After threading our way for at least two miles through a succession of narrow streets, we at length emerged into the open space, where we obtained a full view of the city walls, and from the summit of a small hill which was situated near them, a tolerably extensive one over the town itself.  The city walls are about sixty feet high, and, for the most part, so overgrown with grass, creeping plants, and underwood, that they resemble a magnificent mass of living vegetation.  The town resembles a chaos of small houses, with now and then a solitary tree, but we saw neither fine streets nor squares, nor any remarkable buildings, temples, or pagodas.  A single pagoda, five stories high, reminded us of the peculiar character of Chinese architecture.

Our road now lay over fertile eminences, varied with fields and meadows in a high state of cultivation.  Many of the hills are used as cemeteries, and are dotted over with small mounds of earth, walled in with stone flags, or rough hewn stones two feet high, frequently covered with inscriptions.  Family tombs were also to be seen, dug in the hill, and enclosed with stone walls of the shape of a horse-shoe.  All the entrances were built up with stone.

The Chinese do not, however, bury all their dead:  they have a remarkable way of preserving them in small stone chambers, consisting of two stone walls and a roof, while the two other sides are left open.  In these places, there are never more than from two to four coffins, which are placed upon wooden benches two feet high:  the coffins themselves consist of massive trunks of trees hollowed out.

The villages through which we passed presented an animated appearance, but appeared poor and dirty.  We were often obliged to hold our noses in passing through the lanes and squares, and very frequently would fain have closed our eyes as well, to avoid the disgusting sight of people covered with eruptions of the skin, tumours, and boils.

In all the villages I saw poultry and swine in great numbers, but not more than three horses and a buffalo-cow; both the horses and the cow were of an extremely small breed.

When we had nearly reached the end of our excursion, we met a funeral.  A horrible kind of music gave us warning that something extraordinary was approaching, and we had hardly time to look up and step on one side, before the procession came flying past us at full speed.  First came the worthy musicians, followed by a few Chinese, next two empty litters carried by porters, and then the hollow trunk of a tree, representing the coffin, hanging to a long pole, and carried in a similar manner:  last of all, were some priests and a crowd of people.

The chief priest wore a kind of white {110} fool’s cap, with three points; the other persons, who consisted of men alone, had a kind of white cloth bound round their head or arm.

I was lucky enough to be enabled to visit some of the summer palaces and gardens of the nobility.