I have two of these soldier people with me to-day, and two bigger
ragamuffins it has not been my lot to cast eyes on. They are the only
two men in the crowd I am afraid of. They are of absolutely no use, more
than to eat and to drink, and always come up smiling at the end of their
stage for their _kumshaw_. During the whole of this day I have not seen
one of them--they have been behind the caravan all the time; it would be
hard to believe that they had sense enough to find the way, and as for
escorting me, they have not accompanied me a single li of the way.[I]
Another nuisance, of which I have already spoken, is the necessity of
taking a chair to maintain respectability. These things make travel in
China not so cheap as one would be led to imagine. Traveling of itself
is cheap enough, as cheap as in any country in the world. For
accommodation for myself, for a room, rice and as much hot water as I
want, the charge is a couple of hundred cash--certainly not expensive.
In addition, there is generally a little "cha tsien" (tea money) for the
cook. But it is the "face" which makes away with money, much more than
it takes to keep you in the luxury that the country can offer--which is
not much!
After I had had a bit of a discussion with my boy as to the room they
wanted to house me in, a woman, brandishing a huge cabbage stump above
her head, and looking menacingly at me, yelled that the room was good
enough.
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