shape somewhat re- sembling a censer, gives name to this gorge, which has no very striking features to mark it.

At the foot of the “Blind Boy’s Pass” we come to the