XXI. 
MODE OF TRAVELLING. 
345 
Mr. being a person of known respectability, 
is desirous of proceeding to , and this passport is 
given him on condition of his not visiting the cities or towns 
occupied by the Insurgents. 
//. B. M’s Consul. 
Signature of the hearer : 
This passport was countersigned by the Chinese 
authority of the place. 
There are two modes of travelling from Tien- 
tsin to the capital — by boat up the Pei-ho as far as 
Tong-chow, and then on by land, or by cart on 
the common highway. In going up I chose the 
latter, in order to save time, and also to enable me 
to see more of the country and its productions. 
The carts used by travellers are strongly made, 
and covered over so as to afford protection from 
sun and rain. They look in the distance like little 
oblong boxes on wheels, and are generally drawn 
by two mules. 
The Peking road starts from the north gate of 
the city of Tien-tsin, crosses the Grand Canal by a 
bridge of boats, and enters a dense suburb which 
extends across towards the Pei-ho. My troubles 
now began. The road was one of the worst I had 
ever travelled upon. It was full of deep holes at 
every step of our way; now one of my wheels 
plunged into one of these up to the axle, and 
it was scarcely up when down went the other. 
Although I had before starting packed my cart 
carefully with bedding and pillows, I was every 
