After nine days of great enjoyment at Macao, our passage having been
secured in the American steamer _Spark_, that plied between the
latter place and Canton, we once more embarked, and were soon on
our way to Whampoa.[15] The captain and first officer of the vessel
were Americans, and our ensign, floating at the stern, reminded us
pleasantly of home and Fatherland.
It was on the 11th of February, a beautifully clear, tropical winter
morning, and, passing rapidly the fertile and lovely islands of the
great Delta, we were soon at the mouth of the Bocca Tigris, or Bogue
River. The islands of this delta were formerly greatly infested with
pirates, and as we threaded the intricacies of the little Archipelago
our attention was frequently directed to certain points noted as having
been their rendezvous. Since the establishment of steam navigation,
however, between Canton and Macao, and also between the former place
and Hong Kong, travellers have rarely fallen into the hands of the
pirates whose junks and fishing-boats were at one time common in those
waters,--although in a few instances parties of these buccaneers have
gone boldly as passengers on board the steamers with the intention
of trying to take them. Their designs, however, have usually been
discovered and frustrated; but after the disclosure of one of these
plots it is customary to search all Chinese passengers on their coming
on board, in order to see if they have any weapons concealed about
their persons, and an armed guard is then placed over them until it
is ascertained to be perfectly safe again to allow them unrestrained
freedom. The steamers are armed, and the officers, as well as most of
the foreigners, when travelling, carry pistols about them, so that
there is now comparatively little to apprehend, for English authority
is feared as well as respected in China.
Before reaching the mouth of the Bocca Tigris we sailed over a large
expanse of water called the Linten Bay,--a name which it derives from
an island situated in the southern part of the bay, and near which
the opium ships used to anchor. Here we fell in with numerous trading
and fishing-junks, and also with market and passenger-boats, which,
in spite of their clumsy rigging, and heavy matting sails, moved with
much rapidity through the water. The forms of many of these sails were
singularly grotesque, and some of them reminded us very strongly of
the wings of an enormous butterfly. Many of the vessels were painted
in brilliant colors, and all had eyes traced on their prows. Indeed,
it is a very uncommon thing to find a Chinese boat, or even a larger
vessel, unprovided with these eyes; and if you ask a Chinaman the
reason for so extraordinary a fashion, he usually replies,--“No got
eye, no can see;--how fashion can makee walkee?”
The ruins and remains of the Bogue forts, at the entrance of the
Bocca Tigris, are sufficient to give one an idea of the frail
defences,--which they proved to be,--when exposed to the fire of
European guns; and one of our party, at the first glance, remarked
“that they must have made a man-of-war laugh.” There were ten of those
fortifications, all of which were completely destroyed. One of them,
situated on the mainland, was called _hie shoe_, from its resemblance
in form to a Chinese lady’s shoe. A little further on we passed Tiger
Island, so called because its outline, as seen when approaching from
the river, is not unlike that of a tiger couchant.
Whampoa,--or the yellow anchorage,--where we arrived early in the
afternoon, is a reach extending four miles along the river. It is
twelve miles distant from Canton. Ships cannot ascend further than
this point, but freight is carried to, and from them by means of
large cargo-boats. The old town of Whampoa, with its tall pagoda, is
situated on an island of the same name, which lies at the north of
the anchorage. The banks of the stream on that side are very low; and
although only the highest buildings, with an occasional minaret-like
cupola, are visible above the foliage of the trees, it is strikingly
Oriental in appearance. The people of the town have never been very
friendly to foreigners, and consequently the place is but rarely
visited. As we neared the anchorage, the low flat shores were far
from wearing an inviting look, nor were the two miserably squalid
villages of Bambootown, and Newtown,--which are occupied by fishermen
and boat-people,--in the least attractive; although acting as foil,
they helped to set off the picture, making the green hills and fertile
little valleys of the large islands look all the more agreeable.
On Dane’s Island are two extensive dry docks,--one belonging to an
American firm, and the other to an English company. The latter is a
very large stone structure, where the English mail-steamers and naval
vessels are repaired and refitted. Although at that time there was less
foreign shipping in the harbor than usual, still a number of vessels
from the United States, as well as from England, and other European
ports, were at anchor in the reach, and that part of the settlement in
the vicinity of the docks, bore quite a business aspect.
