As this is one of the singularities of China, so they may be allowed to excel in it; but I am very sure they excel in their accounts of it; for they told me such incredible things of their performance in crockery-ware, for such it is, that I care not to relate, as knowing it could not be true.  They told me, in particular, of one workman that made a ship with all its tackle and masts and sails in earthenware, big enough to carry fifty men.  If they had told me he launched it, and made a voyage to Japan in it, I might have said something to it indeed; but as it was, I knew the whole of the story, which was, in short, that the fellow lied:  so I smiled, and said nothing to it.  This odd sight kept me two hours behind the caravan, for which the leader of it for the day fined me about the value of three shillings; and told me if it had been three days’ journey without the wall, as it was three days’ within, he must have fined me four times as much, and made me ask pardon the next council-day.  I promised to be more orderly; and, indeed, I found afterwards the orders made for keeping all together were absolutely necessary for our common safety.

In two days more we passed the great China wall, made for a fortification against the Tartars:  and a very great work it is, going over hills and mountains in an endless track, where the rocks are impassable, and the precipices such as no enemy could possibly enter, or indeed climb up, or where, if they did, no wall could hinder them.  They tell us its length is near a thousand English miles, but that the country is five hundred in a straight measured line, which the wall bounds without measuring the windings and turnings it takes; it is about four fathoms high, and as many thick in some places.

I stood still an hour or thereabouts without trespassing on our orders (for so long the caravan was in passing the gate), to look at it on every side, near and far off; I mean what was within my view:  and the guide, who had been extolling it for the wonder of the world, was mighty eager to hear my opinion of it.  I told him it was a most excellent thing to keep out the Tartars; which he happened not to understand as I meant it and so took it for a compliment; but the old pilot laughed!  “Oh, Seignior Inglese,” says he, “you speak in colours.”—­“In colours!” said I; “what do you mean by that?”—­“Why, you speak what looks white this way and black that way—­gay one way and dull another.  You tell him it is a good wall to keep out Tartars; you tell me by that it is good for nothing but to keep out Tartars.  I understand you, Seignior Inglese, I understand you; but Seignior Chinese understood you his own way.”—­“Well,” says I, “do you think it would stand out an army of our country people, with a good train of artillery; or our engineers, with two companies of miners?  Would not they batter it down in ten days, that an army might enter in battalia; or blow it up in the air, foundation and all, that there should be no sign