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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Peeps Into China, by E. C. Phillips
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Peeps Into China
+       Or: The Missionary's Children
+
+Author: E. C. Phillips
+
+Release Date: November 3, 2010 [EBook #34199]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PEEPS INTO CHINA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Emmy, Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: A STREET SHOWMAN.]
+
+
+
+
+
+PEEPS INTO CHINA; OR, The Missionary's Children.
+
+BY E. C. PHILLIPS,
+
+          AUTHOR OF "TROPICAL READING-BOOKS," "THE ORPHANS," "BUNCHY,"
+          "HILDA AND HER DOLL," ETC.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+          CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED:
+          _LONDON, PARIS, NEW YORK & MELBOURNE._
+
+          [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]
+
+
+
+
+          To
+
+          MY DEAR PARENTS,
+
+          IN
+
+          LOVING MEMORY.
+
+          "Can I forget thy cares, from helpless years
+          Thy tenderness for me?"
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Contents.]
+
+
+    CHAPTER                            PAGE
+       I. THE COUNTRY RECTORY             9
+
+      II. THE FIRST PEEP                 21
+
+     III. THE RELIGIONS OF CHINA         44
+
+      IV. CHINESE CHILDHOOD              69
+
+       V. THE MERCHANT SHOWMAN           89
+
+      VI. LITTLE CHU AND WOO-URH        100
+
+     VII. LEONARD'S EXPLOIT IN FORMOSA  114
+
+    VIII. THE BOAT POPULATION           134
+
+      IX. AT CANTON                     153
+
+       X. A BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM        179
+
+      XI. PROCESSIONS                   197
+
+     XII. THE LAST PEEP                 208
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE COUNTRY RECTORY.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"NOT really; you can't mean it really!"
+
+"As true as possible. Mother told me her _very own_ self," was the
+emphatic reply.
+
+Two children, brother and sister, the boy aged ten, the girl three years
+older, were carrying on this conversation in the garden of a country
+rectory.
+
+"But really and truly, on your word of honour," repeated Leonard, as
+though he could not believe what his sister had just related to him.
+
+"I hope my word is always a word of honour; I thought everybody's word
+ought to be that," Sybil Graham replied a little proudly, for when she
+had run quickly to bring such important news to her brother, she could
+not help feeling hurt that he should refuse to believe what she said.
+
+"And we are really going there, and shall actually see the 'pig-tails'
+in their own country, and the splendid kites they fly, and all the
+wonderful things that father used to tell us about? Oh! it seems too
+good to be true."
+
+"But it is true," Sybil repeated with emphasis. "And I dare say we might
+even see tea growing, as it does grow there, you know, and I suppose we
+shall be carried about in sedan-chairs ourselves." She was really as
+happy as her brother, only not so excitable.
+
+At this moment their mother joined them. "Oh, mother!" the boy then
+exclaimed, "how beautiful! Sybil has just told me, but I could not
+believe her."
+
+"I thought the news would delight you both very much," Mrs. Graham
+answered. "Your father and I have been thinking about going to China for
+some time, but we would not tell you anything about it until matters
+were quite settled, and now everything seems to be satisfactorily
+arranged for us to start in three months' time."
+
+"That will be in August, then," they both said at once.
+
+"Oh, how very beautiful!" Sybil exclaimed. "_I like my father to be a
+missionary very much._ He must be glad too; isn't he, mother?"
+
+"Very glad indeed, although the joy will entail some sadness also. I
+expect your father will grieve a good deal to leave this dear little
+country parish of ours, and the duties he has so loved to perform here,
+but a wider field of usefulness having opened out for him, he is very
+thankful to obey the call."
+
+[Illustration: THE CHURCH.]
+
+"And father will do it so well, mother," answered Sybil. "I wonder
+whether I shall be able to do anything to help him there?"
+
+"I think you have long since found out, Sybil," was her mother's loving
+answer, "that you can always be doing something to help us."
+
+Sybil and Leonard had as yet only learnt a part of the story. They had
+still to learn the rest. This going to China would not be all beautiful,
+all joy for them, especially for Sybil, with her very affectionate
+nature and dread of saying "Good-byes," for she and Leonard were only to
+be taken out on a trip--a pleasure tour--to see something of China, and
+to return to England to go on with their education at the end of six
+months.
+
+Mr. Graham then calling his wife, the children were again left alone.
+
+It was no easy matter to go as a missionary to China. This Mr. Graham
+well knew, for his father, although only for a short time, had been one
+over there before him, and had discovered--what so many other later
+brother missionaries have found out also--that to obtain even a hearing
+on the subject of religion from a Chinaman, who has been trained and
+brought up to be a superstitious idolater, very vain of his wisdom and
+antiquity as a nation, and to look upon Europeans as barbarians, is
+often a most difficult matter.
+
+Eighteen years before Mr. Graham the elder went out to Peking as one of
+the first missionaries to China, and his only son, who had then just
+qualified for the medical profession, accompanied him. A year later, the
+father dying, his son returned at once to England, but with a changed
+mind, determined now to seek holy orders and enter the ministry, instead
+of following his profession, so as by thus doing to add one more to the
+number of earnest clergy that his short stay in China had shown him were
+so much needed. To carry out his resolution, he went to Oxford to
+prepare, and soon after his ordination he married, and settled down, in
+the little country village, where we find him, surrounded by his little
+family.
+
+Often since then had he contemplated leaving England for missionary
+work, but until now he had been prevented from carrying his wishes into
+effect.
+
+His knowledge of medicine had not been lost to him, for many a sufferer
+in the little, yet wide-spreading country parish, who lived at too great
+a distance to send for the doctor for a slight ailment, had been very
+thankful, when the clergyman came in to read and pray with him, to learn
+from him what his slight ailment was, and how he could prevent its
+becoming a great one.
+
+And this knowledge would be most helpful and invaluable in China, where
+Mr. Graham knew that the science of medicine was held in veneration by
+the inhabitants, and gained a ready admission to those who were glad to
+be cured of bodily ailments, but knew not how sick their souls were.
+
+The missionary's slight acquaintance with the Chinese dialect, which,
+when time permitted, he had endeavoured to keep up, would also be of
+service to him when he arrived in China; for although the dialects of
+the south, where he was going, were very different from those of the
+north, the Mandarin, or Court language, spoken by the officials, was
+understood in every part.
+
+"That's why father's been reading all those books lately with the
+pig-tail pictures in, and wonderful kites, and why he has been studying
+the language without an alphabet," Leonard said, when he and his sister
+were again alone. "If I hadn't been at school so much, I expect I should
+have found out what was going to happen."
+
+"I don't believe we should ever find out anything that father did not
+wish us to know, however much we wanted to do so," answered Sybil. "But
+isn't it splendid?--all but one thing, and that is having to leave
+everybody, and my best friend Lily Keith. I shan't like doing that at
+all."
+
+"And I shall miss my friends too, of course," said Leonard; "but then I
+expect we shall make some new ones; and I thought you were so fond of
+writing letters. Why, you could write splendid ones from China, and tell
+Lily what we see, and perhaps mother would draw you some pictures for
+them, for she can draw anything, you know."
+
+Sybil was comforted, for she was very fond of writing letters, and her
+friend, she knew, would be very glad to have some from China.
+
+Directly after the six o'clock dinner was the children's hour with
+father, who, being a very busy man, had to regulate all his time; but
+this one hour a day belonged entirely to his family, and unless anything
+unforeseen happened, they had and claimed every moment of it.
+
+Sybil came down-stairs first, and going up to her father, who was
+sitting by a large bow window, gazing out of it, with a very serious
+look on his face, she said with surprise as she kissed him: "You look
+sad, dear father. Aren't you glad to go to China?"
+
+He drew her on to his knee.
+
+"Very glad, my darling," was the answer; "but I was just picturing to
+myself some farewells that will have to be taken. I shall be very
+sorry, too, to say 'Good-bye' here, where our lives have been so blessed
+and our prayers so abundantly answered. We cannot help feeling sorry to
+leave our old friends, can we?"
+
+"But you don't look, father," she continued, "as if that were all that
+you had been thinking."
+
+"I dare say it was also about the work in which I am so soon to engage,
+for that, Sybil, is full of grave responsibility; but now I think it is
+my turn to ask what your thoughts are," he went on, for at that moment
+Sybil was looking quite as grave as, just before, her father could have
+looked.
+
+"I was remembering two verses of a piece of poetry that I learnt last
+term at school, which I think must have been written for missionaries,"
+she replied.
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF CHINA.]
+
+Her father then asking her to repeat them to him, Sybil said:--
+
+          "Sow ye beside all waters,
+           Where the dew of heaven may fall;
+           Ye shall reap, if ye be not weary,
+           For the Spirit breathes o'er all.
+           Sow, though the thorns may wound thee;
+           One wore the thorns for thee;
+           And, though the cold world scorn thee,
+           Patient and hopeful be.
+           Sow ye beside all waters,
+           With a blessing and a prayer,
+           Name Him whose hand upholds thee,
+           And sow thou everywhere.
+
+          "Work! in the wild waste places,
+           Though none thy love may own;
+           God guides the down of the thistle
+           The wandering wind hath sown.
+           Will Jesus chide thy weakness,
+           Or call thy labour vain?
+           The Word that for Him thou bearest
+           Shall return to Him again.
+           On!--with thine heart in heaven,
+           Thy strength--thy Master's might,
+           Till the wild waste places blossom
+           In the warmth of a Saviour's light."
+
+"Thank you, Sybil," said her father. "I am sure you will make a capital
+little missionary's daughter some day."
+
+"To what part of China are we going, father?" she then asked; "to the
+same place where you were before?"
+
+"No; quite in another direction. You know when I was last in China I was
+at Peking, in the north, and now I am to be in Hong-Kong, an island in
+the south; but we shall not go there direct, as I wish to take you to
+see several places before finally landing."
+
+"Wait a minute, please, father," Sybil then exclaimed, "while I just
+fetch my map to look them out as you tell them to me." And as she spoke
+she ran off, to return the next minute with an atlas, in which she found
+these places as her father mentioned them: Shanghai, Amoy, the Island of
+Formosa, Swatow, Hong-Kong, Macao, and Canton.
+
+"I wish, father, you would tell us some day all you can remember about
+Peking," then said Leonard, as he ran in and joined his father and
+sister, having till now been very busy, first coaxing his good friend
+the gardener to help him cut and put up some roosts in the fowl-house,
+and then showing his handiwork to his mother. "You know what I mean:
+something like what you used to tell us."
+
+[Illustration: LEONARD IN THE GARDEN.]
+
+"I will try to arouse up my memory, and tell you what I can on board
+ship, when we shall have, I suppose, seven or eight weeks with very
+little to do, and when you will, no doubt, be glad of some true stories
+to while away the time."
+
+"I wish we were going to start to-morrow," rejoined Leonard, who was, I
+am afraid, a boy without a particle of that virtue which we call
+"patience." He wanted his mother now to go into the poultry-yard with
+him to see the roosts he had, and as she liked to enter into all his
+pleasures and useful occupations, she was very pleased to go.
+
+Before either of them came in again, Sybil had heard "the rest" from her
+father; that she and Leonard were, after a six months' long holiday in
+China, to return to England to continue their education. It was a
+terrible blow to her, to whom a long separation from her parents seemed
+almost like an impossibility. Her bright eyes filled with tears.
+
+"Oh, father!" she said; "and leave you and mother?"
+
+"It must be for a time, my darling, till your education is completed, as
+your mother and I both wish you to remain at the school where you are,
+but when school-days are over, about four years hence, I hope to be able
+to have you out with us. It will be longer for poor old Leonard, won't
+it?"
+
+"I don't think I care to go to China now, father," Sybil then said.
+
+"Oh yes you do, Sybil," was the answer; "you like your father to be a
+missionary very much, you know, do you not?" Her mother had repeated
+this saying. "And, my child," he continued, "you know that it must be a
+dreadful trial for so very good and loving a mother as yours to part
+from her children; but now that a call has come to me to do my Master's
+work in a foreign land, and she is helping me to obey it, you would not
+make her trial greater, would you, by letting her see you sad? Oh no! I
+know you would not; but you would help us to do our duty more bravely.
+Is it not so, my child?"
+
+Sybil buried her face on her father's shoulder, and sobbed, but on
+seeing her mother coming up the garden towards them, she quickly wiped
+her tears away, and tried to look cheerful. Her father had gone wisely
+to work in giving her such a reason for trying to overcome her sorrow,
+and he knew that now she would set herself bravely to work to help, and
+not to hinder, her parents' undertaking.
+
+And they were not to be parted for nearly another year, she said to
+herself, and meanwhile they were to have all sorts of enjoyments with
+their parents.
+
+Mrs. Graham brought a message from Leonard for Sybil to go and see his
+roosts, which she at once obeyed, affectionately kissing her mother as
+she passed her. That was to say that she knew, and a great deal more.
+
+Another piece of news Sybil now conveyed to Leonard, and as she told it,
+even he could not tell that it made her very unhappy. I wonder if he
+believed at once this time!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE FIRST PEEP.
+
+
+THE missionary's family party had set sail, and the steamship, in which
+they were passengers, was now fairly out at sea.
+
+As far as money was concerned, Mr. Graham had no anxieties, for being
+the only son of a very wealthy man, who had lost his wife some time
+before he died himself, Mr. Graham had, at his father's death, inherited
+the whole of his large fortune.
+
+"Now, father, don't you think it's high time you began to tell us about
+old Peking?" Leonard said, a few days after they had sailed. "I did not
+ask you at first, because we had plenty to do to look about us, but now
+that there's nothing in the world but water to see anywhere, we should
+so like to hear some stories; so please begin, if it won't trouble you
+too much."
+
+And sitting on deck, with Sybil on his right and Leonard on his left,
+Mr. Graham did as he was requested, and gave his children what they
+considered a very interesting description of a portion of that vast
+empire which they were so soon to visit. "The Chinese," he began, "are a
+very ancient race, so ancient, indeed, that the origin of their monarchy
+is not known."
+
+"Do you mind waiting one minute, father, just to tell me a thing I have
+forgotten, and you told me once?" Leonard asked. "What does the word
+China mean?"
+
+"The ancient name for China, Tien-sha, means 'inferior only to heaven.'
+Chinese history begins with the fabulous ages, two or three million
+years ago, when the Chinese say that no land but theirs was inhabited,
+and gods reigned upon the earth, which was made for them. After the
+gods, they tell us, came mythical kings, who were giants, had the power
+of working miracles, and lived for thousands of years; but it is really
+supposed that the first people who passed beyond the deserts of Central
+Asia settled in the province of Shen-si, which borders on Tartary, and
+here laid the foundation of the present monarchy of China.
+
+"Some Chinese historians think that their first mortal Emperor was
+Fuh-hi, whose date of coming to the throne is fixed as early as 2,852
+years B.C. He is described as possessing great virtues, and was called
+by his subjects the 'Son of heaven'--a title which is still given to
+Emperors of China, who are foolishly supposed, by some of their
+subjects, to be of celestial origin. He is said to have taught them how
+to keep laws and to live peaceably, also to have invented the arts of
+music and numbers. Certainly the Chinese have understood music from very
+early ages, and class it among the chief of the sciences.
+
+[Illustration: MUSICIANS.]
+
+"They have at least fifty different kinds of wind and string musical
+instruments, made of wood, stone, or metal, and they play a great
+deal, but especially upon their fiddle instruments. They do not like our
+music at all.
+
+"But now we must go back to a little more Chinese history. There is
+nothing to prove that the Chinese existed as a nation before the time of
+Yu the Great, whose date of accession is said to be 2,285 years B.C.,
+and he is also included in the Legendary Period to which Fuh-hi belongs.
+After the Legendary Period came the Semi-Historical Period in Chinese
+history; the really Historical Period dating from the early part of the
+eighth century before Christ.
+
+"Different dynasties succeeded each other, till from the years 500 to
+200 B.C. many petty kings, reigning over various provinces, waged war
+against one another. At length a fierce warrior, named Ching-wang, went
+to war with, and conquered, all of them, and made himself master of the
+whole empire, about 200 years B.C., his government comprising about the
+northern half of modern China. He was the first monarch of the dynasty
+called Tsin, or Chin. Next he turned his arms against the Tartars, who
+were a portion of those people whom we read of in history by the name of
+Huns, and who were now making constant inroads into China. They were
+capital soldiers--I believe every Tartar has now to be a soldier--and as
+the Chinese dreaded them very much, the Emperor thought out a way to
+keep them off. He erected a great wall along the whole extent of the
+northern frontier of China, of very great height, thickness, and
+strength, made of two walls of brick many feet apart, the space between
+them being, for half the length of the wall, filled up with earth, and
+the other half with gravel and rubbish. On it were square towers, which
+were erected at about a hundred yards' distance from one another. Some
+say this wall extended 1,500 miles from the sea to the most western
+provinces of Shen-si; McCulloch says it is 1,250 miles in length. It was
+carried over mountains and across rivers. Six horsemen could ride
+abreast upon it. But there was great cruelty practised in its
+construction, for the Emperor obliged every third labouring man in the
+kingdom to work at this wall without payment.
+
+[Illustration: GREAT WALL OF CHINA, GULF OF PE-CHI-LI.]
+
+"It took five years to finish, and has now existed for more than two
+thousand years. It is called Wan-li-chang, or Myriad-mile Wall."
+
+"And did it keep out the Tartars?" Leonard asked.
+
+"No; the little Emperor Tsai-tien, born in 1871, and now on the throne,
+is, I believe, a descendant of theirs. He is called Kwang-su, which
+means 'Continuation of glory.'"
+
+"Does the Emperor's eldest son always reign?"
+
+"No; the ablest or best son is generally chosen. Ching-wang seemed to
+think that he was master of the whole universe, and called himself
+Che-Hwang-ti, or First Emperor; and then to try to show that he was the
+founder of the monarchy, he had, as he thought, all the historical
+documents burnt that could prove otherwise, but did not succeed, for
+some that had been hidden behind the walls of houses were found after
+his death."
+
+"What a quantity of stuff it must have taken to build the wall!" said
+Leonard.
+
+"Yes; the material in the Great Wall, including the earth in the middle
+of it, is said to be more than enough to surround the circumference of
+the earth, on two of its great circles, with two walls of six feet high
+and two feet thick. Guards are stationed in the strong towers by which
+the wall is fortified; every important pass having a strong fortress."
+
+"And what is the height of the wall, father?" asked Leonard.
+
+"About twenty feet; and there are steps of brick and stone for men on
+foot to ascend, and slanting places for the cavalry."
+
+"I shall like to see Chinese soldiers," Leonard said. "Did you ever see
+them at drill, father?"
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE ARTILLERY-MEN, PEKING.]
+
+"I remember very well seeing a regiment of artillery at gun-drill one
+day, but I believe there has been a new armament of Chinese artillery
+since my time. I suppose you know, children," then said Mr. Graham,
+"that Peking ranks----"
+
+"For the number of its inhabitants," Sybil said quickly, "as the second
+city in the world, only London having more inhabitants, Paris about the
+same number."
+
+"Yes; and it has----"
+
+"About two million inhabitants."
+
+"Yes; and as Peking was built many centuries before the Christian era,
+it is a very old city. The name Peking means Court of the North. After
+the conquest by the Tartars of the kingdom of Yen, of which Peking was
+the capital, it became only a provincial town, when, at the beginning of
+the fifteenth century, it was again made the capital of China. The
+Chinese sovereigns used to live at Nanking, but when the Tartars had so
+often invaded the country, they removed to the northern province, to
+enable them the more easily to keep out the invaders."
+
+"On our Chinese umbrella that we had in the dining-room fireplace at
+home," said Sybil, "there was, I remember, a picture of Peking, and some
+water was close by it, but I cannot remember what river Peking is on."
+
+"It is situated in a large sandy plain on the Tunghui, a small tributary
+of the Peiho. This city is again divided into the Chinese and Tartar
+cities, the Imperial city, in which live the Emperor and his retainers,
+and another in which the court officials have their residence.
+
+"Like all other Chinese cities, they are surrounded by high walls. At
+the north, south, east, and west sides of towns are large folding-gates,
+which are often further secured by three inner gates. The one in the
+south is that of honour, through which the Emperor passes, but which is
+usually kept closed at other times.
+
+[Illustration: CIEAN-MUN, OR CHEAN-GATE AT PEKING.]
+
+"The wall of Peking, which is sixteen miles round, has two gates on
+three sides and three on the other, of which the principal is Chean-Mun,
+at the south of the Tartar city. Over the gate is a building occupied by
+soldiers, who are there for purposes of defence.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE SOLDIER.]
+
+[Illustration: STREET OF HATA-MÈNE-TA-KIE, PEKING.]
+
+"The streets in Peking are very broad; we shall find them much narrower
+in the south of China. They are raised in the centre, and covered with a
+kind of stone, to form a smooth, hard surface. In summer they are often,
+I remember, very dusty, and during the rainy seasons very dirty. At the
+end of each street is a wooden barrier, which is guarded day and night
+by soldiers. The barrier is closed at nine o'clock at night, after which
+time the Chinese are only allowed to pass through if they have a very
+good reason to give for being out so late.
+
+"Order is well kept in the streets of Peking by the soldiers and police,
+who may use their whips on troublesome customers whenever they think it
+necessary to do so.
+
+"The principal streets, or main thoroughfares, extending from one end of
+the city to the other, are its only outlets. Trees grow in several of
+these streets. Houses, in which the inhabitants live, are in smaller
+streets or lanes, the houses themselves being often shut in by walls.
+
+"Pagodas (which, you know, are temples to heathen gods, built in the
+form of towers), monasteries, and churchyards, are all outside the
+walls, and the city itself is principally kept for purposes of
+commerce."
+
+"We know what pagodas are like," Leonard said, "because we had two at
+home for ornaments. I think we know many things through being so
+fortunate as to have a father who has travelled."
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE BARBER.]
+
+"There is a great noise in some of the streets," Mr. Graham went on:
+"for instance, in the Hata-mène-ta-kie, where many people are to be seen
+bustling about and talking very loudly to one another. Tents are here
+put up in which rice, fruit, and other things are sold, and any one
+wishing for a pretty substantial meal can be supplied with it in the
+Hata-mène-ta-kie, for before stoves stand the vendors of such meals, who
+have cooked them ready for purchasers. Other tradesmen carry hampers,
+slung across their shoulders, in which they keep their goods, whilst
+they call out, from time to time, to let people know what these hampers
+contain. Carts, horses, mules, wheel-barrows, and sedan-chairs pass
+along, the whole place seeming to be alive with buyers and sellers. The
+cobbler is sure to be somewhere close at hand in his movable workshop,
+and first here and then there, as may best suit himself and employers,
+the blacksmith pitches his tent, which sometimes consists of a large
+umbrella; whilst, again, people can refresh themselves, if they do not
+care for a heavier meal, with some soup or a patty at a soup stall.
+
+"And the barber does not forget that he is a very useful person. There,
+in the open streets, he communicates, by the tinkling of a little bell,
+the fact that he is ready to shave the heads and arrange the cues or
+pig-tails of those who may require his services; and as one man after
+another takes the seat that has been put ready for him, the barber not
+only shaves and plaits, but also frequently paints his customer's
+eyebrows and gives his clothes a brush."
+
+"Father, why do Chinamen wear pig-tails?" here broke in Leonard, who,
+with Sybil, was very much interested in what he heard.
+
+"After they were conquered by the Tartars they were obliged to wear
+them, to show that they were in subjection to their conquerors; but now
+the pig-tail is held in honour, and the longer it will grow the better
+pleased is the Chinese gentleman who wears it. Some very bad criminals
+have their tails cut off as a great punishment and disgrace.
+
+"Well, what should you like to hear now?" Mr. Graham asked, after a
+little pause.
+
+"What Chinese shops are like, I think," said Sybil.
+
+[Illustration: A SHOP IN PEKING.]
+
+"Most of those in China are quite open in front; where we are going I
+suppose we shall see very few, if any, shop-windows at all, but in
+Peking many of the shops have glass windows. In China there are
+certain streets for certain shops, where the different branches of
+trade have generally their own sides of the road. A shop is called a
+hong. Sometimes the master sits outside, waiting for his customers to
+arrive.
+
+[Illustration: SIGN-BOARD OF A CUSHION AND MATTING MANUFACTORY.]
+
+"At the door of each hong are sign-boards, upon which are painted in
+gold, or coloured letters, a motto instead of a name, and what the shop
+offers for sale.
