CHINA.

In one respect at least pilgrims from other lands must bow to the

empire we are about to visit. It is the oldest form of civilized

government on earth. While the English monarchy boasts its

uninterrupted course of eight hundred years, and America has just

celebrated its first century of existence, this remarkable people

live under a government which has been substantially unchanged for

four thousand long years. The first authenticated dynasty dates

from 2345 B.C., and what is now China has been under one central

government for nearly two thousand five hundred years. Even the

Papacy, the most venerable of existing Western institutions, is

young compared to this. There was something in the reply of the

mandarin to the boast of one of our people as to the superiority

of our system: "Wait until it is tried!" To a Chinaman a thousand

years or so seems too short to prove anything. Theirs alone has

stood the test of ages. That the Chinese are a great race goes

without saying. Four hundred millions (nearly one-third of the

human race) existing for thousands of years under one unchanging

government, riding out the storms which have overwhelmed all other

nations; nay, even absorbing into themselves the Tartar hordes,

who came as conquerors, and making them Chinese against their

will. Such a record tells a story indeed! At a date so remote that

Egypt and Assyria were the great Western powers, when Athens and

Troy had just been founded, and Rome was not even thought of,

these people were governed much as they are now, and since A.D. 67

have published a daily Peking _Gazette_, of which (thanks to

our intelligent "host of the Garter," Mr. Janssen) we have secured

a copy. We are all but of yesterday compared to the Heathen

Chinee, and it is impossible to sit down and scribble glibly of

such a people. In Japan there is no record. It is a new race

appearing almost for the first time among civilized nations. It

has given the world nothing, but how widely different here! It is

to China the world owes the compass, gunpowder, porcelain, and

even the art of printing, and to her also alone the spectacle of a

people ruled by a code of laws and morals embracing the most

minute particulars, written two thousand four hundred years ago,

and taught to this day in the schools as the rules of life. It is

an old and true saying that almost any system of religion would

make one good enough if it were properly obeyed; certainly that of

Confucius would do so. I have been deeply impressed with his

greatness and purity. Dr. Davis writes in his work on China:

"Confucius embodied in sententious maxims the first principles of

morals and of government, and the purity and excellence of some of

his precepts will bear comparison with even those of the Gospel."

In Thornton's History of China I find this noteworthy passage: "It

may excite surprise, and even incredulity, to state that the

golden rule of our Saviour had been inculcated by Confucius five

centuries before almost in the same words." If any of my readers

wish a rare treat, I advise him to add at least the first volume

of the Rev. Dr. Legge's Life of Confucius to his library

immediately, and let him not entertain the idea that the sage was

a heathen or an unbeliever; far, very far from that, for one of

his most memorable passages explains that all worship belongs to

Shangti (the Supreme Ruler); no matter what forms or symbols are

used, the great God alone being the only true object of worship.

But I must resist this fit of Confucianism, reserving, however,

the privilege of regaling you with more of it by and bye, for

really it is too good not to be scattered among you. Meanwhile,

remember well what Matthew Arnold says:

"Children of men! the unseen Power, whose eye

For ever doth accompany mankind,

Hath look'd on no religion scornfully

That men did ever find.

Which has not taught weak wills how much they can?

Which has not fall'n on the dry heart like rain?

Which has not cried to sunk, self-weary man:

_Thou must be born again!_"

* * * * *

THURSDAY, December 5.

We reached Shanghai Thursday morning, and found excellent

accommodations at the Astor House, in the American settlement. The

Chinese Government has set apart for the accommodation of

foreigners a strip of land, about six miles long and one mile

wide, fronting the river. This is divided among the English,

French, and Americans. During the Taeping rebellion a few years

ago, thousands of natives flocked into this territory and found a

refuge under the foreign flags, and today it contains more than

seventy thousand Chinese, who do most of the retail business of

the city. The foreign population does not exceed two thousand. The

streets are broad, and as well cared for as in an English town,

and it is lighted with gas, has a fine steam fire organization,

and is thoroughly drained. It is here the natives of this district

are learning their first lesson of Western civilization, and at

length some impression has been made upon this hitherto immovable

mass and it begins to move. Mandarins come from the country to

enjoy a drive in the streets, for, let it not be forgotten, there

is not a street or road in the region, outside of the reservation,

in which a horse can travel; only footpaths, where a wheelbarrow

pushed by a man is the only possible vehicle. Now several wealthy

Chinese have set up their carriages, and may frequently be seen

driving; and I learn from many that when any are compelled to

visit their former residences elsewhere, they return to Shanghai

declaring that they could not live any longer in the old style.

But think of one-third of the race living at this late day without

a mile of railroad or of telegraph, or even of macadamized roads!

Communication in China is solely by means of the rivers, canals,

and small branches which have been led from the main channels to

every acre of ground for irrigating purposes, and by narrow

footpaths between the fields. But some of us will live to see this

changed. I saw in a newspaper an official notice permitting the

first telegraph line to be built. True, it is to be only a few

miles in length, extending from the sea to the port of Peking

(Tien-Tsin), but this is of course only a beginning. The question

of railroads is more serious, and what think you is the one

obstacle to their introduction? Graves--the "tombs of our

ancestors." China is one vast cemetery. Go where you will, in any

direction, the mounds of the dead intrude themselves upon you at

every step. There are no cemeteries or places set apart for burial

purposes; on the contrary, the Chinaman seems to prefer having his

dead buried on his own land, and as near to him as practicable. In

this neighborhood their mode of sepulture is revolting. The

coffins are not put into a grave at all, but are laid directly on

the surface of the ground and covered with but a few inches of

earth; and it is not at all uncommon for them to be wholly

exposed, simply laid out in the fields, and so close to the

roadside--I mean to the main roads built by Europeans near their

settlements--that you can almost touch them with the end of your

walking-stick as you pass. The stench from such coffins became so

offensive last year at the rifle range that the European

authorities had to enter complaint to the Chinese Mandarin. I was,

like all others, at first much shocked at the sight of these

evidences of mortality. One day I stood and counted a hundred and

thirty-four different mounds and exposed coffins within sight. I

am glad to say that in other parts of China this custom does not

prevail, the dead being buried in graves, and walls built above

them in the shape of a horseshoe. As is well known, the Chinese

worship their ancestors, and believe that much of their happiness

depends upon the respect shown to those to whom they owe their

lives. Cases have been known where successive afflictions have

been attributed to some defect in the resting-places of the dead;

their ancestors, "after life's fitful fever," were not sleeping

well, and at great expense the bones have been removed to another

place; but it is an extreme case when they venture to disturb the

dead. Every true son of the Empire of the Sun echoes the anathema

of Shakespeare,

"And curst be he who moves my bones."

One special feature of the Flowery Land is, I think, the

repugnance of the people to debt, or to credits in any form. As I

have remarked, they have no banks of issue; no promises to pay for

the Celestials; they deal only in the coin itself. All debts must

be paid at the beginning of each year. The Chinaman who does not

settle every account and enter upon the new year without an

obligation is accounted either very unfortunate or very regardless

of the duties of life. This aversion to debt, perhaps, accounts

for the fact that these four hundred millions of people had not a

penny of national debt until four years ago. But they have just

made a loan of $12,000,000, I believe, the first ever made by

China in all its thousands of years' history. This may be taken,

perhaps, as another proof that the empire is influenced by Western

ideas, but one cannot help regretting that her long reign of

freedom from debt should at last be stained, even for so paltry an

amount. If I were a Chinese statesman, I would never rest until

the last farthing of this debt was paid off. The fashion nowadays

in America is to urge that it is paying off its debt much too

fast. I am sorry for this. What an example to all lands we shall

give when the last bond of the nation is cancelled at Washington

amid public rejoicings! A republic's part is to give less advanced

nations, still under the influence of feudal institutions, such

lessons as this will be. Do not let us, however, underrate

England's part in. such a work. She has reduced her public debt

wonderfully, and the next twenty years is to see seventy millions

sterling more extinguished, unless legislation now existing for

this end is interfered with.

The general government of China is a very economical one, its

total revenue being only about $125,000,000 (£25,000,000). Of this

$15,000,000 is spent upon the army, a sum which for 400,000,000

people compares very favorably with that expended by other

nations. China has outgrown the so-called heroic age, in which

England still dwells, and has little need of armies. A government

not worth thirty cents (fifteen pence) per year for each

inhabitant, which is the cost in China, is not worth having.

* * * * *

FRIDAY, December 6.

