courtyards made the compound. They have fed themselves on almost
everything edible to be found on, under, or above land or water,
except milk, but live chiefly on rice, chicken, fish, vegetables,
including garlic, and tea, though at one time they ate flesh and
drank wine, sometimes to excess, before tea was cultivated. They
have clothed themselves in skins and feathers, and then in silks
and satins, but mostly in cotton, and hardly ever in wool. Under
the Manchu _régime_ the type of dress adopted was that of this
horse-riding race, showing the chief characteristics of that noble
animal, the broad sleeves representing the hoofs, the queue the mane,
etc. This queue was formed of the hair growing from the back part
of the scalp, the front of which was shaved. Unlike the Egyptians,
they did not wear wigs. They have nearly always had the decency to
wear their coats long, and have despised the Westerner for wearing
his too short. They are now paradoxical enough to make the mistake
of adopting the Westerner's costume.

They have made to themselves great canals, bridges, aqueducts, and
the longest wall there has ever been on the face of the earth (which
could not be seen from the moon, as some sinologists have erroneously
supposed, any more than a hair, however long, could be seen at a
distance of a hundred yards). They have made long and wide roads, but
failed to keep them in repair during the last few centuries, though
much zeal, possibly due to commerce on oil- or electricity-driven
wheels, is now being shown in this direction. They have built honorary
portals to chaste widows, pagodas, and arched bridges of great beauty,
not forgetting to surround each city with a high and substantial wall
to keep out unfriendly people. They have made innumerable implements
and weapons, from pens and fans and chopsticks to ploughs and carts
and ships; from fiery darts, 'flame elephants,' bows and spears,