C *36 >
1793. 2yjn Plumb, {hóuid proceed oir horfeback. I accordingly chdfè atv
‘S S ! horfe, for which! I was obliged' tb deliver the ticket already mentioned.:.
It was a very wild and mettlèfome fteed, which, on my firft mounting
him, was fo reftive and unmanageable, that I wrlhed to1 make an-
exchange j but I had delivered my. ticket and was .obliged to abide b y
xny choice, fiiehas it was,.
.When all the arrangements, were ftttlèd, the Eorfes felcAed, and the
whole fuite transformed into’ a1 body of cavalry», his Excellency, -With,
Öebrge'Staunton, and Mr. Plumb, came frc®r the junP to-theiib
palanquins, and the cavalcade commenced, attended by arCosfidejfaMfc:
body o f Chinefe foldier s.
Naung-aum-foo is a walled city o f confiderable extent; huiK on m
rifing ground above the river, and ia commanded,.both behind* and*on.
thé oppofite fide of the water, by lofty hills j. on one o f Whidi is feen a:
lolitary pagoda. Its fuburbs are large, and, from the number o f fmall-
junks, fuited to thé fhallownefs o f the ftream that waflies its banks, it
maybe efteemed a place o f fame commercial chara&er.
In about half an hour we had got clear of the city, when every exterior
objeét was loft in attending to die peculiarities o f our own appearance.
Such a troop of equeftrians arc not often feen in-China, or
any other part o f &e world. ’ The gentlemen o f the' fuite, with the,
mechanics, foldiers, and fervants, were all on horfeback j many d f
whom were but indifferent riders, and fome of them now found them-
fïlvéi' obliged toride for the firft time. The horfes themfelves, on
fetting out, were alfo veiy frolickfome and ungovernable; * fo that the
ridicule which attached itfelf to Our general appearance, and the diver-
lion which focceffiveiy’otfsurred from the cries of alarm, the awkward-
nefs-óf attitude, arid the vari&us-other circufriftancés, which the reader,
without having been in China, may very readily conceive, ferved to
amufe
r " 7f
(- 237 )
amufe the tedioufhefs of travelling though £ mountainous and unpro- t
December. • duétivc copntfyi
Atmoon we H W B I H a mountain, which’Wasfo fteep jjg
to make it-neeèffarj foT&Vto cl.fihoun£ add lead1 our'Von^ over it,
Being an.afcenn of-two miles,'’which required- i B i ^ matter lt‘
We paffed. feveral «liages*, 1 M H H t0^ . 1
where a-confiderable'body of foldiers^m armour, jgSg the road as*
‘Ambaffadon wa§ l^ ted with the difchaxge — —
This military patadei with2 variety of cofours» which neve’r faded
to accompany the leaft appearance o f fol'didiy, had a vety pretty,
effetf.
The;women, weïe WBSBBÊÊÊ
]êfs referve, or allowed a greater fhare of liberty, than-fo die cottn-
try through W h i c h we had lately paffed,-as-we frequently few them
indulging their curiofity m obferving. foch-a fiew- and’ extraordinary-
fight as we rnuft exhibit.-
I-have already mentioned that we lad; for fome< time, exchanged a < |
fertile for an unprofitable foffj, W M S i M H M
barren mountain, ïh ëeyé war, however, fometimes relieved by
Urge patches,of camphire, andotHermedicmal treeS. at.1^ sI™ |
foformed bytfiofe itfhoMnight be-fuppoféçHO-befcbfe to lOftruâ me,
The fim had fet,.when we arrived at the gates of the-cityof Nkung- -
- ch in S T It ftands in apfein, fiîrrôunded oq è r é é ^ ^ h ymountains i
on the fourth 8BHHBMBB8BM Wmm
WÈSÊËÈÈË very ■ ■ i i M M M M W
well paved, and w e f t'kept in the material article of cleanhftefs The
gjffa are h' ’g | " " « “ ‘gh