Viceroy gave us last year. On our arrival, Lo left me and entered at a side door, saying I must remain in my chair till the large double doors were opened, as, having been Secretary of State, I must pass in through the grand gateway. Soon the large doors swung on their hinges, and in I passed, was met by Lo and Wu [Wu Ting-fang, afterwards Minister to the United States], and escorted through a series of passages and halls to the reception-room. First Mr. Chang, who is stopping with the Viceroy, entered, had a few words with me and then withdrew. Soon the Viceroy appeared and received me most cordially. He began the conversation by expressing his thanks for my kindness in coming on so long a journey to serve his country in her hour of need. In a little while Chang returned and took a seat on the right of the Viceroy, I being on his left, the place of honor, as you know, according to Chinese etiquette.

Our interview lasted over two hours, in which we went over the various questions involved in the peace business, the Viceroy showing a pretty clear grasp of the questions, much better than Chang or any other Chinese official with whom I have been brought in contact. He is undoubtedly the best man to whom China could intrust the delicate and important business.

He was very complimentary and kind to me; stated that the Diplomatic Corps at Peking (whence he has just returned) congratulated him on having me to assist him; and he added that he relied greatly on me to make his mission a success. He said we should renew our conversation on the steamer and have further opportunity on the journey across to Japan to confer on the business; that he wanted me to consider myself a member of his family; that he was a plain man, not fond of form or ceremony; and he hoped I would feel entirely at home with him on the steamer. He persisted in accompanying me to the outside hall of the Yamen, and took leave of me only as I entered my chair.

PASSENGER BOAT ON THE PEI HO. NORTH CHINA.

Mr. Chang and Liang, his secretary [afterwards Minister at Washington], have just been in to say good-by, as they start for Peking in the morning. I am quite sorry to part with them, as we have been together for more than a month and have become quite attached to each other. Chang says that our sailing-day has been changed from the fifteenth to the thirteenth, as the astrologers tell the Viceroy the thirteenth is a more auspicious day. So it has been determined to try to hoodwink the gods by making a pretense of beginning the journey on the thirteenth, though we shall probably not cross the bar till the fifteenth or sixteenth.

The Viceroy, although going as the defeated party, was not unmindful of his country's greatness nor of the Oriental fondness for display. It required two merchant steamers, chartered for the voyage, to carry the embassy retinue of one hundred and thirty-five persons, among whom were two Chinese ex-ministers to foreign courts, four Mandarin secretaries, speaking English, French, or Japanese, a score of translators and copyists, a Chinese and a French physician, a captain and body-guard, a Mandarin chair of highest rank and its bearers, cooks and servants in liberal numbers. Before the steamers sailed, the local officials came on board to take leave of the Viceroy, and here I had a good opportunity to witness the ceremony of the ko-tou, or kow-tow. Each subordinate official as he approached near to the Viceroy, who was seated, prostrated himself at full length. on his hands and knees and struck his head on the floor of the cabin. To me as a fellow man it was a sad and mortifying spectacle.

A three days' sail brought us to Shimonoseki, the place designated by the Japanese for conducting the peace negotiations. It is situated on a narrow strait formed by the proximity of two of the largest islands of the Japanese group, and is the entrance from the west to the Inland Sea, one of

the most picturesque waters of the globe. This port nestles at the foot of a mountain range, in the midst of most charming scenery, and is associated with an event of no mean historic interest. It was at this narrow entrance one of the daimios, in pursuance of the old policy of exclusion of foreigners, in 1863 sought to block the passage of foreign commerce, and the British, American, and other naval forces bombarded the forts and opened the highway of the seas. In the negotiations which attended that engagement, Marquis Ito, then a young man just returned from his studies in Europe, participated as interpreter in behalf of his defeated and humiliated countrymen. And after more than thirty years, as the Prime Minister of a rejuvenated and triumphant nation, he again appeared at Shimonoseki as a negotiator.

The Viceroy, when he landed at this place, for the first time set foot on foreign soil. Every preparation possible for our comfort and convenience had been made by the Japanese. It is a city crowded in by the mountains along the seashore, with inhabitants wholly Japanese, as it is not a treaty port and therefore without facilities for entertaining foreigners. A large Buddhist temple with its numerous cloisters was reconstructed and fitted up in good Chinese style, and made the home of the Viceroy, his suite, and retainers. The only European-built house in the city was assigned to me and my secretary. Throughout, from the reception-room to the dining-room and kitchen, it was furnished for the occasion in European style, thoroughly neat and comfortable. It stands just above the Viceroy's quarters, perched up on a hillside, reached by a stairway of about one hundred and fifty stone steps. From the front porch there was a beautiful prospect. The whole of the bay of Shimonoseki was at our feet and in full view, crowded with steamers, sailing-vessels, and steam launches; the town below stretched far away; and the scene was shut in by the mountains on every side.