go Through the Yang-tse Gorges 



allowed enough for the constant turns and angles in the 

 gorges ; his chart certainly merely gives the general direction. 

 The difference in longitude is one degree, thirty-five minutes, 

 or nearly loo statute miles, besides a difference of twenty 

 minutes in latitude. 



Sunday, March it^th (Easter Sunday). — Moored all day 

 at Kwei-chow-fu, waiting for a clearance. Having two 

 larger junks coming up behind laden with goods under 

 transit pass, besides purposing to despatch others downward 

 from Chung-king, it was advisable I should call on the 

 authorities and make myself known. At ten o'clock I 

 accordingly set out in a chair with three bearers, and pro- 

 ceeded to make my visits, attended by my Shansi guide 

 carrying my cards (Chinese, on red paper) in a leather port- 

 folio. The south gate, below which we lay moored, was 

 closed on account of the drought, no rain having fallen for 

 the past six months. This shutting the south gate of a city 

 would seem to be a kind of silent protest — made in accord- 

 ance with the Nature-worship, which appears to be the only 

 real, indigenous, and universal religion of the Chinese — 

 against the south, which is the fire quarter, and the presiding 

 influence over heat and drought. Thus, when Auster blows 

 against the south gate and finds it shut, a hint is supposed 

 to be given to him that his presence is de trop. We crossed 

 the sloping sandbank, and ascended by a long flight of 

 steps to the west gate. On this sandbank were scattered 

 manufactories of prepared fuel, such as is seen in the 

 cottages of South Wales, made by kneading up the coal-dust 

 with clay. Junks were loading this, together with anthracite 

 coal in big lumps for Shasze, it being used there by the 

 blacksmiths in preference to the local Hunan coal. When 

 steamers run upon the Upper Yang-tse, this will be the 

 coaUng-station, after they have exhausted their bunkers 



