BUDDHIST TEMPLE. OUTSIDE KUEI HUA CHENG, CHINA.
BUDDHIST TEMPLE. OUTSIDE KUEI HUA CHENG, CHINA.
Next day was uneventful, but we ascended gradually to a little village called Cha-Ha-Pa-La, 100 li, and got quite into the mountains again, very different country from what we had passed through since leaving Pao T'eo. The soil here appeared very rich, and every available patch of land was cultivated. Every day we used to pass through numerous villages, and in one we were lucky enough to come in for a theatrical entertainment. No village is without its theatre, and performances are frequent in the season; but as it was now the dull time we only saw one. The theatre is always situated close to, generally opposite, the city temple, a great convenience to the Taoist priests, who are also the theatrical managers. The play did not appear exciting, and neither of us understood a word of it, which was perhaps just as well, so we left after a very few minutes. The theatres being in the open, no entrance money is charged. The audience come and go as they please, but are expected to drop a small contribution into a collection box which is continually being handed round. This system has the further advantage of enabling the actors to converse freely with friends below when not otherwise engaged.
From Cha-Ha-Pa-La we made an early start, as we heard that the night's halting-place was to be a fair-sized town, and we wanted to arrive early so as to renew our supplies. We were pretty high up, and as it was now very near the end of November, the mornings were uncommonly cold. Rijnhart, Malcolm, Lassoo, and Esau all started walking, while Shahzad Mir and I followed with the carts. Not far from the village we crossed a low pass into a lovely wide valley, and a little further on the party ahead managed to take a wrong turn. I went on with the carts, and got to ourmidday halting-place about ten o'clock, and there I had to sit and wait till the others should come up. I managed to make out, by drawings in the dust and other devices, that there was another road to Pekin, which the others must have taken, and by which they would get to our destination in seventeen days. Not thinking they were likely to be quite so long in finding out their mistake, I resolved to have my breakfast and await their arrival. After a couple of hours' waiting I was beginning to get a little bit anxious, and was considering what steps I had better take if, by any chance, they did not arrive before nightfall. However, at about one o'clock they hove in sight, so I immediately had the mules harnessed, while Shahzad Mir warmed up some tea.
In a few minutes Rijnhart and Malcolm were at the inn, but the two men were some way behind, and while waiting for them to come up, I heard how they had managed to miss us. It appeared that, when they missed the road, all the Chinese they had met had misled them by saying that they were right, and it was not till late in the day that they got into the proper road and arrived at the halting-place, after walking fully thirty miles.
"We were soon ready for a fresh start, but the carters, anxious for any excuse to back out of their agreement as long as the fault could be laid at our door, were very reluctant, but threats to cut off half their hire prevailed, and we were quickly on the move. The march was a long one, over rolling grassy plains, out of Chinese into Mongolian country. As the sun set a cold wind rose, and for some time we sat shivering on the carts. The carts were travelling very fast, as the going was excellent. We thought we should never get to our destination, but all the time we were buoyed up with the thought that, at all events, we should get to a big place where there was sure to be a good inn. At last they told us that Ho-Lo-Si-T'ai, our goal,was close by, and in a few minutes we saw, not the town with castellated walls that we had imagined, but two miserable wayside inns with large yards full of sheep and camels, as unpromising a spectacle as one could wish to see.
On inquiry, things proved even worse than they had at first appeared, for both inns were crammed full, and we could not find a spot to sleep in. At last we heard that there was a room in a small house close by, so round we went, only to find it tenanted by a man, two women, a sheep, and some children, a fair supply for a place about twelve feet square, but into it we squashed, until we had revived our circulation, and then, after a considerable amount of squabbling, we arranged that we would sleep in the carts, while the carters occupied the already overcrowded room, for the simple reason that the carters flatly refused to take us any further unless they slept inside the house and we outside. Perhaps, after all, the cold blast was preferable to dirt and a close atmosphere.
