erest to record. He wisely relieved the monotony of
camp life by making a journey to the Great Wall of China, which has
been visited by very few of our countrymen. He was doubtless prompted
by curiosity to undertake this expedition, but other motives were also
at work. He was a born soldier, he was good at surveying, and doubtless
he was anxious to ascertain by personal observation if any other route
existed than the well-known one by which a Russian army could march on
Pekin; but he was unsuccessful in finding one. During the journey the
cold was very severe; in one place, he says, "the raw eggs were frozen
hard as if they had been boiled."

* * *

It has been already mentioned that China was troubled by an extensive
civil war, which had been going on for many years. It appears to have
commenced in the province of Quang-Tung, and to have been headed by a
schoolmaster, Hung-tsue-schuen. That there must have been good cause
for the dissatisfaction which caused the outbreak is clear from the
fact that not only did thousands join the rising, but that among the
rebels were men of great ability. The leader seems to have been a
strange mixture of good and evil, and at one time appears to have had
an inclination towards Christianity. Unfortunately the evil part of his
nature predominated, and his head was turned by his success. During the
time the Chinese troops were engaged in war with the English, the
rebels had it pretty well their own way, and large tracts of the
country were devastated. Intoxicated with success, the rebels
threatened to attack Shanghai, and the merchants there, seeing how
incapable the Government was to protect them, subscribed to form a
small army to protect their interests. The command of this force was
given to an American named Ward, who appears to have been a born
soldier. His career was short, but he was engaged in seventy actions
and never lost one. So successful was he, that the Pekin authorities
conferred on his troops the pretentious title of "Ever-Victorious
Army." Unfortunately for that army, it soon lost its able commander,
for in September 1862 he was killed when assaulting a city near Ningpo.
He was succeeded by an American adventurer named Burgevine, who turned
out a complete failure, being one of that type of unprincipled men who
do so much harm in non-Christian countries. When he was dismissed,
application was made to the English General to appoint