hina from the
inroads of wild Tartars, who came down in hordes from Manchuria,
Mongolia and the steppes of Northern Asia to seek plunder in the
plains.

[Illustration: THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA.
_To face page 158._]

Chinawards there is a low parapet, while stone stairs built into the
middle of the wall lead from the top through doorless gateways to the
ground, giving means of ingress and exit to defenders, but on the side
facing towards Mongolia the wall is crowned with battlements some four
and a half feet in height, affording ample protection and pierced
about every five feet with loopholes and embrasures.

One of the wonders of the world, its construction lasted ten years,
and at the date of completion was probably as futile to bar the
advance of a resolute foe as it would be to-day _vis-a-vis_ modern
artillery.

Wishing to secure a suitable souvenir of my visit I selected a
well-preserved brick, which, by means of knotted handkerchiefs, I
slung over my shoulder and so commenced the return journey. For three
or four miles all went well, but after that the brick commenced to get
rapidly heavier, until it became almost insupportable, while its
constant tapping in the small of my back, caused by the jerky trot of
the mule, was well-nigh intolerable. I tried to fasten it to the
saddle, but, simple as it may seem, it would not hold, besides making
the mule altogether unmanageable, so that after a desperate struggle
for a few miles further I cast it from me with mingled feelings of
disgust and thankfulness, and in all probability it remains in the
same spot to this very day.

We reached Yang Fang before dark and much enjoyed a rest and some
dinner, but as it was full moon and we were anxious to be back in
Peking early next day, my friend proposed that we should press on for
a couple of hours that evening.

With fresh ponies in place of the jaded mules, and feeling much
happier on our doeskin saddles, we went along gaily for some distance,
but the extreme cold and our own weariness soon began to tell, and we
became so drowsy that we determined to off-saddle at the next inn. We
had reckoned, however, without our host, for the inn was crammed full
and we were obliged to take to the road once more, and that in no very
amiable frame of mind. The next inn was if anything more crowded
still, and the next, and the next. For five mortal hours we plodded
on, more asleep than awake, and I retain but a misty recollection