In our stroll to-day Vandy and I came upon one of the gates of the

old city, of which there are six in a wall three miles in

circumference, and entered. It contains 300,000 people. We walked

some distance through its filthy, narrow alleys, and saw the poor

wretches in their dens working at all kinds of trades, from the

forging of iron to the production of Joss-money, but the

villainous smells soon overpowered me, and I had to get Vandy to

escort me out. He can go through anything of this kind without

flinching, and means to return; but I have seen enough of it, and

am sorry that human beings have to exist under such conditions.

The Chinese have no coined currency except a small bronze piece

worth one-tenth of a cent, called "cash." It has a hole in the

centre, and when a native goes to market he puts several lots of

them on strings, fifty or a hundred on each string, and throws

them round his neck; think of it, one thousand pieces, ten strings

of one hundred each, to make a dollar! Sometimes they are carried

in the market-basket. In larger operations Mexican and American

dollars are used, but away from the coast people decline to take

even these, insisting upon silver cast in the form of a horseshoe

and called "sice." This silver is hoarded here, and also in India,

and were it not for this its value would probably fall to a point

which would rule it out of the list of precious metals. The evils

of a silver currency are obvious to all here. Its value has

changed three times in one day since we have been in the country.

Business is seriously disturbed, and suffers from this cause, and

it is to such a plight that our misled silverites at home would

reduce us!

* * * * *

SATURDAY, December 7.

To-day we walked through the fish and vegetable markets. It was

funny to see the people making their purchases. Each one carries a

small stick with a weight attached to it. This serves as a

weighing-beam, and every fowl, fish, and vegetable is carefully

weighed by the customer. No cheating of a brother Celestial by the

seller. We pass now and then a shop where nothing is dealt in but

Joss-money; hundreds in every place are engaged in its

manufacture. It is made out of thin gold and silver paper, in the

horseshoe ingot form of genuine "sice." I bought a box containing

eight pieces for thirty cents. Some of it also is made in

imitation of silver dollars. This bogus money is laid upon the

altars of the temples as offerings to the gods, who are supposed

to find as much use for it as if it were genuine; and no doubt

this is the case. It would therefore be a great pity, says the

Heathen Chinee, to waste the real article, although I doubt not

the priests would infinitely prefer it.

We attended a "paper-hunt" in the afternoon. Between forty and

fifty riders, all Europeans, on small horses, started across

country, the route having been previously laid down by means of

small pieces of white paper scattered at every point where one of

the innumerable little creeks was to be crossed. The finish was a

rare sight. The banks of the creeks were very muddy, falls were

numerous, and several of the riders came in besmirched from head

to foot. Europeans take to horses here, and a race-course is

maintained. The animals are a small breed from the north, which

are now known as Shanghai ponies. I do not think I could enjoy the

sport of paper-hunting here. The exposed coffins and graves one

has to gallop over from end to end of the hunt are not calculated

to enhance one's pleasure; but perhaps one would in time get used

even to them, though I doubt it.

It was sad to see the roadway which had been prepared for the

railroad from Woosung, at the mouth of the river, to this city, a

distance of about twelve miles. The rails had actually been laid

in some places when a decree from Peking ordered their removal. No

better location in the empire could have been found to prove the

advantages of railway travel, and I believe, if it had been

finished, the Chinese would have quickly appreciated the benefits

to be derived from it. Britain will some day find in China its

best field for railway enterprise. By the time we next visit

Shanghai we expect to see not only the rails restored to this

line, but also many other miles in successful operation.

* * * * *

MONDAY, December 9.

We visited the ship-yard of Messrs. Boyd & Co., and found none but

native workmen employed. Blacksmiths receive about five dollars

per week, machinists six dollars; carpenters, sixty to sixty-five

cents per day. But this concern pays high wages, and requires its

men to equal Europeans, which I am told they do. Common gang labor

is contracted for with a head man, who engages to supply day by

day the number of coolies wanted at twenty cents a day per man.

Mr. Grant, the senior partner, told me he was buying Belgian iron

in large lots, assorted sizes, for £4 10s. per gross ton--just

about one cent per pound; ship plates at £6, equal to $29 per

gross ton, free on ship at Antwerp. Such figures prove the

severity of the struggle for existence among the iron

manufacturers of Europe.

The servants at the hotel pay a contractor two dollars per month

for food, they not being permitted to eat anything at the hotel. A

coolie's board costs about five cents per day. For this he gets an

abundance of coarse rice and cabbage spiced with pieces of dried

fish and pickles, and upon such a diet lives from year to year.

Clothing is estimated at two to three dollars per year. This is

the country of low prices, where one eschews luxuries and comes

down to first principles. Cab fare is five cents per mile for

ginrikshaws, which have been introduced from Japan, and are

generally used in Shanghai. At Tokio I remember cab fare was even

cheaper. We paid only eight cents per hour for a man and his

carriage, or seventy-five cents for the entire day. European

society here is quite extensive, and very pleasant and hospitable.

We are indebted to kind friends for numerous attentions. As

General Bailey, our worthy Consul-General, is a public official, I

may be permitted to express to him my special thanks. He was

unremitting in his efforts to render our visit agreeable. It is

from such men that America is to draw its trained diplomatists

when Civil-Service Reform has done its needed work.

We attended last night a very good amateur theatrical performance.

Shanghai society was present in force, and in full evening dress.

The preponderance of fine-looking young men, and the almost total

absence of young ladies, was most marked. The number of married

ladies was not great. In answer to my inquiry where the young

ladies were, I was informed that there were but few in town. One

was pointed out, but as she was engaged she scarcely counted. If

ladies will only be contented with unremitting attentions from a

crowd of handsome beaux, this is their paradise; but, as our lady

friend explained, none of these fine fellows can afford to marry:

they are clerks and assistants in the European houses, the

partners of which unfortunately are married already. I think it

but fair to mention this for the benefit of any of my fair young

friends who might otherwise think of visiting the East. The

absence of young ladies renders the taking of female parts by the

opposite sex a necessity. A splendid "singing chambermaid" of this

kind, dressed and looking the part to perfection, but with a deep

bass voice, caused peals of laughter every time he spoke. During

the evening there was a song cleverly introduced and sung by a

brawny Scot--a parody upon "May I like a soldier fall," beginning,

"Oh! may I like a Scotchman fall

Upon St. Andrew's Day."

It appears the Scotch residents had just been celebrating that

memorable night, having brought up from Hong Kong no less a

personage than the head piper of the Highlander Regiment to grace

the festival. But the pipes proved too much for the more

enthusiastic of the party, and capturing the piper about three

o'clock in the morning, they compelled him to march at their head

playing through the town. It may be readily surmised that

"If no fou, they just had plenty."

As long, however, as the martial strains continued, they managed,

arm and arm, to keep upright and together, but, unfortunately,

from some cause or other not clearly explained, at the turn of the

street Donald himself lost his footing, the bagpipes ceased, and

then, surging one against the other, without the music to keep

them in step, the mass was laid low, yelling to the last, however,

the "March of the Cameron Men." "Oh, what a fall was there, my

countrymen!" The Central Hotel was fortunately not far off, and by

the aid of wheelbarrows they were safely conveyed thither and

taken care of until morning. Ah, well, let the censorious take

note. This is not the first time, as the world knows, when the

sound of the pibroch has kept Scotchmen shoulder to shoulder, "one

stepping where the other fell," when upon them lay the issue of

the fight; nor shall it be the last. Burke pardoned something to

the spirit of liberty, and shall we do less to the august shade of

St. Andrew? Heaven forbid!

While bemoaning the absence of foreign young ladies here and in

Japan, I may as well tell those at home something of the marriage

customs of the East, for Japan, China, and India all have much in

common here. First and foremost, then, please understand that the

couple about to be married have nothing whatever to do with the

affair. The match has been made by the parents, and as a rule

neither has seen the other until after the contract has been

closed; and in many cases it is thought advisable that they should

meet for the first time when the ceremony begins. It is considered

one of the most important duties of a mother to select a wife for

each of her sons as he arrives at maturity, as a failure to do

this might involve the fearful catastrophe of a break in the

worship of the family's ancestors, and indeed of her own and her

husband's ashes, for there might be no men to perform the sacred

rites over them. The parents of the young men take the initiative,

but how to propose is said to be even more embarrassing than it

would be to the son himself, as a refusal implies that the lady's

parents consider the proposal much beneath them. There exists,

therefore, a class of "marriage brokers," who keep themselves

informed of the eligible sons and daughters in their circle, and

can sound the parents, name the _dot_ to be given or

required, and suggest and finally bring about a satisfactory

alliance without wounding the family pride upon either side. The

Chinese are very superstitious, and no union takes place without

the astrologer's sanction. He must consult the stars and see that

there is proper conjunction. If all is favorable, the marriage

takes place.

