Sir Thomas Wade demands his passports--Retires to man-of-war off Tien-tsin--Interviews with Li-Hung-Chang--Convention of Che-Foo--Description of Ichang on the Yang-tse--The Manchester of Western China--Pak-hoï and its harbour--A magnificent pagoda--Ceremony of opening the port to foreign trade--New Year's _féte_ at Pak-hoï--The game of Morra--Description of Wenchau--Temples and pagodas turned into inns--Wahn and its native officials--Dislike of mandarins, etc., to missionaries--Beautiful surroundings of the town--An eclipse of the moon expected--The eclipse does not keep time--Excitement of the people--The dragon attacks the moon at last--Threatening message from the Emperor to the astronomers--Two astronomers beheaded in B.C. 2155--Reasons for importance attached to eclipses in China. No good purpose would be served by relating in detail all the negotiations which took place after the death of Margary, between Sir Thomas Wade and the Government of Pekin, on the subject of the reparation to be made for the murder. It will be enough to say that after twenty months of shilly-shallying on the part of the Chinese and dogged perseverance on that of the British Envoy, the latter demanded his passports, shut up his legation with considerable _éclat_, and retired on board a man-of-war in the port of Tien-tsin, whence he issued a dignified threat of the imminent declaration of war between England and China if his demands were not complied with. This brought the Chinese Government to reason, for the Emperor and his advisers felt it would be better to yield everything than to see a victorious English army march a second time into Pekin. Sir Thomas Wade was therefore invited to meet the now celebrated Li-Hung-Chang, who became later so well-known in London and in Paris, at Che-Foo, a treaty port on the northern side of the province of Shantung, and there was signed the famous convention, of which on account of its great importance a _résumé_ of the principal clauses is given here: [Sidenote: THE CHE-FOO CONVENTION]