In some of the temples the idols are very numerous, and in Yang-chow there is one in which there are said to be no fewer than 10,000. The idols, which are very diminutive, are contained in one large hall, and in their fanciful, but orderly arrangement, present a very singular appearance. In the centre of the hall stands a pavilion of wood, most elaborately carved, under which is placed a large idol of Buddha. The pavilion, within and without, is literally studded with small idols, which are different representations of the same deity. On each of the four sides of the hall are small brackets, supporting idols of Buddha; and a still larger number of these are placed on the beams and pillars of the vaulted roof. Two are full-sized figures of the sleeping Buddha. At Peking and Canton there are halls precisely similar. The hall of 10,000 idols, at Canton, is, like the monastery of which it forms a part, in a most ruinous state, and the majority of the idols with which its walls were at one time adorned have disappeared in ways not now understood. In the prefecture of Shu-hing, where marble quarries abound, idols are in many cases made of that material. At Pun-new-chan, a market-town on the banks of the Grand Canal, one sees in a ruined monastery three large iron idols, representing the Past, Present and Future Buddhas. There are in certain temples stone, earthenware and porcelain figures. The three large idols in the Tai-fan monastery, at Canton, are said to be made of copper, and many of the small idols of Buddha are also made of the same material. Buddha is represented in a variety of postures, and some of the figures have smiling countenances, whilst others appear decidedly sorrowful. THE TEMPLE OF HORRORS. [Illustration: CHINESE BUDDHIST’S IDEA OF HELL.] [Illustration: A CHINESE PICTURE OF THE GODDESS OF MERCY DELIVERING A SOUL FROM PURGATORY BY THE SACRED LOTUS-FLOWER.]