But now, my lady friends, don't imagine that the happy pair set up

a separate establishment, as you expect to do when you marry. No;

the wife goes in every case to reside with her mother-in-law, to

whom, as also to her husband's father, she renders implicit

obedience. This obedience to parents is the most conspicuous duty

in their religion. Should the daughter-in-law be disrespectful,

even, to her husband's parents, these would be upheld in putting

her away, even against the wish of her husband; and unless the son

happened to have an independent income or means of support, which

is very rarely the case, his parents would select for him another

wife who knew her duty better. The deference exacted and bestowed

not only by children but by grown men and women to their parents,

is wholly inconceivable by Americans; but, remember, their

religion teaches them that those from whom they derive existence

are entitled to their worship. No priest is required at a

marriage. The ceremony always takes place at the man's house, the

bride coming from her parents in grand procession through the

streets in a sedan chair with its blinds closely drawn, the

presents being ostentatiously displayed by men carrying them in

front. We saw several of these processions. I cannot give a tithe

of all the customs observed; they would fill pages. But one is

significant; the bride is required to kneel before the husband's

family tablet, and to worship his ancestors, her own being from

that moment apparently of no account to her, and her father gives

her, as his parting injunction, the command to yield hereafter to

her new parents the obedience and reverence hitherto his due.

When the entire day has been spent in the ceremonies required,

dinner for the couple is announced, and they are left alone with

each other for the first time in their lives; but she may not

partake one morsel of the feast, and, harder still, perhaps, not

one syllable must she speak. Etiquette demands that she "sit in

silence, grave and dignified," and she cannot break fast upon her

wedding day. The woman's chief study is a book giving minute

instructions for her guidance through life. In this are prescribed

the three great duties of woman: 1, obedience when a child to her

parents; 2, obedience when a wife to her husband; 3, obedience

when a widow to her eldest son. The government of man is thus

secured for the weaker vessel from the cradle to the grave. No

Eastern man could be made to believe that the influence of the

masculine intellect is not absolutely essential for the well-being

of the female; and so it undoubtedly will be in the East as long

as woman is uneducated. It is in America we find woman in her

highest development, higher even than the English standard, simply

because in the best circles she receives an education nearer to

that of man than is given her elsewhere.

By many such curious customs is secured the entire absorption of

the woman, her total eclipse as a separate individuality; there is

nothing left of her as far as law and usage can destroy her

rights. This is the Eastern idea. But she has her triumph later.

As a wife she knows there is little for her. Divorce is almost

sure unless she bear a son; but when, in the language of

Scripture, "a man-child is born"--presto change! she is a mother,

supreme, invested with a halo of sanctity which secures rank and

reverence from all. She becomes by this the equal of her lord, and

must be worshipped like him, and jointly with him, by succeeding

generations, for Confucius enjoins upon every son the erection of

the family tablets, to father and mother alike. Nor is her rule

confined to her own children, but, as before stated, to their

children as well to the latest day of her life, and the older she

becomes the more she is reverenced as being nearer to heaven,

dearer to the gods; and it is considered of much moment to any

family to be able to boast a great-great-grandmother living.

Do not mourn too much over the sad fate of a young Chinaman

compelled to marry one whom he has never seen, for indeed there

seems little difference between the young ladies of China. Thousands

of years of seclusion, of unvarying customs, have at last moulded

women into the same form, mentally and physically, and anything like

individuality can exist only to a small degree, and in exceptional

natures. They are as like as peas, and one may as well marry one as

another. If the husband has not the joys of love, neither has he the

anxieties pertaining to that super-sensitive condition; for she is

not to be his constant companion, nor his companion at all if he has

not drawn a prize.

The position of woman would seem, therefore, to be almost entirely

different from what it is with us: in youth she is nothing there,

in old age everything; with us it is the opposite. The "just mean"

between the two would probably yield better results than either.

In China a man may marry more than one woman, but the first only

is recognized as his legal wife; all others are her servants, and

bound to wait upon and obey her; and should there be children,

these are considered as children of the legal wife only, and it is

her they must worship, and not their real mother. Among the masses

wives are invariably bought from the parents, about ninety dollars

being a fair market price among poor people. This sum is supposed

to recompense them for the outlay involved in rearing the young

girl. But this custom is valuable in this, that the possession of

so large a sum by a young workingman is the best possible

guarantee that the son-in-law has acquired steady habits, and is

competent to provide for his family. If a test of this nature

could be applied with us, I think paterfamilias would not regard

it as the worst of institutions. These Chinese have ideas that are

sometimes worth thinking over.

* * * * *

FRIDAY, December 13.

Our intended trip up the Yang-tse has been interfered with by a

storm of rain and dense fog, but the days never seem long. We get

a little time to read up. Our book-table shows seven important

works on China and its people--all interesting. To-day is marked

by a notable invitation to dinner extended to us through General

Bailey. We are to have the honor--one not often bestowed upon

globe trotters--of dining with the Mandarin.

The dinner lasted more than three hours, and was composed of I

don't know how many courses. I depended upon Vandy to keep count,

but he found so much to wonder at that he lost the run when in the

teens. From birds'-nest soup, which, by the way, is insipid, to

shark's fin and bamboo shoots in rapid succession, we had it all.

I thought each course would surely be the last; but finally we did

get to sweet dishes, and I knew we were approaching the end. Then

came the bowl of rice and tea, which are supposed to be able to

neutralize the mess which has gone before. Our host pressed all to

drink frequently of a celebrated native wine, the champagne of

China, grown in his district, of the quality of which he seemed

very proud. Whenever he showed the bottom of his cup, guests were

expected to empty and replenish theirs. I did the best I could,

both as to tasting the compounds and drinking the wine, but I fear

I was voted not a great success in either. The natives were quite

hilarious, and smoked at intervals during the feast. They played

the ancient game of digits like Romans, and also a Japanese game

with the hands and arms, the loser in every case being compelled

to drain his cup. When tea was served, the Mandarin, through his

interpreter, addressed General Bailey, as the principal dignitary

present, thanking him for the great honor conferred upon his

humble self by those present having condescended to sit at his

table. The general's reply was equally polite and very happy, and

appeared to please our host greatly, who then hoped that the

illustrious travellers from America would be pleased with China

and return safely to their great country from their journey round

the world, adding that, having now got the telegraph, America and

China and all countries were brought nearer to one another, and

would know each other better. I replied that this was happily

true, and ventured to express the belief that as we knew each

other better we should also like each other more, and that as we,

and all modern nations, had learned so much from his country in

the past, I hoped that in return we might be able, to some extent

at least, to repay that debt by perhaps, showing China some things

which she could adopt with advantage. To this sentiment there was

a most cordial response.

Before rising from table the photograph of the host was presented

to each guest. I requested that his autograph be put upon ours,

that we could insert it in our albums among the eminent men we

met. He replied that he must then go at the very end, because he

had not on his Mandarin hat. But I asked the interpreter to assure

him that we in America did not care about the hat; "it was the

head that was in it" which had raised him so high. This appeared

to please the company inordinately, and we got the autograph, and

so ended our first, and, in all probability, our last, Mandarin

dinner. Vandy ate and drank of everything offered him, and this

morning, when I fully expected him to be as sick as a dog, and

with a head like to split, he surprised me by reporting himself as

all right, and telling me that in some respects Mandarin cooking

beats the world. I should mention that the politeness of our host

was overpowering. The first course he served himself to each

guest, his servants following him round the table and handing him

the dishes ("and I myself shall be your servant, sir, says good

Uncle Toby"), and upon entering, as well as upon retiring, he

stood in the open court outside of his threshold to welcome and to

bid farewell. The shaking of one's own hands instead of grasping

those of your friends is soon learned; but what a world of

pleasure the Chinaman misses by his mode!

