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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Land of the Boxers, by Gordon Casserly
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
+the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
+to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
+
+Title: The Land of the Boxers
+       or, China under the Allies
+
+Author: Gordon Casserly
+
+Release Date: December 28, 2015 [EBook #50785]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAND OF THE BOXERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Brian Wilcox, Suzanne Shell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber’s Note.
+
+The original spelling, hyphenation and punctuation has been retained.
+An exception is the change of “shell‐fire” to “shell fire” in Contents,
+Chapter II.
+
+
+
+
+THE LAND OF THE BOXERS
+
+[Illustration:
+  CAPT. PELL    CAPT. PHILLIPS     COL. O’SULLIVAN
+
+  LIEUT. STEEL   GEN. BARROW   GEN. SIR A. GASELEE, K.C.B.
+
+COMMANDER‐IN‐CHIEF AND STAFF OF THE BRITISH FORCES IN NORTH CHINA]
+
+
+
+
+  THE
+  LAND OF THE BOXERS
+
+OR
+
+CHINA UNDER THE ALLIES
+
+  BY
+  CAPTAIN GORDON CASSERLY
+  INDIAN ARMY
+
+WITH 15 ILLUSTRATIONS AND A PLAN
+
+LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
+
+39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
+
+NEW YORK AND BOMBAY
+
+1903
+
+_All rights reserved_
+
+
+
+
+  TO
+  THE OFFICERS
+  OF THE
+  AMERICAN AND BRITISH
+  NAVAL AND MILITARY FORCES
+  IN CHINA
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+Written many thousand miles from the ever‐troubled land of China,
+with no opportunity for reference, this book doubtless contains many
+errors, for which the reader’s indulgence is asked. The criticisms of
+the various armies are not the result of my own unaided impressions,
+but a _résumé_ of the opinions of the many officers of the different
+contingents with whom I conversed on the subject.
+
+My thanks are due to Sir Richard Harrison, K.C.B.,
+Inspector‐General of Fortifications, who served with the Allied Army
+which captured Pekin in 1860, for his courtesy in permitting me to use
+some of the excellent photographs taken by the Photo Section, Royal
+Engineers.
+
+THE AUTHOR
+
+LONDON, 1903
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+FROM WEI‐HAI‐WEI TO TIENTSIN
+
+  Our transport—An Irish _padré_—Wei‐hai‐wei harbour by night—The
+  island by day—The mainland—On to Taku—Taku at last—The allied
+  fleet—The famous forts—The Peiho River—The Allies at Tong‐ku—The
+  British at Hsin‐ho—The train to Tientsin—A motley crowd of
+  passengers—The country _en route_—A historic railway station
+    _pages_ 1–16
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+TIENTSIN
+
+  The foreign settlement—The Chinese city—The linguists in the
+  Anglo‐Indian army—The Tientsin Club—A polyglot crowd round the
+  bar—The English Concession—The famous Gordon Hall—The brawls in
+  Taku Road—Dissensions among the Allied troops—The attack on the
+  Royal Welch Fusiliers’ patrol—The siege of Tientsin—Scene of the
+  fighting—Accuracy of the Chinese shell fire—Soldier life in the
+  streets of Tientsin—Tommy Atkins—Peace and War—The revenge of
+  Christianity—The “railway siding incident”
+    _pages_ 17–33
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE ALLIED ARMIES IN CHINA
+
+  The German expeditionary force—Out‐of‐date tactics—Failure of
+  their transport—Their campaigning dress—The German officer—The
+  French troops—Improved training and organisation of the
+  French army—The Russians—Endurance and bravery of the Russian
+  soldier—Defective training—The Japanese army—Its transport system
+  in China—Splendid infantry—The courage of the Japanese—Excellence
+  of their Intelligence Department—Its working—The East sown with
+  their agents—The discipline of the Japanese soldiers—Their
+  bravery in action—Moderation in victory—Friendship for our
+  sepoys—The American troops—Continental criticism—The American
+  army of the future—Gallantry of the Americans at the capture of
+  Tientsin—General Dorward’s praise—Friendship between the American
+  and British troops—Discomfiture of an English subaltern—The
+  Italians—Holland’s imposing contingent—The Indian army—A revelation
+  to the world—Indian troops acting alone—Fighting qualities of the
+  various races—The British officers of the Indian army—Organisation
+  of an Indian regiment—Indian cavalry—Loyalty of the sepoy
+    _pages_ 34–63
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+PEKIN
+
+  To the capital—The railway journey—Von Waldersee’s introduction to
+  our Royal Horse Artillery—The Temple of Heaven—The Temples of the
+  Sun and Moon—The Centre of the Universe—The Chien Mên Gate—Legation
+  Street—The Hôtel du Nord—Description of Pekin—The famous walls—The
+  Tartar City—The Imperial City—The Forbidden City—Coal Hill—The
+  Ming Pagoda—The streets of Pekin—A visit to the Legations—The
+  siege—Pekin mud—A wet day—A princely palace—Chong Wong Foo—A visit
+  to the Forbidden City—The Imperial eunuchs—Seated on the Emperor’s
+  throne—His Majesty’s harem—A quaint notice—A giant bronze—The
+  Imperial apartments—The Emperor’s bedroom—The Empress‐Dowager’s
+  pavilion—Musical‐boxes and toys—Her Majesty’s bed—The Imperial
+  Garden—The view from Coal Hill
+    _pages_ 64–94
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+RAMBLES IN PEKIN
+
+  The Peitan—Defence of the Cathedral—A prelate of the Church
+  militant—A gallant defence—Aspect of Pekin after the
+  restoration of order—A stroll down Ha‐ta‐man Street—Street
+  scenes—Peddlers—Jugglers—Peep‐shows and a shock—A dancing
+  bear—Shoeing a pony—The sorrows of a Pekin shopkeeper—Silk and fan
+  shops—A pottery store—A market‐place—A chaffering crowd—Beggars—The
+  Legation wall—Visit to the Great Lama Temple—The outer
+  gate—The first court—Lama priests—Rapacious beggars—The central
+  temple—Colossal statue of Buddha—The lesser temples—Improper
+  gods—Photographing the priests—The Temple of Confucius—A bare
+  interior—A visit to a Pekin _cloisonné_ factory—Method of
+  manufacture—Deft artists—Firing—The enamel—The humiliation of
+  China—The standards of the victors
+    _pages_ 95–114
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE SUMMER PALACE
+
+  Our ponies—The ride through the streets—Evil‐smelling lanes—The
+  walls—The shattered gate‐towers—The Japanese guard—The taking
+  of the City and relief of the Legations—The paved high‐road—A
+  fertile country—The villages—A ruined temple—Bengal Lancers and
+  Mounted Infantrymen—A ride through the fields—Distant view of the
+  palace—The ornamental gate—The entrance—The sepoy guard—The outer
+  courtyard—Bronzes on the temple verandah—A network of courts—Royal
+  Artillery mess in the pavilion that had served as the Emperor’s
+  prison—The shaded courtyard—Officers’ quarters looking out on the
+  lake—A marble‐walled lake—Lotos—Boats—A walk round the lake—The
+  covered terrace—The Bersagliere guard—Pretty summer‐houses—The
+  Empress’s temples—The marble junk—A marble bridge—Lunch in a
+  monarch’s prison—The hill over the lake—A lovely view—The Hall
+  of Ten Thousand Ages—Vandalism—Shattered Buddhas—The Bronze
+  Pagoda—The island—The distant hills—Summer quarters of the British
+  Legation—The ride back—Tropical rain—Flooded streets—A swim
+    _pages_ 115‐132
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+A TRIP TO SHANHAIKWAN
+
+  A long journey—The junction at Tong‐ku—Mud flats—A fertile
+  country—Walled villages—Mud forts—Defended stations—The
+  canal—Tong‐shan—The refreshment room—The coal mines—Hills—Roving
+  brigands—Shanhaikwan—Stranded at the station—Borrowing a
+  bed—Hunting for a meal—A Continental café—Spatch‐cocks—A woman
+  without pride—A mosquito concert with refreshments—Rigging up a
+  net—A surprise for the British and Russian station officers—A
+  midnight introduction—An admiring Russian—Kind hospitality—Good
+  Samaritans—The Gurkha mess—Fording a stream—A Russian cart—The
+  Great Wall of China—Snipe—The forts—The old camp—The walls of the
+  city—On the cliffs by the sea—The arrival of the Japanese fleet—A
+  shock for a Russian dinner‐party—The sea frozen in winter—A cricket
+  match—Shooting snipe on the cricket pitch—Dining with my Russian
+  friends—Vodki—Mixed drinks—The wily Russian and the Newchwang
+  railway—Tea à la Russe—Heavy rain—The line flooded—Cossacks on a
+  raft—Cut off from everywhere—An orderly of the 3rd Bombay Cavalry—A
+  sowar’s opinion of the Russian invasion of India—Collapsed
+  houses—Friendly scene between Japanese soldiers and our sepoys—The
+  floods subside—The return—Smuggling arms—Lieutenant Stirling, D.S.O.
+    _pages_ 133‐168
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+OUR STRONGHOLD IN THE FAR EAST
+
+HONG KONG AND THE KOWLOON HINTERLAND
+
+  Importance of Hong Kong as a naval and military base—An
+  object‐lesson of Empire—Its marvellous rise—The constant menace
+  of famine—Cause of Hong Kong’s prosperity—Its geographical
+  position—An archipelago—Approaching Hong Kong by sea—First view of
+  Victoria—A crowded harbour—The mainland—The Kowloon Peninsula—The
+  city of Victoria—Queen’s Road—The Shops, hotels, banks—The
+  City Hall—The palatial club—The Brigade Parade Ground—The base
+  Commissariat Officer, Major Williams, I.S.C.—The Naval Dockyard—Sir
+  Francis Powell, K.C.M.G.—Barracks and Arsenal—The Happy Valley—A
+  _memento mori_—The polo ground—Lyeemoon Pass—The southern side
+  of the Island—The Peak—The cable tramway—View from the Peak—The
+  residential quarter—The floating population of Hong Kong—The
+  sampans—Their dangers in the past—The rising suburb of Kowloon—The
+  Hong Kong regiment—The docks—The Chinese city of Kowloon—Street
+  scenes in Hong Kong—Social amusements of the colony—Society in Hong
+  Kong and Kowloon—The Kowloon Peninsula—Danger to Hong Kong averted
+  by its possession—Character of the peninsula—The frontier—The
+  Chinese territory beyond it—The taking over of the Hinterland
+  in 1898—A small campaign—The chances of a land invasion of Hong
+  Kong—The garrison of Hong Kong—Advisability of mounted infantry
+    _pages_ 169‐201
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+ON COLUMN IN SOUTHERN CHINA
+
+  A camp on the British frontier—Fears of outbreaks in Canton—The
+  Black Flags—Alarm in Hong Kong—General Gaselee’s troops diverted
+  to Hong Kong and Shanghai—His authority among the Allies weakened
+  in consequence—Wild rumours in Canton—The reform party in the
+  south—The Triads—Rebellion in the Kwang‐tung province—Admiral
+  Ho—Troops despatched from Hong Kong to guard the frontier—The
+  Frontier Field Force—Its composition—The departure of the column—A
+  picturesque voyage—An Imperial Chinese Customs gunboat—The Samchun
+  River—War junks—Our first camp—Admiral Ho’s army—Consternation
+  among the Chinese troops—They march away—No official maps of the
+  Hinterland—A Customs station—Britishers in danger—Chinese‐made
+  modern guns—A false alarm—A phantom battle—Chinese fireworks—A
+  smart trick at the storming of the Peiyang Arsenal—A visit
+  to Samchun—A game of bluff—Taking tea with a mandarin—Round
+  the town—Cockroaches as a luxury—A Yankee Chinaman—A grateful
+  escort—Terrified Chinese soldiers—An official visit to a
+  mandarin—Southern Chinese soldiers—The Imperial troops in the
+  north—A real alarm—A night raid—A disappointment
+    _pages_ 202‐230
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+IN THE PORTUGUESE COLONY OF MACAO
+
+  Early history of Macao—Its decay—A source of danger to Hong
+  Kong—Fleet of the Hong Kong, Canton, and Macao Steamboat
+  Company—The _Heungshan_ and its passengers—Guarding against
+  piracy—Macao from the sea—An awkward Chinaman—The Boa Vista
+  Hotel—View over the city—The Praia Grande—Around the peninsula—In
+  the Public Gardens—Administration of Macao—A night alarm—A
+  mutinous regiment—Portuguese and Macaese society—A visit to
+  the Governor—An adventure with the police—An arrest—Insolent
+  treatment of British subjects—Redress—An arrest in Japan—Chinese
+  gambling‐houses—_Fan‐tan_—The sights of Macao
+    _pages_ 231‐255
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A GLIMPSE OF CANTON
+
+  Hostility of Canton to foreigners—The scare in 1900—History
+  of Canton’s relations with the outer world—Its capture and
+  occupation by the English and French—The foreign settlement—The
+  river journey from Hong Kong to Canton—River scenes at Canton—A
+  floating city—Description of Canton—The streets—A visit to the
+  shops—Feather workers—Ivory carvers—Embroidery shops—Temple of
+  the Five Hundred Genii—Marco Polo among the gods—The prison—The
+  _cangue_—Insolent prisoners—Chinese punishments—Death of a Thousand
+  Cuts—The Temple of Horrors—The Examination Hall—Shameen—The English
+  and French concessions—Foreign gunboats—The trade of Canton—French
+  designs—Energy of their consuls—Our weak forbearance—An attack on
+  Canton by river and by land
+    _pages_ 256‐278
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+CHINA—PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE
+
+  At England’s mercy in the past—An easy and tempting
+  prize—Patriotism unknown—The Chinaman’s wonderful love of
+  his family—Causes of his want of patriotism—His indifference
+  as to his rulers—The Chinese abroad—Hatred of foreigners in
+  China—Its causes—This hatred common to all classes—A substitute
+  for the non‐existent patriotism—Can we blame the Chinese?—A
+  comparison—If England were like China—Our country invaded by
+  Chinese, Coreans, Siamese, and Kamschatkans—The missionaries in
+  China—The gospel of love becomes the doctrine of revenge—The
+  China of the present—Tyranny and corruption—What the future may
+  prove—Japan’s example—Japan in the past and now—What she is China
+  may become—Intelligence of the Chinese—Their success in other
+  countries—The Chinaman as a soldier—Splendid material—Examples:
+  the Boxers; the Regulars who attacked Seymour and Tientsin; the
+  military students at Tientsin; the behaviour of our Chinese
+  Regiment under fire—Heavy losses among the Allies in the beginning
+  of the campaign—Comparison of the Egyptian fellaheen—The Chinese
+  army of the future—A reformed Empire
+    _pages_ 279‐298
+
+
+INDEX
+
+   _pages_ 299‐307
+
+
+
+
+LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+                                                         PAGE
+
+  COMMANDER‐IN‐CHIEF AND STAFF OF THE BRITISH FORCES
+    IN NORTH CHINA                        _Frontispiece_
+
+  PLAN OF PEKIN                                           xvi
+
+  EUROPEAN CONCESSIONS, TIENTSIN, AND THE PEIHO RIVER      17
+
+  EXECUTION OF A BOXER BY THE FRENCH                       28
+
+  PUBLIC GARDENS AND GORDON HALL IN THE VICTORIA ROAD,
+    ENGLISH CONCESSION                                     28
+
+  FRENCH COLONIAL INFANTRY MARCHING THROUGH THE FRENCH
+    CONCESSION, TIENTSIN                                   38
+
+  GERMAN OFFICERS WELCOMING FIELD‐MARSHAL COUNT VON
+    WALDERSEE AT THE RAILWAY STATION, TIENTSIN             38
+
+  UNITED STATES CAVALRYMAN                                 51
+
+  GERMAN AND INDIAN SOLDIERS                               56
+
+  FIELD‐MARSHAL COUNT VON WALDERSEE REVIEWING THE ALLIED
+    TROOPS IN PEKIN                                        68
+
+  A STREET IN THE CHINESE CITY, PEKIN                      72
+
+  FRONT FACE OF THE DEFENCES OF THE LEGATIONS              78
+
+  GROUNDS OF THE BRITISH LEGATION, PEKIN                  107
+
+  A STREET IN THE TARTAR CITY, PEKIN, AFTER HEAVY RAIN    127
+
+  THE MARBLE JUNK                                         127
+
+  THE CANGUE                                              269
+
+[Illustration: Plan of Pekin.
+
+Gates.
+
+1. Chien Mên Gate. 2. Tung‐Chi Gate, attacked by the Japanese. 3.
+Ha‐ta‐man Gate. 4. The Water‐gate, a tunnel in the Wall between the
+Tartar and Chinese cities. By this the Indian troops entered the
+Legations. 5, 5. Nullah draining the Tartar City. 6. The English
+Legation. 7. The Japanese Legation. 8. The Russian Legation. 9. The
+American Legation. 10. The Hotel du Nord. 11, 11, 11. Ha‐ta‐man
+Street. 12. The Temple of Heaven. 13. Temporary railway station. 14.
+Railway line passing through a breach in the Wall. 15. The Temple of
+Agriculture, occupied by the Americans.]
+
+
+
+
+  THE
+  LAND OF THE BOXERS
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+FROM WEI‐HAI‐WEI TO TIENTSIN
+
+
+Our transport steamed over a glassy sea along the bold and rugged
+coast of Shan‐tung in Northern China. Ahead of us, a confused jumble
+of hills dark against the setting sun, lay Wei‐hai‐wei.[1] A German
+steamer homeward bound from Chifu dipped her flag to the blue ensign
+with crossed swords flying at our peak. Close inshore an occasional
+junk, with weird outlines and quaint sail, lay becalmed. On our deck,
+lying in easy‐chairs, were a dozen officers of various branches of
+the Service, all bound for Pekin. Some were fresh from South African
+battlefields, others were there whose soldiering had been done in India
+or in Burma.
+
+Among our number was a well‐known and popular military chaplain, the
+Reverend Mr. Hardy, author of the famous _How to be Happy though
+Married_. A living testimony to the success of his own theory, he was
+the most genial and delightful shipmate I have ever met. Dowered with
+all an Irishman’s wit and humour, he had been the life and soul of
+everyone on board. He had recently arrived in Hong Kong from Europe,
+having travelled across America, where his studied carelessness
+of dress and wild, untrimmed beard had been a constant source of
+wonderment to the smart citizens of the United States. “In Salt Lake
+City,” he told us, “a stranger addressed me one day in my hotel.
+‘Excuse me, sir,’ he said, ‘would you oblige me and my friends at this
+table by deciding a small bet we have made?’ ‘I fear I shall be of
+little use,’ replied Mr. Hardy; ‘I have only just reached your city.’
+‘Not at all. The bet is about yourself. We can’t make out which of
+three things you are—a Mormon elder, a Boer General, or a Scotchman.’
+And, faith,” added our Irish _padré_ when he told us the tale, “I think
+I felt most insulted at their last guess.”
+
+The sun went down slowly behind a chain of rugged hills. But soon
+before us, set in a silver sea, the island of Wei‐hai‐wei rose dark
+and sombre under a glorious moon. In the glistening water lay the dim
+shapes of several warships, their black hulls pierced with gleaming
+portholes. On their decks, bright with electric lamps, bands were
+playing, their strains swelling louder and louder as we drew near.
+Far off the hills of the mainland stood out sharply against the sky,
+with here and there below a twinkling light from the villages or the
+barracks of the Chinese Regiment.
+
+As our steamer rounded a long, low point, on which lay a deserted fort,
+every line distinct in the brilliant moonlight, the town came into
+view. The houses nestled down close to the water’s edge, while above
+them the island rose in gentle slope to a conical peak. Our anchor
+plunged sullenly into the sea, and we lay at rest in England’s most
+Eastern harbour. Considerations of quarantine prevented us from going
+ashore, and we were forced to wait for daylight to see what the place
+was like.
+
+Early on deck next morning we watched the mists fade away until
+Wei‐hai‐wei stood revealed in the strong light of the sun. Our latest
+possession in the East consists of a small island, called Liu‐Kung‐tao,
+on which stands the town. It lies about four miles from the mainland,
+of which a few hundred square miles has been leased to England. The
+harbour is sheltered to the south by the hills on the coast, to the
+north by the island. It affords ample anchorage for a large fleet, but
+could not be adequately defended without a large expenditure. During
+the China‐Japan War the Chinese fleet sheltered in it until routed out
+by the Japanese torpedo boats; while the Japanese army marched along
+the heights of the mainland, seized the forts on them, and, turning
+their guns on the island, forced its surrender.
+
+At the end of the island, round which our transport had passed, was
+a small peninsula, on which stood the fort we had seen. Dismantled
+now, it was unused by the present garrison. Close by, on reclaimed
+land, lay the recreation ground; and even at the early hour at which
+we saw it, tennis and cricket were in full swing. Just above it, in
+that close proximity of life and death found ever in the East, was the
+cemetery, where many crosses and tombstones showed already the price
+we pay for empire. Near at hand was the magazine, over which a Royal
+Marine sentry watched. Below, to the right, lay the Naval Dockyard
+with a pier running out into the harbour, one destroyer alongside it,
+another moored a short distance out. Along the sea‐front and rising
+in tier after tier stood well‐built stone Chinese houses, which now,
+large‐windowed and improved, serve as residences, shops, and offices
+for Europeans. A staring whitewashed wall bore the inscription in big,
+black letters, “Ah Ting. Naval Dairy Farm.” A picturesque, open‐work
+wall with Chinese summer‐houses at either end enclosed the Club.
+Farther on, a little above the harbour, stone steps through walled
+terraces led up to the Headquarter Office, once the Yamen—a long row
+of single‐storied houses with a quaint gateway, on either side of which
+were painted grim Chinese figures of heroic size. On the terrace in
+front stood some large Krupp guns with shields, taken in the present
+campaign. The Queen’s House, as these buildings are called, divides
+the naval from the military quarter of the town, the latter lying to
+the right. A few good European bungalows sheltered the General, the
+Commanding Royal Engineer, and the local representative of the famous
+firm of Jardine, Mathieson, and Company. In the lines of Chinese houses
+close by were the residences of the military officers and the hotel.
+To the right stacks of fodder proclaimed the presence of the Indian
+Commissariat. Past open ground lay a small camp and a few more houses.
+
+Above the town the island rises in terraced slopes to the summit, four
+to six hundred feet high, the regular outline of which was broken by
+mounds of upturned earth that marked the beginning of a new fort. On
+the hillside are long stone walls with gates at intervals, which date
+from the Chinese occupation, built by them, not to keep the enemy out
+in time of war, but to keep their own soldiers in. Well‐laid roads lead
+to the summit or round the island. The slopes are green with small
+shrubs and grass, but nothing worthy of the name of tree is apparent.
+Towards the eastern end were the rifle‐ranges, near which a fort was
+being constructed.
+
+In the harbour was a powerful squadron of British battleships and
+cruisers; for Wei‐hai‐wei is the summer rendezvous of our fleet in
+Chinese waters.
+
+To the south the mainland lay in a semicircle. Rugged, barren hills
+rise abruptly—in many places almost from the water’s edge. Where the
+ground slopes more gently back from the sea lines of substantial stone
+barracks have been erected for the Chinese Regiment, with excellent
+officers’ quarters and a good mess. Nestling among trees—almost the
+only ones to be seen on the iron‐bound coast—lies a large village.
+East of it a long triangle of embrasured stone wall—the base on the
+shore, the apex half‐way up the hill behind—guards the original town
+of Wei‐hai‐wei, which still owns Chinese sovereignty, though all the
+country round is British territory. A few good bungalows and a large
+and well‐built hotel mark where the future Brighton of North China has
+already begun to claim a recognition; for in the summer months the
+European residents of Tientsin, Pekin, even of Shanghai are commencing
+to congregate there in search of cool breezes and a healthy climate.
+High up above all towers the chain of rugged hills from whose summits
+the victorious Japanese gazed down on the wrecked Chinese fleet and
+the battered forts of the island. Behind it, forty miles away, lies
+the little‐known treaty port of Chifu with its prosperous foreign
+settlement.
+
+The day advanced. From the warships in the harbour the bugle‐calls
+rang out merrily in the morning air, answered by the brazen clangour
+of the trumpets of the Royal Artillery ashore. The rattle of musketry
+came from the rifle‐ranges, where squads of marines were firing.
+Along the sea‐front tramped a guard of the Chinese Regiment. Clad in
+khaki with blue putties and straw hats, they marched with a soldierly
+swing to the Queen’s House, climbed the steps, and disappeared in the
+gateway. Coolies laboured at the new fortifications. Boats shot out
+from the pier and headed for the warships. Volumes of dense black smoke
+poured from the chimneys of the condensing works—for no water fit
+for drinking is found on the island. A cruiser steamed out from her
+moorings to gun‐practice in the bay. And hour after hour we waited for
+the coming of the Health Officer, who alone could allow us to land.
+But, instead, the Transport Officer arrived, bearing orders for the
+ship to start at once for Taku. And so, with never a chance for us
+to go ashore, the anchor rumbled up and out we headed by the eastern
+passage. As we steamed out to sea we passed the tiny Sun Island, merely
+a deserted fort, still showing how cruelly battered and torn it had
+been by the Japanese shells. Round the steep north side of the island
+we swung and shaped our course for Taku in the track of the Allied
+Fleets that had swept in vengeful haste over those same waters to the
+merited punishment of China. All that day we passed along a rocky and
+mountainous coast and in among islands of strange and fantastic shape.
+Here an elephant, there a lion, carved in stone lay in slumber on the
+placid sea. Yonder a camel reposed in Nirvana‐like abstraction. On
+one islet, the only sign of life or human habitation we saw, stood a
+lighthouse, like unto lighthouses all the world over.
+
+Next morning we awoke to find the ship at anchor. “Taku at last,” was
+the cry; and, pyjama clad, we rushed on deck. To see what? Where _was_
+Taku? All around a heaving, troubled waste of muddy sea, bearing on
+its bosom the ponderous shapes of warships—British, French, Russian,
+German, Austrian, Italian, Japanese. Close by, a fleet of merchantmen
+flying the red ensign, the horizontal stripes of the “Vaterland,” or
+the red ball on white ground of the marvellous little islands that
+claim to be the England of the Far East. Tugs and lighters were making
+for a German transport, the decks of which were crowded with soldiers.
+But of land not a sign. For the roadstead of Taku is so shallow that
+no ship of any considerable draught can approach the shore, and we
+were then ten miles out from the coast. Passengers and cargo must be
+taken ashore in tugs and lighters. Only those who have seen the place
+can appreciate the difficulties under which the transport officers
+of the various armies laboured in landing men, horses, guns, and the
+necessary vast stores of every description. And Captain Elderton, Royal
+Indian Marine, well deserved the D.S.O. which rewarded him for the
+excellent work he performed at the beginning of the campaign; when,
+having successfully conveyed our expedition ashore, he was able to lend
+invaluable assistance to the troops of many of the Allies.
+
+The bar at the mouth of the Peiho River, which flows into the sea at
+Taku, can only be crossed at high tide; so we were forced to remain on
+board until the afternoon. Then, embarking on a launch that had come
+out to meet us, we steamed in to the land through a rough and tumbling
+sea. As we drew near, the low‐lying shore rose into view. On each side
+of the entrance to the Peiho ran long lines of solid earthworks—the
+famous Taku Forts. Taken in reverse and bombarded by the gunboats lying
+in the river, gallantly assaulted by landing parties from the Allied
+Fleets, which, owing to the shallowness of the water, could lend no
+other assistance, they fell after a desperate struggle, and now from
+their ramparts flew the flags of the conquering nations. Here paced an
+Italian sentry, there a Russian soldier leaned on a quick‐firing Krupp
+gun; for the forts were armed with the most modern ordnance. The red
+coat of a British marine or the white clothing of a group of Japanese
+artillerymen lent a few specks of bright colour to the dingy earthworks.
+
+Close to the entrance of the Peiho stands a tall stone building; near
+it is the Taku Pilots’ Club, their houses, comfortable bungalows,
+close at hand. Between flat, marshy shores the river winds, its banks
+crowded with mud huts. Farther up we passed a small dock, in which
+lay a gunboat flying the Russian flag. Then more gunboats—American,
+French, and Japanese. A few miles from the mouth of the river is
+Tong‐ku, the terminus of the Tientsin‐Pekin Railway. At the outset
+of the campaign all nationalities, except the British, had chosen
+this for their landing‐place and established their depôts here. As
+we steamed past, we looked on a scene of restless activity. Russian,
+French, German, and Italian soldiers were busy disembarking stores
+and _matériel_ from the lighters alongside, loading railway trucks
+in the temporary sidings, entraining horses and guns. The English,
+more practical, had selected a landing‐place a few miles farther
+up, at Hsin‐ho. Here they found themselves in sole occupation, and
+the confusion inevitable among so many different nationalities
+was consequently absent. An excellent wharf had been built, large
+storehouses erected, and a siding constructed from a temporary station
+on the railway. Hsin‐ho was our destination. Our launch stopped at
+the quay, alongside which two shallow‐draught steamers and a fleet
+of lighters were lying. Men of the Coolie Corps were hard at work;
+close by stood a guard of the stalwart Punjaub sepoys of the Hong Kong
+Regiment. Overhead flew the Union Jack.
+
+Our luggage was speedily disembarked. Most of our fellow‐passengers,
+learning that a train for Tientsin was due to leave almost at once,
+hurried off to the railway station, about a mile away. Three of us of
+the same regiment were met by a brother officer who was in charge of
+a detachment at Hsin‐ho. He offered us the hospitality of the station
+mess, composed of those employed on various duties at the place; and,
+desirous of seeing how the work of the disembarkation of a large force
+was carried out, we determined to remain for the night.
+
+We visited Tong‐ku that afternoon, and found a marked difference in
+the methods prevailing there and at Hsin‐ho. The presence of so many
+different nationalities naturally entailed great confusion. At the
+railway station a very babel of languages resounded on every side.
+
+One truck with German stores had to be detached from a goods train
+and sent down one siding; the next, with French cavalry horses, sent
+down another; a Russian and an Italian officer disputed the ownership
+of a third. Lost baggage‐guards stood disconsolate or wandered round
+aimlessly until rescued by their transport officers. Detachments of
+Continental troops stood helplessly waiting for someone to conduct them
+to their proper trains. Disorder reigned supreme.
+
+At Hsin‐ho everything proceeded without confusion. It might have been
+an up‐country station in the heart of India. Comfortable huts had been
+built for the detachment responsible for the guard duties; and the
+various details were equally well accommodated. The military officers
+had established themselves in a stone house that had formerly been the
+quarters of a railway engineer. The Royal Indian Marine officers in
+charge of the naval transport had settled down with the readiness with
+which sailors adapt themselves to shore life. A line of felt‐roofed,
+mud huts had been turned by them into an excellent mess and quarters.
+A raised terrace looked down on a tennis‐court, on the far side of
+which a pond in the mud flats, stretching away to the horizon, boasted
+a couple of canoes. From a tall flagstaff that stood on the terrace
+floated the blue ensign and Star of India of their Service.
+
+The railway siding ran past large and well‐built storehouses. On the
+river bank long lines of mules were picketed, looking in excellent
+condition despite the hard work they had gone through. In a little
+cutting in the bank was an old and tiny steam tug, which had been
+turned into a condenser for drinking‐water. Everything was trim and
+tidy. The work of disembarking the stores from the lighters in the
+river and putting them into the railway trucks almost alongside went
+on in perfect order, all in marked contrast to the confusion that
+prevailed at Tong‐ku.
+
+Early next morning we were _en route_ for Tientsin. My brother officers
+and I tramped down through awful mud to the long platform which was
+dignified by the title of “Hsin‐ho Railway Station.” A small house
+close by sheltered the railway employees and the telegraph staff,
+signallers of the Army Telegraph Department.
+
+The train from the Tong‐ku terminus soon appeared, and as it steamed in
+presented a—to us—novel appearance. Leaning out of the windows was
+a motley crowd of many nationalities. Out of one appeared the heads
+of a boyish Cossack and a bearded Sikh. The next displayed the chubby
+face of a German soldier beside the dark features of an Italian sailor.
+When the train stopped, a smart Australian bluejacket stepped out of
+the brake‐van. He was the guard. In the corridor cars were Yagers,
+Austrian sailors, brawny American soldiers, baggy‐trousered Zouave and
+red‐breeched Chasseur d’Afrique. Sturdy little Japanese infantrymen
+sat beside tall Bengal Lancers. A small Frenchman chatted volubly with
+a German trooper from the Lost Provinces. Smart Tommy Atkins gazed in
+wondering disdain at the smaller Continental soldiers, or listened
+with an amused smile to the vitriolic comments of a Yankee friend on
+the manners and appearance of “those darned Dagoes.” And among them,
+perfectly at his ease, sat the imperturbable Chinaman, apparently a
+little bored but otherwise quite uninterested in the “foreign devils.”
+
+The first‐class carriages were filled with the officers of every
+nation whose flag now waved on Chinese soil. Russians in white
+coats with flat caps and gold shoulder‐straps sat side by side with
+khaki‐clad Britishers; Italian officers in yellow; Frenchmen in every
+shade of supposed‐to‐be khaki; Germans with silver belts and sashes;
+Japanese with many medals and enamelled decorations on their breasts.
+As we entered our carriage we touched our helmets to the previous
+occupants—a salute which was punctiliously returned by everyone
+present. Settling ourselves in our seats, our interest was at first
+fully absorbed by the various uniforms around us; and it was some time
+before we could devote our attention to the scenery through which we
+were passing.
+
+The train ran first over wide‐stretching mud flats, then through a
+level, monotonous country, flooded or covered with high crops; and,
+barely seen above the tall vegetation, here and there roofless houses
+and ruined villages showed the track of war. At every bridge and
+culvert stood a tent with a guard of an Indian regiment, the sentry
+presenting arms as the train passed. The stations along the line were
+numerous. Over their stone buildings floated the Union Jack, for the
+railway was now in British hands. On each platform the same scene
+presented itself. The English Staff Officer in khaki and red‐banded
+forage cap; the stalwart Indian sentry; a varied mob of French and
+German soldiers, Sikhs, Mussulmans, Chinese.
+
+The fields of luxuriant, waving grain stretched away to the rim of the
+distant horizon. A trail of smoke, the tall masts of junks showed where
+the river wound in frequent bends. At length we passed the extensive
+buildings and high chimneys of the Chinese Arsenal, captured by our
+marines and held by the Russians; and above the trees towers and domes
+told that we were nearing Tientsin. Then through a gap in a big earthen
+wall that is twenty miles in circumference, past many sidings and long
+lines of iron trucks and waggons with bullet‐marked sides, eloquent of
+fierce fighting, we ran into the station.
+
+A commonplace, uninteresting place at first sight—just the ordinary
+railway station with the usual sheds, iron bridge, offices,
+refreshment‐room. Yet here, not long before, white men and yellow had
+closed in deadly struggle, and the rails and platforms had been dyed
+red with the blood of heroes. The sides of the iron water‐tank, the
+walls of the engine‐house, were patched and repaired; for shells from
+the most modern guns had rained on them for days. The stone walls were
+loopholed and bullet‐splashed. Many of the buildings were roofless,
+their shattered ruins attesting the accuracy of the Chinese gunners. At
+yonder corner the fanatical Boxers had burst in a wild night attack,
+and even European soldiers had retreated before the fury of their
+onslaught. But the men of the hitherto untried Hong Kong Regiment,
+sturdy sons of the Punjaub plains or Frontier hills, had swept down on
+them with the cold steel and bayoneted them in and under the trucks;
+until even Chinese fanaticism could stand it no longer and the few
+survivors fled in the friendly darkness. For that brave exploit, the
+Subhedar Major of the corps now wears the Star of the Indian Empire.
+From the mud walls of that village, scarce two hundred yards away,
+the European‐drilled Imperial troops, armed with the latest magazine
+rifles, had searched with deadly aim every yard of open ground over
+which the defenders advanced. Across this ditch the Boxers, invincible
+in their mad belief, had swarmed in the face of a murderous fire, and
+filled it with their dead. Not a foot of ground in that prosaic railway
+station but had its tale of desperate fanaticism or disciplined valour.
+
+[Footnote 1: Pronounced “Way high way.”]
+
+[Illustration: EUROPEAN CONCESSIONS, TIENTSIN, AND THE PEIHO RIVER]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+TIENTSIN
+
+
+The foreign settlement of Tientsin and the Chinese city are entirely
+separate, and lie some distance apart. The former, resembling more a
+European town than an alien lodgment in the heart of the Celestial
+Empire, boasts wide roads and well‐kept streets, large offices and
+lofty warehouses, good public buildings and comfortable villas, a
+racecourse and a polo‐ground. It is divided into the Concessions of the
+various nationalities, of which the English, in size and mercantile
+importance, is easily first. The difference between it and the next
+largest—the French—is very marked. The latter, though possessing
+a few good streets, several hotels, and at least one long business
+thoroughfare with fine shops, speaks all too plainly of stagnation. The
+British quarter, bustling, crowded, tells just as clearly of thriving
+trade. In it are found most of the banks, the offices of the more
+considerable merchants, and all the municipal buildings.
+
+The Chinese city, perhaps, has more charm for the lover of the
+picturesque, though it is less interesting now than formerly, since
+the formidable embrasured wall surrounding it has been pulled down by
+order of the Allied generals. In it stands a grim memento of another
+outburst of fanaticism against the hated foreigner—the ruins of the
+Roman Catholic Cathedral, destroyed by the Chinese in 1870. The city
+itself is like unto all other Celestial cities. Narrow lanes, low
+houses, ill‐kept thoroughfares, gaudiness and dirt intermingled, stench
+and filth abominable. To it, however, was wont to go the seeker after
+curiosities, choice silks, or rich furs from Manchuria and Corea. But
+the retributive looting that fell on it after its capture has left it
+bare indeed.
+
+On the platform of the railway station almost the first friendly face
+we saw was that of perhaps the best‐known man in North China, Major
+Whittal, Hyderabad Contingent. Interpreter in Russian, fluent in French
+and German, his linguistic abilities had been responsible for his
+appointment to the scarcely enviable post of Railway Staff Officer at
+Tientsin. In a town that held the headquarters of every foreign army,
+where troops and stores of all kinds were despatched or arrived daily
+in charge of representatives of the different forces, such a position
+required the possession of a genius for organisation and infinite
+tact and patience. Even as we greeted him, French, Russian, or German
+officers and soldiers crowded round, to harry him with questions in
+divers tongues or propound problems as to the departure of troop trains
+or the disposal of waggons loaded with supplies for their respective
+armies. The Britisher is usually supposed to be the least versed of
+any in foreign languages. But the Continental officers were very much
+surprised to find how many linguists we boasted in our expeditionary
+force. At every important railway station we had a staff officer who
+was an interpreter in one or more European languages. There were many
+who had passed examinations in Chinese. A French major remarked to me
+one day: “_Voilà, monsieur_, we have always thought that an Englishman
+knows no tongue but his own. Yet we find but few of your officers who
+cannot converse with us in ours. Not all well, certainly; but, on the
+other hand, how many of us can talk with you in English? Scarcely any.
+And many of you speak Russian, German, or Italian.” It was not the only
+surprising fact they learned about the hitherto despised Anglo‐Indian
+army.
+
+Leaving Major Whittal surrounded by a polyglot crowd, and handing over
+the luggage to our sword orderlies, we seated ourselves in rickshas and
+set out in search of quarters. The European settlement is separated
+from the railway station by the Peiho River. We crossed over a bridge
+of boats, which swings aside to allow the passage of vessels up or
+down. At either end stood a French sentry, to stop the traffic when
+the bridge was about to open. The stream was crowded with junks loaded
+with stores for the various armies, and flying the flag of the nation
+in whose service they were employed. A steamer lay at a wharf—an
+unusual sight, for few ships of any draught can safely overcome the
+difficulties of the shallow river. Along the far bank ran a broad road,
+known as the Bund, bordered with well‐built warehouses and offices.
+Some of these bore eloquent testimony to the severity of the Chinese
+shell fire during the siege. The Tricolour flew over the first houses
+we passed, for the French Concession lies nearest the station. At
+the gates of those buildings, used as barracks, lounged men of the
+Infanterie Coloniale, clad in loose white or blue uniforms, with large
+and clumsy helmets. A few hundred yards farther down we reached the
+English settlement, and turned up a wide street, in which was situated
+the fine official residence of the British Consul‐General. We arrived
+at last at the mess of the Hong Kong Regiment, where two of us were to
+find quarters. It stood in a narrow lane surrounded by houses shattered
+by shells during the siege. Close by were the messes of the Royal Welch
+Fusiliers and the 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry in dark and gloomy Chinese
+buildings.
+
+In the afternoon we paid our first visit to the Tientsin Club. It was
+crowded with representatives of almost every nationality. Britishers,
+Americans, French, Russians, and Austrians were clinking glasses amid
+a chorus of “A votre santé!” “Good health!” “Svatches doróvia!” and
+“Here’s how!” Even an occasional smart little Japanese officer was to
+be seen. Naval uniforms were almost as much in evidence as military
+garb; for the officers of the Allied Fleets lying off Taku varied
+the monotony of riding at anchor, out of sight of the land, by an
+occasional run ashore and a visit to Tientsin and Pekin. The utmost
+good fellowship prevailed among the different nationalities. French
+was the usual medium of intercourse between Continental officers and
+those of the English‐speaking races. Britishers might be seen labouring
+through the intricacies of the irregular verbs which had vexed their
+brains during schooldays, or lamenting their neglect to keep up their
+early acquaintance with the language of diplomacy and international
+courtesy. The bond of a common tongue drew the Americans and the
+English still more closely together, and the greatest friendship
+existed between all ranks of both nationalities. The heroic bravery of
+the sailors and soldiers of the great Republic of the West earned the
+praise and admiration of their British comrades, who were justly proud
+of the kinship that was more marked than ever during those days when
+the Stars and Stripes flew side by side with the Union Jack. The famous
+saying of the American commodore, “Blood is stronger than water,” and
+the timely aid given by him to our imperilled sailors in this same
+vexed land of China, were green in our memory. The language difficulty
+unfortunately prevented much intercourse with the Japanese officers.
+Some of them, however, were acquainted with English, and these were
+readily welcomed by British and Americans.
+
+The club stands in the broad, tree‐shaded Victoria Road. Next to it is
+the Gordon Hall, a handsome structure famous as the refuge of the women
+and children during the bombardment. It contains a theatre and a public
+library, and is the scene of most of the festivities in Tientsin.
+Before its door stands an object‐lesson of the siege—two small guns of
+Seymour’s gallant column flanked by enormous shells captured from the
+Chinese. The two tall towers were a conspicuous mark for the hostile
+artillerymen, as was the even loftier German Club facing it. Close by
+are the small but pretty Public Gardens, where, in the afternoons,
+the bands of the various regiments used to play. Nearer the French
+Concession stands a large hotel, the Astor House; its long verandah
+was the favourite resort of the foreign officers. The groups in varied
+uniforms sitting round the small marble tables gave it the appearance
+of a Continental _café_—an illusion not dispelled by the courtesy
+which prevailed. As each new‐comer entered he saluted the company
+present, who all rose and bowed in reply.
+
+Behind the Victoria Road runs the famous, or infamous, Taku Road, the
+scene of so many disgraceful brawls between the Allied troops. For part
+of its length it is lined by commercial buildings, but towards the
+French Concession were many houses tenanted by the frail sisterhood.
+Their presence attracted the worst characters among the men of the
+various armies, and disorder was rife. It culminated at length in a
+wanton attack on a small patrol of the Royal Welch Fusiliers by a
+drunken mob of Continental soldiers. A Japanese guard close by turned
+out to the aid of their English comrades, and, wasting no time in
+parley, dropped at once on the knee to fire into the aggressors. They
+were restrained with difficulty by the corporal in charge of the
+British patrol, who vainly endeavoured to pacify the mob. Forced at
+length to use their rifles in self‐defence, the Fusiliers did so to
+some effect. Two soldiers were killed, eight others wounded, and the
+remainder fled. Naturally enough, great excitement and indignation were
+aroused at first among the troops to which these men belonged; but it
+died away when the truth was known. An international court of inquiry,
+having carefully investigated the case, exonerated the corporal from
+all blame and justified his action. Such unfortunate occurrences were
+only to be expected among the soldiers of so many mixed nationalities,
+and the fact that they did not happen more frequently spoke well for
+the general discipline. At the end farthest from the French Concession
+the Taku Road ran through a number of small _cafés_ and beer‐saloons,
+much patronised by the German troops, whose barracks lay close by.
+
+The sights of the city and the foreign settlement were soon exhausted.
+But one never tired of watching the moving pictures of soldier life,
+or of visiting the scenes of the deadly fighting memorable for ever
+in the history of North China. The long stretches of mud flats lying
+between the Chinese town and the Concessions, over which shot and shell
+had flown for weeks; the roofless villages; the shattered houses;
+the loopholed and bullet‐splashed walls. There, during long days and
+anxious nights, the usually pacific Chinaman, spurred on by fanatic
+hate and lust of blood, had waged a bitter war with all the devilish
+cunning of his race. There the mad rushes of frenzied Boxers, reckless
+of life, hurling themselves fearlessly with antiquated weapons against
+a well‐armed foe. There the Imperial soldiers, trained by European
+officers, showed that their instruction had borne fruit. From every
+cover, natural or improvised, they used their magazine rifles with
+accuracy and effect. Lieutenant Fair, R.N., Flag‐Lieutenant
+to Admiral Seymour, told me that he has often watched them picking up
+the range as carefully and judiciously as a Boer marksman. And his
+Admiral, conspicuous in white uniform and dauntlessly exposing himself
+on the defences, escaped death again and again only by a miracle while
+men fell at his side. Nor was the shooting of the Chinese gunners to
+be despised. Lieutenant Hutchinson, H.M.S. _Terrible_, in a redoubt
+with two of his ship’s famous guns, engaged in a duel at three
+thousand yards with a Chinese battery of modern ordnance. Of six shells
+hurled at him, two struck the parapet in front, two fell just past
+his redoubt, and two almost within it. Fortunately none burst. Had
+the mandarins responsible for the munitions of war proved as true to
+their trust as the gunners, the _Terrible’s_ detachment would have been
+annihilated; but when the ammunition captured afterwards from the enemy
+was examined, it was found that the bursting charges of the shells had
+been removed and replaced by sand. The corrupt officials had extracted
+the powder and sold it. A naval ·450 Maxim was most unpopular in the
+defences. Its neighbourhood was too unsafe, for whenever it opened fire
+the smoke betrayed it to the Chinese gunners, and shells at once fell
+fast around it. It had finally to be withdrawn.
+
+But the desperate losses among the Boxers opposed to Seymour’s gallant
+column, the heavy fighting around Tientsin, and the capture of the city
+broke the back of the Chinese resistance. And when the Allied Army
+advanced on Pekin, no determined stand was made after the first battle.
+The capital, with its famous and formidable walls, fell almost without
+a blow. A sore disappointment to the British Siege Train, who, hurried
+out to South Africa to batter down the forts of Pretoria, found their
+services uncalled for there; and then, despatched to China for the
+siege of Pekin, arrived to learn that there, too, they were not needed.
+
+The interest of the Foreign Settlement lay in the crowds that thronged
+its streets. Never since the occupation of Paris after Napoleon’s
+downfall has any city presented such a kaleidoscopic picture of varied
+uniforms and mixed troops of many nations. I know few things more
+interesting than to sit for an hour on the Astor House verandah and
+watch the living stream. Rickshas go by bearing officers of every army,
+punctiliously saluting all other wearers of epaulettes they pass. An
+Indian tonga bumps along behind two sturdy little ponies. After it
+rumbles a Russian transport cart, driven by a white‐bloused Cossack. A
+heavy German waggon pulls aside to make way for a carriage containing
+two Prussian officers of high rank. A few small Japanese mounted
+infantrymen trot by, looking far more in keeping with the diminutive
+Chinese ponies than do the tall Punjaubis who follow them. Behind them
+are a couple of swarthy Bombay Lancers on well‐groomed horses, gazing
+with all a cavalryman’s disdain at the “Mounted Foot” in front of them.
+And surely never was trooper of any army so picturesque as the Indian
+_sowar_. A guard of stolid German soldiers tramps by. A squad of sturdy
+Japanese infantry passes a detachment of heavily accoutred French
+troops swinging along with short, rapid strides. And at each street
+corner and crossing, directing the traffic, calm and imperturbable,
+stands the man who has made England what she is—the British private.
+All honour to him! Smart, trim, well set‐up, he looks a monarch among
+soldiers, compared with the men of other more military countries. Never
+have I felt so proud of Tommy Atkins as when I saw him there contrasted
+with the pick of the Continental armies; for all the corps that had
+been sent out from Europe had been specially selected to do credit to
+their nations. _He_ was merely one of a regiment that had chanced to be
+garrisoning England’s farthest dependency in the East, or of a battery
+taken at random. In physique, appearance, and soldierly bearing he
+equalled them all. Even his cousin, the American, sturdy and stalwart
+as he is, could not excel him in smartness, though not behind him in
+courage or coolness in action. The British officer, however, in plain
+khaki with no adornments of rank, looked almost dowdy beside the white
+coats and gold shoulder‐straps of the Russian or the silver belts and
+sashes of the German. But gay trappings nowadays are sadly out of place
+in warfare.
+
+[Illustration: PUBLIC GARDENS AND GORDON HALL IN THE VICTORIA ROAD,
+ENGLISH CONCESSION]
+
+And though within a few miles the broken Chinese braves and routed
+Boxers, formed into roving bands of robbers, swooped down upon
+defenceless villages, and heavily accoutred European soldiers trudged
+wearily and fruitlessly after them over impossible country, life in
+Tientsin flowed on unheeding in all the gay tranquillity of ordinary
+garrison existence. Entertainments in the Gordon Hall, convivial
+dinners, polo, races, went on as though the demon of war had been
+exorcised from the unhappy land. Yet grim reminders were not wanting;
+scarcely a day passed without seeing a few miserable prisoners brought
+in from the districts round. Poor wretches! Many of them were villagers
+who had been driven into brigandage by the burning of their houses and
+the ruin of their fields as the avenging armies passed. Some were but
+the victims of treacherous informers, who, to gain a poor reward or
+gratify a petty spite, denounced the innocent. And, with pigtails tied
+together, cuffed and hustled by their pitiless captors, they trudged on
+to their doom with the vague stare of poor beasts led to the slaughter.
+A hurried trial, of which they comprehended nothing, then death. Scarce
+knowing what was happening, each unhappy wretch was led forth to die.
+Around him stood the fierce white soldiers he had learned to dread.
+Cruel men of his own race bound his arms, flung him on his knees, and
+pulled his queue forward to extend his neck. The executioner, too often
+a pitiful bungler, raised his sword. The stroke fell; the head leapt
+from the body; the trunk swayed for an instant, then collapsed on the
+ground.
+
+[Illustration: EXECUTION OF A BOXER BY THE FRENCH
+
+[_page_ 28]
+
+Yet for many of them such a death was all too merciful. No race
+on earth is capable of such awful cruelty, such hellish devices of
+torture, as the Chinese. And the unfortunate missionaries, the luckless
+wounded soldiers who fell into their hands, experienced treatment
+before which the worst deviltries of the Red Indian seemed humane.
+Occasionally some of these fiends were captured by the Allies; often
+only the instruments, but sometimes the instigators of the terrible
+outrages on Europeans, the mandarins who had spurred on the maddened
+Boxers to their worst excesses. For these no fitting punishment could
+be devised, and a swift death was too kind. But in the latter days of
+the campaign too many suffered an unmerited fate. The blood heated by
+the tales of Chinese cruelty at the outbreak of the troubles did not
+cool rapidly. The murders of the missionaries and civil engineers,
+of the unhappy European women and children, could not be readily
+forgotten. The seed sown in those early days of the fanatical outburst
+bore a bitter fruit. The horrors that war inevitably brings in its
+train were aggravated by the memory of former treachery and the
+difficulty of distinguishing between the innocent and the guilty. A
+very slight alteration of dress sufficed to convert into a harmless
+peasant the Boxer whose hands were red with the blood of defenceless
+Europeans, or of Chinese Christians whose mangled bodies had choked the
+river.
+
+The echoes of a greater struggle at the other side of the globe filled
+the ears of the world when the defenders of Tientsin were holding
+fanatical hordes of besiegers at bay. And so, few in Europe realised
+the deadliness of the fighting around the little town where hundreds
+of white women and children huddled together in terror of a fate
+too dreadful for words. The gallant sailors and marines who guarded
+it knew that on them alone depended the lives and honour of these
+helpless ones. Day and night they fought a fight, the like of which has
+scarcely been known since the defenders of the Residency at Lucknow
+kept the flag flying in similar straits against a not more savage
+foe. Outmatched in armament, they opposed small, almost out‐of‐date
+guns to quick‐firing and large‐calibre Krupps of the latest pattern.
+Outnumbered, stricken by disease, assailed by fierce hordes without
+and threatened by traitors within, they held their own with a heroism
+that has never gained the meed of praise it deserved. From the walls of
+the Chinese city, a few thousand yards away, and from the ample cover
+across the narrow river, shells rained on the unprotected town, and its
+streets were swept by close‐range rifle fire. All national rivalries
+forgotten, Americans, Russians, British, French, Germans, and Japanese
+fought shoulder to shoulder against a common foe. Admiral Seymour’s
+heroic column, baffled in its gallant dash on Pekin, and battling
+savagely against overwhelming numbers, fell slowly back on the
+beleaguered town. The Hsi‐ku Arsenal, a few miles from Tientsin, barred
+the way, guarded by a strong and well‐armed force of Imperial soldiers.
+The desperate sailors nerved themselves for a last supreme effort.
+Under a terrible fire the British marines, under Major Johnstone,
+R.M.L.I., flung themselves on the defences and drove out
+the enemy with the bayonet. Then, utterly exhausted, its ammunition
+almost spent, the starving column halted in the Arsenal, unable to
+break through the environing hordes of besiegers who lay between it
+and Tientsin. A gallant attempt made by two companies of our marines
+to cut their way through was repulsed with heavy loss. The Chinese
+made several attempts to retake the Arsenal. A welcome reinforcement
+of close on two thousand Russian troops from Port Arthur had enabled
+the besieged garrison of Tientsin to hold out. A relieving force was
+sent out to bring in the decimated column, utterly prostrated by the
+incessant fighting. An eye‐witness of their return, Mr. Drummond,
+Chinese Imperial Customs, who fought with the Tientsin Volunteers
+throughout the siege, told me that the condition of Seymour’s men was
+pitiable in the extreme. Worn out and weak, shattered by the terrible
+trials they had undergone, they had almost to be supported into the
+town. For sixteen days and nights they had been battling continuously
+against a well‐armed and enterprising foe. Their provisions had run
+out, and they had been forced to sustain life on the foul water of the
+river, which was filled with corpses, and on stray ponies and mules
+captured by the way. Out of 1,945 men they had 295 casualties. As
+soon as the sailors and marines of the returned column were somewhat
+recovered from their exhaustion, the Allied Forces moved out to attack
+the native city of Tientsin, which was surrounded by a strong and
+high wall, and defended by over sixty guns, most of them very modern
+ordnance. Covered by a terrific bombardment from the naval guns, which
+had come up from the warships at Taku, the little army, 5,000 strong,
+hurled itself on the doomed city. But so fierce was the Chinese defence
+that for a day and a night it could barely hold its own. But before
+sunrise the Japanese sappers blew open the city gate, under a heavy
+fire. The Allies poured in through the way thus opened to them, and
+the surviving defenders fled, having lost 5,000 killed and wounded.
+The Allies themselves, out of a total force of 5,000, had nearly 800
+casualties. The enemy’s stronghold captured, the siege of the European
+settlements was raised after a month of terrible stress.
+
+Between the railway station and the river lies a small stretch of
+waste ground, a few hundred yards in extent. Here arose the famous
+“Railway Siding incident.” The Russians claimed it as theirs “by right
+of conquest,” although it had always been recognised as the property
+of the railway company. An attempt to construct a siding on it from
+the station brought matters to a crisis. A Russian guard was promptly
+mounted on it, and confronted by a detachment of Indian troops under
+the command of Lieutenant H. E. Rudkin, 20th Bombay Infantry. The
+situation in which this young subaltern was placed demanded a display
+of tact and firmness which might well have overtaxed the resources
+of an older man. But with the self‐reliance which the Indian Army
+teaches its officers he acquitted himself most creditably in a very
+trying position. Then ensued a period of anxious suspense when no man
+knew what the morrow might bring forth. But calm counsels fortunately
+prevailed. These few yards of waste ground were not judged worth “the
+bones of a single grenadier,” and the question was taken from the hands
+of the soldier and entrusted to the diplomat.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE ALLIED ARMIES IN CHINA
+
+
+To a soldier no city in the world could prove as interesting as
+Tientsin from the unequalled opportunity it presented of contrasting
+the men and methods of the Allied Armies. And the officers of the
+Anglo‐Indian forces saw with pride that they had but little to learn
+from their Continental brothers‐in‐arms. In organisation, training, and
+equipment our Indian Army was unsurpassed. Clad in the triple‐proof
+armour of self‐satisfaction, the soldiers of Europe have rested
+content in the methods of 1870. The effects of the increased range
+and destructive power of modern weapons have not been appreciated
+by them. Close formations are still the rule, and the history of
+the first few battles in the next European war will be a record of
+terrible slaughter. The lessons of the Boer campaign are ignored. They
+ascribe the failures and defeats of the British forces to the defective
+training and want of _morale_ of our troops, and disdain to learn from
+a “nation of farmers.”
+
+The world has long believed that the German Army is in every respect
+superior to all others. But those who saw its China expeditionary
+force—composed though it was of picked troops and carefully selected
+officers—will not agree with this verdict. Arriving too late for the
+serious fighting—for there were no German troops in the Allied Army
+which relieved the Legations—it could only be criticised from its
+behaviour in garrison and on a few columns which did not meet with very
+serious opposition. All nationalities had looked forward eagerly to the
+opportunity of closely observing a portion of the army which has set
+the fashion in things military to Europe during the past thirty years.
+But I think that most of those who had hoped to learn from it were
+disappointed.
+
+The German authorities are still faithful to the traditions of close
+formations and centralisation of command under fire. Unbroken lines in
+the attack are the rule, and no divergence from the straight, forward
+direction, in order to take advantage of cover lying towards a flank,
+is authorised. The increased destructive power given by low trajectory
+to modern firearms does not seem to be properly understood by them.
+The creeping forward of widely extended and irregularly advancing
+lines of skirmishers, seizing every cover available within easy reach,
+is not favoured; and the dread of the effect of cavalry charges on
+the flanks of such scattered formations still rules the tactics of
+the attack. The development of the initiative of the soldier, of
+his power of acting for himself under fire, is not striven after. In
+steady, mechanical drill the German private is still pre‐eminent, but
+in wide extensions he is helpless without someone at his elbow to give
+him orders. One of the Prussian General Staff—sent out as a Special
+Service Officer—argued seriously with me that even when advancing over
+open ground against an entrenched enemy armed with modern rifles, it
+would be impossible to extend to more than an interval of one pace, “as
+otherwise the captain could not command his company.”
+
+Those in high places in Germany probably appreciate the lessons of
+the South African campaign. But the difficulty of frontal assaults in
+close formations on a well‐defended position, the impossibility of
+battalion or company commanders directing the attack in the firing line
+at close ranges, the necessity of training men to act for themselves
+when near the enemy, have not struck home to the subordinate grades.
+Viewed in the light of our experiences in the Boer War and on the
+Indian Frontier, their adherence to systems that we have proved
+disastrous before modern weapons stamps their tactics as antiquated.
+“Entrenching,” another staff officer said to me, “is contrary to the
+spirit of the German Army. Our regulations now force us to employ the
+spade, but our tradition will always be to trust to the bayonet.” And I
+thought of another army, which also used to have a decided liking for
+the same weapon, and which had gone to South Africa in the firm belief
+that cold steel was the only weapon for use in war!
+
+The German officers were very smart in their bearing and dress. Their
+khaki uniforms were similar to ours, the coats well made; but the
+clumsy cut of their riding breeches offends the fastidious eyes of the
+horsey Britisher, who is generally more particular about the fit of
+this garment than any other in his wardrobe. The product of despotic
+militarism in a land where the army is supreme and the civilian is
+despised, the German officers are full of the pride of caste. In
+China they were scarcely inclined to regard those of the other allied
+troops as equals. The iron discipline of their army does not encourage
+intercourse between the various ranks. The friendly association of
+English officers with their men in sports is inexplicable to them; and
+that a private should excel his superior in any pastime is equivalent,
+in their opinion, to the latter at once forfeiting the respect of
+his subordinate. When a team of British officers in Tientsin were
+training for a tug‐of‐war against those of the Pekin garrison in the
+assault‐at‐arms at the Temple of Heaven, they used to practise with a
+team of heavy non‐commissioned officers. A German captain said to a
+British subaltern who was taking part:
+
+“Is it possible that you allow your soldiers to compete against
+officers even in practice?”
+
+“Certainly,” replied the Englishman.
+
+“But of course you always beat them?”
+
+“Not at all,” was the answer. “On the contrary, they generally beat us.”
+
+“But surely that is a mistake,” said the scandalised Prussian. “They
+must in that case inevitably lose all respect for you.” And nothing
+could convince him that it was not so.
+
+As the German military officer does not as a rule travel much abroad,
+the realisation of England’s predominance beyond the seas seemed to
+come on those in China almost as a surprise. One remarked to a member
+of the staff of our Fourth Brigade:
+
+“Our voyage out here has brought home to most of us for the first time
+how you English have laid your hands on all parts of the earth worth
+having. In every port we touched at since we left Germany, everywhere
+we coaled, we found your flag flying. Gibraltar, Malta, Aden, Colombo,
+Singapore, Hong Kong—all British.”
+
+[Illustration: FRENCH COLONIAL INFANTRY MARCHING THROUGH THE FRENCH
+CONCESSION, TIENTSIN]
+
+“Yes,” added another, “we have naturally been accustomed to regard
+our own country as the greatest in the world. But outside it we found
+our language useless. Yours is universal. I had said to myself that
+Port Said, at least, is not British; but there, too, your tongue is
+the chief medium of intercourse. Here in China, even the coolies speak
+English, or what they intend to be English.”
+
+[Illustration: GERMAN OFFICERS WELCOMING FIELD‐MARSHAL COUNT VON
+WALDERSEE AT THE RAILWAY STATION, TIENTSIN
+
+[_page_ 38]
+
+The German organisation—perfect, perhaps, for Europe, where each
+country is a network of roads and railways—was not so successful
+in China. For the first time the leading military nation was
+brought face to face with the difficulties involved in the despatch
+of an expedition across the sea and far from the home base. And its
+mistakes were not few. Their contingent found themselves at first
+devoid of transport and dependent on the kindness of the other armies
+for means to move from the railway. One projected expedition had to
+be long delayed because the German troops could not advance for this
+reason, until the English at length furnished them with the necessary
+transport. The enormous waggons they brought with them were useless
+in a country where barrows are generally the only form of wheeled
+transport possible on the very narrow roads. Their knowledge of
+horse‐mastership was not impressive, their animals always looking badly
+kept and ill‐fed.
+
+The first German troops despatched to China were curiously clothed.
+Their uniform consisted of ill‐fitting tunics and trousers made of what
+looked like coarse, bright yellow sacking, with black leather belts
+and straw hats shaped like those worn by our Colonials, the broad brim
+caught up on one side and fastened by a metal rosette of the German
+colours. Later on all were clothed in regular khaki, and wore helmets
+somewhat similar to the British pattern, but with wider brims. The
+square portion covering the back of the neck was fastened by hinges, so
+that the helmet was not tilted over the wearer’s eyes when he lay down
+to fire, which is the great disadvantage of our style of headgear. Some
+of the officers wore silver sashes and belts which looked out of place
+on khaki, the embodiment of severe simplicity in campaigning dress.
+
+The physique of the German soldiers was very good, but they were
+members of a comparatively small contingent picked from an enormous
+army. To those used to the smart and upright bearing of the British
+private their careless and slouching gait seemed slovenly. But on
+parade they moved like automatons. A curious phase in the relations
+of the Allies was the intimacy which prevailed between the men of the
+French and German troops. In the French Concession numbers of them were
+to be constantly seen fraternising together, strolling arm‐in‐arm in
+the streets, or drinking in the _cafés_. This was chiefly owing to the
+fact that many in either army could speak the language of the other.
+But this intimacy did not extend to the commissioned ranks.
+
+The vast increase in their mercantile marine of late years enabled the
+Germans to transport their troops in their own vessels. The Russians,
+on the other hand, were frequently forced to employ British ships,
+although the bulk of their forces in North China did not come from
+Europe by sea, but was furnished by the Siberian Army.
+
+The German Navy took a prominent part in the China imbroglio. The
+_Iltis_ was well to the fore in the bombardment of the Taku forts
+by the gunboats in the Peiho. In the assault by the storming parties
+from the Allied Fleet 130 German sailors shared, and lost 6 killed
+and 15 wounded; 200 more accompanied Seymour’s column on the advance
+to Pekin. The Navy of the Fatherland possesses the immense advantage
+of being very modern and homogeneous, and is consequently quite up to
+date. Even at its present strength it is a formidable fighting machine.
+If the Kaiser’s plans are realised, and it is increased to the size
+he aims at, Germany will play a prominent rôle in any future naval
+complications.
+
+English officers are frequently accused of a lack of interest in their
+profession from not acquainting themselves with the problems which
+arise in contemporary campaigns, the course of which many persons
+believe that they do not follow. But we found a singular want of
+knowledge of the history and events of the South African campaign among
+the commissioned grades of the Allied Armies. I understood the crass
+ignorance of Continental peoples with regard to the Boer War after a
+conversation with a foreign staff officer. I had asked him what he
+thought had been the probable strength of the Republican forces at the
+beginning of the campaign.
+
+“Ah, that I know precisely,” he replied. “I have heard it from an
+officer in our army, now in China, who served with the Boers. I can
+state positively on his authority that your antagonists were never
+able to put into the field, either at the beginning of the war or at
+any other time, more than 30,000 men. The total populations of both
+States could not produce any greater number capable of carrying a
+rifle.”
+
+“And how many do you think they have in the field now?” I asked. This
+was in August, 1901.
+
+“About 25,000.”
+
+“But surely,” I argued, “after nearly two years of fighting their
+losses must amount to more than 5,000 between killed, wounded, and
+captured.”
+
+“Not at all. Perhaps not even that.”
+
+“Then you apparently do not know,” I said, “that we have about 30,000
+or 40,000 prisoners or surrendered men in St. Helena, South Africa,
+Ceylon, and India.”
+
+“Oh, but you have not,” he said, with a politely incredulous smile;
+“two or three thousand at most. In our army we are not ignorant of the
+course of the campaign. We read our newspapers carefully.”
+
+I ceased to wonder at the ignorance of his nation when he, a Staff and
+Special Service Officer, was so ill‐informed.
+
+The French Army in China suffered some loss of _prestige_ in the
+beginning through their first contingent, composed of Infanterie
+Coloniale and others sent up from _l’Indo‐Chine_. Long service in
+unhealthy tropical climates had rendered the men debilitated and
+fever‐stricken. They were by no means fair samples of the French
+soldier, and certainly not up to the standard of the troops which
+came out later from France. The Zouaves and Chasseurs d’Afrique,
+particularly, were excellent. Both are crack corps, and were much
+admired, the physique of the men being very good. The latter were fine
+specimens of European cavalry, good riders, well mounted; but their
+horses seemed too heavily weighted, especially for service in hot
+climates.
+
+The infantry were weighed down by an extraordinarily heavy pack, which
+they carried on nearly all duties—mounting guard, marching, even in
+garrison. They were trained in the same obsolete close formations as
+the Germans; but, with the traditional aptitude for loose fighting
+which dates from the days of Napoleon’s _tirailleurs_, they can adapt
+themselves much more rapidly to extended order.
+
+The French officers, though not so well turned out as the Germans, were
+much more friendly and agreeable. There was a good deal of intercourse
+between them and the Britishers. Their manner of maintaining discipline
+was very different to our ideas on the subject. I have seen one of
+them box the ears of his drunken orderly who had assaulted the Indian
+servant of an English officer, and who, considering himself aggrieved
+at being reprimanded by his master, had staggered up to him to tell him
+so.
+
+The training and organisation of the French Army has immensely improved
+since the disastrous campaign of 1870. A soldier serves first in the
+Active Army, then in the Reserve of the Active Army, where he is called
+up for training somewhat on the lines of our Militia. He is then
+passed into the Territorial Army, where he is not allowed to forget
+what he has learned with the colours. Finally he is enrolled in the
+Reserve of the Territorial Army, and is still liable to be summoned to
+defend his country in emergency. A regiment has all its equipment and
+stores in its own keeping; so that, when suddenly ordered on active
+service, there is no rush to indent upon the Commissariat or Ordnance
+Departments. Its reservists join at regimental headquarters, where they
+find everything ready for them, and take their places as though they
+had never quitted the colours. In marching powers, at least, no troops
+in Europe surpass the French; and legs are almost as useful as arms in
+modern warfare, where wide flanking _détours_ and extended movements
+will be the rule in future.
+
+France’s long experience of colonies and wars beyond the sea rendered
+the organisation and fitting out of her expeditionary force an easier
+task than some other nations found it. The men were always cheerful;
+and the French soldier is particularly handy at bivouacking and fending
+for himself on service.
+
+The Russian troops were composed of big, heavy, rather fleshy men.
+Unintelligent and slow, for the most part, they were determined
+fighters, but seemed devoid of the power of initiative or of thinking
+for themselves. I doubt if the Muscovite soldier is much more advanced
+than his Crimean predecessor. The men of the Siberian army may be best
+described as cheerful savages, obedient under an iron discipline, but
+not averse to excesses when not under the stern hand of authority,
+especially when their blood has been heated by fighting. The great
+power of the Russian soldier lies in his wonderful endurance under
+privations that few other European troops could support. I should be
+sorry to offer Englishmen the meagre fare on which he manages to exist.
+His commissariat rations were anything but lavish in China, and had to
+be supplemented by the men themselves by foraging. Yet those whom I saw
+in North China and Manchuria looked well fed and almost fat.
+
+Their respect for, and faith in, their officers is admirable. Their
+religion is a living force to their simple natures. Once, in Newchwang,
+in Manchuria, I passed a small Russian church in which a number of
+their troops were attending a Mass of the gorgeous Greek ritual. Their
+rifles were piled outside under the charge of a sentry. Helmet in hand
+he was devoutly following the service through the open window, crossing
+himself repeatedly and joining in the prayers of the congregation
+inside. I am afraid that such a sight would be very rarely seen at a
+church parade in our army.
+
+Of the courage of the Russians there can be no doubt. Their behaviour
+during the stern fighting around Tientsin was admirable. The
+European settlements owed their preservation largely to the timely
+reinforcements which arrived from Port Arthur at a time of deadly
+peril. When Admiral Seymour started on his desperate attempt to relieve
+the Legations, he left behind at Tientsin a small number of British
+sailors and marines under Captain Bayly, H.M.S. _Aurora_, with orders
+to hold the town, so that his column, if defeated, might have some
+place to fall back on. When, after his departure, the Concessions were
+suddenly assailed, the commanding officers of the other Allies were of
+opinion that the defence of the settlements was hopeless, and advocated
+a retirement on Taku. Captain Bayly pointed out the peril to which the
+Relieving Column would be exposed if repulsed and forced to fall back
+only to find Tientsin in the hands of the Chinese. His remonstrances
+had no effect. Then the dauntless sailor, with true British grit,
+declared that the others might go if they wished. He had been ordered
+to remain in Tientsin, and remain he would. He would not desert his
+admiral even if left alone to hold the town with his handful of
+Britishers. I have it on his own authority that the Russian commander
+was the first to applaud his resolution and declare that he and his
+men would stay with the English to the end. His action turned the
+scale, and all remained to defend Tientsin and save Seymour’s gallant
+but unfortunate column.
+
+Though the Russian officers exceed even the Germans in the severity
+with which they treat their men, there is, nevertheless, more of a
+spirit of comradeship existing between the higher and lower ranks. This
+is truer, perhaps, of the European army than the Siberian, which was
+more employed in the China campaign, and is inferior to the former,
+especially the splendid Guards corps. The officers were fine men
+physically, but seemed in military training rather behind those of the
+other Allies.
+
+Profiting by the experience gained in their previous campaign against
+China, the Japanese Army arrived well equipped in 1900. As long as road
+or river was available, their transport system of carts and boats was
+excellent; but when it came to flying columns moving across country the
+Indian mule train was superior. Beginning the war in white uniform, the
+disadvantages of such a conspicuous dress were soon evident, and khaki
+was substituted. The men were well clothed, and carried a horsehide
+knapsack containing the usual necessaries and an extra pair of boots.
+
+The cavalry, consisting as it does of small men on undersized
+animals, would be of little use in shock tactics. It would be far
+more useful converted into mounted infantry, for their infantry
+earned nothing but praise. Small, sturdy, easily fed, and capable of
+enduring an extraordinary amount of hardship, they were ideal foot
+soldiers. Recruited among an agricultural population, inhabitants of
+a mountainous country, they were inured to toil and fatigue. Under
+a load that few white men could carry they tramped long distances,
+arriving at the end of the march apparently not in the least exhausted.
+Their racial respect for superiors has bred a perfect spirit of
+unquestioning discipline. Their high patriotism and almost fanatical
+courage endow them with an absolute contempt of death, and their heroic
+bravery extorted the admiration even of such unfriendly critics as
+the Russians. Trained in German methods, their army suffers from all
+the defects of the hide‐bound Teutonic system. In the attack on some
+fortified villages held by banditti, after Major Browning’s death in a
+preliminary skirmish, two Japanese companies advanced in line with the
+4th Punjaub Infantry. Under a fierce fire from 4,000 brigands, armed
+with Mannlichers and ensconced behind walls, the Indian troops extended
+to ten or twelve paces. The Japanese came on in single rank, almost
+shoulder to shoulder. They lost four times as many as the Punjaubis,
+but never wavered for an instant, closing in mechanically as their
+comrades fell, and almost outstripping our sepoys in the final charge
+that carried the position. Though many of their officers have realised
+that the day of close formations is past, they have not sufficient
+confidence in the ability of their men to fight independently _yet_;
+while they know that no amount of slaughter will dismay them in an
+attack. Besides, in China they were anxious to blood them well and to
+show to their European critics the splendid fighting quality of their
+soldiers, and prove that they were worthy to combat with or against any
+troops in the world.
+
+The organisation, equipment, and material of the Japanese Army
+leave little to be desired. Their engineers and artillery are well
+trained, and both rendered good service to the Allies in 1900. Their
+Intelligence Department had been brought to a high standard of
+efficiency; and its perfection astonishes those who are permitted to
+gain a glimpse of its working. The whole East is sown with its spies.
+When the Legations were threatened, Japanese who had been working at
+inferior trades in Pekin came in and revealed themselves as military
+officers who for months or years had been acquainting themselves with
+the plans, the methods, and the strength of China.
+
+The discipline of Japanese soldiers in small things as well as great
+is admirable. I have often watched crowded troop‐trains arriving at
+the Shimbashi railway terminus in Tokio. The men sat quietly in their
+places until the order to leave the carriages was given. Then, without
+noise or confusion, they got out, fell in on the platforms, piled
+arms, fell out, and remained near their rifles without chattering;
+indeed, with hardly a word except in an undertone. Prompt and
+unquestioning obedience in everything is the motto of the Japanese
+soldier. Their courage at the storming of Tientsin city, on the march
+to the capital, and at the capture of Pekin won the admiration of all
+the Allies, and their behaviour and self‐restraint in the hour of
+victory were equalled only by their gallantry in action. No charges
+of cruelty to inoffensive peasants or women and children could be
+substantiated against them; and they treated the conquered Chinese
+with great kindness. They employed their prisoners to work for them
+and paid them liberally for their labour. Their conduct in garrison
+was admirable. Well armed and equipped, well officered and led, the
+Japanese Army is now a powerful fighting machine, and would prove a
+formidable enemy or a useful ally in the field.
+
+Throughout the campaign a remarkable spirit of comradeship existed
+between the Japanese and the Indian troops. The Gurkhas were their
+especial friends. So like in appearance that it points to a common
+ancestry in the past, they hailed each other as relatives, and seemed
+quite puzzled to find no resemblance in the languages. This did not
+seem to slacken their friendship; and it was amusing to see a mingled
+group of the two races chatting together in an animated manner,
+neither understanding a word of the other’s tongue.
+
+[Illustration: UNITED STATES CAVALRYMAN]
+
+The men of the American Army were equalled in physique only by
+the Australian Contingent and our Royal Horse Artillery. Their
+free‐and‐easy ideas on the subject of discipline, the casual manner
+in which a private addressed an officer, astonished and shocked their
+Continental critics. I heard the remark of a German officer who, after
+a slight acquaintance with their ways, exclaimed, “_That_ an army? Why,
+with the Berlin Fire Brigade I would conquer the whole of America!” The
+speech was so typically German! But the men, accustomed to think and
+act for themselves, were ideal individual fighters; and for scouting,
+skirmishing, and bush‐whacking could not easily be surpassed. Their
+troops in China consisted at first mainly of marines and regiments
+diverted when on their way to the Philippines, and consequently were
+not well equipped for a long campaign. But soon after the outset of
+the expedition all deficiencies were made good and ample supplies were
+forthcoming, their hospitals especially being almost lavishly furnished
+with all requirements.
+
+The new American Army, like their excellent go‐ahead Navy, is a force
+to be reckoned with in the future. We hear much of the effects of
+“influence” in our army. It is nothing compared to what goes on in
+the American. With them to be the near connection of a Senator or a
+prominent politician is infinitely more advantageous than to be the
+scion of a ducal line or the son of a Commander‐in‐Chief with us.
+
+If the Continental troops suffer from too rigid a discipline, which
+destroys the power of thinking for themselves in the lower ranks, the
+Americans, perhaps, err on the other side. They are too ready to act
+on their own responsibility, to question the wisdom of the orders
+they receive, and act, instead, as seems best to themselves. This was
+particularly evident in the case of the volunteer regiments in the
+Philippines; but instances of it were not wanting among the regulars
+and marines in North China. Democracy is impossible in an army. But
+the material at the service of the United States is unquestionably
+magnificent; and when the pressure of events in the future has called
+into being and welded together a really large army in America, there
+are few nations that can hope to oppose it successfully in the field.
+How rapidly the sons of the Star‐spangled Banner acquire the art of war
+was evidenced in Cuba and in the more difficult and trying guerilla
+campaign in the Philippines. Their faults were those of inexperience.
+
+Of their courage there can be no doubt. At the taking of Tientsin
+city nearly a thousand American infantry and marines served with the
+British under General Dorward. In a letter to their commander this
+officer warmly expressed the honour he, in common with all his men,
+felt in serving alongside the American troops. In his own words, “they
+formed part of the front line of the British attack, and so had more
+than their fair share of the fighting. The ready and willing spirit of
+both officers and men, their steady gallantry and power of holding on
+to exposed positions, made them soldiers of the highest class.” What
+greater praise could be given them? And well they deserved it! Two
+companies of the 9th Infantry (U.S.A.), attacked in front and flank by
+a merciless fire, held gallantly to their ground until nightfall with a
+loss of half their number in killed and wounded, including their brave
+leader, Colonel Liscum, who met a hero’s death at the head of his men.
+In all the actions of the campaign the American troops distinguished
+themselves by conspicuous bravery; and the British recognised with
+pride and pleasure the gallantry of their cousins. May we always fight
+shoulder to shoulder with, but never against, them!
+
+Great _camaraderie_ existed between the Americans and the English
+troops. The sons of the Stars and Stripes amply repaid the disdain of
+the Continental officers with a contempt that was almost laughable.
+They classified the Allies as white men and “Dagoes.” The former
+were the Americans and the British, the latter the other European
+contingents. They distinguished between them though, and the terms
+“Froggie Dago,” “Sauerkraut Dago,” “Macaroni Dago,” and “Vodki Dago”
+left little doubt in the hearer’s mind as to which nationality was
+meant.
+
+I heard a good story of an encounter between a young English subaltern
+and an American in North China. I fancy the same tale is told of a
+Colonial in South Africa; but it is good enough to bear repetition.
+The very youthful Britisher, chancing to pass a Yankee soldier who was
+sitting down and made no motion to rise, considered himself affronted
+at the private’s failure to salute him. He turned back indignantly and
+addressed the offender.
+
+“Look here, my man, do you know who I am?”
+
+“No—o—o,” drawled the American.
+
+“Well, I’m a British officer.”
+
+“Air ye naow?” was the reply. “Waal, sonny, you’ve got a soft job. See
+you don’t get drunk and lose it.”
+
+The subaltern walked on.
+
+Of the Italian Expeditionary Force, which was not numerically
+very strong, I saw little; but all spoke well of them. The famous
+Bersagliere, the cocks’ plumes fluttering gaily in their tropical
+helmets, were smart, sturdy soldiers.
+
+I regret never having had an opportunity of seeing the contingent which
+Holland, not to be outdone by the other European Powers, despatched
+to the East. This nation was also determined to show its power to the
+world. So a Dutch Expeditionary Corps was equipped and sent out. It
+consisted of a sergeant and ten men.
+
+The Indian Field Force was a revelation to Europe. Friend and foe
+realised for the first time that in the Indian army England has a
+reserve of immense value. While our Continental rivals fancied that
+our hands were tied by the South African war, and that we could take
+no part in the Chinese complication, they were startled to see how,
+without moving a soldier from Great Britain, we could put into the
+field in the farthest quarter of the globe a force equal to any and
+superior to most. It was mobilised and despatched speedily and without
+a hitch. The vessels for its transport were all available from the
+lines that ply from Calcutta and Bombay, and no ship was needed from
+England. The bluejackets and marines with half a battalion of the Royal
+Welch Fusiliers, already on the spot, and two batteries with some
+Engineers were all the white troops we had until gallant Australia sent
+her splendid little contingent as an earnest of what she could and
+would do if required.
+
+Previous to the expedition of 1900, the Indian army was never allowed
+to engage in war without a strong backing of British troops. And even
+its own officers scarcely dared to allow themselves to believe that
+without such leavening their men could successfully oppose a European
+army. But now that they have seen them contrasted with the pick of
+Continental soldiers, they know that they could confidently lead their
+Sikhs, Gurkhas, Rajputs, Pathans, or Punjaubis against the men of
+any other nation. Not only is the Indian army as well equipped and
+organised as any it could now be called upon to face, but also the
+fighting races of our Eastern Empire, led by their British officers,
+are equal to any foe. The desperate battles of the Sikh War, when, as
+in the fierce struggle of Chillianwallah, victory often hung wavering
+in the balance, the determined resistance of the mutinous troops in
+1857, show that skilful leadership is all that our sepoys need to
+enable them to encounter the best soldiers of any nation.
+
+[Illustration: GERMAN AND INDIAN SOLDIERS]
+
+India is a continent—not a country—composed of many races that differ
+far more than European nationalities. A Russian and an Englishman,
+a Swede and an Italian are nearer akin, more alike in appearance,
+manners, and modes of thought than a Gurkha and a Pathan, a Sikh and a
+Mahratta, a Rajput and a Madrassi. It follows that the fighting value
+of all these various races of India is not the same. No one would
+seek among the Bengali _babus_ or the Parsees of Bombay for warriors.
+The Madras sepoy, though his predecessors helped to conquer India
+for British rule, has fallen from his high estate and is no longer
+regarded as a reliable soldier. Yet the wisdom of the policy which
+relegated him of late years altogether to the background during war
+may be questioned. For the Madras sappers and miners, who alone of all
+the Madras army have been constantly employed, have always proved
+satisfactory. But the fiat has gone forth; and the Madrassi will be
+gradually replaced even in his own presidency by the men of the more
+martial races of the North. The Mahratta, who once struck terror
+throughout the length and breadth of Hindustan, is considered by some
+critics to be no longer useful as a fighting man. But they forget that
+not so long ago in the desperate battles near Suakin, when even British
+troops gave back before the mad rushes of fanatical Dervishes, the
+28th Bombay Pioneers saved a broken square from imminent destruction
+by their steadfast bravery. And they were Mahrattas then. Of the
+excellence of the gallant warrior clans of Rajputana, of the fierce
+Pathans inured to fighting from boyhood, of the sturdy, cheerful,
+little Gurkhas, the steady, long‐limbed Sikhs, none can doubt. Hard to
+conquer were they in the past; splendid to lead to battle now. To Lord
+Roberts is chiefly due the credit of welding together the Indian army
+and making it the formidable fighting machine it is.
+
+One great factor of its efficiency is the excellence of its British
+officers. Early placed in a position of responsibility, they rapidly
+learn to rely on themselves and act, if need be, on their own
+initiative. In a British regiment an officer may serve twenty years
+without commanding more than a company; whereas the Indian army
+subaltern, before he has worn a sword three years, may find himself
+in command of his battalion on field‐days, in manœuvres, sometimes
+even in war. In the stern fighting at the Malakand in the beginning of
+the Tirah campaign, one Punjaub regiment was commanded by a subaltern,
+who acquitted himself of his difficult task with marked ability. Unlike
+the system of promotion that exists in the British army, the English
+officers of the native corps attain the different grades after a
+certain number of years’ service—nine for captain, eighteen for major,
+twenty‐six for lieutenant‐colonel—and may occupy any position in their
+regiments irrespective of the rank they hold.
+
+An Indian infantry battalion consists of eight companies, each under
+a native officer, termed a subhedar, with a jemadar or lieutenant
+to assist him. He is responsible for the discipline and interior
+economy of his company. The senior native officer is known as the
+subhedar‐major. Instead of the terms lance‐corporal, corporal,
+sergeant, and sergeant‐major, lance‐naik, naik, havildar, and
+havildar‐major are the names of the corresponding grades.
+
+The British officers practically form the staff of the regiment. The
+former number of eight has been recently increased to eleven, twelve,
+and thirteen, according to the presidency to which the corps belongs,
+those of the Punjaub—being nearest the danger zone of frontier wars
+and threatened invasion—possessing the largest number. The eight
+companies are grouped in four double companies—the double company
+commander (a British officer) having almost complete control of
+his unit. The commanding officer of the battalion mainly restricts
+himself to seeing that the training of each portion of the regiment is
+identical and efficient. Each corps possesses a commanding officer,
+four double company commanders, an adjutant, a quartermaster, and the
+remainder are known as double company officers.
+
+The organisation of a native cavalry regiment is very similar, the
+terms squadron and squadron‐commander replacing double company and
+double company commander. In most of the corps the _sowar_, as the
+Indian cavalry private is called—_sepoy_ being employed to denote an
+infantryman—is usually the owner of his horse; and direct commissions
+to native gentlemen are of more frequent occurrence in the cavalry than
+in the infantry. Regimental transport consists of baggage‐ponies or
+mules, so that an Indian mounted corps is particularly mobile.
+
+Foreign officers in North China at first made light of our Indian
+soldiers; but they were not those who had seen them fight in the early
+days of the campaign. For one arm, however, there was nothing but
+praise. All agreed that our native cavalry was excellent. Even German
+officers acknowledged that in smartness, horsemanship, and efficiency
+it could not easily be surpassed. The work done by the 1st Bengal
+Lancers in the advance on Pekin and afterwards could not be underrated.
+With the exception of a few Cossacks and Japanese, they were the only
+mounted troops available at first. They were in constant demand to
+accompany columns of Continental troops, and they won the admiration
+of all the foreign officers with whom they were brought in contact.
+In fact, the only persons who failed to appreciate their merits were
+the Tartar horsemen who ventured to oppose them in the march on the
+capital. _Their_ opinion is not recorded, but I think that it would
+not be fit for publication except in an expunged and mutilated form.
+The 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry—as good a regiment as any that Bengal
+can show—won many encomiums for its smartness from all who saw its
+squadrons at Tientsin, Shanghai, or Shanhaikwan.
+
+But Indian officers were at first surprised and puzzled at the
+unflattering criticisms passed on our native infantry. Those who had
+seen our sepoys in many a hard‐fought struggle on the frontier could
+not understand the frequent remarks of foreign officers, that “our men
+were very unequal.”
+
+“Some of them,” they said, “are tall, well‐built, and powerful, and
+should make good soldiers; but others are old, feeble, and decrepit.
+We have seen in the streets of Tientsin many who could not support
+the weight of a rifle.” But it was soon discovered that these critics
+failed to comprehend the distinction between fighting men and
+followers, since in China both were clad somewhat alike. The coolie
+corps, bheesties, syces, and dhoolie‐bearers were all dressed in khaki;
+and Continental officers were for a long time under the impression that
+these were soldiers. The error was not unnatural, and it accounted for
+the unfavourable reports on the Indian troops which appeared in many
+European journals. But those who understood the difference were struck
+by the fine physique and excellent training of our native army. When
+we compared our Sikhs, Pathans, Gurkhas, and Punjaubis with the men of
+most of the Allied forces, we recognised that, led by British officers,
+they would render a good account of themselves if pitted against
+any troops in the world. And our sepoys return to India filled with
+immeasurable contempt for the foreign contingents they have seen in
+China. As the ripples caused by a stone thrown into a lake spread over
+the water, so their opinion will radiate through the length and breadth
+of the land; and this unexpected lesson of the campaign will have a
+far‐reaching and beneficial effect throughout our Eastern Empire.
+
+India is essentially a soldier’s country. Its army is practically
+always on a war footing, the troops near the frontier especially
+being ready to move at a few hours’ notice. The rapid despatch of
+the British contingent for Natal and the China expeditionary force
+are object‐lessons. The peace establishment of a native regiment
+is greater than the strength required for active service. Hence on
+mobilisation no reserves have to be called up to fill its ranks;
+recruits and sickly men can be left behind, and it marches with only
+fully trained and seasoned soldiers. In India vast stretches of country
+are available for manœuvres, which take place every winter on a
+scale unknown in England. Not a year passes without its little war. In
+consequence, the training of the troops is thorough and practical. The
+establishment of gun and rifle factories is all that is needed to make
+India absolutely self‐containing. It produces now all other requisites
+of war. Ammunition, clothing, and accoutrements are manufactured in
+the country, and it was able to supply, not only the needs of the
+expedition in China, but also many things required for the troops in
+South Africa.
+
+To the pessimists in England and the hostile critics abroad, who talk
+of the possibility of another mutiny, the answer is that a general
+uprising of the Native army can never occur again. The number of
+British troops in India has been more than doubled since 1857, and the
+proportion between white and coloured regiments in each large station
+more equalised. The artillery is altogether in English hands, with the
+exception of the rank and file of a few mountain batteries and the
+smooth‐bore guns maintained by native princes for show. Communication
+has been enormously quickened by the network of railways that covers
+the country, enabling a force to be moved in two or three days to a
+point where formerly as many months were required.
+
+And the Indian army is loyal to the core—loyal, not to the vague idea
+of a far‐distant England, not to the vast impersonal _Sircar_,[2] but
+loyal to itself; loyal to its British officers, who, to the limited
+minds of the sepoys, represent in concrete form the Power whose salt
+they eat. And those officers, speaking to each in his own tongue—be he
+Sikh, Rajput, or Dogra—stand in the relation of fathers to their men.
+To them in sorrow or perplexity comes the sepoy, sure of sympathy or
+aid. In their justice he reposes implicit confidence. And as in peace
+he relies on these men of alien race, so in war do they trust in him.
+And the tales of the struggle of the Guides round Battye’s corpse, of
+the gallant Sikhs who died at their post in Saragheri, of the men who
+refused to abandon their dead and dying officers in the treachery of
+Maizar, show that our trust is not misplaced.
+
+[Footnote 2: _i.e._ Government.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+PEKIN
+
+
+Tientsin is but a stepping‐stone to Pekin—one a mere modern growth,
+important only in view of the European commercial interests that have
+made it what it is; the other a fabled city weird, mysterious. The
+slowly‐beating heart of the vast feeble Colossus, that may be pierced
+and yet no agony, thrills through the distant members. Pekin, the
+object of the veneration of every Chinaman the world over. Pekin, which
+enshrines the most sacred temples of the land, within whose famous
+walls lies the marvellous Forbidden City, the very name of which is
+redolent of mystery; around it history and fable gather and scarce may
+be distinguished, so incredible the truth, so conceivable the wildest
+conjecture. The Mecca to which turn the thoughts of every Celestial.
+The home of the sacred, almost legendary, Emperor, whose word is law
+to the uttermost confines of the land, and yet whose person is not
+inviolate against palace intrigue; omnipotent in theory, powerless in
+reality, a ruler only in name. Worshipped by millions of his subjects,
+yet despised by the least among the mandarins of his court. The
+meanest eunuch in the Purple City is not more helpless than the monarch
+who boasts the proud title of Son of Heaven.
+
+Pekin, the seat of all power in the land, whence flows the deadly
+poison of corruption that saps the empire’s strength; the capital that
+twice within the last fifty years has fallen before the avenging armies
+of Europe, and yet still flourishes like a noxious weed.
+
+One morning as the train from Tong‐ku came into Tientsin Station and
+disgorged its usual crowd of soldiers of the Allied Forces, I stood on
+the platform with four other British officers, all bound for Pekin. We
+established ourselves in a first‐class carriage, which was a mixture of
+coupé and corridor‐car. The varied uniforms of our fellow‐passengers
+no longer possessed any interest for us; and we devoted our attention
+to the scenery on each side of the railway. From Tientsin to Pekin
+the journey occupies about five hours. The line runs through level,
+fertile country, where the crops stand higher than a mounted man; thus
+the actions on the way to the relief of the Legations were fought
+blindfold. Among the giant vegetation troops lost direction, corps
+became mixed, and the enemy could seldom be seen. As the train ran
+on, the tops of the tall stalks rose in places above the roofs of the
+carriages, and shut in our view as though we were passing through a
+dense forest. Here and there we rattled past villages or an occasional
+temple almost hidden by the high crops. There were several stations
+along the line; the buildings solidly constructed of stone, the walls
+loopholed for defence. On the platforms the usual cosmopolitan crowd
+of soldiers, and Chinamen of all ages offering for sale bread, cakes,
+Japanese beer, bottles of _vin ordinaire_ bought from the French,
+grapes, peaches, and plums in profusion. In winter various kinds of
+game, with which the country teems, are substituted for the fruit.
+At Yangsun were a number of Chasseurs d’Afrique, whose regiment was
+quartered in the vicinity. Trains passed us; the carriages crowded with
+troops of all nations, the trucks filled with horses, guns and military
+stores, or packed with grinning Chinamen.
+
+At last, between the trees, glimpses of yellow‐tiled roofs flashing in
+the sunlight told us that we were nearing the capital. Leaning from the
+windows we saw, apparently stretching right across the track, a long,
+high wall, with buttresses and lofty towers at intervals. It was the
+famous Wall of Pekin. Suddenly a large gap seemed to open in it; the
+train glided through, and we found ourselves in the middle of a large
+city as we slowed down alongside a platform on which stood a board with
+the magic word “Pekin.” We had reached our journey’s end. On the other
+side of the line was a broad, open space, through which ran a wide
+road paved with large stone flags. Over it flowed an incessant stream
+of carts, rickshas, and pedestrians. Behind the station ran a long wall
+which enclosed the Temple of Heaven, where, after General Gaselee’s
+departure, the British headquarters in Pekin were established.
+
+On the platform we found a half‐caste guide waiting for us, sent to
+meet us by friends in the English Legation. Resigning our luggage
+to him and directing him to convey it to the one hotel the capital
+possessed, we determined to begin our sightseeing at once and walked
+towards the gateway of the enclosure in which stands the Temple of
+Heaven. On entering, we found ourselves in a large and well‐wooded
+demesne. Groves of tall trees, leafy rides, and broad stretches of turf
+made it seem more like an English park than the grounds of a Chinese
+temple. Long lines of tents, crossed lances, and picketed horses marked
+the camp of a regiment of Bengal cavalry; for in the vast enclosure
+an army might bivouac with ease. Here was held the historic British
+assault‐at‐arms, when foreign officers were roused to enthusiasm at the
+splendid riding of our Indian cavalry and the marvellous skill of the
+Royal Horse Artillery as they swung their teams at full speed round the
+marks in the driving competitions.
+
+Apropos of the latter corps a story is told of Field‐Marshal Von
+Waldersee’s introduction to them at the first review he held of British
+troops at Tientsin. When the horse gunners came thundering down
+towards the saluting base in a cloud of dust, their horses stretching
+to a mad gallop, the guns bounding behind them like things of no weight
+but with every muzzle in line, the German Commander‐in‐Chief is said to
+have burst into admiring exclamation: “Splendid! Marvellous!” he cried.
+As they flew past the old man huddled up on his charger, he started in
+surprise and peered forward.
+
+“Donnerwetter!” he exclaimed, “why, they actually have their guns with
+them!” The pace was so furious that he had been under the impression
+that they were galloping past with the teams only; for he had thought
+it impossible for artillery to move at such speed drawing their
+field‐pieces. The other officers of the Allied Armies were equally
+amazed at the sight.
+
+“It is positively dangerous!” said a German.
+
+“C’est incroyable! Ça ne peut pas!” cried an excited Frenchman.
+
+“Say, that’ll show the Dagoes that they’ve got something still to
+learn,” said a pleased Yankee.
+
+The Temple of Heaven consists of long, low buildings of the
+conventional Chinese architecture, with wide, upturned eaves. We found
+it empty but for a few memorial tablets of painted or gilded wood.
+Emerging through a small gate and crossing a tiny marble bridge, we
+strolled through the park to another temple, the conical roof of
+which rose above the trees. It was known to the British troops in
+Pekin as the Temple of the Sun; whether the name is correct or not I
+cannot say.[3]
+
+[Illustration: FIELD‐MARSHAL COUNT VON WALDERSEE REVIEWING THE ALLIED
+TROOPS IN PEKIN]
+
+Passing the cavalry camp we came to a flight of steps, which led up to
+a terrace. On ascending this we found a huge gateway to the left. We
+passed through, and then, little susceptible as we were to artistic
+emotions, we stopped and gazed in silent admiration as the full beauty
+of the building stood revealed. The temple, circular in shape, stands
+on a slight eminence, surrounded by tiers of white marble balustrades.
+Its triple roof, bright with gleaming blue tiles and golden knob,
+blazed in the sun, the spaces between the roofs filled with gay designs
+in brilliant colours. The walls were of carved stone open‐work with
+many doors. It rose, a dream of beauty and grace, against a dark green
+background of leafy trees, the loveliest building in Pekin. Within, all
+was bare. An empty altar, a painted tablet, a few broken gilt stools
+were all that pillaging hands had spared. The massive bronze urns which
+stood outside, too heavy to be carried away, had lost their handles,
+wrenched off for the mere value of the metal. Quitting the temple and
+passing through a door in a low wall, we came to a broad open space,
+in which stood a curious construction which bears the proud title of
+“Centre of the Universe.” Three circles of white marble balustrades,
+one within the other, rose up to a paved platform, round which were
+large urns. Here once a year the Emperor comes in state to offer
+sacrifice to the _manes_ of his ancestors. Close by was the Temple of
+the Moon, in design similar to that of the Sun, but much smaller and
+with only a single roof.
+
+This exhausted the sights of the Temple of Heaven. We returned through
+the park to the railway station, where we procured rickshas to take us
+to the hotel. Strong, active coolies whirled us along over the wide,
+flagged road that runs through the Chinese town. We passed crowds
+of Celestials trudging on in the awful dust, springless Pekin carts
+drawn by sturdy little ponies, an occasional Bengal Lancer or German
+Mounted Infantryman, through streets of mean shops, the fronts hung
+with gaudy sign‐boards, until we reached the wall of the Tartar city.
+Before us stood the Chien Mên Gate, the brick tower above it roofless
+and shattered by shells, the heavy iron‐studded door swung back. We
+rumbled through the long, tunnel‐like entrance, between rows of low,
+one‐story houses, and soon reached the famous Legation Street, the
+quarter in which lie the residences of the Foreign Ministers and the
+other Europeans in Pekin. We passed along a wide road in good repair,
+by gateways at which stood Japanese, French, and German sentries, by
+the shattered ruins of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. All around
+the Legations lay acres of wrecked Chinese houses, torn by shells and
+blackened by fire—a grim memento of the outrage that had roused the
+civilised world to arms. At length we reached a broad street leading
+from the Ha‐ta‐man Gate, turned to the left down it, and drew up
+before a small entrance in a line of low, one‐story houses. Above it
+was a board bearing the inscription, “Hôtel du Nord.” Jumping from our
+rickshas, we paid off the perspiring coolies, and, walking across a
+small courtyard, were met by the proprietor and shown to our quarters.
+The hotel, which had been opened shortly after the relief of the
+Legations, consisted of a number of squalid Chinese houses, which had
+been cleverly converted into comfortable dining, sitting, and bedrooms.
+An excellent cuisine made it a popular resort for the officers of the
+Allies in Pekin, and we found ourselves as well catered for as we could
+have done in many more pretentious hostels in civilised lands.
+
+A short description of the chief city of China may not be out of place;
+though recent events have served to draw it from the obscurity that
+enshrouded it so long. It is singular among the capitals of the world
+for the regularity of its outline, owing to the stupendous walls which
+confine it. These famous battlements are twenty‐five miles in total
+circumference, and the long lines, studded with lofty towers and giant
+buttresses, present an imposing spectacle from the exterior.
+
+Pekin is divided into two separate and distinct cities, the Tartar and
+the Chinese. The latter, adjoining the southern wall of the former, is
+in shape a parallelogram, its longer sides running east and west. It
+grew as an excrescence to the capital of the victorious Manchus, and
+was in ancient times inhabited by the conquered Chinese as the Tartar
+City was by the superior race, though now this line of demarcation is
+lost in the practical merging of the two nationalities as regards the
+lower orders. The wall of the Chinese city is thirty feet high and
+twenty feet thick.
+
+[Illustration: A STREET IN THE CHINESE CITY, PEKIN]
+
+The Tartar city, in shape also a parallelogram, with the longer sides
+north and south, is surrounded by a much more imposing wall, which
+if vigorously defended would prove a truly formidable obstacle to
+any army unprovided with a powerful siege train. It is forty feet
+high, fifty feet broad at the top, and sixty‐four feet thick at the
+base, and consists of two masonry walls, made of enormous bricks as
+solid as stone, that on the external face being twelve feet thick,
+the interior one eight feet, the space between them filled with clay,
+rammed in layers of from six to nine inches.[4] A practicable breach
+might be effected by the concentrated fire of heavy siege guns, for
+shells planted near the top of the wall would probably bring down
+bricks and earth enough to form a ramp. From the outside seven gateways
+lead into the Chinese city, six into the Tartar, while communication
+between the two is maintained by three more. They can be closed by
+enormously thick, iron‐studded wooden gates, which in ordinary times
+are shut at night. The Japanese effected an entrance into the Tartar
+city by blowing in one of these. At the corners of the walls and
+over each gateway are lofty brick towers several stories high, the
+intervals between them being divided by buttresses. These towers are
+comparatively fragile, and at the taking of Pekin those attacked
+suffered considerably from the shell fire of the field guns of the
+Allies. Outwards from the base of the walls a broad open space is left.
