far from the French Legation, and was — strangely enough — kept by a Manchu named Kwan.
The first part of the process consists in forming a copper vase of the desired form, partly beaten into shape and partly soldered. The design for the enamelled flowers and figures is then traced on to the copper by a native artist, and afterwards all the lines engraved are replaced by strips of copper, soldered hard on to the vase, and rather thicker than the depth of the enamel which they are destined to contain. The materials used for soldering are borax and silver, which require a higher temperature for fusion than the enamel itself. The design is now filled in with the various coloured enamels, reduced to a state of powder and made into a paste by the admixture of water. The enamel powders are said to be prepared by a secret process, known only to one man in Peking, who sells them in a solid form, like slabs of different coloured glass. The delicate operation of filling in the coloured powders is chiefly carried on by boys, who manage to blend the colours with wonderful perfection. After the design has been filled in, the vase is next subjected to a heat that fuses the enamel. Imperfections are then filled up and the whole is fused again. This operation is repeated three times, and then the vase is ready to be filed, ground and polished. The grinding and polishing are conducted on a rude lathe, and when completed the vase is gilt. Some of the largest and finest vases sell for thousands of taels and are much prized by the Chinese, as well as among foreigners.
On October i8th I set out with two friends for the Sum- mer Palace at Yuen-ming-Yuen, about eight miles to the north-west of Peking. One of our party, Mr. Wang, to whom I have already referred, was connected with the Peking Board of
