Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/249

 clear a passage. We had hardly entered a shop before it was crammed with people, and its owner, frightened at the invasion of his premises, implored us to leave as soon as possible. At length with the assistance of our escort, we made our way into the yard of a merchant's house, and bought what we required in one of his back buildings.

On returning to our quarters we had the prospect of undergoing the same ordeal as on the previous day, but our police guard shut the gates and charged so much a head for admission. I must confess that it was not altogether pleasant to one's feelings to be made a public show of in this way, just as if we were some new kind of wild beasts; however, of two evils it was the lesser; at all events, sightseers now appeared in smaller numbers, and behaved in a more orderly way.

About mid-day the Mandarin sent a messenger to ask us to go and see him again. We accordingly started for his house, taking the watch with us. While awaiting our interview, we were shown into the soldiers' barracks, where we remained half-an-hour, and had an opportunity of inspecting the domestic arrangements of the Chinese soldiers. Five thousand military are quartered at Bautu, most of whom are from the south of China, the so-called  'Khotens,'  besides Manchus and a few Solones. All these men are armed with matchlocks, a few European muskets, swords, and long bamboo spears, with great red flags attached to the end of the shafts.