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 +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber's Note: | | | | Inconsistent hyphenation in the original document has | | been preserved. | | | | Bolded text is marked with ='s, =like this=. | | | | In the original text, Hai-tzu is spelled with the | | letter u accented with a breve, for the purpose of this | | e-text that has been changed to u. | | | | Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. For | | a complete list, please see the end of this document. | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------+

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LIFE AND SPORT IN CHINA

LIFE AND SPORTIN CHINA

BY

OLIVER G. READY, B. A. 

_SECOND EDITION_

LONDONCHAPMAN & HALL, LIMITED1904

 [Illustration: PAGODA, NEAR HANKOW. _Frontispiece. _]

AUTHOR'S NOTE

The British public is greatly handicapped in forming an intelligentappreciation of happenings in China by a lack of that initialexperience which can only be gained by residence in the country. 

In this little work I have endeavoured to place before readers asketch of things as I saw them, and to convey to their minds an ideaof how Europeans live there, of their amusements, of their work, andof those things which are matters of daily interest to them, so thatmy book may serve as a kind of preface to that enthralling volume, thecurrent history of China, as it is daily revealed in the press, inmagazines and in learned works. 

While confining myself herein to the lighter side of narrative, I amnot unconscious of those intricate problems and deep studies connectedwith the Far East, but to which profound research and matured judgmentmust be applied, though information thereon, even when collected andpublished, would appeal mostly to the narrow circle of experts onmatters Chinese. 

The vast Empire of China with its hundreds of millions of toilingslaves, with its old, old civilisation reaching back for untold yearsprior to the dawn of history in the West, with its manners andcustoms so worn into the national character that they almost form thecharacter itself, with its fertile plains, its sandy deserts, itslofty mountains, its mighty rivers, its torrid heat and arctic cold, its devastating floods, its cruel famines and loathsome epidemics, represents a _mass_, the contemplation of which staggers the mind andmakes one ask, "What is Europe trying to do here? Does she hope toconquer, to change or to purify?"

After a residence of twelve years in various parts of the country Iinstinctively feel that while military occupation by the Great Powersmay be possible, not only is China in a sense unconquerable, but thatshe is eminently a conquering nation, though not by clash of arms. Insidiously, remorselessly and viciously she will subdue apostles ofthe West who are sent to her, and unless persistently restrained willoverflow into adjacent lands and conquer there by cheap labour andunremitting toil. 

For the photographs I am indebted to the generosity of Mrs T. Child, as well as to T. T. H. Ferguson, A. J. E. Allen, Carlos Cabral and thelate H. Hall, Esquires. 

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

 I. ANGLO-CHINESE LIFE 1

 II. SERVANTS AND TRADESMEN 26

 III. SHOOTING 46

 IV. RIDING 73

 V. SAILING 96

 VI. JAMBOREES 119

 VII. AROUND PEKING 139

VIII. HERE AND THERE 169

 IX. THE MARRIAGE TIE 197

 X. DISCUSSED POINTS: PEOPLE, LANGUAGE, MISSIONARIES, CHANCES 212

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

 PHOTO BY

PAGODA NEAR HANKOW H. HALL _Frontispiece_

THE BRITISH CONCESSION, HANKOW _Chinese_ _To face page_ 3

HOUSE-COOLIE, BOY, COOK, AND "NO. 2. " T. T. H. FERGUSON " 37

HOUSE-BOAT ON THE YANGTSE A. J. E. ALLEN " 50

THE CAB OF NORTHERN CHINA A. J. E. ALLEN " 75

THE OLD GRAND-STAND, HANKOW RACES, 1888 _Chinese_ " 87

FOOCHOW JUNK, SHOWING EYE T. T. H. FERGUSON " 98

PLAYING FANTAN IN PRIVATE HOUSE CARLOS CABRAL " 133

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA T. T. H. FERGUSON " 158

AVENUE OF STONE FIGURES, MING TOMBS T. T. H. FERGUSON " 161

A TYPICAL FARM-HOUSE H. HALL " 177

FISHING-JUNKS IN MACAO HARBOUR AT CHINESE NEW YEAR CARLOS CABRAL " 189

BUDDHIST PRIEST AND ACOLYTE HOLDING BOOK T. CHILD " 228

VOCABULARY

 =Bund. = The embankment or quay of a concession. 

 =Concession. = A strip of land conceded by China to another Power exclusively for the residences of foreigners. 

 =Camoëns. = Portuguese poet who wrote the Luciad at Macao. 

 =Chit. = Any letter or note, also an I. O. U. 

 =Chop chop. = Quickly. Hurry up. 

 =Compradore. = Chinese agent or partner. 

 =Coolie. = Chinese labourer. 

 =Cumshaw. = A tip or present. 

 =European. = In China this word is equally applicable to Americans. 

 =Foreigner. = European or American in China. 

 =Gingall. = Heavy muzzle-loading musket requiring two men to carry and fire it. 

 =Han, Children of. = Chinese. 

 =Kowtow. = To make obeisance by striking the head on the ground. 

 =Lowdah. = Sailing-master. 

 =Mafoo. = Groom. 

 =Native. = Chinese. 

 =Out-port. = Any treaty port except Shanghai, and Hongkong. 

 =Papico. = Junk from Ningpo, shaped aft like a duck. 

 =Pow. = To gallop. 

 =Praia Grande. = Esplanade facing sea. 

 =Pumelo. = A coarse fruit resembling an enormous orange. 

 =Punkah. = Large fan suspended from ceiling for ventilating room. 

 =Ricksha. = Small gig drawn by a coolie, who plies it for hire. 

 =Runner. = Official underling. Police agent. 

 =Sai. = Here I am. A word used by servants combining Sir and _Lai_, to come. 

 =Samli. = A fish resembling salmon. 

 =Sampan. = Small native boat. 

 =Samshu. = Spirit distilled from rice or millet. 

 =Settlement. = Where Europeans have settled on a limited strip of Chinese territory. 

 =Shroff. = Chinese accountant, cashier and banker. 

 =Squeeze. = Recognised cheating. 

 =Sycee Shoes. = Rough lumps of silver cast in shape of China-woman's small shoe or of half-globe. 

 =Tiffin. = Luncheon. 

 =Treaty-port. = Any port opened by treaty to foreign trade. 

 =Waler. = Horse from New South Wales. 

 =Westerner. = European or American. 

 =Yamên. = Official building. 

 =Yulow. = A scull worked over the stern. 

 =Zacousca. = Russian appetiser or snack taken before meals. 

Life and Sport in China

CHAPTER I

ANGLO-CHINESE LIFE

Anglo-Chinese life is a sealed book to most people at home, who, ifthey ever think about it at all, do so with minds adversely biassed byignorance of the conditions, a hazy idea of intense heat, and aremembrance of cruel massacres. 

"Going to China" always elicits looks and exclamations of astonishmentat so rash an undertaking, but which the stock questions as to whetherwe eat with chopsticks, whether it is not always unbearably hot, andwhether we like the Chinese, explain as disquietude arising from theidea of encountering "evils that we know not of. "

Our early business relations with the Chinese were conducted atCanton, to which port opium in particular was shipped direct fromIndia, but owing to the hostility of Chinese officials towards Britishmerchants and the legitimate expansion of their trade, quarrels werefrequent, culminating in the so-called Opium War of 1840-42, resultingin the acquisition by us of the small, barren island of Hongkong, andthe opening to foreign trade of five ports, including Canton andShanghai, at all of which small plots of land some half a mile squarewere set apart for the exclusive residence of foreigners generally butof Englishmen in particular. Disputes, however, did not cease, so thattwenty years later England and France in co-operation, attacked China, and wrung from her the right of foreign ministers accredited to theChinese court to reside at Peking, and also that additional portsshould be opened to foreign trade, with a plot of land at each forresidential purposes. 

The treaties following on these two wars have since been supplementedby other treaties opening still more ports, at some of which alsoadjoining plots of land have likewise been conceded, and our positionin China to-day is founded on the accumulated result of these variousagreements, which, above all things, guarantee us exterritoriality orexemption from Chinese jurisdiction, so that Europeans for whatevermisdemeanours, are amenable only to their own consuls. 

 [Illustration: THE BRITISH CONCESSION, HANKOW. _To face page 3. _]

There are now about thirty treaty-ports, most of them having theseresidential plots or concessions some of which, however, have neverbeen taken up and built on, but where they have been, althoughleased from the Chinese Government at nominal rents, they are to allintents and purposes little detached portions of the British Empire, kept scrupulously clean and in perfect order, where natives are notallowed to dwell, but where Europeans of all nationalities live insecurity and comfort. 

In each of them resides a British consul, who represents hisGovernment _vis-à-vis_ the Chinese and foreign officials, and whoholds the position of magistrate in relation to his own nationals. AnEnglish doctor also is generally in practice at all, except the verysmallest, ports. 

In many instances walls have been built round these concessions, thegateways in which can be bolted and barred at night to keep out thenatives, a good system of drainage introduced, wide roads laid out andlighted, public seats placed in pleasant spots facing the water, treesplanted, palatial houses built with gardens attached, a churchconstructed, clubs founded, billiard-tables and other insignia ofWestern luxury imported, a municipal council elected for managinglocal affairs, and a force of native police or Indian Sikhs raised, with which, under English superintendents, to maintain order in ourstreets. 

Other countries, notably France, have similar settlements, though farless numerous, but I shall herein refer exclusively to our own. 

Off the frontage or _bund_ is frequently moored a line of hulksconnected with the shore by pontoons, and which in their day wereprobably the finest ocean liners afloat, but now, worn out anddismantled, serve as floating warehouses, alongside which steamerscome to discharge and load cargo. At other places vessels drop anchorin mid-stream, while between them and the various jetties large cargoboats constantly pass to and fro laden with merchandise, to be quicklyshipped or landed by gangs of chattering coolies. 

Everywhere the foreshore is always crowded with a fleet of nativejunks, displaying half mast be it a bundle of wood, a rice measure ora coal scoop, to show that their cargoes consisting of wood, rice, coal, etc. , are for sale. 

Either just on the concession, by permission of the consul, or inChinatown immediately outside, are two or three general stores andbutchers' shops, run by either Chinese, Parsees or Japanese, especially to supply the foreign community with groceries, bread, meatand other daily requisites. 

No one carries money in his pocket, for the Europeans being but few innumber are well known by sight, and any purchase is made by signing anI. O. U. , or _chit_, for the amount necessary in dollars or cents. Atthe club you call for say two sherries and one bamboo (half sherry, half vermouth) and the waiter brings them, together with a smallchit-book in which he has already written down your order in pencil, and this, after inspection, you simply sign or initial, when it istorn out and dropped into the till and you see no more of it until theend of the month, when your club bill comes in, supported by all thechits you have signed. 

For the offertory, pencils and pieces of paper are distributed aboutthe church, so that the congregation may easily write chits, which arefolded up and dropped into the bag, to be presented at your house nextday by the church coolie for payment. This system, though veryconvenient, is apt to prove something of a trap, for signing a chit isso much easier, and the amount appears to be so much less than ifpaying in hard cash, that when the monthly total is made up you are atfirst inclined to believe there must be some mistake; but alas!careful verification too plainly shows that you have signed for morethan you had any idea of. 

Amongst Europeans the currency employed is the silver dollar, nowworth about one shilling and sevenpence though formerly rated at fiveshillings, together with a subsidiary coinage of fifty, twenty, tenand five-cent silver pieces, as well as coppers of one and two centseach. 

The Chinese standard of value in universal use throughout the Empireis copper cash. A cash is about the size of a shilling and equivalentto one eighth of a farthing in value. Through the centre of each coinis a square hole large enough to admit a thick string. It is usual tothread cash, first into bundles of one hundred, each bundle beingabout the size and shape of a sausage, and then for ten bundles to bestrung together in pairs, so that the full string of a thousand cashalmost exactly corresponds to a double string of ten sausages. Thevalue of this full string is about half-a-crown, and owing to itsgreat weight is usually carried slung over the shoulder. 

The _tael_, pronounced tale, is not a coin at all, but means simply anounce (of silver). There are many kinds of taels, each of a differentvalue according to the purity or _touch_ of the silver, which ischiefly determined by the locality in which the metal is mined. 

When a Chinaman sells native produce to a European he always keeps inmind its value in cash, and wants a corresponding value in dollars ortaels, whatever the price of silver may happen to be. The same withwages of all kinds; the amount required in each case is based on whateach individual requires in cash. 

The whole monetary system, or rather lack of system, complicated bynumberless local banks, each with its own issue of paper money, is sobewildering that European householders seldom bother about anythingbeyond dollars and cents, to which standard, for their especialbenefit, all others are reduced, though always at a certain loss inthe exchange. 

Some of these concessions, which are in reality little English towns, have greatly prospered since their inauguration and are now centres ofvoluminous and increasing trade; but others, belying their initialprosperity, have stagnated, and appear to be gradually slipping backto the Chinese, who, in contravention of treaty ordinances, have beenallowed to acquire property on them and reside there inrapidly-increasing numbers. 

The thriving settlement of Shanghai, which is situated near the mouthof the River Yangtse, and which possesses a foreign population of sixor seven thousand, may be considered the metropolis of othertreaty-ports in the northern half of the Empire, or, as they aregenerally called, "out-ports"; while the British colony of Hongkongstands in the same relation to out-ports in the south. 

Hongkong has now no connection whatever with China, being entirely aBritish possession, and has been converted from a barren rock to amost lovely, thriving and important commercial town and naval base, and is the greatest triumph of British enterprise and materialcivilisation that I know of. 

Nearly all these out-ports are in telegraphic communication witheither Shanghai or Hongkong, and through them with the outside world, while the postal service is conducted by means of coast and riversteamers which, plying regularly with passengers and cargo, have basesin these two emporiums, so that in whatever port you reside yourthoughts and your interests are daily and directly concerned witheither one or the other. From them come the daily newspapers, arriving, maybe, several days after date of issue, but still freshreading for those in distant places. From them come the gun-boatswhich, besides protection, bring the welcome society of jovial navalmen, and from them come commercial travellers with assortments ofhats, boots, guns, clothes and other necessaries; while to them we goto embark for home, or, when in need of a social holiday, to chip offthe rust of out-port seclusion, until eventually we look to them formany of our creature comforts, and through them, as through a window, to the world beyond. 

Existence at both Shanghai and Hongkong is surrounded with so manyWestern accessories in the shape of good houses, electric light, excellent roads, horses and carriages, bands in public gardens andhourly telegrams, that life at an out-port, while at times verymonotonous, is frequently more interesting, for there, being lessovershadowed by the pleasure of foreign society, you may come intocloser touch with things Chinese, so that if the study of a people themost antiquated and wonderful under the sun has attractions for any, this, together with the many facilities for the enjoyment of sport andoutdoor life, should be sufficient to bring occasional contentment toeven the most despondent. 

From the extreme north to the extreme south, and from the sea to themean west, that is, along the coast line and up the River Yangtse forfourteen hundred miles to Chungking, these nests of British enterpriseadhere like barnacles to China's stolid bulk, dominating her vasttrade with other countries, appearing as bright oases in the desert ofEastern heathendom and unfriendliness, and ranging in numericalimportance from say thirty to five hundred Europeans, in accordancewith the amount of shipping which flows through them and is their verylife-blood. 

Much depends on the residents themselves whether social life in theseminiature colonies is to be very pleasant or only a deadly monotony. Nearly every man who comes out from home has been selected from amonghis fellows for some particular superiority. Either he is smart inbusiness, has health and physique to withstand the extremes of climateto which he may be subjected, is clever and has gained his appointmentin competitive examination, or he may have all these qualitiescombined; anyhow, he is a picked man, above the average all round, andas such has a corresponding force of character. 

A number of such men being thrown together in a small place eitherco-operate and become fast friends, their wives and children, if theyhave any, following suit, when existence is rendered charming, or, onthe other hand, with their marked individualities and businessrivalries they may quarrel, in which case the best thing is to foregoall hopes of social pleasures and wrap yourself up in your owncontent. A quarrelsome port provides an amusing study for a shorttime, but after that, especially during the depressing dampness of therainy season when it is too wet to go out, life becomes verymonotonous and irritating, for the space being so limited you arecontinually brought face to face with people who are on bad terms andwho try to attach you to their side. Trivial jealousies, mythicalslights and insignificant nothings which would pass unnoticed in alarger world here assume such alarming proportions that the clublanguishes owing to numerous resignations, few attend church becauseone of the rival faction plays the organ, and the evening promenadebeneath the trees along the bund is transformed from a pleasant familygathering into a funereal procession. 

In pleasing contrast is a _nice_ port, where people pull together, where good-fellowship and hospitality make one feel like the member ofa large family, where you walk into the house of your neighbour, smokehis cigars and drink his whisky, brought to you while reclining in along chair on the verandah with the punkah swinging lazily over you, waiting for the master's return. This is done with the pleasurableknowledge that your friend would naturally instal himself in yourhouse under like circumstances. Here is real charm. Think, too, of theoutdoor life, of those lovely evenings when the air is soft and warm, the moon at full and of a size never seen in England, when a party ofus would sail out on the lake, drop anchor and dine in the coolbreeze, and after cigars and coffee would sail on again, singing songsthat carried us back to days of yore and bringing a sad yet sweetstrain into thoughts and voices as we glided over the moonlit waters. 

Spring and autumn bring the two great events of the year--the races. 

Many ports have a capital race-course, which is always circular inshape, enclosing what are generally the grounds of the recreationclub, while almost every sporting man trains a pony or two, which hefrets and fumes over in a style that would not bemean a Newmarket turfmagnate. Weeks before the meeting, increasing in intensity as the timeshortens and decreasing slowly as the event recedes, the talk ispurely of ponies, ponies, ponies--until the non-racing man droops andturns away, but without daring to utter one single word of protestagainst the prevailing epidemic of pony talk. Race lotteries at theclub afford great excitement to the betting men, when the knowing onesmake books which in the end leave them considerably to the bad, whilethose who know nothing rejoice with the joy of fools, thinking that totheir own perspicuity is due the roll of dollars which wanton luck hasthrust upon them. 

On the actual race days, of which there are generally two, with athird or off-day tacked on, things reach a climax. All business iscurtailed or altogether suspended. Everyone wears colours, either hisown or those of a friend, and at eleven o'clock the ladies are drivento the course in state by happy owners of various nondescript vehiclesfurbished up for the occasion. Everyone knows everyone else, the namesof ponies entered have been household words for weeks, while theirsupposed merits are open secrets, the jockeys are personal friends, the weather is bright and warm, the ladies wear their smartestdresses, the course is kept and order maintained with the aid ofbluejackets from the gun-boat in port, while her drum and fife band ornigger troupe renders selections of varied merits. A race over, thesuccessful owner and jockey are seized and carried shoulder high tothe bar behind the grand-stand, where winners and losers alike havepreceded them to secure a glass of champagne at the owner's expense, with which to drink his health and show a befitting sense of joy atthe victory which has just been achieved. 

An excellent champagne lunch is served in the grand-stand, andpresided over by the clerk of the course, who, by virtue of hisexalted office, ranks high in the community, when suitable toasts areproposed and cordially honoured, followed by an adjournment to thepaddock for a stroll and a smoke, after which attention is againclaimed for the business of the afternoon's racing. 

Riding is usually well to the fore, and on an afternoon parties ofladies with attendant cavaliers trot down the reach by the river andgallop home across the plain, or wend along the beach, walking theirponies in the salt water. 

For the sportsman game in abundance generally lies within reach, andnothing of its kind is more delightful than an afternoon with thespring snipe, or a shooting trip of a few days in company with akindred spirit. 

Tennis is still a favourite amusement during summer months, andgarden-parties, comprising almost the whole community, meetfrequently, be it on the club grounds or at private houses, when thosewho do not play come to watch and chat while partaking of ices andother refreshments, or smoking peacefully in the cool shade of leafytrees. 

In many places there are good turf courts, but at others, where grasswill not grow sufficiently well to be of any practical value, recourseis had to either cement or cinders. 

Chinese lads in neat cotton uniforms are always in attendance to fieldthe balls, which they do remarkably well, thereby adding greatly toone's enjoyment of the game. 

Golf has of late years come greatly into prominence, a frequent placefor the links being on the recreation ground enclosed by therace-track, for which reason it is generally the case that they aretoo flat to afford much variety of play, although near to Macao thereare some very rough links which, from the natural advantages andlovely scenery, could be made almost ideal. 

Our club there consisted of six members when at its zenith, andoccasionally two in times of dearth. We had three miles to bicycleout, and part of the way over a fearful stone road through nauseousburial-grounds, but once there, a round or two in cool, fresh air, amongst the hills and pines, overlooking both sea and river, amplyrepaid one for the toilsome journey. 

Of rowing there is very little, except at Shanghai and Hongkong, wherethere are large and flourishing clubs. 

Hongkong being on the sea it is not practicable to use light ships, which, of course, is a great drawback. 

At Shanghai there is the harbour and also a small creek about the sizeof the Cam, both of which afford ample facilities. The club has twoexcellent boathouses and plenty of boats, and is composed of thefinest material possible, all the best men in Shanghai, as is ever thecase elsewhere, going in for rowing at one time or another; but therowing is not first-class, and unless things have greatly changedsince I was an active member, a crew capable of sitting a light cedarship could not be mustered, all the racing being done in clinkerboats. 

The reason for this lack of watermanship is partly due to thedifficulty in coaching otherwise than from the stern of a boat, therebeing no towing path on which the coach can ride or run alongside hismen, as is done at Oxford or Cambridge, while the hire of launches istoo expensive. Also, part of the reason is due to beginners beingseldom taken out and coached in tubs by expert senior men who havehad the benefit of a professional or scientific training, but are putinto a bad four and left to develop themselves as best they may. Itwould well repay the club to have a path made alongside the creek andto get a professional out from home for a year or two to initiate ahigh-class style, after which the traditions, once firmly established, would pass down naturally to succeeding generations of oarsmen. 

The coxing is on a par with the rowing. I have seen a length lost at acorner, the rate of striking reduced by ten a minute and the crewbadly pulled to pieces, through the rudder being hard on when the oarswere in the water. 

After all, skill in rowing is but a question of degree and of no vitalimportance in a place so isolated from other rowing centres as isShanghai, while the club is certainly one of the best to get into onarriving there, especially for youths, as plenty of good, open-airexercise can thus be obtained in the society of strong, healthy-mindedmen. 

If hills or mountains be within easy distance bungalows are therebuilt, to which most ladies and children retire for the hot weather, the men snatching hasty visits when business allows them to leave thesettlement. At one place down south such bungalows are built on a tinyisland four or five miles out at sea, and there it is never very hot, while in the evenings it is delightful to bathe, stroll along thesands, or sit with the pilot on watch up by the old ruined fort, whereyou can see rays from the lighthouses flashing far, far across thewaves, watch the lights of steamers as they pass beneath and listen tothe cadenced throbbing of their screws. For those residing in CentralChina a sanatorium has lately sprung up near Kiukiang, at Kuling, avalley some 4, 000 feet above sea-level in the Lushan mountains, whichoverlook the Yangtse on one side and the Poyang lake on the other. This valley was unknown to Europeans a few years ago, but has now theappearance of a country town, there being probably a hundred and fiftywell-appointed bungalows strongly built of stone quarried on the spot, a church, shops, laundry and a network of roads and paths. 

When feeling run down after a long spell of intense heat in theplains, a trip to this resort is most refreshing, for there it isalways cool enough to wear light tweeds during the day and to sleepunder a blanket at night. The mountain rambles are lovely, be it overthe lofty peaks, through the trees and scrub in the valleys or alongthe bed of a stream, where frequent pools of running, crystal waterafford good bathing or a little fishing for those addicted to thegentle art. 

Never shall I forget one glorious day when, accompanying two friends, we crossed to a far side of the range and looked down on the Poyanglake. The view was magnificent, and on our return journey the settingsun flashed every imaginable hue on the mists rolling close above ourheads, on the landscape changing as we moved, on mountain crags and onthe lake, unfolding at each turn dissolving scenes of surpassingloveliness. 

On arrival at Kiukiang by steamer you hire a chair with four bearersfor the ten or twelve miles' journey up the mountains, with additionalcoolies to carry your luggage. For half the distance you followordinary country roads, but during the last few miles the path, thoughwell constructed, is very steep in some places, while in others itoverhangs yawning valleys, where you instinctively grip the sides ofyour chair and fervently hope the bearers will not trip. 

In the north, Chefoo, Wei-hai-wei and Pei-tai-ho attract a goodlynumber of visitors to the seaside during summer months, while othersdesiring greater change sail to earth's fairyland, Japan, or even makethe voyage to Canada and back. 

We dance whenever and wherever we can. The houses being generallylarge, with fine rooms often but lightly furnished on account of thesummer heat or our own nomadic habits, and servants being bothplentiful and willing, the giving of a dance presents no greatdifficulties. 

It is a common thing at a dinner-party of twelve or fourteen to havethe drawing-room cleared during dinner, so that with the help of a fewmore friends who come in afterwards, the evening's entertainment canbe pleasantly varied with a few dances. 

I was once at a small port where for a long time there had been onlyone lady, who was naturally regarded as the belle of the place. Presently a rival appeared, and with her two pretty, unmarriedsisters; whereon my messmates and I forthwith gave an impromptu dance. 

We cleared our dining-room for the occasion, but found the carpet tobe so old and so tightly nailed down that it would not bear removing, and we decided to dance on it. 

No sooner, however, had we commenced to the strains of an accordion, not having a piano, than the floor, which was laid on round joistsover the entrance hall, began to vibrate so violently that glasses onthe sideboard were smashed and ornaments fell from the walls, whiledust from the carpet, which evidently had not been beaten for years, rose in such clouds that, coupled with the heat of a stifling night, we were literally choked off and obliged to take refuge in the garden. Fortunately it was a beautiful night and full moon, so we diverted ourdance to a game of hide-and-seek, and a merrier evening I have seldomspent. 

The annual out-port subscription ball keeps everyone in a ferment forweeks. Owing to the cosmopolitan nature of the community due care mustbe taken that the various nationalities are represented on thecommittee, to avoid giving offence. 

Then the committee has to decide, amongst other things, who are to beinvited and who not, and it invariably happens that some are forincluding all, irrespective of station, while others desire to drawthe line after what they consider to be the _élite_. In either casethere is bound to be a certain amount of friction, which at timesrises to a very heated pitch. 

One of the leading ladies superintends the decoration of the ballroom, another is responsible for the supper, while another sees that thefloor is properly waxed and arranges for the piano, as the music isprovided by leading amateurs, there being no band. 

After endless discussion and elaborate preparation the important nightarrives, when the guests assemble, frequently with strained feelingsbut with a fixed determination to enjoy the passing hour. 

Men are largely in the majority, so that ladies of all ages, rangingsay from fourteen to forty, are requested as a favour to dance, andare assured beforehand of a full programme. 

Those men who cannot get partners, or do not care to dance, spend theevening between cards and occasional visits to the ballroom to watch. 

The supper is always very good and not hurried through with that unduehaste so noticeable at home. The assembly, being considerably leavenedwith people who are, to say the least, well out of their teens, makesitself comfortable for an hour or more, doing ample justice to thedelicacies provided; indeed, after the ladies have all departed, bachelors and wayward husbands usually return to the attack once, andeven twice, so that it is not uncommon to hear an incoherent "For he'sa jolly good fellow" from a belated band of revellers returning homeshortly before daylight. 

At Peking, Hongkong and Shanghai dances and balls are very frequentand carried out on a scale comparable with that of similar festivitiesat home. 

The club is always a popular institution, where the male element ofthe community, frequently representing many nationalities, gathers fora game of billiards and a chat, and where the home and local papers, together with a fair number of books and magazines, are to be found. One evening during the tea season, just before dinner, I counted atone time fourteen nationalities in the bar of the Hankow Club. 

I like those friendly gatherings at the round table, when sport andother topics of our limited world are discussed, and when onegenerally manages to give or to receive an invitation to pot-luck, with a rubber or a gentle poker flutter to follow. 

There, too, is sometimes an American bowling alley, where on coldnights, or hot, for the matter of that, we roll huge wooden balls downa raised track for twenty yards, to scatter nine pins at the bottom. There are two parallel tracks and we make up two bowling parties ofthree or four aside, the losers to pay for the game and providerefreshments all round. 

China is so enormous in extent that it embraces almost every varietyof climate, though, speaking generally, the summer is everywhere verywarm, while the winter, from being almost of arctic severity in thenorthern provinces, where the sea is frozen and all navigation stoppedfor six weeks or two months, gradually becomes milder in lowerlatitudes, until snow and frost are seldom experienced, and finallynever seen in the sub-tropical region of the extreme south. Many yearsago snow fell at Canton and the astonished natives are said to havecollected it in bottles to keep, believing that it was a kind ofcotton. 

In the Yangtse valley during July, August and September, the heat attimes is well-nigh intolerable both by day and night. You arise in themorning played out after a comfortless night under a punkah, which, hung over your bed in the limited space of a mosquito house, ispulled with a rope passing through the wall by a coolie stationed onthe verandah outside. With the thermometer standing at ninety degreesin your bedroom you frame the mental query "Can I last through theday?" as you crawl on to the verandah in pyjamas wet through withperspiration, to watch the sun rise, hoping, but in vain, for a breathof air. The insects buzz, a scorched smell pervades everywhere, thebirds hop listlessly about, gasping with wide-open bills, the fans ofcoolies who have been sleeping on the grass, beat with hollow flap, the sun rises like a furnace, and you must retreat again to the shadowof your room to avoid sunstroke. 

As the day advances the temperature creeps up until it is over ahundred and you feel your eyes dry and heavy in their sockets, with athrobbing in your ears, when for full-blooded people of any age itbecomes highly dangerous, death by heat apoplexy being painfullycommon. 

In the evening, after dinner, long chairs are taken out on the bundand many assemble there in silence, betrayed only in the darkness by acontinual popping of corks and glowing cigar-tips, to catch whatlittle air there may chance to be, and to watch the lightning in hopesthat the oft-threatened storm will burst and break the heat. 

I remember at Kiukiang the daily temperature rising to over a hundreddegrees in the shade for nearly three weeks at a stretch, culminatingin one hundred and seven, when a break came which, at any rate, saved_my_ life and practically ended the summer. 

Many a time, when too hot for sleep, have I played whist till threeo'clock in the morning. Selecting the corner of an upstairs verandahwhere there might be some possibility of a faint draught, and havingcigars, whisky and iced soda well within reach, we would take off ourwhite jackets for greater coolness and sit perspiring in singletsround the table between guttering candles, when with bare heads andnaked arms we must have had the appearance of desperate gamblers, though only playing the regulation twenty-five cent points with longsand shorts and a dollar on the rub, so that the damage could not bevery extensive. 

The winter in this locality is very much on a par with that inEngland, only shorter, there being generally some frost with a gooddeal of snow and occasionally enough ice for skating. 

Dinner-parties are very numerous, being the chief method ofentertainment. The _menu_ is, as a rule, excellent, and the importduty being almost nominal, wine is both plentiful and good. 

After a few mental twinges endured by leading personages consequent onsomewhat exaggerated ideas of precedence, the company is seated, anda good dinner, aided by a lively flow of chit-chat, makes the eveningspeed pleasantly and well. 

