In a plate attached to next chapter, I have drawn, on a small scale, the existing cities of Peking, as compared with the Mongol and Chinese cities in the time of Kublai.  The plan of the latter has been constructed (1) from existing traces, as exhibited in the Russian Survey republished by our War Office; (2) from information kindly afforded by Dr. Lockhart; and (3) from Polo’s description and a few slight notices by Gaubil and others.  It will be seen, even on the small scale of these plans, that the general arrangement of the palace, the park, the lakes (including that in the city, which appears in Ramusio’s version), the bridge, the mount, etc., in the existing Peking, very closely correspond with Polo’s indications; and I think the strong probability is that the Ming really built on the old traces, and that the lake, mount, etc., as they now stand, are substantially those of the Great Mongol, though Chinese policy or patriotism may have spread the belief that the foreign traces were obliterated.  Indeed, if that belief were true, the Mongol Palace must have been very much out of the axis of the City of Kublai, which is in the highest degree improbable.  The Bulletin de la Soc. de Geographie for September 1873, contains a paper on Peking by the physician to the French Embassy there.  Whatever may be the worth of the meteorological and hygienic details in that paper, I am bound to say that the historical and topographical part is so inaccurate as to be of no value.

NOTE 14.—­For son, read grandson.  But the G. T. actually names the Emperor’s son Chingkim, whose death our traveller has himself already mentioned.

[Illustration:  Yuan ch’eng]

NOTE 15.—­["Marco Polo’s bridge, crossing the lake from one side to the other, must be identified with the wooden bridge mentioned in the Ch’ue keng lu.  The present marble bridge spanning the lake was only built in 1392.”  “A marble bridge connects this island (an islet with the hall I-t’ien tien) with the Wan-sui shan.  Another bridge, made of wood, 120 ch’i long and 22 broad, leads eastward to the wall of the Imperial Palace.  A third bridge, a wooden draw-bridge 470 ch’i long, stretches to the west over the lake to its western border, where the palace Hing-sheng kung [built in 1308] stands.” (Bretschneider, Peking, 36.)—­H.  C.]

[1] Some years ago, in Calcutta, I learned that a large store of charcoal
    existed under the soil of Fort William, deposited there, I believe, in
    the early days of that fortress.

    ["The Jihia says that the name of Mei shan (Coal hill) was given
    to it from the stock of coal buried at its foot, as a provision in
    case of siege.” (Bretschneider, Peking, 38.)—­H.  C.]

CHAPTER XI.

CONCERNING THE CITY OF CAMBALUC.