The procession will climb high up, far away above Nagasaki, into the
heart of the green mountain all peopled with tombs. There the poor
fellow will be laid at rest, with his palanquin above him, and his
vases and his flowers of silvered paper. Well, at least the poor
defunct will lie in a charming spot commanding a lovely view.

They will now return half laughing, half sniveling, and to-morrow no
one will think of it again.




XXIV.

_August 4th_.


The _Triomphante_, which has been lying in the roadsteads almost at
the foot of the hill on which stands my house, enters the dock to-day
to undergo repairs rendered necessary by the long blockade of Formosa.

I am now a long way from my home, and obliged to cross by boat the
whole breadth of the bay when I wish to see Chrysanthème; for the dock
is situated on the shore opposite to Diou-djen-dji. It is sunk in a
little valley, narrow and deep, midst all kinds of foliage,--bamboos,
camellias, trees of all sorts; our masts and spars, seen from the
deck, look as if they were tangled among the branches.

The situation of the vessel--no longer afloat--gives the crew a
greater facility for clandestine escapes from the ship at no matter