The dead Sister’s Plate and Chopsticks--Tremendous Feat--A
Chinese Theatre--Poor Stuff--The Mail--Excitement--The Rush
for Jondy--Do your Duty, come what may--One Piecey English
Thief--Nigpoo Tom--Brawling Boatmen--Baby Boatmen--Buoys for
Baby-boys--Pastimes--A Cruise for Health--Lucong--Picturesque
Scenery--Forget-me-not--Hospitable Cottagers--Their
Dinner--Libations of Samshu--Seamen’s Distraction--Lucong
Farmers--Thrashing Machine--The Joss-house--A Surprise--More
Hospitality--A Dinner in Public--Number One Piecey--A Party
for the _Inflexible_--Help for _Laplace_--Ingenious Steering
Contrivance--Towing a Cripple.
Another observance relative to the dead I also had the fortune to
witness. I had eaten a dinner in a Chinaman’s house, and afterwards sat
on one side and witnessed the proceedings of my host, whose chief fare
was rice. While watching, I remarked a plate of food, with chopsticks,
set apart from the rest by a vacant seat. I asked for an explanation,
and was informed that their dead sister would come and eat her
chow-chow by-and-by; but if, as it generally happens, the spirit didn’t
come, perhaps having something better on its own table, the untouched
food would be thrown reverently away.
In this same July we heard from Canton that the city is very unsettled,
threatened with a night attack from the Braves: I fancied they would
find out their mistake if they attempted it. With this weather in
view for another three months, and the thermometer from 125° to 130°,
one need be made of marble, or live in “marble halls,” for even when
writing, or doing nothing, the perspiration pours from one copiously:
so that even a slight exertion in a fervid climate is attended with
discomfort. The song says, “A sailor was made for all weathers,” but I
think he as little relishes melting as any one. I used in England to
think 80° very hot; but I am quite submissive now at 100°.
About this time, being on shore, I went to a Chinese theatre. There
were no scenes, and the acting, which was very indifferent, consisted
of a series of contortions, accompanied by much volubility; the
actors, who had painted their faces, and wore gaudy dresses and
hats, represented very magnificent characters. In their comic pieces
their gestures are very amusing, and sometimes they like to talk
big; making use of such expressions as they fancy will suit the mood
of the audience. For instance, an actor bounces on the stage with,
“My brother, who is noble, has the name of Lintsienchesfou, and he
sometimes resides in Tchingkiangfoo, that great trading city, where
are the great and magnificent junks which struck terror into the
barbarians.” Their singing is execrable; they haven’t the slightest
regard for tune, but pour out one unbroken monotonous squall. Most of
their instruments are stringed, but whether their players are skilful
or not, who can tell? The audience behave pretty decently, but chatter
incessantly. The men of our ship used to take great delight in these
exhibitions, and they laughed as if they were never going to cease;
whistling shrilly; clapping and applauding, declaring “if it wasn’t
enough to make a cat laugh.”
With what great anxiety do we look forward out here to the arrival
of the mail. Every one is asking when is it due? Is it come in yet?
And it is amusing to watch the changes of countenance, as one lucky
fellow who always has letters, is talking to a comrade who seldom gets
one. The first is all animation, the other gloomy and desponding. The
steamer that brings the mail from Hong-Kong has to perform quarantine
at Woosung, at the mouth of the river, the land portion is brought up
on horseback; and we could always see the postman go by at a headlong
pace along the land, pitching the bags of letters down at the gates
of the respective houses without any stopping. Then it was that heads
were thrust out of ports with cries of “There go the runners; the
mail’s in,” and the buzz of anticipation and excitement was heard along
the decks. The naval mail travels by water in a fast-sailing junk, in
charge of an officer of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, which is
easily known by its carrying the Company’s flag--a small square, with
one corner white, another yellow, the third blue, and the fourth red.
A boat was then sent from the senior officer for the boxes of letters;
soon they were aboard and in the captain’s cabin to be sorted. Then up
went two or three little coloured rolls of bunting to the mast-head,
where they broke and displayed to other ships of war in harbour the
welcome signal of _Send for letters_. As soon as the letters were
sorted out came Jondy, master-at-arms, with the mail box; every one had
been on the look-out for him; and such a tremendous rush was made aft
to his table, where, with the box before him, and his hands full, he
sung out loudly the names of the owners of the much-coveted letters.
“Hillo, Bill, what’s up? You look down on yer luck; didn’t she write
again this time?” “Write be bothered, no; she’s run away with a soger.”
“Well, if people won’t write to me, I won’t to them; s’pose they’re
getting too good.” “John,” they used to shout to me, “here’s a bushel
basket-full for you; by Jove! you always has one.”
None but an exile can tell the pleasure of getting news from his
far-away home. My friends never forgot me, and to my letters from home
I was indebted for something that cheered weary waiting hours, and
reminded me always to “do my duty, come what may.”