+
+"I do not think," Mr. Graham then said, drawing, as he spoke, a little
+representation of a sign-board out of his pocket-book, "that I ever
+showed you this."
+
+"Oh no!" both the children answered. "And what do those characters
+mean?"
+
+On another piece of paper Mr. Graham pointed out to them the following
+interpretation:
+
+               =Teën=
+               =Yee=
+               =Shun=
+          Fung        Poo
+          Seih        Tian
+              =Tëen=
+
+[Illustration: A TWO-WHEELED CART.]
+
+"The three first large characters, which form the motto, may be taken to
+signify that 'Heaven favours the prudent.' The other smaller characters
+designate the nature of the business, a cushion and matting
+manufactory; the last character, without which no sign-board is
+complete, meaning shop or factory."
+
+"I shall like to see these sign-boards very much when we get to China,"
+Sybil said. "I should think they must make the streets look very
+pretty."
+
+Mr. Graham had illustrated several things which he had told the children
+by some pictures which he had brought on board with him.
+
+[Illustration: A YOUNG FARMER AND HIS PARENTS.]
+
+Leonard was now looking again at that of Chean Mun, or Chean Gate, for
+Mun means gate.
+
+"I have been noticing, father," he then said, "that all the carts in
+this picture have only two wheels."
+
+"I never saw any in China with more," was the answer. "Both shut and
+open carts (the latter being used as carriages) have all two wheels.
+Those in common use are made of wood, the body of the cart resting on
+an axle-tree, supported by the wheels. Horses and mules are very little
+used in China, except for travelling and for conveying luggage long
+distances. I remember also noticing that horses and ponies require very
+little guiding in China. Sometimes they go without reins, when their
+masters will perhaps walk beside them, carrying a whip. I have also seen
+very polite drivers, who, whenever they met a friend, jumped off their
+carts and walked on foot to pass one another.
+
+[Illustration: A CHINESE JUNK.]
+
+[Illustration: FLYING KITES.]
+
+"Government servants generally use ponies, but as China is so densely
+populated--having, it has been estimated, about four hundred million
+inhabitants, and people find it so hard to obtain enough to support
+themselves and families--they keep as few beasts of burden as possible.
+The farmer employs the bullock a great deal, and in the north of China
+the camel is also much used.
+
+"Much trade is carried on by boats, and where there is no water, and
+farmers are without other conveyances, they will sometimes push their
+wives along the roads in wheel-barrows, sons giving their parents
+similar drives. There are but few carriage-roads in many parts of
+China."
+
+"I wonder the Chinese do not make more, then," said Leonard.
+
+"They cannot afford to do so, because to make them bread-producing land
+would have to be done away with."
+
+"What a number of rivers and bays there are in China!" said Sybil, who
+was again examining her map. "And I see the Great Wall crosses the
+Hwang-ho."
+
+"And that's the fifth largest river in the world," Leonard answered.
+"Only the Amazon, Mississippi, Nile, and Yantze-kiang are larger; and
+the Grand Canal in China is the very largest canal in the world."
+
+"I learnt once, too, that Hwang-ho meant 'Chinese sorrow.' Why is it
+called that?"
+
+"Because it has altered its course, which has caused great loss and
+inconvenience to the Chinese."
+
+"And what does 'Yantze-kiang' mean?"
+
+"The son that spreads; this is their favourite river."
+
+Geography was one of Leonard's favourite studies.
+
+"Why do so many Chinese rivers end in ho and kiang?" he then asked,
+looking over Sybil's map.
+
+"Both words mean river--the Yantze and the Hwang rivers. And the Chinese
+have all kinds of boats for use on their rivers. Here, my boy, is a
+picture of a Chinese junk. Look at it well, and see if you can discover
+anything peculiar about it."
+
+Leonard looked for some time. "It has sails," he answered, "like
+butterflies' wings."
+
+"Yes; that is how the Chinese make many of their sails."
+
+"But the kites are what I want to see so much," said Leonard, as though
+the sails had reminded him of them again. "What are the most peculiar of
+them like?"
+
+"Like birds, insects, animals, clusters of birds, gods on clouds: all
+kinds of things, in fact, are represented by these kites, which the
+Chinese are most clever in making, and also in flying. I have seen old
+men, of about seventy years of age, thoroughly enjoying flying their
+kites. The Chinese do not care much for your, and my, favourite games,
+Leonard: cricket and football."
+
+"What games do they like?"
+
+"They are very fond of battledore and shuttlecock, but instead of using
+a battledore they hit the shuttlecock with their heads, elbows, or feet.
+Seven or eight children play together, and nearly always aim the
+shuttlecock rightly. Girls play at this game too, in spite of their
+small feet. Tops, balls, see-saws, and quoits are also favourite toys
+and games amongst the Chinese."
+
+"I remember," Sybil said, "a girl at school having a Chinese
+shuttlecock, and that was like a bird."
+
+"Well, father, go on, please. What other amusements have they?" asked
+Leonard.
+
+"Puppet-shows for one thing I remember, which they exhibit in the
+streets, as we do 'Punch and Judy.' The pictures in these shows are
+exhibited by means of strings, which are either worked from behind or
+from above the stand, and as the people look through a glass, the views
+are displayed to them. A man standing at the side calls out loudly, and
+beats a little gong to summon people to attend the show. And now I
+think, as I am rather tired for to-day, I shall beat a little gong to
+dismiss you from the show," Mr. Graham said, smiling, as he turned
+towards his children, who never seemed to grow tired of listening.
+
+"Very well, father; we will go now, and let you rest," Sybil replied,
+standing up. "Thank you so much. To-morrow, you know, we shall come to
+the show again, so please remember to sound the gong in good time." And
+off they bounded, leaving Mr. Graham at liberty to go and seek his wife,
+who was then lying down in her cabin.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE RELIGIONS OF CHINA.
+
+
+[Illustration: LI-HUNG.]
+
+"WILL you please tell us to-day, father, something about the religion of
+the Chinese? I know they worship idols, but how do they believe in
+them?" Sybil asked, as soon as their "Peep-show," as the children
+continued to call their father's stories, began the next afternoon.
+During the morning she had sat and read to her mother, who still felt
+the motion of the vessel very much, and had therefore to lie down part
+of the day.
+
+"I will try to do so," was the answer; "but I think what you hear may
+puzzle you a good deal, for they have very strange creeds."
+
+"Did grandfather make many converts?"
+
+"Very few indeed; but then he was one of our very first missionaries to
+Peking, so was most thankful for the very little which he was enabled to
+do.
+
+[Illustration: A CITIZEN OF TIENT-SIN.]
+
+"I remember two men for whose conversion from Buddhism he often gave
+thanks. One was a citizen of Tientsin, where we landed on our way to the
+capital.
+
+"This good fellow, who was then a very questionable character, was
+smoking his pipe in a most indifferent manner, when my father, through
+his teacher, first addressed him. Missionaries in China, you know, have
+teachers of the dialects."
+
+"Shall you have one?"
+
+"Of course. Well, this man would not listen at all at first, and was
+very angry at my father's interference; but after a while we met him
+again at Peking, and in time both he and his wife learnt to believe, and
+to long for Christian baptism, before receiving which they not only left
+off worshipping their family idols, but even destroyed them. A short
+time ago I heard that this man had become a native lay teacher, and was
+a great help to the mission, as he could, of course, always make himself
+understood to his own countrymen, who were also not unlikely to be won
+by his example."
+
+"What was his name?" asked Leonard.
+
+"Tung-Sean."
+
+"And that of the other convert?"
+
+"Li-Hung. He was a much older man, and was sitting, I remember, the day
+we first saw him, in a field, resting from his work, and as he caught
+sight of my father he began to call him all sorts of names, amongst
+which was to be heard very often that of 'foreign devil.' I believe he
+even looked for stones to throw at us. Your grandfather--always a very
+quiet, self-possessed man--just dropped some tracts at his side,
+translated into Chinese. We often saw Li-Hung again, and though he gave
+us much trouble, a month before my father died he had the happiness also
+of witnessing this man's conversion to the true faith."
+
+"Grandfather must have been very pleased," Sybil said.
+
+"He was; but I think now I have something rather interesting to tell you
+of our journey from Tientsin to Peking. We went in carts drawn by two
+mules, one in front of the other, and at night we slept at inns, where,
+I think, you would like to hear about our sleeping accommodation. It was
+winter, and as the Peking winter is cold, people there, to make
+themselves warm at night, sleep on kangs. As these were different at
+both inns to which we went, I will tell you about both.
+
+[Illustration: A KANG.]
+
+"In one the kang consisted of a platform built of brick, so much larger
+than a bed that several people could sleep on it at once. A kind of
+tunnel passed through the platform, which had a chimney at one end,
+whilst at the other end, a little while before bed-time, a small
+quantity of dry fuel was set on fire, when the flame passed through the
+tunnel and out of the chimney. In this way the kang was warmed, when
+felt matting was put upon it. Here we lay down, and were covered over
+with a kind of cotton-wool counterpane.
+
+[Illustration: BOATS ON THE RIVER PEI-HO AT TIENT-SIN.]
+
+"The kang in the other inn was warmed by a little stove from underneath,
+which also served in the day-time for cooking purposes, when the
+bed-clothes were removed from the kang, on which mats, and even little
+tables, were also sometimes put, until it became a sofa; so it was very
+useful."
+
+The children laughed.
+
+"We are not hearing about the religion yet, though," Sybil said.
+
+"Oh, do let us hear just a little more about Peking and Tientsin first,"
+Leonard answered. "How far is Tientsin from the capital?"
+
+"Eighty miles. And do you know what river it is on?"
+
+Leonard considered. "It must be an important one, I should think, as it
+carries things, doesn't it, from the sea-coast to near to Peking?"
+
+"It is only a river of secondary importance, but the principal one of
+the province of Pe-chili. Now for its name." Sybil referred to her map.
+
+"The Pei-ho, of course," they exclaimed together. "And I suppose there
+is ever so much traffic on it?" Leonard said; "with no end of ships to
+be seen?"
+
+"Yes, a good many may be seen there. I have a picture of boats on the
+River Pei-ho."
+
+"What sort of flags do Chinese boats have, father? I do not see any
+hoisted here."
+
+"The Imperial Navy is divided into river and sea-going vessels, the
+former consisting of 1,900 ships, the latter of 918; and there are
+188,000 sailors. Ships in the Imperial Navy generally fly a flag at the
+main, on which red lines are drawn, or sometimes a tri-colour is hoisted
+there instead. Red would, I suppose, be for safety, as this is the
+'lucky' colour of the Chinese. At the stern of the vessel I remember
+seeing the name of the official who directs and superintends the ship."
+
+"Isn't Tientsin noted for something?" Sybil then asked.
+
+[Illustration: MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.]
+
+"Yes; for the treaty of June 26th, 1858, between the Chinese and
+British, some of the terms of which were that the Christian religion
+should be protected by Chinese authorities, that British subjects should
+be allowed to travel in the country for pleasure or business, under
+passports issued by their consul, and that the Queen might acquire a
+building site at Peking."
+
+"But now the religion, please, father," she said again.
+
+"Very well; but you must pay great attention to what I say, or you will
+not understand. Most of the Chinese are either Confucianists, Buddhists,
+or Taouists, although there are also Jews and Mahometans amongst them.
+At one time it is supposed that the people of China had really a
+knowledge of the true God, and that when they worshipped, in much the
+same sort of manner as did the patriarchs, Him whom they call Wang-teen,
+or Shang-ti, which means Supreme Ruler, they worshipped God.
+
+"But mixing with this an idolatrous worship of departed ancestors, they
+nearly lost sight of the Supreme Ruler, the jealous God, Who, we know,
+claims all our worship.
+
+"About the latter half of the sixth century before Christ, Confucius, a
+great and clever philosopher of China, who was born 551 B.C., wrote and
+put together books that held very moral and good maxims, afterwards
+called 'The Classics.'
+
+"He taught that men must always be obedient to those to whom they are in
+subjection: people to prince, child to parent, filial piety being
+enforced before every other duty. He was very anxious to improve the
+manners of the people; but women he ranked very low. Confucianism
+is--but perhaps you will not understand this--more a philosophy than a
+religion. Its followers have no particular form of worship, and no
+priesthood. The Pearly Emperor, Supreme Ruler, is their deity, but
+worship is seldom offered to him, and then only by a few.
+
+"Although Confucius disapproved very much of idols, after he was dead
+many of his followers worshipped him.
+
+[Illustration: A MANDARIN.]
+
+"Confucianists do not believe in a future state of rewards and
+punishments, but think that their good and bad deeds will be rewarded
+here by riches or poverty, long or short life, good or bad health.
+Conscience is to lead people aright, and tell them when they do wrong.
+
+"The high mandarins and literary people are generally Confucianists;
+school-boys also worship an idol or tablet of the sage, in which his
+spirit is supposed to dwell.
+
+"There is a temple to the honour of 'The Great Teacher' in every large
+town; and on great occasions, and always in spring-time and autumn,
+sacrifices are here offered, the Emperor himself, as high priest,
+presiding at these two ceremonies in Peking, the chief mandarins of his
+court giving him assistance. In temples of Confucius idols are very
+seldom to be seen.
+
+"The Confucianists are taught that man was originally good, his nature
+being given by heaven, and that sin came through union of the soul with
+matter."
+
+"What are mandarins, please, father?" asked Leonard.
+
+"Chinese officials, of which there are many grades, and many in each
+grade, all of whom are paid by Government. To every province there is a
+viceroy, to every city a governor, and to the village a mandarin, who is
+elected to rule over it for three years; and all these, again, have many
+officers under them. There are also a great many military mandarins. A
+great mark of imperial favour is to allow mandarins, civil or military,
+to wear a peacock's feather in their caps, which hangs down over the
+back, and the ball placed on the top shows, by its colour and material,
+the rank of the wearer. Soldiers fighting very bravely are often buoyed
+up with the hope of receiving one of these feathers.
+
+"Mandarins, who stand in a sort of fatherly relationship towards their
+people, although they do not always behave like fathers towards them,
+look for implicit obedience from them."
+
+"Can a mandarin be punished when he does wrong?" Leonard asked. "And
+what sort of dress does he wear?"
+
+[Illustration: A MANDARIN WITH PEACOCK'S FEATHER.]
+
+"He can be punished when he does wrong; and as well as I can remember,
+those mandarins that I saw, who were in high office, wore a long, loose
+robe of blue silk, embroidered with gold threads. This reached to their
+ankles, being fastened round their waists with a belt. Over this was a
+violet tunic, coming just below the knees, which had very wide, long
+sleeves, usually worn turned back, but if not, hanging over the hands."
+
+"Will you please go on about the religion now, father?" Sybil then said.
+"You had just told us that the Confucianists were taught that man was
+made good."
+
+"Yes; and their worship is paid almost entirely to their ancestors,
+which worship they look upon as a continuation of the reverence they had
+been taught to show them while on earth. I will tell you more about
+ancestral worship presently.
+
+"Many people, as you can well understand, were not satisfied with
+Confucianism as a religion, as it could not satisfy their spiritual
+wants, especially as the Pearly Emperor, or Supreme Ruler, generally
+looked upon as the highest divinity worshipped by the Chinese, might
+only be approached by the Emperor and his court; so another sect sprang
+up, having a philosopher named La-outze, who was born 604 B.C., for its
+founder. He thought that to grow perfect he must seclude himself from
+other people, and in his retirement was always looking for the Taou-le,
+the meaning of which you will hardly understand--the cause or the end of
+all things. His followers are called Taouists. This philosopher says in
+his book that 'it is by stillness, and contemplation, and union with
+Taou, that virtue is to be achieved'--Taou here meaning a principle and
+a way. He said that virtue consisted in losing sight of oneself, and
+that man should love even his enemies, and go through life as if none of
+his possessions belonged to himself. The Taouists say that 'Taou is
+without substance, and eternal, and the universe coming from him exists
+in the silent presence of Taou everywhere,' and that only those who
+become very virtuous are happy.
+
+"La-outze is now worshipped by the Taouists as the third of a trinity
+of persons, called 'The Three Pure Ones.'
+
+"He is said, when born, to have had long white hair, and is therefore
+represented as an old man, and called 'old boy.' The Chinese assert that
+his mother was fed with food from heaven, and that when he was born he
+jumped up into the air, and said, as he pointed with his left hand to
+heaven and his right hand to the earth, 'Heaven above, earth beneath:
+only Taou is honourable.' The Taouist trinity are supposed to live in
+the highest heaven; and Taouists used to spend a great deal of time in
+seeking for a drink that they thought would make them live for ever.
+Subduing evil is by some of them supposed to secure immortality to the
+soul.
+
+"Their priests are often very ignorant men, but they are believed in by
+the people, and are employed by them to perform superstitious rites."
+
+"Oh, father! Isn't it a dreadful pity that they should believe so many
+things like Christians, even in a trinity, and the duty of loving one's
+enemies, and only be heathens after all?"
+
+"It is indeed; but the more we see of heathens, Sybil, the more we shall
+notice how they cannot help feeling after truth and grasping some parts
+of it, which seem as though they were a very necessity to religion.
+These Taouist priests are often called in by the people to exorcise, or
+drive away, evil spirits, to cure sick people and commune with the
+dead."
+
+"Oh, father! I do so like this Peep-show. Please tell us now about the
+people of the other sect."
+
+[Illustration: A BUDDHIST PRIEST.]
+
+"They are the Buddhists, who also worship a trinity; indeed, Taouists
+are thought to have taken that idea from them. As early as 250 B.C.
+Buddhist missionaries came over from India to China, but the religion
+did not really take root until an emperor named Hing, of the Han
+dynasty, introduced it, in the first century of the Christian era, about
+66 A.D. This emperor is said to have seen in a dream, in the year of our
+Lord 61, an image of a foreign god coming into his palace, and in
+consequence he was advised to adopt the religion of Buddha, when he sent
+to India for an idol and some priests. Towards the end of the thirteenth
+century there were more than 4,200 Buddhist temples in China, and more
+than 213,000 monks. The Buddhist trinity is called Pihte, or the Three
+Precious Ones: Buddha Past, Buddha Present, and Buddha Future, and
+dreadfully ugly idols they are. The Buddhist's idea of heaven is
+Nirvâna, or rest, or more properly speaking, extinction. The Chinese
+Buddhist thinks that a man possesses three souls or spirits, one of
+which accompanies the body to the grave, another passes into his
+ancestral tablet to be worshipped, and the third enters into one, or
+all, of the ten kingdoms of the Buddhistic hell, into which people pass
+after death, there to receive punishments according to the lives they
+have led upon earth. From the tenth kingdom they pass back to earth, to
+inhabit the form of a man, beast, bird, or insect, as they may have
+deserved, unless during life a man has attained to a certain state of
+perfection, when he mounts to the highest heaven, and perhaps becomes a
+god or buddha. But even from the Western Paradise a spirit has sometimes
+to return to earth. Should a man have been good in all the various lives
+that he has lived, he is supposed to attain, I believe, to this Nirvâna,
+or extinction."
+
+"What a wonderful belief!" Sybil said. "So they cannot believe at all in
+the immortality of the soul?"
+
+"No, they do not."
+
+"I should like to see a Buddhist priest very much," Leonard said.
+
+[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO A BUDDHIST MONASTERY.]
+
+"I dare say you will see a good many when you get to China. They live
+together in monasteries, sometimes in great numbers, and these
+monasteries are prettily situated, surrounded by lakes and gardens. They
+consist of a number of small buildings, to the principal of which is a
+large entrance, that has inscriptions on either side of the gateway."
+
+[Illustration: A MONASTERY.]
+
+"Are the priests very good men?" asked Leonard.
+
+[Illustration: A GONG.]
+
+"Very often, I am afraid, just the reverse; but this is not to be
+wondered at, for criminals in China, to escape from justice, will
+sometimes shave their heads, and seek refuge by becoming Buddhist
+priests. When they take their vows--some taking nine, some twelve--for
+each one a cut is made in their arms to help them to remember it. Some
+of the vows resemble the commandments setting forth our duty towards our
+neighbour. A Buddhist priest, in China, wears a wide turn-over collar;
+when he officiates he often dresses in a yellow robe made of silk or
+cotton, but he is only allowed to wear silk when he does officiate. At
+other times his garments are of white or ash colour, or he wears a long,
+grey cowl with flowing sleeves. Buddhist priests shave all their hair
+two or three times a month. They think it is of great use to repeat
+their classics very often to the gods, and keep an account of the number
+of times they say them on their beads. I fancy they use brooms wherewith
+to sprinkle holy water. There are four special commandments for
+Buddhists, both priests and people: not to destroy animal life, not to
+steal, not to speak falsely, and not to drink wine. In monasteries the
+refectories of the priests are very large, and they have all to sit at
+dinner, so that the abbot, who is at their head, can see their faces.
+They are called to breakfast and dinner by a gong, where they have to
+appear in their cowls. Gongs are very much used in China, and are to be
+seen at all the temples. When the priest, who presides, comes in, they
+all rise, and putting their hands together, say grace. After the food
+has been so blessed, some is put outside as an offering to the fowls of
+the air. During dinner the priests may not speak, and on the walls of
+the refectory are boards, on which are written warnings, such as not to
+eat too quickly; also the rules of the monastery."
+
+"That would not have done for you, Leonard, when you thought you would
+be late for school, and gobbled your dinner anyhow," said Sybil.
+
+"How many gods have the Chinese?" asked Leonard.
+
+[Illustration: WORSHIP IN A LAMASARY, BUDDHIST TEMPLE.]
+
+"So many that it would be impossible to say, and the Celestials (as the
+Chinese are often called, from naming their country the Celestial Land)
+are not particular how they worship them; Taouists, for instance,
+worshipping those who are peculiarly Buddhist divinities, and Buddhists
+invoking, in return, their gods. Indeed, the three religions have so
+borrowed from one another, and people have believed so much as they
+liked, that the Chinese themselves often do not know to which religion
+they belong, and are either all or none, pretty well as they choose. The
+Buddhism of China is not at all the pure Buddhism, and has been much
+corrupted by its professors."
+
+"Who was the founder of Buddhism?"
+
+"An Indian prince, of beautiful character, born 620 B.C., and called
+Shâkyamuni Buddha, who left wealth and luxury to go about relieving
+suffering wherever he found it. After he died his followers believed
+that he was transformed into a god, having three different forms."
+
+"Tell us some of the gods, please."
+
+"A god of rain; a god of wind; a god of thunder; a god of wealth, the
+latter worshipped very much by tradesmen; a god of thieves; a goddess of
+thunder; a guardian goddess of women and little children, called Kum-fa,
+whose ten attendants watch over children, helping them to eat, and
+teaching them to smile and walk; a god of wine; a god of fire; a goddess
+of mercy; a goddess of sailors; a goddess of children, called 'Mother';
+a god of the kitchen; a god of measles, a god of small-pox. Then the
+Confucianists worship two stars, who are supposed to look after
+literature and drawing, the former called the god of literature. And
+besides household gods belonging to every family, there are a god of the
+passing year, and numerous others. Many of the gods are deified persons
+who once lived on earth."
+
+[Illustration: TEMPLE OF THE MOON, PEKING.]
+
+"What a number!" Sybil said. "But who, then, is the great Lama? You have
+not told us anything about him yet, and I heard you speaking about him
+the other day."
+
+"There is another form of Buddhism, called Lamaism, and this, though it
+prevails principally in Thibet and Mongolia, has also its followers in
+Peking. The Great Lama, or Living Buddha, is the head of this."
+
+"And he is a living man?"
+
+"Yes; but his soul is said never to die; therefore, when he dies it is
+supposed to pass into an infant whom the priests select by a likeness
+that they trace to the late Lama. I one day saw worship going on in a
+Lama temple."
+
+"Have you a picture of it, father?" Leonard asked, who was getting a
+little tired of these descriptions, which Sybil liked so much.
+
+"Yes, and I think it a very good one. In the centre, facing the
+worshippers, is a very large idol indeed of Buddha. To the right and
+left of the temple are smaller idols. Some gods in temples do not
+receive worship, but guard the doors. Incense is burning in front; the
+high priest, to the right, is lifting up his hands in adoration, whilst
+the people offer scented rods and tapers to Buddha. As they light their
+offerings they kow-tow, or hit their heads upon the floor. This is the
+Chinese way of reverent, respectful salutation. The devotees are grouped
+in squares.
+
+"Then I forgot to tell you that the Sun and Moon are also worshipped.
