The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-11-28

cept during full moon. 1t is abso-
lutely unsafe to move about in the
night time without lantern, if you
wish to keep your feet clean, and you
have to balance yourself in the day to
keep out of the mud. ALI of The houses
are of one story, and the Government
departments look more like broken
down barns than the Offices of great
empire.
Iwent one morning to visit the
State Department: and as I looked at
it l thou ght of our great building of
the State, War and Navy, which cost,
you know, more than ten million dol
lars, and which is the biggest granite
building in the world. The street was
mud puddle, and I hugged low,
shackly buildings till I finally came to
gate at which dirty official was
standing. He shook his head as I en-
tered. but pretended not to see him,
and pushed my way in. entered a
court, which looked for all the world
like barn yard surrounded by low
wooden stables, with heavy tiled roofs.
This court was filled with donkeys,
horses and dogs, and half-naked chill
dren sprawled in front of the doors to
these buildings, which were, in fact,
the offices of the department. The
buildings we're filed with clerks, who
wrote away at bare tables, the light
coming in through latticework walls
backed with white paper. They
scowled at me as I looked, and one of
them gave me to understand that I
had better move on. I next visited
the famous Hanlin College. It was
worse than the State Department, and
everything about it was shabby and
going to seed. I tried to get into the
board of punishments, where the hor-
rible cruelties which the Chinese Gov
ernment metes out to its rebels and
criminals are passed upon. and where
torture is common, but was stopped
at the door and was positively told
that I could not go in. 1t was the
same with all the Government depart
ments. They could not have been
shabbier had they been knocked up
out of odd pieces of old Noah's ark,
and everything was filthy and the pic
ture of ruin. The only really new
things in the city seemed to be the
clothes of the officials, and laughed
again and again as I saw these man
Gerins bow down in the mud and go
through the forms of the Chinese
court amid their filthy surroundings.
They are among themselves, as far as
words go, the most polite of all ma
tions, and they look upon us as Doors
and barbarians. The most of the
people believe that they will conquer
the world, and I doubt whether a.
thousand out of the million and half
people in Pekin know anything of the
Japanese victories. The court officials
distribute all sorts of lies, and they
have probably told the people that
they have whipped the Japanese
on both land All on sea, and that
the Mikado will be brought to Pekin.
The majority of the citizens of the
Chinese capital really believe that
America IS subject to China. They
think that Colonel DENLY is sent to
the capital to pay Uncle Sans tribute
to their Emperor, and this, I am told,
is their opinion as to every foreign
legation. They have nicknamed the
street upon which the foreign minis
ters live "the street of the subject
natlons," and they would consider it a
disgrace to ask our ministers to din
ner, and venture that Colonel DENLY
has never been on intimate terms with
dozen highclass Chinese officials.
This, I know, will seem strange to