Over six feet tall, with a slight stoop, he wore the bright yellow jacket denoting his high rank, a viceroy's cap with a four-eyed peacock feather attached to it by amber fastenings, and a beautifully coloured skirt of rich material.

His finger-nails were polished till they shone, a huge diamond flashed on his right hand, and he peered out benignantly over the tops of a pair of gold-bowed spectacles.

Dignified in bearing, he looked every inch the statesman and scholar.

His gracious manner won him friends during his stay in New York, and his indefatigable propensity for asking questions--some of them rather embarrassing to those questioned, as when he politely inquired the ages of the ladies whom he met and the salaries of the officials who entertained him--aroused much merriment." In the way of a distinguished visitor Li Hung Chang was a novelty.

New York gave him a rousing reception.