+Whilst in Peking, I went to a temple of the Moon. It was on the day of
+the autumnal equinox, when, at six o'clock in the evening, a very solemn
+sacrifice is offered, and the great ladies of the capital meet to burn
+their tapers. I approached this temple by a long avenue of beautiful
+trees. The temple was large; but I noticed that more women than men had
+come to attend the ceremonies."
+
+"I thought the Chinese were clever people," Sybil said; "if so, how can
+they believe in so many gods?"
+
+"They have been trained to do so. They feel, I suppose, that they must
+offer worship, and until a real knowledge of the true God can be planted
+in their midst, they will remain slaves to idolatry. Many of the more
+enlightened heathen, I believe, only regard their idols as
+representations of the Deity they are feeling after, and not really as
+the Deity Himself; although I fear many of the simpler sort, in
+different degrees, regard their idols with great religious awe. Then,
+many a Chinaman, again, will so often seem to have no religion at all!"
+
+"Is it very difficult to teach the Chinese, father?"
+
+"It is very difficult to find words, in their language, clearly to bring
+home to them the great truths of the Bible; and Confucius having for
+nearly twenty centuries held such a sway over their minds, they do not
+care to listen to new teachers."
+
+"I am so glad the Bible is now translated into Chinese, and that you are
+taking some copies out with you. But how old these people must be!"
+
+"The Chinese are a very ancient race, and had a literature 700 years
+before Christ. They are very fond and proud of their country."
+
+"Do Taouists and Buddhists believe in, and read, the writings of
+Confucius?"
+
+"To a great extent."
+
+"And are there many Christians in China now?"
+
+"The Church Missionary Society, at her six chief stations of Hong-Kong,
+Foo-Chow, Ningpo, Hang-Chow, Shaou-hing, and Shanghai, now numbers 4,667
+native followers, and 1,702 communicants, of whom nine are native
+clergymen and 174 native Christian teachers. In China altogether there
+are 40,000 Christian adherents. But what are these, when we think that
+this vast empire alone contains 400,000,000 people, one-third of the
+human race?"
+
+"They will listen to you, father," Sybil said, looking up very brightly.
+Sybil was a child who thought that there was nobody, except her own
+mother, in the whole world to compare with her father.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+CHINESE CHILDHOOD.
+
+
+"I FORGOT to ask you, father," Leonard said, about a week later--for
+during that time he and his sister had been otherwise engaged, and had
+therefore not come to hear anything more about the Chinese and their
+strange doings--"I forgot to ask you if Celestial boys wore pig-tails
+too. I have never, I believe, seen a picture of a Chinese boy."
+
+"Some have pig-tails, but some parents allow just a tuft of hair to grow
+on a boy's head until he is eight or ten years old, and shave the rest.
+Sometimes he wears the tuft longer; and I have also seen girls wearing
+it on one or both sides of their heads."
+
+"Father, will you tell us something now about the children?" Sybil then
+asked.
+
+"I know little babies of three days old often have their wrists tied
+with red cotton cord, to which a charm is hung, which is, I suppose, to
+bring it prosperity or drive away from it evil spirits. At a month old
+its head is shaved for the first time, when, if its mother does not
+shave it, a hair-dresser has to wear red in which to do it. A boy is
+shaved before the ancestral tablet, but a girl before an image of the
+goddess of children called 'Mother,' and thank-offerings are on this day
+presented to the goddess."
+
+"What does the ancestral tablet mean?"
+
+"It consists of a piece of wood or stone, which is meant to represent
+the dead. As I told you, one of the spirits of a dead man is supposed to
+enter the tablet, and the more this is worshipped the happier the spirit
+is supposed to be. On this tablet are names and inscriptions, which
+sometimes represent several ancestors. After a certain time (I think the
+fifth generation) the tablet is no longer worshipped, as by that time
+the spirit is supposed to have passed into another body."
+
+"Thank you. I understand that now," Sybil said. "Does anything else
+happen on the grand shaving day?"
+
+"Presents of painted ducks' eggs, cakes, and other things are sent to
+the baby, and when it is four months old 'Mother' is thanked again, and
+prayed to make the child grow fast, sleep well, and be good-tempered."
+Sybil and Leonard laughed. "On this day the child also sits for the
+first time in a chair, when his grandmother, his mother's mother, who
+has to give him a great many presents, sends him some soft kind of
+sugar-candy, which is put upon the chair, and when this has stuck the
+baby is put upon it, and I suppose his clothes then stick to it also."
+
+"What a fashion to learn to sit in a chair!" Leonard said. "And what's
+done on his first birthday?"
+
+"Another thank-offering is presented to 'Mother,' more presents come,
+and the baby has to sit in front of a number of things, such as ink,
+pens, scales, pencils, tools, books, fruit, gold, or anything the
+parents like to arrange before him, and whatever he catches hold of
+first will show them what his future character or occupation is likely
+to be.
+
+[Illustration: YUEN-SHUH, A LITTLE STUDENT.]
+
+"But the worst part has now to come. As soon as the poor little fellow
+can learn anything, he is taught to worship 'Mother' and other idols,
+before which he has to bow down, and raise up his little hands, whilst
+candles and incense are burnt in their honour. So it is no wonder that
+as he grows older he learns his lesson thoroughly. At sixteen children
+are supposed to leave childhood behind them, and there is a ceremony for
+this."
+
+"Do Chinese girls learn lessons? or is it only the boys?"
+
+"In some parts of China there are, I believe, a few schools for young
+ladies, and instruction is given to them by tutors at home; but although
+two or three Chinese ladies have been celebrated for great literary
+attainments, these are quite the exceptions, and there are only a very
+few schools for any girls in China, except the mission schools. Those
+for boys abound all over the country."
+
+"Did you ever go into a boy's school, father?"
+
+"Yes, into several, where I saw many a little intelligent-looking boy
+working very hard at his lessons. One little boy, named Yuen-Shuh, told
+me that he meant to get all the literary honours that he could. Chinese
+boys are not allowed to talk at all in school-hours. Each boy has a desk
+at which to sit, which is so arranged that he cannot speak to the boy
+next to him. Little Yuen-Shuh had been to school since he was six years
+old.
+
+"Another boy was saying a lesson when I went in, and therefore standing
+with his back to his teacher. Boys always say their lessons like this,
+and it is called 'backing the book.' The teacher, as they repeat their
+lessons, puts down their marks. When learning their lessons they repeat
+them aloud. There are higher schools into which older boys pass, and the
+great aim of the Chinese is to take literary honours, as nothing else
+can give them a position of high rank; but even a peasant taking these
+honours would rank as a gentleman."
+
+"Will you take me to see a school in China?" Leonard then asked.
+
+[Illustration: A CHINESE SCHOOL.]
+
+His father, having promised to do so, went on to say to Leonard:
+"Parents are very particular as to their choice of a schoolmaster, who
+must be considered good, as well as able to teach; and to qualify
+himself the master must, of course, know the doctrines of the ancient
+sages. After all has been settled for a boy to go to school, the parents
+always invite the schoolmaster to a dinner, given expressly for him.
+Then a fortune-teller is asked to decide upon a 'lucky' day for the boy
+to make his first appearance at school, when he takes the tutor a
+present. No boy ever goes to school first on the anniversary of the day
+on which Confucius died or was buried. On entering school, he turns to
+the shrine of Confucius--an altar erected to his honour in every
+school--and worships him, after which he salutes his teacher very
+respectfully, hears what he has to do, and goes to his desk."
+
+"And are there many holidays at Chinese schools?"
+
+"At the new year and in the autumn there are always holidays, but
+children also go home to keep all religious festivals, to celebrate the
+birthdays of parents and grandparents, to worship their tablets, and at
+the tombs of ancestors. Very often schoolmasters are men who have toiled
+very hard at their books, and yet have not succeeded in taking a very
+high degree, but sometimes having done so, they choose teaching for
+their profession. Children are very much punished in China when they
+break school-rules. Perhaps the punishment they fear most is to be
+beaten with a broom, because they think that this may make them unlucky
+for the rest of their lives."
+
+"And they can never have an alphabet to learn," Sybil said, "when they
+first go to school, as there is not one."
+
+[Illustration: A VILLAGE SCHOOLMASTER.]
+
+"No; instead of letters and words, they have to learn, and master,
+characters. In some schools children learn names first; in others they
+have reading lessons, where all the sentences consist of three
+characters. As soon as possible they are set to learn the classic on
+'Filial Piety.'"
+
+"Now, father, will you please describe a Chinese house to us?"
+
+"Those of the richer classes are surrounded by a high wall, and composed
+of a number of rooms, generally on one floor. In large cities some
+houses have another storey; but the Chinese think it 'unlucky' to live
+above ground."
+
+"The Chinese seem to think everything either lucky or unlucky," Sybil
+said; "it does seem silly. I do not wonder that you always told me not
+to say that word. I don't think I shall ever want to say it again now;
+and I used to say it rather often, usen't I? But I did not mean to
+interrupt you, so please go on now."
+
+"Some houses are very large, which they have to be, in order to
+accommodate several branches of the same family, who often live together
+in different parts of them.
+
+"There are generally three doors of entrance to a house, of which the
+principal, in the centre, leads to the reception hall, into which
+visitors are shown. I have seen the walls of rooms hung with white silk
+or satin, on which sentences of good advice were written. All sorts of
+beautiful lanterns hang from the sitting-room ceilings, sometimes by
+silk cords. The furniture consists principally of chairs, tables, pretty
+screens and cabinets, with many porcelain ornaments, and fans are very
+numerous in a Chinese household. Most houses have very beautiful
+gardens; even the poor try to have their houses surrounded by as much
+ground as possible. Many houses also have verandahs, where the Chinaman
+likes to smoke his evening pipe. Indeed, women, even ladies, smoke pipes
+in China. I have a picture of a verandah scene in the south of China."
+
+"Are these people rich or poor?" Sybil asked.
+
+"Certainly not rich, but also not very poor."
+
+"You were saying the other day, father, that Chinese people smoke
+something else besides tobacco?" Leonard then asked.
+
+"Opium."
+
+"What is opium?"
+
+"The juice of the poppy, which, after being made into a solid form, is
+boiled down with water."
+
+"Why did you say that opium-smoking was so dreadful?"
+
+"You shall hear all about it, and then judge for yourself. The
+opium-smoker, whilst engaged with his pipe, thinks of, and cares for,
+nothing else in the whole world besides, and generally lies down to give
+himself up to its more full enjoyment. Holding his pipe over the flame
+of a small oil-lamp beside him, he lights the opium, and then gently
+draws in the vapour which proceeds from it. Sometimes people smoke in
+their own houses, and sometimes they resort to horrid places regularly
+set apart for opium-smoking. In Hong-Kong, where we are going, there
+will be many an opium-smoker who will buy this drug in quantities when
+he cannot even afford to purchase clothing.
+
+[Illustration: FAMILY SCENE--AFTER DINNER]
+
+"If a man make a practice of smoking opium at stated times, even should
+these times not be very frequent, he so acquires the habit of smoking,
+that if, when the pipe be due it is not forthcoming, he is quite
+unable to do his work, and wastes all his time thinking of and longing
+for his pipe. The habit is sometimes acquired in less than a fortnight.
+Opium may first be taken in a small quantity to cure toothache; the
+small quantity leads to large quantities; the large quantities, or even
+small ones taken regularly, lead at last to the man becoming an habitual
+opium-smoker: and this means that the victim's health becomes injured,
+and that he is unfit for any work. If he then leave off his opium, he
+becomes ill, has dreadful pain, which sometimes lasts till he smokes
+again; he has no appetite for food, cannot sleep at night, and looks
+haggard and miserable. Sometimes if opium cannot be procured by him he
+dies.
+
+"And these men make themselves slaves for life to this horrid drug,
+knowing before they touch it what it will do for them.
+
+"Opium-smoking makes rich men poor, honest men thieves, and poor people
+even sell their children to obtain the drug."
+
+"And can't they be cured, father?" Sybil asked.
+
+"Medical aid has been brought in to help them, but it generally fails;
+and every now and then we hear of an opium-smoker becoming a Christian
+and then overcoming the vice, but this is also very rare indeed. And
+what does this teach us, children?"
+
+They thought. "Never to acquire bad habits, I suppose," said Sybil, "for
+fear they should grow upon us."
+
+[Illustration: HABITUAL OPIUM-SMOKERS.]
+
+"Yes; and because they do grow upon us. Everything to which we very much
+accustom ourselves grows into a habit; therefore it is so very important
+for both Chinese and English, for both grown-up and little people, to
+cultivate good habits. And more especially is this important in the case
+of young people, because so many of our habits, which remain with us and
+influence our whole after-life, are formed in our childish days."
+
+"And do people really sell their children?"
+
+"They do, indeed; and some children are so filial that they will even
+sell themselves for the good of their parents. There is very little that
+a Chinaman will not do for a parent. One of their superstitions is that
+if a father or mother be ill, and the child should cut away some of its
+own flesh to mix in the parent's medicine, a cure would be effected; and
+children have been known to cut pieces, for this purpose, out of their
+own arms."
+
+"What would happen," Sybil asked, "if a child were to do anything very
+dreadful to a parent in China?"
+
+"If a son kill a parent, he is put to death, his house is torn down, his
+nearest neighbours are punished, and his schoolmaster is put to death;
+the magistrate of the district would also suffer, and the governor of
+the province would go down in rank."
+
+"How unfair!" Leonard exclaimed, "when only one person did it."
+
+"Why does all that happen?" Sybil asked.
+
+"To show how great the man's sin is. The schoolmaster is punished
+because it is thought that he did not bring up his pupil properly. Of
+course, it is very unfair, but the Chinese are often very cruel in their
+chastisments, and many criminals prefer death to some of the other
+punishments. A great many also suffer capital punishment; sometimes as
+many as ten thousand people in a year."
+
+"Then, when children do wrong, their parents and schoolmasters are
+blamed?"
+
+"Very often their faults are attributed to their bringing-up."
+
+"Oh! oughtn't we to be careful, then, Leonard? Fancy when we do wrong
+people blaming father or mother!"
+
+Leonard was then very anxious to hear more about Chinese punishments, so
+his father told him an occurrence that he had once witnessed.
+
+"A very usual way of punishing small offences," he began, "is by beating
+with a bamboo; and whenever a mandarin finds that any one, under his
+jurisdiction, has transgressed, he can use the bamboo. Parents use it on
+their children even when they are thirty years of age. The poor Chinese
+culprits used to be subject to very horrible tortures, such as having
+their fingers or ankles squeezed until they made confession; but I
+believe a good many of the worst tortures have now been done away with.
+One in common use is the canque, which is a collar made of heavy wood,
+with a hole in the centre for the head to come through. It is fastened
+round the neck, and is worn from one to three months, preventing its
+prisoner from lying down day or night. The captive remains in the street
+instead of in prison, and is dependent upon his friends to feed him."
+
+"What a shame!" Leonard said. "I'd like to be a magistrate in China, to
+put that sort of cruelty down."
+
+[Illustration: A CHINESE COURT OF LAW.]
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE PUNISHMENT.]
+
+"But now I am coming to a trial that I witnessed myself. I remember, as
+I went into the Provincial Criminal Court, one day, seeing the judge
+sitting behind a large table, covered with a red cloth. Secretaries,
+interpreters, and turnkeys stood at each end of the table, only the
+judge having a right to sit down. Soon after I arrived the prisoner was
+led in by a chain who immediately threw himself down on the ground
+before the judge. The crime brought against him was robbing an official
+of high rank. It was thought that he could not have committed the
+robbery alone, and was asked how it was effected, and who were his
+accomplices. He would not say. Then he was beaten; but still this
+brought no answer. Both an arm and a leg were then put into a board,
+which made it almost impossible for him either to walk, or sit, or
+stand. His poor back must have ached terribly; and while one man dragged
+him along by a chain, another held a whip to urge him forward.
+
+"And he had never committed the robbery after all, but gave himself up
+in place of his father, a man named Wang-Yangsui, who was really the
+culprit."
+
+Tears were in Sybil's eyes as she listened.
+
+[Illustration: POOR OLD WANG-YANGSUI IN THE CAGE.]
+
+"And he suffered all that?" she said.
+
+"Sons have been known to allow themselves to be transported to save
+their parents, and then only to have felt that they did their duty."
+
+"And in this case was the real culprit ever found out?"
+
+"Yes; the father, moved with compassion for his boy, gave himself up."
+
+"And did they not let him off," Leonard asked, "as the son had suffered
+so much for him?"
+
+"No; they put him into a cage in which were holes for his head and feet,
+but in which he could neither sit down nor stand upright. Round the cage
+was an inscription relating the nature of his crime."
+
+"How long was he left there?"
+
+"That I was not able to hear, but the day he was incarcerated I saw his
+daughter feeding him with chop-sticks. These, which consist of two
+sticks that people hold in the same hand wherewith to feed themselves,
+instead of knives and forks, the Chinese always use when they eat. She
+must have found it difficult to get to him, as she was carrying a
+basket, as well as a baby on her back, for she had small feet, and women
+with small feet cannot walk any distance, even without a load at all. It
+is not the rule for lower class girls to have their feet made small,
+though in some cases it is done. This woman had once been better off."
+
+"Why do Chinese ladies have small feet?" Leonard asked.
+
+"But, father," Sybil put in, "please tell us first what became of that
+poor old man. I am so sorry he stole."
+
+"I heard that great poverty had tempted him to do so, but that he
+afterwards bitterly repented of the crime which he had committed. How
+long he remained in the cage I was never able to ascertain; but I really
+think now that we must close our 'Peep-show' for to-day."
+
+"After we've heard about the small feet ladies, father. I think you have
+just time for that."
+
+"The feet of Chinese women would be no smaller than, perhaps not as
+small as, other women's feet, were they not compressed."
+
+"What does that mean?"
+
+"Made smaller by being pressed."
+
+"How painful it must be!"
+
+"So it is. When very young, a little girl's foot is tightly bandaged
+round, the end of the bandage being first laid on the inside of the
+foot, then carried round the toes, under the foot, and round the heel
+till the toes are drawn over the sole, in which an indentation becomes
+made and the instep swells out. After a time the foot is soaked in hot
+water, when some of the toes will occasionally drop off. Every time the
+bandage is taken away another is put on, and tied more tightly. For the
+first year there is, as we can imagine, dreadful pain, but after two
+years the foot will become dead and cease to ache. You can therefore
+understand that it is very uncomfortable for Chinese ladies to walk, and
+if they go any distance they are carried on the backs of their female
+slaves."
+
+"Are all Chinese parents so silly as to have their little girls' feet
+bandaged?"
+
+"A few are strong-minded enough to break through the rule, and all the
+Tartar ladies have natural feet. Anti-foot-binding societies have now
+been formed by the Chinese gentry in Canton and Amoy."
+
+"I wonder what made people first think of doing this?" Sybil said.
+
+"Some people think that it was first done to help husbands to keep their
+wives at home; others say that it was to copy an Empress who had a
+deformed foot which she bandaged; but whatever the reason may have
+been, we cannot but wish very, very strongly, that the cruel custom
+might be soon completely done away with!"
+
+"I shall like to see the ladies being carried on their slaves' backs,"
+Leonard said. "That will be fun!"
+
+"You will soon see it now," was his father's answer, "for we have been
+six weeks at sea, and the captain says we may expect to be at Shanghai
+in another ten days' time, so I think I had better not tell you any
+more, and let you find out the rest for yourselves."
+
+"I think we might have just one more 'Peep-show,'" Sybil replied, "and
+hear how we get our tea-leaves. I think we ought to know about that
+before we arrive."
+
+The missionary smiled, and the next time his children wanted a
+"Peep-show" very much, only a very little persuasion was required to
+make him sit down between them and let them have it.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE MERCHANT SHOWMAN.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"WELL, so it is to be about tea to-day," Mr. Graham at once began.
+"Supposing I do not know anything about it, though; what are we to do
+then? I know tea comes from an evergreen plant, something like a myrtle,
+but that isn't much information, is it? Wait a minute, though,
+children," he then went on, "and you shall have a proper lesson to-day."
+And as he spoke Mr. Graham disappeared, soon to return with a fellow
+passenger, a tea merchant, who would be the kind "show-man" for to-day.
+
+"How far did you get?" he asked, as he sat amongst the group of father,
+mother, and children, for Mrs. Graham had also come to "the show"
+to-day.
+
+"That tea was an evergreen plant, something like the myrtle," Sybil
+said, laughing; and all laughed with her.
+
+[Illustration: GATHERING TEA-LEAVES.]
+
+[Illustration: SIFTING TEA.]
+
+"Then I have it all to do, it seems. Well, the tea-plant yields a crop
+after it has been planted three years, and there are three gatherings
+during the year: one in the middle of April, the second at midsummer,
+and the third in August and September. I suppose it will do if we begin
+here. The plant requires very careful plucking, only one leaf being
+allowed to be gathered at a time; and then a tree must never be plucked
+too bare. Women and children, who are generally, though not always, the
+tea gatherers, are obliged to wash their hands before they begin their
+work, and have to understand that it is the medium-sized leaves which
+they have to pick, leaving the larger ones to gather the dew. When the
+baskets are full, into which the leaves have been dropped, they are
+carried away hanging to a bamboo slung across the shoulders, which is a
+very usual way of carrying things in China. The tea-plant is the most
+important vegetable production of the 'Flowery Land.' But as there are,
+you know, several kinds of tea, I think I had better tell you how that
+called Congou, which, I suppose, you generally drink yourselves, is
+prepared. The leaves are first spread out in the air to dry, after which
+they are trodden by labourers, so that any moisture remaining in them,
+after they have been exposed to the air or sun, may be pressed out;
+after this they are again heaped together, and covered for the night
+with cloths. In this state they remain all night, when a strange thing
+happens to them, spontaneous heating changing the green leaves to black
+or brown. They are now more fragrant and the taste has changed.
+
+"The next process is to twist and crumple the leaves, by rubbing them
+between the palms of the hands. In this crumpled state they are again
+put in the sun, or if the day be wet, or the sky threatening, they are
+baked over a charcoal fire.
+
+"Leaves, arranged in a sieve, are placed in the middle of a
+basket-frame, over a grate in which are hot embers of charcoal. After
+some one has so stirred the leaves that they have all become heated
+alike, they are ready to be sold to proprietors of tea-hongs in the
+towns, when the proprietor has the leaves again put over the fire and
+sifted.
+
+"After this, women and girls separate all the bad leaves and stems from
+the good ones; sitting, in order to do so, with baskets of leaves before
+them, and very carefully picking out with both their hands all the bad
+leaves and stems that the sieve has not got rid of. The light and
+useless leaves are then divided from those that are heavy and good, when
+the good are put into boxes lined with paper."
+
+"What is scented Caper Tea?" Mr Graham asked.
+
+"Oh, father! I am so glad that there's something you have to ask,"
+Leonard said, "as you seemed to know _everything_."
+
+[Illustration: SORTING TEA.]
+
+"The leaves of scented Orange Pekoe," the merchant answered, "obtain
+their fragrance by being mixed with the flowers of the Arabian
+jessamine, and when scented enough, they are separated from the flowers
+by sieves. Scented Caper Tea is made from some of the leaves of this
+Orange Pekoe.
+
+[Illustration: PRESSING BAGS OF TEA.]
+
+[Illustration: TEA-TASTING.]
+
+"Those leaves which are prepared at Canton are black or brown, with a
+slight tinge of yellow or green. The tea-leaves growing on an extensive
+range of hills in the district of Hokshan are often forwarded to
+Canton, where they are made into caper in the following manner. But I
+wonder if Leonard knows what 'shan' means?" the merchant interrupted. He
+did, for he had seen in his geography that "shan" meant mountain. "A
+tea-hong," the merchant continued, "is furnished with many pans, into
+which seventeen or eighteen handfuls of leaves are put. These are
+moistened with water, and stirred up by the hand. As soon as they are
+soft they are put into coarse bags, which, tightly fastened, look like
+large balls.
+
+[Illustration: WEIGHING TEA.]
+
+"These bags are moved backwards and forwards on the floor by men holding
+on to wooden poles, and standing upon them. In each bag the leaves take
+the form of pellets, or capers.
+
+"The coarse leaves, gathered from finer ones, thus made into Caper,
+after being well fired, are put into wooden troughs, and chopped into
+several pieces, and it is these pieces which become the tea which we
+call Caper."
+
+"Thank you very much," said Mr. Graham. "I did not know anything of
+this."
+
+"Tea-merchants are most particular, before buying and selling tea, to
+taste it and to test its quality.
