The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1861-10-05
RATRs or AnvRnnrs1nn
A VISIT TO THE GREAT WALL or
CHINA.


1MT. Fonblanque communicates 10 the
Lonooh Tunes graphic description of
lowing are extracts:
-, Accompanied by afr. Dick. an excellent
Nninese scholar and attached as an inter
prefer to the Commissarist T left Tian.ts;n
on the 18th of March. and. after a three
try as can well be conceived. came in sioht
OF the fine solid wall which incloses the
struggling mass of ruin. dirt. and decay.
called Pekin.
Chinese villages are, at best, rdreary and
squalid- looking, but on this route, where
the dogs of war have SO recently been le.
loose, there is something narrowing in the
misery and desolation Of the scene. Has
grinding oppression and long suffering
deadened the heart of the Chinese peasant
to all sense of injury? Or has be, after
all, Christian feeling of forgiveness to-
ward his enemies, for which no orthodox
Churchman would give the pagan credit d?
l cannot explain it, but I own to something
like sense of shame having come over me
as we two solitary, unarmed strangers pass
ed through crowds of men, women, and
children, standing by the chsrred ruins of
their homesteads and among their shattered
household gods, without being met by
single angry look or gesture-nay, more,
always receiving ready aud friendly reply
to every question. Perhaps they felt CRATE
tul that we had, at any rate, spared their
lives, which is more than they can expect
from their countrymen, the rebels, when
they pay them a visit.
u Some OF the villages along our road were
mere heaps of rubbish; others retained more
or less the semblance of human habitations.
In the larger ones, such as Ho-si-woo,
which it may be remembered was for some
time in occupation of our troops. the late
q enemy's inscriptions on doors and walls
seem to be riously preserved as agreeable
relics, and such familiar garrison words as
; Officers Quarters" "Canteen," "Fane's
Horse" "Commissariat." "General Hospi-
tai, F" etc., meet one at every turn; though
one cannot but remark with regret that the
f buildings which appear to have afforded
shelter to the invaders are sadly devoid of
everything in the shape of woodwork,
which was probably used as occasion re-
quired for cooking dinners and boiling wa
ter. A celebrated and imposing pawnbrok-
er's shop, which was ''looted'' here, has
not yet recovered itself. But let it be borne
in mind that in pillage, as in wanton de-
struction, the Chinese themselves far excel
the British, or even the French soldier; the
bonds of restraint once removed, and the
Celestial mob have no patriotic or religious
scruples as to the property of Mandarin,
priest, or peasaEt-as they fully exemplifed
at the sacking of Yuen-ming- yuen and the
Llama temple, the sacred proceeds Of which
are to this day openly offered for sale at
more or less exorbitant prices in the shops
, of Tien-tsin. -rff--
| Il French Bishop in Chinese AAire.-
t At Ho-si-woo we met French missionary
Bishop on his way to Europe, after having
: passed twenty years in China; he was
dressed in the native costume, even to the
pigtail, and appeared to be treated with
S great reverence by the unbelieving crowd
: who focked in 10 see the Mandarin priest"
The self-devotion, tho zeal, and, as very
t general rule, the pure and simple lives led
by the French missionaries in China-and
< their number throughout the Empire and
:, the kingdom of Siam exceeds one thousand
g FIVE hundred-are not without their effect
, upon the people, although this is not dis
o played by wholesale and indiscriminate con-
e version to nominal Christianity.
b. The Great WaH.-Another days jour
e ney brought US to Chataou-a hamlet at
d the last fifteen miles, had been SO bad that
t we we're obliged to leave our horse at Nan
8 kan, hiring in their place Tartar ponies.
}, Nothing less sure footed than these shaggy,
It hardy little beasts could have carried US
: through those rugged mountain paths,
a which we would have done on foot, but that
one mile's march over the sharp rock which
q forms the pavement, would have left US
l sboeless.
y At daybreak, on the following morning,
we climbed the highest peak of the noun
tain range, and there, standing on the top
of the great walk reflected upon the stu
y !. pendcus folly of this wonderful work Of
y human industry, which is said to have cost
the country two hundred thousand lives
from sheer physical exhaustion. The wall,
!. which is built of stone and brick, is twenty
i feet high and fifteen feet broad, surmounted
= by double parapet, loopholed on the north
u side. AS far as the eye can follow the
i: mountain range it winds over the ridges OF
l the precipitio1s black rocks like a gigantic
{ serpent crawling along. and with its breath
u noisonino all around; for, turn where you
will. nothing meets the view bat the desc
:; late dreay tract of rock, unrelieved by
: blade Of grass OF tuft of moss, and huge
powders slreWing the base of the noun
Z tain sides. 1t was the whim OF tyrant to
. build wall where Nature had already built
. barrier far more effectual than anything
Z that human art could construct. However.
there it remains, after lapse OF nearly two
= thousand years. monument OF the cruel
u folly of one man, and the patient industry
> and sufferings of many thousands.
Having made an abortive attempt at a
:, = sketch, and tried in vain to discover one
, redeamino feature in this vast scene OF des-
3 olation. I secured my brick, and descending
~ the mass. remounted to proceed home
;; ward. Our guide could hardly believe his
u senses-certainly he doubted ours-when
$ at Nankan mide host inquired what We
were going to the great wall for. Our hon
= est answer met With no credit. Were there
!: not walls everywhere Was not the wall
!, of Pekin much better worth cooking A.
b And then, as for shooting. gLy come 30