The Japanese troops had not been twenty-four hours in the town before it began to put off its impoverished look. Small and mysterious packages appeared on shelves that had gaped in emptiness: bean cake and chopped straw were dragged out from dark corners: horses and mules and Pekin carts walked out of space: and that which seemed a famine-stricken and denuded city became a mart. The change was gradual, for the Chinese are suspicious and demanded proof of the good intentions of the new invaders. The vendor of sweet cakes and eggs and a vile concoction of alcohol and fusil oil was the first to hazard his wares, and the result must have been satisfactory, since the cashier presently took his seat at the desk in the warehouse, or large store, and goods were exchanged for military notes issued by the Japanese. These notes, by the way, were at first accepted with great reluctance, and at a discount of ten per cent., which made the purchaser anxious to avoid them: but confidence was soon restored and they were accepted at face value, though the cost of everything which was previously measured by the Mexican or silver dollar was fixed by the Japanese yen: in other words prices rose fifty per cent. When you leave the dingy heart of the town and approach the river you realise that Antung is a place of considerable importance. The Yalu at this point is about a mile wide and the river front is crowded with junks--those square-built square-rigged boats that swarm over the Yellow Sea and are capable of sailing one hundred miles in six hours or in sixty. Many are engaged in trade with Yongampo, the head quarters of the Russian Far Eastern Timber and Mining Company, on the other side of the Yalu, while others run between Manchuria and Chinese and Japanese ports. In the creeks are more junks building or being repaired, and on the banks are piles of timber and bean cake awaiting shipment. A busy and picturesque scene the river presents with its tangle of brown sails; its blue-gowned sailors; and its wooden ships with all their strength and grace of line.