wed the windings of the River Taiping,
coasting along the edge of the high land on the left bank of the river.

[Illustration: THE SUBURB BEYOND THE SOUTH GATE OF TENGYUEH. (Stalls
under the Umbrellas.)]

Rain poured incessantly; the creeks overflowed; the paths became
watercourses and were scarcely fordable. "Bones," my opium-eating coolie
with the long neck, slipped into a hole which was too deep even for his
long shanks, and all my bedding was wetted. It was ninety li to Nantien,
the fort we were bound to beyond Tengyueh, and we finished the distance
by sundown. The town is of little importance. It is situated on an
eminence and is surrounded by a wall built, with that strange spirit of
contrariness characteristic of the Chinese, and because it incloses a
fort, more weakly than any city wall. It is not more substantial nor
higher than the wall round many a mission compound. Some 400 soldiers
are stationed in the fort, which means that the commander draws the pay
for 1000 soldiers, and represents the strength of his garrison as 1000.
Their arms are primitive and rusty muzzle-loaders of many patterns;
there are no guns to be seen, if there are any in existence--which is
doubtful. The few rusty cast-iron ten-pounders that lie _hors de combat_
in the mud have long since become useless. There may be ammunition in
the fort; but there is none to be seen. It is more probable, and more in
accordance with Chinese practice in such matters, that the ammunition
left by his predecessor (if any were left, which is doubtful) has long
ago been sold by the colonel in command, whose perquisite this would
naturally be.

The fort of Nantien is a fort in name only--it has no need to be
otherwise, for peace and quiet are abroad in the valley. Besides, the
mere fact of its being called a fort is sufficiently misleading to the
neighbouring British province of Burma, where they are apt to picture a
Chinese fort as a structure seriously built in some accordance with
modern methods of fortification.

I was given a comfortable room in a large inn already well filled with
travellers. All treated me with pleasant courtesy. They were at supper
when I entered the room, and they invited me to share their food. They
gave me the best table to myself, and after supper they crowded into
another room in order to let me have the room to myself.

Next day we continued along the sandy bed of the river, which was here
more than a mile in width. The river