+
+"And before it is shipped away it is also very carefully weighed, when I
+myself, I know, for instance, sit by, watching the process, and taking
+account of the result."
+
+"I suppose tea isn't ever sent about in wheel-barrows?" then said
+Leonard, who liked very much indeed the idea of wheel-barrows with sails
+up, such as he had heard about.
+
+[Illustration: GOING TO MARKET.]
+
+"I never saw it," was the merchant's reply; "but if you are interested
+in wheel-barrows, you might like to hear about one that I once saw in
+China. It was conveying not only goods, and the scales wherewith to
+weigh them, to market, but the family also to whom the goods belonged.
+The family party made a great impression upon me. The master of the
+barrow was pushing it from behind, a donkey was pulling it in front, and
+on the donkey rode a boy; a woman and two children were driven in the
+wheel-barrow, besides the goods for market. I thought the man and donkey
+must have a heavy load between them, but both seemed to work most
+cheerfully and willingly; and a sail in the centre of the wheel-barrow,
+gathering the full force of the wind, must have been a great help to
+them.
+
+"The donkey was guided by no reins, only by the voice of the boy on his
+back, who carried a stick, but had no occasion to use it, although every
+now and then he just raised it in the air. Sometimes the boy ran beside
+the donkey. Anyhow suited the willing little beast, who was as anxious
+as his master to do his best. A dog completed the number of the party.
+
+"The man told me that he was truly fond of this dog, and gave him
+'plenty chow-chow' (plenty to eat), and that he considered he owed all
+his wealth to him, as he had once come to the house, and had since then
+remained with the family.
+
+"A strange dog coming to, and remaining at, a house is looked upon by
+the Chinese as bringing good luck to the family, but a strange cat
+coming is a bad omen."
+
+The children laughed.
+
+"This man certainly treated his dog very well, as do some few of his
+countrymen; but, alas! alas! so many poor little faithful dogs in China,
+as in other countries, lead anything but happy lives!"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+LITTLE CHU AND WOO-URH.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+NO more story Peep-shows of what might be seen in China, no more
+wondering what the Celestials would be like, for Sybil and Leonard had
+now landed on Chinese soil, and were themselves at Shanghai, face to
+face with its inhabitants.
+
+Shanghai seemed, and was, a very busy place, but not a town of very
+great importance in itself, owing, really, its recent prosperity to
+having opened its port to foreign commerce. The custom-house, through
+which the Grahams' boxes had to be passed, struck the children as a
+very strange and beautiful building, quite different from anything that
+they had seen before; and there was a great noise of chattering going on
+outside, which sounded most unintelligible. Coolies were carrying bales
+of silk and tea to and fro; there were also, ready at hand, some of the
+sedan-chairs that Sybil had longed to see, and everywhere "pig-tails,"
+or cues, as they were called, seemed to meet Leonard's gaze.
+
+But the ships! Watching them was what he enjoyed better than anything
+else. The town of Shanghai is situated on the River Woosung, a tributary
+of the Yangtse-kiang, just at that point where it joins the great river,
+and about one hundred ships were anchored before this busy, commercial
+city. Many families resident there have their junks and a little home on
+the river. There were some very pretty buildings to be seen at Shanghai,
+and at one of these our little party stayed--on a visit to another
+missionary from the Church of England--for the three days that they
+remained there.
+
+At some cities and towns, on the banks of rivers, floating hotels are to
+be seen; and as people generally have to travel by water, and the
+Chinese are not allowed to keep open their city-gates after nine o'clock
+at night, these hotels prove very useful to those arriving too late to
+enter the city. Lighted with lanterns, they look very pretty floating on
+the water, and both Sybil and Leonard were very pleased to be taken over
+a large floating hotel before they left Shanghai. Leonard was very
+anxious to know how long this town had been open to foreign commerce,
+and was told since the Opium War, which lasted from 1840 to 1842, when
+the British, having occupied several Chinese cities, and having
+captured Chinkiang in Hoopeh, were advancing to Nanking, and the Chinese
+suing for peace, a treaty was concluded which opened the ports of Amoy,
+Foochow, Shanghai, and Ningpo, in addition to Canton, to the British,
+who were henceforward to appoint consuls to live in these towns.
+
+The Chinese are very polite to foreigners in Shanghai; and as the kind
+missionary who bade the Grahams welcome to his home endeavoured, during
+their short stay, to interest and show them sights, they enjoyed
+themselves very much. Sybil and Leonard could not help noticing how very
+many people they met in spectacles, but they were told that the Chinese
+suffer very much from ophthalmia, and that when they wear spectacles,
+some of which are very large, they often have sore eyes.
+
+"There is one thing I cannot understand the Chinese doing," Leonard said
+one day to Sybil: "and that is, everybody that we have seen, as yet,
+spoiling their tea by not taking any milk or sugar in it; and father
+says all the Chinese drink tea like that, and call milk white blood, and
+only use it in medicine."
+
+"Tea like that would not suit us," Sybil answered, "as we like plenty of
+both milk and sugar; but I dare say they think we spoil our tea by
+putting such things into it."
+
+A visit to some rice-fields, a little sight-seeing, a little more
+watching of ships carrying rice and other products away, and then it was
+time for the Grahams once more to take their seats on board.
+
+[Illustration: THE CUSTOM-HOUSE, SHANGHAI.]
+
+We can imagine how both children strained their eyes, as they steamed
+farther and farther away from Shanghai, to see what that port looked
+like in the distance, and how Sybil examined her map as they left the
+province of Kiang-su, to see at what port, and in what province, they
+would next touch.
+
+This was Ningpo, in Che-kiang, but they did not land here; neither did
+they go on shore at their next halting-place, Foochow, in the province
+of Fu-kien. It was at Amoy, in the same province, where their father had
+a missionary friend, who had invited them to pay him a few days' or a
+week's visit, as would suit them best, that they next purposed landing,
+and this they did about four days after they left Shanghai.
+
+"Whoever thought," Sybil said one day on board, "that we should actually
+be on the Yellow Sea ourselves? It seems almost too good to be true
+now."
+
+"I never knew people like to stare more at anybody than they seem to
+like to stare at us here," Leonard thought to himself when first at
+Amoy.
+
+He and Sybil were then being very carefully observed by a group of
+natives of that place, but Leonard had yet to become accustomed to being
+stared at in China.
+
+"And, father," he said later, "I wonder why so many of them wear
+turbans? I did not notice people doing this at Shanghai."
+
+[Illustration: A FLOATING HOTEL AT SHANGHAI.]
+
+Mr. Graham did not know the reason of this either; but he and Leonard
+were later informed that the men of Amoy adopted the turban to hide the
+tail when they were made to wear it by their conquerors, and that they
+never gave it up. Leonard was also told that they were good soldiers,
+which, he said, he thought they looked. One thing remarkable about the
+people of Amoy was that the different families seemed to consist
+almost entirely of boys. A great many of the inhabitants were very poor,
+living crowded together in dirty houses very barely furnished. Mrs.
+Graham had not to be long in China to discover that cleanliness is not a
+Chinese virtue. Sybil bought some very pretty artificial flowers of some
+of the inhabitants of Amoy, which they had themselves made. They
+manufactured them principally, she heard, to be placed on graves.
+
+[Illustration: THE PORT OF SHANGHAI.]
+
+Like other Chinese, these people were very superstitious. Here and there
+large blocks of granite were to be met with, which were regarded by them
+with reverence, and looked upon as good divinities. On one the Grahams
+saw inscriptions, which related some history of the place.
+
+Granite seemed to abound here, for the temples and monasteries were, for
+the most part, erected on the heights between rocks of this description.
+
+Two days after reaching Amoy, Sybil was dreadfully distressed, and
+shocked, to see a little girl named Chu, of eleven years old, put up for
+sale by her own parents. At ten dollars (£1) only was she valued; and
+for this paltry sum the parents were ready to sell her to any one who
+would bid it for her. They were very poor, and could not afford to keep
+her any longer. She had four sisters and only two brothers; the youngest
+of all, the baby, was to be drowned by her father, later on in the day,
+in a tub of water. They had never done anything like this before: this
+man and woman had never killed a child, although they had had five
+girls, and many of their neighbours had thought nothing of destroying
+most of their daughters so soon as they were born; but now, as the man
+was ill, and able to earn so little, they had resolved to rid themselves
+of two of them that day. If the baby lived, the mother comforted herself
+by saying, she must be sold later, or grow up in poverty and misery.
+
+Parents think it very necessary that their children should marry, and
+sometimes sell, or give them away, to their friends, when they are quite
+little, to be the future wives of the sons of their new owners.
+
+If sold, they will then fetch about two dollars for every year that they
+have lived; so a child of five years old would fetch ten dollars; and
+this little girl, put up for sale, was now eleven years old; therefore
+she was being offered, poor little thing, below half price. And some
+little girls of Amoy have been even offered for sale for a few pence!
+
+[Illustration: A FAMILY OF AMOY.]
+
+It seemed incomprehensible to Sybil, as it must to us, that a mother
+could wish either to kill or to sell her little child, but neither the
+one nor the other event is uncommon in some parts of China, where the
+parent is poor; and even amongst the well-to-do classes little girls are
+sometimes put to death, if the parents have more daughters than they
+care to rear, not only at Amoy, but at other places in the
+neighbourhood; and even Chinese ladies will sometimes have their poor
+little daughters put to death.
+
+"Why do people not kill their boys too?" Sybil asked, when she heard all
+about this.
+
+[Illustration: THE MISSIONARY'S TEACHER.]
+
+"Because when they grow up they can earn money that girls could not
+earn; and not only can they help to support their parents when old, but
+they can worship their ancestral tablets and keep up the family name."
+
+"I am sure a girl would do this too."
+
+"Her doing so would be considered of little use."
+
+[Illustration: A VIEW OF AMOY, WITH A BLOCK OF GRANITE IN THE
+FOREGROUND.]
+
+It seemed that the very day before Mr. Graham arrived in Amoy, a widow
+lady there had had her little baby girl destroyed, and then, in her
+widow's dress, had sat down quietly to talk matters over with her
+sister-in-law, who thought that she had acted very wisely. Killing a
+daughter, in China, is hardly looked upon as being sinful. A widow's
+mourning consists of all white and a band round the head, white being
+Chinese deepest mourning.
+
+[Illustration: LADIES OF AMOY.]
+
+[Illustration: LITTLE CHU.]
+
+Whilst Mr. Graham stood by, a purchaser for little Chu stepped forward,
+holding the ten dollars in his hand; but the missionary was before him,
+and through a teacher, whom he had already been able to engage, offered
+the father twice that sum not to sell the little girl at all, but to let
+him have her for a servant. He hesitated, as though he would rather sell
+his child right off to any Chinaman than trust her to a foreign
+"barbarian." But the sum tempted him; and although he could not
+understand how receiving it did not give Chu altogether to her
+purchaser, he seemed to be contented, especially when the teacher
+explained that she would not be a slave, but would be paid for what work
+she did. Little Chu was well off to have stepped into so happy a
+service, and the baby was rescued also. A certain sum was to be paid
+weekly to the father, towards her support, until he recovered his
+health, if he would only spare her; and both parents, who really fondly
+loved their children, were very glad to spare their baby, fifth girl
+though she was. Her name was Woo-Urh, which means fifth girl.
+
+It did not take long to have little Chu tidily dressed, with money that
+her new master supplied, and her poor mother, who had some beads stowed
+away, now looked them out and also put these on her. Chu was only eleven
+years old, but poverty and care had given the little one an old
+expression beyond her years. Chinese children of from ten to sixteen
+years of age--about which time they are supposed to marry--have a fringe
+cut over their foreheads, and Chu wore this fringe now. It has to grow
+again before they marry.
+
+That evening Chu was sent round to Mr. Graham's brother missionary's
+house, where, as Sybil's little maid, she was housed for the two or
+three days longer that they would spend at Amoy; and though Chu had come
+to live with foreigners, in the family of a "barbarian," as her father
+thought, we can well imagine that she had never been so happy in her
+life. Mr. Graham had told her parents that when they reached Hong-Kong
+he should send her to the mission school.
+
+"And the father would have killed the baby himself!" said Sybil. "How
+could he have done so?"
+
+"That is the marvel; but it is generally the fathers who commit the
+deed; other people might be punished if they interfered."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+LEONARD'S EXPLOIT IN FORMOSA.
+
+
+ABOUT the middle of November, eleven weeks after Mr. Graham and his
+family had left England, they arrived in the beautiful island of
+Formosa, whither they had crossed over from Amoy.
+
+Three more persons were now added to the travelling party--the teacher,
+a Chinese maid, and little Chu, the latter having already begun to show
+herself really useful.
+
+[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE PORT OF TAKOW.]
+
+There is but little fun in travelling, and one does not see half there
+is to be seen unless one climbs; and as the Grahams were all bent on
+having fun and seeing as much as they could, on reaching the port of
+Takow, in Formosa, they ascended a very high mountain, called Monkey
+Mountain, because it is the home of very many monkeys, and they were
+rewarded by having, from its height, a capital view of the entrance to
+the port. To the front of the mountain were some European houses,
+belonging to English merchants from Amoy. The port of Takow is a very
+difficult one at which to anchor, and is closed for commerce during six
+months of the year, whilst the wind is blowing in an adverse direction;
+but when the wind and tide are favourable, barks pass between some rocks
+at the entrance to the port. It is only at the north that the water is
+deep enough for merchant-ships to pass by. Here Leonard saw men fishing
+quite differently from what he had ever seen people fish before; and as
+they walked in the water behind their nets, which they seemed to manage
+very cleverly, he wished so much that he could have been there with
+them.
+
+Takow is one of the four ports in Formosa which, through treaties, have
+been thrown open to foreign trade, the others being those of Kelung,
+Tamsui, and Taiwan-fu.
+
+[Illustration: THE EXTREME NORTH OF TAKOW.]
+
+Formosa, as its name implies, is a very lovely, picturesque island, and
+the Spaniards, who first made it known to Europeans, named it "Isla
+Formosa," which, in their language, means "beautiful island." Takow
+seemed to abound in tropical vegetation, palm-trees being very
+conspicuous. The gong, used everywhere in China, was much in use here
+also; and as in other places men carried things by balancing them across
+their shoulders, so also they did here. But as Mr. Graham's special
+object in coming to this island was to visit Poahbi, the first centre of
+the population of a tribe of aborigines, whom the Chinese have named
+Pepohoans, or strangers of the plain, he moved on thither as quickly as
+he could. The country through which they now passed was very beautiful,
+palm-trees and bamboos overshadowing the way.
+
+[Illustration: FISHERMEN OF TAKOW.]
+
+Although it was the month of November, the weather was hot here, and
+women, wearing white calico dresses, were hard at work in the fields.
+Many of the women of Formosa had compressed feet, and most of the
+children wore charms round their necks.
+
+The Pepohoans used to live in fertile plains, but when greedy and
+grasping Chinese drove them from the rich and beautiful lands that were
+then theirs, and had belonged to their ancestors before them, they took
+shelter, and made themselves homes, in mountain fastnesses.
+
+Sybil and Leonard were charmed with the people of Poahbi, and thought
+both their faces and manners very pretty. Although some of the people
+stared at the foreigners, and laughed at them, many wished to make them
+welcome in their midst. One woman gave them shelter for the night--a
+very kind-hearted woman, with a dear little baby, and a very clean and
+comfortable home. She was a Christian.
+
+At Poahbi Mr. Graham saw a little Christian chapel, which the natives
+had not only built, but which they also kept up, themselves. Pepohoans
+are good builders, and do also much work in the fields. They have a most
+affectionate remembrance of the Dutch, who were once their masters, but
+who were afterwards expelled from Formosa by a Chinese pirate.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF TAKOW, A TOWN IN FORMOSA.]
+
+The huts, or bamboo cottages, of the Pepohoans, raised on terraces three
+or four feet high, looked very picturesque, and consisted first of a
+framework of bamboo, through which crossbars of reeds were run; the
+whole being thickly covered over with clay. The houses were afterwards
+whitened with lime. A barrier of prickly stems extended round the huts,
+throwing a shade over them, whilst these dwellings often had for roofing
+a thatch of dried leaves. Most things in Formosa were made of bamboo,
+such as tables, chairs, beds, pails, rice-measures, jars, hats, pipes,
+chop-sticks, goblets, paper, and pens. Many of the Pepohoans'
+habitations were built on three sides of a four-cornered spot, with a
+yard in the centre, where the families sometimes passed their evenings
+together. The natives assembled here, in numbers, at about nine o'clock,
+where they made a fire when it was cold. Old and young people here often
+formed a circle on the ground, sitting together with their arms crossed,
+smoking, and talking. It was not unusual for dogs also to surround them.
+These people were fond of singing, but played no musical instruments.
+Sybil said, directly she saw them, that they were just the sort of
+people she liked, but this was before she heard that they ate serpents
+and rats. The women had a quantity of hair, which they wound round their
+heads like crowns. None of them painted their faces. Some of the men
+were very badly dressed. All Pepohoans seemed to have very beautiful
+black eyes. In the different villages the inhabitants were different,
+and where they had most contact with the Chinese they dressed better,
+but were less affable. They seemed to be a very honest race.
+
+The Pepohoans are subject to the Chinese Government. Some of them, like
+the Chinese, have been ruined by opium. The aborigines, consisting of
+different tribes, talk different dialects. The people of one tribe, the
+most savage of all, are very warlike, and think nothing of killing and
+eating their Chinese neighbours when they get the chance to do so;
+therefore, they are held in great terror. Sybil and Leonard would not
+have liked to have visited this tribe, for they also hate Europeans.
+
+[Illustration: MOUNTAINEERS OF FORMOSA.]
+
+There was a grandness of beauty in this island of Formosa which could
+not fail, more and more, to charm Mrs. Graham, and many a pretty sketch
+did she here make, both for herself and for Sybil's letters. Sybil also
+liked being here very much; "but if she had only seen," Leonard said,
+what he and his father saw one day, when they went for a ramble
+through the mountains, whilst Sybil was helping her mother to sketch by
+keeping her company, and making clever little attempts at sketching
+herself, "she would want to be off that very moment."
+
+There were caverns in Formosa, and they were walking along, exploring
+some, Leonard some little way in front of Mr. Graham, the teacher, and a
+native guide, who followed a few yards behind, when the English boy
+suddenly caught sight of two huge, yellow serpents twined round the
+branch of an overhanging tree. No one but Leonard was near enough to see
+them, and as the first creature stretched its dreadful-looking head out,
+hissing towards him, the brave, self-possessed little fellow, who held a
+stick in his hand, struck his deadly foe with it with all his might, and
+hit and aimed so well that he had the satisfaction, the next moment, of
+seeing the serpent roll over and over down the rock. But then the
+further one (which, although rather smaller than the other, measured
+about six feet) wound, in a moment, its wriggling body round the branch
+of the tree, stretching its head out almost within reach of Leonard,
+when the boy-guide and Mr. Graham, the same instant, came upon the spot.
+The boy, accustomed to such encounters, at once dealt the snake a blow,
+that caused it to lose its balance, and thus all were able to pass on
+their way in thankfulness and safety.
+
+When Sybil heard of the adventure she was very proud of her little
+brother; but, as he had imagined when she heard that Formosa was
+inhabited by serpents, she was glad also to think that it was settled
+for them to leave that island for Swatow in two days' time.
+
+[Illustration: PEPOHOANS AND THEIR HUT.]
+
+That evening was spent very pleasantly comparing notes of adventure
+with an English gentleman, who had been in Formosa for some time, and
+now called upon Mr. Graham and his family, who were staying at the
+consul's. He had seen and done a good deal, he said, but he spoke very
+highly of Leonard's brave exploit.
+
+[Illustration: HUT OF ONE OF THE SAVAGE TRIBES.]
+
+In the course of his wanderings, he told them, he had visited the
+village of Lalung, which is situated on the narrowest part of a large
+river. During the rainy season the waters would here rise and cover a
+vast bed, opening out a new passage across the land, and flowing away
+towards the eastern plain. Great mountain heights surrounded the bed of
+the river, and the violence of the torrent carried away very large
+quantities of all sorts of rubbish, which the sea would collect, and
+deposit, along the eastern coast. Mr. Hardy explained to Leonard how
+this would account for the port of Thaï-ouan disappearing, and that of
+Takow forming lower down.
+
+[Illustration: SERPENTS OF FORMOSA.]
+
+[Illustration: THE BED OF THE RIVER LALUNG DURING THE DRY SEASON.]
+
+"Formosa," he continued, "shows very plainly how the violence of waters
+can quite transform the physical aspect of a country."
+
+Mr. Hardy then told them that he, with a guide, had once visited the bed
+of the river of Lalung, during the dry season, as an explorer, when he
+had taken off his boots and socks, so as to be able to walk wherever he
+chose, and fathom the depth of the water in different parts.
+
+How Leonard wished he had been with him on this occasion, which seemed
+to him a regular voyage of discovery!
+
+Two days later, as arranged, the Grahams made sail for Swatow. In
+crossing the channel, which separates the island from the mainland,
+Leonard, as usual, had some questions to ask.
+
+"What made the Chinese call Formosa Tai-wan?"
+
+"Because that word means the terraced harbour."
+
+"The east coast hasn't a harbour at all, has it?"
+
+"No; mountains are on the east, and to the west are flat and fertile
+plains, and all the ports."
+
+"I suppose you know, Sybil, that there are some wild beasts in Formosa?"
+Leonard went on.
+
+"Yes, I heard Mr. Hardy say so: leopards, tigers, and wolves."
+
+"I think it's my turn to ask a question now," Mrs. Graham said. "I
+wonder if you and Sybil can tell me what grows principally in Formosa?"
+
+"Rice," Sybil began, "sugar, wheat, beans, tea, coffee, pepper."
+
+"Cotton, tobacco, silk, oranges, peaches, and plums," Leonard ended. "We
+saw most of these things growing ourselves, so we ought to know."
+
+"Yes; and flax, indigo, camphor, and many fruits that you have not
+mentioned."
+
+"The Chinese part of the island, I suppose, belongs to Fukien?" Sybil
+said, "as it is painted the same colour on my map."
+
+"Yes."
+
+What religion had the aborigines? she then wanted to know.
+
+Mr. Graham answered this question by telling her that he believed they
+had no priesthood at all.
+
+"What a pity it is," Sybil said, "that a number of missionaries could
+not be sent out there. I do so like the Pepohoans!"
+
+"How long is it now since the Dutch were driven away?" Leonard asked.
+"And how long were they in Formosa?"
+
+"About 1634 the Dutch took possession of the island, and built several
+forts, but a Chinese pirate drove them out in 1662, and made himself
+king of the western part. In 1683 his descendants submitted to the
+authority of the Chinese Emperor, to whom they are now tributary. The
+Chinese colonists, however, often rebel."
+
+"People have not known very long, have they, that the island of Formosa
+is important?"
+
+"No; only since about 1852."
+
+"About how many inhabitants has Thaï-ouan, the capital?" Leonard asked.
+
+"I should think about 70,000, but it is now decreasing in population."
+
+"How much you know, father," Sybil said. "I wish I knew all you did!"
+
+"I am afraid that is not very much; but if you notice things that you
+come across, and try to remember what you hear and what you read, you
+will soon gain plenty of knowledge and useful information."
+
+[Illustration: SWATOW.]
+
+"I wonder what Swatow is like?" Leonard then said; but he had not long
+to wait to find out, for a week after leaving Formosa they landed at
+Swatow, the port of Chaou-Chou-foo, in the province of Kwang-tung, where
+once again, for a fortnight, they were made very welcome: this time by
+some friends of the missionary with whom they had stayed at Amoy.
+
+[Illustration: E-CHUNG.]
+
+Their home, for the present, was very prettily situated on a range of
+low hills. Many pieces of granite were scattered about on the summit of
+these hills, as they were about Amoy, which some people say have been
+caused to appear through volcanic irruptions. On them also were Chinese
+inscriptions. Leonard was delighted because the Chinese teacher cut his
+name on one of these pieces of granite. The houses of Swatow were built
+with a kind of mortar, made of China clay, and attached to some of them
+were very pretty gardens.
+
+In front of the Consulate, which was a very large building, was a
+flag-staff, with a flag flying.
+
+[Illustration: WOMAN OF SWATOW.]
+
+The ceilings of the house, in which the Grahams stayed, was painted with
+flowers and birds, and some of the windows were also painted so as to
+look like open fans. The Chinese are fond of decorating their rooms and
+painting their ornaments, and the people of Swatow seemed to be better
+painters than the Chinese; but they kept their pictures hidden, only a
+very few of them producing any to show our friends. The people of Swatow
+are also noted for fan-painting.