+
+The Tartar City is by far the more important. It holds most of the
+temples, the residences of the upper and wealthier classes, the
+important buildings and larger shops. In the centre of it is the
+Imperial city, in shape an irregular square, enclosed by a high wall
+seven miles in circumference, the top of which is covered with yellow
+tiles. Here are found the public buildings and the houses of the
+official mandarins; and in its heart lies the Purple or Forbidden City,
+the residence of the Emperor and his Court. All the buildings inside
+the limits of the Imperial city are roofed with gleaming yellow tiles,
+that being the sacred colour. To the south‐east, near the wall of the
+Chinese city, lies the Legation quarter, where most of the European
+residents live.
+
+The only high ground in Pekin consists of two small eminences, just
+inside the northern boundary of the Imperial city. One, facing the
+gateway, is known as Coal Hill. Tradition declares it to consist of
+an enormous quantity of coal, accumulated in former times to provide
+against a threatened siege. It is covered with trees, bushes, and
+grass. On the summit is a pavilion, from which an excellent view over
+all Pekin is obtained. At one’s feet the yellow roofs of the buildings
+in the Imperial and Forbidden cities blaze in the sun like gold. To the
+right is the other small tree‐clad hill, on which stands the quaintly
+shaped Ming Pagoda. Below it, to the right of the Imperial city, lies
+a gleaming expanse of water, the Lotos Lake, crossed by a picturesque
+white marble bridge, with strange, small, circular arches. Near it is
+the Palace of the Empress‐Dowager. To the south of the sacred city
+is the Legation quarter, where the European‐looking buildings of the
+residences of the Foreign Ministers and the other alien inhabitants
+seem curiously out of keeping with their surroundings. Far away the
+high, many‐storied towers over the gateways between the Tartar and the
+Chinese city rise up from the long line of embattled wall. Looking down
+on it from this height Pekin is strangely picturesque, with a sea of
+foliage that surges between the buildings; and yet on descending into
+the streets one wonders what has become of the trees with which the
+city seemed filled. The fact is that they are extremely scattered,
+one in one courtyard, one in another, and in consequence are scarcely
+remarked from the level. The Palace, the Legations, and the towers are
+the only buildings that stand up prominently among the monotonous array
+of low roofs, for the houses are almost invariably only one‐storied.
+
+The Tartar City is pierced by broad roads running at right angles to
+the walls. From them a network of smaller lanes leads off, usually
+extremely narrow and always unsavoury, being used as the dumping‐ground
+of all the filth and refuse of the neighbouring houses. The main
+streets even are unpaved and ill‐kept. The centre portion alone is
+occasionally repaired in a slovenly fashion, apparently by heaping on
+it fresh earth taken from the sides, which have consequently become
+mere ditches eight or nine feet below the level of the middle causeway
+and the narrow footpaths along the front of the houses. After heavy
+rain these fill with water and are transformed into rushing rivers.
+Occasionally on dark nights a cart falls into them, the horse unguided
+by a sleepy driver, and the occupants are drowned. Such a happening
+in the principal thoroughfares of a large and populous city seems
+incredible. I could scarcely believe it until I was once obliged
+almost to swim my pony across a main street with the water up to the
+saddle‐flaps, and this after only a few hours’ rain. A Chinaman, by the
+way, will never rescue a drowning man, from the superstition that the
+rescuer will always meet with misfortune from the hand of the one he
+has saved.
+
+The houses are mostly one story high, dingy and squalid. The shops,
+covered with gaudy red and gold sign‐boards, have little frontage but
+much depth, and display to the public gaze scarcely anything of the
+goods they contain. All along the principal streets peddlers establish
+themselves on the narrow side‐walks, spread their wares on the ground
+about them, and wait with true Oriental patience for customers. The
+houses of the richer folk are secluded within courtyards, and cannot be
+seen from the public thoroughfares.
+
+On the whole, Pekin from the inside is not an attractive city; and as
+the streets in dry weather are thick with dust that rises in clouds
+when a wind blows, and in wet are knee‐deep in mud where not flooded,
+they do not lend themselves to casual strolling. The broad tops of the
+walls are much preferable for a promenade. Access to them is gained
+by ramps at intervals. They are clean, not badly paved though often
+overgrown with bushes, and afford a good view over the surrounding
+houses, and in the summer offer the only place where a cooling breeze
+can be found.
+
+Comfortably installed in the Hôtel du Nord, we determined to devote our
+first afternoon in Pekin to a visit to the quarter of most pressing,
+though temporary, interest, the Legations, on which the thoughts of
+the whole civilised world had been concentrated during their gallant
+defence against a fanatical and cowardly foe. As the distance was
+short, we set out on foot. The courtyard of the hotel opens on to
+the long street that runs through the Tartar city from the Ha‐ta‐man
+Gate, leading into the Chinese city. As the wall was close at hand,
+we ascended it by one of the ramps or inclined ways that lead to the
+top, and entered the tower above the gateway. It was a rectangular
+three‐storied building with the usual sloping gabled roofs and wide,
+upturned eaves of Chinese architecture. The interior was bare and
+empty. The lower room was wide and lofty, the full breadth and depth of
+the tower, and communicating with the floor above by a steep ladder.
+From the large windows of the upper stories a fine view over both
+cities was obtained. We looked down on the seething crowds passing
+along Ha‐ta‐man Street and away to where, above the Legation quarter,
+the flags of the Allies fluttered gaily in proud defiance to the tall
+yellow roofs of the Imperial palace close by. Descending, we emerged
+upon the broad paved road that ran along the top of the wall, and
+found it a pleasant change from the close, fetid streets. The side
+towards the Chinese city, the houses of which run up to the foot
+of the wall, is defended by a loopholed and embrasured parapet. We
+soon found ourselves over the Legation quarter and looked down on the
+spot where the besieged Europeans had so long held their assailants
+at bay. A broad ditch or nullah with walled sides, which during the
+rains drains the Tartar city, ran towards the wall on which we stood,
+passing beneath our feet through a tunnel in it, which could be closed
+by an iron grating. This was the famous water‐gate by which the
+Anglo‐Indian troops had entered, first of the Allies, to the relief of
+the besieged. The nullah was crossed by several bridges, over one of
+which passes Legation Street, along which we had ridden in our rickshas
+that morning. On the left bank of the nullah, looking north, stands
+the English Legation, surrounded by a high wall enclosing well‐wooded
+grounds. Opposite it, on the right bank, is the Japanese Legation,
+similarly enclosed. During the siege the two were connected by a wall
+built across the watercourse, which is generally dry, and they thus
+formed the front face of the defence. A portion of the city wall, cut
+off by breastworks on the summit, became the rear face, which was held
+by the Americans, who were attacked along the top of the wall itself.
+The French, German, and Belgian Legations lay to the right and rear of
+the Japanese; while the Russian and American stood between the British
+Legation and the wall. All around the limits of the defence were acres
+of wrecked and burnt Chinese houses, destroyed impartially by
+besiegers and besieged.
+
+[Illustration: FRONT FACE OF THE DEFENCES OF THE LEGATIONS
+
+Gate of the British Legation on the right, wall across the nullah
+connecting it with the Japanese Legation Wall of Tartar city in the
+background]
+
+After a long study of the position from our coign of vantage, we
+descended to the left bank of the nullah; and, passing the residences
+of the American and Russian Ministers guarded by stalwart Yankee
+soldier or heavily built Slav, we came to where the imposing gateway
+of the English Legation opens out on the road running along the
+bank. Inside the entrance stood the guardroom. To the right lay the
+comfortable residences of the Minister and the various officials spread
+about in the spacious, tree‐shaded grounds. We passed on to a group of
+small and squalid Chinese houses, which served as the quarters for the
+officers and men of the Legation Guard, chiefly composed of Royal Welch
+Fusiliers. The officers in command, all old friends of ours, received
+us most hospitably, and entertained us with grateful refreshment and
+the news of Pekin. We were cynically amused at learning from them an
+instance of the limits of human gratitude. The civilian inhabitants of
+the English Legation have insisted that a wall should be built between
+their residences and the quarters of the guard, lest, perchance, the
+odour of “a brutal and licentious soldiery” should come betwixt the
+wind and their nobility. They gladly welcome their protection in time
+of danger, but in peace their fastidious eyes would be offended by the
+sight of the humble red‐coat. Our hosts showed us round the grounds
+and the _enceinte_ of the defence, and explained many points in the
+siege that we had not previously understood.
+
+When, our visit over, we walked back to the hotel down Legation Street,
+we were interested in noticing that the walls and houses bordering
+the road were covered with bullet splashes; while the ruins of the
+Chinese houses, of the fine building that had once been a branch of
+the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, and of some of the Legations spoke
+eloquently of the ravages of war. On the wreckage around notices were
+posted, showing the increased areas claimed for the various foreign
+Legations in the general scramble that ensued on the fall of Pekin.
+Little Belgium, with her scanty interests in China, has not done badly.
+Everywhere were to be seen placards bearing the legend, “Occupé par
+la Légation Belge,” until she promised to have almost more ground
+than any of the great Powers. _Vae Victis_, indeed! And the truth of
+it was evident everywhere, from the signs of the game of general grab
+all around the Legations to the insolent manner of a German Mounted
+Infantryman we saw scattering the Chinese foot‐passengers as he
+galloped along the street.
+
+When we entered the dining‐room of the hotel that evening, we found it
+filled with Continental officers, who, as we bowed to the groups at
+the various tables before taking our seats, rose politely and returned
+our greeting. Britishers unused to the elaborate foreign courtesy
+found the continual salutes that were the custom of most of the Allies
+rather a tax at first; and the ungraciousness of English manners was a
+frequent source of comment among those of our European brothers‐in‐arms
+who had never before been brought in contact with the Anglo‐Saxon race.
+But they soon regarded us as almost paragons of politeness compared
+with our American cousins, who had no stomach for the universal
+“bowing and scraping,” and with true republican frankness, did not
+hesitate to let it be known. Our proverbial British gruffness wore off
+after a little time, and our Continental comrades finally came to the
+conclusion that we were not so unmannerly as they deemed us at first.
+In the beginning some offence was given as they did not understand
+that in the English naval or military services it is the custom where
+several officers are together for the senior only to acknowledge a
+salute; for in the other European armies all would reply equally to it.
+
+The three leading characteristics of Pekin are its odour, its dust in
+dry weather, and its mud after rain. The cleanliness introduced by the
+Allies did wonders towards allaying the stench; and I do not think that
+any place in the world, short of an alkali desert, can beat the dust of
+the Long Valley. But though I have seen “dear, dirthy Dublin” in wet
+weather, have waded through the slush of Aldershot, and had certainly
+marvelled at the mire of Hsin‐ho, yet never have I gazed on aught to
+equal the depth, the intensity, and the consistency of the awful mud
+of Pekin. We made its acquaintance on the day following our arrival.
+Heavy rain had kept us indoors until late in the afternoon when, taking
+advantage of a temporary cessation of the deluge, we rashly ventured
+on a stroll down Ha‐ta‐man Street. The city, never beautiful, looked
+doubly squalid in the gloomy weather. Along the raised centre portion
+of the roadway the small Pekin carts laboured literally axle‐deep in
+mire. It was impossible for rickshas to ply. On either side the lower
+parts of the street were several feet under water, while gushing
+torrents rushed into them from the alleys and lanes. We struggled
+with difficulty through the awful mud, wading through pools too broad
+to jump. Once or twice we nearly slipped off the edge of the central
+causeway, and narrowly escaped an unwelcome bath in the muddy river
+alongside. As we splashed and skipped along like schoolboys, laughing
+at our various mishaps, our mirth was suddenly hushed. Down the road
+towards us tramped a mournful cortège—a funeral party of German
+soldiers marching with reversed arms behind a gun‐carriage on which
+lay, in a rough Chinese coffin, the corpse of some young conscript from
+the Vaterland. As we stood aside to let the procession pass, we raised
+our hands to our helmets in a last salute to a comrade.
+
+In sobered mood we waded on until, in the centre of the roadway, we
+came to a mat‐shed that marked the site of a monument to be erected
+on the spot where the German Minister, Baron Kettler, was murdered at
+the outbreak of the troubles. Foully slain as he had been by soldiers
+of the Chinese Imperial troops, his unhappy fate proved perhaps the
+salvation of the other Europeans in the Legations. For it showed that
+no reliance could be placed on the promises of the Court which had
+just offered them a safe‐conduct and an escort to Tientsin. And on
+the ground stained by his life‐blood the monument will stand, a grim
+memento and a warning of the vengeance of civilisation.
+
+Weary of our struggles with the mud, we now resolved to go no farther
+and turned back to the hotel, but not in time to escape a fresh
+downpour, which drenched us thoroughly.
+
+Next day we changed our abode, having found accommodation in the
+portion of Pekin allotted to the English troops; for the city was
+divided into sections for the allied occupation. Some officers of the
+Welch Fusiliers had kindly offered us room in their quarters in Chong
+Wong Foo. This euphonious title signifies the palace of Prince Chong,
+who was one of the eight princes of China. Our new lodging was more
+imposing in name than in fact. The word “palace” conjured up visions
+of stately edifices and princely magnificence which were dissipated by
+our first view of the reality. Seated in jolting, springless Pekin
+carts that laboured heavily through the deep mire, we had driven
+from the hotel through miles of dismal, squalid streets. Turning off
+a main road, which was being repaired, or rather re‐made, by the
+British, we entered a series of small, evil‐smelling lanes bordered
+by high walls, from the doorways of which an occasional phlegmatic
+Chinaman regarded us with languid interest. At length we came to a
+narrow road, which the rain of the previous day had converted into a
+canal. The water rose over the axles of the carts. Our sturdy ponies
+splashed on indomitably until ahead of us the roadway widened out into
+a veritable lake before a large gate at which stood a British sentry.
+As we approached he called out to us to turn down a lane to the right
+and seek a side entrance, as the water in front of the principal one
+here was too deep for our carts. Thanks to his directions, we found
+a doorway in the wall which gave admittance to a large courtyard.
+Jumping out of our uncomfortable vehicles, we entered. Round the
+enclosure were long, one‐storied buildings, their fronts consisting
+of lattice‐work covered with paper. They were used as barrack‐rooms,
+and we secured a soldier in one of them to guide us. He led us through
+numerous similar courtyards, in one of which stood a temple converted
+into a gun‐shed, until we finally passed through a small door in a wall
+into a tangled wilderness of a garden. At the far end of this stood a
+long, low building with the conventional Chinese curved roof. It was
+constructed of brick and wood, the latter for the most part curiously
+carved. The low‐hanging eaves overspreading the broad stone verandah
+were supported by worm‐eaten pillars. The portico and doorways were of
+fragile lattice‐work, trellised in fantastic designs. It was the main
+portion of Prince Chong’s residence and resembled more a dilapidated
+summer‐house than a princely palace. Here we were met and welcomed by
+our hosts, Major Dobell, D.S.O. and Lieutenant Williams, who
+ushered us into the anything but palatial interior, which consisted of
+low, dingy rooms dimly lighted by paper‐covered windows. The various
+chambers opened off each other or into gloomy passages in bewildering
+and erratic fashion. Camp beds and furniture seemed out of keeping with
+the surroundings; but a few blackwood stools were apparently all that
+Prince Chong had left behind him for his uninvited guests. Thanks to
+our friends’ kindness, we were soon comfortably installed, and felt as
+much at home as if we had lived in palaces all our lives. It took us
+some time to learn our way about the labyrinth of courts. The buildings
+scattered through the yards would have afforded ample accommodation for
+a regiment; and a whole brigade could have encamped with ease within
+the circumference enclosed by the outer walls.
+
+The place of most fascinating interest in the marvellous capital of
+China is undoubtedly the Forbidden City, the Emperor’s residence. With
+the wonderful attraction of the mysterious its very name, fraught with
+surmise, is alluring. Nothing in all the vastness of Pekin excited such
+curiosity as the fabled enclosure that had so long shrouded in awful
+obscurity the Son of Heaven. No white man in ordinary times could hope
+to fathom its mysteries or know what lay concealed within its yellow
+walls. The ambassadors of the proudest nations of Europe were only
+admitted on sufferance, and that rarely, to the outermost pavilions of
+that sacred city, the hidden secrets of which none might dare reveal.
+But now the monarch of Celestial origin was an exile from the palace,
+whose inmost recesses were profaned by the impious presence of his
+foes. The tramp of an avenging army had echoed through its deserted
+courts; barbarian voices broke its holy hush. Foreign soldiers jested
+carelessly in the sacred chamber where the proudest mandarins of China
+had prostrated themselves in awe before the Dragon Throne. Within its
+violated walls strangers wandered freely where they listed; and Heaven
+sent not its lightnings to avenge the sacrilege. Surely the gods were
+sleeping!
+
+While the capital of the Celestial Kingdom languished in the grasp of
+the accursed barbarian, admittance to the Forbidden City was granted to
+anyone who obtained a written order from one of the Legations. This
+was readily given to officers of the armies of occupation. Provided
+with it and a Chinese‐speaking guide, a party of us set out one day
+from the British Legation to explore the mysteries of the Emperor’s
+abode. A short ricksha ride brought us to the Imperial city. A rough
+paved road through it led to the gateway of the Palace, at which
+stood a guard of stalwart American soldiers. Quitting our rickshas,
+we presented our pass to the sergeant in command. The gates were
+thrown open, and we were permitted to enter the sacred portals. Before
+us lay a large paved courtyard, the grass springing up between the
+stone flags, leading to a long, single‐storied pavilion, seemingly
+crushed beneath the weight of its wide‐spreading yellow‐tiled double
+roof. To one who has imagined undreamt‐of luxury and magnificence
+in the residence of the Emperor of China the reality comes as a sad
+disappointment. The Palace, far from being a pile of splendid and
+ornate architecture, consists of a number of detached single‐storied
+buildings, one behind the other, separated by immense paved courtyards,
+along the sides of which are the residences of the servants and
+attendants. The outer pavilions are a series of throne rooms, in which
+audience is given according to the rank of the individual admitted
+to the presence in inverse ratio to his importance. Thus, the first
+nearest the gate suffices for the reception of the smaller mandarins
+or envoys of petty States, the next for higher notabilities or
+ambassadors of greater nations, and so on.
+
+The description of one of these throne rooms will serve for all.
+
+A raised foundation, with tier above tier of carved white marble
+balustrades, slopes up to a paved terrace on which stands a large
+one‐storied pavilion. Its double roof blazes with lustrous yellow
+tiles; the gables are ornamented with weird porcelain monsters. The
+far‐projecting eaves, shading a deep verandah, are supported by many
+pillars. From the courtyard steps on either side of the sloping marble
+slab, curiously carved with fantastic designs of dragons and known as
+the Spirit Path, lead up to the terrace, on which are large bronze
+incense‐burners, urns, life‐size storks, and other birds and animals,
+with marble images of the sacred tortoise. From the verandah many
+doors lead into the vast and gloomy interior. A lofty central chamber,
+supported by gilded columns, contains a high daïs, on which stands a
+throne of gilt and carved wood with bronze urns and incense‐burners
+around it. The daïs is surrounded by gilded railings and led up to
+by a flight of half a dozen steps. Behind it is a high screen of
+carved wood. Screen, walls, and pillars are gay with quaint designs of
+writhing, coiling dragons in gold and vivid hues, or hung with huge
+tablets inscribed with Chinese characters. The ceiling is gorgeously
+painted. The whole a wonderful medley of barbaric gaudiness. From the
+principal chamber a few smaller rooms lead off, crammed with wooden
+chests containing piles of manuscripts.
+
+As we wandered about this pavilion our movements were closely watched
+by the custodians; for many of the Imperial eunuchs had been permitted
+to remain in the palace and entrusted with the keys and charge of the
+various buildings. As, after the fairly exhaustive looting that took
+place on the capture of the city, no further plundering was allowed,
+these men were instructed to watch over the safety of the contents of
+the palace that had escaped the first marauders; and they kept a sharp
+eye on visitors who endeavoured to secure mementoes. Despite their
+vigilance, one of our party succeeded in carrying off a little souvenir
+which he found in a chamber off the throne room. It was a small, flat
+candlestick, which its finder hoped would prove to be gold. It was only
+of brass, however, as he subsequently discovered; and he commented
+disgustedly on the parsimony of a monarch who could allow so mean a
+metal within his palace.
+
+In the usual spirit of tourists, to whom nothing is sacred, we each
+reposed for a few moments in the Emperor’s gilded chair, so that we
+could boast of once having occupied the Throne of China. I doubt if
+future historians will record our names among those who have assumed
+that exalted position.
+
+Passing through this building, we emerged upon another courtyard, at
+the far end of which stood a similar pavilion. Its interior arrangement
+differed but slightly from the one which I have just described. There
+were several of these throne rooms, one behind the other, all very much
+alike. Along the sides of the intervening courts were low buildings of
+the usual Chinese type, which had served as residences for the palace
+attendants.
+
+We came to a large joss‐house, or temple, the interior filled with
+gilded altars, hideous gods, memorial tablets, bronze incense‐burners
+and candelabra, silken hangings, and tawdry decorations. Here the
+reigning monarch comes to worship on the vigil of his marriage.
+
+In amusing proximity was the Emperor’s seraglio. The gate was closed
+during the allied occupation, and on it was a notice to the effect
+that “the custodian has strict orders not to admit any person. Do
+not ill‐treat him if he refuses to open the gate for you. He is only
+obeying orders.” It was signed by General Chaffee, United States Army,
+and was significant of many things. So the hidden beauties still remain
+a mystery to the outer world.
+
+Near one of the pavilions a giant bronze attracted our attention. It
+represented an enormous lion, with particularly ferocious countenance,
+reposing on a square pedestal, one long‐clawed fore‐paw resting on
+the terrestrial globe. Beneath the other sprawled in agony a very
+diminutive lion, emblematic of China’s enemies crushed beneath her
+might. The sculpture seemed rather ironical at that epoch.
+
+Passing onwards through a puzzling maze of courtyards, we reached
+at length the most interesting portion of the palace, the private
+apartments of the Emperor, the Empress‐Consort, and that notorious lady
+the Empress‐Dowager. Like all the rest of the Forbidden City, they were
+merely one‐storied, yellow‐roofed pavilions separated by courts.
+
+The interior of the Emperor’s abode consisted of low, rather dingy
+rooms opening off each other. The appointments were of anything but
+regal magnificence. The furniture was of carved blackwood, with an
+admixture of tawdry European chairs and sofas. On the walls hung a
+weird medley of Chinese paintings and cheap foreign oleographs, all
+in gorgeous gilt frames. The latter were such as would be found in a
+fifth‐rate lodging‐house—horse races, children playing at see‐saw,
+conventional landscapes, and farmyard scenes. Jade ornaments and
+artificial flowers in vases abounded; but all around, wherever one
+could be hung or placed, were European clocks, from the gilt French
+timepiece under a glass shade to the cheapest wooden eight‐day clock.
+There must have been at least two or three hundred, probably more,
+scattered about the pavilion. The Chinese have a weird and inexplicable
+passion for them, and a man’s social respectability would seem to be
+gauged more by the number of timepieces he possesses than by any other
+outward and visible signs of wealth. What a costly collection of rare
+masterpieces of art is to the American millionaire, the heterogeneous
+gathering of foreign clocks apparently is to the Celestial plutocrat.
+The Imperial bed was a fine piece of carved blackwood; but the most
+magnificent article of furniture in the pavilion was a large screen of
+the famous Canton featherwork, made of the green and blue plumage of
+the kingfisher. The design, which was framed and covered with glass,
+represented a pilgrimage to a sacred mountain. On its summit stood
+a temple, towards which crowds of worshippers climbed wearily. As a
+work of art it was excellent. It was the only thing in the Imperial
+apartments which I coveted. The rest of the furniture and fittings were
+tawdry and apparently valueless.
+
+The pavilion of the Empress‐Consort was rather more luxuriously
+upholstered than that of her husband and contained some splendid
+embroideries. In her boudoir, besides the inevitable collection of
+clocks, oleographs, and artificial flowers, were a piano and a small
+organ, both very much out of tune, presented, we were told, by European
+ladies resident in China.
+
+The pavilion of the Empress‐Dowager, a much finer abode than that of
+the reigning monarch, contained a long, glass‐walled room crowded with
+bizarre ornaments of foreign workmanship. Musical boxes, mechanical
+toys under glass shades, vases of wax flowers, stood along each side
+on marble‐topped tables; and all around, of course, clocks. On the
+walls of her sleeping apartment hung a strange astronomical chart. The
+bed, an imposing and wide four‐poster, was covered and hung with rich
+embroideries. And, as tourists should do, we lay down in turn on the
+old lady’s couch, where I warrant she had tossed in sleepless agitation
+in those last summer nights when the rattle of musketry around the
+besieged Legations told that the hated foreigners still resisted
+China’s might. And little slumber must have visited her there when
+the booming of guns, during the dark hours when Russian and Japanese
+flung themselves on the doomed city, disturbed the silence even in the
+sacrosanct heart of the Forbidden City and told of the vengeance at
+hand.
+
+Having thoroughly inspected the Imperial apartments, we visited a
+very gaudily decorated temple, crowded with weird gods and hung with
+embroideries, and then passed on to the small but delightful Emperor’s
+garden. It was full of quaintly shaped trees and shrubs, bizarre
+rockeries and curious summer‐houses, gorgeous flowers and plants,
+and splendid bronze monsters. These last absolutely blazed in the
+brilliant sunlight as though gilded; for they are made of that costly
+Chinese bronze which contains a large admixture of gold. The garden
+closed the catalogue of sights to be seen in the palace; and though we
+visited a few more of the dingy buildings of the Forbidden City, there
+was nothing else worthy of being chronicled. We passed out through
+the northern gateway and climbed up Coal Hill close by for a long,
+comprehensive look over Pekin from the pavilion on the summit.
+
+All around us the capital lay embosomed in trees and bathed in
+brilliant sunshine, the yellow roofs of the Imperial Palace at our feet
+flashing like gold. To the right lay the pretty Lotos Lakes of the
+Empress‐Dowager, the white marble bridge spanning them stretching like
+a delicate ivory carving over the gleaming water. Through the haze of
+heat and dust the towers of the walls rose up boldly to the sky. And
+far away, beyond the crowded city, the country stretched in fertile
+fields and dense groves of trees to a distant line of hills, where the
+tall temples of the Summer Palace stood out sharply against a dark
+background.
+
+[Footnote 3: Lord Curzon, in his interesting book, _Problems of the Far
+East_, refers to this building as “The Temple of Heaven” and calls what
+I have described as “The Centre of the Universe” “The Altar of Heaven.”
+He is more likely to be correct than the officers of the armies of
+occupation, but I give the names which they used.]
+
+[Footnote 4: These dimensions were given me by Lieutenant Pearson,
+R.E., who had to tunnel the wall to allow the passage of a
+railway line.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+RAMBLES IN PEKIN
+
+
+When the treachery of the Empress‐Dowager and the mad fanaticism of the
+Chinese ringed in the Legations with a circle of fire and steel, all
+the world trembled at the danger of the besieged Europeans. When Pekin
+fell and relief came, the heroism of the garrison was lauded through
+every nation. But few heard of a still more gallant and desperate
+defence which took place at the same time and in the same city—when
+a few priests and a handful of marines in the Peitan, the Roman
+Catholic cathedral of Pekin, long held at bay innumerable hordes of
+assailants. Well deserved as was the praise bestowed on the defenders
+of the Legations, their case was never so desperate as that of the
+missionaries, nuns, and converts penned up in the church and schools.
+On the Peitan fell the first shock of fanatical attack; no armistice
+gave rest to its weary garrison, and to it relief came last of all. For
+over two months, with twenty French and eleven Italian marines, the
+heroic Archbishop, Monseigneur Favrier, and his priests—all honour
+to them!—held an almost impossible position against overwhelming
+numbers. The _enceinte_ of the defence comprised the cathedral, the
+residences of the priests, the schools, and the convent, and contained
+within its straggling precincts, besides the nuns and the missionaries,
+over 3,000 converts—men, women, and children. The buildings were
+riddled with shot and shell. Twice mines were exploded within the
+defences and tore away large portions of the protecting wall, besides
+killing or wounding hundreds.
+
+The Chinese occupied houses within a few yards of the cathedral, and
+on one occasion brought a gun up within forty paces of its central
+door. A few rounds would have laid the way open to the stormers. All
+hope seemed lost; when the dauntless old Archbishop led out ten marines
+in a desperate sally, drove off the assailants, and, capturing the
+gun, dragged it back within the church. A heroic priest volunteered
+to try to pierce the environing hordes of besiegers and seek aid from
+the Legations, not knowing that they, too, were in deadly peril. In
+disguise he stole out secretly from the defences, and was never heard
+of again. One shudders to think what his fate must have been. It is
+still a mystery. Under a pitiless close‐range fire the marines and
+priests, worthy of their gallant leader, stood at their posts day and
+night and drove back the mad rushes of the assailants. Heedless of
+death, the nuns bore water, food, and ammunition to the defenders,
+nursed the wounded and sick, and soothed the alarm of the Chinese
+women and children in their care. Disease and starvation added their
+grim terrors to the horrors of the situation.
+
+Desirous of seeing the scene of this heroic defence, I set out one day
+to visit the cathedral in company with some officers of the Fusiliers
+and of my own regiment. The ground being dry, we chose rickshas for
+our vehicles in preference to Pekin carts, which are as uncomfortable
+a form of conveyance as any I know. Our coolies ran us along at a good
+pace, for the Pekinese ricksha‐men are exceedingly energetic; indeed,
+the Chinaman is the best worker I have ever seen, with the possible
+exception of the Corean boatmen at Chemulpo. The Hong Kong dock
+labourers are a model that the same class in England would never copy.
+One day in Dublin I watched three men raising a small paving‐sett a few
+inches square from the roadway. Two held the points of crowbars under
+it while the third leisurely scratched at the surrounding earth with
+a pickaxe, pausing frequently to wipe his heated brow and remark that
+“hard work is not aisy, begob!” I wondered what a Chinaman would have
+said if he had seen that sight.
+
+Close to the Peitan we found ourselves in a broad street which was
+being re‐made by the French, who had named it “Rue du General Voyron”
+after their commander‐in‐chief. In it were many newly‐opened cafés and
+drinking‐shops, placarded with advertisements of various sorts of
+European liquors for sale within. Turning off this road into a narrow
+lane, we suddenly came upon the gate of the Peitan.
+
+The cathedral is a beautiful building of the graceful semi‐Gothic
+type of modern French churches, lightly constructed of white stone.
+It is crowned by airy pinnacles and looks singularly out of place
+among the squalid Chinese houses that crowd around it. At first we
+could not discern any marks of the rough handling it had received, and
+marvelled at its good preservation. But on approaching closer, we saw
+that the masonry was chipped and scarred in a thousand places. Scarce
+a square yard of the front was without a bullet or shell‐hole through
+it. The walls were so thin that the shells had passed through without
+exploding; and it seemed almost incredible that any being could have
+remained alive within them during the hellish fire to which they had so
+evidently been subjected.
+
+We were met at the entrance by Monseigneur Favrier’s courteous
+coadjutor‐bishop, who received us most hospitably, took us over the
+cathedral and round the defences, and explained the incidents of the
+siege to us. He showed us the enormous hole in the compound and the
+breach in the wall caused by the explosion of one of the Chinese
+mines, which had killed and wounded hundreds. The ground everywhere
+was strewn with large iron bullets and fragments of shells, fired
+by the besiegers. The Bishop smiled when we requested permission to
+carry off a few of these as souvenirs, and remarked with truth that
+there were enough to suffice for visitors for many years. We inspected
+with interest the gun captured by the Archbishop. Then, as he spoke no
+English, and I was the only one of the party who could converse with
+him in French, he handed us over to the care of an Australian nun,
+who proved to be a capital _cicerone_ and depicted the horrors they
+had undergone much more vividly than our previous guide had done. Her
+narrative of the sufferings of the brave sisters and the women and
+children was heartrending. Before we left we were fortunate enough
+to have the honour of being presented to the heroic prelate, whose
+courage and example had animated the defenders. A burly, strongly
+built man, with genial and open countenance, Monseigneur Favrier is
+a splendid specimen of the Church Militant and reminded one of the
+old‐time bishops, who, clad in armour, had led their flocks to war, and
+fought in the forefront of battles in the Middle Ages. His bravery was
+equalled by his modesty, for he resolutely declined to be drawn into
+any account of his exploits during the siege. Long may he flourish! A
+perfect specimen of the priest of God, the soldier, and the gentleman.
+As we parted from him we turned to look again on the man so modestly
+unconscious of his own heroism, that in any army in the world would
+have covered him with honours and undying fame.
+
+When we looked at the extent of the defences and compared it with
+the paucity of the garrison, we could scarcely understand how the
+place resisted attack for an hour. By all the rules of warfare it
+was absolutely untenable. It is surrounded on all sides within a few
+yards by houses, which were occupied by the Chinese who from their
+cover poured in an unceasing and harassing fire upon the garrison. The
+defenders were too few to even attempt to drive them out,[5] and so
+were obliged to confine themselves to defeating the frequent assaults
+made on them. Their successful and gallant resistance was a feat that
+would be a glorious page in the annals of any army. “Palmam qui meruit
+ferat!”
+
+Not the least remarkable of the many curious phases of this
+extraordinary campaign was the rapidity with which, when order had
+been restored, the Chinese settled down again in Pekin. A few months
+after the fall of the capital its streets, to a casual observer, had
+resumed their ordinary appearance; but the wrecked houses, the foreign
+flags everywhere displayed, the absence of the native upper classes,
+and the presence of the soldiers of the Allies marked the change. Burly
+Russian and lithe Sikh, dapper little Japanese and yellow‐haired
+Teuton roughly shouldered the Celestial aside in the streets, where
+formerly the white man had passed hurriedly along in momentary dread
+of insult and assault. But in the presence of the strict discipline of
+the troops after the first excesses the Chinaman speedily recovered his
+contempt—veiled though it was now perforce—for the foreign devil.
+Ricksha coolies argued over their fare, where not long before a blow
+would have been the only payment vouchsafed or expected. Lounging
+crowds of Chinese on the sidepaths refused to make way for European
+officers until forcibly reminded that they belonged to a vanquished
+nation.
+
+Shops that had any of their contents left after the fairly complete
+looting the city had undergone opened again, the proprietors demanding
+prices for their goods that promised to rapidly recoup them for their
+losses. Vehicles of all kinds filled the streets, which were soon as
+interesting as they had been before the advent of the Allies—and a
+great deal safer. Pekin carts rattled past strings of laden Tartar
+camels, which plodded along with noiseless footfall and the weary air
+of haughty boredom of their kind. Coolies with streaming bodies ran
+their rickshas over the uneven roadway. Heavy transport waggons, drawn
+by European and American horses or stout Chinese mules, rumbled through
+the deep dust or heavy mud. And, thanks to the cleansing efforts of the
+Allies, the formerly most noticeable feature of Pekin was absent—its
+overpowering stench.
+
+Engaging the services of a guide and interpreter, a party of us set
+out one afternoon to view the shops, with the ulterior purpose of
+purchasing some of the famous pottery and silks. We went in rickshas
+to Ha‐ta‐man Street, which is a good commercial thoroughfare. Arrived
+there, we discarded our man‐drawn vehicles and strolled along the
+high side‐walks, pausing now and then to gaze at the curious pictures
+of Chinese street life. Here peddlers sat surrounded by their wares.
+An old‐clothes merchant, selecting a convenient space of blank wall,
+had driven nails into it, and hung on them garments of all kinds,
+from the cylindrical trousers of the Chinese woman to the tarnished,
+gold‐embroidered coat of a mandarin, with perhaps a suggestive rent
+and stain that spoke all too plainly of the fate of the last owner.
+Another man sat amid piles of footgear—the quaint tiny shoes of women
+that would not fit a European baby, the slippers of the superior sex,
+with their thick felt soles, the long knee boots for winter wear. Here
+a venerable, white‐haired Chinaman, with the beard that bespoke him a
+grandfather, dozed among a heterogeneous collection of rusty knives,
+empty bottles and jampots, scraps of old iron, and broken locks of
+native or European manufacture. Another displayed cheap pottery of
+quaint shape and hideous colouring, or the curious, pretty little
+snuff‐bottles, with tiny spoons fitted into the stopper, that I have
+never seen anywhere but in China. Another offered tawdry embroidery or
+tinselled fan‐cases. Piles of Chinese books and writing‐desks, with
+their brushes and solid blocks of ink, were the stock‐in‐trade of
+another.
+
+And true Oriental haughty indifference marked the demeanour of these
+cheapjacks when we searched among their curious wares for souvenirs of
+Pekin. They evinced not the least anxiety for us to buy, although they
+knew that the lowest price that they would extract from us was sure to
+be much more than they could obtain from a Chinese purchaser. Their
+demands were exorbitant for the commonest, most worthless article; and
+they showed no regret if we turned away exasperated at their rapacity.
+One asked me fifteen dollars for a thing which he gave eventually,
+after hard bargaining, for one, and then probably made a profit of
+fifty cents over it.
+
+Farther on we stopped to gaze at a small crowd assembled round a
+fortune‐teller. A stout country‐woman was having her future foretold.
+The prophet, looking alternately at her hand and at a chart covered
+with hieroglyphics, was evidently promising her a career full of good
+fortune and happiness, to judge from the rapt and delighted expression
+on her face.
+
+A bear, lumbering heavily through a cumbrous dance to the mournful
+strains of a weird musical instrument, was the centre of another small
+gathering. Farther down the street a juggler had attracted a ring of
+interested spectators, who, when the performer endeavoured to collect
+money from them, melted away quite as rapidly as a similar crowd in the
+streets of London scatters when the hat is passed round.
+
+We had noticed many peepshows being exhibited along the side‐walk, with
+small, pig‐tailed urchins, their eyes glued to the peepholes, evidently
+having their money’s worth. Curious to see the spectacles with which
+the Chinese showman regales his audiences, we struck a bargain with
+one, and for the large sum of five cents the whole party was allowed
+to look in through the glasses. The first tableau represented a troupe
+of acrobats performing before the Imperial Court. Then the proprietor
+pressed a spring; by a mechanical device the scene changed, and we drew
+back from the peepholes! The Chinese are not a moral race. None of us
+were easily shocked, but the picture that met our gaze was a little too
+indecent for the broadest‐minded European. We moved on.
+
+Outside a farrier’s booth a pony was being shod. Two poles planted
+firmly in the earth, with a cross‐piece fixed between them, about six
+feet from the ground, formed a sort of gallows. Ropes passed round the
+animal’s neck, chest, loins, and legs, and fastened to the poles, half
+suspending him in the air, held him almost immovable. The most vicious
+brute would be helpless in such a contrivance.
+
+Our guide, on being reminded that we desired to make some purchases,
+stopped outside a low‐fronted, dingy shop, and informed us that it
+belonged to one of the best silk merchants in Pekin. We entered, and
+found the proprietor deep in conversation with a friend. The guide
+addressed him, and told him that we wished to look at some silks.
+Hardly interrupting his conversation, the merchant replied that he had
+none. Irritated at his casual manner, our interpreter asked why he
+exhibited a sign‐board outside the shop, which declared that silks were
+for sale within. “Oh, everything I had was looted. There is nothing
+left,” replied the proprietor nonchalantly; and he turned to resume his
+interrupted conversation as indifferently as if the plundering of his
+goods was too ordinary a business risk to demand a moment’s thought.
+Not a word of complaint at his misfortune. How different, I thought,
+from the torrent of indignant eloquence with which the European
+shopkeeper would bewail the slackness of trade or a fire that had
+damaged his property!
+
+We were more successful in the next establishment we visited, for a new
+stock had been laid in since the capture of the city. But the silks
+were of very inferior quality, the colours crude and gaudy, and the
+prices exorbitant. So we purchased nothing.
+
+We next inspected a china shop, which was stacked with pottery from
+floor to ceiling. To my mind the patterns and colouring of everything
+we saw were particularly hideous, though some of our party who posed as
+connoisseurs went into raptures over weird designs and glaring blues
+and browns.
+
+I was equally disappointed in a visit to a fan shop. China is
+pre‐eminently the land of fans, and I had hoped to find some
+particularly choice specimens in Pekin. But all that were shown me were
+very indifferent—badly made and of poor design. The prettiest I have
+ever seen were in Canton, where superb samples of carved sandal‐wood
+and ivory can be procured at a very reasonable price. But Canton is far
+ahead of the capital in manufactures, and its inhabitants possess a
+keen commercial instinct. Its proximity to Hong Kong and the constant
+intercourse with foreigners have sharpened their trading faculties, and
+there are few smarter business men than the Canton shopkeeper.
+
+[Illustration: GROUNDS OF THE BRITISH LEGATION, PEKIN]
+
+Strolling along the street we reached a market‐place filled with
+open booths, in which food of all kinds was exposed for sale. Dried
+ducks, split open and skewered, hung beside sucking‐pigs. Buckets
+of water filled with wriggling eels stood on the ground. Salt fish,
+meat, and vegetables lay on the stalls, which were surrounded by a
+chaffering crowd. Sellers and buyers argued vehemently, and the din
+of the bargaining so dear to the Oriental heart filled the street.
+Women, with oiled hair twisted into curious shapes and wound round
+long, flat combs that stood out six inches on either side of the back
+of their heads, toddled up on tiny, maimed feet, and plunged into
+heated discussions with the dealers. Beggars exhibited their hideous
+deformities to excite the pity of the crowd, and clutched insolently at
+the dresses of the passers‐by to demand charity.
+
+Close by, a group of urchins drew water from a well. It was in the
+middle of the side‐walk, and was covered with a large stone slab,
+pierced with four holes only just large enough to permit of the passage
+of the buckets.
+
+On our way back to Chong Wong Foo that afternoon we passed close to the
+Legation quarter, and stopped to watch the progress of the wall which
+was being built around it as a protection against future attacks. It
+is simply a high wall constructed of the enormous Pekin bricks, easily
+defensible against infantry attack, but I should doubt if it would long
+resist artillery fire.
+
+The most famous place of Buddhist worship in Pekin is the Great Lama
+Temple, which was, perhaps, the wealthiest monastery in China until
+Buddhism fell out of fashion. As it is still well worthy of a visit,
+I made an excursion to it one day in company with a small party. The
+monks had the reputation of being extremely hostile to foreigners;
+and although Europeans could now go in safety to most places in the
+capital, I was warned not to venture on a visit to this temple alone.
+
+Outside the principal entrance stands a fine specimen of those curious
+Chinese structures, half gateway, half triumphal arch. The lower
+portion was of stone, the superstructure of wood. It was crowned
+with three small towers, roofed with yellow tiles, and painted with
+gaudy designs in glaring colours. On either side, on stone pedestals,
+were enormous lions that looked like the nightmare creations of a
+demon‐possessed artist. On passing through the front gate, we found
+ourselves in a paved courtyard surrounded by low, one‐storied temples
+standing on raised verandahs. In the centre was a double‐roofed
+square belfry with a small gate in each side. On entering the court
+we were at once surrounded by a clamorous crowd of shaven‐headed,
+yellow‐robed men of a villainous type of countenance. These were the
+famous—or infamous—Buddhist monks. Their dress consisted of a long,
+yellow linen gown, confined at the waist by a sash, trousers, white
+socks, and felt‐soled shoes. A more repulsive set of scoundrels I have
+never seen. Their former truculence was now replaced by a cringing
+servility. They crowded round us, demanding alms, or, holding out
+handfuls of small coins, offered to change our good silver dollars
+into bad five‐and ten‐cent pieces. Since Buddhism has ceased to be the
+fashionable religion in China, its ministers have fallen upon evil
+times, and subsist on charity and the offerings of the comparatively
+few followers of their creed. So visitors are vociferously assailed for
+alms; and the wily monks, with a keen eye to business, had hit upon the
+idea of making a little money by tendering small coins of a debased
+currency in change for good silver pieces. Shouldering the clamorous
+crowd aside, our interpreter seized on one ancient priest to act as
+our guide. This worthy cleric aided us to drive off his importunate
+fellows, and led us through several courts to the principal temple.
+Like all the other buildings around, it was covered with a quaint,
+yellow‐tiled roof, and on the corners of the gables and the projecting
+eaves were weird porcelain monsters; while below hung small bells,
+which clanked dismally when moved by the wind. The temple was high and
+the interior particularly large and lofty; for it contained a colossal
+image of Buddha, seated in the traditional posture, with crossed legs
+and hands holding the lotus flower and other sacred emblems. On its
+face was the abstracted expression of weary calm that is supposed
+to represent the attainment of Nirvana—content. Stairs led up to
+galleries passing round the interior of the building to the level of
+the head of the deity, so that one could gaze into his countenance at
+close range. The statue is not so large or artistically so meritorious
+as the similar images of Daibutsu at Kamakura or Hiogo in Japan,
+each of which is hollow and contains a temple in its interior. On the
+walls of the staircase, ranged on shelves, were thousands of little
+clay gods, crudely fashioned and painted. Our priestly guide refused
+to sell us any of these figures, though evidently sorely tempted by
+the sight of the almighty dollar. He evidently refrained from doing so
+only through fear of being found out, not through any respect for his
+sacred images. Having gazed into Buddha’s face and vainly endeavoured
+to experience the feeling of rapture that it is supposed to produce, we
+passed out to a balcony that ran round the exterior of the building.
+We were high up above the ground, and we looked down upon the jumble
+of quaint, yellow gables, the courtyards with their lounging groups of
+bullet‐headed priests, and away over the panorama of Pekin to where the
+tall buildings of the Imperial city rose above a sea of low roofs.
+
+On descending again into the temple, we looked at the altars with
+tawdry ornaments, artificial flowers, faded hangings, and fantastic
+gods, and then passed out to the court. Our guide, having extracted
+alms from us, led us to another but smaller temple, and handed us over
+to its custodian priest, who unlocked the door and led us within.
+Round the walls were life‐sized gilt images—all of one design, and
+an exceedingly indecent design it was; and we had little respect for
+the morals of the ancient Chinese deified hero it represented. After
+visiting several other buildings containing little of interest, we
+induced some of the monks to let us photograph them. They were pleased
+and flattered at the idea, and posed readily; indeed, one who had been
+standing at the other side of the courtyard, seeing what was going
+on, rushed across and insisted on joining the group, anxious that his
+features, too, should be handed down to posterity. Throwing them a
+handful of small coins, which caused a very undignified scramble, we
+passed out of the gate. Seating ourselves in our rickshas, we drove to
+the Temple of Confucius, close by. It is devoted to the present Chinese
+faith, which is a mixture of ancestor‐worship and Confucianism, and
+consists of several buildings standing in pretty, tree‐shaded courts.
+The main temple contains long altars, on which are nothing but tablets
+with Chinese inscriptions—maxims of the worthy sage. Larger tablets
+hang on the walls. Confucian chapels are not interesting; and we were
+disappointed at the bareness of the interior. Similar but smaller
+buildings stood at the end of avenues in the grounds, but none repaid a
+visit.
+
+The _cloisonné_ of Pekin is famous, and specimens of it command a good
+price throughout China. It is, however, decidedly inferior to Japanese
+work, which is much better finished and of far greater artistic merit.
+As I had never seen how the _cloisonné_ is made, I paid a visit to the
+principal factory in the capital. I was received by the proprietor, a
+very amiable old gentleman, who took our party round his establishment
+and showed us the process through all the stages from the raw material
+to the finished article. The place consisted of a number of small
+Chinese houses, some of which served as workshops, some were fitted
+up with furnaces for firing, others occupied as residences by the
+employees and their families. In the first courtyard two men were
+seated before a small table, making European cigarette cases. In front
+of them lay the design to be reproduced, flanked by small saucers
+containing liquid enamel of various colours and tiny brushes. One man
+held a square plate of copper, and with a sharp scissors cut very
+thin strips from its edges. These he seized with a pair of pincers
+and deftly bent and twisted them into patterns to correspond with the
+lines of the design before him. They were then fixed on to the side
+of the case with some adhesive mixture. As soon as they were firm,
+the other man filled in the spaces between these raised lines with
+the coloured enamels by means of a fine brush. The work was then left
+to dry before being fired in the furnaces to fix the colours. With
+their rude instruments these artists—for such they were—fashioned
+the most complicated designs of foliage, flowers, or dragons with a
+marvellous dexterity, judging altogether by eye, and never deviating
+by a hair’s breadth from the pattern given them. We entered a room,
+in which others sat round long tables, fastening designs on copper
+vases, plates, or bowls. Ornaments of all kinds, napkin‐rings, and
+crucifixes—these, needless to say, for foreigners—were being made.
+Show‐cases with specimens of the finished work stood round the walls,
+and the proprietor exhibited with pardonable pride the triumphs of his
+art. With rude appliances in dimly‐lit rooms, these ignorant Chinese
+workmen had achieved gems that the European artist could not excel.
+
+He then showed us the large blocks of the raw stone which had to be
+ground up to form the enamel, and explained the processes it had to
+undergo before it became the brightly coloured paste that filled the
+saucers on the tables. We were then shown articles being placed in the
+furnaces or withdrawn when the firing was complete. Before leaving we
+purchased some specimens of the work as souvenirs of an interesting
+visit, and bade good‐bye to the grateful proprietor.
+
+Such were our rambles through the vastness of that wonderful city so
+long a mystery to the outside world. Even in these days of universal
+knowledge its inmost recesses were a secret till fire and sword burst
+all barriers and the victorious foreigner ranged where he listed. The
+gates of palace and temple flew open to the touch of his rifle‐butt.
+The abodes of monarch, prince, and priest sheltered the soldiers of
+the conquerors, and the proudest mandarin drew humbly aside to let the
+meanest camp‐follower pass.
+
+To me the most fascinating spectacle in Pekin was the ever‐changing
+life of the streets. The endless procession of strange vehicles,
+from the ricksha to the curious wheelbarrow that is a universal form
+of conveyance for passengers or goods on the narrow roads of North
+China. The motley crowds—Manchu, Tartar, white man, black, and
+yellow, dainty, painted lady of high rank and humble coolie woman,
+shaven‐crowned monk and long‐queued layman, all formed a moving picture
+unequalled in any city in the world. And above their heads floated the
+flags of the conquering nations that had banded together from the ends
+of the earth to humble the pride of China.
+
+[Footnote 5: They had only forty rifles all told.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE SUMMER PALACE
+
+
+Eight or ten miles from Pekin lies the loveliest spot in all North
+China, the Summer Palace, the property of the Empress‐Dowager. When
+burning heat and scorching winds render life in the capital unbearable,
+when dust‐storms sweep through the unpaved streets and a pitiless sun
+blazes on the crowded city, the virtual ruler of China betakes her to
+her summer residence among the hills, and there weaves the web of plots
+that convulse the world. When the feeble monarch of that vast Empire
+ventured to dream of reforms that would eventually bring his realm
+into line with modern civilisation, the imperious old lady seized her
+nominal sovereign and imprisoned him there in the heart of her rambling
+country abode. Twice, now, in its history has the Summer Palace fallen
+into the hands of European armies. English and French have lorded it in
+the paved courts before ever its painted pavilions had seen the white
+blouses of Cossacks or the fluttering plumes of the Bersagliere; when
+Japan was but a name, and none dreamt that the little islands of the
+Far East would one day send their gallant soldiers to stand shoulder
+to shoulder with the veterans of Europe in a common cause.
+
+Passed from the charge of one foreign contingent to another in this
+last campaign, the Summer Palace was at length entrusted to the care
+of the British and Italians. Desirous of visiting a spot renowned for
+its natural beauty as for its historical interest, a party of us sought
+and obtained permission to inspect it. And so one morning we stood in
+the principal courtyard of Chong Wong Foo and watched a procession of
+sturdy Chinese ponies being led up for us. The refractory little brutes
+protested vehemently against the indignity of being bestridden by
+foreigners; and all the subtlety of their grooms was required to induce
+them to stand still long enough for us to spring into the saddles.
+And then the real struggle began. One gave a spirited imitation of
+an Australian buckjumper. Another endeavoured to remove his rider by
+the simpler process of scraping his leg against the nearest wall. A
+third, deaf to all threats or entreaties, refused to move a step in
+any direction, until repeated applications of whip and spurs at length
+resulted in his bolting out of the gate and down the road. After a
+preliminary circus performance, our steeds finally determined to make
+the best of a bad job; and, headed by a guide, we set out for the
+palace.
+
+Our way lay at first through a very unsavoury part of the capital.
+Evil‐smelling alleys, bordered by open drains choked with the refuse
+of the neighbouring houses; narrow lanes deep in mire; squalid streets
+of tumbledown hovels—the worst slums of Pekin. Gaunt and haggard men
+scowled at us from the low doorways; naked and dirty babies sprawled
+on the footpaths and lisped an infantine abuse of the foreign devils;
+slatternly women stared at us with lack‐lustre eyes; and loathsome
+cripples shouted for charity. Splashing through pools of filthy water,
+dodging between carts in the narrow thoroughfares, we could proceed
+but slowly. The heat and stench in these close and fetid lanes were
+overpowering, and it was an intense relief to emerge at last on one of
+the broad streets that pierce the city and which led us to a gateway in
+the wall. One leaf of the wooden doors lay on the ground, the other was
+hanging half off its hinges. Both were splintered and torn, for they
+had been burst open by the explosion of a mine at the taking of Pekin.
+The many‐windowed tower above was roofless and shattered. On either
+hand, on the outer face of the wall, deep dints and scars showed where
+the Japanese shells had rained upon them in the early hours of that
+August morning, when the gallant soldiers of Dai Nippon[6] had come to
+the rescue of the hard‐pressed Muscovites.
+
+When the Allied Armies arrived at Tung‐Chow, thirteen miles from Pekin,
+a council of war was held by the generals on the 13th August, at which
+it was decided that the troops should halt there on the following day,
+to rest and prepare for the attack on the capital which was settled for
+the 15th. For the stoutest hearts may well have quailed at the task
+before them. A cavalry reconnaissance from each army was to be made on
+the 13th, with orders to halt three miles from Pekin and wait there for
+their main bodies to reach them on the 14th.
+
+But the Russian reconnoitring party, eager to be the first into the
+city and establish their claim to be its real captors, pushed on right
+up to the walls and attacked the Tung Pien gate. They thus upset
+the plans for a concerted attack, and precipitated a disjointed and
+indiscriminate assault. For they stumbled on a far more difficult task
+than they had anticipated, and it was indeed fortunate for the wily
+Muscovites that the Japanese, probably suspicious of their intentions,
+were not far off. For the Chinese flocked to the threatened spot and
+from the comparative safety of the wall poured a devastating fire upon
+the Russians. The fiercest efforts of their stormers were unavailing.
+General Vasilievski fell wounded. In vain the bravest officers of the
+Czar led their men forward in desperate assaults. Baffled and beaten,
+they recoiled in impotent fury. Retreat or annihilation seemed the
+only alternatives; when the Japanese troops attacked the Tong Chih
+gate. There, too, a terrible task awaited the assailants. Again and
+again heroic volunteers rushed forward to lay a mine against the
+ponderous doors, only to fall lifeless under the murderous fire of the
+defenders. But the soldiers of the Land of the Rising Sun admit no
+defeat. As men dropped dead, others stepped forward and took the fuses
+from the nerveless fingers. The gate was at length blown open. Fierce
+as panthers, the gallant Japanese poured into the doomed city. The
+pressure relieved, the Russians again advanced to the assault. An entry
+was effected at last; and, furious at their losses, they raged through
+the streets, dealing death with a merciless hand, heedless of age or
+sex.
+
+Meanwhile the other Allies, roused by the sound of heavy firing, were
+lost in amazement as to its meaning; and dawn came before the truth was
+known. The British and Americans then attacked the Chinese city and met
+with a less stubborn resistance. An entry effected, the Indian troops
+wandered through the maze of streets until met by a messenger sent out
+from the Legations to guide them. He led them through the water‐gate,
+the tunnel in the wall between the Tartar and the Chinese city, which
+serves as an exit for the drain or nullah passing between the English
+and the Japanese Legations, and so right into the arms of the besieged
+Europeans. Thus they arrived first to the relief, while the Japanese
+and Russians were still fighting in the streets. But every nation whose
+army was represented in the Allied Forces claims the credit of being
+foremost of all into the Legations. I have read the diary of the
+commander of the Russian marines in the siege, in which he speaks of
+the arrival of the Czar’s troops to the relief and completely ignores
+the presence of the other Allies. And in pictures that I have seen in
+Japan of the entry of the relievers, the besieged are shown rushing
+out to throw themselves on the necks of the victorious Japanese, whose
+uniform is the only one represented. But, while the brunt of the
+fighting fell on them and the Russians, the Indian troops were actually
+the first to reach the Legations.
+
+As we rode up to the gate through which the soldiers of Japan had
+fought their way so gallantly, a guard of their sturdy little
+infantrymen at it sprang to attention. For it and the quarter near was
+in the charge of their contingent, and their flag, with its red ball on
+a white ground, was to be seen everywhere around. The sentry brought
+his rifle to the present with the jerky movement and wooden precision
+of an automatic figure. Returning the salute, we clattered through the
+long tunnel of the gateway and emerged beyond the walls of the city.
+
+Here began a wide road, paved with large stone flags, which runs for an
+immense distance through the country, stopping short at the threshold
+of the capital. It was bordered in places by hedges of graceful bamboos
+with their long feathery leaves. Elsewhere a narrow ditch divided
+the roadway from the fertile fields, where tall crops of _kowliang_
+(a species of millet) rose higher than a mounted man’s head, almost
+completely hiding the houses of tiny hamlets. Over the stone flags,
+sparks flashing from under our ponies’ hoofs, we clattered past crowds
+of coolies trudging towards the city, long lines of roughly built carts
+laden with country produce, or an occasional long‐queued farmer perched
+on the back of his diminutive steed.
+
+By fields of waving grain, past groves of thick‐foliaged trees, through
+trim villages that showed no trace of the storm that had swept so close
+to them. But here and there signs of it were not wanting. A wayside
+temple stood with fire‐scorched walls and broken roof. On the threshold
+lay the shattered fragments of the images that had once adorned its
+shrine. But from the doorways of the houses we passed the inhabitants
+looked out at us with never a vestige of fear or hate, and as little
+interest. In the stream of travellers setting towards Pekin came a
+patrol of Bengal Lancers, spear‐point and scabbard flashing in the sun
+as they rode along with the easy grace of the Indian cavalryman, their
+tall chargers towering above our small Chinese ponies as the _sowars_
+saluted. Farther on we passed two men of the German Mounted Infantry,
+their tiny steeds half hidden under huge dragoon saddles. A brown dot
+in the distance resolved itself into a British officer as we drew near.
+He was Major De Boulay, R.A., who had charge of the treasures
+of the Summer Palace. For when the English took the place over these
+were collected and locked up for safe keeping in large storehouses.
+When the palace was handed back to the Chinese, the Court sent a
+special letter of thanks to this officer for his careful custody of the
+valuables. This campaign was not Major De Boulay’s first experience
+of the Far East. As an authority on the Japanese army, when few in
+Europe suspected its real efficiency as a fighting machine, he had been
+appointed military attaché to it when it first astonished the world in
+the China‐Japan War; and he accompanied the troops that made the daring
+march that ended in the capture of Wei‐hai‐wei.
+
+Our meeting him on his way in to Pekin was a distinct disappointment to
+us; for the keys of the godowns in which the treasures of the palace
+were stored never left his keeping, and in his absence we had no chance
+of seeing them. With many expressions of regret for this unfortunate
+circumstance, he continued on his way to the capital.
+
+Trotting on, we reached a long village bordering the road on each side.
+It was quite a populous and thriving place. The inhabitants looked
+sleek and content; and shops stocked with gay garments or weird forms
+of food abounded. Half‐way down on the left‐hand side a narrow lane
+led off from the highway. At the corner stood a sign‐post with the
+words, “Au palais de l’été.” It was our road. We turned our ponies down
+it, nothing loth, I warrant, to exchange the hard stone flags for
+the soft ground now underfoot. We were soon clear of the houses and
+among the fields. Passing a belt of trees that had hitherto obstructed
+our view, we saw ahead of us a long stretch of low, dark hills. Far
+away to our left front, from a prominent knoll a tall, slender pagoda
+rose up boldly to the sky, and straight before us, standing out on
+the face of the hills, was a confused mass of buildings—the Summer
+Palace. We broke into a brisk canter, the canter became a gallop, and
+we raced towards our goal. As we drew nearer, and could more clearly
+distinguish the aspect of the buildings, we slackened speed. On the
+summit was a temple which, so one of our party who had visited the
+place before told us, was known as the Hall of Ten Thousand Ages.
+Below it stood a curious circular edifice, with a triple yellow roof.
+It was built on a huge square foundation, on the face of which were
+the lines of a diamond‐shaped figure. These we afterwards found to
+be diagonal staircases ascending to the superstructure which was the
+Empress‐Dowager’s own particular temple. Trees hid the lower portion
+and concealed from our view a lovely lake that lies at the foot of the
+hills. Passing onwards by a high‐walled enclosure, we reached a wide
+open space, at the far end of which were the buildings of the palace
+proper. Out in the centre of it stood one of those Chinese paradoxes—a
+gateway without a wall, similar to the one at the Great Lama Temple.
+It was gaily painted with weird designs in bright colours. We rode
+past it and reached the entrance to the outer courtyard. At it was a
+guard of an Indian infantry regiment which was quartered in the Summer
+Palace. Dismounting, we passed through the gate and found ourselves in
+a large court. Facing us was a long, low building of the conventional
+Chinese type. It was a temple. On the verandah stood large bronze
+storks and dragons. We had seen too many similar joss‐houses to care
+to visit it; so we secured a sepoy to guide us through the labyrinth
+of courts to the pavilion that was occupied as a mess by the officers
+of the troops garrisoning the palace—a British Field Battery and
+the Indian regiment. Here we were warmly welcomed and ushered into a
+building of particular historical interest; for in this very pavilion
+the Emperor had been confined.
+
+The interior was elaborately furnished. Large mirrors covered the
+walls. Marble‐topped tables with the inevitable clocks and vases of
+artificial flowers were placed round the sides. European chairs and
+Chinese blackwood stools stood about in curious contrast. But the
+_pièce de résistance_ was a lovely screen. An inner chamber was used
+as a mess‐room; and a long table covered with a white cloth, on which
+stood common Delft plates and glass tumblers, looked out of keeping
+with the surroundings. But, more regardful of the thirst induced
+by a hot ride than artistic proprieties, we threw ourselves into
+comfortable chairs and quaffed a much‐needed, cooling drink.
+
+In front of the pavilion was a square, paved yard, in which stood a
+curious scaffolding of gaily painted poles, which had served to spread
+an awning above the court. For here the imprisoned Emperor had been
+permitted to walk; and as we sat on the verandah and gave our hosts
+the latest news of Pekin, we gazed with interest on the confined space
+in which the monarch of the vast Empire of China had paced in weary
+anticipation of his fate.
+
+As it wanted an hour or two to lunch‐time, one of the officers of the
+garrison volunteered to guide us round the palace. We eagerly accepted
+his offer and were led out into a maze of courts surrounded by low
+houses. He brought us first to his quarters in a long, two‐storied
+building. From the upper windows on the far side a lovely view lay
+spread before our eyes. Below the house was a large lake, confined
+by a marble wall and balustrade that passed all round it. Close
+to us, on the right, the long, tree‐clad hill, on which stood the
+Empress‐Dowager’s temple and the Hall of Ten Thousand Ages, rose almost
+from the brink. To the left a graceful, many‐arched bridge stretched
+from the bank to a tiny island far out in the placid water. On it stood
+a small pavilion. Near the shore a flotilla of boats was anchored. It
+comprised foreign‐designed barges, dinghies, and a half‐sunken steam
+launch. Patches of lotus leaves lay on the tranquil surface. And away,
+far beyond the lake, a line of rugged and barren hills rose up from the
+plain.
+
+[Illustration: A STREET IN THE TARTAR CITY, PEKIN, AFTER HEAVY RAIN]
+
+Emerging from the building, we walked along by the low wall and carved
+balustrade bounding the water, towards the side above which stood the
+Empress‐Dowager’s temple. At the corner of the lake was a gateway, at
+which stood a guard of Bersagliere, clad in white with cocks’ feathers
+fluttering gaily in their tropical helmets. The Italians, as I have
+said, were joined with the English in the charge of the Summer Palace.
+Returning the sentry’s salute, we passed on and found a roofed and
+open‐pillared gallery running along beside the lake. Its shelter was
+grateful in the burning sun; for the breeze was cut off by the hill
+that rose almost perpendicularly above us. The slender, wooden columns
+supporting the tiled roof were painted in brightly coloured designs. On
+the cornices were miniature pictures of conventional Chinese scenery.
+Here and there the gallery widened out or passed close to pretty little
+summer‐houses built above the wall of the lake. We reached the square
+white mass of masonry on which stood the temple. Before it massive
+gates, guarded by bronze lions, opened on a broad staircase leading
+to the foot of the substructure. But reserving the sacred edifice,
+which towered above us at an appalling height, for a later visit after
+lunch, we passed on around the lake until we reached the strangest
+construction in the Summer Palace.
+
+[Illustration: THE MARBLE JUNK
+
+[_page_ 127]
+
+One of the former Empresses, whose life had been passed far from
+the sea, complained that she had never beheld a ship. So a cunning
+architect was found, who built in the lake close to the bank an
+enormous marble junk. The hull, which has ornamented prow and stern
+and small paddle‐boxes, rests, of course, on the bottom. On the deck
+he erected a large two‐storied pavilion; but as the Chinese are seldom
+thorough, this he constructed of wood painted to look like marble. It
+formed an ideal and picturesque summer‐house, for the sides, between
+the pillars, were open or closed only by blinds. But at the time of our
+visit it looked dismally dilapidated; for the paint was blistered and
+peeling off. The Marble Junk resembles a white house‐boat at Henley,
+and at a little distance across the water looks quaint and graceful.
+Close to it, spanning a small stream that runs into the lake, is a
+lovely little covered bridge with carved white marble arches and
+parapets. Venice can boast no more perfect gem of art on its canals.
+
+Our conductor, looking at his watch, tore us from our contemplation of
+this masterpiece and insisted on our returning to the mess for lunch.
+And in the pavilion where the powerless monarch of a mighty empire had
+lain a helpless prisoner, a victim to the intrigues of his own family,
+British officers sat at table; and the conversation ranged from the
+events of the campaign to sport in India or criticisms of the various
+contingents of the Allied Army.
+
+A recent occurrence, thoroughly typical of the readiness with which
+the Court party snatched at every opportunity to “save face,” was
+alluded to. The British Minister in Pekin, at the humble request of Li
+Hung Chang, who was negotiating about the return of the Summer Palace
+to the Chinese, had removed the Field Battery garrisoning it to the
+capital. An Imperial Edict was immediately issued, which stated in
+grandiloquent terms that the Emperor had _ordered_ this removal. Sir
+Ernest Satow, who was fast proving himself a far stronger man than
+had been anticipated and well fitted to cope with Oriental wiles,
+promptly commanded the return of the battery as the fitting answer to
+this impudent declaration. It was almost the first strong action taken
+by our diplomats in a wearisome series of “graceful concessions”; and
+great satisfaction was occasioned among the officers of the British
+forces, who hailed it as a hopeful prelude to a firmer policy.
+
+After lunch we ascended the tree‐clad hill on which stood the Hall
+of Ten Thousand Ages. From the summit a beautiful view over the
+surrounding country was obtained. Below us was the confused jumble of
+yellow‐roofed buildings that constituted the residential portion of
+the Summer Palace. At our feet lay the gleaming lake, hemmed in by
+its white marble walls, the tiny island united to the shore by the
+graceful arches of the long bridge. The bright roof of the pretty
+little pavilion on it shone in the brilliant sunlight. Along the far
+bank stretched a tree‐shaded road that ran away to the right until lost
+in thick foliage or fertile fields. A thin line marked the crowded
+highway to the capital. The plain was dotted with villages or lay in a
+chessboard‐pattern of cultivation interspersed with thickets of bamboos
+or dense groves of trees. Far away the tall towers of the walls of
+Pekin rose up above the level sea of roofs, broken only by the lofty
+buildings of the Imperial city, the temples or the residences of the
+Europeans in the Legation quarter. Over the capital a yellow haze of
+smoke and dust hung like a golden canopy. Away to the right lay a
+long stretch of dark and sombre hills, among which nestled the summer
+residence of the members of the British Legation. Here in the hot
+months they hie in search of cooling breezes not to be obtained in the
+crowded city.
+
+The grandiloquently named Hall of Ten Thousand Ages was a rectangular,
+solidly constructed building with thick walls. But inside a sad scene
+of ruin met our eyes. Enormous fragments of shattered colossal statues
+choked the interior, so that one could not pass from door to door.
+Huge heads, trunks, and limbs lay piled in fantastic confusion. The
+temple had contained a number of giant images of Buddha. Some troops,
+on occupying the palace, had been informed that these were hollow and
+filled with treasures of inestimable value. The tale seemed likely; so
+dynamite was invoked to force them to reveal their hidden secrets. The
+colossal gods were hurled from their pedestals by its powerful agency;
+and their ruins were eagerly searched by the vandals. But it was found
+that the interiors of the statues, though indeed hollow, were simply
+modelled to correspond with the internal anatomy of a human being,
+all the organs being reproduced in silver or zinc. And the gods were
+sacrificed in vain to the greed of the spoilers.
+
+The Empress‐Dowager’s temple had escaped such rough treatment, as
+it held nothing that tempted the conquerors. Under its huge shadow
+lay a lovely little structure, the Bronze Pagoda. On a white marble
+plinth and surrounded by a carved balustrade of the same stone, stood
+a delicately modelled, tiny temple about twenty or thirty feet high.
+Roof, pillars, walls—all were of the same valuable material. From
+the corners of the spreading, upturned eaves hung bells. The whole
+structure was a perfect work of art; and one sighed for a miniature
+replica of the graceful little building.
+
+But while we wandered among these quaint temples we had failed to
+notice dark masses of clouds that had gradually climbed up from the
+horizon and overcast the whole sky. One of the heavy storms of a North
+China summer was evidently in store for us. So, anxious to regain
+the capital before it could break, we returned to the palace, bade
+a hurried farewell to our kind hosts, and mounted our ponies. Back
+through the fields and on to the paved highway we rode at a steady
+pace, our ponies, refreshed by the long halt and eager to reach their
+stables, trotting out willingly. The storm held off, and as we came
+in view of the gate of Pekin, we congratulated ourselves on our good
+fortune. But suddenly, without a moment’s warning, sheets of water
+fell from the dark sky. In went our spurs, and we raced madly for the
+shelter of the gateway. But long before we reached it we were soaked
+through and through. Our boots were filled with water, the broad brims
+of our pith hats hung limply over our eyes, and we were as thoroughly
+wet as though we had swum the Peiho.
+
+Under the tunnelled gateway we dismounted. The water simply poured
+from us, and formed in pools on the stone flags where we stood. We
+found ourselves in a damp crowd of jostling, grinning Chinamen, who
+were cheerfully wringing the moisture from their thin cotton garments
+or laughing at the plight of others caught in the storm and racing for
+shelter through the ropes of rain. Coolies, carts, ponies, mules, and
+camels were all huddled together under the archway. Jests and mirth
+resounded on every side; for the Celestial is generally a veritable
+Mark Tapley under circumstances that would depress or irritate the
+more impatient European.
+
+We waited for an hour beside our shivering ponies for the deluge to
+cease; then, seeing little prospect of it, we mounted again and rode
+on into the city. But short as was the time the rain had lasted,
+the streets were already almost flooded. The ditch‐like sides were
+half filled with rushing, muddy torrents; and in crossing one of the
+principal roads the water rose up to our saddle‐girths in the side
+channels. In one place my pony was nearly carried off his feet and I
+feared that I would be obliged to swim for it. From the shelter of the
+verandahs of the houses along the streets crowds of Chinese laughed at
+our miserable plight, as our small steeds splashed through the pools
+and their riders sat huddled up in misery under the pitiless rain. With
+heartfelt gratitude we reached at last the welcome shelter of Chong
+Wong Foo. So ended our visit to the famous Summer Palace, which is once
+more in the possession of its former owner. The courts that echoed to
+the ring of artillery horses’ hoofs, the rumble of our gun‐wheels, the
+deep laughter of the British soldier, or the shriller voices of his
+sepoy comrades, are now trodden only by silent‐footed Celestials. The
+white man is no more a welcome guest.
+
+[Footnote 6: Japan.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+A TRIP TO SHANHAIKWAN
+
+
+The railways throughout North China and Manchuria were originally
+constructed chiefly by British capital; and England had consequently
+priority of claim upon them. The line from Pekin runs first to the
+sea at Tong‐ku, at the mouth of the Peiho River, thence branching off
+northward along the coast to Newchwang, the treaty port of Manchuria.
+Its continuation passes southward from Newchwang to Port Arthur. At the
+beginning of the campaign in North China it was seized by the Russians
+and held by them until diplomatic pressure loosened their grasp.
+Instead of restoring it direct to the British, they handed over to the
+Germans the railway as far north as Shanhaikwan, a town on the coast
+where the famous Great Wall of China ends in the sea; but they retained
+in their own possession that portion between Shanhaikwan and Newchwang.
+The Germans then held on to the remainder until they were eventually
+restored to the British.
+
+Shanhaikwan thus became the natural boundary between the territory
+under the sway of the Russians and the country in the combined
+occupation of the Allies. The Czar’s servants had laid covetous eyes
+upon it; for its position and a number of strong and well‐armed forts
+which had been constructed by the Chinese rendered it an important
+_point d’appui_ whence to dominate North China. So a powerful Russian
+force was despatched by land to seize these fortifications; but it
+was forestalled by the smart action of the British Admiral, who sent
+a gunboat, the _Pigmy_, to Shanhaikwan. The captain of this little
+craft audaciously demanded and actually received the surrender of the
+forts; so that when the Russians arrived they found, to their intense
+surprise, the Union Jack flying from the ramparts. Eventually, to avoid
+dissensions, the various forts were divided among the Allies.
+
+Previous to my departure on a long‐projected trip to Japan—seeing a
+little of Manchuria and Corea _en route_—I joined a small party of
+officers who had arranged to pay a flying visit to Shanhaikwan. With
+light luggage and the roll of bedding without which the Anglo‐Indian
+seldom travels in the East, we entrained at Tientsin. A couple of
+hours sufficed to bring us to Tong‐ku, where the railway branches
+off to the north. The platform was thronged with a bustling crowd
+of the soldiers of many nations, the place being the disembarkation
+port for the Continental, the American, and the Japanese troops. In
+the station buildings the British officers in charge of that section
+of the railway and of the detachments guarding it had established a
+mess. As we had some time to wait before the departure of the train to
+Shanhaikwan, they warmly welcomed us within its hospitable, if narrow,
+walls.
+
+When the warning bell summoned us to take our places, we established
+ourselves in a comfortable first‐class carriage—partly saloon,
+partly coupé. I may mention that during the occupation of North China
+by the Allies the wearers of uniform travelled free everywhere on
+the railways. Among our fellow‐passengers were some Japanese naval
+officers, a German or two, a few Russians, and an old friend of mine,
+Lieutenant Hutchinson, of H.M.S. _Terrible_, who had served with the
+Naval Brigade in the defence of Tientsin. He had just returned from a
+trip to Japan, and was full of his adventures in the Land of the Geisha.
+
+The railway to Shanhaikwan runs at first close to the sea through
+a monotonous stretch of mud flats, and then reaches a most fertile
+country with walled villages and substantially built houses. It was
+guarded by the 4th Punjaub Infantry, detachments of which occupied
+the stations along the line. Not long before, this fine regiment had
+been engaged in a punitive expedition against the brigands who had
+slain Major Browning. After a severe fight they captured the fortified
+villages held by 4,000 well‐armed banditti, and terribly avenged their
+officer. As the country was still infested by roving bands of robbers
+who raided defenceless villages, the station buildings were put in a
+state of defence, the walls loopholed and head‐cover provided by means
+of sandbags until each resembled a miniature fort. But the brigands,
+after practical experience of the fighting qualities of the gallant
+Punjaubis, evinced no desire to come in contact with them again; and
+the detachments along the line were left to languish in inglorious ease
+and complain bitterly of the want of enterprise on the part of the
+robbers.
+
+For some distance alongside the railway runs a canal, which is
+largely used by the Chinese for transporting grain and merchandise.
+As our train rattled along, we passed numbers of long, shallow boats,
+fashioned like dug‐outs and loaded down until the gunwale was scarcely
+a few inches from the water. The half‐naked boatmen toiling at their
+oars paused to gaze with envy at the swift‐speeding iron horse, which
+covered the weary miles with such apparent ease.
+
+The crops here were even more luxuriant than on the way to Pekin.
+Fields of ripe grain stretched away on either side of the line,
+interspersed with groves of trees or dotted with villages surrounded
+by high walls, significant of the continual insecurity of life and
+property in this debatable land. Here and there were deserted mud forts.
+
+The journey from Tientsin to Shanhaikwan occupied about twelve hours.
+About midway the train stopped for a short time at Tongshan, a town
+important for the coal mines near, which are worked under the direction
+of Europeans. From the windows of our carriage we could see the tall
+buildings and the machinery at the mouths of the pits, which gave
+quite an English character to the landscape. For the convenience of
+travellers, the British officers quartered in the place had established
+a refreshment room in some Chinese buildings near the station, and
+lent some Indian servants to it. As our train was due to wait some
+little time, we all descended in search of lunch, and were provided
+here with quite a good meal at a very reasonable rate. Our German
+fellow‐passengers, ignorant of Hindustani, found some difficulty in
+expressing their wants to the Indian waiters, whose knowledge of
+English was very limited. We came to the rescue and interpreted, and
+gained the gratitude of hungry men.
+
+As we journeyed on to Shanhaikwan the country began to lose its flat
+appearance. Low, tree‐clad eminences broke the level monotony of the
+landscape; and the train passed close to a line of rugged hills. In
+their recesses bands of brigands were reported to be lurking, so we
+had the pleasant excitement of speculating on the chances of the train
+being held up by some of these gentry. But without mishap we reached
+our destination about half‐past six o’clock in the evening.
+
+The railway station of Shanhaikwan was large and well built, with
+roomy offices and a long platform. There were, besides, engine sheds,
+machinery shops, yards, and houses for the European employees, all
+of which had been seized by the Russians. We were met on our arrival
+by some officers of the Gurkha Regiment in garrison, to whom we had
+written from Tientsin to ask if they could find quarters for us.
+But as they were exceedingly short of accommodation for themselves,
+being crowded together in wretched Chinese hovels, they received us
+with expressions of regret that they were unable to find room for
+all our party. The two junior ones must seek shelter for themselves.
+I, unfortunately, was one. There was no hotel or inn of any sort. My
+companion in distress, luckily for himself, had a friend in a squadron
+of the 3rd Bombay Cavalry, quartered in one of the forts, and set
+off to request his hospitality. So our party separated; and I was
+left stranded on the platform with no prospect of a bed, and, worse
+still, not the faintest idea as to where to get a meal. On appealing
+to a British railway employee, I found that there were two military
+officers in charge of the station—one English, the other Russian; for
+the portion of the line held by the latter nationality began, as I
+have said, at Shanhaikwan. Both had quarters in the station, but both,
+unfortunately, had gone out to dinner; and there was no likelihood
+of their return before midnight. Taking pity on my distress, this
+employee promised to send me down a Chinese cane bed from his house,
+and then went off, leaving me to brood over the hopelessness of my
+situation. I sat down on a bench and cursed the name of Shanhaikwan.
+The lunch at Tongshan seemed by now a very far‐off memory; and I
+endeavoured to allay the pangs of hunger with a cigar. As I meditated
+on the inefficacy of tobacco as a substitute for food, I saw the door
+of a room marked “Telegraph Office” open and a smart bombardier of the
+Royal Marine Artillery emerge. On seeing me he saluted, and, snatching
+at every straw, I called him over and asked him if he knew of any
+place where I could get anything to eat. He told me of the existence
+of a low café, patronised by the Continental soldiers of the garrison,
+where I might possibly obtain some sort of a meal. I jumped eagerly at
+the chance; and, calling one of the Chinese railway porters to guide
+us, he offered to show me the way. Quitting the station, we entered
+a small town of squalid native houses and proceeded through narrow
+and unsavoury lanes until we reached a low doorway in a high wall.
+Passing through, I found myself in a small courtyard. On the muddy
+ground were placed a number of rickety tables and rough benches. Here
+sat, with various liquors before them, groups of Cossacks and German
+soldiers, who stared with surprise at the unusual sight of a British
+officer in such a den. At the far end of the court was a tumbledown
+Chinese house, on the verandah of which sat the proprietor and his
+wife, evidently Italian or Austrian. The lady, a buxom person of
+ample proportions, was attired in a very magnificent, but decidedly
+_décolleté_ evening dress. Her wrists were adorned with massive
+bracelets, her fingers covered with rings. Altogether she looked a very
+haughty and superb beauty and more fitted to adorn a café in the Champs
+Elysées than a rough drinking‐booth in the heart of China. Her husband
+came forward to meet me; and on my stating my wants in imploring tones,
+he seemed at first in doubt as to whether he could supply them. My
+heart sank. He turned to consult the lady. To my intense astonishment
+this magnificent personage sprang up at once, called to a Chinese
+servant to bring her a chicken, and then, pinning up the skirt of her
+rich dress, plunged into a kitchen which opened off the verandah, and
+then and there, with her own fair hands, spatch‐cocked the fowl, and
+served me with a welcome and appetising meal.
+
+My hunger satisfied thus unexpectedly, I strolled back to the station
+in a contented frame of mind, indifferent to anything Fate had in
+store for me. Nothing could harm me; I had dined. I was quite ready to
+wrap myself in a blanket and sleep on a bench, or on the ground for
+that matter. But my star was in the ascendant. I found a comfortable
+camp‐bed of a Chinese pattern awaiting me, sent by the kind‐hearted
+employee. Placing it on the platform, I spread my bedding on it,
+undressed, and lay down to sleep.
+
+But I had reckoned without the merry mosquito. I have met this little
+pest in many lands. I first made his acquaintance on the night of my
+arrival in India with a raw, unsalted regiment from home; when he could
+batten on seven hundred fresh, full‐blooded Britishers and feast to the
+full on their vital fluid unthinned by a tropical climate; when next
+morning the faces of all, officers and men alike, were swollen almost
+beyond recognition. I have remonstrated with him as to his claim to the
+possession of the interior of a mosquito net and failed to move him. I
+have scarcely doubted when a friend vowed that he had broken the back
+of a hairbrush over the head of one of the giant, striped species we
+knew as “Bombay tigers” or questioned the truth of the statement that a
+man had lain on his bed and watched two of them trying to pull open his
+curtains to get at him. I have cursed him in the jungle when sitting
+up in a _machân_ over a “kill” waiting for a tiger. I have wrestled
+with him when out on column and bivouacked beside a South China river,
+where his home was; but never have I seen him in such wonderful vigour
+and maddening persistence as during that night on the station platform
+of Shanhaikwan. In vain I beat the air with frenzied hands; in vain I
+smoked. I tried to cover my head with a sheet; but the heat was too
+great, and I emerged panting to find him waiting for me. As Thomas
+Atkins says: “It h’isn’t the bite of the beggar I ’ates so much as ’is
+bloomin’ h’irritatin’ buzz”; and the air was filled with his song. It
+was a concert with refreshments. _I_ was the refreshments. To make
+matters worse, I had the tantalising knowledge that I had mosquito
+curtains with me, which I had been unable to fix up as the bed was
+without poles.
+
+At last, maddened by the persistent attacks of the irritating pests,
+I sat up and reviewed the situation until I hit upon a plan. I shoved
+the bed under the windows of a room which looked out on the platform
+and which happened to be the quarters of the British Railway Station
+Officer. The venetian shutters opened outward. About ten feet away was
+a telegraph‐pole; and a short distance from the foot of the bed stood
+a lamp‐post. Taking the cords of my Wolseley valise, the straps of my
+bedding and my luggage, and some string which I looted from one of the
+railway offices, I contrived to suspend my curtains from the shutters,
+the pole, and the lamp‐post. It was really an ingenious contrivance,
+and I lay down in triumph and security. The baffled mosquitoes uttered
+positive shrieks of rage.
+
+Somewhere about midnight I was awakened by the sounds of revelry in a
+foreign tongue. Peering through the curtains, I saw by the dim light of
+the turned‐down station lamps two figures in uniform advancing along
+the platform. One was a very drunken but merry Russian officer, who was
+being carefully helped along by a sober and amused British subaltern.
+They suddenly caught sight of the white mass of my mosquito curtains,
+which swayed in ghostly folds in the wind and looked uncanny in the
+uncertain light.
+
+“What the devil is that?” exclaimed the Englishman.
+
+The Russian hiccoughed a reply in words that sounded like a sneeze.
+
+The former, gently propping up his companion against the lamp‐post to
+which he clung lovingly, advanced to my bed. I recognised him by his
+uniform to be our Railway Station Staff Officer. Peering through the
+curtains, he asked me who on earth I was and what I was doing there. In
+a few words I explained myself and my situation. With a soldier’s ready
+hospitality he said—
+
+“My dear fellow, I am so sorry that I was absent. Get up and move your
+bed into my quarters. I shall be delighted to put you up.”
+
+I thanked him, but assured him that I was very comfortably fixed for
+the night.
+
+“But you can have had no dinner. Did you get anything to eat?” he asked.
+
+I recounted my successful search for a meal; whereat he laughed and
+again expressed his regret at his absence, explaining that he had
+gone to a dinner‐party given by the wife of a Russian colonel on her
+husband’s name‐day.
+
+Meanwhile his companion, still clinging tightly to the lamp‐post,
+had been regarding with wonder my contrivance for the support of the
+mosquito curtains, shaking his head, and muttering to himself.
+
+The Britisher, informing me that he was the Russian Railway Staff
+Officer, then spoke to him in his own language, and introduced me to
+him, mentioning a name that ended in —itch or —sky. I sat up in bed and
+bowed. But my new acquaintance, still holding to the friendly support
+of the post, stared solemnly at the network of straps and cords. At
+last he broke silence.
+
+“Ver’ good! Ver’ practical! You English is ver’ practical nation.” Then
+he hiccoughed sadly, “I am ver’ _drink_!”
+
+Thoroughly awakened, I got up, and we adjourned to the British
+officer’s quarters, where we drank to our better acquaintance in an
+iced whisky and soda; for the night was distressingly hot.
+
+The hospitable Englishman was Lieutenant Kell, South Staffordshire
+Regiment. He was a good specimen of the linguists in our army who
+surprised our Continental allies. A passed Interpreter in Russian
+and Chinese, he spoke French, German, and Italian fluently; and, as
+I discovered afterwards, although he had never been to India, he was
+rapidly picking up Hindustani from the sepoys with whom he was brought
+in contact through his station duties. He had served on General
+Dorward’s staff during the hard fighting in Tientsin and had been
+mentioned in his despatches. His linguistic powers had caused him to
+be appointed as Railway Staff Officer at Shanhaikwan, where his ready
+tact and genial qualities endeared him to the Russians and contributed
+greatly to the harmonious working of affairs in that debatable garrison.
+
+Before we parted for the night our Russian friend gave us both a
+cordial invitation to dine with him the following night and meet some
+of his comrades. And then I retired again to bed, feeling no longer a
+lost sheep and a homeless orphan.
+
+In the morning I was awakened by Lieutenant Kell’s servant, who
+brought me my _chota hazri_, the matutinal tea and toast dear to the
+heart of the Anglo‐Indian. He had taken my luggage into his master’s
+quarters, where a bath and a dressing‐room awaited me. I found my host
+busily engaged in his railway work, interviewing soldiers of every
+nationality. As I was in the act of wishing him “Good morning” we
+suddenly observed a heavy transport waggon, drawn by two huge horses,
+being driven across the line and right on to the platform by a Cossack,
+who thus thought to save himself a _détour_ to the level crossing at
+the far end of the station. It was done in flat defiance of well‐known
+orders. Kell spoke to him in his own language, and told him to go back.
+The soldier, muttering some impertinent remark, took no notice and
+drove on. At that moment a Russian colonel entered the station. Kell
+immediately reported the man’s disobedience to him. The officer flew at
+the culprit, abused him in loud and angry tones; and if the Cossack had
+not been out of reach where he sat perched up on the waggon, I am sure
+he would have received a sound thrashing. Crestfallen, he turned his
+horses round and drove away; while the colonel apologised profusely to
+Kell for the fault of his subordinate and promised that the man would
+receive a severe punishment for his disobedience and impertinence to an
+English officer.
+
+After breakfast one of my companions, Captain Labertouche, 22nd
+Bombay Infantry, who, like me, had been unable to find quarters among
+the Gurkhas the night before, but who had been given shelter by the
+officers of the 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry, rode up to look for me.
+Sending away his horse, we set out on foot to hunt up the rest of our
+party in the Gurkha mess.
+
+Our way lay first along the railway line. On the right‐hand side were
+the station yards, engine sheds, and machinery shops, all now in the
+hands of the Russians, who had removed the spare rolling stock and
+plant found there and sent them to Port Arthur. The Muscovite believes
+in war being self‐supporting. To the left, behind the station, lay the
+rookery of squalid Chinese houses, where I had hunted for a dinner
+the night before. Farther away lay Shanhaikwan. High battlements
+and lofty towers enclosed the city, the sides of which ran down to
+the Great Wall of China. For ahead of us, a mile away athwart the
+railway, lay a long line of grass‐grown earthworks, with here and there
+fragments of ruined masonry peering out among the herbage and bushes
+that clothed it. It was that wondrous fortification which stretches
+for more than a thousand miles along the ancient boundary of China,
+climbing mountains, plunging into valleys, and running through field
+and forest—a monumental and colossal work that has never served to
+roll back the tide of war from the land it was built to guard. Through
+a wide breach in it the railway passes on to the north, to Manchuria
+where the Russian Bear now menaces the integrity of the Celestial
+Kingdom. Before reaching the Wall our way turned off sharp to the
+right; so, leaving the railway, we followed a rough country road which
+led to the Chinese village that sheltered the Gurkhas. It was crossed
+by a broad stream two or three feet deep. As we were grumbling at the
+necessity of taking off boots and gaiters in order to wade it, a sturdy
+Chinaman strolled up and looked extremely amused at our distress. We
+promptly seized him, and made signs that we wanted him to carry us
+across. The Celestial smilingly assented, and kicked off his felt‐soled
+shoes. Hoisting my companion on his back, he waded with him to the
+other side, and then returned to fetch me. When we rewarded him with
+a small silver coin he seemed extremely surprised; and he made frantic
+signs, which we interpreted as meant to express his desire to remain on
+the spot in readiness to ferry us over on our return. Without further
+difficulty we reached the Gurkha mess, where we found our friends on
+the point of setting out to visit the Great Wall. So the whole party
+walked back along the road by which Labertouche and I had come, and
+at the stream found our ferryman awaiting us with a beaming smile. He
+eagerly proffered his services, and conveyed us all across in turn.
+Payment being duly made, he expressed his gratitude in voluble, if
+unintelligible, language.
+
+Reaching the railway, we proceeded along it in the direction of the
+Wall. The country between it and us was flat and cultivated, though
+at its foot lay a strip of waste ground. To our left ran a rough road
+leading out, through the same gap as the line, towards some forts
+to the north. Along it, behind three sturdy little ponies harnessed
+abreast, sped a Russian _troiscka_, driven by a Cossack and containing
+two white‐coated officers.
+
+Arrived at the inner face of the Wall, we climbed its sloping side
+and found ourselves on a broad and bush‐grown rampart. We were twenty
+or thirty feet above the ground. The outer face of this ancient
+fortification, which was begun in B.C. 241, was in a better
+state of preservation than the inner; though in places it bore little
+resemblance to a wall. From the ruins of an old bastion we had a
+splendid view of the surrounding country. Before us a level plain
+stretched away to the horizon, broken by the ugly outlines of forts or
+patched with cultivated fields and small woods. To the right the Great
+Wall ran to the cliffs above the sea, which sparkled in the distance
+under a brilliant sun. On its bosom lay the ponderous bulks of a
+number of Japanese warships; for their fleet had arrived unexpectedly
+at Shanhaikwan the night before. The Russian dinner‐party, which
+Lieutenant Kell had attended the previous evening, had been given in
+the open air, on the cliffs over the sea. The numerous guests, nearly
+all officers of the Czar, could look out over the blue water as they
+smoked the cigarettes with which every Russian meal is punctuated.
+While the feast was proceeding merrily trails of smoke, heralding the
+approach of a fleet, appeared on the horizon. The Russian officers
+gazed in surprise as the ships came into view, and wonder was expressed
+as to their nationality and the purpose of their coming. In those
+troublous times, when national jealousies were rife, no one knew that
+war might not suddenly break out among the so‐called Allies; and Slav,
+Teuton, Frank, and Briton might be called on without a day’s warning
+to range themselves in hostile camps. So something like consternation
+fell upon the dinner‐party when the approaching ships were seen to be
+the Japanese fleet. For the relations between Russia and Japan were
+very strained at the time; and all present at the table wondered if the
+unexpected arrival of this powerful squadron meant that the rupture had
+come. But no hostile signs were made by the ships; and, with the motto
+of the trooper all the world over—
+
+  “Why, soldiers, why
+  Should we be melancholy, boys,
+  Whose business ’tis to die?”
+
+the interrupted revelry was renewed.
+
+Between us and the sea lay the strong and well‐armed forts that had
+fallen before the audacious challenge of the little _Pigmy_. From their
+walls floated the flags of the Allies; and Cossacks, German, Japanese,
+and Indian troops could be seen upon their ramparts. Behind us lay the
+ruins of what must have been a large fortified camp just inside the
+Wall.
+
+To the left the town of Shanhaikwan lay penned in by its lofty but
+antiquated fortifications. Past it the Great Wall ran away to the west
+until lost to our sight among the slopes of a range of hills. Here
+and there the climbing line was seen topping the summit of a steep
+eminence, and one could appreciate the magnitude of the task of its
+builders when they set themselves to fence China from the ravaging
+hordes of the unknown lands.
+
+And away north and south stretched the thin shining line of the
+railway, along which the soldiers of the Czar hope to swarm one day to
+plant their eagles once more in Pekin, never again to be removed. As
+we stood on the Great Wall flocks of snipe and duck flew past us to
+the south, already fleeing before the approach of the dread winter of
+Northern Asia.
+
+We went on to pay a visit to the forts, which, when they were held by
+the Chinese, had been armed with powerful and modern guns. Concerning
+one of these forts an amusing story, illustrative of foreign guile,
+was told. The place was occupied by one Power, who had quartered in
+it a battery of artillery. In the re‐arrangement of the garrison of
+Shanhaikwan, at a council of the allied commanders, it was decided
+that this fort should be handed over to the English. But although the
+foreign General agreed at the time, all the subsequent endeavours of
+the British to induce him to name a day for the evacuation and transfer
+were fruitless. Regrets, excuses, indefinite promises were freely made;
+but some unexpected and insurmountable obstacle invariably intervened.
+At length when the surrender of the fort could no longer be refused, a
+certain date for the foreign troops to march out and the place to be
+handed over to the English was fixed. The day arrived. The relieving
+British garrison marched up to the gate. There they were met by the
+apparently bewildered foreign commander, who expressed considerable
+astonishment at their presence. When reminded that this was the day
+agreed upon, he smiled politely, and assured the British officers that
+they had made a mistake. He pointed out that they had apparently
+calculated by the modern style calendar, forgetting that the old style
+was still in vogue in some countries and had been adopted by him in his
+reckoning. Consequently the day had not yet come. Lost in unwilling
+admiration at this clever instance of duplicity, the British were
+obliged to withdraw.
+
+On the eve of the day on which he declared that the fort would really
+be evacuated, the battery garrisoning it marched out with much pomp and
+publicity. The British smiled as they watched them go, well pleased at
+having got rid of them at last. They plumed themselves on their moral
+victory; and they marched up next morning to the fort in triumph. But
+the other flag was still flying, and inside they saw the same battery
+whose departure they had witnessed the evening before. They stared in
+bewilderment. They could recognise some of the officers and men. Then
+an explanation was angrily demanded. It was readily forthcoming. This
+was _not_ the same battery as before. Far from it. That was by this
+time well on its way to the North. But by an extraordinary coincidence
+another battery had suddenly and most unexpectedly arrived during the
+night to the foreign General’s utter astonishment, as no intimation of
+their coming had been vouchsafed him. And as he had no other place to
+quarter them in but the fort, he had been obliged most reluctantly
+to send them there. He was desolated at the unfortunate necessity. He
+offered his profoundest regrets, and trusted that his dear allies would
+realise that he was helpless. So the outwitted British had again to
+withdraw. As a matter of fact the battery had simply marched out of
+sight in the evening and come back during the night. So with baffling
+ingenuity the foreign General contrived to retain the fort for some
+time longer in his hands; though he was forced to surrender it in the
+end.
+
+After inspecting several of the forts, some of our party went off to
+pay a visit to the town, while others walked down to the shore and
+gazed out at the Japanese fleet and the long hull of H.M.S. _Terrible_,
+which was lying at anchor. As we looked at the water sparkling in the
+bright sunlight, it was difficult to realise that in the winter the sea
+here is frozen for several miles out from the shore. From this fact one
+can form some idea of the intense cold of the winter months in North
+China. And yet the Indian troops, natives of a warm climate, suffered
+comparatively little and the percentage of admissions into hospital
+from our contingent was remarkably small, so well were they looked
+after by their officers and so generous was the free issue of warm
+clothing by the Indian Government.
+
+In the afternoon some of us attended a cricket match between the crew
+of the _Terrible_ and the British garrison. Hardly had the stumps been
+drawn and the players gone into the refreshment tent when some snipe
+settled on the pitch. An officer quartered in a fort close to the
+cricket ground sent for his gun, and secured a couple then and there.
+
+I dined that night with the Russian Railway Staff Officer in his
+quarters in the station. They consisted of two or three large and
+comfortable rooms. The furniture, which had been supplied to him by
+his Government, was almost luxurious, in marked contrast with the
+indifferent tables and the camp chairs with which Lieutenant Kell had
+to provide himself. All through the combined occupation the Continental
+Powers endeavoured to enable their officers to present a good
+appearance among the other nationalities. The Germans were especially
+generous in the pay and allowances they gave to the commissioned ranks
+of their expeditionary force.
+
+The guests that evening comprised, besides Kell and myself, three
+Russian officers, one of whom spoke English, one French, while the
+third could converse only in his own language, so the conversation
+was of a polyglot character. The dinner began by the preliminary
+_sakouski_—that is the nearest approach I can make to its name—a
+regular little meal in itself of _hors d’œuvres_. Caviare,
+sturgeon’s roe, very salt ham, brawn, and a dozen other comestibles
+were served. My host asked me if I had ever tasted vodki, and although
+I assured him that I had, proceeded to make me try five differently
+flavoured varieties of the national liquor. With the regular dinner
+the nauseatingly sweet champagne, so much in favour with Continental
+peoples, was served. On my declaring that champagne was a wine I
+never drank, I was allowed to have a decanter of whisky and a syphon
+of soda‐water and permitted to help myself. Kell adhered faithfully
+to claret and soda throughout the evening; but our Russian comrades
+indiscriminately mixed champagne, beer, and red or white wines, with
+the result that they soon became exceedingly merry. We were served by
+Chinese and a Russian soldier, whose manner of waiting at table was
+perfection. The best‐trained London butler could not have moved with
+more noiseless tread, or decanted the wine more carefully.
+
+As the meal wore on and the bottles were emptied, the conversation
+waxed somewhat noisy. Our friends were filled with the most generous
+sentiments towards England and lamented the estrangement of our
+nations. They confessed that they had come to China prepared to dislike
+the British officers intensely; but, in common with all their comrades
+who had been brought in contact with us, their feelings had entirely
+changed. They said frankly that the hostility to England was mainly
+owing to the continual opposition she offers to the natural desire of
+Russia to find an outlet to the sea. As they pointed out with truth, a
+great and rising nation like theirs will not submit to be confined for
+ever to the land; that it was intolerable that their vast Empire had
+not a single port free from ice all the year round or entirely at their
+own disposal. For Odessa is practically an inland harbour; and the
+Baltic is frozen in winter. Their ambition to reach the Mediterranean
+entangled them in the campaign against Turkey; and one can understand
+their indignation against England, who stepped in at the last moment
+when Constantinople was almost in their grasp and despoiled them of
+the fruits of victory achieved at the cost of many sacrifices and a
+long and bloody war. Foiled in the attempt to reach the open sea there,
+they embarked on the marvellous career of conquest which carried them
+across Asia to the Pacific. And there they found their first port,
+Vladivostock, useless in winter. And if other nations had had the
+courage of their convictions, they would never have been suffered to
+retain Port Arthur.
+
+But although the talk was largely political, there was absolutely no
+bitterness on the part of our host and his comrades. The conversation
+passed on to a comparison of the various systems of the armies of the
+world and a frank criticism of our own as well as the other contingents
+of the Allied forces. They were not very much impressed by our Indian
+army. They admired the regiments they had seen, but pitied us for
+the necessity we were under of having coloured troops at all. They
+forgot that a large portion of their own army can scarcely be called
+European. Like all the Russians I have met, from a Grand Duke to a
+subaltern, they exhibited a rancorous hatred to Germany. What they had
+seen of her troops in this campaign had added neither to their respect
+nor their love for that nation. In fact, the Germans did not succeed in
+making themselves cordially liked by those with whom they were brought
+in contact; just as their country may find, when her day of trouble
+comes, that her friends are few. Our friends betrayed a contempt, not
+altogether unmixed with fear, for the Japanese; and they marvelled at
+our friendship for them. They acknowledged their bravery in the present
+campaign, but doubted if they would exhibit the same courage when
+pitted against white troops. Their doubts will be resolved when the
+time comes.
+
+The wine passed freely between our Russian comrades; but with the
+truest hospitality they forbore to press us to drink against our wish.
+The dinner was extremely good, even luxurious; and Kell laughingly
+lamented to me his inability to entertain his friends as well as his
+Russian colleague could contrive to do. But here, again, I think he was
+helped by his Government, for I fancy that he received an entertainment
+allowance. As the wine circulated rapidly our companions became
+boisterous and showed some signs of inebriation.
+
+Beside me sat an officer who filled the post of military director
+of the railway between Shanhaikwan and Newchwang. I had long been
+desirous of visiting Manchuria by this route, but had always been
+assured that the Russians were very unwilling to allow any foreigner,
+especially a British officer, to use it; that it was hopeless to try to
+obtain their permission. As my neighbour’s tongue seemed a good deal
+loosened by his potations, I determined to get him off his guard and
+sound him as to the possibility of my proceeding northward to Manchuria
+from Shanhaikwan. I began by telling him that I hoped to sail in a few
+days from Taku for Newchwang, and remarked that it was a pity that
+the Russian authorities were so averse to British officers visiting
+Manchuria. He waxed quite indignant at the idea, and assured me that
+they were sadly misrepresented.
+
+“But,” said I, “we would not be allowed to travel from here to
+Newchwang by your railway.”
+
+“Not be allowed? Absurd! Of course you would,” he replied. “I am the
+director of that section of the line; it is under my charge. Surely I
+know best.”
+
+“Oh, come,” I said chaffingly, “you know that if I wanted to travel by
+it you would not permit me.”
+
+“Most certainly I would. I should be delighted.”
+
+I shall pin you to that, I thought. I felt very pleased at achieving a
+result that everyone had told me was impossible, Kell among them; so I
+glanced in triumph at him. He smiled.
