CANTON. 375

Canton is a big city, uncle?”

“Yes, it is estimated to have a million of people.”

As they neared the city, the crowd of sampans, junks and steamers
- increased, and the boys were glad to escape with Uncle Nat from the
din and confusion on the river, and to charter sedan-chairs.

“Chop-chop!” shouted Uncle Nat, and off started the bearers. The
streets were long and narrow, and those they visited did not have a
width exceeding eight feet, and some were only four feet wide. The
houses were rather small, not containing more than two stories, as a rule.
On the first floor oftentimes was a shop, and the goods for sale would
be on exhibition and open to inspection. Once in a while they met an
officer riding a pony, but the sedan-chair was the favorite mode of
passenger-travel, and goods -were suspended from bamboo-poles that
rested on the shoulders of patient bearers. Sometimes a shade would
stretch between opposite houses in a narrow street, sheltering those
below.

«“ Boys, I want to show you a temple or two, if Ican make my bear-
ers understand just what we are after. We will go first to the temple
of the five hundred genii,” said Uncle Nat.

They were carried to it, and found it to be an immense structure
containing images of the five hundred genii reported to be devoted
servants of Buddha, while they lived.

“There’s Buddha’s image, boys,” called out Uncle Nat, “and it is
gilded. It makes you think of Japan.”

The boys were not very much charmed. Then they hunted up
a temple of Confucius.

« You remember, boys, you learned in Japan about Confucius. Here
is an image of him, which does not look very genial and agreeable,”
said Uncle Nat.

“Jf I had time, we would go to see the temple of the Five Genii.