It is necessary to be careful in bargaining with the men who take one up this pass, for they will impose on foreigners in every possible way. Thus, when about to struggle through the rough parts of the roughest road in the world, they will ask for a guide a-piece to pilot them over each rock and boulder that has to be crossed. It always happens that these guides are themselves most extortionate characters, and as the way grows more difficult some fresh demand is certain to be put forward. Our friend, Mr. Welmer, had arranged everything with our men before we left Peking, but still they made most pertinacious efforts to extort more money from us.
At the Great Wall I reluctantly parted from Mr. Wylie, who was one of the most distinguished and modest travellers it has been my good fortune to meet.
The Wall has often been described, but I confess that it dis- appointed me. It is simply a gigantic, useless stone fence, climbing the hills and dipping down into the valleys. At the point I visited it has been frequently repaired, and only attained to its present massive proportions during the Ming dynasty. That piece of it which we see in the Nankow pass at Pan-ta- ling is not so old by several centuries as the outer wall, which was built by Tsin-she-whang, B. C. 213.* In its route of over 1,000 miles there are some portions of the wall which from neglect have now fallen into decay ; but it was never much more than a clay mound even in its best parts, faced with sun-dried bricks, and in the passes, as at Pan-ta-ling, with stone. It now only stands as a colossal monument of misdirected human labour, and of the genius which the Chinese have ever displayed in raising costly barriers to shut out barbarians from Cathay. In
- See "Journeys in North China," Rev. Dr. Williamson, ii. 390.