+
+“Do you mean to say that I could go to Newchwang whenever I liked by
+your line?” I continued to my neighbour.
+
+“Certainly you could,” he replied, draining his glass, which I had
+taken care had not stood idle during our conversation. Wine in, wit
+out, I thought.
+
+“Well, in that case,” said I, “I will cancel my passage by steamer and
+start by rail from here to‐morrow.”
+
+“Eh? Oh! You are serious? You really wish to go by train?” he
+stammered, taken aback.
+
+“Yes; I shall telegraph to the Steamship Company at Tientsin in the
+morning, and start by the first train I can get.”
+
+For a second my friend seemed disconcerted. The other Russians had
+been following our conversation with interest. Suddenly sobered, my
+neighbour spoke to them in a low tone; and a muttered colloquy took
+place. Then he turned again to me and said, with a smile of innocent
+regret—
+
+“I am _so_ sorry. It would be impossible for you to start so soon.
+The railway has been breached in several places by floods, and three
+bridges have been washed away. The line is broken and all traffic
+suspended. It is _most_ unfortunate.”
+
+I realised that I had caught my Tartar.
+
+“How soon do you think I could travel?” I asked.
+
+“Oh, not for several days, I am afraid,” was the answer, in a tone of
+deep sympathy for my disappointment. “The repairs will take some time
+as the damage is extensive.”
+
+I saw that I was no match for Russian wiliness, and retired from the
+contest.
+
+“It is very unfortunate. But perhaps, after all, it would be best to go
+by sea.”
+
+“Yes, yes,” he assented eagerly. “It would be very difficult, even
+dangerous, by the railway.”
+
+Then the host interposed and changed the conversation. But at the end
+of the evening, when all the Russians had imbibed freely, my neighbour
+forgot his caution. When bidding me good‐night, he insisted on giving
+me his address in Newchwang, where he usually resided, being then only
+on a visit to Shanhaikwan. He cordially invited me to come and see him.
+
+“But I fear that I shall have come and gone before you can possibly
+arrive there,” I said. “We leave Taku in three or four days; and it is
+not twenty‐four hours’ sail from there to Newchwang. So I shall have
+left before you can get there.”
+
+“Oh, not at all,” he said unguardedly. “I am leaving Shanhaikwan for
+Newchwang to‐morrow morning by a train starting at ten o’clock. So be
+sure to come and see me.”
+
+I smiled to myself as I shook his hand. No wonder Russian diplomacy
+prospers.
+
+That dinner was the merriest function at which I had assisted for
+a long time. Our friends were excellent boon companions, and the
+conversation in divers tongues never flagged. Tiny cigarettes
+were handed round between each course; and the menu comprised many
+delicacies that came as a pleasant surprise in the wilds of China.
+When the meal was ended and cigars were lit, my host asked me whether
+I would prefer coffee or _thé à la Russe_. As I had always understood
+that this latter beverage was prepared from a special and excellent
+blend of tea and flavoured with lemons, I voted for it. To my
+horror, the soldier‐servant brought me a long tumbler filled with an
+amber‐coloured liquid and proceeded to stir a large spoonful of _jam_
+in it. The mixture was not palatable, but courtesy demanded that I
+should drink it. I declared the concoction delicious, drained my glass
+and set it down with relief. The attendant promptly filled it up again,
+my host insisting that as I liked it so well, I must have more. It
+nearly sufficed to spoil my enjoyment of the whole dinner.
+
+During the evening, whenever our companions were not observing me, I
+replenished my glass with plain soda‐water, and my brother officer
+had remained faithful to his weak beverage. Consequently, at the end
+of dinner we were perfectly sober; while our host and his friends who
+had imbibed freely were—well, the reverse. Conscious of their own
+state and contrasting it with ours, they gazed at us in admiration,
+and exclaimed, “These English officers have the heads of iron.” We
+parted at a late hour. With many expressions of mutual friendship and
+goodwill, the party broke up; and so ended a very interesting and
+enjoyable evening. No longer a homeless outcast, I retired to rest in
+the friendly shelter of Kell’s quarters.
+
+During the night I was dimly conscious of heavy rain but slept on
+unregarding. When I rose in the morning I found that a change had come
+over the scene. A burning sun no longer blazed overhead. The sky was
+dark with leaden clouds; the rain was falling with tropical violence,
+and all the landscape beyond the station was almost invisible. Already
+the line was covered with water; and fears were expressed by the staff
+that a freshet might occur in the hills and the railway be rendered
+impassable and possibly be breached. As the day wore on, these
+apprehensions became intensified. In the afternoon the train from
+Tong‐ku steamed in, literally ploughing its way through the water.
+The driver reported that not many miles from Shanhaikwan the floods
+were out and as his engine passed through them the fires were nearly
+extinguished. Another hour would render the line impassable. Pleasant
+tidings these for me; for our party purposed returning to Tientsin on
+the morrow, and some of us were starting for Japan the day after.
+
+My rambles that afternoon were confined to the station platform and the
+house of some friends of Kell’s, who, learning of my forlorn state, had
+most kindly asked him to bring me there for lunch and dinner. They were
+connected with the railway; and the ladies of the family had passed
+through an anxious time during the troubles, but had bravely refused to
+seek safety in flight.
+
+Next day the rain still continued. Reports came in that the line was
+impassable. The station was completely isolated from the rest of the
+world. Those of my party who were living with the Gurkhas, ignorant
+of the fact that no train could start, essayed to drive down to it in
+native carts. The stream over which the friendly Chinaman had carried
+us was in flood; and as they endeavoured to cross it, horses, vehicles,
+and passengers were nearly swept away. One smaller cart with their
+luggage was carried some distance down from the ford; and kit‐bags
+and portmanteaus were only rescued with the greatest difficulty. An
+invaluable collection of films and negatives belonging to one of the
+party, who was an expert photographer, was entirely spoilt. It was a
+real loss, as they contained a complete pictorial record of North China.
+
+The low ground behind the station was flooded. I watched with amusement
+the antics of a number of Cossacks, who, heedless of the rain, had got
+together planks and old doors torn off ruined houses, and, using them
+as rafts, had organised a miniature regatta on the pond thus formed.
+Exciting races took place; and a friendly dispute over one resulted
+in a naval battle full of comic incidents. Like schoolboys, they
+charged each other’s rafts and if capsized continued the struggle in
+the water. One, diving beneath the surface, would suddenly reappear
+beneath an enemy’s vessel, tilt it on end, and precipitate the
+occupants into the muddy flood, to be immediately grappled by them and
+ducked.
+
+In the morning a letter from Captain Labertouche was brought me by a
+trooper of the 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry, who had been forced to swim
+his horse across a swollen stream in order to reach the station. I
+chatted for some time with the man—a fine, lithe specimen of the
+Indian sowar. Anxious to hear every expression of the impression which
+the Russian troops had made upon our native rank‐and‐file, I asked him
+his opinion of them.
+
+“They are not bad, sahib,” he replied in Hindustani. Then, with an
+expressive shrug, he added, “But they will never get into India.”
+
+The remark was significant, for it showed not only what our men thought
+of the soldiers of the Czar, but also that the possibility of the
+Russian invasion is occasionally discussed amongst them, only to be
+dismissed with contempt.
+
+Our Indian contingent, one and all, have conceived a wonderful disdain
+of most of the troops of the other nationalities with whom they
+were brought in contact in China. They had the greatest admiration
+and affection for the gallant little Japanese, but considered their
+training obsolete. The Russians they regarded with little respect and
+no dread, and looked upon them as scarcely civilised. The Infanterie
+Coloniale, of whom they saw a good deal, filled them with the greatest
+contempt, undeserved though it was, for the whole French army. And I
+wish that the armchair critics, who condemn our forces and hold up the
+Germans as models to be slavishly followed in every respect, could have
+heard the opinion formed of them by these shrewd fighting men, Sikh,
+Gurkha, and Punjaubi, whose lives have been passed in war.
+
+An instance of the friendship existing between our sepoys and the
+Japanese came under my notice that day. On the railway platform some
+Gurkhas and a few of the 4th Punjaub Infantry were loitering or sitting
+about watching the heavy rain. Three or four Japanese soldiers came
+into the station and promptly sat down beside the Gurkhas, greeting
+them with effusive smiles. I was struck by the similarity in feature
+between the two races. Dressed in the same uniform, it would be
+difficult to distinguish between them. They are about the same height
+and build, and very much alike in face; though the Japanese is lighter
+coloured. Before long the mixed party were exchanging cigarettes and
+chatting away volubly; though the few words of English each knew, eked
+out by signs, could have been the only medium of intercourse.
+
+A Pathan sepoy was sitting alone on a bench. To him came up another
+little white‐clad soldier of Dai Nippon. He proffered a cigarette and
+gesticulated wildly. Before I realised his meaning, he had removed
+the Pathan’s _pugri_ from his head, replaced it with his own cap, and
+donned the borrowed headgear himself. Then he strutted up and down the
+platform amid the laughing applause of his comrades and the Gurkhas.
+The Pathan, highly amused, joined in the merriment. I had noticed a
+Dogra sepoy standing by himself with eyes fixed on the ground, lost
+in deep thought. Suddenly a cheery little Japanese soldier, motioning
+to the audience on the benches not to betray him, stole up quietly
+behind the Dogra, seized him round the waist, and lifted the astonished
+six‐foot sepoy into the air. Then with a grin he replaced him on his
+feet, and with mutual smiles they shook hands.
+
+When the day comes for our Indian army to fight shoulder to shoulder
+with its comrades of Japan, a bond stronger than a paper alliance will
+hold them; and their only rivalry will be as to which shall outstrip
+the other in their rush on the foe.
+
+All that day reports of houses used as barracks half collapsing under
+the heavy rain reached the station. My friends who were living with the
+Gurkha officers were nearly washed out.
+
+Once during the occupation of Shanhaikwan, when a similar deluge
+rendered the Chinese huts occupied by some foreign troops there
+untenable, their commander sought the aid of the colonel of the Gurkha
+Regiment, who offered to share the village in which his men were
+quartered with the others. The offer was gratefully accepted. The
+Gurkhas made their guests welcome; but the latter soon began to jeer
+at and insult them, and call them coolies—the usual term of reproach
+which the Continental troops hurled at our sepoys. Now, the Gurkhas
+are not naturally either pacific or humble; and it was only with the
+greatest difficulty that the fiery little soldiers were restrained
+from drawing their deadly _kukris_ and introducing the guests to that
+national and favourite weapon. On the conduct of his men being reported
+to the foreign commander, he sent a written, but not very full, apology
+to the Gurkha colonel.
+
+Towards evening the rain ceased, and the floods subsided as rapidly
+as they had arisen. So the following day saw us on our way back to
+Tientsin. At one of the stations an old friend of mine entered our
+carriage. He was an officer of the 4th Punjaub Infantry, Captain Gray,
+the son of a well‐known and very popular Don of Trinity College,
+Dublin. He had just received a report from the native officer
+commanding a detachment in a village near the canal which runs beside
+the railway. This jemadar had been sitting in front of his quarters
+watching the boats pass, when something about one of them aroused his
+suspicion and caused him to order the boat to stop and come into the
+bank. Three Chinamen in it sprang out and rushed away into the high
+crops. The boat was laden with cases, which, on search, proved to
+contain eighty new barrels of Mauser and Mannlicher magazine rifles.
+Besides these there were five boxes of cartridges and several casks of
+powder. This is but a small instance of the enormous extent to which
+the smuggling of arms goes on. The brigands were provided with weapons
+of the latest pattern and excellent make. The Germans are the chief
+offenders here as in Africa and elsewhere.
+
+Another officer of the 4th Punjaub joined our train later on. He was
+Lieutenant Stirling, who worthily gained the D.S.O. for his
+brave exploit when Major Browning, of his regiment, fell in an attack
+with eighty men on walled villages held by thousands of brigands.
+Stirling refused to abandon the body, and carried it back, retiring
+slowly over seven miles of open country, attacked by swarms of mounted
+robbers, who feared to charge home upon the steady ranks of the gallant
+Punjaubis. He was wounded himself in the fight.
+
+In the evening we arrived at Tientsin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+OUR STRONGHOLD IN THE FAR EAST
+
+HONG KONG AND THE KOWLOON HINTERLAND
+
+
+HONG KONG
+
+Geographically, of course, Hong Kong is very far from North China. But
+it was the base of our expeditionary force in the recent campaign. From
+it went the first troops that helped to save Tientsin; and one brigade
+of Indian regiments was diverted from General Gaselee’s command to
+strengthen its garrison. For in the event of disturbances in Canton, or
+a successful rebellion in the southern provinces, it would have been in
+great danger. As our base for all future operations in the Far East,
+it is of vast military as well as naval and commercial importance and
+well merits description. In complications or wars with other Powers,
+Hong Kong would be the first point in the East threatened or assailed.
+Lying as it does on what would be our trans‐Pacific route to India,
+it is almost of as much importance to our Empire as Capetown or the
+Suez Canal. Its magnificent dockyards, which are capable of taking our
+largest battleships on the China station, are the only ones we possess
+east of Bombay; and so it is of equal value to our fleet, besides being
+the naval base for coal, ammunition, and supplies, without which the
+finest ship that floats would be helpless.
+
+Looked at from other than a military point of view, Hong Kong is an
+object‐lesson of our Empire that should fill the hearts of Imperialists
+with pardonable pride. A little more than half a century ago it was
+but a bleak and barren island, tenanted only by a few fisherfolk. It
+produced nothing, and animal life could scarce be supported on it. But
+now, touched by the magic wand of British trade, how wonderful is the
+transformation! A magnificent city, with stately buildings climbing in
+tier after tier from the sea. The most European town between Calcutta
+and San Francisco. The third, some say the second, largest shipping
+port in the world. The harbour to which turn the countless prows of
+British, American, German, French, Austrian, and Japanese vessels;
+where the vast current of the trade of the world with the Far East
+flows in, to issue forth again in an infinitude of smaller streams to
+every part of China and the Philippines.
+
+Yet, though the barren hillsides are covered with houses, though a
+large population of white men and yellow inhabit it, and its harbour is
+crowded with shipping, the island itself is still as unproductive as
+ever. Not merely is mineral wealth unknown and manufactures practically
+_nil_, but Hong Kong cannot provide enough of foodstuffs to support
+its inhabitants for half a day. From Canton, almost a hundred miles
+away up the Pearl River, comes everything required to feed both
+Europeans and Chinese. Each morning the large, flat‐bottomed steamers
+that ply between the two cities carry down meat or cattle, fish, rice,
+vegetables of all kinds, fruit, even flowers; and were communications
+interrupted by storm or war for a few days, Hong Kong would starve. For
+neither the island nor the couple of hundred square miles of adjacent
+mainland, the Kowloon Hinterland, which we took over in 1898, could
+produce enough to feed one regiment; and although two months’ supply of
+provisions for the whole population, white and yellow, is supposed to
+be stored, it is never done. Therein lies Hong Kong’s great danger. Let
+Canton refuse or be prevented from feeding her, and she must starve.
+
+The secret of her rapid rise and present greatness lies in the fact
+that she is the great mart, the distributing centre, whence European or
+American goods, arriving in large bottoms, are sent out again in small
+coasting steamers or junks to reach the smallest markets for Western
+commerce. And her prosperity will continue and be vastly increased
+if the long‐projected railway to Canton, to meet another tapping the
+great inland resources of China, is ever built; although the Americans
+fondly hope that Manilla under their energetic rule will one day rival
+and even excel her.
+
+Hong Kong is an island of irregular shape, about nine miles in length
+and six miles broad in its widest portion, and consists of one long
+chain of hills, that rise almost perpendicularly from the sea. Scarcely
+the smallest spot of naturally level ground is to be found. Around are
+countless other islands, large and small, all equally mountainous. It
+lies close to the Chinese mainland, the Kau‐lung, or Kowloon Peninsula;
+and the portion of sea enclosed between them forms the harbour. At one
+extremity of the island this is a mile across; and at the other it
+narrows down to a strait known as the Lyeemoon Pass, only a quarter
+of a mile broad. In the centre the harbour is about two miles in
+width. The high hills of island and mainland—for the latter is but
+a series of broken, mountainous masses rising two or three thousand
+feet—shelter it from the awful typhoons that ravage the coast.
+
+Approaching Hong Kong by steamer there lies before us a confused jumble
+of hills, which gradually resolve themselves into islands fronting
+the mountainous background of the mainland. All, without exception,
+spring up from the water’s edge in steep slopes, with never a yard of
+level ground save where an occasional tiny bay shows a small stretch
+of sparkling sandy beach. Granite cliffs carved into a thousand quaint
+designs, or honeycombed with caverns by the white‐fringed waves;
+steep grassy slopes, with scarcely a bush upon them, rising up to a
+conical peak; here and there a fisher’s hut, the only sign of human
+habitation—such are they almost all. At last one larger than the
+others. On the long ridge of the lofty summits of its hills the slated
+roofs and high walls of European buildings outlined against the sky,
+and we know that we are nearing Hong Kong. Swinging round a bluff
+shoulder of this island, we enter the land‐locked harbour. On the
+right the myriad houses climbing in terraces above each other from the
+water’s edge, long lines of stately buildings, the spires of churches
+come into view. It is the city of Victoria, or Hong Kong. The harbour,
+sheltered by the lofty hills of island and mainland, is crowded with
+shipping. The giant bulks of battleships and cruisers, the tall masts
+of sailing vessels, the gaily painted funnels of passenger and merchant
+steamers, the quaint sails and weird shapes of junks, the countless
+little _sampans_ or native boats, a numerous flotilla of steam
+launches, rushing hither and thither. Ahead of us the hills of island
+and mainland approach each other until they almost touch, and tower up
+on either hand above the narrow channel of the Lyeemoon Pass. On the
+left a small, bush‐clad, conical isle, with a lighthouse—Green Island;
+another, long and straggling—Stonecutters’ Island, with the sharp
+outlines of forts and barracks and the ruins of an old convict prison.
+
+Behind them the mainland. A small extent of comparatively level land
+covered with houses, the curving line of a pretty bay, low, pine‐clad
+hills. This is the very modern suburb of Kowloon, which has been
+created to take the overflow of European and Chinese population from
+Hong Kong. Here will be the terminus of the railway to Canton—when it
+is built. And behind, towering grim and dark to the sky, stands a long
+chain of barren mountains that guard the approach from the landward
+side. Behind them range upon range of other hills. Such is the Kowloon
+Peninsula.
+
+Hong Kong, with the blue water of its harbour, the dark hills towering
+precipitously above the town, the walls of whose houses are gaily
+painted in bright colours, is one of the loveliest places on earth.
+After long days on board ship, where the eye tires of the interminable
+monotony of sea and sky, it seems doubly beautiful. And one marvels
+to find this English lodgment on the coast of China a city of stately
+buildings, of lofty clubs and many‐storied hotels, of magnificent
+offices and splendid shops, of well‐built barracks and princely villas.
+
+The town of Victoria—for Hong Kong, though used for it, is really
+the name of the island—stretches for miles along the water’s edge,
+being for the most part built on reclaimed ground; for the hills
+thrust themselves forward to the sea. Up their steep sides the houses
+clamber in tier upon tier until they end under the frowning face of a
+rocky precipice that reaches up to the summit. And there along its
+ridge, which is called the Peak, 1,800 feet above the sea, are more
+houses. Large hotels, villas, and barracks—for it is fast becoming
+the residential quarter for Europeans—are perched upon its narrow
+breadth, seemingly absolutely inaccessible from below. But a thin,
+almost perpendicular, line against the face of the hill shows how they
+are reached by a cable tramway, which, in ten minutes, brings its
+passengers from the steamy atmosphere of Victoria to the cool breezes
+of the Peak—another climate altogether.
+
+The city practically consists of one long street, which runs from end
+to end of the island and is several miles in length. On the steep
+landward side smaller streets run off at right angles and climb the
+hills, many of them in flights of steps. On the slopes above the town
+are one or two long roads parallel to the main street and consisting
+altogether of residential buildings, churches, convents, and schools.
+
+But this main street—Queen’s Road as it is named—is wonderful. At
+the western extremity near Belcher’s Fort, the end of the island round
+which our steamer passed, it begins in two or three‐storied Chinese
+houses, the shops on the ground floor being under colonnades. Then come
+store and warehouses, offices, and small Chinese shops where gaudy
+garments and quaint forms of food are sold, interspersed with saloons,
+bars, and drinking‐shops of all kinds, which cater for merchant
+sailors, soldiers, and bluejackets of every nationality, the well‐paid
+American tars being most in evidence among their customers. Beyond this
+the Queen’s Road is lined with splendid European‐looking shops with
+extensive premises and large plate‐glass fronts, finer than many in
+Bond Street or Regent Street, though not as expensive. Some of them,
+mostly kept by Chinamen, sell Chinese or Japanese curios, silver‐work
+or embroideries, pottery or blackwood furniture. Others, generally,
+though not always, run by Europeans, are tailoring and millinery
+establishments, chemists, book or print shops. The side‐walks run under
+colonnades which afford a grateful shade. Here are found a few of the
+smaller hotels; and the magnificent caravanserai of the high Hong Kong
+hotel stretches from the harbour to the street. Then come some fine
+banks, the building of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
+being a splendid piece of architecture. Opposite it a sloping road,
+with lovely fern‐clad banks and trees, leads upward to the cathedral
+and to Government House. Past the banks, a little back from the
+thoroughfare, is the fine City Hall, which contains a museum and a
+theatre, as well as large ball and concert rooms, in which most of the
+social gaieties of Hong Kong take place.
+
+Here occurs the one break in the long line of the Queen’s Road. On
+the seaward side, fenced in by railings, lies the cricket‐ground with
+its pretty pavilion. Between it and the harbour stands the splendid
+structure of the Hong Kong Club, a magnificent four‐storied building.
+Few clubs east of Pall Mall can rival its palatial accommodation.
+From the ground‐floor, where billiard‐rooms and a large bowling
+alley are found, a splendid staircase, dividing into two wings,
+leads to a magnificent central hall on the first floor. Off this is
+a large reading‐room, where a great number of British, American, and
+Continental journals are kept. Electric fans, revolving from the
+ceiling, cool the room in the damp, hot days of the long and unpleasant
+summer. On the same floor are the secretary’s offices, a luxurious
+public dressing‐room, and a large bar, which opens on to a wide
+verandah overlooking the harbour. From it one can gaze over the water,
+crowded with shipping, to the rugged hills of the mainland. In front
+lie the warships of many nations. Close inshore is a small fleet of
+_sampans_ crowded together, their crews, male and female, chattering
+volubly or screaming recriminations from boat to boat. From a tiny
+pier near the Club the steam pinnace of an American man‐o’‐war shoots
+out into the stream, passing a couple of gigs from British warships
+conveying officers in mufti ashore.
+
+On the next floor are the dining‐rooms and a splendid library. Above
+these again are the members’ bedrooms, bath and dressing rooms.
+Altogether, internally and externally, the Club is worthy to rank with
+almost any similar institution in the Empire.
+
+On Queen’s Road, facing the cricket‐ground, is a small, square open
+space below the cathedral, raised above the level of the street, as
+the ground slopes upward. It is known as the Garrison Brigade Parade
+Ground. During the recent campaign it was used as the store‐ground
+of the Indian Commissariat, where huge mat‐sheds covered enormous
+piles of supplies for the troops in China. Here the hard‐worked base
+commissariat officer, Major Williams, watched the vast stores arriving
+daily from India, and despatched the supplies for the army in the North
+and the Indian brigades at Shanghai and Kowloon. Beside the parade
+ground a road climbs the hill and passes the station for the cable
+tramway, which is but a short distance up.
+
+Beyond this one gap in its continuous fencing of houses the Queen’s
+Road runs on past the Naval Dockyard—where Commodore Sir Francis
+Powell, K.C.M.G., had such heavy labour all through the
+troublous time in China—and the Provost Prison on the seaward side,
+and the barracks of the British troops and the arsenal on the other.
+Then the military hospital and the ordnance yards, crowded with guns,
+from the twelve‐inch naval monsters to the stubby howitzers or long
+six‐inch on field‐carriages. Then more barracks. Then it runs on
+again into Chinese shops, their upper stories used as boarding‐houses
+for Celestials; and, turning down to the harbour and following the
+shore line, it is bordered with coal‐yards, godowns, and warehouses.
+Near this end are the two open spaces of the island, where the hills,
+retreating from the sea, have left valleys which the sport‐loving
+Britisher has seized upon for recreation grounds. The first and larger
+one, known as the Happy Valley, is a lovely spot. All around the
+tree‐clad hills ring it in, rising precipitously from its level stretch
+on which is a racecourse, its centre portion being devoted to other
+games. A fine grand stand is flanked by a block of red‐brick buildings,
+the lower stories of which are used during race meetings as stables for
+the horses and ponies running. The upper, with open fronts looking out
+on the course, are used as luncheon rooms, where the regimental messes,
+the members of the clubs, and large _hongs_ (or merchant firms) and
+private residents entertain their friends during the meetings. Surely
+no other racecourse in the world is set in such lovely scenery as
+this in its arena, surrounded by the mountains that tower above it on
+every side. And that a _memento mori_ may not be wanting in the midst
+of gaiety, just behind the grand stand lie the cemeteries—Christian,
+Mussulman, Hindu, and Parsee. Up the sides of the steep hills the white
+crosses and tombstones gleam amongst the dark foliage of the trees; and
+the spirits of the dead can look down from their graves upon the scene
+of former pleasures.
+
+A little farther on is another and smaller valley used as a polo
+ground. Previous to the advent of the Indian troops in 1900 the game
+was played here almost exclusively on Chinese ponies. But the Arabs
+used by the officers of the 22nd Bombay Infantry, by that excellent
+sportsman, H. H. Major, the Maharajah of Bikanir, and other members of
+the China expeditionary force, so completely outclassed the diminutive
+Chinese ponies that a revolution was caused in the class of animals
+required for the game. Small Walers from Australia and Arabs from India
+have been freely introduced, much to the benefit of polo in Hong Kong.
+
+At the polo ground the city ends at present; though every day its
+limits are extending. From here the road runs along close to the sea,
+protected from the waves by a wall, and clinging to the flanks of
+the hills. It passes an occasional row of Chinese‐occupied houses,
+a lone hotel or two, the site of the immense new docks in process
+of construction, large sugar works, with a colony of houses for its
+employees, and an overhead wire tramway leading to their sanatorium
+on the high peak above, until it reaches the Lyeemoon Pass. Here the
+hills narrow in and press down to the sea, thrusting themselves forward
+to meet the hills of the mainland on the other side. A strait, only
+a quarter of a mile broad, separates them; and here on either hand,
+high above the water, stand modern and well‐armed forts, which, with a
+Brennan torpedo, effectually close the narrow entrance of the harbour
+to any hostile ships that venture to force a passage.
+
+Thus ends the northern and more important side of the island. On
+the southern and ocean‐ward shore lie the ill‐fated and practically
+deserted towns of Stanley and Aberdeen, where many years ago the
+British troops garrisoning them were so decimated by fever and disease
+that this side of the island was abandoned, and Victoria has become
+practically Hong Kong.
+
+The Peak is altogether another world from the city that lies in the
+steamy atmosphere below. Let us ascend in one of the trams that are
+dragged up to the summit by the wire cables. Seated in the car, we are
+drawn up rapidly at a weird and uncomfortable angle; for the slope of
+the line is, in places, 1 in 2. Up the steep sides of the hill we go,
+feeling a curious sensation as we are tilted back on the benches and
+see the trees and houses on each side all leaning over at an absurd
+angle. Even such a respectable structure as a church seems to be lying
+back towards the hillside in a tipsy and undignified manner. This
+curious optical effect is caused by the inclined position of the roof
+and floor, as well as of the passengers, with the horizontal. We pass
+over a bridge across a pretty road lined with stone villas, by large
+and well‐built houses that grow fewer and fewer as we mount upward.
+Here and there we stop at a small platform representing a station,
+where passengers come on or leave the tram. The down car passes us
+with a rush. The long ridge of the Peak, crowned with houses, comes
+into view. Turning round in our slanting seats we look down on the
+rapidly diminishing city and the harbour, now a thousand feet below
+us. At last we reach the summit and step out on a platform with
+waiting‐rooms, the terminus of the line. Now we see how the wire cable
+runs on over pulleys into the engine‐house and is wound round the huge
+iron drums.
+
+As we stand on the platform there towers above us, on the left, a large
+and many‐windowed hotel, the Mount Austin. Along the fronts of its
+three stories run verandahs with arched colonnades. This is a favourite
+place of resort for visitors; and many residents, unwilling to face the
+troubles of house‐keeping, take up their permanent abode here.
+
+Outside the station is a line of waiting coolies, ready to convey
+passengers in their open cane sedan chairs with removable hoods. A
+Sikh policeman standing close by keeps them in order and cuts short
+their frequent squabbles. The road and paths, which are cemented and
+provided with well‐made drains running alongside to carry off the
+torrential rains of the summer and thus prevent the roadway from being
+washed away, are too steep in their ascents and descents to make the
+ricksha—Hong Kong’s favourite vehicle—useful up here.
+
+Standing on the narrow ridge of the Peak, we can look down upon the
+sea on either hand. A wonderful view unfolds itself to our gaze. On
+the northern side the city of Victoria lies almost straight below us,
+its streets and roofs forming a chessboard‐pattern. We can easily
+trace the long, sinuous line of the Queen’s Road. From this height
+the largest battleships and mail steamers in the harbour look no
+bigger than walnuts. Beyond, the suburb of Kowloon lies in sharp lines
+and tiny squares; and behind it rise up the hills of the mainland,
+dwarfed in size. Now we can see plainly the interminable ranges of
+mountains—chain after chain—of the Kowloon Peninsula, with the lofty
+peaks of Tai‐mo‐shan and Tai‐u‐shan over 3,000 feet high. The coastline
+is straggling and indented with numerous bays, the shores rising up in
+steep, grassy slopes to the hills or presenting a line of rocky cliffs
+to the waves. Here and there pretty cultivated valleys run back from
+the sea to the never‐far‐distant mountains.
+
+Turning round, we look down the grass‐clad slopes of the south side
+of the island to tiny, sandy bays and out over the broad expanse of
+the sea, in which lie many large and small islands. Over a hundred
+can be counted from the elevation of the Peak. Close by, to the west,
+is the largest of them all—the barren and treeless Lantau, which was
+once nearly chosen instead of Hong Kong as the site of the British
+settlement. Below us, on the southern shore of our island, lie the
+practically abandoned towns of Stanley and Aberdeen.
+
+Along the ridge the road passes by large and well‐built villas,
+barracks, the Peak Club, a church, and many boarding‐houses. The
+European inhabitants of Hong Kong are rapidly abandoning the lower
+levels and taking up their residence here, where the climate, with its
+cool and refreshing breezes, is delightful in the long summer when
+Victoria swelters in tropical heat. During the rainy season, however,
+the Peak is continually shrouded in damp mists; and fires are required
+to keep rooms and spare garments dry. The saying in Hong Kong is: “If
+you live on the Peak your clothes rot; if in Victoria _you_ do. Choose
+which you value more and take up your habitation accordingly.”
+
+The cable tramway is a comparatively recent institution; so that when
+the houses on the summit were being built all the materials had to be
+carried by coolies up a steep, zigzagging road from below. Even now
+most of the supplies for the dwellers on the heights are brought up
+in the same primitive and laborious fashion. In the morning the trams
+are crowded with European merchants, bankers, solicitors and their
+clerks, descending to their offices in the city. In the afternoon they
+are filled with the gay butterflies of society going up or down to
+pay calls, shop, or play tennis and croquet at the Ladies’ Recreation
+Ground, half‐way between the Peak and Victoria. The red coats of
+British soldiers are seen in the cars after parade hours or at night,
+when they are hurrying back to barracks before tattoo.
+
+The harbour of Hong Kong is remarkable for the large “floating
+population” of Chinese, who live in sampans and seldom go ashore
+except to purchase provisions. Their boats are small, generally not
+twenty feet in length, with a single mast, decked, and provided with
+a small well, covered with a hood, where passengers sit. Under the
+planking of the deck, in a tiny space without ventilation, with only
+room to lie prone, the crew—consisting, perhaps, of a dozen men,
+women, and children—sleep. Their cooking is done with a brazier or
+wood fire placed on a flat stone in the bows. The children tumble about
+the deck unconcernedly in the roughest weather. The smaller ones are
+occasionally tied to the mast to prevent them from falling overboard.
+The babies are bound in a bundle behind the shoulders of the mothers,
+who pull their oars or hoist and lower the sail with their burdens
+fastened on to them. Thus they live, thus they die; never sleeping on
+land until their corpses are brought ashore to be buried amid much
+exploding of crackers and burning of joss‐sticks.
+
+These sampans are freely used to convey passengers to and from ships or
+across the harbour. Formerly cases of robbery and murder were frequent
+on board them; and even now drunken sailors occasionally disappear
+in mysterious fashion. The hood over the passengers’ seats could be
+suddenly lowered on the occupants of the well; a few blows of a hatchet
+sufficed to end their efforts to free themselves; the bodies were then
+robbed and flung overboard, and their fate remained a secret to all
+but the murderers. But stringent police regulations now render these
+crimes almost impossible. At night all sampans must anchor at least
+thirty yards from the shore. If hailed by intending passengers they are
+allowed to come only to certain piers where European or Indian police
+officers take their numbers as well as the names and destinations of
+those about to embark on them. So that the Hong Kong sampan is now
+nearly as safe a conveyance as the London hansom.
+
+Communication between Victoria and Kowloon is maintained by a line of
+large, two‐decked, double‐ended steam ferries, that cross the mile of
+water between them in ten minutes. The suburb on the mainland is of
+very recent growth. Ten years ago the Observatory, a signal station,
+and a few villas were almost the only buildings; and the pinewoods
+ran uninterruptedly down to the sea. Now Kowloon possesses large
+warehouses, two hotels, two fine barracks, long streets lined with
+shops chiefly for Chinese customers, and terraces of houses occupied by
+Europeans. These are generally employees in the dockyards or clerks,
+or the families of engineers and mates of the small steamers that have
+their headquarters in Hong Kong. New streets are continually springing
+up, connecting it with Yaumati, a large Chinese suburb, or spreading
+down towards Old Kowloon City, three miles off. Near the ferry pier
+long wharves run out into the harbour, alongside which the largest
+vessels of the P. and O. or Norddeutscher‐Lloyd can berth and discharge
+their cargo. Close by is a naval yard, with a small space of water
+enclosed by stone piers for torpedo craft. Beside it are huge stacks
+of coal for our warships. Just above rise the grass‐covered ramparts
+of a fort. Near this are the fine stone and brick barracks built for
+the Hong Kong Regiment—a corps raised and recruited in Northern
+India about ten years ago for permanent service in this Colony. It
+was recently disbanded when Hong Kong was added to the list of places
+over‐seas to be garrisoned by the Indian army. Its material was
+excellent; for the high rate of pay—eighteen rupees a month with free
+rations as compared with the nine rupees and no rations offered to the
+sepoy in India—gave its recruiting officers the pick of Mussulman
+Punjaub, for it was a completely Mohammedan regiment. But it suffered
+from the disadvantage of being permanently stationed in one cramped‐up
+garrison with much guard duty, and of being officered by men coming at
+random from various Indian regiments rarely of the Punjaub, or, worse
+still, by others from British regiments, who knew absolutely nothing of
+the sepoy and were attracted chiefly by the higher pay.
+
+On the Kowloon side two companies have built large and ample docks,
+which can take the finest battleships we have in the China seas.
+H.M.S. _Goliath_, _Ocean_, _Albion_, _Glory_; U.S.S. _Brooklyn_ and
+_Kentucky_ have all been accommodated there. As they are the only docks
+in the Far East, with the exception of those at Nagasaki in Japan, they
+are used by all foreign as well as British warships and merchantmen;
+and the dividends they pay are very large. Small steamers and a yacht
+for the King of Siam have been constructed in them. In Yaumati and
+Kowloon many Chinese boat‐building yards have sprung up, where numbers
+of large junks and sampans are turned out every year.
+
+Past the Kowloon Docks, above which tower a couple of forts, the
+open country is reached. The road runs down through patches of
+market‐gardens to Old Kowloon City, a quaint walled Chinese town, with
+antique iron guns rusting on its bastions. This was the last spot of
+territory in the peninsula handed over to the British by the Chinese.
+“Handed over” is, perhaps, hardly an accurate description. Although
+ordered by their Government to surrender it, the officials refused to
+do so. A show of force was necessary; and a body of regular troops,
+accompanied by the Hong Kong Volunteers, marched upon the place. The
+Chinese, locking the gates and throwing away the keys, disappeared over
+the walls and bolted into the country. It was necessary to effect an
+entry by burglary. High hills tower above the city; and just beyond it
+they close in to the Lyeemoon Pass.
+
+To one unused to the East, Hong Kong is intensely interesting. The
+streets, lined with European‐looking shops, are crowded with a strange
+medley of races—white, black, or yellow. Daintily garbed English
+ladies step from their rickshas and enter millinery establishments,
+the windows of which display the latest fashions of Paris and London.
+Straight‐limbed British soldiers, clad in the familiar scarlet of the
+Line and blue of the Royal Artillery or in the now as well‐known khaki,
+stroll along the pavement, bringing their hands to their helmets in a
+smart salute to a passing officer. Sturdy bluejackets of our Royal Navy
+walk arm‐in‐arm with sailors from the numerous American warships in the
+harbour. A group of spectacled Chinese students move by, chattering
+volubly. Long, lithe Bengal Lancers, in khaki blouses reaching to
+the knee, blue putties, and spurred ankle‐boots, gaudy pugris and
+bright shoulder‐chains, stop to chat with sepoys of a Bombay infantry
+regiment or tall Sikhs of the Asiatic Artillery. Neat, glazed‐hatted
+Parsis, long‐haired Coreans, trousered Chinese women, and wild, unkempt
+Punjaubi mule‐drivers go by. German man‐o’‐war’s men, with flat caps
+and short jackets covered with gilt or silver buttons, turn to look
+back at a couple of small but sturdy Japanese bluejackets. Pig‐tailed
+Chinese coolies push their way roughly along the side‐walk, earning
+a well‐deserved cut from the swagger‐cane of a soldier against whose
+red coat they have rubbed their loads. Even the weird figure of a
+half‐naked Hindu fakir, his emaciated body coated with white ashes,
+the trident of Vishnu marked in scarlet on his ghastly forehead,
+carrying his begging‐bowl and long‐handled tongs, is seen. Europeans,
+in white linen coats and trousers or smartly‐cut flannel suits, rush
+across the road and plunge hurriedly into offices. These are probably
+brokers, busily engaged in floating some of the numerous companies
+that spring up daily in Hong Kong like mushrooms. Globe‐trotters, in
+weird pith hats, pause before the windows of curio‐shops which display
+the artistic efforts of Japan or Canton. The street is crowded with
+rickshas bearing ladies, soldiers, civilians, or fat Chinamen in bowler
+hats and long, blue silk coats. Carriages are seldom seen, for horses
+are of little use in the colony, owing to its hilly character. Queen’s
+Road is almost the only thoroughfare where they could be employed. Tall
+Sikh and Mussulman policemen in blue or red pugris direct the traffic
+or salute a white‐helmeted European inspector as he passes.
+
+Society in Hong Kong is less official than in India, where almost every
+male is to be found in either the Army or the Civil Service List. The
+Governor and the General are, of course, the leaders, and in a small
+way represent Royalty in the colony. The merchant class is supreme,
+and their wives rule society; naval and military people being regarded
+as mere birds of passage in a city where Europeans practically settle
+for life and England seems a very far‐off country indeed. Altogether
+life in Hong Kong is of a more provincially English character than
+it is in India. The warm‐hearted hospitality of the Anglo‐Indian has
+but a faint echo in this very British colony. One is not brought into
+such daily contact with friends and acquaintances. In every station,
+large and small, throughout the length and breadth of Hindustan there
+is always a club which acts as the rallying‐place of European society.
+Ladies as well as men assemble there in the afternoons when the sun
+is setting, and polo, tennis, and cricket are over for the day. The
+fair inhabitants of the station sit on the lawn, dispense tea to their
+friends, talk scandal or flirt; while their husbands play whist,
+bridge, and billiards, or gather in jovial groups round the bar and
+discuss the events of the day.
+
+But in Hong Kong, despite the large European population, there is no
+similar institution or gathering‐place. The clubs are sternly reserved
+for men. Save at an occasional race meeting or gymkhana, one never
+sees all the white inhabitants assembled together. In the summer the
+climate is far too hot for indoor social functions. Even tennis parties
+are too exhausting. So hospitable hostesses substitute for their “At
+Homes” weekly mixed bathing parties; and in the comparative cool of the
+afternoons gay groups gather on the piers near the club and embark on
+the trim steam launches that lie in shoals alongside. Then out they go
+to some sandy bay along the coast, where mat‐sheds have been erected
+to serve as bathing‐boxes for the ladies, who go ashore and attire
+themselves for the water. The gentlemen of the party don their swimming
+costume in the cabin of the launch, and, plunging overboard, make their
+way to the beach to join their fair companions. When tired of bathing,
+the ladies retire to the mat‐sheds, the men to the launch. Then,
+dressed again and reunited, all steam back to Hong Kong, refreshing
+themselves with tea and drinks on the way. This is the favourite form
+of amusement in Hong Kong society during the summer.
+
+In the cold weather dances at Government House, Headquarter House (the
+General’s residence), and in the City Hall are frequent; and theatrical
+companies from England and Australia occupy the theatre. Picnics,
+walking or by launch, to the many charming spots to be found on the
+island or the mainland are given. Polo, racing, cricket, tennis, and
+golf are in full swing; and, as the climate during winter is cold and
+bracing, life is very pleasant in the colony then.
+
+To the newly arrived naval or military officer society in Hong Kong is
+full of pitfalls and surprises. The English merchant or lawyer over
+seas is usually a very good fellow, though occasionally puffed up by
+the thought of his bloated money‐bags; but his wife is often a sad
+example of British snobbery, the spirit of which has entered into her
+soul in the small country town or London suburb from which she came.
+Society in the boarding‐houses of West Kensington is a bad preparation
+for the rôle of _grande dame_ in the hospitable East. And so the naval
+or military officer, accustomed to broader lines of social demarcation
+in England, is puzzled and amused at the minute shades of difference in
+Hong Kong society. He fails to see why Mrs. A., whose spouse exports
+tea, is to be considered quite of the _haut ton_ of the colony; while
+Mrs. B., whose husband imports cigars, and who is by birth and breeding
+a better man than A., is not to be called on.
+
+  “Big fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite ’em,
+  And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so, _ad infinitum_.”
+
+And Hong Kong looks down on Kowloon with all the well‐bred contempt of
+Belgravia for Brixton. And even in the despised suburb on the mainland
+these social differences are not wanting. The wives of the superior
+dock employees are the leaders of Kowloon society; and the better half
+of a ship captain or marine engineer is only admitted on sufferance
+to their exclusive circle. When the first Indian troops to strengthen
+the garrison of Hong Kong in 1900 arrived, they were quartered in
+Kowloon; where the presence of a number of strange young officers, who
+dashed about their quiet suburb on fiery Arabs and completely eclipsed
+the local dandies, caused a flutter in the hearts of anxious mothers
+and indignant husbands. The fires of civilian prejudice against
+the military burned fiercely; and I verily believe that many of the
+inhabitants of Kowloon would have preferred an invasion of ferocious
+Chinese.
+
+
+THE KOWLOON HINTERLAND.
+
+The island of Hong Kong was ceded to England in 1841. Later on a strip
+of the adjacent mainland, from two to three miles deep, running back to
+a line of steep hills from 1,300 to 2,000 feet high, was added. Then
+for many years the colony rested content under the frowning shadow of
+these dangerous neighbours; until it dawned at last upon our statesmen
+that the Power who possessed this range of hills had Hong Kong at its
+mercy. For heavy guns planted on their summits could lay the city of
+Victoria in ruins at the easy range of two or three miles; and no
+answering fire from the island forts so far below them could save it.
+So in 1898, by a master‐stroke of diplomacy, China was induced to lease
+to England the Kowloon Peninsula, about 200 miles square; and our
+frontier was removed farther back to the safer distance of about twenty
+miles from Hong Kong.
+
+The peninsula is an irregularly shaped tongue of land with rugged and
+indented coast‐line jutting out from the province of Kwang‐tung. It is
+of little value except to safeguard the possession of Hong Kong. It
+consists of range after range of rugged, barren hills, grass‐clad,
+with here and there tangled vegetation but with scarcely a tree upon
+them, separated by narrow valleys thinly occupied by Chinese. It could
+only support a small population; for arable land is scarce, and the
+few inhabitants are forced to add to their scanty crops by terracing
+small fields on the steep sides of the hills. Villages are few and
+far between. Those that exist are well and substantially built; for,
+as in Hong Kong, granite is everywhere present on the mainland, the
+soil being composed of disintegrated granite. Cattle‐breeding and even
+sheep‐raising seem difficult; for the rank grass of the hills will
+scarcely support animal life. Experiments made on the islands near Hong
+Kong, which are of similar nature to the mainland, seem to bear this
+out.
+
+Winding inlets and long, narrow bays run far into the land on both
+sides and considerably diminish the space at the disposal of the
+cultivator. Occasionally narrow creeks are dammed by the villagers, and
+the ground is roughly reclaimed. The supply of fresh water is limited
+to the rainfall and the small streams that run down the hillsides. The
+presence of mineral wealth is unsuspected and unlikely. Altogether the
+Hinterland is poor and unproductive. Efforts are being made to develop
+its scanty resources; and if cattle, wheat, and vegetables could be
+raised, a ready market would be found for them in Hong Kong.
+
+The present frontier line is exceedingly short—about ten miles if I
+remember aright—as at the boundary the sea runs far into the land on
+each side of the peninsula in two bays—Deep Bay on the west, Mirs Bay
+on the east. The latter is being used as the winter training‐ground
+of the ships of our China squadron. The former is very shallow, being
+almost dry at low tide, and earns its name from the depth of its
+penetration into the land.
+
+One strongly defined portion of the boundary is the shallow, tidal
+Samchun River which runs into Deep Bay. Across it the Chinese territory
+begins in a fertile and cultivated valley surrounding an important and
+comparatively wealthy market‐town, Samchun. Beyond that again rises
+another line of rugged hills. I have never penetrated into the interior
+here farther than Samchun, so cannot speak with accuracy of what the
+country is like at the other side of these hills; but I have been
+told that it is flat and fertile nearly all the way on to Canton. The
+English firm in Hong Kong who projected the railway to Canton employed
+a Royal Engineer officer to survey the route for the proposed line.
+He told me, as well as I can remember, that he had estimated the cost
+from Kowloon to about ten miles north of Samchun at about £27,000 a
+mile, and from there on to Canton at £7,000 a mile. That seems to show
+that the country beyond these hills is flat and easy. The cutting,
+tunneling, and embanking required for the passage of a railway line
+through the continuous hills of the Kowloon Hinterland would be a very
+laborious undertaking. There is no long level stretch from Hong Kong
+harbour to the frontier; and the hills are mainly granite.
+
+Since the Hinterland has come into their possession the colonial
+authorities have made an excellent road from Kowloon into their new
+territory. It is carried up the steep hills and down again to the
+valleys in easy gradients. It is of more importance for military than
+for commercial purposes; as the peninsula produces so little and
+wheeled transport is unknown.
+
+The cession of the Hinterland in 1898 was very strongly resented by
+its few inhabitants. Owing to their poverty and inaccessibility, they
+were probably seldom plagued with visits from Chinese officials;
+and they objected to their sudden transfer to the care of the more
+energetic “foreign devils.” So when the Governor of Hong Kong arranged
+a dramatic scene to take place at the hoisting of the British flag on
+the frontier, and invitations were freely issued to the officials and
+their wives and the society in general of the island to be present
+on this historic occasion, the evil‐minded inhabitants prepared a
+surprise for them. The police and the guard of honour went out on the
+previous day to encamp on the ground on which the ceremony was to take
+place. To their consternation they found that the new subjects of the
+British Empire had dug a trench on the side of a hill close by, not
+800 yards from the spot on which the flagstaff was to be erected,
+and had occupied it in force, armed with jingals, matchlocks, Brown
+Besses, and old rifles—antique weapons certainly, but good enough to
+kill all the ladies and officials to be present next day. Information
+was immediately sent back to Hong Kong; and quite a little campaign
+was inaugurated. Companies of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, the Hong Kong
+Regiment, and the Hong Kong and Singapore Battalion Royal Artillery,
+with detachments of bluejackets, chased their new fellow‐subjects over
+the hills, exchanged shots with them, and captured enough ancient
+weapons to stock an armoury. Lieutenant Barrett, Hong Kong Regiment,
+while bathing in a pond in a Chinese village, discovered a number of
+old smooth‐bore cannons, which had been hurriedly thrown in there.
+Little resistance was made; but the picnic arrangements for the
+dramatic hoisting of the flag did not come off.
+
+The inhabitants of the peninsula were speedily reconciled to British
+rule and have since given no further trouble. A few European and Indian
+police constables, armed with carbines and revolvers, are stationed
+in it and patrol the country in pairs, frequently armed with no more
+lethal weapon than an umbrella.
+
+The possession of the Hinterland has strengthened enormously the
+defence of Hong Kong from the landward side. Three passes, about 1,500
+feet high, cross the last range of hills above Kowloon; and these can
+be easily guarded. The situation of a hostile army which had landed
+on the coast some distance away and endeavoured to march through the
+difficult and mountainous country of the mainland, would be hopeless
+in the presence of a strong defending force. Entangled in the narrow
+valleys, forced to cross a series of roadless passes over which even
+field‐guns must be carried bodily, fired at incessantly from the
+never‐ending hilltops, it would be unable to proceed far. A couple of
+regiments of Gurkhas or Pathans would be invaluable in such a country.
+Moving rapidly from hill to hill they could decimate the invaders
+almost with impunity to themselves.
+
+The garrison of Hong Kong previous to 1900 consisted of a few batteries
+R.A. to man the forts, some companies of the Asiatic Artillery or Hong
+Kong and Singapore Battalion Royal Artillery (a corps of Sikhs and
+Punjaubis raised in India for the defence of these two coast ports),
+one British infantry regiment, the Hong Kong Regiment (ten companies
+strong), and the Hong Kong Volunteers, Europeans, and Portuguese
+half‐castes. The Asiatic Artillery were armed with muzzle‐loading
+mountain guns. Such a force was absurdly small for such a large and
+important place. General Sir William Gascoigne, K.C.M.G.,
+was forced to still further denude it of troops in order to send
+men hurriedly to North China to defend Tientsin. He was left with
+his garrison companies of Royal Artillery, half of the Royal Welch
+Fusiliers and Asiatic Artillery, and four‐fifths of the Hong Kong
+Regiment. The situation would have been one of extreme danger had a
+rising occurred in Canton and the southern provinces; and two regiments
+of General Gaselee’s original force were stopped on their way to
+the North. The 3rd Madras Light Infantry, under Lieutenant‐Colonel
+Teversham, was composed of men of that now unwarlike presidency. But
+the 22nd Bombay Infantry, under the command of Lieutenant‐Colonel R.
+Baillie, was formed from the fighting races of Rajputana and Central
+India and won many encomiums for their smartness in manœuvres over
+the steep hills and their satisfactory work altogether.
+
+A story is told of a War Office official who, ignorant of the
+mountainous character of Hong Kong, wished to add a regiment of British
+cavalry to its garrison. The general in command at the time, being
+possessed of a keen sense of humour, gravely requested that the men
+should be mounted on goats, pointing out that no other animal would
+prove useful on the Hong Kong hills. But even in the mountainous
+country of the mainland mounted infantry would be of great use to
+enable commanding points to be speedily gained. When stationed in
+Kowloon I organised mounted infantry on mules captured in North
+China—splendid animals most of them, one standing fifteen hands high.
+Even in that broken and rugged country I found that the men could move
+swiftly around the bases of the hills, across the narrow valleys, and
+up the easier slopes at a speed that defied all pursuit from their
+comrades on foot. In an advance overland to Canton, mounted infantry
+would be invaluable when the flat and cultivated country past Samchun
+was reached; for cavalry would be useless in such closely intersected
+ground.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+ON COLUMN IN SOUTHERN CHINA
+
+
+A shallow, muddy river running between steep banks. On the grassy
+slopes of a conical hill the white tents of a camp. Before the
+quarter‐guard stands a Bombay Infantry sentry in khaki uniform and
+pugri, the butt of his Lee‐Metford rifle resting on the ground, his
+eyes turned across the river to where the paddy‐fields of Southern
+China stretch away to a blue range of distant hills. Figures in
+khaki or white undress move about the encampment or gather round
+the mud cooking‐places, where their frugal meal of _chupatties_ and
+curry is being prepared. A smart, well‐set‐up British officer passes
+down through the lines of tents and lounging sepoys spring swiftly
+to attention as he goes by. On the hilltop above a signaller waves
+his flag rapidly; and down below in the camp a Madrassi havildar
+spells out his message to a man beside him, who writes it down in a
+note‐book. Coolies loaded with supplies trudge wearily up the steep
+path. Before the tents four wicked‐looking little mountain guns turn
+their ugly muzzles longingly towards a walled town two thousand
+yards away across the stream, where spots of red and blue resolve
+themselves through a field‐glass into Chinese soldiers. All around
+on this side of the river the country lies in never‐ending hills and
+narrow valleys, with banked paddy‐fields in chess‐board pattern. And
+on these hills small horseshoe‐shaped masonry tombs or glazed, brown
+earthen‐ware pots containing the bones of deceased Chinamen fleck the
+grassy slopes. Across the stream the cultivation is interspersed with
+low, tree‐crowned eminences or dotted with villages. There on the
+boundary line, between China and the English territory of the Kowloon
+Hinterland, a small column guards our possessions against rebel and
+Imperial soldier, both possible enemies and restrained from violating
+British soil by the bayonets of the sepoys from our distant Eastern
+Empire. Twenty miles away Hong Kong lies ringed in by sapphire sea.
+From the land it has no danger to dread while a man of this small but
+resolute force guarding its frontier remains alive.
+
+The outburst of fanaticism in North China, the attacks on the foreign
+settlements in Tientsin and Pekin, the treachery of the Court, had
+their echo in the far‐off southern provinces. Canton, turbulent and
+hostile, has ever been a plague‐spot. Before now English and French
+troops have had to chasten its pride and teach its people that the
+outer barbarian claims a right to exist even on the sacred soil of
+China. In the troublous summer of 1900 10,000 Black Flags, the unruly
+banditti who long waged a harassing war against the French in Tonkin,
+were encamped near this populous city. Fears were rife in Hong Kong
+that, fired by exaggerated accounts of successes against the hated
+foreigners in the North and swelled by the fanatical population of the
+provinces of the two Kwangs, they might swarm down to the coast and
+attack our possessions on the mainland, or even endeavour to assail
+the island itself. Li Hung Chang, the Viceroy of Canton, had sounded a
+note of warning. Purporting to seek the better arming of his soldiery
+to enable him to cope with popular discontent, he induced the colonial
+authorities to allow him to import 40,000 new magazine rifles through
+Hong Kong; but there was no security that these weapons might not
+be turned against ourselves. As it was well known that the Imperial
+troops in the North had made common cause with the Boxers, the wisdom
+of permitting this free passage of modern arms may be questioned.
+Rumours of a rising among the Chinese in Victoria itself, of threatened
+invasion from the mainland, were rife; and the inhabitants of our
+colony in the Far East were badly scared. The first Indian brigade
+under General Gaselee passed up to the more certain danger in the
+North; but representations made to the home authorities caused the
+stopping of his two line‐of‐communication regiments, the 3rd Madras
+Light Infantry and 22nd Bombay Infantry, to strengthen the denuded
+garrison of Hong Kong. This and the subsequent detention of his 2nd
+Brigade to safeguard Shanghai left his command in the Allied Armies on
+the march to Pekin numerically weak and forced him into a subordinate
+position in the councils of the Generals. Hong Kong was by no means
+in such imminent peril; and the troops thus diverted would have made
+his force second only to the Japanese in strength, and enabled him to
+assert his authority more emphatically among the Allies.
+
+Pekin fell on August 14th, 1900. But long after that date this was
+not credited in Canton; and the wildest rumours were rife as to the
+splendid successes of the Chinese, who were represented as everywhere
+victorious. This large southern city is situated well under a hundred
+miles from Hong Kong, either by river or by land. It has constant
+intercourse with our colony; and large, flat‐bottomed steamers with
+passengers and cargo pass between the two places every day. Yet it
+was confidently stated in the vernacular newspapers, and everywhere
+believed, that two regiments from India arriving in Hong Kong Harbour
+had heard such appalling tales of the prowess of the Chinese braves
+that the terrified soldiers had jumped overboard from the transports
+and drowned themselves to a man. They had preferred an easy death to
+the awful tortures that they knew awaited them at the hands of the
+invincible Chinese. Long after the Court had fled in haste from Pekin
+and the capital had been in the hands of the Allies for months, their
+columns pushing out everywhere into the interior, it was asserted that
+all this apparent success was but a deep‐laid plan of the glorious
+Empress‐Dowager. She had thus enticed them into the heart of the land
+in order to cut them off from the sea. She now held them in the hollow
+of her hand. The luckless foreigners had abjectly appealed for mercy.
+Her tender heart had relented, and she had graciously promised to
+spare them in return for the restoration of all the territory hitherto
+wrested from China. Tientsin, Port Arthur, Kiao‐Chau, Shanghai, Tonkin,
+even Hong Kong, were being hastily surrendered. And such preposterous
+tales were readily believed.
+
+But another confusing element was introduced into the already
+sufficiently complicated situation. Canton and the South contains,
+besides the anti‐foreign party, a number of reformers who realise that
+China must stand in line with modern civilisation. Only thus will
+she become strong enough to resist the perpetual foreign aggression
+which deprives her of her best ports and slices off her most valuable
+seaboard territory. The energetic inhabitants of Canton freely emigrate
+to Hong Kong, Singapore, Penang, Australia, and America. There they
+learn to take a wider view of things than is possible in their own
+conservative country. When they return they spread their ideas, and
+are the nucleus of the already fairly numerous party of reform, who
+justly blame the misfortunes of China on the effete and narrow‐minded
+Government in Pekin and work to secure the downfall of the present
+Manchu dynasty. In the southern provinces they have their following;
+and rumours of a great uprising there against the corrupt officialdom,
+and even the throne itself, were rife in the autumn of 1900. The
+much‐talked‐of but little‐known Triad Society—who claimed to advocate
+reform, but who were regarded with suspicion, their tenets forbidden,
+and their followers imprisoned in Hong Kong—started a rebellion in
+the Kwang‐tung province. They were supposed to be led, or at least
+abetted, by Sun Yat Sen, an enlightened reformer. As the revolt began
+close to the Kowloon frontier, fears were expressed lest, despite their
+advertised views, the rebels should prove unfriendly to foreigners and
+invade our territory. Little was known of the progress of the movement.
+The Chinese Imperial Government, through the Viceroy of Canton, sent
+Admiral Ho with 4,000 troops to Samchun to suppress the rising. The
+rebels, hearing of his coming, moved farther inland. The soldiers,
+having no great stomach for bloodshed, generously forebore to follow,
+and settled themselves comfortably in and around the town. Lest either
+party should be tempted to infringe the neutrality of our territory,
+the Hong Kong newspapers urged the Governor to take immediate measures
+to safeguard our frontier. After some delay a small, compact column
+was despatched to the boundary under the command of Major E. A.
+Kettlewell, an officer of marked ability and energy, who had seen much
+service in Burma and in the Tirah, and who had had long and intimate
+connection with the Imperial Service troops in India. The composition
+of the force, known as the Frontier Field Force, was as under:—
+
+  _Commanding Officer._
+  Major E. A. Kettlewell, 22nd Bombay Infantry.
+
+  _Staff Officer._
+  Lieutenant Casserly, 22nd Bombay Infantry.
+
+  _Troops._
+
+  Three Companies, 22nd Bombay Infantry, under Captain Hatherell and
+  Lieutenants Melville and Burke.
+
+  Four mountain guns and 50 men, Hong Kong and Singapore Battalion
+  Royal Artillery, under Lieutenants Saunders and Ogilvie.
+
+  Detachment Royal Engineers (British and Chinese sappers), under
+  Lieutenant Rundle, R.E.
+
+  Maxim Gun Detachment, 22nd Bombay Infantry, under Jemadar Lalla
+  Rawat.
+
+  Signallers, 3rd Madras Light Infantry, under Captain Sharpe.
+
+  Section of Indian Field Hospital, under Captain Woolley, I.M.S.
+
+With the mobility of Indian troops the column embarked within a few
+hours after the receipt of orders on a flotilla of steam launches,
+which were to convey us along the coast to Deep Bay, and thence up the
+Samchun River to the threatened point on the frontier. Stores, tents,
+and a few mules to carry the Maxim and ammunition, as well as to
+supplement coolie transport, were towed in junks.
+
+Our tiny vessels loaded down with their living freight, the sepoys
+excited at the prospect of a fight, we steam away from Kowloon and
+out through the crowded harbour. We pass a number of torpedo‐boat
+destroyers and a small fleet of obsolete gunboats rusting in
+inglorious ease. To our right, with its huge cylindrical oil‐tanks
+standing up like giant drums and its docks containing an American
+man‐o’‐war, lies the crowded Chinese quarter of Yaumati. Above it
+towers the long chain of hills, their dark sides marked with the white
+streak of the new road that crosses their summit into the Hinterland.
+On the left is Hong Kong, the Peak with the windows of its houses
+flashing in the sun, the city at its feet in shadow. We pass the long,
+straggling Stonecutter’s Island, with the solid granite walls of its
+abandoned prison, the tree‐clad hills and the sharp outlines of forts.
+In among an archipelago of islands, large and small, we steam; and
+ahead of us lies the narrow channel of the Cap‐sui‐moon Pass between
+Lantau and the lesser islet of Mah Wan. On the latter are the buildings
+of the Customs station—the Imperial Maritime Customs of China. High
+hills on islands and mainland tower above us on every side. The lofty
+peak of Tai‐mo‐shan stands up in the brilliant sunlight. The coast is
+grim with rugged cliffs or gay with the grassy slopes of hills running
+down to the white fringe of beach. Bluff headlands, black, glistening
+rocks on which the foam‐flecked waves break incessantly, dark caverns,
+and tiny bays line the shore. A lumbering junk, with high, square stern
+and rounded bows—on which are painted large eyes, that the ship may
+see her way—bears down upon us with huge mat sails and its lolling
+crew gazing over the side in wonderment at the fierce, dark soldiers. A
+small sampan dances over the waves, two muscular women pushing at the
+long oars and the inevitable children seated on its narrow deck.
+
+Along the coast we steam, gazing at its interminable masses of green
+hills, until it suddenly recedes into a wide bay surrounded on every
+side by high land. This is Deep Bay, an expanse twenty‐five miles in
+extent which, though now covered by the sea, becomes at low tide one
+vast mud flat, with a small stream winding through the noisome ooze.
+Towards the land on the right we head. Far out from shore lies a trim,
+white gunboat. From the stern floats the yellow Imperial standard of
+China with its sprawling dragon; for the vessel belongs to the Maritime
+Customs Service. On the decks brass machine‐guns glitter. A European in
+white clothing watches us through binoculars from the poop. The Chinese
+crew in blue uniforms, with pigtails coiled up under their straw hats,
+are spreading an awning.
+
+At length we reach the mouth of the Samchun River, a small tidal
+stream, which, when the sea is low, is scarcely eighteen inches deep.
+Up between its winding banks we steam. High hills rise up on each side.
+We pray that neither rebel nor hostile Imperial soldier is waiting here
+to stop our coming; for a machine‐gun or a few rifles would play havoc
+with our men crowded together on the little launches. Up the river
+we go in single file, playing “follow my leader” as the first launch
+swings sharply round the frequent curves. By virtue of my position
+“on the Staff,” I am aboard it and am consequently resentful when a
+bump and a prolonged scraping under the keel tell us that we have gone
+aground. The next launch avoids the shoal and passes us, its occupants
+flinging sarcastic remarks and unkind jibes at us as they go by. But
+“pride cometh before a fall,” and a little farther on their Chinese
+steersman runs them high and dry. Then the others leave us behind until
+by dint of poling we float again and follow in their wake. Round a bend
+in the river we swing; and ahead of us we see a number of weird‐looking
+Chinese war‐junks. From their masts stream huge pennants and gaudy
+flags of many colours; on their decks stand old muzzle‐loading,
+smooth‐bore cannon. Their high, square sterns tower above the banks.
+The motley‐garbed crews are squatting about, engaged with chop‐sticks
+and bowls of rice. The sudden appearance of our flotilla crowded with
+armed men startles them. They drop their food and spring up to stare
+at us, uncertain whether to bolt ashore or continue their interrupted
+meal. Seeing no signs of hostility on our part, they grin placatingly
+and shout remarks to us, the tenor of which it is perhaps as well
+that we do not understand. These are Government war‐junks and, like
+the Customs steamer outside, are stationed here to prevent assistance
+reaching the rebels from the sea; but anyone who had successfully
+forced their way past the gunboat would have little to fear from these
+ill‐armed Noah’s Arks. Close by stand a few substantial buildings—a
+Customs station. From the verandah of a bungalow two white men in
+charge of it watch us as we go by.
+
+As evening was closing in we reached the spot selected for our first
+camping‐ground and disembarked. On our side of the river a few
+hundred yards of level ground ran back to the steep, bare slopes of a
+straggling hill which rose to a conical peak five hundred feet above
+our heads. All around lay similar eminences, their grassy sides devoid
+of trees. Behind us the Hinterland stretched away to the south in range
+after range of barren mountains divided by narrow, cultivated valleys.
+Beyond the river lay a plain patched with paddy‐fields or broken by
+an occasional low hill. In it, little more than a mile away, stood
+the walled town of Samchun. The British and Indian police in the new
+territory had been instructed to give us intelligence of any hostile
+movements in the neighbourhood; and from them we learned that no
+immediate danger was to be apprehended. Nevertheless all precautionary
+measures to guard against a possible surprise were taken; for Admiral
+Ho’s troops still lingered in Samchun, and considerable doubt existed
+as to their attitude towards the British. Piquets having been posted
+and a strong guard placed over the ammunition and supplies, the men
+cooked their evening meal and bivouacked for the night. But sleep was
+almost impossible. The heat was intense. We had evidently intruded upon
+a favourite haunt of the mosquitoes who attacked us with malignant
+persistence until dawn.
+
+The following day was employed in strengthening our position,
+reconnoitring our surroundings and laying out our camp. Our arrival
+had evidently taken the Chinese army across the river completely
+by surprise. From the hill, on which our tents stood, Samchun was
+plainly visible about 2,000 yards away; and our field‐glasses showed
+a great commotion in the town. Soldiers poured out of the gates or
+crowded on to the walls and gazed in consternation—apparent even at
+that distance—at the British force that had so suddenly put in an
+appearance on the scene. They were evidently extremely dubious as
+to our intentions; and we watched the troops falling in hurriedly
+and being marshalled under an imposing array of banners. When the
+Hinterland had been ceded to us, Samchun had at first been included,
+and was for a short time occupied by us; but the boundary was
+afterwards fixed at the river as being a natural frontier, and the town
+was restored to the Chinese. They apparently feared that we had changed
+our minds and contemplated appropriating it again. As our column made
+no move—for our orders had been not to enter Chinese territory or
+take any hostile action unless attacked—they soon disappeared into
+the town again. Later on, on a hill that rose close to the river on
+their side of the boundary‐line, a regiment appeared and observed us
+narrowly all day, endeavouring to keep out of sight themselves as much
+as possible. It was very tantalising to see the materials for a pretty
+little fight ready to hand being wasted, and we longed for the smallest
+hostile act on their part to give us an excuse for one. But none came;
+and we sighed discontentedly at the loss of such a golden opportunity.
+Although the Chinese force numbered 4,000, armed with guns, Mausers and
+Winchesters, and our column counted barely 400 all told, we felt little
+doubt as to the result of a fight between us.
+
+By the following morning Admiral Ho and his mandarins had evidently
+come to the conclusion that we were more dangerous neighbours than
+the rebels; so he proceeded to move off from our vicinity. All that
+day and the next we watched bodies of troops, clad in long red or
+blue coats, with enormous straw hats slung like shields on their
+backs or covering their heads like giant mushrooms, marching out of
+the town and stringing out into single file along the narrow paths
+between the paddy‐fields as they moved off into the mountains beyond
+Samchun. Above their heads waved innumerable banners—green, red, blue,
+parti‐coloured, or striped in many lines horizontally or vertically. By
+the following evening all had disappeared, with the exception of about
+400, as we afterwards ascertained, left behind to garrison the town.
+This forlorn hope, I doubt not, were none too well pleased at remaining
+in such unpleasant proximity to us.
+
+Our arrival at the frontier was undoubtedly responsible for the
+retirement of Admiral Ho’s army. For he had been for some time
+comfortably settled in Samchun without evincing the least anxiety
+to follow up the rebels, who were reported to be laying waste the
+country farther on, pillaging the villages, torturing the officials,
+and levying taxes on the inhabitants. His departure removed a constant
+source of danger; for his undisciplined troops might have been tempted
+to cross the boundary into our territory and harass the villagers under
+our protection.
+
+We now employed ourselves in patrolling the frontier, exercising
+the troops and making sketches to supplement the very inadequate
+information as to the surrounding country in our possession. Although
+the Hinterland had been ceded to the British two years before, and
+although it lies in such close proximity to Hong Kong, no accurate
+survey of it had ever been made. The only map which could be found
+to provide the expedition with was one done by a Jesuit missionary
+in 1840. It was fairly correct as regards outlines, but contained
+absolutely no details except a number of names, which might refer to
+villages or to features of the ground. For instance, at the spot on
+the map where our camp stood, we read the word “Lo‐u.” This, before we
+arrived there, we concluded referred to a village. But there was not a
+house in the vicinity, and we found that it was the name of the hill on
+which our tents were pitched. Our energetic commander employed himself
+in surveying and filling in the details of the surrounding country,
+marking the positions of the hamlets and paths—for roads there were
+none—and ascertaining the ranges and heights of the various prominent
+features around us.
+
+About a mile away down the river lay the Chinese Customs station that
+we had passed on our way up. I strolled there one afternoon and made
+the acquaintance of the officers in charge. They were both Britishers.
+One of them, Mr. Percy Affleck‐Scott, told me that our arrival had
+been a great relief to them. When the rebels had been in the vicinity
+they had received several messages from the leaders who threatened to
+march down upon their station, burn it, and cut their heads off. In
+view of the repeated declarations of the Triads, that no hostility is
+felt by them to foreigners, these threats are significant. As they had
+little reliance on the prowess of the Chinese soldiers if attacked by
+the rebels, these two Britishers had been considerably relieved at the
+arrival of our force, in whose neighbourhood they knew that they would
+be safe.
+
+The position of the European Custom House officials in the Outdoor
+Branch, stationed as they generally are in out‐of‐the‐way places in
+Chinese territory with no society of their own kind, is scarcely
+enviable. Their work, which consists in levying duty on imports into
+the country, frequently brings them into unpleasant contact with
+Chinese officials, who regard the existence of their service with
+intense dislike, as it robs them of chances of extortion. Those
+employed in the Indoor Branch are generally stationed in cities like
+Hong Kong, Shanghai, Pekin, or other large centres where life is
+enjoyable.
+
+When visiting the Samchun Custom House on another occasion, at a later
+period, I saw a number of small, two‐pounder rifled breechloading
+guns belonging to Admiral Ho’s force being embarked on a war‐junk.
+I examined them with interest. They were mounted on small‐wheeled
+carriages and bore the stamp of the Chinese arsenal where they had been
+made. The breech ends were square, with a falling block worked by a
+lever at the side. They were well finished; for the work turned out at
+these arsenals by native workmen, often under European supervision, is
+generally very good.
+
+Early one morning, a few days after Admiral Ho’s departure, the camp
+was roused by a sudden alarm. About four a.m., when it was still pitch
+dark, we were awakened by the sound of heavy firing in the Chinese
+territory. The continuous rattle of small arms and the deeper booming
+of field‐guns were distinctly audible. We rushed out of our tents and
+the troops got ready to fall in. The firing seemed to come from the
+immediate neighbourhood of Samchun; and it appeared that a desperate
+fight was in full swing. Our impression was that the rebels, learning
+of Ho’s departure, had eluded his force and doubled back to attack the
+town, which, being wealthy, would have proved a tempting prize. We
+gazed from the hillside in the direction from which the sound came;
+but a thick mist lay over the fields beyond the river and prevented
+the flashes from being visible. We waited impatiently for daylight.
+The rattle of rifle‐firing now broke out suddenly from around the
+Customs station; and we trembled for the safety of Affleck‐Scott
+and his companion. As the sound came no nearer in our direction, it
+became evident that no hostile movement against us was intended. We
+cursed the tardy daylight. At last day broke; but still the low‐lying
+mists obscured our view of the town and the plain beyond the river.
+Then the sun rose. The fog slowly cleared away. We looked eagerly
+towards Samchun, expecting, as the firing still continued, to see the
+contending forces engaged in deadly battle. But to our surprise,
+though every house in the town, every field and bank around it, stood
+out distinct in the clear light, scarcely a human being was visible.
+Before the gates a few soldiers lounged about unconcernedly. But the
+firing still continued. We could see nothing to account for it and
+began to wonder if it was a battle of phantoms. Gradually it died away
+and left us still bewildered. Later on in the day came the explanation.
+In view of our imaginary combat it was simple and ludicrous. The day
+was one of the innumerable Chinese festivals; and the inhabitants of
+Samchun and the neighbouring villages had been ushering it in in the
+usual Celestial fashion with much burning of crackers and exploding
+of bombs. To anyone who has heard the extraordinary noise of Chinese
+fireworks, which accurately reproduces the rattle of musketry and
+the booming of guns, our mistake is excusable. At the attack on the
+Peiyang Arsenal outside Tientsin, on June 27th, 1900, by the British,
+Americans, and Russians, the Chinese defenders, before evacuating it
+when hard pressed, laid strings of crackers along the walls. As our
+marines and bluejackets, with the Americans, advanced to the final
+assault these were set fire to. The explosions sounded like a very
+heavy fusillade and the assailants took cover. The Chinese meanwhile
+bolted out of the arsenal and got safely away before the attackers
+discovered the trick and stormed the place.
+
+A week or two after this false alarm, I obtained permission to cross
+into Chinese territory and visit Samchun. The town looked very
+interesting at a distance, with its high walls and two square stone
+towers, which were in reality pawn‐shops. For these establishments in
+China are looked upon as safe deposit offices. A rich man about to
+leave home for any length of time removes his valuables to the nearest
+pawn‐shop and there stores them. They are the first places attacked
+when a band of robbers seizes some small town, as frequently happens.
+So they are built in the form of strong towers with the entrance
+generally several feet from the ground, in order that the proprietor
+and his friends may retire within and defend them.
+
+Accompanied by Captain Woolley, I.M.S., I set out to visit the
+town, having received many injunctions to be careful not to embroil
+ourselves with the inhabitants or the soldiery, who were not likely
+to prove over friendly. We were provided with interpreters in the
+persons of a Chinese policeman in British employ and a Sikh constable
+who had learned to converse very well in the language of the country.
+As we intended to make a formal call on the mandarin in command of
+Samchun and had heard that in China a man’s importance is gauged
+by the size of his visiting‐card, we wrote our names on sheets of
+foolscap—the largest pieces of paper we could find. Red, however, is
+the proper colour. In mufti and taking no weapons, we left the camp
+and crossed the river in a small, flat‐bottomed ferry‐boat. Landed on
+the far side, we set off along the tops of the mud banks between the
+paddy‐fields, the only roads available. Those which are used as general
+paths are laid with flat stones, which, not being fastened in any
+way, occasionally tilt up and slide about in a disconcerting manner.
+As we neared the town we were observed with interest by a number of
+Chinese soldiers lounging about in front of the principal gateway. We
+felt a little nervous as to our reception but putting a bold face on
+the matter directed our way towards them. We were stopped, however,
+by our Chinese policeman, who told us that we should not approach
+this entrance as it faced the mandarin’s Yamen and was reserved for
+important individuals. We being _merely_ foreigners—this although
+he was in British employment!—must seek admittance through the back
+gate into the town. Irritated at his insolent tone, the Sikh constable
+shoved him aside, and we approached the guard. The soldiers, though not
+openly hostile—for the white tents of our camp, plainly visible across
+the river, had a sobering effect—treated us with scarcely‐veiled
+contempt. On our Sikh interpreter informing them that we were English
+officers who had come to visit their mandarin, they airily replied
+that that dignitary was asleep and could not see us. Annoyed at
+their impertinent manner, we ordered them to go and wake him. Rather
+impressed by our audacity, they held a consultation. Then one went
+into the Yamen. He returned in a few minutes with a message to the
+effect that the mandarin regretted that he could not see us as he was
+not dressed. Seeing the effect of our previous curtness, we haughtily
+bade the soldier tell the mandarin to put on his clothes at once; see
+him we must. Visibly impressed this time, he hastened inside again and
+promptly returned with an invitation to enter the Yamen. We passed
+through the gate with as important an air as we could assume. It had
+been a game of bluff on both sides and we had won; for on the verandah
+of the house inside the entrance we were received by the mandarin,
+correctly attired. With hands folded over each other, he bowed low
+and led the way into the interior. The room was small and plainly
+furnished. High‐backed, uncomfortable chairs stood round a square
+blackwood table. On the walls hung crude pictures or tablets painted
+with Chinese characters. Our host, who was really a most courteous old
+gentleman, bowed again and, pointing to the chairs, begged us—as we
+judged from his manner—to be seated. We politely refused until he had
+taken a chair himself. He then addressed us in sing‐song Chinese words,
+which our Sikh interpreter assured us were an expression of the honour
+he felt at our condescending to visit such an unworthy individual. We
+framed our reply in equally humble terms. He then inquired the reason
+of the coming of our force to the frontier. We informed him that it
+was merely to guard our territory from invasion and assured him that
+we had no evil designs on Samchun. He pretended to feel satisfied at
+this, but doubt evidently still lingered in his mind. The conversation
+then dragged on spasmodically until we asked his permission to visit
+the town. He seemed to hail our request with relief as a chance of
+politely ridding himself of us and ordered four soldiers to get ready
+to accompany us as an escort. One of the attendants, at a sign from
+him, then left the room and returned with three little cups covered
+with brass saucers.
+
+“Now we shall taste really high‐class Chinese tea,” said Woolley to me
+in an undertone.
+
+We removed the saucers. The cups were filled with boiling water. At
+the bottom lay a few black twigs and leaves. Imitating the mandarin’s
+actions, we raised our cups in both hands and tried to drink the hot
+and tasteless contents. The Chinese tea was a distinct failure.
+
+A few black, formidable‐looking cigars were now placed upon the table.
+Mindful of the vile odours that inevitably possess the filthy streets
+of the native towns in China, we took some. Then as our escort appeared
+in the courtyard in front of the house, we rose. Expressing profuse
+thanks to our courteous host through the interpreter, we folded our
+hands and bowed ourselves out in the politest Chinese fashion.
+
+Following our military guides, we entered the town. They led us
+first to the house of a lesser mandarin, whom we visited. He was
+as surly as his superior was amiable. He very speedily ordered tea
+for us as a sign of dismissal. However, as a mark of attention, he
+sent two lantern‐bearers to accompany us. Quitting him with little
+hesitation, we followed our escort and plunged again into the town.
+The streets were narrow and indescribably filthy. Deep, open drains
+bordered them, filled with refuse. Extending our arms, we could nearly
+touch the houses on each side. On either hand were shops, some with
+glass‐windowed fronts, others open to the street. Some were fairly
+extensive, filled with garments or rolls of cloth. Others exhibited for
+sale clocks, cheap embroidery, tinsel jewellery, or common pottery.
+Every third one at least sold food, raw or cooked. Dried fish or ducks
+split open, the heads and necks of the latter attached to the bodies;
+pork, meat, and sucking‐pigs; rice, flour, or vegetables. Near one shop
+stood a grinning Chinaman who spoke to us in pidgin‐English. Beside him
+was an open barrel filled with what looked like dried prunes. I pointed
+to them and asked what they were.
+
+“That?” he said, popping one into his mouth and munching it with
+evident relish. “That belong cocky‐loachee. Velly good!”
+
+They were dried cockroaches!
+
+Farther on another pig‐tailed individual spoke to us in fluent English
+with a Yankee twang.
+
+“Do you live in Samchun?” I asked him, in surprise.
+
+“Not much, you bet!” he replied. “I don’t belong to this darned country
+any more. I live in ’Frisco.”
+
+He explained that he had come to Hong Kong as a sailor on an American
+vessel, and had wandered out to Samchun to see a relative. With a “So
+long, boss!” from him we passed on.
+
+Every fifth or sixth house was a gambling‐den. Around the tables were
+seated Chinamen of all ages engaged in playing _fan‐tan_, that slowest
+and most exasperating of all methods of “plunging.” The interiors of
+these establishments were gay with much elaborate gilt carving.
+
+It was now growing dark, and our lantern‐bearers lighted the paper
+lamps swinging at the end of long sticks they carried. We directed
+our escort to lead us out of the town. We wished to dismiss them at
+the gate; but they assured the interpreter that their orders were
+strict—not to quit us until they had seen us safely out of Chinese
+territory. So we made our way to the river. Arrived there, my companion
+and I discussed the question as to whether we should reward our escort
+with a tip or whether they would be insulted, being soldiers, at the
+offer. Finally we resolved to give them a dollar. If they did not look
+satisfied, we would increase the amount. So a bright English dollar
+was handed to the Sikh to be given to them. Satisfied! They seemed as
+if they had never seen such wealth before. They crowded round us with
+voluble thanks; and with quite an affecting farewell we went down to
+the water’s edge. To our surprise we found our commanding officer with
+a party of armed sepoys crossing over to us in the ferry‐boat. Alarmed
+at our long absence, he had feared that something untoward had happened
+to us and was coming in search of us. When we arrived at the camp we
+found the others rather uneasy about us; though some cheerfully assured
+us that they had been hoping that the Chinese had at least captured us
+to give them an excuse for attacking and looting Samchun.
+
+Shortly afterwards, interested at our description of our adventures,
+our commanding officer determined to visit Samchun. A letter in Chinese
+was sent to the mandarin to acquaint him with our chief’s intention.
+Next morning we were surprised by the sight of eight Chinese soldiers,
+armed with carbines and accompanied by the Sikh interpreter, crossing
+the river and ascending the path to the camp. As they approached the
+tents our sepoys, anxious to see the redoubtable warriors at close
+range, rushed out and flocked round them. Terrified at the sight of
+these strange black men, the Chinese soldiers dropped on their knees,
+flung their carbines on the ground, and held up their hands in abject
+supplication, entreating the interpreter to beg the fierce‐looking
+foreign devils not to beat them. The sepoys roared with laughter,
+patted them on the backs, and bore them off to their tents to soothe
+them with tea and cigarettes. The Sikh constable was the bearer of a
+message from the mandarin, expressing his pleasure at the intended
+visit of our commandant and informing him that an escort had been sent
+as a mark of honour. Accompanied by twenty of our tallest sepoys we
+crossed the river and set out for Samchun.
+
+As we approached the town we found that the whole garrison of 400 men
+had been turned out to welcome us and were formed up to line the road
+near the gate of the Yamen. Fourteen huge banners of many colours
+waved above the ranks. In front of the entrance stood the mandarin and
+his suite in their gala dress, waiting to receive us. Our commanding
+officer had ridden up on his Arab charger, which must have seemed
+an immense horse to the Chinamen present, accustomed only to the
+diminutive ponies of their own country. The mandarin came forward to
+welcome our chief and apologised for not receiving him with a salute of
+cannon, as, he said, he had been afraid of startling his steed!
+
+While compliments were being exchanged, I walked down the ranks of the
+Chinese troops and inspected them closely. They were nearly all small
+and miserable‐looking men, clad in long red or blue coats, with huge
+straw hats. They were armed with single‐loading Mausers or Winchester
+repeating carbines. I looked at a few of these. The outside of the
+barrels were bright and had evidently been cleaned with emery paper;
+but inside they were completely choked with rust and the weapons were
+absolutely useless. The men were evidently merely coolies, hurriedly
+impressed by the mandarins when called upon by the Viceroy of Canton
+to produce the troops for whom they regularly drew pay. This is a
+favourite device of the corrupt Chinese officials, who receive an
+allowance to keep up a certain number of soldiers. They buy and store
+a corresponding number of uniforms and rifles. When warned of an
+approaching inspection by some higher authority, they gather in coolies
+and clothe and arm them for the duration of his visit. The superior
+official—his own palm having been well greased—forbears to inspect
+them too closely, and departs to report to the Viceroy of the province
+that the troops are of excellent quality. Then the uniforms and rifles
+are returned to store, and the coolies dismissed with—or more probably
+without—a few cents to recompense them for their trouble.
+
+Latterly in the North this does not always occur; and some of the
+troops, trained by foreigners and armed with the latest quick‐firing
+guns and magazine rifles, are very good. The Imperial forces which
+opposed Admiral Seymour’s advance and attacked Tientsin were of very
+different calibre to those employed in the suppression of the Triad
+rebellion. The shooting of their gunners and riflemen was excellent.
+The army of Yuan‐Shi‐Kai, who was Governor of the province of Shantung
+during the troubles in the North, is a good example of what Chinese
+soldiers can be when well trained.
+
+The interview between the mandarin of Samchun and our commanding
+officer was an elaborate repetition of my own experience. The visit
+over, we entered the town, inspected some of the temples, and bought
+some curiosities in the shops. Then, escorted by our original party of
+Chinese soldiers, we returned to the river.
+
+At the end of November we were roused one night by urgent messages
+from the British police in the Hinterland to the effect that parties
+of rebels were hovering on the frontier and it was feared that they
+intended to raid across into our territory. In response to their
+request, a strong party was sent out at once to reinforce them. About
+four a.m. a European police sergeant arrived in breathless haste with
+the information that the rebels had crossed the boundary and seized two
+villages lying inside our border. They had fired on the police patrols.
+Two companies of the 22nd Bombay Infantry, under Captain Hatherell and
+Lieutenant Burke, fell in promptly and marched off under the guidance
+of two Sikh policemen sent for the purpose. Preceded by scouts and a
+strong advanced guard, under a Pathan native officer, Subhedar Khitab
+Gul, they bore down at daybreak on the villages reported captured. But
+the rebels had apparently received information of their coming and
+had fled back across the border. The troops, bitterly disappointed at
+being deprived of a fight, returned about nine a.m. to camp, where the
+remainder of the force had been ready to support them if necessary.
+
+No further attempts were ever made against our territory, and shortly
+afterwards the Frontier Field Force returned to headquarters.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+IN THE PORTUGUESE COLONY OF MACAO
+
+
+Forty miles from Hong Kong, hidden away among the countless islands
+that fringe the entrance to the estuary of the Chukiang or Pearl
+River, lies the Portuguese settlement of Macao. Once flourishing and
+prosperous, the centre of European trade with Southern China, it is now
+decaying and almost unknown—killed by the competition of its young and
+successful rival. Long before Elizabeth ascended the throne of England
+the venturesome Portuguese sailors and merchants had reached the Far
+East. There they carried their country’s flag over seas where now it
+never flies. An occasional gunboat represents in Chinese waters their
+once powerful and far‐roaming navy.
+
+In the island of Lampacao, off the south‐eastern coast, their traders
+were settled, pushing their commerce with the mainland. In 1557 the
+neighbouring peninsula of Macao was ceded to them in token of the
+Chinese Emperor’s gratitude for their aid in destroying the power of a
+pirate chief who had long held sway in the seas around. The Dutch, the
+envious rivals of the Portuguese in the East, turned covetous eyes on
+the little colony which speedily began to flourish. In 1622 the troops
+in Macao were despatched to assist the Chinese against the Tartars.
+Taking advantage of their absence, the Governor of the Dutch East
+Indies fitted out a fleet to capture their city. In the June of that
+year the hostile ships appeared off Macao and landed a force to storm
+the fort. The valiant citizens fell upon and defeated the invaders; and
+the Dutch sailed away baffled. Until the early part of the nineteenth
+century the Portuguese paid an annual tribute of five hundred taels to
+the Chinese Government in acknowledgment of their nominal suzerainty.
+In 1848, the then Governor, Ferreira Amaral, refused to continue this
+payment and expelled the Chinese officials from the colony. In 1887,
+the independence of Macao was formally admitted by the Emperor in a
+treaty to that effect.
+
+But the palmy days of its commerce died with the birth of Hong Kong.
+The importance of the Portuguese settlement has dwindled away. Macao
+is but a relic of the past. Its harbour is empty. The sea around has
+silted up with the detritus from the Pearl River until now no large
+vessels can approach. A small trade in tea, tobacco, opium, and silk is
+all that is left. The chief revenue is derived from the taxes levied on
+the numerous Chinese gambling‐houses in the city, which have gained for
+it the title of the Monte Carlo of the East.
+
+Macao is situated on a small peninsula connected by a long, narrow
+causeway with the island of Heung Shan. The town faces southward and,
+sheltered by another island from the boisterous gales of the China
+seas, is yet cooled by the refreshing breezes of the south, from which
+quarter the wind blows most of the year in that latitude. Victoria in
+our colony, on the other hand, is cut off from them by the high Peak
+towering above it; and its climate in consequence is hot and steamy in
+the long and unpleasant summer. So Macao is, then, a favourite resort
+of the citizens of Hong Kong. The large, flat‐bottomed steamer that
+runs between the two places is generally crowded on Saturdays with
+inhabitants of the British colony, going to spend the week‐end on the
+cooler rival island.
+
+The commercial competition of Macao is no longer to be dreaded. But
+this decaying Portuguese possession has recently acquired a certain
+importance in the eyes of the Hong Kong authorities and our statesmen
+in England by the fears of French aggression aroused by apparent
+endeavours to gain a footing in Macao. Attempts have been made to
+purchase property in it in the name of the French Government which
+are suspected to be the thin end of the wedge. Although the colony
+is not dangerous in the hands of its present possessors, it might
+become so in the power of more enterprising neighbours. Were it
+occupied by the French a much larger garrison would be required in
+Hong Kong. Of course, any attempt to invade our colony from Macao
+would be difficult; as the transports could not be convoyed by any
+large warships owing to the shallowness of the sea between the two
+places until Hong Kong harbour is reached. One battleship or cruiser,
+even without the assistance of the forts, should suffice to blow out
+of the water any vessels of sufficiently light draught to come out of
+the port of Macao. If any specially constructed, powerfully armed,
+shallow‐draught men‐o’‐war—which alone would be serviceable—were
+sent out from Europe, their arrival would be noted and their purpose
+suspected. Still an opportunity might be seized when our China squadron
+was elsewhere engaged and the garrison of Hong Kong denuded. On the
+whole, the Portuguese are preferable neighbours to the aggressive
+French colonial party, which is constantly seeking to extend its
+influence in Southern China. In 1802 and again in 1808 Macao was
+occupied by us as a precaution against its seizure by the French.
+
+When garrison duty in Hong Kong during the damp, hot days of the summer
+palled, I once took ten days’ leave to the pleasanter climate of Macao.
+I embarked in Victoria in one of the large, shallow‐draught steamers
+of the Hong Kong, Canton, and Macao Steamboat Company, which keeps up
+the communication between the English and Portuguese colonies and the
+important Chinese city by a fleet of some half‐dozen vessels. With the
+exception of one, they are all large and roomy craft from 2,000 to
+3,000 tons burden. They run to, and return from, Canton twice daily
+on week‐days. One starts from Hong Kong to Macao every afternoon and
+returns the following morning, except on Sundays. Between Macao and
+Canton they ply three times a week. The fares are not exorbitant—from
+Hong Kong to Macao three dollars, to Canton five, each way; between
+Macao and Canton three. The Hong Kong dollar in 1901 was worth about
+1_s._ 10_d._
+
+The steamer on which I made the short passage to Macao was the
+_Heungshan_ (1,998 tons). She was a large shallow‐draught vessel,
+painted white for the sake of coolness. She was mastless, with one
+high funnel, painted black; the upper deck was roomy and almost
+unobstructed. The sides between it and the middle deck were open; and a
+wide promenade lay all round the outer bulkheads of the cabins on the
+latter. Extending from amid‐ships to near the bows were the first‐class
+state‐rooms and a spacious, white‐and‐gold‐panelled saloon. For’ard of
+this the deck was open. Shaded by the upper deck overhead, this formed
+a delightful spot to laze in long chairs and gaze over the placid
+water of the land‐locked sea at the ever‐changing scenery. Aft on the
+same deck was the second‐class accommodation. Between the outer row of
+cabins round the sides a large open space was left. This was crowded
+with fat and prosperous‐looking Chinamen, lolling on chairs or mats,
+smoking long‐stemmed pipes with tiny bowls and surrounded by piles of
+luggage.
+
+Below, on the lower deck, were herded the third‐class passengers,
+all Chinese coolies. The companion‐ways leading up to the main deck
+were closed by padlocked iron gratings. At the head of each stood an
+armed sentry, a half‐caste or Chinese quartermaster in bluejacket‐like
+uniform and naval straw hat. He was equipped with carbine and revolver;
+and close by him was a rack of rifles and cutlasses. All the steamers
+plying between Hong Kong, Macao, and Canton are similarly guarded; for
+the pirates who infest the Pearl River and the network of creeks near
+its mouth have been known to embark on them as innocent coolies and
+then suddenly rise, overpower the crew and seize the ship. For these
+vessels, besides conveying specie and cargo, have generally a number of
+wealthy Chinese passengers aboard, who frequently carry large sums of
+money with them.
+
+The _Heungshan_ cast off from the crowded, bustling wharf and threaded
+her way out of Hong Kong harbour between the numerous merchant ships
+lying at anchor. In between Lantau and the mainland we steamed over the
+placid water of what seemed an inland lake. The shallow sea is here so
+covered with islands that it is generally as smooth as a mill‐pond.
+Past stately moving junks and fussy little steam launches we held our
+way. Islands and mainland rising in green hills from the water’s edge
+hemmed in the narrow channel. In about two and a half hours we sighted
+Macao. We saw ahead of us a low eminence covered with the buildings of
+a European‐looking town. Behind it rose a range of bleak mountains.
+We passed along by a gently curving bay lined with houses and fringed
+with trees, rounded a cape, and entered the natural harbour which
+lies between low hills. It was crowded with junks and sampans. In the
+middle lay a trim Portuguese gunboat, the _Zaire_, three‐masted, with
+white superstructure and funnel and black hull. The small Canton‐Macao
+steamer was moored to the wharf.
+
+The quay was lined with Chinese houses, two‐ or three‐storied, with
+arched verandahs. The _Heungshan_ ran alongside, the hawsers were
+made fast, and gangways run ashore. The Chinese passengers, carrying
+their baggage, trooped on to the wharf. One of them in his hurry
+knocked roughly against a Portuguese Customs officer who caught him
+by the pigtail and boxed his ears in reward for his awkwardness. It
+was a refreshing sight after the pampered and petted way in which the
+Chinaman is treated by the authorities in Hong Kong. There the lowest
+coolie can be as impertinent as he likes to Europeans, for he knows
+that the white man who ventures to chastise him for his insolence will
+be promptly summoned to appear before a magistrate and fined. Our
+treatment of the subject races throughout our Empire errs chiefly in
+its lack of common justice to the European.
+
+Seated in a ricksha, pulled and pushed by two coolies up steep
+streets, I was finally deposited at the door of the Boa Vista Hotel.
+This excellent hostelry—which the French endeavoured to secure for a
+naval hospital, and which has since been purchased by the Portuguese
+Government—was picturesquely situated on a low hill overlooking the
+town. The ground on one side fell sharply down to the sea which lapped
+the rugged rocks and sandy beach two or three hundred feet below. On
+the other, from the foot of the hill, a pretty bay with a tree‐shaded
+esplanade—called the Praia Grande—stretched away to a high cape about
+a mile distant. The bay was bordered by a line of houses, prominent
+among which was the Governor’s Palace. Behind them the city, built on
+rising ground, rose in terraces. The buildings were all of the Southern
+European type, with tiled roofs, Venetian‐shuttered windows, and walls
+painted pink, white, blue, or yellow. Away in the heart of the town the
+gaunt, shattered façade of a ruined church stood on a slight eminence.
+Here and there small hills crowned with the crumbling walls of ancient
+forts rose up around the city.
+
+Eager for a closer acquaintance with Macao, I drove out that afternoon
+in a ricksha. I was whirled first along the Praia Grande, which runs
+around the curving bay below the hotel. On the right‐hand side lay a
+strongly built sea‐wall. On the tree‐shaded promenade between it and
+the roadway groups of the inhabitants of the city were enjoying the
+cool evening breeze. Sturdy little Portuguese soldiers in dark‐blue
+uniforms and _képis_ strolled along in two and threes, ogling the
+yellow or dark‐featured Macaese ladies, a few of whom wore mantillas.
+Half‐caste youths, resplendent in loud check suits and immaculate
+collars and cuffs, sat on the sea‐wall or, airily puffing their cheap
+cigarettes, sauntered along the promenade with languid grace. Grave
+citizens walked with their families, the prettier portion of whom
+affected to be demurely unconscious of the admiring looks of the
+aforesaid dandies. A couple of priests in shovel hats and long, black
+cassocks moved along in the throng.
+
+The left side of the Praia was lined with houses, among which were
+some fine buildings, including the Government, Post and Telegraph
+Bureaus, commercial offices, private residences, and a large mansion,
+with two projecting wings, the Governor’s Palace. At the entrance
+stood a sentry, while the rest of the guard lounged near the doorway.
+At the end of the Praia Grande were the pretty public gardens, shaded
+by banyan trees, with flower‐beds, a bandstand, and a large building
+beyond it—the Military Club. Past the gate of the Gardens the road
+turned away from the sea and ran between rows of Chinese houses until
+it reached the long, tree‐bordered Estrada da Flora. On the left lay
+cultivated land. On the right the ground sloped gently back to a bluff
+hill, on which stood a lighthouse, the oldest in China. At the foot
+of this eminence lay the pretty summer residence of the Governor,
+picturesquely named Flora, surrounded by gardens and fenced in by a
+granite wall. Continuing under the name of Estrada da Bella Vista, the
+road ran on to the sea and turned to the left around a flower‐bordered,
+terraced green mound, at the summit of which was a look‐out whence
+a charming view was obtained. From this the mound derives the name
+of Bella Vista. In front lay a shallow bay. To the left the shore
+curved round to a long, low, sandy causeway, which connects Macao with
+the island of Heung Shan. Midway on this stood a masonry gateway,
+Porta Cerco, which marks the boundary between Portuguese and Chinese
+territory. Hemmed in by a sea‐wall, the road continued from Bella Vista
+along above the beach, past the isthmus, on which was a branch road
+leading to the Porta, by a stretch of cultivated ground, and round the
+peninsula, until it reached the city again.
+
+After dinner that evening, accompanied by a friend staying at the
+same hotel, I strolled down to the Public Gardens, where the police
+band was playing and the “beauty and fashion” of Macao assembled.
+They were crowded with gay promenaders. Trim Portuguese naval or
+military officers, brightly dressed ladies, soldiers, civilians,
+priests and laity strolled up and down the walks or sat on the benches.
+Sallow‐complexioned children chased each other round the flower‐beds.
+Opposite the bandstand stood a line of chairs reserved for the Governor
+and his party. We met some acquaintances among the few British
+residents in the colony; and one of them, being an honorary member of
+the Military Club situated at one end of the Gardens, invited us into
+it. We sat at one of the little tables on the terrace, where the élite
+of Macao drank their coffee and liqueurs, and watched the gay groups
+promenading below. The scene was animated and interesting, thoroughly
+typical of the way in which Continental nations enjoy outdoor life,
+as the English never can. Hong Kong, with all its wealth and large
+European population, has no similar social gathering‐place; and its
+citizens wrap themselves in truly British unneighbourly isolation.
+
+The government of Macao is administered from Portugal. The Governor
+is appointed from Europe; and the local Senate is vested solely with
+the municipal administration of the colony. The garrison consists of
+Portuguese artillerymen to man the forts and a regiment of Infantry of
+the Line, relieved regularly from Europe. There is also a battalion
+of police, supplemented by Indian and Chinese constables—the former
+recruited among the natives of the Portuguese territory of Goa on
+the Bombay coast, though many of the sepoys hail from British India.
+A gunboat is generally stationed in the harbour. The troubles all
+over China in 1900 had a disturbing influence even in this isolated
+Portuguese colony. An attack from Canton was feared in Macao as well as
+in Hong Kong; and the utmost vigilance was observed by the garrison.
+One night heavy firing was heard from the direction of the Porta
+Cerco, the barrier on the isthmus. It was thought that the Chinese
+were at last descending on the settlement. The alarm sounded and the
+troops were called out. Sailors were landed from the _Zaire_ with
+machine‐guns. A British resident in Macao told me that so prompt were
+the garrison in turning out that in twenty minutes all were at their
+posts and every position for defence occupied. At each street‐corner
+stood a strong guard; and machine‐guns were placed so as to prevent
+any attempt on the part of the Chinese in the city to aid their
+fellow‐countrymen outside. However, it was found that the alarm was
+occasioned by the villagers who lived just outside the boundary, firing
+on the guards at the barrier in revenge for the continual insults to
+which their women, when passing in and out to market in Macao, were
+subjected by the Portuguese soldiers at the gate. No attack followed
+and the incident had no further consequences. At the close of 1901 or
+the beginning of 1902, more serious alarm was caused by the conduct
+of the regiment recently arrived from Portugal in relief. Dissatisfied
+with their pay or at service in the East, the men mutinied and
+threatened to seize the town. The situation was difficult, as they
+formed the major portion of the garrison. Eventually, however, the
+artillerymen, the police battalion, and the sailors from the _Zaire_
+succeeded in over‐awing and disarming them. The ringleaders were seized
+and punished, and that incident closed.
+
+The European‐born Portuguese in the colony are few and consist chiefly
+of the Government officials and their families and the troops. They
+look down upon the Macaese—as the colonials are called—with the
+supreme contempt of the pure‐blooded white man for the half‐caste. For,
+judging from their complexions and features, few of the Macaese are of
+unmixed descent. So the Portuguese from Europe keep rigidly aloof from
+them and unbend only to the few British and Americans resident in the
+colony. These are warmly welcomed in Macao society and freely admitted
+into the exclusive official circles.
+
+On the day following my arrival, I went in uniform to call upon the
+Governor in the palace on the Praia Grande. Accompanied by a friend,
+I rickshaed from the hotel to the gate of the courtyard. The guard at
+the entrance saluted as we approached; and I endeavoured to explain the
+reason of our coming to the sergeant in command. English and French
+were both beyond his understanding; but he called to his assistance
+a functionary, clad in gorgeous livery, who succeeded in grasping the
+fact that we wished to see the aide‐de‐camp to the Governor. He ushered
+us into a waiting‐room opening off the spacious hall. In a few minutes
+a smart, good‐looking officer in white duck uniform entered. He was the
+aide‐de‐camp, Senhor Carvalhaes. Speaking in fluent French, he informed
+us that the Governor was not in the palace but would probably soon
+return, and invited us to wait. He chatted pleasantly with us, gave us
+much interesting information about Macao, and proffered his services
+to make our stay in Portuguese territory as enjoyable as he could. We
+soon became on very friendly terms and he accepted an invitation to
+dine with us at the hotel that night. The sound of the guard turning
+out and presenting arms told us that the Governor had returned. Senhor
+Carvalhaes, praying us to excuse him, went out to inform his Excellency
+of our presence. In a few minutes the Governor entered and courteously
+welcomed us to Macao. He spoke English extremely well; although he
+had only begun to learn it since he came to the colony not very long
+before. After a very pleasant and friendly interview with him we took
+our departure, escorted to the door by the aide‐de‐camp.