The following day our road lay over more grassy plains, in which were herds of antelope—called by the Chinese the "yellow sheep"—some sand-grouse, and a few great bustards, none of which we shot. There were several Mongol encampments, with their neat little circular dwelling-places and sheep-folds, much more civilized than those we had seen in the far west.
That evening we left the Mongol country, possibly for ever, and got into the cultivated district again. The change was very sudden, and showed us admirably how the Chinese are slowly, but surely, encroaching upon the country of their pastoral neighbours. Cha-Ha-La-Po, our home for the night, was an insignificant little place, and chiefly to be remembered for the fact that we there managed to get rid of some six hundred very inferior cash, brought from Shih-Tsui-Tsi.
At noon the next day we had to change our axles, theroads from here being much narrower than they had hitherto been; and while doing so we had a row with the carters. A crowd promptly assembled, but Rijnhart soon managed to get them on our side, and we gained our point. We were now well within our time, and the carters knew that they could fulfil their contract without difficulty, so they loitered over the axle changing and made a very short march to a brand-new inn, where we put up in an excellent, clean, and airy room. There was still plenty of daylight left, of which we took advantage to have a real good wash in warm water.
MONGOL ENCAMPMENT.
MONGOL ENCAMPMENT.
As if to make up for this early halt, we were awakened soon after midnight, and started about 1a.m.; but this energy, we had every reason to believe, was owing to adesire on the part of our jehus to pass through the next village in the dark, owing to monetary or some other form of trouble they were in there. At first it was very dark, and as our road was very rough we went stumbling along till the moon came out from behind some heavy clouds. Rising rapidly, we were soon on a small pass, where some pious individual, in hopes of future reward, had built a neat little temple. The descent on the far side was steep, and the rocky gorge through which our road lay was very picturesque in the brilliant moonlight.
About daylight we got down to the bed of a stream, which we crossed and recrossed several times till we arrived at the small town of Hsing-Ping-Ho, the gate of which forms part of the Great Wall of China. We had already seen the Great Wall, near Chong Wei, where, however, it is little more than a turf embankment, but as we approached the capital we saw how it gradually improves, both in its original construction and its later preservation; but even now we were very much disappointed, and were unable to realize how it ever managed to gain its world-wide reputation.
At Hsing-Ping-Ho the wall is of earth, faced with brick, generally not more than eight to ten feet high, and quite narrow, very different from the imposing structure one had always pictured it to be, and which we were yet destined to see. But although we could not yet look upon the wall with the respect one had hoped to feel for it, neither of us could help admiring the dogged perseverance with which it has been carried over mountain tops and down valleys, the most forbidding natural obstacles being treated as nought in comparison with the orders of the emperor.
After breakfast our road ran parallel to the stream we had crossed in the morning, which had now grown to a considerable size, and was called the Wo-Ku-Shan-Ho. Every few miles we passed a large walled city, evidentlyvery old, and now almost entirely deserted; they must all have seen better times and been places of importance—probably about the time that the Great Wall was being built. I photographed the walls of one of these cities, and the temple outside tenanted by some wooden figures. The name of the city was Si-Yang Ho.
TEMPLE OUTSIDE SI-YANG HO.
TEMPLE OUTSIDE SI-YANG HO.
From Pekin to Tien Tsin is 80 miles.
HOW TO MANAGE INN-KEEPERS AND CARTERS—SHUEN-HUA-FU—"SPIRIT'S PAPER"—SHAHZAD MIR LOST AND FOUND—ESAU'S PRESTIGE.
About dusk we got to a very small village, with a most charming little inn. We got two very comfortable little rooms, with excellent furniture, consisting of tables, chairs, and looking-glasses.
This must have been quite one of the longest day's journey we did, but li are very erratic things to go by. As far as we could make out one hour's journey was always counted as ten li, quite irrespective of whether we went fast or slow; thus ten li in one place would be nearly five miles, and in another very little over three.