But, you will ask, what besides amusing themselves have theseAnglo-Chinese to do? British steamers swarm throughout the China seasand up the Yangtse for a thousand miles to Ichang, and it is incontrolling the working of these vessels, in importing and sellingmanufactured goods and opium, in buying and exporting tea, silk andother products of the country, as well as in filling positions inGovernment services or any professional calling that agents, merchants, officials and the professional classes find employment, sothat if in exile we surround ourselves with such luxuries andenjoyments as are reserved for the wealthy at home it is because theyare ready to hand at but little cost, and that they serve in a degreeto compensate us for the sweet pleasures of home-life which areforfeited by those who leave Old England to push their ways in distantlands. 

CHAPTER II

SERVANTS AND TRADESMEN

On your first arrival at an out-port, and as you are crossing thepontoon which leads from the steamer to the bund, a most beamingcelestial meets you and presents an open letter, which runs somethinglike this:--

 "I hereby certify that the bearer, Lao San, was my boy for eight months, and I found him honest and willing. TOM JONES. "

The celestial smirks and jabbers something in pidgin English, whichnot being able to understand you answer with a grunt and pass on. 

The celestial says, "All right, savez, can do, " and vanishes. 

Reaching your quarters, you find two or three more beaming natives, also armed with letters of recommendation, probably borrowed for theoccasion, and who severally inform you "My b'long welly good boy. "

These letters of recommendation become kinds of heirlooms, and asforeigners seldom know the correct names of their Chinese servants, they are, for a consideration, handed about from one to the otherwhen seeking employment. 

You must have a boy anyhow, and are just beginning to inspect thecandidates when a friend suddenly turns up. 

"I'm awfully sorry, old man, I couldn't manage to come and meet you onboard, but the steamer arrived earlier than was expected, so I camestraight on here, and knowing you would require a boy, brought onealong who wants a job. I don't know anything about him, but he sayshe's all right, and they are mostly pretty much alike. Anyhow, youmight give him a trial, and if he doesn't suit, just kick him out. "

Before you can reply the door is thrown violently open, and yourluggage, which you had left for the time being in your cabin on thesteamer, is brought in on bamboo poles by half-a-dozen coolies anddumped on the floor, the beaming celestial who met you on the pontoonfollowing close behind, carrying your collection of sun hats, umbrellas and sticks. He immediately pays the coolies, unstraps rugsand trunks, and commences to arrange the room. 

Your friend says, "Oh, I didn't know you had brought your own boy, "and goes on to talk of other things. 

You feel rather pleased at all the luggage having turned up withoutany effort on your part, pleased at being freed from the importunitiesof out-of-work boys, and dumbly acquiesce, so that Lao San remainsuntil you have the time or inclination to engage a really good boy;but as you seldom have the time, and never the inclination, he isalready pretty firmly established. 

In the course of the day he introduces a cook as well as two or threecoolies that you do not want but must have, and explains that allthese men are of exceptionally good character, and that he "can secureb'long all ploper. " You submit, of course, and so your household isarranged by the boy without you really having had a word to say. A dayor two later you suddenly remember that nothing has been said on thesubject of wages. 

You ring up the boy, and after a short discussion it is arranged thathe is to receive eight dollars a month, the cook ten, and the cooliessix and five. Everything is arranged with the boy, the other servantsnot appearing on the scene at all, and so it is that, having obtainedsituations for his friends, they are by "olo custom" obliged to payhim a squeeze on their salaries, the cook probably two dollars a monthand the coolies one each. Without your consent or knowledge the cookintroduces a young friend of his into the kitchen to be known as the"second cook, " or simply "No 2. " His position corresponds to that ofthe scullery-maid, washing up pots and pans, lighting the fire andrunning errands, in return for which he receives very little, if any, pay, but learns the art of cooking. Your house is now in going order, and at first things really work very well under the boy's supervision. 

A few weeks later it suddenly dawns on you that expenses are mountingup in rather an unaccountable way, and you look into matters. 

Nothing very serious comes to light, and any doubtful little pointsare most clearly explained away by the boy. However, it is not longbefore you again begin to feel uneasy and insist on knowing details ofthe various small accounts which are monthly presented to you by eachindividual on the premises. 

You are being squeezed by all!

The boy charges for a number of small items such as lampwick, matches, soap, candles, etc. , that you have never had, or in half thequantities stated. Also, on things which you have had, a largepercentage over cost price is levied. All the native tradesmen are inleague with your servants, and while you know that you are beingswindled it would be quite impossible to prove it, for should ashopkeeper or butcher tell you what his prices really were he wouldlose much of his business, as servants in foreign employ would, intime, by some means or other, take the custom elsewhere. 

You are the means whereby a large but limited circle of Chinese manageto live and oftentimes save money. All members of the circle regardyou as their prey, and tacitly combining to play into each other'shands they fleece you with impunity, it being extremely difficult, ifnot impossible, to get one Chinaman to expose or bear witness againstanother, especially if it be with the object of benefiting theforeigner. 

The best way for a bachelor to run his house is to set aside a certainsum which he knows should be sufficient for monthly expenditure. If hecan keep his expenses below this figure so much the better. If hecannot, and they exceed it, he should cut down the various accountsuntil a sufficient reduction has been reached. It is useless trying toargue the case, he would always come off worsted. 

I heard of one bachelor who had been drawing a salary of six hundreddollars a month, but he kept up such style that he could only justcover expenses. After a time his business partly failed, so he sentfor the boy and explained he could only spend four hundred dollars. The domestic pulled a long face, but the style of living was notaltered in the least. 

Again bad times came and expenditure had to be further reduced tothree hundred dollars a month. The bachelor informed his servant thathe had better get another situation as he feared it would be difficultfor him to come down from six hundred dollars to three hundred, andthat it would be wiser to start a fresh establishment more inaccordance with his reduced circumstances. 

After reflection the boy decided to struggle on, and this he did withsuch success that the style of living was exactly the same as it hadever been. 

The word "boy" bears no reference whatever to the individual's age, which may be anything between sixteen and sixty. It is merely a termapplied by foreigners to their personal attendants. 

The duties of the boy are those of the ordinary housekeeper inEngland, with several additions. 

He looks after the other servants and is generally responsible fortheir good behaviour. He pays all wages and the accounts of the localtradespeople, on which, of course, he levies a recognised squeeze. Hewaits at table, answers the bell, makes the beds and brushes hismaster's clothes, in fact, makes himself generally useful. 

As a rule, he accompanies his master to all dinner-parties to assistin waiting. Also, it is a common and recognised practice for the boyof a house where a big dinner or a dance is being held to borrowrequisites from the boy of another house, and often without referenceto the owner, so that when dining out you not infrequently drink fromyour own glasses, use your own knives and forks, see your own lamp onthe dinner-table and are waited on by your own servant. 

A Scotchman who had recently married brought from London a goodlysupply of fine glassware for the new home. At one of thedinner-parties given in honour of himself and bride, after replying tothe toast of the evening he proposed the health of his host andrequested the company to drink it with Highland honours by placing onefoot on the table and one on the chair. Bumpers having been tossed offhe added that it would not be fitting for glasses consecrated by suchdistinguished service to thereafter descend to ordinary usage, andsuiting the action to the word, flung the tumbler over his shoulder, so that it was shivered to atoms against the wall, the other guests, numbering upwards of a dozen, following suit. 

His boy's placid comment on the proceeding was, "Truly master b'longtoo muchee foolo, he no savez b'long he new glass. "

They were indeed his own beautiful tumblers, borrowed for the occasionwithout his knowledge. 

If anything is lost in the house, the boy, being answerable, issupposed to make the loss good, although he seldom does so. It may beimagined that his post is no sinecure with an exacting master, but itis lucrative and one much sought after. 

The custom of servants mutually guaranteeing each other's good conductis a great safeguard, for in the case of theft or other misdemeanourby one of them, all the others are responsible and severe measures maybe taken against them with the view of discovering the culprit, sothat in reality while subject to numberless irritating, pettypilferings, against which there is no guarding and for which it isimpossible to obtain redress, it rarely happens that any seriousoffence is committed. 

Amongst themselves the Chinese carry this principle of responsibilityto such great lengths that if after committing a crime the culpritflees from justice, the officials can, and often do, arrest hisfather, mother, wife and whole family, and both imprison and persecutethem until the fugitive gives himself up; and such is the strength ofthe family tie that this arbitrary method is seldom known to fail. 

The cook is, next to the boy, the most important of the otherservants, and as a rule is fairly efficient, some indeed beingexcellent, although great care must be taken to guard against theirnatural love of filthiness. A kitchen into which the master ormistress of the house does not go once or twice every day shouldnever be visited at all if one wishes to enjoy one's meals. 

This is also a lucrative post, for besides wages and a heavy squeezeon every article brought into the kitchen, the remains of each meal, whether half a chicken, half a leg of mutton, or both, are regarded bythe cook as his perquisite and carried off for sale to nativerestaurants, unless special orders have been given to the contrary. Areason for this is that in hot climates food, if not eaten at once, quickly becomes worse than useless. Also, owing to the cheapness ofmeat, eggs, vegetables, etc. , it is by no means the serious loss thatit would be at home, and so the householder is generally not sorrythat the remains of each meal should disappear and thus get fresh foodat every repast. 

The cooking in foreign houses is entirely European, the Chinesecuisine being of a very different and truly wonderful kind, althoughexcellent in quality. Western ladies have often taken great pains totrain their cooks to a high standard of proficiency, a well-serveddinner in China not uncommonly far surpassing in excellence thecorresponding meal at home. Of course, the reverse is frequently thecase, still, it serves to show that the Chinese have a great facultyfor the culinary art. 

In England a dinner-party must be arranged some days beforehand inorder that the necessary preparations may be made, and it ispractically impossible to suddenly announce at tea-time that therewill be eight people to dinner instead of two. 

This matter is certainly managed better in China. 

Oftentimes on returning from office at five o'clock I have sent forthe cook and said, "To-night eight piecee man catchee dinner. Can do, no can do?" and the reply has invariably been a laconic "Can do. "

At once there would be great bustling but no confusion, and it hasalways seemed to me that these sudden demands on the kitchen staff, instead of evoking complaints and sullen looks, are regarded rather asa source of pleasurable excitement. "No 2" hurries off to market andquickly returns with fish, chops, chickens, eggs and fruit. Meanwhile, the cook dashes another pint or two of water into the soup and gets ajam pudding well under way. 

On returning from the club at seven o'clock you find that the boy hastastefully laid the table and decorated it with leaves and flowers. After seeing to the wine and cigars you go up to dress, and onreceiving your guests at half-past seven the dinner is ready. 

I remember with feelings of pleasure the following incident whichoccurred at Chinkiang. 

For some days I had been engaged to dine with friends living in thenext house, and was actually on my way there, when an oldacquaintance, who had just arrived by the steamer from Shanghai, metme in the garden and wanted particularly to see me with regard to someprivate affair. As the steamer would be leaving again in two hours andmy friend was obliged to continue his voyage to Hankow, I had no othermeans of meeting his wishes than by forfeiting my engagement. This Idid in a hastily-written chit, making the best excuses I could, andthen sent for the cook. On his appearance I informed him that I wanteddinner for two--chop chop! Without moving a muscle he answered, "Cando. " Thinking to hurry up matters a little I went to the kitchen, butfound it in darkness and without any fire. The servants meanwhile hadall disappeared, and I returned to my friend with the information thatwe must possess our souls in patience, so we settled ourselves on theverandah for a serious talk, but hardly had we done so than the boyannounced dinner. 

Following him in considerable amazement I found that, the night beingwarm, he had laid a small table on the lawn and that the soup wasalready served. It was delicious, as were also the samli, thewoodcock, the lamb cutlets and the ice-cream. Things having taken sohappy a turn, I uncorked a bottle of champagne and we had a banquetfit for a king. 

 [Illustration: HOUSE-COOLIE, BOY, COOK AND "NO 2. " _To face page 37. _]

My friend complimented me on the prowess of the cook, and we smokedour cigars and chatted over the coffee until the steamer's whistleannounced that, cargo being finished, she was ready to start. Afterseeing him off I joined the party next door in order to offerapologies and explanations to the hostess, who freely forgave me, though her husband lamented that I had missed the samli, the woodcockand the lamb, which were the first of the season. 

I discreetly held my peace, but inquiries next day confirmed mysuspicions that prime helpings from each course of my neighbour'sdinner had been carried off by my cook. 

Immediately under the boy for indoor work is the "house-coolie, " whosebusiness it is to swab floors, polish grates, light fires, trim lamps, clean knives and boots and make himself generally useful about thehouse. Oftentimes he is unable to speak any English, wears a shortcoat in contradistinction to the boy's long one, and while rankingbelow the boy is considerably above the other coolies as having betterpay, pleasanter work and holding a position of trust. 

At the chief entrance to most residences is a gatehouse, tenantedduring the day by an old man who serves as gatekeeper, and who isresponsible for keeping bad characters off the premises as well as fornot allowing anything to be taken away. At sunset he goes home, beingrelieved by the night-watchman, who remains on duty till sunrise. Healso is responsible for the general safety, and is not supposed tosleep during the night, but to be on guard. Every two hours, that is, at each of the five watches into which the night is divided, he shouldmake a round of the outbuildings to satisfy himself that all's well. This he does not do quietly, but to the beating of a bamboo rattle, sothat thieves may know he is on the lookout and run away. Sometimes, inorder to keep up his courage, I have even heard him shout "I see you, ""I know who you are, " "I'm coming, " "Who's afraid?" etc. 

Ridiculous as this may appear to English burglars it is yet veryeffective, though for a very curious reason. 

China is the country of guilds, every trade being in the hands of acertain section of the population, who combine against all intruders. There is a guild of water-carriers, a guild of fortune-tellers, aguild of pipe-makers, and even a guild of _thieves_. This last is arecognised body, and is treated with by all householders, until it hasbecome a kind of insurance agency against theft. All gatekeepers andnight-watchmen pay a small monthly fee to this guild in order that nothieving may take place on the premises over which they have control, and the system works well, for not only is anything rarely stolen, but if, occasionally, something does go it is almost certain to havebeen taken by a free lance, who would be promptly done to death shouldhe fall into the clutches of the guild thieves. 

A friend of mine who employs many hundreds of coolies pays a regularmonthly salary to the head of the thieves in that district. This mancomes to the office on pay-days like other _employés_ to draw hiswages. If, however, anything has been missed from the factory duringthe month the value of it is deducted from his salary until thearticle is restored, which is invariably done. 

I have heard of a case where a reforming spirit determined not tosubmit to such an iniquitous tax. The gatekeeper and night-watchmanimmediately resigned and could not be replaced, while by the end ofthe month most of his portable belongings had been surreptitiouslyremoved. Thoroughly cowed, he recalled the two servants and instructedthem to pay the tax, whereupon the stolen articles promptly reappearedand security was again restored. 

Largely owing to the influence of Buddhism, cattle are regarded by theChinese solely as beasts of burden, it being seldom that any areslaughtered for food; and although many natives will eat beef when itcomes conveniently to hand, still, there is a strong prejudice againstit. This prejudice extends both to milk and butter, neither of whichis a common article of celestial food. From this it may be easilyimagined that Europeans are often put to considerable inconvenience insecuring an adequate supply of these daily necessaries. Good milk isespecially hard to get. So long as it is white the native dairymanconsiders that his obligations to customers are discharged, while themore water he can add, the better it is for his own pocket. At Hankowthe supply was so adulterated that a friend of mine actually found asmall live fish in his morning cupful. With a view to exposing fraud Ipurchased a lactometer and found the usual proportions of milk andwater to be half and half. 

This was too much, so calling the dairyman to the house I abused himroundly and threatened that if he did not send pure milk in future Iwould ask the consul to punish him severely. He vowed and declaredthat the lactometer "no talkee true, " and that no water whatever hadbeen added to the milk, adding, that if I did not believe him he wouldbring a cow to the kitchen door and I could see it milked myself. 

This seemed satisfactory, so I got up early next morning, and aftershivering in my dressing-gown during the milking, carried off the pailin triumph, fully convinced that I should now be able to enjoy thepure article. Vain delusion! On testing it there was still a largepercentage of water, and the dairyman, beaming with justifiedsatisfaction, ambled off, leading his cow. 

Feeling sure that the lactometer must be at fault, I consulted myfriend the doctor, who examined and found it quite correct. 

How to reconcile these discrepancies seemed an insoluble problem. 

After pondering over the matter for several days, I determined onmilking the cow myself, this being an accomplishment of my boyhood. Tothe celestial's amazement I did so and instantly tested the proceeds. Pure milk!

I seized the dairyman with a hazy idea of making an end of him, when, lo and behold, there slipped from his capacious sleeve a piece ofthick bamboo containing about two pints of water. From the lower partof this wooden bottle projected another piece of bamboo about thethickness of a cigar, which served as a tube. 

The swindle was now discovered, and the culprit, after the first shockto his feelings had abated, showed me, with evident if subduedsatisfaction, how the ingenious device worked. 

Concealing the bottle and letting the sleeve fall well down over hiswrist, he held the bamboo tube and a cow's teat in one hand, and so, the moment one's eyes were averted, he was able to turn on the tapand let water flow into the pail together with the milk. 

I now had the upper hand and promised to refrain from taking stepsagainst him if he would in future furnish me with a pure supply. Thishe cheerfully agreed to do, and for a time I fared sumptuously, but itwas not long ere my boy informed me that, the cows having run dry, thedairyman had returned to his home in the country. 

Prior to the Manchu conquest of China two hundred and fifty years ago, men allowed the hair to grow long and then rolled it up in a tuft onthe top of the head. 

The Manchus, however, introduced the custom of partly shaving thescalp and braiding the back hair into a pig-tail, any man notconforming to this rule being considered a rebel, and as such liableto summary decapitation. This visible token of loyalty to the presentdynasty is therefore universal, and obtains from the cradle to thegrave, it being a matter of considerable importance to all who value awhole skin, and "Olo custom" being an extremely strong _motif_, itwould now be well-nigh impossible to abolish this badge of servitude, even were the enforcement of it abandoned. In addition to thisnational obligation it is the custom for men to clean shave until theybecome grandfathers, when a moustache is cultivated, and later onsometimes a beard, though these hirsute appendages are of a lean andmeagre kind. 

As you may readily imagine, the amount of tonsorial operationsindulged in by so dense a population call for an unlimited number ofshavers and braiders of hair, albeit it is considered an employment ofthe lowest grade; but although the number of barbers is legion thereare none who know how to _cut_ hair until taught to do so byEuropeans, so that in out-of-the-way places it is often very difficultto get the operation performed. On several occasions I have beenobliged to rely on my mafoo, who with horse-clippers and iron scissorsproved to be effective if somewhat unartistic. 

Of course, a Chinaman will soon learn, and at treaty-ports barbers area convenient luxury, for at the cost of a few dollars a month one willcome to your bedroom every morning at a stated time to perform thedaily shave, as well as cut the hair when required. Oftentimes I havebeen still asleep when, leaving his shoes outside the door andcreeping in noiselessly with bare feet, he has adjusted the towel, lathered and shaved me in bed without my having had more than a dimconsciousness of what was going on. 

Tailors are cheap and plentiful. A West-end cut is not achieved, butfor flannels, light tweeds and all such clothes as are worn in thetropics, they are very passable. 

"Boy. "

"Sai. "

"Talkee that tailor-man four o'clock come. Wantchee new clothes. "

At four o'clock the tailor is there with a bundle of patterns fromwhich you select a thin serge and a white flannel, and order a suit ofeach. On asking the price you are informed that the serge "b'longwelly cheap" at fourteen dollars and the flannel at twelve. 

Your surprise and indignation are great at the exorbitant figures, andafter a good deal of haggling, eleven dollars and ten respectively areagreed upon, the clothes to be finished in two days. 

"Can do. "

Out comes the tape and he measures you all over, taking mental notesbut writing nothing down, the Chinese having marvellous memories. 

Next morning he appears with the garments loosely stitched together totry on, draws a chalk line here, puts in a pin there and hurries off. 

The following day you discover both suits neatly folded up on yourbed, and on inspection find them to be of good and comfortable fit. 

Another plan is, after selecting the material, to hand the tailor anold suit with instructions to make the new one a counterpart of it, which, as a rule, he will do to perfection. In fact, he has been knownto let a couple of patches into the seat of the new trousers in orderto make them correspond exactly with the pattern. 

CHAPTER III

SHOOTING

To anyone who is fond of shooting, certain parts of China offer averitable paradise. When I say shooting I do not mean the kind ofsport to which one is accustomed at home, where to trespass a fewyards on the grounds of another man will probably result in legalproceedings, where keepers flourish and wax fat on contributionslevied on the friends of mine host, where hand-raised game is driveninto the jaws of death, and where the sportsman's friend and delight, his dog, is practically banished. No, I mean where one can look on thewhole empire of China and say, "Here is my ground, here I can take mygun and my dogs and go just wherever, and do whatever, I please, without let or hindrance; shoot what I will, stay as long as I likewithout asking anyone's leave, and where keepers and game licences areunknown. "

Throughout China, pheasants, deer, quail, wildfowl and snipe abound, but woodcock, partridges and hares are less numerous and less evenlydistributed. Bustards, plover and many other migratory birds appearonly in winter, while for hunters of big game, tigers, leopards, horned deer and wild boar are found in certain localities. 

Northern China offers the best opportunities, and while from Mongoliato Ningpo game is plentiful enough, the mighty River Yangtse is _parexcellence_ the sportsman's elysium. Of course, one must have gooddogs and know the country, or go with someone who does, otherwise themost ardent spirit would soon be cooled to freezing point and disgustinstead of delight would be the result of his endeavours. Along thebanks of this noble river, from the sea for hundreds of miles into theinterior, I have enjoyed as good sport as lies within reach of onlythe very rich in western countries. 

The Chinese are not often sportsmen, and away from foreign influencebut rarely molest wild animals of any kind. 

Owing, however, to the increasing European colony at Shanghai and thenumerous mail steamers which daily arrive there, a profitable marketfor game has sprung up during the past few years, to supply whichthere are now a number of native gunners who, as a means oflivelihood, scour the country with foreign breech-loaders in search ofpheasants, wildfowl, etc. , so that, being capital shots, within aconsiderable distance of this port the shooting is not so good asformerly, although in all other parts of the Empire it still remainspractically untouched until the advent of Europeans. 

That there are not more aboriginal sportsmen is partly due to a lawwhich forbids the people to possess firearms, though this law has notbeen rigidly enforced, and partly due to the primitive constructionand consequent unreliability of the few native fowling-pieces which doexist. 

Well away from beaten tracks I have occasionally met local sportscarrying guns together with slow-matches of smouldering brown paper. They are remarkable weapons, with single iron barrels some four feetand a half long, about twenty bore and without stocks, but havingpistol handles. There are no locks or springs, the hammer and triggerbeing in one piece, working through the handle on a rivet. The hammershave slits in them as if to hold flints, but which really are intendedfor the slow-match. Sometimes these men had good bags of snipe, butonly once have I seen such a gun fired, which was at a pigeon sittingabout fifteen yards high in a tree. The gunner blew his slow-matchinto a glow and pressed it into the slit in the hammer, placed thepistol handle to his hip and pulled the trigger, which brought thehammer slowly forward until the slow-match rested on the powder in thepan, when the gun went off and the pigeon fell dead. Whether birdsare shot on the wing with these guns I cannot say, but rememberingthat a hundred and fifty years ago it was accounted an extraordinarything to attempt flying shots even in this country, I should thinkprobably not. 

Old muzzle-loading rifles of European make, striking either flints orpercussion caps, are also in occasional use as shot-guns, inpreference to native weapons. 

The shot are always of iron, which is far cheaper than lead, andextremely liable to cause great injury to the teeth, while the powderis very poor, burning slowly with much smoke and smell. No cut wadsare used, but pieces of paper, rammed home with a rod, which insteadof being carried attached to the gun is held in the hand together withthe slow-match. 

These same sports catch snipe in long, light nets which they carrystretched out horizontally some two feet above the grass, so that abird on rising as it passes overhead, flies into it and is at oncesecured. Snares of wire and string, ingenious traps of bamboo whichimpale the birds on wooden spikes, and wicker traps closely resemblingthe straw plaiting on bottles of olive oil, I have seen set for snipeand quail in various places. 

I once travelled from Shanghai to Nanking with an aged French Jesuitpriest and a Chinese official then returning from the Black Dragon orAmour river. The former told me that, shortly after the Taipingrebellion, pheasants were so numerous and tame in the devastatedfields around Nanking that natives speared them in the grass; whilethe official said that in the almost deserted Black Dragon riverdistrict these birds were so little afraid of man that on his approachthey would conceal only their heads in the grass, when it was possibleto capture them by the tail with the hand. Although personally unableto guarantee either of these accounts, still, judging from the mannerin which they were narrated, I am inclined to believe both. 

The first essential for shooting-trips up the Yangtse is a goodhouse-boat or light draft yacht of from ten to fifteen tons, intowhich you pack every requisite, and which is in reality your floatingshooting-box for the time being. You have only to choose your field ofoperations, sail there, and enjoy yourself to your heart's content inluxury, fine bracing air, grand scenery and jovial company. What canone wish for more!

Having decided on a trip you tell your boy in the morning that youwill leave that afternoon for so many days, and at the appointed timestep on board to find everything in readiness--guns, dogs, provisions, and a good fire in the saloon. You give the lowdah his orders, and inless than a minute are under way. All bother is at an end and youmake yourself comfortable, have afternoon tea, read, smoke, dine, chatwith your friend over the fire, and after spending the evening ascomfortably as if in your own house, retire to rest, awaking nextmorning to find yourself on the scene of action and very possibly tohear the pheasants crow while still in bed. A good beefsteak breakfastand you are ready for the fray. After your day's sport you come backto a hot bath and the comfort of a cosy cabin. Should you desire totry fresh ground on the morrow, the lowdah will get the boat there, either by sailing or tracking during the night, while you are enjoyingyour well-earned sleep. 

 [Illustration: HOUSE-BOAT ON THE YANGTSE. _To face page 50. _]

Pheasants afford the principal sport and are identical with thewhite-ringed English birds, only, if any thing, bigger, stronger inflight and much more wily. 

A hundred miles up the Yangtse and then along the Grand Canal, indistricts that were overrun by Taiping rebels, fine sport withpointers may be had over what were formerly cultivated fields but arenow still lying waste, with here and there the ruins of a villagedestroyed forty years ago, the inhabitants of which were eitherextirpated, dragged off in the rebel army or fled to other parts ofthe country. These abandoned fields, interspersed with ridges of lowhills clad with young pines, are generally dry and covered with finegrass, in which the pheasants are fond of lying, and on a bright, frosty morning it is truly delightful to walk across such country witha couple of good pointers, watch your dogs work and bowl over thebirds as they rise. 

At other places higher up river the low hills are covered withacorn-bearing oak scrub, a favourite cover both for pheasants, whichfeed on the acorns, as well as deer. This scrub, although very tryingto walk through, is not high enough to prevent pointers workingfreely, and many a good bag have I made there. 

Along the banks of the lower Yangtse, and on numerous islands in thestream, are dense reeds, which, being flooded to a depth of severalfeet in summer, grow from fifteen to twenty feet high, as thick as aman's thumb, and almost as strong as bamboos. In these impenetrablethickets, left dry as the waters fall in autumn, the pheasantscongregate in great numbers, but it is not till late winter, when thereeds have been mostly cut for fuel, that it is possible to get themout. About the end of December the reeds still uncut, stand in square, even patches, the sides of which tower up like the walls of a house. The best way is to select clumps of medium size, place a gun on eitherside to keep well in advance, and turn two or three dogs, spaniels forchoice, in at one end. As these dogs hunt the reeds all the way down, the pheasants will creep to the very edges, watch their opportunity, and be off like cannon balls. Then is the time for a quick eye andsteady hand, but as you have probably been running to keep up with thedogs, they are by no means the easy shots that one might imagine, andmany a time the "dead certainty" has slipped gaily away. 

Other denizens of these swamps are woodcock, snipe, deer, andoccasionally racoons and wild cats, which follow the pheasants, sothat a mixed bag is frequently the product of a successful day, whentwenty-five head, including seven or eight brace of pheasants, wouldrepresent a fair average per gun. With the exception of spring snipe, enormous totals like those we gloat over in England are but rarelymade. It is the absolute freedom which is so charming, the hard work, the bright atmosphere, the thick cover, and the excitement offollowing the dogs. 

Wildfowl of every description swarm during the spring and autumnmigrations, for after nesting on the Siberian steppes they go down tothe Sunny South in winter. Swan, geese, mallard, teal and countlessvarieties of duck literally cover the waters of the Yangtse for milesat a stretch, and will hardly rise to avoid the river-steamers as theypass, although extremely shy of approaching small boats, while everylittle pond or creek affords the probability of a shot. Wildfowl-shooting, however, is not largely gone in for, why, I canhardly say, unless it is that they are so superabundant as to makethem seem hardly worth the powder and shot, that the distances to gofor them are too great and the work of stalking too cold and tiresome, or that other kinds of shooting are more attractive. 

Woodcock are often found in bamboo groves from which it is generallyhard to flush them, while the cover is so thick that it is impossibleto shoot until they come out, though be it only for an instant, when, topping the bamboos, they alight again on the opposite side. I havespent nearly an hour in killing a brace which, although I saw perhapstwenty times, I had the greatest difficulty in getting a snap at. Theyalso frequent pine woods and heather on the hills, and are identicalin appearance with the woodcock found in England. 

During a severe winter at Chinkiang, word was brought in by nativesthat some children had been carried off by "dog-headed tigers, " whichmonsters, after making lengthy inquiries, we assumed to be wolves. 

With a view to getting a shot at these brutes, a friend and I went outovernight to the community bungalow, a distance of seven miles, and inthe morning ranged warily through the pines and over the snow-cladhills, seeking for traces of the man-eaters, being joined towards noonby the British Consul. Carrying my twelve-bore fowling-piece loadedwith a bullet in the right barrel and a charge of big shot in theleft, the latter being full-choke, I was passing along the side of asteep hill at the foot of which, and some fifty feet below me, lay afrozen stream, when my dog-coolie, pointing downwards, cried, "Look atthe fish!"

Beneath the clear ice, of perhaps a quarter of an inch in thickness, amass of fish was swimming with the current. Instinctively I fired theleft barrel at them, and was greatly surprised to behold a jet ofwater, broken ice and fish shoot up two or three feet high from a holemade by the shot. The dog-coolie rushed down and filled his cap withour unexpected prey, which we subsequently found to number twenty-two, varying from about two to four ounces in weight each. Concussion fromthe blow on the ice had stunned many, but others were bleeding fromshot wounds. 

After a fruitless search for the "dog-headed tigers" we walked back toChinkiang that evening. 

The cold weather having brought wildfowl of all descriptions I was offbetimes next morning to some islands in the Yangtse, a few miles downriver. An hour's sailing with wind and stream brought me to thedesired spot, where I landed on the sandy beach, when my dog, glad toescape from confinement on board, ran to the top of a high dyke, orwall for preventing floods, some hundred yards distant, and put uphundreds of wild geese which had been preening themselves in the sunon the other side, where they had also found shelter from the cuttingwind. The mighty roar of wings was the first intimation I had of theirpresence, and as they were well out of range, my dog came in for areminder that his place for the time being was close to heel. Had theynot been thus scared away I could have walked unobserved to withinfive yards of them. 

