the Chinese town is estimated at half a million, although there are no statistics that can be depended upon. The port was opened in 1860, under the treaty enforced by the British at the time of the campaign that culminated in the glorious and ever memorable destruction of the Summer Palace. At that time the only Europeans were the few missionaries who lived in the Chinese town. We made a tour of the town in chairs, and nothing more dismal and dreary have we seen in China. The streets were covered with dust, the sun shone down upon hard, baked walls; the sewers were open, and the air was laden with odors that suggested pestilence and explained the dreadful outbreaks of typhus and small-pox with which the city is so often visited. One of the first sights that attracted me was the number of people whose faces were pitted with small-pox. Mr. Holcombe informed me that small-pox had no terror for the Chinese, and that they did not believe it was contagious. In walking along the line of one of the Viceroy's regiments drawn up to salute the General, it seemed as if every other soldier's face bore marks of the disease. One visit to Tientsin, especially under the burning sun which has beamed upon us during our stay, was enough for observation and curiosity. The foreign settlement runs along the river. Streets have been laid out. Houses stand back in the gardens. Trees throw their shadows over the lanes. The houses are neat and tasteful, and the French Consulate is especially a striking building. This, however, was built by the Chinese as an act of reparation for the Tientsin massacre, one of the saddest events in the recent history of China. The American Consulate is a pleasant, modest little house that stands in the centre of a garden. The garden had been turned into a conservatory on the occasion of the General's visit, flowers in great profusion having been brought from all parts of the settlement. The whole settlement seemed to unite in doing honor to the General, and this hearty sympathy, in which every one joined, was among the most agreeable features of the General's visit to Tientsin. Even the captain of the British gun-boat showed his good-will by sending his crew and marines to act as a guard of honor at the house of the Consul. There was nothing oppressive in the hospitality, as has been the case in so many of the places visited by the General. The French Consul, Mr. Dillon, gave a dinner and a garden-party, at which all the inhabitants attended. The grounds were beautifully illuminated. One of the features of the dinner at the French Consul's was the presence of the Viceroy. This was the first time the Viceroy had ever attended a dinner-party at which Europeans were present with their wives. The only difference in the arrangement of the table was that the General escorted the Viceroy to the table, the ladies coming in after and sitting in a group on one side of the table. It was a quaint arrangement and not without its advantages, and the Viceroy, notwithstanding he was breaking through customs as old as the civilization of China, and apt to bring down upon him the censure of conservatives and the displeasure of the censors who sit in Pekin in judgment upon all officers of the Empire high and low, seemed to enjoy the feast. The fête at the French Consul's was made brilliant by a display of fireworks, which gave us a new idea of what was possible in pyrotechny under the cunning hands of the Chinaman. There was also a display of jugglery, the Viceroy, the General, and the ladies of the party sitting on the balcony and watching the performers. I was told that the Viceroy had never even seen a Chinese juggler before, and he certainly seemed to be pleased with the show. There was nothing startling about the tricks, except that what was done was pure sleight of hand. There were no machinery, no screens and curtains and cupboards. All that the players required were a blanket and a fan. They stood on the lawn and performed their tricks with the crowd all about them, drawing bowls full of water and dishes of soup and other cumbrous and clumsy articles from impossible places. At midnight the fête ended, and, considering the small colony and the resources possible to so limited a community, it was a great success. CHAPTER XXXVII. CONCERNING PEKIN BOAT-LIFE ON THE PEIHO EM BARKING FOR PEKIN THE END OF THE JOURNEY Continuing the narrative of their Eastern journey, the correspondent of the New York Herald writes: The question of how we should go to Pekin had been gravely discussed. You can go on horseback, or in carts, or in boats. It is only a question of degree in discomfort, for there is no comfort in China-none, at least, in travel. The quickest way of reaching Pekin from Tientsin is by horse. Horseback-riding is the principal amusement in Tientsin, and you can find good horses with Chinese attendants at a reasonable rate. Mr. Holcombe went ahead in a cart, so as to prepare the legation for the reception of the General and party. The cart in China is the accustomed method of travel, although an attempt at luxury has been made in arranging a mule cart or litter. The litter seems to be a recollection of the Indian litter or palanquin. You creep into an oblong box with a rest for the head, should you care to lie down. This box is mounted on shafts, and you have a mule leading and another bringing up the rear. While reviewing our arrangements for the journey, Mr. Holcombe, who has seen nearly every form of adventure and travel in China, gave his preference to the mule litter. The horse was impossible for the ladies of the expedition. The carts embodied so many forms of liscomfort that we were not brave enough to venture. They have no springs, and the roads, worn and torn and gashed, make travel a misery. There was no available method but the boats, and all day Judge Denny and other friends were busy in arranging the boats for the comfort of the General. In this labor the Judge was assisted by Mr. Hill, an old American resident of China, who knew the language, and who was so anxious to do honor to General Grant that he volunteered as quartermaster and admiral of the expedition. It would have been difficult to find a better quartermaster. There was no trouble, no care, that he did not take to insure us a safe and easy road to Pekin. When the boats necessary assembled, they formed quite a fleet. They were moored near the Ashuelot, and all the morning Chinamen were running backward and forward, carrying furniture and food. The party who visited Pekin were General Grant and Mrs. Grant; Mrs. Holcombe, wife of the acting American Minister; Colonel Grant, Lieutenant Belknap, Mr. Deering, and Mr. Case, officers of the Ashuelot. Mr. Hill, as I have said, went along as quartermaster. Mr. Pethich, the accomplished Vice-Consul of Tientsin, and one of the best Chinese scholars in our service, and the secretary of the Viceroy, an amiable young mandarin, who knew English enough to say "Good-morning," were among our scouts. There were two small, shallow gun-boats, which seemed to have no guns, except muskets, that brought up our rear. The General's boat was what is called a mandarin's boat-a large, clumsy contrivance, that looked, as it towered over the remainder of the fleet, like Noah's ark. It had been cleaned up and freshened, and was roomy. There were two bedrooms, a small dining-room, and in the stern what seemed to be a Chinese laundry-house, three stories high. It seemed alive with women and children, who were always peeping out |