Yang-tse-Kiang to the blockading squadron.' 'Will you do that?' 'Of
course.'

"He thought a little and said: 'I will see what can be done. Will you
take $100 a month for a start?' I said: 'That depends.' (Of course I
would take it.) Well, after parley, he said he would put me on the
flagship, and if I did well he would promote me. Then he looked at
me and said: 'How old are you ?' When I told him I was
twenty-four I thought he would faint--for in China a man is a
_boy_ until he is over thirty. He said I would _never_ do--I was a
child. I could not know anything at all. I could not convince him,
but at last he compromised--I was to pass an examination at the
Arsenal at the Naval College, in all branches, and if they passed
me I would have a show. So we parted. I reported for examination
next day, but was put off--same the next day. But to-day I was told
to come, and sat down to a stock of foolscap, and had a pretty stiff
exam. I am only just through. I had seamanship, gunnery,
navigation, nautical astronomy, algebra, geometry, trigonometry,
conic sections, curve tracing, differential and integral calculus. I
had only three questions out of five to answer in each branch, but
in the first three I answered all five. After that I only had time for
three, but at the end he said I need not finish, he was perfectly
satisfied. I had done remarkably well, and he would report to the
Viceroy to-morrow. He examined my first
papers--seamanship--said I was _perfect_ in it, so I will get
_along_, you need not fear. I told the Consul--he was very well
pleased--he is a nice man.

"I feel pretty well now--have had dinner and am smoking a good
Manila cheroot. I wrote hard all day, wrote fifteen sheets of