Lady of Pehna on the summit of Mt. Nillau. Built in 1622 on this high
point to be more easily protected from any possible invasion of the
Chinese from the main island of Heang Shang, the church serves now only
as an addition to the picturesqueness of Macao, and though repaired in
1837 is again in ruin. Priscilla and her affianced chose this for their
Sabbath walk, for it is only through nature that the Protestants in
Macao can worship nature's God, and surely the incense of flowers could
bear to Him on high the thanksgiving of those two happy hearts, as truly
as the frankincense and myrrh which the good Fathers of the last century
burnt upon Mt. Nillau. The narrow but well paved streets with their
stuccoed houses, barred windows and little peep-holes at the doors, for
questioning the doubtful applicants for admission, even the two months
old posters of Chiarini's circus had a new charm this Sunday morning;
for Adams it was a day of quiet after his week of noise and bustle in
Hong Kong, while for Priscilla it seemed a gala day full of life after
the six silent days of sleepy monotony. "I can see that Pedro is not
friendly toward you Robert," she said; "I could hear him walking during
all the night and am sure he is planning something to annoy you, I know
his ways so well." "Don't worry, Priscilla, Dom Pedro was probably
troubled over some loss at the fan-tan table; they say he won five
hundred Mexicans last week and then lost that sum doubled."

"That may be so, Robert, but our approaching marriage is a great cross
to him. It is hard to tell what Pedro's thoughts are; his eyes are like
our Macao windows of isinglass and let very little light either way."

The winding road between ruined walls of gray stone, half covered with
clinging ficus, spanned by broken arches, with here and there a fallen
urn, led them through picturesque turns and by mossy steps to the foot
of the huge black cross erected before the empty church. Neither spoke;