■genuity in .drawing out the one into thin leaves, and the other
into the fineft wire.
W e were not a little overjoyed in finding ourfelves once
more upon the flagged caufeway, and in an open country, after
palling a .fmall fuburb beyond the weftern gate o f the city.
T h e y brought us to a villa which was a kind o f appendage to
o n e o f the-Emperor’s palaces, about eight miles beyond Pekin.
The buildings, confiftingofanumber o f fmall detached apartments,
ftraggling over a furface o f ground, about fifteen acres-in extent,
-were neither fufficiently numerous to lodge the fuite, nor to contain
the prefents and our baggage; and were moreover fo miferably
out o f repair and in fo ruinous a condition, that the greater part
was wholly uninhabitable. The officers were accordingly told
that thefe were not accomodations fuitable to the dignity o f a
Britiih Embaffador, and that he would not on any confideration
put up with them; that it was a matter o f indifference whether
he was lodged in the city or the country, but that the lodgings
fhould be convenient and proper. The fuperintending officers,
upon this, cauied a large temporary building to be ereeled
with poles and mats, which, as by magic, was finiihed in the
courfe o f the night, hoping, by this exertion, to have removed
all objections to the place. His Lordlhip, however, being determined
not to remain where there was neither a decent room
nor any kind o f comfort or convenience, every building being
entirely unfurniihed, and, as I faid before, the greater number
untenantable, infilled upon being removed to Pekin, where accordingly
it was very foon announced there was a fuitable houfe
ready for his reception.
On
On returning to the capital we paffed through the great ftreet
o f a town called Hai-tien in which moft o f the houfes were o f
two ftories, and before the upper o f which was a kind o f V e randa
full o f dwarf trees and flower-pots. A great proportion
©f the houfes were either butchers’ fhops or coffin-makers.
From the end o f this ftreet was a moft extenfive view o f Pekin
and the furrounding country. T he eye from hence took in
the whole length o f the high ftraight wall with its two lofty
gates and numerous fquare towers. A t each angle o f the wall
is a large fquare building riling above the parapet to four heights
or ftories o f port-holes, and covered with two roofs. In each
row o f the four fronts are fourteen windows or port-holes.
Thefe I underftood to be the rice magazines or public granaries.
Near the north-weft angle is a tall pagoda, another high tower
not unlike a glafs-houfe, and towards the higher weftern gate
appeared the upper part o f a pyramidal building that terminated
in a gilded flame, very like the fummit o f our monuments under
which, inftead o f a gallery, was a moft magnificent canopy or
umbrella, painted-and gilt with fuch brilliant colours, that from
certain points o f view, when the rays o f the fun played upon it,
the glittering appearance had a very good effefl. It was faid tct
be a temple, and feemed to be o f the fame kind o f architedure as
the Shoo-ma-doo defcribed by Col. Symesin his embaffy to Ava.
. We found our new lodging fufficiently large, but the apartments
were ihamefully dirty, having been uninhabited for feme time •
very much out o f repair, and totally unfurniihed. This houfe,
being confidered as one o f the beft in the whole city, I ftallhave;
' occafion