Cuar. IV.] CHIMOO PAGODA. 55 
a bottle of sam-shew, or Chinese spirits; which 
they supposed I had asked for, and which they now 
tendered for the neckcloth, evidently considering 
that this offer must be irresistible. The crowd, 
however, was now becoming rather too great, and 
I walked on towards the hills, and began to ascend 
them —a plan which I always adopted when I 
wanted to get away from the Chinese, as they are 
generally too lazy to follow far, where much ex- 
ertion is required. The mancuvre answered my 
purpose, for I was soon left to my own meditations. 
When I reached -the highest hill on which the 
pagoda stands, and looked down on the level plain 
over which I had passed, I was at no loss to 
comprehend from whence the numbers came by 
whom I had been surrounded, as large villages or 
towns now met my eye in all directions which had 
not been visible when I was on the plain. 
On reaching the pagoda, I was astonished to 
find it in a most dilapidated condition, almost 
ruinous, although the main part of it, which had 
been strongly built, was nearly entire. A few 
stone josses or gods — a dome, with a double wall, 
containing a winding staircase leading to the dif 
ferent balconies through which the wind howled 
in a most dismal manner, are all that I can par- 
ticularise about the pagoda. I went over the 
whole of it, and obtained an excellent view of 
the surrounding country for many miles on all 
sides. As far as the eye can reach, it has the 
E4 
