mountain, must observe
silence, under penalty of being buried beneath the snow. Kiang-Kian
issued forthwith an edict to his soldiers, and the army proceeded in the
most profound silence. As the mountain was too long for the soldiers,
laden with baggage, to cross it in a single day, they encamped on the
plateau. Conformably with the established rule in large towns of the
empire, and of camps in time of war, as soon as it was night they fired
off a cannon, Mao-Ling not daring to infringe this rule of military
discipline. The report of the cannon had scarcely subsided, when
enormous blocks of snow came pouring down from the sky upon the mountain.
Kiang-Kian and all his men were buried beneath the fall, and no one has
ever since discovered their bodies. The only persons saved were the cook
and three servants of Kiang-Kian, who had gone on before, and arrived
that same day in the village where we are. The Emperor Khang-Hi created
Kiang-Kian Mao-Ling tutelary genius of the mountain Wa-Ho, and had this
pagoda erected to him, on the condition of protecting travellers from the
snow."

Ly-Kouo-Ngan, having finished his story, we asked him who was the potent
being that sent down these terrible masses of snow, ice, and hail, when
any one presumed to make a noise in crossing the mountain Wa-Ho? "Oh,
that is perfectly clear," answered he; "it is the Spirit of the Mountain,
the Hia-Ma-Tching-Chin" (the deified toad). "A deified toad!" "Oh, yes;
you know that on the top of Wa-Ho there is a lake." "We have just read
so in the Itinerary." "Well, on the borders of this lake there is a
great toad. You can scarcely ever see him, but you often hear him
croaking 100 lis round. This toad has dwelt on the borders of the lake
since the existence of heaven and earth. As he has never quitted this
solitary spot, he has been deified, and has become the Spirit of the
Mountain. When any one makes a noise and disturbs the silence of his
retreat, he becomes exasperated against him, and punishes him by
overwhelming him with hail and snow." "You seem to speak quite in
earnest; do you think that a toad can be deified and become a spirit?"
"Why not, if he makes a point every night of worshipping the Great Bear?"
When Ly-Kouo-Ngan came to his singular system of the Great Bear, it was
futile to reason with him. We contented ourselves with smiling at him
and holding our tongues. "Ah!" said he, "you laugh at me because I speak
of the Seven St