Following the beach a little above high-water mark, I presently cameto several small ponds surrounded with willows, out of the first ofwhich some teal rose in a close bunch, when firing into the brown Iknocked them all down except one, and that I accounted for with theother barrel. Falling into the pond, some that were winged gave a gooddeal of trouble by diving, but eventually they were all secured, beingeight in number. Several ducks were scared away by my shots, but Ihere added half-a-dozen snipe to the bag. 

Coming to some wide ditches choked with reeds and willows my dog putout pheasant after pheasant, but as they generally got up on theopposite side, where there was no gun, I only managed to secure seven, besides two woodcock. 

While eating my lunch of sandwiches under the lee of a reedstack, Iobserved that numerous flights of wildfowl on passing from one branchof the river to another crossed a low, marshy corner of the island, sothat presently I made my way there and crouched down amongst therushes behind a dyke, having a small lagoon immediately at my back. Mallard, widgeon and many other kinds of fowl came over in such quicksuccession that for two hours I was kept fully occupied, and it washighly gratifying to hear a heavy splash in the lagoon after eachsuccessful shot. 

As soon as the light began to fail I ceased firing and retrieved mybirds, which numbered twenty-seven, including several varieties offish ducks with serrated bills and, as I have subsequently learntalthough then mistaking them for large divers, three goosanders. On myway back to the house-boat I surprised and shot a goose which wasfeeding close under the river bank, so that my total bag consisted offifty-one head, and I always look back on that day as one of the mostenjoyable I have ever spent. 

The snipe-shooting cannot be surpassed anywhere in the world. Inspring, after spending the winter in rich southern climes, thesebirds, following the returning warmth, slowly migrate to Siberia fornesting. They pass through Central China during May, arriving almostsimultaneously, when for about three weeks one can have superb sport, and then they depart as suddenly as they came. One day they willswarm, and the next hardly a bird is to be seen. 

Snipe-shooting at home one always associates with long boots, coldwater, mud and marshes. Spring snipe-shooting in China is of a totallydifferent kind. 

Imagine a bright, warm day, with the sun almost too powerful, drymeadows with fresh, green grass, and clover about six inches high, fields of wheat and barley in ear and beans in flower, all Nature ather best. You take your gun with a plentiful supply of cartridges, acoolie to carry bottled beer and sandwiches and to pick up the birds, and sally forth into the meadows and fields, dressed in an ordinarylight summer suit or flannels, terai hat and low shoes, with thebottoms of your trousers tucked into your socks to keep out theinsects. 

You have not gone far before one, two--half a dozen birds rise withineasy range, and perhaps you make a right and left. What birds theyare, too, fat as butter!--in fact, so fat and heavy that they oftenrip quite open merely from the force of falling to the ground. In thisway you go on, firing until the gun becomes so hot that every now andthen you must wait to let the barrels cool. My best bag for one daywas forty-one and a half couples, but this has been doubled by sportswho have shot to make a record. 

Autumn snipe, or spring snipe returned, on passing from Siberia towinter in the south, are not usually in very good condition, owingprobably to the nature of the country from which they come, andstrangely enough they appear to be less numerous and do not arrive sosimultaneously as the spring birds, though remaining longer, manystaying on through the winter. These do not frequent the dry meadowsand fields, but belong to the long boots, mud and marsh category. 

I have never seen but one jack snipe, though the painted variety isfairly common. 

In the neighbourhood of a creek seven miles below Hankow is to be hadthe best spring snipe-shooting that I know of. One bright May morning, in response to the invitation of an old friend, I joined him and twoother guests aboard his house-boat and sailed down the Yangtse to thiswell-known spot. On landing I shouldered my bag, containing fiftycartridges, and told my coolie to bring a new box of a hundred in thegame-bag. 

The plan was to send the house-boat to a place three or four milesfurther down river, where, after shooting through the fields, the gunswould meet for tiffin. 

Just as the lowdah was casting off our host asked if he might put afew bottles of beer into my game-bag as it was a warm and thirstymorning; so, to make room, and thinking that the snipe had not yetfully arrived, in which case the spare cartridges would not berequired, they were replaced on board. We had not, however, walkedmany yards along the river bank before it became apparent that therewere any number of birds, and I already regretted having so fewcartridges with me. After crossing the creek in a crazy sampan theparty separated, each taking his own line of country. Presently atremendous fusillade commenced from all the others, and as the snipewere rising around them continually and making for a large swamp to myleft, I concealed myself in some millet, where, the birds comingbefore the wind directly over my head, I enjoyed for half an hour orso some excellent shooting and made a number of very sporting shots. 

I now started for the swamp, but ere reaching it passed through somegrass patches between fields of barley and beans. The birds here roseby the dozen, and standing on the same spot, without advancing a yard, I shot eight, which were all on the ground at one time. My gun becameso hot that it was necessary to open it to let the barrels cool, whilethe cartridges were all gone in less than an hour, so that carrying mynow useless weapon and boiling with rage, I had to start in pursuit ofthe house-boat, with the shots of the others ringing merrily allround, the snipe rising at almost every step, and the coolie ladenwith beer and dead birds lagging far behind. 

I arrived on board simultaneously with a party of ladies, who, underthe ægis of my friend's wife, had come down by launch to join us attiffin; at the conclusion of which long and sumptuous repast it wastime to start back to Hankow rather than again attack the snipe. However, two of us landed with our guns and walked hurriedly acrosscountry towards a point about three miles up river, there to rejointhe party on the boat. Of course we kept them waiting, the sport wasso good, but satisfaction at the total bag of some two hundred snipedid much to smooth matters over. Indeed, the bag would have been stilllarger except for the vile shooting of one gun; but as a few dayslater his engagement to one of the ladies of the tiffin-party wasannounced, the mystery was explained, and when in a few weeks thewedding bells rang, we all forgave him. 

Four or five miles outside the principal gate of Peking is the NanHai-tzu, or Imperial Hunting Park, where a few years ago there wereherds of far-famed hybrids known as the "four unlikes, " since theypossessed certain attributes of, I believe, the horse, the deer, theox and the sheep, without belonging definitely to either family. Unfortunately, Europeans were not allowed to enter this preserve, so Iwas unable personally to see these curiosities, although theirexistence was well authenticated. 

Outside the lofty wall enclosing this park is a kind of commoninterspersed with marshland through which a small stream flows, andthere I have bagged as many as ten couple of snipe in an afternoon, with an occasional wild duck. 

Sending out the cart with gun, dog and provisions in charge of thehead mafoo at about eleven o'clock on Saturday morning, as soon aswork was over at one I would mount my pony, held in readiness by thesecond mafoo, and gallop with him after the cart, to find tiffinawaiting me spread on the grass. 

In this way I was comfortably ready to shoot by half-past two, whichwould allow of about two and a half hours' sport before returning. 

On one of these occasions I saw several large flocks of sand grouse, which, I believe, are native to Mongolia, but only once managed to getwithin range, killing a brace. They are beautiful, gamey-lookingbirds, of a very light brown or sand colour, mottled on the back andwith legs and feet thickly feathered. Their flight much resembles thatof golden plover, only sharper. 

Having finished shooting, my gun was again placed in the cart and westarted leisurely for home, I riding a short distance in advance, followed by the second mafoo, while my pointer rambled over the grass. One evening, when thus returning, two medium-sized eagles swooped atthe dog and commenced to regularly hunt him, much to hisconsternation. To dismount and get my gun out of its case again wasthe work of a couple of minutes, when I shot one of the birds at adistance of twenty yards, the other, instead of being alarmed, immediately swooping at its fallen comrade, to meet with a similarfate. 

I could not get them stuffed, so had their wings and claws mounted asfans, which I still have somewhere in my possession. 

The common deer are small, from thirty to forty pounds in weight, andwithout horns. They have a thick, bristly hide, and the buck has twotusks of from two to four inches in length projecting downwards fromthe upper jaw, with which he tears up the ground in search of roots, and it is to these peculiarities that the name of "hog-deer" is due. They mostly lie in the grass on forms, like hares, but sometimes inthick scrub on the hillside, and can be knocked over at forty yardswith pheasant shot. I have bagged four in a day more than once. Ifwell cooked the venison is delicious. 

Partridges are only found in certain districts. A few miles fromChefoo excellent sport is to be had, but in Central China they are notoften seen, although they do exist, as I have shot one myself nearNgankin. Down south the bamboo partridge abounds in places, but it isa very different bird from the ordinary partridge, and takes its namefrom the fact that it lives, moves and has its being in bamboocoppices. 

In the vicinity of Hongkong and Macao the partridge, although far fromnumerous, is quite common, and a bag of three or four would representa good day's work. These birds resemble the red-legged variety socommon in England, but are considerably larger, while the plumage, although practically identical in colour, is far more brilliant. Acurious feature about them is that they are never flushed in coveysand very rarely in pairs, but are almost invariably single birds, which fact, together with their large size and gorgeous plumage, leadsme to think that they must represent a distinct branch of the family, to which the name "solitary" would be highly applicable. 

Quail are numerous and in all respects resemble those found in thiscountry. They are chiefly prized by the Chinese for their pugilisticqualities, for after being caught and having had their wings clippedthey are disposed of to various purchasers, who take them to miniaturecock-pits and there back them to fight the birds of other gamblers forconsiderable sums, the combats being fierce and often deadly. 

The hares are wretched little animals, all bones and felt, and notlarger than the English rabbit. They usually lie in the open, thoughoften found in graves and in holes in the rocks, from which I havethought that they might be the "coney" mentioned in Scripture. 

Bustards, or wild turkeys, are found at certain periods all overChina. They are very shy, always settle on wide plains, and areextremely difficult of approach--a shot being only obtainable afterlong and careful stalking. 

Although tigers are occasionally to be found in most of the southernprovinces, there are but few places easily accessible to Europeanswhere they exist in any number, and not having been in one of thesefavoured spots I have had no opportunity to try my hand at thisexciting sport, but a friend of mine, who has earned considerable fameat it, and who keeps a row of grinning tiger skulls on hisdrawing-room mantelpiece as mementoes of successful hunts, describedto me how operations are conducted. 

At Amoy, which is probably the best known of these districts, whennatives from the surrounding country bring word into the settlementthat a tiger has been seen, preparations for the hunt are quicklycompleted, and a party of sportsmen repairs to the scene of action. 

The country being exceedingly rocky, the tigers make their lairs incaves and rocks, approached by long tunnels or holes just large enoughto admit the beasts, so that to get them out is both difficult anddangerous. 

Having traced spore to the entrance of one of these tunnels, my friendcrawled in first with his rifle, immediately after him coming a nativeshikarri, who thrust forward over my friend's back a long bamboobearing at the end a lighted torch. Next followed three moreshikarries, holding long spears, which they similarly thrust inadvance, so that the attacking force consisted of a torch, threespears, the Englishman with his rifle and four shikarries, in whichorder they slowly crept along the passage, the sides of which wereworn smooth by continual friction of tigers passing to and fro, untilgrowls and snarls proclaimed that their quarry was near at hand. 

Presently two green, shifting eyes could be distinguished a few feetbeyond the torch, when, carefully aimed between them, a hollow, express bullet crashed through the monster's skull, killing him on thespot. 

What would happen in case the brute was only wounded and charged Ihave never heard, but personally I should be somewhat chary intrusting to the protection of a torch and three spears. 

It is related that a practical old Yankee sport, desirous of slayinghis tiger, joined in one of these expeditions, setting out from therendezvous armed to the teeth, in company with another hunter, butbefore very long came stepping briskly back, and by way of explanation_guessed_ "the tiger's footprints were getting too durned fresh. "

I consider he showed true American acumen. 

Spear-grass one often hears of but seldom sees, and until makingacquaintance with the real thing I had always imagined that the barbedgrass seeds, which are such a harmful worry to dogs, were practicallyidentical with it. Not at all. 

Before leaving Ichang for a trip to the Yangtse gorges I expressed myintention of trying to get some of those beautiful Reeves pheasants, having tails several feet in length, which are indigenous to thatlocality, but was warned that it would be necessary to take longleggings as a protection against spear-grass. Not having any with me, and believing I knew what spear-grass was, I refrained from borrowing, so that on landing at Nantou with my dog and gun, it was in anordinary shooting suit and worsted stockings. 

Inquiries of natives as to the whereabouts of these birds soon led meup the mountain-side to a rocky plateau, which looked extremelylikely, and where I even saw traces of them. My dog commenced to work, and I followed him into the light, dry, crackling grass, but suddenlybecame conscious of a smarting in the legs as though walking throughnettles, and noticed that the grass was adhering to my stockings. However, I pushed on, my dog being hot on the scent, but presently weboth came to a standstill--I, because of cramp in both legs, each ofwhich was now enveloped in grass to the size of a bee-hive; while thedog's shaggy coat had collected it till he appeared as large as asheep, and could no longer force his way along, besides being in muchpain. 

It was a short half mile down hill to the boat but the difficulty anddiscomfort of getting there were considerable. When at length the boyproceeded to take my stockings off it was found that they werepractically sewn to my skin by the spear-grass, the tiny barbed pointsof which had passed in hundreds through the wool and worked likefish-hooks into my calves. Without penetrating deep enough to morethan slightly draw blood, they had one and all to be forcibly draggedout as the stockings were peeled off. For days I was lame and sore, while my dog lived in misery for weeks. I did not even see a Reevespheasant. 

At Nantou I gathered delicious oranges from the tree for one casheach, or, eight oranges for a farthing. 

A twelve-bore is the best gun for use in China, from the fact thatcartridges are everywhere procurable, whereas for other sizes theyhave frequently to be imported from home, although I must admit thata twenty-bore is preferable for snipe-shooting in warm weather, owingto the lightness of both gun and cartridges. 

It seems to be the general opinion, with which I agree, that pointersand spaniels are the most suitable dogs to keep, for they appear towork the cover and to stand the climate better than other breeds. 

As European dogs seldom live in China more than three or four years, and often less, it is necessary to always have puppies coming on ifyou do not want your shooting to be spoiled, for it is useless to tryand get pheasants out of the thick cover without them. Dysentery is avery prevalent canine disease, but their most deadly enemy, and oneexisting in no other country that I know of, is worms in the heart. How the germs get into the blood no doctor has yet been able to say, but thin, white worms resembling vermicelli cluster round the heart, living on the blood, until they become so numerous as to eventuallychoke an artery, when death is instantaneous. In the case of afavourite dog, on which a doctor kindly performed a _post-mortem_examination, these worms were in such numbers that I positively couldnot see the heart at all. 

Native dogs are useless for sport, as they seem to be devoid of thatfriendly intelligence so noticeable in our own breeds, while theirpowers of scent are much inferior. I have heard that in the island ofHainan a certain breed exists which is very good for hunting leopardsand wild boar, but this I cannot guarantee. 

In the winter of 1889 I was invited by a friend to join him in hishouse-boat a few miles below Chinkiang, when we could shoot togethernext day and then have Christmas dinner on board. 

I hired a small sampan to sail me down, together with my boy, takingonly a bottle of whisky, a few things for tiffin and a plum cake, thelast being a Christmas gift from a Norwegian lady. 

Starting at noon, it was about three o'clock and near the rendezvous, when we sighted a flock of geese asleep in the sun on a mud-bank. Iordered the sampan-man to get as near as possible, and when the geeserose at a distance of about sixty yards, knocked down a couple withtwo charges of S. S. G. A minute later another came flying overheadcalling to its wounded mate, and this also I dropped without pity. Thefirst two, being only winged, gave a lot of trouble, as they swam anddived with great speed, but all three were eventually secured. 

There was still an hour before dark, and seeing no signs of my friendI went on shore and bagged three pheasants before returning to theboat. Next morning, after passing a cold and miserable night in thetiny cabin of the dirty little sampan, I started with gun and dog atabout eight o'clock--fully expecting that the house-boat would turn upduring my absence--and shot all day, killing eleven pheasants, twodeer, three woodcock, seven duck and one pigeon. As by dark there werestill no signs of my expected host I had no choice but to return home. 

It was a lovely night, bright, frosty and star-light, with a nice, crisp breeze, which, the river being there about two miles wide, raised quite a sea. Thousands of wildfowl, all on their way south, were flying, whistling and whirring about in every direction, andrising from the water quite close to the boat. My dog "Snipe" and Icrept into the cabin out of the cutting wind, which was dead ahead, and proceeded to discuss our impromptu Christmas fare, which, afterall, was not so bad, and reflected great credit on the boy's cookingpowers. I noted down the _menu_, and here it is:--

 1. Pigeon Soup. 2. Woodcock. 3. Boiled Pheasant. 4. Cold Roast Beef. 5. Plum Cake ablaze with Whisky. 6. Cheese. 7. Pumelo. Whisky and Water. Tea. 

There was no holly or mistletoe to remind one of Merrie England, but Idrank to "the Old Folks at Home" with the sadness peculiar towanderers on such occasions, and then gave myself up to nicotine andreflection for the rest of the evening, arriving home at midnight tofind that my truant friend was ill in bed. 

CHAPTER IV

RIDING

No country in the world is so badly supplied with horses as China, both as regards quantity and quality. 

The reasons for this are largely owing to the peculiar and wretchedcondition of internal communications, and to the fact that horses areseldom employed in cultivation of the soil, which is mostly performedby manual labour, supplemented by water buffaloes in the central andsouthern provinces and by oxen in the north. 

Wherever rivers and lakes exist there is found a dense boatingpopulation, whose occupation is the conduct of every kind of traffic. 

On the large fluvial highways stately junks laden deep with cargo passbackwards and forwards in unending procession. In shallower waters thevessels are smaller but more numerous, and this adaptation tocircumstances goes on until the smallest streams and canals, whichinvariably cover the valleys of China's mighty rivers as with a net, are blocked with tiny craft, each bearing its load of merchandise orits quota of passengers. 

In such districts, where everything is carried by water and whereroads are few, there is little or no work for the horse, which, beyonda few wretched specimens attached to the various yamêns and militarycamps, is seldom seen. 

Where waterways do not exist, and traffic must necessarily be carriedoverland, the highways are either narrow paths paved with large blocksof stone and suitable only for wheelbarrows and pack-animals, ortracks picked out at random over a width of perhaps a hundred yards, along which lumbering, ill-constructed and springless carts ploughtheir ways, and strings of pack-animals wend slowly to and fro. Thenumberless creaking wheel-barrows, bearing heavy loads, are propelledby coolies, who, the yoke across the shoulders, stagger along betweenthe shafts, helped occasionally by a small sail set to catch afavouring wind, or by another coolie harnessed to the vehicle byropes. The pack-animals mostly consist of camels (especially in thenorth), mules and donkeys, ponies being used in more limited numbers. As a rule, the carts are supplied with mixed teams of very poor classanimals, mules largely predominating, although ponies are alsonumerous. 

Europeans, accustomed to see carriages, dog-carts and all kinds ofhorse-drawn conveyances circulating freely on macadamised roads, findit difficult to realise that, in the oldest civilised empire inexistence, there are, outside the treaty-ports, not only nomacadamised roads, but not even roads that could possibly be comparedwith our most out-of-the-way and most ill-kept country lanes, and thatconsequently there are neither carriages nor dogcarts, but onlyspringless tumbrils, which, covered with a wain, discharge thefunctions of the celestial cab, and plough through deep mud with theirmassive wheels, or jolt over stone causeways to the intense discomfortof luckless occupants. 

 [Illustration: THE CAB OF NORTHERN CHINA. _To face page 75. _]

There being then practically neither roads nor carriages, the demandfor draught horses is very small, while for riding purposes Chinamenprefer either the taller and more dignified mule or the ambling pony. 

This latter has a rolling, pacing gait which enables the horseman tosit quietly in his high wooden saddle without any necessity of risingin the stirrups. He possesses great speed and endurance, and wealthyChinese will give as much as four or five hundred taels for a goodone. With his rider leaning well back and pulling hard at the reinsthe animal tears along at fifteen or sixteen miles an hour, but whenthe reins are loosened he immediately slackens and pulls up. They area common sight in the neighbourhood of Peking, where ambling contestsfrequently take place outside the city wall. In these contests eachpony in turn is ridden at full speed past the judges, who proclaim thewinner on his general merits and not with exclusive reference to pace. 

For agricultural work the horse is not employed. In wheeling barrowscoolies perform the work of beasts of burthen. As pack-animals camels, mules and donkeys have the preference, so that although the "nobleanimal" is to be met with almost everywhere, he is not consideredindispensable as in Western lands. He is unhonoured, ill cared for andvery cheap. 

There may be several breeds in China, although personally I have seenbut four, of which a small, well-shaped pony from Turkestan; a large, stringy horse from Ili; and a weedy, cowhocked pony from Szechuandeserve here no more than passing notice, for they are seldom seen inthe Eastern provinces, where alone the Mongolian, or, as it iscommonly called, the "China pony, " is found in considerable numbers. 

This China pony, with which Europeans in the Far East are so wellacquainted, is a native of the Mongolian plains. He stands on anaverage about thirteen hands, and is a coarse, thick-set, cobbyanimal, with a large, ugly head carried low on a wedge-shaped neck, so that when mounted you have practically nothing in front of thesaddle. He much resembles, and is evidently closely allied to, theRussian pony, which is now so commonly met with in this country. 

I have heard it stated that, at the conclusion of the Second ChineseWar, to avoid the expense of transport back to India, the Arab horsesof our cavalry were sold at Tientsin, and being mostly purchased bynative dealers, were sent to Mongolia and crossed with the nativebreed. If this be true it accounts for the traces of Arab blood whichmay occasionally be observed in a smaller head, finer points, wavytail and gentler manners. 

Mongol princes have long had, by imperial decree, the sole right ofhorse breeding in the north, every year paying tribute to the Emperorof so many head; and as this breed is much superior to the others Ihave mentioned, the monopoly practically extends to the whole Empire, and is most jealously guarded. 

Geldings only are allowed to leave the breeders' hands, and that notbefore the advanced age of seven or eight, which partly accounts forthe shortness of the time during which China ponies are in theirprime, and for the fact that after two or three years' work theycommence to age and deteriorate. 

Mares it is impossible to purchase on any terms, the Mongolsabsolutely refusing to part with them, and I have only seen twoduring the whole of the twelve years I have spent in China--one atPeking, the property of a Russian prince, and one with its foal, belonging to a native official at Kiukiang. 

In the late autumn of every year the tribute ponies are brought downto Peking. I have seen them in large droves coming across country atfull gallop, enveloped in clouds of dust, with mounted Mongol andChinese drovers, carrying long bamboo poles, riding on the outskirtsof each mob and directing its course. Villagers, on seeing the cloudsof dust and hearing the thunder of hoofs, hurry out to try and divertthe equine torrent from their crops, but in vain. The whirlwind rushesby, leaving a broad, well-beaten track, whereon few signs of banks, gardens or vegetation can be discerned. It is the Emperor's tributeand there is no redress. 

After tributary obligations have been fulfilled in kind or in value, large numbers of these ponies are thrown on the market, and on anaverage can be secured for twenty or thirty dollars each--that is, fortwo or three pounds. 

The best market is provided by Europeans, and dealers forward thefinest-looking animals to Tientsin, Shanghai, Hongkong, Hankow andother places where racing is carried on, to meet this demand. 

When such mobs of raw ponies reach a treaty-port they are known as"griffins, " which term applies to all that have not previously run atany race-meeting; and with their tails sweeping the ground, theirhogged manes and their long coats clotted with mud, they present avery dismal appearance, and one not at all in keeping with theaccepted idea of race-horses. 

These griffins mostly pass through the hands of racing men, who, witha view to securing a good animal, either arrange with the dealers forprivate gallops, when the various performances are carefully timed bystop-watch, or buy their fancies at public auction without speed testshaving previously been made. 

Owing to expenses of transport, be it by steamer or by road, thefurther south the greater the average value of griffins, and as onlypicked animals are supplied to the foreign market, the price iseverywhere far higher than at Peking, and may be said to range fromfifty to five hundred dollars. Those ponies which do not prove to havesufficient speed to warrant their being trained as racers are resoldas hacks, or filter away at lower prices to the Chinese. 

I may here say that although at several of the treaty-ports there area few good roads made by the European residents, and along whichimported carriages are occasionally seen to pass, it is only atShanghai that vehicular traffic has attained to any considerabledegree of importance. Here the foreign settlements are traversed inall directions by excellent highways, which extend through the suburbsfor several miles into the adjoining country, and which the Chineseavail themselves of to a large extent, driving out in thousands everyafternoon to tea-houses and pleasure-gardens. 

Besides most well-known varieties of conveyance the celestial mind hasevolved one or two remarkable models of its own, notably, a kind ofvictoria, the body of which takes the form of two large invertedsea-shells gaudily painted with flowers and butterflies, and runningon light iron wheels with bright spokes and rubber tyres. A liveriedcoach-man on the box, a footman with a smart rug over the arm standingon an iron step behind and balancing himself by grasping two strapsattached to the back corners of the carriage, a shabbily-harnessedChina pony in the shafts, and the equipage is complete. 

The occupants of this triumphal car are either three or fourprosperous-looking Chinamen, clothed in many-coloured silks, or aposse of gaily-dressed celestial beauties, who, with faces paintedwhite, lips dyed vermilion, hair caked with oil, garlanded withflowers, laden with jewels, displaying their tiny satin shoes andtoying with fans in their small and beautiful hands, furnish a_tout-ensemble_ sufficiently original if not too painfully grotesque. 

At Shanghai, certainly, many thousands of ponies are employed, but itis owing entirely to the influence and example of Europeans. 

The majority of men taking up appointments in China are barely out of, if not still in, their teens, and whether they come straight fromschool, from business in the city or from the universities, it isseldom they have had any large experience of horses. In very manycases they do not even know how to mount, but finding ponies so cheap, or, better still, getting a discarded racer as a cumshaw, they take toriding as naturally as if to the manner born, so that there are butfew residents of either sex who cannot ride, and China poniesconsequently hold a place in the estimation of foreigners which isaltogether denied them by the natives. 

From hacking to racing is but a step. The man who has learnt to ride(or thinks he has), being already a member of the race club, takes hissteed for a quiet canter round the course. The old racer no soonerfinds himself on the familiar track than he is off with the speed offlames, and our young friend, being powerless to check him, with hisfeet out of the stirrups and hanging on to the back of the saddle fordear life, is carried a mile or so before a sudden swerve at the exitrail deposits him on the turf. 

No bones are broken but the damage is done. Unless the dismountedcavalier be devoid of all enthusiasm the spirit of racing hasassuredly entered his veins!

In future he will haunt the course with his own luckless hack, he willattend the training regularly each morning in hopes of getting a mounton any rank outsider, and will think of little else all day thanriding and ponies. 

To some men riding comes naturally, like cricket, while others cannever acquire a good seat. 

A light-weight who is fortunate enough to possess the necessary knackwill soon be in request as jockey at the forthcoming meeting, when, ifhe should happen to secure a win, the confidence it immediately giveshim does more than any other thing to transform him into a really goodhorseman. 

It costs no more to feed a good pony than it does a bad one, so he nowdecides to dispose of his hack for a trifling sum, and in its stead topurchase a griffin, which may be a potential winner of the champions. He orders his mafoo to inspect the new season's griffins as theyarrive, and arrange with the dealer to bring three or four of the bestfor his approval. This the mafoo does with great pleasure, as, apartfrom the keen interest he takes in racing--all Chinese beinginveterate gamblers--it is an understood thing that he will receive agood cumshaw from his master for each race that his stable wins. 

In due course the unbroken, shoeless, mud-covered animals arrive, andthe dealer, perched on a high wooden saddle, trots them up and down toshow off their paces. 

In England the would-be purchaser of a horse carefully feels each legto make sure that there be neither splint nor curb, lifts up andexamines the hoofs, grasps the lower lip with one hand and draws outthe tongue with the other to study the teeth, and peers closely intothe animal's face to see that his eyes are unblemished. 

On approaching a griffin one becomes conscious of being closelywatched by a vicious eye, and oftentimes the brute, snorting withanger and alarm at the unaccustomed sight and smell of a European, attempts to rush at one, while the idea of feeling his legs, drawingout his tongue, examining his hoofs or peering into his eyes quicklyevaporates. One would rather fondle a Bengal tiger!

An adjournment is next made to the race-course, where the ponies arepowed by the dealer for half-a-mile, when the action of each can beobserved and the times taken by stop-watch. 

In this manner a rough idea can be formed as to which of the animalsare likely to possess the necessary turn of speed, and that is asmuch information as can now be obtained, for as to soundness, age andstamina the dealer's assurances on these points must be accepted asthe only evidence procurable. 

In the end one, and very probably two, are purchased at from sixty toseventy dollars each, and the erstwhile embryo jock has blossomed intothe dignity of ownership. 

The first thing to do with a griffin is to get him shod, which is notquite so simple a matter as one might imagine, for he has hithertonever passed through the farrier's hands and will be certain tofiercely object. No attempt is made to perform the operation bygentleness, and he is forthwith led under a kind of oblong, woodenarch about six feet high, constructed of four firmly-planted posts, connected on top by cross beams. 

Ropes passed under his belly and over the cross beams keep him fromthrowing himself down, while each leg is securely lashed to one of theposts, and thus being rendered absolutely powerless, the work isquickly put through. 

There is generally a struggle in mounting each new arrival, but with acouple of mafoos hanging on to his ears, and sometimes by envelopinghis head in a horse-cloth, it is eventually managed. 

The first timidity soon wears off, and you find that after a shortdistance there is no more trouble, the animal being probably in poorcondition and lacking the nervousness of finer breeds. 

Several days of scraping and grooming having removed the dust and dirtwith which his shaggy coat was filled, he is clipped and his tailshortened. The transformation is almost startling. You now have quitea smart-looking mount as China ponies go, and while riding him dailyto improve his condition you will soon discover any markedcharacteristics. 

He rarely gets over his dislike for Europeans although perfectlydocile with Chinese, and it is seldom that he will allow even his ownmaster to enter the stall. A black griffin which I bought at Pekingseemed to me so quiet that on an expedition of some days into thecountry I fed, groomed and saddled him myself, until quite convincedthat we had become friends, and it was not till after my return that, in passing through the stables, he rushed at me with open mouth, onlythe strength of a raw-hide headstall saving me from being savaged. 

What applies to one applies to all. Their tempers are untrustworthy. 

Many have the disagreeable trick of "cow-kicking, " which usuallyoccurs on mounting, when they kick forward with the near hind leg andmay inflict a nasty blow. 

Invariably hard-mouthed, occasionally buck-jumpers, altogetherwithout manners, and in trotting mostly slow and jerky, they are but apoor apology for the gentle and graceful horse as found in Westerncountries. On the other hand, they make capital race-ponies, for theyare fast gallopers, and for their size can carry astounding weights. They are also very good for cross-country work, as, in addition tobeing fair jumpers, their great strength enables them to ploughthrough country which would tax the powers of an English hunter, butthe greatest consideration of all is their cheapness, for it placesthem within the reach of sporting men with small incomes. 

A certain number of Australian horses are now imported into Hongkongand Shanghai, but owing to the stringencies of the Chinese climate itis very doubtful whether so great additional outlay as the long seavoyage involves is compensated for by the walers' evidentsuperiorities. 

Assuming that, having had a griffin for some time, he is in goodcondition, a period of six or seven weeks is sufficient in which toprepare him for the races. 

For training purposes, oats and hay imported from California arepreferable, but adhering to native produce, a diet of boiled barley, chopped straw and bran will do nearly as well. 

