1 make this latter suggestion, ecause only the Gey before we hed [PUSS met an open sedan-chair with Lung Whng (the Dragon King who commands the rain) standing ini the sun in the middle of the road, while the chair-bearers and the rest of the procession were silting in a cool and shady tea-house fanning themselves fad drinking tea. And when T asked them what they were doing. they said they were taking the Dragon King for a walk (Tel Lung Wang), {in order, as I understood i, to show him what a drought was really like and make him mend his' ways Beyond Ninghslang, the first: la place over the border, we left the mountains and towards evening when New bridge we entered the Hanchung plain the Food became quite excellent, as good as anything in Chekiang or' Kiangsu, and we bowled along at a greater speed than we had been able to do for many weeks, until we reached the walled town' of Paocheng lying' fon the south bank of a branch of the Han River.
'This is an important strategical' point, as three main roads meet here: from' Sian, from Chengtu, and from Hupeh vid Hanchung; and is there fore garrisoned by troops of a Central Government division. And here T must mention the colonel of one of those regiments, who was taking his. evening constitutional with his bodyguard on the river bank and seeing that T was in some doubt as to my further roule came up and hhis own accord volunteered me the required information.
T turned cast, away from the Sian Road, to do the last ten miles to Hanchung which we reached just og darkness was falling. Tt is not actually "necessary to call in at Hanchung, "if one is making for Sian, but as it is the largest town in those parts Thad to. call there to get supplies of gasoletie and to find accommodation for the night; and the buses for the sume reason also make it their terminus, 2
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.