Page:Ling-Nam; or, Interior views of southern China, including explorations in the hitherto untraversed island of Hainan (IA cu31924023225307).pdf/164

 160 Ling-Nam.

of cultivation of the land, and some rude defences on the cliffs, we would have thought none ever had been there. No heathen temple, no idol’s shrine defaced the beauteous scene ; it was still in Nature’s purity and sim- plicity. The hues of autumn, so rare in this southern clime, were painted on many of the leaves, reminding us of the beautiful and gorgeous scenes so familiar in our native land. It was a charming scene, a gem of beauty, and forms one of memory’s brightest treasures; we named it “ Sabbath Glen ” because of the day on which we saw it first, and because it spoke to us of rest, peace, and retirement from the world.

A little way above Sabbath glen, on the opposite side of the river, is the village of Lien-chow-ping, behind which rise high cliffs, whose caverns furnish places of refuge for the people in times of distress, the adobe walls enclosing one of these caverns being seen from the river high up on the side of the hill. On the white wall of the cliff nearest the river is a patch of yellow plaster, whieh is said to close the mouth of a silver mine, from which, report says, pieces of ore containing almost pure metal were taken, until it was closed by official command. Beyond the cliff of the silver mime two conspicnous peaks of almost equal size stand side by side. A short distance further. on, in the same direction, is the “ Fisherman,” a remarkable rock, perhaps one hundred and fifty feet high, leaning over the water in a manner to suggest its name. The hills in this vicinity are covered with the low shrubs of the St. John’s Wort, whose yellow blossoms in the spring time spread over them a gay mantle, and add greatly to the charm of the scenery.