Directory_and_Chronicle_1842 — Page 117

ISR

Notices of the Pet Ho

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for the emperor, e' sed this part of the procession. After these paraded the Tartar legale, and several othcers from the court, with their numerous atten- dants; some on horseback, some in chairs, and others on foot. Then follow- ed the embassador's guard in wagons, the servants, musicians, and mechan. ics, also in wagons; the gentlemen of the suite on horseback, the embas- sador, the minister plenipotentiary, hi son, and the interpreter, in four ornamented chairs; the rest of the suite in small covered carriages on two wheels, not unlike, in appearance, to our funeral hearses, but only about half the length; and, last of all, Wang and Chau, with their attendants, closed uus nolley procession. Though the distance was only twelve mues, it was thought advisable, by our conductors, to halt for breakfast, about half-way; for, as heavy bodies move slowly, what with the delay and confusion in first getting into order, and the frequent stoppages on the road, we found it was right o'clock before the whole of the cavalcade had reached the half-way house. Here we had a most sumptuous breakfast of roast pork and venison, rice and made dishes, eggs, tea, milk, and a variety of fruits served up on masses of ice. The porters and the heavy baggage moved forward, without. halting; and having ended our comfortable repast, we followed without loss of time. We had scarcely procceded three miles, till we found the sides of the road lined with spectators on horseback, on foot, in small carriages sinilar to those we rode in, in carts, wagons, and chairs. In the last were Chinese ladies; but, having gauze curtains at the sides and front, we could see little of them. Several well-looking women, in long silken robes, with a great number, of children were in the small carriages. These we understood to be Tartars. A file of soldiers now moved along with the procession, on each side of the road, armed with whips, which they continually exercised, in order to keep off the crowd, that increased as we approached the capital, and, at length, was so great as to obstruct the rond. We observed, however, that though the soldiers were very active and noisy in brandishing their whips, they only struck them against the ground, and never let them fall upon the people. Indeed, a Chinese crowd is not so tumultuous and unruly as it generally is elsewhere. The excessive heat of the weather, the dustiness of the road, the closeness of the carriages, and the slow manner in which we moved along, would have made this short journey almost insupportable, but from the novelty of the scere, the smiles, the grins, the gestures of the mul- titude, and, above all, the momentary expectation of entering the greatest city on the surface of the globe." Pages 59–61.

Du Halde places Peking in lat. 39° 55′ N.; and long. 116° 25′ E., about 3° 30' east of Canton. For a full account of the northern capital,' the reader is referred to vol. II., pages 433-443, and 481– 499. That account is accompanied by a map, on which are indicat- ed the most notable places and objects in anu about the city, and of the garden of Yuenming yuen, distant eight or ten miles west and northwest from the city. One of the rivulets, called the Tunghwni, by which the city is supplied with water, is also marked on the map.