Most of the important exercise is gone through at early morningbetween six and half-past seven, when the ponies are trotted andgalloped on the course, and when all sporting members of thecommunity, stop-watch in hand, assemble at the rails, or followproceedings from the grand-stand while breakfasting on hot rolls andcoffee. On return to stables, thorough dressing, with much rubbing ofthe legs, takes place, while an hour's brisk walking from eleveno'clock to twelve, and again in the afternoon, completes the day'swork. 

 [Illustration: THE OLD GRAND-STAND, HANKOW RACES, 1888. _To face page 87. _]

Each animal requires individual treatment, and it is the owner whobest knows how to apply it that will bring his ponies to the post inthe fittest condition. 

Carrying from ten to eleven stone according to measurement, good timefor half a mile would be fifty-nine seconds, for a mile, two minuteseight seconds, and for a mile and a half, three minutes fifteenseconds. 

In dry weather it is an advantage for ponies to race without shoes, but if the course be wet or muddy they are absolutely necessary toprevent slipping. 

The jockeys are all amateur and mostly personal friends, as also arethe clerk of the course, starters, judges and stewards, so thatinstead of a race-meeting being a gathering of complete strangers, bookmakers and professionals, it partakes more of the social nature ofa huge picnic. 

During the winter months a great feature of sport in Shanghai ispaperchasing on horseback. 

The meets are usually held on Saturday afternoons, when businessoffices are closed, and a field of seventy or eighty is no uncommonsight. 

Two members of the club lay the scent, but while free to choose anyline of country, they must not lead the trail over jumps or obstacleswhich their own ponies have failed to negotiate. 

At the hour advertised the Master gives a signal and the hunt is away. 

Through wades and creeks, over water-jumps and graves, across gardensand paddy fields, the gay throng sweeps on at high speed, until awelcome check brings relief to man and beast and allows the stragglersto close up. After a short delay the trail is again hit off and thefield streams away, but in ever-decreasing numbers, until a merehandful sight the flags which mark the finish, and ride their hardestat the final jump, the first light-weight and the first welter tocross which are thereafter entitled to sport pink and gain the honourof laying scent for the succeeding hunt. The sport is extremely goodthough very rough, which is mainly owing to the marshy nature of thesoil and the fact that as the Chinese do not here raise banks orhedges between their fields the jumping is mostly over water and dryditches of considerable width and depth, which accounts for a goodlynumber of nasty spills. Although compensation for damage to crops isawarded by the hunt club, considerable care must be taken to guardagainst traps wilfully laid by the natives, who frequently remove thetrail from its proper course and lay it over almost impossible jumps, which they further render extremely dangerous by digging holes in theopposite banks and covering them with leaves and rubbish, after doingwhich they take up safe positions of vantage to enjoy the fun. 

In autumn, when the waters of the Yangtse commence to fall and theinundated districts along its banks become dry, the plain at Hankowaffords excellent riding, where for miles one can swing along at ahand-gallop without once having to draw rein. In spring, when coveredwith fresh, green grass, it possesses an additional charm, and untilrising waters once more confine riding to the race-course and theriver bank, there are few places in China where such magnificentgallops can be obtained. 

When summer floods at Kiukiang drove our ponies from their mat stableson the other side of the creek to the higher ground of the concession, and turned most of the surrounding country into an immense lake, wewere in considerable perplexity as to where we should take ourafternoon rides, until the brilliant idea was conceived of utilisingthe city wall, which stands about twenty feet in height, and is fourmiles in circumference. 

Entering by the western gate and turning sharply to the right we rodeup the stone steps, much worn by time and human feet, to the top ofthe wall, which is some twelve feet in width. Picking our waycarefully, for the route was strewn with loose stones and bricks, weusually made the circuit twice before descending. Where the stepsadjoin the wall two large right angles are formed, into which Chinesehouses have been built in such a manner that their roofs areconterminous with, and slope at the same angle as, the steps, rendering it possible to pass from one to the other with the greatestof ease. 

As a friend of mine was passing this point for the second time hispony tried to bolt down the steps with the intention of returning tostable. A violent pull at the near rein brought the brute's headround, but without stopping him, so that he passed sideways from thesteps on to the roof of one of the houses, and together with his riderinstantly disappeared through it, amidst a cloud of dust, a crashingof timbers and the rattle of falling tiles. 

Emerging from the _débris_, and smothered with dust, my friend led hispony through the front door into the street, where a crowd had alreadycollected, neither apparently any the worse for their remarkablefeat. An old woman who was in the building at the time had a narrowescape from being crushed by the falling animal, but she soonrecovered from the shock, and a liberal sum in dollars with which torepair the roof probably caused her to regret that similar accidentsdid not more frequently befall. 

At Peking, where for a time I was clerk of the course, a mostremarkable incident occurred, for the accuracy of which I hadirrefutable proof. 

A pony named "Chalk, " which I had purchased from a Chinese soldier fortwenty-five dollars, had carried all before him at the previous autumnmeeting, for which reason I was naturally greatly attached to him, andhe, although an extremely vicious animal towards others, tolerated mewith a forbearance but rarely met with in a China pony. 

At the succeeding spring meeting Chalk was a hot favourite for theprincipal events. The evening before the races I passed with severalfriends, when the chances of different ponies, and of Chalk inparticular, were discussed till a late hour. That night I dreamed thatafter I had been riding Chalk, I was standing dismounted and holdingthe reins, on a plot of grass surrounded with trees, while the ponywas lying on the ground. Raising his head and neck two or three timesin attempts to get up he finally struggled into a sitting position, standing on his forelegs but with his haunches on the ground, and thensank back dead. 

The dream was so vivid and left such an impression on me, that by wayof conversation, and without attaching the slightest importance to it, I related the circumstance in practically the same words as employedhere, to a Russian friend, who accompanied me early next morning tothe course. 

Again, on the grand-stand, a quarter of an hour or so before the racescommenced, I laughingly told a son of the Dutch minister of my dream, explaining the circumstances and the scene in full. 

Looking in the pink of condition, Chalk came out for the first event, one mile, and won hands down by several lengths. After dismounting inthe enclosure and weighing in, I was being convoyed by my friends tothe bar in order to celebrate the victory in champagne, when I heardsomeone say, "Look at Chalk!"

Turning round, I saw him staggering backwards as if he had been strucka heavy blow on the head. As I rushed forward and seized the reins bywhich the mafoo had been leading him, he fell to the ground, and thereon the club lawn, surrounded with trees, exactly as seen in my dream, he attempted to rise two or three times, eventually getting into asitting position, and then falling back was dead in less than tenseconds. 

My Russian friend was aghast, and pressed into my hand a small coin, which he said would keep off the evil spirits, but I was then too muchconcerned at the loss of my favourite to pay heed to either spirits ordreams, although I had instantly recognised both the scene and thelocality, the only difference being that the sympathising crowd whichnow pressed round me and my fallen steed had been absent in thevision. 

I am not a believer in dreams, and possessing an excellent digestionbut rarely have any, and for this one can offer no explanation beyondthat it was a most remarkable coincidence. 

At the time it created quite a mild sensation amongst the Europeancommunity, while the Chinese who heard of it were extremelyinterested. 

My Russian and Dutch friends I have since met on several occasions, when, in the presence of others, we talked of my dream and itsfulfilment. 

Both in Peking and in the various parts of China where I have sincebeen stationed, I have frequently related the occurrence to Chineseacquaintances, and they have always given an interpretation of itwhich has invariably been to the effect that in this world, or in aprevious existence, I either lent money or did a great service to somefriend, who, dying before repayment had been made, came back to earthin the form of a horse, and after winning for me sufficient money todischarge his debt, returned to the realms of departed spirits. 

 "THE HAGUE, "_26th March 1903_. 

 "MY DEAR READY, --In reply to yours of 23rd I will certainly gladly corroborate the incident regarding Chalk's death. I do not remember exactly the details as you put them to me now, though I have not the least doubt they were the true features of the case. What I do still remember is this: that you gave ---- and myself a somewhat circumstantial account of your dream shortly before the race; that immediately after the death of the pony you came up to us and called attention to the remarkable fulfilment of your dream, and that I was at the time much impressed with the case, both as regards the main fact and the details, which tallied remarkably with what I could then still remember of your prophetic account of the event. Whether to look upon this as some 'Borderland' manifestation or merely as a remarkable coincidence does not belong to the province of, --

 "Yours very truly, "T. T. H. FERGUSON. "

My Russian friend has long since returned to the dominions of theGreat White Czar and I have not his address, otherwise I feelconfident that he, too, would gladly support with his testimony myaccount of this remarkable occurrence. 

CHAPTER V

SAILING

A good national motto for the Chinese would be "_Semper idem_, " for ofa truth they change not and as yet the shadow of turning is butill-defined. 

The same types of junk that called forth the admiration of Marco Polomay be seen to-day, not only along the internal waterways of theEmpire but far afield, at Singapore, in Siamese waters and amongst theEast India Islands, and it may be interesting for yachtsmen to knowthat the problems of water-tight compartments, centre-boards, balancedand perforated rudders, which during the past few decades haveexercised the minds of designers and builders in this country, weresolved many centuries ago by the Chinese, and almost every junk afloatcontains some, and not unfrequently all, of these equipments. 

In the stormy waters of the Formosa channel, where the monsoons raisea mountainous sea, thousands of fishing-boats, far out of sight ofland, ply their business in weather which would cause the masters ofEnglish smacks to run for shelter. 

Mail steamers on the voyage between Hongkong and Shanghai pass throughthese fleets and their miles upon miles of bamboo-floated nets, andoftentimes it occurs that a good view of some of the craft may beobtained from deck at the distance of only a few yards, when it can beseen that their crews consist not of men alone as in other countriesbut of whole families--fathers, mothers, children and infants--whosehome is in reality on the rolling deep. 

That many of these hardy souls perish at their work is a certainty, for it frequently happens that steamers sight their luckless craftbottoms upwards or rescue survivors from the wreckage. 

Out of Shanghai harbour cumbersome junks make their ways across theYellow Sea to ports along the northern coasts or to the hermit kingdomof Corea. These vessels have frequently five or six masts spread outlike a fan, from the foremast, which rakes forrard at an extraordinaryangle, to the mizzenmast, which shoots well out over the stern. Ill-shaped sails of matting, ropes made of twisted bamboo splits, hemp, or cocoa-nut fibre, huge wooden anchors, and a total absence ofpaint lend to them a most ramshackle and unseaworthy appearance, whileclothes drying on the line, cocks crowing, pigs rambling about atwill, plants growing in pots and old tins, together with the presenceof women and children, introduce a rustic and farmlike element, andit is always a matter of wonder to me how these floating curiosityshops are able to thread their ways unaided through tortuous channelsand crowded shipping out to sea, and when once there, why they do notsuccumb to the first rough weather they encounter. 

Taken as a whole, Chinese junks are but roughly built, and thoughgenerally excellent sea-boats and easily handled, their sailing powersare poor when compared with corresponding European craft of similartonnage. 

A peculiar custom is the supplying of all vessels, whether steamers, junks or sampans, with large eyes, which are painted one on eitherside of the bows and as a reason for which any Chinaman will explainto you--"S'pose no got eye, no can see. S'pose no can see, how fashioncan walkee. "

Another thing to be noted is that all sails without exception havebamboo reefing battens, which although destroying the smooth set ofthe canvas are infinitely superior to our reefing points, inasmuch asthe largest sail can be reefed from deck, or rather reefs itself, justas quickly as the capstan can lower it, and without that hard work, waste of time and risk which going aloft or along the spars in badweather necessarily entails. 

Up the mighty River Yangtse different types of junks may benumbered by the hundred, all varying in tonnage, dimensions anddraught according to the waters they are designed to navigate. 

 [Illustration: FOOCHOW JUNK, SHOWING EYE. _To face page 98. _]

In the estuary, and as far up as Chinkiang, sea-going papicoes fromNingpo are to be seen in great numbers. These gaily-painted vessels offrom twenty to eighty tons, with their high freeboards, wide sterns, raking masts, tanned sails and gaudy vanes, are extremely quaint andpicturesque. 

_Via_ the Grand Canal, which connects Tientsin with Hangchow, greatquantities of tribute rice are forwarded by Chinese officials from theCentral and Southern provinces to their Manchu rulers in the north, every Manchu, owing to the bare fact that he is of the ruling race, being entitled from his birth to a monthly allowance of rice andsilver, and as the canal crosses the Yangtse at Chinkiang manydeep-draught grain junks may be seen arriving there with cargoes fromvarious places on the river. 

A few miles higher up, at a place called Iching, there are alwaysscores of junks anchored in orderly rows waiting to load salt as itarrives overland from the sea-coast, where, being a Governmentmonopoly, it is manufactured in saltpans under official supervision. 

Both the grain junks and the salt junks possess a certain officialstatus, and are therefore kept in far better trim than the ordinarytrader, and ranging anywhere from sixty to one hundred and fifty tons, are probably the best class of craft which frequent inland waters. They are heavily built, with good beam and watertight compartments. Their lines, while forbidding any thought of speed, are notungraceful, and eminently suitable for weight carrying. With square, massive bows they thicken away aft, until, curving upwards with a boldsweep of the gunnels, their covered-in sterns, high above the balancedrudder, form good quarters for the lowdah and his family, where fromtiny windows women and children peep in shy curiosity at the foreignersailing by. 

The mainmast, an enormous spar of some sixty or seventy feet inlength, is stepped almost amidships in a kind of tabernacle, and hasneither stays nor shrouds, its only visible support being a woodenprop, which a few feet above the deck takes part of the pressure whenrunning before the wind, so that on gazing up at its dizzy height onecontinually wonders why in heavy weather it does not go by the boardor pound its way through the bottom of the vessel. The foremast, whichis considerably smaller and stepped well forrard, is in like mannerdevoid of any kind of stay. Each mast sets one enormous sail ofgraceful shape, and but loosely made of a coarse, native material, resembling cheap calico. The cloths, running vertically, areinterwoven with the bamboo reefing battens, and though but lightlystitched together, seem capable of withstanding an enormous strain. 

Varnished a light yellow, which shimmers in the sun, and displayinggaudy banners on which the signs of the guilds to which they belongare printed in large characters, it is a beautiful sight to watch afleet of these stately ships glide by, with their towering sailsgoose-winged before the breeze, and churning up the waters with theirblunt, unyielding prows. 

Amongst the elaborate system of guilds which permeates Chinesesociety, one of the most meritorious is the lifeboat guild. Apart fromofficial aid and direction, it is mostly supported by voluntarycontributions, and to an extent which allows of lifeboats beingstationed at many points of danger. 

In fine weather these "red-boats, " as, owing to their usual colour, they are commonly called, lay up in creeks or shelters while the crewspass their time at leisure, but as soon as a storm arises theyimmediately put out and ride to a drift-anchor, ready at a moment'snotice to hoist sail and dash to the rescue of any craft in distress. 

At Hankow, where a north-easterly gale against a four-knot currentraises a choppy and heavy sea most dangerous for small craft, I haveseen four red-boats racing from different directions to rescue theoccupants of a capsized sampan. With sails fully hoisted before thegale and smothered by the waves, in an incredibly short time they wereon the scene of the accident, where, rounding to, the work of salvagewas carried out in a most plucky and seamanlike manner. These boatshave no stem, the bows, which are square and about four feet in width, sloping away underneath in a gentle curve, so that their tendency isto skim over the water like a dish instead of cutting through it. Theyare decked forrard flush with the gunnel for nearly half their length, when a low cabin takes up the space as far as the well, which is quiteaft. 

Flat-bottomed, and using lee-boards, they draw very little water, while a single mast and sail of the light and convenient Chinesepattern render them extremely handy. Hand-lines are looped round thesides in the customary manner, but there is no cork belt. 

Their qualities are so good that our own National Lifeboat Institutionwould do well to study the model for use in places where a sandy beachand shoal water make it sometimes impossible to launch the type oflifeboat now in general use. 

Gun-boats, or police junks, are ubiquitous. A very low freeboard andno cabin, with the exception of a kind of deck-house quite aft, wherethe helmsman stands, one mast hoisting a gracefully-cut sail withalternate blue and white cloths, a small muzzle-loading cannon in thebows, and a crew of ten or a dozen in quaint uniforms, who, when windfails, take to the sweeps, and standing up facing the direction inwhich they are going, and keeping good time, propel the boat at a fairpace. When at anchor an awning in blue and white stripes affords acommodious shelter. Being official vessels they are spic and span inlight yellow varnish, and frequently fly a number of really beautifulflags of marvellous design and brilliant colouring. The_tout-ensemble_ is smart, weird, pleasing and eminently suitable for aDrury Lane pantomime. Of shallow draught, and of size varying inaccordance with the waters they are destined to patrol, I have seenthem as large as twenty tons and as small as a skiff, having an oldflint gingall mounted forrard with all the circumstance of a 12-inchgun. 

Between the treaty-port of Ichang, which is a thousand miles from thesea, and the treaty-port of Chungking, which is four hundred mileshigher up, lie the celebrated Yangtse Gorges. 

Ichang is, for all practical purposes, the present terminus ofsteamship traffic, for although a few small steamers have passedthrough the Gorges and reached Chungking, there have been manyfailures, and one German vessel, the ss. _Shuihsiang_, builtexpressly for the run, was dashed on the rocks and sank when on hermaiden trip. 

The scenery of the Gorges is the grandest I have ever seen, and made agreater impression on me than even that of the Rocky Mountains. 

My trip there was in the month of November, when the river was low andthe current slack, albeit it raced by at five or six miles an hour. 

Having hired a suitable boat at Ichang we set sail before a strongup-river breeze, and by carefully following all indentations of theriver bank managed to keep in fairly slack water, until we reached apoint where the Gorges actually commence. Here a tow-line was got out, and by the frantic efforts of half-a-dozen trackers, in addition tothe sail, we slowly forged ahead but at not more than two miles anhour, although the foam breaking over our bows and a broad wake asternshowed that we were passing through the water at the rate of eight ornine. 

The Gorges are where the mighty river has forced a passage through alofty range of mountains, which barred its progress to the sea. 

Seated on my tiny craft, and gazing up at the towering cliffs whichrise almost perpendicularly for hundreds and sometimes thousands offeet on either side, I could see caves, terraces and strata, whichindicate with a marvellous distinctness the different levels of theriver, as during untold ages it has eaten its way through solid rockand stone to its present bed. This manifestation of the irresistibleforces of nature produces a singularly sobering effect on the mind bymaking one keenly feel how utterly insignificant we mortals reallyare. Along ledges on the beetling cliffs the ubiquitous Chinaman hasbuilt his home and planted orange groves, so that far overhead richclusters of golden fruit lend an effective touch of colour to thebeauty and majesty of the scene. 

All junks in use between Chungking and Ichang are built with a view tonavigating the numerous rapids occurring in the Gorges, and arechiefly remarkable for their abnormally high sterns, which, in theevent of grounding on a sandbank while descending with a ten-knotcurrent, serve as a protection against being pooped. 

One or two masts with the ordinary Chinese sails, an immense sweep inthe bows as an aid in turning, and a strong rudder with an enormoustiller, are the chief items of equipment. 

On the voyage down, which takes less than a week, a crew of ten or adozen would be sufficient for a medium-sized junk, but for the returnjourney against stream, and which takes from four to eight weeksaccording to the strength of the current, from forty to a hundredtrackers are necessary in addition to the regular hands. 

As in the Gorges the river is liable to freshets, which in a few hoursmay cause a rise of thirty or forty feet, the foreshore is at anuncertain height, for which reason, probably, no towing-paths havebeen made. 

Upward-bound junks, in addition to their sails, have an immensehawser, made of twisted bamboo splits, leading from the top of themainmast to the river bank, and to the shore end of which, for alength of about forty to a hundred feet, the trackers fasten theyokes, with one of which each man is supplied, and which are longenough to admit a play of ten or fifteen feet on either side of thecable. 

It is a stirring sight to see a big junk being bodily forced by windand manual power against a strong current. The trackers swarm overrocks and mounds along the foreshore like a pack of hounds, singing, laughing and shouting as they go, the mainmast bends beneath the heavystrain, the hawser is cleared from jutting boulders by intrepidswimmers, who in pursuit of their vocation must often plunge into theracing torrent, and the vessel roars through the water with foamingbows, though the progress made may be but a few yards within the hour, while if, as frequently occurs, the hawser carries away, she iswhirled three or four miles down stream before the crew can againbring her to anchor by the bank. 

Wrecks are numerous in this seething maelstrom, and a heavy toll inlives is taken from the brave and hardy fellows whose lot is cast bythese waters of strife. 

It was on this trip that I saw a Chinaman fishing with the help of anotter. 

The animal had a long cord fastened round its neck like a ferret, andwas attached by it to the bows of a sampan, which was rowed by awoman, while the fisherman, standing on the fore part, gathered in hishands a net, circular in shape and having a hole in the centre largeenough to admit the otter. 

On arriving at a suitable spot the net was cast with a sweep of thearm, so that like a spider's web it spread over a considerable area ofwater. 

Heavily weighted at the edges it sank quickly until the leads restedon the bottom of the river. The fisherman then hauled at a line untilthe hole in the centre appeared above the surface, when the otter, plunging through it, dived inside the net, quickly to reappear with afish in its mouth, whereon he was unceremoniously hauled on board andhis prey taken from him, after which he was again ushered through thehole into the folds of the net. 

While stationed at Kiukiang I possessed a teak-built four-oared gigwhich, being heavy and strong, I rigged with a jib and mainsail, besides adding six inches to her keel, when she proved to be a handyand seaworthy little craft. An iron framework could be erected overthe stern-sheets and covered with a canvas hood, thus forming quite aroomy and comfortable cabin, while a light awning protected the wellof the boat, so that I was quite able to make trips in her extendingover two or three days. 

From time to time natives had spoken to me of a Purple Lake where, they said, but few Europeans had ever been, and along the shores ofwhich good shooting could be found. 

This sounded sufficiently alluring, so, the opportunity offering, Istarted on a voyage of discovery in my gig, taking with me a couple oftrusty native boatmen. Mounting the Yangtse for a short distance weentered a narrow creek, along which we were carried by a swift currentbetween walls of reeds so tall that they effectually shut off thewind. At dark we tied up near a village, from which dozens of dogspresently arrived, and which when not fighting amongst themselvesbarked at us throughout the night with the most exasperatingpersistence. Mosquitoes also were particularly numerous, so that withthe first streak of dawn we were only too thankful to cast off andcontinue our journey. During the morning we passed through pleasantscenery, and I observed a heronry in some dead trees on the left, while a deer swam the creek two hundred yards ahead of the boat; thelake being reached shortly before noon. 

It was a refreshing sight. Clear, sparkling water dotted withfishing-boats and wild-fowl, little green-capped islands with whitecliffs and a range of lofty mountains in the background. After a swimand a hearty tiffin we sailed on with a good breeze, exploring thedifferent arms of the lake, until about three o'clock, when I landedwith my gun. 

The country, though hilly, was richly cultivated, the principal cropbeing tobacco, and after a delightful walk I returned on board with abrace of pheasants and a woodcock. That night we passed in comfortanchored in a tiny bay sheltered by lofty cliffs, and the morning waswell aired before our cruise was resumed. 

At the further end of the lake what at first appeared to be a statelytown was seen rising from the water's edge and reflected on itsglistening surface, but a nearer approach revealed the inevitableshabbiness and ruin which distance had concealed and mirage hadbeautified. A fisherman informed us that it was the "Purple City. "

Later on I landed on some low ground, and walking amongst the paddyfields bagged ten couple of snipe in less than an hour, after whichwe sailed on again up a narrow arm of the lake with beautiful cliffsand wooded hills on either side. Arriving at the end of this inlet weanchored for tiffin, and early in the afternoon commenced to beat backagainst a northerly wind. 

During the morning I had observed a number of boats crossing the lakefrom all directions and converging on a certain point, and now, onrounding a sharp headland, we suddenly found ourselves in the midst ofhundreds of craft of many descriptions, each bearing a load ofgaily-dressed holiday-makers, while several long canoes, each paddledby twenty or thirty men, raced backwards and forwards to a greatbeating of gongs and a firing of guns. It was the dragon-boatfestival, and no sooner were we observed than all these boatsimmediately closed round in order that their occupants might moreclosely inspect the European and his strange-looking craft. 

Far from my presence being resented I was most courteously treated, and after many questions had been put and answered by either side, arace of the dragon-boats was given for my particular edification, while as they sped by I fired a salute from my Winchester, whichevidently gave immense satisfaction. 

I would here observe that wherever my wanderings in China have led meI have never been molested, nor, beyond the epithet of "foreigndevil" applied freely by boys from a safe distance, have I beeninsulted. While this is not the experience of many, I am obliged toconfess that the fault does not lie wholly with the natives. 

I have noticed men enter a village with guns, dogs and a tribe ofbeaters, and to an old inhabitant, who courteously bowed his welcome, one of them shouted roughly, "Well, Johnnie, how are you?"

The aged celestial, not understanding a word though comprehending theroughness, remained silent, whereon the European exclaimed insolently, "Who are you staring at, you old fool?"

At this point the village dogs, excited by such an unexpectedinvasion, commenced to bark, and were instantly stoned by theintruders, so that the old Chinaman, to avoid being struck, hurriedinto his house and closed the door, while the sportsmen and theirtroop passed through the sleepy hamlet like a whirlwind, scaringwomen, children, fowls and pigs and disgusting the inhabitants bytheir uncouthness. Such behaviour, I fear, is only too common. 

In my experience it is seldom that a courteous bearing does not meetwith immediate friendly response. 

As the wind was dropping and there were signs of rain I left mynew-made friends and returned to the little bay beneath the cliffs, where we had spent the previous night. Before dark the rain wascoming down steadily, but having rigged tarpaulins over the hood andawning we so far kept dry and comfortable. 

In the middle of the night I was awakened by a torrential downpour andby the roar of a heavy gale as it swept over the cliffs high above ourheads. Despite the tarpaulins the wet found its way in and soaked usto the skin, so that with daylight we were glad to make preparationsfor returning to Kiukiang. 

The awning we took in, but the lashings of the tarpaulins whichcovered the hood were so tightened by moisture that it was impossibleto unknot them, and so the structure was left standing. 

Starting off under the jib alone with the wind dead astern, it was notuntil the shelter of the cliffs had been left and return was alreadyimpossible that I realised what we were in for. 

The gale was a perfect hurricane, before which we flew at a tremendouspace. The further we left the land the higher the swell became, untilit suddenly dawned on me that our chances of covering the four or fivemiles before reaching the creek were not very bright. 

I have not been in many tight places, but this certainly was one. 

The boatmen had realised our dangerous straits, and failing at thepinch, as I have seen Chinamen do before and since, crouched down withfaces blanched to putty and almost too terror-stricken to bail out thewater which we shipped in ever-increasing quantities. 

A thick mist of driven spray covered the surface of the lake, and theboat rolled wildly in the waves, which although not very high wereshort and heavy and hissed as if in a rapid. 

We should have been swamped over the stern again and again had it notbeen for the hood, which more by good fortune than by design I hadleft standing. The tiller happily was a long one, and by exerting allmy strength we kept a fairly straight course, eventually dashingthrough clouds of driven foam into the creek, though in a half-swampedcondition. We had got off scot-free, but it had been touch and go. Ifthe hood and tarpaulins had failed to keep out the seas we should havebeen pooped, and if the jib-sheets had carried away or the rudderbecome unshipped we should have broached to, when immediatedestruction would have been our lot. 

The remainder of the journey was simple enough, and in a few hours wewere safely back in port. 

Both at Hongkong and Shanghai, where the European population numbersseveral thousands, there is a yacht club, each containing severalup-to-date classes, ranging from half-raters to fifteen-tonners, andregattas under various conditions are of frequent occurrence. Theseclubs, as well as the yachts, being practically identical with thosein this country, it is unnecessary to enter into details. 

At Hongkong the sailing is on a bright, blue sea, whether in themagnificent harbour or amongst the numerous lovely islands, while atShanghai it is on the muddy waters of the Whangpoo, which, except forthe fact that it is the harbour of this thriving settlement, wherescores of vessels of all sizes and nationalities ride at anchor or areberthed alongside wharves, is a small and uninteresting river flowinginto the estuary of the Yangtse. 

From the ancient Portuguese colony of Macao, distant forty miles fromHongkong and celebrated as the home of the poet Camoëns, come fleetsof fishing-boats, which, in pursuit of their calling, cruise amongstthe islands in the delta of the West River. 

These "Macao junks" are about the best sea-boats and the fastestsailers of all Chinese vessels. 

Built on graceful lines, and of light material, they possess thebuoyancy of a duck, rarely shipping water even in the heaviest sea, while with two masts carrying well-shaped sails of matting, immenseperforated, balanced rudders, and being of light draught, they handleso well that they can turn a complete circle in their own length. While unable to sail as close to the wind as a yacht, their chiefpoint is in running, when with huge sails set on either side theywill tear along at a pace perfectly astounding for craft of theirunpretentious build and rig. 

During a pleasant two years' sojourn in this colony I sailed a smartlittle cutter of about one and a half tons, so that I was able tothoroughly test the merits of these junks, and while rather more thanholding my own on all points in a light breeze, I could only make agood show in strong winds and rough water when sailing full and by, and was considerably outpaced in running free. 

Although these waters are infested with pirates and smugglers, asevidenced by such names as "Dead Man's Grave, " "Robbers' Point, ""Grave Island, " "Pirates' Creek" and the like, Europeans are butseldom molested, and although generally taking my Winchester as aprecautionary measure when going any distance from port, I have spentmany delightful days in standing out to sea, sailing through thenumerous creeks with which the hinterland is intersected, or incruising amongst the islands, on which sometimes I would land, andcreeping round the rocky shores with my gun would frequently surprisewildfowl feeding amongst the shallow bays and pools. 

At other times, in company with a convivial friend, I would get underway in the cool of the evening, and after running out to sea for anhour or so to enjoy the night breezes setting in from the Pacific, and perhaps laying to for a swim, we would return to the lovely bay, and dropping anchor off the Praia Grande dine by moonlight to thestrains of the Portuguese military band, which played two or threetimes weekly either at the Governor's Palace or in the public gardens, both of which overlooked the sea. 

When on a trip up the Sikiang or West River from Canton to Wuchow, Iobserved many junks fitted with what may be described as an adjustablecut-water or bow-board. 

These vessels, having great beam and perfectly flat bottoms, wouldonly draw a few inches, and as their provenance was evidently fromshallow waters, where neither keels, centre-boards nor lee-boardscould be employed, recourse was had to enormous rudders and thesecut-waters as a means of hauling a wind, the device apparentlyanswering fairly well. 

As far as I could see, a deep groove was cut along the stem, and thebow-board, perhaps three feet in width, was slipped into it and madefast at the top with a lashing. 

In beating to windward these cut-waters were in position, but whenrunning free they were unshipped and laid on the foredeck. 

Wherever foreigners congregate, but more especially at Shanghai and upthe Yangtse, the house-boat, combining comfort, convenience and fairsailing powers, is a favourite means of getting about on shootingtrips and picnics, and altogether forms an important feature of thepleasant existence which we lead in the Far East. 

The hull usually resembles that of a light-draught yacht, with eithera drop-keel or lee-boards, so that shallow creeks may be readilyentered. 

In rig they are semi-Chinese, the shape of the sail being that of theordinary balanced lug, which bamboo reefing battens with a sheet-lineleading from the extremity of each to the main-sheet render extremelyhandy and safe. A jib can also be set, but as it destroys thesimplicity of the rig it is greatly disliked by the crew and thereforeseldom utilised. 

