LOO-CHOOAN WOMEN. 441 



and secluded, and ornamented with beautiful walks and 

 numerous trees. We rambled on among the tombs of the 

 Loo-Chooans, which form one vast cemetery or city of the 

 dead, and which from our anchorage, appeared as large and 

 conspicuous as the living city of Napa. The tombs are 

 all well-preserved, nicely chunammed, and of a dazzling 

 whiteness. The tornbs of strangers, however, are of an 

 oblong shape, not formed like a horse-shoe as are those 

 of the natives, and are embowered in trees ; among them 

 I observed the grave of the man who died belonging to 

 the Alceste. Their respect for the dead certainly ap- 

 pears to be very great, and I could not help noticing the 

 solemn demeanour of the old Chief as he pointed out to 

 us the grave of our countryman. Having passed through 

 an archway, we came suddenly upon a square in which 

 were congregated many hundred women, each with a 

 small basket, bargaining for rice and other necessaries, 

 and laughing, chattering, and cheapening in the most 

 discordant and emphatic manner. It was market-day 

 among the good people of Po-tsang. All these lively and 

 energetic females belonged to the lower orders, and re- 

 joiced in countenances by no means attractive; the old 

 hags, on the contrary, were about the most hideous objects 

 I have seen in the course of my travels. An occasional 

 exception to this ungracious and not-at-all-gallant picture, 

 might be found in the person of a young girl or mar- 

 riageable maiden, and the little brown babies were 

 decidedly very funny. Proceeding on our walk, we 

 arrived at the summit of a hill, from which elevated posi- 

 tion we obtained an excellent view of Sheudi or Shui, the 

 extensive and populous capital of the Great-Loo-Choo. 