Of course we saw none of the ladies of the household, nor were

they inquired for or referred to by any of us. If a Chinese

gentleman were asked how many children he had, he would probably

not count the girls at all, but at all events he would distinguish

thus: two children and a _girl_. When a boy is born the

father is overwhelmed with congratulations, presents are sent, and

rejoicing takes place. If the little stranger happen to be a girl,

the event is hushed up. No reference is ever made to the great

misfortune which has befallen the expectant father. Friends are

apprised of the result by advertisements carried through the

streets. Yellow strips of paper are used if the child is a boy;

_any other color_ means a girl. Among the poorer classes girl

babies are frequently drowned. Some estimate that in the Shanghai

district one-third are so destroyed; the excuse given by the

parents is that they cannot afford to rear a girl. Men monopolize

most of the occupations here, and a woman can earn little or

nothing; besides, a husband for every girl must be provided upon

some terms. After a certain age an unmarried woman is regarded as

disreputable, entailing something of disgrace upon her family; and

so China lacks that most useful, and, as far as my experience

goes, most unjustly maligned class--old maids.

A universal sameness prevails in China which soon becomes

monotonous. One street looks precisely like another. If a traveller

were set down in any city of China, he would be at a loss to tell

where he was. It might be Shanghai, Canton, or Peking. There are the

same rows of one-story, or, at most, one-and-a-half-story huts,

without the slightest attempt at ornament or variety. There are no

grand mansions scattered throughout the land, no city halls,

colleges or commercial exchanges, as with us, but one dead flat

level of low structures wherever you go. Probably the exactions to

which wealth is subject here has much to do with this; all are

concerned to hide their resources, but I am told the Chinese

educated mind has really reached the stage in which ostentatious

display is regarded with contempt. It seeks escape from ceremony and

show, in sweet simplicity of living, as most truly great men have

done and are doing more and more.

Life "_en grand seigneur_" has never been the foible of the

rich American, but as the seigneur is a species of recent growth

and has not yet had time to blossom into flower and show us just

to what his nature turns, we must watch his movements hereafter

with interest. So far, he seems endued with quiet tastes, as far

as personal parade is concerned. A few have built grand mansions,

but still live plainly in the matter of retinue and ceremonial.

Even in England one notes nowadays a general expression of

disappointment at the result of living up to one's rank, according

to the old standard. It is not altogether from lack of means to

maintain great style, although this is the real reason with the

majority, perhaps, who have abandoned former habits. Another cause

is operating, even with such as are wealthy: the squire or his

lordship is not the all in all of his district any more; and he is

educated now, in many cases, to enjoy intellectual pleasures,

which he finds incompatible with so much society and numerous

establishments with their endless staffs of servants to maintain.

Many of the stately homes of England, therefore, are for rent, and

their owners live more within themselves and in simpler manner

than before.

* * * * *

SHANGHAI, Saturday, December 14.

We leave for Hong Kong, eight hundred miles south, by the mail

steamer which sails at daylight. Our usual good fortune attends

us. The monsoon blew us to port one night sooner than we expected.

A night saved was quite an object, as the Geelong is a small

craft, and her rocking means something. Vandy was very ill, but I

managed to report regularly at table as usual. We slept on shore

Tuesday night, and the morning revealed one of the prettiest

places we have ever seen in the East. Hong Kong is an island about

twenty, six miles in circumference, situated one mile from the

mainland of China, and just at the mouth of the river leading to

Canton. There is scarcely an acre of level ground upon it except

one little spot which does duty as a race-course, and is not level

either by any means. A narrow strip fronting the water is occupied

by the city of Victoria, which extends about three miles, but back

of this the ground rises rapidly, and houses cluster upon the

steep sides of the mountain. Nevertheless, public gardens have

been laid out with exquisite taste and skill upon the hillside,

and excellent walks reach to the very top of the peak, more than

eighteen hundred feet high. So closely does this crag overhang the

town below that a stone could be dropped into the settlement from

its crest.

It is the thing in Hong Kong to do the Peak, and we did it, but

not in a manner very creditable to our staying powers, I fear. The

fact is, we had been tossed for sortie days upon a small ship. It

was exceedingly warm. I We were very tired (conscience suggested

another word for tired); in short, there were a dozen

reasons--good, bad, and indifferent--why two strong, lusty fellows

should, under the circumstances, be carried up instead of

attacking the Peak on foot; and so each of us, in a sedan chair,

borne by four strong coolies, managed to get to the top and enjoy

the splendid view, coming down in the same novel manner. It was

surprising, after we had returned, to find how decided a

misunderstanding had arisen between us on the subject. I had not

pressed walking up on Vandy's account, while he had only denied

himself that wished-for pleasure in deference to my supposed

inability. You see, had this point been made clearer before we

started, we might have had the walk after all. As it is, the

credit of both is fairly maintained, and I do think that neither

of us regrets the unfortunate misunderstanding; one gets so lazy

in these latitudes!

More than a hundred thousand Chinese have come from the main land

to reside in Hong Kong and enjoy the benefits of British rule, and

the population, which in 1841 was only five thousand, is now a

hundred and forty thousand. So the good work of reforming China

goes forward by the surest of all means, good example. It is at

such points as Hong Kong--one of the keys of the world--that

England does her real work and lifts up mankind.

* * * * *

THURSDAY, December 19.

We took the steamer for the Paris of the East, far-famed Canton,

distant ninety-five miles. The steamer is just an American river

boat, and we enjoyed the trip very highly. And here let me note

two strange customs which prevail in China. First, your passage

money generally embraces all the liquor, beer, or wine you choose

to consume on the trip. Such was the case to-day, and passengers

were free to call for anything they wished to drink at any time

(champagne excepted). The other custom is universal. There is no

coin in circulation but silver, and it is so heavy that Europeans

have adopted the habit of carrying none, giving for any debt

incurred I. O. U.'s, called "chits," which are sent in at the end

of each month for payment; a vicious custom, which leads to

deplorable excesses, especially in drinking and in gambling. Men

drink and gamble more freely when immediate payment is not

required, or when the chances of a lucky turn may recoup their

losses; besides, many who have no means to pay incur debts.

Indeed, so many cases of this kind have happened since "hard times

set in" that I am encouraged to hope the end of "chits"

approaches. The rule at the clubs now is that no chits can be

given beyond a trifling amount each month, and that they must be

promptly redeemed. Canton was reached by four in the afternoon,

and such a swarm of small boats as surrounded us was never seen

elsewhere. When we were a full mile from the wharf I saw the mass

begin to stir, and such a stir! and almost all rowed by women,

yelling and striving, and dashing one boat against another, in

their efforts to be first. One of the most active scrambled up the

guards and reached us on the upper deck almost before the boat had

stopped, and secured us as her spoil. How she and a young girl

handled our trunks, carrying them over intervening boats and then

coming back for us, giving us her hand to convey us to her craft!

No mistaking her business capacity, nor her ability to cope with

the strongest and most active man and capture two passengers to

his one. John is no match for a Canton boatwoman on water,

whatever he may be on land.

* * * * *

CANTON, Friday, December 20.

We have just returned from our first stroll through the narrow,

crowded alleys of Canton. Pictures and descriptions had prepared us

for what we were to see, but, as is usual in the East, we knew

nothing until we had seen for ourselves. In most cases the more one

reads or hears about a certain locality the more confused he is when

he visits it. He was a traveller who first said, "The eye and the

ear are close together, but what a distance between hearing and

seeing!" This recurs to me constantly. But to revert to Canton. We

decided to walk instead of following the custom of Europeans, who

generally take sedan chairs and dash through, seeing nothing in

detail. We cross the river by one of the innumerable boats rowed by

women, and are in the city. For five hours we are guided through

streets varying from six to ten feet in width through one continuous

mass of Chinamen. As for Chinawomen, they are rarely or never seen.

A few men are in silks; numbers of coolies, with loads, are almost

naked, but more, of a slightly higher order, are in rags; for the

Chinese, unlike their scrupulously clean brethren of Japan, appear

to pile on one tattered, greasy cloth rag over another until they

are a bundle of filth, against which you fear at every step lest you

may be pushed. The shops or booths on each side of the narrow

streets are resplendent just now, preparatory to the New-Year

celebrations, and those which make temple decorations a specialty

are brilliant in the extreme. As every shop, house or boat contains

an altar, which, as well as those in the public temples, must be

freshly decorated at the beginning of every year, the extent of this

trade is surprising, and all that tinsel can do with the most

gorgeous coloring imaginable is seen in this branch to perfection.