Foreigners, whose business oblige them to reside at Whampoa, live in
floating dwellings, called “chops.”[16] These are built on ships,
which, after having seen some service, and their spars and rigging
having been taken down, are then used as foundations for houses.
They are moored in a part of the reach where the river is very wide,
being placed a little on one side of the channel used by the steamers
and trading vessels in passing and repassing to and from Canton. The
cabins and state-rooms at the stern are converted into store-rooms,
pantries, and bath-rooms. The forecastle is used for servants, and
over the entire vessel a story is built, that is divided into large
and conveniently arranged apartments, and when fitted up with all
the necessary comforts of life, are in many ways far more desirable
homes than can safely be made on shore. The kitchen is at the bow of
the vessel; and from there to the centre,--near which is the boundary
of the family apartments,--are the business offices, and also rooms
for foreign clerks. On one side, a narrow passage-way leads from the
kitchen to the family apartments. There is another similar passage-way
on the other side, which, however, has no connection with the house
apartments; and for the convenience of men of business visiting the
offices, as well as for the servants, steps lead to the water from
both of these passages. The flat roof of the family apartments is so
constructed as to serve for a promenade. The latter, however, is not
enclosed, but has a covering, the frame of which rests on stanchions;
and in order to exclude the sun, shades, made of a kind of grass, are
arranged so as to drop from the roof. A table, bamboo settees, and
easy-chairs occupy a portion of this space, yet there is ample room for
the enjoyment of one’s afternoon “constitutional,” when the weather
does not allow of boating, or a ramble upon the shore. Some chops have
little verandas, or galleries enclosed with Venetian blinds, which are
built on each side of the family rooms, and resting on braces, extend
from the sides of the ship upward. These are ornamental, and make the
house cooler in summer and warmer in winter, thus adding greatly to the
comfort of the family.
The low lands and rice-fields in the neighborhood of Whampoa render
the climate malarious; but by being out in a stream with so swift a
current as that of the Pearl,--called by us the Canton River,--the
miasma does not readily reach the inmates of the floating houses,
neither is the air loaded with the shocking odors that often greet
one’s olfactories when in the vicinity of Chinese settlements. Although
the hills and the pleasant vales, on the islands opposite, have many
fine locations for dwellings, the time is not yet arrived when the
advantages of shore-life can equal those of “chop”-life; and this
manner of living, therefore, is preferred by the consuls, officers of
the customs, traders, and foreigners generally.
Our steamer stopped when nearly opposite this floating community,
and the passengers were conveyed to their homes in the _sanpans_
of the Chinese boatmen. Our chop was a Baltimore clipper which had
originally been built for the slave-trade; but not succeeding in
that nefarious traffic, she was taken to China, and having been sold
to the Imperial Government, a comfortable house was erected on her
hull for the accommodation of the chief officer of their customs at
Whampoa. Occidentals, who are not acquainted with chop-life in the
East, invariably associate it with what they read in reference to the
multitudes of poor people living in boats upon the waters of China, and
hence imagine it to be a miserably half-civilized mode of existence.
To such persons the idea must be accompanied with a poverty-stricken
picture of discomfort, and an utter want of all the comforts of life,
and the amenities of a cultivated home. On the contrary, however, my
own experience in this novel mode of living was not only agreeable, but
the oddity of it, together with our strange surroundings, gave it a
peculiar charm. Our chop, comfortable in every arrangement, answered in
exterior to the description already given of those built with verandas.
There was one exception, however, as we had the advantage of an extra
flight of steps for family use, which led from our own apartments
to the water. The rooms were large and airy, with windows opening
to the floors; and the latter being painted in figures and highly
varnished, had the appearance of being covered with nice oil-cloth. The
furniture,--like that of all foreign houses in China,--was European
in the style of its manufacture.[17] Even the beautiful china-ware
of the country,--which we admire so much at home,--is rarely used by
foreigners when living among the Chinese; the simplest European table
furniture being considered far preferable. Carpets are only used during
the winter, when they are found to be very comfortable. During the
year that I was in China, the winter was colder than usual, and we
were glad to use the little American stoves with which our rooms were
furnished. One of the few disagreeables of this kind of floating life
was the constant change of view. We were continually turning with the
ebb and flow of the tide, and consequently, if one sat at the same
window a whole morning, there was an entire change of scene, and of
course a corresponding change in the points of the compass. An inactive
person, however, to whom variety is pleasing, might even enjoy this.