Delighted as we had been on arrival with our little inn, we were still more so on our departure, for we got off without a word of dispute at the price to be paid for our accommodation. At this time our rule was to pay one hundred cash for each room occupied, and about forty cash each for water and for the use of the fire; when nearer the capital we increased this as the accommodation improved, just as in the rough places further west we had given less. Having a fixed rule like this, which was liberal without being excessive, saved us an infinity of trouble, as the innkeepers saw at once that Rijnhart knew what he was about, and was not likely to be cheated or bluffed into making exorbitant payments. But there was always one thing theycould not get over, and that was that Rijnhart always handed them whatever money we took out of the bag and gave him. They saw that we put ourselves in his hands, and could not make out why he exacted no squeezes from us or them; never was such honesty heard of!
BRIDAL CHAIR.
BRIDAL CHAIR.
This day, the 23rd November, was evidently a very lucky one: every one was out visiting friends, dressed in their best, the big ceremonial hat was seen on all sides, and several marriages were in progress. As if to make up for our peaceful morning, we had a most truculent fellow to deal with at breakfast; our cash were all too small and our fees were quite insufficient; in fact, he found acasus belliin our every act, and crowned his impertinences by selling us some two dozen real bad eggs, at eight cash apiece.
Sometimes a traveller is apt to find himself in a very awkward position, if his carters and an offensive innkeeper happen to be in league. It may happen that the carters owe the innkeeper money, and the latter threatens to get them punished unless they help him in extorting money from the unfortunate foreigner; the innkeeper then demands a perfectly unreasonable sum from his victim, which the latter refuses; upon this the carters come up and say that they cannot possibly leave till the money is paid, and the helpless traveller finds himself between the devil and the deep sea. Luckily for us, our agreement effectually stopped any nonsense of this kind, for if the carters said they could not go on, we at once replied, "All right, please yourselves—but if you do not arrive by the 27th, you lose half your hire."
Every day, now, villages became more numerous, and the country was very thickly cultivated. We stopped a long time at our midday halt at the city of Shuen-Hua-Fu,[15]as the carters had to change some silver and transact some business before proceeding. After leaving, we passed a very large number of gravestones and memorial stones, with old inscriptions of the rounded characters; the hillsides on the left of the road were studded with them for several miles, and in many places the coffins were sticking out of the ground, where the earth had been washed away from over them. On the road we met a convoy of mules carrying boxes containing tins of oil from Batoum,and another with silver; the latter had an escort armed with spears decorated with red tassels, each mule, too, was decorated with a red flag, the whole making quite an imposing show.
Towards evening the road got very bad, and in one place we all had to get out and steady the carts as they passed down a steep, rocky path. Luckily we got down without mishap, but one of the carts was within an ace of slipping down a decline, where there was nothing to stop it for a considerable distance, and where both it and the mules must inevitably have been smashed. As we went down, a string of carts was coming up, two or three teams being hitched on to one cart and then returning for the next. The shouts of the drivers, cracks of whips, and creaking of wheels, made a terrible din, while the motley teams of ponies, mules, donkeys, and bullocks, all straining every nerve and then only managing to progress some ten or fifteen yards without a rest, made a picture. I should very much like to have been able to perpetuate it, but the light had already failed, and I was unable to do so. It was dark when we got down to Siao-Si-Fu and into our inn, but we had really made quite a short day's journey.
Next morning we were up long before it was light, and made a start with lanterns. It was just as well we did so, for our landlord, who was evidently accustomed to foreigners, and looked upon them as fair prey, refused to open the gates of the inn yard unless we paid him far more than was his due; but he reckoned without his host, for as there was no crowd about, and no fear of exciting a disturbance, we were able to threaten, and telling him that if he did not undo the lock, we would blow it open with a revolver, he soon saw that the game was up, and let us go in peace.