One thing appears very strange: even in the principal streets

various manufactures are carried on, the workmen being so close that

you can touch them from the pavement with your cane. We saw to-day

glass-making in a space not more than fifteen feet square, iron-

forging and shaping, cloth-weaving, the making of coffins (such

massive affairs these are, too, in China!), of Joss-sticks and

Joss-money, firecrackers, and many other articles. The front part of

the building is usually occupied by the shop for the sale of the

product, the ornamental shrine serving as a kind of screen to shut

off the manufacturing department; but by stepping behind you see

crowds of almost nude workmen, hard at work, making by hand with the

aid of the rudest appliances almost every article known. The wages

of a tradesman--a carpenter, for instance--is fifteen cents per day;

in addition the master has to give him three times per day his rice,

etc., estimated to cost six to eight cents more. The workmen are fed

by the employer, and allowed to sleep in and about the premises

somewhere or somehow. We saw freely exposed for sale dogs, rats, and

mice, all nicely dressed and hanging upon spits to tempt the hungry

passers-by, while above a large pot from which the steam was issuing

was a card, which, being translated by our guide, read, "A big black

cat within; ready soon." The dogs which are eaten are fed especially

for the purpose, and are hung up in state with labels setting forth

their superior merits. As far as I should have known, they might

have passed for delicious young roasting pigs, delicate enough in

flavor to have satisfied gentle Elia himself.

Our guide, in answer to numerous questions upon the subject,

informed us that some of his countrymen had acquired a taste for

dogs, while others had succumbed to the sweeter attractions of

cats; others again found rats their favorite morsel, but in all

cases these penchants are indulged in on the sly. Upon no account

would a Chinaman think of taking either of these peculiar

delicacies home, for it appears that mesdames, much to their

credit, have serious objections to their use. They draw the line

here, and the husband must confine the indulgence of his uncanny

longings to restaurants, and say nothing about it, or his lady

friends might mark him as one of whom "'twas said he ate strange

flesh." Contrary to the statement of travellers, I find this food

is not confined to the poorer classes. The price of it is about

the same as that of pork, and far beyond that of hare or deer. How

strange these people are! The price of a black dog or cat is fully

double that of a white one, the superstition being that the former

makes blood much faster than the other, while rats are supposed to

make the hair grow.

We returned to our hotel in time for luncheon, and in the afternoon

called upon Captain Lincoln, the United States Consul, to whom

General Bailey had given us letters which secured us a cordial

reception. The European settlement at Canton is very pretty, with

its broad, well-shaded avenues, exquisite flower-garden, and

lawn-tennis and croquet grounds. Its club-house is a gem, comprising

a small theatre, billiard-room and bowling- alley--everything

complete. The colonel took us for a stroll about the settlement, and

pressed us to join a party he was just about taking over the river

to visit the best flower-gardens of the city. We could not decline

such a treat, and this gave us the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Lincoln,

who is so well known in China as to be regarded somewhat in the

light of an historical character. Her collection of teapots promises

to render her famous. She boasts already of more than two hundred,

no two alike in form, and the record grows day by day; and the

melancholy feature is that there is no end for the passion save in

death, a mania for "a bit of the blue" ranking first in the list of

diseases for which materia medico, boasts no antidote.

Almost everything seems to have been tried in China during its

thousands of years of national life. We read for instance that in

A.D. 841 the emperor, seeing the evils of monasteries and

nunneries, suddenly closed them all and sent the inmates back to

their families. So far, perhaps, so good; but he also shut up all

the temples and told the priests to turn their faces in the

direction from which they came. He was far too "thorough," and

when the next emperor was so favored by heaven as to become the

discoverer of a veritable bone of Buddha and brought it to the

capital with many solemn ceremonies, the people were quite ready

for the inevitable reaction, and Buddhism was again restored. This

is a comparatively modern instance. Away back two hundred and more

years B.C., we find the famous builder of the Great Wall

attempting an impossible task with no better result. He was a

great reformer--indeed the first universal emperor of all existing

China, which was consolidated by his genius. The privileged

classes, of course, opposed his reforms and gave him much trouble

by holding up to the admiration of the people the feudal times of

the past, and extolling the heroes of those days to the

disadvantage of those of the present. At last the emperor resolved

to break with the past altogether, and ordered that all books

should be burned except such as referred to his own reign, that

all who even spoke of other books should be put to death; that

those who spoke of the past as superior to the present should be

put to death, and their relatives as well. Soon after this order,

more than four hundred who had disobeyed it were ordered to be

executed. Even the books of Confucius were not exempt; indeed

these were chief offenders, for the sage was remarkable for such

worship of the past as has scarcely a precedent in history.

Of course such an order could not be carried out. The condemned

books were secreted and all the more venerated from the dangers

which surrounded their possession. To-day we are thankful that so

many books exist telling truthfully of the past--those good old

times which were very bad times indeed. The history of the past

should be studied carefully that we may learn not what to copy,

but what to avoid. Let all the records be preserved.

I take it that to many blessings for which we have to thank the

Heathen Chinee may be added our axiom: "Resistance to tyrants is

obedience to God." The Emperor of China is in theory the most

absolute of rulers, and holds in his hands the power of life and

death--"whom he wills he slays, and whom he wills he keeps alive."

So runs the edict. It is the duty of the subject to render

implicit obedience. But here follows another duty no less

imperative: He is bound to resist the emperor's authority if he

"ceases to be a minister of God for the good of his people."

Confucius distinctly teaches "the sacred right of rebellion," and

the next highest authority, Mencius, puts it in even stronger

terms. This seems a striking anomaly, for the whole theory of

government to-day, as thousands of years ago, is the patriarchal

one: as the emperor is the Son of Heaven, so his people are the

sons of the emperor, and he alone can intercede between his

children and heaven. It is his prayers and sacrifices to which

supreme importance is attached. Notwithstanding all this, as we

have seen, the Chinaman believes it to be his duty to dethrone a

bad emperor and even to put him to death. You see, my friends, a

Chinese emperor can do wrong, which follows from his having power

direct from heaven to do anything; therefore the right to

decapitate him upon occasion must be reserved to the people. It is

only in England that the doctrine that the king can do no wrong

can safely be accepted. It is quite true there, for these

Islanders have so managed matters as not to allow that ornamental

appendage to do anything beyond opening fancy bazaars or laying

foundation stones, where even an hereditary monarch cannot go very

far astray.

On the 8th day of the 12th month, in the reign of Man-Ti, A.D.

593, occurred one of the most remarkable events in the history of

our race. An edict was issued that the various texts then in

circulation should be collected and engraved on wood, to be

printed and published. Here began the art of printing, but it was

not till a blacksmith named Pe-Ching, three or four hundred years

later, invented movable types that the astounding possibilities of

the invention were seen. Off hats to the memory of that learned

blacksmith! Tall oaks from little acorns grow; but surely never

before nor since has the world seen such stupendous results from

so small a change as that of substituting little pieces of wood,

each with one character upon it, for larger pieces which contained

many. That blacksmith has revolutionized the world. I shall never

pass one of the craft again without honoring him as distantly

related to Pe-Ching by virtue of his calling. Vulcan has done much

in the past in his smithy, forging the thunderbolts of war, but

put all such weapons together and I will back the movable types of

Pe-Ching for victory.

China carries the principle of home rule to a greater extent even

than the United States do, for each province not only manages its

own local affairs and levies its own taxes, but also supports its

only army and navy. This would seem fatal to the organization of

solid, vital forces; but as the Chinese have passed farther beyond

the barbarous thirst for so-called "glory" (disgrace, rather) than

western nations, it is not essential that either army or navy

should be efficient. Indeed, the less so the better.

I trust, however, the Chinese cannot rob the Republic of the

credit of having the poorest navy and smallest army among the

nations, for this I consider perhaps the foremost evidence that

America gives to the world that she is worthy to lead our race to

nobler issues than those which have so largely occupied it in the

past.

* * * * *

SATURDAY, December 21.

To-day has been devoted, like yesterday, to Canton sights; but as

we had several distant places to visit, we took sedan chairs, and

went shouting along, four coolies each, Indian file, through the

town, forming quite a cavalcade, with our guide in front. It was

the same interminable maze of narrow, crowded thorough-fares,

crammed with human beings, that we had seen for the first time

yesterday. A great commotion was seen ahead at one place, out of

which emerged several men in crimson robes, bearing banners,

clearing the way and shouting out the name and dignities of a

mandarin who was approaching. An ornamented chair, borne aloft,

came into view, on which his lordship, an official of the third or

fourth button, sat in state, followed by two servants on ponies,

the only species of horseflesh we have seen in Canton. It is with

considerable difficulty that even these small animals get through,

and their use is confined to escorting high officials.