The particular craft which I have now in mind is an excellentsea-boat, fast and comfortable, has a fine cabin with four berths, tables folding on either side of the centre-board well, and capable ofseating a dozen, stove, gun-racks, glass and bottle brackets andnumerous lockers. There is also a bathroom and lavatory, a kitchenwith good cooking range, quarters forrard for the crew--which consistsof the lowdah and four sailors, together with cook, boy anddog-coolie--while on deck are the water-tanks, kennels, and a smallsampan by way of a jolly. 

Replete with every comfort, a shooting-box for the sportsman and asure refuge for the overworked, the house-boat represents to me theacme of leisure and repose. 

 "And the night shall be fill'd with music, And the cares that infest the day Shall fold their tents like the Arabs, And as silently steal away. "

CHAPTER VI

JAMBOREES

It is nearing twenty years ago since I celebrated my last bump supperin my old college at Cambridge, but the remembrance of it is so brightand cheering in the monotony of daily life that time is much abridged, and it seems but yesterday that the two pailfuls of smoking milk punchworked such deadly havoc amongst four crews of well-trained men thatultimately they were mostly laid out in a row, with consequent soreheads and interviews with the dean next morning. A bump supper is anorgy never to be forgotten. 

A jamboree is a very analogous function. Where and what the word comesfrom I do not know, but its meaning in the Far East is universallyunderstood to be a bachelor entertainment consisting of an enormousdinner with plenty of wine, tales, songs and general hilarity, occasionally verging on riotousness with breakage of householdfurniture and other effects. 

As I glance back over the past fifteen years such wild nights standout like beacons in pleasing relief from the many respectablegatherings, be it in Church or Society, at which I have had the honourof assisting, but which have left no impressions sufficiently vivid toclass them with treasured souvenirs or even provoke a smile. 

Some years since there visited Hankow a personage of exalted rank, who, being a near kinsman of one of the most powerful of Europe'spresent rulers, was received with patriotic enthusiasm by the largecolony of his nationals domiciled there, and with every mark ofrespect by all other members of the cosmopolitan community. 

His arrival in one of the fine Chinese river-boats was signalised bywhat might have been a fatal catastrophe but for the skilfulmanoeuvring of his ship by the veteran American skipper. 

Just as the vessel had threaded her way through numerous oceansteamers and foreign gun-boats anchored in the stream, and was slowlyapproaching the hulk alongside which she was to be made fast, anenormous raft of timber, bearing a whole village of huts and aconsiderable population of raft navigators, caught by the swirlingeddy caused by a freshet from the River Han, which 200 yards abovethis point was pouring at right angles into the mighty Yangtse'sfive-knot current, bore swiftly down on the steamer, threatening tostrike her amidships and either pin her to the hulk or crush heragainst the stone-faced bund, when she must have been immediatelysunk. Unaware of the danger until it was almost upon him, the captainhad just time to reverse his engines, and by going full speed asternwith the helm hard over bring his ship round so as to receive thethreatened blow end on instead of abeam. The impact nearly drove thevessel's stern into the hulk, but with her engines now going fullspeed ahead, and churning up two white lanes of foam with herpaddle-wheels, she rammed her bows into the raft, and just managing todeflect its course they floated down with the stream locked together, until by a miracle they had passed clear of all the shipping, thoughat times only by a few feet, and the steamer with her illustriouspassenger again bore up for her berth, after the narrowest of escapesbut without having sustained the slightest damage. 

These enormous rafts, composed chiefly of bamboos and pines, generallycome from the forests of Hunan, and after crossing the Tongting lakefloat down the Yangtse to places where wood is scarce and a goodmarket obtains. They vary in size, but sometimes are a hundred yardsin length by twenty in breadth, and draw probably from ten to twentyfeet. With their huts of bamboo and matting, with long sweeps bothahead and astern for steering, and great coils of plaited bamboo ropesfor mooring purposes, they present an extremely picturesqueappearance. 

Amongst other festivities arranged by his compatriots in honour of thedistinguished visitor, a banquet, preceded by a reception of prominentresidents, was given at the club. It being almost midsummer, theweather was fearfully hot, the thermometer registering over ninetyafter sundown, and as a notification had been issued with allinvitations that black evening dress would be _de rigueur_ we weredebarred from wearing our cool, white mess jackets, and all arrived atthe club almost melting inside thick broadcloths. 

A very amusing little episode occurred at the reception. 

Amongst the few ladies present were the wife and daughter of a Westernofficial. They had evidently been "raised" away from the beaten tracksof Society and crowned heads had not been their daily companions. Onthis party being presented, the official and his wife preserved adiplomatic silence, but mademoiselle was not inclined to take thingsfor granted, and seeing neither golden crown nor purple robe sheevidently had misgivings. "Are you really the grand duke?" sheinquired with striking accent; "are you really a prince?" The princesmilingly replied that such was the case, on which his fairinterrogator exclaimed, "Oh, my! I _am_ surprised, " and then slowlyretired from the front but with many backward glances of unconcealeddisappointment. 

A large number of residents had received the honour of an invitation, probably a hundred sitting down, and, as is customary in China, eachguest brought his own servant, so that from a hundred and fifty to twohundred people were assembled in one large room, which together withthe hot dishes and a great many lamps caused the temperature to go upseveral degrees, adding greatly to the discomfort we alreadyexperienced owing to our thick clothes. 

To still further increase the torture, a crowd of Chinese which hadcollected in the streets below commenced to throw stones through theopen windows. One passed between my right-hand neighbour and myself, shivering my wine-glasses to atoms. The windows and shutters werehastily closed, and very shortly the temperature must have stillfurther increased by several degrees. Champagne flowed in streams, ashort speech of welcome was made by the local sport, to which theguest of honour replied, "White Wings" was sung by the doctor, and theparboiled throng descended to the lower precincts of the building towatch a display of fireworks. The heat was awful. Not a breath of air, and the sulphurous smoke from the fireworks hung low on the ground inwhite masses, and seemed to seek shelter in the club, for in a veryshort time the place was flooded with the choking fumes which causedone to feel a tightness across the chest and a stinging in the eyes, and which made it impossible to see across the room. 

The prince withdrew at a somewhat early hour, and after a time theguests commenced to disperse. 

The heat, the champagne and the sulphur smoke had proved too much forme. I attempted to walk straight, but the power to do so was gone. First one foot would strike a hill, then the other would go down intoa deep hole, and so on, while lamp-posts and buildings seemed to whirlpast and round at a fearful pace. 

When nearing my quarters I heard a faint "hillo" from a by-street, anda continental mess-mate stumbled almost into my arms. He fullyintended to do so and I had no wish to avoid him but somehow we missedeach other and both fell prostrate on the pavement. Far from feelingany ill-humour at this catastrophe, we both thought it a capital joke, and I can distinctly remember our sitting side by side in the gutterand swearing eternal friendship. After this things are vague, and thenext I remember is going upstairs on all fours and then opening mybedroom door. A most remarkable sight presented itself. I have seenmirage in the Arabian desert, but I have never seen anything likethat. There was my bed, shrunk to the size of about one inch inlength, at the top corner of the room near the ceiling, dancing up anddown at the end of a bright and circling tunnel. How to get there Idid not know. I can just remember sinking on hands and knees in orderto attempt the climb, when the floor struck me so violently in theface that I lost consciousness, awaking late next morning to findmyself reclining on the bed, but still in my dress clothes. My friend, it was said, attempted to go to bed in his bath, where he wasdiscovered in full evening dress, scooping the water over himself andcomplaining that he could not keep the sheets up. But this is by theway. 

At Kiukiang, where I happened to be a few years later, the communitywas small, consisting of a few married couples and perhaps half adozen bachelors. 

Time hung like lead, and small wonder that now and again we young menwould foregather round the festive board, when high spirits long pentup would burst forth with a _vim_ that is but rarely attained inplaces offering perennial sources of amusement. 

On the occasion in question the dinner was at our mess, which, besidesmyself, consisted of an Italian and a tall American of stern andunbending nature. Our guests were two Russians and two Scotchmen, allwe could muster, but excellent in quality. After a jovial repast wesallied forth on to the bund, and being a bright moonlight night, romance entered into our souls, and we started to serenade the variousladies of the port. First to the Consulate, where we drew up in lineon the lawn, the time being 2 a. M. , and rendered "God Save the Queen"with great execution and considerable pathos, notwithstandingpronounced differences in American, Italian, Scotch, Russian andEnglish accentuation. Subsequently visits were made to all the otherhouses, with the exception of one, where we rather feared to intrude, as the good lady, while very affable as a rule, would stand nononsense, and when she did not wish to be pleasant could treat one toa touch of sarcasm which would last for some time. However, we finallysummoned up courage and approached the house as noiselessly andguiltily as a gang of thieves. The front gate was locked and eightfeet high, but after some delay we scaled it, ranged ourselves on thelower verandah and were halfway through "My Bonnie Lives over theOcean, " when a crash overhead announced that we were in for a storm. Ihave never in my life seen seven men break and fly in such utterterror. Once off the verandah into the moonlight we were in full viewof the outraged dame, who stood in a commanding attitude on the upperverandah in her dressing-gown, almost speechless with emotion, butgesticulating frantically. We rushed at the gate, and in our eagernessto be on the other side fought and wrestled with each other for firstplace. The upper bars broke away in our hands, bricks came off the topof the adjoining walls, and it was fully five minutes before we werein the road, breathless, with torn clothes, and I, personally, with asprained wrist. 

We now felt we were in for a bad time next day, and so, to revive ourdrooping spirits, repaired to the house of one of the Russians. Herevodka, caviare, salmon-back, sardines, Bologna sausage and otherlittle dainties common to the _zacousca_ furnished us with a most_recherché_ supper. We ate everything and drank a good deal. By thistime we were again in the wildest spirits and fit for anything. Ourtall American friend was still somewhat unbent, and being of aninquiring turn of mind was examining the trap-door through which thedinner is handed by the cook from the pantry into the dining-room. Nosooner was his head well through than he was pounced on by the twoCaledonians, who, seizing him by the legs below the knee, shot his sixfeet odd through the trap-door as if they had been tossing the caber. A terrific crash of crockery told its own tale; the Russian's bestdinner service was no more. Rising from the fragments the victimdeclared it to be his opinion that all, with the exception ofhimself, were inebriated and unfit for the society of respectablecitizens, after which delivery he withdrew to his own quarters. 

Next we heard female shrieks and screams, accompanied by a heavytramping of feet down the stairs, and two of our joyous band appeared, bearing in triumph by her head and her heels, the struggling form ofour host's Chinese housekeeper, clad in nothing but her nightgarments. She was laid tenderly on the dining-room table and comfortedwith some _Veuve Clicquot_ champagne, for the poor creature had beensomewhat upset by being pounced on when asleep in bed and hauled offwith so little ceremony and preparation into the publicity of awell-lighted room full of masculine visitors. 

Shortly after daylight the company separated with many expressions ofmutual esteem. On my way to bed I thought our American chum should beinterviewed and an explanation made that no offence was intended bythe recent treatment of him. He was in bed and sleeping heavily, so Iwas obliged to wake him in order to fulfil my mission of peace. To saythat he received these overtures in a friendly spirit would beincorrect. He seemed to be preparing for immediate hostilities, andso, not to be taken at a disadvantage, I closed with him as he leapedout of bed. The _mêlée_ lasted probably five minutes, during whichbrief period his furniture was hurled in chaotic profusion all roundthe room, my black mess jacket was divided up the back from the tailto the collar, his pyjamas carried away, and the skin was detachedfrom his bare feet by my boots. So ended a glorious evening. Next daywe all lay low, but learnt that a certain person had interviewed theConsul with a view to legal proceedings for alleged housebreaking. Ourenemy, however, was check-mated, and ourselves saved, by the veracioustestimony of a dear old Scotch lady, who lived in the adjoining house, and who declared that our serenade was "verra nice though a wee bitmuxed, " and that she herself had enjoyed it immensely. 

One often hears of the flower-boats of Canton, and immediatelyassociates them with gaily-painted gondolas, tenanted by captivatingsirens and decorated with perfumed flowers and plants, growing with aluxurious profusion common only to the Flowery Land. "Flower-girl" isthe universal Chinese term for those young women who dance and sing inpublic, and who for regular fees attend at Chinese dinner-parties, composed exclusively of men, to flirt with the guests while fillingtheir pipes and pouring out their wine. Poor parents having largerfamilies than they can support frequently sell one or two of theirbest-looking daughters to professional trainers, who, after teachingthem to dance and sing, send them to the flower-boats in hopes thatthey may there captivate wealthy _habitués_, when handsome priceswould be realised. 

These girls are frequently not of bad character, but being on themarriage market employ their wiles to secure husbands, in which theysometimes succeed, passing into the hands of rich Chinese for three, four or five hundred dollars, according to their merits, as wives ofan inferior rank, say number four or six. 

At various places in the south, but especially at Canton and Wuchow, anumber of large, ugly junks with spacious cabins are moored alongsideeach other in a certain locality. They possess no very strikingfeatures, and those I have seen at Wuchow were absolutely devoid offlowers or plants of any kind, the name "flower-boat" signifyingnothing more than the haunt of the flower-girl. 

In the cabins of these craft it is the fashionable thing amongstwell-to-do Chinamen to hold their jamborees. They hire a particularjunk for a certain date, and at the appointed hour the party assemblesthere, being received by two or three unprepossessing servants. Dinner, or whatever form the entertainment may take, is commenced, andas general mirth rises with the good cheer, guests write on a slateprovided for the purpose the names of such flower-girls as they mayfancy. This slate is quickly carried to where the girls live, hard by, and shortly they will appear, staying for a time to dance, sing anddally with their admirers, after which they will pass on to otherboats to fulfil further engagements. 

The singing is execrable, being a high, nasal falsetto, and thedancing, or rather swaying on their tiny feet while waving overhead adirty cloth in their beautifully-shaped hands, is feeble in theextreme. A band of musicians is usually engaged, after protractedhaggling, to enliven the proceedings. Two or three native fiddles ofmost primitive make wail incessantly, cymbals clash recklessly, a kindof flute resembling bagpipes in sound squirls, while a wooden drumadds to the deafening din. The girls squeak and posture, the placereeks with pungent tobacco smoke and the smell of garlic, the guestsmunch dried melon seeds, spitting the husks on to the floor, and shoutto make each other hear above the general uproar. 

To escape from this inferno was the chief pleasure of the evening, andany romantic ideas I may have had with respect to "flower-boats" willremain shattered for ever. 

Macao has been a Portuguese colony for upwards of three centuries, ithaving been ceded to its original settlers by the viceroy of Canton inrecognition of services rendered by those intrepid buccaneers infreeing neighbouring waters from pirates and robbers. It is a mostquaint and interesting little place, wearing a look of mediævaltimes, and still possessing many traces of former prosperity, thoughnow chiefly remarkable for its legalised gambling facilities, forwhich reason it is frequently called the Monte Carlo of the Far East, there being also a certain natural resemblance. 

At Hongkong gambling is strictly prohibited amongst the Chinese, whileat Canton gaming-houses are heavily taxed, so that natives come ingreat numbers from both places to Macao in order to play _fantan_without constant dread of police interference. All fantan shops, asthey are called, contain but one gambling-table each, which is on theground floor. This table is covered with a fine grass mat andsurrounded on three sides with benches for the players, while on thefourth side sit the croupier and the banker or shroff. In the ceilinga large hole has been cut immediately over, and corresponding in sizewith, the table, and a railing placed round it in the room above, sothat players can mount to the first floor, and bending over therailing look directly down on the gambling. In the centre of the tablelies a thin slab of lead about six inches square, the sides of whichrepresent the numbers one, two, three and four. 

The croupier has immediately in front of him a pile of bright coppercash, perhaps two pints. From these he takes a large double-handful, which he places well on the table and covers with a small metalbowl. Now is the time for making bets on the four numbers. Suppose weput a dollar on number three. In the course of a few minutes all thosewho desire to bet have done so, stakes from the first floor being putinto a basket by an attendant and lowered on to the table by means ofa string, and the little square of lead is surrounded with coins, notes and counters arranged by the shroff. Now the croupier, with athin stick about a foot in length, commences to scrape away four coinsat a time from the double-handful of cash. One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four, and so on. The little heap begins to diminish. Theeager gamblers, who are generally all Chinese, bend forward withstraining eyes to within a few inches of the croupier's stick, so thatany cheating would be well-nigh impossible. One, two, three, four. Only a few more cash. The excitement is intense. One, two, three. .. . Three cash remain!

 [Illustration: PLAYING FANTAN IN PRIVATE HOUSE. _To face page 133. _]

Number three wins. All those who bet on one, two and four lose theirstakes, while those who bet on three receive five times the amount oftheir stakes after a deduction of twenty-five per cent. Has been made. We put a dollar on number three; well, after deducting twenty-five percent. From it as profit for the table, seventy-five cents are left, and we receive five times that amount, which is equal to threedollars and seventy-five cents. 

These fantan shops, of which there may be twenty or thirty, are alllicensed and kept under strict supervision, being farmed out to richsyndicates by the Portuguese authorities, the large sums thus realisedforming no inconsiderable part of the colony's revenue. 

Play goes on day and night all the year round, Sundays included, andis practically unlimited, for it is possible to bet from five cents tofive hundred dollars at a time. Large sums are continually won andlost, it being a common thing to see gamblers, both men and women, after staking their last cash hand over watches, jewellery and othervaluables to the shroff for valuation, and hazard all on a final throwto retrieve their losses. 

This standing temptation of the fantan shops is a fertile source ofcrime, especially amongst domestic servants, for apart from theChinaman's inborn love of gambling, in the event of their being infinancial straits, as is frequently the case, a possible way out ofsuch difficulties is by stealthily taking certain objects from theirmaster's house, say a clock and a dozen silver spoons, pledging themat one of the numerous pawn-shops and gambling with the proceeds. Iffortune be favourable the clock and spoons are immediately redeemedand returned before being missed, while the servant has found an easyway out of his difficulties. On the other hand, should luck be againstthe player, he either bolts to another part of the country or brazensout the theft by declaring that the house has been broken into byburglars. 

Trusted servants who have been many years in one employ frequentlyyield to this alluring but hazardous appeal to chance. 

One morning as I was leaving Macao for Hongkong by the daily steamer aChinese passenger suddenly leaped overboard. The ship was stopped anda boat quickly lowered, while a Portuguese police launch also dashedto the rescue, but although we could see the suicide's head abovewater for some time he sank before help arrived. Having ruined himselfat fantan he dared not return to Hongkong. 

And such is the fate of many. 

A Chinese banquet is a weird festivity, and once gone through willnever be forgotten. 

On the occasion which I will attempt to describe invitations wereissued for 10 a. M. , but in accordance with celestial custom the guestsdid not arrive till about 11. 30, when, after waiting half an hour, during which the company chatted, drank tea and smoked, we wereushered into a large hall with brick floor and paper windows, wherethe repast was spread on three round tables, at each of which werethree Europeans and five or six Chinese, our hosts, clad in theirbeautiful silk official robes, while we wore black morning coats. 

The tables were of plain wood and without table-cloths, while theluxuriously-cushioned divans of Far East imaginings were hard woodenstools. 

Numbers of little dishes containing dried fruits, sweets, pickles, slices of ham, preserved eggs (more than a year old, black and highlyoffensive), vegetables, etc. , loaded the festive boards. 

Each feaster was provided with a pair of chopsticks and two smallsheets of brown paper with which to wipe them after each course. 

Warm yellow wine of a peculiar musty flavour and sadly lacking inpotency, was poured by attendants from pewter kettles into smallwine-cups, to be tossed off in bumpers all round with great frequency, each guest immediately presenting his empty cup to the gaze of hisneighbours to show that there had been no heel-taps. It looked asthough we were simultaneously levelling revolvers at each other'sheads. 

At a given signal the fray began. All the Chinese rose up, took theirchopsticks, and plunging them into various dishes began helping us, the guests of honour. On my one small plate were quickly depositedsome sweets, sour pickles, dried fruit, slices of ham, and one of thenotorious eggs. 

Now we in turn were expected to rise up and return the compliment byhelping our helpers. I clutched my sticks, drove them into a piece offish and dropped it into my neighbour's wine. Tableau! Never mind, Itried pickles and preserves in detail with about an average success. No good came of my efforts, but neither did any harm, for ourentertainers smiled and bowed and rose from their seats in graciousacknowledgment of our strenuous but futile attempts to do the correctthing. 

All this was but a preliminary canter taking the place of our dessert, albeit coming before the meal instead of at the end. 

Hot courses were now placed on the table, our Chinese friends helpingus from them with their chopsticks, which they manipulated withmarvellous dexterity. 

 1. Puddings of several kinds Too sweet. 2. Fresh-water Fish (boiled) Insipid. 3. Chickens (boiled) Fair. 4. Sea Slugs Passed. 5. Shrimps Nasty. 6. White Mushrooms Good. 7. Eels First-rate. 8. Sea-weed Tough as leather. 9. White Bait Good. 10. Interiors of Fish Good heavens!!! 11. Lotus Nuts and Milk Very good. 12. Chicken (boiled in different manner) Passed. 13. Rissoles of Frogs Je ne sais pas. 14. Pork and Rice Flour A curious mixture. 15. Sugared Rice Too sweet. 16. Duck (boiled) Excellent, the best dish. 17. Shark's Fins Very good. 18. Porridge No thanks. 19. Soup Passed. 20. Opium, cigars, etc. On this occasion opium was not smoked. 

This long _menu_ was gone through accompanied with an abundance oftalk, compliments, jokes and the emission of various sounds peculiarto the Chinese while feeding. 

Immediately on rising from table we donned our hats, saluted _à laChinoise_ by shaking our clasped hands in each other's faces, "Ninching. Poo sung, poo sung, " and took our departure, bowing repeatedlyand walking backwards. 

CHAPTER VII

AROUND PEKING

The translation of the word Peking is "capital of the North, " and isso called in contradistinction to Nanking[1] or "capital of theSouth. "

Peking is not a Chinese city at all, although generally supposed to beso, but a Tartar city, which, instead of the jumble of narrow, pavedstreets habitually found in all Chinese towns, was originally designedand laid out on a plan probably excelling in grandeur that of anyother city in the world. That the result, as seen in the city ofto-day, is but a mockery of the magnificent idea which possessed themaster mind that conceived it, is due to that trait of the Mongoliantemperament which exhausts itself in the conception and completion ofsome gigantic undertaking, leaving it thenceforth to moulder anddecay, until in succeeding ages it stands gaunt witness of humanwisdom, folly and neglect. Such are Peking, the Great Wall and theGrand Canal. 

Although adjoining the Tartar, there is a Chinese city, it is sosqualid and of such mean pretensions that with the exception of asingle street it is of but little interest to Europeans, so that whenspeaking of Peking it is the Tartar city alone that one has in mind. 

Surrounded by an immense rectangular wall, some sixty feet in height, with a width of twenty feet at the top and forty feet at the base, andpierced at regular intervals by picturesque and towering gateways, between which wide boulevards traverse the city from end to end andfrom side to side, but which, instead of being paved and lighted, arebut lanes of filth, ankle deep in dust during dry weather, to bequickly changed by rain into rivers of black mud, continuously churnedup by the wheels of springless carts, and spattered far and wide bythe plunging feet of straining quadrupeds. 

On either side of, and frequently several feet below, these highwaysare mud paths, along which pedestrians wend a varied way, avoidingcesspools, stepping over transverse timbers or circumventingsquatters' huts, showered on the while by splashings from the highroador blinded by clouds of refuse-laden dust. 

The only attempt at lighting is by means of lanterns, which, withheavy wooden frames covered with paper instead of glass and placed atintervals of perhaps a quarter of a mile, throw out rays to theextent of one candle-power each. 

From the streets very few buildings of any pretensions can bediscerned, while from the dominating eminence of the city wall a seaof roofs monotonous in equality of height and greyness of colour meetsthe eye, which sameness is mostly due to the facts that but few upperstoreys exist, and that the residences of the wealthy, besides beingscreened by high outer walls, are so blended with shops and hovelsthat it is difficult to discriminate them. 

In the heart of Peking, and surrounded by a twenty-foot wall copedwith tiles glazed yellow and green, is the forbidden city, where theimperial palaces are grouped and from which Europeans were untilrecently jealously excluded. 

The city walls; a few temples in varying stages of magnificence, tawdriness and decay; the remains of sewers which, built of solidblocks of stone and large enough to admit a donkey, show that formerlya scheme of drainage and sanitation existed although to-day there isnothing of the kind; an insignificant canal and a hill rumoured to bemade of coal heaped there as a supply in case of siege; and one hasseen the architectural wonders of the capital. 

"Legation Quarter" prior to the Boxer troubles was but an indefinitearea of the city in which the legations "happened" from time to timeamongst a squalid entourage of native buildings, and connected onewith another by means of impossible thoroughfares which passed forstreets. 

A Russian diplomat once said to me that he considered Peking "dirtybut nice, " and this description exactly coincides with my own idea. This wasted body on a majestic frame carries one back with a singlestep to civilisation of a thousand years ago. Not the remnantsdisplayed to tourists in Greece or Rome but the real thing, over whichthe Western spirit of change has as yet worked but little alteration. 

In this vast museum of antiquities one finds at every turn objects ofengrossing interest, and personally it seemed to me that many of thescenes depicted in Prescott's enchanting book, _The Conquest ofMexico_, might almost as well have been laid in this far-famed capitalof the North. Great antiquity, isolation from the Western world, prideof race and empire, veneration for their own colossal literature, arrested civilisation and profound contempt for all things foreign, create a picture rich in detail, very mournful in subject andmarvellous in perspective. 

The means of getting about are by cart, on horseback or afoot, thesedan chair, which in other places furnishes the most comfortableconveyance, being here reserved for members of the Imperial familyand for high officials both native and foreign. 

The carts, which ply for hire like cabs, are massive, springlesstumbrils covered with a wain. In fine weather the passenger, with aview to less discomfort, usually sits on the splashboard with his backrubbing against the hind-quarters of the pony or mule and his feetdangling in front of the wheel, which plays on to them a continuousstream of dirt and dust. In windy weather one must crawl inside andsit on the floor tailor fashion, there being no seat, and then letdown the curtain, thus effectually blocking all view but keeping outmost of the dust, which, flying in blinding clouds, would quicklyreduce one to a state of absolute filth, filling the clothes, hair, ears and mouth and guttering down from the nose and eyes. To this fouldust is due the terrible amount of ophthalmia and consequent blindnessso prevalent throughout the East. 

In rainy weather carts sink up to the axle in black liquid mud, whichflies in all directions from the wheels, and at each footfall of horseor mule, splattering pedestrians and shop-fronts on the sidewalks andsmothering other vehicles as they pass. 

To such an indescribable state are the streets reduced by heavy rainsthat I actually remember a mule being drowned in the shafts by theside of one of the main thoroughfares in the very heart of the city. 

Luckily for all concerned there is a large percentage of beautifulweather, when mud and dust alike are absent and when one can canternoiselessly along the soft, yielding roads, which are then in much thesame condition for riding as is Rotten Row. 

On such mornings as these Peking is delightful, with its bright sun, cool, bracing air and interesting sights, while through the cloudlesssky flocks of pigeons, having whistles of wood or clay fastened totheir feet and tails, make strange yet pleasing sounds varied withevery twist and turn of flight. 

A noticeable trait of Chinese character, and one fostered, if notgenerated, by Buddhistic teaching, is an undemonstrative fondness foranimals, or, I might rather say, a passive admission of their right toconsiderate treatment, and strangely enough animals, both wild anddomesticated, appear to comprehend this sentiment, for while greatlyscared at the approach of a European they usually take but little heedof the presence of Chinese. 

It is a common thing to see a well-dressed Chinaman sauntering alongholding up a bent stick to which a bird is attached by a string somefour feet or so in length, so that the little prisoner can make shortflights to the limit of its tether and return again to its perch, gaily chirping and singing the while. 

Another stroller will be carrying a wicker bird-cage on the hand, bentback and upraised to the shoulder, much as a waiter carries dishes, containing generally a Tientsin lark or other celebrated songster, andon arriving at some open spot will place the cage on the ground, andretiring to a short distance whistle to the bird, which will shortlyburst into song, to the evident delight of both owner and bystanders. 

Outside one of the gateways is a kind of bazaar, which we foreignersgenerally called "Bird-cage walk, " for there the bird-fanciers lived, and birds of many different kinds were exposed for sale, not in cages, but quite tame, and quietly sitting on perches--parrots, larks, Javasparrows, etc. , some of them tied by the leg, but not all. 

Here, too, were to be seen wicker baskets, much resembling orangecrates, full of common sparrows, representing a regular supply for aregular demand. Benevolent old Chinamen, _flâneurs_ and _literati_would visit this bazaar of an afternoon with the sole object of buyinga few of these little birds for two or three cash each and thenletting them fly away, a beatific smile betraying the salve to inwardfeelings generated by a knowledge of merit acquired, any miseriesinflicted on the sparrows by capture and confinement counting fornothing in the balance against the good work accomplished by theirpurchase and release. 

The Chinese ideas of life and death are very dissimilar to our own. 

With us, the responsibility of parents for the bringing up andwell-being of the children is paramount, the fulfilment of suchobligations being enforced both by legal and social pressure, whilethe responsibility of children for the care of their aged parents isalmost _nil_. 

Amongst the Chinese, children are considered to be the absolutechattels of the parents, with whose treatment of their offspringneither public opinion nor the country's laws have any right ofinterference. Infanticide can be, and undoubtedly is to a certainextent, practised, while the father is even said to be legallyentitled to punish his grown-up children with death. 

Children, on the other hand, are bound by every tie to obey, respect, support and even worship the authors of their being. Filial duty isthe greatest of all virtues, and the man who fails in this respect isdespised by everyone and takes rank with worthless characters andoutcasts. 

Our view of life is very finite. We are born, we die, are relegated tothe unknown and quickly forgotten. 

A Chinaman regards himself as a disseverable part of the stream oflife, by which he is borne into this world to live his life here, andthen is borne on again to the abode of departed spirits withoutcontinuity of existence having been interrupted. At his death he ismourned with a whole-hearted sincerity by his entire family, whoperform the obsequies with great respect and as much display as iscompatible with their station in life. An imposing grave is built in aspot facing a pleasant prospect, while trees are planted, andsometimes even artificial pieces of water made, so that thedisembodied spirit may be able to enjoy shady groves and coolingbreezes. Sacrifices are offered at this shrine not once, but yearafter year, and by his children's children, with an absolute certaintyof the spirit's existence and approving knowledge. This is thepractice of ancestral worship, and greatly to be pitied is the man wholeaves no son to perform sacrifices at his grave. 

In Peking funeral processions assume gigantic proportions. 

I have seen them more than a mile in length, and of such barbaricmagnificence that they must have cost many thousands of ounces ofsilver. 

Life-sized horses, camels, ostriches and other animals made ofcardboard or cotton wool, houses of lath and paper, as well as stringsof imitation gold and silver money to be burnt at the grave and sowafted to the next world for use of the departed spirit, tabletsembossed with golden Chinese characters, and lanterns of varied sizeand shape are carried in advance by an army of riffraff. A band ofpriests chanting, or playing weird dirges on instruments muchresembling bagpipes in sound, immediately precedes the catafalque, animmense edifice from ten to fifteen feet in height, containing thecoffin and covered with beautiful hangings of embroidered silk, andwhich is carried bodily on massive red poles some nine inches indiameter, by as many as forty or fifty bearers. Mourners withdishevelled hair and clothed in long white gowns follow on foot, incarts or in chairs, according to the rank held by the deceased. 

