Close to the entrance of the Peiho stands a tall stone building; near it is the Taku Pilots’ Club, their houses, comfortable bungalows, close at hand. Between flat, marshy shores the river winds, its banks crowded with mud huts. Farther up we passed a small dock, in which lay a gunboat flying the Russian flag. Then more gunboats—American, French, and Japanese. A few miles from the mouth of the river is Tong‐ku, the terminus of the Tientsin‐Pekin Railway. At the outset of the campaign all nationalities, except the British, had chosen this for their landing‐place and established their depôts here. As we steamed past, we looked on a scene of restless activity. Russian, French, German, and Italian soldiers were busy disembarking stores and _matériel_ from the lighters alongside, loading railway trucks in the temporary sidings, entraining horses and guns. The English, more practical, had selected a landing‐place a few miles farther up, at Hsin‐ho. Here they found themselves in sole occupation, and the confusion inevitable among so many different nationalities was consequently absent. An excellent wharf had been built, large storehouses erected, and a siding constructed from a temporary station on the railway. Hsin‐ho was our destination. Our launch stopped at the quay, alongside which two shallow‐draught steamers and a fleet of lighters were lying. Men of the Coolie Corps were hard at work; close by stood a guard of the stalwart Punjaub sepoys of the Hong Kong Regiment. Overhead flew the Union Jack. Our luggage was speedily disembarked. Most of our fellow‐passengers, learning that a train for Tientsin was due to leave almost at once, hurried off to the railway station, about a mile away. Three of us of the same regiment were met by a brother officer who was in charge of a detachment at Hsin‐ho. He offered us the hospitality of the station mess, composed of those employed on various duties at the place; and, desirous of seeing how the work of the disembarkation of a large force was carried out, we determined to remain for the night. We visited Tong‐ku that afternoon, and found a marked difference in the methods prevailing there and at Hsin‐ho. The presence of so many different nationalities naturally entailed great confusion. At the railway station a very babel of languages resounded on every side. One truck with German stores had to be detached from a goods train and sent down one siding; the next, with French cavalry horses, sent down another; a Russian and an Italian officer disputed the ownership of a third. Lost baggage‐guards stood disconsolate or wandered round aimlessly until rescued by their transport officers. Detachments of Continental troops stood helplessly waiting for someone to conduct them to their proper trains. Disorder reigned supreme.