+
+On the following day I paid some calls on the British and American
+residents and then went down to the English tennis‐ground, which is
+situated close to Bella Vista. Here, in the afternoons, the little
+colony of aliens in Macao generally assemble. The consuls and their
+wives and families, with a few missionaries and an occasional merchant,
+make up their number. Close by the tennis‐courts, in a high‐walled
+enclosure shaded by giant banyans, lies the English cemetery.
+
+That night a civilian from Hong Kong, Mr. Ivan Grant‐Smith, and I had
+an unpleasant adventure which illustrates the scant respect with which
+the ægis of British power is regarded abroad. We are prone to flatter
+ourselves that the world stands in awe of our Empire’s might, that the
+magic words, “I am an English citizen!” will bear us scatheless through
+any danger. The following instance—by no means an isolated one—of how
+British subjects are often treated by the meanest officials of other
+States may be instructive.
+
+We had dined that evening at the house of one of the English residents
+in Macao. The dinner, which was to celebrate the birthday of his son,
+was followed by a dance; so that it was after one o’clock in the
+morning before we left to walk back to the hotel, about a mile away.
+Leaving the main streets, we tried a short cut along a lonely road
+hemmed in by high garden walls. The ground on one side sloped up,
+so that the level of the enclosures was but little below the top of
+the wall fronting the road. As we passed one garden some dogs inside
+it, roused by our voices, climbed on the wall and began to bark
+persistently at us. In the vain hope of silencing them, Grant‐Smith
+threw a few stones at the noisy animals. They barked all the more
+furiously. A small gate in the wall a little distance farther on
+suddenly opened and a half‐dressed Portuguese appeared. I had happened
+to stop to light a cigar, and my companion had gone on ahead. The
+new‐comer on the scene rushed at him and poured forth a torrent of what
+was evidently abuse. My friend very pacifically endeavoured to explain
+by gestures what had happened; but the Portuguese, becoming still more
+enraged, shouted for the police patrol and blew a whistle loudly.
+An Indian constable ran up. The infuriated citizen spoke to him in
+Portuguese and then returned inside his garden, closing the gate. The
+sepoy seized Mr. Grant‐Smith by the shoulder. I asked him in Hindustani
+what my friend had done. The constable replied that he did not know. I
+said, “Then why do you arrest the sahib?”
+
+“Because that man”—pointing to the garden—“told me to do so.”
+
+“Who is he?” I demanded, naturally concluding that we must have
+disturbed the slumbers of some official whom the sepoy recognised.
+
+To my astonishment he replied—
+
+“I do not know, sahib. I never saw him before.”
+
+As Grant‐Smith was ignorant of Hindustani and the Indian of English, I
+was forced to act as interpreter.
+
+“Then,” said I, “as you don’t know of what the sahib is guilty or even
+the name of his accuser, you must release him.”
+
+“I cannot, sahib. I must take him to the police‐station.”
+
+Another Indian constable now came on the scene. I explained matters
+to him and insisted on his entering the garden and fetching out the
+complainant. He went in, and in a few minutes returned with the
+Portuguese hastily clad. He was in a very bad temper at being again
+disturbed; for, thinking that he had comfortably disposed of us for the
+night, he had calmly gone to bed.
+
+We all now proceeded to a small police‐station about a mile away,
+passing the hotel on the road. Furious at the unjust arrest and
+irritated at the coolness of the complainant and the stupidity of the
+sepoy, my friend and I were anxious to see some superior authority. We
+never doubted that a prompt release and apology, as well as a reprimand
+to the over‐zealous constable, would immediately follow. British
+subjects were not to be treated in this high‐handed fashion!
+
+Arrived at the station, we found only a Portuguese constable, with
+a Chinese policeman lying asleep on a guard‐bed in the corner. The
+accuser now came forward and charged my companion with “throwing
+stones at a dwelling‐house,” as the Indians informed me. Using them
+to interpret, I endeavoured to explain the affair to the Portuguese
+constable. He simply shrugged his shoulders, wrote down the charge,
+and said that the prisoner must be taken to the Head Police Office for
+the night. He added that, there being no charge against me, I was not
+concerned in the matter, and could go home.
+
+However, as my unfortunate friend required me as interpreter, I had no
+intention of abandoning him, and accompanied him when he was marched
+off to durance vile. The Portuguese policeman at first wished to send
+him under the charge of the Chinese constable, whom he woke up for the
+purpose; but we explained that if such an indignity were offered us we
+would certainly refuse to go quietly with the Chinaman and might damage
+him on the way. He then allowed the Indian sepoys, who were very civil,
+to escort us. My luckless companion was then solemnly marched through
+the town until the Head Police Office was reached, over two miles away.
+It was a rambling structure in the heart of the city, with ancient
+buildings and tree‐shaded courts. Down long corridors and across a
+grass‐grown yard we were led into a large office. A half‐open door in
+a partition on the left bore the inscription, “Quarto del Sargento.”
+On the right, behind a large screen, a number of Portuguese policemen
+lay asleep on beds. The sepoys roused a sergeant, who sat up grumbling
+and surveyed us with little friendliness. The scene was rather amusing.
+My friend and I in correct evening dress, as haughtily indignant as
+Britishers should be under such circumstances, the Indian sepoys
+standing erect behind us, the surly complainant, whom the light of the
+office lamps revealed to be a very shoddy and common individual, the
+half‐awakened policemen gazing sleepily at us from their beds, would
+have made a capital tableau in a comedy. The sergeant rose and put
+on his uniform. Seating himself at a table in the office he read the
+charge. Without further ado he ordered a bed to be brought down and
+placed for the prisoner in the empty “Quarto del Sargento.” He then
+rose from the table and prepared to retire. I stopped him and demanded
+that our explanation should be listened to. I told him, through the
+interpreters, that if the ridiculous charge against my friend was
+to be proceeded with, he could be found at the hotel. There was no
+necessity for confining him for the night, as he could not leave
+Macao without the knowledge of the authorities. The sergeant curtly
+replied that as there was no complaint against me I had better quit
+the police‐station as soon as possible. If I wished to give evidence
+for my friend, I could attend at the magistrate’s court in the morning
+and do so. I informed him that I was an officer in the British Army,
+and demanded to see a Portuguese officer. He replied that he was a
+sergeant, and quite officer enough for me. His manner throughout was
+excessively overbearing and offensive. I then threatened to appeal to
+the British Consul. I am afraid that this only amused the Portuguese
+policemen, who had left their beds to come into the office and listen
+to the affair. They laughed amusedly; and the sergeant, smiling grimly,
+bade the interpreting sepoy tell me that he did not care a snap of
+his fingers for our Consul. I then played my trump card. I demanded
+that a message should be immediately conveyed to the aide‐de‐camp
+of the Governor, to the effect that one of his English friends with
+whom he had dined the previous night had been arrested. The effect
+was electrical. As soon as my speech had been translated to them, all
+the Portuguese policemen became at once extremely civil. The sergeant
+rushed to a telephone and rang up the police officer on duty. I caught
+the words “ufficiales Inglesos” and “amigos del Senhor Carvalhaes.”
+After a long conversation over the wire he returned smiling civilly,
+saluted, and said that my companion could leave the station at once.
+Would he have the supreme kindness to attend at the magistrate’s court
+at ten o’clock in the morning? If he did not know where it was, a
+constable would be sent to the hotel to guide him.
+
+We marched out with the honours of war. With profuse courtesy we were
+escorted out of the police‐station, a sentry shouldering arms to us as
+we passed; and the sergeant accompanied us to the outer gate, where he
+parted from us with an elaborate salute.
+
+We reached the hotel about 3.30 a.m. Before nine o’clock I presented
+myself at the palace, where I interviewed Senhor Carvalhaes and
+recounted the whole affair to him. He was indignant at the conduct of
+the police. He told me that we need not attend the court, as he would
+settle the matter himself. Later on my friend and I saw the British
+Consul, whom we knew personally, and told him all that had happened.
+He said that he could not have helped us in the least had we appealed
+to him. Some time previous an English colonel, in company with several
+ladies, had been arrested by the police for not removing his hat when
+a religious procession passed. As this officer happened to be a Roman
+Catholic, his action was not meant to be disrespectful. He was not
+released until the British Consul had interviewed the Governor. By a
+curious coincidence I met this colonel some months later in Seöul, the
+capital of Corea.
+
+That afternoon Grant‐Smith and I were invited to the Portuguese Naval
+Tennis Club ground near Flora, the Governor’s summer residence.
+Carvalhaes, who was present, came to me and told me that the affair
+was settled. The trumpery charge had been dismissed; and the Indian
+constable who had arrested Grant‐Smith had been punished with six
+weeks’ imprisonment. As the unfortunate sepoy had only done what he
+considered his duty and had been very civil throughout, as well as
+helping me considerably by interpreting, I begged that the punishment
+should be transferred from him to the discourteous Portuguese
+sergeant. On my representations the Indian was released; but I doubt if
+the man of the dominant caste received even a reprimand.
+
+Our adventure was now common property. We were freely chaffed about the
+arrest by the Portuguese officers and the British residents present at
+the Tennis Club. The wife of the Governor laughingly bade one of the
+English ladies bring up the “prisoner” and present him to her.
+
+When one reflects that this quaint and old‐world little Portuguese
+colony is only forty miles from Hong Kong with its large garrison, our
+treatment by its insolent subordinate officials does not say much for
+the respect for England’s might which we imagine is felt throughout the
+world.
+
+I had another experience of an arrest in Japan. The spy mania is rife
+in that country; and no photographing is permitted in the fortified
+seaports or in large tracts of country “reserved for military
+purposes.” In the important naval station of Yukosŭka, an hour’s
+journey by train from Yokohama, an American gentleman and I were taken
+into custody by a policeman for merely carrying a camera which, knowing
+the regulations, we had been careful not to use. We found afterwards
+that our ricksha coolies had given information. I was fortunately able
+to speak Japanese sufficiently well to explain to our captor that we
+had no intention of taking surreptitious photographs of the warships
+in the harbour. I pointed out that as most of these vessels had been
+built in England it was hardly necessary for a Britisher to come to
+Japan to get information about them. Our little policeman—with the
+ready capacity of his countrymen for seeing the feeblest joke—was
+immensely tickled. He laughed heartily and released us. But shortly
+afterwards an Italian officer, on his way to attend the Japanese
+military manœuvres, innocently took some photographs of the scenery
+near Shimoneseki. He was promptly arrested and subsequently fined forty
+yen (£4) for the offence. A few days later an Englishman at Moji was
+taken into custody for the same crime. Moral: do not carry a camera in
+Japan; content yourself with the excellent and cheap photographs to be
+obtained everywhere in that country of delightful scenery.
+
+To return to Macao. Its greatly advertised attraction is the famous
+Chinese gambling‐houses, from the taxes on which is derived a large
+portion of the revenues of the colony. Most visitors go to see them and
+stake a dollar or two on the _fan‐tan_ tables. I did likewise and was
+disappointed to find the famed saloons merely small Chinese houses,
+the interiors glittering with tawdry gilt wood carving and blazing
+at night with evil‐smelling oil lamps. On the ground floor stands a
+large table, at the head of which sits the _croupier_, generally a
+very bored‐looking old Chinaman. Along the sides are the players,
+who occasionally lose the phlegmatic calm of their race in their
+excitement. On the “board” squares are described, numbered 1, 2, 3,
+and 4. On them the money is staked. The _croupier_ places a handful
+of “cash,” which are small coins, on the table and covers them with
+an inverted bowl. The number of them is not counted, as he takes them
+at random from a pile beside him. As soon as all the stakes are laid
+down, he lifts the bowl and with a chopstick counts the coins in
+fours. The number left at the end, which must be one, two, three, or
+four, represents the winning number. The bank pays three times the
+stake deposited, less ten per cent., which is kept as its own share
+of the winnings. In a gallery overhead sit European visitors and more
+important Chinamen who do not wish to mix with the common herd around
+the table. Their stakes are collected by an attendant who lowers them
+in a bag at the end of a long string, and the _croupier_ places them
+where desired. _Fan‐tan_ is not exciting. The counting of the coins
+is tedious and the calculations of the amounts to be paid out to the
+winners takes so long that the game becomes exceedingly wearisome.
+
+Other attractions of Macao are the ruins of the old cathedral of San
+Paulo, built in 1602 and destroyed by fire in 1835, of which the façade
+still remains in good preservation; and the Gardens of Camoens, with
+a bust of the famous Portuguese poet placed in a picturesque grotto
+formed by a group of huge boulders. Camoens visited Macao, after
+voyaging to Goa and the East by way of the Cape of Good Hope.
+
+In the basements of some of the older houses in Macao are the
+Barracoons, relics of the coolie traffic suppressed in 1874. They
+are large chambers where the coolies, to be shipped as labourers to
+foreign parts, were lodged while awaiting exportation. Among other
+points of interest near the city is the curious natural phenomenon
+known as the Ringing Rocks. They are reached by boat to Lappa. They
+consist of a number of huge granite boulders, supposed to be of some
+metallic formation, picturesquely grouped together, which, when struck,
+give out a clear bell‐like note, which dies away in gradually fainter
+vibrations. Altogether Macao is well worthy of a visit. The contrast
+between the sleepy old‐world city, which looks like a town in Southern
+Europe, and bustling, thriving Hong Kong, all that is modern and
+business‐like, is very striking. For the moneymaker the English colony;
+for the dreamer Macao.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A GLIMPSE OF CANTON
+
+
+Canton is, to foreigners, probably the best‐known and most frequently
+visited city of China. Its proximity to, and ready accessibility
+from Hong Kong, whence it is easily reached by a line of large river
+steamers, renders it a favourite place with travellers to the East to
+spend a portion of the time the mailboats usually stop in the English
+harbour. A small colony of Europeans, consuls and merchants of several
+nationalities, reside in its foreign settlement. Its considerable trade
+and its occupation by the Allies after the war of 1856‐7 directed much
+attention to it. Owing to its easy access, no other city in the Chinese
+Empire has been so frequently described by European writers. Rudyard
+Kipling, in his fascinating “From Sea to Sea,” paints a marvellous
+word‐picture of the life in its crowded streets. But it is so bound up
+with the interests of Hong Kong, its constant menace to our colony,
+and the suspected designs of French aggression, that still something
+new may be said about it. Despite its constant trade intercourse with
+Europeans, Canton remains anti‐foreign. Its inhabitants have not
+forgotten or forgiven its capture and occupation by the English and
+French in the past. After the Boxer movement in the North in 1900,
+many fears were entertained in Hong Kong lest a still more formidable
+outbreak against foreigners in the South might be inaugurated by the
+turbulent population of the restless city. The Europeans in Canton
+sent their families in haste to Hong Kong and Macao; wealthy Chinamen
+transferred their money to the banks in the former place; gunboats
+were hurried up; and the garrison of our island colony stood ready.
+The history of Canton’s intercourse with foreigners dates as far back
+as the eighth century. Two hundred years later it was visited by Arab
+traders, who were instrumental in introducing Mohammedanism, which
+still remains alive in the city. In 1517 Emmanuel, King of Portugal,
+sent an ambassador with a fleet of eight ships to Pekin; and the
+Chinese Emperor sanctioned the opening of trade relations with Canton.
+The English were much later in the field. In 1596, during the reign of
+Elizabeth, our first attempt to establish intercourse with China ended
+disastrously, as the two ships despatched were lost on the outward
+voyage. The first English vessel to reach Canton arrived there in
+1634. In the light of the present state of affairs in the East, it is
+curious to note that an English ship which visited China in 1673 was
+subsequently refused admittance to Japan. In 1615 the city was captured
+by the Tartars.
+
+About half a century later the famous East India Company established
+itself under the walls of Canton, and from there controlled the foreign
+trade for nearly one hundred and fifty years. After much vexatious
+interference by the native authorities, the influence of the Company
+was abolished early in the nineteenth century. The conduct of the
+Chinese Government as regards our commerce led to our declaring war in
+1839. In 1841 a force under Sir Hugh (afterwards Lord) Gough surrounded
+Canton and prepared to capture it. But negotiations were opened by
+the Chinese, which ended in their being allowed to ransom the city
+by the payment of the large sum of six million dollars. The war was
+transferred farther north and ended with the Nanking Treaty of August,
+1842, which threw open to foreign trade the ports of Shanghai, Ning‐po,
+Foochow, and Amoy. It was further stipulated that foreigners were to
+be permitted to enter the city of Canton. This provision, however, the
+Chinese refused to carry out. More vexatious quarrels and an insult to
+the British flag by the seizure of a Chinaman on the _Arrow_, a small
+vessel sailing under our colours, led to a fresh war in 1856. The
+outbreak of hostilities was followed by the pillaging and destruction
+of the “factories” of the foreign merchants in Canton by an infuriated
+mob in the December of that year. In 1857 the city was taken by storm
+by a force under Sir Charles Straubenzee. For four years afterwards it
+was occupied by an English and French garrison. The affairs of the
+city were administered by three allied commissioners—two English and
+one French officer—under the British General. They held their court in
+the Tartar General’s Yamen, part of which is still used by the English
+Consul for official receptions. Since the allied garrison was withdrawn
+Canton has been freely open to foreigners.
+
+On the conclusion of peace it was necessary to find a settlement for
+the European merchants whose factories had been destroyed. It was
+determined to fill in and appropriate an extensive mud‐flat lying
+near the north bank of the river and south‐west of the city. This
+site having been leased, was converted into an artificial island by
+building a massive embankment of granite and constructing a canal, 100
+feet wide, between the northern face and the adjacent Chinese suburb.
+The ground thus reclaimed measures about 950 yards in length and 320
+yards broad in its widest part. It is in shape an irregular oval, and
+is called Shameen, or, more proper, Sha‐mien, _i.e._ sand‐flats. The
+island is divided into the English and the French Concessions. On it
+the consulates and the residences of the foreign merchants are built.
+The canal is crossed by two bridges, called respectively the English
+and the French, which can be closed by gates. They are guarded by the
+Settlement police. The cost of making the island amounted to 325,000
+dollars (Mex.); of which the English Government paid four‐fifths and
+the French one‐fifth. At first foreigners hesitated to occupy it; but
+after the British Consulate was erected in 1865, our merchants began to
+build upon it with more confidence.
+
+The journey from Hong Kong to Canton is very comfortably performed
+on the commodious shallow‐draught steamers that ply between the two
+cities. I left the island one afternoon with a party of friends. The
+scenery along the rugged coast and among the hilly islands to the flat
+delta at the mouth of the estuary with its countless creeks, still
+haunted by pirates, is charming. As we steamed up the river we could
+see, moving apparently among the fields, the huge sails of junks which
+in reality were sailing on the canals that intersect the country. After
+dinner I sat on deck with a very charming companion and watched the
+shadowy banks gliding past in the moonlight. Turning in for the night
+in a comfortable cabin, I slept until eight o’clock next morning, and
+awoke to find the steamer alongside the river bank at Canton.
+
+The scene from the deck was animated and picturesque. On one side lay
+the crowded houses and grim old walls of the city. The wharves were
+thronged with bustling crowds. On the other, beyond the island suburb
+of Honam, the country stretched away in cultivation to low hills in the
+distance. The river was thronged with countless covered boats; for the
+floating population of Canton amounts to about a quarter of a million
+souls, and the crowded sampans lying in a dense mass on the water form
+a separate town from the city on the land. It is almost self‐containing
+and its inhabitants ply every imaginable trade. Peddlers of food,
+vegetables, fruit, pots, pans, and wares of all kinds paddled their
+boats along and shouted their stock‐in‐trade. Here and there a sampan
+was being extricated with difficulty from the closely packed mass, its
+crew earning voluble curses from their neighbours as they disentangled
+their craft and shot out into the stream.
+
+I gazed over the steamer’s side at the crowded wharf. Chinese or
+half‐caste Portuguese Customs officers rapidly scanned the baggage of
+the pig‐tailed passengers as they landed, now and then stopping one and
+making him open the bundles he carried. Opium‐smuggling is the chief
+thing they guard against, for Hong Kong is a free port.
+
+The city of Canton lies on the north bank of the Pearl River, about
+seventy or eighty miles from the sea. It is surrounded by an irregular
+masonry wall, twenty‐five feet high, twenty feet thick, and six or
+seven miles in circumference. This fortification is by no means as
+strong as the famous Wall of the Tartar city in Pekin and could be
+easily breached by the fire of heavy guns. Good artillery positions are
+to be found all round. A few miles north of the city lie hills rising
+1,200 feet above the river. As the southern wall is only a few hundred
+yards from the bank, it could be destroyed and the city bombarded
+without difficulty by gunboats, some of which—English, French, and
+German—are nearly always lying off Shameen. The Chinese, however, are
+reported to be quietly erecting modern, well‐armed forts around the
+city; but were a powerful flotilla once anchored opposite it, it would
+be doomed.
+
+Canton is divided into the old and the new city. The latter, the
+southern enclosure, was added in 1568, extending the ramparts almost
+to the river bank. The wall of the older portion still divides the two
+as in Pekin. On the north this wall rises to include a hill. On the
+other three sides Canton is surrounded by a ditch, which is filled by
+the rising tide. There are twelve outer gates and four in the partition
+wall. Two water‐gates admit boats along a canal which pierces the new
+city east and west. The gates are closed at night; and in the daytime
+soldiers are stationed near them to preserve order. As the policing of
+the city is very bad, the inhabitants of streets and wards frequently
+join in maintaining guards for the protection of their respective
+quarters.
+
+The old city, which is very much the larger of the two, contains most
+of the important buildings. In it are the yamens of the Viceroy, the
+Major‐General, the Treasurer, the Chancellor, the Tartar General and
+Major‐General, and of the British Consul, as well as the prisons, the
+Examination Hall, the pagodas, and the numerous temples, of which
+there are over 120 in or about Canton. The streets number over 600 in
+both cities.
+
+In the new town facing the river is the French Missions Roman Catholic
+Cathedral, a beautiful building of the perpendicular Gothic style of
+architecture with lofty spires. It is embellished with magnificent
+stained‐glass windows and polished teak‐wood carvings. It is built on
+the site of the old residence of the Governor‐General, destroyed during
+the bombardment by the Allies.
+
+On the south, west, and east sides of the city and across the river
+on Honam Island, suburbs have sprung up, and including them it has a
+circumference of nearly ten miles. The houses stretch for four miles
+along the river; and the banks of boats extend for four or five miles.
+Out in the stream may often be seen huge junks 600 to 1,000 tons
+burden, which trade with the North and the Straits Settlements.
+
+In 1874 the population of Canton was 1,500,000, including the floating
+town of 230,000, and the inhabitants of Honam 100,000. The number has
+probably largely increased.
+
+Going ashore we installed ourselves in long‐poled open chairs, borne
+by energetic coolies. As they went along rapidly at a shambling
+half‐trot, they shouted loudly to the lounging crowds to clear the
+way. Into the network of narrow streets in the city we plunged. The
+houses are different to those in Pekin. They are generally of more
+than one story, well built of brick, with thick walls and verandahs
+along the fronts of the upper floors. The shops have little frontage,
+but extend far back. The streets, paved with stone or brick, are
+darkened by overhead reed matting, supported by wooden frames, which
+stretch across them to shade them from the sun. So narrow are even the
+principal thoroughfares that two chairs can hardly pass each other.
+With much shouting and sing‐song abuse the coolies carrying one are
+forced to back into the nearest shop and let the other go by. The
+vistas along these narrow, shaded streets, with their long, hanging,
+gilt‐lettered sign‐boards—red, white, or black—are full of quaint
+charm. The busy crowds of Chinese foot passengers hurry silently along,
+their felt‐soled shoes making no sound on the pavement. Contrary to
+what I had always heard of them, the Canton populace struck me as not
+being so insolent or hostile to Europeans as they are reputed. As our
+chairs moved along, the bearers thrusting the crowds aside with scant
+ceremony, very little notice was taken of us. A few remarks were made
+by the bystanders, which one of our party, who spoke Cantonese, told me
+were anything but complimentary. But all that day throughout the city I
+found the demeanour of the people much less offensive than a Chinaman
+in the lower quarters of London would.
+
+The shops were filled with articles of European manufacture. Clocks,
+cloth, oleographs, lamps, kerosene oil tins, even sewing‐machines were
+for sale. Eating‐houses, tea shops, stalls covered with the usual weird
+forms of food, raw or cooked, abounded. The Chinaman has a catholic
+taste. Horseflesh, dogs, cats, hawks, owls, sharks’ fins, and birds’
+nests are freely sold in Canton for human consumption. Carpenters were
+busy making the substantial furniture to be found in almost every
+Chinese house. Blacksmiths and coppersmiths added the noises of their
+trades to the din that resounded through the narrow streets. Peddlers
+with their wares spread about them on the ground helped to choke the
+congested thoroughfares. Beggars shouted loudly for alms and drew the
+attention of the passers‐by to their disgusting sores and deformities.
+
+Canton is famous for its ivory carvers and the artists in the beautiful
+feather work, the making of which seems to be confined to this city.
+As I wished to purchase some specimens of this unique art, our party
+stopped at an establishment famed for its production. The shop was
+lofty but dark. The owner came forward to receive us, and spread on the
+counter a large selection of ornaments for our inspection. Trinkets
+of all kinds, lace‐pins, pendants, brooches were exhibited, all
+evidently made for European purchasers. The designs were very pretty.
+Large butterflies shone with the reflected lights and golden lustre of
+the beautiful green and blue plumage of the kingfisher. Tiny fishes
+delicately fashioned, birds of paradise, flowers were all reproduced
+in flimsy gold or silver work. Learning that I was anxious to see the
+process of the manufacture, the proprietor led me over to watch one
+of the workmen who sat around busily employed. On a metal ground‐work
+with raised edges and lines the feathers are fastened to reproduce
+the colours of the designs. With nimble fingers and delicate pincers
+the tiny strips of plumage are laid on and cemented. Keen sight is
+required for the work; and the proprietor told me that the eyes of the
+workmen engaged in it soon fail. It takes five years for an apprentice
+to thoroughly learn the art; and after he has laboured at it for two
+years more his vision becomes so obscured that he has to give it up
+and seek some other occupation. It is little wonder; for the shops in
+these narrow, shaded streets are always dark, and the artificial light
+generally used is furnished only by the cheapest European lamps. The
+prices of the various articles are very moderate, when one considers
+the delicacy and beauty of the work. Butterflies an inch across can be
+purchased for two or three dollars.
+
+Our next visit was paid to the workers in ivory. Here, in a
+similarly dark shop, men were employed in carving most exquisitely
+delicate flowers, scenes, and figures. Brushes, mirror‐frames, fans,
+glove‐stretchers, penholders, card‐cases, and boxes of all sizes were
+being fashioned and adorned. I was particularly interested in the
+making of those curious Chinese puzzle‐balls, which contain one within
+another a dozen or more spheres, all down to the innermost one covered
+with beautiful carvings which can be seen through the round holes
+pierced in the sides. The owner of the shop showed me an apprentice
+learning how to make them and practising on an old billiard ball.
+Holes are drilled down to the depth which will be the circumference
+of the second outermost ball. A graving tool, hooked like a hoe, is
+introduced into them and worked round until there is a complete solid
+sphere detached inside. It is then carved in designs, every part being
+reached by turning the ball round until each portion of the surface has
+come opposite one of the holes through which the carving instrument can
+reach it. Then a similar process is gone through at a greater depth
+from the outside, which gives the third outermost sphere; and so on
+until the innermost ball is reached, which is carved and left solid.
+There are sometimes as many as twenty‐four of these graduated spheres.
+To one who has never seen how they are made it seems impossible to
+understand how these balls within balls are carved. Sections of
+elephants’ tusks lay about in the shop to prove to the customers that
+only real ivory is employed; but bone is often used in the making of
+cheaper articles.
+
+In this trade, too, good sight is necessary; and the proprietor of
+this establishment told me that the eyes of his workmen soon give out.
+Here, again, the bad light was responsible. In Kioto, in Japan, I have
+watched men engaged in damascene or inlay work in dingy attics lighted
+only by small, smoky oil lamps, and was not surprised to learn that
+their sight did not last long.
+
+We next inspected some embroidery shops, where specimens of wonderful
+work, both new and old, were to be seen. The latter come chiefly from
+the numerous pawnshops, the tall towers of which rise everywhere
+throughout the city; for they receive annually large quantities of
+old garments, sold by members of ancient but impoverished families
+who are forced to part with the wardrobes that have come down to them
+through many generations. Magnificent mandarins’ state costumes may be
+obtained for from forty to eighty or a hundred dollars. Some of the
+embroidery is undoubtedly antique and valuable; but a good deal of it
+sold as old consists of new and inferior substitutions and even of
+European‐manufactured imitations of the real article. This the white
+man in his innocence buys and goes on his way rejoicing, until some
+connoisseur among his female friends points out his error and leaves
+him abashed at his own ignorance.
+
+Porcelain, jade, blackwood furniture, silk, bronze, and curio shops
+abound in the city. The contrast between the energetic, business‐like
+tradesmen of Canton, always ready to cater for the European market, and
+the phlegmatic shopkeepers of Pekin is very marked.
+
+[Illustration: THE CANGUE]
+
+We now visited the Flowery Forest Monastery or Temple of the Five
+Hundred Genii, which is said to have been founded in A.D.
+500, and which was rebuilt some forty years ago. It stands outside the
+western wall of the city. It comprises many buildings and courts; but
+the most interesting portion is the hall, which contains the images of
+the five hundred disciples of Buddha. The statues are life‐size. Their
+countenances are supposed to represent the supreme content of Nirvana;
+but their weird and grotesque expressions and the air of jollity and
+devil‐may‐careness on some of them is unintentionally ludicrous. Among
+the images is one said to represent Marco Polo, one of the earliest
+pioneers of discovery in the East. No one knows why the celebrated
+Italian traveller is included among the immortals.
+
+A more interesting sight was the prison in the old city. On a stone
+outside the open gate sat a criminal weighted down with the _cangue_,
+a heavy board fastened round the neck. It prevents the luckless wearer
+from using his hands to feed himself or brush away the tormenting
+swarms of flies which settle on his face. He cannot reach his mouth,
+and must starve unless a relative or some charitable person can be
+found to give him food. As the _cangue_ is never removed night or day
+he cannot lie down, but is forced to sit on the ground and prop himself
+against a wall and snatch what sleep he can in that uncomfortable and
+constrained position. I must say that this particular gentleman seemed
+very indifferent to his wooden collar. He was chatting pleasantly with
+some passers‐by in the street and turned his head to survey us with
+mild curiosity. The _cangue_, by the way, is only a minor penalty used
+for thieves, petty larcenists, and such small fry. For the punishment
+of graver crimes much more elaborate tortures have been reserved. As
+we passed into the prison we saw a few offenders chained to iron bars
+in the outer court. A Chinese warder unlocked a gate leading into a
+small yard crowded with prisoners, who rushed towards us and insolently
+demanded alms; for the Government waste no money in feeding their
+criminals who are obliged to rely on the kindness of the charitable.
+One particularly cheeky youth—a pickpocket, I was told—coolly
+demanded the cigar I was smoking. When I gave it to him he put it in
+his mouth and strutted up and down the yard to the amusement of his
+companions in misfortune. His gratitude was not overpowering, for he
+uttered some remarks, which my Cantonese‐speaking friend told me were
+particularly insulting. As the prisoners became very troublesome in
+their noisy demands, the warder pushed them back into the yard and shut
+the gate, having to rap some of them over the knuckles with his keys
+before he could do so. There were no especial horrors to be seen. The
+prisoners seemed cheerful enough; and none of the awful misery I had
+always associated with Chinese jails was apparent.
+
+But when the Celestial authorities wish to punish an offender severely
+they have a varied and ingenious collection of tortures on hand. The
+_ling‐chi_, or death of a thousand cuts, is hardly to be surpassed
+for fiendish cruelty. The unfortunate criminal is turned over to the
+executioner, who stabs him everywhere with a sharp sword, carefully
+avoiding a vital spot. Then he cuts off fingers, toes, hands, feet,
+arms, and legs in succession, and finally severs the head, if the
+unhappy wretch has not already expired. If the doomed man is possessed
+of money he can bribe the executioner to kill him at the first blow;
+and the subsequent mutilations are performed only on a lifeless corpse.
+Another ingenious device is to place the criminal naked in a net and
+trice it up tightly around him, until his flesh bulges out through the
+meshes. Then, wherever it protrudes the executioner slices it off with
+a sharp knife. The unhappy wretch is taken back to prison, released
+from the net and thrown into a cell. No attempt is made to staunch the
+blood or salve the wounds unless death is feared. This must be averted;
+for a week or so later he has to be brought out again and the process
+repeated. Along the river bank near Canton criminals were exposed in
+cages, through the top of which their heads protruded in such a fashion
+that the weight of the body was supported only by the chin and neck.
+The feet did not touch the bottom of the cage, but a sharp spike was
+placed to rest them on when the strain on the neck became unendurable.
+Here the poor wretches were left to expire of exhaustion or die of
+starvation. After such tortures beheading seems a merciful punishment.
+
+When I considered the Chinaman’s innate love of cruelty, I could
+understand why the next spot we visited was a very popular place of
+worship and a favourite resort for all the loafers of the city. It
+was the Temple of Horrors. Along each side of the principal court ran
+sheds, divided by partitions. In them behind wooden palings was a weird
+collection of groups of figures modelled to represent the various
+punishments of the Buddhist hell. The sheds were dark and it was
+difficult to see the interiors plainly. But quite enough was visible.
+In one compartment a couple of horrible devils were sawing a condemned
+wretch in two. In another, demons were thrusting a man into a huge
+boiler. Judging from the agonised expression on his face, the water
+must have been uncomfortably warm. In a third, the condemned soul or
+body was being ground in a press. Others were being roasted before huge
+fires, stuck all over with knives, having their eyes gouged out, being
+torn limb from limb. I fancy that the artist who designed these groups
+could have commanded a large salary as Inventor of Tortures from the
+Chinese authorities of his day.
+
+Another place of interest is the Examination Hall, where every
+three years candidates from all parts of China assemble to compete
+for Government appointments. Young men and old, boys of eighteen and
+dotards of eighty, attend, eager to grasp the lowest rung of the
+official ladder which may lead them, though with soiled hands, to
+rank and wealth. The coveted buttons which mark the various grades of
+mandarin are here dangled before their eyes.
+
+When one reflects that success in these competitions will lead to
+posts, not only as magistrates, but also as officers in the army, as
+officials of modern‐equipped arsenals, of departments of customs and
+telegraphs, or to positions which will bring them into contact with
+foreigners, one naturally thinks that the previous course of studies
+of the candidates will have fitted them for such appointments. Far
+from it. At the examinations a single text from Confucius or some
+other ancient author is set as a subject for a lengthy essay. For
+twenty‐four hours or longer the candidates are shut up in their cells
+to expand upon it. The examiners then read the result of their labours
+and recommend them on their proficiency in composition and acquaintance
+with the ancient classics of China. Even an English university
+curriculum is better fitted to equip a student for success in the world.
+
+The Examination Hall consists of rows of closely‐packed lanes of small
+brick cells (about 12,000 in number) running at right angles off a long
+paved causeway, which is approached through an archway called the
+Dragon Gate. At the far end of this causeway are apartments for the
+examiners—twelve in number, two chiefs and ten juniors—who have been
+sent from Pekin. Quarters are also provided for the Viceroy and the
+Governor of the province, who are both obliged to be present during the
+examinations. The cells in which the candidates are immured are 6 feet
+high, 5½ feet long, and less than 4 feet broad, and open only on to
+the narrow lanes between the rows of sheds. From a high tower strict
+watch is kept to prevent any collusion between the competitors.
+
+Tired of sight‐seeing, our party now returned to the river and crossed
+into Shameen by the small English Bridge spanning the canal between
+island and shore. A good lunch at the pretty little hotel prepared us
+for a stroll around the foreign settlement.
+
+Shameen is now a pretty island with fine avenues of banyan trees,
+charming gardens, a row of excellent tennis‐courts, and handsome,
+well‐built houses, the residences of the foreign consuls and merchants.
+A tree‐shaded promenade lined the southern bank along the river.
+Moored to the shore were several English, American, French, and German
+gunboats. Their flags and the European‐looking houses made us almost
+forget that we were still within a stone’s‐throw of a large Chinese
+city. But the swarms of sampans, the curious country‐boats moved by
+stern‐wheels worked by men on a treadmill‐like contrivance, the banging
+of crackers and booming of gongs in a temple behind the island recalled
+us to the remembrance. We walked along by the river bank, crossed the
+canal by the French Bridge, and returned on board our steamer.
+
+Canton, with its acres of crowded houses, its old walls, and ancient
+shrines, is a curious contrast to modern, up‐to‐date Hong Kong. Yet
+each in its way is equally alive and humming with busy trade, for the
+Chinese city exports and imports largely. It is the channel through
+which the commerce of Europe flows in and the products of China
+find their way out to the foreign markets. It manufactures largely
+glassware, pottery, metal work, paper, blackwood furniture, preserved
+ginger, medicine, etc. It is the granary and supply depôt of Hong Kong.
+The Cantonese merchants are keen business men and cater largely for
+the European customer. Nearly all the native silver work, embroidery,
+silks, and curios in the large shops of our colony come from Canton.
+
+The focus of trade with Southern China, the proposed terminus of the
+railway to Kowloon, the food‐supplier of Hong Kong, its development and
+retention in Chinese hands is of vast importance to English commerce.
+The French are freely credited with designs upon it. Their determined
+efforts to firmly establish their own influence there and displace
+the British favour the suspicion. In their Concession on Shameen
+they have established, without the consent of China, their own post
+office, where they use their colonial stamps surcharged “Canton.” Their
+gunboats anchor where they like in the river, the commanders calmly
+ignoring the efforts of the Chinese officials to restrict them to the
+part allotted to foreign warships. On the occurrence of any outrages
+on their subjects or the converts of their missionaries, the French
+consuls act with energy and determination. When any such happen in the
+vicinity of Canton or up the West River, not content with complaints
+or remonstrances to the Chinese authorities, which usually have little
+effect, they insist on immediate redress. They generally accompany in
+person the official deputed to proceed to the scene of the outrage
+and investigate the affair. This energetic conduct is in marked
+contrast to the supineness of some of our consuls. A late British
+representative aroused much disgust among naval and military officers
+and our merchants by his want of resolution and his tender regard for
+Chinese susceptibilities. When one of our gunboats was fired on up
+the river, its commander immediately reported the matter to him. Our
+official feebly remonstrated with the authorities, and instructed the
+commander to return with his ship to the village near the scene of the
+outrage and fire off a Maxim into the river‐bank! This was to show the
+misguided peasantry of what the gunboat was capable, if action were
+necessary. As the Orientals respect only those who can use as well
+as show their power, the Chinese are not much impressed with us. The
+contrast between our forbearance and the determined conduct of the
+French is too marked. Their gunboats patrol the rivers and show the
+flag of their country everywhere. Their efforts seem directed towards
+spreading the region of their influence inland from the south to
+meet the Russian sphere in the north. This is to cut us off from our
+possessions in Burma and prevent any British railway being constructed
+from that country to the eastern coast of China, thus tapping the
+hitherto undeveloped resources of the interior.
+
+An attack on Canton from the sea would be a far more difficult task
+now than formerly. The Bogue forts on the Pearl River, up which an
+invading flotilla must force its way, have been modernised and re‐armed
+with powerful guns. Hills are found within easy range of the river,
+from which the gunboats and shallow‐draught vessels, which alone
+could attempt the passage, could be shelled at a range precluding
+any response from their feebler weapons. And the Chinese gunners are
+not all to be despised, as Admiral Seymour’s column and the gallant
+defenders of Tientsin found to their cost.
+
+The land approach would not be much easier. The country near the mouth
+of the river is intersected by creeks and canals. Even farther up, no
+roads are available for wheeled transport. An advance from the British
+territory of the Kowloon Hinterland would probably be preferable to
+a landing on the coast, though the route is longer. The hills beyond
+Samchun might prove a formidable barrier; but those once passed
+the difficulties would not be insuperable. The inhabitants of the
+southern provinces are not warlike; and the troops there have not been
+reorganised and disciplined like some in the north.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+CHINA—PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
+
+
+Looking upon the map of China to‐day, England might well say with
+Clive, “I stand amazed at my own moderation.” If thirty years ago she
+had seized upon the whole of that vast empire, no other Power in the
+world would have dared to say her nay. She was undisputed mistress of
+the Eastern seas. Russia had not then reached the shores of the Pacific
+and her hands were busily employed in the centre of Asia. Germany had
+only just become a nation, and had not yet dreamt of contending with
+England for the commerce of the world. France lay crushed beneath the
+weight of an overwhelming defeat; and her voice was unheard in the
+councils of the nations. The United States of America had no thought
+of realms beyond the sea; their fleet was small, and the markets of
+Asia held no temptation for their merchants. Japan was but a name. The
+Meiji, the eventful revolution that freed her from the iron fetters of
+hide‐bound ignorance, was scarcely ten years old; and even its authors
+scarce dared to hope that their little islands would one day rank high
+among the civilised Powers of the world.
+
+And China itself, that unwieldy Colossus, lay a helpless prey to any
+strong nation that placed aggrandisement before the claims of abstract
+justice. The prize was tempting. An immense empire that stretched
+from the snows of the North to the burning heats of the torrid zone;
+a land of incredible fertility, of vast mineral wealth, the value of
+which can even now be only vaguely guessed at; a teeming population of
+industrious and easily‐contented millions; an enormous seaboard with
+natural harbours that could shelter the navies of the world; navigable
+rivers that pierced to the heart of the land and offered themselves as
+veritable highways of commerce; all the riches that the earth could
+bear on its surface or hide in its bosom—what a guerdon to the victor!
+
+The conquest of China might daunt the faint‐hearted from the apparent
+immensity of the task; but few countries would have proved an easier
+prize. Her army was composed of a heterogeneous collection of ill‐armed
+militia, whose weapons were more frequently the spear and the bow than
+the modern rifle. The Chinaman is, by nature, a lover of peace. War he
+abhors; and the profession of a soldier, honoured among other races, is
+held by him in utter contempt. Unpaid, uncared for, ill‐treated, and
+despised, the troops had to be driven to battle and could not withstand
+a determined attack. And behind them was no high‐spirited nation ready
+to risk all in the defence of the motherland. Patriotism is unknown.
+The love of country, so strong in other peoples, is non‐existent in
+the heart of the average Chinaman. With aught beyond the limits of
+his village, he has no concern. No other race in the world can boast
+so deep a love of family. To save his relatives from poverty, the
+Celestial will go willingly to his death. According to their laws a
+criminal cannot be slain unless he has confessed his crime. To wring
+this confession from him, tortures inconceivable in their fiendish
+malignity are heaped upon him. A speedy death would be a boon. But to
+acknowledge his guilt and die by the hands of the public executioner
+would entail the forfeiture of all his property to the State, and
+his family would be beggared. So, grimly uncomplaining, he submits
+for their sake to agonies that no white man could endure. A rich man
+condemned to death can generally purchase a substitute, can find a
+poverty‐stricken wretch willing to die in his stead for a sum of money
+that will place his starving relatives in comparative affluence.
+
+All this the poor Chinaman will do for those he loves. How many white
+men would do the same? But why should he die for his country? he asks.
+Why sacrifice himself and those near and dear to him for the honour of
+a shadowy Emperor? Why should he lay down his life that the officials
+who oppress the poor and wrest his hard‐earned money from him may
+flourish unmolested? He is told that the Japanese, yellow men like
+himself, have invaded the land and defeated the Imperial troops. Well,
+the enemies are thousands of miles away from _him_, and the soldiers
+are paid to fight. What is it to him that strangers have seized upon
+some seaport, the name of which he has never heard before? Let those
+whom it concerns go out and fight them. _His_ duty is to stay at home
+and till the ground that his family may not lack food.
+
+A few of the more enlightened Chinamen of the upper classes, those
+who have lived abroad in Europe or America, in Australia, Hong Kong,
+and the Straits Settlements, or who have been educated in European
+colleges, may be inspired with the love of country as we understand
+it. But have the leaders of the nation, the nobles and the mandarins,
+ever been ready to sacrifice themselves for China? They batten on
+its misfortunes. The higher in rank they are the readier they prove
+themselves to intrigue with its enemies and sell their country for
+foreign gold. They drive the common folk to battle and stay at home
+themselves. The generals and the officers, with few exceptions,
+are never found in front of their troops in action, unless when a
+retirement is ordered. Occasionally isolated cases occur when a
+defeated commander commits suicide. But it is generally because he
+prefers an easy death by his own hand to the degradation and tortures
+that await the vanquished general.
+
+To prate of the patriotism of the Chinese is as though one spoke of
+the “patriotism of India.” Still, the latter is a favourite phrase
+of some of our ignorant politicians who pose as the champions of
+“the down‐trodden black brother.” They talk of India being made
+self‐governing and wish to fill its Civil Service with “enlightened
+natives.” They fail to see why a Calcutta Babu or a Bombay Parsee, who
+boasts a university degree and has passed a brilliant examination,
+should not be set to rule over a Punjaub district or to deal with the
+unruly Pathans on the frontier. They do not realise that Englishmen
+would sooner submit to be governed by the knout of a Russian official
+than the haughty Sikh or fierce Pathan would endure the sway of men
+they regard as lower than dogs. Our Indian Empire is composed of a
+hundred warring nations, all different in speech, in blood, almost
+in religions. We, the dominant race, hold them all in the _Pax
+Britannica_, and keep them from each other’s throats.
+
+In like manner few realise that China is not a united and homogeneous
+nation. It consists of many provinces, the inhabitants of which belong
+practically to different races and speak in different tongues. They
+have little intercourse or sympathy with each other. Inter‐village
+wars are almost as frequent as among Pathans. Rebellions are common
+occurrences. The Mohammedans hold themselves aloof and regard the other
+Chinese with little love. The written language is the same throughout
+China; but the man of Canton cannot speak with the inhabitant of Pekin
+or the coolie from Amoy. Occasionally the curious sight may be seen of
+two Chinamen from different provinces holding converse with each other
+in pidgin‐English, the only medium of intercourse intelligible to both.
+
+In the outbreak of 1900 the Boxers and the Pekinese showed themselves
+almost as hostile to the Cantonese trading or residing in the north
+as they were to Europeans. They considered that the southern city’s
+long intercourse with the white man must have rendered its inhabitants
+favourable to foreigners; though, indeed, this is very far from the
+truth.
+
+So the Chinaman can have no patriotism. To any but the most
+enlightened—or the mandarins from more sordid motives—it is a matter
+of comparative indifference who rules the Empire. Provided that he
+is allowed to live in peace, that taxes do not weigh upon him too
+heavily or his religion be not interfered with, the peasant cares not
+who reigns in Pekin. Justice he does not ask for; he is too unused to
+it. All that he demands is that he be not too utterly ground down by
+oppression. Patient and long‐suffering, he revolts only against the
+grossest injustice. Not until maddened by famine or unable to wring a
+bare living from the ground does he rise to protest against the unjust
+officials, whose exactions have kept him poor. If he once realised the
+fairness of European rule, he would live content under any banner,
+happy in being allowed to exist in undisturbed possession of the fruit
+of his toil. The Chinamen in our possessions in the East are satisfied
+and happy under the mild law of England. Large numbers of them make
+their home there, content to live and die under a foreign government,
+and ask only that their corpses may be conveyed back to China to be
+interred in its sacred soil.
+
+The average Celestial in his own land feels no pride or interest
+in the glory of his country. In its government he has no voice. Of
+its history, its achievements in the past, he is ignorant. He is
+content with it because it is the only one he knows and so must be
+the best. Of other lands beyond its confines he has dimly heard.
+But their inhabitants are mere barbarians. Those of them who have
+intruded themselves into his country are uncivilised according to his
+standard. They worship false gods; their manners are laughable. All
+they do is at variance with his customs, and so must be wrong. They
+cannot read his books and know nothing of the maxims of Confucius.
+So they must be illiterate as well as irreligious. Yet these strange
+beings are content with themselves, and scorn his ways! This proves
+their ignorance and their conceit. How can they boast, he asks, of
+the superiority of their own countries when they cannot stay there
+and, in face of contempt and hostility, seek to force their way into
+his? And as their coming means interference with customs hallowed by
+age and the uprooting of his dearest prejudices, he resents it. They
+strive to introduce innovations which he can very well do without. What
+sufficed for his father and his father’s father is good enough for him.
+The barbarians come only to disturb. They wish to defile the graves
+of his worshipped ancestors by constructing railways over the soil in
+which their bones rest. The shrieks of the chained devils in their
+engines disturb the _Feng Shui_, the tutelary deities of his fields,
+and hence follow drought and famine. And that these accursed, unneeded
+iron highways may be constructed, he is forced to sell the land which
+has been in the possession of his family for generations. The price
+for it passes through the hands of the mandarins and officials, and
+so but little reaches him. Has he not heard that to secure the safety
+of their bridges little children are kidnapped and buried under their
+foundations? Out upon the accursed intruders! China has flourished
+through countless ages without their aid, and wants them not.
+
+And so, in a measure, hatred of foreigners supplies the place of
+patriotism. It binds all classes together. The ruling clique dread
+them for the reforms they seek to introduce; for these would overthrow
+the frail structure of oligarchical government in Pekin and hurl
+the privileged class from power. The mandarins tremble at their
+interference with the widespread corruption and unjust taxation
+on which the officials now batten. The educated hate them for
+their triumphs over China in the past, their continual territorial
+aggression, and their constant menace to the integrity of China. The
+fanatical hatred of the white man exhibited by the lower classes is
+the result of the blindest ignorance. It is stirred into mad rage
+by the exhortations of the priests, who naturally resent with true
+clerical bigotry the introduction of other creeds. The zealous but too
+often misdirected efforts of the missionaries, who tactlessly trample
+on his dearest beliefs, rouse the Chinaman to excesses against the
+strangers who seem to have intruded themselves upon him only to insult
+all that he holds most sacred. Every misfortune, whether it be drought
+and subsequent famine or devastating floods, storm or pestilence, is
+ascribed to the anger of the gods, irritated at the presence of the
+unbelievers. If the crops fail or small‐pox desolates a village, the
+eyes of the frenzied peasants turn to the nearest mission house where
+live the accursed strangers whose false teachings have aroused the
+anger of the immortals. Urged on by the priests and mandarins, they
+fall upon it and slay its inmates. But retribution comes swiftly. Their
+own Government are forced by dread of foreign interference to punish
+the misguided wretches who have, as they consider, wreaked only a just
+revenge. The officials are degraded. Heads fall and houses are razed
+to the ground. The Imperial troops quarter themselves on the luckless
+villagers who pay dearly in blood and silver for the harm they have
+wrought in their madness. And a sullen hatred of the white man spreads
+through all classes and bears bitter fruit in subsequent graver
+outbreaks.
+
+Can we justly blame them? Would we act differently in their place? What
+if the cases were reversed? Suppose England to be a weak and backward
+country and China wealthy and powerful, with a great navy and a large
+army. Her merchants are enterprising and seek to push their trade into
+other countries, even against the wish of the inhabitants. Chinese
+vessels force their way up the Thames and sell the cargoes they carry
+to our merchants in defiance of the laws we have passed against the
+importation of foreign commodities. Refusing to leave, they are fired
+upon. Chinese missionaries make their way into England and preach
+ancestor‐worship and the tenets of Buddha in the East End of London.
+The scum of Whitechapel mob them—as the Salvation Army has often been
+mobbed. A missionary or two is killed. The Chinese Government seeks
+revenge. A strong fleet is sent to bombard the towns along the South
+Coast. Bristol is seized. A demand is made that the Isle of Wight
+should be ceded in reparation for the insult to the Dragon flag. We
+are forced to surrender it. A Chinese town grows up on it; and the
+merchants in it insist that their goods should have the preference
+over home‐made articles. The Chinese Government demands that tea from
+the Celestial Kingdom should be admitted duty free and a tax put upon
+Indian growths. A criminal or an anarchist, fleeing from justice, takes
+refuge on a small Chinese ship, which is boarded and the fugitive
+seized. We are only an ignorant people, and do not understand the Law
+of Nations. We are soon instructed. Again China sends a fleet; a force
+is landed and Liverpool captured. To redeem it we must pay a large
+ransom. To obtain peace we are obliged to grant the Chinese settlements
+in Liverpool, Bristol, and Southampton. This inspires other Asiatic
+Powers—Corea, Kamschatka, and Siam, which we will imagine to be as
+progressive and powerful as our supposititious China—to demand equal
+privileges and an occasional slice of territory. Kent, Hampshire, and
+Norfolk pass into their hands.
+
+Buddhist and Taoist missionaries now flood the land. The common people
+regard them with fear and hatred. The clergy of the Church of England
+preach against them. The ignorant peasantry and the lowest classes in
+the towns at last rise and expel them. A few of them are killed in the
+process. The flame spreads. The settlements of the hated intruders
+are everywhere assailed. The Asiatic Embassies in London are attacked
+by the mob. Our Government, secretly sympathising with the popular
+feeling, are powerless to defend them. Even if they wished to do so,
+the soldiers would refuse to fire on the rioters.
+
+Then the Allied nations of Eastern Asia band together; a great army
+invades our unhappy country. A dire revenge is taken for the outrages
+on the missionaries and the attacks on the Embassies. Middlesex is
+laid waste with fire and sword; neither age nor sex is spared. The
+brutal Kamschatkans slay the children and violate the women. London is
+captured and looted. The flags of China, Corea, Kamschatka, and Siam
+fly from the roofs of Buckingham Palace; Marlborough House shelters
+the invaders; Windsor Castle is occupied by a garrison of the Allied
+troops. Flying columns march through the land, pillaging and burning
+as they go; the South of England is occupied by the enemy. Before the
+Allied nations evacuate the devastated land a crushing war indemnity is
+laid upon us.
+
+Would we love the yellow strangers then? True, we are backward and
+unprogressive. _They_ are civilised and enlightened; and even against
+our will our country must be advanced. Still, I fear that we should
+be ungrateful enough to resent their kind efforts to improve us and
+persist in regarding them as unwelcome intruders.
+
+All this that I have imagined as befalling England has happened to
+China. For similar causes Canton was bombarded and captured. The
+treaty ports were forced to welcome foreign trade. Hong Kong, Tonkin,
+Kiau‐chau, Port Arthur, all have been torn from China. Fire and sword
+have laid waste the province of Chi‐li. Death to the men and disgrace
+to the women have been unsparingly dealt. Can we wonder that the
+Chinese do not love the foreigner?
+
+Our missionaries go forth to earn the crown of martyrdom. But if they
+gain it their societies demand vengeance in blood and coin from the
+murderers. The Gospel of Love becomes the Doctrine of Revenge. “Forgive
+your enemies!” O ye saintly missionaries who are so shocked at the
+ungodly lives of your sinful fellow‐countrymen in foreign lands, will
+you not practise what you preach? Think of the divine precept of the
+Master you profess to serve and pardon the blind rage of the ignorant
+heathen!
+
+So much for the China of the present. What of the future? She is now
+fettered by the shackles of blind ignorance, by the prejudices and
+retrogressive spirit of the tyrannical Manchu oligarchy who rule
+the land. Her strength is sapped by the poison of corruption. The
+officials, almost to a man, are mercenary and self‐seeking. Extortion
+and dishonesty are found in every class. Suppose a tax is laid upon
+a certain province. The Viceroy orders the mandarins to collect it
+from their districts. They send forth their myrmidons to wring it
+from the people, by threats and torture if need be. Enough must be
+raised to satisfy the many vultures through whose claws it will pass
+before it reaches Pekin. Twice, three times the amount of the sum
+asked for originally must be gathered from the unfortunate taxpayers,
+in order that each official through whose hands it goes on its way to
+the Imperial Treasury may have his share of the spoil. And how is all
+the money raised in the vast Empire spent? Not on the needs of the
+land, certainly. Few roads or bridges exist. They have mostly been
+constructed by charity. The railways—and there are not many—were
+built by foreign capital.
+
+Is there no hope for China? Must she remain for ever the spoil of the
+strong? Or will she one day recognise the secret of her weakness,
+reform and become a power too formidable to be lightly offended? She
+has an example always before her eyes. Forty years ago Japan was as
+ignorant and prejudiced. Foreigners were hated; the country was closed
+to them. The Mikado was then as powerless as the Emperor of China is
+now. The spear and the sword were the weapons which the soldiers of
+Japan opposed to the cannons and rifles of the Europeans. Foreign
+fleets bombarded the coast‐towns and wrung concessions from the
+rulers of the helpless land. The country was divided between powerful
+chieftains of warlike clans.
+
+Yet at one stroke of a magic wand all was changed. Japan now ranks
+among the Great Powers of the world. Her army commands respect
+and fear; on war‐footing it numbers over half a million—and the
+Japanese have always been gallant soldiers. Her navy is as modern
+and well‐equipped as any afloat. The resources of the country have
+been developed. A network of railways covers the land; telegraphs and
+telephones link the important towns. Her manufacturers compete with
+Europe in every market in Asia. Her merchant ships are all but built in
+her own dockyards. The fleets of her steamship companies, such as the
+Nippon Yusen Kaisha, would not discredit Liverpool or New York. Lines
+of splendid passenger steamers, some of them over 6,000 tons, run to
+Europe, America, and Australia. Smaller lines keep up communication
+between Japan and the coasts of Siberia, Corea, and China. Education
+is widespread; universities and schools abound. Manufactures are
+encouraged by a liberal policy. The forest of factory chimneys in Osaka
+gives that town the semblance of Birmingham as one approaches it in the
+train. The water‐power universal throughout the islands is utilised
+freely. Electric light is found in almost every city in the empire.
+It is installed in even the smaller private houses. Automatic public
+telephone kiosks dot the streets of the capital. In provincial towns
+like Nagoya electric trams run.
+
+All that Japan has become, China may yet be. Nay, more. The former is
+poor, her territory small, the greater part of the country encumbered
+with unprofitable mountains. The undeveloped wealth of the latter is
+enormous. Gold, silver, copper, iron, and coal are all found. Vast
+stretches of forest cover the interior. The soil is incredibly fertile;
+and her people are naturally intelligent. The Chinese in Hong Kong and
+elsewhere, as merchants, as shipowners, as professional men, prove
+it. The schools and colleges of our island colony are filled with the
+clever, almond‐eyed students. In the Straits Settlements, as in Hong
+Kong, they compete with the Europeans in commerce and vie with them
+in wealth. All that he is in other countries the Chinaman can become
+in his own under the liberal rule of an enlightened Government. The
+foreigners who trade with the Chinese say that the latter are far more
+trustworthy in business than many a white man. The Chinese merchant’s
+word is his bond. The Japanese are not so reliable; and their artisans
+are by no means as industrious as their Celestial neighbours. The
+latter, under no compulsion, will toil day and night to complete some
+work by the time they have agreed to finish it.
+
+The Chinese soldier is regarded with universal contempt. His
+achievements in the past, when pitted against European troops, have not
+exalted his name. But in 1900 he first showed what splendid material
+he is. With the passive courage of fatalism, incomprehensible to more
+highly strung races, the Chinaman will face death without a struggle.
+When roused by fanaticism he will fight blindly to the end; but in cold
+blood he has no ambition for military glory. When led to battle for
+a cause of which he knows or cares nothing, he is ready to save his
+life by a timely flight with no feelings of shame or self‐reproach. He
+has never been taught otherwise. In China moral suasion or deceit are
+looked upon as more glorious weapons than sword or gun.
+
+But if he were well disciplined and led to understand the meaning
+of _esprit de corps_, well treated and well led, he would prove no
+contemptible soldier. The Boxers who with knives and spears charged
+up to within fifty yards of Seymour’s well‐armed men and faced the
+withering fire of magazine rifles with frenzied courage; the Imperial
+troops who harassed his brave column day and night; the students who
+fought their guns to the last when the Tientsin Military College was
+taken by the Allies—were these cowards?
+
+What the Chinaman can be made to do with proper leading may be seen
+in the behaviour of our Chinese Regiment, little more than a year
+raised, all through the campaign of 1900. When the British, American,
+and Russian stormers had captured the Peiyang Arsenal, on June 27th,
+an attempt to cut them off from Tientsin was made by a large body of
+Imperial troops and Boxers who tried to get between them and the river,
+across which they had to pass on their return. Lieutenant‐Colonel
+Bower, intrepid explorer and gallant soldier, led out his Chinese
+Regiment and drove off the enemy. The conduct of the men under fire was
+excellent.
+
+It is absurd to suppose that the Chinaman cannot learn the art of
+modern warfare. The example of the Imperial troops who attacked Seymour
+and besieged Tientsin amply proves this statement. They took advantage
+of cover with cleverness and knowledge. They used their magazine rifles
+with accuracy and effect. Their gunners were excellently trained.
+Their shooting was so good that at first it was falsely supposed that
+the guns were served by renegade Europeans. The arms with which they
+were equipped were excellent. The troops were well supplied with
+quick‐firing Krupps and magazine rifles. That they could use these
+weapons was proved by the heavy losses among the Allied sailors and
+soldiers in the early part of the campaign.
+
+The Chinese offered so little resistance to the Allies on the march to
+Pekin, the war collapsed so suddenly on the fall of the capital, that
+scant justice has been done to the courage displayed on both sides
+during the heavy fighting with Seymour’s column and around Tientsin.
+The losses among the Europeans show how desperate it was. Admiral
+Seymour’s column, out of less than 2,000 men, lost 295 killed and
+wounded in sixteen days. The casualties among the British contingent of
+900 bluejackets and marines, amounted to 27 killed and 97 wounded. The
+Americans out of 120 men lost 4 killed and 25 wounded. The stormers of
+the Taku forts also lost heavily.
+
+In the beginning of the attack on the Peiyang Arsenal by the Russians,
+they lost over 200 men and had to send for help to the Americans and
+the British.
+
+In the Boxer night attack on Tientsin railway station in July, the
+British, French, and Japanese defending it had 150 casualties.
+
+Out of a total of 5,000 men engaged in the taking of Tientsin native
+city on July 13th and 14th, the Allies lost nearly 800 men.
+
+The Egyptian _fellah_ was once considered to be utterly hopeless as a
+fighting‐man. But British officers nursed him, strengthened his moral
+fibre, and then led him into battle. Witness his behaviour at the
+Atbara and at Omdurman. The army that the genius of Lord Kitchener had
+moulded so skilfully proved invincible; and the _fellah_ did his fair
+share of the fighting.
+
+The Chinaman in natural courage, in physique, and in stamina is far
+superior to the Egyptian. Why should he not become a more formidable
+fighting‐man? Think what the Celestial Empire could do if its soldiers
+were properly armed, trained, and led; if the spirit of self‐respect
+were instilled into them and their natural passive courage fanned into
+active bravery! Think of a warlike army recruited from a population of
+400,000,000; and at its back a reformed China, its resources developed,
+its immense wealth properly utilised, its people free and filled with
+patriotic pride!
+
+What Japan has accomplished, China, once her leader and her conqueror,
+may yet achieve. And signs of the Great Awakening are at hand!
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+  Aberdeen, 181
+
+  Admiral Ho, 201, 214, 215
+
+  Admiral Seymour at the siege of Tientsin, 24;
+    his advance on Pekin, 30
+
+  Affleck‐Scott, Mr., 216
+
+  Ah Ting, Naval Dairy Farm, 4
+
+  Alarm in Hong Kong, 204
+
+  Alarm in Macao, 242
+
+  Allied Armies, men and methods of, 34
+
+  Allied Commissioners in Canton, 259
+
+  Allied Fleet at Taku, 8
+
+  American Army, Continental criticism, 51;
+    excellence of the men, 51;
+    elastic discipline, 51;
+    courage of, 52;
+    gallantry at Tientsin, 53;
+    comradeship with British troops, 53;
+    contempt for Continentals, 53;
+    discomfiture of British subaltern, 54
+
+  Army, American, 50;
+    Chinese in the past, 280;
+    of the future, 298;
+    Dutch, 54;
+    French, 42;
+    German, 34;
+    Indian, 55;
+    Japanese, 47;
+    Russian, 44;
+    Italian, 54
+
+  Arrest, in Japan, 252;
+    in Macao, 246;
+    of an English colonel in Macao, 251
+
+  _Arrow_, incident of the, 258
+
+  Astor House Hotel, Tientsin, 22
+
+
+  Barracoons in Macao, 255
+
+  Barrett, Lieut., Hong Kong Regiment, 199
+
+  Bathing parties in Hong Kong, 191
+
+  Bayly, Captain, R.N., gallantry at Tientsin, 45
+
+  Belcher’s Fort, 176
+
+  Belgian Legation in Pekin, 78, 80
+
+  Bella Vista, Macao, 240
+
+  Bengal Lancers, 1st, 59
+
+  Bersagliere, 54, 176
+
+  Bikanir, H.H. the Maharajah of, 180
+
+  Black Flags, 204
+
+  Boa Vista Hotel, 238
+
+  Boer Campaign, lessons of, 34;
+    foreign ignorance respecting, 41
+
+  Bogue Forts, 277
+
+  Bombay Light Cavalry, 3rd, 60;
+    a sowar’s opinion of the Russians, 164
+
+  Bombay Infantry, 22nd, 200, 204, 208, 229
+
+  Bombay Pioneers, 28th, 57
+
+  Bower, Lieut.‐Col., Chinese Regiment, 296
+
+  Boxers, night attack on Tientsin station, 15;
+    courage of, 24, 295;
+    losses, 25;
+    hostility to Cantonese traders, 284
+
+  Brigands, 136
+
+  Bridge of boats at Tientsin, 19
+
+  Bridge, marble, at Summer Palace, 127
+
+  Bronze Pagoda, 130
+
+  Bronzes in Forbidden City, 90, 93
+
+  Browning, Major, 48, 135, 168
+
+  Buddha, images of, 109
+
+  Buddhist monks, 108
+
+  Buddhist temple, 107
+
+  Burke, Lieut., 22nd Bombay Infantry, 208, 229
+
+
+  Cable tramway to the Peak, 181
+
+  Camoens, Gardens of, 254
+
+  _Cangue_, punishment of the, 269
+
+  Canton, history of intercourse with foreigners, 257;
+    food supplier to Hong Kong, 171;
+    projected railway to, 171, 196;
+    turbulence, 204;
+    reformers in, 206;
+    land and river approach, 278;
+    description, 261;
+    population, 263;
+    its streets, 264;
+    its shops, 265;
+    prison, 269;
+    its trade, 275;
+    its importance to English commerce, 275;
+    an attack on, 277;
+    energy of French consuls in, 276
+
+  Cap‐sui‐Moon Pass, 209
+
+  Carvalhaes, Senhor, A.D.C. to Governor of Macao, 244, 250, 251
+
+  Casserly, Lieut., 208
+
+  Cathedral, Roman Catholic, in Pekin, 95;
+    its siege, 97;
+    at Canton, 263;
+    San Paulo at Macao, 254
+
+  Cavalry, French, 43;
+    Japanese, 47;
+    Indian, 59;
+    in Hong Kong, 200
+
+  Cemetery at Wei‐hai‐wei, 4;
+    Macao, 245
+
+  Centre of the Universe, 70
+
+  Cession of the Kowloon Hinterland, 197
+
+  Chasseurs d’Afrique, 43, 66
+
+  Chifu, 6
+
+  China an easy prize, 280;
+    her sufferings in the past from foreigners, 290;
+    of the present, 291;
+    of the future, 293
+
+  Chinese Army of the past, 280;
+    want of patriotism, 281;
+    family love, 281;
+    Mohammedans, 283;
+    difference in languages, 283;
+    dislike to foreigners, 286;
+    extortion of mandarins, 291;
+    as merchants abroad, 294;
+    trade honesty of, 294;
+    splendid material for soldiers, 296;
+    in modern warfare, 296;
+    soldiers in the South, 227;
+    in the North, 228;
+    examinations, 273
+
+  Chinese Arsenal at Tientsin, 15;
+    guns made at, 217
+
+  Chinese Regiment, guard at Wei‐hai‐wei, 7;
+    barracks, 6;
+    behaviour in action, 295, 296
+
+  Chinese workmen, 97
+
+  Chong Wong Foo, 83
+
+  City Hall, Hong Kong, 176
+
+  Clocks in Emperor’s palace, 91
+
+  Club, Hong Kong, 176;
+    Tientsin, 20;
+    German at Tientsin, 22;
+    English Tennis at Macao, 244;
+    Portuguese Naval Tennis Club, Macao, 251;
+    Military Club, Macao, 241
+
+  _Cloisonné_ in Pekin, its manufacture, 111
+
+  Coal Hill, Pekin, 74
+
+  Cockroaches as an article of diet, 224
+
+  Concessions, European, in Tientsin, 17;
+    in Canton, 259, 274
+
+  Confucius, Temple of, 111
+
+  Consulate, British, at Tientsin, 20;
+    foreign, at Canton, 274
+
+  Coolie Corps, 10
+
+  Cossacks at play, 163
+
+  Customs, Imperial Chinese, station on Mah Wan, 209;
+    at Samchun, 212;
+    officers of, 217
+
+  Curzon, Lord, _Problems of the Far East_, 69
+
+
+  Dagoes, 53
+
+  Daibutsu at Kamakura and Hiogo, 109
+
+  Death of a thousand cuts, 271
+
+  De Boulay, Major, R.A., 121
+
+  Deep Bay, 196, 210
+
+  Development of Japan, 293
+
+  Dobell, Major, D.S.O., Royal Welch Fusiliers, 85
+
+  Docks, Kowloon, 187
+
+  Dockyard, Royal Naval, at Wei‐hai‐wei, 4;
+    at Hong Kong, 178
+
+  Dorward, General, his eulogy of American troops, 52
+
+  Dowager‐Empress, her pavilion in the Forbidden City, 92;
+    palace in Pekin, 74;
+    Summer Palace, 115;
+    seizure of the Emperor, 115;
+    supposed plan to entrap the Allies, 206
+
+  Dragon Gate in Canton, 274
+
+  Drummond, Mr. Ivor, C.I.C., 31
+
+  Dutch Expeditionary Force, 54;
+    their envy of the Portuguese colonies in the past—attempt on
+      Macao, 232
+
+
+  East India Company in Canton, 258
+
+  Efficiency of British officers of the Indian Army, 57;
+    of the Japanese Intelligence Department, 49
+
+  Egyptian _fellah_ compared to the Chinaman, 297
+
+  Elderton, Commander, D.S.O., good work at Taku, 8
+
+  Embroidery in Canton, 268
+
+  Emperor, his powerlessness, 64;
+    his palace, 89;
+    throne room, 89;
+    harem, 90;
+    private apartments, 91
+
+  English Concession at Tientsin, 17
+
+  English Legation at Pekin, 78
+
+  English officers, friendship with the Americans, 21;
+    linguists in China, 19;
+    supposed ungraciousness of manners, 81;
+    plain campaigning dress, 27
+
+  Examinations, Chinese system of, 273
+
+  Examination Hall in Canton, 273
+
+  Examiners, Chinese, at Canton, 274
+
+  Executions at Tientsin, 28;
+    in Canton, 271
+
+  Extortion of mandarins, 291
+
+
+  Fair, Lieut., R.N., Flag‐Lieutenant to Admiral Seymour, 24
+
+  Family love of the Chinese, 281
+
+  Fans, 106
+
+  Fan‐tan in Samchun, 225;
+    in Macao, 253
+
+  Fares from Hong Kong to Canton and Macao, 235
+
+  Favrier, Archbishop, defends the Peitan gallantly, 95;
+    captures a Chinese gun, 96;
+    introduction to him, 99
+
+  Ferreira Amaral, Governor of Macao, refuses to pay tribute to the
+    Chinese, 232
+
+  Fighting races of India, 56
+
+  Fireworks, Chinese, 219
+
+  Flags of Chinese troops in Samchun, 215, 227
+
+  Floating population of Canton, 260;
+    of Hong Kong, 185
+
+  Flora, Governor’s summer residence, 240
+
+  Flowery Forest Monastery, 269
+
+  Forbidden City, 73, 86
+
+  French Army, 42;
+    intimacy between French and German soldiers in Tientsin, 40;
+    Infanterie Coloniale, 42;
+    infantry, 43;
+    officers, 43;
+    method of maintaining discipline, 43;
+    training and organisation, 44;
+    Zouaves and Chasseurs d’Afrique, 43
+
+  French colonial party, suspected designs on Macao, 233;
+    on Canton, 275
+
+  French post‐office in Canton, 276
+
+  Frontier Field Force, 208
+
+  Frontier of the Kowloon Hinterland, 196
+
+  Fusiliers, Royal Welch, attack on a patrol, 23;
+    in the Hinterland, 198;
+    Hong Kong garrison, 200
+
+
+  Garrison of Hong Kong, 199;
+    of Macao, 241
+
+  Gascoigne, Major‐General Sir W., 199
+
+  Gaselee, General Sir A., K.C.B., 204
+
+  German Army, 34;
+    adherence to close formations and antiquated tactics, 35;
+    campaigning dress in China, 39;
+    failure of transport, 39;
+    soldiers, 40;
+    their friendship with the French, 40;
+    officers of, 37
+
+  German Club at Tientsin, 22
+
+  German Imperial Navy, 40;
+    mercantile marine, 40
+
+  Gordon Hall, Tientsin, 22, 28
+
+  Gough, Sir Hugh, attacks Canton, 258
+
+  Government of Macao, 241
+
+  Governor of Macao, 244
+
+  Grant‐Smith, Mr. Ivan, 245, 252
+
+  Gray, Captain, 4th P.I., 167
+
+  Green Island, 173
+
+  Gunboats, allied, at Taku, 9, 10;
+    at Canton, 274;
+    British fired at, 276
+
+  Gurkhas, friendship with Japanese, 50, 166;
+    ingratitude of foreign troops sheltered by them, 166;
+    officers at Shanhaikwan, 138
+
+
+  Hall, Examination at, Canton, 273
+
+  Hall of Five Hundred Genii, 269
+
+  Hall of Ten Thousand Ages, 123
+
+  Happy Valley, 179
+
+  Hardy, Rev. Mr., 1
+
+  Harem, Emperor’s, in Pekin, 90
+
+  Ha‐ta‐man Street, 102;
+    Gate, 77
+
+  Hatherell, Captain, 22nd Bombay Infantry, 208, 229
+
+  Heaven, Temple of, 67
+
+  _Heungshan_, S.S., 235
+
+  Heung Shan, Island of, 233
+
+  Hinterland, Kowloon, 194;
+    character and description of, 195;
+    projected railway through, 196;
+    cession, 196;
+    advantages to Hong Kong, 198;
+    column guarding it, 202;
+    want of maps of, 216;
+    British police in, 198
+
+  Honam, Cantonese suburb of, 260, 263
+
+  Hong Kong, importance as a naval and military base, 167;
+    harbour, 184;
+    menace of famine, 170;
+    commercial importance, 171;
+    geography, 172;
+    description, 174–184;
+    Club, 177;
+    climate, 184;
+    society in, 190;
+    value of dollar, 235
+
+  Hong Kong Regiment, bravery at Tientsin, 15;
+    barracks, 187;
+    disbanded, 187
+
+  Hong Kong, Canton to Macao Steamboat Co., 234
+
+  Hong Kong and Singapore Artillery, 199
+
+  Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, ruins in Pekin, 71;
+    building in Hong Kong, 176
+
+  Hong Kong Volunteers, 188, 199
+
+  Horrors, Temple of, 272
+
+  Hôtel du Nord, Pekin, 71
+
+  Hsi‐ku Arsenal, 30
+
+  Hsin‐ho, British landing‐place at, 10
+
+  Hutchinson, Lieut., R.N.R., 25, 135
+
+
+  Imperial apartments, 91
+
+  Imperial Maritime Customs, Chinese, gunboat, 210;
+    officers, 217;
+    station at Samchun, 212
+
+  Imperial troops, Chinese, 24, 296
+
+  Indian Army, 55;
+    fighting races of, 56;
+    Lord Roberts chiefly responsible for its efficiency, 57;
+    its British officers, 57;
+    organisation of a regiment, 58;
+    foreign criticisms, 59;
+    Russian opinion of, 156;
+    cavalry, 59;
+    infantry, 60;
+    impossibility of another Mutiny, 62;
+    loyalty of the sepoy, 63
+
+  India as a training‐ground for troops, 61
+
+  Indian Expeditionary Force, 33, 55
+
+  Indian Commissariat at Wei‐hai‐wei, 5;
+    at Hong Kong, 178
+
+  Indian Marine, Royal, officers of, 12
+
+  Infanterie Coloniale, 42
+
+  Infantry, excellence of Japanese, 48;
+    Indian, foreign criticisms of, 60;
+    composition of a native regiment of, 58
+
+  Intelligence Department, Japanese, 49
+
+  Italian Expeditionary Force, 54
+
+  Ivory carving in Canton, 266
+
+
+  Japan in the past, 292;
+    its modern development, 293;
+    arrests in, 252
+
+  Japanese Army captures Wei‐hai‐wei, 3;
+    transport, 47;
+    campaigning dress, 47;
+    cavalry, 47;
+    infantry, 48;
+    infantry in action, 48;
+    organisation, 49;
+    Intelligence Department, 49;
+    officers as intelligence agents in Pekin, 49;
+    excellent discipline, 49;
+    courage and moderation, 50;
+    friendship for Indian troops, 50, 165
+
+  Japanese Fleet, arrival at Shanhaikwan, 149
+
+  Johnstone, Major, R.M.L.I., 30
+
+  Junks, marble junk, 127;
+    junks in Hong Kong harbour, 210;
+    war junks, 211
+
+
+  Kell, Lieut., S. Stafford Regt., 144
+
+  Kettler, murder of Baron, 83;
+    monument, 83
+
+  Kettlewell, Major, commands Frontier Field Force, 208
+
+  Kipling, Rudyard, his description of Canton, 256
+
+  Kowloon, 174, 186;
+    docks, 187;
+    society, 193
+
+  Kowloon, Chinese city of, 186, 188
+
+  Kowloon Peninsula, 172, 183, 194
+
+  Kowloon Hinterland, _see_ Hinterland.
+
+  Kwang‐tung, 194;
+    rebellion in, 207
+
+
+  Labertouche, Captain, 22nd Bombay Infantry, 146
+
+  Ladies’ Recreation Ground, Hong Kong, 184
+
+  Lama Temple, Great, Pekin, 107
+
+  Lampacao, Portuguese settlement on, 231
+
+  Language, difference in Chinese languages in various provinces, 283;
+    polyglot, 20;
+    British officers as interpreters, 19
+
+  Lantau, Island of, 183
+
+  Legation Street, Pekin, 70, 80
+
+  Legations, Pekin, 78;
+    defence of, 78;
+    visit to English Legation, 79;
+    guard, 79;
+    new defensive wall, 107
+
+  Li Hung Chang, 128, 204
+
+  Ling‐chi, torture of, 271
+
+  Liscum, Colonel, U.S. Army, his death, 53
+
+  Liu‐kung‐tao, Island of, 3
+
+  Losses of Allies at Tientsin, 296, 297
+
+  Lo‐u, 216
+
+
+  Macao, 231;
+    its past history, 231;
+    its present decay, 232;
+    danger to Hong Kong, 233;
+    passage to, 236;
+    description, 237‐40;
+    public gardens, 240;
+    government, 241;
+    society, 243;
+    affair with police, 245;
+    gambling houses, 253;
+    sights, 254
+
+  Madrassis, decay of, 56
+
+  Madras Sappers and Miners, 56
+
+  Madras Light Infantry, 3rd, 200, 204, 208
+
+  Mandarins at Samchun, 222;
+    corruption of Chinese, 228;
+    extortion, 291
+
+  Manchuria, Russian soldiers in, 45
+
+  Map of Kowloon Hinterland, 216
+
+  Marble junk, 127
+
+  Marble bridge at Summer Palace, 127
+
+  Marco Polo, 269
+
+  Melville, Lieut., 22nd Bombay Infantry, 208
+
+  Mikado, 292
+
+  Military Club, Macao, 241
+
+  Military College, Tientsin, 295
+
+  Moji, 253
+
+  Monte Carlo of the East, 232
+
+  Moon, Temple of, 70
+
+  Mosquitoes, 141
+
+  Mount Austen Hotel, 182
+
+  Mounted Infantry in Tientsin, 26;
+    usefulness in Hong Kong, 200
+
+  Mud of Pekin, 82
+
+  Mutiny in Macao, 242
+
+  Mutiny, impossibility of another Indian, 62
+
+
+  Nagoya, electric cars in, 293
+
+  Naval Dockyard at Wei‐hai‐wei, 4;
+    at Hong Kong, 178
+
+  Navy, German, 40
+
+  Newchwang, Russian church parade in, 45;
+    railway to, 133
+
+  Nippon Yusen Kaisha, 293
+
+
+  Ogilvie, Lieut., R.A., 208
+
+  Old Kowloon City, 186, 188
+
+  Osaka, 293
+
+  Outrages on foreigners in China, 287
+
+
+  Pagoda, bronze, 130
+
+  Patriotism, want of, 281;
+    of India, 282
+
+  Peak in Hong Kong, 175, 181, 183
+
+  Pearl River, 236, 261
+
+  Peddlers in Pekin, 102;
+    in Canton, 261
+
+  Peiho River, 9, 19
+
+  Peitan, Roman Catholic Cathedral, 95;
+    siege, 97
+
+  Peiyang Arsenal, taking of, 219, 295;
+    Russian losses at, 297
+
+  Pekin, journey to, 65;
+    station, 66;
+    description, 71;
+    walls of, 72;
+    Tartar and Chinese cities, 72;
+    Tartar city, 72;
+    Legations, 78;
+    mud, 82;
+    Allied occupation of, 83;
+    Forbidden City, 87
+
+  _Pigmy_, H.M.S., takes Shanhaikwan forts, 134
+
+  Pioneers, 28th Bombay, 57
+
+  Police of Macao, 241;
+    affair with, 246
+
+  Police of new territory, British, 213
+
+  Polo ground in Victoria, 180
+
+  Polo in Hong Kong, 180
+
+  Ponies, troublesome Chinese, 116
+
+  Population of Canton, 263
+
+  Port Arthur, reinforcements from, 46;
+    retention of, 156
+
+  Portuguese colony of Macao, 231;
+    tribute to China, 232;
+    police, 246;
+    Naval Tennis Club, 251
+
+  Powell, Sir Francis, R.N., 178
+
+  Pottery, 106
+
+  Praia Grande, 238
+
+  Punjaub Infantry, 4th, in action with Japanese troops, 48;
+    guarding the railway, 135;
+    under Lieut. Stirling, D.S.O., 168
+
+  Purple or Forbidden City, 73
+
+  Puzzle‐balls, Chinese, 267
+
+
+  Quarto del Sargento, 248
+
+  Queen’s House, Wei‐hai‐wei, 5
+
+  Queen’s Road, Hong Kong, 248
+
+
+  Railways in North China, 133;
+    from Tong‐ku to Pekin, 13, 65;
+    to Shanhaikwan, 135
+
+  Railway, projected, to Canton, 196
+
+  Railway Siding incident, 32
+
+  Railway Staff Officers, British, 14
+
+  Reformers in Southern China, 206
+
+  Ringing Rocks at Macao, 255
+
+  Roberts, Lord, 57
+
+  Royal Indian Marine Officers, 12
+
+  Royal Welch Fusiliers, attack on patrol, 23;
+    in the Hinterland, 198;
+    Hong Kong garrison, 200
+
+  Rudkin, Lieut, 20th Bombay Infantry, his tact and firmness, 33
+
+  Rue du General Voyron, Pekin, 97
+
+  Rundell, Lieut., R.E., 208
+
+  Russian Army, 44;
+    troops, 44;
+    endurance of soldiers, 45;
+    piety, 45;
+    courage, 46;
+    comradeship between officers and men, 47
+
+  Russian Railway Staff Officer at Shanhaikwan, 144
+
+  Russians seize railways in North China, 133;
+    seize rolling stock at Shanhaikwan, 146;
+    dinner party at Shanhaikwan on the cliffs, 149;
+    a dinner with Russian officers, 154;
+    causes of dislike to England, 155
+
+
+  Samchun, 207, 212, 214;
+    visit to, 221;
+    river, 217
+
+  Sampans in Hong Kong, 185
+
+  San Paulo, ruined cathedral of, 254
+
+  Satow, Sir Ernest, 128
+
+  Saunders, Lieut., R.A., 208
+
+  Sepoys, opinion of foreign contingents, 61, 164;
+    loyalty of, 62
+
+  Seymour, Admiral Sir Edward, courage in Tientsin, 24;
+    his advance on Pekin, 30
+
+  Shameen, 259, 274
+
+  Sharpe, Captain, 3rd Madras Light Infantry, 208
+
+  Siberian Army, 45
+
+  Siege of Tientsin, 30
+
+  Siege of the Peitan, 97
+
+  Siege train, disappointment of British, 26
+
+  Sikhs, 61
+
+  Silks in Pekin, 105
+
+  Shanhaikwan, 138;
+    strategic importance of, 134;
+    railway journey to, 135;
+    town of, 146;
+    Great Wall of China at, 148;
+    arrival of Japanese Fleet at, 149;
+    forts at, 151;
+    Japanese and Indians at, 167
+
+  Society in Hong Kong, 190, 192;
+    Kowloon, 193;
+    in Macao, 243
+
+  Spirit Path, 88
+
+  Stanley, abandoned town of, 181
+
+  Stirling, Lieut., D.S.O., 4th Punjaub Infantry, 168
+
+  Straubenzee, General Sir Charles, 258
+
+  Streets of Canton, 263
+
+  Streets of Pekin, 75
+
+  Summer Palace, 115
+
+  Sun Yat Sen, 207
+
+
+  Tai‐mo‐shan, 183
+
+  Tai‐u‐shan, 183
+
+  Taku, 8, 9;
+    forts, 9
+
+  Taku Road, 23
+
+  Tartar City, 72
+
+  Temple of Heaven, 67;
+    Sun, 69;
+    Moon, 70;
+    in Forbidden City, 90, 93;
+    Lama, 107;
+    Confucius, 111;
+    Five Hundred Genii, 269;
+    of Horrors, 272
+
+  _Terrible_, H.M.S., at Shanhaikwan, 155;
+    gunners, 25
+
+  Tientsin station, 15;
+    concessions, 17;
+    Chinese City, 17;
+    Club, 20;
+    siege of, 30
+
+  Tommy Atkins in Tientsin, 27
+
+  Tong‐ku, 10, 11;
+    Allies at, 11;
+    station, 134
+
+  Tong‐shan, 137
+
+  Tortures, Chinese, 271
+
+  Traders, Chinese as, 294
+
+  Transport officers, 8
+
+  Transport of Germans defective, 39;
+    of Japanese, 4;
+    Indian, 55
+
+  Treaty Ports, 258
+
+  Triad Society, 207, 216
+
+  Tung Chow, 117
+
+
+  Valley, Happy, 179
+
+  Vasilievski, General, wounded at Pekin, 118
+
+  Victoria, Hong Kong, 173
+
+  Victoria Road, Tientsin, 22
+
+  Vladivostock, 156
+
+  Vodki, 154
+
+  Von Waldersee, Count, and our Royal Horse Artillery, 68
+
+
+  Wall, Great, of China, 147
+
+  Walls of Canton, 261
+
+  Walls of Pekin, 72, 76
+
+  Walls of Wei‐hai‐wei, 5
+
+  Want of patriotism among the Chinese, 281
+
+  Water‐gate of Tartar City, 78;
+    of Canton, 262
+
+  Wei‐hai‐wei by night, 2;
+    by day, 3;
+    Chinese village of, 6;
+    taken by Japanese, 3
+
+  Welch Fusiliers, Royal, 79, 85, 198, 200
+
+  West River, 276
+
+  Whittall, Major, Hyderabad Contingent, 18
+
+  Williams, Major, Base Commissariat Officer, 178
+
+  Woolley, Captain, I.M.S., 208, 220
+
+  Workmen, Chinese, 97
+
+
+  Yamen, Wei‐hai‐wei, 4;
+    Canton, 262;
+    Samchun, 221;
+    British Consuls in Canton, 259
+
+  Yangtsun, 66
+
+  Yaumati, 186, 209
+
+  Yuan Shi Kai, army of, 229
+
+
+  _Zaire_, Portuguese gunboat, 237;
+    lands sailors, 242
+
+  Zouaves, 43
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Colophon]
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Land of the Boxers, by Gordon Casserly
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Land of the Boxers, by Gordon Casserly
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
+other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
+whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
+the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
+www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
+to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
+
+Title: The Land of the Boxers
+       or, China under the Allies
+
+Author: Gordon Casserly
+
+Release Date: December 28, 2015 [EBook #50785]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAND OF THE BOXERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Brian Wilcox, Suzanne Shell and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
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+
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+
+</pre>
+
+
+<p id="half-title">THE LAND OF THE BOXERS</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus01">
+<img src="images/illus01.jpg" width="373" height="500" alt="" />
+<div class="center">
+<table class="myleft" border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="4" summary="british forces">
+<tr>
+<th><span class="smaller">CAPT. PELL</span></th>
+<th class="tdc"><span class="smaller">CAPT. PHILLIPS</span></th>
+<th class="tdr"><span class="smaller">COL. O&#8217;SULLIVAN</span></th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<th><span class="smaller">LIEUT. STEEL</span></th>
+<th class="tdc"><span class="smaller">GEN. BARROW</span></th>
+<th class="tdr"><span class="smaller">GEN. SIR A. GASELEE, K.C.B.</span></th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="tdc" colspan="3">COMMANDER&#8208;IN&#8208;CHIEF AND STAFF OF THE BRITISH FORCES
+IN NORTH CHINA</td>
+</tr></table></div></div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="chapter"><h1>
+<span class="smaller">THE</span><br />
+LAND OF THE BOXERS<br />
+</h1>
+<p class="center noindent"><span class="smallest">OR</span></p>
+
+<p class="center noindent">CHINA UNDER THE ALLIES</p>
+
+<p class="p4 center noindent"><span class="smallest">BY</span><br />
+CAPTAIN GORDON CASSERLY<br />
+<span class="smallest">INDIAN ARMY</span></p>
+
+<p class="p4 center noindent"><span class="smallest">WITH 15 ILLUSTRATIONS AND A PLAN</span></p>
+
+<p class="p4 center noindent">LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.<br />
+<span class="smaller">39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON<br />
+NEW YORK AND BOMBAY</span><br />
+1903
+<br />
+<span class="smallest"><em>All rights reserved</em></span>
+</p></div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p class="p4 center noindent">
+<span class="smaller">TO</span><br />
+THE OFFICERS<br />
+<span class="smaller">OF THE</span><br />
+AMERICAN AND BRITISH<br />
+NAVAL AND MILITARY FORCES<br />
+IN CHINA</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="PREFACE"><span class="larger">PREFACE</span></h2></div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap2">WRITTEN many thousand miles from the ever&#8208;troubled land of China,
+with no opportunity for reference, this book doubtless contains many
+errors, for which the reader&#8217;s indulgence is asked. The criticisms of
+the various armies are not the result of my own unaided impressions,
+but a <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">r&eacute;sum&eacute;</span></em> of the opinions of the many officers of the different
+contingents with whom I conversed on the subject.</p>
+
+<p>My thanks are due to Sir Richard Harrison, <span class="smcap">k.c.b.</span>,
+Inspector&#8208;General of Fortifications, who served with the Allied Army
+which captured Pekin in 1860, for his courtesy in permitting me to use
+some of the excellent photographs taken by the Photo Section, Royal
+Engineers.</p>
+
+<p class="right">THE AUTHOR</p>
+<p><span class="smcap smaller">London, 1903</span></p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">ix</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="CONTENTS"><span class="largest">CONTENTS</span></h2></div>
+
+<p class="p2 center noindent"><span class="large">CHAPTER I</span></p>
+
+<p class="center noindent">FROM WEI&#8208;HAI&#8208;WEI TO TIENTSIN</p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent1">Our transport&mdash;An Irish <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">padr&eacute;</span></em>&mdash;Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei harbour by night&mdash;The
+island by day&mdash;The mainland&mdash;On to Taku&mdash;Taku at last&mdash;The allied
+fleet&mdash;The famous forts&mdash;The Peiho River&mdash;The Allies at Tong&#8208;ku&mdash;The
+British at Hsin&#8208;ho&mdash;The train to Tientsin&mdash;A motley crowd of
+passengers&mdash;The country <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en route</span></em>&mdash;A historic railway station</p>
+<p class="pages"><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><em>pages</em> 1&#8211;16</a></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="large">CHAPTER II</span></p>
+
+<p class="center">TIENTSIN</p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent1">The foreign settlement&mdash;The Chinese city&mdash;The linguists in the
+Anglo&#8208;Indian army&mdash;The Tientsin Club&mdash;A polyglot crowd round the
+bar&mdash;The English Concession&mdash;The famous Gordon Hall&mdash;The brawls in
+Taku Road&mdash;Dissensions among the Allied troops&mdash;The attack on the
+Royal Welch Fusiliers&#8217; patrol&mdash;The siege of Tientsin&mdash;Scene of the
+fighting&mdash;Accuracy of the Chinese shell fire&mdash;Soldier life in the
+streets of Tientsin&mdash;Tommy Atkins&mdash;Peace and War&mdash;The revenge of
+Christianity&mdash;The &#8220;railway siding incident&#8221;</p>
+<p class="pages"><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><em>pages</em> 17&#8211;33</a></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="large">CHAPTER III</span></p>
+
+<p class="center">THE ALLIED ARMIES IN CHINA</p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent1">The German expeditionary force&mdash;Out&#8208;of&#8208;date tactics&mdash;Failure of their
+transport&mdash;Their campaigning dress&mdash;The German officer&mdash;The French
+troops&mdash;Improved training and organisation of the French army&mdash;The
+Russians&mdash;Endurance and bravery of the Russian soldier&mdash;Defective
+training&mdash;The Japanese army&mdash;Its
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">x</a></span>
+transport system in China&mdash;Splendid infantry&mdash;The courage of the
+Japanese&mdash;Excellence of their Intelligence Department&mdash;Its working&mdash;The
+East sown with their agents&mdash;The discipline of the Japanese
+soldiers&mdash;Their bravery in action&mdash;Moderation in victory&mdash;Friendship
+for our sepoys&mdash;The American troops&mdash;Continental criticism&mdash;The
+American army of the future&mdash;Gallantry of the Americans at the
+capture of Tientsin&mdash;General Dorward&#8217;s praise&mdash;Friendship between the
+American and British troops&mdash;Discomfiture of an English subaltern&mdash;The
+Italians&mdash;Holland&#8217;s imposing contingent&mdash;The Indian army&mdash;A revelation
+to the world&mdash;Indian troops acting alone&mdash;Fighting qualities of the
+various races&mdash;The British officers of the Indian army&mdash;Organisation of
+an Indian regiment&mdash;Indian cavalry&mdash;Loyalty of the sepoy</p>
+<p class="pages"><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><em>pages</em> 34&#8211;63</a></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="large">CHAPTER IV</span></p>
+
+<p class="center">PEKIN</p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent1">To the capital&mdash;The railway journey&mdash;Von Waldersee&#8217;s introduction to
+our Royal Horse Artillery&mdash;The Temple of Heaven&mdash;The Temples of the
+Sun and Moon&mdash;The Centre of the Universe&mdash;The Chien M&ecirc;n Gate&mdash;Legation
+Street&mdash;The H&ocirc;tel du Nord&mdash;Description of Pekin&mdash;The famous walls&mdash;The
+Tartar City&mdash;The Imperial City&mdash;The Forbidden City&mdash;Coal Hill&mdash;The
+Ming Pagoda&mdash;The streets of Pekin&mdash;A visit to the Legations&mdash;The
+siege&mdash;Pekin mud&mdash;A wet day&mdash;A princely palace&mdash;Chong Wong Foo&mdash;A visit
+to the Forbidden City&mdash;The Imperial eunuchs&mdash;Seated on the Emperor&#8217;s
+throne&mdash;His Majesty&#8217;s harem&mdash;A quaint notice&mdash;A giant bronze&mdash;The
+Imperial apartments&mdash;The Emperor&#8217;s bedroom&mdash;The Empress&#8208;Dowager&#8217;s
+pavilion&mdash;Musical&#8208;boxes and toys&mdash;Her Majesty&#8217;s bed&mdash;The Imperial
+Garden&mdash;The view from Coal Hill</p>
+<p class="pages"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><em>pages</em> 64&#8211;94</a></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="large">CHAPTER V</span></p>
+
+<p class="center">RAMBLES IN PEKIN</p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent1">The Peitan&mdash;Defence of the Cathedral&mdash;A prelate of the Church
+militant&mdash;A gallant defence&mdash;Aspect of Pekin after the
+restoration of order&mdash;A stroll down Ha&#8208;ta&#8208;man Street&mdash;Street
+scenes&mdash;Peddlers&mdash;Jugglers&mdash;Peep&#8208;shows and a shock&mdash;A dancing
+bear&mdash;Shoeing a pony&mdash;The sorrows of a Pekin shopkeeper&mdash;Silk
+and fan shops&mdash;A pottery store&mdash;A market&#8208;place&mdash;A chaffering
+crowd&mdash;Beggars&mdash;The Legation wall&mdash;Visit to the Great Lama Temple&mdash;The
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">xi</a></span>
+outer gate&mdash;The first court&mdash;Lama priests&mdash;Rapacious beggars&mdash;The
+central temple&mdash;Colossal statue of Buddha&mdash;The lesser temples&mdash;Improper
+gods&mdash;Photographing the priests&mdash;The Temple of Confucius&mdash;A bare
+interior&mdash;A visit to a Pekin <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">cloisonn&eacute;</span></em> factory&mdash;Method of
+manufacture&mdash;Deft artists&mdash;Firing&mdash;The enamel&mdash;The humiliation of
+China&mdash;The standards of the victors</p>
+<p class="pages"><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><em>pages</em> 95&#8211;114</a></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="large">CHAPTER VI</span></p>
+
+<p class="center">THE SUMMER PALACE</p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent1">Our ponies&mdash;The ride through the streets&mdash;Evil&#8208;smelling lanes&mdash;The
+walls&mdash;The shattered gate&#8208;towers&mdash;The Japanese guard&mdash;The taking
+of the City and relief of the Legations&mdash;The paved high&#8208;road&mdash;A
+fertile country&mdash;The villages&mdash;A ruined temple&mdash;Bengal Lancers and
+Mounted Infantrymen&mdash;A ride through the fields&mdash;Distant view of the
+palace&mdash;The ornamental gate&mdash;The entrance&mdash;The sepoy guard&mdash;The outer
+courtyard&mdash;Bronzes on the temple verandah&mdash;A network of courts&mdash;Royal
+Artillery mess in the pavilion that had served as the Emperor&#8217;s
+prison&mdash;The shaded courtyard&mdash;Officers&#8217; quarters looking out on the
+lake&mdash;A marble&#8208;walled lake&mdash;Lotos&mdash;Boats&mdash;A walk round the lake&mdash;The
+covered terrace&mdash;The Bersagliere guard&mdash;Pretty summer&#8208;houses&mdash;The
+Empress&#8217;s temples&mdash;The marble junk&mdash;A marble bridge&mdash;Lunch in a
+monarch&#8217;s prison&mdash;The hill over the lake&mdash;A lovely view&mdash;The Hall of
+Ten Thousand Ages&mdash;Vandalism&mdash;Shattered Buddhas&mdash;The Bronze Pagoda&mdash;The
+island&mdash;The distant hills&mdash;Summer quarters of the British Legation&mdash;The
+ride back&mdash;Tropical rain&mdash;Flooded streets&mdash;A swim</p>
+<p class="pages"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><em>pages</em> 115&#8211;132</a></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="large">CHAPTER VII</span></p>
+
+<p class="center">A TRIP TO SHANHAIKWAN</p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent1">A long journey&mdash;The junction at Tong&#8208;ku&mdash;Mud flats&mdash;A fertile
+country&mdash;Walled villages&mdash;Mud forts&mdash;Defended stations&mdash;The
+canal&mdash;Tong&#8208;shan&mdash;The refreshment room&mdash;The coal mines&mdash;Hills&mdash;Roving
+brigands&mdash;Shanhaikwan&mdash;Stranded at the station&mdash;Borrowing a
+bed&mdash;Hunting for a meal&mdash;A Continental <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">caf&eacute;</span>&mdash;Spatch&#8208;cocks&mdash;A woman
+without pride&mdash;A mosquito concert with refreshments&mdash;Rigging up a
+net&mdash;A surprise for the British and Russian station officers&mdash;A
+midnight introduction&mdash;An admiring Russian&mdash;Kind hospitality&mdash;Good
+Samaritans&mdash;The Gurkha mess&mdash;Fording a stream&mdash;A Russian cart&mdash;The
+Great Wall of
+<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">xii</a></span>
+China&mdash;Snipe&mdash;The forts&mdash;The old camp&mdash;The walls of the city&mdash;On
+the cliffs by the sea&mdash;The arrival of the Japanese fleet&mdash;A shock
+for a Russian dinner&#8208;party&mdash;The sea frozen in winter&mdash;A cricket
+match&mdash;Shooting snipe on the cricket pitch&mdash;Dining with my Russian
+friends&mdash;Vodki&mdash;Mixed drinks&mdash;The wily Russian and the Newchwang
+railway&mdash;Tea &agrave; la Russe&mdash;Heavy rain&mdash;The line flooded&mdash;Cossacks
+on a raft&mdash;Cut off from everywhere&mdash;An orderly of the 3rd Bombay
+Cavalry&mdash;A sowar&#8217;s opinion of the Russian invasion of India&mdash;Collapsed
+houses&mdash;Friendly scene between Japanese soldiers and our sepoys&mdash;The
+floods subside&mdash;The return&mdash;Smuggling arms&mdash;Lieutenant Stirling,
+<span class="smcap">D.S.O.</span></p>
+<p class="pages"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><em>pages</em> 133&#8211;168</a></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="large">CHAPTER VIII</span></p>
+
+<p class="center">OUR STRONGHOLD IN THE FAR EAST</p>
+
+<p class="center">HONG KONG AND THE KOWLOON HINTERLAND</p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent1">Importance of Hong Kong as a naval and military base&mdash;An object&#8208;lesson
+of Empire&mdash;Its marvellous rise&mdash;The constant menace of famine&mdash;Cause
+of Hong Kong&#8217;s prosperity&mdash;Its geographical position&mdash;An
+archipelago&mdash;Approaching Hong Kong by sea&mdash;First view of Victoria&mdash;A
+crowded harbour&mdash;The mainland&mdash;The Kowloon Peninsula&mdash;The city of
+Victoria&mdash;Queen&#8217;s Road&mdash;The Shops, hotels, banks&mdash;The City Hall&mdash;The
+palatial club&mdash;The Brigade Parade Ground&mdash;The base Commissariat
+Officer, Major Williams, <span class="smcap lowercase">I.S.C.</span>&mdash;The Naval Dockyard&mdash;Sir
+Francis Powell, <span class="smcap lowercase">K.C.M.G</span>.&mdash;Barracks and Arsenal&mdash;The Happy Valley&mdash;A
+<em>memento mori</em>&mdash;The polo ground&mdash;Lyeemoon Pass&mdash;The southern side
+of the Island&mdash;The Peak&mdash;The cable tramway&mdash;View from the Peak&mdash;The
+residential quarter&mdash;The floating population of Hong Kong&mdash;The
+sampans&mdash;Their dangers in the past&mdash;The rising suburb of Kowloon&mdash;The
+Hong Kong regiment&mdash;The docks&mdash;The Chinese city of Kowloon&mdash;Street
+scenes in Hong Kong&mdash;Social amusements of the colony&mdash;Society in Hong
+Kong and Kowloon&mdash;The Kowloon Peninsula&mdash;Danger to Hong Kong averted by
+its possession&mdash;Character of the peninsula&mdash;The frontier&mdash;The Chinese
+territory beyond it&mdash;The taking over of the Hinterland in 1898&mdash;A small
+campaign&mdash;The chances of a land invasion of Hong Kong&mdash;The garrison of
+Hong Kong&mdash;Advisability of mounted infantry</p>
+<p class="pages"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><em>pages</em> 169&#8211;201</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">xiii</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="large">CHAPTER IX</span></p>
+
+<p class="center">ON COLUMN IN SOUTHERN CHINA</p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent1">A camp on the British frontier&mdash;Fears of outbreaks in Canton&mdash;The
+Black Flags&mdash;Alarm in Hong Kong&mdash;General Gaselee&#8217;s troops diverted to
+Hong Kong and Shanghai&mdash;His authority among the Allies weakened in
+consequence&mdash;Wild rumours in Canton&mdash;The reform party in the south&mdash;The
+Triads&mdash;Rebellion in the Kwang&#8208;tung province&mdash;Admiral Ho&mdash;Troops
+despatched from Hong Kong to guard the frontier&mdash;The Frontier Field
+Force&mdash;Its composition&mdash;The departure of the column&mdash;A picturesque
+voyage&mdash;An Imperial Chinese Customs gunboat&mdash;The Samchun River&mdash;War
+junks&mdash;Our first camp&mdash;Admiral Ho&#8217;s army&mdash;Consternation among the
+Chinese troops&mdash;They march away&mdash;No official maps of the Hinterland&mdash;A
+Customs station&mdash;Britishers in danger&mdash;Chinese&#8208;made modern guns&mdash;A
+false alarm&mdash;A phantom battle&mdash;Chinese fireworks&mdash;A smart trick at
+the storming of the Peiyang Arsenal&mdash;A visit to Samchun&mdash;A game
+of bluff&mdash;Taking tea with a mandarin&mdash;Round the town&mdash;Cockroaches
+as a luxury&mdash;A Yankee Chinaman&mdash;A grateful escort&mdash;Terrified
+Chinese soldiers&mdash;An official visit to a mandarin&mdash;Southern Chinese
+soldiers&mdash;The Imperial troops in the north&mdash;A real alarm&mdash;A night
+raid&mdash;A disappointment</p>
+<p class="pages"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><em>pages</em> 202&#8211;230</a></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="large">CHAPTER X</span></p>
+
+<p class="center">IN THE PORTUGUESE COLONY OF MACAO</p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent1">Early history of Macao&mdash;Its decay&mdash;A source of danger to Hong
+Kong&mdash;Fleet of the Hong Kong, Canton, and Macao Steamboat
+Company&mdash;The <em>Heungshan</em> and its passengers&mdash;Guarding against
+piracy&mdash;Macao from the sea&mdash;An awkward Chinaman&mdash;The Boa Vista
+Hotel&mdash;View over the city&mdash;The Praia Grande&mdash;Around the peninsula&mdash;In
+the Public Gardens&mdash;Administration of Macao&mdash;A night alarm&mdash;A
+mutinous regiment&mdash;Portuguese and Macaese society&mdash;A visit to
+the Governor&mdash;An adventure with the police&mdash;An arrest&mdash;Insolent
+treatment of British subjects&mdash;Redress&mdash;An arrest in Japan&mdash;Chinese
+gambling&#8208;houses&mdash;<em>Fan&#8208;tan</em>&mdash;The sights of Macao</p>
+<p class="pages"><a href="#CHAPTER_X"><em>pages</em> 231&#8211;255</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">xiv</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="center"><span class="larger">CHAPTER XI</span></p>
+
+<p class="center">A GLIMPSE OF CANTON</p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent1">Hostility of Canton to foreigners&mdash;The scare in 1900&mdash;History of
+Canton&#8217;s relations with the outer world&mdash;Its capture and occupation
+by the English and French&mdash;The foreign settlement&mdash;The river journey
+from Hong Kong to Canton&mdash;River scenes at Canton&mdash;A floating
+city&mdash;Description of Canton&mdash;The streets&mdash;A visit to the shops&mdash;Feather
+workers&mdash;Ivory carvers&mdash;Embroidery shops&mdash;Temple of the Five Hundred
+Genii&mdash;Marco Polo among the gods&mdash;The prison&mdash;The <em>cangue</em>&mdash;Insolent
+prisoners&mdash;Chinese punishments&mdash;Death of a Thousand Cuts&mdash;The
+Temple of Horrors&mdash;The Examination Hall&mdash;Shameen&mdash;The English and
+French concessions&mdash;Foreign gunboats&mdash;The trade of Canton&mdash;French
+designs&mdash;Energy of their consuls&mdash;Our weak forbearance&mdash;An attack on
+Canton by river and by land</p>
+<p class="pages"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><em>pages</em> 256&#8211;278</a></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="large">CHAPTER XII</span></p>
+
+<p class="center">CHINA&mdash;PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE</p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent1">At England&#8217;s mercy in the past&mdash;An easy and tempting prize&mdash;Patriotism
+unknown&mdash;The Chinaman&#8217;s wonderful love of his family&mdash;Causes of his
+want of patriotism&mdash;His indifference as to his rulers&mdash;The Chinese
+abroad&mdash;Hatred of foreigners in China&mdash;Its causes&mdash;This hatred common
+to all classes&mdash;A substitute for the non&#8208;existent patriotism&mdash;Can we
+blame the Chinese?&mdash;A comparison&mdash;If England were like China&mdash;Our
+country invaded by Chinese, Coreans, Siamese, and Kamschatkans&mdash;The
+missionaries in China&mdash;The gospel of love becomes the doctrine of
+revenge&mdash;The China of the present&mdash;Tyranny and corruption&mdash;What the
+future may prove&mdash;Japan&#8217;s example&mdash;Japan in the past and now&mdash;What
+she is China may become&mdash;Intelligence of the Chinese&mdash;Their
+success in other countries&mdash;The Chinaman as a soldier&mdash;Splendid
+material&mdash;Examples: the Boxers; the Regulars who attacked Seymour and
+Tientsin; the military students at Tientsin; the behaviour of our
+Chinese Regiment under fire&mdash;Heavy losses among the Allies in the
+beginning of the campaign&mdash;Comparison of the Egyptian fellaheen&mdash;The
+Chinese army of the future&mdash;A reformed Empire</p>
+<p class="pages"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><em>pages</em> 279&#8211;298</a></p>
+
+<p><span class="smcap">Index</span></p>
+<p class="pages"><a href="#INDEX"><em>pages</em> 299&#8211;307</a></p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"><span class="largest">LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</span></h2></div>
+
+<div class="center">
+<table class="myleft" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="LoI">
+<tr>
+<th class="tdr smaller" colspan="3">PAGE</th>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td><p class="indent">COMMANDER&#8208;IN&#8208;CHIEF AND STAFF OF THE BRITISH FORCES
+IN NORTH CHINA</p></td>
+<td class="vertb"><a href="#illus01"><span class="small"><em>Frontispiece</em></span></a></td>
+<td>&nbsp;</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">PLAN OF PEKIN</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus02">xvi</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">EUROPEAN CONCESSIONS, TIENTSIN, AND THE PEIHO RIVER</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus03">17</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">EXECUTION OF A BOXER BY THE FRENCH</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus05">28</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">PUBLIC GARDENS AND GORDON HALL IN THE VICTORIA ROAD, ENGLISH CONCESSION</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus04">28</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">FRENCH COLONIAL INFANTRY MARCHING THROUGH THE FRENCH CONCESSION, TIENTSIN</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus06">38</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">GERMAN OFFICERS WELCOMING FIELD&#8208;MARSHAL COUNT VON WALDERSEE AT THE RAILWAY STATION, TIENTSIN</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus07">38</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">UNITED STATES CAVALRYMAN</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus08">51</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">GERMAN AND INDIAN SOLDIERS</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus09">56</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">FIELD&#8208;MARSHAL COUNT VON WALDERSEE REVIEWING THE ALLIED TROOPS IN PEKIN</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus10">68</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">A STREET IN THE CHINESE CITY, PEKIN</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus11">72</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">FRONT FACE OF THE DEFENCES OF THE LEGATIONS</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus12">78</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">GROUNDS OF THE BRITISH LEGATION, PEKIN</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus13">107</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">A STREET IN THE TARTAR CITY, PEKIN, AFTER HEAVY RAIN</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus14">127</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">THE MARBLE JUNK</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus15">127</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td class="padt1" colspan="2"><p class="indent">THE CANGUE</p></td>
+<td class="tdr vertb"><a href="#illus16">269</a></td>
+</tr></table></div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="figcenter" id="illus02">
+<img src="images/illus02.jpg" width="381" height="500" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent"><span class="larger">Plan of Pekin.</span></p></div>
+
+<div class="floatleft">
+<img src="images/illus002a.jpg" width="34" height="20" alt="" /></div>
+
+<p class="noindent">&nbsp;&nbsp;Gates.</p>
+
+<p>1. Chien M&ecirc;n Gate. 2. Tung&#8208;Chi Gate, attacked by the Japanese. 3. Ha&#8208;ta&#8208;man
+Gate. 4. The Water&#8208;gate, a tunnel in the Wall between the Tartar and
+Chinese cities. By this the Indian troops entered the Legations. 5, 5. Nullah
+draining the Tartar City. 6. The English Legation. 7. The Japanese Legation.