The village of Siao-Si-Fu lies just at the entrance of a narrow gorge, through which runs a rapid stream; the road winds along the hillside, generally at a good height abovethe water, but it has been carefully made, and the going is excellent. We met a large number of camels coming through, mostly carrying tea into the interior; and in one place one of them had managed to slip some distance down the hillside, but did not appear to have hurt himself much—he had been wise in choosing a gradual slope, where he could not fall far. The defile lasted nearly ten miles, but we missed most of its beauties, owing to our early start and the darkness, which was also responsible for our party getting separated, Shahzad Mir having somehow managed to lose the rest of us. This did not cause us much anxiety at the time, as we thought that he had merely lagged behind, and would soon be up with us.
A GORGE WITH GREAT WALL IN DISTANCE.
A GORGE WITH GREAT WALL IN DISTANCE.
When, however, we had made our halt, and breakfast wasbeing prepared, and there were still no signs of him, we began to get anxious, and in making inquiries, we heard that he had passed our halting-place, and been met by carters coming from the Pekin direction. We still consoled ourselves with the thought that he would soon find out his mistake and retrace his steps, but when it was time to yoke up and make a fresh start, nothing had been seen of him.
We were now very anxious about him, so divided ourselves into two parties, the carts and servants going one road, while we went another, which passed through several small towns and ran parallel to the road taken by the carts. Both parties made inquiries as they went along, and for some thirty li we still heard of him; he seemed to have walked straight ahead, never stopping except to buy some food. His clothes and gait, as well as his dark face, made him very conspicuous, so that the various guards on the town gates always noticed him; but after going about ten miles we lost all trace of our faithful Duffadar, and all we could do was to give notice of his disappearance in different places, and ask the people to show him which way we had gone. The most unlucky part of the business was that he could not speak a solitary word of Chinese, and might get himself into trouble, but fortunately we were in northern, and not central or southern China, so we felt sure that sooner or later he would turn up.[16]
In some of the towns we passed through we saw quantities of "spirit's paper" lying about the streets, or hanging up in the shops for sale. This spirit's paper is simply round pieces, cut to represent cash, each sheet of paper representing any number, or gilt to represent silver or gold. These are bought by the people and scattered about the houses, or put in holes in walls and tree trunks, where they are found by restless, wandering spirits, who, poor creatures, are easilydeceived into thinking them offerings of great value, and consequently refrain from injuring the pious, but economical offerer. They also burn large quantities of this paper money, and effigies of carts, horses, and other signs of worldly wealth, all of which go to improve the social status of their ancestors in the nether world.[17]The Chinaman, though decidedly superstitious and pious, according to his lights, rarely allows his regard for his ancestors to overcome that for his own pocket.
This was to be another very long day, so we halted for an hour, about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and fed the animals, we ourselves buying some splendid grapes for forty cash a pound. These are grown south of the town of Shuen-Hua-Fu; also quantities of millet (huang-mi[18]), which is ground up and eaten like rice by the poor classes.
While wandering round, telling people of Shahzad Mir's disappearance and looking at the various shops, we saw hung up in a cage on the city gate the head of a man who had been found guilty of theft, and next to this gruesome relic were the shoes of several officials, whose ability or zeal in discharge of their duties had merited this special distinction; thus are the best and the worst of men's deeds kept fresh in the minds of the Chinese people.
We were just about to make our third start for the day when two Russian merchants entered our inn. We were much struck by the promptitude with which they extracted their revolvers from the sedan chairs in which they were travelling, and placed them in handy and conspicuous positions on top of their luggage. Curiously enough the only language in which we could converse with them was Chinese, which one man spoke fluently; and it was a great reliefwhen we learnt that we need have no fear of the Gulf of Pe Chili being frozen over, for we were still in plenty of time.
We still had sixty li to do before halting for the night at Huai-Lai-Hsien, so we shoved along as fast as the mules could go, but the last twenty li or so were done in pitch darkness and bitter cold. The gates of the suburb were closed when we arrived, but we got them open with some difficulty, after considerably exaggerating the importance of the high official posts we both occupied. We had done nearly fifty miles since morning, so were glad to get an excellent Chinese concoction of eggs, and tumble into our blankets as quickly as might be.
