his right hand. The food was
roast pig and roast duck, cut into bits the size of one's thumb nail,
and each piece was to be dipped in the vinegar before going into the
mouth. Then there were dishes of hashed meat or stew, followed by
minced pies in miniature. I was a little suspicious of the last
articles and preferred to stick to the pig.

[Illustration: CHOPSTICKS, FORK, & SAUCER.]

We had good claret and bad sherry, followed by Chinese wine. Champagne
was brought when we began drinking toasts. Chinese wine, _sam-shoo,_
is drank hot, from cups holding about a thimbleful. It is very strong,
one cup being quite sufficient. The historic Bowery boy drinking a
glass of Chinese wine might think he had swallowed a pyrotechnic
display on Fourth of July night.

We conversed as before, going through English, French, Russian,
Mongol, and Chinese, and after dinner smoked our pipes and cigars. The
sargoochay had a pipe with a slender bowl that could be taken out for
reloading, like the shell of a Remington rifle. A single whiff served
to exhaust it, and the smoke passing through water became purified. An
attendant stood near to manage the pipe of His Excellency whenever his
services were needed. We endeavored to smoke each others' pipes and
were quite satisfied after a minute's experience. His tobacco was very
feeble, and I presume mine was too strong for his taste.

The sargoochay had ordered a theatrical display in my honor, though it
was not 'the season,' and the affair was hastily gotten up. When all
was ready he led the way to the theatre; the pipe-bearer came
respectfully in our rear, and behind him was the staff and son of the
sargoochay. The stage of the theatre faced an open court yard, and was
provided with screens and curtains, but had no scenery that could be
shifted. About thirty feet in front of the stage was a pavilion of
blue cloth, open in front and rear. We were seated around a table
under this pavilion, and drank tea and smoked while the performance
was in progress. There was a crowd of two or three hundred Chinese
between the pavilion and the stage. The Mongol soldiers kept an open
passage five or six feet wide in front of us so that we had an
unobstructed view.

[Illustration: CHINESE THEATRE.]

A comedy came first, and I had little difficulty in following the
story by the pantomime alone. Female characters were represented by
men, Chinese law forbidding women to act on the stage. Certain parts
of the