+8. The Russian Legation. 9. The American Legation. 10. The Hotel
+du Nord. 11, 11, 11. Ha&#8208;ta&#8208;man Street. 12. The Temple of Heaven. 13. Temporary
+railway station. 14. Railway line passing through a breach in the Wall.
+15. The Temple of Agriculture, occupied by the Americans.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">1</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><p class="pb2 center noindent"><span class="large">THE</span><br />
+<span class="largest">LAND OF THE BOXERS</span></p></div>
+
+<h2 id="CHAPTER_I"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER I</span><br />
+
+FROM WEI&#8208;HAI&#8208;WEI TO TIENTSIN</h2>
+
+<p class="drop-cap2">OUR transport steamed over a glassy sea along the bold and rugged
+coast of Shan&#8208;tung in Northern China. Ahead of us, a confused jumble
+of hills dark against the setting sun, lay Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">1</a> A German
+steamer homeward bound from Chifu dipped her flag to the blue ensign
+with crossed swords flying at our peak. Close inshore an occasional
+junk, with weird outlines and quaint sail, lay becalmed. On our deck,
+lying in easy&#8208;chairs, were a dozen officers of various branches of
+the Service, all bound for Pekin. Some were fresh from South African
+battlefields, others were there whose soldiering had been done in India
+or in Burma.</p>
+
+<p>Among our number was a well&#8208;known and popular military chaplain, the
+Reverend Mr. Hardy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">2</a></span> author of the famous <em>How to be Happy though
+Married</em>. A living testimony to the success of his own theory, he was
+the most genial and delightful shipmate I have ever met. Dowered with
+all an Irishman&#8217;s wit and humour, he had been the life and soul of
+everyone on board. He had recently arrived in Hong Kong from Europe,
+having travelled across America, where his studied carelessness
+of dress and wild, untrimmed beard had been a constant source of
+wonderment to the smart citizens of the United States. &#8220;In Salt Lake
+City,&#8221; he told us, &#8220;a stranger addressed me one day in my hotel.
+&#8216;Excuse me, sir,&#8217; he said, &#8216;would you oblige me and my friends at this
+table by deciding a small bet we have made?&#8217; &#8216;I fear I shall be of
+little use,&#8217; replied Mr. Hardy; &#8216;I have only just reached your city.&#8217;
+&#8216;Not at all. The bet is about yourself. We can&#8217;t make out which of
+three things you are&mdash;a Mormon elder, a Boer General, or a Scotchman.&#8217;
+And, faith,&#8221; added our Irish <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">padr&eacute;</span></em> when he told us the tale, &#8220;I think
+I felt most insulted at their last guess.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The sun went down slowly behind a chain of rugged hills. But soon
+before us, set in a silver sea, the island of Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei rose dark
+and sombre under a glorious moon. In the glistening water lay the dim
+shapes of several warships, their black hulls pierced with gleaming
+portholes. On their decks, bright with electric lamps, bands were
+playing, their strains swelling louder and louder as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">3</a></span> we drew near.
+Far off the hills of the mainland stood out sharply against the sky,
+with here and there below a twinkling light from the villages or the
+barracks of the Chinese Regiment.</p>
+
+<p>As our steamer rounded a long, low point, on which lay a deserted fort,
+every line distinct in the brilliant moonlight, the town came into
+view. The houses nestled down close to the water&#8217;s edge, while above
+them the island rose in gentle slope to a conical peak. Our anchor
+plunged sullenly into the sea, and we lay at rest in England&#8217;s most
+Eastern harbour. Considerations of quarantine prevented us from going
+ashore, and we were forced to wait for daylight to see what the place
+was like.</p>
+
+<p>Early on deck next morning we watched the mists fade away until
+Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei stood revealed in the strong light of the sun. Our latest
+possession in the East consists of a small island, called Liu&#8208;Kung&#8208;tao,
+on which stands the town. It lies about four miles from the mainland,
+of which a few hundred square miles has been leased to England. The
+harbour is sheltered to the south by the hills on the coast, to the
+north by the island. It affords ample anchorage for a large fleet, but
+could not be adequately defended without a large expenditure. During
+the China&#8208;Japan War the Chinese fleet sheltered in it until routed out
+by the Japanese torpedo boats; while the Japanese army marched along
+the heights of the mainland, seized the forts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">4</a></span> on them, and, turning
+their guns on the island, forced its surrender.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of the island, round which our transport had passed, was
+a small peninsula, on which stood the fort we had seen. Dismantled
+now, it was unused by the present garrison. Close by, on reclaimed
+land, lay the recreation ground; and even at the early hour at which
+we saw it, tennis and cricket were in full swing. Just above it, in
+that close proximity of life and death found ever in the East, was the
+cemetery, where many crosses and tombstones showed already the price
+we pay for empire. Near at hand was the magazine, over which a Royal
+Marine sentry watched. Below, to the right, lay the Naval Dockyard
+with a pier running out into the harbour, one destroyer alongside it,
+another moored a short distance out. Along the sea&#8208;front and rising
+in tier after tier stood well&#8208;built stone Chinese houses, which now,
+large&#8208;windowed and improved, serve as residences, shops, and offices
+for Europeans. A staring whitewashed wall bore the inscription in big,
+black letters, &#8220;Ah Ting. Naval Dairy Farm.&#8221; A picturesque, open&#8208;work
+wall with Chinese summer&#8208;houses at either end enclosed the Club.
+Farther on, a little above the harbour, stone steps through walled
+terraces led up to the Headquarter Office, once the Yamen&mdash;a long row
+of single&#8208;storied houses with a quaint gateway, on either side of which
+were painted grim Chinese figures of heroic size. On the terrace in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">5</a></span>
+front stood some large Krupp guns with shields, taken in the present
+campaign. The Queen&#8217;s House, as these buildings are called, divides
+the naval from the military quarter of the town, the latter lying to
+the right. A few good European bungalows sheltered the General, the
+Commanding Royal Engineer, and the local representative of the famous
+firm of Jardine, Mathieson, and Company. In the lines of Chinese houses
+close by were the residences of the military officers and the hotel.
+To the right stacks of fodder proclaimed the presence of the Indian
+Commissariat. Past open ground lay a small camp and a few more houses.</p>
+
+<p>Above the town the island rises in terraced slopes to the summit, four
+to six hundred feet high, the regular outline of which was broken by
+mounds of upturned earth that marked the beginning of a new fort. On
+the hillside are long stone walls with gates at intervals, which date
+from the Chinese occupation, built by them, not to keep the enemy out
+in time of war, but to keep their own soldiers in. Well&#8208;laid roads lead
+to the summit or round the island. The slopes are green with small
+shrubs and grass, but nothing worthy of the name of tree is apparent.
+Towards the eastern end were the rifle&#8208;ranges, near which a fort was
+being constructed.</p>
+
+<p>In the harbour was a powerful squadron of British battleships and
+cruisers; for Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei is the summer rendezvous of our fleet in
+Chinese waters.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">6</a></span></p>
+
+<p>To the south the mainland lay in a semicircle. Rugged, barren hills
+rise abruptly&mdash;in many places almost from the water&#8217;s edge. Where the
+ground slopes more gently back from the sea lines of substantial stone
+barracks have been erected for the Chinese Regiment, with excellent
+officers&#8217; quarters and a good mess. Nestling among trees&mdash;almost the
+only ones to be seen on the iron&#8208;bound coast&mdash;lies a large village.
+East of it a long triangle of embrasured stone wall&mdash;the base on the
+shore, the apex half&#8208;way up the hill behind&mdash;guards the original town
+of Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei, which still owns Chinese sovereignty, though all the
+country round is British territory. A few good bungalows and a large
+and well&#8208;built hotel mark where the future Brighton of North China has
+already begun to claim a recognition; for in the summer months the
+European residents of Tientsin, Pekin, even of Shanghai are commencing
+to congregate there in search of cool breezes and a healthy climate.
+High up above all towers the chain of rugged hills from whose summits
+the victorious Japanese gazed down on the wrecked Chinese fleet and
+the battered forts of the island. Behind it, forty miles away, lies
+the little&#8208;known treaty port of Chifu with its prosperous foreign
+settlement.</p>
+
+<p>The day advanced. From the warships in the harbour the bugle&#8208;calls
+rang out merrily in the morning air, answered by the brazen clangour
+of the trumpets of the Royal Artillery ashore. The rattle<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">7</a></span> of musketry
+came from the rifle&#8208;ranges, where squads of marines were firing.
+Along the sea&#8208;front tramped a guard of the Chinese Regiment. Clad in
+khaki with blue putties and straw hats, they marched with a soldierly
+swing to the Queen&#8217;s House, climbed the steps, and disappeared in the
+gateway. Coolies laboured at the new fortifications. Boats shot out
+from the pier and headed for the warships. Volumes of dense black smoke
+poured from the chimneys of the condensing works&mdash;for no water fit
+for drinking is found on the island. A cruiser steamed out from her
+moorings to gun&#8208;practice in the bay. And hour after hour we waited for
+the coming of the Health Officer, who alone could allow us to land.
+But, instead, the Transport Officer arrived, bearing orders for the
+ship to start at once for Taku. And so, with never a chance for us
+to go ashore, the anchor rumbled up and out we headed by the eastern
+passage. As we steamed out to sea we passed the tiny Sun Island, merely
+a deserted fort, still showing how cruelly battered and torn it had
+been by the Japanese shells. Round the steep north side of the island
+we swung and shaped our course for Taku in the track of the Allied
+Fleets that had swept in vengeful haste over those same waters to the
+merited punishment of China. All that day we passed along a rocky and
+mountainous coast and in among islands of strange and fantastic shape.
+Here an elephant, there a lion, carved in stone lay in slumber on the
+placid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">8</a></span> sea. Yonder a camel reposed in Nirvana&#8208;like abstraction. On
+one islet, the only sign of life or human habitation we saw, stood a
+lighthouse, like unto lighthouses all the world over.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning we awoke to find the ship at anchor. &#8220;Taku at last,&#8221; was
+the cry; and, pyjama clad, we rushed on deck. To see what? Where <em>was</em>
+Taku? All around a heaving, troubled waste of muddy sea, bearing on
+its bosom the ponderous shapes of warships&mdash;British, French, Russian,
+German, Austrian, Italian, Japanese. Close by, a fleet of merchantmen
+flying the red ensign, the horizontal stripes of the &#8220;Vaterland,&#8221; or
+the red ball on white ground of the marvellous little islands that
+claim to be the England of the Far East. Tugs and lighters were making
+for a German transport, the decks of which were crowded with soldiers.
+But of land not a sign. For the roadstead of Taku is so shallow that
+no ship of any considerable draught can approach the shore, and we
+were then ten miles out from the coast. Passengers and cargo must be
+taken ashore in tugs and lighters. Only those who have seen the place
+can appreciate the difficulties under which the transport officers
+of the various armies laboured in landing men, horses, guns, and the
+necessary vast stores of every description. And Captain Elderton, Royal
+Indian Marine, well deserved the D.S.O. which rewarded him for the
+excellent work he performed at the beginning of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">9</a></span> campaign; when,
+having successfully conveyed our expedition ashore, he was able to lend
+invaluable assistance to the troops of many of the Allies.</p>
+
+<p>The bar at the mouth of the Peiho River, which flows into the sea at
+Taku, can only be crossed at high tide; so we were forced to remain on
+board until the afternoon. Then, embarking on a launch that had come
+out to meet us, we steamed in to the land through a rough and tumbling
+sea. As we drew near, the low&#8208;lying shore rose into view. On each side
+of the entrance to the Peiho ran long lines of solid earthworks&mdash;the
+famous Taku Forts. Taken in reverse and bombarded by the gunboats lying
+in the river, gallantly assaulted by landing parties from the Allied
+Fleets, which, owing to the shallowness of the water, could lend no
+other assistance, they fell after a desperate struggle, and now from
+their ramparts flew the flags of the conquering nations. Here paced an
+Italian sentry, there a Russian soldier leaned on a quick&#8208;firing Krupp
+gun; for the forts were armed with the most modern ordnance. The red
+coat of a British marine or the white clothing of a group of Japanese
+artillerymen lent a few specks of bright colour to the dingy earthworks.</p>
+
+<p>Close to the entrance of the Peiho stands a tall stone building; near
+it is the Taku Pilots&#8217; Club, their houses, comfortable bungalows,
+close at hand. Between flat, marshy shores the river<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">10</a></span> winds, its banks
+crowded with mud huts. Farther up we passed a small dock, in which
+lay a gunboat flying the Russian flag. Then more gunboats&mdash;American,
+French, and Japanese. A few miles from the mouth of the river is
+Tong&#8208;ku, the terminus of the Tientsin&#8208;Pekin Railway. At the outset
+of the campaign all nationalities, except the British, had chosen
+this for their landing&#8208;place and established their dep&ocirc;ts here. As
+we steamed past, we looked on a scene of restless activity. Russian,
+French, German, and Italian soldiers were busy disembarking stores
+and <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">mat&eacute;riel</span></em> from the lighters alongside, loading railway trucks
+in the temporary sidings, entraining horses and guns. The English,
+more practical, had selected a landing&#8208;place a few miles farther
+up, at Hsin&#8208;ho. Here they found themselves in sole occupation, and
+the confusion inevitable among so many different nationalities
+was consequently absent. An excellent wharf had been built, large
+storehouses erected, and a siding constructed from a temporary station
+on the railway. Hsin&#8208;ho was our destination. Our launch stopped at
+the quay, alongside which two shallow&#8208;draught steamers and a fleet
+of lighters were lying. Men of the Coolie Corps were hard at work;
+close by stood a guard of the stalwart Punjaub sepoys of the Hong Kong
+Regiment. Overhead flew the Union Jack.</p>
+
+<p>Our luggage was speedily disembarked. Most of our fellow&#8208;passengers,
+learning that a train for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">11</a></span> Tientsin was due to leave almost at once,
+hurried off to the railway station, about a mile away. Three of us of
+the same regiment were met by a brother officer who was in charge of
+a detachment at Hsin&#8208;ho. He offered us the hospitality of the station
+mess, composed of those employed on various duties at the place; and,
+desirous of seeing how the work of the disembarkation of a large force
+was carried out, we determined to remain for the night.</p>
+
+<p>We visited Tong&#8208;ku that afternoon, and found a marked difference in
+the methods prevailing there and at Hsin&#8208;ho. The presence of so many
+different nationalities naturally entailed great confusion. At the
+railway station a very babel of languages resounded on every side.</p>
+
+<p>One truck with German stores had to be detached from a goods train
+and sent down one siding; the next, with French cavalry horses, sent
+down another; a Russian and an Italian officer disputed the ownership
+of a third. Lost baggage&#8208;guards stood disconsolate or wandered round
+aimlessly until rescued by their transport officers. Detachments of
+Continental troops stood helplessly waiting for someone to conduct them
+to their proper trains. Disorder reigned supreme.</p>
+
+<p>At Hsin&#8208;ho everything proceeded without confusion. It might have been
+an up&#8208;country station in the heart of India. Comfortable huts had been
+built for the detachment responsible for the guard<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">12</a></span> duties; and the
+various details were equally well accommodated. The military officers
+had established themselves in a stone house that had formerly been the
+quarters of a railway engineer. The Royal Indian Marine officers in
+charge of the naval transport had settled down with the readiness with
+which sailors adapt themselves to shore life. A line of felt&#8208;roofed,
+mud huts had been turned by them into an excellent mess and quarters.
+A raised terrace looked down on a tennis&#8208;court, on the far side of
+which a pond in the mud flats, stretching away to the horizon, boasted
+a couple of canoes. From a tall flagstaff that stood on the terrace
+floated the blue ensign and Star of India of their Service.</p>
+
+<p>The railway siding ran past large and well&#8208;built storehouses. On the
+river bank long lines of mules were picketed, looking in excellent
+condition despite the hard work they had gone through. In a little
+cutting in the bank was an old and tiny steam tug, which had been
+turned into a condenser for drinking&#8208;water. Everything was trim and
+tidy. The work of disembarking the stores from the lighters in the
+river and putting them into the railway trucks almost alongside went
+on in perfect order, all in marked contrast to the confusion that
+prevailed at Tong&#8208;ku.</p>
+
+<p>Early next morning we were <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en route</span></em> for Tientsin. My brother officers
+and I tramped down through awful mud to the long platform which was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">13</a></span>
+dignified by the title of &#8220;Hsin&#8208;ho Railway Station.&#8221; A small house
+close by sheltered the railway employees and the telegraph staff,
+signallers of the Army Telegraph Department.</p>
+
+<p>The train from the Tong&#8208;ku terminus soon appeared, and as it steamed in
+presented a&mdash;to us&mdash;novel appearance. Leaning out of the windows was
+a motley crowd of many nationalities. Out of one appeared the heads
+of a boyish Cossack and a bearded Sikh. The next displayed the chubby
+face of a German soldier beside the dark features of an Italian sailor.
+When the train stopped, a smart Australian bluejacket stepped out of
+the brake&#8208;van. He was the guard. In the corridor cars were Yagers,
+Austrian sailors, brawny American soldiers, baggy&#8208;trousered Zouave and
+red&#8208;breeched Chasseur d&#8217;Afrique. Sturdy little Japanese infantrymen
+sat beside tall Bengal Lancers. A small Frenchman chatted volubly with
+a German trooper from the Lost Provinces. Smart Tommy Atkins gazed in
+wondering disdain at the smaller Continental soldiers, or listened
+with an amused smile to the vitriolic comments of a Yankee friend on
+the manners and appearance of &#8220;those darned Dagoes.&#8221; And among them,
+perfectly at his ease, sat the imperturbable Chinaman, apparently a
+little bored but otherwise quite uninterested in the &#8220;foreign devils.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The first&#8208;class carriages were filled with the officers of every
+nation whose flag now waved on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">14</a></span> Chinese soil. Russians in white
+coats with flat caps and gold shoulder&#8208;straps sat side by side with
+khaki&#8208;clad Britishers; Italian officers in yellow; Frenchmen in every
+shade of supposed&#8208;to&#8208;be khaki; Germans with silver belts and sashes;
+Japanese with many medals and enamelled decorations on their breasts.
+As we entered our carriage we touched our helmets to the previous
+occupants&mdash;a salute which was punctiliously returned by everyone
+present. Settling ourselves in our seats, our interest was at first
+fully absorbed by the various uniforms around us; and it was some time
+before we could devote our attention to the scenery through which we
+were passing.</p>
+
+<p>The train ran first over wide&#8208;stretching mud flats, then through a
+level, monotonous country, flooded or covered with high crops; and,
+barely seen above the tall vegetation, here and there roofless houses
+and ruined villages showed the track of war. At every bridge and
+culvert stood a tent with a guard of an Indian regiment, the sentry
+presenting arms as the train passed. The stations along the line were
+numerous. Over their stone buildings floated the Union Jack, for the
+railway was now in British hands. On each platform the same scene
+presented itself. The English Staff Officer in khaki and red&#8208;banded
+forage cap; the stalwart Indian sentry; a varied mob of French and
+German soldiers, Sikhs, Mussulmans, Chinese.</p>
+
+<p>The fields of luxuriant, waving grain stretched<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">15</a></span> away to the rim of the
+distant horizon. A trail of smoke, the tall masts of junks showed where
+the river wound in frequent bends. At length we passed the extensive
+buildings and high chimneys of the Chinese Arsenal, captured by our
+marines and held by the Russians; and above the trees towers and domes
+told that we were nearing Tientsin. Then through a gap in a big earthen
+wall that is twenty miles in circumference, past many sidings and long
+lines of iron trucks and waggons with bullet&#8208;marked sides, eloquent of
+fierce fighting, we ran into the station.</p>
+
+<p>A commonplace, uninteresting place at first sight&mdash;just the ordinary
+railway station with the usual sheds, iron bridge, offices,
+refreshment&#8208;room. Yet here, not long before, white men and yellow had
+closed in deadly struggle, and the rails and platforms had been dyed
+red with the blood of heroes. The sides of the iron water&#8208;tank, the
+walls of the engine&#8208;house, were patched and repaired; for shells from
+the most modern guns had rained on them for days. The stone walls were
+loopholed and bullet&#8208;splashed. Many of the buildings were roofless,
+their shattered ruins attesting the accuracy of the Chinese gunners. At
+yonder corner the fanatical Boxers had burst in a wild night attack,
+and even European soldiers had retreated before the fury of their
+onslaught. But the men of the hitherto untried Hong Kong Regiment,
+sturdy sons of the Punjaub plains or Frontier hills, had swept down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">16</a></span> on
+them with the cold steel and bayoneted them in and under the trucks;
+until even Chinese fanaticism could stand it no longer and the few
+survivors fled in the friendly darkness. For that brave exploit, the
+Subhedar Major of the corps now wears the Star of the Indian Empire.
+From the mud walls of that village, scarce two hundred yards away,
+the European&#8208;drilled Imperial troops, armed with the latest magazine
+rifles, had searched with deadly aim every yard of open ground over
+which the defenders advanced. Across this ditch the Boxers, invincible
+in their mad belief, had swarmed in the face of a murderous fire, and
+filled it with their dead. Not a foot of ground in that prosaic railway
+station but had its tale of desperate fanaticism or disciplined valour.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus03">
+<img src="images/illus03.jpg" width="600" height="402" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">EUROPEAN CONCESSIONS, TIENTSIN, AND THE PEIHO RIVER</p></div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">17</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="CHAPTER_II"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER II</span><br />
+TIENTSIN</h2></div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap2">THE foreign settlement of Tientsin and the Chinese city are entirely
+separate, and lie some distance apart. The former, resembling more a
+European town than an alien lodgment in the heart of the Celestial
+Empire, boasts wide roads and well&#8208;kept streets, large offices and
+lofty warehouses, good public buildings and comfortable villas, a
+racecourse and a polo&#8208;ground. It is divided into the Concessions of the
+various nationalities, of which the English, in size and mercantile
+importance, is easily first. The difference between it and the next
+largest&mdash;the French&mdash;is very marked. The latter, though possessing
+a few good streets, several hotels, and at least one long business
+thoroughfare with fine shops, speaks all too plainly of stagnation. The
+British quarter, bustling, crowded, tells just as clearly of thriving
+trade. In it are found most of the banks, the offices of the more
+considerable merchants, and all the municipal buildings.</p>
+
+<p>The Chinese city, perhaps, has more charm for the lover of the
+picturesque, though it is less interesting now than formerly, since
+the formidable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">18</a></span> embrasured wall surrounding it has been pulled down by
+order of the Allied generals. In it stands a grim memento of another
+outburst of fanaticism against the hated foreigner&mdash;the ruins of the
+Roman Catholic Cathedral, destroyed by the Chinese in 1870. The city
+itself is like unto all other Celestial cities. Narrow lanes, low
+houses, ill&#8208;kept thoroughfares, gaudiness and dirt intermingled, stench
+and filth abominable. To it, however, was wont to go the seeker after
+curiosities, choice silks, or rich furs from Manchuria and Corea. But
+the retributive looting that fell on it after its capture has left it
+bare indeed.</p>
+
+<p>On the platform of the railway station almost the first friendly face
+we saw was that of perhaps the best&#8208;known man in North China, Major
+Whittal, Hyderabad Contingent. Interpreter in Russian, fluent in French
+and German, his linguistic abilities had been responsible for his
+appointment to the scarcely enviable post of Railway Staff Officer at
+Tientsin. In a town that held the headquarters of every foreign army,
+where troops and stores of all kinds were despatched or arrived daily
+in charge of representatives of the different forces, such a position
+required the possession of a genius for organisation and infinite
+tact and patience. Even as we greeted him, French, Russian, or German
+officers and soldiers crowded round, to harry him with questions in
+divers tongues or propound problems as to the departure of troop trains
+or<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">19</a></span> the disposal of waggons loaded with supplies for their respective
+armies. The Britisher is usually supposed to be the least versed of
+any in foreign languages. But the Continental officers were very much
+surprised to find how many linguists we boasted in our expeditionary
+force. At every important railway station we had a staff officer who
+was an interpreter in one or more European languages. There were many
+who had passed examinations in Chinese. A French major remarked to me
+one day: &#8220;<em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Voil&agrave;, monsieur</span></em>, we have always thought that an Englishman
+knows no tongue but his own. Yet we find but few of your officers who
+cannot converse with us in ours. Not all well, certainly; but, on the
+other hand, how many of us can talk with you in English? Scarcely any.
+And many of you speak Russian, German, or Italian.&#8221; It was not the only
+surprising fact they learned about the hitherto despised Anglo&#8208;Indian
+army.</p>
+
+<p>Leaving Major Whittal surrounded by a polyglot crowd, and handing over
+the luggage to our sword orderlies, we seated ourselves in rickshas and
+set out in search of quarters. The European settlement is separated
+from the railway station by the Peiho River. We crossed over a bridge
+of boats, which swings aside to allow the passage of vessels up or
+down. At either end stood a French sentry, to stop the traffic when
+the bridge was about to open. The stream was crowded with junks loaded
+with stores for the various armies, and flying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">20</a></span> the flag of the nation
+in whose service they were employed. A steamer lay at a wharf&mdash;an
+unusual sight, for few ships of any draught can safely overcome the
+difficulties of the shallow river. Along the far bank ran a broad road,
+known as the Bund, bordered with well&#8208;built warehouses and offices.
+Some of these bore eloquent testimony to the severity of the Chinese
+shell fire during the siege. The Tricolour flew over the first houses
+we passed, for the French Concession lies nearest the station. At
+the gates of those buildings, used as barracks, lounged men of the
+Infanterie Coloniale, clad in loose white or blue uniforms, with large
+and clumsy helmets. A few hundred yards farther down we reached the
+English settlement, and turned up a wide street, in which was situated
+the fine official residence of the British Consul&#8208;General. We arrived
+at last at the mess of the Hong Kong Regiment, where two of us were to
+find quarters. It stood in a narrow lane surrounded by houses shattered
+by shells during the siege. Close by were the messes of the Royal Welch
+Fusiliers and the 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry in dark and gloomy Chinese
+buildings.</p>
+
+<p>In the afternoon we paid our first visit to the Tientsin Club. It was
+crowded with representatives of almost every nationality. Britishers,
+Americans, French, Russians, and Austrians were clinking glasses amid
+a chorus of &#8220;<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">A votre sant&eacute;</span>!&#8221; &#8220;Good health!&#8221; &#8220;Svatches dor&oacute;via!&#8221; and
+&#8220;Here&#8217;s how!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">21</a></span>&#8221; Even an occasional smart little Japanese officer was to
+be seen. Naval uniforms were almost as much in evidence as military
+garb; for the officers of the Allied Fleets lying off Taku varied
+the monotony of riding at anchor, out of sight of the land, by an
+occasional run ashore and a visit to Tientsin and Pekin. The utmost
+good fellowship prevailed among the different nationalities. French
+was the usual medium of intercourse between Continental officers and
+those of the English&#8208;speaking races. Britishers might be seen labouring
+through the intricacies of the irregular verbs which had vexed their
+brains during schooldays, or lamenting their neglect to keep up their
+early acquaintance with the language of diplomacy and international
+courtesy. The bond of a common tongue drew the Americans and the
+English still more closely together, and the greatest friendship
+existed between all ranks of both nationalities. The heroic bravery of
+the sailors and soldiers of the great Republic of the West earned the
+praise and admiration of their British comrades, who were justly proud
+of the kinship that was more marked than ever during those days when
+the Stars and Stripes flew side by side with the Union Jack. The famous
+saying of the American commodore, &#8220;Blood is stronger than water,&#8221; and
+the timely aid given by him to our imperilled sailors in this same
+vexed land of China, were green in our memory. The language difficulty
+unfortunately prevented much intercourse<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">22</a></span> with the Japanese officers.
+Some of them, however, were acquainted with English, and these were
+readily welcomed by British and Americans.</p>
+
+<p>The club stands in the broad, tree&#8208;shaded Victoria Road. Next to it is
+the Gordon Hall, a handsome structure famous as the refuge of the women
+and children during the bombardment. It contains a theatre and a public
+library, and is the scene of most of the festivities in Tientsin.
+Before its door stands an object&#8208;lesson of the siege&mdash;two small guns of
+Seymour&#8217;s gallant column flanked by enormous shells captured from the
+Chinese. The two tall towers were a conspicuous mark for the hostile
+artillerymen, as was the even loftier German Club facing it. Close by
+are the small but pretty Public Gardens, where, in the afternoons,
+the bands of the various regiments used to play. Nearer the French
+Concession stands a large hotel, the Astor House; its long verandah
+was the favourite resort of the foreign officers. The groups in varied
+uniforms sitting round the small marble tables gave it the appearance
+of a Continental <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">caf&eacute;</span></em>&mdash;an illusion not dispelled by the courtesy
+which prevailed. As each new&#8208;comer entered he saluted the company
+present, who all rose and bowed in reply.</p>
+
+<p>Behind the Victoria Road runs the famous, or infamous, Taku Road, the
+scene of so many disgraceful brawls between the Allied troops. For part
+of its length it is lined by commercial buildings, but towards the
+French Concession were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">23</a></span> many houses tenanted by the frail sisterhood.
+Their presence attracted the worst characters among the men of the
+various armies, and disorder was rife. It culminated at length in a
+wanton attack on a small patrol of the Royal Welch Fusiliers by a
+drunken mob of Continental soldiers. A Japanese guard close by turned
+out to the aid of their English comrades, and, wasting no time in
+parley, dropped at once on the knee to fire into the aggressors. They
+were restrained with difficulty by the corporal in charge of the
+British patrol, who vainly endeavoured to pacify the mob. Forced at
+length to use their rifles in self&#8208;defence, the Fusiliers did so to
+some effect. Two soldiers were killed, eight others wounded, and the
+remainder fled. Naturally enough, great excitement and indignation were
+aroused at first among the troops to which these men belonged; but it
+died away when the truth was known. An international court of inquiry,
+having carefully investigated the case, exonerated the corporal from
+all blame and justified his action. Such unfortunate occurrences were
+only to be expected among the soldiers of so many mixed nationalities,
+and the fact that they did not happen more frequently spoke well for
+the general discipline. At the end farthest from the French Concession
+the Taku Road ran through a number of small <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">caf&eacute;s</span></em> and beer&#8208;saloons,
+much patronised by the German troops, whose barracks lay close by.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">24</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The sights of the city and the foreign settlement were soon exhausted.
+But one never tired of watching the moving pictures of soldier life,
+or of visiting the scenes of the deadly fighting memorable for ever
+in the history of North China. The long stretches of mud flats lying
+between the Chinese town and the Concessions, over which shot and shell
+had flown for weeks; the roofless villages; the shattered houses;
+the loopholed and bullet&#8208;splashed walls. There, during long days and
+anxious nights, the usually pacific Chinaman, spurred on by fanatic
+hate and lust of blood, had waged a bitter war with all the devilish
+cunning of his race. There the mad rushes of frenzied Boxers, reckless
+of life, hurling themselves fearlessly with antiquated weapons against
+a well&#8208;armed foe. There the Imperial soldiers, trained by European
+officers, showed that their instruction had borne fruit. From every
+cover, natural or improvised, they used their magazine rifles with
+accuracy and effect. Lieutenant Fair, <span class="smcap">R.N.</span>, Flag&#8208;Lieutenant
+to Admiral Seymour, told me that he has often watched them picking up
+the range as carefully and judiciously as a Boer marksman. And his
+Admiral, conspicuous in white uniform and dauntlessly exposing himself
+on the defences, escaped death again and again only by a miracle while
+men fell at his side. Nor was the shooting of the Chinese gunners to
+be despised. Lieutenant Hutchinson, H.M.S. <em>Terrible</em>, in a redoubt
+with two of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">25</a></span> ship&#8217;s famous guns, engaged in a duel at three
+thousand yards with a Chinese battery of modern ordnance. Of six shells
+hurled at him, two struck the parapet in front, two fell just past
+his redoubt, and two almost within it. Fortunately none burst. Had
+the mandarins responsible for the munitions of war proved as true to
+their trust as the gunners, the <em>Terrible&#8217;s</em> detachment would have been
+annihilated; but when the ammunition captured afterwards from the enemy
+was examined, it was found that the bursting charges of the shells had
+been removed and replaced by sand. The corrupt officials had extracted
+the powder and sold it. A naval &middot;450 Maxim was most unpopular in the
+defences. Its neighbourhood was too unsafe, for whenever it opened fire
+the smoke betrayed it to the Chinese gunners, and shells at once fell
+fast around it. It had finally to be withdrawn.</p>
+
+<p>But the desperate losses among the Boxers opposed to Seymour&#8217;s gallant
+column, the heavy fighting around Tientsin, and the capture of the city
+broke the back of the Chinese resistance. And when the Allied Army
+advanced on Pekin, no determined stand was made after the first battle.
+The capital, with its famous and formidable walls, fell almost without
+a blow. A sore disappointment to the British Siege Train, who, hurried
+out to South Africa to batter down the forts of Pretoria, found their
+services uncalled for there; and then,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">26</a></span> despatched to China for the
+siege of Pekin, arrived to learn that there, too, they were not needed.</p>
+
+<p>The interest of the Foreign Settlement lay in the crowds that thronged
+its streets. Never since the occupation of Paris after Napoleon&#8217;s
+downfall has any city presented such a kaleidoscopic picture of varied
+uniforms and mixed troops of many nations. I know few things more
+interesting than to sit for an hour on the Astor House verandah and
+watch the living stream. Rickshas go by bearing officers of every army,
+punctiliously saluting all other wearers of epaulettes they pass. An
+Indian tonga bumps along behind two sturdy little ponies. After it
+rumbles a Russian transport cart, driven by a white&#8208;bloused Cossack. A
+heavy German waggon pulls aside to make way for a carriage containing
+two Prussian officers of high rank. A few small Japanese mounted
+infantrymen trot by, looking far more in keeping with the diminutive
+Chinese ponies than do the tall Punjaubis who follow them. Behind them
+are a couple of swarthy Bombay Lancers on well&#8208;groomed horses, gazing
+with all a cavalryman&#8217;s disdain at the &#8220;Mounted Foot&#8221; in front of them.
+And surely never was trooper of any army so picturesque as the Indian
+<em>sowar</em>. A guard of stolid German soldiers tramps by. A squad of sturdy
+Japanese infantry passes a detachment of heavily accoutred French
+troops swinging along<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">27</a></span> with short, rapid strides. And at each street
+corner and crossing, directing the traffic, calm and imperturbable,
+stands the man who has made England what she is&mdash;the British private.
+All honour to him! Smart, trim, well set&#8208;up, he looks a monarch among
+soldiers, compared with the men of other more military countries. Never
+have I felt so proud of Tommy Atkins as when I saw him there contrasted
+with the pick of the Continental armies; for all the corps that had
+been sent out from Europe had been specially selected to do credit to
+their nations. <em>He</em> was merely one of a regiment that had chanced to be
+garrisoning England&#8217;s farthest dependency in the East, or of a battery
+taken at random. In physique, appearance, and soldierly bearing he
+equalled them all. Even his cousin, the American, sturdy and stalwart
+as he is, could not excel him in smartness, though not behind him in
+courage or coolness in action. The British officer, however, in plain
+khaki with no adornments of rank, looked almost dowdy beside the white
+coats and gold shoulder&#8208;straps of the Russian or the silver belts and
+sashes of the German. But gay trappings nowadays are sadly out of place
+in warfare.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus04">
+<img src="images/illus04.jpg" width="600" height="447" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">PUBLIC GARDENS AND GORDON HALL IN THE VICTORIA ROAD,
+ENGLISH CONCESSION</p></div>
+
+<p>And though within a few miles the broken Chinese braves and routed
+Boxers, formed into roving bands of robbers, swooped down upon
+defenceless villages, and heavily accoutred European soldiers trudged
+wearily and fruitlessly after them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">28</a></span> over impossible country, life in
+Tientsin flowed on unheeding in all the gay tranquillity of ordinary
+garrison existence. Entertainments in the Gordon Hall, convivial
+dinners, polo, races, went on as though the demon of war had been
+exorcised from the unhappy land. Yet grim reminders were not wanting;
+scarcely a day passed without seeing a few miserable prisoners brought
+in from the districts round. Poor wretches! Many of them were villagers
+who had been driven into brigandage by the burning of their houses and
+the ruin of their fields as the avenging armies passed. Some were but
+the victims of treacherous informers, who, to gain a poor reward or
+gratify a petty spite, denounced the innocent. And, with pigtails tied
+together, cuffed and hustled by their pitiless captors, they trudged on
+to their doom with the vague stare of poor beasts led to the slaughter.
+A hurried trial, of which they comprehended nothing, then death. Scarce
+knowing what was happening, each unhappy wretch was led forth to die.
+Around him stood the fierce white soldiers he had learned to dread.
+Cruel men of his own race bound his arms, flung him on his knees, and
+pulled his queue forward to extend his neck. The executioner, too often
+a pitiful bungler, raised his sword. The stroke fell; the head leapt
+from the body; the trunk swayed for an instant, then collapsed on the
+ground.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus05">
+<img src="images/illus05.jpg" width="600" height="450" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">EXECUTION OF A BOXER BY THE FRENCH<span class="add4em">[<em>page</em> 28</span></p></div>
+
+<p>Yet for many of them such a death was all too<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">29</a></span> merciful. No race
+on earth is capable of such awful cruelty, such hellish devices of
+torture, as the Chinese. And the unfortunate missionaries, the luckless
+wounded soldiers who fell into their hands, experienced treatment
+before which the worst deviltries of the Red Indian seemed humane.
+Occasionally some of these fiends were captured by the Allies; often
+only the instruments, but sometimes the instigators of the terrible
+outrages on Europeans, the mandarins who had spurred on the maddened
+Boxers to their worst excesses. For these no fitting punishment could
+be devised, and a swift death was too kind. But in the latter days of
+the campaign too many suffered an unmerited fate. The blood heated by
+the tales of Chinese cruelty at the outbreak of the troubles did not
+cool rapidly. The murders of the missionaries and civil engineers,
+of the unhappy European women and children, could not be readily
+forgotten. The seed sown in those early days of the fanatical outburst
+bore a bitter fruit. The horrors that war inevitably brings in its
+train were aggravated by the memory of former treachery and the
+difficulty of distinguishing between the innocent and the guilty. A
+very slight alteration of dress sufficed to convert into a harmless
+peasant the Boxer whose hands were red with the blood of defenceless
+Europeans, or of Chinese Christians whose mangled bodies had choked the
+river.</p>
+
+<p>The echoes of a greater struggle at the other<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">30</a></span> side of the globe filled
+the ears of the world when the defenders of Tientsin were holding
+fanatical hordes of besiegers at bay. And so, few in Europe realised
+the deadliness of the fighting around the little town where hundreds
+of white women and children huddled together in terror of a fate
+too dreadful for words. The gallant sailors and marines who guarded
+it knew that on them alone depended the lives and honour of these
+helpless ones. Day and night they fought a fight, the like of which has
+scarcely been known since the defenders of the Residency at Lucknow
+kept the flag flying in similar straits against a not more savage
+foe. Outmatched in armament, they opposed small, almost out&#8208;of&#8208;date
+guns to quick&#8208;firing and large&#8208;calibre Krupps of the latest pattern.
+Outnumbered, stricken by disease, assailed by fierce hordes without
+and threatened by traitors within, they held their own with a heroism
+that has never gained the meed of praise it deserved. From the walls of
+the Chinese city, a few thousand yards away, and from the ample cover
+across the narrow river, shells rained on the unprotected town, and its
+streets were swept by close&#8208;range rifle fire. All national rivalries
+forgotten, Americans, Russians, British, French, Germans, and Japanese
+fought shoulder to shoulder against a common foe. Admiral Seymour&#8217;s
+heroic column, baffled in its gallant dash on Pekin, and battling
+savagely against overwhelming numbers, fell slowly back<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">31</a></span> on the
+beleaguered town. The Hsi&#8208;ku Arsenal, a few miles from Tientsin, barred
+the way, guarded by a strong and well&#8208;armed force of Imperial soldiers.
+The desperate sailors nerved themselves for a last supreme effort.
+Under a terrible fire the British marines, under Major Johnstone,
+<span class="smcap">R.M.L.I.</span>, flung themselves on the defences and drove out
+the enemy with the bayonet. Then, utterly exhausted, its ammunition
+almost spent, the starving column halted in the Arsenal, unable to
+break through the environing hordes of besiegers who lay between it
+and Tientsin. A gallant attempt made by two companies of our marines
+to cut their way through was repulsed with heavy loss. The Chinese
+made several attempts to retake the Arsenal. A welcome reinforcement
+of close on two thousand Russian troops from Port Arthur had enabled
+the besieged garrison of Tientsin to hold out. A relieving force was
+sent out to bring in the decimated column, utterly prostrated by the
+incessant fighting. An eye&#8208;witness of their return, Mr. Drummond,
+Chinese Imperial Customs, who fought with the Tientsin Volunteers
+throughout the siege, told me that the condition of Seymour&#8217;s men was
+pitiable in the extreme. Worn out and weak, shattered by the terrible
+trials they had undergone, they had almost to be supported into the
+town. For sixteen days and nights they had been battling continuously
+against a well&#8208;armed and enterprising foe. Their provisions had run<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">32</a></span>
+out, and they had been forced to sustain life on the foul water of the
+river, which was filled with corpses, and on stray ponies and mules
+captured by the way. Out of 1,945 men they had 295 casualties. As
+soon as the sailors and marines of the returned column were somewhat
+recovered from their exhaustion, the Allied Forces moved out to attack
+the native city of Tientsin, which was surrounded by a strong and
+high wall, and defended by over sixty guns, most of them very modern
+ordnance. Covered by a terrific bombardment from the naval guns, which
+had come up from the warships at Taku, the little army, 5,000 strong,
+hurled itself on the doomed city. But so fierce was the Chinese defence
+that for a day and a night it could barely hold its own. But before
+sunrise the Japanese sappers blew open the city gate, under a heavy
+fire. The Allies poured in through the way thus opened to them, and
+the surviving defenders fled, having lost 5,000 killed and wounded.
+The Allies themselves, out of a total force of 5,000, had nearly 800
+casualties. The enemy&#8217;s stronghold captured, the siege of the European
+settlements was raised after a month of terrible stress.</p>
+
+<p>Between the railway station and the river lies a small stretch of
+waste ground, a few hundred yards in extent. Here arose the famous
+&#8220;Railway Siding incident.&#8221; The Russians claimed it as theirs &#8220;by right
+of conquest,&#8221; although it had always been recognised as the property
+of the railway company.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">33</a></span> An attempt to construct a siding on it from
+the station brought matters to a crisis. A Russian guard was promptly
+mounted on it, and confronted by a detachment of Indian troops under
+the command of Lieutenant H. E. Rudkin, 20th Bombay Infantry. The
+situation in which this young subaltern was placed demanded a display
+of tact and firmness which might well have overtaxed the resources
+of an older man. But with the self&#8208;reliance which the Indian Army
+teaches its officers he acquitted himself most creditably in a very
+trying position. Then ensued a period of anxious suspense when no man
+knew what the morrow might bring forth. But calm counsels fortunately
+prevailed. These few yards of waste ground were not judged worth &#8220;the
+bones of a single grenadier,&#8221; and the question was taken from the hands
+of the soldier and entrusted to the diplomat.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">34</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="CHAPTER_III"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER III</span><br />
+
+THE ALLIED ARMIES IN CHINA</h2></div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap2">TO a soldier no city in the world could prove as interesting as
+Tientsin from the unequalled opportunity it presented of contrasting
+the men and methods of the Allied Armies. And the officers of the
+Anglo&#8208;Indian forces saw with pride that they had but little to learn
+from their Continental brothers&#8208;in&#8208;arms. In organisation, training, and
+equipment our Indian Army was unsurpassed. Clad in the triple&#8208;proof
+armour of self&#8208;satisfaction, the soldiers of Europe have rested
+content in the methods of 1870. The effects of the increased range
+and destructive power of modern weapons have not been appreciated
+by them. Close formations are still the rule, and the history of
+the first few battles in the next European war will be a record of
+terrible slaughter. The lessons of the Boer campaign are ignored. They
+ascribe the failures and defeats of the British forces to the defective
+training and want of <em>morale</em> of our troops, and disdain to learn from
+a &#8220;nation of farmers.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The world has long believed that the German<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">35</a></span> Army is in every respect
+superior to all others. But those who saw its China expeditionary
+force&mdash;composed though it was of picked troops and carefully selected
+officers&mdash;will not agree with this verdict. Arriving too late for the
+serious fighting&mdash;for there were no German troops in the Allied Army
+which relieved the Legations&mdash;it could only be criticised from its
+behaviour in garrison and on a few columns which did not meet with very
+serious opposition. All nationalities had looked forward eagerly to the
+opportunity of closely observing a portion of the army which has set
+the fashion in things military to Europe during the past thirty years.
+But I think that most of those who had hoped to learn from it were
+disappointed.</p>
+
+<p>The German authorities are still faithful to the traditions of close
+formations and centralisation of command under fire. Unbroken lines in
+the attack are the rule, and no divergence from the straight, forward
+direction, in order to take advantage of cover lying towards a flank,
+is authorised. The increased destructive power given by low trajectory
+to modern firearms does not seem to be properly understood by them.
+The creeping forward of widely extended and irregularly advancing
+lines of skirmishers, seizing every cover available within easy reach,
+is not favoured; and the dread of the effect of cavalry charges on
+the flanks of such scattered formations still rules the tactics of
+the attack. The development of the initiative of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">36</a></span> soldier, of
+his power of acting for himself under fire, is not striven after. In
+steady, mechanical drill the German private is still pre&#8208;eminent, but
+in wide extensions he is helpless without someone at his elbow to give
+him orders. One of the Prussian General Staff&mdash;sent out as a Special
+Service Officer&mdash;argued seriously with me that even when advancing over
+open ground against an entrenched enemy armed with modern rifles, it
+would be impossible to extend to more than an interval of one pace, &#8220;as
+otherwise the captain could not command his company.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Those in high places in Germany probably appreciate the lessons of
+the South African campaign. But the difficulty of frontal assaults in
+close formations on a well&#8208;defended position, the impossibility of
+battalion or company commanders directing the attack in the firing line
+at close ranges, the necessity of training men to act for themselves
+when near the enemy, have not struck home to the subordinate grades.
+Viewed in the light of our experiences in the Boer War and on the
+Indian Frontier, their adherence to systems that we have proved
+disastrous before modern weapons stamps their tactics as antiquated.
+&#8220;Entrenching,&#8221; another staff officer said to me, &#8220;is contrary to the
+spirit of the German Army. Our regulations now force us to employ the
+spade, but our tradition will always be to trust to the bayonet.&#8221; And I
+thought of another army, which also used to have a decided<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">37</a></span> liking for
+the same weapon, and which had gone to South Africa in the firm belief
+that cold steel was the only weapon for use in war!</p>
+
+<p>The German officers were very smart in their bearing and dress. Their
+khaki uniforms were similar to ours, the coats well made; but the
+clumsy cut of their riding breeches offends the fastidious eyes of the
+horsey Britisher, who is generally more particular about the fit of
+this garment than any other in his wardrobe. The product of despotic
+militarism in a land where the army is supreme and the civilian is
+despised, the German officers are full of the pride of caste. In
+China they were scarcely inclined to regard those of the other allied
+troops as equals. The iron discipline of their army does not encourage
+intercourse between the various ranks. The friendly association of
+English officers with their men in sports is inexplicable to them; and
+that a private should excel his superior in any pastime is equivalent,
+in their opinion, to the latter at once forfeiting the respect of
+his subordinate. When a team of British officers in Tientsin were
+training for a tug&#8208;of&#8208;war against those of the Pekin garrison in the
+assault&#8208;at&#8208;arms at the Temple of Heaven, they used to practise with a
+team of heavy non&#8208;commissioned officers. A German captain said to a
+British subaltern who was taking part:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Is it possible that you allow your soldiers to compete against
+officers even in practice?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Certainly,&#8221; replied the Englishman.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">38</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But of course you always beat them?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not at all,&#8221; was the answer. &#8220;On the contrary, they generally beat us.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But surely that is a mistake,&#8221; said the scandalised Prussian. &#8220;They
+must in that case inevitably lose all respect for you.&#8221; And nothing
+could convince him that it was not so.</p>
+
+<p>As the German military officer does not as a rule travel much abroad,
+the realisation of England&#8217;s predominance beyond the seas seemed to
+come on those in China almost as a surprise. One remarked to a member
+of the staff of our Fourth Brigade:</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Our voyage out here has brought home to most of us for the first time
+how you English have laid your hands on all parts of the earth worth
+having. In every port we touched at since we left Germany, everywhere
+we coaled, we found your flag flying. Gibraltar, Malta, Aden, Colombo,
+Singapore, Hong Kong&mdash;all British.&#8221;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus06">
+<img src="images/illus06.jpg" width="600" height="445" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">FRENCH COLONIAL INFANTRY MARCHING THROUGH THE FRENCH CONCESSION, TIENTSIN</p></div>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; added another, &#8220;we have naturally been accustomed to regard
+our own country as the greatest in the world. But outside it we found
+our language useless. Yours is universal. I had said to myself that
+Port Said, at least, is not British; but there, too, your tongue is
+the chief medium of intercourse. Here in China, even the coolies speak
+English, or what they intend to be English.&#8221;</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus07">
+<img src="images/illus07.jpg" width="600" height="445" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">GERMAN OFFICERS WELCOMING FIELD&#8208;MARSHAL COUNT VON WALDERSEE AT THE RAILWAY STATION, TIENTSIN</p>
+<p class="right">[<em>page</em> 38</p></div>
+
+<p>The German organisation&mdash;perfect, perhaps, for Europe, where each
+country is a network of roads and railways&mdash;was not so successful
+in China. For<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">39</a></span> the first time the leading military nation was
+brought face to face with the difficulties involved in the despatch
+of an expedition across the sea and far from the home base. And its
+mistakes were not few. Their contingent found themselves at first
+devoid of transport and dependent on the kindness of the other armies
+for means to move from the railway. One projected expedition had to
+be long delayed because the German troops could not advance for this
+reason, until the English at length furnished them with the necessary
+transport. The enormous waggons they brought with them were useless
+in a country where barrows are generally the only form of wheeled
+transport possible on the very narrow roads. Their knowledge of
+horse&#8208;mastership was not impressive, their animals always looking badly
+kept and ill&#8208;fed.</p>
+
+<p>The first German troops despatched to China were curiously clothed.
+Their uniform consisted of ill&#8208;fitting tunics and trousers made of what
+looked like coarse, bright yellow sacking, with black leather belts
+and straw hats shaped like those worn by our Colonials, the broad brim
+caught up on one side and fastened by a metal rosette of the German
+colours. Later on all were clothed in regular khaki, and wore helmets
+somewhat similar to the British pattern, but with wider brims. The
+square portion covering the back of the neck was fastened by hinges, so
+that the helmet was not tilted over the wearer&#8217;s eyes when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">40</a></span> he lay down
+to fire, which is the great disadvantage of our style of headgear. Some
+of the officers wore silver sashes and belts which looked out of place
+on khaki, the embodiment of severe simplicity in campaigning dress.</p>
+
+<p>The physique of the German soldiers was very good, but they were
+members of a comparatively small contingent picked from an enormous
+army. To those used to the smart and upright bearing of the British
+private their careless and slouching gait seemed slovenly. But on
+parade they moved like automatons. A curious phase in the relations
+of the Allies was the intimacy which prevailed between the men of the
+French and German troops. In the French Concession numbers of them were
+to be constantly seen fraternising together, strolling arm&#8208;in&#8208;arm in
+the streets, or drinking in the <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">caf&eacute;s</span></em>. This was chiefly owing to the
+fact that many in either army could speak the language of the other.
+But this intimacy did not extend to the commissioned ranks.</p>
+
+<p>The vast increase in their mercantile marine of late years enabled the
+Germans to transport their troops in their own vessels. The Russians,
+on the other hand, were frequently forced to employ British ships,
+although the bulk of their forces in North China did not come from
+Europe by sea, but was furnished by the Siberian Army.</p>
+
+<p>The German Navy took a prominent part in the China imbroglio. The
+<em>Iltis</em> was well to the fore<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">41</a></span> in the bombardment of the Taku forts
+by the gunboats in the Peiho. In the assault by the storming parties
+from the Allied Fleet 130 German sailors shared, and lost 6 killed
+and 15 wounded; 200 more accompanied Seymour&#8217;s column on the advance
+to Pekin. The Navy of the Fatherland possesses the immense advantage
+of being very modern and homogeneous, and is consequently quite up to
+date. Even at its present strength it is a formidable fighting machine.
+If the Kaiser&#8217;s plans are realised, and it is increased to the size
+he aims at, Germany will play a prominent r&ocirc;le in any future naval
+complications.</p>
+
+<p>English officers are frequently accused of a lack of interest in their
+profession from not acquainting themselves with the problems which
+arise in contemporary campaigns, the course of which many persons
+believe that they do not follow. But we found a singular want of
+knowledge of the history and events of the South African campaign among
+the commissioned grades of the Allied Armies. I understood the crass
+ignorance of Continental peoples with regard to the Boer War after a
+conversation with a foreign staff officer. I had asked him what he
+thought had been the probable strength of the Republican forces at the
+beginning of the campaign.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ah, that I know precisely,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;I have heard it from an
+officer in our army, now in China, who served with the Boers. I can
+state<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">42</a></span> positively on his authority that your antagonists were never
+able to put into the field, either at the beginning of the war or at
+any other time, more than 30,000 men. The total populations of both
+States could not produce any greater number capable of carrying a
+rifle.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;And how many do you think they have in the field now?&#8221; I asked. This
+was in August, 1901.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;About 25,000.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But surely,&#8221; I argued, &#8220;after nearly two years of fighting their
+losses must amount to more than 5,000 between killed, wounded, and
+captured.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not at all. Perhaps not even that.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Then you apparently do not know,&#8221; I said, &#8220;that we have about 30,000
+or 40,000 prisoners or surrendered men in St. Helena, South Africa,
+Ceylon, and India.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, but you have not,&#8221; he said, with a politely incredulous smile;
+&#8220;two or three thousand at most. In our army we are not ignorant of the
+course of the campaign. We read our newspapers carefully.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I ceased to wonder at the ignorance of his nation when he, a Staff and
+Special Service Officer, was so ill&#8208;informed.</p>
+
+<p>The French Army in China suffered some loss of <em>prestige</em> in the
+beginning through their first contingent, composed of Infanterie
+Coloniale and others sent up from <em>l&#8217;Indo&#8208;Chine</em>. Long service in
+unhealthy tropical climates had rendered the men debilitated and
+fever&#8208;stricken. They were by no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">43</a></span> means fair samples of the French
+soldier, and certainly not up to the standard of the troops which
+came out later from France. The Zouaves and Chasseurs d&#8217;Afrique,
+particularly, were excellent. Both are crack corps, and were much
+admired, the physique of the men being very good. The latter were fine
+specimens of European cavalry, good riders, well mounted; but their
+horses seemed too heavily weighted, especially for service in hot
+climates.</p>
+
+<p>The infantry were weighed down by an extraordinarily heavy pack, which
+they carried on nearly all duties&mdash;mounting guard, marching, even in
+garrison. They were trained in the same obsolete close formations as
+the Germans; but, with the traditional aptitude for loose fighting
+which dates from the days of Napoleon&#8217;s <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">tirailleurs</span></em>, they can adapt
+themselves much more rapidly to extended order.</p>
+
+<p>The French officers, though not so well turned out as the Germans, were
+much more friendly and agreeable. There was a good deal of intercourse
+between them and the Britishers. Their manner of maintaining discipline
+was very different to our ideas on the subject. I have seen one of
+them box the ears of his drunken orderly who had assaulted the Indian
+servant of an English officer, and who, considering himself aggrieved
+at being reprimanded by his master, had staggered up to him to tell him
+so.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">44</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The training and organisation of the French Army has immensely improved
+since the disastrous campaign of 1870. A soldier serves first in the
+Active Army, then in the Reserve of the Active Army, where he is called
+up for training somewhat on the lines of our Militia. He is then
+passed into the Territorial Army, where he is not allowed to forget
+what he has learned with the colours. Finally he is enrolled in the
+Reserve of the Territorial Army, and is still liable to be summoned to
+defend his country in emergency. A regiment has all its equipment and
+stores in its own keeping; so that, when suddenly ordered on active
+service, there is no rush to indent upon the Commissariat or Ordnance
+Departments. Its reservists join at regimental headquarters, where they
+find everything ready for them, and take their places as though they
+had never quitted the colours. In marching powers, at least, no troops
+in Europe surpass the French; and legs are almost as useful as arms in
+modern warfare, where wide flanking <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">d&eacute;tours</span></em> and extended movements
+will be the rule in future.</p>
+
+<p>France&#8217;s long experience of colonies and wars beyond the sea rendered
+the organisation and fitting out of her expeditionary force an easier
+task than some other nations found it. The men were always cheerful;
+and the French soldier is particularly handy at bivouacking and fending
+for himself on service.</p>
+
+<p>The Russian troops were composed of big,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">45</a></span> heavy, rather fleshy men.
+Unintelligent and slow, for the most part, they were determined
+fighters, but seemed devoid of the power of initiative or of thinking
+for themselves. I doubt if the Muscovite soldier is much more advanced
+than his Crimean predecessor. The men of the Siberian army may be best
+described as cheerful savages, obedient under an iron discipline, but
+not averse to excesses when not under the stern hand of authority,
+especially when their blood has been heated by fighting. The great
+power of the Russian soldier lies in his wonderful endurance under
+privations that few other European troops could support. I should be
+sorry to offer Englishmen the meagre fare on which he manages to exist.
+His commissariat rations were anything but lavish in China, and had to
+be supplemented by the men themselves by foraging. Yet those whom I saw
+in North China and Manchuria looked well fed and almost fat.</p>
+
+<p>Their respect for, and faith in, their officers is admirable. Their
+religion is a living force to their simple natures. Once, in Newchwang,
+in Manchuria, I passed a small Russian church in which a number of
+their troops were attending a Mass of the gorgeous Greek ritual. Their
+rifles were piled outside under the charge of a sentry. Helmet in hand
+he was devoutly following the service through the open window, crossing
+himself repeatedly and joining in the prayers of the congregation
+inside.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">46</a></span> I am afraid that such a sight would be very rarely seen at a
+church parade in our army.</p>
+
+<p>Of the courage of the Russians there can be no doubt. Their behaviour
+during the stern fighting around Tientsin was admirable. The
+European settlements owed their preservation largely to the timely
+reinforcements which arrived from Port Arthur at a time of deadly
+peril. When Admiral Seymour started on his desperate attempt to relieve
+the Legations, he left behind at Tientsin a small number of British
+sailors and marines under Captain Bayly, H.M.S. <em>Aurora</em>, with orders
+to hold the town, so that his column, if defeated, might have some
+place to fall back on. When, after his departure, the Concessions were
+suddenly assailed, the commanding officers of the other Allies were of
+opinion that the defence of the settlements was hopeless, and advocated
+a retirement on Taku. Captain Bayly pointed out the peril to which the
+Relieving Column would be exposed if repulsed and forced to fall back
+only to find Tientsin in the hands of the Chinese. His remonstrances
+had no effect. Then the dauntless sailor, with true British grit,
+declared that the others might go if they wished. He had been ordered
+to remain in Tientsin, and remain he would. He would not desert his
+admiral even if left alone to hold the town with his handful of
+Britishers. I have it on his own authority that the Russian commander
+was the first to applaud his resolution and declare that he and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">47</a></span> his
+men would stay with the English to the end. His action turned the
+scale, and all remained to defend Tientsin and save Seymour&#8217;s gallant
+but unfortunate column.</p>
+
+<p>Though the Russian officers exceed even the Germans in the severity
+with which they treat their men, there is, nevertheless, more of a
+spirit of comradeship existing between the higher and lower ranks. This
+is truer, perhaps, of the European army than the Siberian, which was
+more employed in the China campaign, and is inferior to the former,
+especially the splendid Guards corps. The officers were fine men
+physically, but seemed in military training rather behind those of the
+other Allies.</p>
+
+<p>Profiting by the experience gained in their previous campaign against
+China, the Japanese Army arrived well equipped in 1900. As long as road
+or river was available, their transport system of carts and boats was
+excellent; but when it came to flying columns moving across country the
+Indian mule train was superior. Beginning the war in white uniform, the
+disadvantages of such a conspicuous dress were soon evident, and khaki
+was substituted. The men were well clothed, and carried a horsehide
+knapsack containing the usual necessaries and an extra pair of boots.</p>
+
+<p>The cavalry, consisting as it does of small men on undersized
+animals, would be of little use in shock tactics. It would be far
+more useful converted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">48</a></span> into mounted infantry, for their infantry
+earned nothing but praise. Small, sturdy, easily fed, and capable of
+enduring an extraordinary amount of hardship, they were ideal foot
+soldiers. Recruited among an agricultural population, inhabitants of
+a mountainous country, they were inured to toil and fatigue. Under
+a load that few white men could carry they tramped long distances,
+arriving at the end of the march apparently not in the least exhausted.
+Their racial respect for superiors has bred a perfect spirit of
+unquestioning discipline. Their high patriotism and almost fanatical
+courage endow them with an absolute contempt of death, and their heroic
+bravery extorted the admiration even of such unfriendly critics as
+the Russians. Trained in German methods, their army suffers from all
+the defects of the hide&#8208;bound Teutonic system. In the attack on some
+fortified villages held by banditti, after Major Browning&#8217;s death in a
+preliminary skirmish, two Japanese companies advanced in line with the
+4th Punjaub Infantry. Under a fierce fire from 4,000 brigands, armed
+with Mannlichers and ensconced behind walls, the Indian troops extended
+to ten or twelve paces. The Japanese came on in single rank, almost
+shoulder to shoulder. They lost four times as many as the Punjaubis,
+but never wavered for an instant, closing in mechanically as their
+comrades fell, and almost outstripping our sepoys in the final charge
+that carried the position.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">49</a></span> Though many of their officers have realised
+that the day of close formations is past, they have not sufficient
+confidence in the ability of their men to fight independently <em>yet</em>;
+while they know that no amount of slaughter will dismay them in an
+attack. Besides, in China they were anxious to blood them well and to
+show to their European critics the splendid fighting quality of their
+soldiers, and prove that they were worthy to combat with or against any
+troops in the world.</p>
+
+<p>The organisation, equipment, and material of the Japanese Army
+leave little to be desired. Their engineers and artillery are well
+trained, and both rendered good service to the Allies in 1900. Their
+Intelligence Department had been brought to a high standard of
+efficiency; and its perfection astonishes those who are permitted to
+gain a glimpse of its working. The whole East is sown with its spies.
+When the Legations were threatened, Japanese who had been working at
+inferior trades in Pekin came in and revealed themselves as military
+officers who for months or years had been acquainting themselves with
+the plans, the methods, and the strength of China.</p>
+
+<p>The discipline of Japanese soldiers in small things as well as great
+is admirable. I have often watched crowded troop&#8208;trains arriving at
+the Shimbashi railway terminus in Tokio. The men sat quietly in their
+places until the order to leave the carriages was given. Then, without
+noise or confusion,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">50</a></span> they got out, fell in on the platforms, piled
+arms, fell out, and remained near their rifles without chattering;
+indeed, with hardly a word except in an undertone. Prompt and
+unquestioning obedience in everything is the motto of the Japanese
+soldier. Their courage at the storming of Tientsin city, on the march
+to the capital, and at the capture of Pekin won the admiration of all
+the Allies, and their behaviour and self&#8208;restraint in the hour of
+victory were equalled only by their gallantry in action. No charges
+of cruelty to inoffensive peasants or women and children could be
+substantiated against them; and they treated the conquered Chinese
+with great kindness. They employed their prisoners to work for them
+and paid them liberally for their labour. Their conduct in garrison
+was admirable. Well armed and equipped, well officered and led, the
+Japanese Army is now a powerful fighting machine, and would prove a
+formidable enemy or a useful ally in the field.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout the campaign a remarkable spirit of comradeship existed
+between the Japanese and the Indian troops. The Gurkhas were their
+especial friends. So like in appearance that it points to a common
+ancestry in the past, they hailed each other as relatives, and seemed
+quite puzzled to find no resemblance in the languages. This did not
+seem to slacken their friendship; and it was amusing to see a mingled
+group of the two races<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">51</a></span> chatting together in an animated manner,
+neither understanding a word of the other&#8217;s tongue.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus08">
+<img src="images/illus08.jpg" width="600" height="391" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">UNITED STATES CAVALRYMAN</p></div>
+
+<p>The men of the American Army were equalled in physique only by
+the Australian Contingent and our Royal Horse Artillery. Their
+free&#8208;and&#8208;easy ideas on the subject of discipline, the casual manner
+in which a private addressed an officer, astonished and shocked their
+Continental critics. I heard the remark of a German officer who, after
+a slight acquaintance with their ways, exclaimed, &#8220;<em>That</em> an army? Why,
+with the Berlin Fire Brigade I would conquer the whole of America!&#8221; The
+speech was so typically German! But the men, accustomed to think and
+act for themselves, were ideal individual fighters; and for scouting,
+skirmishing, and bush&#8208;whacking could not easily be surpassed. Their
+troops in China consisted at first mainly of marines and regiments
+diverted when on their way to the Philippines, and consequently were
+not well equipped for a long campaign. But soon after the outset of
+the expedition all deficiencies were made good and ample supplies were
+forthcoming, their hospitals especially being almost lavishly furnished
+with all requirements.</p>
+
+<p>The new American Army, like their excellent go&#8208;ahead Navy, is a force
+to be reckoned with in the future. We hear much of the effects of
+&#8220;influence&#8221; in our army. It is nothing compared to what goes on in
+the American. With them to be the near connection of a Senator or a
+prominent politician<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">52</a></span> is infinitely more advantageous than to be the
+scion of a ducal line or the son of a Commander&#8208;in&#8208;Chief with us.</p>
+
+<p>If the Continental troops suffer from too rigid a discipline, which
+destroys the power of thinking for themselves in the lower ranks, the
+Americans, perhaps, err on the other side. They are too ready to act
+on their own responsibility, to question the wisdom of the orders
+they receive, and act, instead, as seems best to themselves. This was
+particularly evident in the case of the volunteer regiments in the
+Philippines; but instances of it were not wanting among the regulars
+and marines in North China. Democracy is impossible in an army. But
+the material at the service of the United States is unquestionably
+magnificent; and when the pressure of events in the future has called
+into being and welded together a really large army in America, there
+are few nations that can hope to oppose it successfully in the field.
+How rapidly the sons of the Star&#8208;spangled Banner acquire the art of war
+was evidenced in Cuba and in the more difficult and trying guerilla
+campaign in the Philippines. Their faults were those of inexperience.</p>
+
+<p>Of their courage there can be no doubt. At the taking of Tientsin
+city nearly a thousand American infantry and marines served with the
+British under General Dorward. In a letter to their commander this
+officer warmly expressed the honour he, in common with all his men,
+felt in serving alongside<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">53</a></span> the American troops. In his own words, &#8220;they
+formed part of the front line of the British attack, and so had more
+than their fair share of the fighting. The ready and willing spirit of
+both officers and men, their steady gallantry and power of holding on
+to exposed positions, made them soldiers of the highest class.&#8221; What
+greater praise could be given them? And well they deserved it! Two
+companies of the 9th Infantry (U.S.A.), attacked in front and flank by
+a merciless fire, held gallantly to their ground until nightfall with a
+loss of half their number in killed and wounded, including their brave
+leader, Colonel Liscum, who met a hero&#8217;s death at the head of his men.
+In all the actions of the campaign the American troops distinguished
+themselves by conspicuous bravery; and the British recognised with
+pride and pleasure the gallantry of their cousins. May we always fight
+shoulder to shoulder with, but never against, them!</p>
+
+<p>Great <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">camaraderie</span></em> existed between the Americans and the English
+troops. The sons of the Stars and Stripes amply repaid the disdain of
+the Continental officers with a contempt that was almost laughable.
+They classified the Allies as white men and &#8220;Dagoes.&#8221; The former
+were the Americans and the British, the latter the other European
+contingents. They distinguished between them though, and the terms
+&#8220;Froggie Dago,&#8221; &#8220;Sauerkraut Dago,&#8221; &#8220;Macaroni Dago,&#8221; and &#8220;Vodki Dago<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">54</a></span>&#8221;
+left little doubt in the hearer&#8217;s mind as to which nationality was
+meant.</p>
+
+<p>I heard a good story of an encounter between a young English subaltern
+and an American in North China. I fancy the same tale is told of a
+Colonial in South Africa; but it is good enough to bear repetition.
+The very youthful Britisher, chancing to pass a Yankee soldier who was
+sitting down and made no motion to rise, considered himself affronted
+at the private&#8217;s failure to salute him. He turned back indignantly and
+addressed the offender.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Look here, my man, do you know who I am?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;No&mdash;o&mdash;o,&#8221; drawled the American.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, I&#8217;m a British officer.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Air ye naow?&#8221; was the reply. &#8220;Waal, sonny, you&#8217;ve got a soft job. See
+you don&#8217;t get drunk and lose it.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The subaltern walked on.</p>
+
+<p>Of the Italian Expeditionary Force, which was not numerically
+very strong, I saw little; but all spoke well of them. The famous
+Bersagliere, the cocks&#8217; plumes fluttering gaily in their tropical
+helmets, were smart, sturdy soldiers.</p>
+
+<p>I regret never having had an opportunity of seeing the contingent which
+Holland, not to be outdone by the other European Powers, despatched
+to the East. This nation was also determined to show its power to the
+world. So a Dutch Expeditionary Corps was equipped and sent out. It
+consisted of a sergeant and ten men.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">55</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The Indian Field Force was a revelation to Europe. Friend and foe
+realised for the first time that in the Indian army England has a
+reserve of immense value. While our Continental rivals fancied that
+our hands were tied by the South African war, and that we could take
+no part in the Chinese complication, they were startled to see how,
+without moving a soldier from Great Britain, we could put into the
+field in the farthest quarter of the globe a force equal to any and
+superior to most. It was mobilised and despatched speedily and without
+a hitch. The vessels for its transport were all available from the
+lines that ply from Calcutta and Bombay, and no ship was needed from
+England. The bluejackets and marines with half a battalion of the Royal
+Welch Fusiliers, already on the spot, and two batteries with some
+Engineers were all the white troops we had until gallant Australia sent
+her splendid little contingent as an earnest of what she could and
+would do if required.</p>
+
+<p>Previous to the expedition of 1900, the Indian army was never allowed
+to engage in war without a strong backing of British troops. And even
+its own officers scarcely dared to allow themselves to believe that
+without such leavening their men could successfully oppose a European
+army. But now that they have seen them contrasted with the pick of
+Continental soldiers, they know that they could confidently lead their
+Sikhs, Gurkhas,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">56</a></span> Rajputs, Pathans, or Punjaubis against the men of
+any other nation. Not only is the Indian army as well equipped and
+organised as any it could now be called upon to face, but also the
+fighting races of our Eastern Empire, led by their British officers,
+are equal to any foe. The desperate battles of the Sikh War, when, as
+in the fierce struggle of Chillianwallah, victory often hung wavering
+in the balance, the determined resistance of the mutinous troops in
+1857, show that skilful leadership is all that our sepoys need to
+enable them to encounter the best soldiers of any nation.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus09">
+<img src="images/illus09.jpg" width="600" height="401" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">GERMAN AND INDIAN SOLDIERS</p></div>
+
+<p>India is a continent&mdash;not a country&mdash;composed of many races that differ
+far more than European nationalities. A Russian and an Englishman,
+a Swede and an Italian are nearer akin, more alike in appearance,
+manners, and modes of thought than a Gurkha and a Pathan, a Sikh and a
+Mahratta, a Rajput and a Madrassi. It follows that the fighting value
+of all these various races of India is not the same. No one would
+seek among the Bengali <em>babus</em> or the Parsees of Bombay for warriors.
+The Madras sepoy, though his predecessors helped to conquer India
+for British rule, has fallen from his high estate and is no longer
+regarded as a reliable soldier. Yet the wisdom of the policy which
+relegated him of late years altogether to the background during war
+may be questioned. For the Madras sappers and miners, who alone of all
+the Madras army have been constantly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">57</a></span> employed, have always proved
+satisfactory. But the fiat has gone forth; and the Madrassi will be
+gradually replaced even in his own presidency by the men of the more
+martial races of the North. The Mahratta, who once struck terror
+throughout the length and breadth of Hindustan, is considered by some
+critics to be no longer useful as a fighting man. But they forget that
+not so long ago in the desperate battles near Suakin, when even British
+troops gave back before the mad rushes of fanatical Dervishes, the
+28th Bombay Pioneers saved a broken square from imminent destruction
+by their steadfast bravery. And they were Mahrattas then. Of the
+excellence of the gallant warrior clans of Rajputana, of the fierce
+Pathans inured to fighting from boyhood, of the sturdy, cheerful,
+little Gurkhas, the steady, long&#8208;limbed Sikhs, none can doubt. Hard to
+conquer were they in the past; splendid to lead to battle now. To Lord
+Roberts is chiefly due the credit of welding together the Indian army
+and making it the formidable fighting machine it is.</p>
+
+<p>One great factor of its efficiency is the excellence of its British
+officers. Early placed in a position of responsibility, they rapidly
+learn to rely on themselves and act, if need be, on their own
+initiative. In a British regiment an officer may serve twenty years
+without commanding more than a company; whereas the Indian army
+subaltern, before he has worn a sword three years, may find<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">58</a></span> himself
+in command of his battalion on field&#8208;days, in man&oelig;uvres, sometimes
+even in war. In the stern fighting at the Malakand in the beginning of
+the Tirah campaign, one Punjaub regiment was commanded by a subaltern,
+who acquitted himself of his difficult task with marked ability. Unlike
+the system of promotion that exists in the British army, the English
+officers of the native corps attain the different grades after a
+certain number of years&#8217; service&mdash;nine for captain, eighteen for major,
+twenty&#8208;six for lieutenant&#8208;colonel&mdash;and may occupy any position in their
+regiments irrespective of the rank they hold.</p>
+
+<p>An Indian infantry battalion consists of eight companies, each under
+a native officer, termed a subhedar, with a jemadar or lieutenant
+to assist him. He is responsible for the discipline and interior
+economy of his company. The senior native officer is known as the
+subhedar&#8208;major. Instead of the terms lance&#8208;corporal, corporal,
+sergeant, and sergeant&#8208;major, lance&#8208;naik, naik, havildar, and
+havildar&#8208;major are the names of the corresponding grades.</p>
+
+<p>The British officers practically form the staff of the regiment. The
+former number of eight has been recently increased to eleven, twelve,
+and thirteen, according to the presidency to which the corps belongs,
+those of the Punjaub&mdash;being nearest the danger zone of frontier wars
+and threatened invasion&mdash;possessing the largest number. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">59</a></span> eight
+companies are grouped in four double companies&mdash;the double company
+commander (a British officer) having almost complete control of
+his unit. The commanding officer of the battalion mainly restricts
+himself to seeing that the training of each portion of the regiment is
+identical and efficient. Each corps possesses a commanding officer,
+four double company commanders, an adjutant, a quartermaster, and the
+remainder are known as double company officers.</p>
+
+<p>The organisation of a native cavalry regiment is very similar, the
+terms squadron and squadron&#8208;commander replacing double company and
+double company commander. In most of the corps the <em>sowar</em>, as the
+Indian cavalry private is called&mdash;<em>sepoy</em> being employed to denote an
+infantryman&mdash;is usually the owner of his horse; and direct commissions
+to native gentlemen are of more frequent occurrence in the cavalry than
+in the infantry. Regimental transport consists of baggage&#8208;ponies or
+mules, so that an Indian mounted corps is particularly mobile.</p>
+
+<p>Foreign officers in North China at first made light of our Indian
+soldiers; but they were not those who had seen them fight in the early
+days of the campaign. For one arm, however, there was nothing but
+praise. All agreed that our native cavalry was excellent. Even German
+officers acknowledged that in smartness, horsemanship, and efficiency
+it could not easily be surpassed. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">60</a></span> work done by the 1st Bengal
+Lancers in the advance on Pekin and afterwards could not be underrated.
+With the exception of a few Cossacks and Japanese, they were the only
+mounted troops available at first. They were in constant demand to
+accompany columns of Continental troops, and they won the admiration
+of all the foreign officers with whom they were brought in contact.
+In fact, the only persons who failed to appreciate their merits were
+the Tartar horsemen who ventured to oppose them in the march on the
+capital. <em>Their</em> opinion is not recorded, but I think that it would
+not be fit for publication except in an expunged and mutilated form.
+The 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry&mdash;as good a regiment as any that Bengal
+can show&mdash;won many encomiums for its smartness from all who saw its
+squadrons at Tientsin, Shanghai, or Shanhaikwan.</p>
+
+<p>But Indian officers were at first surprised and puzzled at the
+unflattering criticisms passed on our native infantry. Those who had
+seen our sepoys in many a hard&#8208;fought struggle on the frontier could
+not understand the frequent remarks of foreign officers, that &#8220;our men
+were very unequal.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Some of them,&#8221; they said, &#8220;are tall, well&#8208;built, and powerful, and
+should make good soldiers; but others are old, feeble, and decrepit.
+We have seen in the streets of Tientsin many who could not support
+the weight of a rifle.&#8221; But it was soon discovered that these critics
+failed to comprehend<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">61</a></span> the distinction between fighting men and
+followers, since in China both were clad somewhat alike. The coolie
+corps, bheesties, syces, and dhoolie&#8208;bearers were all dressed in khaki;
+and Continental officers were for a long time under the impression that
+these were soldiers. The error was not unnatural, and it accounted for
+the unfavourable reports on the Indian troops which appeared in many
+European journals. But those who understood the difference were struck
+by the fine physique and excellent training of our native army. When
+we compared our Sikhs, Pathans, Gurkhas, and Punjaubis with the men of
+most of the Allied forces, we recognised that, led by British officers,
+they would render a good account of themselves if pitted against
+any troops in the world. And our sepoys return to India filled with
+immeasurable contempt for the foreign contingents they have seen in
+China. As the ripples caused by a stone thrown into a lake spread over
+the water, so their opinion will radiate through the length and breadth
+of the land; and this unexpected lesson of the campaign will have a
+far&#8208;reaching and beneficial effect throughout our Eastern Empire.</p>
+
+<p>India is essentially a soldier&#8217;s country. Its army is practically
+always on a war footing, the troops near the frontier especially
+being ready to move at a few hours&#8217; notice. The rapid despatch of
+the British contingent for Natal and the China expeditionary force
+are object&#8208;lessons. The peace<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">62</a></span> establishment of a native regiment
+is greater than the strength required for active service. Hence on
+mobilisation no reserves have to be called up to fill its ranks;
+recruits and sickly men can be left behind, and it marches with only
+fully trained and seasoned soldiers. In India vast stretches of country
+are available for man&oelig;uvres, which take place every winter on a
+scale unknown in England. Not a year passes without its little war. In
+consequence, the training of the troops is thorough and practical. The
+establishment of gun and rifle factories is all that is needed to make
+India absolutely self&#8208;containing. It produces now all other requisites
+of war. Ammunition, clothing, and accoutrements are manufactured in
+the country, and it was able to supply, not only the needs of the
+expedition in China, but also many things required for the troops in
+South Africa.</p>
+
+<p>To the pessimists in England and the hostile critics abroad, who talk
+of the possibility of another mutiny, the answer is that a general
+uprising of the Native army can never occur again. The number of
+British troops in India has been more than doubled since 1857, and the
+proportion between white and coloured regiments in each large station
+more equalised. The artillery is altogether in English hands, with the
+exception of the rank and file of a few mountain batteries and the
+smooth&#8208;bore guns maintained by native princes for show. Communication
+has been enormously quickened by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">63</a></span> the network of railways that covers
+the country, enabling a force to be moved in two or three days to a
+point where formerly as many months were required.</p>
+
+<p>And the Indian army is loyal to the core&mdash;loyal, not to the vague idea
+of a far&#8208;distant England, not to the vast impersonal <em>Sircar</em>,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> but
+loyal to itself; loyal to its British officers, who, to the limited
+minds of the sepoys, represent in concrete form the Power whose salt
+they eat. And those officers, speaking to each in his own tongue&mdash;be he
+Sikh, Rajput, or Dogra&mdash;stand in the relation of fathers to their men.
+To them in sorrow or perplexity comes the sepoy, sure of sympathy or
+aid. In their justice he reposes implicit confidence. And as in peace
+he relies on these men of alien race, so in war do they trust in him.
+And the tales of the struggle of the Guides round Battye&#8217;s corpse, of
+the gallant Sikhs who died at their post in Saragheri, of the men who
+refused to abandon their dead and dying officers in the treachery of
+Maizar, show that our trust is not misplaced.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">64</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="CHAPTER_IV"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER IV</span><br />
+
+PEKIN</h2></div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap2">TIENTSIN is but a stepping&#8208;stone to Pekin&mdash;one a mere modern growth,
+important only in view of the European commercial interests that have
+made it what it is; the other a fabled city weird, mysterious. The
+slowly&#8208;beating heart of the vast feeble Colossus, that may be pierced
+and yet no agony, thrills through the distant members. Pekin, the
+object of the veneration of every Chinaman the world over. Pekin, which
+enshrines the most sacred temples of the land, within whose famous
+walls lies the marvellous Forbidden City, the very name of which is
+redolent of mystery; around it history and fable gather and scarce may
+be distinguished, so incredible the truth, so conceivable the wildest
+conjecture. The Mecca to which turn the thoughts of every Celestial.
+The home of the sacred, almost legendary, Emperor, whose word is law
+to the uttermost confines of the land, and yet whose person is not
+inviolate against palace intrigue; omnipotent in theory, powerless in
+reality, a ruler only in name. Worshipped by millions of his subjects,
+yet despised<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">65</a></span> by the least among the mandarins of his court. The
+meanest eunuch in the Purple City is not more helpless than the monarch
+who boasts the proud title of Son of Heaven.</p>
+
+<p>Pekin, the seat of all power in the land, whence flows the deadly
+poison of corruption that saps the empire&#8217;s strength; the capital that
+twice within the last fifty years has fallen before the avenging armies
+of Europe, and yet still flourishes like a noxious weed.</p>
+
+<p>One morning as the train from Tong&#8208;ku came into Tientsin Station and
+disgorged its usual crowd of soldiers of the Allied Forces, I stood on
+the platform with four other British officers, all bound for Pekin. We
+established ourselves in a first&#8208;class carriage, which was a mixture of
+<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">coup&eacute;</span> and corridor&#8208;car. The varied uniforms of our fellow&#8208;passengers
+no longer possessed any interest for us; and we devoted our attention
+to the scenery on each side of the railway. From Tientsin to Pekin
+the journey occupies about five hours. The line runs through level,
+fertile country, where the crops stand higher than a mounted man; thus
+the actions on the way to the relief of the Legations were fought
+blindfold. Among the giant vegetation troops lost direction, corps
+became mixed, and the enemy could seldom be seen. As the train ran
+on, the tops of the tall stalks rose in places above the roofs of the
+carriages, and shut in our view as though we were passing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">66</a></span> through a
+dense forest. Here and there we rattled past villages or an occasional
+temple almost hidden by the high crops. There were several stations
+along the line; the buildings solidly constructed of stone, the walls
+loopholed for defence. On the platforms the usual cosmopolitan crowd
+of soldiers, and Chinamen of all ages offering for sale bread, cakes,
+Japanese beer, bottles of <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">vin ordinaire</span></em> bought from the French,
+grapes, peaches, and plums in profusion. In winter various kinds of
+game, with which the country teems, are substituted for the fruit.
+At Yangsun were a number of Chasseurs d&#8217;Afrique, whose regiment was
+quartered in the vicinity. Trains passed us; the carriages crowded with
+troops of all nations, the trucks filled with horses, guns and military
+stores, or packed with grinning Chinamen.</p>
+
+<p>At last, between the trees, glimpses of yellow&#8208;tiled roofs flashing in
+the sunlight told us that we were nearing the capital. Leaning from the
+windows we saw, apparently stretching right across the track, a long,
+high wall, with buttresses and lofty towers at intervals. It was the
+famous Wall of Pekin. Suddenly a large gap seemed to open in it; the
+train glided through, and we found ourselves in the middle of a large
+city as we slowed down alongside a platform on which stood a board with
+the magic word &#8220;Pekin.&#8221; We had reached our journey&#8217;s end. On the other
+side of the line was a broad, open space, through which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">67</a></span> ran a wide
+road paved with large stone flags. Over it flowed an incessant stream
+of carts, rickshas, and pedestrians. Behind the station ran a long wall
+which enclosed the Temple of Heaven, where, after General Gaselee&#8217;s
+departure, the British headquarters in Pekin were established.</p>
+
+<p>On the platform we found a half&#8208;caste guide waiting for us, sent to
+meet us by friends in the English Legation. Resigning our luggage
+to him and directing him to convey it to the one hotel the capital
+possessed, we determined to begin our sightseeing at once and walked
+towards the gateway of the enclosure in which stands the Temple of
+Heaven. On entering, we found ourselves in a large and well&#8208;wooded
+demesne. Groves of tall trees, leafy rides, and broad stretches of turf
+made it seem more like an English park than the grounds of a Chinese
+temple. Long lines of tents, crossed lances, and picketed horses marked
+the camp of a regiment of Bengal cavalry; for in the vast enclosure
+an army might bivouac with ease. Here was held the historic British
+assault&#8208;at&#8208;arms, when foreign officers were roused to enthusiasm at the
+splendid riding of our Indian cavalry and the marvellous skill of the
+Royal Horse Artillery as they swung their teams at full speed round the
+marks in the driving competitions.</p>
+
+<p>Apropos of the latter corps a story is told of Field&#8208;Marshal Von
+Waldersee&#8217;s introduction to them at the first review he held of British
+troops<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">68</a></span> at Tientsin. When the horse gunners came thundering down
+towards the saluting base in a cloud of dust, their horses stretching
+to a mad gallop, the guns bounding behind them like things of no weight
+but with every muzzle in line, the German Commander&#8208;in&#8208;Chief is said to
+have burst into admiring exclamation: &#8220;Splendid! Marvellous!&#8221; he cried.
+As they flew past the old man huddled up on his charger, he started in
+surprise and peered forward.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Donnerwetter!&#8221; he exclaimed, &#8220;why, they actually have their guns with
+them!&#8221; The pace was so furious that he had been under the impression
+that they were galloping past with the teams only; for he had thought
+it impossible for artillery to move at such speed drawing their
+field&#8208;pieces. The other officers of the Allied Armies were equally
+amazed at the sight.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is positively dangerous!&#8221; said a German.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">C&#8217;est incroyable! &Ccedil;a ne peut pas!</span>&#8221; cried an excited Frenchman.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Say, that&#8217;ll show the Dagoes that they&#8217;ve got something still to
+learn,&#8221; said a pleased Yankee.</p>
+
+<p>The Temple of Heaven consists of long, low buildings of the
+conventional Chinese architecture, with wide, upturned eaves. We found
+it empty but for a few memorial tablets of painted or gilded wood.
+Emerging through a small gate and crossing a tiny marble bridge, we
+strolled through the park to another temple, the conical roof of
+which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">69</a></span> rose above the trees. It was known to the British troops in
+Pekin as the Temple of the Sun; whether the name is correct or not I
+cannot say.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">3</a></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus10">
+<img src="images/illus10.jpg" width="600" height="398" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">FIELD&#8208;MARSHAL COUNT VON WALDERSEE REVIEWING THE ALLIED
+TROOPS IN PEKIN</p></div>
+
+<p>Passing the cavalry camp we came to a flight of steps, which led up to
+a terrace. On ascending this we found a huge gateway to the left. We
+passed through, and then, little susceptible as we were to artistic
+emotions, we stopped and gazed in silent admiration as the full beauty
+of the building stood revealed. The temple, circular in shape, stands
+on a slight eminence, surrounded by tiers of white marble balustrades.
+Its triple roof, bright with gleaming blue tiles and golden knob,
+blazed in the sun, the spaces between the roofs filled with gay designs
+in brilliant colours. The walls were of carved stone open&#8208;work with
+many doors. It rose, a dream of beauty and grace, against a dark green
+background of leafy trees, the loveliest building in Pekin. Within, all
+was bare. An empty altar, a painted tablet, a few broken gilt stools
+were all that pillaging hands had spared. The massive bronze urns which
+stood outside, too heavy to be carried away, had lost their handles,
+wrenched off for the mere value of the metal. Quitting the temple and
+passing through a door in a low wall, we came to a broad open space,
+in which stood a curious construction<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">70</a></span> which bears the proud title of
+&#8220;Centre of the Universe.&#8221; Three circles of white marble balustrades,
+one within the other, rose up to a paved platform, round which were
+large urns. Here once a year the Emperor comes in state to offer
+sacrifice to the <em>manes</em> of his ancestors. Close by was the Temple of
+the Moon, in design similar to that of the Sun, but much smaller and
+with only a single roof.</p>
+
+<p>This exhausted the sights of the Temple of Heaven. We returned through
+the park to the railway station, where we procured rickshas to take us
+to the hotel. Strong, active coolies whirled us along over the wide,
+flagged road that runs through the Chinese town. We passed crowds
+of Celestials trudging on in the awful dust, springless Pekin carts
+drawn by sturdy little ponies, an occasional Bengal Lancer or German
+Mounted Infantryman, through streets of mean shops, the fronts hung
+with gaudy sign&#8208;boards, until we reached the wall of the Tartar city.
+Before us stood the Chien M&ecirc;n Gate, the brick tower above it roofless
+and shattered by shells, the heavy iron&#8208;studded door swung back. We
+rumbled through the long, tunnel&#8208;like entrance, between rows of low,
+one&#8208;story houses, and soon reached the famous Legation Street, the
+quarter in which lie the residences of the Foreign Ministers and the
+other Europeans in Pekin. We passed along a wide road in good repair,
+by gateways at which stood Japanese, French, and German sentries,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">71</a></span> by
+the shattered ruins of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank. All around
+the Legations lay acres of wrecked Chinese houses, torn by shells and
+blackened by fire&mdash;a grim memento of the outrage that had roused the
+civilised world to arms. At length we reached a broad street leading
+from the Ha&#8208;ta&#8208;man Gate, turned to the left down it, and drew up
+before a small entrance in a line of low, one&#8208;story houses. Above it
+was a board bearing the inscription, &#8220;H&ocirc;tel du Nord.&#8221; Jumping from our
+rickshas, we paid off the perspiring coolies, and, walking across a
+small courtyard, were met by the proprietor and shown to our quarters.
+The hotel, which had been opened shortly after the relief of the
+Legations, consisted of a number of squalid Chinese houses, which had
+been cleverly converted into comfortable dining, sitting, and bedrooms.