Next morning we had to wait till the main gates were open, as our road lay through the city. The innkeeper coolly demanded 1,160 cash for the use of his rooms, but after a very few moments was more than satisfied with 360, in addition to which we of course gave adouceurto the man who had waited on us, as is the custom. A biting cold wind was blowing from the west, and as it was also freezing hard, it was quite the most unpleasant day of the whole journey, but it was not till we got in the open country, outside the walls, that we really felt the full force of the gale. The road was crowded with travellers going to and from Pekin, and one could not but envy the wealthy individuals who, sitting snugly in their neatly-made sedan chairs, could despise both wind and cold. Usually we used to wonder how even a Chinaman could sit all day in one of these conveyances, from which every breath of fresh air was carefully excluded, but to-day I think we would gladly have got into the stuffiest of them had we got the chance.
But if it were bad for us, what must it have been for the people travelling against the wind? Time after time we congratulated ourselves on the wind being at our backs. Several unfortunate Russians whom we met looked as though the wind was nearly cutting them in two, whileMongols and Chinese sat with their backs towards the heads of their camels or mules as they rode along. One poor man, whose whole attention was fixed on keeping himself warm, was very nearly run over by our carts in spite of all our warning shouts. Somehow, watching the misery of others always makes one forget one's own, and we were able to laugh at the ludicrous though pitiable faces of those we met, and in this way the fifty li to Cha-Tao passed less unpleasantly than it could otherwise have done.
Just before reaching this village we passed through another of the many ramifications of the Great Wall, behind which we cowered until the carts came up, wondering all the time what had happened to the unfortunate Shahzad Mir. Where could he have passed the night? What was he doing now? How would he manage for food? These and many other questions we asked one another, but decided that the only way in which we could help him was to get to Pekin quickly, and give notice at the yamen there of his disappearance.
From the wall to the inn was a very short way, and soon after the carts had come up we found ourselves in a crowded inn, where every one was busy; all the travellers were shivering like ourselves, and all clamouring for hot tea and other luxuries. At length we managed to get something, and had just got well into a substantial meal, when, to our surprise and delight, Shahzad Mir strode into the yard. While some food was being got ready for him he told us his tale. After missing us in the dark, on the morning of the 25th, he had quite made up his mind that we must be ahead, so on and on he went, eventually leaving the right road to his left. By midday he realized that he was lost, but this did not seem to have bothered him in the least. He knew that we were making for Pekin or Peh Chine, as the people call it, and guessed that by repeating that word in an inquiring tone of voice, he would get people to show him the road.He also knew that Pekin lay pretty well due east, so made up his mind to hold his course in that direction until he got to the sea, if necessary, after which he hoped to fall in with some European who would help him. At nightfall he thought he ought to try and get some food and lodging. He was in a fair-sized town, so walked into the biggest shop he could see, and made the owner understand his wants. Food they gave him willingly, but it was some time before he could get them to let him stay the night, his dark-coloured face apparently filling them with awe; but at last he attained his object, and got not only a good night's rest, but a substantial meal before leaving in the morning, for all of which his host absolutely refused payment.
THE GREAT WALL AT CHA-TAO.
THE GREAT WALL AT CHA-TAO.
Somehow or other the dark complexions of our retainersalways struck awe into the minds of the Chinamen, and time after time Rijnhart had to answer questions as to whether these men were "really wild or not." Esau especially, with his flowing Ladakhi locks and earrings, was an object of fear and wonder, being taken for either a woman or a cannibal, greatly to his own disgust, though luckily he could not understand the remarks aroused by his strange appearance, unless they were explained by Rijnhart afterwards.