Winter in Northern China is extremely severe, and Tientsin, the portof Peking, is yearly closed to navigation for six or eight weeksthrough the sea and river being frozen. The thermometer frequentlyfalls below zero, but owing to a bright atmosphere the cold is notfelt so much as might be expected. At night the stars blink and blazewith intense brilliancy, and the still, frosty air seems almost toring with a metallic voice. Beggars and homeless wanderers are nightlyfrozen by the dozen, and the whole land lies powerless in the grip ofKing Frost. 

My bedroom I could keep fairly warm by means of a large Americanstove heated up till it was white, but in the mornings, on passinginto my bathroom, which boasted a brick floor and paper windows, Ifound the temperature almost coinciding with that of the open air, albeit a small stove roared in the corner, while steam from the hotwater in a wooden bath was so thick as to make the daylight dim. Ablutions were a hurried function, ending in precipitate retreat tothe warmth of the bedroom. The small stove would burn itself out, thesteam would congeal and disappear, and the bath water, unless removed, would be quickly frozen. 

As winter wore on the sides of my bath-tub became coated with ice, which increased with every splash until there was a thickness of threeor four inches, for it would have injured the bath to keep breaking itoff, so that, ultimately, I took my morning tub in a nest of ice, onlythe bottom of which was completely thawed by the daily supply of hotwater. 

Along the streets, well-to-do Chinese appear swelled to double theirusual proportions by furs and successive layers of wadded clothes, which are of such thickness as to hold the arms propped out at almostright angles to the bodies, while their heads are enveloped inbright-coloured hoods buttoning tight under the chin. Poor, half-nakedbeggars, clasping their rice-bowls and bent double by the cold, shamble along, muttering and moaning, while their starving, rollingeyes scan the faces of passers-by in mute appeal for help or pity. 

One evening, as I was riding along one of the principal streets, I sawa Chinaman carrying home a hot, steaming cake, something like aYorkshire pudding with raisins in it, which he had just bought at awayside cook-shop, when a beggar suddenly seized him by both wrists, and taking as large a mouthful as he could bite out of the pastry, shuffled off, heedless of the blows rained on him by the iratepurchaser. 

On the coldest days I have seen beggars collected in groups andgambling for the few cash they possessed, the total sum probably notexceeding a halfpenny. Naked, hungry and frozen, they watched withtense features and straining eyes the fatal issue of their throw foreither a meal or death that night by cold and starvation. 

Accustomed to want and misery, they appear pleased with any triflethat may fall into their hands, and on a bitter, windy day I have seengrown-up beggars on a waste patch flying a kite and enjoying thepastime with a gusto denied to more _blasé_ pursuers of this aerialsport. 

Ice in Northern China is seldom good, as owing to the frequent windsit is generally covered with dust, although occasionally at thebeginning of winter it is possible to get some fair skating beforethe first dust-storm. 

At Peking an enormous mat shed is erected to keep out the dust, whilethe ground inside is flooded daily so as to secure good ice. This rinkis a favourite afternoon resort of the European community, but thespace is too limited and the attendance too crowded to admit of anyreally enjoyable skating by the light of a few oil lamps. 

I have skated on the moat outside the city wall but it was not verygood, the chief attraction being to watch Chinese performers. As arule they wear only one skate, on which they propel themselves bystriking the ice with the other foot until a certain speed has beenattained, when they spread out their arms, bend forward until theirnoses almost touch the ice and raise the skateless foot high overtheir backs. This bird-like skim on one leg seems to be their ideal ofgraceful skating. 

At this season the stately, two-humped camels, with beautiful coats ofbrown wool a foot in length, come down from Mongolia, bearing loads ofmeat and furs, together with frozen game and fish from Manchuria andthe Amoor river, and coal from the mines north of Peking. 

The Mongol teamster, clad in skins with the hair inside, trudges infront, leading the first camel by a string attached to its nose, whilea cord tied to its tail links it with the nose of the second camel, and so on, till the whole team of eight or ten are securely connected. They move along with graceful, easy stride, the only sound being thedull clanking of a heavy bell suspended from the leader's neck. 

On one of the animals the Mongol's whole family is sometimes carriedin two immense panniers, and the round, yellow faces of tiny childrenpeer down from their lofty nursery on a strange and passing world. 

I have also seen a calf camel, evidently cast by the way, beingcarried in a litter strapped to the back of its dam. 

It has been told me by reliable Chinese that in winter upwards of tenthousand camels daily pass in and out of the gates of Peking. They arebeautiful animals, of great height, and appear to be very meek anddocile. 

On one occasion, when returning at daylight from duck shooting nearMarco Polo's bridge, I was tightly wedged in by several hundreds whichwere waiting to enter the western gateway. They looked down at me withtheir patient eyes as I shouted and prodded them with my whip in orderto clear a way for my pony, but attempted neither to bite nor kick. 

In spring their wool peels off in large flakes, giving them a raggedappearance, and is collected and woven into the celebrated Tientsinrugs. 

In summer, like the wildfowl, they disappear and go north to seek coolpastures in the Mongolian highlands. 

Peking not being a seaport, and as yet but little influenced byforeign trade, the European community settled there is solely composedof the _corps diplomatique_ and the legation guards, of theinspectorate of maritime customs, of professors of the variouscolleges, of missionaries and a few storekeepers. 

During winter, when communication with the outer world is a matter ofconsiderable difficulty, Peking society, which is naturally of ahighly cosmopolitan order, amuses itself by a constant round ofdinners, balls and receptions carried out with lavish hospitality, andto which the novelty of Oriental surroundings supplies an additionalattraction. 

In company with a French friend, who lived in Dry Flour Alley, I madean expedition to the Great Wall, which is two days' journey from thecapital. 

Mounted on ponies, with provisions and bedding packed into a cartdrawn by two mules, we started while it was yet dark on a coldwinter's morning. 

Slowly making our way along frozen roads outside the walls of theforbidden city, we arrived at one of the gateways by daylight andpassed out of Peking, following a wide and dusty road, where wepresently met streams of camels, mules, ponies, donkeys, carts andcoolies, each bearing a load of some kind of produce wherewith tosupply the markets of the great city. 

It was early and bitterly cold, while everyone was too intent on hisown business to do more than bestow a cursory glance on passers-by, sothat our little caravan, freed from importuning curiosity, made goodprogress. 

At about eleven o'clock we were scourged by a blinding dust-stormraised by a strong wind, to avoid which we were not sorry to takerefuge in a wayside inn and there discuss an early tiffin. It was nowdiscovered that the supply of bread necessary for our three days' triphad been left behind, so that we were obliged to content ourselveswith native dough cakes, sticky and heavy as lead. 

The room we occupied opened on to the courtyard of the inn, and beingdoorless, a small crowd of interested spectators quickly assembled towatch our every movement. This crowd continuing to grow until itconsisted of several tens, my friend went out to expostulate with theinnkeeper, but found that worthy busily engaged at the outer gategranting admission at five cash per head to all and sundry desirous ofseeing the Europeans feed. 

The wind having suddenly dropped and the sand-storm subsided wecontinued our journey, arriving by nightfall at the village of YangFang, where we had arranged to sleep. 

It was here that I came very near to shuffling off my mortal coil. 

Throughout the North of China brick beds called _kangs_ are universal. They are built about two feet in height, are oblong in shape andhollow inside, with a small aperture at one end, while the top iscovered with grass matting. During the day a charcoal fire is lightedin this aperture, the hot air from which fills the interior of thestructure and gradually warms the brickwork, which retains its heatthroughout the night. The fire is then allowed to die down, when awadded quilt, a thick blanket and a pillow will be found sufficient tomake a most comfortable couch. 

I had not seen one of these kangs before and the method of heating ithad not been explained to me, so, the cold being intense, I placedfresh fuel on the smouldering embers the last thing before turning in. How long I had been asleep I do not know before I became conscious ofa frightful nightmare. I was very hot and had lost all power to move. My tongue felt swollen and heavy, and my throat so dry and sore thatwhen I tried to cry out it refused to utter a sound. My eyes weresmarting, and having once opened them they would not close again. Mysenses were clear and I knew that I was being asphyxiated, but waspowerless to help myself. Horror-stricken, I watched the brightmoonlight shining on the paper window until I lost consciousness. 

The next thing I remember was cold air beating on my face, water in mymouth and trickling down my neck and chest, strong arms supporting meand the voice of my friend's mafoo calling to his master for a light, the moon having set. 

I owed deliverance to the fortunate breaking of my pony's halter, as, having been freshly clipped, he had become restive from the cold, thereby causing the mafoo to enter my room for a spare one, which Ialways carried with me. The following morning I felt very shaky andhad a splitting headache, but was able to continue the journey, gradually recovering as the day wore on. 

It is perhaps needless to add that putting fresh charcoal on the firewas the cause of this _contretemps_, but I was then unaware of therebeing no flue to carry off the fumes. 

Leaving our ponies and the cart at Yang Fang, and mounted on mules asbeing more surefooted, though the high wooden saddles and shortstirrups were most uncomfortable, we started betimes. 

After crossing a plain about ten miles in width, strewn with rocks andboulders, we reached Nan K'ow, or Southern Pass, where we entered themountains. 

The road was fairly good for pack-animals, although crossed atfrequent intervals by the beds of partially-frozen streams, theswift-flowing waters of which were sweet and clear as crystal. Mountains shut us in on either side, while we met an unendingprocession of men and beasts conveying loads of merchandise fromMongolia to Peking. 

The scenery was lovely, and all along the route were to be seencrumbling forts and walls built many centuries ago to defend this, theprincipal pass, against invading enemies. 

We saw three or four pheasants and heard several more, so that thereprobably is good sport to be had amongst these rugged hills. Afterhalting for tiffin under a fine archway of Indian architecture wearrived at Pa-Ta-Ling (eight lofty peaks), where we obtained a goodview of the Great Wall. 

Scrambling to the top at a place where it was partly in ruins, myfriend was soon busy with his camera, whilst I proceeded toinvestigate this world-famed structure. 

My feet are rather long and it was just fourteen of them across thetop, which is evenly paved with square bricks, while the height of thewall I judged to be between twenty and thirty feet. At irregularintervals there are towers, in one of which was a pile of antiquecarronades about two feet long, of equal size all the way down andbound round with iron hoops for additional strength. Much resemblingold rain-pipes, they had not a very formidable appearance, and wereprobably more dangerous to those who fired them than to the enemy. 

Built two hundred years before Christ, and upwards of thirteen hundredmiles in length, the wall is certainly a gigantic monument, wellconstructed of large bricks, and here, at any rate, in goodpreservation and by no means whatsoever a mass of stones and rubbishas asserted by some describers. 

Instead of winding along the line of least resistance it follows thesinuosities of the country, surmounting crags and delving intovalleys, so that it can be seen topping height after height as itclimbs the mountain range until it becomes a mere thread and finallyis lost to view in the far distance. Walking along it for some littleway I found that it scaled almost perpendicular cliffs, up one ofwhich I passed, the top of the wall here taking the form of steps, while down the opposite side the descent was so steep that for greatersecurity I made it backwards on hands and knees. 

The wall was built with the object of protecting China from theinroads of wild Tartars, who came down in hordes from Manchuria, Mongolia and the steppes of Northern Asia to seek plunder in theplains. 

 [Illustration: THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA. _To face page 158. _]

Chinawards there is a low parapet, while stone stairs built into themiddle of the wall lead from the top through doorless gateways to theground, giving means of ingress and exit to defenders, but on the sidefacing towards Mongolia the wall is crowned with battlements some fourand a half feet in height, affording ample protection and piercedabout every five feet with loopholes and embrasures. 

One of the wonders of the world, its construction lasted ten years, and at the date of completion was probably as futile to bar theadvance of a resolute foe as it would be to-day _vis-à-vis_ modernartillery. 

Wishing to secure a suitable souvenir of my visit I selected awell-preserved brick, which, by means of knotted handkerchiefs, Islung over my shoulder and so commenced the return journey. For threeor four miles all went well, but after that the brick commenced to getrapidly heavier, until it became almost insupportable, while itsconstant tapping in the small of my back, caused by the jerky trot ofthe mule, was well-nigh intolerable. I tried to fasten it to thesaddle, but, simple as it may seem, it would not hold, besides makingthe mule altogether unmanageable, so that after a desperate strugglefor a few miles further I cast it from me with mingled feelings ofdisgust and thankfulness, and in all probability it remains in thesame spot to this very day. 

We reached Yang Fang before dark and much enjoyed a rest and somedinner, but as it was full moon and we were anxious to be back inPeking early next day, my friend proposed that we should press on fora couple of hours that evening. 

With fresh ponies in place of the jaded mules, and feeling muchhappier on our doeskin saddles, we went along gaily for some distance, but the extreme cold and our own weariness soon began to tell, and webecame so drowsy that we determined to off-saddle at the next inn. Wehad reckoned, however, without our host, for the inn was crammed fulland we were obliged to take to the road once more, and that in no veryamiable frame of mind. The next inn was if anything more crowdedstill, and the next, and the next. For five mortal hours we ploddedon, more asleep than awake, and I retain but a misty recollection ofthe snow-covered ground, of my pony slipping while crossing a frozenford, and of my continual efforts to keep in the saddle. At one in themorning we hammered at the doors of yet another inn, only to be againrepelled with the frightful words, "All full. "

My friend, who spoke the vernacular fluently, was now doing his best, and with such effect that the door was cautiously opened a few inches, when with one bound I was inside, and seeing a kang with only one manon it I tumbled him off and flung myself down, just conscious of acridopium smoke, a great uproar and streams of the most insultingabuse. 

 [Illustration: AVENUE OF STONE FIGURES, MING TOMBS. _To face page 161. _]

On awaking I found my friend by my side still asleep and the morningwell aired. The squalid inn was almost deserted, for the overnightlodgers had departed with their carts and pack-animals before dawn, sothat I had not to face the individual whom I had so unceremoniouslydispossessed of his bed, although I left a dollar for him with theinnkeeper, knowing full well it would never reach him, but choosingthus to ease a somewhat guilty conscience. 

We had not much further to go and were easily back in Peking beforetiffin. 

Another expedition I made that winter was to a burial-place ofemperors of the late Ming dynasty, commonly known as the "Ming Tombs, "consisting of several immense temples or pagodas possessing but littlearchitectural beauty and now considerably dilapidated. 

One of these temples is approached by an avenue of gigantic figuresrepresenting warriors, statesmen, horses, camels, elephants, etc. , each figure apparently cut from a single block of stone. 

As two hundred and sixty years ago the Chinese Mings were dispossessedby the present ruling Manchu dynasty, no attempt is now made topreserve these interesting monuments. 

In summer the heat is often very great during the day, thethermometer frequently registering between ninety and a hundreddegrees in the shade, and is rendered more trying by the unsanitaryand neglected condition of the thoroughfares. 

At night, however, it is so pleasantly cool that one can sleep under ablanket, while punkahs over the bed are never necessary as in thecentral provinces. Riding outside the city walls in the cool of earlymorning or late afternoon is then most enjoyable, many interestingsights affording constant diversion. 

Acrobats practising their _tours de force_, tragedians with tensefaces declaiming in a high falsetto to imaginary audiences, rag-pickers sorting their fulsome wares with iron-pointed sticks, herds of coarse, black swine being bought and sold, while in theshelter of the enormous buttresses archers erect paper targets someeight inches square and exercise their art with solemn dignity, elaborate posturing and considerable dexterity. 

A good deal of tennis is played at the club and on the various privatecourts, though most of the diplomatic body as well as missionariesmigrate during the great heat to temples in the Western Hills, whichare about twelve miles from Peking, or, now that there is railwaycommunication, to the seaside resort of Pei-Tai-Ho. 

One afternoon another European and I rode some ten miles out of Pekingto inspect the ruins of the celebrated Summer Palace, which, sinceits destruction in 1860 by the English and French forces, had remaineda desolate and overgrown wilderness. Having put up the ponies at aninn, where an inquisitive old native wished to know whether our brightstirrups and bits were made of silver--the Chinese never dreaming ofpolishing their own--we proceeded on foot to the chief entrance, butas the work of restoration was then being commenced the gatekeeperrefused us admission. Nothing daunted we strolled round to anotherside, and passing unobserved through a gap in the wall made carefulinspection of a partially-destroyed pavilion overlooking a lake, interrupted only by a venerable guardian, who hobbled after us mildlyrequesting that we should depart. This we were preparing to do foranother part of the extensive grounds, when suddenly we came into viewof some scores of workmen who were engaged on the repairs. Theystopped work and gazed at us but made no hostile move, and we couldstill have withdrawn in peace had not my companion, overcome by adesire to practise his Chinese, and in opposition to my urgentwarning, advanced towards them with a beaming smile. No sooner was hewithin range than a shower of bricks and stones filled the air and wewere both constrained to turn tail and make for the gap at full speed, closely followed by the howling mob. We did not pause before reachingthe inn, and then only to secure our ponies and continue ourundignified flight. I was uninjured, but my companion had received anasty blow on the head, at which I secretly rejoiced, as owing to hisaction we had not only been exposed to considerable danger but hadbeen prevented from further investigating a historical spot sincestrictly closed to all Europeans. 

I left Peking at the close of 1889, and there being then no railwaythe ninety miles' journey to Tientsin had to be performed either onhorseback, by cart along cross-country tracks or _via_ the RiverPeiho, taking boat at Tungchow, which is fourteen miles from thecapital. I decided on going by boat as being far more comfortable thanthe other alternatives. 

Winter had begun early and there was already a certain amount of ice, but from inquiries made the river was still open. My baggage was piledon to a long, narrow cart drawn by two mules, while I and my boy eachbestrode a very small donkey, and so I passed out from the mighty cityby the stone road which leads to Tungchow, as owing to heavy rains andsubsequent frost the more comfortable country tracks were impassable. 

This road, or rather causeway, is another witness to the Chinesecharacteristic of constructing costly works and then leaving themthenceforth to fall into disrepair and ruin. 

From twelve to fourteen feet in width, it is built of massive graniteblocks a foot square by perhaps three to seven feet in length, andoriginally must have been a magnificent highway of perfect evenness. Time and the grinding wheels of heavy-laden carts, however, have worninnumerable ruts seven or eight inches deep into the solid stone, sothat in passing over it a springless cart crashes from side to sidewith great violence, almost throwing shaft animals to the ground andrendering it quite impossible for any European to ride in the vehicle, while crockery or any other fragile article, however carefully packed, is doomed to certain destruction. 

On arrival at Tungchow I saw a great deal of ice floating down withthe current, but the boatmen declared, and I believe truly, that theriver was still open to the sea, so having transferred the baggage toone boat, and embarking with my boy and pointer on another, we castoff at about three o'clock in the afternoon, expecting to reachTientsin the following evening. 

Before dark the ice greatly increased in quantity, and from the cabinwhere, enveloped in rugs, I was having tea, the boatmen's excitedvoices could be heard making frequent inquiries of upward-bound junksas to our prospects of getting through, for they were Tientsin men andanxious to get their boats home before the river was frozen up. Atsix o'clock, however, when we had covered about twelve miles and itwas quite dark, the boats suddenly crashed into a barrier of ice, which had but just formed, effectually stopping our further progress. By frantic efforts and with great shoutings both craft were warped towithin a few feet of the bank, and there we lay, each moment becomingmore firmly wedged in by fresh ice hurrying down with the stream, andwhich, driven by pressure of the frozen impact, piled up against uswith a horrid grinding noise until large sheets an eighth of an inchthick and as clear as crystal came gliding, as though alive, on to ourdecks. 

There being no likelihood of our release I presently sent one of thecrew back to Tungchow for carts with which to continue the journey, but to my dismay he returned at two in the morning with theintelligence that no carts could be hired. 

The position was a disagreeable one, as it was imperative that Ishould reach Tientsin in time to catch a steamer for Shanghai beforethe close of navigation, so I started off the boy, accompanied byanother boatman, with instructions to get a conveyance of some sortand at any cost. This attempt was more successful, for at ten o'clockthey returned with a farmer and his truly wonderful cart, drawn by apony, a cow and a donkey, but which they had only been able to hirefor the exorbitant sum of forty dollars. 

My goods and chattels were again transferred, and after making apresent of five dollars to the disconsolate boatmen, we started off atsomething less than two miles an hour. 

If I rode on the piled-up baggage I was quickly numbed by the cold. IfI walked I soon left the cart far behind, yet dared not lose sight ofit for fear of its taking another route, so that my time was spent inwalking ahead and then retracing my steps to meet the cart. 

Long after dark we halted at one of the usual wayside inns, acollection of hovels built round a dirty, open yard, filled with cartsand animals, and the home of pigs and fowls, while I foundaccommodation on a brick bed in a comfortless room, or rather shed, with torn paper windows and uneven mud floor. 

Swallowing some cold food by the light of a tallow candle guttering inthe draught, I was too tired and too disgusted not to sleep, and bythree o'clock next morning we were again crawling on our way beneaththe blazing stars and chilled by a piercing wind. 

All things have an end, and so after four days of absolute misery Iarrived at noon, hungry, footsore and unwashed, at a friend's house inTientsin and in time to catch the last steamer, which was sailingthat night. 

After a hot bath and a good tiffin I retired gratefully to bed, but, such is the callousness of human nature, only to be routed out atthree o'clock to play in a football match, which, the Fates bepraised, our side lost. 

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Pe = North. Nan = South. King = Capital City. 

CHAPTER VIII

HERE AND THERE

Of the three routes to China:

 1. The overland, by rail through Europe and Siberia;

 2. The westerly, across the Atlantic, North America and the Pacific;

 3. The easterly, _via_ the Mediterranean, Suez Canal, Red Sea and Indian Ocean, the last is perhaps the most interesting and in many ways the mostcomfortable, for it is possible to take a magnificent mail steamer atan English port and remain on board, surrounded by as much comfort andluxury as is to be found in a first-class hotel, until you land ineither Hongkong or Shanghai. 

The finest of these vessels are veritable floating palaces, thesaloons of which are gilded and decorated regardless of expense, richly carpeted, illuminated with electric light, cooled by electricfans, and where meals are served which would not demean any restaurantin London or Paris. Music-room, library, smoking-room and bar, laundry, barber's shop and delightful marble baths all find place. 

On the crack German boats a band plays at frequent intervals, while Ihave actually seen cold stoves in some of the cabins, so that whenpassing through great heat in the Red Sea or elsewhere you could closeyour cabin door, draw up your chair and have a good cool. 

I am not sure how these stoves are worked, but believe they areconnected in some way with the refrigerator, which makes ice for useon board and provides cold storage for meat and fruits, and that acurrent of ether or cold air is pumped through them. 

In appearance they resemble a French porcelain furnace, abutting onone side of the cabin, and by means of a regulator you are able toreduce the temperature almost to freezing point. Although undoubtedlyvery pleasant during intense heat, and invaluable for hospitalpurposes, I question if they will come into anything like general use, for it seems to me that instantaneous changes from a temperature ofperhaps one hundred degrees on deck to say sixty degrees in the cabincannot fail to produce bad effects on the health. 

Travelling by the easterly route you meet the sun, which causes eachday to be shortened. By the westerly route you go with the sun, whichcauses each day to be lengthened. 

During the journey round the world the aggregate of these shorteningsor lengthenings will amount to twenty-four hours, so that on arrivingagain in England by the easterly route you will have gained a day, andinstead of its being Wednesday, as you might think, it would beTuesday, wherefore you would be obliged to have two Wednesdays in oneweek. By the westerly route, on the contrary, you would lose a day, sothat returning on a Wednesday by your reckoning you would findeveryone else calling it Thursday, and the following morning you wouldbe obliged to recognise as Friday. 

To avoid such confusion the date is always regulated when crossing thePacific. 

Going east, the captain notifies that there will be two consecutiveMondays, or two Thursdays, as the case be, in order to use up theextra day. 

Going west, on the other hand, one of the days in a week must beomitted, there being no time for it if you are to arrive in port onthe proper date. 

A common story told in this connection is that on a certain voyagefrom Vancouver to Hongkong some missionary passengers settled to holdservice in the saloon at 10:30 a. M. On Sunday, and posted up a noticeto that effect in the usual place at the head of the saloon stairs, but omitted to previously consult the captain or ask his permission. 

The captain, having no desire to be ignored, even unintentionally, aboard his own ship, quietly regulated dates, the passengers nextmorning finding an official notice posted up immediately over that ofthe missionaries, saying that it would be Sunday until 10 a. M. , afterwhich it would be Monday, so that missionaries, Sunday and divineservice were all simultaneously suppressed. 

The most comfortable and the most restful travelling in the world thatI know of is on board the large river steamers running up the Yangtsefor six hundred miles from Shanghai to Hankow, and then transhippingto somewhat smaller vessels, for the additional four hundred miles toIchang. 

Scrupulously clean, good table, jovial captains, excellent Chinesestewards, electric light, luxurious saloons, state-rooms double thesize of cabins on even the finest ocean liners, few passengers, nonoise and no sea-sickness, you glide on day and night over calm watersin a dream-like peace, broken only for a short time every few hours bythe necessary stopping at ports of call to work cargo, and atriverside stations for Chinese passengers, who, however, do not minglewith the Europeans, but have saloons set apart for their own exclusiveuse. Some of these boats were built in the golden days of the earlysixties, upon American models, and were fitted up on a scaleconsiderably reduced in newer vessels. 

The large bathrooms on these older boats are a great feature ofcomfort, and so numerous as to be almost bewildering to strangers; infact, I have heard that a nervous young man fresh from home was thevictim of an untoward mishap by mistaking the captain's bathroom forthe one belonging to his own cabin, when on dashing in, the doorhaving evidently been insecurely fastened on the inside, he foundhimself face to face with the captain's wife in her bath. Retreat wasnaturally instantaneous, but the position was so serious that his onlycourse was to at once seek the captain and explain. This awkward taskhe started to perform, though in considerable trepidation, and foundthe husband reading in his cabin, and who, after listening calmly to arecital of the details, laconically remarked, "Ah, she has a beautifulfigure, has she not?"

And the incident was closed. 

The compass has been known for many centuries to the Chinese, but inaccordance with their strange habit of doing so many things in anexactly contrary manner to Europeans, they "box" it the reverse way toourselves, speaking of an east-north or a west-south breeze, and soon. 

The expressions "to the right" and "to the left" I have never heard, for it is the custom to say "go to the east-south" or to the"west-north, " as the case may be. Even in cities, when asking yourway, the natives will direct you by the points of the compass ratherthan by the names of the streets. 

Chinese screws turn from right to left, which is the opposite way toour own, and of this I had a practical demonstration when, onreturning one morning from the mountains, a chair-cooliesurreptitiously abstracted my flask from the tiffin-basket and triedto unscrew the stopper to get at the whisky, but being ignorant of thedifferent method, he in reality screwed it on tighter, till at last itbroke off, and when some hours later, on board the steamer, Idiscovered my ruined flask, an array of teeth-marks deeply imbedded inthe metal plainly told the guilty tale. 

At Peking, when studying Chinese, my teacher would often come afterdinner during the long winter evenings, when seated by a roaring firewe discussed for practice in talking any subjects of interest. Amongstmany curious things which I thus heard the following has alwayspuzzled me with the conjecture, "Can there possibly be any truth init?"

I had that day purchased some fur rugs of no particular value, and notbeing sure whether they were of dog-skin or goat-skin, asked theteacher his opinion. What his reply was I do not remember, but theconversation having turned on the subject of furs in general, he toldme that some rare wolf-skins were exceedingly costly from the factthat the wolves, after being caught by Mongol hunters, had beenskinned alive and the skins dressed in a particular manner. Rugs madeof these, he declared, on the approach to the house of wild animals, robbers or of any threatening danger, would bristle up as if still onthe back of the live animal when angered, and so give timely warningto the inmates; for which reason they were so highly valued. 

I have never seen what purposed to be such a skin, but repeat thestory if only for its Oriental weirdness. 

Water buffaloes are a striking feature in Chinese rural life, moreespecially in the central and southern provinces. With a carcase almostas large and devoid of hair as that of an elephant, they have veryshort legs, and are consequently but little taller than the ordinaryox. Carrying on their heavy skulls enormous, semi-circular horns, theyhave a ferocious aspect, but strangely enough are exceedingly timid anddocile. In summer, for the sake of coolness and to avoid mosquitoes, they plunge into streams or mud-holes, and lie there for hours withonly their muzzles and eyes above water. It is rather a pleasing sightto see one of these unwieldy, dangerous-looking brutes being ledquietly along, by means of a thin string attached to its nose, by a weenative girl, who, when tired of walking, stops the animal, draws itshead down by the string, places her tiny foot on the massive horn andis slowly raised from the ground by the buffalo and placed gently onhis back, which is so broad that she can kneel and play about on itwhile her charge is grazing. These buffaloes are chiefly employed inthe cultivation of rice, and as the flesh of oxen is but rarely eatenby the Chinese, they usually die of old age. 

On one occasion I saw a large family of natives returning mournfullyto their village from a neighbouring meadow, and on making inquirieswas told that they had been to bury their water buffalo, which hadjust died after a faithful service of more than twenty years. 

When on a shooting trip far up the River Han I saw a large buffalowith four boys on his back, grazing by the side of a water-ditch, which lay between him and a steep bank some ten feet high. The grassbeing very soft, my close approach was unobserved, until a haregetting up I fired off my gun. Instantly the buffalo dashed throughthe ditch and up the bank, when the boys, having nothing to hold on toexcept one another, were shot off backwards into the water, where theyformed a perfect heap of struggling arms and legs, to my greatamusement. 

Chinese farm-houses are very different from the substantial, comfortable dwellings obtaining in this country, being primitive clayhovels with no upper storeys, having tile roofs, windows of oiledpaper, and mud floors, while the furniture is home-made and of theroughest description. No walks or gardens surround the house, whichstands in the centre of the farm-yard, outbuildings and cesspools, with the threshing-floor, as a rule, immediately outside the frontdoor. Pigs, dogs, fowls and goats roam at will through the dwellingand about the premises, while the two or three buffaloes and oxen usedfor ploughing and threshing are tethered to neighbouring trees. 

 [Illustration: A TYPICAL FARM-HOUSE. _To face page 177. _]

Although wheat, maize, barley and millet are largely cultivated in thenorth, rice is the principal crop wherever it can be grown, much waterbeing necessary. It is first sown in quite a small, dry patch, to besubsequently transplanted, and comes up as thick as grass and of amost brilliant green. The fields, which rarely exceed half an acre, and are generally very much less, are now tilled. First, they areflooded by a careful system of irrigation to a depth of three or fourinches, and when sufficiently soft turned over with a primitive, wooden plough, shod with a small iron blade or tip, and drawn by onewater buffalo. After this they are harrowed, the farmer standing onthe harrow and driving the buffalo as it wades along, until they aremasses of rich, liquid mud. The young plants are now pricked out byhand, about six inches apart, and the fields kept just flooded by aconstant stream of running water. When ripe the crop stands about twoand a half feet in height, and the water having been cut off sometime previously, reaping commences with the sickle. 