+An excellent cuisine made it a popular resort for the officers of the
+Allies in Pekin, and we found ourselves as well catered for as we could
+have done in many more pretentious hostels in civilised lands.</p>
+
+<p>A short description of the chief city of China may not be out of place;
+though recent events have served to draw it from the obscurity that
+enshrouded it so long. It is singular among the capitals of the world
+for the regularity of its outline, owing to the stupendous walls which
+confine it. These famous battlements are twenty&#8208;five miles in total
+circumference, and the long lines, studded with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">72</a></span> lofty towers and giant
+buttresses, present an imposing spectacle from the exterior.</p>
+
+<p>Pekin is divided into two separate and distinct cities, the Tartar and
+the Chinese. The latter, adjoining the southern wall of the former, is
+in shape a parallelogram, its longer sides running east and west. It
+grew as an excrescence to the capital of the victorious Manchus, and
+was in ancient times inhabited by the conquered Chinese as the Tartar
+City was by the superior race, though now this line of demarcation is
+lost in the practical merging of the two nationalities as regards the
+lower orders. The wall of the Chinese city is thirty feet high and
+twenty feet thick.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus11">
+<img src="images/illus11.jpg" width="600" height="402" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">A STREET IN THE CHINESE CITY, PEKIN</p></div>
+
+<p>The Tartar city, in shape also a parallelogram, with the longer sides
+north and south, is surrounded by a much more imposing wall, which
+if vigorously defended would prove a truly formidable obstacle to
+any army unprovided with a powerful siege train. It is forty feet
+high, fifty feet broad at the top, and sixty&#8208;four feet thick at the
+base, and consists of two masonry walls, made of enormous bricks as
+solid as stone, that on the external face being twelve feet thick,
+the interior one eight feet, the space between them filled with clay,
+rammed in layers of from six to nine inches.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> A practicable breach
+might be effected by the concentrated fire of heavy siege guns, for
+shells<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">73</a></span> planted near the top of the wall would probably bring down
+bricks and earth enough to form a ramp. From the outside seven gateways
+lead into the Chinese city, six into the Tartar, while communication
+between the two is maintained by three more. They can be closed by
+enormously thick, iron&#8208;studded wooden gates, which in ordinary times
+are shut at night. The Japanese effected an entrance into the Tartar
+city by blowing in one of these. At the corners of the walls and
+over each gateway are lofty brick towers several stories high, the
+intervals between them being divided by buttresses. These towers are
+comparatively fragile, and at the taking of Pekin those attacked
+suffered considerably from the shell fire of the field guns of the
+Allies. Outwards from the base of the walls a broad open space is left.</p>
+
+<p>The Tartar City is by far the more important. It holds most of the
+temples, the residences of the upper and wealthier classes, the
+important buildings and larger shops. In the centre of it is the
+Imperial city, in shape an irregular square, enclosed by a high wall
+seven miles in circumference, the top of which is covered with yellow
+tiles. Here are found the public buildings and the houses of the
+official mandarins; and in its heart lies the Purple or Forbidden City,
+the residence of the Emperor and his Court. All the buildings inside
+the limits of the Imperial city are roofed with gleaming yellow tiles,
+that being the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">74</a></span> sacred colour. To the south&#8208;east, near the wall of the
+Chinese city, lies the Legation quarter, where most of the European
+residents live.</p>
+
+<p>The only high ground in Pekin consists of two small eminences, just
+inside the northern boundary of the Imperial city. One, facing the
+gateway, is known as Coal Hill. Tradition declares it to consist of
+an enormous quantity of coal, accumulated in former times to provide
+against a threatened siege. It is covered with trees, bushes, and
+grass. On the summit is a pavilion, from which an excellent view over
+all Pekin is obtained. At one&#8217;s feet the yellow roofs of the buildings
+in the Imperial and Forbidden cities blaze in the sun like gold. To the
+right is the other small tree&#8208;clad hill, on which stands the quaintly
+shaped Ming Pagoda. Below it, to the right of the Imperial city, lies
+a gleaming expanse of water, the Lotos Lake, crossed by a picturesque
+white marble bridge, with strange, small, circular arches. Near it is
+the Palace of the Empress&#8208;Dowager. To the south of the sacred city
+is the Legation quarter, where the European&#8208;looking buildings of the
+residences of the Foreign Ministers and the other alien inhabitants
+seem curiously out of keeping with their surroundings. Far away the
+high, many&#8208;storied towers over the gateways between the Tartar and the
+Chinese city rise up from the long line of embattled wall. Looking down
+on it from this height Pekin is strangely picturesque,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">75</a></span> with a sea of
+foliage that surges between the buildings; and yet on descending into
+the streets one wonders what has become of the trees with which the
+city seemed filled. The fact is that they are extremely scattered,
+one in one courtyard, one in another, and in consequence are scarcely
+remarked from the level. The Palace, the Legations, and the towers are
+the only buildings that stand up prominently among the monotonous array
+of low roofs, for the houses are almost invariably only one&#8208;storied.</p>
+
+<p>The Tartar City is pierced by broad roads running at right angles to
+the walls. From them a network of smaller lanes leads off, usually
+extremely narrow and always unsavoury, being used as the dumping&#8208;ground
+of all the filth and refuse of the neighbouring houses. The main
+streets even are unpaved and ill&#8208;kept. The centre portion alone is
+occasionally repaired in a slovenly fashion, apparently by heaping on
+it fresh earth taken from the sides, which have consequently become
+mere ditches eight or nine feet below the level of the middle causeway
+and the narrow footpaths along the front of the houses. After heavy
+rain these fill with water and are transformed into rushing rivers.
+Occasionally on dark nights a cart falls into them, the horse unguided
+by a sleepy driver, and the occupants are drowned. Such a happening
+in the principal thoroughfares of a large and populous city seems
+incredible. I could scarcely believe it until I was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">76</a></span> once obliged
+almost to swim my pony across a main street with the water up to the
+saddle&#8208;flaps, and this after only a few hours&#8217; rain. A Chinaman, by the
+way, will never rescue a drowning man, from the superstition that the
+rescuer will always meet with misfortune from the hand of the one he
+has saved.</p>
+
+<p>The houses are mostly one story high, dingy and squalid. The shops,
+covered with gaudy red and gold sign&#8208;boards, have little frontage but
+much depth, and display to the public gaze scarcely anything of the
+goods they contain. All along the principal streets peddlers establish
+themselves on the narrow side&#8208;walks, spread their wares on the ground
+about them, and wait with true Oriental patience for customers. The
+houses of the richer folk are secluded within courtyards, and cannot be
+seen from the public thoroughfares.</p>
+
+<p>On the whole, Pekin from the inside is not an attractive city; and as
+the streets in dry weather are thick with dust that rises in clouds
+when a wind blows, and in wet are knee&#8208;deep in mud where not flooded,
+they do not lend themselves to casual strolling. The broad tops of the
+walls are much preferable for a promenade. Access to them is gained
+by ramps at intervals. They are clean, not badly paved though often
+overgrown with bushes, and afford a good view over the surrounding
+houses, and in the summer offer the only place where a cooling breeze
+can be found.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">77</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Comfortably installed in the H&ocirc;tel du Nord, we determined to devote our
+first afternoon in Pekin to a visit to the quarter of most pressing,
+though temporary, interest, the Legations, on which the thoughts of
+the whole civilised world had been concentrated during their gallant
+defence against a fanatical and cowardly foe. As the distance was
+short, we set out on foot. The courtyard of the hotel opens on to
+the long street that runs through the Tartar city from the Ha&#8208;ta&#8208;man
+Gate, leading into the Chinese city. As the wall was close at hand,
+we ascended it by one of the ramps or inclined ways that lead to the
+top, and entered the tower above the gateway. It was a rectangular
+three&#8208;storied building with the usual sloping gabled roofs and wide,
+upturned eaves of Chinese architecture. The interior was bare and
+empty. The lower room was wide and lofty, the full breadth and depth of
+the tower, and communicating with the floor above by a steep ladder.
+From the large windows of the upper stories a fine view over both
+cities was obtained. We looked down on the seething crowds passing
+along Ha&#8208;ta&#8208;man Street and away to where, above the Legation quarter,
+the flags of the Allies fluttered gaily in proud defiance to the tall
+yellow roofs of the Imperial palace close by. Descending, we emerged
+upon the broad paved road that ran along the top of the wall, and
+found it a pleasant change from the close, fetid streets. The side
+towards the Chinese city, the houses of which run up<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">78</a></span> to the foot
+of the wall, is defended by a loopholed and embrasured parapet. We
+soon found ourselves over the Legation quarter and looked down on the
+spot where the besieged Europeans had so long held their assailants
+at bay. A broad ditch or nullah with walled sides, which during the
+rains drains the Tartar city, ran towards the wall on which we stood,
+passing beneath our feet through a tunnel in it, which could be closed
+by an iron grating. This was the famous water&#8208;gate by which the
+Anglo&#8208;Indian troops had entered, first of the Allies, to the relief of
+the besieged. The nullah was crossed by several bridges, over one of
+which passes Legation Street, along which we had ridden in our rickshas
+that morning. On the left bank of the nullah, looking north, stands
+the English Legation, surrounded by a high wall enclosing well&#8208;wooded
+grounds. Opposite it, on the right bank, is the Japanese Legation,
+similarly enclosed. During the siege the two were connected by a wall
+built across the watercourse, which is generally dry, and they thus
+formed the front face of the defence. A portion of the city wall, cut
+off by breastworks on the summit, became the rear face, which was held
+by the Americans, who were attacked along the top of the wall itself.
+The French, German, and Belgian Legations lay to the right and rear of
+the Japanese; while the Russian and American stood between the British
+Legation and the wall. All around the limits of the defence were acres
+of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">79</a></span> wrecked and burnt Chinese houses, destroyed impartially by
+besiegers and besieged.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus12">
+<img src="images/illus12.jpg" width="600" height="395" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">FRONT FACE OF THE DEFENCES OF THE LEGATIONS</p>
+<p class="caption noindent">Gate of the British Legation on the right, wall across the nullah
+connecting it with the Japanese Legation Wall of Tartar city in the
+background</p></div>
+
+<p>After a long study of the position from our coign of vantage, we
+descended to the left bank of the nullah; and, passing the residences
+of the American and Russian Ministers guarded by stalwart Yankee
+soldier or heavily built Slav, we came to where the imposing gateway
+of the English Legation opens out on the road running along the
+bank. Inside the entrance stood the guardroom. To the right lay the
+comfortable residences of the Minister and the various officials spread
+about in the spacious, tree&#8208;shaded grounds. We passed on to a group of
+small and squalid Chinese houses, which served as the quarters for the
+officers and men of the Legation Guard, chiefly composed of Royal Welch
+Fusiliers. The officers in command, all old friends of ours, received
+us most hospitably, and entertained us with grateful refreshment and
+the news of Pekin. We were cynically amused at learning from them an
+instance of the limits of human gratitude. The civilian inhabitants of
+the English Legation have insisted that a wall should be built between
+their residences and the quarters of the guard, lest, perchance, the
+odour of &#8220;a brutal and licentious soldiery&#8221; should come betwixt the
+wind and their nobility. They gladly welcome their protection in time
+of danger, but in peace their fastidious eyes would be offended by the
+sight of the humble red&#8208;coat. Our hosts showed us<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">80</a></span> round the grounds
+and the <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">enceinte</span></em> of the defence, and explained many points in the
+siege that we had not previously understood.</p>
+
+<p>When, our visit over, we walked back to the hotel down Legation Street,
+we were interested in noticing that the walls and houses bordering
+the road were covered with bullet splashes; while the ruins of the
+Chinese houses, of the fine building that had once been a branch of
+the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, and of some of the Legations spoke
+eloquently of the ravages of war. On the wreckage around notices were
+posted, showing the increased areas claimed for the various foreign
+Legations in the general scramble that ensued on the fall of Pekin.
+Little Belgium, with her scanty interests in China, has not done badly.
+Everywhere were to be seen placards bearing the legend, &#8220;<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Occup&eacute; par
+la L&eacute;gation Belge</span>,&#8221; until she promised to have almost more ground
+than any of the great Powers. <em>Vae Victis</em>, indeed! And the truth of
+it was evident everywhere, from the signs of the game of general grab
+all around the Legations to the insolent manner of a German Mounted
+Infantryman we saw scattering the Chinese foot&#8208;passengers as he
+galloped along the street.</p>
+
+<p>When we entered the dining&#8208;room of the hotel that evening, we found it
+filled with Continental officers, who, as we bowed to the groups at
+the various tables before taking our seats, rose politely and returned
+our greeting. Britishers unused to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">81</a></span> the elaborate foreign courtesy
+found the continual salutes that were the custom of most of the Allies
+rather a tax at first; and the ungraciousness of English manners was a
+frequent source of comment among those of our European brothers&#8208;in&#8208;arms
+who had never before been brought in contact with the Anglo&#8208;Saxon race.
+But they soon regarded us as almost paragons of politeness compared
+with our American cousins, who had no stomach for the universal
+&#8220;bowing and scraping,&#8221; and with true republican frankness, did not
+hesitate to let it be known. Our proverbial British gruffness wore off
+after a little time, and our Continental comrades finally came to the
+conclusion that we were not so unmannerly as they deemed us at first.
+In the beginning some offence was given as they did not understand
+that in the English naval or military services it is the custom where
+several officers are together for the senior only to acknowledge a
+salute; for in the other European armies all would reply equally to it.</p>
+
+<p>The three leading characteristics of Pekin are its odour, its dust in
+dry weather, and its mud after rain. The cleanliness introduced by the
+Allies did wonders towards allaying the stench; and I do not think that
+any place in the world, short of an alkali desert, can beat the dust of
+the Long Valley. But though I have seen &#8220;dear, dirthy Dublin&#8221; in wet
+weather, have waded through the slush of Aldershot, and had certainly
+marvelled at the mire<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">82</a></span> of Hsin&#8208;ho, yet never have I gazed on aught to
+equal the depth, the intensity, and the consistency of the awful mud
+of Pekin. We made its acquaintance on the day following our arrival.
+Heavy rain had kept us indoors until late in the afternoon when, taking
+advantage of a temporary cessation of the deluge, we rashly ventured
+on a stroll down Ha&#8208;ta&#8208;man Street. The city, never beautiful, looked
+doubly squalid in the gloomy weather. Along the raised centre portion
+of the roadway the small Pekin carts laboured literally axle&#8208;deep in
+mire. It was impossible for rickshas to ply. On either side the lower
+parts of the street were several feet under water, while gushing
+torrents rushed into them from the alleys and lanes. We struggled
+with difficulty through the awful mud, wading through pools too broad
+to jump. Once or twice we nearly slipped off the edge of the central
+causeway, and narrowly escaped an unwelcome bath in the muddy river
+alongside. As we splashed and skipped along like schoolboys, laughing
+at our various mishaps, our mirth was suddenly hushed. Down the road
+towards us tramped a mournful <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">cort&egrave;ge</span>&mdash;a funeral party of German
+soldiers marching with reversed arms behind a gun&#8208;carriage on which
+lay, in a rough Chinese coffin, the corpse of some young conscript from
+the Vaterland. As we stood aside to let the procession pass, we raised
+our hands to our helmets in a last salute to a comrade.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">83</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In sobered mood we waded on until, in the centre of the roadway, we
+came to a mat&#8208;shed that marked the site of a monument to be erected
+on the spot where the German Minister, Baron Kettler, was murdered at
+the outbreak of the troubles. Foully slain as he had been by soldiers
+of the Chinese Imperial troops, his unhappy fate proved perhaps the
+salvation of the other Europeans in the Legations. For it showed that
+no reliance could be placed on the promises of the Court which had
+just offered them a safe&#8208;conduct and an escort to Tientsin. And on
+the ground stained by his life&#8208;blood the monument will stand, a grim
+memento and a warning of the vengeance of civilisation.</p>
+
+<p>Weary of our struggles with the mud, we now resolved to go no farther
+and turned back to the hotel, but not in time to escape a fresh
+downpour, which drenched us thoroughly.</p>
+
+<p>Next day we changed our abode, having found accommodation in the
+portion of Pekin allotted to the English troops; for the city was
+divided into sections for the allied occupation. Some officers of the
+Welch Fusiliers had kindly offered us room in their quarters in Chong
+Wong Foo. This euphonious title signifies the palace of Prince Chong,
+who was one of the eight princes of China. Our new lodging was more
+imposing in name than in fact. The word &#8220;palace&#8221; conjured up visions
+of stately edifices and princely magnificence which were dissipated by
+our first view of the reality.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">84</a></span> Seated in jolting, springless Pekin
+carts that laboured heavily through the deep mire, we had driven
+from the hotel through miles of dismal, squalid streets. Turning off
+a main road, which was being repaired, or rather re&#8208;made, by the
+British, we entered a series of small, evil&#8208;smelling lanes bordered
+by high walls, from the doorways of which an occasional phlegmatic
+Chinaman regarded us with languid interest. At length we came to a
+narrow road, which the rain of the previous day had converted into a
+canal. The water rose over the axles of the carts. Our sturdy ponies
+splashed on indomitably until ahead of us the roadway widened out into
+a veritable lake before a large gate at which stood a British sentry.
+As we approached he called out to us to turn down a lane to the right
+and seek a side entrance, as the water in front of the principal one
+here was too deep for our carts. Thanks to his directions, we found
+a doorway in the wall which gave admittance to a large courtyard.
+Jumping out of our uncomfortable vehicles, we entered. Round the
+enclosure were long, one&#8208;storied buildings, their fronts consisting
+of lattice&#8208;work covered with paper. They were used as barrack&#8208;rooms,
+and we secured a soldier in one of them to guide us. He led us through
+numerous similar courtyards, in one of which stood a temple converted
+into a gun&#8208;shed, until we finally passed through a small door in a wall
+into a tangled wilderness of a garden. At<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">85</a></span> the far end of this stood a
+long, low building with the conventional Chinese curved roof. It was
+constructed of brick and wood, the latter for the most part curiously
+carved. The low&#8208;hanging eaves overspreading the broad stone verandah
+were supported by worm&#8208;eaten pillars. The portico and doorways were of
+fragile lattice&#8208;work, trellised in fantastic designs. It was the main
+portion of Prince Chong&#8217;s residence and resembled more a dilapidated
+summer&#8208;house than a princely palace. Here we were met and welcomed by
+our hosts, Major Dobell, <span class="smcap">D.S.O.</span> and Lieutenant Williams, who
+ushered us into the anything but palatial interior, which consisted of
+low, dingy rooms dimly lighted by paper&#8208;covered windows. The various
+chambers opened off each other or into gloomy passages in bewildering
+and erratic fashion. Camp beds and furniture seemed out of keeping with
+the surroundings; but a few blackwood stools were apparently all that
+Prince Chong had left behind him for his uninvited guests. Thanks to
+our friends&#8217; kindness, we were soon comfortably installed, and felt as
+much at home as if we had lived in palaces all our lives. It took us
+some time to learn our way about the labyrinth of courts. The buildings
+scattered through the yards would have afforded ample accommodation for
+a regiment; and a whole brigade could have encamped with ease within
+the circumference enclosed by the outer walls.</p>
+
+<p>The place of most fascinating interest in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">86</a></span> marvellous capital of
+China is undoubtedly the Forbidden City, the Emperor&#8217;s residence. With
+the wonderful attraction of the mysterious its very name, fraught with
+surmise, is alluring. Nothing in all the vastness of Pekin excited such
+curiosity as the fabled enclosure that had so long shrouded in awful
+obscurity the Son of Heaven. No white man in ordinary times could hope
+to fathom its mysteries or know what lay concealed within its yellow
+walls. The ambassadors of the proudest nations of Europe were only
+admitted on sufferance, and that rarely, to the outermost pavilions of
+that sacred city, the hidden secrets of which none might dare reveal.
+But now the monarch of Celestial origin was an exile from the palace,
+whose inmost recesses were profaned by the impious presence of his
+foes. The tramp of an avenging army had echoed through its deserted
+courts; barbarian voices broke its holy hush. Foreign soldiers jested
+carelessly in the sacred chamber where the proudest mandarins of China
+had prostrated themselves in awe before the Dragon Throne. Within its
+violated walls strangers wandered freely where they listed; and Heaven
+sent not its lightnings to avenge the sacrilege. Surely the gods were
+sleeping!</p>
+
+<p>While the capital of the Celestial Kingdom languished in the grasp of
+the accursed barbarian, admittance to the Forbidden City was granted to
+anyone who obtained a written order from one of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">87</a></span> the Legations. This
+was readily given to officers of the armies of occupation. Provided
+with it and a Chinese&#8208;speaking guide, a party of us set out one day
+from the British Legation to explore the mysteries of the Emperor&#8217;s
+abode. A short ricksha ride brought us to the Imperial city. A rough
+paved road through it led to the gateway of the Palace, at which
+stood a guard of stalwart American soldiers. Quitting our rickshas,
+we presented our pass to the sergeant in command. The gates were
+thrown open, and we were permitted to enter the sacred portals. Before
+us lay a large paved courtyard, the grass springing up between the
+stone flags, leading to a long, single&#8208;storied pavilion, seemingly
+crushed beneath the weight of its wide&#8208;spreading yellow&#8208;tiled double
+roof. To one who has imagined undreamt&#8208;of luxury and magnificence
+in the residence of the Emperor of China the reality comes as a sad
+disappointment. The Palace, far from being a pile of splendid and
+ornate architecture, consists of a number of detached single&#8208;storied
+buildings, one behind the other, separated by immense paved courtyards,
+along the sides of which are the residences of the servants and
+attendants. The outer pavilions are a series of throne rooms, in which
+audience is given according to the rank of the individual admitted
+to the presence in inverse ratio to his importance. Thus, the first
+nearest the gate suffices for the reception of the smaller mandarins
+or envoys of petty States, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">88</a></span> next for higher notabilities or
+ambassadors of greater nations, and so on.</p>
+
+<p>The description of one of these throne rooms will serve for all.</p>
+
+<p>A raised foundation, with tier above tier of carved white marble
+balustrades, slopes up to a paved terrace on which stands a large
+one&#8208;storied pavilion. Its double roof blazes with lustrous yellow
+tiles; the gables are ornamented with weird porcelain monsters. The
+far&#8208;projecting eaves, shading a deep verandah, are supported by many
+pillars. From the courtyard steps on either side of the sloping marble
+slab, curiously carved with fantastic designs of dragons and known as
+the Spirit Path, lead up to the terrace, on which are large bronze
+incense&#8208;burners, urns, life&#8208;size storks, and other birds and animals,
+with marble images of the sacred tortoise. From the verandah many
+doors lead into the vast and gloomy interior. A lofty central chamber,
+supported by gilded columns, contains a high da&iuml;s, on which stands a
+throne of gilt and carved wood with bronze urns and incense&#8208;burners
+around it. The da&iuml;s is surrounded by gilded railings and led up to
+by a flight of half a dozen steps. Behind it is a high screen of
+carved wood. Screen, walls, and pillars are gay with quaint designs of
+writhing, coiling dragons in gold and vivid hues, or hung with huge
+tablets inscribed with Chinese characters. The ceiling is gorgeously
+painted. The whole a wonderful medley of barbaric gaudiness. From<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">89</a></span> the
+principal chamber a few smaller rooms lead off, crammed with wooden
+chests containing piles of manuscripts.</p>
+
+<p>As we wandered about this pavilion our movements were closely watched
+by the custodians; for many of the Imperial eunuchs had been permitted
+to remain in the palace and entrusted with the keys and charge of the
+various buildings. As, after the fairly exhaustive looting that took
+place on the capture of the city, no further plundering was allowed,
+these men were instructed to watch over the safety of the contents of
+the palace that had escaped the first marauders; and they kept a sharp
+eye on visitors who endeavoured to secure mementoes. Despite their
+vigilance, one of our party succeeded in carrying off a little souvenir
+which he found in a chamber off the throne room. It was a small, flat
+candlestick, which its finder hoped would prove to be gold. It was only
+of brass, however, as he subsequently discovered; and he commented
+disgustedly on the parsimony of a monarch who could allow so mean a
+metal within his palace.</p>
+
+<p>In the usual spirit of tourists, to whom nothing is sacred, we each
+reposed for a few moments in the Emperor&#8217;s gilded chair, so that we
+could boast of once having occupied the Throne of China. I doubt if
+future historians will record our names among those who have assumed
+that exalted position.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">90</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Passing through this building, we emerged upon another courtyard, at
+the far end of which stood a similar pavilion. Its interior arrangement
+differed but slightly from the one which I have just described. There
+were several of these throne rooms, one behind the other, all very much
+alike. Along the sides of the intervening courts were low buildings of
+the usual Chinese type, which had served as residences for the palace
+attendants.</p>
+
+<p>We came to a large joss&#8208;house, or temple, the interior filled with
+gilded altars, hideous gods, memorial tablets, bronze incense&#8208;burners
+and candelabra, silken hangings, and tawdry decorations. Here the
+reigning monarch comes to worship on the vigil of his marriage.</p>
+
+<p>In amusing proximity was the Emperor&#8217;s seraglio. The gate was closed
+during the allied occupation, and on it was a notice to the effect
+that &#8220;the custodian has strict orders not to admit any person. Do
+not ill&#8208;treat him if he refuses to open the gate for you. He is only
+obeying orders.&#8221; It was signed by General Chaffee, United States Army,
+and was significant of many things. So the hidden beauties still remain
+a mystery to the outer world.</p>
+
+<p>Near one of the pavilions a giant bronze attracted our attention. It
+represented an enormous lion, with particularly ferocious countenance,
+reposing on a square pedestal, one long&#8208;clawed fore&#8208;paw resting on
+the terrestrial globe. Beneath the other sprawled in agony a very
+diminutive lion, emblematic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">91</a></span> of China&#8217;s enemies crushed beneath her
+might. The sculpture seemed rather ironical at that epoch.</p>
+
+<p>Passing onwards through a puzzling maze of courtyards, we reached
+at length the most interesting portion of the palace, the private
+apartments of the Emperor, the Empress&#8208;Consort, and that notorious lady
+the Empress&#8208;Dowager. Like all the rest of the Forbidden City, they were
+merely one&#8208;storied, yellow&#8208;roofed pavilions separated by courts.</p>
+
+<p>The interior of the Emperor&#8217;s abode consisted of low, rather dingy
+rooms opening off each other. The appointments were of anything but
+regal magnificence. The furniture was of carved blackwood, with an
+admixture of tawdry European chairs and sofas. On the walls hung a
+weird medley of Chinese paintings and cheap foreign oleographs, all
+in gorgeous gilt frames. The latter were such as would be found in a
+fifth&#8208;rate lodging&#8208;house&mdash;horse races, children playing at see&#8208;saw,
+conventional landscapes, and farmyard scenes. Jade ornaments and
+artificial flowers in vases abounded; but all around, wherever one
+could be hung or placed, were European clocks, from the gilt French
+timepiece under a glass shade to the cheapest wooden eight&#8208;day clock.
+There must have been at least two or three hundred, probably more,
+scattered about the pavilion. The Chinese have a weird and inexplicable
+passion for them, and a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">92</a></span> man&#8217;s social respectability would seem to be
+gauged more by the number of timepieces he possesses than by any other
+outward and visible signs of wealth. What a costly collection of rare
+masterpieces of art is to the American millionaire, the heterogeneous
+gathering of foreign clocks apparently is to the Celestial plutocrat.
+The Imperial bed was a fine piece of carved blackwood; but the most
+magnificent article of furniture in the pavilion was a large screen of
+the famous Canton featherwork, made of the green and blue plumage of
+the kingfisher. The design, which was framed and covered with glass,
+represented a pilgrimage to a sacred mountain. On its summit stood
+a temple, towards which crowds of worshippers climbed wearily. As a
+work of art it was excellent. It was the only thing in the Imperial
+apartments which I coveted. The rest of the furniture and fittings were
+tawdry and apparently valueless.</p>
+
+<p>The pavilion of the Empress&#8208;Consort was rather more luxuriously
+upholstered than that of her husband and contained some splendid
+embroideries. In her boudoir, besides the inevitable collection of
+clocks, oleographs, and artificial flowers, were a piano and a small
+organ, both very much out of tune, presented, we were told, by European
+ladies resident in China.</p>
+
+<p>The pavilion of the Empress&#8208;Dowager, a much finer abode than that of
+the reigning monarch,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">93</a></span> contained a long, glass&#8208;walled room crowded with
+bizarre ornaments of foreign workmanship. Musical boxes, mechanical
+toys under glass shades, vases of wax flowers, stood along each side
+on marble&#8208;topped tables; and all around, of course, clocks. On the
+walls of her sleeping apartment hung a strange astronomical chart. The
+bed, an imposing and wide four&#8208;poster, was covered and hung with rich
+embroideries. And, as tourists should do, we lay down in turn on the
+old lady&#8217;s couch, where I warrant she had tossed in sleepless agitation
+in those last summer nights when the rattle of musketry around the
+besieged Legations told that the hated foreigners still resisted
+China&#8217;s might. And little slumber must have visited her there when
+the booming of guns, during the dark hours when Russian and Japanese
+flung themselves on the doomed city, disturbed the silence even in the
+sacrosanct heart of the Forbidden City and told of the vengeance at
+hand.</p>
+
+<p>Having thoroughly inspected the Imperial apartments, we visited a
+very gaudily decorated temple, crowded with weird gods and hung with
+embroideries, and then passed on to the small but delightful Emperor&#8217;s
+garden. It was full of quaintly shaped trees and shrubs, bizarre
+rockeries and curious summer&#8208;houses, gorgeous flowers and plants,
+and splendid bronze monsters. These last absolutely blazed in the
+brilliant sunlight as though gilded; for they are made of that costly
+Chinese<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">94</a></span> bronze which contains a large admixture of gold. The garden
+closed the catalogue of sights to be seen in the palace; and though we
+visited a few more of the dingy buildings of the Forbidden City, there
+was nothing else worthy of being chronicled. We passed out through
+the northern gateway and climbed up Coal Hill close by for a long,
+comprehensive look over Pekin from the pavilion on the summit.</p>
+
+<p>All around us the capital lay embosomed in trees and bathed in
+brilliant sunshine, the yellow roofs of the Imperial Palace at our feet
+flashing like gold. To the right lay the pretty Lotos Lakes of the
+Empress&#8208;Dowager, the white marble bridge spanning them stretching like
+a delicate ivory carving over the gleaming water. Through the haze of
+heat and dust the towers of the walls rose up boldly to the sky. And
+far away, beyond the crowded city, the country stretched in fertile
+fields and dense groves of trees to a distant line of hills, where the
+tall temples of the Summer Palace stood out sharply against a dark
+background.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">95</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="CHAPTER_V"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER V</span><br />
+
+RAMBLES IN PEKIN</h2></div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap2">WHEN the treachery of the Empress&#8208;Dowager and the mad fanaticism of the
+Chinese ringed in the Legations with a circle of fire and steel, all
+the world trembled at the danger of the besieged Europeans. When Pekin
+fell and relief came, the heroism of the garrison was lauded through
+every nation. But few heard of a still more gallant and desperate
+defence which took place at the same time and in the same city&mdash;when
+a few priests and a handful of marines in the Peitan, the Roman
+Catholic cathedral of Pekin, long held at bay innumerable hordes of
+assailants. Well deserved as was the praise bestowed on the defenders
+of the Legations, their case was never so desperate as that of the
+missionaries, nuns, and converts penned up in the church and schools.
+On the Peitan fell the first shock of fanatical attack; no armistice
+gave rest to its weary garrison, and to it relief came last of all. For
+over two months, with twenty French and eleven Italian marines, the
+heroic Archbishop, Monseigneur Favrier, and his priests&mdash;all honour
+to them!&mdash;held an almost impossible position against overwhelming
+numbers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">96</a></span> The <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">enceinte</span></em> of the defence comprised the cathedral, the
+residences of the priests, the schools, and the convent, and contained
+within its straggling precincts, besides the nuns and the missionaries,
+over 3,000 converts&mdash;men, women, and children. The buildings were
+riddled with shot and shell. Twice mines were exploded within the
+defences and tore away large portions of the protecting wall, besides
+killing or wounding hundreds.</p>
+
+<p>The Chinese occupied houses within a few yards of the cathedral, and
+on one occasion brought a gun up within forty paces of its central
+door. A few rounds would have laid the way open to the stormers. All
+hope seemed lost; when the dauntless old Archbishop led out ten marines
+in a desperate sally, drove off the assailants, and, capturing the
+gun, dragged it back within the church. A heroic priest volunteered
+to try to pierce the environing hordes of besiegers and seek aid from
+the Legations, not knowing that they, too, were in deadly peril. In
+disguise he stole out secretly from the defences, and was never heard
+of again. One shudders to think what his fate must have been. It is
+still a mystery. Under a pitiless close&#8208;range fire the marines and
+priests, worthy of their gallant leader, stood at their posts day and
+night and drove back the mad rushes of the assailants. Heedless of
+death, the nuns bore water, food, and ammunition to the defenders,
+nursed the wounded and sick, and soothed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">97</a></span> alarm of the Chinese
+women and children in their care. Disease and starvation added their
+grim terrors to the horrors of the situation.</p>
+
+<p>Desirous of seeing the scene of this heroic defence, I set out one day
+to visit the cathedral in company with some officers of the Fusiliers
+and of my own regiment. The ground being dry, we chose rickshas for
+our vehicles in preference to Pekin carts, which are as uncomfortable
+a form of conveyance as any I know. Our coolies ran us along at a good
+pace, for the Pekinese ricksha&#8208;men are exceedingly energetic; indeed,
+the Chinaman is the best worker I have ever seen, with the possible
+exception of the Corean boatmen at Chemulpo. The Hong Kong dock
+labourers are a model that the same class in England would never copy.
+One day in Dublin I watched three men raising a small paving&#8208;sett a few
+inches square from the roadway. Two held the points of crowbars under
+it while the third leisurely scratched at the surrounding earth with
+a pickaxe, pausing frequently to wipe his heated brow and remark that
+&#8220;hard work is not aisy, begob!&#8221; I wondered what a Chinaman would have
+said if he had seen that sight.</p>
+
+<p>Close to the Peitan we found ourselves in a broad street which was
+being re&#8208;made by the French, who had named it &#8220;Rue du General Voyron&#8221;
+after their commander&#8208;in&#8208;chief. In it were many newly&#8208;opened <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">caf&eacute;s</span> and
+drinking&#8208;shops,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">98</a></span> placarded with advertisements of various sorts of
+European liquors for sale within. Turning off this road into a narrow
+lane, we suddenly came upon the gate of the Peitan.</p>
+
+<p>The cathedral is a beautiful building of the graceful semi&#8208;Gothic
+type of modern French churches, lightly constructed of white stone.
+It is crowned by airy pinnacles and looks singularly out of place
+among the squalid Chinese houses that crowd around it. At first we
+could not discern any marks of the rough handling it had received, and
+marvelled at its good preservation. But on approaching closer, we saw
+that the masonry was chipped and scarred in a thousand places. Scarce
+a square yard of the front was without a bullet or shell&#8208;hole through
+it. The walls were so thin that the shells had passed through without
+exploding; and it seemed almost incredible that any being could have
+remained alive within them during the hellish fire to which they had so
+evidently been subjected.</p>
+
+<p>We were met at the entrance by Monseigneur Favrier&#8217;s courteous
+coadjutor&#8208;bishop, who received us most hospitably, took us over the
+cathedral and round the defences, and explained the incidents of the
+siege to us. He showed us the enormous hole in the compound and the
+breach in the wall caused by the explosion of one of the Chinese
+mines, which had killed and wounded hundreds. The ground everywhere
+was strewn with large iron<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">99</a></span> bullets and fragments of shells, fired
+by the besiegers. The Bishop smiled when we requested permission to
+carry off a few of these as souvenirs, and remarked with truth that
+there were enough to suffice for visitors for many years. We inspected
+with interest the gun captured by the Archbishop. Then, as he spoke no
+English, and I was the only one of the party who could converse with
+him in French, he handed us over to the care of an Australian nun,
+who proved to be a capital <em>cicerone</em> and depicted the horrors they
+had undergone much more vividly than our previous guide had done. Her
+narrative of the sufferings of the brave sisters and the women and
+children was heartrending. Before we left we were fortunate enough
+to have the honour of being presented to the heroic prelate, whose
+courage and example had animated the defenders. A burly, strongly
+built man, with genial and open countenance, Monseigneur Favrier is
+a splendid specimen of the Church Militant and reminded one of the
+old&#8208;time bishops, who, clad in armour, had led their flocks to war, and
+fought in the forefront of battles in the Middle Ages. His bravery was
+equalled by his modesty, for he resolutely declined to be drawn into
+any account of his exploits during the siege. Long may he flourish! A
+perfect specimen of the priest of God, the soldier, and the gentleman.
+As we parted from him we turned to look again on the man so modestly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">100</a></span>
+unconscious of his own heroism, that in any army in the world would
+have covered him with honours and undying fame.</p>
+
+<p>When we looked at the extent of the defences and compared it with
+the paucity of the garrison, we could scarcely understand how the
+place resisted attack for an hour. By all the rules of warfare it
+was absolutely untenable. It is surrounded on all sides within a few
+yards by houses, which were occupied by the Chinese who from their
+cover poured in an unceasing and harassing fire upon the garrison. The
+defenders were too few to even attempt to drive them out,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">5</a> and so
+were obliged to confine themselves to defeating the frequent assaults
+made on them. Their successful and gallant resistance was a feat that
+would be a glorious page in the annals of any army. &#8220;Palmam qui meruit
+ferat!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Not the least remarkable of the many curious phases of this
+extraordinary campaign was the rapidity with which, when order had
+been restored, the Chinese settled down again in Pekin. A few months
+after the fall of the capital its streets, to a casual observer, had
+resumed their ordinary appearance; but the wrecked houses, the foreign
+flags everywhere displayed, the absence of the native upper classes,
+and the presence of the soldiers of the Allies marked the change. Burly
+Russian and lithe Sikh, dapper little Japanese and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">101</a></span> yellow&#8208;haired
+Teuton roughly shouldered the Celestial aside in the streets, where
+formerly the white man had passed hurriedly along in momentary dread
+of insult and assault. But in the presence of the strict discipline of
+the troops after the first excesses the Chinaman speedily recovered his
+contempt&mdash;veiled though it was now perforce&mdash;for the foreign devil.
+Ricksha coolies argued over their fare, where not long before a blow
+would have been the only payment vouchsafed or expected. Lounging
+crowds of Chinese on the sidepaths refused to make way for European
+officers until forcibly reminded that they belonged to a vanquished
+nation.</p>
+
+<p>Shops that had any of their contents left after the fairly complete
+looting the city had undergone opened again, the proprietors demanding
+prices for their goods that promised to rapidly recoup them for their
+losses. Vehicles of all kinds filled the streets, which were soon as
+interesting as they had been before the advent of the Allies&mdash;and a
+great deal safer. Pekin carts rattled past strings of laden Tartar
+camels, which plodded along with noiseless footfall and the weary air
+of haughty boredom of their kind. Coolies with streaming bodies ran
+their rickshas over the uneven roadway. Heavy transport waggons, drawn
+by European and American horses or stout Chinese mules, rumbled through
+the deep dust or heavy mud. And, thanks to the cleansing efforts of the
+Allies, the formerly most<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">102</a></span> noticeable feature of Pekin was absent&mdash;its
+overpowering stench.</p>
+
+<p>Engaging the services of a guide and interpreter, a party of us set
+out one afternoon to view the shops, with the ulterior purpose of
+purchasing some of the famous pottery and silks. We went in rickshas
+to Ha&#8208;ta&#8208;man Street, which is a good commercial thoroughfare. Arrived
+there, we discarded our man&#8208;drawn vehicles and strolled along the
+high side&#8208;walks, pausing now and then to gaze at the curious pictures
+of Chinese street life. Here peddlers sat surrounded by their wares.
+An old&#8208;clothes merchant, selecting a convenient space of blank wall,
+had driven nails into it, and hung on them garments of all kinds,
+from the cylindrical trousers of the Chinese woman to the tarnished,
+gold&#8208;embroidered coat of a mandarin, with perhaps a suggestive rent
+and stain that spoke all too plainly of the fate of the last owner.
+Another man sat amid piles of footgear&mdash;the quaint tiny shoes of women
+that would not fit a European baby, the slippers of the superior sex,
+with their thick felt soles, the long knee boots for winter wear. Here
+a venerable, white&#8208;haired Chinaman, with the beard that bespoke him a
+grandfather, dozed among a heterogeneous collection of rusty knives,
+empty bottles and jampots, scraps of old iron, and broken locks of
+native or European manufacture. Another displayed cheap pottery of
+quaint shape and hideous colouring, or the curious, pretty little
+snuff&#8208;bottles,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">103</a></span> with tiny spoons fitted into the stopper, that I have
+never seen anywhere but in China. Another offered tawdry embroidery or
+tinselled fan&#8208;cases. Piles of Chinese books and writing&#8208;desks, with
+their brushes and solid blocks of ink, were the stock&#8208;in&#8208;trade of
+another.</p>
+
+<p>And true Oriental haughty indifference marked the demeanour of these
+cheapjacks when we searched among their curious wares for souvenirs of
+Pekin. They evinced not the least anxiety for us to buy, although they
+knew that the lowest price that they would extract from us was sure to
+be much more than they could obtain from a Chinese purchaser. Their
+demands were exorbitant for the commonest, most worthless article; and
+they showed no regret if we turned away exasperated at their rapacity.
+One asked me fifteen dollars for a thing which he gave eventually,
+after hard bargaining, for one, and then probably made a profit of
+fifty cents over it.</p>
+
+<p>Farther on we stopped to gaze at a small crowd assembled round a
+fortune&#8208;teller. A stout country&#8208;woman was having her future foretold.
+The prophet, looking alternately at her hand and at a chart covered
+with hieroglyphics, was evidently promising her a career full of good
+fortune and happiness, to judge from the rapt and delighted expression
+on her face.</p>
+
+<p>A bear, lumbering heavily through a cumbrous dance to the mournful
+strains of a weird musical<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">104</a></span> instrument, was the centre of another small
+gathering. Farther down the street a juggler had attracted a ring of
+interested spectators, who, when the performer endeavoured to collect
+money from them, melted away quite as rapidly as a similar crowd in the
+streets of London scatters when the hat is passed round.</p>
+
+<p>We had noticed many peepshows being exhibited along the side&#8208;walk, with
+small, pig&#8208;tailed urchins, their eyes glued to the peepholes, evidently
+having their money&#8217;s worth. Curious to see the spectacles with which
+the Chinese showman regales his audiences, we struck a bargain with
+one, and for the large sum of five cents the whole party was allowed
+to look in through the glasses. The first tableau represented a troupe
+of acrobats performing before the Imperial Court. Then the proprietor
+pressed a spring; by a mechanical device the scene changed, and we drew
+back from the peepholes! The Chinese are not a moral race. None of us
+were easily shocked, but the picture that met our gaze was a little too
+indecent for the broadest&#8208;minded European. We moved on.</p>
+
+<p>Outside a farrier&#8217;s booth a pony was being shod. Two poles planted
+firmly in the earth, with a cross&#8208;piece fixed between them, about six
+feet from the ground, formed a sort of gallows. Ropes passed round the
+animal&#8217;s neck, chest, loins, and legs, and fastened to the poles, half
+suspending him in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">105</a></span> air, held him almost immovable. The most vicious
+brute would be helpless in such a contrivance.</p>
+
+<p>Our guide, on being reminded that we desired to make some purchases,
+stopped outside a low&#8208;fronted, dingy shop, and informed us that it
+belonged to one of the best silk merchants in Pekin. We entered, and
+found the proprietor deep in conversation with a friend. The guide
+addressed him, and told him that we wished to look at some silks.
+Hardly interrupting his conversation, the merchant replied that he had
+none. Irritated at his casual manner, our interpreter asked why he
+exhibited a sign&#8208;board outside the shop, which declared that silks were
+for sale within. &#8220;Oh, everything I had was looted. There is nothing
+left,&#8221; replied the proprietor nonchalantly; and he turned to resume his
+interrupted conversation as indifferently as if the plundering of his
+goods was too ordinary a business risk to demand a moment&#8217;s thought.
+Not a word of complaint at his misfortune. How different, I thought,
+from the torrent of indignant eloquence with which the European
+shopkeeper would bewail the slackness of trade or a fire that had
+damaged his property!</p>
+
+<p>We were more successful in the next establishment we visited, for a new
+stock had been laid in since the capture of the city. But the silks
+were of very inferior quality, the colours crude and gaudy, and the
+prices exorbitant. So we purchased nothing.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">106</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We next inspected a china shop, which was stacked with pottery from
+floor to ceiling. To my mind the patterns and colouring of everything
+we saw were particularly hideous, though some of our party who posed as
+connoisseurs went into raptures over weird designs and glaring blues
+and browns.</p>
+
+<p>I was equally disappointed in a visit to a fan shop. China is
+pre&#8208;eminently the land of fans, and I had hoped to find some
+particularly choice specimens in Pekin. But all that were shown me were
+very indifferent&mdash;badly made and of poor design. The prettiest I have
+ever seen were in Canton, where superb samples of carved sandal&#8208;wood
+and ivory can be procured at a very reasonable price. But Canton is far
+ahead of the capital in manufactures, and its inhabitants possess a
+keen commercial instinct. Its proximity to Hong Kong and the constant
+intercourse with foreigners have sharpened their trading faculties, and
+there are few smarter business men than the Canton shopkeeper.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus13">
+<img src="images/illus13.jpg" width="600" height="400" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">GROUNDS OF THE BRITISH LEGATION, PEKIN</p></div>
+
+<p>Strolling along the street we reached a market&#8208;place filled with
+open booths, in which food of all kinds was exposed for sale. Dried
+ducks, split open and skewered, hung beside sucking&#8208;pigs. Buckets
+of water filled with wriggling eels stood on the ground. Salt fish,
+meat, and vegetables lay on the stalls, which were surrounded by a
+chaffering crowd. Sellers and buyers argued vehemently, and the din
+of the bargaining so dear to the Oriental heart filled the street.
+Women, with oiled hair<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">107</a></span> twisted into curious shapes and wound round
+long, flat combs that stood out six inches on either side of the back
+of their heads, toddled up on tiny, maimed feet, and plunged into
+heated discussions with the dealers. Beggars exhibited their hideous
+deformities to excite the pity of the crowd, and clutched insolently at
+the dresses of the passers&#8208;by to demand charity.</p>
+
+<p>Close by, a group of urchins drew water from a well. It was in the
+middle of the side&#8208;walk, and was covered with a large stone slab,
+pierced with four holes only just large enough to permit of the passage
+of the buckets.</p>
+
+<p>On our way back to Chong Wong Foo that afternoon we passed close to the
+Legation quarter, and stopped to watch the progress of the wall which
+was being built around it as a protection against future attacks. It
+is simply a high wall constructed of the enormous Pekin bricks, easily
+defensible against infantry attack, but I should doubt if it would long
+resist artillery fire.</p>
+
+<p>The most famous place of Buddhist worship in Pekin is the Great Lama
+Temple, which was, perhaps, the wealthiest monastery in China until
+Buddhism fell out of fashion. As it is still well worthy of a visit,
+I made an excursion to it one day in company with a small party. The
+monks had the reputation of being extremely hostile to foreigners;
+and although Europeans could now go in safety to most places in the
+capital, I was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">108</a></span> warned not to venture on a visit to this temple alone.</p>
+
+<p>Outside the principal entrance stands a fine specimen of those curious
+Chinese structures, half gateway, half triumphal arch. The lower
+portion was of stone, the superstructure of wood. It was crowned
+with three small towers, roofed with yellow tiles, and painted with
+gaudy designs in glaring colours. On either side, on stone pedestals,
+were enormous lions that looked like the nightmare creations of a
+demon&#8208;possessed artist. On passing through the front gate, we found
+ourselves in a paved courtyard surrounded by low, one&#8208;storied temples
+standing on raised verandahs. In the centre was a double&#8208;roofed
+square belfry with a small gate in each side. On entering the court
+we were at once surrounded by a clamorous crowd of shaven&#8208;headed,
+yellow&#8208;robed men of a villainous type of countenance. These were the
+famous&mdash;or infamous&mdash;Buddhist monks. Their dress consisted of a long,
+yellow linen gown, confined at the waist by a sash, trousers, white
+socks, and felt&#8208;soled shoes. A more repulsive set of scoundrels I have
+never seen. Their former truculence was now replaced by a cringing
+servility. They crowded round us, demanding alms, or, holding out
+handfuls of small coins, offered to change our good silver dollars
+into bad five&#8208;and ten&#8208;cent pieces. Since Buddhism has ceased to be the
+fashionable religion in China, its ministers have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">109</a></span> fallen upon evil
+times, and subsist on charity and the offerings of the comparatively
+few followers of their creed. So visitors are vociferously assailed for
+alms; and the wily monks, with a keen eye to business, had hit upon the
+idea of making a little money by tendering small coins of a debased
+currency in change for good silver pieces. Shouldering the clamorous
+crowd aside, our interpreter seized on one ancient priest to act as
+our guide. This worthy cleric aided us to drive off his importunate
+fellows, and led us through several courts to the principal temple.
+Like all the other buildings around, it was covered with a quaint,
+yellow&#8208;tiled roof, and on the corners of the gables and the projecting
+eaves were weird porcelain monsters; while below hung small bells,
+which clanked dismally when moved by the wind. The temple was high and
+the interior particularly large and lofty; for it contained a colossal
+image of Buddha, seated in the traditional posture, with crossed legs
+and hands holding the lotus flower and other sacred emblems. On its
+face was the abstracted expression of weary calm that is supposed
+to represent the attainment of Nirvana&mdash;content. Stairs led up to
+galleries passing round the interior of the building to the level of
+the head of the deity, so that one could gaze into his countenance at
+close range. The statue is not so large or artistically so meritorious
+as the similar images of Daibutsu at Kamakura or Hiogo in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">110</a></span> Japan,
+each of which is hollow and contains a temple in its interior. On the
+walls of the staircase, ranged on shelves, were thousands of little
+clay gods, crudely fashioned and painted. Our priestly guide refused
+to sell us any of these figures, though evidently sorely tempted by
+the sight of the almighty dollar. He evidently refrained from doing so
+only through fear of being found out, not through any respect for his
+sacred images. Having gazed into Buddha&#8217;s face and vainly endeavoured
+to experience the feeling of rapture that it is supposed to produce, we
+passed out to a balcony that ran round the exterior of the building.
+We were high up above the ground, and we looked down upon the jumble
+of quaint, yellow gables, the courtyards with their lounging groups of
+bullet&#8208;headed priests, and away over the panorama of Pekin to where the
+tall buildings of the Imperial city rose above a sea of low roofs.</p>
+
+<p>On descending again into the temple, we looked at the altars with
+tawdry ornaments, artificial flowers, faded hangings, and fantastic
+gods, and then passed out to the court. Our guide, having extracted
+alms from us, led us to another but smaller temple, and handed us over
+to its custodian priest, who unlocked the door and led us within.
+Round the walls were life&#8208;sized gilt images&mdash;all of one design, and
+an exceedingly indecent design it was; and we had little respect for
+the morals of the ancient Chinese deified hero it represented.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">111</a></span> After
+visiting several other buildings containing little of interest, we
+induced some of the monks to let us photograph them. They were pleased
+and flattered at the idea, and posed readily; indeed, one who had been
+standing at the other side of the courtyard, seeing what was going
+on, rushed across and insisted on joining the group, anxious that his
+features, too, should be handed down to posterity. Throwing them a
+handful of small coins, which caused a very undignified scramble, we
+passed out of the gate. Seating ourselves in our rickshas, we drove to
+the Temple of Confucius, close by. It is devoted to the present Chinese
+faith, which is a mixture of ancestor&#8208;worship and Confucianism, and
+consists of several buildings standing in pretty, tree&#8208;shaded courts.
+The main temple contains long altars, on which are nothing but tablets
+with Chinese inscriptions&mdash;maxims of the worthy sage. Larger tablets
+hang on the walls. Confucian chapels are not interesting; and we were
+disappointed at the bareness of the interior. Similar but smaller
+buildings stood at the end of avenues in the grounds, but none repaid a
+visit.</p>
+
+<p>The <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">cloisonn&eacute;</span></em> of Pekin is famous, and specimens of it command a good
+price throughout China. It is, however, decidedly inferior to Japanese
+work, which is much better finished and of far greater artistic merit.
+As I had never seen how the <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">cloisonn&eacute;</span></em> is made, I paid a visit to the
+principal factory in the capital. I was received by the proprietor, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">112</a></span>
+very amiable old gentleman, who took our party round his establishment
+and showed us the process through all the stages from the raw material
+to the finished article. The place consisted of a number of small
+Chinese houses, some of which served as workshops, some were fitted
+up with furnaces for firing, others occupied as residences by the
+employees and their families. In the first courtyard two men were
+seated before a small table, making European cigarette cases. In front
+of them lay the design to be reproduced, flanked by small saucers
+containing liquid enamel of various colours and tiny brushes. One man
+held a square plate of copper, and with a sharp scissors cut very
+thin strips from its edges. These he seized with a pair of pincers
+and deftly bent and twisted them into patterns to correspond with the
+lines of the design before him. They were then fixed on to the side
+of the case with some adhesive mixture. As soon as they were firm,
+the other man filled in the spaces between these raised lines with
+the coloured enamels by means of a fine brush. The work was then left
+to dry before being fired in the furnaces to fix the colours. With
+their rude instruments these artists&mdash;for such they were&mdash;fashioned
+the most complicated designs of foliage, flowers, or dragons with a
+marvellous dexterity, judging altogether by eye, and never deviating
+by a hair&#8217;s breadth from the pattern given them. We entered a room,
+in which others sat round long tables, fastening designs on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">113</a></span> copper
+vases, plates, or bowls. Ornaments of all kinds, napkin&#8208;rings, and
+crucifixes&mdash;these, needless to say, for foreigners&mdash;were being made.
+Show&#8208;cases with specimens of the finished work stood round the walls,
+and the proprietor exhibited with pardonable pride the triumphs of his
+art. With rude appliances in dimly&#8208;lit rooms, these ignorant Chinese
+workmen had achieved gems that the European artist could not excel.</p>
+
+<p>He then showed us the large blocks of the raw stone which had to be
+ground up to form the enamel, and explained the processes it had to
+undergo before it became the brightly coloured paste that filled the
+saucers on the tables. We were then shown articles being placed in the
+furnaces or withdrawn when the firing was complete. Before leaving we
+purchased some specimens of the work as souvenirs of an interesting
+visit, and bade good&#8208;bye to the grateful proprietor.</p>
+
+<p>Such were our rambles through the vastness of that wonderful city so
+long a mystery to the outside world. Even in these days of universal
+knowledge its inmost recesses were a secret till fire and sword burst
+all barriers and the victorious foreigner ranged where he listed. The
+gates of palace and temple flew open to the touch of his rifle&#8208;butt.
+The abodes of monarch, prince, and priest sheltered the soldiers of
+the conquerors, and the proudest mandarin drew humbly aside to let the
+meanest camp&#8208;follower pass.</p>
+
+<p>To me the most fascinating spectacle in Pekin<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">114</a></span> was the ever&#8208;changing
+life of the streets. The endless procession of strange vehicles,
+from the ricksha to the curious wheelbarrow that is a universal form
+of conveyance for passengers or goods on the narrow roads of North
+China. The motley crowds&mdash;Manchu, Tartar, white man, black, and
+yellow, dainty, painted lady of high rank and humble coolie woman,
+shaven&#8208;crowned monk and long&#8208;queued layman, all formed a moving picture
+unequalled in any city in the world. And above their heads floated the
+flags of the conquering nations that had banded together from the ends
+of the earth to humble the pride of China.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">115</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="CHAPTER_VI"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER VI</span><br />
+
+THE SUMMER PALACE</h2></div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap2">EIGHT or ten miles from Pekin lies the loveliest spot in all North
+China, the Summer Palace, the property of the Empress&#8208;Dowager. When
+burning heat and scorching winds render life in the capital unbearable,
+when dust&#8208;storms sweep through the unpaved streets and a pitiless sun
+blazes on the crowded city, the virtual ruler of China betakes her to
+her summer residence among the hills, and there weaves the web of plots
+that convulse the world. When the feeble monarch of that vast Empire
+ventured to dream of reforms that would eventually bring his realm
+into line with modern civilisation, the imperious old lady seized her
+nominal sovereign and imprisoned him there in the heart of her rambling
+country abode. Twice, now, in its history has the Summer Palace fallen
+into the hands of European armies. English and French have lorded it in
+the paved courts before ever its painted pavilions had seen the white
+blouses of Cossacks or the fluttering plumes of the Bersagliere; when
+Japan was but a name, and none dreamt that the little islands of the
+Far East would one day send<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">116</a></span> their gallant soldiers to stand shoulder
+to shoulder with the veterans of Europe in a common cause.</p>
+
+<p>Passed from the charge of one foreign contingent to another in this
+last campaign, the Summer Palace was at length entrusted to the care
+of the British and Italians. Desirous of visiting a spot renowned for
+its natural beauty as for its historical interest, a party of us sought
+and obtained permission to inspect it. And so one morning we stood in
+the principal courtyard of Chong Wong Foo and watched a procession of
+sturdy Chinese ponies being led up for us. The refractory little brutes
+protested vehemently against the indignity of being bestridden by
+foreigners; and all the subtlety of their grooms was required to induce
+them to stand still long enough for us to spring into the saddles.
+And then the real struggle began. One gave a spirited imitation of
+an Australian buckjumper. Another endeavoured to remove his rider by
+the simpler process of scraping his leg against the nearest wall. A
+third, deaf to all threats or entreaties, refused to move a step in
+any direction, until repeated applications of whip and spurs at length
+resulted in his bolting out of the gate and down the road. After a
+preliminary circus performance, our steeds finally determined to make
+the best of a bad job; and, headed by a guide, we set out for the
+palace.</p>
+
+<p>Our way lay at first through a very unsavoury part of the capital.
+Evil&#8208;smelling alleys, bordered<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">117</a></span> by open drains choked with the refuse
+of the neighbouring houses; narrow lanes deep in mire; squalid streets
+of tumbledown hovels&mdash;the worst slums of Pekin. Gaunt and haggard men
+scowled at us from the low doorways; naked and dirty babies sprawled
+on the footpaths and lisped an infantine abuse of the foreign devils;
+slatternly women stared at us with lack&#8208;lustre eyes; and loathsome
+cripples shouted for charity. Splashing through pools of filthy water,
+dodging between carts in the narrow thoroughfares, we could proceed
+but slowly. The heat and stench in these close and fetid lanes were
+overpowering, and it was an intense relief to emerge at last on one of
+the broad streets that pierce the city and which led us to a gateway in
+the wall. One leaf of the wooden doors lay on the ground, the other was
+hanging half off its hinges. Both were splintered and torn, for they
+had been burst open by the explosion of a mine at the taking of Pekin.
+The many&#8208;windowed tower above was roofless and shattered. On either
+hand, on the outer face of the wall, deep dints and scars showed where
+the Japanese shells had rained upon them in the early hours of that
+August morning, when the gallant soldiers of Dai Nippon<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> had come to
+the rescue of the hard&#8208;pressed Muscovites.</p>
+
+<p>When the Allied Armies arrived at Tung&#8208;Chow, thirteen miles from Pekin,
+a council of war was held by the generals on the 13th August, at which
+it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">118</a></span> decided that the troops should halt there on the following day,
+to rest and prepare for the attack on the capital which was settled for
+the 15th. For the stoutest hearts may well have quailed at the task
+before them. A cavalry reconnaissance from each army was to be made on
+the 13th, with orders to halt three miles from Pekin and wait there for
+their main bodies to reach them on the 14th.</p>
+
+<p>But the Russian reconnoitring party, eager to be the first into the
+city and establish their claim to be its real captors, pushed on right
+up to the walls and attacked the Tung Pien gate. They thus upset
+the plans for a concerted attack, and precipitated a disjointed and
+indiscriminate assault. For they stumbled on a far more difficult task
+than they had anticipated, and it was indeed fortunate for the wily
+Muscovites that the Japanese, probably suspicious of their intentions,
+were not far off. For the Chinese flocked to the threatened spot and
+from the comparative safety of the wall poured a devastating fire upon
+the Russians. The fiercest efforts of their stormers were unavailing.
+General Vasilievski fell wounded. In vain the bravest officers of the
+Czar led their men forward in desperate assaults. Baffled and beaten,
+they recoiled in impotent fury. Retreat or annihilation seemed the
+only alternatives; when the Japanese troops attacked the Tong Chih
+gate. There, too, a terrible task awaited the assailants. Again and
+again heroic volunteers rushed forward to lay a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">119</a></span> mine against the
+ponderous doors, only to fall lifeless under the murderous fire of the
+defenders. But the soldiers of the Land of the Rising Sun admit no
+defeat. As men dropped dead, others stepped forward and took the fuses
+from the nerveless fingers. The gate was at length blown open. Fierce
+as panthers, the gallant Japanese poured into the doomed city. The
+pressure relieved, the Russians again advanced to the assault. An entry
+was effected at last; and, furious at their losses, they raged through
+the streets, dealing death with a merciless hand, heedless of age or
+sex.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the other Allies, roused by the sound of heavy firing, were
+lost in amazement as to its meaning; and dawn came before the truth was
+known. The British and Americans then attacked the Chinese city and met
+with a less stubborn resistance. An entry effected, the Indian troops
+wandered through the maze of streets until met by a messenger sent out
+from the Legations to guide them. He led them through the water&#8208;gate,
+the tunnel in the wall between the Tartar and the Chinese city, which
+serves as an exit for the drain or nullah passing between the English
+and the Japanese Legations, and so right into the arms of the besieged
+Europeans. Thus they arrived first to the relief, while the Japanese
+and Russians were still fighting in the streets. But every nation whose
+army was represented in the Allied Forces claims the credit of being
+foremost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">120</a></span> of all into the Legations. I have read the diary of the
+commander of the Russian marines in the siege, in which he speaks of
+the arrival of the Czar&#8217;s troops to the relief and completely ignores
+the presence of the other Allies. And in pictures that I have seen in
+Japan of the entry of the relievers, the besieged are shown rushing
+out to throw themselves on the necks of the victorious Japanese, whose
+uniform is the only one represented. But, while the brunt of the
+fighting fell on them and the Russians, the Indian troops were actually
+the first to reach the Legations.</p>
+
+<p>As we rode up to the gate through which the soldiers of Japan had
+fought their way so gallantly, a guard of their sturdy little
+infantrymen at it sprang to attention. For it and the quarter near was
+in the charge of their contingent, and their flag, with its red ball on
+a white ground, was to be seen everywhere around. The sentry brought
+his rifle to the present with the jerky movement and wooden precision
+of an automatic figure. Returning the salute, we clattered through the
+long tunnel of the gateway and emerged beyond the walls of the city.</p>
+
+<p>Here began a wide road, paved with large stone flags, which runs for an
+immense distance through the country, stopping short at the threshold
+of the capital. It was bordered in places by hedges of graceful bamboos
+with their long feathery leaves. Elsewhere a narrow ditch divided
+the roadway<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">121</a></span> from the fertile fields, where tall crops of <em>kowliang</em>
+(a species of millet) rose higher than a mounted man&#8217;s head, almost
+completely hiding the houses of tiny hamlets. Over the stone flags,
+sparks flashing from under our ponies&#8217; hoofs, we clattered past crowds
+of coolies trudging towards the city, long lines of roughly built carts
+laden with country produce, or an occasional long&#8208;queued farmer perched
+on the back of his diminutive steed.</p>
+
+<p>By fields of waving grain, past groves of thick&#8208;foliaged trees, through
+trim villages that showed no trace of the storm that had swept so close
+to them. But here and there signs of it were not wanting. A wayside
+temple stood with fire&#8208;scorched walls and broken roof. On the threshold
+lay the shattered fragments of the images that had once adorned its
+shrine. But from the doorways of the houses we passed the inhabitants
+looked out at us with never a vestige of fear or hate, and as little
+interest. In the stream of travellers setting towards Pekin came a
+patrol of Bengal Lancers, spear&#8208;point and scabbard flashing in the sun
+as they rode along with the easy grace of the Indian cavalryman, their
+tall chargers towering above our small Chinese ponies as the <em>sowars</em>
+saluted. Farther on we passed two men of the German Mounted Infantry,
+their tiny steeds half hidden under huge dragoon saddles. A brown dot
+in the distance resolved itself into a British officer as we drew near.
+He was Major De Boulay, <span class="smcap">R.A.</span>, who had charge of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">122</a></span> the treasures
+of the Summer Palace. For when the English took the place over these
+were collected and locked up for safe keeping in large storehouses.
+When the palace was handed back to the Chinese, the Court sent a
+special letter of thanks to this officer for his careful custody of the
+valuables. This campaign was not Major De Boulay&#8217;s first experience
+of the Far East. As an authority on the Japanese army, when few in
+Europe suspected its real efficiency as a fighting machine, he had been
+appointed military <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">attach&eacute;</span> to it when it first astonished the world in
+the China&#8208;Japan War; and he accompanied the troops that made the daring
+march that ended in the capture of Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei.</p>
+
+<p>Our meeting him on his way in to Pekin was a distinct disappointment to
+us; for the keys of the godowns in which the treasures of the palace
+were stored never left his keeping, and in his absence we had no chance
+of seeing them. With many expressions of regret for this unfortunate
+circumstance, he continued on his way to the capital.</p>
+
+<p>Trotting on, we reached a long village bordering the road on each side.
+It was quite a populous and thriving place. The inhabitants looked
+sleek and content; and shops stocked with gay garments or weird forms
+of food abounded. Half&#8208;way down on the left&#8208;hand side a narrow lane
+led off from the highway. At the corner stood a sign&#8208;post with the
+words, &#8220;<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Au palais de l&#8217;&eacute;t&eacute;</span>.&#8221; It was our road. We turned our ponies down
+it, nothing loth, I warrant,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">123</a></span> to exchange the hard stone flags for
+the soft ground now underfoot. We were soon clear of the houses and
+among the fields. Passing a belt of trees that had hitherto obstructed
+our view, we saw ahead of us a long stretch of low, dark hills. Far
+away to our left front, from a prominent knoll a tall, slender pagoda
+rose up boldly to the sky, and straight before us, standing out on
+the face of the hills, was a confused mass of buildings&mdash;the Summer
+Palace. We broke into a brisk canter, the canter became a gallop, and
+we raced towards our goal. As we drew nearer, and could more clearly
+distinguish the aspect of the buildings, we slackened speed. On the
+summit was a temple which, so one of our party who had visited the
+place before told us, was known as the Hall of Ten Thousand Ages.
+Below it stood a curious circular edifice, with a triple yellow roof.
+It was built on a huge square foundation, on the face of which were
+the lines of a diamond&#8208;shaped figure. These we afterwards found to
+be diagonal staircases ascending to the superstructure which was the
+Empress&#8208;Dowager&#8217;s own particular temple. Trees hid the lower portion
+and concealed from our view a lovely lake that lies at the foot of the
+hills. Passing onwards by a high&#8208;walled enclosure, we reached a wide
+open space, at the far end of which were the buildings of the palace
+proper. Out in the centre of it stood one of those Chinese paradoxes&mdash;a
+gateway without a wall, similar to the one at the Great Lama Temple.
+It was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">124</a></span> gaily painted with weird designs in bright colours. We rode
+past it and reached the entrance to the outer courtyard. At it was a
+guard of an Indian infantry regiment which was quartered in the Summer
+Palace. Dismounting, we passed through the gate and found ourselves in
+a large court. Facing us was a long, low building of the conventional
+Chinese type. It was a temple. On the verandah stood large bronze
+storks and dragons. We had seen too many similar joss&#8208;houses to care
+to visit it; so we secured a sepoy to guide us through the labyrinth
+of courts to the pavilion that was occupied as a mess by the officers
+of the troops garrisoning the palace&mdash;a British Field Battery and
+the Indian regiment. Here we were warmly welcomed and ushered into a
+building of particular historical interest; for in this very pavilion
+the Emperor had been confined.</p>
+
+<p>The interior was elaborately furnished. Large mirrors covered the
+walls. Marble&#8208;topped tables with the inevitable clocks and vases of
+artificial flowers were placed round the sides. European chairs and
+Chinese blackwood stools stood about in curious contrast. But the
+<em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pi&egrave;ce de r&eacute;sistance</span></em> was a lovely screen. An inner chamber was used
+as a mess&#8208;room; and a long table covered with a white cloth, on which
+stood common Delft plates and glass tumblers, looked out of keeping
+with the surroundings. But, more regardful of the thirst induced
+by a hot ride than artistic proprieties, we threw ourselves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">125</a></span> into
+comfortable chairs and quaffed a much&#8208;needed, cooling drink.</p>
+
+<p>In front of the pavilion was a square, paved yard, in which stood a
+curious scaffolding of gaily painted poles, which had served to spread
+an awning above the court. For here the imprisoned Emperor had been
+permitted to walk; and as we sat on the verandah and gave our hosts
+the latest news of Pekin, we gazed with interest on the confined space
+in which the monarch of the vast Empire of China had paced in weary
+anticipation of his fate.</p>
+
+<p>As it wanted an hour or two to lunch&#8208;time, one of the officers of the
+garrison volunteered to guide us round the palace. We eagerly accepted
+his offer and were led out into a maze of courts surrounded by low
+houses. He brought us first to his quarters in a long, two&#8208;storied
+building. From the upper windows on the far side a lovely view lay
+spread before our eyes. Below the house was a large lake, confined
+by a marble wall and balustrade that passed all round it. Close
+to us, on the right, the long, tree&#8208;clad hill, on which stood the
+Empress&#8208;Dowager&#8217;s temple and the Hall of Ten Thousand Ages, rose almost
+from the brink. To the left a graceful, many&#8208;arched bridge stretched
+from the bank to a tiny island far out in the placid water. On it stood
+a small pavilion. Near the shore a flotilla of boats was anchored. It
+comprised foreign&#8208;designed barges, dinghies, and a half&#8208;sunken steam
+launch. Patches of lotus leaves lay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">126</a></span> on the tranquil surface. And away,
+far beyond the lake, a line of rugged and barren hills rose up from the
+plain.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus14">
+<img src="images/illus14.jpg" width="600" height="541" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">A STREET IN THE TARTAR CITY, PEKIN, AFTER HEAVY RAIN</p></div>
+
+<p>Emerging from the building, we walked along by the low wall and carved
+balustrade bounding the water, towards the side above which stood the
+Empress&#8208;Dowager&#8217;s temple. At the corner of the lake was a gateway, at
+which stood a guard of Bersagliere, clad in white with cocks&#8217; feathers
+fluttering gaily in their tropical helmets. The Italians, as I have
+said, were joined with the English in the charge of the Summer Palace.
+Returning the sentry&#8217;s salute, we passed on and found a roofed and
+open&#8208;pillared gallery running along beside the lake. Its shelter was
+grateful in the burning sun; for the breeze was cut off by the hill
+that rose almost perpendicularly above us. The slender, wooden columns
+supporting the tiled roof were painted in brightly coloured designs. On
+the cornices were miniature pictures of conventional Chinese scenery.
+Here and there the gallery widened out or passed close to pretty little
+summer&#8208;houses built above the wall of the lake. We reached the square
+white mass of masonry on which stood the temple. Before it massive
+gates, guarded by bronze lions, opened on a broad staircase leading
+to the foot of the substructure. But reserving the sacred edifice,
+which towered above us at an appalling height, for a later visit after
+lunch, we passed on around the lake until we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">127</a></span> reached the strangest
+construction in the Summer Palace.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus15">
+<img src="images/illus15.jpg" width="557" height="500" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">THE MARBLE JUNK<span class="add4em">[<em>page</em> 127</span></p></div>
+
+<p>One of the former Empresses, whose life had been passed far from
+the sea, complained that she had never beheld a ship. So a cunning
+architect was found, who built in the lake close to the bank an
+enormous marble junk. The hull, which has ornamented prow and stern
+and small paddle&#8208;boxes, rests, of course, on the bottom. On the deck
+he erected a large two&#8208;storied pavilion; but as the Chinese are seldom
+thorough, this he constructed of wood painted to look like marble. It
+formed an ideal and picturesque summer&#8208;house, for the sides, between
+the pillars, were open or closed only by blinds. But at the time of our
+visit it looked dismally dilapidated; for the paint was blistered and
+peeling off. The Marble Junk resembles a white house&#8208;boat at Henley,
+and at a little distance across the water looks quaint and graceful.
+Close to it, spanning a small stream that runs into the lake, is a
+lovely little covered bridge with carved white marble arches and
+parapets. Venice can boast no more perfect gem of art on its canals.</p>
+
+<p>Our conductor, looking at his watch, tore us from our contemplation of
+this masterpiece and insisted on our returning to the mess for lunch.
+And in the pavilion where the powerless monarch of a mighty empire had
+lain a helpless prisoner, a victim to the intrigues of his own family,
+British officers sat at table; and the conversation ranged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">128</a></span> from the
+events of the campaign to sport in India or criticisms of the various
+contingents of the Allied Army.</p>
+
+<p>A recent occurrence, thoroughly typical of the readiness with which
+the Court party snatched at every opportunity to &#8220;save face,&#8221; was
+alluded to. The British Minister in Pekin, at the humble request of Li
+Hung Chang, who was negotiating about the return of the Summer Palace
+to the Chinese, had removed the Field Battery garrisoning it to the
+capital. An Imperial Edict was immediately issued, which stated in
+grandiloquent terms that the Emperor had <em>ordered</em> this removal. Sir
+Ernest Satow, who was fast proving himself a far stronger man than
+had been anticipated and well fitted to cope with Oriental wiles,
+promptly commanded the return of the battery as the fitting answer to
+this impudent declaration. It was almost the first strong action taken
+by our diplomats in a wearisome series of &#8220;graceful concessions&#8221;; and
+great satisfaction was occasioned among the officers of the British
+forces, who hailed it as a hopeful prelude to a firmer policy.</p>
+
+<p>After lunch we ascended the tree&#8208;clad hill on which stood the Hall
+of Ten Thousand Ages. From the summit a beautiful view over the
+surrounding country was obtained. Below us was the confused jumble of
+yellow&#8208;roofed buildings that constituted the residential portion of
+the Summer Palace. At our feet lay the gleaming lake, hemmed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">129</a></span> in by
+its white marble walls, the tiny island united to the shore by the
+graceful arches of the long bridge. The bright roof of the pretty
+little pavilion on it shone in the brilliant sunlight. Along the far
+bank stretched a tree&#8208;shaded road that ran away to the right until lost
+in thick foliage or fertile fields. A thin line marked the crowded
+highway to the capital. The plain was dotted with villages or lay in a
+chessboard&#8208;pattern of cultivation interspersed with thickets of bamboos
+or dense groves of trees. Far away the tall towers of the walls of
+Pekin rose up above the level sea of roofs, broken only by the lofty
+buildings of the Imperial city, the temples or the residences of the
+Europeans in the Legation quarter. Over the capital a yellow haze of
+smoke and dust hung like a golden canopy. Away to the right lay a
+long stretch of dark and sombre hills, among which nestled the summer
+residence of the members of the British Legation. Here in the hot
+months they hie in search of cooling breezes not to be obtained in the
+crowded city.</p>
+
+<p>The grandiloquently named Hall of Ten Thousand Ages was a rectangular,
+solidly constructed building with thick walls. But inside a sad scene
+of ruin met our eyes. Enormous fragments of shattered colossal statues
+choked the interior, so that one could not pass from door to door.
+Huge heads, trunks, and limbs lay piled in fantastic confusion. The
+temple had contained a number of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">130</a></span> giant images of Buddha. Some troops,
+on occupying the palace, had been informed that these were hollow and
+filled with treasures of inestimable value. The tale seemed likely; so
+dynamite was invoked to force them to reveal their hidden secrets. The
+colossal gods were hurled from their pedestals by its powerful agency;
+and their ruins were eagerly searched by the vandals. But it was found
+that the interiors of the statues, though indeed hollow, were simply
+modelled to correspond with the internal anatomy of a human being,
+all the organs being reproduced in silver or zinc. And the gods were
+sacrificed in vain to the greed of the spoilers.</p>
+
+<p>The Empress&#8208;Dowager&#8217;s temple had escaped such rough treatment, as
+it held nothing that tempted the conquerors. Under its huge shadow
+lay a lovely little structure, the Bronze Pagoda. On a white marble
+plinth and surrounded by a carved balustrade of the same stone, stood
+a delicately modelled, tiny temple about twenty or thirty feet high.
+Roof, pillars, walls&mdash;all were of the same valuable material. From
+the corners of the spreading, upturned eaves hung bells. The whole
+structure was a perfect work of art; and one sighed for a miniature
+replica of the graceful little building.</p>
+
+<p>But while we wandered among these quaint temples we had failed to
+notice dark masses of clouds that had gradually climbed up from the
+horizon and overcast the whole sky. One of the heavy storms of a North
+China summer was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">131</a></span> evidently in store for us. So, anxious to regain
+the capital before it could break, we returned to the palace, bade
+a hurried farewell to our kind hosts, and mounted our ponies. Back
+through the fields and on to the paved highway we rode at a steady
+pace, our ponies, refreshed by the long halt and eager to reach their
+stables, trotting out willingly. The storm held off, and as we came
+in view of the gate of Pekin, we congratulated ourselves on our good
+fortune. But suddenly, without a moment&#8217;s warning, sheets of water
+fell from the dark sky. In went our spurs, and we raced madly for the
+shelter of the gateway. But long before we reached it we were soaked
+through and through. Our boots were filled with water, the broad brims
+of our pith hats hung limply over our eyes, and we were as thoroughly
+wet as though we had swum the Peiho.</p>
+
+<p>Under the tunnelled gateway we dismounted. The water simply poured
+from us, and formed in pools on the stone flags where we stood. We
+found ourselves in a damp crowd of jostling, grinning Chinamen, who
+were cheerfully wringing the moisture from their thin cotton garments
+or laughing at the plight of others caught in the storm and racing for
+shelter through the ropes of rain. Coolies, carts, ponies, mules, and
+camels were all huddled together under the archway. Jests and mirth
+resounded on every side; for the Celestial is generally a veritable
+Mark Tapley under circumstances<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">132</a></span> that would depress or irritate the
+more impatient European.</p>
+
+<p>We waited for an hour beside our shivering ponies for the deluge to
+cease; then, seeing little prospect of it, we mounted again and rode
+on into the city. But short as was the time the rain had lasted,
+the streets were already almost flooded. The ditch&#8208;like sides were
+half filled with rushing, muddy torrents; and in crossing one of the
+principal roads the water rose up to our saddle&#8208;girths in the side
+channels. In one place my pony was nearly carried off his feet and I
+feared that I would be obliged to swim for it. From the shelter of the
+verandahs of the houses along the streets crowds of Chinese laughed at
+our miserable plight, as our small steeds splashed through the pools
+and their riders sat huddled up in misery under the pitiless rain. With
+heartfelt gratitude we reached at last the welcome shelter of Chong
+Wong Foo. So ended our visit to the famous Summer Palace, which is once
+more in the possession of its former owner. The courts that echoed to
+the ring of artillery horses&#8217; hoofs, the rumble of our gun&#8208;wheels, the
+deep laughter of the British soldier, or the shriller voices of his
+sepoy comrades, are now trodden only by silent&#8208;footed Celestials. The
+white man is no more a welcome guest.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">133</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="CHAPTER_VII"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER VII</span><br />
+
+A TRIP TO SHANHAIKWAN</h2></div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap2">THE railways throughout North China and Manchuria were originally
+constructed chiefly by British capital; and England had consequently
+priority of claim upon them. The line from Pekin runs first to the
+sea at Tong&#8208;ku, at the mouth of the Peiho River, thence branching off
+northward along the coast to Newchwang, the treaty port of Manchuria.
+Its continuation passes southward from Newchwang to Port Arthur. At the
+beginning of the campaign in North China it was seized by the Russians
+and held by them until diplomatic pressure loosened their grasp.
+Instead of restoring it direct to the British, they handed over to the
+Germans the railway as far north as Shanhaikwan, a town on the coast
+where the famous Great Wall of China ends in the sea; but they retained
+in their own possession that portion between Shanhaikwan and Newchwang.
+The Germans then held on to the remainder until they were eventually
+restored to the British.</p>
+
+<p>Shanhaikwan thus became the natural boundary between the territory
+under the sway of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">134</a></span> Russians and the country in the combined
+occupation of the Allies. The Czar&#8217;s servants had laid covetous eyes
+upon it; for its position and a number of strong and well&#8208;armed forts
+which had been constructed by the Chinese rendered it an important
+<em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">point d&#8217;appui</span></em> whence to dominate North China. So a powerful Russian
+force was despatched by land to seize these fortifications; but it
+was forestalled by the smart action of the British Admiral, who sent
+a gunboat, the <em>Pigmy</em>, to Shanhaikwan. The captain of this little
+craft audaciously demanded and actually received the surrender of the
+forts; so that when the Russians arrived they found, to their intense
+surprise, the Union Jack flying from the ramparts. Eventually, to avoid
+dissensions, the various forts were divided among the Allies.</p>
+
+<p>Previous to my departure on a long&#8208;projected trip to Japan&mdash;seeing a
+little of Manchuria and Corea <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en route</span></em>&mdash;I joined a small party of
+officers who had arranged to pay a flying visit to Shanhaikwan. With
+light luggage and the roll of bedding without which the Anglo&#8208;Indian
+seldom travels in the East, we entrained at Tientsin. A couple of
+hours sufficed to bring us to Tong&#8208;ku, where the railway branches
+off to the north. The platform was thronged with a bustling crowd
+of the soldiers of many nations, the place being the disembarkation
+port for the Continental, the American, and the Japanese troops. In
+the station buildings the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">135</a></span> British officers in charge of that section
+of the railway and of the detachments guarding it had established a
+mess. As we had some time to wait before the departure of the train to
+Shanhaikwan, they warmly welcomed us within its hospitable, if narrow,
+walls.</p>
+
+<p>When the warning bell summoned us to take our places, we established
+ourselves in a comfortable first&#8208;class carriage&mdash;partly saloon,
+partly <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">coup&eacute;</span>. I may mention that during the occupation of North China
+by the Allies the wearers of uniform travelled free everywhere on
+the railways. Among our fellow&#8208;passengers were some Japanese naval
+officers, a German or two, a few Russians, and an old friend of mine,
+Lieutenant Hutchinson, of H.M.S. <em>Terrible</em>, who had served with the
+Naval Brigade in the defence of Tientsin. He had just returned from a
+trip to Japan, and was full of his adventures in the Land of the Geisha.</p>
+
+<p>The railway to Shanhaikwan runs at first close to the sea through
+a monotonous stretch of mud flats, and then reaches a most fertile
+country with walled villages and substantially built houses. It was
+guarded by the 4th Punjaub Infantry, detachments of which occupied
+the stations along the line. Not long before, this fine regiment had
+been engaged in a punitive expedition against the brigands who had
+slain Major Browning. After a severe fight they captured the fortified
+villages held by 4,000 well&#8208;armed banditti, and terribly avenged their<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">136</a></span>
+officer. As the country was still infested by roving bands of robbers
+who raided defenceless villages, the station buildings were put in a
+state of defence, the walls loopholed and head&#8208;cover provided by means
+of sandbags until each resembled a miniature fort. But the brigands,
+after practical experience of the fighting qualities of the gallant
+Punjaubis, evinced no desire to come in contact with them again; and
+the detachments along the line were left to languish in inglorious ease
+and complain bitterly of the want of enterprise on the part of the
+robbers.</p>
+
+<p>For some distance alongside the railway runs a canal, which is
+largely used by the Chinese for transporting grain and merchandise.
+As our train rattled along, we passed numbers of long, shallow boats,
+fashioned like dug&#8208;outs and loaded down until the gunwale was scarcely
+a few inches from the water. The half&#8208;naked boatmen toiling at their
+oars paused to gaze with envy at the swift&#8208;speeding iron horse, which
+covered the weary miles with such apparent ease.</p>
+
+<p>The crops here were even more luxuriant than on the way to Pekin.
+Fields of ripe grain stretched away on either side of the line,
+interspersed with groves of trees or dotted with villages surrounded
+by high walls, significant of the continual insecurity of life and
+property in this debatable land. Here and there were deserted mud forts.</p>
+
+<p>The journey from Tientsin to Shanhaikwan occupied<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">137</a></span> about twelve hours.
+About midway the train stopped for a short time at Tongshan, a town
+important for the coal mines near, which are worked under the direction
+of Europeans. From the windows of our carriage we could see the tall
+buildings and the machinery at the mouths of the pits, which gave
+quite an English character to the landscape. For the convenience of
+travellers, the British officers quartered in the place had established
+a refreshment room in some Chinese buildings near the station, and
+lent some Indian servants to it. As our train was due to wait some
+little time, we all descended in search of lunch, and were provided
+here with quite a good meal at a very reasonable rate. Our German
+fellow&#8208;passengers, ignorant of Hindustani, found some difficulty in
+expressing their wants to the Indian waiters, whose knowledge of
+English was very limited. We came to the rescue and interpreted, and
+gained the gratitude of hungry men.</p>
+
+<p>As we journeyed on to Shanhaikwan the country began to lose its flat
+appearance. Low, tree&#8208;clad eminences broke the level monotony of the
+landscape; and the train passed close to a line of rugged hills. In
+their recesses bands of brigands were reported to be lurking, so we
+had the pleasant excitement of speculating on the chances of the train
+being held up by some of these gentry. But without mishap we reached
+our destination about half&#8208;past six o&#8217;clock in the evening.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">138</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The railway station of Shanhaikwan was large and well built, with
+roomy offices and a long platform. There were, besides, engine sheds,
+machinery shops, yards, and houses for the European employees, all
+of which had been seized by the Russians. We were met on our arrival
+by some officers of the Gurkha Regiment in garrison, to whom we had
+written from Tientsin to ask if they could find quarters for us.
+But as they were exceedingly short of accommodation for themselves,
+being crowded together in wretched Chinese hovels, they received us
+with expressions of regret that they were unable to find room for
+all our party. The two junior ones must seek shelter for themselves.
+I, unfortunately, was one. There was no hotel or inn of any sort. My
+companion in distress, luckily for himself, had a friend in a squadron
+of the 3rd Bombay Cavalry, quartered in one of the forts, and set
+off to request his hospitality. So our party separated; and I was
+left stranded on the platform with no prospect of a bed, and, worse
+still, not the faintest idea as to where to get a meal. On appealing
+to a British railway employee, I found that there were two military
+officers in charge of the station&mdash;one English, the other Russian; for
+the portion of the line held by the latter nationality began, as I
+have said, at Shanhaikwan. Both had quarters in the station, but both,
+unfortunately, had gone out to dinner; and there was no likelihood
+of their return before midnight.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">139</a></span> Taking pity on my distress, this
+employee promised to send me down a Chinese cane bed from his house,
+and then went off, leaving me to brood over the hopelessness of my
+situation. I sat down on a bench and cursed the name of Shanhaikwan.
+The lunch at Tongshan seemed by now a very far&#8208;off memory; and I
+endeavoured to allay the pangs of hunger with a cigar. As I meditated
+on the inefficacy of tobacco as a substitute for food, I saw the door
+of a room marked &#8220;Telegraph Office&#8221; open and a smart bombardier of the
+Royal Marine Artillery emerge. On seeing me he saluted, and, snatching
+at every straw, I called him over and asked him if he knew of any
+place where I could get anything to eat. He told me of the existence
+of a low <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">caf&eacute;</span>, patronised by the Continental soldiers of the garrison,
+where I might possibly obtain some sort of a meal. I jumped eagerly at
+the chance; and, calling one of the Chinese railway porters to guide
+us, he offered to show me the way. Quitting the station, we entered
+a small town of squalid native houses and proceeded through narrow
+and unsavoury lanes until we reached a low doorway in a high wall.
+Passing through, I found myself in a small courtyard. On the muddy
+ground were placed a number of rickety tables and rough benches. Here
+sat, with various liquors before them, groups of Cossacks and German
+soldiers, who stared with surprise at the unusual sight of a British
+officer in such a den.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">140</a></span> At the far end of the court was a tumbledown
+Chinese house, on the verandah of which sat the proprietor and his
+wife, evidently Italian or Austrian. The lady, a buxom person of
+ample proportions, was attired in a very magnificent, but decidedly
+<em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">d&eacute;collet&eacute;</span></em> evening dress. Her wrists were adorned with massive
+bracelets, her fingers covered with rings. Altogether she looked a very
+haughty and superb beauty and more fitted to adorn a caf&eacute; in the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Champs
+Elys&eacute;es</span> than a rough drinking&#8208;booth in the heart of China. Her husband
+came forward to meet me; and on my stating my wants in imploring tones,
+he seemed at first in doubt as to whether he could supply them. My
+heart sank. He turned to consult the lady. To my intense astonishment
+this magnificent personage sprang up at once, called to a Chinese
+servant to bring her a chicken, and then, pinning up the skirt of her
+rich dress, plunged into a kitchen which opened off the verandah, and
+then and there, with her own fair hands, spatch&#8208;cocked the fowl, and
+served me with a welcome and appetising meal.</p>
+
+<p>My hunger satisfied thus unexpectedly, I strolled back to the station
+in a contented frame of mind, indifferent to anything Fate had in
+store for me. Nothing could harm me; I had dined. I was quite ready to
+wrap myself in a blanket and sleep on a bench, or on the ground for
+that matter. But my star was in the ascendant. I found a comfortable
+camp&#8208;bed of a Chinese pattern awaiting<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">141</a></span> me, sent by the kind&#8208;hearted
+employee. Placing it on the platform, I spread my bedding on it,
+undressed, and lay down to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>But I had reckoned without the merry mosquito. I have met this little
+pest in many lands. I first made his acquaintance on the night of my
+arrival in India with a raw, unsalted regiment from home; when he could
+batten on seven hundred fresh, full&#8208;blooded Britishers and feast to the
+full on their vital fluid unthinned by a tropical climate; when next
+morning the faces of all, officers and men alike, were swollen almost
+beyond recognition. I have remonstrated with him as to his claim to the
+possession of the interior of a mosquito net and failed to move him. I
+have scarcely doubted when a friend vowed that he had broken the back
+of a hairbrush over the head of one of the giant, striped species we
+knew as &#8220;Bombay tigers&#8221; or questioned the truth of the statement that a
+man had lain on his bed and watched two of them trying to pull open his
+curtains to get at him. I have cursed him in the jungle when sitting
+up in a <em>mach&acirc;n</em> over a &#8220;kill&#8221; waiting for a tiger. I have wrestled
+with him when out on column and bivouacked beside a South China river,
+where his home was; but never have I seen him in such wonderful vigour
+and maddening persistence as during that night on the station platform
+of Shanhaikwan. In vain I beat the air with frenzied hands; in vain I
+smoked. I tried to cover my<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">142</a></span> head with a sheet; but the heat was too
+great, and I emerged panting to find him waiting for me. As Thomas
+Atkins says: &#8220;It h&#8217;isn&#8217;t the bite of the beggar I &#8217;ates so much as &#8217;is
+bloomin&#8217; h&#8217;irritatin&#8217; buzz&#8221;; and the air was filled with his song. It
+was a concert with refreshments. <em>I</em> was the refreshments. To make
+matters worse, I had the tantalising knowledge that I had mosquito
+curtains with me, which I had been unable to fix up as the bed was
+without poles.</p>
+
+<p>At last, maddened by the persistent attacks of the irritating pests,
+I sat up and reviewed the situation until I hit upon a plan. I shoved
+the bed under the windows of a room which looked out on the platform
+and which happened to be the quarters of the British Railway Station
+Officer. The venetian shutters opened outward. About ten feet away was
+a telegraph&#8208;pole; and a short distance from the foot of the bed stood
+a lamp&#8208;post. Taking the cords of my Wolseley valise, the straps of my
+bedding and my luggage, and some string which I looted from one of the
+railway offices, I contrived to suspend my curtains from the shutters,
+the pole, and the lamp&#8208;post. It was really an ingenious contrivance,
+and I lay down in triumph and security. The baffled mosquitoes uttered
+positive shrieks of rage.</p>
+
+<p>Somewhere about midnight I was awakened by the sounds of revelry in a
+foreign tongue. Peering through the curtains, I saw by the dim light of
+the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">143</a></span> turned&#8208;down station lamps two figures in uniform advancing along
+the platform. One was a very drunken but merry Russian officer, who was
+being carefully helped along by a sober and amused British subaltern.
+They suddenly caught sight of the white mass of my mosquito curtains,
+which swayed in ghostly folds in the wind and looked uncanny in the
+uncertain light.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;What the devil is that?&#8221; exclaimed the Englishman.</p>
+
+<p>The Russian hiccoughed a reply in words that sounded like a sneeze.</p>
+
+<p>The former, gently propping up his companion against the lamp&#8208;post to
+which he clung lovingly, advanced to my bed. I recognised him by his
+uniform to be our Railway Station Staff Officer. Peering through the
+curtains, he asked me who on earth I was and what I was doing there. In
+a few words I explained myself and my situation. With a soldier&#8217;s ready
+hospitality he said&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;My dear fellow, I am so sorry that I was absent. Get up and move your
+bed into my quarters. I shall be delighted to put you up.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I thanked him, but assured him that I was very comfortably fixed for
+the night.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But you can have had no dinner. Did you get anything to eat?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+
+<p>I recounted my successful search for a meal; whereat he laughed and
+again expressed his regret at his absence, explaining that he had
+gone to a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">144</a></span> dinner&#8208;party given by the wife of a Russian colonel on her
+husband&#8217;s name&#8208;day.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile his companion, still clinging tightly to the lamp&#8208;post,
+had been regarding with wonder my contrivance for the support of the
+mosquito curtains, shaking his head, and muttering to himself.</p>
+
+<p>The Britisher, informing me that he was the Russian Railway Staff
+Officer, then spoke to him in his own language, and introduced me to
+him, mentioning a name that ended in &mdash;itch or &mdash;sky. I sat up in bed and
+bowed. But my new acquaintance, still holding to the friendly support
+of the post, stared solemnly at the network of straps and cords. At
+last he broke silence.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Ver&#8217; good! Ver&#8217; practical! You English is ver&#8217; practical nation.&#8221; Then
+he hiccoughed sadly, &#8220;I am ver&#8217; <em>drink</em>!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Thoroughly awakened, I got up, and we adjourned to the British
+officer&#8217;s quarters, where we drank to our better acquaintance in an
+iced whisky and soda; for the night was distressingly hot.</p>
+
+<p>The hospitable Englishman was Lieutenant Kell, South Staffordshire
+Regiment. He was a good specimen of the linguists in our army who
+surprised our Continental allies. A passed Interpreter in Russian
+and Chinese, he spoke French, German, and Italian fluently; and, as
+I discovered afterwards, although he had never been to India, he was
+rapidly picking up Hindustani from the sepoys with whom he was brought
+in contact through<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">145</a></span> his station duties. He had served on General
+Dorward&#8217;s staff during the hard fighting in Tientsin and had been
+mentioned in his despatches. His linguistic powers had caused him to
+be appointed as Railway Staff Officer at Shanhaikwan, where his ready
+tact and genial qualities endeared him to the Russians and contributed
+greatly to the harmonious working of affairs in that debatable garrison.</p>
+
+<p>Before we parted for the night our Russian friend gave us both a
+cordial invitation to dine with him the following night and meet some
+of his comrades. And then I retired again to bed, feeling no longer a
+lost sheep and a homeless orphan.</p>
+
+<p>In the morning I was awakened by Lieutenant Kell&#8217;s servant, who
+brought me my <em>chota hazri</em>, the matutinal tea and toast dear to the
+heart of the Anglo&#8208;Indian. He had taken my luggage into his master&#8217;s
+quarters, where a bath and a dressing&#8208;room awaited me. I found my host
+busily engaged in his railway work, interviewing soldiers of every
+nationality. As I was in the act of wishing him &#8220;Good morning&#8221; we
+suddenly observed a heavy transport waggon, drawn by two huge horses,
+being driven across the line and right on to the platform by a Cossack,
+who thus thought to save himself a <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">d&eacute;tour</span></em> to the level crossing at
+the far end of the station. It was done in flat defiance of well&#8208;known
+orders. Kell spoke to him in his own language, and told him to go back.
+The soldier, muttering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">146</a></span> some impertinent remark, took no notice and
+drove on. At that moment a Russian colonel entered the station. Kell
+immediately reported the man&#8217;s disobedience to him. The officer flew at
+the culprit, abused him in loud and angry tones; and if the Cossack had
+not been out of reach where he sat perched up on the waggon, I am sure
+he would have received a sound thrashing. Crestfallen, he turned his
+horses round and drove away; while the colonel apologised profusely to
+Kell for the fault of his subordinate and promised that the man would
+receive a severe punishment for his disobedience and impertinence to an
+English officer.</p>
+
+<p>After breakfast one of my companions, Captain Labertouche, 22nd
+Bombay Infantry, who, like me, had been unable to find quarters among
+the Gurkhas the night before, but who had been given shelter by the
+officers of the 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry, rode up to look for me.
+Sending away his horse, we set out on foot to hunt up the rest of our
+party in the Gurkha mess.</p>
+
+<p>Our way lay first along the railway line. On the right&#8208;hand side were
+the station yards, engine sheds, and machinery shops, all now in the
+hands of the Russians, who had removed the spare rolling stock and
+plant found there and sent them to Port Arthur. The Muscovite believes
+in war being self&#8208;supporting. To the left, behind the station, lay the
+rookery of squalid Chinese houses, where I had hunted for a dinner
+the night before. Farther away lay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">147</a></span> Shanhaikwan. High battlements
+and lofty towers enclosed the city, the sides of which ran down to
+the Great Wall of China. For ahead of us, a mile away athwart the
+railway, lay a long line of grass&#8208;grown earthworks, with here and there
+fragments of ruined masonry peering out among the herbage and bushes
+that clothed it. It was that wondrous fortification which stretches
+for more than a thousand miles along the ancient boundary of China,
+climbing mountains, plunging into valleys, and running through field
+and forest&mdash;a monumental and colossal work that has never served to
+roll back the tide of war from the land it was built to guard. Through
+a wide breach in it the railway passes on to the north, to Manchuria
+where the Russian Bear now menaces the integrity of the Celestial
+Kingdom. Before reaching the Wall our way turned off sharp to the
+right; so, leaving the railway, we followed a rough country road which
+led to the Chinese village that sheltered the Gurkhas. It was crossed
+by a broad stream two or three feet deep. As we were grumbling at the
+necessity of taking off boots and gaiters in order to wade it, a sturdy
+Chinaman strolled up and looked extremely amused at our distress. We
+promptly seized him, and made signs that we wanted him to carry us
+across. The Celestial smilingly assented, and kicked off his felt&#8208;soled
+shoes. Hoisting my companion on his back, he waded with him to the
+other side, and then returned to fetch me. When<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">148</a></span> we rewarded him with
+a small silver coin he seemed extremely surprised; and he made frantic
+signs, which we interpreted as meant to express his desire to remain on
+the spot in readiness to ferry us over on our return. Without further
+difficulty we reached the Gurkha mess, where we found our friends on
+the point of setting out to visit the Great Wall. So the whole party
+walked back along the road by which Labertouche and I had come, and
+at the stream found our ferryman awaiting us with a beaming smile. He
+eagerly proffered his services, and conveyed us all across in turn.
+Payment being duly made, he expressed his gratitude in voluble, if
+unintelligible, language.</p>
+
+<p>Reaching the railway, we proceeded along it in the direction of the
+Wall. The country between it and us was flat and cultivated, though
+at its foot lay a strip of waste ground. To our left ran a rough road
+leading out, through the same gap as the line, towards some forts
+to the north. Along it, behind three sturdy little ponies harnessed
+abreast, sped a Russian <em>troiscka</em>, driven by a Cossack and containing
+two white&#8208;coated officers.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at the inner face of the Wall, we climbed its sloping side
+and found ourselves on a broad and bush&#8208;grown rampart. We were twenty
+or thirty feet above the ground. The outer face of this ancient
+fortification, which was begun in <span class="smcap">B.C.</span> 241, was in a better
+state of preservation than the inner; though in places it bore little
+resemblance to a wall.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">149</a></span> From the ruins of an old bastion we had a
+splendid view of the surrounding country. Before us a level plain
+stretched away to the horizon, broken by the ugly outlines of forts or
+patched with cultivated fields and small woods. To the right the Great
+Wall ran to the cliffs above the sea, which sparkled in the distance
+under a brilliant sun. On its bosom lay the ponderous bulks of a
+number of Japanese warships; for their fleet had arrived unexpectedly
+at Shanhaikwan the night before. The Russian dinner&#8208;party, which
+Lieutenant Kell had attended the previous evening, had been given in
+the open air, on the cliffs over the sea. The numerous guests, nearly
+all officers of the Czar, could look out over the blue water as they
+smoked the cigarettes with which every Russian meal is punctuated.
+While the feast was proceeding merrily trails of smoke, heralding the
+approach of a fleet, appeared on the horizon. The Russian officers
+gazed in surprise as the ships came into view, and wonder was expressed
+as to their nationality and the purpose of their coming. In those
+troublous times, when national jealousies were rife, no one knew that
+war might not suddenly break out among the so&#8208;called Allies; and Slav,
+Teuton, Frank, and Briton might be called on without a day&#8217;s warning
+to range themselves in hostile camps. So something like consternation
+fell upon the dinner&#8208;party when the approaching ships were seen to be
+the Japanese fleet. For the relations between Russia and Japan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">150</a></span> were
+very strained at the time; and all present at the table wondered if the
+unexpected arrival of this powerful squadron meant that the rupture had
+come. But no hostile signs were made by the ships; and, with the motto
+of the trooper all the world over&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">&#8220;Why, soldiers, why</div>
+<div class="line">&nbsp;&nbsp;Should we be melancholy, boys,</div>
+<div class="line">&nbsp;&nbsp;Whose business &#8217;tis to die?&#8221;</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p class="noindent">the interrupted revelry was renewed.</p>
+
+<p>Between us and the sea lay the strong and well&#8208;armed forts that had
+fallen before the audacious challenge of the little <em>Pigmy</em>. From their
+walls floated the flags of the Allies; and Cossacks, German, Japanese,
+and Indian troops could be seen upon their ramparts. Behind us lay the
+ruins of what must have been a large fortified camp just inside the
+Wall.</p>
+
+<p>To the left the town of Shanhaikwan lay penned in by its lofty but
+antiquated fortifications. Past it the Great Wall ran away to the west
+until lost to our sight among the slopes of a range of hills. Here
+and there the climbing line was seen topping the summit of a steep
+eminence, and one could appreciate the magnitude of the task of its
+builders when they set themselves to fence China from the ravaging
+hordes of the unknown lands.</p>
+
+<p>And away north and south stretched the thin shining line of the
+railway, along which the soldiers of the Czar hope to swarm one day to
+plant their eagles once more in Pekin, never again to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">151</a></span> removed. As
+we stood on the Great Wall flocks of snipe and duck flew past us to
+the south, already fleeing before the approach of the dread winter of
+Northern Asia.</p>
+
+<p>We went on to pay a visit to the forts, which, when they were held by
+the Chinese, had been armed with powerful and modern guns. Concerning
+one of these forts an amusing story, illustrative of foreign guile,
+was told. The place was occupied by one Power, who had quartered in
+it a battery of artillery. In the re&#8208;arrangement of the garrison of
+Shanhaikwan, at a council of the allied commanders, it was decided
+that this fort should be handed over to the English. But although the
+foreign General agreed at the time, all the subsequent endeavours of
+the British to induce him to name a day for the evacuation and transfer
+were fruitless. Regrets, excuses, indefinite promises were freely made;
+but some unexpected and insurmountable obstacle invariably intervened.