+
+Sybil thought some of the women of Swatow rather nice-looking, but, like
+other ladies of the "Flowery Land," they had a wonderful way of dressing
+their hair. One woman, Leonard declared, had hers done to represent a
+large shell. A young lady, to whom Sybil was introduced, had the
+thickest hair that she had ever seen. She and other Chinese girls wore
+it hanging down their backs in twists. She was just fifteen, and Sybil
+was told that she was going to be married in about a year's time, so she
+would soon have to begin to let her fringe grow. She was the daughter of
+a rich man, and had such pretty, dark eyes.
+
+Round a girl's and woman's head, or to fasten up her back hair,
+ornaments are generally worn. E-Chung wore rather a large one round her
+head. Sybil was allowed to spend an afternoon, and take some tea, with
+this young lady, but they could not talk much together. E-Chung knew,
+and spoke, a little of what is called pidgin, or business English,
+because many business, or shop, people and those who mix most with the
+English, speak this strange language to them; but Sybil could understand
+hardly any of it. Before E-Chung heard that Sybil had a brother, she
+said to her, "You one piecee chilo?" meaning to ask if she were the only
+child. Then she was trying to describe somebody to Sybil whose
+appearance did not please her, so she made an ugly grimace and said,
+"That number one ugly man all-same so fashion," meaning "just like
+this." Another time she meant to ask Sybil if she were not very rich, so
+she said, "You can muchee money?"
+
+The hair down Sybil's back was such a contrast to her friend's, as was
+also her rather pale complexion. E-Chung wished very much to enamel
+Sybil's face, as she did her own, and could not understand why she
+should so persistently refuse to have it done.
+
+Chinese ladies seldom do without their rouge, and often keep their
+amahs, or maids, from three to four hours at a time doing their hair.
+
+[Illustration: SYBIL.]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE BOAT POPULATION.
+
+
+MR. GRAHAM had thought of visiting Chaou-chou, a very fertile city on
+the river Han, but was advised not to do so, as foreigners are disliked
+by its inhabitants; and he was therefore told that they might have cause
+to regret going thither. It used not to be an uncommon thing for these
+people to greet an Englishman with a shower of stones. People have tried
+to establish an English consulate there, but have not succeeded,
+although the city is open to foreign commerce; and Jui Lin, the late
+viceroy of Canton, succeeded in making people in the neighbourhood much
+more orderly.
+
+A very large bridge crosses the Han River at this place, a picture of
+which the teacher had, and showed to the children. It is made of stone,
+and composed of many arches, or rather square gateways, under which
+ships pass to and fro. On the bridge, on each side of the causeway, are
+houses and shops.
+
+[Illustration: THE BRIDGE OF CHAOU CHOU.]
+
+"I should not care much to live in them," said Leonard.
+
+Nor would the teacher, he replied; for they did not look, and were not
+supposed to be, at all safe.
+
+[Illustration: ARCH OF THE BRIDGE OF CHAOU-CHOU.]
+
+Two pieces of wood are suspended between the arches, which the
+inhabitants take up in the day-time and let down at night, to prevent,
+as they say, evil spirits passing under their homes and playing them
+tricks.
+
+It was a very happy fortnight that was spent at Swatow, and Sybil was
+sorry to leave this port to go on to Hong-Kong. Somehow, although they
+were not going to settle down now, and had still Macao and Canton to
+visit, it seemed like bringing the end nearer--going much nearer to it,
+when they went to Hong-Kong even for a few days, for there her parents
+were to be left behind when she and Leonard returned to England. This
+English colony, the little island of Hong-Kong, about eight miles in
+length, is separated from the mainland by a very narrow strait, in the
+midst of a number of small islands.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE BOAT-CHILDREN.]
+
+The Bishop of Hong-Kong had kindly invited Mr. Graham and his family to
+stay at his residence, St. Paul's College, during the few days that they
+now remained at Hong-Kong, before continuing their tour and returning to
+settle down, and the kind invitation had been gladly and gratefully
+accepted.
+
+[Illustration: CHAIR-MEN OF HONG-KONG.]
+
+The missionary's party landed in a boat, or rather, in a floating house,
+for the people to whom it belonged lived here, and it was their only
+home.
+
+The children had heard that there were so many inhabitants in China
+that for very many of them there was no house accommodation, and that
+these lived in boats, and were called the boat population; and Leonard
+was delighted to be travelling in one of these house-boats himself, and
+seeing the homes of the boat people. Their very little children were
+tied to doors, and other parts of the boat, by long ropes. Those who
+were three or four years old had floats round their backs, so that if
+they fell overboard they would not sink, and their parents could jump in
+after them. Most care seemed to be taken of the boys. Instead of being
+dedicated to "Mother," boat-children, soon after they are born, are
+dedicated to Kow-wong, or Nine Kings, and for three days and nights
+before they marry, which ceremony takes place in the middle of the
+night, Taouist priests chant prayers to the Kow-wong.
+
+The boats in which live the Taouist priests, for the boat population,
+are called Nam-Mo-Teng. These are anchored in certain parts, that the
+priests may be sent for when needed. Their boats look partly like
+temples, and have altars and idols, also incense burning within them.
+The names of the priests who live there, and the rites they perform, are
+written up in the boats. The boat people can have everything they
+require without going on shore at all. There are even river barbers and
+policemen, which latter are very necessary, considering that there are
+so many pirates.
+
+[Illustration: A PORTRAIT-PAINTER OF HONG-KONG.]
+
+It seemed strange to Sybil and Leonard to think that boat-children never
+went on shore, might never do so, and would even marry on board their
+boat homes; but it did not seem at all strange to the little children
+themselves, who played about on board quite as happily as did children
+on shore. They looked strong, and seemed to be fond of one another. One
+woman going along was very angry with one of her children, and for a
+punishment threw him into the water, but he had a float on his back,
+and was quickly brought back again. These women often carry their
+children on their backs, but this is a most usual way of carrying
+children in China, both amongst the land and water people.
+
+Sybil had already often had her wish fulfilled, of travelling in
+sedan-chairs, and as that is the regular mode of travelling in
+Hong-Kong, directly they arrived here coolies were to be seen, standing
+and sitting, on the pier beside their chairs, waiting for a fare. Very
+eager they seemed to be to secure either people or their baggage. And
+Sybil liked being borne along in these chairs even better than she had
+expected.
+
+The sedans were made of bamboo, covered with oil-cloth, and carried on
+long poles. A great many sedan-chair-bearers have no fixed homes, living
+day and night in the open air, and buying their food at stalls on the
+road. They take care to keep their chairs in very good condition, ready
+to hire out whenever they are needed. Leonard was charmed with his
+bearers. They spoke such funny pigeon English to him, and made him
+wonder why they would put "ee" to the end of so many of their words.
+When Leonard once wished to speak to his father, who was on in front,
+and succeeded in making his bearers understand this, one of them said
+"My no can catchee." They admired the boy very much, and wanted to
+persuade him to let them carry him one day to a "handsome
+face-taking-man," but he could not understand at all, at first, that
+they wanted him to let them carry him somewhere to have his portrait
+taken. "My likee," one said, pointing to Leonard's face, "welly much."
+The Chinese do not paint pictures very well, and sometimes, instead of a
+brush, will use their fingers and nails.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF HONG-KONG.]
+
+The chair-men called Leonard "Captain" several times, which seemed to be
+a common way of addressing strange "gentlemen."
+
+They then asked him how Mr. Turner was, but he shook his head to show
+that he knew nobody of this name. They either did not understand or
+believe him.
+
+"He hab got London-side," they explained.
+
+Thinking that if he tacked a double "e" on to all his words he would be
+speaking the language they talked so much, he said "No-ee know-ee," and
+shook his head again. I think it was the expression on his face, and the
+shake of his head, which made them understand at last what he wished to
+say to them.
+
+It seems that the natives of Hong-Kong, as well as other parts of China,
+think that every Englishman must know every other Englishman; having,
+indeed, such very small ideas of our important country, that they really
+think our wealth consists in our possessing Hong-Kong.
+
+[Illustration: THE CLOCK TOWER, HONG-KONG.]
+
+The first view that the Grahams had of this little island was a chain of
+mountains rising in the background to lofty peaks, and diminishing as
+they approached the sea into small hills and steep rocks. Not so very
+long ago, Sybil was told, Hong-Kong used to be a deserted island, though
+it now contained flower-gardens, orchards, woods, large trees, beautiful
+grass slopes, and very many buildings. The English town of Victoria was
+built along the sea-coast. As Hong-Kong belongs to Great Britain, the
+Government here was, of course, English; there were Christian temples,
+as well as Buddhist, and many European edifices were conspicuous in the
+Chinese streets. Then there were also large European club-houses, and,
+best of all, the Cathedral. The sea-shore stretched round towards a
+very beautiful port, which opened out to the west by a pass called
+Lyce-moun, and to the east by the Lama Pass.
+
+"I do think, do you know, Leonard," Sybil said, as she wished her
+brother "Good-night" the evening after they had arrived at Hong-Kong,
+"that China is rather a 'Flowery Land' after all. I do not think I shall
+ever forget Formosa, at all events."
+
+"We have seen pretty sights since we came to China," Leonard said,
+agreeing with his sister.
+
+The next day Sybil and he were taken into the Queen's Road, which
+crossed the town from west to east, to the right of which was a regular
+labyrinth of streets, some leading into very fine roads. In one part of
+Hong-Kong nothing but shops and houses of business were to be seen. One
+of its principal ornaments was the tall clock-tower, which made even
+high trees beside it look quite small.
+
+The most ancient houses of the colony are in a street that leads to the
+clock-tower, and close by it is also the hotel of Hong-Kong. Into this
+Sybil and Leonard were taken to have some tiffin, or lunch, whilst their
+sedans and bearers waited for them not far off, under some trees.
+
+Leonard took a good view afterwards of a man in a turban whom they
+passed, because, as he was so important a person as a policeman, he
+thought Sybil might like to describe him in one of her letters, and she
+might perhaps forget what he was like.
+
+Sybil had, as yet, only written one of her promised letters, but this
+had been full of news, and had told of rides in sedan-chairs, little Chu
+and Woo-urh, and all sorts of things; and before they moved on to
+Macao, she had determined to write another letter, and tell of Leonard
+saving himself from the serpent, and what they saw in Hong-Kong. This
+seemed to be a very busy place. Steamers were always either coming or
+going; and here, too, telegrams were constantly arriving. Besides
+English merchants, Chinese, American, French, German, Hindoo merchants,
+and others also traded with the little island, and shared what wealth
+she had. Hong-Kong is very English-looking, compared with other places
+in China, and the people are not only governed by English laws, but
+their crimes are tried by English judges. But even at Canton, Shanghai,
+and other ports where the English have settlements, they now claim, and
+have a voice in trials for crime. It is only because Hong-Kong belongs
+to the English that telegraph-wires are to be found there, as the
+Chinese will not have them anywhere else, because they think that they
+would offend the ghosts, or spirits, of the places through which they
+would pass. For the same reason also the Chinese have hardly any
+railroads. Even children could easily recognise here the introduction of
+English ways and manners.
+
+Lily Keith was very fond of shopping, therefore in her next letter Sybil
+not only gave an account of Leonard's bravery, of which she was really
+more proud than Leonard himself, but also described a visit that she had
+paid to some shops.
+
+          "We went to some of the best of all the shops in
+          Hong-Kong to-day," she wrote, "and as we were
+          going into the door of one, the proprietor came to
+          meet us. Father said he was a merchant. He spoke
+          English, and was very grandly dressed in silk, and
+          wore worked shoes. His shopmen also wore very
+          handsome clothes, and served us standing behind
+          beautifully polished counters. In one part of the
+          shop were all kinds of silk materials, and some
+          stuff called grass-matting. We went down-stairs to
+          see furniture and beautiful porcelain. The
+          principal curiosities had come from Canton, so I
+          suppose when we get there we shall find still
+          better things; and in Canton people paint on that
+          pretty rice paper. Across the road were meat,
+          fish, vegetable, and puppy-dog shops. Yes, the
+          Chinese do eat dogs: in some shops in Hong-Kong we
+          have seen a number for sale; and they eat cats and
+          rats too. We could tell a shop in which clothes
+          were sold some little distance off, because an
+          imitation jacket, or something of that sort, was
+          hung up outside, as well as the long sign-boards,
+          which told what kind of shops they were. Leonard
+          says I am to tell you that a policeman was
+          outside. He always knows policemen now by turbans
+          that they wear, and they often hold a little cane
+          in their hands; and on the pathway a man sat,
+          wearing a hat just like one of those funny-looking
+          things, with a point, that we wore for fun
+          sometimes in the garden. There are no windows to
+          the shops.
+
+[Illustration: TEMPLE OF KWAN-YIN.]
+
+          "Oh! but some of the Chinese do believe such
+          strange things. The other day our amah told
+          Leonard and me to chatter our teeth three times
+          and blow. We could not understand what she meant
+          us to do until she did it first. We had heard a
+          crow caw, so she thought if we did not do this
+          afterwards we should be very unlucky. The other
+          day a coolie fell down and broke a number of
+          things. He had not to replace any of them, but the
+          master had to buy all the things again because it
+          was fine weather. If it had been dirty and
+          slippery, the boy must have bought them. None of
+          us could understand the meaning of this till it
+          was explained to us. If it had been a slippery
+          day, the boy ought to have taken care, and it
+          would have been very careless of him to fall; but
+          if he did so in fine weather, some god must have
+          made him slip, they think, and therefore he could
+          not help it. The heathen Chinese have such a
+          number of gods and goddesses.
+
+[Illustration: A SHADOW-SHOW.]
+
+          "The other day we passed the Temple of Kwan-Yin,
+          the goddess of mercy. The Hong-Kong people think
+          an immense deal of her, and her temple is in such
+          a pretty place, with many trees round it. She is a
+          Buddhist divinity. A number of beggars were
+          outside begging, and they nearly always get
+          something here. Very many Chinese beggars are
+          blind, and there are also lepers in China.
+          Barriers were put up to keep visitors, who were
+          not wanted, such as evil spirits, from going in.
+          People say that evil spirits only care to go
+          through a straight way, and never trouble to go
+          anywhere in a crooked direction. Over the doorway
+          were some characters, which father's teacher has
+          written out for me. They were, being read from
+          right to left, backwards: 'Teën How Kov Meaou,'
+          and signify, 'The Ancient Temple of the Queen of
+          Heaven.' Tien-How is the goddess of sailors, and
+          often called 'The Queen of Heaven.' To the right
+          was a doctor's shop, where prescriptions were sold
+          to the priests; and to the left an old priest was
+          selling little tapers which the worshippers were
+          to burn. We looked in for a few moments, and saw
+          people kneeling down and asking the goddess to
+          cure their sick friends. She was seated at the end
+          of the temple, behind an altar, on which were
+          bronze vases, candles, and lighted sticks of
+          incense. A gong was outside, and on the walls of
+          the temple were different representations of acts
+          of mercy that the goddess was supposed to have
+          performed. On the roof were dragons. The dragon is
+          the Chinese god of rain.
+
+          "Leonard says I am to tell you that some of the
+          Celestials thought once that he was going to beat
+          them because he carried a walking-stick. Chinamen,
+          excepting policemen and mandarins, are only
+          allowed to carry them when they grow old.
+
+          "We saw a very strange sort of show the other day,
+          called a shadow-show. A man, inside a kind of
+          Punch and Judy house, made, with the help of a
+          lantern, all sorts of figures, or rather, shadows,
+          appear on the top of the Punch and Judy. It looked
+          so strange, but Leonard said he thought the people
+          looking at it were stranger still, what with the
+          hats they wore and the funny way they did their
+          hair. He declared one woman had horns. I never saw
+          such pretty lanterns as the Chinese have. Father
+          says that on the fifteenth day of their first
+          month (which is not always the same, as their New
+          Year's Day, like our Easter, is a movable feast
+          regulated by the moon) there is a feast of
+          lanterns, when all people, both on land and on the
+          water, hang up most beautiful lamps, some being
+          made to look like animals, balls of fire, or even
+          like Kwan-Yin herself holding a child.
+
+          "Is it not strange New Year's Day next year will
+          be on the twenty-ninth of January, and in 1882 on
+          February eighteenth?
+
+          "I seem to have ever so much more to tell you, but
+          I am too tired now to write it. I am glad you
+          liked mother's pictures that I sent last time. I
+          could only write that one short letter in Formosa.
+          We are going on to Macao (it is pronounced Macow)
+          the day after to-morrow, then we stay at Canton,
+          and then come back here. It will be so dreadful
+          when that time comes, but I try not to think about
+          it. Dear mother does sometimes, I can see. We all
+          went to the Cathedral on Sunday.
+
+            "I hope I shall soon have a long letter from you.
+               "Believe me, dear Lily,
+                   "Always your affectionate friend,
+                                         "SYBIL GRAHAM.
+
+          "_Hong-Kong, December, 1880._"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+AT CANTON.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A PASSENGER-BOAT conveyed our little travellers, and their parents, in
+three days, from Hong-Kong to Macao, a pretty little sea-side place at
+the entrance of the Bocca Tigris, a little gulf, to the head of which is
+the city of Canton.
+
+Macao was not as full now as it had been during the summer months, when
+many people resort thither from Canton for change of air and to enjoy
+the fresh sea-breezes. A beautiful walk, called the Grand Parade,
+surrounds its picturesque bay.
+
+As Macao belongs to the Portuguese, a great many of the inhabitants
+speak that language.
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Graham and their children stayed, whilst at Macao, at the
+Grand Hotel, which was situated on the Parade, where was also a very
+pretty jetty, on which Sybil and Leonard liked very much to walk. Here,
+again, the houses were painted. In a pretty street close by the Grand
+Parade, protected on both sides by walls, the Grahams were shown houses
+whose windows used to have barriers of iron. These houses, they were
+told, were a kind of prison, called Emigration Agencies, but where in
+reality poor coolies were kept for sale. This traffic had, happily, now
+been done away with.
+
+Some of the houses in Macao seemed to be painted all colours, and many
+of the windows were bordered with red, the favourite colour. Most of the
+houses could boast of large rooms. Not very much commerce seemed to be
+carried on here. Leonard was one day taken to pay the European troops a
+visit in their garrison.
+
+At four o'clock in the afternoon many people walked upon the Parade.
+Most of the Christians here were Roman Catholics, which was natural,
+considering that the place belonged to the Portuguese. Bells, calling
+people to church, rang two or three times a day, and these, and the
+bugle-call from the garrison, were the principal sounds heard. It was
+interesting to visit Macao, because here, in its quiet prettiness, the
+poet Camoens, when banished, spent some of his lonely years, and wrote a
+great part of his epic poem "Lusiad;" and here also a French painter,
+named Chinnery, had produced some of his pretty paintings and sketches.
+Sybil was old enough to care about such things, and to find both
+pleasure and interest in visiting any places once made memorable by the
+footprints left there of either good or great men; and when she had
+heard the poet's story, she was very sorry for him!
+
+[Illustration: MACAO.]
+
+Camoens, who was the epic poet of Portugal, was born in Lisbon in 1524.
+An epic poet is one who writes narratives, or stories, which often
+relate heroic deeds. When banished by royal authority to Santarem,
+Camoens joined the expedition of John III. against Morocco, and lost his
+right eye in an engagement with the Moors in the Straits of Gibraltar.
+People in Lisbon, who would not admire his poetry, now thought nothing
+of his bravery. Sad and disappointed, he went to India in 1553; but
+being offended by what he saw the Portuguese authorities doing in India,
+he wrote a satire about them, called "Follies in India," and made fun of
+the Viceroy. For doing this, he was banished to Macao in 1556, where he
+lived for six years, writing "The Lusiad." On being recalled, he was
+shipwrecked, and lost everything that he had in the world but this epic
+poem, which he held in one hand above the waves, while he swam to shore
+with the other; and after suffering many misfortunes, he arrived in
+Lisbon in 1569, possessed of nothing else. He dedicated his poem to the
+young king Sebastian, who allowed him to stay at the court, and gave him
+a pension. But when Sebastian died he had nothing at all, and a faithful
+Indian servant begged for him in the streets. At last he died in the
+hospital at Lisbon, in 1579. Sixteen years later Camoens was
+appreciated, and people hunted for his grave, to erect a monument to his
+memory, but had much difficulty even in finding it.
+
+The "Lusiad" celebrates the chief events in Portugal's history, and has
+been called "a gallery of epic pictures, in which all the great
+achievements of Portuguese heroism are represented." The poem has been
+translated into English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Polish.
+
+After a short, but pleasant, stay at Macao, the Grahams went on to
+Canton.
+
+"The last place but one," Sybil could not help whispering to Leonard on
+board. "When we next arrive--" she went on, but tears starting into her
+eyes seemed to drown the rest of the sentence. However, as some very
+happy weeks had yet to be passed at Canton, neither she nor we must
+anticipate. A long visit of two months was to be spent here at the
+residence of a personal friend of Mr. Graham, the English consul of the
+place.
+
+A servant was stationed on the steps leading round to the Consulate, or
+Yamen, to await the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Graham and their children.
+
+This house was situated on a height, and occupied the site of an ancient
+palace. It consisted of a suite of buildings, surrounded on one side by
+a pretty garden, and on the other by a park, in which deer grazed. Both
+Sybil and Leonard thought the deer very pretty; and quite near to the
+Yamen was a pagoda of nine storeys, which the Emperor Wong-Ti, who
+reigned about the middle of the sixteenth century, is supposed first to
+have constructed.
+
+"How little," Sybil and Leonard said to one another, "we ever thought,
+when we examined our little ornamental pagodas at home, that we should
+ever live quite near to a real one!"
+
+A story relating to this pagoda, being told to Leonard, interested him a
+good deal.
+
+[Illustration: THE ENGLISH CONSULATE AT CANTON.]
+
+In 1859 some English sailors climbed up the old building, which was then
+in so tottering a condition that it was a really perilous ascent, and
+when they reached the top the Chinese were dreadfully angry, for two
+reasons: first, because they looked upon it as sacrilege; and secondly,
+because from the height the sailors could look down upon their houses,
+and the Chinese dislike very much indeed to be overlooked, especially by
+"barbarians."
+
+The consul and Leonard were soon very good friends, and the elder friend
+very kindly did not weary of answering questions put to him by the
+little boy.
+
+"Why is your house called a yamen?"
+
+"This word means the same as does consulate, the official residence of
+the consul."
+
+"What are you here for?"
+
+The consul smiled. "To protect your interests and those, commercial and
+otherwise, of every English citizen resident here."
+
+"Who is that Jui-Lin of whom you have a picture? and is he alive now?"
+
+"He died a few years ago, and was viceroy of Canton. He made so good a
+governor that those provinces over which he ruled generally prospered
+under his administration. It is in a great measure through his influence
+that peaceable relations have, for some time, been established between
+China and foreign countries. The Emperor Tau-Kwang, who came to the
+throne in 1820, thought so well of him that he made him one of his
+ministers. Later he became general of the Tartar garrison at Canton, and
+soon after he was made viceroy. He established order in a very
+troublesome district, where he made the clan villagers at last
+acknowledge some authority, and so put the people and their property in
+much greater security."
+
+[Illustration: JUI-LIN, LATE VICEROY OF CANTON.]
+
+Leonard said Canton was the place for him, for here he saw ships and
+fishing to perfection. In Canton alone, the consul told him, it was
+estimated that 300,000 persons had their homes on the water. One
+Canton boat-woman, in whose passenger-boat they travelled, said that her
+husband went on shore during the day to work, whilst she looked after
+the passengers; but he seemed to be rather an exception, for most of the
+boat population never went on shore at all, and as people on land go to
+market to buy vegetables and other food, so everything in this line,
+that they required, was brought, by boat, to them. Then, besides boats,
+there were floating islands, on which people lived, and these consisted
+of rafts of bamboos fastened together, with a thick bed of vegetable
+soil covering the rafts. Here the owners set up houses, cultivated
+rice-fields, and kept tame cattle and hogs. Swallows and pigeons here
+built their nests in pretty surrounding gardens. Sails were put up on
+the houses, and oars were often used to propel the islands along. Women
+worked them frequently, with their babies fastened to their backs; and
+little boys and girls would here also play together, having smaller
+brothers and sisters thus attached to them. These floating islands,
+Sybil and Leonard were told, were to be seen on almost all Chinese
+lakes. Many floating houses were moored to one another.
