ARRIVING AT PEKIN. 397 gars have a running and staying power which our highly-fed people at home might envy. Sometimes an older beggar would appear, and kneel on the road and shake his rags and bend his forehead into the dust and crave alms. We noted tea-houses by the way, where our escort stopped for refreshment. In fact, the main duty of the escort seemed to be to gallop from teahouse to tea-house, tie their horses under the trees, refresh themselves, and on our arrival gallop on to the next point. Considering that our escort was more for ornament than use, that although robbers sometimes overhaul travelers on the Pekin road, we had enough in our own party to take care of any band of robbers we were apt to encounter, it was rather a comfort that they rode ahead and had their ease at their inns. As we THE TOILET. came to a town near Pekin we were met by other officials, who were presented to the General, and other troops. These ceremonies over, we kept on our road. The dust rose about us, the sun grew warmer and warmer, and the general discomfort of the weather, the country, the cheerless aspect of nature, the sloth, the indifference, the neglect, the decay that seemed to have fallen on the land, all combined to make the journey a weary one. In addition to this came the fatigue of riding in a chair. For an hour or less riding in a chair is novel, and you have no special sensations of fatigue. There is an easy, jogging gait, and you can look out of your window into the faces of the crowd as you pass along. But after the first hour you grow tired and cramped. You cannot move about. You are compressed into one position. You ache and grow restless, the jogging trot becomes an annoyance, and your journey, if it lasts more than two hours, becomes the most exhausting form of travel known to man. Shortly after midday we saw in the distance the walls and towers of Pekin. We passed near a bridge where there had been a contest between the French and Chinese during the Anglo-French expedition, and one of the results of which was that the officer who commanded the French should be made a nobleman, under the name of the Count Palikao, and had later adventures in French history. As we neared the city the walls loomed up, and seemed harsh and forbidding, built with care and strength as if to defend the city. We came to a gate and were carried through a stone-arched way, and halted, so that a new escort could join the General's party. The people of Pekin, after we passed the bazaars, did not seem to note our presence. Our escort rode on over the wide, dusty lanes called streets, and all that we saw of the city was the dust which arose from the hoofs of the horses that straggled on ahead. We were so hot, so weary with riding in our chairs, so stifled with the dust, that it was an unspeakable relief to see at last the American flag floating over the gateway of the Legation, and have a grateful and gracious welcome from our hosts. The Legation in Pekin is shut off from the main street by a wall. As you enter you pass a small lodge, from which Chinese servants look out with inquiring eyes. The American flag floats over the archway, an indication that General Grant has made his home here. It is the habit for the Legation ordinarily to display their colors only on Sundays and holidays. On the right side of the walk is a series of low, one-storied buildings, which is the home of the American Minister. They are of brick, painted drab, and covered with tiles. Nothing could PEKIN. 399 be plainer and at the same time more commodious and comfortable. On the left side is another series, where the Chargé d'Affaires, Mr. Holcombe, the acting Minister, resides. In the rear is a smaller building, for the archives of the Legation. Standing a little way off is a building called the Pavilion, set apart for guests. In the arrangement of the grounds and the buildings you note American simplicity and American energy. The energy seems to be devoted to making flowers and trees. grow. There are flowers and trees in abundance, and coming out of the hot, dusty town, as I did an hour ago, it was grateful to be welcomed by them. They have a forlorn time in this hard soil, and I have no doubt if the secrets of the Legation were unfolded it would be found that the preservation of the roses and the cedar was among the high cares of office. Under my window is a rosebush, a couple of roses depending from one stem being all that remain of its beauty. It seems to gasp for rain. Dr. Elmore, the Peruvian Minister, lives in Mr. Seward's section, and, as he gives a dinner to General Grant this evening, he has a small army of coolies watering his plants and trying to induce them to smile upon his guests. General Grant lives in Mr. Holcombe's apartments: the Colonel and I are in the Pavilion. Our naval friends are in Mr. Seward's house, under Dr. Elmore's hospitality, which is thoughtful and untiring. The Legation offices are plain but neatly kept. You have a library with the laws of the United States, Congressional archives, newspapers, and the latest mails. In a side room is an English clerk and a Chinese clerk. Behind this office is a row of other buildings, where the servants live and where the horses are kept. On the evening of our arrival the American residents in Pekin called in a body on the General to welcome him and read an address. Dinner over our party entered the Legation parlors, and were presented to the small colony of the favored people who have pitched their tents in Pekin. The members of this colony are missionaries, members of the customs staff, diplomatists, and one or two who have claims or schemes for the consideration of the Chinese Government. After being introduced to the General and his party, Dr. Martin, the president of the Chinese-English University, stepped forward and read an address, to which General Grant responded, thanking his fellow citizens for their kindness, wished them all prosperity in their labors in China and a happy return to their homes, where he hoped some day to meet them. 'ITHIN an hour or two after General Grant's arrival in Pekin he was waited upon by the members of the Cabinet, who came in a body, accompanied by the military and civil governors of Pekin. These are the highest officials in China, men of stately demeanor. They were received in Chinese fashion, seated around a table covered with sweetmeats, and served with tea. The first Secretary brought with him the card of Prince Kung, the Prince: Regent of the empire, and said that his Imperial Highness. had charged him to present all kind wishes to General Grant, and to express the hope that the trip in China had been pleasant. The Secretary also said that as soon as the Prince Regent heard from the Chinese Minister in Paris that General Grant. was coming to China he sent orders to the officials to receive VOL. II.-26 401 |