+At length when the surrender of the fort could no longer be refused, a
+certain date for the foreign troops to march out and the place to be
+handed over to the English was fixed. The day arrived. The relieving
+British garrison marched up to the gate. There they were met by the
+apparently bewildered foreign commander, who expressed considerable
+astonishment at their presence. When reminded that this was the day
+agreed upon, he smiled politely, and assured the British officers that
+they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">152</a></span> had made a mistake. He pointed out that they had apparently
+calculated by the modern style calendar, forgetting that the old style
+was still in vogue in some countries and had been adopted by him in his
+reckoning. Consequently the day had not yet come. Lost in unwilling
+admiration at this clever instance of duplicity, the British were
+obliged to withdraw.</p>
+
+<p>On the eve of the day on which he declared that the fort would really
+be evacuated, the battery garrisoning it marched out with much pomp and
+publicity. The British smiled as they watched them go, well pleased at
+having got rid of them at last. They plumed themselves on their moral
+victory; and they marched up next morning to the fort in triumph. But
+the other flag was still flying, and inside they saw the same battery
+whose departure they had witnessed the evening before. They stared in
+bewilderment. They could recognise some of the officers and men. Then
+an explanation was angrily demanded. It was readily forthcoming. This
+was <em>not</em> the same battery as before. Far from it. That was by this
+time well on its way to the North. But by an extraordinary coincidence
+another battery had suddenly and most unexpectedly arrived during the
+night to the foreign General&#8217;s utter astonishment, as no intimation of
+their coming had been vouchsafed him. And as he had no other place to
+quarter them in but the fort, he had been obliged most reluctantly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">153</a></span>
+to send them there. He was desolated at the unfortunate necessity. He
+offered his profoundest regrets, and trusted that his dear allies would
+realise that he was helpless. So the outwitted British had again to
+withdraw. As a matter of fact the battery had simply marched out of
+sight in the evening and come back during the night. So with baffling
+ingenuity the foreign General contrived to retain the fort for some
+time longer in his hands; though he was forced to surrender it in the
+end.</p>
+
+<p>After inspecting several of the forts, some of our party went off to
+pay a visit to the town, while others walked down to the shore and
+gazed out at the Japanese fleet and the long hull of H.M.S. <em>Terrible</em>,
+which was lying at anchor. As we looked at the water sparkling in the
+bright sunlight, it was difficult to realise that in the winter the sea
+here is frozen for several miles out from the shore. From this fact one
+can form some idea of the intense cold of the winter months in North
+China. And yet the Indian troops, natives of a warm climate, suffered
+comparatively little and the percentage of admissions into hospital
+from our contingent was remarkably small, so well were they looked
+after by their officers and so generous was the free issue of warm
+clothing by the Indian Government.</p>
+
+<p>In the afternoon some of us attended a cricket match between the crew
+of the <em>Terrible</em> and the British garrison. Hardly had the stumps been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">154</a></span>
+drawn and the players gone into the refreshment tent when some snipe
+settled on the pitch. An officer quartered in a fort close to the
+cricket ground sent for his gun, and secured a couple then and there.</p>
+
+<p>I dined that night with the Russian Railway Staff Officer in his
+quarters in the station. They consisted of two or three large and
+comfortable rooms. The furniture, which had been supplied to him by
+his Government, was almost luxurious, in marked contrast with the
+indifferent tables and the camp chairs with which Lieutenant Kell had
+to provide himself. All through the combined occupation the Continental
+Powers endeavoured to enable their officers to present a good
+appearance among the other nationalities. The Germans were especially
+generous in the pay and allowances they gave to the commissioned ranks
+of their expeditionary force.</p>
+
+<p>The guests that evening comprised, besides Kell and myself, three
+Russian officers, one of whom spoke English, one French, while the
+third could converse only in his own language, so the conversation
+was of a polyglot character. The dinner began by the preliminary
+<em>sakouski</em>&mdash;that is the nearest approach I can make to its name&mdash;a
+regular little meal in itself of <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">hors d&#8217;&oelig;uvres</span></em>. Caviare,
+sturgeon&#8217;s roe, very salt ham, brawn, and a dozen other comestibles
+were served. My host asked me if I had ever tasted vodki, and although
+I assured him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">155</a></span> that I had, proceeded to make me try five differently
+flavoured varieties of the national liquor. With the regular dinner
+the nauseatingly sweet champagne, so much in favour with Continental
+peoples, was served. On my declaring that champagne was a wine I
+never drank, I was allowed to have a decanter of whisky and a syphon
+of soda&#8208;water and permitted to help myself. Kell adhered faithfully
+to claret and soda throughout the evening; but our Russian comrades
+indiscriminately mixed champagne, beer, and red or white wines, with
+the result that they soon became exceedingly merry. We were served by
+Chinese and a Russian soldier, whose manner of waiting at table was
+perfection. The best&#8208;trained London butler could not have moved with
+more noiseless tread, or decanted the wine more carefully.</p>
+
+<p>As the meal wore on and the bottles were emptied, the conversation
+waxed somewhat noisy. Our friends were filled with the most generous
+sentiments towards England and lamented the estrangement of our
+nations. They confessed that they had come to China prepared to dislike
+the British officers intensely; but, in common with all their comrades
+who had been brought in contact with us, their feelings had entirely
+changed. They said frankly that the hostility to England was mainly
+owing to the continual opposition she offers to the natural desire of
+Russia to find an outlet to the sea. As they pointed out with truth, a
+great and rising nation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">156</a></span> like theirs will not submit to be confined for
+ever to the land; that it was intolerable that their vast Empire had
+not a single port free from ice all the year round or entirely at their
+own disposal. For Odessa is practically an inland harbour; and the
+Baltic is frozen in winter. Their ambition to reach the Mediterranean
+entangled them in the campaign against Turkey; and one can understand
+their indignation against England, who stepped in at the last moment
+when Constantinople was almost in their grasp and despoiled them of
+the fruits of victory achieved at the cost of many sacrifices and a
+long and bloody war. Foiled in the attempt to reach the open sea there,
+they embarked on the marvellous career of conquest which carried them
+across Asia to the Pacific. And there they found their first port,
+Vladivostock, useless in winter. And if other nations had had the
+courage of their convictions, they would never have been suffered to
+retain Port Arthur.</p>
+
+<p>But although the talk was largely political, there was absolutely no
+bitterness on the part of our host and his comrades. The conversation
+passed on to a comparison of the various systems of the armies of the
+world and a frank criticism of our own as well as the other contingents
+of the Allied forces. They were not very much impressed by our Indian
+army. They admired the regiments they had seen, but pitied us for
+the necessity we were under of having coloured troops at all. They
+forgot that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">157</a></span> a large portion of their own army can scarcely be called
+European. Like all the Russians I have met, from a Grand Duke to a
+subaltern, they exhibited a rancorous hatred to Germany. What they had
+seen of her troops in this campaign had added neither to their respect
+nor their love for that nation. In fact, the Germans did not succeed in
+making themselves cordially liked by those with whom they were brought
+in contact; just as their country may find, when her day of trouble
+comes, that her friends are few. Our friends betrayed a contempt, not
+altogether unmixed with fear, for the Japanese; and they marvelled at
+our friendship for them. They acknowledged their bravery in the present
+campaign, but doubted if they would exhibit the same courage when
+pitted against white troops. Their doubts will be resolved when the
+time comes.</p>
+
+<p>The wine passed freely between our Russian comrades; but with the
+truest hospitality they forbore to press us to drink against our wish.
+The dinner was extremely good, even luxurious; and Kell laughingly
+lamented to me his inability to entertain his friends as well as his
+Russian colleague could contrive to do. But here, again, I think he was
+helped by his Government, for I fancy that he received an entertainment
+allowance. As the wine circulated rapidly our companions became
+boisterous and showed some signs of inebriation.</p>
+
+<p>Beside me sat an officer who filled the post of military director
+of the railway between Shanhaikwan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">158</a></span> and Newchwang. I had long been
+desirous of visiting Manchuria by this route, but had always been
+assured that the Russians were very unwilling to allow any foreigner,
+especially a British officer, to use it; that it was hopeless to try to
+obtain their permission. As my neighbour&#8217;s tongue seemed a good deal
+loosened by his potations, I determined to get him off his guard and
+sound him as to the possibility of my proceeding northward to Manchuria
+from Shanhaikwan. I began by telling him that I hoped to sail in a few
+days from Taku for Newchwang, and remarked that it was a pity that
+the Russian authorities were so averse to British officers visiting
+Manchuria. He waxed quite indignant at the idea, and assured me that
+they were sadly misrepresented.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But,&#8221; said I, &#8220;we would not be allowed to travel from here to
+Newchwang by your railway.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not be allowed? Absurd! Of course you would,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;I am the
+director of that section of the line; it is under my charge. Surely I
+know best.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, come,&#8221; I said chaffingly, &#8220;you know that if I wanted to travel by
+it you would not permit me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Most certainly I would. I should be delighted.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I shall pin you to that, I thought. I felt very pleased at achieving a
+result that everyone had told me was impossible, Kell among them; so I
+glanced in triumph at him. He smiled.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you mean to say that I could go to Newchwang<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">159</a></span> whenever I liked by
+your line?&#8221; I continued to my neighbour.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Certainly you could,&#8221; he replied, draining his glass, which I had
+taken care had not stood idle during our conversation. Wine in, wit
+out, I thought.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Well, in that case,&#8221; said I, &#8220;I will cancel my passage by steamer and
+start by rail from here to&#8208;morrow.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Eh? Oh! You are serious? You really wish to go by train?&#8221; he
+stammered, taken aback.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes; I shall telegraph to the Steamship Company at Tientsin in the
+morning, and start by the first train I can get.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>For a second my friend seemed disconcerted. The other Russians had
+been following our conversation with interest. Suddenly sobered, my
+neighbour spoke to them in a low tone; and a muttered colloquy took
+place. Then he turned again to me and said, with a smile of innocent
+regret&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I am <em>so</em> sorry. It would be impossible for you to start so soon.
+The railway has been breached in several places by floods, and three
+bridges have been washed away. The line is broken and all traffic
+suspended. It is <em>most</em> unfortunate.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I realised that I had caught my Tartar.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;How soon do you think I could travel?&#8221; I asked.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, not for several days, I am afraid,&#8221; was the answer, in a tone of
+deep sympathy for my disappointment.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">160</a></span> &#8220;The repairs will take some time
+as the damage is extensive.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I saw that I was no match for Russian wiliness, and retired from the
+contest.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;It is very unfortunate. But perhaps, after all, it would be best to go
+by sea.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Yes, yes,&#8221; he assented eagerly. &#8220;It would be very difficult, even
+dangerous, by the railway.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Then the host interposed and changed the conversation. But at the end
+of the evening, when all the Russians had imbibed freely, my neighbour
+forgot his caution. When bidding me good&#8208;night, he insisted on giving
+me his address in Newchwang, where he usually resided, being then only
+on a visit to Shanhaikwan. He cordially invited me to come and see him.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;But I fear that I shall have come and gone before you can possibly
+arrive there,&#8221; I said. &#8220;We leave Taku in three or four days; and it is
+not twenty&#8208;four hours&#8217; sail from there to Newchwang. So I shall have
+left before you can get there.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Oh, not at all,&#8221; he said unguardedly. &#8220;I am leaving Shanhaikwan for
+Newchwang to&#8208;morrow morning by a train starting at ten o&#8217;clock. So be
+sure to come and see me.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>I smiled to myself as I shook his hand. No wonder Russian diplomacy
+prospers.</p>
+
+<p>That dinner was the merriest function at which I had assisted for
+a long time. Our friends were excellent boon companions, and the
+conversation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">161</a></span> in divers tongues never flagged. Tiny cigarettes
+were handed round between each course; and the menu comprised many
+delicacies that came as a pleasant surprise in the wilds of China.
+When the meal was ended and cigars were lit, my host asked me whether
+I would prefer coffee or <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">th&eacute; &agrave; la Russe</span></em>. As I had always understood
+that this latter beverage was prepared from a special and excellent
+blend of tea and flavoured with lemons, I voted for it. To my
+horror, the soldier&#8208;servant brought me a long tumbler filled with an
+amber&#8208;coloured liquid and proceeded to stir a large spoonful of <em>jam</em>
+in it. The mixture was not palatable, but courtesy demanded that I
+should drink it. I declared the concoction delicious, drained my glass
+and set it down with relief. The attendant promptly filled it up again,
+my host insisting that as I liked it so well, I must have more. It
+nearly sufficed to spoil my enjoyment of the whole dinner.</p>
+
+<p>During the evening, whenever our companions were not observing me, I
+replenished my glass with plain soda&#8208;water, and my brother officer
+had remained faithful to his weak beverage. Consequently, at the end
+of dinner we were perfectly sober; while our host and his friends who
+had imbibed freely were&mdash;well, the reverse. Conscious of their own
+state and contrasting it with ours, they gazed at us in admiration,
+and exclaimed, &#8220;These English officers have the heads of iron.&#8221; We
+parted at a late hour. With many expressions of mutual friendship and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">162</a></span>
+goodwill, the party broke up; and so ended a very interesting and
+enjoyable evening. No longer a homeless outcast, I retired to rest in
+the friendly shelter of Kell&#8217;s quarters.</p>
+
+<p>During the night I was dimly conscious of heavy rain but slept on
+unregarding. When I rose in the morning I found that a change had come
+over the scene. A burning sun no longer blazed overhead. The sky was
+dark with leaden clouds; the rain was falling with tropical violence,
+and all the landscape beyond the station was almost invisible. Already
+the line was covered with water; and fears were expressed by the staff
+that a freshet might occur in the hills and the railway be rendered
+impassable and possibly be breached. As the day wore on, these
+apprehensions became intensified. In the afternoon the train from
+Tong&#8208;ku steamed in, literally ploughing its way through the water.
+The driver reported that not many miles from Shanhaikwan the floods
+were out and as his engine passed through them the fires were nearly
+extinguished. Another hour would render the line impassable. Pleasant
+tidings these for me; for our party purposed returning to Tientsin on
+the morrow, and some of us were starting for Japan the day after.</p>
+
+<p>My rambles that afternoon were confined to the station platform and the
+house of some friends of Kell&#8217;s, who, learning of my forlorn state, had
+most kindly asked him to bring me there for lunch and dinner. They were
+connected with the railway;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">163</a></span> and the ladies of the family had passed
+through an anxious time during the troubles, but had bravely refused to
+seek safety in flight.</p>
+
+<p>Next day the rain still continued. Reports came in that the line was
+impassable. The station was completely isolated from the rest of the
+world. Those of my party who were living with the Gurkhas, ignorant
+of the fact that no train could start, essayed to drive down to it in
+native carts. The stream over which the friendly Chinaman had carried
+us was in flood; and as they endeavoured to cross it, horses, vehicles,
+and passengers were nearly swept away. One smaller cart with their
+luggage was carried some distance down from the ford; and kit&#8208;bags
+and portmanteaus were only rescued with the greatest difficulty. An
+invaluable collection of films and negatives belonging to one of the
+party, who was an expert photographer, was entirely spoilt. It was a
+real loss, as they contained a complete pictorial record of North China.</p>
+
+<p>The low ground behind the station was flooded. I watched with amusement
+the antics of a number of Cossacks, who, heedless of the rain, had got
+together planks and old doors torn off ruined houses, and, using them
+as rafts, had organised a miniature regatta on the pond thus formed.
+Exciting races took place; and a friendly dispute over one resulted
+in a naval battle full of comic incidents. Like schoolboys, they
+charged each other&#8217;s rafts and if capsized continued the struggle in
+the water.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">164</a></span> One, diving beneath the surface, would suddenly reappear
+beneath an enemy&#8217;s vessel, tilt it on end, and precipitate the
+occupants into the muddy flood, to be immediately grappled by them and
+ducked.</p>
+
+<p>In the morning a letter from Captain Labertouche was brought me by a
+trooper of the 3rd Bombay Light Cavalry, who had been forced to swim
+his horse across a swollen stream in order to reach the station. I
+chatted for some time with the man&mdash;a fine, lithe specimen of the
+Indian sowar. Anxious to hear every expression of the impression which
+the Russian troops had made upon our native rank&#8208;and&#8208;file, I asked him
+his opinion of them.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;They are not bad, sahib,&#8221; he replied in Hindustani. Then, with an
+expressive shrug, he added, &#8220;But they will never get into India.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The remark was significant, for it showed not only what our men thought
+of the soldiers of the Czar, but also that the possibility of the
+Russian invasion is occasionally discussed amongst them, only to be
+dismissed with contempt.</p>
+
+<p>Our Indian contingent, one and all, have conceived a wonderful disdain
+of most of the troops of the other nationalities with whom they
+were brought in contact in China. They had the greatest admiration
+and affection for the gallant little Japanese, but considered their
+training obsolete. The Russians they regarded with little respect and
+no dread, and looked upon them as scarcely civilised. The Infanterie
+Coloniale, of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">165</a></span> whom they saw a good deal, filled them with the greatest
+contempt, undeserved though it was, for the whole French army. And I
+wish that the armchair critics, who condemn our forces and hold up the
+Germans as models to be slavishly followed in every respect, could have
+heard the opinion formed of them by these shrewd fighting men, Sikh,
+Gurkha, and Punjaubi, whose lives have been passed in war.</p>
+
+<p>An instance of the friendship existing between our sepoys and the
+Japanese came under my notice that day. On the railway platform some
+Gurkhas and a few of the 4th Punjaub Infantry were loitering or sitting
+about watching the heavy rain. Three or four Japanese soldiers came
+into the station and promptly sat down beside the Gurkhas, greeting
+them with effusive smiles. I was struck by the similarity in feature
+between the two races. Dressed in the same uniform, it would be
+difficult to distinguish between them. They are about the same height
+and build, and very much alike in face; though the Japanese is lighter
+coloured. Before long the mixed party were exchanging cigarettes and
+chatting away volubly; though the few words of English each knew, eked
+out by signs, could have been the only medium of intercourse.</p>
+
+<p>A Pathan sepoy was sitting alone on a bench. To him came up another
+little white&#8208;clad soldier of Dai Nippon. He proffered a cigarette and
+gesticulated wildly. Before I realised his meaning,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">166</a></span> he had removed
+the Pathan&#8217;s <em>pugri</em> from his head, replaced it with his own cap, and
+donned the borrowed headgear himself. Then he strutted up and down the
+platform amid the laughing applause of his comrades and the Gurkhas.
+The Pathan, highly amused, joined in the merriment. I had noticed a
+Dogra sepoy standing by himself with eyes fixed on the ground, lost
+in deep thought. Suddenly a cheery little Japanese soldier, motioning
+to the audience on the benches not to betray him, stole up quietly
+behind the Dogra, seized him round the waist, and lifted the astonished
+six&#8208;foot sepoy into the air. Then with a grin he replaced him on his
+feet, and with mutual smiles they shook hands.</p>
+
+<p>When the day comes for our Indian army to fight shoulder to shoulder
+with its comrades of Japan, a bond stronger than a paper alliance will
+hold them; and their only rivalry will be as to which shall outstrip
+the other in their rush on the foe.</p>
+
+<p>All that day reports of houses used as barracks half collapsing under
+the heavy rain reached the station. My friends who were living with the
+Gurkha officers were nearly washed out.</p>
+
+<p>Once during the occupation of Shanhaikwan, when a similar deluge
+rendered the Chinese huts occupied by some foreign troops there
+untenable, their commander sought the aid of the colonel of the Gurkha
+Regiment, who offered to share the village in which his men were
+quartered with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">167</a></span> others. The offer was gratefully accepted. The
+Gurkhas made their guests welcome; but the latter soon began to jeer
+at and insult them, and call them coolies&mdash;the usual term of reproach
+which the Continental troops hurled at our sepoys. Now, the Gurkhas
+are not naturally either pacific or humble; and it was only with the
+greatest difficulty that the fiery little soldiers were restrained
+from drawing their deadly <em>kukris</em> and introducing the guests to that
+national and favourite weapon. On the conduct of his men being reported
+to the foreign commander, he sent a written, but not very full, apology
+to the Gurkha colonel.</p>
+
+<p>Towards evening the rain ceased, and the floods subsided as rapidly
+as they had arisen. So the following day saw us on our way back to
+Tientsin. At one of the stations an old friend of mine entered our
+carriage. He was an officer of the 4th Punjaub Infantry, Captain Gray,
+the son of a well&#8208;known and very popular Don of Trinity College,
+Dublin. He had just received a report from the native officer
+commanding a detachment in a village near the canal which runs beside
+the railway. This jemadar had been sitting in front of his quarters
+watching the boats pass, when something about one of them aroused his
+suspicion and caused him to order the boat to stop and come into the
+bank. Three Chinamen in it sprang out and rushed away into the high
+crops. The boat was laden with cases, which, on search, proved to
+contain eighty new<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">168</a></span> barrels of Mauser and Mannlicher magazine rifles.
+Besides these there were five boxes of cartridges and several casks of
+powder. This is but a small instance of the enormous extent to which
+the smuggling of arms goes on. The brigands were provided with weapons
+of the latest pattern and excellent make. The Germans are the chief
+offenders here as in Africa and elsewhere.</p>
+
+<p>Another officer of the 4th Punjaub joined our train later on. He was
+Lieutenant Stirling, who worthily gained the <span class="smcap">D.S.O.</span> for his
+brave exploit when Major Browning, of his regiment, fell in an attack
+with eighty men on walled villages held by thousands of brigands.
+Stirling refused to abandon the body, and carried it back, retiring
+slowly over seven miles of open country, attacked by swarms of mounted
+robbers, who feared to charge home upon the steady ranks of the gallant
+Punjaubis. He was wounded himself in the fight.</p>
+
+<p>In the evening we arrived at Tientsin.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">169</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="CHAPTER_VIII"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER VIII</span><br />
+
+OUR STRONGHOLD IN THE FAR EAST<br />
+
+<span class="smaller">HONG KONG AND THE KOWLOON HINTERLAND</span></h2></div>
+
+<h3><span class="smaller">HONG KONG</span></h3>
+
+<p class="drop-cap2">GEOGRAPHICALLY, of course, Hong Kong is very far from North China. But
+it was the base of our expeditionary force in the recent campaign. From
+it went the first troops that helped to save Tientsin; and one brigade
+of Indian regiments was diverted from General Gaselee&#8217;s command to
+strengthen its garrison. For in the event of disturbances in Canton, or
+a successful rebellion in the southern provinces, it would have been in
+great danger. As our base for all future operations in the Far East,
+it is of vast military as well as naval and commercial importance and
+well merits description. In complications or wars with other Powers,
+Hong Kong would be the first point in the East threatened or assailed.
+Lying as it does on what would be our trans&#8208;Pacific route to India,
+it is almost of as much importance to our Empire as Capetown or the
+Suez Canal. Its magnificent dockyards, which are capable of taking our
+largest battleships on the China station, are the only ones<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">170</a></span> we possess
+east of Bombay; and so it is of equal value to our fleet, besides being
+the naval base for coal, ammunition, and supplies, without which the
+finest ship that floats would be helpless.</p>
+
+<p>Looked at from other than a military point of view, Hong Kong is an
+object&#8208;lesson of our Empire that should fill the hearts of Imperialists
+with pardonable pride. A little more than half a century ago it was
+but a bleak and barren island, tenanted only by a few fisherfolk. It
+produced nothing, and animal life could scarce be supported on it. But
+now, touched by the magic wand of British trade, how wonderful is the
+transformation! A magnificent city, with stately buildings climbing in
+tier after tier from the sea. The most European town between Calcutta
+and San Francisco. The third, some say the second, largest shipping
+port in the world. The harbour to which turn the countless prows of
+British, American, German, French, Austrian, and Japanese vessels;
+where the vast current of the trade of the world with the Far East
+flows in, to issue forth again in an infinitude of smaller streams to
+every part of China and the Philippines.</p>
+
+<p>Yet, though the barren hillsides are covered with houses, though a
+large population of white men and yellow inhabit it, and its harbour is
+crowded with shipping, the island itself is still as unproductive as
+ever. Not merely is mineral wealth unknown and manufactures practically
+<em>nil</em>, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">171</a></span> Hong Kong cannot provide enough of foodstuffs to support
+its inhabitants for half a day. From Canton, almost a hundred miles
+away up the Pearl River, comes everything required to feed both
+Europeans and Chinese. Each morning the large, flat&#8208;bottomed steamers
+that ply between the two cities carry down meat or cattle, fish, rice,
+vegetables of all kinds, fruit, even flowers; and were communications
+interrupted by storm or war for a few days, Hong Kong would starve. For
+neither the island nor the couple of hundred square miles of adjacent
+mainland, the Kowloon Hinterland, which we took over in 1898, could
+produce enough to feed one regiment; and although two months&#8217; supply of
+provisions for the whole population, white and yellow, is supposed to
+be stored, it is never done. Therein lies Hong Kong&#8217;s great danger. Let
+Canton refuse or be prevented from feeding her, and she must starve.</p>
+
+<p>The secret of her rapid rise and present greatness lies in the fact
+that she is the great mart, the distributing centre, whence European or
+American goods, arriving in large bottoms, are sent out again in small
+coasting steamers or junks to reach the smallest markets for Western
+commerce. And her prosperity will continue and be vastly increased
+if the long&#8208;projected railway to Canton, to meet another tapping the
+great inland resources of China, is ever built; although the Americans
+fondly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">172</a></span> hope that Manilla under their energetic rule will one day rival
+and even excel her.</p>
+
+<p>Hong Kong is an island of irregular shape, about nine miles in length
+and six miles broad in its widest portion, and consists of one long
+chain of hills, that rise almost perpendicularly from the sea. Scarcely
+the smallest spot of naturally level ground is to be found. Around are
+countless other islands, large and small, all equally mountainous. It
+lies close to the Chinese mainland, the Kau&#8208;lung, or Kowloon Peninsula;
+and the portion of sea enclosed between them forms the harbour. At one
+extremity of the island this is a mile across; and at the other it
+narrows down to a strait known as the Lyeemoon Pass, only a quarter
+of a mile broad. In the centre the harbour is about two miles in
+width. The high hills of island and mainland&mdash;for the latter is but
+a series of broken, mountainous masses rising two or three thousand
+feet&mdash;shelter it from the awful typhoons that ravage the coast.</p>
+
+<p>Approaching Hong Kong by steamer there lies before us a confused jumble
+of hills, which gradually resolve themselves into islands fronting
+the mountainous background of the mainland. All, without exception,
+spring up from the water&#8217;s edge in steep slopes, with never a yard of
+level ground save where an occasional tiny bay shows a small stretch
+of sparkling sandy beach. Granite cliffs carved into a thousand quaint
+designs, or honeycombed with caverns by the white&#8208;fringed waves;
+steep<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">173</a></span> grassy slopes, with scarcely a bush upon them, rising up to a
+conical peak; here and there a fisher&#8217;s hut, the only sign of human
+habitation&mdash;such are they almost all. At last one larger than the
+others. On the long ridge of the lofty summits of its hills the slated
+roofs and high walls of European buildings outlined against the sky,
+and we know that we are nearing Hong Kong. Swinging round a bluff
+shoulder of this island, we enter the land&#8208;locked harbour. On the
+right the myriad houses climbing in terraces above each other from the
+water&#8217;s edge, long lines of stately buildings, the spires of churches
+come into view. It is the city of Victoria, or Hong Kong. The harbour,
+sheltered by the lofty hills of island and mainland, is crowded with
+shipping. The giant bulks of battleships and cruisers, the tall masts
+of sailing vessels, the gaily painted funnels of passenger and merchant
+steamers, the quaint sails and weird shapes of junks, the countless
+little <em>sampans</em> or native boats, a numerous flotilla of steam
+launches, rushing hither and thither. Ahead of us the hills of island
+and mainland approach each other until they almost touch, and tower up
+on either hand above the narrow channel of the Lyeemoon Pass. On the
+left a small, bush&#8208;clad, conical isle, with a lighthouse&mdash;Green Island;
+another, long and straggling&mdash;Stonecutters&#8217; Island, with the sharp
+outlines of forts and barracks and the ruins of an old convict prison.</p>
+
+<p>Behind them the mainland. A small extent of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">174</a></span> comparatively level land
+covered with houses, the curving line of a pretty bay, low, pine&#8208;clad
+hills. This is the very modern suburb of Kowloon, which has been
+created to take the overflow of European and Chinese population from
+Hong Kong. Here will be the terminus of the railway to Canton&mdash;when it
+is built. And behind, towering grim and dark to the sky, stands a long
+chain of barren mountains that guard the approach from the landward
+side. Behind them range upon range of other hills. Such is the Kowloon
+Peninsula.</p>
+
+<p>Hong Kong, with the blue water of its harbour, the dark hills towering
+precipitously above the town, the walls of whose houses are gaily
+painted in bright colours, is one of the loveliest places on earth.
+After long days on board ship, where the eye tires of the interminable
+monotony of sea and sky, it seems doubly beautiful. And one marvels
+to find this English lodgment on the coast of China a city of stately
+buildings, of lofty clubs and many&#8208;storied hotels, of magnificent
+offices and splendid shops, of well&#8208;built barracks and princely villas.</p>
+
+<p>The town of Victoria&mdash;for Hong Kong, though used for it, is really
+the name of the island&mdash;stretches for miles along the water&#8217;s edge,
+being for the most part built on reclaimed ground; for the hills
+thrust themselves forward to the sea. Up their steep sides the houses
+clamber in tier upon tier until they end under the frowning face of a
+rocky precipice that reaches up to the summit. And there along its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">175</a></span>
+ridge, which is called the Peak, 1,800 feet above the sea, are more
+houses. Large hotels, villas, and barracks&mdash;for it is fast becoming
+the residential quarter for Europeans&mdash;are perched upon its narrow
+breadth, seemingly absolutely inaccessible from below. But a thin,
+almost perpendicular, line against the face of the hill shows how they
+are reached by a cable tramway, which, in ten minutes, brings its
+passengers from the steamy atmosphere of Victoria to the cool breezes
+of the Peak&mdash;another climate altogether.</p>
+
+<p>The city practically consists of one long street, which runs from end
+to end of the island and is several miles in length. On the steep
+landward side smaller streets run off at right angles and climb the
+hills, many of them in flights of steps. On the slopes above the town
+are one or two long roads parallel to the main street and consisting
+altogether of residential buildings, churches, convents, and schools.</p>
+
+<p>But this main street&mdash;Queen&#8217;s Road as it is named&mdash;is wonderful. At
+the western extremity near Belcher&#8217;s Fort, the end of the island round
+which our steamer passed, it begins in two or three&#8208;storied Chinese
+houses, the shops on the ground floor being under colonnades. Then come
+store and warehouses, offices, and small Chinese shops where gaudy
+garments and quaint forms of food are sold, interspersed with saloons,
+bars, and drinking&#8208;shops of all kinds, which cater for merchant
+sailors,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">176</a></span> soldiers, and bluejackets of every nationality, the well&#8208;paid
+American tars being most in evidence among their customers. Beyond this
+the Queen&#8217;s Road is lined with splendid European&#8208;looking shops with
+extensive premises and large plate&#8208;glass fronts, finer than many in
+Bond Street or Regent Street, though not as expensive. Some of them,
+mostly kept by Chinamen, sell Chinese or Japanese curios, silver&#8208;work
+or embroideries, pottery or blackwood furniture. Others, generally,
+though not always, run by Europeans, are tailoring and millinery
+establishments, chemists, book or print shops. The side&#8208;walks run under
+colonnades which afford a grateful shade. Here are found a few of the
+smaller hotels; and the magnificent caravanserai of the high Hong Kong
+hotel stretches from the harbour to the street. Then come some fine
+banks, the building of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation
+being a splendid piece of architecture. Opposite it a sloping road,
+with lovely fern&#8208;clad banks and trees, leads upward to the cathedral
+and to Government House. Past the banks, a little back from the
+thoroughfare, is the fine City Hall, which contains a museum and a
+theatre, as well as large ball and concert rooms, in which most of the
+social gaieties of Hong Kong take place.</p>
+
+<p>Here occurs the one break in the long line of the Queen&#8217;s Road. On
+the seaward side, fenced in by railings, lies the cricket&#8208;ground with
+its pretty pavilion. Between it and the harbour stands the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">177</a></span> splendid
+structure of the Hong Kong Club, a magnificent four&#8208;storied building.
+Few clubs east of Pall Mall can rival its palatial accommodation.
+From the ground&#8208;floor, where billiard&#8208;rooms and a large bowling
+alley are found, a splendid staircase, dividing into two wings,
+leads to a magnificent central hall on the first floor. Off this is
+a large reading&#8208;room, where a great number of British, American, and
+Continental journals are kept. Electric fans, revolving from the
+ceiling, cool the room in the damp, hot days of the long and unpleasant
+summer. On the same floor are the secretary&#8217;s offices, a luxurious
+public dressing&#8208;room, and a large bar, which opens on to a wide
+verandah overlooking the harbour. From it one can gaze over the water,
+crowded with shipping, to the rugged hills of the mainland. In front
+lie the warships of many nations. Close inshore is a small fleet of
+<em>sampans</em> crowded together, their crews, male and female, chattering
+volubly or screaming recriminations from boat to boat. From a tiny
+pier near the Club the steam pinnace of an American man&#8208;o&#8217;&#8208;war shoots
+out into the stream, passing a couple of gigs from British warships
+conveying officers in mufti ashore.</p>
+
+<p>On the next floor are the dining&#8208;rooms and a splendid library. Above
+these again are the members&#8217; bedrooms, bath and dressing rooms.
+Altogether, internally and externally, the Club is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">178</a></span> worthy to rank with
+almost any similar institution in the Empire.</p>
+
+<p>On Queen&#8217;s Road, facing the cricket&#8208;ground, is a small, square open
+space below the cathedral, raised above the level of the street, as
+the ground slopes upward. It is known as the Garrison Brigade Parade
+Ground. During the recent campaign it was used as the store&#8208;ground
+of the Indian Commissariat, where huge mat&#8208;sheds covered enormous
+piles of supplies for the troops in China. Here the hard&#8208;worked base
+commissariat officer, Major Williams, watched the vast stores arriving
+daily from India, and despatched the supplies for the army in the North
+and the Indian brigades at Shanghai and Kowloon. Beside the parade
+ground a road climbs the hill and passes the station for the cable
+tramway, which is but a short distance up.</p>
+
+<p>Beyond this one gap in its continuous fencing of houses the Queen&#8217;s
+Road runs on past the Naval Dockyard&mdash;where Commodore Sir Francis
+Powell, <span class="smcap">K.C.M.G.</span>, had such heavy labour all through the
+troublous time in China&mdash;and the Provost Prison on the seaward side,
+and the barracks of the British troops and the arsenal on the other.
+Then the military hospital and the ordnance yards, crowded with guns,
+from the twelve&#8208;inch naval monsters to the stubby howitzers or long
+six&#8208;inch on field&#8208;carriages. Then more barracks. Then it runs on
+again into Chinese shops, their upper stories used as boarding&#8208;houses
+for Celestials; and, turning down<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">179</a></span> to the harbour and following the
+shore line, it is bordered with coal&#8208;yards, godowns, and warehouses.
+Near this end are the two open spaces of the island, where the hills,
+retreating from the sea, have left valleys which the sport&#8208;loving
+Britisher has seized upon for recreation grounds. The first and larger
+one, known as the Happy Valley, is a lovely spot. All around the
+tree&#8208;clad hills ring it in, rising precipitously from its level stretch
+on which is a racecourse, its centre portion being devoted to other
+games. A fine grand stand is flanked by a block of red&#8208;brick buildings,
+the lower stories of which are used during race meetings as stables for
+the horses and ponies running. The upper, with open fronts looking out
+on the course, are used as luncheon rooms, where the regimental messes,
+the members of the clubs, and large <em>hongs</em> (or merchant firms) and
+private residents entertain their friends during the meetings. Surely
+no other racecourse in the world is set in such lovely scenery as
+this in its arena, surrounded by the mountains that tower above it on
+every side. And that a <em>memento mori</em> may not be wanting in the midst
+of gaiety, just behind the grand stand lie the cemeteries&mdash;Christian,
+Mussulman, Hindu, and Parsee. Up the sides of the steep hills the white
+crosses and tombstones gleam amongst the dark foliage of the trees; and
+the spirits of the dead can look down from their graves upon the scene
+of former pleasures.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">180</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A little farther on is another and smaller valley used as a polo
+ground. Previous to the advent of the Indian troops in 1900 the game
+was played here almost exclusively on Chinese ponies. But the Arabs
+used by the officers of the 22nd Bombay Infantry, by that excellent
+sportsman, H. H. Major, the Maharajah of Bikanir, and other members of
+the China expeditionary force, so completely outclassed the diminutive
+Chinese ponies that a revolution was caused in the class of animals
+required for the game. Small Walers from Australia and Arabs from India
+have been freely introduced, much to the benefit of polo in Hong Kong.</p>
+
+<p>At the polo ground the city ends at present; though every day its
+limits are extending. From here the road runs along close to the sea,
+protected from the waves by a wall, and clinging to the flanks of
+the hills. It passes an occasional row of Chinese&#8208;occupied houses,
+a lone hotel or two, the site of the immense new docks in process
+of construction, large sugar works, with a colony of houses for its
+employees, and an overhead wire tramway leading to their sanatorium
+on the high peak above, until it reaches the Lyeemoon Pass. Here the
+hills narrow in and press down to the sea, thrusting themselves forward
+to meet the hills of the mainland on the other side. A strait, only
+a quarter of a mile broad, separates them; and here on either hand,
+high above the water, stand modern and well&#8208;armed forts, which, with a
+Brennan torpedo,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">181</a></span> effectually close the narrow entrance of the harbour
+to any hostile ships that venture to force a passage.</p>
+
+<p>Thus ends the northern and more important side of the island. On
+the southern and ocean&#8208;ward shore lie the ill&#8208;fated and practically
+deserted towns of Stanley and Aberdeen, where many years ago the
+British troops garrisoning them were so decimated by fever and disease
+that this side of the island was abandoned, and Victoria has become
+practically Hong Kong.</p>
+
+<p>The Peak is altogether another world from the city that lies in the
+steamy atmosphere below. Let us ascend in one of the trams that are
+dragged up to the summit by the wire cables. Seated in the car, we are
+drawn up rapidly at a weird and uncomfortable angle; for the slope of
+the line is, in places, 1 in 2. Up the steep sides of the hill we go,
+feeling a curious sensation as we are tilted back on the benches and
+see the trees and houses on each side all leaning over at an absurd
+angle. Even such a respectable structure as a church seems to be lying
+back towards the hillside in a tipsy and undignified manner. This
+curious optical effect is caused by the inclined position of the roof
+and floor, as well as of the passengers, with the horizontal. We pass
+over a bridge across a pretty road lined with stone villas, by large
+and well&#8208;built houses that grow fewer and fewer as we mount upward.
+Here and there we stop at a small platform representing a station,
+where passengers come<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">182</a></span> on or leave the tram. The down car passes us
+with a rush. The long ridge of the Peak, crowned with houses, comes
+into view. Turning round in our slanting seats we look down on the
+rapidly diminishing city and the harbour, now a thousand feet below
+us. At last we reach the summit and step out on a platform with
+waiting&#8208;rooms, the terminus of the line. Now we see how the wire cable
+runs on over pulleys into the engine&#8208;house and is wound round the huge
+iron drums.</p>
+
+<p>As we stand on the platform there towers above us, on the left, a large
+and many&#8208;windowed hotel, the Mount Austin. Along the fronts of its
+three stories run verandahs with arched colonnades. This is a favourite
+place of resort for visitors; and many residents, unwilling to face the
+troubles of house&#8208;keeping, take up their permanent abode here.</p>
+
+<p>Outside the station is a line of waiting coolies, ready to convey
+passengers in their open cane sedan chairs with removable hoods. A
+Sikh policeman standing close by keeps them in order and cuts short
+their frequent squabbles. The road and paths, which are cemented and
+provided with well&#8208;made drains running alongside to carry off the
+torrential rains of the summer and thus prevent the roadway from being
+washed away, are too steep in their ascents and descents to make the
+ricksha&mdash;Hong Kong&#8217;s favourite vehicle&mdash;useful up here.</p>
+
+<p>Standing on the narrow ridge of the Peak, we can look down upon the
+sea on either hand. A wonderful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">183</a></span> view unfolds itself to our gaze. On
+the northern side the city of Victoria lies almost straight below us,
+its streets and roofs forming a chessboard&#8208;pattern. We can easily
+trace the long, sinuous line of the Queen&#8217;s Road. From this height
+the largest battleships and mail steamers in the harbour look no
+bigger than walnuts. Beyond, the suburb of Kowloon lies in sharp lines
+and tiny squares; and behind it rise up the hills of the mainland,
+dwarfed in size. Now we can see plainly the interminable ranges of
+mountains&mdash;chain after chain&mdash;of the Kowloon Peninsula, with the lofty
+peaks of Tai&#8208;mo&#8208;shan and Tai&#8208;u&#8208;shan over 3,000 feet high. The coastline
+is straggling and indented with numerous bays, the shores rising up in
+steep, grassy slopes to the hills or presenting a line of rocky cliffs
+to the waves. Here and there pretty cultivated valleys run back from
+the sea to the never&#8208;far&#8208;distant mountains.</p>
+
+<p>Turning round, we look down the grass&#8208;clad slopes of the south side
+of the island to tiny, sandy bays and out over the broad expanse of
+the sea, in which lie many large and small islands. Over a hundred
+can be counted from the elevation of the Peak. Close by, to the west,
+is the largest of them all&mdash;the barren and treeless Lantau, which was
+once nearly chosen instead of Hong Kong as the site of the British
+settlement. Below us, on the southern shore of our island, lie the
+practically abandoned towns of Stanley and Aberdeen.</p>
+
+<p>Along the ridge the road passes by large and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">184</a></span> well&#8208;built villas,
+barracks, the Peak Club, a church, and many boarding&#8208;houses. The
+European inhabitants of Hong Kong are rapidly abandoning the lower
+levels and taking up their residence here, where the climate, with its
+cool and refreshing breezes, is delightful in the long summer when
+Victoria swelters in tropical heat. During the rainy season, however,
+the Peak is continually shrouded in damp mists; and fires are required
+to keep rooms and spare garments dry. The saying in Hong Kong is: &#8220;If
+you live on the Peak your clothes rot; if in Victoria <em>you</em> do. Choose
+which you value more and take up your habitation accordingly.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>The cable tramway is a comparatively recent institution; so that when
+the houses on the summit were being built all the materials had to be
+carried by coolies up a steep, zigzagging road from below. Even now
+most of the supplies for the dwellers on the heights are brought up
+in the same primitive and laborious fashion. In the morning the trams
+are crowded with European merchants, bankers, solicitors and their
+clerks, descending to their offices in the city. In the afternoon they
+are filled with the gay butterflies of society going up or down to
+pay calls, shop, or play tennis and croquet at the Ladies&#8217; Recreation
+Ground, half&#8208;way between the Peak and Victoria. The red coats of
+British soldiers are seen in the cars after parade hours or at night,
+when they are hurrying back to barracks before tattoo.</p>
+
+<p>The harbour of Hong Kong is remarkable for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">185</a></span> the large &#8220;floating
+population&#8221; of Chinese, who live in sampans and seldom go ashore
+except to purchase provisions. Their boats are small, generally not
+twenty feet in length, with a single mast, decked, and provided with
+a small well, covered with a hood, where passengers sit. Under the
+planking of the deck, in a tiny space without ventilation, with only
+room to lie prone, the crew&mdash;consisting, perhaps, of a dozen men,
+women, and children&mdash;sleep. Their cooking is done with a brazier or
+wood fire placed on a flat stone in the bows. The children tumble about
+the deck unconcernedly in the roughest weather. The smaller ones are
+occasionally tied to the mast to prevent them from falling overboard.
+The babies are bound in a bundle behind the shoulders of the mothers,
+who pull their oars or hoist and lower the sail with their burdens
+fastened on to them. Thus they live, thus they die; never sleeping on
+land until their corpses are brought ashore to be buried amid much
+exploding of crackers and burning of joss&#8208;sticks.</p>
+
+<p>These sampans are freely used to convey passengers to and from ships or
+across the harbour. Formerly cases of robbery and murder were frequent
+on board them; and even now drunken sailors occasionally disappear
+in mysterious fashion. The hood over the passengers&#8217; seats could be
+suddenly lowered on the occupants of the well; a few blows of a hatchet
+sufficed to end their efforts to free themselves; the bodies were then
+robbed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">186</a></span> and flung overboard, and their fate remained a secret to all
+but the murderers. But stringent police regulations now render these
+crimes almost impossible. At night all sampans must anchor at least
+thirty yards from the shore. If hailed by intending passengers they are
+allowed to come only to certain piers where European or Indian police
+officers take their numbers as well as the names and destinations of
+those about to embark on them. So that the Hong Kong sampan is now
+nearly as safe a conveyance as the London hansom.</p>
+
+<p>Communication between Victoria and Kowloon is maintained by a line of
+large, two&#8208;decked, double&#8208;ended steam ferries, that cross the mile of
+water between them in ten minutes. The suburb on the mainland is of
+very recent growth. Ten years ago the Observatory, a signal station,
+and a few villas were almost the only buildings; and the pinewoods
+ran uninterruptedly down to the sea. Now Kowloon possesses large
+warehouses, two hotels, two fine barracks, long streets lined with
+shops chiefly for Chinese customers, and terraces of houses occupied by
+Europeans. These are generally employees in the dockyards or clerks,
+or the families of engineers and mates of the small steamers that have
+their headquarters in Hong Kong. New streets are continually springing
+up, connecting it with Yaumati, a large Chinese suburb, or spreading
+down towards Old Kowloon City, three miles off. Near the ferry pier
+long wharves run out into the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">187</a></span> harbour, alongside which the largest
+vessels of the P. and O. or Norddeutscher&#8208;Lloyd can berth and discharge
+their cargo. Close by is a naval yard, with a small space of water
+enclosed by stone piers for torpedo craft. Beside it are huge stacks
+of coal for our warships. Just above rise the grass&#8208;covered ramparts
+of a fort. Near this are the fine stone and brick barracks built for
+the Hong Kong Regiment&mdash;a corps raised and recruited in Northern
+India about ten years ago for permanent service in this Colony. It
+was recently disbanded when Hong Kong was added to the list of places
+over&#8208;seas to be garrisoned by the Indian army. Its material was
+excellent; for the high rate of pay&mdash;eighteen rupees a month with free
+rations as compared with the nine rupees and no rations offered to the
+sepoy in India&mdash;gave its recruiting officers the pick of Mussulman
+Punjaub, for it was a completely Mohammedan regiment. But it suffered
+from the disadvantage of being permanently stationed in one cramped&#8208;up
+garrison with much guard duty, and of being officered by men coming at
+random from various Indian regiments rarely of the Punjaub, or, worse
+still, by others from British regiments, who knew absolutely nothing of
+the sepoy and were attracted chiefly by the higher pay.</p>
+
+<p>On the Kowloon side two companies have built large and ample docks,
+which can take the finest battleships we have in the China seas.
+H.M.S. <em>Goliath</em>, <em>Ocean</em>, <em>Albion</em>, <em>Glory</em>; U.S.S. <em>Brooklyn</em><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">188</a></span> and
+<em>Kentucky</em> have all been accommodated there. As they are the only docks
+in the Far East, with the exception of those at Nagasaki in Japan, they
+are used by all foreign as well as British warships and merchantmen;
+and the dividends they pay are very large. Small steamers and a yacht
+for the King of Siam have been constructed in them. In Yaumati and
+Kowloon many Chinese boat&#8208;building yards have sprung up, where numbers
+of large junks and sampans are turned out every year.</p>
+
+<p>Past the Kowloon Docks, above which tower a couple of forts, the
+open country is reached. The road runs down through patches of
+market&#8208;gardens to Old Kowloon City, a quaint walled Chinese town, with
+antique iron guns rusting on its bastions. This was the last spot of
+territory in the peninsula handed over to the British by the Chinese.
+&#8220;Handed over&#8221; is, perhaps, hardly an accurate description. Although
+ordered by their Government to surrender it, the officials refused to
+do so. A show of force was necessary; and a body of regular troops,
+accompanied by the Hong Kong Volunteers, marched upon the place. The
+Chinese, locking the gates and throwing away the keys, disappeared over
+the walls and bolted into the country. It was necessary to effect an
+entry by burglary. High hills tower above the city; and just beyond it
+they close in to the Lyeemoon Pass.</p>
+
+<p>To one unused to the East, Hong Kong is intensely interesting. The
+streets, lined with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">189</a></span> European&#8208;looking shops, are crowded with a strange
+medley of races&mdash;white, black, or yellow. Daintily garbed English
+ladies step from their rickshas and enter millinery establishments,
+the windows of which display the latest fashions of Paris and London.
+Straight&#8208;limbed British soldiers, clad in the familiar scarlet of the
+Line and blue of the Royal Artillery or in the now as well&#8208;known khaki,
+stroll along the pavement, bringing their hands to their helmets in a
+smart salute to a passing officer. Sturdy bluejackets of our Royal Navy
+walk arm&#8208;in&#8208;arm with sailors from the numerous American warships in the
+harbour. A group of spectacled Chinese students move by, chattering
+volubly. Long, lithe Bengal Lancers, in khaki blouses reaching to
+the knee, blue putties, and spurred ankle&#8208;boots, gaudy pugris and
+bright shoulder&#8208;chains, stop to chat with sepoys of a Bombay infantry
+regiment or tall Sikhs of the Asiatic Artillery. Neat, glazed&#8208;hatted
+Parsis, long&#8208;haired Coreans, trousered Chinese women, and wild, unkempt
+Punjaubi mule&#8208;drivers go by. German man&#8208;o&#8217;&#8208;war&#8217;s men, with flat caps
+and short jackets covered with gilt or silver buttons, turn to look
+back at a couple of small but sturdy Japanese bluejackets. Pig&#8208;tailed
+Chinese coolies push their way roughly along the side&#8208;walk, earning
+a well&#8208;deserved cut from the swagger&#8208;cane of a soldier against whose
+red coat they have rubbed their loads. Even the weird figure of a
+half&#8208;naked Hindu fakir, his emaciated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">190</a></span> body coated with white ashes,
+the trident of Vishnu marked in scarlet on his ghastly forehead,
+carrying his begging&#8208;bowl and long&#8208;handled tongs, is seen. Europeans,
+in white linen coats and trousers or smartly&#8208;cut flannel suits, rush
+across the road and plunge hurriedly into offices. These are probably
+brokers, busily engaged in floating some of the numerous companies
+that spring up daily in Hong Kong like mushrooms. Globe&#8208;trotters, in
+weird pith hats, pause before the windows of curio&#8208;shops which display
+the artistic efforts of Japan or Canton. The street is crowded with
+rickshas bearing ladies, soldiers, civilians, or fat Chinamen in bowler
+hats and long, blue silk coats. Carriages are seldom seen, for horses
+are of little use in the colony, owing to its hilly character. Queen&#8217;s
+Road is almost the only thoroughfare where they could be employed. Tall
+Sikh and Mussulman policemen in blue or red pugris direct the traffic
+or salute a white&#8208;helmeted European inspector as he passes.</p>
+
+<p>Society in Hong Kong is less official than in India, where almost every
+male is to be found in either the Army or the Civil Service List. The
+Governor and the General are, of course, the leaders, and in a small
+way represent Royalty in the colony. The merchant class is supreme,
+and their wives rule society; naval and military people being regarded
+as mere birds of passage in a city where Europeans practically settle
+for life and England seems a very far&#8208;off country indeed. Altogether<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">191</a></span>
+life in Hong Kong is of a more provincially English character than
+it is in India. The warm&#8208;hearted hospitality of the Anglo&#8208;Indian has
+but a faint echo in this very British colony. One is not brought into
+such daily contact with friends and acquaintances. In every station,
+large and small, throughout the length and breadth of Hindustan there
+is always a club which acts as the rallying&#8208;place of European society.
+Ladies as well as men assemble there in the afternoons when the sun
+is setting, and polo, tennis, and cricket are over for the day. The
+fair inhabitants of the station sit on the lawn, dispense tea to their
+friends, talk scandal or flirt; while their husbands play whist,
+bridge, and billiards, or gather in jovial groups round the bar and
+discuss the events of the day.</p>
+
+<p>But in Hong Kong, despite the large European population, there is no
+similar institution or gathering&#8208;place. The clubs are sternly reserved
+for men. Save at an occasional race meeting or gymkhana, one never
+sees all the white inhabitants assembled together. In the summer the
+climate is far too hot for indoor social functions. Even tennis parties
+are too exhausting. So hospitable hostesses substitute for their &#8220;At
+Homes&#8221; weekly mixed bathing parties; and in the comparative cool of the
+afternoons gay groups gather on the piers near the club and embark on
+the trim steam launches that lie in shoals alongside. Then out they go
+to some sandy bay along the coast, where mat&#8208;sheds have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">192</a></span> been erected
+to serve as bathing&#8208;boxes for the ladies, who go ashore and attire
+themselves for the water. The gentlemen of the party don their swimming
+costume in the cabin of the launch, and, plunging overboard, make their
+way to the beach to join their fair companions. When tired of bathing,
+the ladies retire to the mat&#8208;sheds, the men to the launch. Then,
+dressed again and reunited, all steam back to Hong Kong, refreshing
+themselves with tea and drinks on the way. This is the favourite form
+of amusement in Hong Kong society during the summer.</p>
+
+<p>In the cold weather dances at Government House, Headquarter House (the
+General&#8217;s residence), and in the City Hall are frequent; and theatrical
+companies from England and Australia occupy the theatre. Picnics,
+walking or by launch, to the many charming spots to be found on the
+island or the mainland are given. Polo, racing, cricket, tennis, and
+golf are in full swing; and, as the climate during winter is cold and
+bracing, life is very pleasant in the colony then.</p>
+
+<p>To the newly arrived naval or military officer society in Hong Kong is
+full of pitfalls and surprises. The English merchant or lawyer over
+seas is usually a very good fellow, though occasionally puffed up by
+the thought of his bloated money&#8208;bags; but his wife is often a sad
+example of British snobbery, the spirit of which has entered into her
+soul in the small country town or London suburb<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">193</a></span> from which she came.
+Society in the boarding&#8208;houses of West Kensington is a bad preparation
+for the r&ocirc;le of <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">grande dame</span></em> in the hospitable East. And so the naval
+or military officer, accustomed to broader lines of social demarcation
+in England, is puzzled and amused at the minute shades of difference in
+Hong Kong society. He fails to see why Mrs. A., whose spouse exports
+tea, is to be considered quite of the <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">haut ton</span></em> of the colony; while
+Mrs. B., whose husband imports cigars, and who is by birth and breeding
+a better man than A., is not to be called on.</p>
+
+<div class="poetry-container">
+<div class="poetry">
+<div class="stanza">
+<div class="line">&#8220;Big fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite &#8217;em,</div>
+<div class="line">&nbsp;&nbsp;And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so, <em>ad infinitum</em>.&#8221;</div>
+</div></div></div>
+
+<p class="noindent">And Hong Kong looks down on Kowloon with all the well&#8208;bred contempt of
+Belgravia for Brixton. And even in the despised suburb on the mainland
+these social differences are not wanting. The wives of the superior
+dock employees are the leaders of Kowloon society; and the better half
+of a ship captain or marine engineer is only admitted on sufferance
+to their exclusive circle. When the first Indian troops to strengthen
+the garrison of Hong Kong in 1900 arrived, they were quartered in
+Kowloon; where the presence of a number of strange young officers, who
+dashed about their quiet suburb on fiery Arabs and completely eclipsed
+the local dandies, caused a flutter in the hearts of anxious mothers
+and indignant husbands. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">194</a></span> fires of civilian prejudice against
+the military burned fiercely; and I verily believe that many of the
+inhabitants of Kowloon would have preferred an invasion of ferocious
+Chinese.</p>
+
+<h3><span class="smaller">THE KOWLOON HINTERLAND.</span></h3>
+
+<p>The island of Hong Kong was ceded to England in 1841. Later on a strip
+of the adjacent mainland, from two to three miles deep, running back to
+a line of steep hills from 1,300 to 2,000 feet high, was added. Then
+for many years the colony rested content under the frowning shadow of
+these dangerous neighbours; until it dawned at last upon our statesmen
+that the Power who possessed this range of hills had Hong Kong at its
+mercy. For heavy guns planted on their summits could lay the city of
+Victoria in ruins at the easy range of two or three miles; and no
+answering fire from the island forts so far below them could save it.
+So in 1898, by a master&#8208;stroke of diplomacy, China was induced to lease
+to England the Kowloon Peninsula, about 200 miles square; and our
+frontier was removed farther back to the safer distance of about twenty
+miles from Hong Kong.</p>
+
+<p>The peninsula is an irregularly shaped tongue of land with rugged and
+indented coast&#8208;line jutting out from the province of Kwang&#8208;tung. It is
+of little value except to safeguard the possession of Hong Kong. It
+consists of range after range<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">195</a></span> of rugged, barren hills, grass&#8208;clad,
+with here and there tangled vegetation but with scarcely a tree upon
+them, separated by narrow valleys thinly occupied by Chinese. It could
+only support a small population; for arable land is scarce, and the
+few inhabitants are forced to add to their scanty crops by terracing
+small fields on the steep sides of the hills. Villages are few and
+far between. Those that exist are well and substantially built; for,
+as in Hong Kong, granite is everywhere present on the mainland, the
+soil being composed of disintegrated granite. Cattle&#8208;breeding and even
+sheep&#8208;raising seem difficult; for the rank grass of the hills will
+scarcely support animal life. Experiments made on the islands near Hong
+Kong, which are of similar nature to the mainland, seem to bear this
+out.</p>
+
+<p>Winding inlets and long, narrow bays run far into the land on both
+sides and considerably diminish the space at the disposal of the
+cultivator. Occasionally narrow creeks are dammed by the villagers, and
+the ground is roughly reclaimed. The supply of fresh water is limited
+to the rainfall and the small streams that run down the hillsides. The
+presence of mineral wealth is unsuspected and unlikely. Altogether the
+Hinterland is poor and unproductive. Efforts are being made to develop
+its scanty resources; and if cattle, wheat, and vegetables could be
+raised, a ready market would be found for them in Hong Kong.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">196</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The present frontier line is exceedingly short&mdash;about ten miles if I
+remember aright&mdash;as at the boundary the sea runs far into the land on
+each side of the peninsula in two bays&mdash;Deep Bay on the west, Mirs Bay
+on the east. The latter is being used as the winter training&#8208;ground
+of the ships of our China squadron. The former is very shallow, being
+almost dry at low tide, and earns its name from the depth of its
+penetration into the land.</p>
+
+<p>One strongly defined portion of the boundary is the shallow, tidal
+Samchun River which runs into Deep Bay. Across it the Chinese territory
+begins in a fertile and cultivated valley surrounding an important and
+comparatively wealthy market&#8208;town, Samchun. Beyond that again rises
+another line of rugged hills. I have never penetrated into the interior
+here farther than Samchun, so cannot speak with accuracy of what the
+country is like at the other side of these hills; but I have been
+told that it is flat and fertile nearly all the way on to Canton. The
+English firm in Hong Kong who projected the railway to Canton employed
+a Royal Engineer officer to survey the route for the proposed line.
+He told me, as well as I can remember, that he had estimated the cost
+from Kowloon to about ten miles north of Samchun at about &pound;27,000 a
+mile, and from there on to Canton at &pound;7,000 a mile. That seems to show
+that the country beyond these hills is flat and easy. The cutting,
+tunneling, and embanking required for the passage of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">197</a></span> a railway line
+through the continuous hills of the Kowloon Hinterland would be a very
+laborious undertaking. There is no long level stretch from Hong Kong
+harbour to the frontier; and the hills are mainly granite.</p>
+
+<p>Since the Hinterland has come into their possession the colonial
+authorities have made an excellent road from Kowloon into their new
+territory. It is carried up the steep hills and down again to the
+valleys in easy gradients. It is of more importance for military than
+for commercial purposes; as the peninsula produces so little and
+wheeled transport is unknown.</p>
+
+<p>The cession of the Hinterland in 1898 was very strongly resented by
+its few inhabitants. Owing to their poverty and inaccessibility, they
+were probably seldom plagued with visits from Chinese officials;
+and they objected to their sudden transfer to the care of the more
+energetic &#8220;foreign devils.&#8221; So when the Governor of Hong Kong arranged
+a dramatic scene to take place at the hoisting of the British flag on
+the frontier, and invitations were freely issued to the officials and
+their wives and the society in general of the island to be present
+on this historic occasion, the evil&#8208;minded inhabitants prepared a
+surprise for them. The police and the guard of honour went out on the
+previous day to encamp on the ground on which the ceremony was to take
+place. To their consternation they found that the new subjects of the
+British Empire had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">198</a></span> dug a trench on the side of a hill close by, not
+800 yards from the spot on which the flagstaff was to be erected,
+and had occupied it in force, armed with jingals, matchlocks, Brown
+Besses, and old rifles&mdash;antique weapons certainly, but good enough to
+kill all the ladies and officials to be present next day. Information
+was immediately sent back to Hong Kong; and quite a little campaign
+was inaugurated. Companies of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, the Hong Kong
+Regiment, and the Hong Kong and Singapore Battalion Royal Artillery,
+with detachments of bluejackets, chased their new fellow&#8208;subjects over
+the hills, exchanged shots with them, and captured enough ancient
+weapons to stock an armoury. Lieutenant Barrett, Hong Kong Regiment,
+while bathing in a pond in a Chinese village, discovered a number of
+old smooth&#8208;bore cannons, which had been hurriedly thrown in there.
+Little resistance was made; but the picnic arrangements for the
+dramatic hoisting of the flag did not come off.</p>
+
+<p>The inhabitants of the peninsula were speedily reconciled to British
+rule and have since given no further trouble. A few European and Indian
+police constables, armed with carbines and revolvers, are stationed
+in it and patrol the country in pairs, frequently armed with no more
+lethal weapon than an umbrella.</p>
+
+<p>The possession of the Hinterland has strengthened enormously the
+defence of Hong Kong from the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">199</a></span> landward side. Three passes, about 1,500
+feet high, cross the last range of hills above Kowloon; and these can
+be easily guarded. The situation of a hostile army which had landed
+on the coast some distance away and endeavoured to march through the
+difficult and mountainous country of the mainland, would be hopeless
+in the presence of a strong defending force. Entangled in the narrow
+valleys, forced to cross a series of roadless passes over which even
+field&#8208;guns must be carried bodily, fired at incessantly from the
+never&#8208;ending hilltops, it would be unable to proceed far. A couple of
+regiments of Gurkhas or Pathans would be invaluable in such a country.
+Moving rapidly from hill to hill they could decimate the invaders
+almost with impunity to themselves.</p>
+
+<p>The garrison of Hong Kong previous to 1900 consisted of a few batteries
+R.A. to man the forts, some companies of the Asiatic Artillery or Hong
+Kong and Singapore Battalion Royal Artillery (a corps of Sikhs and
+Punjaubis raised in India for the defence of these two coast ports),
+one British infantry regiment, the Hong Kong Regiment (ten companies
+strong), and the Hong Kong Volunteers, Europeans, and Portuguese
+half&#8208;castes. The Asiatic Artillery were armed with muzzle&#8208;loading
+mountain guns. Such a force was absurdly small for such a large and
+important place. General Sir William Gascoigne, <span class="smcap">K.C.M.G.</span>,
+was forced to still further denude it of troops in order to send
+men hurriedly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">200</a></span> to North China to defend Tientsin. He was left with
+his garrison companies of Royal Artillery, half of the Royal Welch
+Fusiliers and Asiatic Artillery, and four&#8208;fifths of the Hong Kong
+Regiment. The situation would have been one of extreme danger had a
+rising occurred in Canton and the southern provinces; and two regiments
+of General Gaselee&#8217;s original force were stopped on their way to
+the North. The 3rd Madras Light Infantry, under Lieutenant&#8208;Colonel
+Teversham, was composed of men of that now unwarlike presidency. But
+the 22nd Bombay Infantry, under the command of Lieutenant&#8208;Colonel R.
+Baillie, was formed from the fighting races of Rajputana and Central
+India and won many encomiums for their smartness in man&oelig;uvres over
+the steep hills and their satisfactory work altogether.</p>
+
+<p>A story is told of a War Office official who, ignorant of the
+mountainous character of Hong Kong, wished to add a regiment of British
+cavalry to its garrison. The general in command at the time, being
+possessed of a keen sense of humour, gravely requested that the men
+should be mounted on goats, pointing out that no other animal would
+prove useful on the Hong Kong hills. But even in the mountainous
+country of the mainland mounted infantry would be of great use to
+enable commanding points to be speedily gained. When stationed in
+Kowloon I organised mounted infantry on mules captured in North
+China&mdash;splendid animals most of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">201</a></span> them, one standing fifteen hands high.
+Even in that broken and rugged country I found that the men could move
+swiftly around the bases of the hills, across the narrow valleys, and
+up the easier slopes at a speed that defied all pursuit from their
+comrades on foot. In an advance overland to Canton, mounted infantry
+would be invaluable when the flat and cultivated country past Samchun
+was reached; for cavalry would be useless in such closely intersected
+ground.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">202</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="CHAPTER_IX"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER IX</span><br />
+
+ON COLUMN IN SOUTHERN CHINA</h2></div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap2">A SHALLOW, muddy river running between steep banks. On the grassy
+slopes of a conical hill the white tents of a camp. Before the
+quarter&#8208;guard stands a Bombay Infantry sentry in khaki uniform and
+pugri, the butt of his Lee&#8208;Metford rifle resting on the ground, his
+eyes turned across the river to where the paddy&#8208;fields of Southern
+China stretch away to a blue range of distant hills. Figures in
+khaki or white undress move about the encampment or gather round
+the mud cooking&#8208;places, where their frugal meal of <em>chupatties</em> and
+curry is being prepared. A smart, well&#8208;set&#8208;up British officer passes
+down through the lines of tents and lounging sepoys spring swiftly
+to attention as he goes by. On the hilltop above a signaller waves
+his flag rapidly; and down below in the camp a Madrassi havildar
+spells out his message to a man beside him, who writes it down in a
+note&#8208;book. Coolies loaded with supplies trudge wearily up the steep
+path. Before the tents four wicked&#8208;looking little mountain guns turn
+their ugly muzzles longingly towards a walled town two thousand
+yards<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">203</a></span> away across the stream, where spots of red and blue resolve
+themselves through a field&#8208;glass into Chinese soldiers. All around
+on this side of the river the country lies in never&#8208;ending hills and
+narrow valleys, with banked paddy&#8208;fields in chess&#8208;board pattern. And
+on these hills small horseshoe&#8208;shaped masonry tombs or glazed, brown
+earthen&#8208;ware pots containing the bones of deceased Chinamen fleck the
+grassy slopes. Across the stream the cultivation is interspersed with
+low, tree&#8208;crowned eminences or dotted with villages. There on the
+boundary line, between China and the English territory of the Kowloon
+Hinterland, a small column guards our possessions against rebel and
+Imperial soldier, both possible enemies and restrained from violating
+British soil by the bayonets of the sepoys from our distant Eastern
+Empire. Twenty miles away Hong Kong lies ringed in by sapphire sea.
+From the land it has no danger to dread while a man of this small but
+resolute force guarding its frontier remains alive.</p>
+
+<p>The outburst of fanaticism in North China, the attacks on the foreign
+settlements in Tientsin and Pekin, the treachery of the Court, had
+their echo in the far&#8208;off southern provinces. Canton, turbulent and
+hostile, has ever been a plague&#8208;spot. Before now English and French
+troops have had to chasten its pride and teach its people that the
+outer barbarian claims a right to exist even on the sacred soil of
+China. In the troublous summer of 1900<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">204</a></span> 10,000 Black Flags, the unruly
+banditti who long waged a harassing war against the French in Tonkin,
+were encamped near this populous city. Fears were rife in Hong Kong
+that, fired by exaggerated accounts of successes against the hated
+foreigners in the North and swelled by the fanatical population of the
+provinces of the two Kwangs, they might swarm down to the coast and
+attack our possessions on the mainland, or even endeavour to assail
+the island itself. Li Hung Chang, the Viceroy of Canton, had sounded a
+note of warning. Purporting to seek the better arming of his soldiery
+to enable him to cope with popular discontent, he induced the colonial
+authorities to allow him to import 40,000 new magazine rifles through
+Hong Kong; but there was no security that these weapons might not
+be turned against ourselves. As it was well known that the Imperial
+troops in the North had made common cause with the Boxers, the wisdom
+of permitting this free passage of modern arms may be questioned.
+Rumours of a rising among the Chinese in Victoria itself, of threatened
+invasion from the mainland, were rife; and the inhabitants of our
+colony in the Far East were badly scared. The first Indian brigade
+under General Gaselee passed up to the more certain danger in the
+North; but representations made to the home authorities caused the
+stopping of his two line&#8208;of&#8208;communication regiments, the 3rd Madras
+Light Infantry and 22nd Bombay Infantry, to strengthen<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">205</a></span> the denuded
+garrison of Hong Kong. This and the subsequent detention of his 2nd
+Brigade to safeguard Shanghai left his command in the Allied Armies on
+the march to Pekin numerically weak and forced him into a subordinate
+position in the councils of the Generals. Hong Kong was by no means
+in such imminent peril; and the troops thus diverted would have made
+his force second only to the Japanese in strength, and enabled him to
+assert his authority more emphatically among the Allies.</p>
+
+<p>Pekin fell on August 14th, 1900. But long after that date this was
+not credited in Canton; and the wildest rumours were rife as to the
+splendid successes of the Chinese, who were represented as everywhere
+victorious. This large southern city is situated well under a hundred
+miles from Hong Kong, either by river or by land. It has constant
+intercourse with our colony; and large, flat&#8208;bottomed steamers with
+passengers and cargo pass between the two places every day. Yet it
+was confidently stated in the vernacular newspapers, and everywhere
+believed, that two regiments from India arriving in Hong Kong Harbour
+had heard such appalling tales of the prowess of the Chinese braves
+that the terrified soldiers had jumped overboard from the transports
+and drowned themselves to a man. They had preferred an easy death to
+the awful tortures that they knew awaited them at the hands of the
+invincible Chinese. Long after the Court had fled in haste from Pekin
+and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">206</a></span> capital had been in the hands of the Allies for months, their
+columns pushing out everywhere into the interior, it was asserted that
+all this apparent success was but a deep&#8208;laid plan of the glorious
+Empress&#8208;Dowager. She had thus enticed them into the heart of the land
+in order to cut them off from the sea. She now held them in the hollow
+of her hand. The luckless foreigners had abjectly appealed for mercy.
+Her tender heart had relented, and she had graciously promised to
+spare them in return for the restoration of all the territory hitherto
+wrested from China. Tientsin, Port Arthur, Kiao&#8208;Chau, Shanghai, Tonkin,
+even Hong Kong, were being hastily surrendered. And such preposterous
+tales were readily believed.</p>
+
+<p>But another confusing element was introduced into the already
+sufficiently complicated situation. Canton and the South contains,
+besides the anti&#8208;foreign party, a number of reformers who realise that
+China must stand in line with modern civilisation. Only thus will
+she become strong enough to resist the perpetual foreign aggression
+which deprives her of her best ports and slices off her most valuable
+seaboard territory. The energetic inhabitants of Canton freely emigrate
+to Hong Kong, Singapore, Penang, Australia, and America. There they
+learn to take a wider view of things than is possible in their own
+conservative country. When they return they spread their ideas, and
+are the nucleus of the already fairly numerous party of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">207</a></span> reform, who
+justly blame the misfortunes of China on the effete and narrow&#8208;minded
+Government in Pekin and work to secure the downfall of the present
+Manchu dynasty. In the southern provinces they have their following;
+and rumours of a great uprising there against the corrupt officialdom,
+and even the throne itself, were rife in the autumn of 1900. The
+much&#8208;talked&#8208;of but little&#8208;known Triad Society&mdash;who claimed to advocate
+reform, but who were regarded with suspicion, their tenets forbidden,
+and their followers imprisoned in Hong Kong&mdash;started a rebellion in
+the Kwang&#8208;tung province. They were supposed to be led, or at least
+abetted, by Sun Yat Sen, an enlightened reformer. As the revolt began
+close to the Kowloon frontier, fears were expressed lest, despite their
+advertised views, the rebels should prove unfriendly to foreigners and
+invade our territory. Little was known of the progress of the movement.
+The Chinese Imperial Government, through the Viceroy of Canton, sent
+Admiral Ho with 4,000 troops to Samchun to suppress the rising. The
+rebels, hearing of his coming, moved farther inland. The soldiers,
+having no great stomach for bloodshed, generously forebore to follow,
+and settled themselves comfortably in and around the town. Lest either
+party should be tempted to infringe the neutrality of our territory,
+the Hong Kong newspapers urged the Governor to take immediate measures
+to safeguard our frontier. After some delay a small, compact column<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">208</a></span>
+was despatched to the boundary under the command of Major E. A.
+Kettlewell, an officer of marked ability and energy, who had seen much
+service in Burma and in the Tirah, and who had had long and intimate
+connection with the Imperial Service troops in India. The composition
+of the force, known as the Frontier Field Force, was as under:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="p1 center noindent"><span class="small"><em>Commanding Officer.</em><br />
+Major E. A. Kettlewell, 22nd Bombay Infantry.</span></p>
+
+<p class="p1 center noindent"><span class="small"><em>Staff Officer.</em><br />
+Lieutenant Casserly, 22nd Bombay Infantry.</span></p>
+
+<p class="p1 center noindent"><span class="small"><em>Troops.</em></span></p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent2"><span class="small">Three Companies, 22nd Bombay Infantry, under Captain Hatherell and
+Lieutenants Melville and Burke.</span></p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent2"><span class="small">Four mountain guns and 50 men, Hong Kong and Singapore Battalion Royal
+Artillery, under Lieutenants Saunders and Ogilvie.</span></p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent2"><span class="small">Detachment Royal Engineers (British and Chinese sappers), under
+Lieutenant Rundle, <span class="smcap">R.E.</span></span></p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent2"><span class="small">Maxim Gun Detachment, 22nd Bombay Infantry, under Jemadar Lalla Rawat.</span></p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent2"><span class="small">Signallers, 3rd Madras Light Infantry, under Captain Sharpe.</span></p>
+
+<p class="hangingindent2"><span class="small">Section of Indian Field Hospital, under Captain Woolley,
+<span class="smcap">I.M.S.</span></span></p>
+
+<p>With the mobility of Indian troops the column embarked within a few
+hours after the receipt of orders on a flotilla of steam launches,
+which were to convey us along the coast to Deep Bay, and thence up the
+Samchun River to the threatened point on the frontier. Stores, tents,
+and a few<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">209</a></span> mules to carry the Maxim and ammunition, as well as to
+supplement coolie transport, were towed in junks.</p>
+
+<p>Our tiny vessels loaded down with their living freight, the sepoys
+excited at the prospect of a fight, we steam away from Kowloon and
+out through the crowded harbour. We pass a number of torpedo&#8208;boat
+destroyers and a small fleet of obsolete gunboats rusting in
+inglorious ease. To our right, with its huge cylindrical oil&#8208;tanks
+standing up like giant drums and its docks containing an American
+man&#8208;o&#8217;&#8208;war, lies the crowded Chinese quarter of Yaumati. Above it
+towers the long chain of hills, their dark sides marked with the white
+streak of the new road that crosses their summit into the Hinterland.
+On the left is Hong Kong, the Peak with the windows of its houses
+flashing in the sun, the city at its feet in shadow. We pass the long,
+straggling Stonecutter&#8217;s Island, with the solid granite walls of its
+abandoned prison, the tree&#8208;clad hills and the sharp outlines of forts.
+In among an archipelago of islands, large and small, we steam; and
+ahead of us lies the narrow channel of the Cap&#8208;sui&#8208;moon Pass between
+Lantau and the lesser islet of Mah Wan. On the latter are the buildings
+of the Customs station&mdash;the Imperial Maritime Customs of China. High
+hills on islands and mainland tower above us on every side. The lofty
+peak of Tai&#8208;mo&#8208;shan stands up in the brilliant sunlight. The coast is
+grim with rugged cliffs or gay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">210</a></span> with the grassy slopes of hills running
+down to the white fringe of beach. Bluff headlands, black, glistening
+rocks on which the foam&#8208;flecked waves break incessantly, dark caverns,
+and tiny bays line the shore. A lumbering junk, with high, square stern
+and rounded bows&mdash;on which are painted large eyes, that the ship may
+see her way&mdash;bears down upon us with huge mat sails and its lolling
+crew gazing over the side in wonderment at the fierce, dark soldiers. A
+small sampan dances over the waves, two muscular women pushing at the
+long oars and the inevitable children seated on its narrow deck.</p>
+
+<p>Along the coast we steam, gazing at its interminable masses of green
+hills, until it suddenly recedes into a wide bay surrounded on every
+side by high land. This is Deep Bay, an expanse twenty&#8208;five miles in
+extent which, though now covered by the sea, becomes at low tide one
+vast mud flat, with a small stream winding through the noisome ooze.
+Towards the land on the right we head. Far out from shore lies a trim,
+white gunboat. From the stern floats the yellow Imperial standard of
+China with its sprawling dragon; for the vessel belongs to the Maritime
+Customs Service. On the decks brass machine&#8208;guns glitter. A European in
+white clothing watches us through binoculars from the poop. The Chinese
+crew in blue uniforms, with pigtails coiled up under their straw hats,
+are spreading an awning.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">211</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At length we reach the mouth of the Samchun River, a small tidal
+stream, which, when the sea is low, is scarcely eighteen inches deep.
+Up between its winding banks we steam. High hills rise up on each side.
+We pray that neither rebel nor hostile Imperial soldier is waiting here
+to stop our coming; for a machine&#8208;gun or a few rifles would play havoc
+with our men crowded together on the little launches. Up the river
+we go in single file, playing &#8220;follow my leader&#8221; as the first launch
+swings sharply round the frequent curves. By virtue of my position
+&#8220;on the Staff,&#8221; I am aboard it and am consequently resentful when a
+bump and a prolonged scraping under the keel tell us that we have gone
+aground. The next launch avoids the shoal and passes us, its occupants
+flinging sarcastic remarks and unkind jibes at us as they go by. But
+&#8220;pride cometh before a fall,&#8221; and a little farther on their Chinese
+steersman runs them high and dry. Then the others leave us behind until
+by dint of poling we float again and follow in their wake. Round a bend
+in the river we swing; and ahead of us we see a number of weird&#8208;looking
+Chinese war&#8208;junks. From their masts stream huge pennants and gaudy
+flags of many colours; on their decks stand old muzzle&#8208;loading,
+smooth&#8208;bore cannon. Their high, square sterns tower above the banks.
+The motley&#8208;garbed crews are squatting about, engaged with chop&#8208;sticks
+and bowls of rice. The sudden appearance of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">212</a></span> our flotilla crowded with
+armed men startles them. They drop their food and spring up to stare
+at us, uncertain whether to bolt ashore or continue their interrupted
+meal. Seeing no signs of hostility on our part, they grin placatingly
+and shout remarks to us, the tenor of which it is perhaps as well
+that we do not understand. These are Government war&#8208;junks and, like
+the Customs steamer outside, are stationed here to prevent assistance
+reaching the rebels from the sea; but anyone who had successfully
+forced their way past the gunboat would have little to fear from these
+ill&#8208;armed Noah&#8217;s Arks. Close by stand a few substantial buildings&mdash;a
+Customs station. From the verandah of a bungalow two white men in
+charge of it watch us as we go by.</p>
+
+<p>As evening was closing in we reached the spot selected for our first
+camping&#8208;ground and disembarked. On our side of the river a few
+hundred yards of level ground ran back to the steep, bare slopes of a
+straggling hill which rose to a conical peak five hundred feet above
+our heads. All around lay similar eminences, their grassy sides devoid
+of trees. Behind us the Hinterland stretched away to the south in range
+after range of barren mountains divided by narrow, cultivated valleys.
+Beyond the river lay a plain patched with paddy&#8208;fields or broken by
+an occasional low hill. In it, little more than a mile away, stood
+the walled town of Samchun. The British and Indian police in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">213</a></span> the new
+territory had been instructed to give us intelligence of any hostile
+movements in the neighbourhood; and from them we learned that no
+immediate danger was to be apprehended. Nevertheless all precautionary
+measures to guard against a possible surprise were taken; for Admiral
+Ho&#8217;s troops still lingered in Samchun, and considerable doubt existed
+as to their attitude towards the British. Piquets having been posted
+and a strong guard placed over the ammunition and supplies, the men
+cooked their evening meal and bivouacked for the night. But sleep was
+almost impossible. The heat was intense. We had evidently intruded upon
+a favourite haunt of the mosquitoes who attacked us with malignant
+persistence until dawn.</p>
+
+<p>The following day was employed in strengthening our position,
+reconnoitring our surroundings and laying out our camp. Our arrival
+had evidently taken the Chinese army across the river completely
+by surprise. From the hill, on which our tents stood, Samchun was
+plainly visible about 2,000 yards away; and our field&#8208;glasses showed
+a great commotion in the town. Soldiers poured out of the gates or
+crowded on to the walls and gazed in consternation&mdash;apparent even at
+that distance&mdash;at the British force that had so suddenly put in an
+appearance on the scene. They were evidently extremely dubious as
+to our intentions; and we watched the troops falling in hurriedly
+and being marshalled under an imposing array of banners. When the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">214</a></span>
+Hinterland had been ceded to us, Samchun had at first been included,
+and was for a short time occupied by us; but the boundary was
+afterwards fixed at the river as being a natural frontier, and the town
+was restored to the Chinese. They apparently feared that we had changed
+our minds and contemplated appropriating it again. As our column made
+no move&mdash;for our orders had been not to enter Chinese territory or
+take any hostile action unless attacked&mdash;they soon disappeared into
+the town again. Later on, on a hill that rose close to the river on
+their side of the boundary&#8208;line, a regiment appeared and observed us
+narrowly all day, endeavouring to keep out of sight themselves as much
+as possible. It was very tantalising to see the materials for a pretty
+little fight ready to hand being wasted, and we longed for the smallest
+hostile act on their part to give us an excuse for one. But none came;
+and we sighed discontentedly at the loss of such a golden opportunity.
+Although the Chinese force numbered 4,000, armed with guns, Mausers and
+Winchesters, and our column counted barely 400 all told, we felt little
+doubt as to the result of a fight between us.</p>
+
+<p>By the following morning Admiral Ho and his mandarins had evidently
+come to the conclusion that we were more dangerous neighbours than
+the rebels; so he proceeded to move off from our vicinity. All that
+day and the next we watched bodies of troops, clad in long red or
+blue coats, with enormous straw hats slung like shields on their
+backs or covering<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">215</a></span> their heads like giant mushrooms, marching out of
+the town and stringing out into single file along the narrow paths
+between the paddy&#8208;fields as they moved off into the mountains beyond
+Samchun. Above their heads waved innumerable banners&mdash;green, red, blue,
+parti&#8208;coloured, or striped in many lines horizontally or vertically. By
+the following evening all had disappeared, with the exception of about
+400, as we afterwards ascertained, left behind to garrison the town.
+This forlorn hope, I doubt not, were none too well pleased at remaining
+in such unpleasant proximity to us.</p>
+
+<p>Our arrival at the frontier was undoubtedly responsible for the
+retirement of Admiral Ho&#8217;s army. For he had been for some time
+comfortably settled in Samchun without evincing the least anxiety
+to follow up the rebels, who were reported to be laying waste the
+country farther on, pillaging the villages, torturing the officials,
+and levying taxes on the inhabitants. His departure removed a constant
+source of danger; for his undisciplined troops might have been tempted
+to cross the boundary into our territory and harass the villagers under
+our protection.</p>
+
+<p>We now employed ourselves in patrolling the frontier, exercising
+the troops and making sketches to supplement the very inadequate
+information as to the surrounding country in our possession. Although
+the Hinterland had been ceded to the British two years before, and
+although it lies in such close<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">216</a></span> proximity to Hong Kong, no accurate
+survey of it had ever been made. The only map which could be found
+to provide the expedition with was one done by a Jesuit missionary
+in 1840. It was fairly correct as regards outlines, but contained
+absolutely no details except a number of names, which might refer to
+villages or to features of the ground. For instance, at the spot on
+the map where our camp stood, we read the word &#8220;Lo&#8208;u.&#8221; This, before we
+arrived there, we concluded referred to a village. But there was not a
+house in the vicinity, and we found that it was the name of the hill on
+which our tents were pitched. Our energetic commander employed himself
+in surveying and filling in the details of the surrounding country,
+marking the positions of the hamlets and paths&mdash;for roads there were
+none&mdash;and ascertaining the ranges and heights of the various prominent
+features around us.</p>
+
+<p>About a mile away down the river lay the Chinese Customs station that
+we had passed on our way up. I strolled there one afternoon and made
+the acquaintance of the officers in charge. They were both Britishers.
+One of them, Mr. Percy Affleck&#8208;Scott, told me that our arrival had
+been a great relief to them. When the rebels had been in the vicinity
+they had received several messages from the leaders who threatened to
+march down upon their station, burn it, and cut their heads off. In
+view of the repeated declarations of the Triads, that no hostility is
+felt by them to foreigners, these threats are<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">217</a></span> significant. As they had
+little reliance on the prowess of the Chinese soldiers if attacked by
+the rebels, these two Britishers had been considerably relieved at the
+arrival of our force, in whose neighbourhood they knew that they would
+be safe.</p>
+
+<p>The position of the European Custom House officials in the Outdoor
+Branch, stationed as they generally are in out&#8208;of&#8208;the&#8208;way places in
+Chinese territory with no society of their own kind, is scarcely
+enviable. Their work, which consists in levying duty on imports into
+the country, frequently brings them into unpleasant contact with
+Chinese officials, who regard the existence of their service with
+intense dislike, as it robs them of chances of extortion. Those
+employed in the Indoor Branch are generally stationed in cities like
+Hong Kong, Shanghai, Pekin, or other large centres where life is
+enjoyable.</p>
+
+<p>When visiting the Samchun Custom House on another occasion, at a later
+period, I saw a number of small, two&#8208;pounder rifled breechloading
+guns belonging to Admiral Ho&#8217;s force being embarked on a war&#8208;junk.
+I examined them with interest. They were mounted on small&#8208;wheeled
+carriages and bore the stamp of the Chinese arsenal where they had been
+made. The breech ends were square, with a falling block worked by a
+lever at the side. They were well finished; for the work turned out at
+these arsenals by native workmen, often under European supervision, is
+generally very good.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">218</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Early one morning, a few days after Admiral Ho&#8217;s departure, the camp
+was roused by a sudden alarm. About four a.m., when it was still pitch
+dark, we were awakened by the sound of heavy firing in the Chinese
+territory. The continuous rattle of small arms and the deeper booming
+of field&#8208;guns were distinctly audible. We rushed out of our tents and
+the troops got ready to fall in. The firing seemed to come from the
+immediate neighbourhood of Samchun; and it appeared that a desperate
+fight was in full swing. Our impression was that the rebels, learning
+of Ho&#8217;s departure, had eluded his force and doubled back to attack the
+town, which, being wealthy, would have proved a tempting prize. We
+gazed from the hillside in the direction from which the sound came;
+but a thick mist lay over the fields beyond the river and prevented
+the flashes from being visible. We waited impatiently for daylight.
+The rattle of rifle&#8208;firing now broke out suddenly from around the
+Customs station; and we trembled for the safety of Affleck&#8208;Scott
+and his companion. As the sound came no nearer in our direction, it
+became evident that no hostile movement against us was intended. We
+cursed the tardy daylight. At last day broke; but still the low&#8208;lying
+mists obscured our view of the town and the plain beyond the river.
+Then the sun rose. The fog slowly cleared away. We looked eagerly
+towards Samchun, expecting, as the firing still continued, to see the
+contending forces<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">219</a></span> engaged in deadly battle. But to our surprise,
+though every house in the town, every field and bank around it, stood
+out distinct in the clear light, scarcely a human being was visible.
+Before the gates a few soldiers lounged about unconcernedly. But the
+firing still continued. We could see nothing to account for it and
+began to wonder if it was a battle of phantoms. Gradually it died away
+and left us still bewildered. Later on in the day came the explanation.
+In view of our imaginary combat it was simple and ludicrous. The day
+was one of the innumerable Chinese festivals; and the inhabitants of
+Samchun and the neighbouring villages had been ushering it in in the
+usual Celestial fashion with much burning of crackers and exploding
+of bombs. To anyone who has heard the extraordinary noise of Chinese
+fireworks, which accurately reproduces the rattle of musketry and
+the booming of guns, our mistake is excusable. At the attack on the
+Peiyang Arsenal outside Tientsin, on June 27th, 1900, by the British,
+Americans, and Russians, the Chinese defenders, before evacuating it
+when hard pressed, laid strings of crackers along the walls. As our
+marines and bluejackets, with the Americans, advanced to the final
+assault these were set fire to. The explosions sounded like a very
+heavy fusillade and the assailants took cover. The Chinese meanwhile
+bolted out of the arsenal and got safely away before the attackers
+discovered the trick and stormed the place.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">220</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A week or two after this false alarm, I obtained permission to cross
+into Chinese territory and visit Samchun. The town looked very
+interesting at a distance, with its high walls and two square stone
+towers, which were in reality pawn&#8208;shops. For these establishments in
+China are looked upon as safe deposit offices. A rich man about to
+leave home for any length of time removes his valuables to the nearest
+pawn&#8208;shop and there stores them. They are the first places attacked
+when a band of robbers seizes some small town, as frequently happens.
+So they are built in the form of strong towers with the entrance
+generally several feet from the ground, in order that the proprietor
+and his friends may retire within and defend them.</p>
+
+<p>Accompanied by Captain Woolley, <span class="smcap">I.M.S.</span>, I set out to visit the
+town, having received many injunctions to be careful not to embroil
+ourselves with the inhabitants or the soldiery, who were not likely
+to prove over friendly. We were provided with interpreters in the
+persons of a Chinese policeman in British employ and a Sikh constable
+who had learned to converse very well in the language of the country.
+As we intended to make a formal call on the mandarin in command of
+Samchun and had heard that in China a man&#8217;s importance is gauged
+by the size of his visiting&#8208;card, we wrote our names on sheets of
+foolscap&mdash;the largest pieces of paper we could find. Red, however, is
+the proper colour. In mufti and taking no weapons, we left the camp<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">221</a></span>
+and crossed the river in a small, flat&#8208;bottomed ferry&#8208;boat. Landed on
+the far side, we set off along the tops of the mud banks between the
+paddy&#8208;fields, the only roads available. Those which are used as general
+paths are laid with flat stones, which, not being fastened in any
+way, occasionally tilt up and slide about in a disconcerting manner.
+As we neared the town we were observed with interest by a number of
+Chinese soldiers lounging about in front of the principal gateway. We
+felt a little nervous as to our reception but putting a bold face on
+the matter directed our way towards them. We were stopped, however,
+by our Chinese policeman, who told us that we should not approach
+this entrance as it faced the mandarin&#8217;s Yamen and was reserved for
+important individuals. We being <em>merely</em> foreigners&mdash;this although
+he was in British employment!&mdash;must seek admittance through the back
+gate into the town. Irritated at his insolent tone, the Sikh constable
+shoved him aside, and we approached the guard. The soldiers, though not
+openly hostile&mdash;for the white tents of our camp, plainly visible across
+the river, had a sobering effect&mdash;treated us with scarcely&#8208;veiled
+contempt. On our Sikh interpreter informing them that we were English
+officers who had come to visit their mandarin, they airily replied
+that that dignitary was asleep and could not see us. Annoyed at
+their impertinent manner, we ordered them to go and wake him. Rather
+impressed by our audacity, they held a consultation.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">222</a></span> Then one went
+into the Yamen. He returned in a few minutes with a message to the
+effect that the mandarin regretted that he could not see us as he was
+not dressed. Seeing the effect of our previous curtness, we haughtily
+bade the soldier tell the mandarin to put on his clothes at once; see
+him we must. Visibly impressed this time, he hastened inside again and
+promptly returned with an invitation to enter the Yamen. We passed
+through the gate with as important an air as we could assume. It had
+been a game of bluff on both sides and we had won; for on the verandah
+of the house inside the entrance we were received by the mandarin,
+correctly attired. With hands folded over each other, he bowed low
+and led the way into the interior. The room was small and plainly
+furnished. High&#8208;backed, uncomfortable chairs stood round a square
+blackwood table. On the walls hung crude pictures or tablets painted
+with Chinese characters. Our host, who was really a most courteous old
+gentleman, bowed again and, pointing to the chairs, begged us&mdash;as we
+judged from his manner&mdash;to be seated. We politely refused until he had
+taken a chair himself. He then addressed us in sing&#8208;song Chinese words,
+which our Sikh interpreter assured us were an expression of the honour
+he felt at our condescending to visit such an unworthy individual. We
+framed our reply in equally humble terms. He then inquired the reason
+of the coming of our force to the frontier. We informed him that it
+was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">223</a></span> merely to guard our territory from invasion and assured him that
+we had no evil designs on Samchun. He pretended to feel satisfied at
+this, but doubt evidently still lingered in his mind. The conversation
+then dragged on spasmodically until we asked his permission to visit
+the town. He seemed to hail our request with relief as a chance of
+politely ridding himself of us and ordered four soldiers to get ready
+to accompany us as an escort. One of the attendants, at a sign from
+him, then left the room and returned with three little cups covered
+with brass saucers.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Now we shall taste really high&#8208;class Chinese tea,&#8221; said Woolley to me
+in an undertone.</p>
+
+<p>We removed the saucers. The cups were filled with boiling water. At
+the bottom lay a few black twigs and leaves. Imitating the mandarin&#8217;s
+actions, we raised our cups in both hands and tried to drink the hot
+and tasteless contents. The Chinese tea was a distinct failure.</p>
+
+<p>A few black, formidable&#8208;looking cigars were now placed upon the table.
+Mindful of the vile odours that inevitably possess the filthy streets
+of the native towns in China, we took some. Then as our escort appeared
+in the courtyard in front of the house, we rose. Expressing profuse
+thanks to our courteous host through the interpreter, we folded our
+hands and bowed ourselves out in the politest Chinese fashion.</p>
+
+<p>Following our military guides, we entered the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">224</a></span> town. They led us
+first to the house of a lesser mandarin, whom we visited. He was
+as surly as his superior was amiable. He very speedily ordered tea
+for us as a sign of dismissal. However, as a mark of attention, he
+sent two lantern&#8208;bearers to accompany us. Quitting him with little
+hesitation, we followed our escort and plunged again into the town.
+The streets were narrow and indescribably filthy. Deep, open drains
+bordered them, filled with refuse. Extending our arms, we could nearly
+touch the houses on each side. On either hand were shops, some with
+glass&#8208;windowed fronts, others open to the street. Some were fairly
+extensive, filled with garments or rolls of cloth. Others exhibited for
+sale clocks, cheap embroidery, tinsel jewellery, or common pottery.
+Every third one at least sold food, raw or cooked. Dried fish or ducks
+split open, the heads and necks of the latter attached to the bodies;
+pork, meat, and sucking&#8208;pigs; rice, flour, or vegetables. Near one shop
+stood a grinning Chinaman who spoke to us in pidgin&#8208;English. Beside him
+was an open barrel filled with what looked like dried prunes. I pointed
+to them and asked what they were.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;That?&#8221; he said, popping one into his mouth and munching it with
+evident relish. &#8220;That belong cocky&#8208;loachee. Velly good!&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>They were dried cockroaches!</p>
+
+<p>Farther on another pig&#8208;tailed individual spoke to us in fluent English
+with a Yankee twang.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">225</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Do you live in Samchun?&#8221; I asked him, in surprise.</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Not much, you bet!&#8221; he replied. &#8220;I don&#8217;t belong to this darned country
+any more. I live in &#8217;Frisco.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>He explained that he had come to Hong Kong as a sailor on an American
+vessel, and had wandered out to Samchun to see a relative. With a &#8220;So
+long, boss!&#8221; from him we passed on.</p>
+
+<p>Every fifth or sixth house was a gambling&#8208;den. Around the tables were
+seated Chinamen of all ages engaged in playing <em>fan&#8208;tan</em>, that slowest
+and most exasperating of all methods of &#8220;plunging.&#8221; The interiors of
+these establishments were gay with much elaborate gilt carving.</p>
+
+<p>It was now growing dark, and our lantern&#8208;bearers lighted the paper
+lamps swinging at the end of long sticks they carried. We directed
+our escort to lead us out of the town. We wished to dismiss them at
+the gate; but they assured the interpreter that their orders were
+strict&mdash;not to quit us until they had seen us safely out of Chinese
+territory. So we made our way to the river. Arrived there, my companion
+and I discussed the question as to whether we should reward our escort
+with a tip or whether they would be insulted, being soldiers, at the
+offer. Finally we resolved to give them a dollar. If they did not look
+satisfied, we would increase the amount. So a bright English dollar
+was handed to the Sikh to be given to them. Satisfied! They seemed as<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">226</a></span>
+if they had never seen such wealth before. They crowded round us with
+voluble thanks; and with quite an affecting farewell we went down to
+the water&#8217;s edge. To our surprise we found our commanding officer with
+a party of armed sepoys crossing over to us in the ferry&#8208;boat. Alarmed
+at our long absence, he had feared that something untoward had happened
+to us and was coming in search of us. When we arrived at the camp we
+found the others rather uneasy about us; though some cheerfully assured
+us that they had been hoping that the Chinese had at least captured us
+to give them an excuse for attacking and looting Samchun.</p>
+
+<p>Shortly afterwards, interested at our description of our adventures,
+our commanding officer determined to visit Samchun. A letter in Chinese
+was sent to the mandarin to acquaint him with our chief&#8217;s intention.
+Next morning we were surprised by the sight of eight Chinese soldiers,
+armed with carbines and accompanied by the Sikh interpreter, crossing
+the river and ascending the path to the camp. As they approached the
+tents our sepoys, anxious to see the redoubtable warriors at close
+range, rushed out and flocked round them. Terrified at the sight of
+these strange black men, the Chinese soldiers dropped on their knees,
+flung their carbines on the ground, and held up their hands in abject
+supplication, entreating the interpreter to beg the fierce&#8208;looking
+foreign devils not to beat them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">227</a></span> The sepoys roared with laughter,
+patted them on the backs, and bore them off to their tents to soothe
+them with tea and cigarettes. The Sikh constable was the bearer of a
+message from the mandarin, expressing his pleasure at the intended
+visit of our commandant and informing him that an escort had been sent
+as a mark of honour. Accompanied by twenty of our tallest sepoys we
+crossed the river and set out for Samchun.</p>
+
+<p>As we approached the town we found that the whole garrison of 400 men
+had been turned out to welcome us and were formed up to line the road
+near the gate of the Yamen. Fourteen huge banners of many colours
+waved above the ranks. In front of the entrance stood the mandarin and
+his suite in their gala dress, waiting to receive us. Our commanding
+officer had ridden up on his Arab charger, which must have seemed
+an immense horse to the Chinamen present, accustomed only to the
+diminutive ponies of their own country. The mandarin came forward to
+welcome our chief and apologised for not receiving him with a salute of
+cannon, as, he said, he had been afraid of startling his steed!</p>
+
+<p>While compliments were being exchanged, I walked down the ranks of the
+Chinese troops and inspected them closely. They were nearly all small
+and miserable&#8208;looking men, clad in long red or blue coats, with huge
+straw hats. They were armed with single&#8208;loading Mausers or Winchester
+repeating<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">228</a></span> carbines. I looked at a few of these. The outside of the
+barrels were bright and had evidently been cleaned with emery paper;
+but inside they were completely choked with rust and the weapons were
+absolutely useless. The men were evidently merely coolies, hurriedly
+impressed by the mandarins when called upon by the Viceroy of Canton
+to produce the troops for whom they regularly drew pay. This is a
+favourite device of the corrupt Chinese officials, who receive an
+allowance to keep up a certain number of soldiers. They buy and store
+a corresponding number of uniforms and rifles. When warned of an
+approaching inspection by some higher authority, they gather in coolies
+and clothe and arm them for the duration of his visit. The superior
+official&mdash;his own palm having been well greased&mdash;forbears to inspect
+them too closely, and departs to report to the Viceroy of the province
+that the troops are of excellent quality. Then the uniforms and rifles
+are returned to store, and the coolies dismissed with&mdash;or more probably
+without&mdash;a few cents to recompense them for their trouble.</p>
+
+<p>Latterly in the North this does not always occur; and some of the
+troops, trained by foreigners and armed with the latest quick&#8208;firing
+guns and magazine rifles, are very good. The Imperial forces which
+opposed Admiral Seymour&#8217;s advance and attacked Tientsin were of very
+different calibre to those employed in the suppression of the Triad
+rebellion. The shooting of their gunners and riflemen was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">229</a></span> excellent.
+The army of Yuan&#8208;Shi&#8208;Kai, who was Governor of the province of Shantung
+during the troubles in the North, is a good example of what Chinese
+soldiers can be when well trained.</p>
+
+<p>The interview between the mandarin of Samchun and our commanding
+officer was an elaborate repetition of my own experience. The visit
+over, we entered the town, inspected some of the temples, and bought
+some curiosities in the shops. Then, escorted by our original party of
+Chinese soldiers, we returned to the river.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of November we were roused one night by urgent messages
+from the British police in the Hinterland to the effect that parties
+of rebels were hovering on the frontier and it was feared that they
+intended to raid across into our territory. In response to their
+request, a strong party was sent out at once to reinforce them. About
+four a.m. a European police sergeant arrived in breathless haste with
+the information that the rebels had crossed the boundary and seized two
+villages lying inside our border. They had fired on the police patrols.
+Two companies of the 22nd Bombay Infantry, under Captain Hatherell and
+Lieutenant Burke, fell in promptly and marched off under the guidance
+of two Sikh policemen sent for the purpose. Preceded by scouts and a
+strong advanced guard, under a Pathan native officer, Subhedar Khitab
+Gul, they bore down at daybreak on the villages reported captured. But
+the rebels had apparently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">230</a></span> received information of their coming and
+had fled back across the border. The troops, bitterly disappointed at
+being deprived of a fight, returned about nine a.m. to camp, where the
+remainder of the force had been ready to support them if necessary.</p>
+
+<p>No further attempts were ever made against our territory, and shortly
+afterwards the Frontier Field Force returned to headquarters.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">231</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="CHAPTER_X"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER X</span><br />
+
+IN THE PORTUGUESE COLONY OF MACAO</h2></div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap2">FORTY miles from Hong Kong, hidden away among the countless islands
+that fringe the entrance to the estuary of the Chukiang or Pearl
+River, lies the Portuguese settlement of Macao. Once flourishing and
+prosperous, the centre of European trade with Southern China, it is now
+decaying and almost unknown&mdash;killed by the competition of its young and
+successful rival. Long before Elizabeth ascended the throne of England
+the venturesome Portuguese sailors and merchants had reached the Far
+East. There they carried their country&#8217;s flag over seas where now it
+never flies. An occasional gunboat represents in Chinese waters their
+once powerful and far&#8208;roaming navy.</p>
+
+<p>In the island of Lampacao, off the south&#8208;eastern coast, their traders
+were settled, pushing their commerce with the mainland. In 1557 the
+neighbouring peninsula of Macao was ceded to them in token of the
+Chinese Emperor&#8217;s gratitude for their aid in destroying the power of a
+pirate chief who had long held sway in the seas around. The Dutch, the
+envious rivals of the Portuguese in the East, turned covetous eyes on
+the little colony which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">232</a></span> speedily began to flourish. In 1622 the troops
+in Macao were despatched to assist the Chinese against the Tartars.
+Taking advantage of their absence, the Governor of the Dutch East
+Indies fitted out a fleet to capture their city. In the June of that
+year the hostile ships appeared off Macao and landed a force to storm
+the fort. The valiant citizens fell upon and defeated the invaders; and
+the Dutch sailed away baffled. Until the early part of the nineteenth
+century the Portuguese paid an annual tribute of five hundred taels to
+the Chinese Government in acknowledgment of their nominal suzerainty.
+In 1848, the then Governor, Ferreira Amaral, refused to continue this
+payment and expelled the Chinese officials from the colony. In 1887,
+the independence of Macao was formally admitted by the Emperor in a
+treaty to that effect.</p>
+
+<p>But the palmy days of its commerce died with the birth of Hong Kong.
