p. XXI. 
THE ROADS. 
we had passed through the day before. The trees 
were chiefly weeping willows, elms, and Sophora 
japonica , the latter yielding a yellow dye called 
by the Chinese whi-hwa. The first town we passed 
to-day was Hoose-woo, now well known as the 
head-quarters of the English army when on its 
way to Peking. About six miles further on a 
place called Nan-ping was reached, and here 
I found a large and comfortable hotel, where 
I stopped to breakfast, and then went on to 
Matao, another town occupied by the English 
and French troops when on their way to the 
capital. Every now and then the road brought 
us near the banks of the Pei-ho; and sometimes 
mud dykes or embankments were seen stretch- 
ing across the country, evidently as a preventive 
against floods. 
The main road was at some places impassable, 
being several feet deep with mud and water. The 
carters, however, did not seem very particular; 
and temporary roads were made through the fields 
in every direction. The tall millet-stems, towering 
above our heads on each side, oftentimes prevented 
us from seeing anything of the country around us, 
and there appeared no landmarks to guide us on 
our way. The carters themselves had frequently 
to halt, not knowing where they were ; and on 
more than one occasion we had to retrace our 
steps and get into another by-road. 
In' the evening we reached the town of Chan- 
chow-wan, and took up quarters at a hotel 
