(sores oF a JOURNEY IN NORTH CHINA.)
Dec. 5th.—Yesterday the innkeeper, or assistants, refused to let my men cook their food when they had received it from the Yamen. I was obliged to pray the yemenites to interfere, and they did so with Vengeance. The innkeeper was then and ere marched vit to tie pumped of his superfluous cash, a taught better manners towards his guests in the future. The grain and fodder for the horses was found short; the rations, and my dinner, we simply ble—short in quanti bad in quality, sightly in appearance, and exe: taste. The Magistrate is a Shanti {who may be just a little clined, and careless in the amamaud o servants, or performance of his duties the carts try meu were sent ta escort me, but got over the ground pretty smartly, minus the escort, which found it much more convenient to escort the slowly drawn carts behind, We passed through Chang-hau Cheng—a large walled town with a walled suburb on its eastern side. "Many rich bankers and jewellers live here, and I saw more pearls here in April last than I saw in any other one oily in China, if I remember rightly. Old bronzes and porce-Tain ave no less plentiful, I should say, as there are several stores for the sale of such where the ekingites generally replenish their exh ted stock, in order to supply the Fo: n Legations, We halted for breakfast in the western suburb, at my old quarters. he cavalry escort came along with the carts, whilst the infantry followed in the rear, After a tragal breakfast we started off again, 'The road was dreary enough; and, the valiant escort having returned, we were left to conduct ourselves as' best we could. Fortunately there are not many brigands in these parts just now. The verifies was rapidly filled with dust wind however was most unpleasant j every
eyes, cars, nostrils and mouth all being nourished. Wo crossed an elevated or
the city of Kiai-shin Hsien and its pagoda, el ennal—dry—and then sighted This city is situated in the bight of the astern Mountains—closo on the left, Tt is in the jurisdiction of Ping-yang Fa Prefecture," Lots of fine large cons, for sale at 3 cash a catty, is brought in carts from Toan-chinn, 35 li west of thi ity. The mountains to the left are called the nan Shan, Yesterday we had the plonsuro of 1 few pigeons, magpies and spat To-day not a feathered bird has been I saw, however, a couple of fusileors, armed with the most. primitive of fusils, and loaded with powder horns and bullet or shot pouches of the same primitive description, They were evidently bent on mischief to the feathered tribe, in some quarter, as their burning matches were doubtless intended for use us well as ornament. Everybody's fac colour, and that colon generally throughout the land of the Ki The girls, our neighbours, ha ves, and have only managed to lay the ground-work for a whity-brown colour, Dec. Gth—(5 a.m, weather delightful stars and moon shining brightly.) "When the Chinese Empire was divided by the Mongols into thirteen provinces, Kini was the seat of a Governor, then called Pu-cheng-tsu, whose Yamen or Palace still ists in the city, and is now occupied by the cavalry officers and mon stationed here. 'The city itself derives its name from Kiai Che-tui, a faithful subject of Eh uth, Duke of Hein, who shared his ch exile for nineteen' years, but afterwards refused to share "his chief's fortun When the chief was restored toh principality, Kei Cho-tui retired to the mountain, with his mother, in order to avoid the favours offered him. Wen Kung then ordered the woods to be sot on fire in order to induce Kiai Che-tui to leave his retreat, but the stupid fellow preferred death to honour from his lord, and class ing a tree, together with his mother, perished in the flame, about 650 before the Christian era. The Duke then changed the name of the mountain and place from Mien to Kiai. We met lots of carts loaded with coal yesterday, which I was told came from Tusn-chinn, some 35 west of this city. It is sold here at the rate of 2 cash a catty for choice large coal, and less than two cash for slack, Some has been coked in what appears an ex-client manner. a We marched at 6 About daylight acold wind set in, as if from the surface of the sea. At 7 o'clock we descended a gentle slope into a valley, going southwest, and sighted a pagoda on a bluff some distance to our right front, We next
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.