The warlike nature and education of Nicholas not permitting him to sympathize with the kind-hearted Yong-Li, he maintained a respectful silence, not however, without a fear for the fate of a prince whose amiable nature was so unfitted for such turbulent times. When they reached the house of the mandarin, the prince dismissed his guard, and, having borrowed from that officer his robe, cap, and chair of state, and a garment of plain green silk for Nicholas, the two youths entered the chair and proceeded on their journey with the usual attendants, one of whom went before, as a kind of _avant-garde_, and with a whip to beat them a passage through the crowded streets. At the first guard-house the prince stepped out of the sedan, made himself known to the sentries, and passed in; when, instead of finding the troops engaged in exercising, or in any of the many games permitted by the board of war, some were gambling, some goading crickets with their chopsticks till the insects killed each other, some were singing profane songs, and disporting in the most riotous and unseemly manner, while many who had been drinking deeply, and still held the spirit cups in their hands were reeling about the pavement, but most remarkable of all, no officers except those of the most subordinate grade were to be seen. "These, then, are the vile dogs to whom the defence of the Imperial City is entrusted. These are the rogues whom the traitor generals commended," said the prince, indignantly; adding, "Truly the royal house is punished for its sins, for this looketh indeed like the decadence of a dynasty." "These are but the hands, O my prince for whose acts the heads must be made accountable," said Nicholas. "Nevertheless the dogs shall be punished, my brother; but let us return," said the prince, going to the gate, where the sentry, recognizing the prince, fell at his feet. "Rise, dog, and as thou wouldst save thy miserable head, say who is the general of this section," said Yong-Li. "The noble Leang, O Grandson of Heaven," replied the trembling soldier. "Cans't thou be honest and silent as to my visit?" "Both, as thy slave values his miserable life," replied the soldier. "I will trust thee, man, and if I find you so, only till the rising of to-morrow's sun, thou shalt be promoted," said the prince; adding, "This rogue Leang must be degraded, and thou, O noble Nicholas, take his command." Thus they visited some half-dozen of the chief and most important points of the fortified walls with similar results. With the works themselves he was satisfied, as was also Nicholas, who, young as he was, had often examined the fortifications of the southern province; and, indeed, the whole line of coast between Siam and Japan. "Nought, my prince, but the treachery of the defenders, or the death-dealing cannon of the red-haired barbarians from the West, could effect an entrance into the city," said he.