After breakfast the wind dropped a bit, and the cold was much less than it had been, for which we had reason to be thankful, as about two li beyond Cha-Tao we passed through the Great Wall again, and were able to see it at its best. It is here made of rubble, and splendidly faced with stone; towers are placed at regular intervals, and the top is broad enough for any troops to pass one another without the slightest difficulty or confusion. Just by the gate a flight of steps leads up to the wall, from which we looked down the valley towards Cha-Tao, and I also managed to take a photograph showing the wall as it runs away over the hill tops to the north.
One could now for the first time realize the magnitude of the original design, and had the whole northern frontier of China been divided off from Mongolia by a wall, such as this is near Pekin, and some 1,600 miles in length, there would have been nothing in the world to compare with it. Just behind the wall we found an old cannon, the inscription on which was copied by Rijnhart, as he believed that it proved the gun to be some three thousand years old, but unluckily we had no books at hand to corroborate this idea, or to tell us how old it really was. The name of the Emperor in whose reign it was made was very clear, and a book of dates would show at once between what years the gun was made.
Meanwhile our carts had got some way ahead of us, andwe had to hurry after them. Ascending steadily we reached the summit of the Nan Kou Pass, from which a rapid descent into a warmer climate commenced. The road was at this point by far the best we saw in China, and showed signs of immense labour and no inconsiderable amount of engineering skill having been expended on it. Our road lay down a narrow valley, high on each side of which rose rocky mountains, while along the northern skyline ran the Great Wall.
A TRUCULENT INNKEEPER—A SEDAN CHAIR—CHINESE WOMEN AND THEIR FEET—PEKIN—DEPARTURE OF RIJNHART—CARTERS EARN A BEATING.
As we descended we passed several small shrines and numerous inscriptions cut in the face of the rock, many of which were in ancient Tibetan characters, but more remarkable than these was a large figure of Sakya Muni, cut on a rock, which stands in a very conspicuous position high above the road.
Rijnhart and Malcolm climbed by a steep staircase to a small shrine, some eighty feet above the road; but although it was evidently very old, they found nothing more remarkable than the names of several Russians and a few Englishmen who had been there in previous years, among others being Grey, Walker, and Allen, 1868 and 1879. We did not add our own to the list.
BUDDHIST ARCHWAY BY NAN KOU.
BUDDHIST ARCHWAY BY NAN KOU.
Still descending, we passed under several arches, which looked as though they had at some time been gates of different fortified camps, and then came to a magnificent Buddhist arch covered with carvings and representations of Buddha; this must be a great age, and is one of the most interesting relics in Northern China. A short way further on we came to the village of Nan Kou (southern valley), where visitors to the Great Wall almost always stop the night after leaving Pekin. Knowing this, we were quite prepared to pay more than usual for our accommodation,but the demands with which we were met far exceeded our expectations. In the first place, we could get no fire on which to cook our own food, but must take what the inn provided; then our servants could not cook their food; and lastly, we must pay for everything over-night, and not wait till the morning, as had been our invariable custom. Eventually these little difficulties were settled, but not until our landlord had worked himself up into a towering passion, such as only a Chinaman can, and had stamped up and down the room like a mad man.
Now came the great question. We were prepared to settle over-night. But how much were we to pay? "A Chinaman always pays a thousand cash for this room. What are you going to give me?" said Mr. Khe, the innkeeper. "Three hundred cash," we replied, now thoroughly annoyed, and with our liberal intentions all forgotten. "Well, what about the servants?" was his answer. "They are included," was all the reply he got. Never have I seen a man change his demeanour as our friend now did. From the bullying tone he had previously adopted he became quite cringing, and, seeing that we knew the exact amount to which he was entitled, and that we were determined to pay no more, quietly said, "Very well, give me the money," which we did, explaining that but for his insolent behaviour we should have given him about double. This had a most salutary effect on his servants, so that next morning they were all running about with hot water for our tea, and doing other little services, which were rewarded with extra wine money. I was amused to hear later that every one who stays in this inn has a row with the landlord, but it is not every one who gets out of it as well as we did.
