Chap. XIII. NATIVES OF POO-IN-CHEE. 279 



the plain with its clear, cool waters. A little 

 further on, when I looked to my right hand, a 

 view of another kind, even grander still, met my 

 eye. An opening in the mountain exposed to 

 view the valley of Ningpo lying far below me, 

 and stretching away to the eastward for some 

 thirty miles, where it meets the ocean, and ap- 

 peared bounded by the islands in the Chusan 

 Archipelago. Its cities, villages, and pagodas 

 were dimly seen in the distance, while its noble 

 river was observed winding through the plain 

 and bearing on its surface hundreds of boats, hur- 

 rying to and fro, and carrying on the commerce 

 of the country. The picture was grand and sub- 

 lime, and the impression produced by it then must 

 ever remain engraved on my mind. 



The village of Poo-in-chee is a straggling little 

 place and contains but few inhabitants. Many of 

 these mountaineers — indeed, the greater part of 

 them — had never seen a foreigner in their lives. 

 As I approached the village the excitement 

 amongst them was very great. Every living 

 thing — men, women, and children, dogs, and cats 

 — seemed to turn out to look at me. Many of 

 them, judging from the expression on their coun- 

 tenances, were not entirely free from fear. " I 

 might be harmless, but it was just as possible I 

 might be a cannibal, or somewhat like a tiger." 

 In circumstances of this kind it is always best to 

 take matters coolly and quietly. Observing a 

 respectable-looking old man sitting in front of one 