+
+Sometimes the boat population made such a noise. They seemed a
+good-natured set of people, but every now and then they quarrelled, and
+this was done very noisily. Then if a storm came on, they would call out
+with fear. Those people who lived in river streets, where their houses
+were close against the river, often complained of the noise that they
+heard during the night. The boat population are often looked down upon
+by the Chinese who live on land, and may not go in for the literary
+examinations.
+
+There were very many fishing villages about, and nothing made Leonard
+happier than to be taken to one or another of them; he was so fond of
+boats of all kinds. Fishing-boats in China had to obtain a license from
+Government. Some of these sailed two and two abreast, at a distance,
+from one another, of about three hundred feet, when a net was stretched
+from ship to ship to enclose the fish. Names cut in the boats had
+generally reference to good fortune. The name on one, which Leonard had
+interpreted for him, was "Good Success."
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE BOAT-WOMAN.]
+
+[Illustration: A FISHING VILLAGE ON THE CANTON RIVER.]
+
+In fishing as well as in other villages men go about hawking things for
+sale, and carrying them, by ship, from one village to another. In the
+bows of fishing vessels are large pairs of shears, which can be either
+raised or lowered. A large dip-net, fastened to the shears, is drawn up
+after remaining some time in the water, when the fish it contains are
+emptied into a little hole in the middle of the ship, like a large
+cistern, into which fresh water flows. The fishermen anchor their boats,
+and then lower their dip-nets into the water by means of these shears,
+which are made of bamboo, and attached to wooden platforms, resting on
+posts. Huts are sometimes erected near the dip-nets, so that the
+fishermen can shelter themselves from the hot sun. A great deal of
+fishing with birds called cormorants is also carried on in China, when
+one man will, perhaps, take out a hundred birds to fish for him,
+fastening something to their throats to prevent them from swallowing the
+fish when caught. As they return with them, they are given a little
+piece that they can swallow.
+
+After young fish are caught, they are fed with paste in the tanks, or
+wells, into which they are put, and when they grow older little ponds
+are made for them.
+
+Sybil and Leonard were taken very often on the Canton river in all kinds
+of boats, both large and small. In the stern of very many was an altar,
+concealed generally behind a sliding door, but which, night and morning,
+was drawn aside to admit the altar to view, and display the images of
+household gods that were upon it.
+
+Here were also small ancestral tablets, which were regularly worshipped,
+and offerings of fruit and flowers were constantly offered to the
+guardian god of the boat and the tablets when they were worshipped.
+Tien-How, Queen of Heaven, also called Ma-chu, and other names, is much
+worshipped by sailors, but each boat has its special guardian god.
+Incense is burnt night and morning at the bow of the boat. The Grahams
+very often travelled in a small ship called a sampan, which had a mat
+roofing over the centre, and was driven forward, very frequently by
+women, with two oars and a scull.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE FISHING.]
+
+"I have seen just the sort of thing for you to sketch, mother," Sybil
+said one day. Like her mother, she greatly admired what was beautiful,
+and now, with her fellow-excursionists, the consul, her father, and
+brother, returned home, from a ramble, very tired; "a dear little
+pagoda, seven storeys high, very near to the banks of the river, with
+mountains at the back and trees near to it, and a little village in the
+distance; and on the opposite side of the river we saw two men and a
+boy: the boy seemed to have a kite, but we thought it belonged to one of
+the men, and he was just carrying it for him."
+
+Mrs. Graham sometimes did not feel equal to long expeditions, of which
+her children never grew tired, so then she would remain at home, or walk
+through the pretty gardens and park.
+
+The Canton, Chu-kiang, or Pearl River, has a great many names and
+branches. The great western branch is called Kan-kiang, the northern
+branch Pe-kiang, or Pearl River, and the eastern one Tong-kiang. On the
+western branch the children found themselves surrounded by lovely
+mountain scenery. From Canton to Whampoa it was called the Pearl River;
+from Whampoa to Bocca Tigris, or Tiger's Mouth, Foo-mon; and beyond
+Shek-moon towards Canton, the Covetous River. The passage to Macao was
+the Wild Goose River. It was some time before Sybil and Leonard could
+understand anything at all about these divisions.
+
+One day, on the Pearl River, they came to a very pretty spot, where the
+water was almost entirely land-locked by high ranges of hills, and here
+they asked to be allowed to remain stationary, for a little while, to
+look about them.
+
+Another day they went very far indeed with their father and mother,
+crossing the Fatchan River, where Leonard heard, with interest, that
+Commodore Keppel engaged in a memorable battle in 1857. The river
+divides the town of Fatchan into two equal parts. Then again they went
+so far that they could not even think of returning home the same day,
+and stayed the night on the road to a village called Wong-tong, which
+was very countrified and pretty.
+
+[Illustration: PAGODA ON THE BANKS OF THE CANTON RIVER.]
+
+And once more they went--father, mother, and all--to a place quite
+different from anything that they had yet seen, which was the village of
+Polo-Hang. Here they found themselves in the midst of vast plains, on
+the outskirts of which were to be seen lovely-looking hills of limestone
+and rows of wonderfully-shaped mountains. Standing on one of these
+mountains, they had a capital view of the Temple of Polo-Hang and its
+surroundings, consisting of bare fields traversed by canals; and, at the
+foot of the mountains of thickets of bamboo, whose light, feathery
+branches swayed gently to and fro. Bamboo was very largely cultivated
+here, and Sybil thought it such a fairy-like growth. Must not this scene
+have been very lovely? Sybil was so glad that her mother had come to
+see it. Then other hills appeared, covered with trees, and dotted here
+and there with temples.
+
+"Where _did_ they all come from?" Leonard asked.
+
+Mr. Graham was looking very serious. This was a scene calculated to
+leave a deep impression upon the beholders.
+
+[Illustration: ON THE CANTON RIVER]
+
+"From the hand of God," he said very quietly.
+
+[Illustration: VILLAGE OF POLO-HANG IN CANTON.]
+
+A week later, Sybil wrote again to her friend.
+
+
+                              "_Canton, January, 1881._
+
+          "MY DEAREST LILY,--We saw such a strange sight
+          yesterday; and we could not help liking to see it,
+          although, of course, it was very dreadful. We went
+          inside a Buddhist temple at Canton. These
+          temples are often called joss-houses; this one was
+          the Temple of Five Hundred Gods. Fancy five
+          hundred gods! and these idols were all there,
+          arranged in different lines. They all seemed to
+          look different, and some were dreadfully ugly. I
+          saw beards on a few of their faces. In the part of
+          the temple where, in a church, our altar would be,
+          there was a terrible-looking thing: I suppose a
+          very special god.
+
+          "We saw one of the priests. He had his beads in
+          one hand, and a fan in the other. Some of the
+          priests are men who have committed great crimes,
+          and have escaped to a monastery and had their
+          heads shaved, so as not to be caught and punished.
+
+          "Some of the idols were as large as if they were
+          alive, and they had their arms in all sorts of
+          different positions. Some held beads, and a few
+          wore crowns; I think they were disciples of
+          Buddha. The buildings of the temple, and the
+          houses of the priests, were surrounded by lakes
+          and gardens.
+
+          "We have been able to get you a picture of part of
+          the inside of the temple, so I send it to you; but
+          Leonard says that he thinks as you'll have the
+          picture (and he considers it a very good one) that
+          you ought to know that this temple is said to have
+          been founded about 520 years A.D., and to have
+          been rebuilt in 1755. Fancy people wasting prayers
+          before these images! Isn't it a pity that they
+          don't know better? There are more than 120
+          temples, or joss-houses, in Canton.
+
+[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF THE FIVE HUNDRED GODS, CANTON.]
+
+          "The Chinese never eat with knives and forks, but
+          with chop-sticks. These are generally small square
+          pieces of bamboo, as large as a penholder, which
+          they hold between the thumb and first finger of
+          the right hand. I can't eat with them at all,
+          nor can mother; and the other day, when she went
+          out to lunch with some Chinese ladies, they sent
+          for a knife and fork for her.
+
+          "Chinese ladies in Canton never seem to be with
+          their husbands in public, and they never walk in
+          the streets with them. Some of them think us such
+          barbarous people because we are so different from
+          what they are.
+
+          "The Chinese have such a funny way of paying
+          formal visits, that I think I must tell you about
+          it. They often go in sedan-chairs. Officers of the
+          highest rank may have eight bearers, people of
+          less rank have four, and ordinary people two. The
+          state sedan-chair of an official is covered with
+          green cloth, and the fringe on the roof and
+          window-curtains has to be green too. So much seems
+          to go by rank in China. For the first three ranks,
+          the tips of poles may be of brass, in the form of
+          a dragon's head; the fourth and fifth rank would
+          have a lion's head. On the top of these chairs is
+          a ball of tin. Leonard and I can tell the chairs
+          very well now. Private gentlemen have blue cloth,
+          and the ends of their poles are tipped with plain
+          brass.
+
+[Illustration: AN OFFICIAL'S PALANQUIN.]
+
+          "Father says when an official calls upon another
+          official in Peking, his servant sends in his
+          visiting card. The official who is being called
+          upon then sends out to know how his visitor is
+          dressed, and if he hears that it is in full
+          costume, he dresses himself in the same way, and
+          then goes to the entrance of the house, and asks
+          his visitor to get out of his carriage or chair,
+          and come in. As they pass through a door of the
+          gate, the gentleman, to whom the house belongs
+          asks the visitor to go first, but he always says
+          'No' until he has been asked three times, and
+          then he walks first to the reception-hall, when
+          the two stop again, and ask one another to go
+          first. When they have come into the hall, father
+          says, they kneel down, and knock their heads on
+          the ground six times. This is performing the
+          kow-tow. When they get up from this performance,
+          the host arranges a chair for the other, and asks
+          him to sit down, but he must not do this even till
+          he has bowed again. I am sure I should forget when
+          I had to make all these bows, and should be sure
+          to do them at the wrong times.
+
+          "After they have had a little talk, a servant is
+          told to make some tea. I suppose the host would
+          then say 'Yam-cha' to the other, for this means
+          'Drink tea.' Before either gentleman drinks, both
+          bow again, and soon afterwards the visitor gets
+          up, and says, 'I want to take my leave.' They walk
+          together to the grand entrance, but at every
+          door-way the visitor has to bow, and ask his
+          friend not to come any farther, although of course
+          he must go, or it would not be polite. And then he
+          stands at the entrance door till the carriage has
+          driven off. The Chinese do bow so often, and
+          little children have to do it too.
+
+          "The consul told Leonard that when school-boys go
+          to see their masters, they have to arrange the
+          chair-cushions for their masters and themselves.
+          The boy has to stand outside the visitor's hall
+          till his master comes, and when he has been asked
+          to go in, he gives him for a present a tael of
+          silver, about 2s. 8d., which he holds up with both
+          his hands. Then he looks towards the north,
+          kneels, and knocks his head twice upon the ground,
+          when the master bows. The boy asks how his
+          teacher's parents are, who also asks after the
+          boy's. He then invites his little guest to sit
+          down; but every time the boy is asked a question
+          by his teacher he has to stand up to answer it.
+          When he leaves, he goes to the entrance door by
+          himself. At school, the boys have to make a bow to
+          the schoolmaster whenever they go in and out of
+          the room.
+
+          "You asked me in your letter if people have very
+          many servants in China. Some have a very great
+          number. Ordinary Chinese gentlemen might have a
+          porter, two or three footmen, coolies for
+          house-work, sedan-chair bearers, and a cook. Women
+          servants are often bought by their masters. A rich
+          man will have sometimes twenty or thirty slaves.
+          People called 'go-betweens' generally buy them for
+          the masters. We have very few servants of our own
+          now, as we are on a visit. Mother's maid shows
+          dear little Chu what to do. Female slaves attend
+          upon the ladies and children, and we have often
+          seen them carrying their mistresses with small
+          feet. It does look so funny. In good families,
+          father says, they are very well treated, but some
+          maid-of-all-work slaves often run away because
+          they are so unhappy.
+
+          "Children are sometimes stolen to be slaves.
+          Great-grandsons of slaves can buy their freedom. I
+          am so glad I have my little Chu, because she
+          cannot be bought or sold now: father made that
+          agreement. I should not know nearly so much about
+          the servants and slaves if I had not wanted to
+          know what might have become of little Chu if we
+          had not had her. Sometimes servants stand in the
+          streets to be hired.
+
+          "In a suburb of Canton, in a street called the
+          Taiping Kai, we saw one morning a number of
+          bricklayers, journeymen, and carpenters, waiting
+          to be hired. The carpenters stand in a line on one
+          side, and bricklayers on the other. Father said
+          they had been there since five o'clock.
+
+          "Another day we saw men carrying baskets, in which
+          they were collecting every bit of paper they could
+          find about the streets, which had been written
+          upon. The Chinese have such respect for every
+          little piece of paper, on which have been any
+          Chinese characters, that they will not allow any
+          parcels even to be wrapped up in them. When all
+          these scraps have been collected, they are burnt
+          in a furnace, and the ashes are put into baskets,
+          carried in procession, and emptied into a stream.
+          Slips of paper are pasted on walls, telling people
+          to reverence lettered paper. Chinese characters
+          are called 'eyes of the sage;' and some people
+          think that if they are irreverent to the paper,
+          they are so to the sages who invented them, and
+          they will perhaps, for a punishment, be born blind
+          in the next world.
+
+          "Men become famous in China when they write very
+          beautifully. They write with a brush and Indian
+          ink. Father's teacher says there are three styles
+          of writing Chinese characters, and that the
+          literature of China is the first in Asia. A
+          Chinaman writes from right to left, and all the
+          writing consists of signs or characters. I cannot
+          think how Chinese people understand either their
+          writing or their conversation. One word will mean
+          a number of things, and you know which word they
+          mean by the sound of the voice and the stress on
+          the word. Leonard asked the teacher one day what
+          soldier was in Chinese, and he said, 'ping;' but
+          he also told him that 'ping' meant ice, pancake,
+          and other words too. 'Fu' is father, and 'Mu'
+          mother. They think we have no written language.
+
+          "Canton is entered by twelve outer, and four
+          inner, gates. The name means 'City of Perfection.'
+          Leonard and I are now going for a walk, with
+          father, to the Street of Apothecaries, and
+          to-morrow we are to see a bridal procession.
+
+[Illustration: WAITING TO BE HIRED.]
+
+          "There are such a number of narrow streets in
+          Canton, and religious worship is carried on in the
+          open streets, in front of shrines; and before the
+          shops lighted sticks, called 'joss-sticks,' are
+          put at dawn and sunset. The natives live in the
+          narrow streets. Those in the European settlement,
+          where we are, are larger.
+
+          "The ports, which are open to foreign commerce,
+          have European parts where the European inhabitants
+          live.
+
+                         "Always your affectionate
+                                           "SYBIL GRAHAM."
+
+[Illustration: A CHINESE WRITER ]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+A BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+THE Street of Apothecaries was no exception to the general rule that
+Sybil had laid down. It also was very narrow, and, like many other
+streets in Canton, was so covered over at the top that in walking
+through it the sun did not burn too fiercely, neither did the rain fall
+upon the passers-by.
+
+The shops opened right upon the street, which was very gay indeed with
+sign-boards. Just in front of the shops were granite counters, on which
+goods were shown to purchasers.
+
+Many of the sign-boards rested on granite pedestals. On one side of each
+shop was a little altar, dedicated to the god of wealth, or the god
+supposed to preside over the special trade carried on within. Every
+heathen Chinese merchant and shopkeeper has some little spot set apart
+for this worship, although all the shops have not an altar, but many
+only a piece of red paper pasted upon a wall, on which the characters
+meaning "god of wealth" are written, and before which incense and
+candles are burnt. Every day, as soon as the shop is opened, worship is
+paid to this divinity.
+
+[Illustration: THE STREET OF APOTHECARIES, CANTON.]
+
+The counters and shelves inside these hongs were very handsome. The
+accountant's desk was at the end of the hong, and here again the red
+colour was not absent, for the scales and weights of the shop were
+covered with cloth of that hue.
+
+Beggars (some miserably and scantily dressed) are very numerous in
+China, people making quite a profession of begging, when they visit
+shops in companies, and there make a great disturbance until they
+receive what they demand. These beggars are often governed by a
+head-man, who was really first appointed to rule over them by the
+mandarin, to save himself trouble. A head-man will sometimes make an
+agreement with a hong proprietor, that if he will pay a sum of money
+down beggars shall not molest him; and when he agrees to this, a notice
+on red paper, stating the arrangement made, is hung up in the shop,
+after which any native beggar applying for aid can be shown this, turned
+out of the hong, and upon refusing to go, he can be beaten. But unless
+such an arrangement has been made, beggars may neither be beaten nor
+turned out of a shop, whatever annoyance they may offer, unless they
+steal, or break some other law. Therefore it is that poor shop-keepers
+feel themselves bound to pay money in order to avoid such annoyance.
+When the head-man is paid a sum of money, he is supposed to divide it
+amongst his band.
+
+"I never heard such a shame!" Leonard exclaimed, when he saw one of
+these beggars very troublesome in the Street of Apothecaries, and heard
+the law with regard to them. "I wish I were a mandarin. I'd very soon
+put a stop to poor shop-keepers being so persecuted."
+
+[Illustration: A BEGGAR.]
+
+[Illustration: BRIDESMAIDS]
+
+That evening both Sybil and Leonard, feeling tired, went very early to
+bed, as they wanted to be up in very good time in the morning, so as to
+see the whole of the bridal procession, for the bridegroom sends very
+early indeed in the morning for his bride. The bridal-chair which he
+sends for her is often painted red. The one which the Grahams saw was of
+this colour, and over the door were also strips of red paper. Before the
+bride took her seat in the sedan, which was brought into the
+reception-room of her home for her, she having eaten nothing that
+morning, and having kow-towed very often to her parents, they covered
+her head and face with a thick veil, so that she could not be seen. The
+floor, from her room to the sedan, was covered with red carpet. When in
+the sedan, four bread-cakes were tossed into the air by one of the
+bridesmaids as an omen of good fortune. In front of the procession two
+men carried large lighted lanterns, having the family name of the
+bridegroom, cut in red paper, and pasted on them. Then came two men
+bearing the family name of the bride, who were, however, only to go part
+of the way. Other men followed, some carrying a large red umbrella,
+others torches, and again some playing a band of music. Near the
+bridal-chair brothers or friends of the bride walked. Half-way between
+the two houses the friends of the bridegroom met the bride, and as they
+approached the procession stopped.
+
+The children were very much interested in watching what happened next.
+The bride's friends brought out a large red card, on which was written
+the bride's family name, and the other party produced a similar one,
+bearing that of the bridegroom. These were exchanged with bows. The two
+men at the head of the procession then walked, with their lanterns,
+between the sedan-chair and the lantern-bearers, who carried the bride's
+family name, and returned to their places in front, when the bride's
+party turned round and went back to her father's house, carrying home
+her family name, she being supposed to have now taken that of her
+husband. Even her brothers went back also, and then the band played a
+very lively air whilst the rest of the procession took her on.
+
+Fireworks were let off along the road, and a great many outside the
+bridegroom's door when the bride arrived. Her bridesmaids, who have to
+keep with her throughout the day, accompanied the procession.
+
+As the sedan-chair was taken into the reception-room, the torch-bearers
+and musicians stayed near the door, and where it was put down the floor
+was again covered with red carpet. The bridegroom then came and knocked
+at the bridal door, but a married woman and a little boy, holding a
+mirror, asked the bride to get out. Her bridesmaids helped her to
+alight. The mirror was supposed to ward off evil influences.
+
+[Illustration: BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.]
+
+Sometimes, much for the same purpose, a bride is carried over a charcoal
+fire on a servant's back, but this was not done on this occasion. All
+this time the bride's face was hidden by her veil. She was then taken
+into a room, where the bridegroom was waiting for her, and here they sat
+down together for a few minutes, without speaking a word. Sometimes the
+bridegroom sits on a high stool, while the bride throws herself down
+before him, to show that she considers man superior to woman.
+
+He then went into the reception-room, where he waited for his bride to
+come to worship his ancestral tablets with him. A table was put in front
+of the room, on which were two lighted candles and lighted incense. Two
+goblets, chop-sticks, white sugar-cocks, and other things were on the
+table, when the bride and bridegroom both knelt four times, bowing their
+heads towards the earth. This was called "worshipping heaven and earth."
+The ancestral tablets were on tables at the back, on which were also
+lighted candles and incense. Turning round towards the tablets, they
+worshipped them eight times, and then facing one another, they knelt
+four times.
+
+Wedding wine was now drunk, and the bride and bridegroom ate a small
+piece from the same sugar-cock, which was to make them agree.
+
+The thick veil was now taken off the bride, but her face was still
+partly hidden by strings of pearl hanging from a bridal coronet.
+
+It often happens that the bridegroom now sees his bride for the first
+time, the two fathers having perhaps planned the marriage, asked a
+fortune-teller's advice, sent go-betweens to make all the necessary
+arrangements, chosen a lucky day, without the bride or bridegroom having
+a voice in the matter. This was the case with the young couple, a great
+part of whose wedding ceremony Sybil and Leonard had witnessed. Both
+Chinese boys and girls marry sometimes when they are sixteen years of
+age; these were very little older.
+
+Many other ceremonies had to take place, such as kneeling very often
+before the bridegroom's parents, when at last it was time for the
+bride's heavy outer garments to be taken off, together with her
+head-dress, so that her hair could be well arranged; but she was not
+allowed to eat anything at all at the wedding dinner. Indeed, on her
+wedding-day, she is hardly expected to touch food at all.
+
+Many people came in to see her, and on this day she must be quite
+natural, and wear no rouge at all. She has to stand up quietly to be
+looked at, blessed, and have remarks made upon her appearance. Presents
+are sent to the bridegroom's family. For three days the bride's parents
+send her food, as she may not, during that time, eat what her husband
+provides. In some districts of the province of Canton the bride leaves
+her husband, and goes home again for a time after she is married, but
+after marriage she is generally considered to belong almost entirely to
+her husband's family, in a wing of whose house she lives with him, and
+to whose parents she is supposed to help him to be filial. On many other
+days the ancestral tablets have to be worshipped by the bride and
+bridegroom, and amongst other gods and goddesses, those of the kitchen
+have adoration paid to them.
+
+[Illustration: AT A CHINESE FARM.]
+
+
+                                 "_Canton, February, 1881._
+
+          "MY DEAREST LILY.--Father took us to a lovely farm
+          the other day" (Sybil wrote in another letter),
+          "where we saw a little donkey, who was so well
+          cared for that he seemed like one of the family.
+          Leonard and I fed him for some time. We both
+          thought that the farm-house was something like a
+          Swiss cottage. Father said the walls were made of
+          clay, and on these walls were scrolls, which were
+          supposed to have power to keep the fox and wild
+          cat away.
+
+          "There were a few bullocks and cows here, but not
+          many; their stalls were quite near to the house.
+          We liked the village, to which we went, very much,
+          and it was surrounded by high trees. Father says
+          that the stables of the Chinese are like
+          cart-sheds, but each stable has an altar in honour
+          of the ruler of horses. In this city there is a
+          large temple to this god.
+
+          "We saw a number of bean, pea, rice, and
+          cotton-fields, and had some sugar-cane given us to
+          eat. Sugar-cane is grown in Canton, and we had
+          some bean-curds to drink. We liked them very much.
+          Mother says she was told that they were made in
+          Canton overnight, and generally sold very early in
+          the morning. The beans are ground to flour, which
+          is strained, and then boiled slowly for an hour. I
+          wonder if you would like it?
+
+          "The Chinese are so fond of sugar-cane, and it
+          grew in China before it grew anywhere else. Ever
+          so many fruits and vegetables grow also in China,
+          but there seem to be more rice-fields than any
+          other. I will tell you a few of the vegetables:
+          sweet potatoes, yams, tomatoes, cabbages,
+          lettuces, turnips, and carrots; and some fruits
+          are apricots, custard-apples, rose-apples, dates,
+          oranges, pomegranates, melons, pumpkins, and ever
+          so many others. Canton is in the tropics, but it
+          is not hot here in the winter. There are such
+          pretty water-lilies here, not only white, but also
+          red and red-and-white. The Chinese look upon this
+          lily as a sacred plant. Some shop-keepers use the
+          leaves, in which to wrap up things, instead of
+          paper.
