. their long unwieldy sweeps in admirable unison; the sleeves of their
coats are almost as broad as the body of the garment, and at every sweep
of the oar these all flap up and down together in a manner most comical
to behold.

All day long our modest little sampan keeps company with this gay fleet,
giving me an excellent opportunity of witnessing its manoeuvres. Said
manoeuvres and evolutions consist of more or less noisy greetings and
demonstrations at every town and village we pass. In the case of a small
town, a number of pikemen and officials assemble on the shore, erect a
few flags, hammer vigorously on a resonant gong, shout out some sing-song
greeting and shoot off a number of bombs and fire-crackers. The foremost
vessel of the fleet replies to these noisy compliments by a salute of its
one gun, and mayhap throws in two or three bombs, according to the
liberality of the salutation ashore.

At the larger towns the amount of gunpowder burned and noise created is
something wonderful. Bushels of fire-crackers are snapping and rattling
away, the while gongs are beating, bombs exploding by the score, and
salvoes of artillery are making the mountains echo, from every vessel in
the fleet. Beneath the walls of a town we pass soon after noon are ranged
fifteen other junks; as the fleet passes, these vessels simultaneously
discharge all their guns, while at the same instant there burst upon the
startled air detonations from hundreds of bombs, big heaps of
firecrackers, and the din of many resonant gongs. Not to be outdone, the
fleet of twenty return the compliment in kind, and with cheers from the
crews thrown in for interest.

The fifteen now join the procession, adding volume and picturesqueness
to the already wonderfully pretty scene, by their hundreds of
brilliant-hued banners, and theatrically costumed oarsmen. About four
o'clock, as we are approaching the city of Hat-kiang, our destination for
the day, there comes to meet the gallant navy a pair of twin vessels
surpassing all the others in the gorgeousness of their flags and the
picturesqueness of the costumes. Purple is the prevailing color of both
flags and crew. At their splendid appearance our yameni-runners announce
in tones of enthusiasm and admiration that these new-comers hail from
Lin-kiang, a large city down stream, that I fancied, it will be
remembered, having reached at Ta-ho.

The officials are still abed when, in the early morning of the third day,