I continued my round of visits to-day under a glaring sun and in intense heat. I began with Prince Lanj, a cousin of the Emperor, exiled here on account of the part he played in the Boxer rising. He lives in a simple house in the highest part of the town, close to the yamen of the Njetai. My camera went on strike at the very moment when the central double doors at the end of his courtyard were thrown open. I fumbled with the camera which would neither close nor open, while the Prince, smiling pleasantly, awaited me about 4o paces off. Some servants hurried forward, whispering »Tching, the Prince is waiting», but the camera seemed bewitched and would not budge. When at last I was able to move forward and explained my predicament, the Prince laughed and said that he, too, was an amateur photographer and quite understood my difficulty. I found myself, not in a spacious yamen, but in a little courtyard in front of the entrance to his rooms. The service and refreshments set out on a round table were rather more sumptuous and European than usual. A dozen breach-loaders with fixed bayonets were hung on a wall, otherwise the room with its pictures and furniture was like an ordinary Chinese reception room. The Prince, a man of 5o of commonplace appearance, had charming and less artificial manners than the usual run of Chinese. A visitor was evidently a distraction for him and he spoke with less restraint than is usual in China. In his opinion it was not always the best rifles and guns that decided a war nowadays, but wisdom, boldness, unity and conviction. The Japanese were a wise and bold nation. They fought from conviction and were united as one man, whereas the Russians suffered from internal dissension and insufficient conviction as to the necessity of the war. Besides, the Japanese were intimately acquainted with the topography of the country they fought in, which was often terra incognita to the Russians. Germany was well armed and possessed excellent
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