+
+          "Chinese people do very funny things. Because they
+          think that their birds sometimes like change of
+          air, they carry their cages out of doors with them
+          for a walk. But I do so wish that they did not eat
+          dogs! You see them being sold in the shops, and in
+          one district of Canton a fair is held, where they
+          are regularly sold for food. Many people like
+          black dogs best. At the beginning of summer nearly
+          everybody eats dog's flesh, when a ceremony takes
+          place. If people eat it, they think that it will
+          keep them from being ill in the summer. I am glad,
+          for that reason, that I shall not be here in June,
+          as the dogs are cruelly beaten the day before they
+          are killed. Fancy, poor little things! I suppose
+          that is to bring luck too! And yet the Cantonese
+          think that they displease the gods when they eat
+          dog's flesh, and we have seen it written on
+          Buddhist temples that people ought not to eat
+          'their faithful guardians.'
+
+          "The Cantonese must not go into a temple to
+          worship till they have been three whole days
+          without eating any dog. One of the 'boys' here--he
+          is a footman; but in China all these sort of
+          people are called 'boys'--eats rats. He says he is
+          getting bald, and if he eats them his hair will
+          grow again. Horses are sometimes eaten too; and
+          worms that spoil the rice-fields, father told me,
+          are sent to the markets and sold to be eaten.
+          Isn't that nasty? And a kind of swallow's nest is
+          eaten even by ladies. It is lined with feathers,
+          which are first removed; then it is scraped,
+          washed, and pulled to pieces, when it looks white.
+          People say it is something like blancmange. I
+          should not like to eat it. Does it not seem
+          greedy, when people have so much to eat, to take
+          poor little birds'-nests which have been made with
+          such pains by their owners?
+
+          "There is a bird in China that has such a long
+          tail: it is called the Golden Pheasant. The
+          feathers of the cock bird are most beautiful. His
+          throat and breast are like purple velvet, and his
+          back looks like gold. The upper part of his very
+          long tail is scarlet, and the rest yellow. When
+          this pheasant lifts his head and neck-feathers he
+          shows such a tuft!
+
+          "There are a good many deer in China, which are
+          also supposed to bring good fortune. Some Chinese
+          are very cruel to animals. We have seen them
+          carrying pigs, ducks, and geese fastened to a
+          pole, hanging with their heads downwards; and some
+          of their dogs look so hungry, and their beasts of
+          burden so tired. We saw a dreadful thing one day,
+          almost too dreadful to write about--a poor little
+          dog running yelping through the streets with its
+          tail cut off! A Taouist priest had cut it off, so
+          that it should run screaming through all the house
+          in which evil spirits were supposed to be, because
+          this would drive them out; then the poor little
+          dog rushed into the streets, where we saw it, and,
+          fortunately, father was near enough to have it
+          killed at once.
+
+          "The people listen more to father than they do to
+          many missionaries, because he goes to the
+          dispensary and helps to cure them when they are
+          ill.
+
+          "I forgot to tell you that when we first went to
+          the farm nobody saw us, because the farmer, his
+          wife, daughter, and a labourer were all listening
+          to a man reading to them. We thought he must have
+          got hold of some of the Chinese classics. The
+          pigeon-English people talk sometimes is so funny.
+          They are so fond of the word 'piecee.' Instead of
+          'one child,' they say 'one piecee chilo;' and if
+          they had many children, I expect they would say
+          'piecee muchee.'
+
+          "Leonard makes very good shots at pigeon-English,
+          and can talk it much better than I can. What we
+          generally do is to put 'ee' at the end of our
+          words; but when we spoke to the farmer he could
+          not understand, and so said, 'You talkee me. Very
+          good talkee.' When he wanted to tell us that his
+          house was very large, he said, 'Number one largee,
+          handsome howsow;' and for 'There is a child
+          up-stairs,' he said, 'Have got chilo topside.'
+
+          "You asked me how the Chinese dressed, so I must
+          try to tell you this, although I have written you
+          such a long letter already.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE LADIES.]
+
+[Illustration: A VILLAGER.]
+
+[Illustration: A COOLIE.]
+
+          "Gentlemen and ladies seem to dress very much
+          alike; and people cannot change their clothes as
+          they choose, because there is a minister of
+          ceremonies, who says of what colour, stuff, and
+          shape things are to be made, and when winter and
+          summer things are to be changed. Even a head-dress
+          may not be altered as people like, or they might
+          be breaking a law. And it is so funny about the
+          nails; some people let some of their nails grow as
+          long as they can, and are so proud when they are
+          very long. No Chinaman wears a beard till he is
+          forty. The outside robe of a gentleman is so long
+          that it reaches to his ankles, and it is fastened
+          with buttons. The sleeves are first broad, and
+          then get narrower and narrower. A sash is tied
+          round his waist, and from this chop-sticks, a
+          tobacco-case, fans, and such-like things hang. The
+          head-dress is a cap with a peak at the top. Men do
+          not take off their hats to bow; indeed, they would
+          put them on if they were off. In-doors they wear
+          silk slippers, pointed and turned up at the toes.
+          Chinese men are admired when they are stout, and
+          women when they are thin. Women also have two
+          robes, the top one often being made of satin, and
+          reaching from the chin to the ground. Their
+          sleeves are so long that they do instead of
+          gloves. They always wear trousers, and often carry
+          a pipe, for women smoke a great deal in China.
+          Some, I think, are pretty. They have rather large
+          eyes and red lips. Old ladies wear very quiet
+          clothes. Mother says the Chinese are not at all
+          clean people, and ought to change their clothes
+          much oftener than they do. People wear shoes of
+          silk, or cotton, with thick felt soles. The women
+          spend hours having their hair done into all sorts
+          of shapes, such as baskets, bird-cages, or
+          anything they and their amahs can manufacture.
+          Then besides ornaments in their hair, they wear
+          ear-rings and bangles. Even boat-women wear these;
+          and the ladies almost always paint their faces,
+          to do which they have a kind of enamel. Chinese
+          ladies have little useful occupation, and spend a
+          great part of their time, mother says, when they
+          are not doing embroidery, in gambling and adorning
+          themselves.
+
+          "The peasants wear a coarse linen shirt, covered
+          by a cotton tunic, with thin trousers fastened to
+          the ankles. In wet and cold weather they make a
+          useful covering of net-work, into which are
+          plaited rushes, or coarse dry grass, and they put
+          on very large hats, made in the same way. The
+          Chinese are not at all lazy people, for father
+          says after their shutters are shut, and all looks
+          dark from the outside, they are often at work, and
+          they get up early too. When men grow old their
+          tails get so thin. I saw such a wrinkled old man
+          the other day, with hardly any tail at all. I
+          think he must have been very sorry about that; he
+          was an old villager.
+
+          "Coolies wear their tails twisted round their
+          heads. They do all the heavy work, and are
+          porters, common house labourers, and sedan-chair
+          bearers.
+
+          "Leonard says if I write any more stuff he is sure
+          you will not read it; but I hope you will think it
+          interesting stuff, at all events, and, therefore,
+          not mind my letter being so long. There seems to
+          be so much to tell you when you have not been to
+          China, and it seems selfish to keep all the
+          pleasure of seeing such new things to myself. I
+          meant to tell you about the New Year, which we
+          have just kept, but I have not room. I hope you
+          will write to me very soon. We all send love to
+          you, and
+
+                            "Believe me,
+                         "Your very affectionate friend,
+                                 "SYBIL GRAHAM."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+PROCESSIONS.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A FORTNIGHT later Mr. Graham saw a large, Leonard a small, portion of a
+funeral procession, and Sybil was very anxious afterwards to hear all
+about it, for Leonard had told her that it seemed even grander than the
+marriage one.
+
+"Please, father," she said, "tell me all that the Chinese do when
+anybody dies."
+
+"I do not think I could tell you all," was her father's reply, "because
+it would take too long, and I do not know all myself; but I dare say I
+can tell you quite enough to satisfy your curiosity. When a Chinese
+thinks that a relation is likely to die soon, he places him, with his
+feet towards the door, on a bed of boards, arranging his best robes and
+a hat, or cap, quite close to him, that he may be dressed in these just
+before he dies. It would be considered a dreadful thing if he were to
+die without putting them on. Soon after he is dead, a priest--usually a
+priest of Taou--is called in to ask the spirit to make haste to Elysium,
+and to cast the man's horoscope, so as to see how far the spirit has got
+on its journey."
+
+"What does casting his horoscope mean?"
+
+"Finding out the hour of a man's birth, and then foretelling events by
+the appearance of the heavens. More clothes are then put upon the dead
+man, who, if he be a person of rank, would wear three silk robes. Gongs
+are beaten, and when the body is placed in its coffin, every corner of
+the room is beaten with a hammer, to frighten away bad spirits. A crown
+is also put on any person of rank. Widows and children, to show their
+grief, sit on the floor instead of on chairs for seven days, and sleep
+on mats near to the husband and father's coffin. On the seventh day
+letters are written to friends, informing them of the death, when they
+send presents of money to help to defray the funeral expenses. I saw a
+very strange letter of thanks yesterday, a copy of which had been sent
+to each giver of a present, and besides money, food is sometimes given
+or priests are sent. The letter, as far as I can remember, ran thus:
+'This is to express the thanks of the orphaned son, who weeps tears of
+blood, and bows his head; of the mourning brother, who weeps and bows
+his head; of the mourning nephew, who wipes away his tears and bows his
+head.' Then a letter is also written to the departed, and burnt, that it
+may reach him, whilst cakes and other presents are also sent to him by
+means of burning.
+
+[Illustration: MEN ENGAGED TO WALK IN FUNERAL PROCESSIONS.]
+
+"On the twenty-first day after death a banquet is prepared in honour
+of the spirit, which is supposed, on that day, to come back to his home,
+when the entrance doors are shut, for fear any one should come in and
+vex the spirit. On the twenty-third day three large paper birds are put
+on high poles in front of the house, to carry the soul to Elysium; and
+for three days Buddhist priests pray to the ten kings of Buddhist hell
+to hasten the flight of the departed soul to the Western Paradise.
+
+"The coffin is kept in the house for seven weeks, where an altar is set
+up, near to which the tablet and portrait of the deceased are put.
+Banners, which are looked upon as letters of condolence, are fixed upon
+the walls, and on these the merits of the dead man are inscribed.
+
+"Pictures of the three Buddhas are also to be seen in the house. A lucky
+place and day have then to be fixed, by fortune-tellers, for the burial,
+and should these not be forthcoming, the coffin would be placed on a
+hill till they can be found. Burial is considered of so much importance,
+that should a man be drowned his spirit would be called back into a
+figure of wood or paper, and buried with pomp. Before the grave-diggers
+begin their work, members of the family worship the genii of the
+mountain, and write letters to these gods, asking them to be so kind as
+to allow the funeral to take place."
+
+"But how are these letters made to 'arrive?'"
+
+"They are set on fire and burnt."
+
+"Leonard says he saw a number of people dressed in white in the
+procession."
+
+"Those were the relatives in deep mourning, white, you remember, being
+the deepest, white and blue lesser, mourning."
+
+[Illustration: CHE-YIN.]
+
+"And he says he is sure he saw his friend Che-Yin among the mourners.
+You know, father, Che-Yin is really a great friend of Leonard's, though
+he is so much older than himself, and now he is taking great trouble to
+teach him to play on the musical instrument which he plays so well
+himself. I believe if Leonard were going to stay longer here he would
+really learn to play it quite well. Is it not kind of Che-Yin? But I
+must not interrupt you any more," Sybil went on, "and this is so
+interesting. Leonard said he wondered so much what could be happening
+once when he heard a tremendous noise, and saw people rushing out into
+the streets screaming."
+
+"I think I know what that meant," was the missionary's answer. "On the
+day of burial the relatives weep and lament very loudly. They carry a
+long white streamer, called a soul-cloth, to the ancestral hall, for the
+spirit to say 'Good-bye' to its ancestors. At three or four o'clock in
+the morning all decorations, that have been put up in front of the door,
+are taken down, and a banquet is made ready, of which the spirit is
+invited to partake. You remember I told you that they believe one spirit
+is buried with the body. Well, some kind of paper is now again burnt,
+while the spirit is asked to accompany the body, and the tablet and
+portrait of the dead man are put in a sedan-chair by his eldest son,
+over the top of which is a streamer of red satin, on which his name and
+titles are written.
+
+"Distant relations remain standing out in the streets; but I expect what
+Leonard saw was people rushing out of the house, dreadfully frightened,
+for fear that after all the day might not be lucky, and the spirit
+should be vexed, and send trouble to them, in consequence.
+
+"As the coffin is brought out offerings are also again presented to the
+spirit. Two men walk first, carrying large lanterns, on which are
+written the name, title, and age of the man who has died. Then come two
+other men with a gong, which they beat from time to time."
+
+"Leonard heard that."
+
+"Then follow musicians, and behind these some men walk with flags,
+others with red boards, on which are inscribed, in golden letters, the
+titles of the ancestors of the deceased."
+
+"Then Leonard saw some gold canopies and sedan-chairs."
+
+"Offerings made to the dead are carried under gilded canopies, and these
+canopies also follow the ancestral tablets. The portrait of the dead man
+is in one sedan-chair, and his wooden tablet in another.
+
+"I believe somewhere about here are more musicians, then comes a man
+scattering pieces of paper fastened to tinfoil. This is supposed to be
+mock-money for hungry ghosts, the souls of those people who have died at
+corners of the streets, and this money is to make peace with them, so
+that they shall not injure the soul of the man now being buried. The
+eldest son carries a staff, whilst a person walks on either side to
+support him."
+
+"But Leonard said he saw a white cock, when he could not help laughing.
+What could this be for?"
+
+"The cock is also carried to call the soul to go with the body. Behind
+the eldest son comes the bier, carried by men or drawn by horses.
+
+"Many other persons follow. All the people that can, go in the
+procession. Women with small feet, unless carried on their slaves'
+backs, can only go a short way. At the grave, grains of rice are
+scattered over the coffin, when the priest and all the people lift the
+cock and bend their bodies forward three times. The tablet is taken out
+of the chair, on which the nearest relation makes a mark with a red
+pencil; then the sons kneel down, and a priest, if present, addresses
+them."
+
+"Then a priest is not obliged to go to the funeral?"
+
+"No; sometimes only a man skilled in geomancy is present. Geomancy is a
+kind of foretelling things, by means of little dots first made on the
+ground and then on paper. The tablet is marked, I believe, to bring good
+luck to the sons, and then every one knocks his head on the ground and
+does homage to it."
+
+Sybil was looking very serious, though she was smiling too.
+
+"Oh, father!" she said, "how much you, and other missionaries, will have
+to teach these people! What a pity it is that they cannot know that the
+soul is never buried, and that they can't learn to worship and pray to
+God, Who would send them such real happiness in answer to their
+prayers!"
+
+"It is indeed, my child," was the missionary's answer.
+
+"And is anything more done for the dead after this except worship being
+paid to them?"
+
+"Yes; for many days feasts are prepared for the departed relative, hot
+water is carried to him to wash his face and hands, and I have also
+heard of another way that the Chinese have of 'conveying' spirits to the
+kingdoms of Buddhistic hell. Little sedan-chairs are made of bamboo
+splints and paper, with four little paper bearers, and sometimes there
+is a fifth little paper man, holding an umbrella. These are burnt like
+the paper mock-money; and sometimes, after the death of another friend,
+a little paper trunk, full of paper clothes, is supplied for one already
+dead, and burnt, when the senders believe that the person who died last
+is conveying this trunk to the other in safety for them."
+
+"They think that people need a great many things in the other world,
+then," Sybil said. "And do children often worship at their parents'
+tombs?"
+
+"Yes; at certain seasons of the year they make pilgrimages to the tops
+of high hills, or to other distant parts, where they prostrate
+themselves, this being supposed to continue the homage and reverence
+which they showed to them on earth; and they believe that in a great
+measure the happiness of the spirits depends upon the adoration and
+worship which they pay to them, whilst those who render it secure for
+themselves favour from the gods. Twice a day do children also pay
+adoration to their dead parents, before a shrine set up in the house to
+the memory of departed ancestors."
+
+"But what is the use of preparing feasts for the dead?" Sybil asked.
+"They cannot think that the dead really eat the food?"
+
+"They seem to do so, and not only lay a place for them, but even put
+chop-sticks for their use."
+
+Another procession Sybil and Leonard saw one day, and this Sybil
+described in the last letter that she wrote to her friend, before she
+left China. Some men carried an image of the Dragon King, others carried
+gongs, drums, and green and black and yellow and white flags, whilst
+boys, walking in the procession, called out loudly from time to time.
+
+The children could not possibly imagine what this procession could be
+all about.
+
+Some characters were written on the flags.
+
+One man who, as Leonard thought, had a very happy, smiling face, had a
+pole slung across his shoulders, from which hung two buckets of water.
+In his hand he held a green branch of a shrub which, from time to time,
+he dipped in the water, and then sprinkled the ground; while he also
+continually called out something. Other men were carrying sticks of
+lighted incense. Most of the people, in the procession, wore white
+clothes, and white caps without tassels.
+
+[Illustration: SPRINKLING WATER.]
+
+Sybil and Leonard were afterwards told that this was praying for rain,
+because for some time there had been none.
+
+The Dragon King was carried, because he is supposed to be the god of
+rain. Besides the Dragon King there is a River Dragon, who is both
+feared and worshipped. His mother, Loong-Moo, is often worshipped by
+people engaged in river traffic.
+
+The men and boys were calling out "Rain comes!" The yellow and white
+banners were to represent wind and water, and the green and black,
+clouds.
+
+The inscription on the flags was, when translated, "Prayer is offered
+for rain."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE LAST PEEP.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+SYBIL had made several friends amongst Cantonese ladies and children,
+and some very pleasant afternoons had she spent with them. The girls,
+she noticed, generally wore cotton tunics and trousers. One little girl,
+with whom she had spent a few hours, was in mourning, so she wore white,
+bound with blue. Sybil could not help thinking that this was very pretty
+mourning, but her brother's was still prettier, for his trousers were of
+pale blue silk tied round the ankles, and he wore white shoes. His cue
+was tied with blue. And there were such very pretty gardens belonging to
+the houses in which they lived, with rockeries, fish-ponds, and
+summer-houses almost large enough to live in.
+
+One lady, whom Sybil visited, astonished her very much, because she had
+an only boy, who was very pale-looking and delicate, and she called him
+all sorts of names, and seemed to treat him so unkindly. When Sybil had
+been ill herself, her mother had always treated her with such extra love
+and care, and she fancied that all mothers behaved like this. Then the
+Chinese love their boys so much, that one would therefore have thought
+an only boy would be so very precious. The next time that she saw the
+lady she had given away her child to be adopted by some one else. Mrs.
+Graham heard the explanation to this unnatural conduct, and gave it to
+Sybil. The woman really loved her boy most fondly, and would have given
+anything she had to have him well, but she fancied that the gods were
+malicious towards him, and that if she pretended to them that she did
+not care for the child they would let him get well again. All that
+conduct was to deceive the gods.
+
+Mr. Graham had several times dined out at Chinese houses, and sometimes
+his wife had accompanied him, but as Cantonese ladies never dine with
+their husbands in public, where her doing so was likely to give any
+offence, even though she were invited, she never went; but many Chinese
+very well understand that there are quite different laws for Europeans
+than there are for them, and these seemed to be glad to admit English
+ladies, with their husbands, to be guests at their houses.
+
+When Mr. and Mrs. Graham went to one of these dinners, knives and forks
+were borrowed for them, and the other English visitors, in place of
+chop-sticks. A china spoon and a two-pronged fork were set before each
+person, and there were china wine-glasses. The table-napkins were of
+brown paper. Basins of fruit, from which all helped themselves as they
+liked, were in the middle of the table. There were a great many soups
+and other courses. Every now and then the host took something out of a
+basin with his chop-stick, and offered to put it into the mouths of his
+guests. Out of politeness they were bound to accept these gifts. There
+was not any beef, as no Chinaman eats beef. Music was played, and slaves
+fanned the people during dinner.
+
+Once when Sybil visited some of her young Chinese friends, the tea was
+brought in to them in covered cups, and when they wanted more,
+tea-leaves were put into the cups and boiling water was poured upon
+them. She had learnt now to be able to drink tea without milk or sugar,
+but she could not like it.
+
+A two months' stay at Canton brought the children to the end of four
+months and a half of their stay in China, and left but six weeks more
+before they were to return to England. It was the middle of March when
+the Grahams said "Good-bye" to their kind friends at the Yamen, and
+returned to Hong-Kong. Sybil could not bear to say this farewell, as it
+was the last but one, and she knew how very quickly six weeks would
+pass.
+
+They had all enjoyed their stay in Canton very much, and often thought
+about the New Year's Day which had been kept, while they were there,
+with such grand rejoicings. At midnight, on the last day of the old
+year, a bell, never used except on this occasion, pealed forth, when, at
+the signal, people rushed into the streets in crowds to let off
+fireworks.
+
+Every temple and every pagoda was lighted up, and people burnt incense
+before idols in their own homes. Some streets are lighted in Canton by
+lanterns, but, as a rule, the smaller streets are in darkness, with the
+exception of paper lanterns, which hang, every now and then, from before
+shops or private houses, and even these are put out by half-past nine
+o'clock. Paraffin lamps are now being introduced along Chinese city
+streets.
+
+All New Year's night a great noise was to be heard, and in the morning
+friends dressed in their best to call upon, and salute, one another.
+
+In the streets they were to be seen prostrating themselves upon the
+ground. Rich and poor alike had great rejoicings on New Year's Day, the
+rich often keeping up their holiday for ten days.
+
+Latterly Mr. Graham had been several times backwards and forwards to
+Hong-Kong, where he had made his final arrangements.
+
+The missionary, whose place he was about to fill, would, when he left
+the island, take with him to England, besides his own family, Sybil and
+Leonard Graham. Until they sailed, the Grahams would all stay with them
+at the Mission House, when it would be handed over to Mr. Graham.
+
+The other missionary had three children of his own, two daughters,
+twelve and ten years old, and a son of nine, but as they had been absent
+from Hong-Kong when the Grahams had been there before, the children had
+not yet made one another's acquaintance.
+
+The eldest, Katie, now became Sybil's very useful interpreter, for as
+she had been born in China and lived there all her life, she could
+understand, and speak, many Chinese dialects.
+
+Sybil now knew several Chinese words herself. "Che-fan," or "Have you
+eaten your rice?" was "How do you do?" though, as a rule, when people
+said "How do you do?" to her it was "Chin-chin mississi?"
+
+When she went out visiting, questions such as the following were
+generally put to her, "What honourable name have you?" "What is the name
+of your beautiful dwelling?" and "What age have you?" Had she been grown
+up, this question would probably have been, "What is your venerable
+age?"
+
+Leonard was often told to "catchee plenty chow-chow," which means "eat a
+very good dinner," but as somehow he generally seemed able to do this,
+he hardly needed the kind advice.
+
+Mrs. Graham's amah amused Sybil very much. She had been a great
+traveller, having visited both England and America, and she liked
+England much the best. One day she said to Sybil: "Melicä no good
+countly. Welly bad chow-chow. Appool number one. My hab chow-chow sixty
+pieces before bleakfast. Any man no got dollar, all hab got paper.
+Number one foolo pidgin. No good countly. My no likee Melicä. My likee
+England side more better." This meant: "America is not a good country.
+It has very bad food, but first-rate apples. I ate sixty before
+breakfast. No one has any dollars there, all use paper money. Very
+foolish business. Not a good country. I do not like America. I like
+England better."
+
+Some pleasure or another was always forthcoming for Sybil and Leonard,
+and the few last "Peep-shows" were very precious.
+
+[Illustration: "SING-SONG."]
+
+One day, when they were out, they saw a "Sing-Song," as the performance
+was called. Under a canopy, in the open streets, children were acting
+and dancing. To do so, they had dressed up in very gorgeous costumes,
+their ornaments and head-dresses being grander, Leonard said, than
+anything he had ever seen before; and the little Chinese actors
+themselves seemed to be thoroughly at their ease, and quite at home, in
+their grand attire.
+
+"Why did that policeman come after you to-day, father, and take down the
+name of the boat that we got into?" Leonard once asked, when he and his
+father had been out together, and were returning home.
+
+"Policemen have done that several times, if you had only noticed," was
+the reply. "That was to guard us from pirates. They took the name of our
+boat, so that the owner could be held responsible if we did not return
+safely. The Chinese are dreadful pirates, and are generally on the
+look-out for opportunities to rob. Sometimes a band of them will take
+their passages in a ship, and when fairly out at sea will all rise in
+mutiny against the captain and his officers, and perhaps murder them, so
+as to be able to plunder as they choose."
