Page:Once a Week Volume V.djvu/129

122 Chin-Kiang, situated between two high hills, and surrounded with a wall. On one of the hills we saw the flag of our Consul, which had just been hoisted. This is the place where it is intended that all trading vessels shall show their papers and pay the Customs’ dues. The town is little better than a ruin, having been destroyed several times by the rebels, and as often given up. As they retire the Imperialists take possession, and the town begins to recover a little, on which the rebels again attack, for the sake of the plunder. Its chief importance was derived from the grand canal, which comes out upon the river just opposite the town, but which, as I said before, is now useless. Here we found at anchor a portion of the Imperial fleet gaily dressed with flags. Besides the junks, there was what had once been a little coasting-schooner, but now turned into a Chinese man-of-war, and mounting twenty-one guns.

“After leaving Chin-Kiang the country again becomes a dead level, the river broadens, and nothing is to be seen but the tops of high mountains far inland, the ranges running parallel with the course of the river. As we neared Nankin, which we reached the next day (the 28th), the country again became hilly; one of the hills is enclosed within the walls of the city, and is used as a look-out. The city itself lies about three miles back from the river, so that it is impossible for ships—at least, with the range of guns we carry—to bombard it. The river is besides pretty strongly fortified with gun-batteries and other earthworks, which we had good opportunities of viewing when a party of us went ashore. Our object, indeed, was to get into the city; but we found that we must first get a pass, which took up so much time that we had to give up the visit for that day, and we spent our time in rambling about the neighbourhood. Having got inside a rude kind of a wall which surrounds the river fortifications, we found ourselves in what had, at one time, been the suburbs, but now were in a shocking state of dilapidation, having been all knocked down and only partially and temporarily built up again. We hunted up one of the head men of the place, and at last came across a rather dirty gentleman, dressed in a long yellow robe, with a head-dress composed of tinselled paper, with a dragon stuck on each side of a piece of looking-glass, and behind the looking-glass was a tiger standing tail on end, the whole set off with a few beads, and in shape something like a bishop’s mitre, though a more trumpery affair could not be seen in a penny gaff in Lambeth. This “swell” took us to his house, treating us to tea, and, after a long conversation with the interpreter, we obtained a pass for ten for the following day. We then got clear of the suburbs, and on to the hills, where we had a view of the lines that the Imperial army threw up while besieging the city a year or two ago. At that time they nearly took the place, as they completely invested the city and the people were starving. But the rebels communicated with their friends outside, who collected a great force, and, at a given signal, the Imperialists were attacked, front and rear, and driven off with great slaughter. I should tell you that the length of their investing wall measures twenty-five miles, so that you may have some idea of the labour the Imperialists had in besieging the city; it runs over hills and through valleys, and is flanked at the distance of every half-mile or so with earthworks, ditches, pitfalls, &c. &c.

“The next day a large party went through the city, accompanied by Mr. Muirhead, a missionary, who has a high character out here. I was unfortunately detained on board by business, but I heard the news from the others, particularly the religious professions of the rebels, the principal of which seems to be that there is one chief ruling Spirit in Heaven and another on earth. The earthly one is no less a personage than the present ruler of the rebels, Chin-Wang, who lives in a kind of sacred state at Nankin, being seen by no men, but entirely surrounded and waited on by women, of whom he is said to have at least 500 in his seraglio. It seems to be the rule in these wars that the young women and girls are spared, and the boys are taken to be trained as soldiers, while all the men, the old and ugly women, and the young children are butchered without mercy. This same Chin-Wang was at one time a pupil in a school at Hong Kong under a Mr. Roberts, who, hearing of the position his old pupil had attained to, paid him a visit, and was well received. In fact, Roberts has been here now several years, only Chin-Wang told him that now he must be his pupil, learn his doctrines, and then go and teach them to his brethren. Those who were inside the city described it as an awful ruin, not a twentieth part of the old houses standing. The Tartar city was enclosed within the general wall, but it had also very strong fortifications of its own, though, with all its strength, it could not resist the assault of the rebels, who massacred the whole population, men, women, and children. The palaces of the king and chief are the only respectable buildings now inside the walls. The population of the entire city is now said to be about 50,000; every one is registered, and put under some board to work, for which they receive nothing but their food, and not too much of that. Mr. Muirhead stated that it was quite a mistake to think the rebels wanted missionaries; the fact is, they want to convert the missionaries to their own monstrous doctrines.

“March the 2nd. We left Nankin, and proceeded through a flat and uninteresting country, and in the afternoon arrived off Wo-hu. Like Nankin, the city proper lies back about two miles from the suburbs that line the river. In the afternoon of the next day a party of us went ashore, and had a long walk over heaps of bricks that had once been streets and houses, but the rebels having taken it, the usual devastation followed. We were conducted all over the place by two sturdy, athletic rebel soldiers, and a more desolate, ruinous state of things it is impossible to conceive. The people were, without exception, in rags, and I did not see one decent shop in the city. The walls, which were falling rapidly into decay, had once been very grand, as was evident by the carved work that still remained over the gates. We calculated from a rising ground that the city and suburbs together must have once covered some seven or