Here in Shanghai are a set of native boatmen who ply to and from the
shipping and the shore; but I advise you to fight shy of them, for they
are the veriest scoundrels in existence: not content with their proper
fare, fifty cash, or half a mace, they demand three times that sum;
and if the stranger be not sufficiently learned in their ways, he will
give them what they demand, which, of course, only serves to increase
their exorbitant demands. If you refuse them they abuse you shamefully,
and no doubt are not very choice in their epithets, especially if
they be acquainted with a little English of the low stamp, which they
generally soon acquire from seamen. Then it will be, “You one piecey
English thief; you one big foolo--you no goodee,” and other less
elegant expressions. If a party of seamen happen to be so served, it
is something as follows: “Knock him down!” “Heave the Chinee lubber
overboard!” “Choke his luff!” and so on.
These same fellows are very proud of keeping their boats clean and
neat, and have generally one or more ships’ names tacked to the
stern--for instance, as follows: _Jack Leg, No. 1, Arcadia_; _Nigpoo
Tom, No. 1, boatman, Hibernia_; _Canton Jack, first No. 1, Sovereign of
the Seas_; and many others in the same style. They lie alongside the
pier, and, when they see a seaman coming, accost him in a volley with
“Sanpan, sanpan, mine very goote; go ship, Jack--my boat.” Others not
so far advanced in their knowledge of languages, resort to practical
measures, and pull you forcibly along, uttering quickly, “Ugh, ugh,”
and shove you into their boat, and scull away vigorously amid the
growling of their mates.
Once, on going ashore, I paid the fellow his usual fare, with which
he appeared quite content, but upon my stepping out of the boat, he
ran after me, crying out, “Piecey more, piecey more.” As I knew I had
given him enough, I walked on, but he beginning to be troublesome, I
turned suddenly round, took him by the collar and shook him vigorously,
telling him I’d call a policeman if he didn’t “wylo” (go away);
whereupon he sheered off in double-quick time, while I watched his
retreating figure, laughing heartily.
The Chinese mothers swathe their infants up till they somewhat resemble
mummies, and a stranger might easily take them as preparations for the
Pyramids, were it not for the little yells occasionally emitted from
them. I have often seen mothers with their infants strapped across
their backs in the general manner, sculling their boat along, and
unconsciously smoking their opium pipe, the little infant partaking
of all its mother’s movements. Common rumour says that carrying the
children thus is the reason why they have flat noses, which is a marked
feature among the Chinese. The little ones are generally very agile,
and seem very intelligent when quite young. A mere child may be seen
often managing a sanpan with the greatest ease, or, as seamen say, “as
if he’d been born with an oar in his fist.” The younger children are
always kept near the mother in the stern of the boat; she seems very
attentive and kind to them. The youngsters have a gourd attached to
their waists, so that in case of tumbling overboard the gourd would
buoy them up and afford a chance for rescue. But it is only the boys
who are thus protected; if a girl falls it is a good riddance of so
much live lumber. Most of the Celestial children are as joyous and gay
as urchins in our own land, and many games common to little English
youngsters are not unknown to the Chinese juveniles: kite flying,
playing shuttlecock with the soles of the feet and palms of the hand,
choosing one of their own number as Kwang or Emperor, besides pitch and
toss and bounce halfpenny--all these they play very adroitly, entering
into them with hearty spirit. Even grown-up people take great delight
in shuttlecock; and will fly kites for half a day at a stretch with
as much solemn enjoyment as is shown by the spectators on an English
cricket-ground.
On the 29th of September our anchor was lifted for the first time for
more than eight months, and we went on a cruise to recruit the health
of our numerous sick. We got as far as Woosung that night, and lay
there to await the arrival of the mail, before making a final start.
In the afternoon of the next day, the mail having come in, we left
Woosung, and in the evening were off Lucong, a hilly island--one of the
Chusans. The landing is rather difficult, on account of the sharpness
of the rocks, and a long low swell which sometimes sets in.
The town, situate a few miles up a small creek, is very thriving and
populous, as, indeed, are many Chinese towns; and it does a great trade
with other islands in fish and vegetables.
The country is very picturesque, and seemed the more so to us after our
long spell of flat landscapes. The heights are bold towards the sea,
but more inland there are fine broad fields, cool valleys, and nice
well-clothed hills dotted with little farms and villages, watered by
small streams, margined and overhung by willows, and the banks prettily
strewed with flowers. How we enjoyed our liberty on shore! and how glad
was I to find among the flowers the sweet little forget-me-not! What
a host of pleasant recollections did that little flower recal! and I
sat on the bank of that pleasant stream all the afternoon, trying to
deceive myself with the notion that I was at home, and my friends were
about me in the shape of the sweet forget-me-nots.
I had several opportunities of going ashore. I hope I used my eyes to
my own improvement; I am sure I did to my enjoyment. It was gratifying,
after a long confinement to shipboard, to step ashore amid the
freshness of nature and the novelties of a strange country. The men,
too, seemed to enjoy it, and many of them were for a “feed of grass;”
and some said “they felt glad they were alive.”