The river at the anchorage is very broad and deep, and fearfully
rapid,--so much so, in fact, that a person falling into it must be an
expert swimmer in order to save himself.
The house-servants in China are all men, but Cantonese women are
employed as nurses for children, and also as waiting-maids for the
ladies. The enervating influence of the climate obliges Western women
to take life easily; and being obliged to drop most of their active
pursuits, they usually are greatly dependent upon the services of these
women. The Chinese _Amahs_--as these nurses and waiting-maids are
called--often have bright and genial faces; and when introduced into
a household where all the servants wear the grave and stolid faces of
Chinamen, are a great relief to the every-day picture of domestic life.
We found the men-servants very respectful and obliging, and not only
as conscious of kind and fair dealing, but quite as grateful for it as
the human race are generally. The Chinese are a patient, persevering,
and industrious people, but they have not the appearance of a cheerful
race. The respectable serving-women, with whom I came in contact,
seemed more cheerful than the men, but even among them I rarely met
with a joyous face. This, however, may in a great measure be owing to
there being no day of rest like our Sabbath, and therefore no cessation
from their daily toil, except on the occasion of some heathen festival.
The children of the boat-people learn to work as soon as they can
handle an oar; and those of the landsmen whenever their little forms
have acquired strength sufficient to bear the bamboo shoulder-piece,
and the little buckets of water, or small packages that pend from
either end. I have rarely seen young children, or even men, bear such
heavy burdens as they are accustomed to carry in China. The river at
Whampoa,--always teeming with boat-life,--frequently presented sad
objects of suffering poverty. I saw, however, among these boat-people
many neat, comfortable, and apparently happy families.[18]
The head-servants employed by foreign families speak the “pigeon”
English, and act as interpreters for the other domestics. This _patois_
is nearly a literal rendering of the Chinese idiom into a dialect which
is more like “English baby-talk” than anything else I can compare
it to, and foreigners readily acquire it. The particular duties of
each servant are regulated by fixed rules, and if one should order
his “boy,” or head-servant, to sweep his room, or carry his trunk to
the boat, the ready answer would be,--“That no my pigeon; my callee
house-Coolie.” On the other hand, should the house-Coolie be ordered to
purchase the supplies, or polish the silver, the grave but respectful
answer would be,--“That no my pigeon; my callee boy.” A Coolie works
for certain wages, and makes his own bargains, nor will he serve unless
paid his price. Should a foreigner attempt to impose upon or cheat a
Coolie, and the fact be made known to him after he had commenced his
services, he would leave him directly. A chair-Coolie, under such
circumstances, would set down the sedan, and in the most independent
manner refuse to move unless his terms were complied with.
I am thus particular in speaking of this class of the Chinese, because
the remark has been made to me that the difference as to their position
in relation to foreigners, and the wealthier classes of their own
people, must be as great as that of American slaves to their masters.
But the difference between a people free to go where they please,--to
make their own bargains, and to contend with their employers for right
and justice,--and the poor enslaved African of the South, is as wide
as that between light and darkness. As servants, I found the Coolies
very systematic and willing, as well as quick at learning to perform
their duties according to our ideas, or, as they would say, “America
fashion.” A lady rarely, if ever, enters the kitchen, and all orders
are given to the butler or head-servant. On ordering a dish in which
the cook is unskilled, he brings his little furnace to a large pantry,
where the lady of the house, with the aid of a waiting-man’s “pigeon”
English, and an occasional use of unmistakable pantomime, succeeds in
giving the grave and stolid-looking representative of the culinary art
instruction that will not be forgotten. And ever after, that piece of
cookery will be an exact copy of his first, and only needed lesson.
On entering upon life in China I was told that I must not expect the
servants to be in any degree nice and cleanly, according to our Western
ideas. I was, however, so fortunate as not to be conscious of this; and
although I regularly penetrated into nooks and corners,[19]--beyond
what I should otherwise have done,--in order to mark the difference,
the result was always favorable to the general neatness and tidy habits
of our Coolies, as compared with most of the foreign servants we have
in the United States.
With an Englishman his dinner is said to be the event of the day.
