Our last left us quietly settling down for a night's rest at a Chinese inn, near the Summer Palace. It soon became evident that we shad but a poor chance of sleep. There was a nervous twitching and moving of first one limb and then another, a turning from side to side; composing one-
The seven miles ride in the rain was far more tolerable than the disappointment, But the tall of rain had been so great that it was impossible to think of going to the wall during the next two weeks. We had been in Peking more than a week longer than we at first contemplated, and reluetantly abandoned our trip to the wall and prepared to turn our faces homeward, self for sleep and suddenly changing posi- ¢tes72l tion, After a while, the restlessness assumed more definiteness, and the hand in-among family voluntarily wandered from one place to an-books among other, rubbing, scratching, or brushing the influence for good must be felt. surface, then vehemently clutching the The Toung-li Yamun, or Foreign Office, vestments. At length the conviction forced is another useful means of evangelization, The members of *this Board are all. men itself upon us that we were the victim of a of great influence, several of them bein; swarm of those little " acrobats," so vividly described by a'recent writer in one of Chairmen'of other Boards, and the foo the magazines, "Turing and, twisting of light poured upon them, by the minis-twitching and scratching, the night dragged cine is most' salutary. But slowly on. Once or twice we rose, and clear-between you and me, dear reader, things ing ourselves of the little rascals, wrapped will be greatly improved, when our minis-the bed-clothing tightly round us, ya hoping to exclude our tormentors.
Wye ha 3 tore can lay their eases directly before his jesty the Emperor, face to face. As the only time to lie down and compose ourselves for sleep, when they were upon us as numerous and troublesome as ever.
Dozing or waking, the we had so longed to look upon were flitting before us. In imagination, we stood before the finest marble gateway in China, adorning the entrance to the Ming tombs. We passed down the long avenue of cypress and. pine, through the red and acacia-lined avenue; passing the-Dragon and Phenix
marble balustrades, under another dal gate, over the seven bridges with elegant ately carved archway, we stand among the colossal statuary of animals. Horses, by lions, unicorns and elephants, with figures of civil and military mandarins, of immense size and each cut from one piece of marble, line the road on both sides. a 'After passing many -gateways ani avenues, here at last is one of the mounds beneath' which is buried an Emperor the Ming dynasty. Though artificial, it resembles a natural hillock covered with oak and cyprus. The door is on the south and sealed up with solid masonry. Long flights of steps lead to the top of the grave, where there is a large and beautiful slab of marble. One of the thirteen is enough for such a visit, and where there is no little difficulty in gaining admittance, an ima-mary Visit has its advantages. Thus, no toiling along on donkey lumbering mule cart, but floating away on the wings of imagination, we visited the Nankow pass, beheld the Great Wall wind: mean tain sides and over their to) Just ing-its way in zigzag course up the steep
as we over one of the the rushing of the water down the mountain gorge broke upon the ear, with such suddenness and force as to start us out of the only refreshing nap of the most horrid ble night we ever passed. We aroused ourselves alittle and listened. What is it and where are we? The noise continued and, as consciousness returned, we realized our situation, at Hue-yen, with the rain pouring a torrent upon the roof of the inn where case is now, little of what passes at the Foreign Office ever reaches his ear, It is a question whether he is aware of the presence of foreigners in Peking or in the empire; in fact there is no mowing to what extent he is kept in ignorance.
Then there is that much maligned ineitution the Peking University, in the oam compound as the Foreign From what mistress Rumour said, at one time it seemed almost extinct; but Phomix like, it is rising, if not from its own ashes, on. the same site, and seems bound to wield a mighty influence in moulding the destinies of this great empire. One can't help feeling sorry there are not, in every province, one or more similar institutions as feeders. By invitation from the President we took a stroll through the buildings and grounds, where everything seemed neat and orderly. A good beginning has been made, and no doubt buildings and apparatus worthy of such an institution will soon. be forthcoming. This la just the institution to furnish Ministers and Consuls to represent China in other countries. Already several languages are being taught, and we cannot suppose China will. long allow the neigh-Douring empire of Japan to excel her, As we pass out beneath the high tower of the East gate and turn our back upon the capital, we bear away, indelibly traced on memory's tablet, many pleasant impressions. The broad streeta and pretty sign-Yourde—the beautiful groves and purple-tinted hills—the kindness of Peking friends, and their generous hospitality, we never can forget.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.