The peasantry were very hospitable and simple, inviting us by signs
into their cottages, which were built mostly of stones and mud, and
thatched with paddy. Bare earth formed the floor; in one corner stood
the copper for cooking; in another lay a heap of what appeared to be
rubbish; the remainder of the walls was occupied by shelves, containing
crockery; and the floor was occupied by a bed, a round table, and three
bamboo stools. The inmates set before us such as they themselves ate:
rice, callaloo, a kind of cabbage and fish, with their favourite drink,
samshu--a spirit that seemed to me disgusting in taste and smell. Our
men did not seem to like the look of the fare at all. “I say, Bob,
there’s swamp-seed and turmit-tops--that’s a fine feed for a Christian.
Why, I wouldn’t give a dog of mine that stuff--no, strike me lucky, I
wouldn’t.” However, a good many of the men made no difficulty with
the samshu; and did nothing upon first getting ashore but smoke and
drink “sam,” as they called it. Of course, Sam often proved a powerful
fellow, and made his votaries either beastly or ridiculous; and some
would find a surprising resemblance to brother Tom in a sober messmate,
or display very amiable feelings towards some tree-stump. Others were
just the opposite, and nothing would prevent them from quarrelling and
making a noise; in fact, they only appeared to have acted up to what
they said before going on shore, “Anything to distract the brain.”
The people of Lucong appear to be good husbandmen, and their land is
farmed well; and it might surprise some of our grumbling farmers to see
the product of their abundant harvests. They grind their corn by means
of a large hammer on the lever principle: it is worked in a bearing
or groove, supported by two uprights; a man treads on one end of it,
and causes it to rise; steps off again, and it descends into a large
jar or mortar sunk in the earth. The concussion of the hammer as it
descends causes the grain to shake up, so that it all comes under the
face of the hammer, and is crushed. The work is laborious, for the
hammer is heavy. I visited the Joss-house, and found it like others
at Canton and Hong-Kong, a gloomy, dingy building, smelling strongly
of disagreeable incense, and in the centre the ponderous god, with the
fire burning before him. The people of Lucong were decidedly the most
candid and open of the Chinese race I had yet seen. I was walking with
two shipmates, and we were remarking one to another what such and such
a patch of unknown vegetables might be, when we suddenly came upon a
small village, which a woody height had before hidden from our view. On
our appearance, a group of youngsters, who had been playing merrily,
scattered in the greatest alarm; but upon being coaxed and shown there
was no harm intended, and the present of a brass button, they ceased to
skulk, and we became good friends; the people, as usual, were extremely
hospitable, making us come into their houses and seat ourselves. Having
some fish with us which we had purchased, I asked one of the household
to get them cooked; and these, with tea and bread, which we had also
brought, made a refreshing meal after our long ramble.
It was quite amusing to see the Celestials during our meal; they
formed a circle round the doorway, gaping at us with the greatest
astonishment, evidently at a great loss to understand how it was we
moved our lower jaws. They examined our flesh, also turning up our
sleeves; they appeared greatly amazed at the whiteness of the skin,
tracing with childish delight our blue veins through their courses. I
was strictly overhauled; but stood the test. A mace--fourpence--and a
piece of _Illustrated News_, in payment for our accommodation, highly
delighted the old man of the house; they appeared mightily pleased with
the pictures, repeatedly exclaiming, “Number one piecey, number one
piecey; English piecey very goot;” and we parted with good feelings on
both sides.
We returned to Shanghai in time to celebrate the 5th of November; and
we burnt another guy with proper formalities.
On the 3rd of December, which was my birthday, I was sent with a
party to the _Inflexible_, she being under orders to proceed to the
assistance of the French war-steamer _Laplace_, which had unfortunately
run aground at Takshan, near the Chusans. The weather was bitterly
cold, or we felt it so; and as we steamed along head to wind it seemed
to cut right through us, who had been accustomed so long to the
warmth and heat of the sun. We found the Frenchman afloat, but with a
much-damaged rudder. It being Sunday when we arrived, of course we did
no work; but early next morning we paid out hawsers for towing, got up
anchor, and steamed along at a good speed, considering how wildly the
_Laplace_ steered. Her steering apparatus was very ingenious, and worth
observing. It consisted of two large vulcanised india-rubber buckets,
having a stout lanyard amidships and two smaller ones on each side;
the latter were used to flatten the bucket, and it would float on the
surface of the water, on one side or the other, and direct the vessel’s
head accordingly. But, on the second day of our towing, finding
there was not sufficient to keep her steady, the Frenchman rigged a
gun-carriage on a topsail-yard, which being launched over the taffrail
till deep enough in the water, the ship was steered by means of tackles
from the yard-arm to the side, and we soon found the benefit of it by
the lessened strain upon the hawsers.
We anchored the second evening under the lee of the rugged rocks, not
far from Takshan, and as it was blowing freshly, made ourselves snug
for the night by sending down top-gallant-masts and letting go another
anchor.