198 A COLLECTING TRIP 
idea of perhaps the most interesting city in the whole 
world. 
The ‘‘Gorgeous East’’ and the ‘‘ Filthy East’’ are 
side by side when you turn from the magnificent pal- 
ace court yard, all marble carved like lace and gilt and 
every color of the rainbow arranged in perfect taste, 
into some street which can only be described as a long 
cesspool to which has been added the drippings from 
slaughter houses, for you know all executions of erim- 
inals and also all butchering for the whole city goes 
on in the streets. If you are not being dragged in a 
rickshaw or a Pekin cart through these cesspools you 
are ploughing through dust a foot deep which abso- 
lutely fills your eyes and ears and eracks your lips 
from the dryness and heat, for you do not dare to wet 
your lips with your tongue for fear you might get 
some of it in your mouth. Of course, the streets are 
full of awful dogs and pigs and beggars filthier than 
either. Yet for all this Pekin will push any city very 
hard for the palm as the most beautiful city in the 
world. The Forbidden City is closed again since the 
troops gave it back after the 1900 troubles. I cannot 
help saying a word about the villainous vandalism 
which took place then. The Italians, French and 
Germans systematically destroyed every beautiful ob- 
ject of art which they could lay their hands on. The 
English, Americans and Japanese were much better. 
The Russians they say were busy killing the children 
and women found after the men had mostly eseaped. 
Nevertheless they get on with and manage the Chinese 
better than any other people. The Japanese carefully 
knocked the head off a splendid marble column ecov- 
ered with beautiful small figures. The Germans stole 
