THE ANCIENT KINDGOM OF PA 87 



stories are told of the doughty deeds accomphshed by these 

 heroes of old. With this brief introduction I again take up my 

 narrative : — 



My principal men once more proved equal to the occasion, 

 and on 8th July everything was arranged for our cross-country 

 journey. An itinerary had been made out, and the Hsien 

 provided us with a couple of uniformed soldiers. (He sent six, 

 but I managed to get them reduced to two.) Heretofore on 

 this journey we had managed to avoid taking official escort, 

 although it is the custom to do so in Szechuan. No ordinary 

 traveller desires this honour, but it is thrust upon him and 

 cannot easily be avoided. The presence of this escort renders 

 the officials responsible for the traveller's safety in accordance 

 with treaty arrangements. It is necessary to pay these men a 

 few cash, but often they prove useful in odd ways. Cash is 

 cheap, and an extra hundred per day for each soldier does 

 not amount to any considerable sum. The difficulty is in 

 keeping the escort down to two men. Four and six are common 

 numbers, and if one did not protest continuously an almost 

 unlimited number of authorized and unauthorized ragamuffins 

 would attach themselves to one's caravan. If there is cash to 

 be made the legitimate escort is often not above farming in a 

 few extra " hands," thus securing more money. The escort is 

 provided with a letter from the official supplying it wherein the 

 number of men dispatched and their destination is given, so 

 by examining this it is possible to check any attempt at fraud. 

 On dismissing these men at their journey's end it is necessary to 

 give them a card to carry back to their superior. Their letter is 

 stamped by the official who provides the new escort, and the 

 card signifies that their duty has been satisfactorily carried out. 

 If they return without a card for any reason or other they are 

 liable to be punished. 



Leaving Tunghsiang Hsien by the west gate we followed 

 the main road to Suiting Fu for a few li, then branched off to 

 the right. The road is well paved, and we met plenty of traffic. 

 For the first 20 li the road is practically level, winding in and 

 out among low hills. It then makes a steep ascent to the top of 

 some bluffs, where Mien-yueh ch'ang is situated, 30 li from the 

 city of Tunghsiang. Throughout the rest of the day the road 



