Sporting Notes in the Far East. 153 



should the reader be at anytime at Woosung, when the Chinese 

 ships are lying there, a visit to the squadron will well repay 

 the trouble. 



The vessels are both smart and clean; general drills are invariably 

 carried out in English, and most strange does it strike a British ear, 

 to hear the Mother tongue issuing from the lips of a Mongolian 

 baggy trousered lieutenant, as he gives an order for his " Company 

 to skirmish " ; or again to listen to an officer of Quarters, screaming 

 out " Plepare to Lam ! " and there really is no humbug, as to the 

 alacrity in which these several orders are complied with ! 



Their method for inducing quickness, is extremely simple ! For 

 example : A division is on heavy gun drill; perchance " No. 10," 

 is not seen " putting his pound " to the winch : " Fall out No. 

 10 ! " the hapless defaulter is then dumbly motioned to lay hold 

 of a ring-bolt on the deck, down comes a dozen sounding whacks 

 of a split bamboo on his thinly clad back, then : " Close up 

 No. 10 ! " and the winch handle promptly flies round with 

 redoubled speed. 



The discipline of the fleet, thanks to the English admiral in 

 temporary command is undoubtedly good : but I am afraid that 

 in actual warfare, in the absence of the directing hands of English- 

 men, the co-operation of the native officers and crews, in these 

 complicated machines of modern men-of-war, will rapidly fall to 

 pieces. One of the great errors apparently in the Celestial Service ; 



