198 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



what with the towns, hamlets, and dwellings covering 

 the banks of the Grand Canal and the hills of Ching- 

 keang-foo, the scene was more beautiful and cheering 

 than any that had hitherto been met with in China? 

 Could not we all refer to writer after writer in proof 

 of the wonders of Chinese civilisation and art which 

 were there to be found ? And were not we, who had 

 gazed upon the picture when it was perfect, justified 

 in assuring the eager officers and diplomatists that for 

 once in their lives realisation would not fall short of 

 expectation ] Alas ! it was not to be so ; for suddenly 

 all that once-charming scene burst upon us, but how 

 changed ! There were the hills, the islands, the river, 

 and the rich plain, it is true ; but the hand of man 

 had destroyed all the beauties which rendered this 

 spot more interesting than any other upon the banks 

 of the Yangstze. We could hardly credit the possi- 

 bility of such a scene of havoc and destruction, or 

 that in our day it was possible to sweep away by 

 human agency, not only the vast population which 

 we had once seen thronging the land and water in 

 this vicinity, but even to obliterate the very marks of 

 their existence. The Taeping rebellion had extended 

 down the valley to this point, and this was their handi- 

 work this the first fruits of the clash of European 

 teaching with the doctrines of Confucius. Five 

 hundred wretched creatures living within a vast area 

 of ruin, round which a wall still existed, was all that 

 remained of the city of Ching-keang-foo and its half 



