On my last visit to the mandarin's, I saw another coming in state to see him; and as his attendants made rather a curious group, I shall give a description of them. In front walked two men, with high felt caps, to which were appended two goose-quills, having very much the appearance of a large ink-bottle, with two pens in it; they dragged chains after them; then came two more, with the same curious head-dresses, beating gongs; then a soldier, with a red silk chatty, which he carried as if about to charge; after him were two more soldiers, and then the mandarin's sedan made its appearance, carried by four men, and surrounded by soldiers and other attendants; the whole party were shouting, and making a great noise. When they had passed through the great gate, the train filed off to the right and left, and the mandarin walked out of his sedan, and went in; attended only by his pipe-bearer, and one or two more officers. All, with the exception of his immediate attendants, were very raggedly clothed, and the sedan-bearers were almost naked, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather; indeed, the _quantity_, and not the _quality_, of the attendants, seemed the order of the day. I was rather struck with the manner of visiting amongst the Chinese, as showing a greater degree of refinement existing amongst them than I had any idea of. The person calling sent in his card, (a piece of red paper, with a few characters upon it,) and if the master of the house were in, or chose to see him, he went to the door, and took the visitor into the sitting-room, where tea was immediately served up. On the visitor's departure, the master generally accompanies him a certain distance, according to his rank; if a superior, to the gate; if an equal, or inferior, not so far: at the same time there being always a lengthened _combat de politesse_ about taking precedence, although regular rules are laid down for their guidance on the subject, and they well know that after a certain number of bows, the superior must always go first. During the month of February the soldiers were constantly making signs, intimating that we were on the point of departure; and some of them went away, carrying all their few worldly goods with them, so that we began to think our liberation was really close at hand.