It is, however, well known that an American is not altogether
indifferent to that meal; but, be that as it may, inasmuch as English
customs prevail in the little foreign circles at the ports of China,
entertaining by dinner-parties is the dominant mode, and the arrival
of a stranger is the signal for a round of “dinings out.” If served
by the better class of Chinese servants, even those people who live
in the simplest manner have no care nor trouble about such matters
of hospitality. All orders in relation to the entertainment are
given to the head-servant, who, on being told the number of guests
expected, makes all the arrangements _en regle_, and serves the
dinner as handsomely as can be desired. The wealthy merchants live
luxuriously, and they, as well as some of the representatives of
foreign governments, keep butlers who are proficient in their calling.
A well-trained Chinese waiting-man, however, never deviates from the
prescribed forms, all of which are carefully attended to wherever he
serves.
A gentleman on being invited out to dine takes his servant with him,
the latter always coming under the direction of the butler of the host,
although the place of each is near the chair of his master, and all
are waited on with quietness and precision. Probably the English--who
have better trained servants than we have in the United States--may not
remark these little matters as readily as an American, who has seen her
countrywomen, on account of inefficient domestics, well-nigh appalled
at the prospect of inviting a few guests to dinner. To all such, a
household served by good Chinese servants would seem, in some respects,
an Elysium.
Foreigners usually breakfast at a late hour, and frequently, in the
summer, the greater part of the business of the day is transacted
before taking that meal. They are served, however, on first rising,
with what in India is called the “little breakfast.” This is brought to
their rooms, and consists of a cup of tea, a bit of unbuttered toast,
and some fruit. There are several varieties of the orange, and during
the greatest part of the year that fruit is very abundant. The finest
kinds are the mandarin, and the sweet Coolie orange. These, when in
season, form a large portion of this early meal; and then the plantain,
the lichi, a nice kind of plum, the peach, the mango, custard-apple,
and persimmon, together with a few other fruits, reach into the early
autumn, when the delicious oranges are again gladly welcomed.
The Chinese language knows but one gender, and when a lady speaks to
a servant, he answers--“Sir,” the same as he does to a gentleman.
Indeed, among the Chinese, woman seems to be as completely absorbed
in the other sex, as some of their devotee bonzes are in the essence
of Buddha. For example: if, in telling a servant that guests are
expected to breakfast or dinner, he wishes to ask for what number he
is to prepare the entertainment, he says,--“How many piece man hab got
come?”--or, how many persons are coming? a woman as well as a man being
always designated as a “one piece man.”
No reflecting woman, transferred from the pale of Christendom to a
heathen land, can live there for any length of time without a profound
feeling of gratitude that she was born and educated in a land of
Bible religion. Foreigners rarely see the better class of women in
China; but the condition of the lower class of females in any country
is generally a pretty fair index to that of the higher classes, and
judging by this standard, the condition of the highest in the “Central
Flowery Land” is lamentable. The women of China carry their infants
on their backs, and bind them to their persons with the same sort of
contrivances that our Indians use in carrying their pappooses. It is
common to see women, with their children thus snugly disposed of,
sculling the sanpans, or engaged in other menial employments. This mode
of carrying children is much approved by foreigners, whose Cantonese
nurses often dispose of their infant charges in the same manner.
Most persons in the East are fond of boating; while those who are
confined to “chop-life” are compelled, from the exigencies of their
situation, to cultivate a taste for it. The well-appointed gigs and
sanpans with which the Whampoa chops are supplied, afford a most
agreeable manner of locomotion; the neatly-kept sanpan, in particular,
with its nicely cushioned seats, and ample space for full dress, being
a desirable substitute for a carriage, either for business or pleasure.
Exercise in the open air is never more necessary than when living in a
tropical climate; and if the weather did not admit either of boating,
or walking on shore, we made use of our promenade. In fine weather,
seeking the shores of French, or Dane’s Island, and taking the paths
that crossed the unfenced fields in every direction, (there are no
roads in China,) we rambled among the graves, or along the hill-sides,
where we obtained views that were more or less picturesque, and
sometimes very beautiful.
Upon the summit of a lofty hill on Dane’s Island, amid a fine growth
of evergreens, is located the cemetery for the Parsee traders living
at Canton. There are many charming landscapes to be seen from this
eminence; and the country, with its well cultivated valleys, and
populous villages, impresses one favorably as being a remarkably
fertile region, and the inhabitants an industrious race of people.
It not being deemed quite safe, we never ventured far from the river
without having some one of our boat-people, in whom we had confidence,
with us, as a sort of rear-guard.
