Chap. IX. 



ROMANTIC GLEN. 



193 



at the head of a glen which opens by various 

 windings to the plain of Ningpo. As we had 

 other thirty le to go before we reached our boats, 

 we rested ourselves in an old joss-house in order to 

 allow our baggage to come up with us. Here the 

 natives crowded round us in hundreds, evidently 

 delighted to get a view of the far-famed Hong- 

 mou-jins — the " red-haired men," — of whom they 

 had often heard, but rarely if ever seen. We 

 treated them with great kindness, and, I think, 

 left a good impression upon their minds, which 

 may be of use to future tourists in these moun- 

 tains. 



As we had now no more hills to cross, and as 

 the road was good, we got into our mountain 

 bamboo chairs and took our way down the glen 

 towards the plains. The scenery in this glen is 

 more strikingly beautiful than that in any part of 

 the province which has come under my observa- 

 tion, and reminded me forcibly of what I had seen 

 when crossing the Bohea Mountains. High hills 

 rose on each side of us densely covered with the 

 Japan cedar, weeping junipers, and pines ; behind, 

 our view was bounded by high mountains, while 

 in front we got now and then glimpses of an 

 extensive fertile plain, richly wooded near the 

 base of the hills, in a high state of cultivation, and 

 teeming with an industrious and happy people. 



We arrived just before dark at Ning-kang-jou, 

 a small town near one of the sources of the ]S[ing23o 

 river, where our boats were waiting us. Here we 



