ed in two; in others poor wretches are being
garroted, boiled in oil, broken on the wheel and subjected to many other
ingenious tortures. At one end is an elaborate joss-house, with a great
bronze bell near by. In normal conditions this temple is crowded, and
true believers buy slips of prayers, which they throw into the booths to
ward off ill luck.

The rush of refugees grew greater as we penetrated toward the heart of
the city. On the main curio street the huge gilded signs hung as if in
mockery above shops which had been stripped of all their treasures.
Occasionally a restaurant remained open and these were crowded with
chair coolies, who were waiting to be engaged by some merchant eager to
escape from the city. Gone was all the life and bustle that my
companions said made this the most remarkable street in Canton. It was
like walking through a city of the dead, and it bore a striking
resemblance to San Francisco's business district on the day of the great
fire. At intervals we passed the yamens of magistrates, but the guards
and attaches were enjoying a vacation, as no court proceedings were
held. Progress became more and more difficult as the rush of refugees
increased and returning chair coolies clamored for passageway. The
latter had taken parties to the river boats and were coming back for
more passengers. As it became evident that we could not see the normal
life of the city, my companions finally urged that we return, as they
feared the gates might be closed against us, so we retraced our way,
this time taking the main street which led to the great south gate.

Not far from the gate we came on the scene of the blowing up of the
Tartar general. Seven shops on both sides of the street were wrecked by
the explosion. The heavy fronts were partly intact, but the interiors
were a mass of brick and charred timbers, for fire followed the
explosion. The general had waited several months to allow the political
excitement that followed his appointment to subside. He felt safe in
entering the city with a strong bodyguard, but not over one hundred
yards from the gate a bomb was thrown which killed the general
instantly, mangled a score of his retainers and killed over a dozen
Chinese bystanders. The revolutionists tried to clear the street so that
none of their own people should suffer, but they failed because of the
curiosity of the crowd.

Near by this place is the old Buddhist water clock, which for five
hundred year