The aspect of nature in China is not cheerful; nor does wandering amid
its scenes always produce buoyancy of spirits, as it is wont to do in
other lands. On the contrary, it is like wandering through a graveyard,
for the country is one vast burial-ground, and the little tumuli, which
one is constantly meeting at every step of out-door life, are but so
many _memento mori_ that lead one to the tenderly solemn thoughts
with which one’s own home-places of interment are invested. The place
of burial for the foreigners of Canton is upon a pleasant hill-side
on French Island. Our first Minister to China--the Hon. Alexander
Everett--lies interred there. A granite obelisk marks the spot. At
the base of the same hill, where it forms a steep river bank, are the
graves of a number of foreign sailors, who were interred there in the
early days of the East India Company, when the dislike and opposition
of the Chinese to “outside barbarians” was such that they would not
allow them to be buried anywhere else. These graves are so near the
water, that, at the flow of the tide, many of them are partially
submerged.
The Bethel “chop,” which was occupied by the family of the chaplain,
was provided with a large apartment built and fitted up expressly
for a chapel, where services were held every Sunday. Where, however,
as is the case in China, the boat-people, artisans, tradespeople,
and pleasure-seekers are as intent in the pursuit of their several
callings and amusements on Sunday, as on any other day, the soothing
and grateful influences of a quiet Christian Sabbath cannot be enjoyed.
The Bethel clergyman had also a place in Bambootown, where, during the
week, he performed missionary work among the natives.
No people can exceed the Chinese in their love of noise; hence,
fire-crackers, gongs, tom-toms, and other musical instruments of
harsh and strangely discordant notes are in request, not only at
marriages, and other festivals, but also at funerals. Scarcely a day
passed at Whampoa, without some one of these occasions producing a
most heathenish racket. If asked what the uproar was about, the answer
would sometimes be, “One piece man hab makee die,” or, “One piece man
hab makee marry;” or perhaps it was the festival of some heathen god,
and then the reply would be,--“Some chin-chin joss,” or, “Some joss
pigeon.”[20]
One day Mr. W---- having asked a worker in camphor-wood if he could
have some articles which he was making for us completed at a certain
time, he was answered with--“No can, my old muder hab makee die; my
must go bury he.” Thinking that the woman had just died, and admiring
the man’s filial affection, our sympathies were at once excited. On
making further inquiries, however, we learned that the man’s mother
had been dead two or three years, but that he did not wish to tell a
foreigner that the season had come when he must visit the graves of his
fathers, and perform the customary ancestral adorations. The first part
of April is the season for performing this idolatrous service. It is
called _pai shan_, or worshipping at the hills, and is the time when
all the people--men, women, and children--visit their family graves;
where, after renewing, or putting them in neat order, they present
sacrifices of food, offer libations, and burn incense. After going
through various idolatrous ceremonies and prayers, pieces of red and
white paper are placed at the back part of the graves or tombs, where
they are made secure by placing small fragments of turf upon them.
These bits of paper remain a long time as evidence that the customary
annual rites have been performed. In our daily walks upon the island,
directly after this season, we observed that scarcely a grave had been
neglected.
The worship of Manes is the chief idolatry of the nation; and besides
their yearly adorations at the hills, nearly every house has an
“ancestral hall,” which is a room where wooden tablets, sacred to the
dead,--called _shin chu_, i. e., “house of the spirit,”--are set up and
worshipped. These tablets are about twelve inches in length by three in
width, and have the name, rank, date of birth, and death, carved in the
wood. While at Fuh-chau, the wife of a missionary of the American Board
presented me with a tablet which had formerly belonged to, and been
worshipped by, an old gentleman who is now a member of the Fuh-chau
Mission Church. It was, however, lost when I fell into the hands of the
pirates, but fortunately the note accompanying it was among the few
papers which I saved; and in order to illustrate more fully the nature
of this kind of worship, I quote from it what my friend wrote in regard
to the history of the tablet:--
“From the old gentleman to whom the tablet belonged, I have this
morning gathered the following facts: It represented his father, and
is fifty-six or seven years old. He says he used to think his father’s
spirit was in it, but now he regards it as wood, and does not think so.
