turning on a centre as a meridian circle, and the third the azi- muth circle.
The other instrument is an armillary sphere, supported by chained dragons, of most beautiful workmanship and design. This instrument is a marvellous specimen of the perfection to which the Chinese must, even then, have brought the art of casting in bronze. The horizon is inscribed with the twelve cyclical characters, into which the Chinese divide the day and night. Outside the ring these characters appear again, paired with eight characters of the denary cycle, and four names of the eight dia- grams of the book of changes, denoting the points of the com- pass ; while the inside of the ring bears the names of the twelve States into which China, in ancient times, was portioned out. An equatorial circle, a double-ring ecliptic, an equinoctial colure and a double-ring colure are adjusted with the horizon ring. The equator is engraved with constellations of unknown anti- quity; while the ecliptic is marked off into twenty-four equal spaces, corresponding to the divisions of the year. All the circles are divided into 365I degrees, for the days of the year; while each degree is subdivided into 100 parts, as for everything less than a degree the centenary scale prevailed at that period. I take these instruments to be of great interest, as indicating the state of astronomical science in China at about the end of the thirteenth century.
While in Peking I made the acquaintance of many educated and intelligent natives, one of whom accompanied an English physician and myself on an excursion to the ruins of the Summer Palace. With another gentleman, Mr. Yang, I became consider- ably intimate; and in this way enjoyed some opportunity of seeing the dwellings and domestic life of the upper classes in the capital. Both my friends were devoted to photography; but
