these best of intentions, and resolving in our minds how they could be most satisfactorily carried out without the knowledge of the authorities, imagine our surprise on meeting these very same guards two or three days after, alive and kicking. Being ignorant of the language, we could not gain from them any knowledge of this miraculous mode of curing decapitation. Truly, we thought, wonderful things may be done in these heavenly regions! but on reflection we fancied it might be possible for a Wang to tell a lie.

On ascending a hill, just inside the gate already mentioned, a view is obtained of a considerable portion of the space enclosed by the twenty miles of wall, but no description that I know of gives any just idea of it. The extent is enormous, but, instead of being, as one would have supposed, covered with houses, Nanking in its best days must have been for a great part fields and gardens under cultivation, and now there is even wood and waste land. Hills of some elevation exist, particularly on the west side, where the scarped sides of the crooked line of heights form a natural wall of red sandstone. The height of the wall varies from fifty to seventy feet. Outside the north and west walls, an extensive moat, or rather series of ponds, extends; but farther on, its place is taken by a creek, which approaches the city at the west gate, and then continues round the south-west angle, towards the site of the famed Porcelain Pagoda. To the east is the Taiping Gate, where a large sheet of water is banked in with masonry. Thence towards the Yang-tsze the walls are regular, but the ditches are choked up with reeds, affording cover to immense numbers of pheasants. Beyond the Taiping Gate, and at the foot of a mountain which overlooks the city from the east, are the sepulchres of the Ming dynasty. Several of the other gates are now bricked up.

Within the city, the inhabited part of which is some miles

from the river, there is much desolation, ruin, and filth. There are some palaces, if such they deserve to be called, in a state more or less advanced towards completion, the residences of "Wangs," or kings. The walls are dotted with proclamations on imperial yellow paper, and the proportion of women is large, many being captives, and proving that the Taipings act on the adage that "All's fair in love and war."

On the 26th of February the steamer Yang-tsze,' belonging to the firm of Messrs. Dent and Co., arrived at Nanking, having on board the representative of that house at Shanghai ; she was then sailing under American colours; and, as the time of those on board her was valuable, she only remained one day, and then proceeded up the river to establish agents at the new treaty-ports. She thus had the honour of being the first merchant-vessel at Hankow, and I believe Mr. Webb received from the Viceroy some of the favours which were intended for Admiral Hope.

Everything that ought to be seen at Nanking was visited by our party, and three gentlemen went so far as to pass a few nights within the walls of one of the palaces in company with a missionary who was living on the charity of the Taiping rulers; but our friends came rather short off for food in those heavenly regions, and were glad to get on board ship again. Powder and shot were liberally dispensed among the pheasants, hares, and waterfowl, and good bags invariably obtained. In fact, I doubt if any cover in England could exhibit pheasants so closely packed as in the reed-beds under the walls of Nanking.

An excursion to the Tombs of the Mings, including an afternoon's shooting, was as pleasant as anything I have ever enjoyed; and I should like to describe that day; but the account of a similar visit has been so happily penned by a

friend, whose knowledge of the Rebels and their enemies is considerable, that I shall refer to the following chapter, the contents of which appeared originally in the columns of the 'North China Herald,' among several other interesting papers relating to the Taipings and Taipingdom, by Mr. R. J. Forrest, of Her Majesty's Consular Service.

Tortoise and Column cut from one block of Stone, Ming Tombs, Nanking.

See p. 25. 2

CHAPTER II.

THE MING TOMBS.

"EVERY one who has a little time to spare at Nanking should go and see the ruins of the Ming tombs. Tien-wang's palace may be interesting with its red and gold dragons and other monstrosities; the Porcelain Tower may be worth the trouble of a looting expedition among its bricks; but neither of them has such an interest attaching to it as the Golden Pearl Mountain, beneath which repose the remains of his Majesty Choo, first monarch of the Ming dynasty. The place is awkwardly situated for visitors; you cannot run thither, nor ride, nor walk, without going in a roundabout direction over a great extent of road. From the river it is ten miles as the path goes, six perhaps as the crow flies, by the moat around the city it is a good fifteen, and one has to walk four miles after leaving the boat. When Admiral Hope left Nanking the Celestial authorities closed the Taiping Gate, by going through which, after traversing the city, you could get to the tombs tolerably comfortably, rowing half the distance and walking the other half. The best way to go if you have a good crew to your boat is along the city moat as far as you can proceed, that is to say until the moat begins to wind out into the country away from the city walls; then put your chow-chow on some coolies' shoulders and walk to the foot of the hills. That is the way I am going. The bridge at the South Gate is crowded as usual by a noisy mob of soldiers, pedlers, women, and of course an unlimited number of small boys. The beating of drums and gongs, and the procession of some dozen mounted soldiers in parti-coloured garments, carrying in their hands

C

18

THE MING TOMBS.

very gorgeous and very large silken flags, tell you that a chief is about to enter the city. There he is, dressed in a long robe of brilliant scarlet silk, richly embroidered boots, a yellow silk cap on his head, and in his hand a tricoloured umbrella of large dimensions, but made after foreign pattern and of silk. Two slave-boys are following, dressed very meanly and looking very tired and dirty. One is carrying the chief's double-barrelled gun carefully sewn up in a wellfitting cover of red flannel trimmed with black braid, but the locks are left exposed, so as to be ready for use, as the rust would come off in his Excellency's hand had the weapon no cover. The other little fellow carries a Japanese sword with lots of silver about it, and a bamboo stick. I should not wonder if the sword has done good execution not alone in war, but among refractory soldiers and people, for the chief is a desperate-looking fellow, and evidently not to be trifled with. He has come from Soo-chow, and has been to sell some precious stones to a dealer near the Porcelain Tower. Strange that his jewels are all ornamenting articles of ladies' apparel. How came he by them?

"After South Gate Bridge the moat goes on winding and twisting through utter desolation and the abomination thereof. The huge walls rise at its side solid, strong, and lofty, but no soldiers or flags or sign of life can be observed. A couple of minas are inspecting a hole in the battlements for the purpose of therein building their nest, and so great is the stillness that their chatter sounds harsh and disagreeable to the ear, although they are a hundred yards from you; no wind disturbs the broad clear water, and a little swallow is fluttering tamely enough about the oars trying to pick up a large insect before a fish can get at it. There is a corner of the moat that I should much like to make a sketch of It is where the wall shoots out a long stretch almost due east. In former days a gate existed here and a fine broad