We do not feel inclined to retire so soon as these boatmen, who have been trained to early hours. The evening is too young, and besides the beauty of the night scenery has an attraction for us that banishes the thought of sleep from us. We sit out on the bow of the boat and become absorbed in the beauty of the scene, which is lost to the sleeping world. The clouds that had been flying across the sky during the day have all vanished, and now the heavens are bright with stars that seem to shine with unwonted brilliance. The mountains on which we have gazed all the day long look now like sleeping giants hiding themselves in the gloom of night and invested with an air of mystery as we try in vain to catch an outline of them. The people on the boats are all asleep, and only an occasional sound from a restless child can be heard coming from them. Everything is silent but the flowing river, and this ebbs on with ceaseless motion, and as if to remind us of its presence swishes up against us, and with inarticulate language gives us a cheery hail and then passes on. We go on dreaming, for the stars and the land lying in the vague mystery of night, and the undefined forms of the mountains and the ceaseless voices that nature utters all night long lay their spell upon us. By and by a dreamy, drowsy feeling creeps over us, and we retire to our cabin, and soon with the lullaby of the river that murmurs its music alongside our boat, we lose all sense of the world outside. THE END _Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, London and Bungay._ FOOTNOTES: [1] See Macgowan's _Imperial History of China_, where T'a Ki is discussed, in the chapter on the Chow Dynasty. [2] For an account of these see Macgowan's _Imperial History of China_. [3] See Macgowan's _Imperial History of China_ for fuller information on this book. [4] See Macgowan's _Imperial History of China_, passim. [5] The cangue is a huge wooden collar which is fastened about the neck. It is so broad that the man cannot feed himself, neither can he frighten away a mosquito that may settle on his nose, nor can he sleep comfortably whilst he wears it. He is usually made to parade near the place where his offence was committed, as an object lesson to others. [6] See Chapter on "Servants" for a disquisition on this point. [7] See Macgowan's _Imperial History of China_, passim.