f his father's trousers
flapping gently in the breeze. As I rose to leave crackers frightened my
pony, followed, in a few moments by a howling, hooting, unreasonable
rabble from a temple near by. I found it was the result of a village
squabble. I could scarce keep the order of my march as I left the
tea-shop, so roughly was I handled by the irritated and impatient crowd,
and had much ado to refrain from responding wrathfully to the repeated
jeers of impudent, half-grown beggars of both sexes who helped to swell
the riotous cortege. But through it all none of the insults were meant
for me, so Lao Chang told me, and they did not mean to treat me with
discourtesy.

Trees hollowed out and spanned from field to field served as gutters for
irrigation; shepherds clad in white felt blankets sat huddled upon the
ground behind huge boulders, oblivious of time and of the boisterous
wind, while their sheep and goats grubbed away on the scanty grass the
moorland provided; high up we saw forest fires, making the earth black
and desolate; ruins almost everywhere recalled to one's mind the image
of a past prosperity, which now were replaced by traces of misery,
exterior influences which seemed to breed upon the traveler a deep
discouragement. I came across some women mock-weeping for the dead: at
their elbow two girls were washing clothes, and when little children,
catching sight of me, ran to their mothers, the women stopped their
hulla-baloo, had a good stare at me, exchanged a few words of mutual
inquiry, and then resumed their bellowing.

Soon it became quite warm, and walking was pleasant. I was startled by
the _fu-song_,[AB] who invited me to go to a neighboring town for tea. My
men were far behind. I was at his mercy, so I went. Soon I found myself
passing through the city gates of Yang-lin, the very town I was trying
to keep away from. The yamen fellow turned back at me and chuckled
rudely to himself. I insisted that I did not wish to take tea; he
insisted that I should--I must. He led me to an inn in the main street,
arrangements were made to house me, old men and young lads gathered to
welcome me as a lost brother, and the _fu-song_ told me graciously that
he was going to the magistrate. In cruel English, with many wildly
threatening gestures, did I protest, and the people laughed
acquiescingly.

"Puh tong, puh tong, you gaping idiots!" I repeated, and it caused more
glee.

Swinging myself past them all, I dragged my stu