resistible, that
I could not refuse, and I then left immediately, for he was quite
capable of making me buy up the whole of his shop. The Chinese are
certainly the cleverest traders in the world, and I predict that they
will prove formidable competitors to the dealers of London and Paris, if
it should ever occur to them to set up their establishments in Europe.

"After dinner, M. de Baluseck took leave of his wife, and set out on his
return to Pekin; Sir F. Bruce goes with us as far as Bourgaltai, the
first station in Mongolia. From our halting-place I can perceive the
ramifications of the Great Wall, stretching northward of the town
towards the crest of the mountains. Kaigan, which has a population of
200,000 souls, is the northernmost town of China proper."

On the 24th of May, the travellers, accompanied by Madame de Baluseck,
departed from Kaigan and crossed the Great Wall. This colossal defensive
work consists of double crenelated ramparts, locked together, at
intervals of about 100 yards, by towers and other fortifications. The
ramparts are built of brickwork and ash-tar cemented with lime; measure
twenty feet in height, and twenty-five to thirty feet in thickness; but
do not at all points preserve this solidity. In the province of Kansou,
there is but one line of rampart. The total length of this great
barrier, called Wan-ti-chang (or "myriad-mile wall") by the Chinese, is
1,250 miles. It was built about 220 B.C., as a protection against the
Tartar marauders, and extends from 3 deg. 30' E. to 15 deg. W. of Pekin,
surmounting the highest hills, descending into the deepest valleys, and
bridging the most formidable rivers.

Our travelers entered Bourgaltai in the evening, simultaneously with the
caravan of camels, which had started a fortnight before, and were lodged
in a squalid and filthy inn. Nothing, however, could disturb the
cheerful temperament of Madame de Bourboulon, who rose superior to every
inconvenience or vexation, and this _bonhommie_ is the chief charm of
her book. Thus, speaking of the first evening in this dirty Mongolian
inn, she says:--"There was nothing to be done but to be content with
some cold provisions, and our camping-out beds. It was the birthday of
Queen Victoria, and as our landlord was able to put his hand upon two
bottles of champagne, we drank, along with Sir Frederick Bruce and Mr.
Wade, her Majesty's health. Afterwards we played a rubber at whist (for
we had found some cards). Su