The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-03-26
AN ENCHANTED CITY.
Chinese Version Of the Legend of
the Sleeping Beauty, but with
a difference.

l simply tell it to yon justias my
old comprador told il to memo COM
ment OF mine could explain it; there
fore | offer none-but l can no more
give you the story in the peculiar
"pidgin English" he spoke, and
which is so we'll understood by resi-.
dents in the Celestial Empire. than
| can give you the expression OF calm
credullty with which be told it to me.
1t was q magnificent night. and bis
grave monotonous voice made for me
soothing accompaniment to the
whiZzing of the thousand of insects
which lowered about US. Carefully
arranging his opium pipe and locking
dreamly along the glisteniDg water,
ne began:
The time and place suggested to
me an extraordinary adventure which
happened 20 me about forty years
ago. 1t YVES at time when the
'Fanqui' .ibe name universally ap-
piled to foreigners in China at Canton
were Offering enormous prices tor
silk, and I isucied ! could see before
me prospect of making handsome
profits by personally purchasing the
material on the borders OF the pro
vince Szechuen and br Dging it back
to Canton earlier than any others
who might have been struck with the
same idea. | provided myself with.
Fsnqui map. and pored over it long
and anxiously, being rewarded at last
by finding that | could take creek to
the west some hundreds Of III On my
direct way, and 30 cat of at least one
third OF my journey, and gain Valu-
able advantage over she other travel
lers. | journeyed on day after day
by the creeks, and at last reached the
spot where I must turn westward or
new route. The junction OF the
creeks was at village, and l ling
cred there Tor hours, seeking from the
natives information about the way |
intended to take. But, to my aston
ishment. they only stared blankly at
me as questioned them aud showed
not only utter ignorance OF the course
of the western creek, bat certain
dread of even mentioning it, which,
| nevertheless, no one explained, or
seemed TO understand.
But, as l felt a thorough conf
dence is the correctness of my map,
and as so much depended on dispatch,
[ did not hesitate to proceed along
the unknown creek. As | rowed on
| I could not help remarking the desc.
late appearance of the fat, bare
country through which passed. No
birds sung. as they had sung to me
through all the Esssed days of the
Journey, and (which was more start
ling still. in a country where one
never misses them no insects hut-
tsred about me with their cesseless
and often intolerable noise. One
early dawn, in this heavy and oPpres-
sive Stiffness stiffness which was
not rest but utter stagnstion-I saw
great and beautiful city lying be.
fore me in the mists. Still none of
the sounds of a great city met
rae as I approached it; over it. as
over the whole country. lay that
silence which was oppressive, and the
air seemed to come from a hot fur
mace. A crowd OF war junks. san
pans and Iankas covered the water;
but | could see no sign of life wiroin
them as l rowsd up to the chain bar.
rier which crossed the river. Il was
closed and locked. No seotineI 1nbal.
lenged me; and. after waiting in vain
for an answer to my summons, tried
to iorcs it. No GUARDS or custom
officers came forward to question me;
snd this, Of course, was peculiarly
strange in . country where imposts
were levied with rspscily. HsYipg
with great labor broken the paddock
from the mouldy posta, passed CD,
rowing among and between the
empty rottiDg sanpans We bad seen,
and reached the water gate, over
which a heavy crimson silk flag hung
motionless upon itn staff. Here again,
no human being met ne, no one
greeted or challenged me; and this
!; barrier I found thoroughly impassa.
bic. Again and again l bailed the
rsmparts, meeting with no reply OF
: sign of life. Louder and louder
} hammered at the gates without seem
ing to make myself heard, until a.
last head was slowly raised above
the wall. The face met as I looked
up had an odd expression upon j
could not understand. It was ap
psrently that of a man not NOR,
than twenty years of age, yet in every
other sense it was an old and tireC
face-old with weird ngedness, tires
With q total absence Of hops or en-.
ergy. l told my errand, requesting
that the gate might be opened &
me; bat received no word In reply
and the lace disappea red behind tb,
rampant again. Some lirfls tim
afterwards the massive gates wer
slowly opened to me by an old man
DARN who surveyed me in q sort OF
sacred surprise as I passed in anl
Handed among crowd OF silen
watchers. was conducted at once Il
the guard house and there questionel
slowly. But my answers were by n,
means fluent or easy, for I Eel
strangely swed by all l saW-the still
grave forms around me; the exDres
sion of sacred incredibly on ever,
face. old and Young alike: the dismal