first shop the man said he did not like them as he did not know them.  Lay said, ‘Come to the ship and we will give you Sycee instead.’  ’See how just they are,’ said a man in the crowd to his neighbour; ’they do not force their coin upon him.’  This kind of ready recognition of moral worth is quite Chinese, and nothing will convince me that a people who have this quality so marked are to be managed only by brutality and violence.

[Sidenote:  Difficult navigation.] [Sidenote:  Highland scenery.]

December 1st.—­1.30 P.M.—­We have just anchored.  About an hour ago, we turned sharply to our left, and found on that hand a series of red sand-bluffs leading to a range of considerable blue hills which faced us in the distance; the river, as has been the case since we left the Rebel country, was covered with small country junks, and here and there a mandarin one, covered with flags, and with its highly-polished brass gun in the prow.  The scene had become more interesting, but the navigation more difficult, for the gunboats began hoisting ‘3’ and ‘4,’ and all manner of ominous numbers.  So we had:  ’Hands to the port anchor,’ ‘slower,’ and ‘as slow as possible,’ ‘a turn astern,’ and after a variety of fluctuations, ‘drop the anchor.’ Six P.M.—­We had to go a short way back, and to pass, moreover, a very shallow bit of the river; that done we went on briskly, and bore down upon the mountain range which we descried in the forenoon.  At about four we came up to it and turned to the right, with the mountains on our left and the town of Wooseuh on our right, while the setting sun, glowing as ever, was throwing his parting rays over one of the most beautiful scenes I ever witnessed.  The whole population crowded to the river bank to see this wonderful apparition of the barbarian fire-ships.  The hills rising from the water had a kind of Loch Katrine look.  We have made some thirty-five miles to-day, but have still, I fear, about 100 to go.

December 2d.—­Eleven A.M.—­A very prosperous forenoon.  Mountains soon rose to the right, similar to those on the left.  We cut our way through deep calm water, amid these hills of grey rock and fir woods, for some three hours and might really have imagined ourselves in the finest loch scenery of the Highlands.  Numbers of little boats dotted the river, and moved off respectfully to the right and left as we approached.  At about ten we passed out of the mountain range, and soon after neared Chechow, from which the population seemed to be moving, as we inferred from the numbers of small-footed women hobbling along the bank with their household effects.  We were boarded by a mandarin- boat, the officer of which informed me that he had been sent by the Governor-General to pay his respects.  He said that the Rebels were at no great distance, and the people were flying for fear of their attacking the town.  He added, however, that they (the Imperialists) had