60
}
the outer, is the leaping wall, which having described a section of a parallelogram, meets the inner gate at the other side. The arch thrown over that point, where the two walls approximate, is called the 'Moon wall.'
Over each gateway, whether the inner or the outer, a guard-house is raised, that on the former being the larger of the two, and generally two stories high. At present these stations are unoccupied by guards, and I have not yet been able to ascertain that there are any set to watch the entrances during the day-time. At night, they are generally clos- ed; but are opened to any person who will pass 50 or 60 cash into the keepers' hands. Houses are not built upon the wall, nor close to it, as may be seen in some Chinese cities; so that all around there is a clear walk along the base of the wall eight or ten feet in width. To this remark an exception must be made of the space inclosed within the 'Moon wall' just spoken of. On the walls of the guard-houses, we saw traces of Englishmen having been there. The soldiers, who had been stationed there during the late campaign, had beguiled some tedious moments by scribbling a few lines with charcoal, or by scratching ungainly figures with their bayonets. This is, however, a trick not confined to Europeans. Side by side with their delineations, are the figurings of the Chinese, who, though not so dexterous and ready to write their names on walls, or to cut them out on wood, are yet sufficiently off hand at both. While we walked upon the walls we met with few people, and those ran up from the streets only through curiosity. Here and there we stumbled upon a lean horse grazing in solitude upon the rampart.
From the wall, the scenery is agreeable. There is a moat of some extent that almost encircles the city. It commences at the north gate, and from that runs along the base of the ramparts on the west, south, and southeast, until it reaches the Bridge gate, where it ceases. It is about three miles long, is deep and in some places perhaps forty yards wide. It is well supplied with water from the neighboring fields and the adjacent river, and is daily navigated by small boats. The northern, northeast, and eastern faces of the city are supposed to be well enough guarded by the river, and no moat has been dug to protect them.
The vast plain of Ningpo is a magnificent amphitheatre, stretch- ing away 12, 15, or 18 miles on the one side, to the base of the distant hills, and on the other to the verge of the ocean.
As the eye travels along it, it catches many a pleasing object. Turn it to the
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