It was worshipped on the first and fifteenth of each month; also at New
Year, and at feast times. By a little computation, then, we find that
this senseless block of wood has been worshipped more than a thousand
times; or rather, we should say, that the spirit which was supposed to
inhabit it has thus been worshipped. Of course I cannot say definitely
as to the number of times, as circumstances may sometimes have arisen
to prevent the regular worship. This reminds one of Elijah’s address to
the prophets of Baal. The old man himself is sixty years of age. His
name is Ka-Hang, and I believe he has been connected with our church
more than a year.”
The English Consul resided at Canton, and the vice-consul, Dr. H----,
who was stationed at Whampoa, occupied a three-decker man-of-war, which
was the largest “chop” at the anchorage. This accomplished English
official,--who is a naturalist, and well known to some of our men of
science in New England,--with his cultivated family, added greatly to
the attractions and agreeableness of the singularly novel kind of life
which we led at Whampoa; while a few other pleasant neighbors, together
with frequent intercourse with friends at Canton, afforded sufficient
variety to prevent it from becoming wearisome.
Every kind of life has its disagreeable features; our own, during
“chop-life,” being made up of occasional fears lest we should be run
into by Chinese vessels. Although these were not allowed to sail on our
side of the reach, they were sometimes drifted by the current, driven
by the wind, or perhaps badly steered, until they came unpleasantly
near us. At night, notwithstanding both European and Chinese watchmen
were constantly on the alert, if any unusual noise was heard without,
the idea of a possible collision with a clumsy junk was fearful. One
day, while at dinner, Mr. W----’s attention was arrested by an unusual
noise, which evidently proceeded from Chinese sailors. He hastened out
to inquire into the cause of the wild commotion, and in a few moments
came rushing back, saying that an immense junk was coming upon the
chop, and bade me follow him to our private entrance, where he had
ordered our faithful boatman, As-sing, to bring round the sanpan and
take us off. Our position was fearful; and even if it had not been, the
frightful screams and vociferations of the Chinese would have well-nigh
made it seem so, their dreadful clamor producing a scene of such terror
and confusion, that, for a short time, we were nearly powerless. As we
were about stepping into our boat, however, a message came that the
vessel was clearing us, and we escaped with only a slight injury to the
roof of our promenade. The poor sailors were the more terrified from
the fact that they were aware the “chop” belonged to their Government;
and knowing that they had no business on that side of the stream, they
were appalled by the prospect of the severe punishment which would
surely follow should they happen to sink us. Being panic-stricken, and
unable to manage their craft, they must have drifted directly upon us,
had not an European seaman been sent aboard the junk to get her out of
the neighborhood of our vessel.
The mercury was at 80° in April, and averaged from 88° to 90° in May.
Unless a thunder-storm was approaching, however, this degree of heat
did not oppress us as it would have done at home. Through the spring
and early part of the summer, while the rainy season lasted, the
dampness, which penetrated everywhere, covered many things with mould.
Storms were then quite frequent, and the thunder and lightning very
terrific. Sometimes there was one continuous roar and constant blaze
during the whole night, while the rain fell in torrents; and on one
occasion a fearfully crashing bolt struck the water within a few rods
of our “chop.”
FOOTNOTES:
[15] Pronounced Wompoo, _i. e._ the yellow anchorage.
[16] This word has various meanings; I do not know, however, why it
is applied to these floating houses. The Chinese merchants speak of
a “chop” of tea or silk, meaning an amount which bears a certain
mark. They eat with chop-sticks; and a ship’s clearance to go to
sea, after she has taken cargo, is called a “grand chop.” Then there
is the expression, “chop-chop,” meaning, if addressed to a servant,
to “be quick,” or, “do it immediately.” To say “chop-chop” to your
chair-Coolie, means “step faster.”
[17] If a sample--called by the Chinese a “muster”--of Western
furniture is given to a Cantonese cabinet-maker, he will directly
produce a well-made and exact copy of the original.
[18] The unquestioned obedience which is rendered to Chinese parents
by their children, and the respectful reverence that is manifested
for the aged by all classes of the people, are the most remarkable
characteristics of the nation. In fact, the Chinese unwittingly keep
that commandment to which is annexed the promise, and it has been
questioned by many, whether their great antiquity and long-continued
existence as a prosperous nation, may not be owing to the honor they
pay their parents.
[19] The housekeeper has the store-rooms, pantries, safes for food,
etc., under her own supervision.
[20] That is, some god-worship.