+The importance of the Portuguese settlement has dwindled away. Macao
+is but a relic of the past. Its harbour is empty. The sea around has
+silted up with the detritus from the Pearl River until now no large
+vessels can approach. A small trade in tea, tobacco, opium, and silk is
+all that is left. The chief revenue is derived from the taxes levied on
+the numerous Chinese gambling&#8208;houses in the city, which have gained for
+it the title of the Monte Carlo of the East.</p>
+
+<p>Macao is situated on a small peninsula connected<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">233</a></span> by a long, narrow
+causeway with the island of Heung Shan. The town faces southward and,
+sheltered by another island from the boisterous gales of the China
+seas, is yet cooled by the refreshing breezes of the south, from which
+quarter the wind blows most of the year in that latitude. Victoria in
+our colony, on the other hand, is cut off from them by the high Peak
+towering above it; and its climate in consequence is hot and steamy in
+the long and unpleasant summer. So Macao is, then, a favourite resort
+of the citizens of Hong Kong. The large, flat&#8208;bottomed steamer that
+runs between the two places is generally crowded on Saturdays with
+inhabitants of the British colony, going to spend the week&#8208;end on the
+cooler rival island.</p>
+
+<p>The commercial competition of Macao is no longer to be dreaded. But
+this decaying Portuguese possession has recently acquired a certain
+importance in the eyes of the Hong Kong authorities and our statesmen
+in England by the fears of French aggression aroused by apparent
+endeavours to gain a footing in Macao. Attempts have been made to
+purchase property in it in the name of the French Government which
+are suspected to be the thin end of the wedge. Although the colony
+is not dangerous in the hands of its present possessors, it might
+become so in the power of more enterprising neighbours. Were it
+occupied by the French a much larger garrison would be required in
+Hong Kong. Of course, any<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">234</a></span> attempt to invade our colony from Macao
+would be difficult; as the transports could not be convoyed by any
+large warships owing to the shallowness of the sea between the two
+places until Hong Kong harbour is reached. One battleship or cruiser,
+even without the assistance of the forts, should suffice to blow out
+of the water any vessels of sufficiently light draught to come out of
+the port of Macao. If any specially constructed, powerfully armed,
+shallow&#8208;draught men&#8208;o&#8217;&#8208;war&mdash;which alone would be serviceable&mdash;were
+sent out from Europe, their arrival would be noted and their purpose
+suspected. Still an opportunity might be seized when our China squadron
+was elsewhere engaged and the garrison of Hong Kong denuded. On the
+whole, the Portuguese are preferable neighbours to the aggressive
+French colonial party, which is constantly seeking to extend its
+influence in Southern China. In 1802 and again in 1808 Macao was
+occupied by us as a precaution against its seizure by the French.</p>
+
+<p>When garrison duty in Hong Kong during the damp, hot days of the summer
+palled, I once took ten days&#8217; leave to the pleasanter climate of Macao.
+I embarked in Victoria in one of the large, shallow&#8208;draught steamers
+of the Hong Kong, Canton, and Macao Steamboat Company, which keeps up
+the communication between the English and Portuguese colonies and the
+important Chinese city by a fleet of some half&#8208;dozen vessels. With the
+exception of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">235</a></span> one, they are all large and roomy craft from 2,000 to
+3,000 tons burden. They run to, and return from, Canton twice daily
+on week&#8208;days. One starts from Hong Kong to Macao every afternoon and
+returns the following morning, except on Sundays. Between Macao and
+Canton they ply three times a week. The fares are not exorbitant&mdash;from
+Hong Kong to Macao three dollars, to Canton five, each way; between
+Macao and Canton three. The Hong Kong dollar in 1901 was worth about
+1<em>s.</em> 10<em>d.</em></p>
+
+<p>The steamer on which I made the short passage to Macao was the
+<em>Heungshan</em> (1,998 tons). She was a large shallow&#8208;draught vessel,
+painted white for the sake of coolness. She was mastless, with one
+high funnel, painted black; the upper deck was roomy and almost
+unobstructed. The sides between it and the middle deck were open; and a
+wide promenade lay all round the outer bulkheads of the cabins on the
+latter. Extending from amid&#8208;ships to near the bows were the first&#8208;class
+state&#8208;rooms and a spacious, white&#8208;and&#8208;gold&#8208;panelled saloon. For&#8217;ard of
+this the deck was open. Shaded by the upper deck overhead, this formed
+a delightful spot to laze in long chairs and gaze over the placid
+water of the land&#8208;locked sea at the ever&#8208;changing scenery. Aft on the
+same deck was the second&#8208;class accommodation. Between the outer row of
+cabins round the sides a large open space was left. This was crowded
+with fat and prosperous&#8208;looking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">236</a></span> Chinamen, lolling on chairs or mats,
+smoking long&#8208;stemmed pipes with tiny bowls and surrounded by piles of
+luggage.</p>
+
+<p>Below, on the lower deck, were herded the third&#8208;class passengers,
+all Chinese coolies. The companion&#8208;ways leading up to the main deck
+were closed by padlocked iron gratings. At the head of each stood an
+armed sentry, a half&#8208;caste or Chinese quartermaster in bluejacket&#8208;like
+uniform and naval straw hat. He was equipped with carbine and revolver;
+and close by him was a rack of rifles and cutlasses. All the steamers
+plying between Hong Kong, Macao, and Canton are similarly guarded; for
+the pirates who infest the Pearl River and the network of creeks near
+its mouth have been known to embark on them as innocent coolies and
+then suddenly rise, overpower the crew and seize the ship. For these
+vessels, besides conveying specie and cargo, have generally a number of
+wealthy Chinese passengers aboard, who frequently carry large sums of
+money with them.</p>
+
+<p>The <em>Heungshan</em> cast off from the crowded, bustling wharf and threaded
+her way out of Hong Kong harbour between the numerous merchant ships
+lying at anchor. In between Lantau and the mainland we steamed over the
+placid water of what seemed an inland lake. The shallow sea is here so
+covered with islands that it is generally as smooth as a mill&#8208;pond.
+Past stately moving junks and fussy little steam launches we held our
+way.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">237</a></span> Islands and mainland rising in green hills from the water&#8217;s edge
+hemmed in the narrow channel. In about two and a half hours we sighted
+Macao. We saw ahead of us a low eminence covered with the buildings of
+a European&#8208;looking town. Behind it rose a range of bleak mountains.
+We passed along by a gently curving bay lined with houses and fringed
+with trees, rounded a cape, and entered the natural harbour which
+lies between low hills. It was crowded with junks and sampans. In the
+middle lay a trim Portuguese gunboat, the <em>Zaire</em>, three&#8208;masted, with
+white superstructure and funnel and black hull. The small Canton&#8208;Macao
+steamer was moored to the wharf.</p>
+
+<p>The quay was lined with Chinese houses, two&#8208; or three&#8208;storied, with
+arched verandahs. The <em>Heungshan</em> ran alongside, the hawsers were
+made fast, and gangways run ashore. The Chinese passengers, carrying
+their baggage, trooped on to the wharf. One of them in his hurry
+knocked roughly against a Portuguese Customs officer who caught him
+by the pigtail and boxed his ears in reward for his awkwardness. It
+was a refreshing sight after the pampered and petted way in which the
+Chinaman is treated by the authorities in Hong Kong. There the lowest
+coolie can be as impertinent as he likes to Europeans, for he knows
+that the white man who ventures to chastise him for his insolence will
+be promptly summoned to appear before a magistrate and fined. Our
+treatment<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">238</a></span> of the subject races throughout our Empire errs chiefly in
+its lack of common justice to the European.</p>
+
+<p>Seated in a ricksha, pulled and pushed by two coolies up steep
+streets, I was finally deposited at the door of the Boa Vista Hotel.
+This excellent hostelry&mdash;which the French endeavoured to secure for a
+naval hospital, and which has since been purchased by the Portuguese
+Government&mdash;was picturesquely situated on a low hill overlooking the
+town. The ground on one side fell sharply down to the sea which lapped
+the rugged rocks and sandy beach two or three hundred feet below. On
+the other, from the foot of the hill, a pretty bay with a tree&#8208;shaded
+esplanade&mdash;called the Praia Grande&mdash;stretched away to a high cape about
+a mile distant. The bay was bordered by a line of houses, prominent
+among which was the Governor&#8217;s Palace. Behind them the city, built on
+rising ground, rose in terraces. The buildings were all of the Southern
+European type, with tiled roofs, Venetian&#8208;shuttered windows, and walls
+painted pink, white, blue, or yellow. Away in the heart of the town the
+gaunt, shattered <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fa&ccedil;ade</span> of a ruined church stood on a slight eminence.
+Here and there small hills crowned with the crumbling walls of ancient
+forts rose up around the city.</p>
+
+<p>Eager for a closer acquaintance with Macao, I drove out that afternoon
+in a ricksha. I was whirled first along the Praia Grande, which runs<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">239</a></span>
+around the curving bay below the hotel. On the right&#8208;hand side lay a
+strongly built sea&#8208;wall. On the tree&#8208;shaded promenade between it and
+the roadway groups of the inhabitants of the city were enjoying the
+cool evening breeze. Sturdy little Portuguese soldiers in dark&#8208;blue
+uniforms and <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">k&eacute;pis</span></em> strolled along in two and threes, ogling the
+yellow or dark&#8208;featured Macaese ladies, a few of whom wore mantillas.
+Half&#8208;caste youths, resplendent in loud check suits and immaculate
+collars and cuffs, sat on the sea&#8208;wall or, airily puffing their cheap
+cigarettes, sauntered along the promenade with languid grace. Grave
+citizens walked with their families, the prettier portion of whom
+affected to be demurely unconscious of the admiring looks of the
+aforesaid dandies. A couple of priests in shovel hats and long, black
+cassocks moved along in the throng.</p>
+
+<p>The left side of the Praia was lined with houses, among which were
+some fine buildings, including the Government, Post and Telegraph
+Bureaus, commercial offices, private residences, and a large mansion,
+with two projecting wings, the Governor&#8217;s Palace. At the entrance
+stood a sentry, while the rest of the guard lounged near the doorway.
+At the end of the Praia Grande were the pretty public gardens, shaded
+by banyan trees, with flower&#8208;beds, a bandstand, and a large building
+beyond it&mdash;the Military Club. Past the gate of the Gardens the road
+turned away from the sea and ran between<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">240</a></span> rows of Chinese houses until
+it reached the long, tree&#8208;bordered Estrada da Flora. On the left lay
+cultivated land. On the right the ground sloped gently back to a bluff
+hill, on which stood a lighthouse, the oldest in China. At the foot
+of this eminence lay the pretty summer residence of the Governor,
+picturesquely named Flora, surrounded by gardens and fenced in by a
+granite wall. Continuing under the name of Estrada da Bella Vista, the
+road ran on to the sea and turned to the left around a flower&#8208;bordered,
+terraced green mound, at the summit of which was a look&#8208;out whence
+a charming view was obtained. From this the mound derives the name
+of Bella Vista. In front lay a shallow bay. To the left the shore
+curved round to a long, low, sandy causeway, which connects Macao with
+the island of Heung Shan. Midway on this stood a masonry gateway,
+Porta Cerco, which marks the boundary between Portuguese and Chinese
+territory. Hemmed in by a sea&#8208;wall, the road continued from Bella Vista
+along above the beach, past the isthmus, on which was a branch road
+leading to the Porta, by a stretch of cultivated ground, and round the
+peninsula, until it reached the city again.</p>
+
+<p>After dinner that evening, accompanied by a friend staying at the
+same hotel, I strolled down to the Public Gardens, where the police
+band was playing and the &#8220;beauty and fashion&#8221; of Macao assembled.
+They were crowded with gay promenaders.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">241</a></span> Trim Portuguese naval or
+military officers, brightly dressed ladies, soldiers, civilians,
+priests and laity strolled up and down the walks or sat on the benches.
+Sallow&#8208;complexioned children chased each other round the flower&#8208;beds.
+Opposite the bandstand stood a line of chairs reserved for the Governor
+and his party. We met some acquaintances among the few British
+residents in the colony; and one of them, being an honorary member of
+the Military Club situated at one end of the Gardens, invited us into
+it. We sat at one of the little tables on the terrace, where the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">&eacute;lite</span>
+of Macao drank their coffee and liqueurs, and watched the gay groups
+promenading below. The scene was animated and interesting, thoroughly
+typical of the way in which Continental nations enjoy outdoor life,
+as the English never can. Hong Kong, with all its wealth and large
+European population, has no similar social gathering&#8208;place; and its
+citizens wrap themselves in truly British unneighbourly isolation.</p>
+
+<p>The government of Macao is administered from Portugal. The Governor
+is appointed from Europe; and the local Senate is vested solely with
+the municipal administration of the colony. The garrison consists of
+Portuguese artillerymen to man the forts and a regiment of Infantry of
+the Line, relieved regularly from Europe. There is also a battalion
+of police, supplemented by Indian and Chinese constables&mdash;the former
+recruited among the natives<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">242</a></span> of the Portuguese territory of Goa on
+the Bombay coast, though many of the sepoys hail from British India.
+A gunboat is generally stationed in the harbour. The troubles all
+over China in 1900 had a disturbing influence even in this isolated
+Portuguese colony. An attack from Canton was feared in Macao as well as
+in Hong Kong; and the utmost vigilance was observed by the garrison.
+One night heavy firing was heard from the direction of the Porta
+Cerco, the barrier on the isthmus. It was thought that the Chinese
+were at last descending on the settlement. The alarm sounded and the
+troops were called out. Sailors were landed from the <em>Zaire</em> with
+machine&#8208;guns. A British resident in Macao told me that so prompt were
+the garrison in turning out that in twenty minutes all were at their
+posts and every position for defence occupied. At each street&#8208;corner
+stood a strong guard; and machine&#8208;guns were placed so as to prevent
+any attempt on the part of the Chinese in the city to aid their
+fellow&#8208;countrymen outside. However, it was found that the alarm was
+occasioned by the villagers who lived just outside the boundary, firing
+on the guards at the barrier in revenge for the continual insults to
+which their women, when passing in and out to market in Macao, were
+subjected by the Portuguese soldiers at the gate. No attack followed
+and the incident had no further consequences. At the close of 1901 or
+the beginning of 1902, more serious alarm was caused by the conduct<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">243</a></span>
+of the regiment recently arrived from Portugal in relief. Dissatisfied
+with their pay or at service in the East, the men mutinied and
+threatened to seize the town. The situation was difficult, as they
+formed the major portion of the garrison. Eventually, however, the
+artillerymen, the police battalion, and the sailors from the <em>Zaire</em>
+succeeded in over&#8208;awing and disarming them. The ringleaders were seized
+and punished, and that incident closed.</p>
+
+<p>The European&#8208;born Portuguese in the colony are few and consist chiefly
+of the Government officials and their families and the troops. They
+look down upon the Macaese&mdash;as the colonials are called&mdash;with the
+supreme contempt of the pure&#8208;blooded white man for the half&#8208;caste. For,
+judging from their complexions and features, few of the Macaese are of
+unmixed descent. So the Portuguese from Europe keep rigidly aloof from
+them and unbend only to the few British and Americans resident in the
+colony. These are warmly welcomed in Macao society and freely admitted
+into the exclusive official circles.</p>
+
+<p>On the day following my arrival, I went in uniform to call upon the
+Governor in the palace on the Praia Grande. Accompanied by a friend,
+I rickshaed from the hotel to the gate of the courtyard. The guard at
+the entrance saluted as we approached; and I endeavoured to explain the
+reason of our coming to the sergeant in command. English and French
+were both beyond his understanding;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">244</a></span> but he called to his assistance
+a functionary, clad in gorgeous livery, who succeeded in grasping the
+fact that we wished to see the aide&#8208;de&#8208;camp to the Governor. He ushered
+us into a waiting&#8208;room opening off the spacious hall. In a few minutes
+a smart, good&#8208;looking officer in white duck uniform entered. He was the
+aide&#8208;de&#8208;camp, Senhor Carvalhaes. Speaking in fluent French, he informed
+us that the Governor was not in the palace but would probably soon
+return, and invited us to wait. He chatted pleasantly with us, gave us
+much interesting information about Macao, and proffered his services
+to make our stay in Portuguese territory as enjoyable as he could. We
+soon became on very friendly terms and he accepted an invitation to
+dine with us at the hotel that night. The sound of the guard turning
+out and presenting arms told us that the Governor had returned. Senhor
+Carvalhaes, praying us to excuse him, went out to inform his Excellency
+of our presence. In a few minutes the Governor entered and courteously
+welcomed us to Macao. He spoke English extremely well; although he
+had only begun to learn it since he came to the colony not very long
+before. After a very pleasant and friendly interview with him we took
+our departure, escorted to the door by the aide&#8208;de&#8208;camp.</p>
+
+<p>On the following day I paid some calls on the British and American
+residents and then went down to the English tennis&#8208;ground, which is
+situated close<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">245</a></span> to Bella Vista. Here, in the afternoons, the little
+colony of aliens in Macao generally assemble. The consuls and their
+wives and families, with a few missionaries and an occasional merchant,
+make up their number. Close by the tennis&#8208;courts, in a high&#8208;walled
+enclosure shaded by giant banyans, lies the English cemetery.</p>
+
+<p>That night a civilian from Hong Kong, Mr. Ivan Grant&#8208;Smith, and I had
+an unpleasant adventure which illustrates the scant respect with which
+the &aelig;gis of British power is regarded abroad. We are prone to flatter
+ourselves that the world stands in awe of our Empire&#8217;s might, that the
+magic words, &#8220;I am an English citizen!&#8221; will bear us scatheless through
+any danger. The following instance&mdash;by no means an isolated one&mdash;of how
+British subjects are often treated by the meanest officials of other
+States may be instructive.</p>
+
+<p>We had dined that evening at the house of one of the English residents
+in Macao. The dinner, which was to celebrate the birthday of his son,
+was followed by a dance; so that it was after one o&#8217;clock in the
+morning before we left to walk back to the hotel, about a mile away.
+Leaving the main streets, we tried a short cut along a lonely road
+hemmed in by high garden walls. The ground on one side sloped up,
+so that the level of the enclosures was but little below the top of
+the wall fronting the road. As we passed one garden some dogs inside
+it, roused by our voices, climbed on the wall and began to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">246</a></span> bark
+persistently at us. In the vain hope of silencing them, Grant&#8208;Smith
+threw a few stones at the noisy animals. They barked all the more
+furiously. A small gate in the wall a little distance farther on
+suddenly opened and a half&#8208;dressed Portuguese appeared. I had happened
+to stop to light a cigar, and my companion had gone on ahead. The
+new&#8208;comer on the scene rushed at him and poured forth a torrent of what
+was evidently abuse. My friend very pacifically endeavoured to explain
+by gestures what had happened; but the Portuguese, becoming still more
+enraged, shouted for the police patrol and blew a whistle loudly.
+An Indian constable ran up. The infuriated citizen spoke to him in
+Portuguese and then returned inside his garden, closing the gate. The
+sepoy seized Mr. Grant&#8208;Smith by the shoulder. I asked him in Hindustani
+what my friend had done. The constable replied that he did not know. I
+said, &#8220;Then why do you arrest the sahib?&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Because that man&#8221;&mdash;pointing to the garden&mdash;&#8220;told me to do so.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Who is he?&#8221; I demanded, naturally concluding that we must have
+disturbed the slumbers of some official whom the sepoy recognised.</p>
+
+<p>To my astonishment he replied&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I do not know, sahib. I never saw him before.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>As Grant&#8208;Smith was ignorant of Hindustani and the Indian of English, I
+was forced to act as interpreter.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">247</a></span></p>
+
+<p>&#8220;Then,&#8221; said I, &#8220;as you don&#8217;t know of what the sahib is guilty or even
+the name of his accuser, you must release him.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>&#8220;I cannot, sahib. I must take him to the police&#8208;station.&#8221;</p>
+
+<p>Another Indian constable now came on the scene. I explained matters
+to him and insisted on his entering the garden and fetching out the
+complainant. He went in, and in a few minutes returned with the
+Portuguese hastily clad. He was in a very bad temper at being again
+disturbed; for, thinking that he had comfortably disposed of us for the
+night, he had calmly gone to bed.</p>
+
+<p>We all now proceeded to a small police&#8208;station about a mile away,
+passing the hotel on the road. Furious at the unjust arrest and
+irritated at the coolness of the complainant and the stupidity of the
+sepoy, my friend and I were anxious to see some superior authority. We
+never doubted that a prompt release and apology, as well as a reprimand
+to the over&#8208;zealous constable, would immediately follow. British
+subjects were not to be treated in this high&#8208;handed fashion!</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at the station, we found only a Portuguese constable, with
+a Chinese policeman lying asleep on a guard&#8208;bed in the corner. The
+accuser now came forward and charged my companion with &#8220;throwing
+stones at a dwelling&#8208;house,&#8221; as the Indians informed me. Using them
+to interpret, I endeavoured to explain the affair to the Portuguese
+constable. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">248</a></span> simply shrugged his shoulders, wrote down the charge,
+and said that the prisoner must be taken to the Head Police Office for
+the night. He added that, there being no charge against me, I was not
+concerned in the matter, and could go home.</p>
+
+<p>However, as my unfortunate friend required me as interpreter, I had no
+intention of abandoning him, and accompanied him when he was marched
+off to durance vile. The Portuguese policeman at first wished to send
+him under the charge of the Chinese constable, whom he woke up for the
+purpose; but we explained that if such an indignity were offered us we
+would certainly refuse to go quietly with the Chinaman and might damage
+him on the way. He then allowed the Indian sepoys, who were very civil,
+to escort us. My luckless companion was then solemnly marched through
+the town until the Head Police Office was reached, over two miles away.
+It was a rambling structure in the heart of the city, with ancient
+buildings and tree&#8208;shaded courts. Down long corridors and across a
+grass&#8208;grown yard we were led into a large office. A half&#8208;open door in
+a partition on the left bore the inscription, &#8220;Quarto del Sargento.&#8221;
+On the right, behind a large screen, a number of Portuguese policemen
+lay asleep on beds. The sepoys roused a sergeant, who sat up grumbling
+and surveyed us with little friendliness. The scene was rather amusing.
+My friend and I in correct evening dress, as haughtily indignant as
+Britishers should be under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">249</a></span> such circumstances, the Indian sepoys
+standing erect behind us, the surly complainant, whom the light of the
+office lamps revealed to be a very shoddy and common individual, the
+half&#8208;awakened policemen gazing sleepily at us from their beds, would
+have made a capital tableau in a comedy. The sergeant rose and put
+on his uniform. Seating himself at a table in the office he read the
+charge. Without further ado he ordered a bed to be brought down and
+placed for the prisoner in the empty &#8220;Quarto del Sargento.&#8221; He then
+rose from the table and prepared to retire. I stopped him and demanded
+that our explanation should be listened to. I told him, through the
+interpreters, that if the ridiculous charge against my friend was
+to be proceeded with, he could be found at the hotel. There was no
+necessity for confining him for the night, as he could not leave
+Macao without the knowledge of the authorities. The sergeant curtly
+replied that as there was no complaint against me I had better quit
+the police&#8208;station as soon as possible. If I wished to give evidence
+for my friend, I could attend at the magistrate&#8217;s court in the morning
+and do so. I informed him that I was an officer in the British Army,
+and demanded to see a Portuguese officer. He replied that he was a
+sergeant, and quite officer enough for me. His manner throughout was
+excessively overbearing and offensive. I then threatened to appeal to
+the British Consul. I am afraid that this only amused the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">250</a></span> Portuguese
+policemen, who had left their beds to come into the office and listen
+to the affair. They laughed amusedly; and the sergeant, smiling grimly,
+bade the interpreting sepoy tell me that he did not care a snap of
+his fingers for our Consul. I then played my trump card. I demanded
+that a message should be immediately conveyed to the aide&#8208;de&#8208;camp
+of the Governor, to the effect that one of his English friends with
+whom he had dined the previous night had been arrested. The effect
+was electrical. As soon as my speech had been translated to them, all
+the Portuguese policemen became at once extremely civil. The sergeant
+rushed to a telephone and rang up the police officer on duty. I caught
+the words &#8220;ufficiales Inglesos&#8221; and &#8220;amigos del Senhor Carvalhaes.&#8221;
+After a long conversation over the wire he returned smiling civilly,
+saluted, and said that my companion could leave the station at once.
+Would he have the supreme kindness to attend at the magistrate&#8217;s court
+at ten o&#8217;clock in the morning? If he did not know where it was, a
+constable would be sent to the hotel to guide him.</p>
+
+<p>We marched out with the honours of war. With profuse courtesy we were
+escorted out of the police&#8208;station, a sentry shouldering arms to us as
+we passed; and the sergeant accompanied us to the outer gate, where he
+parted from us with an elaborate salute.</p>
+
+<p>We reached the hotel about 3.30 a.m. Before<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">251</a></span> nine o&#8217;clock I presented
+myself at the palace, where I interviewed Senhor Carvalhaes and
+recounted the whole affair to him. He was indignant at the conduct of
+the police. He told me that we need not attend the court, as he would
+settle the matter himself. Later on my friend and I saw the British
+Consul, whom we knew personally, and told him all that had happened.
+He said that he could not have helped us in the least had we appealed
+to him. Some time previous an English colonel, in company with several
+ladies, had been arrested by the police for not removing his hat when
+a religious procession passed. As this officer happened to be a Roman
+Catholic, his action was not meant to be disrespectful. He was not
+released until the British Consul had interviewed the Governor. By a
+curious coincidence I met this colonel some months later in Se&ouml;ul, the
+capital of Corea.</p>
+
+<p>That afternoon Grant&#8208;Smith and I were invited to the Portuguese Naval
+Tennis Club ground near Flora, the Governor&#8217;s summer residence.
+Carvalhaes, who was present, came to me and told me that the affair
+was settled. The trumpery charge had been dismissed; and the Indian
+constable who had arrested Grant&#8208;Smith had been punished with six
+weeks&#8217; imprisonment. As the unfortunate sepoy had only done what he
+considered his duty and had been very civil throughout, as well as
+helping me considerably by interpreting, I begged that the punishment
+should be transferred<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">252</a></span> from him to the discourteous Portuguese
+sergeant. On my representations the Indian was released; but I doubt if
+the man of the dominant caste received even a reprimand.</p>
+
+<p>Our adventure was now common property. We were freely chaffed about the
+arrest by the Portuguese officers and the British residents present at
+the Tennis Club. The wife of the Governor laughingly bade one of the
+English ladies bring up the &#8220;prisoner&#8221; and present him to her.</p>
+
+<p>When one reflects that this quaint and old&#8208;world little Portuguese
+colony is only forty miles from Hong Kong with its large garrison, our
+treatment by its insolent subordinate officials does not say much for
+the respect for England&#8217;s might which we imagine is felt throughout the
+world.</p>
+
+<p>I had another experience of an arrest in Japan. The spy mania is rife
+in that country; and no photographing is permitted in the fortified
+seaports or in large tracts of country &#8220;reserved for military
+purposes.&#8221; In the important naval station of Yukos&#365;ka, an hour&#8217;s
+journey by train from Yokohama, an American gentleman and I were taken
+into custody by a policeman for merely carrying a camera which, knowing
+the regulations, we had been careful not to use. We found afterwards
+that our ricksha coolies had given information. I was fortunately able
+to speak Japanese sufficiently well to explain to our captor that we
+had no intention of taking surreptitious photographs of the warships
+in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">253</a></span> the harbour. I pointed out that as most of these vessels had been
+built in England it was hardly necessary for a Britisher to come to
+Japan to get information about them. Our little policeman&mdash;with the
+ready capacity of his countrymen for seeing the feeblest joke&mdash;was
+immensely tickled. He laughed heartily and released us. But shortly
+afterwards an Italian officer, on his way to attend the Japanese
+military man&oelig;uvres, innocently took some photographs of the scenery
+near Shimoneseki. He was promptly arrested and subsequently fined forty
+yen (&pound;4) for the offence. A few days later an Englishman at Moji was
+taken into custody for the same crime. Moral: do not carry a camera in
+Japan; content yourself with the excellent and cheap photographs to be
+obtained everywhere in that country of delightful scenery.</p>
+
+<p>To return to Macao. Its greatly advertised attraction is the famous
+Chinese gambling&#8208;houses, from the taxes on which is derived a large
+portion of the revenues of the colony. Most visitors go to see them and
+stake a dollar or two on the <em>fan&#8208;tan</em> tables. I did likewise and was
+disappointed to find the famed saloons merely small Chinese houses,
+the interiors glittering with tawdry gilt wood carving and blazing
+at night with evil&#8208;smelling oil lamps. On the ground floor stands a
+large table, at the head of which sits the <em>croupier</em>, generally a
+very bored&#8208;looking old Chinaman. Along the sides are the players,
+who occasionally lose the phlegmatic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">254</a></span> calm of their race in their
+excitement. On the &#8220;board&#8221; squares are described, numbered 1, 2, 3,
+and 4. On them the money is staked. The <em>croupier</em> places a handful
+of &#8220;cash,&#8221; which are small coins, on the table and covers them with
+an inverted bowl. The number of them is not counted, as he takes them
+at random from a pile beside him. As soon as all the stakes are laid
+down, he lifts the bowl and with a chopstick counts the coins in
+fours. The number left at the end, which must be one, two, three, or
+four, represents the winning number. The bank pays three times the
+stake deposited, less ten per cent., which is kept as its own share
+of the winnings. In a gallery overhead sit European visitors and more
+important Chinamen who do not wish to mix with the common herd around
+the table. Their stakes are collected by an attendant who lowers them
+in a bag at the end of a long string, and the <em>croupier</em> places them
+where desired. <em>Fan&#8208;tan</em> is not exciting. The counting of the coins
+is tedious and the calculations of the amounts to be paid out to the
+winners takes so long that the game becomes exceedingly wearisome.</p>
+
+<p>Other attractions of Macao are the ruins of the old cathedral of San
+Paulo, built in 1602 and destroyed by fire in 1835, of which the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fa&ccedil;ade</span>
+still remains in good preservation; and the Gardens of Camoens, with
+a bust of the famous Portuguese poet placed in a picturesque grotto
+formed by a group of huge boulders. Camoens visited Macao,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">255</a></span> after
+voyaging to Goa and the East by way of the Cape of Good Hope.</p>
+
+<p>In the basements of some of the older houses in Macao are the
+Barracoons, relics of the coolie traffic suppressed in 1874. They
+are large chambers where the coolies, to be shipped as labourers to
+foreign parts, were lodged while awaiting exportation. Among other
+points of interest near the city is the curious natural phenomenon
+known as the Ringing Rocks. They are reached by boat to Lappa. They
+consist of a number of huge granite boulders, supposed to be of some
+metallic formation, picturesquely grouped together, which, when struck,
+give out a clear bell&#8208;like note, which dies away in gradually fainter
+vibrations. Altogether Macao is well worthy of a visit. The contrast
+between the sleepy old&#8208;world city, which looks like a town in Southern
+Europe, and bustling, thriving Hong Kong, all that is modern and
+business&#8208;like, is very striking. For the moneymaker the English colony;
+for the dreamer Macao.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">256</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="CHAPTER_XI"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER XI</span><br />
+
+A GLIMPSE OF CANTON</h2></div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap2">CANTON is, to foreigners, probably the best&#8208;known and most frequently
+visited city of China. Its proximity to, and ready accessibility
+from Hong Kong, whence it is easily reached by a line of large river
+steamers, renders it a favourite place with travellers to the East to
+spend a portion of the time the mailboats usually stop in the English
+harbour. A small colony of Europeans, consuls and merchants of several
+nationalities, reside in its foreign settlement. Its considerable trade
+and its occupation by the Allies after the war of 1856&#8208;7 directed much
+attention to it. Owing to its easy access, no other city in the Chinese
+Empire has been so frequently described by European writers. Rudyard
+Kipling, in his fascinating &#8220;From Sea to Sea,&#8221; paints a marvellous
+word&#8208;picture of the life in its crowded streets. But it is so bound up
+with the interests of Hong Kong, its constant menace to our colony,
+and the suspected designs of French aggression, that still something
+new may be said about it. Despite its constant trade intercourse with
+Europeans, Canton remains anti&#8208;foreign. Its inhabitants have not
+forgotten or forgiven its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">257</a></span> capture and occupation by the English and
+French in the past. After the Boxer movement in the North in 1900,
+many fears were entertained in Hong Kong lest a still more formidable
+outbreak against foreigners in the South might be inaugurated by the
+turbulent population of the restless city. The Europeans in Canton
+sent their families in haste to Hong Kong and Macao; wealthy Chinamen
+transferred their money to the banks in the former place; gunboats
+were hurried up; and the garrison of our island colony stood ready.
+The history of Canton&#8217;s intercourse with foreigners dates as far back
+as the eighth century. Two hundred years later it was visited by Arab
+traders, who were instrumental in introducing Mohammedanism, which
+still remains alive in the city. In 1517 Emmanuel, King of Portugal,
+sent an ambassador with a fleet of eight ships to Pekin; and the
+Chinese Emperor sanctioned the opening of trade relations with Canton.
+The English were much later in the field. In 1596, during the reign of
+Elizabeth, our first attempt to establish intercourse with China ended
+disastrously, as the two ships despatched were lost on the outward
+voyage. The first English vessel to reach Canton arrived there in
+1634. In the light of the present state of affairs in the East, it is
+curious to note that an English ship which visited China in 1673 was
+subsequently refused admittance to Japan. In 1615 the city was captured
+by the Tartars.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">258</a></span></p>
+
+<p>About half a century later the famous East India Company established
+itself under the walls of Canton, and from there controlled the foreign
+trade for nearly one hundred and fifty years. After much vexatious
+interference by the native authorities, the influence of the Company
+was abolished early in the nineteenth century. The conduct of the
+Chinese Government as regards our commerce led to our declaring war in
+1839. In 1841 a force under Sir Hugh (afterwards Lord) Gough surrounded
+Canton and prepared to capture it. But negotiations were opened by
+the Chinese, which ended in their being allowed to ransom the city
+by the payment of the large sum of six million dollars. The war was
+transferred farther north and ended with the Nanking Treaty of August,
+1842, which threw open to foreign trade the ports of Shanghai, Ning&#8208;po,
+Foochow, and Amoy. It was further stipulated that foreigners were to
+be permitted to enter the city of Canton. This provision, however, the
+Chinese refused to carry out. More vexatious quarrels and an insult to
+the British flag by the seizure of a Chinaman on the <em>Arrow</em>, a small
+vessel sailing under our colours, led to a fresh war in 1856. The
+outbreak of hostilities was followed by the pillaging and destruction
+of the &#8220;factories&#8221; of the foreign merchants in Canton by an infuriated
+mob in the December of that year. In 1857 the city was taken by storm
+by a force under Sir Charles Straubenzee. For four years afterwards it
+was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">259</a></span> occupied by an English and French garrison. The affairs of the
+city were administered by three allied commissioners&mdash;two English and
+one French officer&mdash;under the British General. They held their court in
+the Tartar General&#8217;s Yamen, part of which is still used by the English
+Consul for official receptions. Since the allied garrison was withdrawn
+Canton has been freely open to foreigners.</p>
+
+<p>On the conclusion of peace it was necessary to find a settlement for
+the European merchants whose factories had been destroyed. It was
+determined to fill in and appropriate an extensive mud&#8208;flat lying
+near the north bank of the river and south&#8208;west of the city. This
+site having been leased, was converted into an artificial island by
+building a massive embankment of granite and constructing a canal, 100
+feet wide, between the northern face and the adjacent Chinese suburb.
+The ground thus reclaimed measures about 950 yards in length and 320
+yards broad in its widest part. It is in shape an irregular oval, and
+is called Shameen, or, more proper, Sha&#8208;mien, <em>i.e.</em> sand&#8208;flats. The
+island is divided into the English and the French Concessions. On it
+the consulates and the residences of the foreign merchants are built.
+The canal is crossed by two bridges, called respectively the English
+and the French, which can be closed by gates. They are guarded by the
+Settlement police. The cost of making the island amounted to 325,000
+dollars (Mex.); of which the English Government<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">260</a></span> paid four&#8208;fifths and
+the French one&#8208;fifth. At first foreigners hesitated to occupy it; but
+after the British Consulate was erected in 1865, our merchants began to
+build upon it with more confidence.</p>
+
+<p>The journey from Hong Kong to Canton is very comfortably performed
+on the commodious shallow&#8208;draught steamers that ply between the two
+cities. I left the island one afternoon with a party of friends. The
+scenery along the rugged coast and among the hilly islands to the flat
+delta at the mouth of the estuary with its countless creeks, still
+haunted by pirates, is charming. As we steamed up the river we could
+see, moving apparently among the fields, the huge sails of junks which
+in reality were sailing on the canals that intersect the country. After
+dinner I sat on deck with a very charming companion and watched the
+shadowy banks gliding past in the moonlight. Turning in for the night
+in a comfortable cabin, I slept until eight o&#8217;clock next morning, and
+awoke to find the steamer alongside the river bank at Canton.</p>
+
+<p>The scene from the deck was animated and picturesque. On one side lay
+the crowded houses and grim old walls of the city. The wharves were
+thronged with bustling crowds. On the other, beyond the island suburb
+of Honam, the country stretched away in cultivation to low hills in the
+distance. The river was thronged with countless covered boats; for the
+floating population of Canton amounts to about a quarter of a million
+souls, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">261</a></span> the crowded sampans lying in a dense mass on the water form
+a separate town from the city on the land. It is almost self&#8208;containing
+and its inhabitants ply every imaginable trade. Peddlers of food,
+vegetables, fruit, pots, pans, and wares of all kinds paddled their
+boats along and shouted their stock&#8208;in&#8208;trade. Here and there a sampan
+was being extricated with difficulty from the closely packed mass, its
+crew earning voluble curses from their neighbours as they disentangled
+their craft and shot out into the stream.</p>
+
+<p>I gazed over the steamer&#8217;s side at the crowded wharf. Chinese or
+half&#8208;caste Portuguese Customs officers rapidly scanned the baggage of
+the pig&#8208;tailed passengers as they landed, now and then stopping one and
+making him open the bundles he carried. Opium&#8208;smuggling is the chief
+thing they guard against, for Hong Kong is a free port.</p>
+
+<p>The city of Canton lies on the north bank of the Pearl River, about
+seventy or eighty miles from the sea. It is surrounded by an irregular
+masonry wall, twenty&#8208;five feet high, twenty feet thick, and six or
+seven miles in circumference. This fortification is by no means as
+strong as the famous Wall of the Tartar city in Pekin and could be
+easily breached by the fire of heavy guns. Good artillery positions are
+to be found all round. A few miles north of the city lie hills rising
+1,200 feet above the river. As the southern wall is only a few hundred
+yards from the bank, it could be destroyed and the city<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">262</a></span> bombarded
+without difficulty by gunboats, some of which&mdash;English, French, and
+German&mdash;are nearly always lying off Shameen. The Chinese, however, are
+reported to be quietly erecting modern, well&#8208;armed forts around the
+city; but were a powerful flotilla once anchored opposite it, it would
+be doomed.</p>
+
+<p>Canton is divided into the old and the new city. The latter, the
+southern enclosure, was added in 1568, extending the ramparts almost
+to the river bank. The wall of the older portion still divides the two
+as in Pekin. On the north this wall rises to include a hill. On the
+other three sides Canton is surrounded by a ditch, which is filled by
+the rising tide. There are twelve outer gates and four in the partition
+wall. Two water&#8208;gates admit boats along a canal which pierces the new
+city east and west. The gates are closed at night; and in the daytime
+soldiers are stationed near them to preserve order. As the policing of
+the city is very bad, the inhabitants of streets and wards frequently
+join in maintaining guards for the protection of their respective
+quarters.</p>
+
+<p>The old city, which is very much the larger of the two, contains most
+of the important buildings. In it are the yamens of the Viceroy, the
+Major&#8208;General, the Treasurer, the Chancellor, the Tartar General and
+Major&#8208;General, and of the British Consul, as well as the prisons, the
+Examination Hall, the pagodas, and the numerous temples, of which
+there<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">263</a></span> are over 120 in or about Canton. The streets number over 600 in
+both cities.</p>
+
+<p>In the new town facing the river is the French Missions Roman Catholic
+Cathedral, a beautiful building of the perpendicular Gothic style of
+architecture with lofty spires. It is embellished with magnificent
+stained&#8208;glass windows and polished teak&#8208;wood carvings. It is built on
+the site of the old residence of the Governor&#8208;General, destroyed during
+the bombardment by the Allies.</p>
+
+<p>On the south, west, and east sides of the city and across the river
+on Honam Island, suburbs have sprung up, and including them it has a
+circumference of nearly ten miles. The houses stretch for four miles
+along the river; and the banks of boats extend for four or five miles.
+Out in the stream may often be seen huge junks 600 to 1,000 tons
+burden, which trade with the North and the Straits Settlements.</p>
+
+<p>In 1874 the population of Canton was 1,500,000, including the floating
+town of 230,000, and the inhabitants of Honam 100,000. The number has
+probably largely increased.</p>
+
+<p>Going ashore we installed ourselves in long&#8208;poled open chairs, borne
+by energetic coolies. As they went along rapidly at a shambling
+half&#8208;trot, they shouted loudly to the lounging crowds to clear the
+way. Into the network of narrow streets in the city we plunged. The
+houses are different to those in Pekin. They are generally of more
+than one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">264</a></span> story, well built of brick, with thick walls and verandahs
+along the fronts of the upper floors. The shops have little frontage,
+but extend far back. The streets, paved with stone or brick, are
+darkened by overhead reed matting, supported by wooden frames, which
+stretch across them to shade them from the sun. So narrow are even the
+principal thoroughfares that two chairs can hardly pass each other.
+With much shouting and sing&#8208;song abuse the coolies carrying one are
+forced to back into the nearest shop and let the other go by. The
+vistas along these narrow, shaded streets, with their long, hanging,
+gilt&#8208;lettered sign&#8208;boards&mdash;red, white, or black&mdash;are full of quaint
+charm. The busy crowds of Chinese foot passengers hurry silently along,
+their felt&#8208;soled shoes making no sound on the pavement. Contrary to
+what I had always heard of them, the Canton populace struck me as not
+being so insolent or hostile to Europeans as they are reputed. As our
+chairs moved along, the bearers thrusting the crowds aside with scant
+ceremony, very little notice was taken of us. A few remarks were made
+by the bystanders, which one of our party, who spoke Cantonese, told me
+were anything but complimentary. But all that day throughout the city I
+found the demeanour of the people much less offensive than a Chinaman
+in the lower quarters of London would.</p>
+
+<p>The shops were filled with articles of European manufacture. Clocks,
+cloth, oleographs, lamps, kerosene<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">265</a></span> oil tins, even sewing&#8208;machines were
+for sale. Eating&#8208;houses, tea shops, stalls covered with the usual weird
+forms of food, raw or cooked, abounded. The Chinaman has a catholic
+taste. Horseflesh, dogs, cats, hawks, owls, sharks&#8217; fins, and birds&#8217;
+nests are freely sold in Canton for human consumption. Carpenters were
+busy making the substantial furniture to be found in almost every
+Chinese house. Blacksmiths and coppersmiths added the noises of their
+trades to the din that resounded through the narrow streets. Peddlers
+with their wares spread about them on the ground helped to choke the
+congested thoroughfares. Beggars shouted loudly for alms and drew the
+attention of the passers&#8208;by to their disgusting sores and deformities.</p>
+
+<p>Canton is famous for its ivory carvers and the artists in the beautiful
+feather work, the making of which seems to be confined to this city.
+As I wished to purchase some specimens of this unique art, our party
+stopped at an establishment famed for its production. The shop was
+lofty but dark. The owner came forward to receive us, and spread on the
+counter a large selection of ornaments for our inspection. Trinkets
+of all kinds, lace&#8208;pins, pendants, brooches were exhibited, all
+evidently made for European purchasers. The designs were very pretty.
+Large butterflies shone with the reflected lights and golden lustre of
+the beautiful green and blue plumage of the kingfisher. Tiny fishes
+delicately fashioned, birds of paradise, flowers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">266</a></span> were all reproduced
+in flimsy gold or silver work. Learning that I was anxious to see the
+process of the manufacture, the proprietor led me over to watch one
+of the workmen who sat around busily employed. On a metal ground&#8208;work
+with raised edges and lines the feathers are fastened to reproduce
+the colours of the designs. With nimble fingers and delicate pincers
+the tiny strips of plumage are laid on and cemented. Keen sight is
+required for the work; and the proprietor told me that the eyes of the
+workmen engaged in it soon fail. It takes five years for an apprentice
+to thoroughly learn the art; and after he has laboured at it for two
+years more his vision becomes so obscured that he has to give it up
+and seek some other occupation. It is little wonder; for the shops in
+these narrow, shaded streets are always dark, and the artificial light
+generally used is furnished only by the cheapest European lamps. The
+prices of the various articles are very moderate, when one considers
+the delicacy and beauty of the work. Butterflies an inch across can be
+purchased for two or three dollars.</p>
+
+<p>Our next visit was paid to the workers in ivory. Here, in a
+similarly dark shop, men were employed in carving most exquisitely
+delicate flowers, scenes, and figures. Brushes, mirror&#8208;frames, fans,
+glove&#8208;stretchers, penholders, card&#8208;cases, and boxes of all sizes were
+being fashioned and adorned. I was particularly interested in the
+making of those curious<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">267</a></span> Chinese puzzle&#8208;balls, which contain one within
+another a dozen or more spheres, all down to the innermost one covered
+with beautiful carvings which can be seen through the round holes
+pierced in the sides. The owner of the shop showed me an apprentice
+learning how to make them and practising on an old billiard ball.
+Holes are drilled down to the depth which will be the circumference
+of the second outermost ball. A graving tool, hooked like a hoe, is
+introduced into them and worked round until there is a complete solid
+sphere detached inside. It is then carved in designs, every part being
+reached by turning the ball round until each portion of the surface has
+come opposite one of the holes through which the carving instrument can
+reach it. Then a similar process is gone through at a greater depth
+from the outside, which gives the third outermost sphere; and so on
+until the innermost ball is reached, which is carved and left solid.
+There are sometimes as many as twenty&#8208;four of these graduated spheres.
+To one who has never seen how they are made it seems impossible to
+understand how these balls within balls are carved. Sections of
+elephants&#8217; tusks lay about in the shop to prove to the customers that
+only real ivory is employed; but bone is often used in the making of
+cheaper articles.</p>
+
+<p>In this trade, too, good sight is necessary; and the proprietor of
+this establishment told me that the eyes of his workmen soon give out.
+Here, again,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">268</a></span> the bad light was responsible. In Kioto, in Japan, I have
+watched men engaged in damascene or inlay work in dingy attics lighted
+only by small, smoky oil lamps, and was not surprised to learn that
+their sight did not last long.</p>
+
+<p>We next inspected some embroidery shops, where specimens of wonderful
+work, both new and old, were to be seen. The latter come chiefly from
+the numerous pawnshops, the tall towers of which rise everywhere
+throughout the city; for they receive annually large quantities of
+old garments, sold by members of ancient but impoverished families
+who are forced to part with the wardrobes that have come down to them
+through many generations. Magnificent mandarins&#8217; state costumes may be
+obtained for from forty to eighty or a hundred dollars. Some of the
+embroidery is undoubtedly antique and valuable; but a good deal of it
+sold as old consists of new and inferior substitutions and even of
+European&#8208;manufactured imitations of the real article. This the white
+man in his innocence buys and goes on his way rejoicing, until some
+connoisseur among his female friends points out his error and leaves
+him abashed at his own ignorance.</p>
+
+<p>Porcelain, jade, blackwood furniture, silk, bronze, and curio shops
+abound in the city. The contrast between the energetic, business&#8208;like
+tradesmen of Canton, always ready to cater for the European market, and
+the phlegmatic shopkeepers of Pekin is very marked.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter" id="illus16">
+<img src="images/illus16.jpg" width="600" height="429" alt="" />
+<p class="caption noindent">THE CANGUE</p></div>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">269</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We now visited the Flowery Forest Monastery or Temple of the Five
+Hundred Genii, which is said to have been founded in <span class="smcap">A.D.</span>
+500, and which was rebuilt some forty years ago. It stands outside the
+western wall of the city. It comprises many buildings and courts; but
+the most interesting portion is the hall, which contains the images of
+the five hundred disciples of Buddha. The statues are life&#8208;size. Their
+countenances are supposed to represent the supreme content of Nirvana;
+but their weird and grotesque expressions and the air of jollity and
+devil&#8208;may&#8208;careness on some of them is unintentionally ludicrous. Among
+the images is one said to represent Marco Polo, one of the earliest
+pioneers of discovery in the East. No one knows why the celebrated
+Italian traveller is included among the immortals.</p>
+
+<p>A more interesting sight was the prison in the old city. On a stone
+outside the open gate sat a criminal weighted down with the <em>cangue</em>,
+a heavy board fastened round the neck. It prevents the luckless wearer
+from using his hands to feed himself or brush away the tormenting
+swarms of flies which settle on his face. He cannot reach his mouth,
+and must starve unless a relative or some charitable person can be
+found to give him food. As the <em>cangue</em> is never removed night or day
+he cannot lie down, but is forced to sit on the ground and prop himself
+against a wall and snatch what sleep he can in that uncomfortable and
+constrained<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">270</a></span> position. I must say that this particular gentleman seemed
+very indifferent to his wooden collar. He was chatting pleasantly with
+some passers&#8208;by in the street and turned his head to survey us with
+mild curiosity. The <em>cangue</em>, by the way, is only a minor penalty used
+for thieves, petty larcenists, and such small fry. For the punishment
+of graver crimes much more elaborate tortures have been reserved. As
+we passed into the prison we saw a few offenders chained to iron bars
+in the outer court. A Chinese warder unlocked a gate leading into a
+small yard crowded with prisoners, who rushed towards us and insolently
+demanded alms; for the Government waste no money in feeding their
+criminals who are obliged to rely on the kindness of the charitable.
+One particularly cheeky youth&mdash;a pickpocket, I was told&mdash;coolly
+demanded the cigar I was smoking. When I gave it to him he put it in
+his mouth and strutted up and down the yard to the amusement of his
+companions in misfortune. His gratitude was not overpowering, for he
+uttered some remarks, which my Cantonese&#8208;speaking friend told me were
+particularly insulting. As the prisoners became very troublesome in
+their noisy demands, the warder pushed them back into the yard and shut
+the gate, having to rap some of them over the knuckles with his keys
+before he could do so. There were no especial horrors to be seen. The
+prisoners seemed cheerful enough; and none of the awful misery I had
+always associated with Chinese jails was apparent.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">271</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But when the Celestial authorities wish to punish an offender severely
+they have a varied and ingenious collection of tortures on hand. The
+<em>ling&#8208;chi</em>, or death of a thousand cuts, is hardly to be surpassed
+for fiendish cruelty. The unfortunate criminal is turned over to the
+executioner, who stabs him everywhere with a sharp sword, carefully
+avoiding a vital spot. Then he cuts off fingers, toes, hands, feet,
+arms, and legs in succession, and finally severs the head, if the
+unhappy wretch has not already expired. If the doomed man is possessed
+of money he can bribe the executioner to kill him at the first blow;
+and the subsequent mutilations are performed only on a lifeless corpse.
+Another ingenious device is to place the criminal naked in a net and
+trice it up tightly around him, until his flesh bulges out through the
+meshes. Then, wherever it protrudes the executioner slices it off with
+a sharp knife. The unhappy wretch is taken back to prison, released
+from the net and thrown into a cell. No attempt is made to staunch the
+blood or salve the wounds unless death is feared. This must be averted;
+for a week or so later he has to be brought out again and the process
+repeated. Along the river bank near Canton criminals were exposed in
+cages, through the top of which their heads protruded in such a fashion
+that the weight of the body was supported only by the chin and neck.
+The feet did not touch the bottom of the cage, but a sharp spike was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">272</a></span>
+placed to rest them on when the strain on the neck became unendurable.
+Here the poor wretches were left to expire of exhaustion or die of
+starvation. After such tortures beheading seems a merciful punishment.</p>
+
+<p>When I considered the Chinaman&#8217;s innate love of cruelty, I could
+understand why the next spot we visited was a very popular place of
+worship and a favourite resort for all the loafers of the city. It
+was the Temple of Horrors. Along each side of the principal court ran
+sheds, divided by partitions. In them behind wooden palings was a weird
+collection of groups of figures modelled to represent the various
+punishments of the Buddhist hell. The sheds were dark and it was
+difficult to see the interiors plainly. But quite enough was visible.
+In one compartment a couple of horrible devils were sawing a condemned
+wretch in two. In another, demons were thrusting a man into a huge
+boiler. Judging from the agonised expression on his face, the water
+must have been uncomfortably warm. In a third, the condemned soul or
+body was being ground in a press. Others were being roasted before huge
+fires, stuck all over with knives, having their eyes gouged out, being
+torn limb from limb. I fancy that the artist who designed these groups
+could have commanded a large salary as Inventor of Tortures from the
+Chinese authorities of his day.</p>
+
+<p>Another place of interest is the Examination<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">273</a></span> Hall, where every
+three years candidates from all parts of China assemble to compete
+for Government appointments. Young men and old, boys of eighteen and
+dotards of eighty, attend, eager to grasp the lowest rung of the
+official ladder which may lead them, though with soiled hands, to
+rank and wealth. The coveted buttons which mark the various grades of
+mandarin are here dangled before their eyes.</p>
+
+<p>When one reflects that success in these competitions will lead to
+posts, not only as magistrates, but also as officers in the army, as
+officials of modern&#8208;equipped arsenals, of departments of customs and
+telegraphs, or to positions which will bring them into contact with
+foreigners, one naturally thinks that the previous course of studies
+of the candidates will have fitted them for such appointments. Far
+from it. At the examinations a single text from Confucius or some
+other ancient author is set as a subject for a lengthy essay. For
+twenty&#8208;four hours or longer the candidates are shut up in their cells
+to expand upon it. The examiners then read the result of their labours
+and recommend them on their proficiency in composition and acquaintance
+with the ancient classics of China. Even an English university
+curriculum is better fitted to equip a student for success in the world.</p>
+
+<p>The Examination Hall consists of rows of closely&#8208;packed lanes of small
+brick cells (about 12,000 in number) running at right angles off a long
+paved<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">274</a></span> causeway, which is approached through an archway called the
+Dragon Gate. At the far end of this causeway are apartments for the
+examiners&mdash;twelve in number, two chiefs and ten juniors&mdash;who have been
+sent from Pekin. Quarters are also provided for the Viceroy and the
+Governor of the province, who are both obliged to be present during the
+examinations. The cells in which the candidates are immured are 6 feet
+high, 5&frac12; feet long, and less than 4 feet broad, and open only on to
+the narrow lanes between the rows of sheds. From a high tower strict
+watch is kept to prevent any collusion between the competitors.</p>
+
+<p>Tired of sight&#8208;seeing, our party now returned to the river and crossed
+into Shameen by the small English Bridge spanning the canal between
+island and shore. A good lunch at the pretty little hotel prepared us
+for a stroll around the foreign settlement.</p>
+
+<p>Shameen is now a pretty island with fine avenues of banyan trees,
+charming gardens, a row of excellent tennis&#8208;courts, and handsome,
+well&#8208;built houses, the residences of the foreign consuls and merchants.
+A tree&#8208;shaded promenade lined the southern bank along the river.
+Moored to the shore were several English, American, French, and German
+gunboats. Their flags and the European&#8208;looking houses made us almost
+forget that we were still within a stone&#8217;s&#8208;throw of a large Chinese
+city. But the swarms of sampans, the curious country&#8208;boats moved by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">275</a></span>
+stern&#8208;wheels worked by men on a treadmill&#8208;like contrivance, the banging
+of crackers and booming of gongs in a temple behind the island recalled
+us to the remembrance. We walked along by the river bank, crossed the
+canal by the French Bridge, and returned on board our steamer.</p>
+
+<p>Canton, with its acres of crowded houses, its old walls, and ancient
+shrines, is a curious contrast to modern, up&#8208;to&#8208;date Hong Kong. Yet
+each in its way is equally alive and humming with busy trade, for the
+Chinese city exports and imports largely. It is the channel through
+which the commerce of Europe flows in and the products of China
+find their way out to the foreign markets. It manufactures largely
+glassware, pottery, metal work, paper, blackwood furniture, preserved
+ginger, medicine, etc. It is the granary and supply dep&ocirc;t of Hong Kong.
+The Cantonese merchants are keen business men and cater largely for
+the European customer. Nearly all the native silver work, embroidery,
+silks, and curios in the large shops of our colony come from Canton.</p>
+
+<p>The focus of trade with Southern China, the proposed terminus of the
+railway to Kowloon, the food&#8208;supplier of Hong Kong, its development and
+retention in Chinese hands is of vast importance to English commerce.
+The French are freely credited with designs upon it. Their determined
+efforts to firmly establish their own influence there and displace
+the British favour the suspicion. In their Concession<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">276</a></span> on Shameen
+they have established, without the consent of China, their own post
+office, where they use their colonial stamps surcharged &#8220;Canton.&#8221; Their
+gunboats anchor where they like in the river, the commanders calmly
+ignoring the efforts of the Chinese officials to restrict them to the
+part allotted to foreign warships. On the occurrence of any outrages
+on their subjects or the converts of their missionaries, the French
+consuls act with energy and determination. When any such happen in the
+vicinity of Canton or up the West River, not content with complaints
+or remonstrances to the Chinese authorities, which usually have little
+effect, they insist on immediate redress. They generally accompany in
+person the official deputed to proceed to the scene of the outrage
+and investigate the affair. This energetic conduct is in marked
+contrast to the supineness of some of our consuls. A late British
+representative aroused much disgust among naval and military officers
+and our merchants by his want of resolution and his tender regard for
+Chinese susceptibilities. When one of our gunboats was fired on up
+the river, its commander immediately reported the matter to him. Our
+official feebly remonstrated with the authorities, and instructed the
+commander to return with his ship to the village near the scene of the
+outrage and fire off a Maxim into the river&#8208;bank! This was to show the
+misguided peasantry of what the gunboat was capable, if action were
+necessary. As the Orientals<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">277</a></span> respect only those who can use as well
+as show their power, the Chinese are not much impressed with us. The
+contrast between our forbearance and the determined conduct of the
+French is too marked. Their gunboats patrol the rivers and show the
+flag of their country everywhere. Their efforts seem directed towards
+spreading the region of their influence inland from the south to
+meet the Russian sphere in the north. This is to cut us off from our
+possessions in Burma and prevent any British railway being constructed
+from that country to the eastern coast of China, thus tapping the
+hitherto undeveloped resources of the interior.</p>
+
+<p>An attack on Canton from the sea would be a far more difficult task
+now than formerly. The Bogue forts on the Pearl River, up which an
+invading flotilla must force its way, have been modernised and re&#8208;armed
+with powerful guns. Hills are found within easy range of the river,
+from which the gunboats and shallow&#8208;draught vessels, which alone
+could attempt the passage, could be shelled at a range precluding
+any response from their feebler weapons. And the Chinese gunners are
+not all to be despised, as Admiral Seymour&#8217;s column and the gallant
+defenders of Tientsin found to their cost.</p>
+
+<p>The land approach would not be much easier. The country near the mouth
+of the river is intersected by creeks and canals. Even farther up, no
+roads are available for wheeled transport. An advance from the British
+territory of the Kowloon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">278</a></span> Hinterland would probably be preferable to
+a landing on the coast, though the route is longer. The hills beyond
+Samchun might prove a formidable barrier; but those once passed
+the difficulties would not be insuperable. The inhabitants of the
+southern provinces are not warlike; and the troops there have not been
+reorganised and disciplined like some in the north.</p>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">279</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="CHAPTER_XII"><span class="smaller">CHAPTER XII</span><br />
+
+CHINA&mdash;PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE</h2></div>
+
+<p class="drop-cap">LOOKING upon the map of China to&#8208;day, England might well say with
+Clive, &#8220;I stand amazed at my own moderation.&#8221; If thirty years ago she
+had seized upon the whole of that vast empire, no other Power in the
+world would have dared to say her nay. She was undisputed mistress of
+the Eastern seas. Russia had not then reached the shores of the Pacific
+and her hands were busily employed in the centre of Asia. Germany had
+only just become a nation, and had not yet dreamt of contending with
+England for the commerce of the world. France lay crushed beneath the
+weight of an overwhelming defeat; and her voice was unheard in the
+councils of the nations. The United States of America had no thought
+of realms beyond the sea; their fleet was small, and the markets of
+Asia held no temptation for their merchants. Japan was but a name. The
+Meiji, the eventful revolution that freed her from the iron fetters of
+hide&#8208;bound ignorance, was scarcely ten years old; and even its authors
+scarce dared to hope that their little islands would one day rank high
+among the civilised Powers of the world.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">280</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And China itself, that unwieldy Colossus, lay a helpless prey to any
+strong nation that placed aggrandisement before the claims of abstract
+justice. The prize was tempting. An immense empire that stretched
+from the snows of the North to the burning heats of the torrid zone;
+a land of incredible fertility, of vast mineral wealth, the value of
+which can even now be only vaguely guessed at; a teeming population of
+industrious and easily&#8208;contented millions; an enormous seaboard with
+natural harbours that could shelter the navies of the world; navigable
+rivers that pierced to the heart of the land and offered themselves as
+veritable highways of commerce; all the riches that the earth could
+bear on its surface or hide in its bosom&mdash;what a guerdon to the victor!</p>
+
+<p>The conquest of China might daunt the faint&#8208;hearted from the apparent
+immensity of the task; but few countries would have proved an easier
+prize. Her army was composed of a heterogeneous collection of ill&#8208;armed
+militia, whose weapons were more frequently the spear and the bow than
+the modern rifle. The Chinaman is, by nature, a lover of peace. War he
+abhors; and the profession of a soldier, honoured among other races, is
+held by him in utter contempt. Unpaid, uncared for, ill&#8208;treated, and
+despised, the troops had to be driven to battle and could not withstand
+a determined attack. And behind them was no high&#8208;spirited nation ready
+to risk all in the defence of the motherland. Patriotism<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">281</a></span> is unknown.
+The love of country, so strong in other peoples, is non&#8208;existent in
+the heart of the average Chinaman. With aught beyond the limits of
+his village, he has no concern. No other race in the world can boast
+so deep a love of family. To save his relatives from poverty, the
+Celestial will go willingly to his death. According to their laws a
+criminal cannot be slain unless he has confessed his crime. To wring
+this confession from him, tortures inconceivable in their fiendish
+malignity are heaped upon him. A speedy death would be a boon. But to
+acknowledge his guilt and die by the hands of the public executioner
+would entail the forfeiture of all his property to the State, and
+his family would be beggared. So, grimly uncomplaining, he submits
+for their sake to agonies that no white man could endure. A rich man
+condemned to death can generally purchase a substitute, can find a
+poverty&#8208;stricken wretch willing to die in his stead for a sum of money
+that will place his starving relatives in comparative affluence.</p>
+
+<p>All this the poor Chinaman will do for those he loves. How many white
+men would do the same? But why should he die for his country? he asks.
+Why sacrifice himself and those near and dear to him for the honour of
+a shadowy Emperor? Why should he lay down his life that the officials
+who oppress the poor and wrest his hard&#8208;earned money from him may
+flourish unmolested? He is told that the Japanese, yellow men like
+himself, have invaded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">282</a></span> the land and defeated the Imperial troops. Well,
+the enemies are thousands of miles away from <em>him</em>, and the soldiers
+are paid to fight. What is it to him that strangers have seized upon
+some seaport, the name of which he has never heard before? Let those
+whom it concerns go out and fight them. <em>His</em> duty is to stay at home
+and till the ground that his family may not lack food.</p>
+
+<p>A few of the more enlightened Chinamen of the upper classes, those
+who have lived abroad in Europe or America, in Australia, Hong Kong,
+and the Straits Settlements, or who have been educated in European
+colleges, may be inspired with the love of country as we understand
+it. But have the leaders of the nation, the nobles and the mandarins,
+ever been ready to sacrifice themselves for China? They batten on
+its misfortunes. The higher in rank they are the readier they prove
+themselves to intrigue with its enemies and sell their country for
+foreign gold. They drive the common folk to battle and stay at home
+themselves. The generals and the officers, with few exceptions,
+are never found in front of their troops in action, unless when a
+retirement is ordered. Occasionally isolated cases occur when a
+defeated commander commits suicide. But it is generally because he
+prefers an easy death by his own hand to the degradation and tortures
+that await the vanquished general.</p>
+
+<p>To prate of the patriotism of the Chinese is as though one spoke of
+the &#8220;patriotism of India.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">283</a></span>&#8221; Still, the latter is a favourite phrase
+of some of our ignorant politicians who pose as the champions of
+&#8220;the down&#8208;trodden black brother.&#8221; They talk of India being made
+self&#8208;governing and wish to fill its Civil Service with &#8220;enlightened
+natives.&#8221; They fail to see why a Calcutta Babu or a Bombay Parsee, who
+boasts a university degree and has passed a brilliant examination,
+should not be set to rule over a Punjaub district or to deal with the
+unruly Pathans on the frontier. They do not realise that Englishmen
+would sooner submit to be governed by the knout of a Russian official
+than the haughty Sikh or fierce Pathan would endure the sway of men
+they regard as lower than dogs. Our Indian Empire is composed of a
+hundred warring nations, all different in speech, in blood, almost
+in religions. We, the dominant race, hold them all in the <em>Pax
+Britannica</em>, and keep them from each other&#8217;s throats.</p>
+
+<p>In like manner few realise that China is not a united and homogeneous
+nation. It consists of many provinces, the inhabitants of which belong
+practically to different races and speak in different tongues. They
+have little intercourse or sympathy with each other. Inter&#8208;village
+wars are almost as frequent as among Pathans. Rebellions are common
+occurrences. The Mohammedans hold themselves aloof and regard the other
+Chinese with little love. The written language is the same throughout
+China; but the man of Canton cannot speak with the inhabitant of Pekin
+or the coolie from Amoy. Occasionally<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">284</a></span> the curious sight may be seen of
+two Chinamen from different provinces holding converse with each other
+in pidgin&#8208;English, the only medium of intercourse intelligible to both.</p>
+
+<p>In the outbreak of 1900 the Boxers and the Pekinese showed themselves
+almost as hostile to the Cantonese trading or residing in the north
+as they were to Europeans. They considered that the southern city&#8217;s
+long intercourse with the white man must have rendered its inhabitants
+favourable to foreigners; though, indeed, this is very far from the
+truth.</p>
+
+<p>So the Chinaman can have no patriotism. To any but the most
+enlightened&mdash;or the mandarins from more sordid motives&mdash;it is a matter
+of comparative indifference who rules the Empire. Provided that he
+is allowed to live in peace, that taxes do not weigh upon him too
+heavily or his religion be not interfered with, the peasant cares not
+who reigns in Pekin. Justice he does not ask for; he is too unused to
+it. All that he demands is that he be not too utterly ground down by
+oppression. Patient and long&#8208;suffering, he revolts only against the
+grossest injustice. Not until maddened by famine or unable to wring a
+bare living from the ground does he rise to protest against the unjust
+officials, whose exactions have kept him poor. If he once realised the
+fairness of European rule, he would live content under any banner,
+happy in being allowed to exist in undisturbed possession<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">285</a></span> of the fruit
+of his toil. The Chinamen in our possessions in the East are satisfied
+and happy under the mild law of England. Large numbers of them make
+their home there, content to live and die under a foreign government,
+and ask only that their corpses may be conveyed back to China to be
+interred in its sacred soil.</p>
+
+<p>The average Celestial in his own land feels no pride or interest
+in the glory of his country. In its government he has no voice. Of
+its history, its achievements in the past, he is ignorant. He is
+content with it because it is the only one he knows and so must be
+the best. Of other lands beyond its confines he has dimly heard.
+But their inhabitants are mere barbarians. Those of them who have
+intruded themselves into his country are uncivilised according to his
+standard. They worship false gods; their manners are laughable. All
+they do is at variance with his customs, and so must be wrong. They
+cannot read his books and know nothing of the maxims of Confucius.
+So they must be illiterate as well as irreligious. Yet these strange
+beings are content with themselves, and scorn his ways! This proves
+their ignorance and their conceit. How can they boast, he asks, of
+the superiority of their own countries when they cannot stay there
+and, in face of contempt and hostility, seek to force their way into
+his? And as their coming means interference with customs hallowed by
+age and the uprooting of his dearest prejudices,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">286</a></span> he resents it. They
+strive to introduce innovations which he can very well do without. What
+sufficed for his father and his father&#8217;s father is good enough for him.
+The barbarians come only to disturb. They wish to defile the graves
+of his worshipped ancestors by constructing railways over the soil in
+which their bones rest. The shrieks of the chained devils in their
+engines disturb the <em>Feng Shui</em>, the tutelary deities of his fields,
+and hence follow drought and famine. And that these accursed, unneeded
+iron highways may be constructed, he is forced to sell the land which
+has been in the possession of his family for generations. The price
+for it passes through the hands of the mandarins and officials, and
+so but little reaches him. Has he not heard that to secure the safety
+of their bridges little children are kidnapped and buried under their
+foundations? Out upon the accursed intruders! China has flourished
+through countless ages without their aid, and wants them not.</p>
+
+<p>And so, in a measure, hatred of foreigners supplies the place of
+patriotism. It binds all classes together. The ruling clique dread
+them for the reforms they seek to introduce; for these would overthrow
+the frail structure of oligarchical government in Pekin and hurl
+the privileged class from power. The mandarins tremble at their
+interference with the widespread corruption and unjust taxation
+on which the officials now batten. The educated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">287</a></span> hate them for
+their triumphs over China in the past, their continual territorial
+aggression, and their constant menace to the integrity of China. The
+fanatical hatred of the white man exhibited by the lower classes is
+the result of the blindest ignorance. It is stirred into mad rage
+by the exhortations of the priests, who naturally resent with true
+clerical bigotry the introduction of other creeds. The zealous but too
+often misdirected efforts of the missionaries, who tactlessly trample
+on his dearest beliefs, rouse the Chinaman to excesses against the
+strangers who seem to have intruded themselves upon him only to insult
+all that he holds most sacred. Every misfortune, whether it be drought
+and subsequent famine or devastating floods, storm or pestilence, is
+ascribed to the anger of the gods, irritated at the presence of the
+unbelievers. If the crops fail or small&#8208;pox desolates a village, the
+eyes of the frenzied peasants turn to the nearest mission house where
+live the accursed strangers whose false teachings have aroused the
+anger of the immortals. Urged on by the priests and mandarins, they
+fall upon it and slay its inmates. But retribution comes swiftly. Their
+own Government are forced by dread of foreign interference to punish
+the misguided wretches who have, as they consider, wreaked only a just
+revenge. The officials are degraded. Heads fall and houses are razed
+to the ground. The Imperial troops quarter themselves on the luckless
+villagers who pay dearly in blood and silver for the harm<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">288</a></span> they have
+wrought in their madness. And a sullen hatred of the white man spreads
+through all classes and bears bitter fruit in subsequent graver
+outbreaks.</p>
+
+<p>Can we justly blame them? Would we act differently in their place? What
+if the cases were reversed? Suppose England to be a weak and backward
+country and China wealthy and powerful, with a great navy and a large
+army. Her merchants are enterprising and seek to push their trade into
+other countries, even against the wish of the inhabitants. Chinese
+vessels force their way up the Thames and sell the cargoes they carry
+to our merchants in defiance of the laws we have passed against the
+importation of foreign commodities. Refusing to leave, they are fired
+upon. Chinese missionaries make their way into England and preach
+ancestor&#8208;worship and the tenets of Buddha in the East End of London.
+The scum of Whitechapel mob them&mdash;as the Salvation Army has often been
+mobbed. A missionary or two is killed. The Chinese Government seeks
+revenge. A strong fleet is sent to bombard the towns along the South
+Coast. Bristol is seized. A demand is made that the Isle of Wight
+should be ceded in reparation for the insult to the Dragon flag. We
+are forced to surrender it. A Chinese town grows up on it; and the
+merchants in it insist that their goods should have the preference
+over home&#8208;made articles. The Chinese Government demands that tea from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">289</a></span>
+the Celestial Kingdom should be admitted duty free and a tax put upon
+Indian growths. A criminal or an anarchist, fleeing from justice, takes
+refuge on a small Chinese ship, which is boarded and the fugitive
+seized. We are only an ignorant people, and do not understand the Law
+of Nations. We are soon instructed. Again China sends a fleet; a force
+is landed and Liverpool captured. To redeem it we must pay a large
+ransom. To obtain peace we are obliged to grant the Chinese settlements
+in Liverpool, Bristol, and Southampton. This inspires other Asiatic
+Powers&mdash;Corea, Kamschatka, and Siam, which we will imagine to be as
+progressive and powerful as our supposititious China&mdash;to demand equal
+privileges and an occasional slice of territory. Kent, Hampshire, and
+Norfolk pass into their hands.</p>
+
+<p>Buddhist and Taoist missionaries now flood the land. The common people
+regard them with fear and hatred. The clergy of the Church of England
+preach against them. The ignorant peasantry and the lowest classes in
+the towns at last rise and expel them. A few of them are killed in the
+process. The flame spreads. The settlements of the hated intruders
+are everywhere assailed. The Asiatic Embassies in London are attacked
+by the mob. Our Government, secretly sympathising with the popular
+feeling, are powerless to defend them. Even if they wished to do so,
+the soldiers would refuse to fire on the rioters.</p>
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">290</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then the Allied nations of Eastern Asia band together; a great army
+invades our unhappy country. A dire revenge is taken for the outrages
+on the missionaries and the attacks on the Embassies. Middlesex is
+laid waste with fire and sword; neither age nor sex is spared. The
+brutal Kamschatkans slay the children and violate the women. London is
+captured and looted. The flags of China, Corea, Kamschatka, and Siam
+fly from the roofs of Buckingham Palace; Marlborough House shelters
+the invaders; Windsor Castle is occupied by a garrison of the Allied
+troops. Flying columns march through the land, pillaging and burning
+as they go; the South of England is occupied by the enemy. Before the
+Allied nations evacuate the devastated land a crushing war indemnity is
+laid upon us.</p>
+
+<p>Would we love the yellow strangers then? True, we are backward and
+unprogressive. <em>They</em> are civilised and enlightened; and even against
+our will our country must be advanced. Still, I fear that we should
+be ungrateful enough to resent their kind efforts to improve us and
+persist in regarding them as unwelcome intruders.</p>
+
+<p>All this that I have imagined as befalling England has happened to
+China. For similar causes Canton was bombarded and captured. The
+treaty ports were forced to welcome foreign trade. Hong Kong, Tonkin,
+Kiau&#8208;chau, Port Arthur, all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">291</a></span> have been torn from China. Fire and sword
+have laid waste the province of Chi&#8208;li. Death to the men and disgrace
+to the women have been unsparingly dealt. Can we wonder that the
+Chinese do not love the foreigner?</p>
+
+<p>Our missionaries go forth to earn the crown of martyrdom. But if they
+gain it their societies demand vengeance in blood and coin from the
+murderers. The Gospel of Love becomes the Doctrine of Revenge. &#8220;Forgive
+your enemies!&#8221; O ye saintly missionaries who are so shocked at the
+ungodly lives of your sinful fellow&#8208;countrymen in foreign lands, will
+you not practise what you preach? Think of the divine precept of the
+Master you profess to serve and pardon the blind rage of the ignorant
+heathen!</p>
+
+<p>So much for the China of the present. What of the future? She is now
+fettered by the shackles of blind ignorance, by the prejudices and
+retrogressive spirit of the tyrannical Manchu oligarchy who rule
+the land. Her strength is sapped by the poison of corruption. The
+officials, almost to a man, are mercenary and self&#8208;seeking. Extortion
+and dishonesty are found in every class. Suppose a tax is laid upon
+a certain province. The Viceroy orders the mandarins to collect it
+from their districts. They send forth their myrmidons to wring it
+from the people, by threats and torture if need be. Enough must be
+raised to satisfy the many vultures<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">292</a></span> through whose claws it will pass
+before it reaches Pekin. Twice, three times the amount of the sum
+asked for originally must be gathered from the unfortunate taxpayers,
+in order that each official through whose hands it goes on its way to
+the Imperial Treasury may have his share of the spoil. And how is all
+the money raised in the vast Empire spent? Not on the needs of the
+land, certainly. Few roads or bridges exist. They have mostly been
+constructed by charity. The railways&mdash;and there are not many&mdash;were
+built by foreign capital.</p>
+
+<p>Is there no hope for China? Must she remain for ever the spoil of the
+strong? Or will she one day recognise the secret of her weakness,
+reform and become a power too formidable to be lightly offended? She
+has an example always before her eyes. Forty years ago Japan was as
+ignorant and prejudiced. Foreigners were hated; the country was closed
+to them. The Mikado was then as powerless as the Emperor of China is
+now. The spear and the sword were the weapons which the soldiers of
+Japan opposed to the cannons and rifles of the Europeans. Foreign
+fleets bombarded the coast&#8208;towns and wrung concessions from the
+rulers of the helpless land. The country was divided between powerful
+chieftains of warlike clans.</p>
+
+<p>Yet at one stroke of a magic wand all was changed. Japan now ranks
+among the Great Powers of the world. Her army commands respect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">293</a></span>
+and fear; on war&#8208;footing it numbers over half a million&mdash;and the
+Japanese have always been gallant soldiers. Her navy is as modern
+and well&#8208;equipped as any afloat. The resources of the country have
+been developed. A network of railways covers the land; telegraphs and
+telephones link the important towns. Her manufacturers compete with
+Europe in every market in Asia. Her merchant ships are all but built in
+her own dockyards. The fleets of her steamship companies, such as the
+Nippon Yusen Kaisha, would not discredit Liverpool or New York. Lines
+of splendid passenger steamers, some of them over 6,000 tons, run to
+Europe, America, and Australia. Smaller lines keep up communication
+between Japan and the coasts of Siberia, Corea, and China. Education
+is widespread; universities and schools abound. Manufactures are
+encouraged by a liberal policy. The forest of factory chimneys in Osaka
+gives that town the semblance of Birmingham as one approaches it in the
+train. The water&#8208;power universal throughout the islands is utilised
+freely. Electric light is found in almost every city in the empire.
+It is installed in even the smaller private houses. Automatic public
+telephone kiosks dot the streets of the capital. In provincial towns
+like Nagoya electric trams run.</p>
+
+<p>All that Japan has become, China may yet be. Nay, more. The former is
+poor, her territory small,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">294</a></span> the greater part of the country encumbered
+with unprofitable mountains. The undeveloped wealth of the latter is
+enormous. Gold, silver, copper, iron, and coal are all found. Vast
+stretches of forest cover the interior. The soil is incredibly fertile;
+and her people are naturally intelligent. The Chinese in Hong Kong and
+elsewhere, as merchants, as shipowners, as professional men, prove
+it. The schools and colleges of our island colony are filled with the
+clever, almond&#8208;eyed students. In the Straits Settlements, as in Hong
+Kong, they compete with the Europeans in commerce and vie with them
+in wealth. All that he is in other countries the Chinaman can become
+in his own under the liberal rule of an enlightened Government. The
+foreigners who trade with the Chinese say that the latter are far more
+trustworthy in business than many a white man. The Chinese merchant&#8217;s
+word is his bond. The Japanese are not so reliable; and their artisans
+are by no means as industrious as their Celestial neighbours. The
+latter, under no compulsion, will toil day and night to complete some
+work by the time they have agreed to finish it.</p>
+
+<p>The Chinese soldier is regarded with universal contempt. His
+achievements in the past, when pitted against European troops, have not
+exalted his name. But in 1900 he first showed what splendid material
+he is. With the passive courage of fatalism, incomprehensible to more
+highly strung<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">295</a></span> races, the Chinaman will face death without a struggle.
+When roused by fanaticism he will fight blindly to the end; but in cold
+blood he has no ambition for military glory. When led to battle for
+a cause of which he knows or cares nothing, he is ready to save his
+life by a timely flight with no feelings of shame or self&#8208;reproach. He
+has never been taught otherwise. In China moral suasion or deceit are
+looked upon as more glorious weapons than sword or gun.</p>
+
+<p>But if he were well disciplined and led to understand the meaning
+of <em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">esprit de corps</span></em>, well treated and well led, he would prove no
+contemptible soldier. The Boxers who with knives and spears charged
+up to within fifty yards of Seymour&#8217;s well&#8208;armed men and faced the
+withering fire of magazine rifles with frenzied courage; the Imperial
+troops who harassed his brave column day and night; the students who
+fought their guns to the last when the Tientsin Military College was
+taken by the Allies&mdash;were these cowards?</p>
+
+<p>What the Chinaman can be made to do with proper leading may be seen
+in the behaviour of our Chinese Regiment, little more than a year
+raised, all through the campaign of 1900. When the British, American,
+and Russian stormers had captured the Peiyang Arsenal, on June 27th,
+an attempt to cut them off from Tientsin was made by a large body of
+Imperial troops and Boxers who tried to get between them and the river,
+across which they had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">296</a></span> to pass on their return. Lieutenant&#8208;Colonel
+Bower, intrepid explorer and gallant soldier, led out his Chinese
+Regiment and drove off the enemy. The conduct of the men under fire was
+excellent.</p>
+
+<p>It is absurd to suppose that the Chinaman cannot learn the art of
+modern warfare. The example of the Imperial troops who attacked Seymour
+and besieged Tientsin amply proves this statement. They took advantage
+of cover with cleverness and knowledge. They used their magazine rifles
+with accuracy and effect. Their gunners were excellently trained.
+Their shooting was so good that at first it was falsely supposed that
+the guns were served by renegade Europeans. The arms with which they
+were equipped were excellent. The troops were well supplied with
+quick&#8208;firing Krupps and magazine rifles. That they could use these
+weapons was proved by the heavy losses among the Allied sailors and
+soldiers in the early part of the campaign.</p>
+
+<p>The Chinese offered so little resistance to the Allies on the march to
+Pekin, the war collapsed so suddenly on the fall of the capital, that
+scant justice has been done to the courage displayed on both sides
+during the heavy fighting with Seymour&#8217;s column and around Tientsin.
+The losses among the Europeans show how desperate it was. Admiral
+Seymour&#8217;s column, out of less than 2,000 men, lost 295 killed and
+wounded in sixteen days. The casualties among the British contingent of
+900 bluejackets<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">297</a></span> and marines, amounted to 27 killed and 97 wounded. The
+Americans out of 120 men lost 4 killed and 25 wounded. The stormers of
+the Taku forts also lost heavily.</p>
+
+<p>In the beginning of the attack on the Peiyang Arsenal by the Russians,
+they lost over 200 men and had to send for help to the Americans and
+the British.</p>
+
+<p>In the Boxer night attack on Tientsin railway station in July, the
+British, French, and Japanese defending it had 150 casualties.</p>
+
+<p>Out of a total of 5,000 men engaged in the taking of Tientsin native
+city on July 13th and 14th, the Allies lost nearly 800 men.</p>
+
+<p>The Egyptian <em>fellah</em> was once considered to be utterly hopeless as a
+fighting&#8208;man. But British officers nursed him, strengthened his moral
+fibre, and then led him into battle. Witness his behaviour at the
+Atbara and at Omdurman. The army that the genius of Lord Kitchener had
+moulded so skilfully proved invincible; and the <em>fellah</em> did his fair
+share of the fighting.</p>
+
+<p>The Chinaman in natural courage, in physique, and in stamina is far
+superior to the Egyptian. Why should he not become a more formidable
+fighting&#8208;man? Think what the Celestial Empire could do if its soldiers
+were properly armed, trained, and led; if the spirit of self&#8208;respect
+were instilled into them and their natural passive courage fanned into
+active bravery! Think of a warlike army<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">298</a></span> recruited from a population of
+400,000,000; and at its back a reformed China, its resources developed,
+its immense wealth properly utilised, its people free and filled with
+patriotic pride!</p>
+
+<p>What Japan has accomplished, China, once her leader and her conqueror,
+may yet achieve. And signs of the Great Awakening are at hand!</p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2>FOOTNOTES:</h2></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">1</span></a> Pronounced &#8220;Way high way.&#8221;</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">2</span></a> <em>i.e.</em> Government.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">3</span></a> Lord Curzon, in his interesting book, <cite>Problems of the Far
+East</cite>, refers to this building as &#8220;The Temple of Heaven&#8221; and calls what
+I have described as &#8220;The Centre of the Universe&#8221; &#8220;The Altar of Heaven.&#8221;
+He is more likely to be correct than the officers of the armies of
+occupation, but I give the names which they used.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">4</span></a> These dimensions were given me by Lieutenant Pearson,
+<span class="smcap">R.E.</span>, who had to tunnel the wall to allow the passage of a
+railway line.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">5</span></a> They had only forty rifles all told.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote">
+
+<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">6</span></a> Japan.</p></div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">299</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="chapter"><h2 id="INDEX">INDEX</h2></div>
+
+<ul class="index">
+<li class="ifrst">
+Aberdeen, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Admiral Ho, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Admiral Seymour at the siege of Tientsin, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">his advance on Pekin, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Affleck&#8208;Scott, Mr., <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Ah Ting, Naval Dairy Farm, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Alarm in Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Alarm in Macao, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Allied Armies, men and methods of, <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Allied Commissioners in Canton, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Allied Fleet at Taku, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+American Army, Continental criticism, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">excellence of the men, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">elastic discipline, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">courage of, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">gallantry at Tientsin, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">comradeship with British troops, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">contempt for Continentals, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">discomfiture of British subaltern, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Army, American, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Chinese in the past, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">of the future, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Dutch, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">French, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">German, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Indian, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Japanese, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Russian, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Italian, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Arrest, in Japan, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">in Macao, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">of an English colonel in Macao, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+<em>Arrow</em>, incident of the, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Astor House Hotel, Tientsin, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Barracoons in Macao, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Barrett, Lieut., Hong Kong Regiment, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">
+Bathing parties in Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bayly, Captain, <span class="smcap">R.N.</span>, gallantry at Tientsin, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Belcher&#8217;s Fort, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Belgian Legation in Pekin, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bella Vista, Macao, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bengal Lancers, 1st, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bersagliere, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bikanir, H.H. the Maharajah of, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Black Flags, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Boa Vista Hotel, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Boer Campaign, lessons of, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">foreign ignorance respecting, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bogue Forts, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bombay Light Cavalry, 3rd, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">a sowar&#8217;s opinion of the Russians, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bombay Infantry, 22nd, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bombay Pioneers, 28th, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bower, Lieut.&#8208;Col., Chinese Regiment, <a href="#Page_296">296</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Boxers, night attack on Tientsin station, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">courage of, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">losses, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">hostility to Cantonese traders, <a href="#Page_284">284</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Brigands, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bridge of boats at Tientsin, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bridge, marble, at Summer Palace, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bronze Pagoda, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Bronzes in Forbidden City, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Browning, Major, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Buddha, images of, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">300</a></span>
+Buddhist monks, <a href="#Page_108">108</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Buddhist temple, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Burke, Lieut., 22nd Bombay Infantry, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Cable tramway to the Peak, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Camoens, Gardens of, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+<em>Cangue</em>, punishment of the, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Canton, history of intercourse with foreigners, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">food supplier to Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">projected railway to, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">turbulence, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">reformers in, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">land and river approach, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">description, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">population, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">its streets, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">its shops, <a href="#Page_265">265</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">prison, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">its trade, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">its importance to English commerce, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">an attack on, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">energy of French consuls in, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Cap&#8208;sui&#8208;Moon Pass, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Carvalhaes, Senhor, A.D.C. to Governor of Macao, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Casserly, Lieut., <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Cathedral, Roman Catholic, in Pekin, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">its siege, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">at Canton, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">San Paulo at Macao, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Cavalry, French, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Japanese, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Indian, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">in Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Cemetery at Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Macao, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Centre of the Universe, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Cession of the Kowloon Hinterland, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Chasseurs d&#8217;Afrique, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Chifu, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+China an easy prize, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">her sufferings in the past from foreigners, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">of the present, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">of the future, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Chinese Army of the past, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>;</li>
+
+<li class="isubi">
+want of patriotism, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">family love, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Mohammedans, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">difference in languages, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">dislike to foreigners, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">extortion of mandarins, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">as merchants abroad, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">trade honesty of, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">splendid material for soldiers, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">in modern warfare, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">soldiers in the South, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">in the North, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">examinations, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Chinese Arsenal at Tientsin, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">guns made at, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Chinese Regiment, guard at Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">barracks, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">behaviour in action, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Chinese workmen, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Chong Wong Foo, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+City Hall, Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Clocks in Emperor&#8217;s palace, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Club, Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Tientsin, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">German at Tientsin, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">English Tennis at Macao, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Portuguese Naval Tennis Club, Macao, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Military Club, Macao, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+<em><span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Cloisonn&eacute;</span></em> in Pekin, its manufacture, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Coal Hill, Pekin, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Cockroaches as an article of diet, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Concessions, European, in Tientsin, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">in Canton, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Confucius, Temple of, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Consulate, British, at Tientsin, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">foreign, at Canton, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Coolie Corps, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Cossacks at play, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Customs, Imperial Chinese, station on Mah Wan, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">at Samchun, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">officers of, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Curzon, Lord, <cite>Problems of the Far East</cite>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li>
+
+<li class="ifrst"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">301</a></span>
+Dagoes, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Daibutsu at Kamakura and Hiogo, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Death of a thousand cuts, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+De Boulay, Major, <span class="smcap">R.A.</span>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Deep Bay, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Development of Japan, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Dobell, Major, <span class="smcap">D.S.O.</span>, Royal Welch Fusiliers, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Docks, Kowloon, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Dockyard, Royal Naval, at Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">at Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Dorward, General, his eulogy of American troops, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Dowager&#8208;Empress, her pavilion in the Forbidden City, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">palace in Pekin, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Summer Palace, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">seizure of the Emperor, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">supposed plan to entrap the Allies, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Dragon Gate in Canton, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Drummond, Mr. Ivor, <span class="smcap">C.I.C.</span>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Dutch Expeditionary Force, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">their envy of the Portuguese colonies in the past&mdash;attempt on Macao, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+East India Company in Canton, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Efficiency of British officers of the Indian Army, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">of the Japanese Intelligence Department, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Egyptian <em>fellah</em> compared to the Chinaman, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Elderton, Commander, <span class="smcap">D.S.O.</span>, good work at Taku, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Embroidery in Canton, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Emperor, his powerlessness, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">his palace, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">throne room, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">harem, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">private apartments, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+English Concession at Tientsin, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">
+English Legation at Pekin, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+English officers, friendship with the Americans, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">linguists in China, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">supposed ungraciousness of manners, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">plain campaigning dress, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Examinations, Chinese system of, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Examination Hall in Canton, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Examiners, Chinese, at Canton, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Executions at Tientsin, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">in Canton, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Extortion of mandarins, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Fair, Lieut., <span class="smcap">R.N.</span>, Flag&#8208;Lieutenant to Admiral Seymour, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Family love of the Chinese, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Fans, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Fan&#8208;tan in Samchun, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">in Macao, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Fares from Hong Kong to Canton and Macao, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Favrier, Archbishop, defends the Peitan gallantly, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">captures a Chinese gun, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">introduction to him, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Ferreira Amaral, Governor of Macao, refuses to pay tribute to the Chinese, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Fighting races of India, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Fireworks, Chinese, <a href="#Page_219">219</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Flags of Chinese troops in Samchun, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Floating population of Canton, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">of Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Flora, Governor&#8217;s summer residence, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Flowery Forest Monastery, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Forbidden City, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+French Army, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">intimacy between French and German soldiers in Tientsin, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Infanterie Coloniale, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>;</li>
+
+<li class="isubi"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">302</a></span>
+infantry, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">officers, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">method of maintaining discipline, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">training and organisation, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Zouaves and Chasseurs d&#8217;Afrique, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+French colonial party, suspected designs on Macao, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">on Canton, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+French post&#8208;office in Canton, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Frontier Field Force, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Frontier of the Kowloon Hinterland, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Fusiliers, Royal Welch, attack on a patrol, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">in the Hinterland, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Hong Kong garrison, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Garrison of Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">of Macao, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Gascoigne, Major&#8208;General Sir W., <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Gaselee, General Sir A., <span class="smcap">K.C.B.</span>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+German Army, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">adherence to close formations and antiquated tactics, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">campaigning dress in China, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">failure of transport, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">soldiers, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">their friendship with the French, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">officers of, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+German Club at Tientsin, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+German Imperial Navy, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">mercantile marine, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Gordon Hall, Tientsin, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Gough, Sir Hugh, attacks Canton, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Government of Macao, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Governor of Macao, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Grant&#8208;Smith, Mr. Ivan, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Gray, Captain, 4th P.I., <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Green Island, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Gunboats, allied, at Taku, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">at Canton, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">British fired at, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">
+Gurkhas, friendship with Japanese, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">ingratitude of foreign troops sheltered by them, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">officers at Shanhaikwan, <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Hall, Examination at, Canton, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Hall of Five Hundred Genii, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Hall of Ten Thousand Ages, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Happy Valley, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Hardy, Rev. Mr., <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Harem, Emperor&#8217;s, in Pekin, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Ha&#8208;ta&#8208;man Street, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Gate, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Hatherell, Captain, 22nd Bombay Infantry, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Heaven, Temple of, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+<em>Heungshan</em>, <span class="smcap">S.S.</span>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Heung Shan, Island of, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+<a name="Hinterland" id="Hinterland">Hinterland</a>, Kowloon, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">character and description of, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">projected railway through, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">cession, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">advantages to Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">column guarding it, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">want of maps of, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">British police in, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Honam, Cantonese suburb of, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Hong Kong, importance as a naval and military base, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">harbour, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">menace of famine, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">commercial importance, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">geography, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">description, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>&#8211;184;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Club, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">climate, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">society in, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">value of dollar, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Hong Kong Regiment, bravery at Tientsin, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">barracks, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">disbanded, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Hong Kong, Canton to Macao Steamboat Co., <a href="#Page_234">234</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Hong Kong and Singapore Artillery, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, ruins in Pekin, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">building in Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">303</a></span>
+Hong Kong Volunteers, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Horrors, Temple of, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+H&ocirc;tel du Nord, Pekin, <a href="#Page_71">71</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Hsi&#8208;ku Arsenal, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Hsin&#8208;ho, British landing&#8208;place at, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Hutchinson, Lieut., <span class="smcap">R.N.R.</span>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Imperial apartments, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Imperial Maritime Customs, Chinese, gunboat, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">officers, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">station at Samchun, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Imperial troops, Chinese, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Indian Army, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">fighting races of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Lord Roberts chiefly responsible for its efficiency, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">its British officers, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">organisation of a regiment, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">foreign criticisms, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Russian opinion of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">cavalry, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">infantry, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">impossibility of another Mutiny, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">loyalty of the sepoy, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+India as a training&#8208;ground for troops, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Indian Expeditionary Force, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Indian Commissariat at Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">at Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Indian Marine, Royal, officers of, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Infanterie Coloniale, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Infantry, excellence of Japanese, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Indian, foreign criticisms of, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">composition of a native regiment of, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Intelligence Department, Japanese, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Italian Expeditionary Force, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Ivory carving in Canton, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Japan in the past, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">its modern development, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">arrests in, <a href="#Page_252">252</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Japanese Army captures Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>;</li>
+
+<li class="isubi">
+transport, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">campaigning dress, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">cavalry, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">infantry, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">infantry in action, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">organisation, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Intelligence Department, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">officers as intelligence agents in Pekin, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">excellent discipline, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">courage and moderation, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">friendship for Indian troops, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Japanese Fleet, arrival at Shanhaikwan, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Johnstone, Major, <span class="smcap">R.M.L.I.</span>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Junks, marble junk, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">junks in Hong Kong harbour, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">war junks, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Kell, Lieut., S. Stafford Regt., <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Kettler, murder of Baron, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">monument, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Kettlewell, Major, commands Frontier Field Force, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Kipling, Rudyard, his description of Canton, <a href="#Page_256">256</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Kowloon, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">docks, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">society, <a href="#Page_193">193</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Kowloon, Chinese city of, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Kowloon Peninsula, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Kowloon Hinterland, <a href="#Hinterland"><em>see</em></a> Hinterland.</li>
+<li class="indx">
+Kwang&#8208;tung, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">rebellion in, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Labertouche, Captain, 22nd Bombay Infantry, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Ladies&#8217; Recreation Ground, Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Lama Temple, Great, Pekin, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Lampacao, Portuguese settlement on, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Language, difference in Chinese languages in various provinces, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">polyglot, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">British officers as interpreters, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">304</a></span>
+Lantau, Island of, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Legation Street, Pekin, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Legations, Pekin, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">defence of, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">visit to English Legation, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">guard, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">new defensive wall, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Li Hung Chang, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Ling&#8208;chi, torture of, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Liscum, Colonel, U.S. Army, his death, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Liu&#8208;kung&#8208;tao, Island of, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Losses of Allies at Tientsin, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Lo&#8208;u, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Macao, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">its past history, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">its present decay, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">danger to Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">passage to, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">description, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>&#8211;40;</li>
+<li class="isubi">public gardens, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">government, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">society, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">affair with police, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">gambling houses, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">sights, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Madrassis, decay of, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Madras Sappers and Miners, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Madras Light Infantry, 3rd, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Mandarins at Samchun, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">corruption of Chinese, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">extortion, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Manchuria, Russian soldiers in, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Map of Kowloon Hinterland, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Marble junk, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Marble bridge at Summer Palace, <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Marco Polo, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Melville, Lieut., 22nd Bombay Infantry, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Mikado, <a href="#Page_292">292</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Military Club, Macao, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Military College, Tientsin, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Moji, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">
+Monte Carlo of the East, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Moon, Temple of, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Mosquitoes, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Mount Austen Hotel, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Mounted Infantry in Tientsin, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">usefulness in Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Mud of Pekin, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Mutiny in Macao, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Mutiny, impossibility of another Indian, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Nagoya, electric cars in, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Naval Dockyard at Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">at Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Navy, German, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Newchwang, Russian church parade in, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">railway to, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Nippon Yusen Kaisha, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Ogilvie, Lieut., <span class="smcap">R.A.</span>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Old Kowloon City, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Osaka, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Outrages on foreigners in China, <a href="#Page_287">287</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Pagoda, bronze, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Patriotism, want of, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">of India, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Peak in Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Pearl River, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Peddlers in Pekin, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">in Canton, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Peiho River, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Peitan, Roman Catholic Cathedral, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">siege, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Peiyang Arsenal, taking of, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Russian losses at, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Pekin, journey to, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">station, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">description, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">walls of, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Tartar and Chinese cities, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Tartar city, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Legations, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">mud, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Allied occupation of, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Forbidden City, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">305</a></span>
+<em>Pigmy</em>, H.M.S., takes Shanhaikwan forts, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Pioneers, 28th Bombay, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Police of Macao, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">affair with, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Police of new territory, British, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Polo ground in Victoria, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Polo in Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Ponies, troublesome Chinese, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Population of Canton, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Port Arthur, reinforcements from, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">retention of, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Portuguese colony of Macao, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">tribute to China, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">police, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Naval Tennis Club, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Powell, Sir Francis, <span class="smcap">R.N.</span>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Pottery, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Praia Grande, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Punjaub Infantry, 4th, in action with Japanese troops, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">guarding the railway, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">under Lieut. Stirling, <span class="smcap">D.S.O.</span>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Purple or Forbidden City, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Puzzle&#8208;balls, Chinese, <a href="#Page_267">267</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Quarto del Sargento, <a href="#Page_248">248</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Queen&#8217;s House, Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Queen&#8217;s Road, Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_248">248</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Railways in North China, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">from Tong&#8208;ku to Pekin, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">to Shanhaikwan, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Railway, projected, to Canton, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Railway Siding incident, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Railway Staff Officers, British, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Reformers in Southern China, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Ringing Rocks at Macao, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Roberts, Lord, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Royal Indian Marine Officers, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Royal Welch Fusiliers, attack on patrol, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">in the Hinterland, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Hong Kong garrison, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">
+Rudkin, Lieut, 20th Bombay Infantry, his tact and firmness, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Rue du General Voyron, Pekin, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Rundell, Lieut., <span class="smcap">R.E.</span>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Russian Army, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">troops, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">endurance of soldiers, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">piety, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">courage, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">comradeship between officers and men, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Russian Railway Staff Officer at Shanhaikwan, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Russians seize railways in North China, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">seize rolling stock at Shanhaikwan, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">dinner party at Shanhaikwan on the cliffs, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">a dinner with Russian officers, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">causes of dislike to England, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Samchun, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">visit to, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">river, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Sampans in Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+San Paulo, ruined cathedral of, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Satow, Sir Ernest, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Saunders, Lieut., <span class="smcap">R.A.</span>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Sepoys, opinion of foreign contingents, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">loyalty of, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Seymour, Admiral Sir Edward, courage in Tientsin, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">his advance on Pekin, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Shameen, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Sharpe, Captain, 3rd Madras Light Infantry, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Siberian Army, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Siege of Tientsin, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Siege of the Peitan, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Siege train, disappointment of British, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Sikhs, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Silks in Pekin, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">306</a></span>
+Shanhaikwan, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">strategic importance of, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">railway journey to, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">town of, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Great Wall of China at, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">arrival of Japanese Fleet at, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">forts at, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Japanese and Indians at, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Society in Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Kowloon, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">in Macao, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Spirit Path, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Stanley, abandoned town of, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Stirling, Lieut., <span class="smcap">D.S.O.</span>, 4th Punjaub Infantry, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Straubenzee, General Sir Charles, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Streets of Canton, <a href="#Page_263">263</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Streets of Pekin, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Summer Palace, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Sun Yat Sen, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Tai&#8208;mo&#8208;shan, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Tai&#8208;u&#8208;shan, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Taku, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">forts, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Taku Road, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Tartar City, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Temple of Heaven, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Sun, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Moon, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">in Forbidden City, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Lama, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Confucius, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Five Hundred Genii, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">of Horrors, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+<em>Terrible</em>, H.M.S., at Shanhaikwan, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">gunners, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Tientsin station, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">concessions, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Chinese City, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Club, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">siege of, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Tommy Atkins in Tientsin, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Tong&#8208;ku, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Allies at, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">station, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Tong&#8208;shan, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Tortures, Chinese, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Traders, Chinese as, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Transport officers, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li>
+
+<li class="indx">
+Transport of Germans defective, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">of Japanese, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Indian, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Treaty Ports, <a href="#Page_258">258</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Triad Society, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Tung Chow, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Valley, Happy, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Vasilievski, General, wounded at Pekin, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Victoria, Hong Kong, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Victoria Road, Tientsin, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Vladivostock, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Vodki, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Von Waldersee, Count, and our Royal Horse Artillery, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Wall, Great, of China, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Walls of Canton, <a href="#Page_261">261</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Walls of Pekin, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Walls of Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Want of patriotism among the Chinese, <a href="#Page_281">281</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Water&#8208;gate of Tartar City, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">of Canton, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei by night, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">by day, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Chinese village of, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">taken by Japanese, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Welch Fusiliers, Royal, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+West River, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Whittall, Major, Hyderabad Contingent, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Williams, Major, Base Commissariat Officer, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Woolley, Captain, <span class="smcap">I.M.S.</span>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Workmen, Chinese, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+Yamen, Wei&#8208;hai&#8208;wei, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Canton, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">Samchun, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">British Consuls in Canton, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li>
+
+
+<li class="indx"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">307</a></span>
+Yangtsun, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Yaumati, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Yuan Shi Kai, army of, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li>
+<li class="ifrst">
+<em>Zaire</em>, Portuguese gunboat, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>;</li>
+<li class="isubi">lands sailors, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li>
+<li class="indx">
+Zouaves, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li>
+</ul>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="figcenter chapter">
+<img src="images/colophon.jpg" width="100" height="115" alt="" /></div>
+
+<hr class="chap" />
+
+<div class="transnote chapter"><p>Transcriber&#8217;s Notes:</p>
+<p>The original accentuation, spelling and hyphenation has been retained.
+An exception is the change of &#8220;shell-fire&#8221; to &#8220;shell fire&#8221; in Contents, Chapter II.</p>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Land of the Boxers, by Gordon Casserly
+
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+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
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author	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-02-05 05:14:04 -0800
committer	nfenwick <nfenwick@pglaf.org>	2025-02-05 05:14:04 -0800
commit	fe42c926d9c5d3539e81fb48fed7806d3d8f9ae3 (patch)
tree	7fde90c1588561caaa960845b18451d0dea456c6