296 CANTON PAGODAS. 



plain building, but belonging to it is a small kiosk, con- 

 taining a giant 1)(;11 200 years old, wlilcli liad already 

 cracked twice, and according to an old superstition the 

 third injury would prove the capture of the city, which 

 actually happened in 1857, when it was hit by a shell 

 from the Allies, who held and garrisoned Canton for 

 four years, until Lord Elgin's famous treaty of Pekin. 



We thence passed on to the " Five-storeyed Pagoda " 

 near Fort Alfred ; its interior is empty, and the only 

 interest attaching to it is its proximity to the breach in 

 the city wall made by the Allies on the occasion just 

 referred to ; its approach is guarded by two large dogs 

 of red sandstone. A fine biof tree in its immediate 

 neighbourhood, covered with scarlet flowers, although 

 without a single leaf, tempted us to spread our frugal 

 tiffin under its shade, a black marble tablet doing 

 duty for a table. It was a charming spot, whence we 

 could see most of the twelve forts surrounding the 

 town. On re-entering the latter we had to pass through 

 endless bazaars to reach the governor's " Yaman," or 

 official residence, wdiich stands in a lai-ge courtyard, 

 dotted all over with quaint figures made of painted 

 wood. Similar extravagant designs adorn, or rather 

 deface, the gates and inner screens ; the building itself 

 is only two storeys high, containing a reception-hall 

 decorated in wretched style, with its usual Joss and a 