Into the harvest-field is often brought a large wooden tub about fourfeet in diameter by three feet high, and the reaper, having cut anarmful of rice, takes it by the straw end and threshes the ears fiveor six times with great force over the side, so that the grain fallsinto the tub, which, when thus filled, is replaced by an empty one andtaken to the threshing-floor, where the contents are thrown up byshovels-full into the air, the breeze blowing the chaff to one sideand the winnowed rice falling in a heap by itself. When the crop isnot thus threshed in the harvest-field it is stacked at the farm, andsometimes in the low forks of large trees to remove it from the dangerof possible floods, subsequently to be trodden out by oxen on thethreshing-floor or beaten out by the farmer and his family with lightbasket-work flails on bamboo shafts. 

In villages and small towns where many houses adjoin, it is a commonpractice to paint or dye young chickens as soon as they are hatched, so that each housewife may know her own. One woman will colour hers abright red, another will use blue, another green, and so on, theappearance of these strikingly-coloured little creatures intermingledin the streets being exceedingly droll and novel to Europeans. 

Amongst all classes of Chinese, from beggars to Academicians, beliefin ghosts, dreams and the supernatural generally is absolute andunshakable. 

If you express doubt or scepticism they will readily agree with youfrom a certain nervousness of being thought ridiculous, as well asfrom a feeling of the futility of any attempt to persuade Europeans ofthe soundness of such convictions. 

In the autumn of 1899, when at Shasi, which is an unthriving town ninehundred miles up the Yangtse, and where another Englishman and I werethe then only Europeans residing amongst a dense, hostile population, which only a few weeks previously had burnt down all foreign housesand forced the inmates to flee for their lives in small boats, two ofthe most remarkable cases of this universal superstition came directlyunder my notice. 

At that time one of those rebellions which are a chronic feature ofChinese Society was in full bloom in the neighbouring province ofSzechwan, where an individual named Yü Man-tze was heading a crusadeagainst Christians and foreign influence, when at least one Frenchfather was slain and another held in prolonged captivity, despite allefforts of the local officials to effect his release. 

The doings of this redoubtable brigand were naturally our chief topicof daily conversation, and a very intelligent and highly-educatedChinese gentleman, who kept me informed of local events, said that thenatives generally credited him with mystic powers. "Of course, " headded, eyeing me suspiciously, "it cannot be true, still, it iscurrent gossip in all the tea-shops. "

After a short pause I informed him confidentially that whatever otherforeigners might or might not believe, I personally had considerabledoubts as to the non-existence of supernatural agencies. 

Without looking up I could feel that his eyes were critically scanningmy face in search of ridicule or sarcasm, but I managed to preserve astolid demeanour, and purposely dropping further discussion of thematter, went in search of cigars and stimulants to help us while awaythe afternoon. At length he again broached the subject, which I couldsee was of great interest to him, and warming to his theme under theinfluence of a sympathetic listener and good cheer, he finally told mein a burst of confidence and with low, excited voice, the following_fact_ relative to Yü Man-tze. 

At the outset of his lawless career this supernaturally gifteddesperado, having collected a band of followers, fastened round theirankles such heavy weights that they were at first totally unable tomove; but, as the fruit of continual exertions, they by-and-by managedto creep a few paces, later on they were able to walk easily, andfinally even to run with their loaded feet. 

The time for action having come, Yü Man-tze removed the weights, whenhis disciples were so buoyant that they could all _fly_, and so wereable to pass rapidly between places far apart, and to successfullyavoid all attempts at capture. 

For those unacquainted with the East it is doubtless well-nighimpossible to credit that such rubbish as this could be implicitlybelieved by any considerable number of people, yet such was the case, and the fact that the Chinese government eventually bribed Yü Man-tzewith official rank and a large sum of money to desist from his evilways by no means tended to diminish the illusion. 

For several weeks we were continually threatened with a visitationfrom some predatory band of Yü Man-tze's followers, so that when onestormy night two large fires simultaneously broke out in differentparts of the town we thought trouble was at hand. Our anticipations, however, were happily unfulfilled, the storm having prevented therebels from descending the river as intended, though the fires, whichevidently had been previously planned and timed, were ignited. 

Next morning my compatriot brought in word that he had visited thescenes of the conflagrations, and that three victims, who had beenfearfully burnt, were lying in the street covered with straw mats, butstill alive. Being without medical comforts of any description I waspowerless to render assistance, so refrained from even quitting thehouse. 

An hour later my countryman again rushed in, followed by two or threeChinese, to say that relatives of the sufferers had brought them to apiece of waste ground hard by, had heaped wood round them, had pouredpetroleum over them, and were now burning them as a sacrifice to thegod of fire, he having already established his claim over them. 

What could be done in the face of such horrifying circumstances?Nothing, for the poor wretches were already beyond any human aid, andto have interfered would have brought on us instant vengeance from theexcited mob, but never, to the end of my days, shall I forget thatsickening feeling of enforced inaction. 

I especially record this incident as it is the only one of so extremea nature that I have ever heard of as taking place amongst theChinese, although it is a matter of common knowledge that theyfrequently refuse to rescue drowning persons for fear of displeasingthe river god. 

We subsequently learnt with much satisfaction that the rebels, to thenumber of two or three hundred, on being turned aside by the storm, crossed the border into the province of Hunan, and there, aftermurdering an official, his women-folk and some servants, weresurrounded in a swamp on the shores of the Tongting lake by Governmenttroops and butchered to a man. 

Native breeds of swine are very coarse and always coal black, so thatwhen a French friend of mine imported for the first time into Pekingtwo white, foreign-bred pigs, they were objects of immense curiosityto the local Chinese, who thought them exceedingly uncanny, andconsidered it far from improbable that the departed spirits of formerfriends might well have migrated into forms so passing fair. 

After they had been carefully fattened, a kiddier was sent for to givethem the happy dispatch, but no sooner had he set eyes on his quarrythan he scuttled off in alarm, and nothing would induce him to return, nor could any other butcher be prevailed upon to officiate, so that, my friend declared, he was obliged to roll up his sleeves and performthe gruesome, though necessary operation himself. 

"Old custom" is almost a religion with the celestials, to subvertwhich requires great caution, persistency and strength. If anythingcan be justified by old custom, or even precedent, it is considered tobe unassailable, no matter how harmful or irrational it may be. 

Take the matter of foot-binding. 

Laws have been passed, and are still extant, expressly forbidding thiscruel and senseless habit, and the ruling race, the Manchus, havenever practised it, still the Chinese, and the women more than themen, cling to it with fanatical stubbornness for the sole reason thatit is old custom, and that if girls' feet were not bandaged it wouldoutrage the universal sense of propriety. 

I have frequently talked the subject over with Chinamen, who readilyacknowledge that it is useless, besides being extremely painful toyoung children, but they say if their daughters had natural feet theywould most probably fail to get husbands, as no man wishes his wife tobe in any way extraordinary or different from other women. "In anycase, " they frequently retort, "we do not know that foot-binding givesmuch more pain than do the tight-laced stays of foreign women, andcertainly it is not so ugly or prejudicial to the health. "

The Chinese, contrary to ourselves, look back to the past forinspiration and guidance, and to concern oneself about novelty orchange appears to them as savouring strongly of shiftiness and want oftone. 

A curious instance of how quickly precedent can be established, and ofits binding force, came to my notice some years ago at Peking. 

At a certain point the now shallow waters of the moat encircling thecity wall had for long years been spanned by a foot-bridge, but which, having become rotten and weak, duly crumbled away. 

With Oriental dilatoriness no attempt was made to rebuild it for somemonths, and it was then found that two men, who during the intervalhad been earning a livelihood by wading to and fro carryingpedestrians between the opposite banks, strongly objected to a newbridge on the ground that it would take away their occupation nowfairly established. Backed by numerous relatives and by publicopinion, these two miserable coolies had successfully resisted theproposed reconstruction when I left the capital, and it is highlyprobable that they or their sons still monopolise passenger traffic atthe ford. 

To many even in this country, and to far more on the Continent, whereChristmas is observed solely as a religious festival, the New Yearwith its train of bills, gifts, junketings and holidays is a period ofabomination, when all business is dislocated and servants run mad. 

At such places in the East as Hankow, where a considerable Russiancolony exists, there are three New Years of progressive virulence. Thefirst of January is observed by all Europeans as a general holiday, when the ladies stay at home to preside over elaborate teas, at whichall gentlemen of their acquaintance are expected to appear if only fora few minutes, while the men, both married and single, taking a largesupply of cards, sally forth to call at the house of each lady in turnto wish her a Happy New Year, a proceeding which takes up severalhours and necessitates a surprising amount of endurance. Dinners, dances, complimentary visits from Chinese friends, and other socialfunctions help to swell the list of New Year obligations. 

Things have scarcely settled down again when the Russian New Year isat hand, for in the dominions of the White Czar time is still reckonedby the old style, and as Russians are particularly keen and verypronounced in their observance of anniversaries and _fêtes_, the placeis again turned topsy-turvy for several days beneath floods ofexcellent sweet champagne. 

The Chinese calendar marches coeval with the moons, which factgenerally places their New Year some time in February, the exact datefluctuating from year to year to the extent of three or four weeks. 

The last few days of the old year is a great time of reckoning, whenall outstanding debts must be paid so as to commence the New Year witha clean slate, and woe to the man who fails to meet his obligations. 

From faces clouded with anxiety during this trying period there is asudden revulsion on the stroke of midnight to countenances wreathed insmiles, as for weal or woe the New Year is ushered in with deafeningfusillades of fire-crackers and a great beating of gongs. In themorning all China is astir betimes, dressed in gala attire andinterchanging congratulatory visits. Business is entirely suspendedfor several days, it being the one great annual holiday, and it isextremely difficult to get even your own servants to pay so much as aminimum of attention to their household duties; in fact, I yearlyregister a mental vow not to lose my temper with them on any accountduring New Year week, for besides being useless it would probablyentail the additional discomfort of having to engage and train newhands. 

At this season native officials as well as merchants are in the habitof making presents indicative of good-will to those foreigners withwhom they have business relations. 

Your boy brings in a bright red visiting-card eight inches by three, coming from an official who begs you will deign to accept his bestwishes for the New Year, together with a few trifling presents. Immediately three or four coolies arrive, groaning as loudly aspossible beneath the weight of hams, boxes of cigars, jars of driedfruits, boxes of tea, oranges and champagne. You inspect the presentswith exclamations of appreciation and then privately consult the boyas to what you should retain, it being the general practice to returnthe greater part. A box of tea, a jar or two of dried fruits, someoranges and perhaps a box of cigars are selected, while a few dollarsare presented to the coolies, by whom you forward in return your ownChinese card to the official with seasonable wishes and thanks for histhoughtful kindness. 

As I was reading by my fire one afternoon in Shanghai the door wasquietly opened, two hands gently pushed an enormous live turkey intothe room and the door was again closed. The turkey commenced to stalkabout with an occasional gobble. After watching the intruder for a fewseconds I started to catch him, but found it was no easy matter. Heflew on to the sideboard, from there to the mantelpiece and then tothe window-sill, scattering knick-knacks and photographs far and wide. He ran under the sofa and table, finally escaping into my bedroom, where, with a desperate effort, I caught him by his legs under thebed. While dragging him out he beat his wings with great force, and asthe bed had evidently not been swept under for months, drove forthsuch a cloud of dust and fluff as to almost choke me, while fillingthe whole room. 

Round his neck was tied a red label bearing New Year greetings from aChinese merchant. 

 [Illustration: FISHING-JUNKS IN MACAO HARBOUR AT CHINESE NEW YEAR. _To face page 189. _]

The entire boating population cease work at New Year, and tying uptheir craft in convenient places give themselves up to such fewpleasures as their primitive mode of life allows. 

At Macao, hundreds of fishing-boats, which supply the market boththere and at Hongkong, assemble and anchor close together in orderlyrows, both in the inner harbour as well as in the bay facing the PraiaGrande, under strict supervision of the Portuguese authorities. Matawnings are erected over the decks, thus forming commodious rooms, which are decorated with scrolls and lanterns, and in which feastingsand family gatherings take place for several days, after which thewhole fleet, gaily decked with flags, puts again to sea. 

Fish of any kind is a favourite article of food, and the methods ofcatching them are extremely numerous. Otters, cormorants, nets, baskets and hooks without bait, all meet with due measure of success, but by far the most remarkable manner of fishing was that which I sawfrom the bows of a steamer made fast to the hulk at Hankow. 

It was mid-winter and bitterly cold, the ground being covered withalmost a foot of snow. I had been to tiffin with the captain and wasjust coming away when, pointing to some natives in a sampan closealongside, he said, "Have you ever seen those men dive for fish?"

I never had, and being glad of the opportunity, stopped to watch. There were three men in the boat, of whom one worked the paddles, while the other two, stark naked, crouched on the forepart, shelteringthemselves from the biting wind with an old straw mat. Having come toa suitable spot, where the depth may have been from ten to fifteenfeet, the boat was stopped, and the two divers instantly plunged intothe turbid water, to reappear some seconds later with a live fish ineach hand, while one of them had also a third fish in his mouth. Thediving was repeated several times with varying results before I tookmy leave, and the captain assured me that this was a common sight onthe Yangtse in winter, when the fish were probably lying in the mudtorpid from the cold. 

When returning to Kiukiang from a fortnight's shooting trip in theneighbourhood of Ngankin, my boat was much delayed by light andcontrary winds, which frequently obliged us to anchor in order toavoid being swept back by the strong current. On one of theseoccasions three of the crew took the jolly-boat and rowed ashore, adistance of some hundred yards, and while smoking on deck I could seethem wading along by the bank, groping in the mud and occasionallyputting something into a bucket which they had taken with them. Questioned as to what they were doing, the lowdah replied, "Fishing, "and my astonishment was not diminished when they returned on boardwith the bucket half-filled with fine perch, varying from perhapseight ounces to a pound in weight. Until then I was unaware that perchexisted in Chinese waters, nor have I since seen any. 

The nearest approach to this kind of fishing that I know of is down inmy old home amongst the Norfolk broads, where on warm days, when lyingin the weeds, tench can be tickled with the fingers and caught by asudden nip behind the gills; but the art requires intimate knowledgeof local waters, much patience and great skill. 

One of the most frequent questions that I am asked at home is, "Do notChinamen wear the finger-nails very long?" They do. Scholars performno manual labour, in visible token of which they allow the nails ofthe left hand to grow an inch or an inch and a half in length, but thenails on the right hand, while also long, are short in comparison withthose on the left. 

To be classed with literary or educated men is the greatest of allconsiderations, for which reason there is always a tendency for anyoneand everyone to wear a long coat and to don huge tortoise-shell-rimmedspectacles, such as are affected by the _literati_, as well as tocultivate the nails of the left hand. As the use of the word _esquire_has degenerated in this country until not to apply it to all andsundry is considered to be almost a snub, so the habit of wearing longfinger-nails in China has descended through every rank of Societyuntil it is now more often the badge of envious imitation than of anyscholarly attainments. So precious to the owners are these claw-likenails that I have often seen them protected by silver sheaths, andhave heard that for cases of extraordinary growth the whole of theleft hand is even carried in a bag. 

There is much outcry in these latter days against the newly-formedhabit of cigarette smoking cultivated by ladies of the West. Condemnation of the practice seems if anything to act as an incentive, so, yielding to the pleasant temptation of palliating faults in prettywomen, I would suggest as an excuse that they are but following in thefoot-steps of their sisters of the Far East, where, it may be roughlystated, the women-folk of a third of the human race smoke pipes. 

I cannot say that very young girls appear to indulge much, thoughwomen of all ages do to a great extent, inhaling the smoke and puffingit through the nose in thick clouds. The pipes in general use areeither small brass ones, having straight wooden stems a foot inlength, with clumsy porcelain mouthpieces, or brass water-pipes, whichwhen being smoked make an unpleasant gurgling sound. The bowl ofeither kind is so tiny that it will only hold a pinch or two of veryfine tobacco, which three or four whiffs consume, when it has to berefilled and lighted from a slow-match held ready in the hand untilthe smokeress has smoked enough. The picture is neither winsome norsweet. 

The Chinese have very few amusements corresponding to our outdoorgames, although at treaty-ports, and in those places where there areany roads, men are taking readily to cycling, albeit, from the flowingnature of their garments they generally use ladies' bicycles. Of thesefew pastimes archery is considered the most _distingué_, while boysattain to great skill in playing shuttlecock with their feet, beingable to keep up the feathered cork for a dozen or twenty times, andpassing it considerable distances from one to another. Judge then ofmy surprise when, on asking a young Chinaman at Peking how he hadspent his holiday of the previous day, he replied quite naturally thathe had passed the afternoon at his cricket club. 

I could hardly believe my ears, for as far as I knew a game of crickethad never been played at Peking, even by Englishmen, there being nosuitable ground, and it was only by plying him with questions that Ielicited it was the cricket of the hearth to which he alluded, andthat his club was a gambling-house to which young men brought theircrickets, there to fight grim duels in a basin for the championship, while noble owners staked considerable sums on the prowess of theirdiminutive gladiators and stimulated their energies by tickling themwith straws. 

On all the waterways of China enormous flocks of tame ducks are to beseen. These flocks generally number several thousands of birds eachand are carefully herded by the duck farmer and his sons, who swimthem about from place to place in search of suitable feeding-grounds. On the Yangtse I have seen them in mid-stream floating down in compactmasses with the racing current and surrounded by their guardians intubs, who, armed with long bamboos, smartly whack any bird which mayhappen to stray away from the flock until it rejoins its companions. 

These ducks are apparently always of one age, be it a month, threemonths or full-grown, which fact had ever been a source of mildsurprise to me, in view of the number of simultaneous broods whichwould be necessary to hatch off such swarms, until the matter wasexplained. 

A friend of mine gave a tiffin party of four good men and true on hisstern-wheel house-boat, the motive power for which was supplied byhalf-a-dozen coolies driving the wheel with their feet, on the sameprinciple as the tread-mill, and we were gliding up the Taipa Channelnear Macao at about four knots, when suddenly our craft came into asea of egg-shells sailing gaily before the breeze and having at ashort distance much the appearance of water-lilies. 

For a quarter of an hour or so we ploughed through these shells, whichmust have numbered tens of thousands, making various conjectures as totheir origin, until our host, who had been below superintending theicing of the champagne, came on deck and explained that theyundoubtedly were from an incubator in which ducks had just beenhatched. This was new to me, so I asked him for details, but hereplied that beyond knowing of the incubators and that they were madeof manure and lime in which eggs were buried until hatched, he had notbeen able to procure further information. 

Since then I have made many inquiries, but the Chinese will reveallittle beyond the fact that incubators "have always existed" for thehatching of ducks and geese. 

A gentleman whose knowledge of the Chinese and their ways isunsurpassed has also kindly tried to find out, but with limitedsuccess, for, he says, it is regarded as a trade secret and the duckfarmers will not divulge the process. However, he ascertained that thehatching takes place in early spring, when "a kind of primitiveincubator is used. The eggs are placed in a big basket covered withstraw or cotton wool, about a thousand eggs in one basket. Under thisbasket a charcoal fire is lit to keep the required temperature. Thework is carried on in closed rooms and one man is always in attendanceturning the eggs. Only eggs of ducks and geese are thus treated. "

Whether these incubators are made of manure and lime in the open air, whether they are in rooms heated by charcoal fires, or whether thereare both kinds, the interesting fact is established that incubators"have always existed" in China, while results, as seen in the hugeflocks of ducks, proclaim them as thoroughly successful. And this, too, when it has been unreservedly believed that the incubator was amodern triumph of Western science!

Another little matter has attracted my attention. There have latelybeen paragraphs in several papers announcing the excellent resultsobtained from a new system of registering criminals by means ofthumb-marks. 

Thumb-marking may be new to Scotland Yard, but in China it is a veryancient practice. I have seen illiterate men smear their thumbs withink and make impressions at the foot of documents, such thumb-marksbeing accepted as in every way equivalent to full signatures. 

CHAPTER IX

THE MARRIAGE TIE

In the province of Kiangsi on the banks of the River Kan, which flowsalmost due north to the Poyang lake and so into the Yangtsekiang, issituate the town of Kanchow, on the outskirts of which dwelt amerchant named Chin Pao-ting with his wife and infant son. 

After the custom of all Chinese merchants, Mr Chin had a shop which, although used for retail purposes, was in reality the office of hisnot inconsiderable wholesale business. Mr Chin had some time previousto this date, the early spring of 1892, engaged a young man of thelocality named Wang Foo-lin, as accountant and confidential clerk, andhe had proved himself so intelligent and useful that not only did Chinregard him with feelings of friendship but even conceived the idea ofsubsequently taking him into partnership. What Chin's particularbusiness was I do not know, beyond the fact that each year it took himaway from home for several weeks, and sometimes months at a time, whenhe travelled to other provinces. This annual voyage was now at hand. Four boats were filled with various kinds of merchandise, while afifth and smaller craft was selected to convey Chin and his assistant, who now accompanied his master for the first time. This boat wasfairly comfortable from a Chinese point of view, having benches oneither side of the cabin and a kind of platform at the back, with asmall, low table thereon bearing the customary incense-burner, containing fragrant joss-sticks, and also on this occasion a small_joss_ or gilt image of Buddha, which Chin always took with him on hiswanderings. 

All preparations having been slowly completed the day for departurearrived, and Chin, with much bowing and ceremonial posturing, havingwished his wife and little son adieu, embarked with Wang, taking theequivalent of five thousand dollars[2] in sycee shoes and gold-dust, and amidst valedictory fusillades of fire-crackers, as well as abeating of gongs, the flotilla cast off and sailed away down river. 

Nothing of particular interest occurred during the voyage of twohundred miles to the Poyang lake beyond usual delays caused by thedried-up condition at that season of all waterways connected withChina's mighty river. 

The sources of the Yangtse are to be found in the mountain ranges ofThibet, and as during winter and early spring the deep snows of thoselofty regions lie icebound and the great river is fed only by localrains, its waters dwindle in volume until they find a level forty feetbelow that of summer and autumn, when torrid heat and torrential rainsthaw the snows in Central Asia and fill the river-bed with a thick, brown current which, after overflowing into and filling all lakes, tributaries and unprotected lowlands in the Yangtse valley, sweepseastwards to the ocean, a foaming torrent of irresistible force. 

After about twenty days of incessant toil in tracking, poling andyulowing along the tortuous and mud-bound channel of the Kan, wheresailing, owing to the low water and consequent towering banks whichshut off the wind, was seldom possible, the small fleet emerged on thePoyang lake. Not, however, the magnificent sheet of water which isfound there in summer, but the lake as it is in winter, contracted toone tenth of its maximum size, and little more than a wide andsluggish river flanked by boundless mud tracts swarming with snipe andwildfowl. Another few days' sailing, for the breeze could now be feltacross the wide marshland, and Hukow (mouth of the lake) was reached, where the merchandise in the four small lake boats was transferred toa large and stately junk destined to carry it far up-river towards theWest, while good accommodation was found on board both for Chin andhis assistant. As soon as the transhipment of cargo had beencompleted, and Chin had written a letter for transmission to his wifeby the boats returning to Kanchow, sail was made on the junk, andpassing out of the tranquil waters of the lake she was seen to shapean up-river course reefed close before a rising gale, until lost tosight in the rain and gathering darkness. 

The empty boats arrived in due course at Kanchow, when the letter wasfaithfully delivered, and this being the last communication that wouldbe received from her husband prior to his return, Mrs Chin resignedherself to many weeks of dreary loneliness. 

Weeks lengthened into months, and the waiting woman began to feelanxious as to the well-being of her lord. 

The stifling, burning summer came and went, and still there wasneither sign nor tidings of the absent one. 

Inquiries made of passing junks, to the crews of many of which Chinwas well-known, ever elicited the invariable reply that nothing hadbeen seen or heard of him. 

Autumn and winter still brought no tidings, and the poor, saddenedwoman yielded to the conviction that some disaster had overtaken herhusband and that she would see him no more. 

Early Chinese marriages are almost invariably arranged by the parents, the young folks, even if old enough, having no voice in the matter. Later on, plurality of wives, though far from universal, is also quitecommon and of good repute. 

The lower orders generally have only one wife, not being able toafford more, although as soon as a man commences to prosper and risein the social scale his first thought is to procure by contract or bypurchase an additional helpmeet, who, however, ranks far below the_first_ or _No. 1_ wife. Similarly _No. 2_ ranks before _No. 3_, andso on. Four or five wives is a common number in well-to-do households, though one old friend of mine, since dead, had taken to himselfsixteen. 

Husbands regard the marriage tie as binding on them chiefly withregard to the material well-being of the family, whereas the honour ofthe family rests on the wife's steadfastness in maintaining sacred thenuptial vow, any detected laxity in this respect being visited on herwith remorseless punishment both by her libidinous husband and by thewhole of his clan. Widows seldom marry again, it being the duty andpride of a virtuous woman to remain faithful to the memory of her deadhusband. Throughout the whole length and breadth of China memorialarches to widows who have been faithful to their troth till death areto be seen in almost every village. 

Mrs Chin may have been, and probably was, attached to her husband withthat fanatical single-mindedness which belongs to women of the East. She may have considered it her bounden duty only. Whether love or dutyfurnished the motive I cannot tell, but after making all possibleinquiries to no purpose she determined to set out herself and searchfor traces of the missing one. The shop and her belongings were soldto provide money for the way, and the poor woman, forsaking all andcarrying the child strapped to her shoulders, turned with a bitterheart from her former prosperous home to face the world on herwell-nigh hopeless quest. Of her wanderings I could get no record, andshe would probably, with Oriental inscrutability, have refused to eventalk about them, but wherever else they may have led her, in thebitter winter of 1893 she was twenty miles up-river from Hukow at theopen port of Kiukiang and alone, her child having perished by the way, begging food and prosecuting her inquiries. Chance led her to shelterfor a night in the ruined but beautiful pagoda which stands high abovethe river on the cliff outside the city wall. To the old Buddhisthermit in possession she told her oft-repeated tale, only once againto receive the usual negative reply. 

In the morning, however, as she was moving off on her daily trudge, the hermit appeared, and after the customary Buddhistic salutation, "O me tor foo, "[3] had been exchanged, he remarked that during thenight it recurred to him that about eighteen moons had passed since hefound the dead body of a man cast up naked on the opposite beach, andthat following the rule of his order for acquiring merit he hadcarefully and reverently buried it. 

The poor wanderer seemed at last to see some faint possibility ofreward for her dreary pilgrimage. She followed the hermit to the riverside, where his small and leaky sampan was drawn up on the mud. Afterconsiderable effort the boat was launched by the feeble pair, andtaking her place in it she was rowed by the old man across the heavingriver, which is here more than a mile in width, to the opposite beach, where a little above high-water mark the grave was found. Scrapingaside the loose sand and rubble, and raising the unfastened lid of therough coffin, the mouldering skeleton was unrecognisable. Quick asthought the woman thrust her fingers into the crumbling mass andraised an arm of the dead, on which was seen to be the half of a jadebracelet. Immediately baring her own arm to the hermit's gaze shedisplayed on it the other half of the same jewel. 

A common Chinese practice is for man and wife to have one jade banglesplit so as to form two bangles, and to wear one each, with much thesame idea as our Mizpah rings. 

The woman looked as if turned to stone. She moved not a muscle, butwith livid face and hard, glassy eyes kept her position in the opengrave, leaning on one hand across the coffin and grasping with herother the mouldering arm of the corpse, so that the two bangles werelaid side by side. 

Silently and reverently the old hermit stole away, leaving the livingwith the dead, and rowed back across the river to his home withoutonce turning his eyes, for curiosity he had none, but in its place theOriental's deep and mystic knowledge of life and death. 

In the lonely grave amongst the rank grass and sand mounds the womanstayed, oblivious of the cold and soaking rain. For a long time sherested absolutely motionless as if also dead. Then a few upwardmovements of the head told of her silent agony. By-and-by a low, tremulous moan broke from her ashen lips. Almost inaudible at first, her sobs increased until her whole frame was convulsed. She calledupon her husband, she poured blessings on his name, she cravedblessings from his spirit. Long and loud, with all her soul, with allher strength and in most absolute sincerity, she bewailed her dead, asis the custom in the East, until exhaustion overpowered her and sheslept. 

It was almost dark when the hermit returned and thus found thefaithful woman, sodden by the rain, her hair unbound and trailing inthe sand. Gently rousing her and speaking soothing words he held outhis humble offering of two little bowls containing rice and samshu, some sticks of incense and a few tiny candles. These the poor womantook, but without a sign, for her gratitude was too deep to show, andreverently placed the bowls, the lighted candles and smoulderingincense-sticks in position round the grave. 

Then, having kowtowed many times before the corpse, the lid of thecoffin was replaced and covered with a few inches of sand, after whichshe turned as one in a trance and followed the hermit to his boat. Herhusband was dead, she had bewailed him and burnt incense at his grave, and what further could this poor, broken woman do?

What her intentions then were I do not know, but a few days later, when returning at dusk from Kiukiang to the pagoda, she was stopped ina lonely alley outside the western gate by a man who said, "Yourhusband was murdered eighteen moons ago by Wang Foo-lin, who is nowliving in Hankow. " It was too dark to see the man's face and the voiceshe did not know, but it was probably one of the sailors of themissing junk who had some grievance to avenge. From the effect thesewords had on the woman's fallen strength it might have been a messagefrom the gods pointing afresh the path of duty. She sought her friendthe hermit and related to him what had befallen her, and explainedthat she would now go to Hankow in quest of the murderer, for that herhusband's spirit could never rest until his assassin had been broughtto justice. 

How she travelled the one hundred and twenty miles from Kiukiang toHankow I do not know, but it is certain that she appeared in thelatter place begging from house to house, and after a time recognisedWang Foo-lin trading under an assumed name in a shop of considerablesize. Wang on his part did not recognise the feeble and unkempt oldbeggar-woman, so changed was she from the prosperous Mrs Chin, andtook but little notice of this one amongst many tens of othermendicants, so that she was able to stand for some time at the shopdoor without attracting undue attention, when she carefully noted thecontents of the store, and amongst other things recognised the giltjoss which her husband had taken with him. Her next step was toprocure an audience of the local magistrate, and to do this she wasobliged to expend a considerable part of her remaining cash in bribingthe yamên underlings ere they would consent to lay her case before theofficial or give her admittance to his court. After waiting many daysthe audience was granted, and kneeling on the filthy floor before thejudgment seat she unfolded her story, accusing Wang Foo-lin of themurder of her husband. The magistrate listened to her tale, but at theend said, "You accuse this man of murder but produce no evidence insupport of your statements, and your bare word is not sufficient. Ifyou can bring forward any actual proof I will then take action. " MrsChin replied that in Wang's shop she had seen a gilt image of Buddhawhich her husband had taken with him on his ill-fated voyage. Thatmany years ago at Kanchow she had knocked over and broken the nose offthis same image, and that to repair the damage she had melted down oneof her gold earrings and replaced the nose. If, therefore, it werefound that this gilt joss had a gold nose then the magistrate wouldknow her tale was true. The official replied that he would accept thisas sufficient evidence and would at once put it to the test. Sendinghis runners with Mrs Chin to the shop, Wang was arrested, and togetherwith the gilt joss taken to the yamên, where it was quickly found thatthe image actually had a gold nose as declared by the old woman. 

