SI-NING-FU TO LIANG-CHOW-FU 
1223 
came home on the second or third day afterwards. The 
first day therefore I sat down to dinner with three charm- 
ing young Englishwomen, dressed in pretty and tasteful 
Chinese costumes. 
The next morning I made my way to the telegraph- 
office, where one of the clerks spoke English, and tele- 
graphed home to His Majesty King Oscar via Si-ngan, 
Han-kow, and Shang-hai, being kindly assisted in the opera- 
tion by Mr. Boch, Swedish- Norwegian Consul-General in 
Shang-hai. Seven days later, just right for a Christmas- 
box, I received a congratulatory reply from His Majesty. 
The Chinese look upon the telegraph with great sceptic- 
ism, and have their own explanation of the way messages 
are carried. They believe that the paper containing the 
message is rolled into a tiny ball and sent at a stupendous 
pace along the wires, and that the insulators on the posts 
are stopping-places under which the pieces of paper find 
.shelter when it rains. 
Liang-chow is the second city of the province, ranking 
next after Lan-chow, the capital, and with its adjacent 
villages numbers upwards of 100,000 inhabitants. The 
city is built on the usual rectangular plan, and is sur- 
rounded by thick strong walls, pierced by four lofty gates. 
The main streets are wide, and full of life and colour 
carts, caravans, and merchants at every step and turn. 
Whilst waiting for a caravan, I spent my time sketching, 
talking to the English missionaries, who were able to give 
me much valuable information, visiting some of the 
mandarins, and making various purchases in the Tien-tsin 
bazaar, a sort of arcade lined with handsome shops. 
Amongst other things I bought two sha-los or hand- 
stoves, shaped like teapots, but with grated lids. You fill 
them with ashes, and put tw'o or three pieces of red-hot 
charcoal in the middle of the ashes. The sha-lo will 
then keep warm for a good twenty-four hours. Had it 
not been for this appliance, I should have got my hands 
frozen more than once whilst on the way to Peking. 
I also paid a visit to a magnificent temple outside the 
city walls, and took some sketches. Then I went to 
