and
depends upon the weight to shut off the sound. Out of compassion to
the mule, he attaches the stone so that it rests upon the ground and
makes no strain as long as the animal behaves himself.

[Illustration: A MUSICAL STOP.]

A Chinese pack-mule will carry about four hundred pounds of dead
weight, if properly adjusted. The loads are not lashed on the animals'
backs, but simply balanced; consequently, they must be very nicely
divided and arranged on each side of the saddles.

On the road from Pekin the track is so wretched, and the carts so
roughly made, that journeying with wheeled vehicles is next to an
impossibility. Travelers go on horseback--if their circumstances
allow--and by way of comfort, especially if there be ladies in the
party, they generally provide themselves with mule-litters. The
mule-litter is a goodly-sized palanquin, not quite long enough for
lying at full length, but high enough to allow the passenger to sit
erect. There is a box or false flooring in the bottom, to accommodate
baggage in small parcels that can be easily stowed. A good litter has
the sides stuffed to save the occupant from bruises; and with plenty
of straw and a couple of pillows, he generally finds himself quite
comfortable. The body is fastened to two strong and flexible poles
that extend fore and aft far enough to serve as shafts for a couple of
mules. At the ends of the shafts their points are connected by stout
bands of leather that pass over the saddles of the respective mules;
each band is kept in place by an iron pin fixed in the top of the
saddle, and passing through a hole in the leather. As the shafts are
long enough to afford the animals plenty of walking room, there is a
good deal of spring to the concern, and the motion is by no means
disagreeable. Sometimes the bands slip from the shafts, and in such
case the machine comes to the ground with a disagreeable thump; if the
traveler happens to be asleep at the time he can easily imagine he is
being shot from a catapult.

Just outside of Pekin there is a sandy plain, and beyond it a fine
stretch of country under careful cultivation, the principal cereal
being millet, that often stands ten or twelve feet high. Some cotton
is grown, but the region is too far north to render its culture
profitable.

About twenty miles from Pekin is the village of Sha-ho, near two old
stone bridges that span a river now nearly dried away. The village is
a sort of half-way halting pla