At almost every corner we pass crowds of poor wretches gambling in

various modes, from fantan down to dice and dominoes. Children

participate, and stake their "cash" with the elders; indeed, a

young Celestial rarely spends his stray coppers in candy without

tossing with the stall-keeper, double or quits; the little scamps

begin early, and at every counter we noticed the dice lying ready

to facilitate the operation. Is it any wonder that the vice of

gambling seems inherent in the Chinese character? We saw rather a

funny illustration of this practice, at which we couldn't help

laughing. A class of venders keep a large pot boiling on the

pavement in some partially secluded place, in which is an

assortment of odds and ends. Such a mess of tidbits--pieces of

liver, chicken, kidneys, beef, almost every conceivable thing!

These the owner stirs up, taking care, I thought, to bring the

largest bits adroitly to the surface. You should see the longing

faces of the hungry beggars around. One risks a cash (one-tenth of

a cent), a rattle of the dice--the customer has won. The fork is

handed to him, and he has two dabs in the pot. What a prize! Down

go the _bonnes bouches_ one after the other, and back goes

the fork to the pot-boiler, who again uses it to stir up in the

pot prizes to tempt the lucky owner of funds sufficient for the

indulgence of this piece of extravagance. I really believe the

poor, miserable, hungry wretches lounging around the pot derived

satisfaction from the odor emitted. And as the lucky gamester

gobbled his prizes, I imagined every one around involuntarily went

through the motion of smacking his lips, as if he shared in the

inward satisfaction of his lucky neighbor. Vandy almost

overwhelmed one of these people by handing him a cash to try his

fortune; but he thinks his man was too hungry to risk the dice,

and took the sure thing. He probably considered one bite in the

mouth worth two in the pot; but he wasn't a representative

Chinaman by any means.

At one point our guide in advance called a halt, and upon our

dismounting he led us into a walled enclosure, and startled us

with the information that we were in the execution grounds. He

pointed out spots still damp with the blood of criminals, several

jars containing the heads of victims, the protruding hair matted

with the lime used to decompose the flesh more rapidly, and a rude

cross still remaining upon which a woman had recently been

crucified and cut to pieces while alive. Her crime was the gravest

known to Chinese law: she had murdered her husband. Poor wretch!

probably he had not illy deserved his fate were the whole story

known, for the provocation which would nerve a woman in China to

rise against her husband and owner must be beyond human endurance.

Instead of this spot being set apart and shunned by man, woman and

child, as defiled by the horrors enacted within its walls, the

area was filled with large clay jars, used as stoves, the product

of a manufactory adjoining, set out there in rows to dry. Men

moved in and around them unconcernedly, and at the entrance and

within the enclosure there was a temporary fantan gambling shop,

composed of bamboo poles and mats, in full operation, surrounded

by crowds of people. Of a surety the Heathen Chinee is peculiar.

The grounds are of course cleared of everything upon "execution

days," and I suppose the swarming masses of Canton see no reason

why even this acre of notorious ground should be permitted to lie

useless several days in succession. There is nothing which is not

put to use in China.

Our next visit was more to our taste; it was to the place of the

literary examinations, which are held every third year. Here the

grounds are kept in good order, and exclusively devoted to this

noble use. It is well known that each province in China has public

examinations for its students. Those who are successful become

eligible for the higher examinations, which are held at Canton and

at two or three of the other great cities. Candidates who pass at

these are permitted to enter for the final struggle at Peking,

where success brings rank, honor, and fortune. At Canton the ten

acres of grounds are covered with long rows of brick sheds,

divided into stalls about six by four feet, with neither door nor

window, and open at the back; a narrow footway permits entrance,

and a blank wall forms the front of the succeeding row, and so on.

The stalls contain no furniture, but a board extending from the

front, half the length of the stall, and working backward and

forward in grooves in the wall, is used as a seat; a smaller one

higher up at the foot of the stall makes a writing-table, and

these combined made a bed. A small lamp is furnished, and the

aspirant remains for three days and nights writing upon subjects

given to him after he has entered the stall. No chance for

cramming here. Out of ten thousand six hundred who competed last

year, only eighty-two were found worthy to appear at Peking. I

believe only a certain number can succeed throughout the whole

Empire, and the standard is, therefore, kept very high.

Amid much which causes one to mourn for the backwardness of this

country, here is the bright jewel in her crown. China is, as far

as I know, the only nation which has advanced beyond the so-called

heroic age when the soldier claims precedence. England and America

must be content to claim that

"Peace hath her victories

No less renowned than war,"

while here the triumphs of peace are held in chief esteem. No

general, no conqueror, be his victories what they may, can ever in

China attain the highest rank. That is held only by successful

scholars who have shown the possession of literary talent. When

the news reaches a town or village that a townsman has been

victorious at Peking, a general rejoicing takes place, and

triumphal arches are built in his honor to witness for centuries

how deeply they appreciate the honor conferred upon the town by

their illustrious fellow-citizen. Upon his return the whole

population turns out to meet and welcome him, and his career

inspires other young men to emulate his virtues. Henceforth his

life is one of honor, for from this class the rulers of China are

taken. These are the Mandarins, and there is no other aristocracy

in China. Nor are his honors hereditary. His sons, if they would

be ennobled, must outstrip their fellows in knowledge, as their

father did before them. An aristocracy founded upon learning, and

composed of those who know the most, is an institution with which

we have no serious quarrel. It is claims from birth which make my

blood boil. These are an insult to every commoner, and we must not

rest until every trace of hereditary privilege is swept from the

earth. Neither king, queen, prince, nor lord should live in our

native isle to insult us if I had my way--and my way may come ere

I depart if I get the three score and ten allotted to mortals by

the psalmist.

Our trip to-day had another surprise for us. We were taken to the

city court and prison. A poor naked wretch was on his knees as we

entered, his back a mass of blood caused by the blows just

inflicted with the bamboo which an officer, standing close behind,

still held over the victim, ready to use again at a word from the

judge. What a quivering, miserable spectacle the culprit was! As I

write this I can see him tremble. His reputed crime was stealing,

but he had denied it, and the judge, not getting satisfactory

answers to his questions, had ordered the bamboo to be applied.

Another poor soul sat under torture, laced by ropes against a

large flat board in some diabolical manner so that his features

were distorted by pain, while at a short distance from the door

many hardened-looking criminals, all chained to large balls of

iron, awaited trial and sentence. The most enlightened of the

judges here still urge that it would be impossible to administer

justice without torture or physical punishment in order to force

replies from the accused. If you can compel a culprit to answer

every question which a trained examiner is allowed to put, it is

not difficult to convict the guilty. With us we forego that

advantage by requiring no man to convict himself. Here he has to

prove his innocence in a measure; at least he must tell a straight

story; and this he would never do, it is said, in China, unless he

were held in fear of bodily chastisement or torture. It is an

effectual mode of getting answers, as I can testify. The judge

asks a question which goes to the very root of the matter. The

wretch hesitates an instant. I thought I could see from his

supplicating gesture that he felt the true answer would expose his

guilt. "Bamboo, attend--ready!" Another instant, and the blow

descends, the trembling man stammers out his reply, and his

sentence is pronounced. Another, who has been cleverly allowed to

witness the manner in which recusant parties are dealt with, is

dragged before the judge, his back bared, and he falls on his

knees to make answer. No skilful lawyers here to defend and throw

around the prisoner the safeguards of the law; but neither is

there any upon the side of the prosecution. The accused has only

to satisfy the judge by giving a true account of himself and his

doings. I should say an innocent man would prefer this mode, a

guilty one detest it; and this seems a strong argument in its

favor.