Next morning we made a very early start, hoping to reach the capital and get our letters in good time. It was now more than six months since we had heard from home, and we were, naturally, a little anxious as to what news mightbe awaiting us. For some days the traffic had been rapidly increasing. All night one could hear the camel bells ringing as they passed our inns,[19]while all day we passed string after string of pack mules and carts. But to-day far surpassed everything we had yet seen. In one hour, just before daybreak, Rijnhart and I counted no less than 765 camels, all carrying tea, sugar, and oil to the interior, while those travelling east were mostly laden with wool.
Just below Nan Kou the road, which for the last few days had lain through rocky mountains, debouched on the wide "Plain of Pe Chili," in which lies Pekin, and where are also the famous "Tombs of the Emperors." As we neared the great city we crossed some fine stone bridges, which must have been quite wonders when originally built in the days of long ago, but, as little care is now taken about keeping them in order, the roadways are very rough. Here it was that we got our best opportunity of studying the crowd that was hurrying to the capital, all bent on business or pleasure.
First and foremost in interest was an important Mongolian prince, decorated with the dark red button and surrounded by an escort whose faces plainly told their nationality. From one of them we learnt that their chief had been hastily summoned into the presence of the Emperor, and was travelling with all possible speed. Just behind his sedan chair came a coffin with its inevitable accompanying rooster, while, indifferent alike to the living prince or the dead commoner, a mass of jostling, bustling humanity, neat little private mule carts, rougher hired ones, country waggons, and people on foot, all hurrying on and looking after themselves alone, crossed the bridge in front of us, a mass of colour and Chinese life worth going a long way to see.
CLOSE TO THE CELESTIAL CAPITAL.
CLOSE TO THE CELESTIAL CAPITAL.
Here, too, for the first time, we saw Chinese women with decent sized feet. This is owing to the fact that from mixing with Manchus and other foreigners they have seen the error of their ways, and the younger generation are, to a great extent, forsaking the folly of their ancestors. The treatment necessary to produce a really neat Chinese foot, the best examples of which are to be seen in Lancheo, is absolutely barbarous. First, slits are made between the metatarsal bones to enable the toes, except the big toe, to be bent well under the sole. Then a similar cut is made in the heel, so that it can be bent to nearly meet the toes, the whole foot being tightly bound round and held in position with bandages. The unfortunate child-cripple is now left to walk about on the stumps until the agony becomes unbearable, when the foot is released till the following day. Needless to say, a free, easy gait is an impossibility, and how such deformity can be considered becoming passes all understanding. Shahzad Mir summed up the Chinese race in the words, "All the women are lame, and the men rotten with opium," by no means an unfair description.
Coming from India, the effects of opium on the people strike one perhaps more forcibly than they would do otherwise. In both countries there is a large consumption, but, instead of smoking in the Chinese fashion, the inhabitants of India either eat it or drink a decoction of it. As was shown before the Opium Commission in 1894, the good effects of the drug in India more than counterbalance the evil effects, but there can be no mistake as to its being an unmitigated curse in China, where many of its slaves would gladly give it up if they could, but the craving it induces is too strong to be combated by nature alone.
Manchu women, with their carefully dressed hair sticking out on either side of the head, and their curious shoes, were the next curiosity to attract our attention, but all these were soon dwarfed into insignificance by the appearance, inthe distance, of the west gate of Pekin, but, though still early when first seen, it was three o'clock in the afternoon before we arrived in the suburb.
Here carts had to be changed, as the large country carts are not allowed into the city, and this proved to be another bone of contention between ourselves and our carters, they contending that we ought to get our own carts from the city, while we said it was part of their contract, but this little matter was soon smoothed over, and our belongings were transferred into our new conveyances.
The streets of Pekin were at first a little disappointing, the walls are in many places dilapidated, and drainage there is nil, but at the present time our thoughts were all centred on getting our letters. The drive through the city to the "Hotel de Pekin" took us three quarters of an hour. There we secured most luxurious quarters, and then rushed off to the post office. Here we heard that all our letters had been sent round to the Embassy, so off we went again, but it was not without some difficulty that we obtained admission.
