the train journey you have 13 half the excitement, but at best a rail- way station is nothing is not a place for peace quiet. Chinese never seem to be able to do anything as serious as travelling without mad excitement and continuous yelling. At all days. The sort of a train journey which is rarely taken, I suppose, they seem to feel that it is a part of the programme that to get their money's worth from the precious bit of paper ticket they must work themselves into a frenzy of excitement. On the 18 May 1921 there was great ceremonial at Peking. The four Super- dictators of war-fiefs who control the best present destinies of China were coming to the capital. For a fortnight they had been in conference in Tientsin Chang So Ling, the uncrowned king of Manchuria, Tao K'uei of Peking Fu, his greatest rival, Wu Pei Fu, Tao's chief lieutenant and Wang Chang Hsuan the ruler of the Yangtze valley. They were in conference at Tientsin. All Peking was on its qui vive for the result of their deliberations meant peace or war for North China in the coming summer. The betting among the