My room fronts on the river, and is upon the second story of this

strange little hotel. This gives me fine views of the unceasing

traffic of the stream, but it is not without its disadvantages as

a place of rest at night. The Chinese gods, or devils rather, have

a strong fondness for fire-crackers, and these are set off at all

hours of the night by the more devout of the boat-women right

under my windows. I waken with a start every now and then, as an

unusally large bunch is fired. It occurred to me last night that

some of the extra fees bestowed upon our woman and her bright

little sister may be responsible for part of this species of

devotion. It is very likely that some part of their extra earnings

is considered due to their gods. I write this at nine in the

morning, and there are two boats busily engaged in their prayers

just now, one battery of crackers responding to the other. One

would almost think a naval war upon a small scale was raging. I

must plead ignorance till now of this strange manner of

propitiating the supernatural powers. If I ever read of it, it has

passed away and been forgotten, like a thousand things one reads

of. Another custom which interferes with slumber is the noise made

by the night watchman, who walks backward and forward beating a

tenor gong with a hard stick. One, two, three, slowly, followed by

two quick taps, is the signal that all is well. Extraordinary

precautions have to be taken in the cities against theft. Almost

every block has its watchman, and gates short distances apart are

shut at nine o'clock, after which only those known personally to

him are allowed to pass. One provision struck me as putting an

effectual check upon mischief of all kinds: no one is allowed to

walk after night without carrying a lantern, and one found

disregarding this law would be held "suspect." Our landlord told

me that the watchman would be sternly dealt with if a robbery

occurred, as he is held responsible for the safety of his block.

The boat population of Canton is famous as being something unique,

but it exceeds all ideas I had formed of it. It is said that three

hundred thousand people live in boats ranging from the size of a

skiff to that of a yawl. I have seen a family of six huddled

together in one of the former size, but these were the poorest of

the poor. The usual passenger boat is twenty feet long by four and

a half wide--the size of the hotel boats we use. We got into one

this morning, and as the crackers were going off from numerous

boats on all sides, our woman explained that the unusually

vigorous fusilade was owing to this being "Joss day." "All people

go Jossee Temple this day." "Do you go?" "No; have got Jossee here

on boatee." "Where? Show us." With that one of the girls at the

stern pushed aside two small sliding-doors in the extreme end of

the boat, and revealed a little shrine with a lamp ever burning,

and Joss sticks in the incense bowl. The entire family burst into

laughter at our surprise, evidently tickled with the idea that it

was a decidedly cute thing to have their Joss cooped up "Jack-in-

the-box" style. Yesterday the Emperor, at Peking, after fasting

all the previous day, would ascend into the Temple of Heaven,

accompanied by two thousand of his highest officials, and worship,

while his subjects celebrate the event by this fire-cracker

carnival.

I was curious to see how a small yawl could be the residence of a

family, and examined several of them. The centre of the extreme

stern is occupied by the Joss temple, on either side of which

small dishes, cans, etc., are arranged; then comes an open space

extending across the boat, about four feet long, over which is

thrown a light board about six inches wide, upon which stands the

woman who sculls and steers the craft. A permanent bamboo roof is

built over about the next six feet of the boat, and around the

walls are hung a few ornaments, generally old-fashioned plates and

cheap prints from the English illustrated papers, while on a shelf

are those indispensable articles, the smoking pipes of the

family--large and curious affairs, with richly ornamented square

brass bowls about four and one-half by two inches in size. A tiny

china tea-set and various little "curios" are found in the best

boats. The next portion, where passengers sit, has nicely

cushioned seats running across the boat, and on each side as well,

and is also covered by the roof. Next to the bow is a platform

three feet deep, upon which stands the second woman, who rows or

poles the boat, as may be necessary. Under her feet is the

kitchen, and she has only to lift a board to show a small square

covered with clay, upon which a fire can be built. Pots and pans

are seen snugly stowed away around this, so that, by means of

movable platforms, trap-doors, etc., the entire boat is rendered

available to its very keel. At night, when the business of

carrying passengers is over, all the boards are made into a fine

flush deck, which is divided, in a very few minutes, into sleeping

apartments by means of bamboo poles and mats; and so it comes to

pass that what I was before disposed to believe almost impossible

is accomplished with a degree of comfort quite surprising. These

boat people live for less than ten cents a day. Rent there is

none; food costs about five cents per day for each person;

clothing does not cost two. From the child of eight to the great-

grandmother, all do something. When not otherwise engaged, they

sew, make Joss-sticks, slit bamboo, or do something or other, the

baby being strapped on the mother's back that her capacity for

work may not be interfered with; and her stepping backward and

forward as she sculls must be a soothing lullaby, for we haven't

heard a child crying yet in China. Upon such boats as I have here

attempted to describe, and many far smaller and destitute of

ornament, millions of the people of China live, move, and have

their being. Children-are born, old men die, upon them, and many

thousands of their occupants have never slept a night upon shore.

I was surprised to hear that there is no theatre at Canton. The

government had some time ago to prohibit night performances, as

they were constantly the scenes of disorder. The only amusement is

furnished upon large gayly decorated boats, where feasts are

given, at which girls belonging to the boats appear and sing. We

saw one of these, but it was a poor performance compared with our

experience in Japan.

* * * * *

SUNDAY, December 22.

We allowed our guide to leave us for to-day, and strolled about

alone. In the early part of our walk we heard music--a harmonium

and a well-known old hymn tune--and on entering a building found

Rev. Dr. Hopper preaching in Chinese. We had entered at the wrong

door, and were among the women, who are separated from the men by

a high, solid wall; but Mrs. Hopper rose and conducted us to the

other side, and after service the Doctor came and greeted us

cordially. We spent an hour in their house, and were surprised to

hear that both were old Pittsburghers. There were at church that

morning about thirty Chinamen, all of the poorer classes,

principally servants and dependents of Europeans. In the afternoon

we stumbled upon the large Catholic cathedral, which is now almost

ready for use. It is a magnificent granite structure, three

hundred feet long and eighty-eight feet wide. If anything can

impress the Chinese mind it must be grand mass in such a temple,

with its vaulted roof, stained windows, the swelling organ, and

all the "pride, pomp, and circumstance" of Catholic worship. As we

stood admiring, the saintly bishop approached and greeted us with

exquisite grace. He could not speak English, but. his French was

the easiest to understand of any I ever listened to, and my little

knowledge of the language enabled us to carry on an interesting

conversation. When I told him I had been in St. Peter's at Rome,

and had seen the Pope when the assembled thousands fell prostrate

before him as he advanced up the aisle, carried upon his

palanquin, he seemed much affected, and pressed us to visit his

quarters, apologizing, as he showed us into a poor one-story

building, for the poverty of his apartments, but adding that the

true _prêtre Catholique_ must needs dwell in poverty among

the poor of the earth. I asked if he did not expect to return to

France to die; but, laying his hand upon his heart, he answered

that he must not allow himself to think of France, since it had

pleased God to place him here. For thirty years he had labored

among these people, and among them he must die; it was the will of

God. There were only a table and a few chairs in this bishop's

palace, not even a mat or carpet on the floor; but he ordered a

servant to bring wine, of which he only tasted, while we drank

"_sa santé_." He subsequently took us to the orphanage, where

we saw eighty boys being educated. About an equal number of little

girls are in a separate building. If the Chinese are ever to be

reformed, this is the way to do it--get control of the young, and

teach them. As for the older generation, I fear it is too late to

do much with it. There are in and around Canton about five

thousand Chinese Catholics, mostly recruited, I understand, from

among the young, taken by these sagacious workers into their

schools and orphanages and other institutions, and educated as

Christians from their youth up.

When I told the good Bishop we spent our summers at Cresson, very

near Loretto, and often drove to Count Gallitzin's tomb, he

grasped my hand and gave me his benediction. Oh, blessed man! a

grand Catholic, Father Gallitzin!

Every one has heard of the great wall of China, which stretches

across the northern frontier from the sea to the westernmost

province, a distance of twelve to fifteen hundred miles. It is

fifteen to thirty feet high, with brick towers about forty feet

high at intervals along the whole route. This gigantic work was

begun in the third century before Christ by one of the greatest

rulers of men the world has ever seen, the Emperor Che Hwang, who

hoped that it would prove an insuperable barrier to the inroads of

the Tartar hordes. But a still greater warrior than he; Genghis

Khan, leader of the Mongols, showed in 1212 that it could be

overcome. To this day the Chinese dynasty is Tartar, but the four

hundred millions of people remain the same, having assimilated the

foreign element. The Tartars are fast becoming Chinese, although a

difference between the races is still clearly discernible. The

Heathen Chinee changes not. The Jews and the Scotch are perhaps

the races in Europe who preserve their types with the greatest

tenacity, but compared with the Chinese they must be considered

plasticity itself. Apart from their overwhelming numbers, which,

being of one unvarying type throughout, constitute a mass upon

which it is almost impossible to make much impression, one sees

how climate and conditions of life in China operate to bring to

the Chinese type all foreign elements, and to retain them there.