A PORTION OF THE WALLS OF THE CAPITAL.
A PORTION OF THE WALLS OF THE CAPITAL.
Sergeant Herring,[20]who for twenty-five years has guarded the portals of the British Minister's residence, looked at us in considerable astonishment, as well he might. Never had he seen in all his experience two such disreputable looking beings. At length we allayed his suspicions, and our names were taken in to Sir Claude Macdonald, who received us with the greatest kindness, but perhaps the strangest sensation of the whole journey was still in store for us when, covered as we were with the grime of our eight months' travel, we suddenly found ourselves in Lady Macdonald's drawing-room, from which we beat a hasty retreat, but not before we had promised to bring our things—suchthings too—over from the hotel in the morning. We had been expected in Pekin in September, and every one had come to the conclusion that we must have returned to India by some other route, so the news of our arrival was promptly telegraphed to London.
STREET WHEREIN IS THE ENTRANCE TO THE BRITISH LEGATION.
STREET WHEREIN IS THE ENTRANCE TO THE BRITISH LEGATION.
Every hour of our short stay in Pekin passed most pleasantly. Unfortunately, the chance of getting frozen in was increasing day by day, and our time was not our own, so we were only able to enjoy a three days' stay in the place which had taken us so long to reach. Nearly all this time we spent wandering about the streets, buying curios of all sorts, but one wants a great deal longer than this to exhaust the sights of China's capital, with its three cities, one within the other, and its narrow, busy streets and bazaars. A walk round the walls and a visit to the Observatory, where the finest bronzes in the world are to be seen, were amongst the good things we missed, but somehow or other the more we got to know the streets the greater attraction they had for us, especially as at this time of year they are free from those appalling smells with which all visitors to China have made us familiar.
During our short stay we met among other Englishmen Sir Robert Hart, who has been for forty-two years in the service of the Chinese Government, with only eighteen months' leave home, and Colonel Brown, who had just come out from home by the Trans-Siberian Railway—a very pleasant but cold journey—to take up the duties of military attaché.
All too soon the day of our departure arrived, and the 1st December saw us again packed in Chinese carts, on the way to Tientsin, where we arrived on the night of the 2nd, our last day's travelling in China having been nearly our longest, as we covered no less than 150 li between 1a.m.and 6.30p.m.Greatly did we miss Rijnhart, the cheery companion of our forty days through China. Hisoriginal intention had been to travel with us by sea to Shanghai, but, at the last moment, he decided to accompany a German traveller, Mr. Eugène Wolf, overland to Hankow, so with real regret we parted from him at Pekin.
We were now without an interpreter, and at Tientsin were unable to find our way to the hotel, so lost considerable time wandering about the streets, asking futile questions from passers-by, and abusing our carters. At last things came to a climax, when one of them drove into a water cart, upsetting it with all its water into the street. Before we really knew what had happened, two of our carters were seized and marched off to the nearest police station.
We were thus left in a fine predicament. There we were in a strange place, unable to speak the language, two of our carters in prison, and the other one refusing to budge till his companions had been released. Such was our first experience of European administration in a Chinese town. There was only one course left to us. We turned carters ourselves, and as we made our way we knew not whither, we fortunately fell in with an intelligent native, who sprang up from somewhere or other, and volunteered to show us the way to an hotel. Driving ourselves, and following our friend in need, we soon arrived at the "Globe Hotel," but here again we were looked upon with the gravest suspicion, and only with the greatest difficulty did we manage to secure one small room between us. A little later, when our landlord found out who we were, he was profuse in his apologies, and anxious to put us into better quarters, explaining that he had at first taken us for robbers. This was rather hard, after having had baths regularly for the last four days, having shaved our beards, and having borrowed clothes from Mr. Hugh Grosvenor at Pekin, but it made us realize what a shock we must have given Lady Macdonald on our first appearance in her drawing-room.