an its owner,
flicking its heels with a long-lashed whip, urging it to a speed likely
to pitch one off at any minute.

Do you think donkeys are sure-footed? I had thought so up to this time.
By no means. These little beasts stumbled constantly, their little
ankles having been so strained by the heavy burdens they ordinarily
carry that they seemed to give way at every step. We had eleven miles of
this, over a rough, uneven road, across the dusty plain, mounting
gradually toward the hills through loose and rolling stones. It was a
gray day, with rain threatening, and when we finally reached our temple,
Je Tai Ssu, the rain began in a steady drizzle, and steadily continued.

The temple was most interesting. We stiffly rolled off our donkeys, and
wandered through the multitude of courtyards, in and out of the many
buildings, filled with fine carving and beautiful color. A few priests
were at hand, deferential but unobtrusive, and when we finally sat down
to lunch at a big table placed in the courtyard before the main temple,
they surrounded us silently, filled with curiosity. The boys had placed
our table under a tree, which did something, but not much, to shelter us
from the rain that fell during the meal, dripping through the bare
branches. Below us spread a magnificent vista of more hills, a great,
far-reaching panorama, with the old Summer Palace in the distance. In
all directions we could see temples perching on the distant
hills--temples which are no longer used as such but are the summer homes
of the foreign residents of Peking. They were all pointed out to us.
Over yonder was Mr. So-and-So's temple; beyond, on that hilltop, was
Mrs. So-and-So's, all occupied during the summer months by foreigners
who escape from Peking in the hot weather. At once we became fired with
a desire to rent one, too. Thirty Mexican dollars a season, a hundred
Mexican dollars a year; not exorbitant, surely!

Besides the priests, the pariah dogs, or "wonks," watched our meal with
intense interest. They stood by in a silent circle, monks and wonks,
and our gay tiffin proceeded undisturbed except by the pattering rain.
But the rain was increasing in violence, so we left soon after the meal,
and it was far from easy to straddle our donkeys again and retrace our
way across the stones and sand. From time to time we dismounted and
tried to walk, but it was difficult to keep pace with our galloping
animals, eager to return home. Time was pressing