Page:Mongolia, the Tangut country, and the solitudes of northern Tibet vol 1 (1876).djvu/296

 small-shot gun; with the latter I killed a swallow on the wing, and with the former smashed a brick placed as a mark. After observing these results, the Chinese commander tried himself, but shot wide of the mark.

In the meanwhile they brought some old English military guns and double-barrelled pistols to show us. The mandarin loaded a gun, but could not hit a mark at twenty paces; then he fired a few more shots, and about the fifth shot broke the brick. Gratified with his success, he re-entered the house; whilst we were taken to the lodging of an officer, who entertained us with water-melon, tea, and a kind of soup.

Half-an-hour afterwards we were again conducted to the Chinese Commander-in-chief. 'I must look at your things and make a list of them,' said he. 'Tell me how many, and what guns you have.' To this I assented, and a clerk wrote down at my dictation a detailed description of our rifles, smooth bores, revolvers, gunpowder, balls, &c. &c. It had now become dark, and a tallow candle and sesamum-oil lamp were lighted in the mandarin's house.

The audience, however, did not last much longer. The mandarin only asked us to sell him a rifle, and on being refused, ordered his men to ferry us back across the Hoang-ho. On returning to our tent, we were greatly delighted to find Faust, who had accompanied us from camp, but had been lost in the town; it appeared that, tired with waiting and frightened at the noise made by the crowd, he swam