THE FALL OF THE NAN SOUNG. CHAPTER I. THE sombre grey of early dawn passed from the heavens, and morning shed around her clear and glassy light. The hard blue firmament appeared unchequered, save by a few light, fleecy clouds, and girt by a broad rich belt of crimson. The mountains, that during the night had resembled, from the wintry vests they bore, pale gigantic shadows reflected upon the horizon, now caught the young sun's rays, and blushed a roseate hue. The mists rose slowly and heavily from the valleys, and, hovering in the air, seemed loath to quit their resting-places; and, whilst they eddied round, or rolled mass upon mass, writhing in a myriad of fantastic contortions, changing their shades with each new position, the solitary Chinese enthusiast, or magi cian, beheld, legible, a language, traced by each new vapory form or varied colour, that alike predicted the destinies of kingdoms or the fate of the wearied wayfarer,* and woe to the unfortunate traveller whose limbs became sensible of fatigue as he traversed the long valley, or rather succession of mountain passes, we are about to describe, as they appeared in the month of January, 1274. Although the valley was free from snow, the mountains on its either hand were not, and deeper it lay in proportion as these ascended; whilst huge granite crags, jutting frequently forth, betokened that the surface it covered was such as to defy the labour of, perhaps, the most agricultural nation that exists.' From these the eye of the beholder might turn with pleasure to where somewhat of a more congenial soil had permitted the cunning of the husbandman to prevail over the dispositions of nature, and, gazing eastward, might rest with wonder upon some one of the many mountains that appeared in that direction, their slopes levelled into successive plains, the almost perpendicular sides of which were supported by thick and massy walls.t These fields, rising like Babylon's famous gardens, resembled from their regu * Vide Bartoli, p. 61. † Vide Staunton, De Guignes, and other travellers. larity, a flight of steps, but of monster size, and fancy might easily conceive them as intended to bear the feet of some being from the other worlds. Such works, however, as these were rare, and only constructed where the depth of the soil and the vicinity of water facilitated their creation. Generally the "Granite Mountains," by their inhospitable aspect, seemed to present an impenetrable frontier to Chekiang from the southern portion of its confining provinces of Kiangnan and Kiangsy, whilst the roving tiger and lurking bandit gave them a reputation of terror and disgrace that bade the unaccompanied traveller tremble as he stole through their gloomy passes or crossed their desolate crests. A rude track wound across this mountain range, all that remained of the magnificent road constructed under the auspices of former emperors. Many and deep were the ruts into which it was worn, and frequent were the watercourses, now blocked with snow, that intersected its course; yet, even in this state, it was the only direct means of communication between Yencheyu-fu and Nanchang-fu: the former a district town of the first order in the province of Chekiang; the latter, capital of that of Kiangsy; but, to those, for whom time was not an object, and who preferred a long and tedious conveyance by water to a shorter but more perilous journey by land, there was the river Chentan-Kiang, that, winding to the south-east, was navigable to within a short distance of the town of Kansanhien, from whence it was separated by a short mountain transit, and near where the river Sing-Chang-ho becomes of sufficient depth to support light passage-barges, that, descending with the current, enter the Po-Yang lake, on the south-western bank of which stands Nanchang-fu. For some miles after quitting Yencheyu-fu, the path followed the course of the stream, on through the valley of Kienly, until it reached the gorge in the Fuchung Mountains, where that vale commences. Here, where the perils of the journey might be considered as beginning, in former and more peaceful times, devotion or avarice had erected a little idol fane to the god of thunder, and to each of the inferior deities whose power was supposed to extend over the various difficulties and dangers that embarrass or beset a traveller; and most rash would he have been considered who had ventured to pursue his journey without propitiating the deity and the minor powers, both by his prayers and offerings. At present, the temple was deserted alike by priests and by divinity. The latter had been purloined for the trifling value of the image; the former, unable to live upon their diminished revenues, occasioned by the paucity of travellers who now ventured upon the road, had fled to join the bandits of the hills. At this point, the path commenced to ascend, at times winding in tortuous mazes through forests of pine, now climbing ravines where the loose stones rolled from beneath the feet, dashing down a height that made the head swim of those who gazed down at the precipitous descent, and now crossing mountain ridges where the traveller sunk knee-deep in newly-drifted snow, or walked with pain over the sharply-pointed spikes of ice. Tall piles of stones, placed at regular intervals, intimated its direction, as fruittrees would have done in a more genial climate.* In a valley, formed and protected by the double crest with which one of the mountains was crowned, and that was crossed by the road, stood one of those public post-houses termed by the Chinese Cong-Chaán, built by the government for the accommodation of those who might be unfortunate enough to travel on its account, and also as a relay for its couriers employed in the transmission of intelligence, * Vide De Guignes, i. 343. M. Polo. Marsden, 372. |