Mrs. McC. has just been explaining to me to-day how much trouble

she has to keep her children, for instance, from becoming young

Celestials. They are of pure Scotch parentage upon both sides, yet

are constantly alarming their fond mother by developing tastes

wholly opposed to hers in food, dress, habits, manners, language,

everything. It is just the same in India: the child of foreign

parents there must be taken home for years before he is seven or

eight years old, or he becomes a Hindoo. We have just such

differences at home in a less degree. If two brothers leave Boston

with their families, one for New Orleans, another for Chicago, the

differences in their grandchildren will be very noticeable. The

dream of some dreamer, that Englishmen can be grown in Hindostan

or Australia, or even in America (or in Ireland, for that matter),

will be rudely dispelled by a few weeks' residence in China or

India. The opening gowan transplanted from its Scottish glen loses

its modest charm and grows rank upon the prairies of the West even

in its second year. The shamrock pines away in exile beyond the

borders of its own Emerald Isle. Man, the most delicately touched

of all to fine issues, is also the creature of his surroundings,

even to a greater degree.

* * * * *

MONDAY, December 23.

Now for a frank confession. Like Mark Twain's preacher with the

car rhyme, "I have got it, got it bad"--the "curio" malady in one

of its most virulent types. Ever since we were dropped upon that

uncanny land of Japan the symptoms of forthcoming disorder have

not been wanting. I had to succumb occasionally, but rallied in

time to preserve a tolerably clean bill of health. But if I have

one weakness more than another, it is for the harmony of sweet

sounds, and this the tempter knew right well. I met my fate in the

famous Temple of Hoonan, in which is the most celebrated "gong" in

China. I struck it, and listened. For more than one full minute, I

believe, that bowl was a quivering mass of delicious sound. I

thought it would never cease to vibrate. In Japan I had counted

one that sounded fifty seconds, and its music rang in my ears for

days. I asked "Ah-Cum" why the temple would not sell this gong and

buy another far cheaper; for my opinion is, and my experience too,

that there is nothing in China that money will not buy. However,

this was an exception. Well, does the priest know where there are

any temple gongs that can be bought? Yes, three that belonged to a

temple destroyed by the rebels some years ago, and which were

still in the hands of curio dealers. The address was obtained, and

off we set to see them. I wish I could describe the places we

visited in our search, the collections of curios we saw! No

antiquary outside of Canton ever saw a tithe of the strange old

things we examined. One might stumble upon a magic mirror, or an

Aladdin's lamp, in some of these recesses, and scarcely wonder at

it; all is so strange. But to the gongs. There is a little bit of

history connected with one of them which is significant. We found

we had to get from one of the priests a certain ticket before the

article could be delivered. I thought a moment, and then:

"Oh, my prophetic soul, _my uncle_!"

It was even so. The priest had seen "his uncle," the curio dealer,

and in some moment of want or dire temptation had pledged the gong

of the temple for an advance. I got those which had a fairer record,

and told our guide I wanted the other if he could get it; but this

was impossible. Judge of my surprise, however, when the identical

gong reached me at Hong Kong. I have it, with the pawn mark

fortunately only partially obliterated, but so that the name of the

guilty priest is no longer legible. Ah-Cum must have bargained for

that ticket, the rogue, knowing I would pay the price; but really,

had that gong reached me while in Canton, and had it been possible

for me to return it to the right temple, I should not have thought,

under the circumstances, of carrying it off. It seems as if I were

in some degree a receiver of stolen goods; but as it only came to me

after we had reached Hong Kong, and I knew neither priest nor

temple, what could I do but decide to hold it myself until claimed

by the rightful owners? Therefore, my friends, one and all of you,

please take notice: whatever you may take a fancy to among my

curios, don't ask me for that gong. I don't feel my title quite as

clear as I could wish it, but I shall ease my conscience by agreeing

with myself to act as temporary custodian--only that and nothing

more. There are others beside temples' gongs, and I have to confess

to several (genuine "sous chows," all of them). Indeed to-day was

the curio day throughout. I cannot give even a partial record of the

spoils as our procession marched hotelward in the evening. I burst

into loud laughter as I eyed our party. In the advance was Ah-Cum,

the guide, bearing aloft a fearful idol, "the ugliest I could find

in China," this being Sister Lucy's characteristic commission; Vandy

followed with his pockets stuffed with "birds'-nests,"

"Joss-sticks," "temple money," and etceteras too numerous to

mention; then came two coolies, one after the other, naked as Adam

after he donned the fig-leaf, carrying the gongs, while I brought up

the rear with fans, vials, ivory carvings, and what-not. I cannot

tell what part of this maze of shops we had been in, but the curio

shops were so far from our hotel that not a man about them knew

where it was, although there is but one European hotel in the city,

consequently the coolies had to follow us. Vandy has just reported

that it will take nine boxes to hold our spoils from here. I

exclaim, Vandy, for goodness' sake let us get out of this

immediately and try to regain our good, hard common sense, and be

sound, practical men once more. Give me a _Pittsburgh Commercial_

and let me see the price of pig metal, and what is said of steel

rails and coke and manufactured iron, and all the rest of it; and

that monthly report of the Lucy Furnaces and of the Edgar Thomson,

both the largest upon record. Thanks! Ah! now I feel better. How is

it with thee, my friend? Fortunately Vandy felt the necessity for

keeping an eye upon me, and he never was in such danger himself. But

if any one can pass through Canton and escape a touch of the

Toodleian malady, which prompts one to buy everything one sees, I

warrant him sound to the core.

* * * * *

HONG KONG, Christmas Eve.

We returned this afternoon from Canton. After retiring I heard a

well-known sound--the ubiquitous mosquito. It was rather odd to be

compelled to rise and ring for our "boy" to put up mosquito-bars

on Christmas evening, but it had to be done. We talked till late

of home, and speculated upon what our friends would all be about

away up there almost above our heads--"topside," as John Chinaman

always expresses it. So far we have only one paper from home; no

letters, these having been missed at Shanghai. The news of the

triumph of hard money views rejoiced us greatly, as proving once

more that in grave emergencies the good sense of the people of

America can always be depended upon. One has only to visit the

East to see what evils the silver basis entails upon a nation.

The economy practised in China is striking. A sweet potato is sold

in halves, or even in quarters, if required; ferriage across the

river in a boat--a stream as wide as the Ohio at Pittsburgh--costs

one-fifth of a cent, and you can engage an entire boat for

yourself for a cent, if you wish to be extravagant; poultry is

sold by the piece, as we sell a sheep, the wings, breast, legs,

all having their price, and even the very feet of a chicken being

sold for soup. Common iron nails are laid out in lots of six each;

these have been used and used again, no one knows how often; we

see the people at work straightening old nails at every turn. You

can buy one-tenth of a cent's worth (1 cash) of either fish, soup,

or rice. Verily things are down to a fine point here!

In one of our strolls we came upon a string of ten blind beggars

wandering through the narrow, crowded street, the hands of each

upon the shoulders of the one in advance, the leader beating with

his cane upon the stone pavement, and all beseeching alms. It was

a strange sight. The Chinese Government gives to every blind

person a small monthly pittance, and well-dressed passers, I

observed, generally bestowed a cash upon the gang.

I have not said much about the temples of Canton or of China, as

they are poor affairs compared with those of Japan; besides, one

becomes sated with temples which are for the most part copies of

one another; the pagodas are much more picturesque at a distance

than when closely inspected. The Chinese actually prefer all their

places to smack of age, and repair them reluctantly, so that all

have a dilapidated air, which gives a very unfavorable impression

to a stranger. At best, China has nothing whatever to boast of in

the way of architecture. We did not see a structure of any kind

which would attract a moment's notice, a few pagodas and temples,

perhaps, excepted; but even these are poor and mean affairs.

The only temple worthy of mention I saw in any part of China is

that of the Sages. In it we were shown tolerably good busts of

five hundred of the most famous characters known to Chinese

history--all the writers, statesmen, and rulers who have

distinguished themselves for thousands of years. Among them,

curiously enough, Marco Polo has by some means found a place.

Compared with the hideous monsters worshipped in other temples, I

regarded this deification of the illustrious dead with sincere

satisfaction. No man can erect a house superior to what his rank

or station in life justifies. A public officer prescribes the

limit of expenditure, after investigating the affairs of the

intending builder, as every one in China tries to conceal his

wealth, fearing unjust exactions by the State. It is easy to see

why no palaces are forthcoming. This is not "liberty;" but I

suspect several of my friends who have erected palatial structures

of late years have seen reason to wish that such a safeguard had

existed when they began to build.

* * * * *