Diary by a young American woman living in the Philippines, 1905

fuse and turn aside these same devils, not giving them a straight and easy course. One of the favorite forms of ornamentation on the tops of temples and buildings is a horizontal crescent. The evil spirit in his descent strikes one side of this and slides across it and up the other side and is thrown into the air

[drawing of crescent]

Chairs are the only conveyances. We went first to see the feather jewelry made from bright feathers from the Chinese King fishers, laid on with silver wire. Four years is the limit of time in this work as the eyes give out in that time. Went to a lacquer shop then

to buy Mandarin's Coats & skirts then to see the carved ivory then to buy satin bedspreads, and Canton linen. Then went to the [[Temple of the 500 Genii]]. ([[Joss House]]). Chinese Temples are not beautiful and clean and well kept like the Japanese. This one is of stone and wood, and has 500 images in rows about the room. The people worship these and pray to them in turn. They buy a package of Joss sticks and burn one before each image as long as they last. The last image designates whether the year is to be fortunate or otherwise. A figure of the [[Emperor]] is at the end of the hall & is first in importance. Next is one of [[Marco Polo]]. At the door are two figures of im-

-portance [importance] bringing good luck and happiness. The fingers & toes are broken off by the people who steal very small pieces and mix with tea & drink to bring prosperity and many children, for without children no family can be called blessed. The Temple is watched over by a priest who has shaved his head & spends his life in different temples. If a man has committed a crime & the authorites are after him, he can shave his cue off and become a priest & go into a temple and the law is powerless to touch him. (Buddhist) We then went to a Temple of Confucius called the [[Doctor Temple]] dedicated to a Doctor who performed many acts of

healing and whose miracles still go on. Around the sides of the room are many small images draped in presents, gifts of petitioners. These have numbers and the one representing your age is petitioned. Also bamboo pieces of wood for tossing for luck. There is one inner room with an altar before which a Chinese lady was prostrating herself with forehead touching the floor and lips mouthing prayers. She tossed the bamboo also. There is fine carving in brick in this temple. Large brass bowls with dragons hold incense continually.

Then went to prison and saw many prisoners chained by the ankles. The guard outside

were playing with Chinese cards and gambling. [[Magistrate and Court of Justice]]. The Execution ground is the worst relic of barbarism I have ever seen. Just off the street behind and between shops and houses and accessible to the public is a little plot of bare ground with rubbish lying about. The culprits kneel and place their heads on the ground and the executionor, with an axe strikes off the heads in turn and kicks the body one side. The clothes are taken off and the heads buried in one place & the bodies in another for bad luck. Twelve were executed 24 hours before we were there. The Water clock is an ancient curiosity, registering the time