Knowing his case to be hopeless, and yielding to the racking torturewhich was quickly applied, the guilty wretch made a full confession ofhis crime. As a boy he had often heard of Chin Pao-ting's annualvoyages to the West, while local gossip had so enlarged upon themerchant's wealth that the junk bearing him and his merchandise mightwell be a veritable treasure ship, so that when still a youth Wang hadjourneyed to Kiukiang with the deliberate intention of forming ascheme to waylay the annual expedition and thus acquire riches at asingle stroke. As attendant in an opium den near the quay, he had comein contact with many low and desperate characters, amongst whom wasthe lowdah of a certain junk which plied for hire between the Poyanglake and the provinces of the West. 

Gradually an intimacy sprang up between these two, until at length thediabolical plot was hatched of murdering Chin and levanting with hisgoods. Wang now returned to Kanchow, and, as we have seen, not onlycontrived to enter the service of Chin Pao-ting but also to gain hisesteem and confidence. 

For the next annual voyage a large river-junk to await the merchant atHukow was, through Wang's astuteness, chartered on exceptionallyfavourable terms. 

This junk, needless to say, was that of Wang's confederate, and onceon board the unhappy traveller was a doomed man. On the first night ofthe voyage he was pounced on in his sleep, stunned with a blow andthrown overboard. At Kiukiang, where the vessel stopped, the lowdahand his men went ashore after receiving the gold dust and sycee shoesas their share of the plunder, while Wang, taking the junk and cargoas his portion, shipped a fresh crew and sailed on to Hankow, where heset up in business with the proceeds of his ill-gotten gains. 

His examination finished and released from torture, Wang was led awayin a swooning condition to a foul dungeon, where his silk garmentswere quickly stripped off and replaced by crimson clothes, stiff withclotted human blood and thick with vermin, but such as criminalscondemned to execution are compelled to wear. By an iron ringmercilessly forced through his flesh and welded round his collar-bonehe was chained to a stone pillar, and so left to await his doom or torot on the reeking floor. 

After prolonged deliberations amongst the authorities, it was decidedthat the prisoner should be beheaded at Kiukiang, that being thecentre of the district in which his crime was committed. 

Still clad in crimson clothes, the poor wretch was dragged by thechain from his cell, too emaciated and broken to even stand. His handsand feet were bound together with sharp cords and a bamboo pole thrustbetween them, and in such manner he was carried through the streets bytwo coolies, escorted by a few runners, to be thrown like a bundle ofold clothes into the hold of a police junk, which bore him more deadthan alive on his last voyage. 

Owing to information extracted from Wang two further arrests were madeof members of the junk's crew, but the lowdah and one other succeededin making good their escape. 

 * * * * *

It was now summer, and the view looking south from Kiukiang city wallwas peaceful and grand. In the distance rose the majestic Lushanrange, the peaks of which were illumined by the setting sun. Nearer, the low hills, clothed with firs and azaleas, rolled as a carpet tothe lake, which lay between them and the city ramparts. A narrowcauseway from the city to the hills, cut the lake in two. At the farend of the causeway was a plot of level ground, strewn with potsherdsand heaps of refuse. Here, in contrast to its usual solitude, a densecrowd had collected in evident anticipation of some interesting event. Presently two or three horsemen and a motley gang of soldiers emergedfrom the city and proceeded quickly along the causeway. Closelyfollowing were coolies carrying three red burdens, on bamboo poles, and these in turn were followed by more soldiers and a few officialsin sedan chairs. It was an execution. The hurrying cavalcade wasswallowed up in the dense crowd which happily served as a curtain tohide this ghastly scene of human wrath from Nature's smilinglandscape. Half-an-hour later the official procession returned asquickly as it went, and gradually the crowd, sauntering by the water'sedge, laughing, joking and making merry of the gruesome spectacle justwitnessed, filtered back through the city gates. 

Next morning three wooden baskets on long poles were exposed from thetop of an archway, and in each basket was a human head. Wang and hiscompanions had met their just rewards. 

At Kanchow a pylow, or memorial arch, will eventually be erected inhonour of the widow of Chin Pao-ting, so that to posterity may bepreserved a just record of her virtuous devotion. 

FOOTNOTES:

[2] Then about £600. 

[3] Untranslatable. "Peace be with you, " or meaning to that effect. 

CHAPTER X

DISCUSSED POINTS

[Sidenote: PEOPLE. ]

"How do you like the Chinese?" is the most common of all queries, yeteach time it is made I have to reflect as to what my answer shall be. 

While unable to say that I like them, for, speaking collectively, theyare an untaking, unlikeable people, still they possess many qualitiesand traits of character which _per se_ must recommend them to allunprejudiced observers. 

The chief hindrance to a better understanding with them is theirrooted antipathy to ourselves, generated by our pushing, masterfulways. With but few and unimportant exceptions they do not want us, andwould be glad to see the last of all Europeans, together with theircivilisation, their missionaries and their trade. This is not veryflattering, accustomed as we are to regard ourselves somewhat in thelight of pearls before swine, but it is the truth. On the other hand, we know that our footing in the country was gained and is maintainedby force, which knowledge, in addition to that pressure of silentenmity of which we are at all times conscious, brings our minds intoa hostile attitude _vis-à-vis_ the Chinese. We are always in a stateof antagonism, be it defensive or offensive. This mutual dislike, helped by the utterly different modes of life existing amongstEuropeans and Asiatics, renders all other than business intercoursenot only irksome but well-nigh impossible. Their ways not being ourways we do not want to know them intimately, and they on their part donot want to know us, wherefore, by tacit consent, we keep rigidlyapart in social matters. 

Many people seem to imagine the Chinese as being romantic, artistic, quaint, effeminate and uncanny. 

Romantic they most certainly are not, but look at things with a brutalrealism, of which their pet quotation is truly emblematical: "A man'sgreatest pleasure is found in reading his own essays and in makinglove to his neighbours' wives. "

Of their artistic qualities there are many favourable critics, thoughpersonally I consider them to be extremely poor. Their music, bothvocal and instrumental, is worse than rubbish; in sketching andpainting they are without sense of perspective; their architecture isclumsy and coarse; their much-vaunted pottery is full of flaws andblemishes, for which reason a perfect specimen is almost priceless andover which connoisseurs hypnotise themselves; dancing, except byflower-girls, is unknown; while in literature they are safe fromadequate criticism, owing to the impossibilities of their language. Embroidery, bronzes, carving, and dyeing in both pottery and silksare, in my opinion, their best artistic productions, although it issaid that the famous colouring of chinaware is now a lost art, asthose clans which held the secrets were almost extirpated during theTaiping rebellion. Many articles of vertu are undoubtedly valuable, but is it not rather owing to their antiquity, to their rarity, or tothe fact that they are good specimens of a certain workmanship, however bad, rather than to any inherent artistic merits?

Quaint they indeed are from a European standpoint, but on moreintimate knowledge this quaintness resolves itself into a slavishadaptability to the smallest circumstances in their daily struggle forexistence. To a man who has been some years in the country, and whohas tried to understand local conditions, the Chinese live on a deadlevel with matters of fact. 

To say that they are effeminate would be incorrect. In some things, from our point of view, they undoubtedly are; in others they areextremely virile. 

The captain of a British man-of-war told me that he considered them tobe the poorest fighters in existence. That they habitually make afeeble show in battle cannot be gainsaid, but then they are a mostmatter-of-fact people, without any craving for military glory, andknowing beforehand that there is no possible chance of success, taketime by the forelock and run away to escape a useless death. 

Select one of our very best regiments and stop their pay for severalmonths, deprive them of officers, take away all doctors and medicalcomforts, half starve them, arm them with flags, pikes andmuzzle-loaders, and then march them against a crack European regiment. You may be sure the Chinese example would be quickly followed. I donot say the Chinese are brave, but I do believe that, given a goodtraining, just treatment and a fair chance of success, they wouldprove no mean antagonists. 

Possessing great natural aptitude, if it is made worth their whilethey will quickly become good riders, good shots, good at billiardsand tennis, good sailors, etc. , giving their whole attention to eachmatter, though without enthusiasm. It is this dull concentration onparticular callings which has deprived their character of that vitalforce, initiative, which, while the greatest of safeguards to rivalnations, has removed from the Chinese mind the power to comprehend andcarry out large and complicated undertakings involving the handlingand direction of modern systems and appliances. The Chinaman is atpresent content to supply labour, but whether in time he will becapable of also supplying the versatile, directing brain is a mootquestion. Anyhow, it will not be for long years and until he has livedunder a modernised Government for several generations. 

Extreme consideration for infancy and old age, the growing of longfinger-nails, the supposed debilitation arising from opium-smoking, the universal usage of fans, the wearing of flowing garments andbraided hair, and the discharging of domestic duties which in othercountries fall to the lot of women, are probably largely accountablefor the charges of effeminacy. 

As to their uncanniness there is no doubt. We do not, and never shall, fathom the depth of a Chinaman's brain. After mutually looking at thesame object from widely-different points of view _we_ express ourideas, talk them over and invite criticism, while _he_--is silent. Helistens to us and agrees, but keeps his own views to himself. We wantto explain everything; he does not, but takes things on faith. 

In our inmost hearts we generally do not feel sure whether we believeor do not believe in spiritualism, in good spirits, bad spirits, ghosts, dreams, devils and manifestations. He believes in them allwithout a suspicion of doubt, but, knowing our wonted thoughtlessscepticism, will frequently say he does not, as the easiest way ofavoiding a useless discussion and condemnation of established facts. 

In dealing with educated Chinese many foreigners assume a forced, artificial manner, as though addressing themselves to an autocrat or amurderer, and are ever on the lookout for something to find faultwith. My own idea is to maintain a naturally polite bearing and treatthem precisely as you would your own countrymen of whatever rank inlife. They strike me as being extremely responsive, and oftentimeseven grateful for being taken simply as men and not as extraordinaryspecimens of another humanity. 

The dominating factor of their lives is "face. " Whatever happens, solong as a man can save his face he has always the chance of rightinghimself. We continually hear of their commercial integrity, which isundoubtedly very great, though not springing from any innateprinciples of fair-dealing but from a desire to save face. I have verylittle doubt but that a Chinese merchant would immediately "do" you ifhe could be perfectly sure of not being found out, and so losing face, and that too without in any way violating his own feelings. "Face, " orotherwise "appearances, " is a Chinaman's passport to respectability, and therefore of great commercial value, but has nothing whatever todo with the hidden principles of honour and morality. That honestypays better than dishonesty is a fact well known and firmly adhered toby merchants in a large way of business. To those in a small way ofbusiness, honesty does not pay, and consequently does not exist, butinstead ability in squeezing is accepted as the gauge of capacity. 

The first essential in dealing with Chinese is control of temper. I donot mean that one should not possess a temper, on the contrary, it isa distinct advantage to have one, only it must be kept well in hand. Aman of irritable, rasping temperament quickly loses respect andweakens control, while he who can keep calm under any circumstances, and only very rarely gives rein to a fierce outburst at thepsychological moment, invariably compels admiration and obedience, for, it is reasoned, if a man who has command of his temper gets angryit is because he has just cause, and the fault must necessarily liewith those who call his anger forth. 

Under no circumstances, except in actual self-defence, strike aChinaman. The pain or insult it may cause him is as nothing incomparison with the lowering effect it will have on your own status innative eyes. From being well-considered you will at once become anobject of contemptuous dislike. 

The empire of China is considerably larger than the whole of Europe, contains limitless natural resources, and is inhabited by a hardy raceof some four hundred million souls who are bound together by ties ofblood, language, tradition and religion. This race, which until quitemodern times existed as a world apart and was sufficient unto itselfin all things, is highly developed both mentally and physically, though its government, as judged by Western ideas, is hopelesslyobsolete. 

If left to themselves I see no reason why the Chinese should notslumber on as they now are till the crack of doom, but, the worldhaving become so reduced in size through the agencies of steam andelectricity, they never will again be left undisturbed, but more andmore subjected to the pressure of other nationalities in the feverishstruggle for domination and wealth. To this pressure they will surelyyield in one way or another. Will they forestall the inevitable byreforming themselves, or will they for a time fall beneath the foreignyoke until they have learnt their lesson, and then reassert theirsolidarity and independence?

In whatever light we may view these people or animadvert on theirnumberless contradictory qualities and failings, it is as certain asday and night that they are here to stay, if only by force of numbers, and that no political convulsions will wipe them out. They may bebattered and even sundered for a time, but each successive shock willonly serve to resuscitate their vitality. 

Already possessing an equipment of wealth, numbers, thrift, goodphysique and high mental power, they only await good government tostart them along the rails of progress. Whatever nations may rise orfall, the future is big with promise for the children of Han. 

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[Sidenote: LANGUAGE. ]

The Chinese language is like China itself: colossal!

Roughly, the mandarin or official language is spoken by all officialsthroughout the empire and by all classes in those provinces which lienorth of the Yangtse, while south of this line Cantonese is theprincipal dialect, although the number of others is legion, and sopronounced are the differences between them that countrymen dwellingbut a few miles apart are frequently at a loss to understand eachother. 

On one occasion, when making "a little trip to Japan, " I took myPekingese boy with me. Having missed the fortnightly mail-boat I madethe passage from Chefoo in a small German collier, and on arrival atNagasaki took rickshas to the hotel. In the streets were a goodlynumber of Chinese, members of a considerable colony of small traders, and the sight of compatriots in a foreign land greatly delighted theboy, who, on my departure after tiffin to make a tour of the town, asked if he meanwhile might go out to drink tea with his countrymen. Igave permission, but on returning some hours later to the hotel foundhim in a very disappointed frame of mind, which was accounted for byhis explanation that the Chinese residents in Nagasaki were allCantonese, and that not being able to understand a word of mandarinthey had perforce been obliged to converse with each other as bestthey could in pidgin English. He said, "Looksee b'long all sameChinaman, no savez talkee. "

The Pekingese are very discriminative and frequently condescendinglyrefer to all other Chinese as "outside men" or "foreigners. "

Pidgin English is a queer jargon composed of a verbatim translation ofChinese sentences together with a slight admixture of Portuguese andFrench, the frequent wrongful substitution of similar sounding wordsand a lavish use of the terminals _ee_ and _o_. 

"S'pose you wantchee catchee olo chinaware, compradore savez talkeemy, " represents, "If you want to get some old chinaware your Chineseagent will let me know, " while I have heard "two times twicee" for"twice two, " and "last day to-night" for "last evening. "

The word _pidgin_ means _work_ of any kind, as in "plenty pidgin" or"no got pidgin, " and _pidgin English_ simply means a workableknowledge of colloquial English as picked up by tradesmen, servantsand coolies, in contradistinction to English as taught in theschools. 

On the northern frontiers there is also pidgin Russian. 

The written language is the same everywhere, each character, of whichthe Chinese say there are between eighty and a hundred thousand, representing a complete word, so that before being able to read, andmore especially write, a single sentence, each individual character init must be closely studied and committed to memory, as we commit tomemory the letters of the alphabet, but with the difference thatwhereas the alphabet consists of but twenty-six simple letters, Chinese caligraphy contains almost a hundred thousand characters ofextreme complexity. 

From earliest boyhood to the grave Chinese students never cease, yetnever complete, committing these characters to memory and welding theminto those graceful verses and essays which are the pride of Chineseliterature. 

Handwriting is accounted a fine art, and for many hours each day, yearin and year out, characters are laboriously copied by means of alittle brush filled with ink, which in the form of a cake or sticksimilar to Indian ink is moistened and ground on to a stone slab or"ink-stone, " until the penmanship is frequently of a firmness andbeauty surpassing that of copper-plate. In such veneration is thewritten character held that it is accounted wrong to debase in anyway paper on which writing may be inscribed, wherefore conscientious_literati_ sometimes pass along the streets gathering into basketsstray pieces of paper bearing written characters, to burn themreverently in miniature pagodas or towers erected on public ground forthat especial purpose. 

The career of a student is considered to be the most honourable ofall, but though chiefly restricted to handwriting, knowledge ofcharacters, composition and national history, the Chinese admit thatno man has ever yet thoroughly mastered his own language or evenlearnt all the characters. 

How then about foreigners' knowledge of the language? It is like thenibblings of a mouse at a mountain. 

In the course of two or three years a European by means of hard work, good memory and facile ear, may succeed in speaking one of thedialects so as generally to make himself understood, but to the end ofhis days his speech, for more than a few sentences, would never bemistaken in the dark by one Chinaman for that of another Chinaman. 

As for the written character, I do not believe it possible for anyEuropean to acquire more than a superficial general, or a matureone-sided, knowledge of it. Some missionaries, notably Jesuits, havegiven their lives to the work and have undoubtedly attained toconsiderable erudition in the classics and in subjects pertaining toreligious doctrines, but in place give them some business papers orother documents in current use and they would be at once hopelesslynonplussed. 

A man may have mastered eight or ten thousand characters and may beable to read or dictate letters on any subject, but he probably wouldnot be able to read a single line from most of the classics. 

I have heard, as a phenomenal thing, of a foreigner being able towrite a letter himself, but the fact of its being phenomenal shows howunusual it was, and does not prove the absence of either crudities orerrors. 

All Europeans, even the most competent, are _always_ assisted byeducated Chinamen when engaged on serious Chinese work. Unaided, theymight read much correctly, but they might altogether miss the sense, and most probably would meet with characters they did not know. 

As for writing, it is impossible. Even if unaided one did manage tocompose anything, it would be the work of a tyro and would never passmuster with literary Chinese, while the penmanship would be labouredand coarse, for the manner of holding the pen or brush is quitedifferent from our own, and if not acquired almost from infancy theknack comes with difficulty when bones and sinews are more firmlyset. 

With regard to mastering what is called the running character, which, by way of illustration, may be said to correspond to our shorthand, the thing is not to be thought of. 

To apply a general test, no European would ever have the slightestchance of passing even the lowest of the literary examinations. 

One may well ask what is the reason of this inability to reach theattainments of even a moderately well-educated Chinaman. 

No European can give his whole time from earliest childhood to theundivided study of Chinese, and even if he could, I very much questionif the unattractive nature of native literature would satisfy his moreversatile brain, while the absence of social intercourse between thetwo races removes the greatest of all incentives to perseverance. 

On the other hand, the Chinese are saturated with a hereditaryinstinct for their own language and literature, which instinct, besides assiduous cultivation for thousands of years, is fostered frominfancy by their surroundings, and is so exactly suited to theirpatient, phlegmatic temperament that it comes to them as naturally asthe air they breathe, and even if unable to read but a few charactersin a phrase, they will arrive at the meaning as surely as a well-bredhound will follow a trail. 

And so it follows that although Europeans of most brilliant intellectmay devote long years and infinite labour to the study of Chinese, lacking this native instinct, they can never attain to that ripenedand fluent knowledge which is a heritage of the Mongol race alone. 

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[Sidenote: MISSIONARIES. ]

What to say anent missionaries?

In England alone the proselytising spirit is strong, and every parishsubscribes liberally to missionary funds in order that labourers inthe vineyard may not be wanting, and that the ends of the earth mayknow the tidings of joy. 

Most European residents in China are adverse to missionaries andexpress their opinions with such vehemence as to generally obscurecriticisms of a more temperate nature. According to this majority themissionaries do nothing but harm. Frequently of poor education, andlacking altogether in tact and discretion, they thrust themselves inwhere they are not wanted, they interfere in local matters, ignorelocal customs, offend local susceptibilities, and by allowing youngunmarried ladies without experience and frequently without suitableescort to wander about the country, to outrage all sense of decency, thus generating ill-will which not infrequently leads to riots, bloodshed and diplomatic trouble, while the good they do ismicroscopic and the number of converts or "rice-Christians" coincideswith the amount of alms distributed, and who, when nothing further isto be acquired, revert to the faith, or indifference, of theirforefathers. Building fine residences with the funds provided bygullible folks at home, and constructing diminutive churches with thefew remaining bricks, drawing fat salaries which increase _pari passu_with the number of their children, and taking long summer holidays inJapan or in the mountains when business men must be hard at work, nothing but condemnation is heard for the whole system which, theysay, should be forcibly suppressed by the various Governmentsconcerned. 

While enough of this loud-voiced deprecation may be true to lend acolouring to the whole, I have no hesitation in saying that theopinions of most of the critics are absolutely worthless. In fact, they know nothing whatever about either the missionaries or theirwork, but simply repeat, with their own additions, things they haveheard from any and every source without ever troubling to verify thempersonally. Never was there a clearer case of "giving a dog a badname, " etc. 

We civilians in China frequently lead far from model lives and are inno position to throw stones, for which reason, probably, the meresight of a professional good man is worse than the proverbial red rag, and the tendency is strong, I own, to disparage him and all hisworks, while serenely forgetful of our own palpable shortcomings. 

I have known one or two missionaries commit shady actions. I haveknown several civilians commit crimes. 

Missionaries, like ourselves, it must not be forgotten, are veryhuman, and contain in their ranks men widely differing in degrees offitness. 

In various remote places I have met missionaries of manydenominations--Jesuits, Anglicans, Non-conformists, etc. --and oncloser acquaintance I have almost invariably found them at heart, whatever their methods, attainments or achievements, to be men ofsterling worth, of lofty ideals, leading noble, self-denying lives, and fighting the good fight for love of God and man, and for the faiththat is in them. 

From the militant nature of their calling they cannot avoidinteresting themselves in the lives and customs of the natives, andthat their message to the heathen, inviting them to forsake the godsof their fathers and embrace the only true faith, arouses hostility inthe most conservative people on earth, is in no sense to be wonderedat. 

Of medical missionaries who found hospitals and heal the sick, as wellas of those who devote their lives to teaching the blind to read andthe dumb to speak, adverse comment by anyone speaking withsincerity and briefest knowledge of the facts would be impossible. These missions of mercy shine as great beacons of Christianity throughthe gloom of heathen darkness. 

 [Illustration: BUDDHIST PRIEST AND ACOLYTE HOLDING BOOK. _To face page 228. _]

The greatest fault brought home to several missions is, in my opinion, their interference in legal quarrels between native Christians andtheir unconverted fellow-citizens. This interference has undoubtedlyfrequently occurred and with marked success, thereby causing extremeirritation to the Chinese officials, who dread possible complicationswith foreign consuls, and arousing the bitter resentment of thepopulace, not only against all Christians, but also against allforeigners. 

Indiscretion and want of tact are usually the fruit of enthusiasticinexperience, for veteran missionaries have generally tempered zealwith both suavity and cautiousness. 

That young, unmarried women, brought up in the pure atmosphere ofWestern homes and unaccustomed to the nauseous sights and insanitarysurroundings of Eastern cities, should be allowed to ruin theirhealths, risk death by indescribable tortures, and in Chinese eyes toforfeit their reputations, for the sake of doing a very problematicalamount of good is, I cannot help feeling, a great mistake and tooheavy a price to pay. If there must be missionaries, at least let thembe men, and it would be far better and much more in accordance withthe divine will if these girls settled in some one of our manycolonies, married, and gave sons to the world, who then in due timemight take up the cross of missionary endeavour. 

On the whole, I should say that while missionaries are greatlyover-condemned by Europeans residing in China, the good they do isover-estimated by people at home. 

Putting aside all criticism of missionaries themselves, the vitalquestion is--"Will they succeed in converting China to Christianity?"

I am not sufficiently versed in the necessary statistics to offer avery valuable opinion, but, such as it is, it tends to the convictionthat they will not. 

It is a mistake to believe that persecution is an unfailing help to areligious cause. It is so only when the persecution is sporadic andfitful: storms succeeded by sunshine. When persecution partakes of astern, unrelenting nature, such as has recently been meted out toChinese converts, it certainly destroys, or at least stultifies, growth. 

Despite remonstrances from the great Powers and despite all treaties, I greatly fear that these persecutions will be more bitter and moregeneral in the future than they have been in the past. 

While the progress of conversion is thus delayed and Christianity bydrawing the fire of hate and intolerance absorbs all attention, Mohammedanism is silently making considerable strides, favoured by aperiod of bright sunshine, and unless storms of persecution soon burstagain to roll back the tide, as after the last Mohammedan rising, when, it is said, loads of human ears were forwarded to Peking intoken of successful repression, followers of the Prophet bid fair toestablish a position in China which cannot be coerced and must berecognised, and which would oppose to Christianity an even strongerand keener influence than is exerted now. 

I have often heard the question asked--"Would the Chinese be any thebetter for becoming Christians?" and the reply has usually been thatthey would not. 

Personally, I believe that Christianity would supply the Chinaman'scharacter with an element which it now altogether lacks--chivalry, andwhich, added to his many excellent qualities, would place him in thevery forefront of the peoples of this earth. 

If China accepted Christianity her moral and material regenerationwould be assured, stagnation would yield to progress, darkness tolight and hostility to friendliness. Instead of the unwieldy mass nowlying sulking at the feet of other nations, China would become astrong, self-reliant, prosperous state, fearing none, but held inrespect and friendship by all. 

Heathen China may possibly fall under the yoke of foreign powers, butthe spirit of Christianity, bringing with it reformation and progress, having once been breathed into her nostrils, it would be just aspossible to chain the waters of the ocean as to hold her in lastingbondage, and Christian China would be free. 

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[Sidenote: CHANCES. ]

Forty odd years ago, at the close of the second great war, China was averitable Eldorado for Europeans, where all turned to gold beneath thelightest touch of alien hands. Fortunes were made with startlingrapidity, and money came in so freely that the standard of livingamongst foreign merchants and their _employés_ reached to suchpreposterous heights of luxuriousness, that when the inevitablereaction set in, want, and even ruin, supervened where plenty shouldhave been found. 

From that date to this the descent from an inflated prosperity to amean working level has been gradual and sure. 

What has been the cause of this descent?

Forty years ago the foreign trade was practically monopolised byEnglishmen, who had only to place their goods on the market of anynewly-opened port for them to be snapped up at almost any price byChinese merchants, who then possessed but little knowledge of foreignwares and were exceedingly timid of their own officials. As time woreon this ignorance and timidity grew less and less, until the Chinesepurchaser came to close quarters with the English importer, eliminating middlemen at the small ports and transferring operationschiefly to the great emporiums of Hongkong and Shanghai. Americans andContinentals of all nationalities arrived in rapidly-increasingnumbers, bringing merchandise for the Chinese market, thus givingnative buyers a much larger variety of goods from which to choose, andintroducing a competition fatal to the former enormous profits. 

Although the volume of both import and export trade shows a continuousyearly increase, it tends more and more to centre in the hands of acomparatively few large European firms with which Chinese merchantsfrom all parts of the Empire directly negotiate, to the exclusion offoreigners in a small way of business. 

Another reason for the decrease of profitable commercial openings isthe practical extinction of China's tea trade with England, Ceylon andIndia now supplying the home-market, and although as great a quantityof tea is still exported from China as formerly, it nearly all goes toRussia, and this trade being in the hands of Russian monopolists, there is but little employment for other nationalities, while evenhere it probably will not be many years before the Russians largelyfollow our example in abandoning Chinese tea in preference for that ofCeylon and India. 

Similarly the steam shipping, which originally was almost exclusivelyBritish-owned, is gradually passing to the credit of Chinesecapitalists, if not in name yet in reality, and any new development inthis line is almost sure to be mainly financed from native sources. 

The opinion is largely held that accordingly as China is opened up byrailways, by steam navigation on the inland waters, and bysimplification of inland duties, foreigners will reap such advantagesas may again enable them to quickly amass fortunes. Let there be nodelusion on this point. 

Wherever openings for trade occur there will instantly be found shrewdChinese business men backed by a plentiful supply of native capital, and the Westerner will get but little that is worth having. 

When the West River was thrown open to steamer traffic a few yearssince it was confidently predicted on all sides that it would cause aconsiderable development in foreign shipping. Nothing of the kind. Ona recent trip to Wuchow I saw scores, and possibly hundreds, of smallsteamers and launches crammed with cargo and passengers, or towingstrings of deep-laden junks, but they were all Chinese-owned, whilethe only foreign-owned vessels to be seen were a few gun-boats andless than half-a-dozen steamers, which it is generally believed barelyearn enough to cover expenses. 

The descent thus accounted for has chiefly then been caused by thecompetition amongst Westerners allowing Chinese merchants to get oneven terms with them, when, being extremely good business men, holdingabsolute command of the native markets, and able to live much morecheaply than Europeans, they have generally ousted small foreigntraders from the out-ports by carrying operations over their headsdirect to well-known houses at the great centres of trade. 

Firms doing a large import and export business should prosper, although harassed by continual fluctuations in the value of silver, but their prosperity will redound to the direct advantage of a fewonly, while the chances of a man who comes out from home with a smallcapital being able to make for himself a successful commercial careerare woefully meagre. Even representatives of wealthy syndicates, afterinvestigating prospects on the spot, generally come to the conclusionthat capital can be more profitably invested elsewhere than in China. 

On the other hand there are a considerable number of officialappointments to be obtained, carrying with them comfortableremuneration, but these are mostly filled up in England and in theseveral countries concerned. 

Professional men, such as doctors, lawyers and dentists, working bothfor Chinese clients and foreign residents, have capital opportunities, while for captains, officers and engineers for steamers, engineers anddirectors for docks and factories, professors for various colleges, mining experts and railroad constructors, there is an increasingdemand at fair salaries, but, considering the trying climate, thebanishment from home and the persistent decline in the value ofsilver, residence in the Far East, even on a large income, is adoubtful advantage. 

The collapse of silver has been so great that whereas twenty or thirtyyears ago four silver dollars would purchase a sovereign, and a salaryof four hundred dollars a month represented twelve hundred pounds ayear, now it takes more than twelve dollars to purchase a sovereign, so that a similar salary of four hundred dollars a month representsless than four hundred pounds a year. 

It is a common belief at home that fluctuations in the value of silverare not felt when purchases are confined to a silver-using country. This is quite a mistake. China is a silver-using country, yet thestandard of value maintained by her four hundred million souls isneither silver nor gold but copper cash, and the ultimate cost of_everything_ of native origin is regulated by its value in cash. 

A coolie's wages a few years ago may have been six thousand cash amonth, and a dollar being then purchasable for say a thousand cash, you gave him six dollars a month. To-day his wages may still be sixthousand cash but a dollar being now worth only five hundred cash, youare obliged to give him twelve dollars a month. Precisely the samerule applies to meat, coals, vegetables, etc. 

For all imported foreign articles, such as clothes, stores, wines, etc. , you must give enough in silver dollars to make up the price asreckoned at home, that is, in gold, and as you now have to give threetimes as many dollars for a sovereign as formerly your imported goodsare three times dearer, or, in other words, the value of silver hasfallen and its purchasing power is very much less than it used to bethe whole world over. 

For a man drawing his salary in dollars the cost of living in the FarEast is more than double what it was twenty-five years ago. For thosewho direct big businesses the earnings of which are in silver and theexpenses largely in gold, as well as for those who had alreadyinvested their fortunes in shares prior to the utter collapse ofsilver, the past few years have been a period of crushing losses, while the future must be fraught with grave anxiety. 

In short, but few fortunes are to be made in China, while money isvery easily lost, and unless a man before leaving home secures adefinite position in a good business firm, in Government employ or insome profession, it would be most unwise of him to go out on thechance of finding employment after his arrival. 

THE END

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_Colston & Coy. Limited, Printers, Edinburgh. _

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 +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | Typographical errors corrected in text: | | | | Page 47: per excellence replaced with par excellence | | Page 76: averge replaced with average | | Page 174: dogs-kin replaced with dog-skin | | Page 193: bicyles replaced with bicycles | | | | Note to Readers: | | 'Forrard' is a legitimate word, meaning "at or to or | | toward the front". | | On page 83, the word powed is a legitimate word, meaning | | "polled". | | | +-----------------------------------------------------------+

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