lled in China.

Foreign Ministers and Ambassadors coming to Washington soon learn to
follow these local customs. In a European country they ride in
coronated carriages, with two liverymen; but in Washington they usually
go about on foot, or travel by the street-cars. I frequently saw the
late Lord Pauncefote, the celebrated British Ambassador to Washington,
ride to the State Department in the street-car. My adoption of this
democratic way of travelling during the time I was in America was the
cause of a complaint being made against me at Peking. The complainants
were certain Chinese high officials who had had occasion to visit the
States; one of them had had a foreign education, and ought to have
known better than to have joined in the accusation that my
unpretentious manner of living was not becoming the dignity of a
representative of China. They forgot that when in Rome you must do as
the Romans do, and that to ride in a sumptuous carriage, with uniformed
footmen, is in America not only an unnecessary expense, but a habit
which, among such a democratic people as the Americans, would detract
from, rather than add to, one's dignity. An envoy residing in a
foreign country should be in touch with the people among whom he is
sojourning. If he put on unnecessary airs, there will be a coldness
and lack of cordiality between him and the community; his sphere of
usefulness will be curtailed, and his knowledge of the people and their
country limited. Of course, in a European Capital, where every
diplomat drives in a carriage, I should follow the example of my
colleagues. But even in England, I frequently met high statesmen,
such, for example, as Lord Salisbury, walking in the streets. This
unrestrained liberty and equality is remarkably conspicuous in the
United States; for instance, at the White House official receptions or
balls in Washington, I have seen ladies in ordinary dress, while on one
occasion a woman appeared in the dress of a man. This was Doctor Mary
Walker.

In a democratic country, such as the United States, one would naturally
suppose that the people enjoyed a greater degree of freedom than is
possible in monarchial countries. But, so far from this being so, in
some respects, they appear to be in a worse position. On my return
journey from South America, some years ago, our steamer had to stay for
four hours outside of New York harbor. We had first to wait for the
doctor to come on board to make