150 
LOCKS. 
jecting bulwark that divided the river at right angles; one branch 
going to the eastward, the other directly south, and forming the canal 
on which the Embassy proceeded. The sluice was formed of very 
compact masonry, and was called Tean-fei-Cha, “ the lock of the 
celestial lady.” The fall was not more than three or four feet. The 
larger boats were gradually let down by ropes, the smaller darted 
down, and rushing over the opposing water, dashed up a milk-white 
foam to the height of several feet. The boats advanced only six or 
seven miles during the day, being delayed by the passage of the locks. 
On the 8th, the Embassy passed a large town called Tsing-Keang- 
poo. Near the middle of the town was a large floodgate, with an 
imperial pavilion on each side of the abutment. Over their gates, 
Mr. Morrison read, “ The pavilion of the imperial ode and sup- 
posed it probable that some of Kien-Lung’s odes, made during his 
journies to the south, had been cut in stone and deposited in 
them. They were now used as store-houses for ropes employed 
in repairing the floodgates. 
Below the town, the banks of the canal were so high, and the sur- 
rounding country so low, that the tops of houses and trees seemed 
to be on a level with the eye of the spectator. The land in its 
neighbourhood was well cultivated with a red and white species of 
rice, millet, wheat, and vegetables, and was often variegated with 
groves of beautiful trees. The population seemed to be crowded. 
A military mandarin observed to Mr. Morrison, that the wars which 
had preceded and determined the ascendancy of the reigning family 
thinned the population so much that the earth produced for some 
time great abundance for the remaining people ; but that their num- 
bers had since increased to a degree producing scarcity and poverty. 
The officer seemed of opinion that another war would be beneficial 
to the country. 
About two o’clock the Embassy passed the city of Hwae-gan-foo, 
whose walls stretched about three miles along the banks of the canal. 
They were not above the level of the water, and were in some places 
in a miserable state of decay. It was impossible not to shudder at 
