famed Spirit Road to the Most Holy Grove in which lies the
body of Confucius. It is three li, about a mile, from the city
gate. The road is shaded by ancient cedars and is called the
Spirit Road because the spirit of Confucius is believed to walk
back and forth upon it by night.

The famous cemetery is in three parts. The outer is said to
be fifteen miles in circumference and is the burial-place of all
who bear the honoured name of Confucius. Within, there is
a smaller enclosure of about ten acres, which is the family burial
place of the dukes who are lineal descendants of Confucius,
mighty men who rank with the proudest governors of provinces.
Within this second enclosure, is the Most Holy Cemetery itself,
a plot of about two acres, shaded like the others by fine old
cedars and cypresses. Here are only three graves, marked by
huge mounds under which lie the dust of Confucius, his son
and his grandson. That of the Sage, we estimated to be
twenty-five feet high and 250 feet in circumference. In front
of it is a stone monument about fifteen feet high, four feet wide
and sixteen inches thick. Lying prone before that is another
stone of nearly the same size supported by a heavy stone
pedestal. There is no name, but on the upright monument are
Chinese characters which Dr. Charles Johnson, my travelling
companion, translated: ``The Acme of Perfection and Learning-
Promoting King,'' or more freely--``The Most Illustrious
Sage and Princely Teacher.''

Uncut grass and weeds grew rankly upon the mounds and all
over the cemetery, giving everything an unkempt appearance.
One species is said to grow nowhere else in China and to have