densely crowded entrance, however, was
the Chinese gate, Chien-men; here, at times, it was almost impossible
for the jinrikisha to make a passage. The street scenes in Peking are
wonderful because of their variety, and the length of the streets adds
to their picturesqueness, although they are not quite so spectacular as
those of Jeypore, India.

Many different styles of dress are seen. I noticed the long flowing robe
of the Manchu women, with the Manchu head-dress and a remarkable
arrangement of hair on a frame, spreading at the back with a sort of
elongated butterfly effect, and held in place by a bright gold hairpin.
The bands of hair are brought over in a way to give the impression of
long loops, and they are decorated with bright flowers. The Manchu women
are taller than the Chinese women, and walk with a statelier tread, as
their feet have never been bound, the present Empress many years ago
having issued an edict prohibiting that custom. The edict is, however,
evaded, as Chinese fathers and husbands insist that the custom be kept
up, seeming to imagine that abolishing it would have some peculiar
effect on the character of the wife, perhaps resulting in
insubordination. The Chinese women part their glossy black hair in the
middle, wear it in smooth bands down the side of the forehead, and dress
it in the back in a great variety of low loops. They also wear
jewelled and gold hairpins that are really very artistic. Their dress
consists of the long black sack coat and loose trousers, much like those
of a man. The children of Peking, unlike those of the Orient, where
clothes are virtually dispensed with, wear long-sleeved, high-necked
garments reaching to the feet.

[Illustration: _Hata-men Gate_]

The bazars and shopping streets in Peking were interesting, many of the
buildings rising four stories in height, and having the same long narrow
decorated signs that I described in Canton. At intervals along the way
very high poles are erected, and on these are placed different kinds of
signs, giving these streets a brilliant appearance. The usual throng of
dealers and of diverse nationalities are represented, resulting in a
great deal of bustle and activity, a great deal of noise and dirt. The
crowds around some of the gateways included rows of vehicles and
sometimes a group of camels; but the most individual of all conveyances
is the Peking cart; indeed, I have never seen any inanimate object that
wore so individual an