+
+"I should think the boat-policemen had plenty of work to do," Leonard
+then said.
+
+"Father, do you remember well when you were just eleven?" the child then
+asked suddenly, going, as it seemed, right away from his present
+subject. "Did you ever want to be a sailor then? ever think for certain
+you would be one?"
+
+"I do not remember ever having had that wish."
+
+"Well, I have had it over and over again, and thought that there could
+not be anything better in the world than going about in ships, and
+seeing different places. I've wished to be a sailor for ever so many
+years; but, you know, I don't wish it now."
+
+[Illustration: FISHERMEN AND FISHERWOMEN.]
+
+Mr. Graham smiled. I expect it was Leonard's "ever so many years" which
+made him do so.
+
+"Don't you?" his father asked. "Then what do you want to be now?"
+
+"Something, father, I'm not half good enough for," the boy answered,
+thoughtfully. "A missionary! Oh, father, I do so want to be a missionary
+now, and come to China, as you and grandfather have done! Shouldn't you
+like it too? I know mother would; and perhaps the Church Missionary
+Society would send me out if I asked them."
+
+"I should like nothing better, my little son," was the missionary's
+reply.
+
+A few minutes later Leonard was out of doors again, flying himself one
+of the "wonderful kites," which a Chinaman had made for, and given to,
+him, and his father was watching his little fellow with pleasure almost
+amounting to pride.
+
+Was this his impulsive boy's own thought, he wondered, or had his sister
+suggested it to him.
+
+Quite his own; but no doubt the quiet, gentle influence which Sybil
+exerted over her younger brother was very good for him.
+
+"Do you think, Sybil, that the heathen Chinese could teach the Christian
+English anything?" Mr. Graham asked his daughter, as they sat and talked
+together the very last evening.
+
+"I am sure they could," she answered quickly; "many things. Filial love
+and obedience for one, respect and reverence for old age for another;
+and then, though they do believe such silly, superstitious things, there
+seems to be such a reality, so much earnestness, about the way some of
+them carry out their religion. They do not mind how early they get up
+and go out to keep a religious festival, and they seem to ask a sort of
+blessing, from their gods, on everything they do, and keep their fasts
+and feasts so very regularly; but I think their love for their parents
+beats everything. 'Boy' asked for a holiday yesterday, because it was
+his mother's birthday, and got up very early to do his work before he
+went." "Boy" was a kind of footman.
+
+"Yes; parents' birthdays are kept up much more than are those of
+children. Sometimes on their birthdays they will sit under a crimson
+canopy, whilst their children kneel and perform the 'kow-tow' to them.
+The fifty-first birthday, and every ten years afterwards, is celebrated
+with great pomp, when religious ceremonies are often performed at the
+Temple of Longevity. I believe thirty Buddhist priests will then
+sometimes return thanks for three days.
+
+"When a man is eighty-one, the fact is occasionally communicated to the
+Emperor, who may then allow money to be given for a monumental arch to
+be erected to the old man's honour.
+
+"After parents are dead their birthdays are still celebrated in the
+ancestral hall, where their portraits hang."
+
+"I suppose children give their parents beautiful presents on their
+birthdays?"
+
+"When they begin to get old the best present that a child can, and does,
+make a parent, and one which he values more than anything else, is a
+coffin, because, you know, a Chinaman thinks that unless his body be
+buried properly his spirit cannot rest.
+
+"The Chinese are strange contradictions," Mr. Graham went on. "Although
+they are very courageous in bearing torture, they are dreadful liars,
+and a great liar is generally a great coward. Then they are sober and
+industrious, but slaves to the opium drug; meek and gentle, but, at the
+same time, treacherous and cruel; most dutiful to their parents, but
+often very jealous of their neighbours; and then, perhaps strangest of
+all, is their love towards their children, but yet their readiness to
+put their girls to death."
+
+Sybil was silent for several minutes. "Oh, father!" she then said,
+"isn't the time dreadfully near now? Fancy leaving you and dear mother!
+How can we?"
+
+"You must go to _your_ work, darling, and we must stay here to do ours.
+Is it not so?" Mr. Graham asked, in the dear, kind, soft voice that
+Sybil loved so much, and which she always called his "preachy voice."
+"But what shall give us comfort? what shall we think about when we are
+trying to do our several duties, though apart, I hope contentedly and
+well? That it is God who has called us to our several duties; it is His
+Almighty will which we have now and always to obey; but remember, not
+alone, not unaided, dear Sybil. Who will be our guide, stay, and
+comfort, when we are separated from one another?"
+
+Sybil knew, but could not answer, because she was crying.
+
+[Illustration: WOMAN OF POAH-BI.]
+
+"Your mother and I," Mr. Graham went on, "in commending our children to
+the Fatherly love and care of Him Who gave you to us, know that we place
+you in the safest keeping; and you yourselves have also both learnt,
+have you not, how to go to our Father and 'Supreme Ruler' in earnest
+prayer, whenever tempted to do what would displease Him? A missionary,
+you know, is one who is sent on a mission--to fulfil a duty. A
+missionary's children must not shrink from fulfilling, must not fail to
+fulfil, the mission on which they are sent, must they?"
+
+Sybil looked comforted. She liked this last "Peep-show" very much, and
+kissed her father to show him that she did.
+
+A few minutes later she said, "Do you know, father, I believe little Chu
+is really beginning to believe and understand properly, for the other
+day, when I was saying my prayers, she came and knelt down beside me,
+and she would never kneel to our God before, even when she saw the
+Christian woman at Poah-bi do so, with whom we stayed, and with whom she
+was such good friends. I shall often remember that woman and her dear
+little baby, which she tied to herself so funnily, because I liked them
+so very much.
+
+"Poor little Chu!" Sybil then went on. "I shall be so glad to see her
+again when I come back to you, but I do not think she will like me to go
+away."
+
+"Chu will have to be a great deal at school now. She has her work to do
+too, you know."
+
+"How I shall think of you, father, and the Hong-Kong Mission on
+Intercession Day, when it comes round, shan't I?"
+
+"Yes, Sybil; and not only on Intercession Day, but always in your
+prayers, you must remember to pray very fervently, both for Chinese and
+other unbelievers, and not only for me, but for all who are seeking
+their conversion."
+
+"It seems a more real thing now to pray for," Sybil said.
+
+"And to give thanks for too. Here in Hong-Kong we have great cause to be
+thankful."
+
+"What a dear old lady that was who was baptized on Sunday! but what was
+the Christian name she chose? I could not hear it."
+
+"Mong-Oi, which means 'desiring the love' (of Jesus)."
+
+"That was a beautiful name, wasn't it? And there were a number of
+communicants for here too. How many native communicants are there in
+Hong-Kong?"
+
+"Between sixty and seventy; and what is so comforting is that the
+communicants seem to be really devout, and to realise what being a
+communicant means for, and requires of, them, and it is no easy matter
+at all for natives of China to embrace Christianity. Sometimes they have
+to leave all their relations, and suffer much persecution in
+consequence."
+
+"When was the Hong-Kong mission begun?" Sybil asked.
+
+"In 1862."
+
+Although the results were far from what the zealous missionaries would
+fain have seen them, Mr. Graham was right in saying that the Mission
+from the Church of England to Hong-Kong had cause to take hope and be
+thankful.
+
+Several men and women were now under instruction both for baptism and
+confirmation. The mission schools for boys numbered more than 190, and
+for girls more than thirty, and here the children were religiously as
+well as secularly instructed.
+
+There were, although only two European missionaries and one native
+clergyman, twenty-three native Christian teachers, and 183 native
+Christians. The Mission comprised, besides St. Stephen's Church and the
+agencies around it in the island of Hong-Kong, many out-stations in the
+province of Quangtung occupied by native agents.
+
+The Prayer Book, and, still better, the Holy Bible, translated into
+their own tongue, were now circulated among the people, some of whom
+were really learning to love and value them; and not only were the
+services for the Christians well attended, but every evening the heathen
+were to be seen in numbers going to hear sermons that were to be
+preached for them.
+
+Well, then, might Mr. Graham go forth to his new work with hope.
+
+"How much you will have to do, father," Sybil said, "if you go to the
+Medical Missionary Institution so often, and do all your other work
+besides! But the people seem to be very grateful to you. 'Boy' said
+yesterday that you were 'a hundred man good,' and I know what that
+means: 'The best of men.'"
+
+Mr. Graham smiled.
+
+"I like, and it is good for us all," he said, "to have plenty to do; and
+one work, you know, may help on the other."
+
+"I expect mother will help you a very great deal too."
+
+"She is sure to do that." Sybil knew she was.
+
+All day long the child had spent beside her much-loved mother; now, for
+another hour, she sat on and talked with her father, receiving good,
+kind counsel, when Leonard, who had been closeted with his mother,
+listening to her dear words of best advice, came in, with eyes swollen
+from crying, and then the four sat together till it was long past
+bed-time; but what of that? To-morrow, on board ship, there would be
+nothing to keep them up late, when they could make up for to-night, and
+go early to bed.
+
+To-morrow came, as happy and sad to-morrows all alike will come; when
+the mother gave her children their last kisses, the father their last
+kisses and benedictions, and Sybil and Leonard Graham started on their
+homeward voyage to England, leaving their parents very grateful for
+having such good, kind friends to whose care on board ship to entrust
+them.
+
+Both children were to return at once to their former schools, and spend
+their holidays together at Mrs. Graham's brother's house, who was also
+the rector of a country parish, and where she knew they would very soon
+feel quite at home.
+
+Sybil and Leonard Graham, the children of brave parents, were brave
+children themselves, and as they had promised not to grieve more then
+they could help, they at once did battle with their tears, and before
+long were talking really cheerfully with their friends.
+
+"Who knows," Sybil said once to Leonard, when she and her brother found
+themselves alone, "but what they might come over for a small
+holiday-trip in two or three years' time? and if not, I believe when I
+go out you are to go with me for another 'Peep-show' holiday, and to see
+_them_!"
+
+"Of course I ought to go whenever I can," Leonard answered, "as I'm
+going to be a missionary out there myself."
+
+Sybil had said "them" because she could not yet say, without crying,
+those two dear, sacred words, father and mother, which stand alone in
+the vocabulary of every language, and have no peers.
+
+Mrs. Graham herself was then alone, shedding bitter tears, which she
+had stifled until her children left her, but which she could keep back
+no longer.
+
+Yet, though her mother's loving heart was very sad and sore, she would
+not weep long, but would, to the very best of her ability, go forth at
+once to help her husband--who could not but feel sad now too--in the
+good work in which she had encouraged him to embark, counting _all_ the
+costs beforehand.
+
+And Sybil, who had said "_I like my father to be a missionary very
+much_," would not unsay the words now, though it took both her parents
+so far away from her and Leonard. Oh no! since she had seen the great
+need that there was for missionaries to China, she liked, even better
+than before, her father "to be a missionary!"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and italic text by
+_underscores_.
+
+Text uses uses varied hyphenation on the naming of the cities. This
+includes both Fu-kien and Fukien, Poahbi and Poa-bi, and Pei-ho and
+Peiho, among others.
+
+Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
+
+Page 31, Illustration caption: MÊNE changed to MÈNE (HATA-MÈNE-TA-KIE)
+
+Page 74, "r st" changed to "rest" (rest of their lives)
+
+Page 178, "Europeon" changed to "European" (the European settlement)
+
+Page 196, "al" changed to "all" (soon. We all)
+
+Page 212, twice the word "Melicä" was spelled with a macron over the
+"a". This was replaced with a "ä" for this text version.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Peeps Into China, by E. C. Phillips
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+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Peeps Into China, by E. C. Phillips.
+    </title>
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Peeps Into China, by E. C. Phillips
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Peeps Into China
+       Or: The Missionary's Children
+
+Author: E. C. Phillips
+
+Release Date: November 3, 2010 [EBook #34199]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PEEPS INTO CHINA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Emmy, Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 391px;">
+<img src="images/coverpage.jpg" width="391" height="600" alt="Cover." title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class='tnote'><b>Transcriber's Note:</b> Clicking on the map on page 15 will
+link to a larger version for better readability.</div>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 303px;">
+<img src="images/i-006.png" width="303" height="499" alt="A STREET SHOWMAN." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A STREET SHOWMAN.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+
+<h1>PEEPS INTO CHINA;</h1>
+<div class='center'>OR,</div>
+<h3>The Missionary's Children.</h3>
+
+<h3>BY</h3>
+<h2>E. C. PHILLIPS,</h2>
+
+<div class='copyright'>AUTHOR OF "TROPICAL READING-BOOKS," "THE ORPHANS," "BUNCHY,"<br />
+"HILDA AND HER DOLL," ETC.<br /><br /><br /></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 330px;">
+<img src="images/i-009.png" width="330" height="325" alt="boats" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class='center'><br /><br /><br /><big>CASSELL &amp; COMPANY, <span class="smcap">Limited</span>:</big><br />
+<i>LONDON, PARIS, NEW YORK &amp; MELBOURNE.</i><br />
+<br />
+<small>[ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]</small></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<b>To</b><br />
+<br />
+MY DEAR PARENTS,<br />
+<br />
+<small>IN</small><br />
+<br />
+LOVING MEMORY.<br />
+</div>
+
+<div class='poem'><br />
+"Can I forget thy cares, from helpless years<br />
+<span style="margin-left: .5em;">Thy tenderness for me?"</span><br />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-013a.png" width="500" height="175" alt="Contents." title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents">
+<tr><td align='left' colspan='2'><small>CHAPTER</small></td><td align='right'><small>PAGE</small></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>I.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Country Rectory</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>II.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The First Peep</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_21">21</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>III.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Religions of China</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IV.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Chinese Childhood</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>V.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Merchant Showman</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VI.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Little Chu and Woo-Urh</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_100">100</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VII.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Leonard's Exploit in Formosa</span>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VIII.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Boat Population</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IX.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">At Canton</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>X.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Bride and Bridegroom</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XI.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Processions</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_197">197</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XII.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Last Peep</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_208">208</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 331px;">
+<img src="images/i-013b.png" width="331" height="151" alt="cherub decoration" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-015a.png" width="500" height="158" alt="Decoration: Windmill" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>THE COUNTRY RECTORY.</div>
+
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 201px;">
+<img src="images/i-015b.png" width="201" height="344" alt="Decoration: Pagoda" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 68px;">
+<img src="images/i-015c-nquote.png" width="68" height="71" alt="N" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'>OT really; you can't
+mean it really!"</div>
+
+<p>"As true as possible.
+Mother told me her <i>very
+own</i> self," was the emphatic
+reply.</p>
+
+<p>Two children, brother and
+sister, the boy aged ten, the
+girl three years older, were
+carrying on this conversation in
+the garden of a country rectory.</p>
+
+<p>"But really and truly, on
+your word of honour," repeated
+Leonard, as though he could
+not believe what his sister had just related to him.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope my word is always a word of honour; I
+thought everybody's word ought to be that," Sybil
+Graham replied a little proudly, for when she had run
+quickly to bring such important news to her brother, she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>
+could not help feeling hurt that he should refuse to
+believe what she said.</p>
+
+<p>"And we are really going there, and shall actually
+see the 'pig-tails' in their own country, and the splendid
+kites they fly, and all the wonderful things that father
+used to tell us about? Oh! it seems too good to be
+true."</p>
+
+<p>"But it is true," Sybil repeated with emphasis.
+"And I dare say we might even see tea growing, as it
+does grow there, you know, and I suppose we shall be
+carried about in sedan-chairs ourselves." She was
+really as happy as her brother, only not so excitable.</p>
+
+<p>At this moment their mother joined them. "Oh,
+mother!" the boy then exclaimed, "how beautiful!
+Sybil has just told me, but I could not believe her."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought the news would delight you both very
+much," Mrs. Graham answered. "Your father and I
+have been thinking about going to China for some time,
+but we would not tell you anything about it until
+matters were quite settled, and now everything seems
+to be satisfactorily arranged for us to start in three
+months' time."</p>
+
+<p>"That will be in August, then," they both said at
+once.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, how very beautiful!" Sybil exclaimed. "<i>I like
+my father to be a missionary very much.</i> He must be
+glad too; isn't he, mother?"</p>
+
+<p>"Very glad indeed, although the joy will entail
+some sadness also. I expect your father will grieve a
+good deal to leave this dear little country parish of ours,
+and the duties he has so loved to perform here, but a
+wider field of usefulness having opened out for him, he
+is very thankful to obey the call."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 316px;">
+<img src="images/i-017.png" width="316" height="500" alt="THE CHURCH." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE CHURCH.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"And father will do it so well, mother," answered
+Sybil. "I wonder whether I shall be able to do anything
+to help him there?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think you have long since found out, Sybil,"
+was her mother's loving answer, "that you can always
+be doing something to help us."</p>
+
+<p>Sybil and Leonard had as yet only learnt a part of
+the story. They had still to learn the rest. This going
+to China would not be all beautiful, all joy for them,
+especially for Sybil, with her very affectionate nature
+and dread of saying "Good-byes," for she and Leonard
+were only to be taken out on a trip&mdash;a pleasure tour&mdash;to
+see something of China, and to return to England to go
+on with their education at the end of six months.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Graham then calling his wife, the children were
+again left alone.</p>
+
+<p>It was no easy matter to go as a missionary to China.
+This Mr. Graham well knew, for his father, although
+only for a short time, had been one over there before
+him, and had discovered&mdash;what so many other later
+brother missionaries have found out also&mdash;that to obtain
+even a hearing on the subject of religion from a Chinaman,
+who has been trained and brought up to be a
+superstitious idolater, very vain of his wisdom and
+antiquity as a nation, and to look upon Europeans as
+barbarians, is often a most difficult matter.</p>
+
+<p>Eighteen years before Mr. Graham the elder went out
+to Peking as one of the first missionaries to China, and
+his only son, who had then just qualified for the medical
+profession, accompanied him. A year later, the father
+dying, his son returned at once to England, but with a
+changed mind, determined now to seek holy orders and
+enter the ministry, instead of following his profession,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>
+so as by thus doing to add one more to the number of
+earnest clergy that his short stay in China had shown
+him were so much needed. To carry out his resolution,
+he went to Oxford to prepare, and soon after his ordination
+he married, and settled down, in the little country
+village, where we find him, surrounded by his little
+family.</p>
+
+<p>Often since then had he contemplated leaving
+England for missionary work, but until now he had
+been prevented from carrying his wishes into effect.</p>
+
+<p>His knowledge of medicine had not been lost to him,
+for many a sufferer in the little, yet wide-spreading
+country parish, who lived at too great a distance to send
+for the doctor for a slight ailment, had been very thankful,
+when the clergyman came in to read and pray with
+him, to learn from him what his slight ailment was,
+and how he could prevent its becoming a great one.</p>
+
+<p>And this knowledge would be most helpful and
+invaluable in China, where Mr. Graham knew that the
+science of medicine was held in veneration by the
+inhabitants, and gained a ready admission to those who
+were glad to be cured of bodily ailments, but knew not
+how sick their souls were.</p>
+
+<p>The missionary's slight acquaintance with the
+Chinese dialect, which, when time permitted, he had
+endeavoured to keep up, would also be of service to him
+when he arrived in China; for although the dialects of
+the south, where he was going, were very different from
+those of the north, the Mandarin, or Court language,
+spoken by the officials, was understood in every part.</p>
+
+<p>"That's why father's been reading all those books
+lately with the pig-tail pictures in, and wonderful kites,
+and why he has been studying the language without<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
+an alphabet," Leonard said, when he and his sister were
+again alone. "If I hadn't been at school so much, I expect
+I should have found out what was going to happen."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe we should ever find out anything
+that father did not wish us to know, however much we
+wanted to do so," answered Sybil. "But isn't it
+splendid?&mdash;all but one thing, and that is having to leave
+everybody, and my best friend Lily Keith. I shan't
+like doing that at all."</p>
+
+<p>"And I shall miss my friends too, of course," said
+Leonard; "but then I expect we shall make some new
+ones; and I thought you were so fond of writing letters.
+Why, you could write splendid ones from China, and
+tell Lily what we see, and perhaps mother would draw
+you some pictures for them, for she can draw anything,
+you know."</p>
+
+<p>Sybil was comforted, for she was very fond of writing
+letters, and her friend, she knew, would be very glad to
+have some from China.</p>
+
+<p>Directly after the six o'clock dinner was the
+children's hour with father, who, being a very busy man,
+had to regulate all his time; but this one hour a day
+belonged entirely to his family, and unless anything unforeseen
+happened, they had and claimed every moment
+of it.</p>
+
+<p>Sybil came down-stairs first, and going up to her
+father, who was sitting by a large bow window, gazing
+out of it, with a very serious look on his face, she said
+with surprise as she kissed him: "You look sad, dear
+father. Aren't you glad to go to China?"</p>
+
+<p>He drew her on to his knee.</p>
+
+<p>"Very glad, my darling," was the answer; "but
+I was just picturing to myself some farewells that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>
+will have to be taken. I shall be very sorry, too,
+to say 'Good-bye' here, where our lives have been so
+blessed and our prayers so abundantly answered. We
+cannot help feeling sorry to leave our old friends,
+can we?"</p>
+
+<p>"But you don't look, father," she continued, "as if
+that were all that you had been thinking."</p>
+
+<p>"I dare say it was also about the work in which I
+am so soon to engage, for that, Sybil, is full of grave responsibility;
+but now I think it is my turn to ask what
+your thoughts are," he went on, for at that moment
+Sybil was looking quite as grave as, just before, her
+father could have looked.</p>
+
+<p>"I was remembering two verses of a piece of poetry
+that I learnt last term at school, which I think must
+have been written for missionaries," she replied.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a href="images/i-022-mapbig.jpg"><img src="images/i-022-map.jpg" width="600" height="421" alt="MAP OF CHINA." title="" /></a>
+<span class="caption">MAP OF CHINA.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Her father then asking her to repeat them to him,
+Sybil said:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class='poem'>
+"Sow ye beside all waters,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Where the dew of heaven may fall;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Ye shall reap, if ye be not weary,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">For the Spirit breathes o'er all.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Sow, though the thorns may wound thee;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">One wore the thorns for thee;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">And, though the cold world scorn thee,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Patient and hopeful be.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Sow ye beside all waters,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">With a blessing and a prayer,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Name Him whose hand upholds thee,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">And sow thou everywhere.</span><br />
+<br />
+"Work! in the wild waste places,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Though none thy love may own;</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">God guides the down of the thistle</span><br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">The wandering wind hath sown.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Will Jesus chide thy weakness,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Or call thy labour vain?</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">The Word that for Him thou bearest</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Shall return to Him again.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">On!&mdash;with thine heart in heaven,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Thy strength&mdash;thy Master's might,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Till the wild waste places blossom</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">In the warmth of a Saviour's light."</span><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>"Thank you, Sybil," said her father. "I am sure
+you will make a capital little missionary's daughter some
+day."</p>
+
+<p>"To what part of China are we going, father?"
+she then asked; "to the same place where you were
+before?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; quite in another direction. You know when I
+was last in China I was at Peking, in the north, and
+now I am to be in Hong-Kong, an island in the south;
+but we shall not go there direct, as I wish to take you
+to see several places before finally landing."</p>
+
+<p>"Wait a minute, please, father," Sybil then exclaimed,
+"while I just fetch my map to look them out
+as you tell them to me." And as she spoke she ran off,
+to return the next minute with an atlas, in which she
+found these places as her father mentioned them:
+Shanghai, Amoy, the Island of Formosa, Swatow,
+Hong-Kong, Macao, and Canton.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish, father, you would tell us some day all you
+can remember about Peking," then said Leonard, as he
+ran in and joined his father and sister, having till now been
+very busy, first coaxing his good friend the gardener to
+help him cut and put up some roosts in the fowl-house,
+and then showing his handiwork to his mother. "You<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>
+know what I mean: something like what you used to
+tell us."</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 360px;">
+<img src="images/i-024.png" width="360" height="500" alt="LEONARD IN THE GARDEN." title="" />
+<span class="caption">LEONARD IN THE GARDEN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I will try to arouse up my memory, and tell
+you what I can on board ship, when we shall have, I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span>
+suppose, seven or eight weeks with very little to do,
+and when you will, no doubt, be glad of some true
+stories to while away the time."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish we were going to start to-morrow," rejoined
+Leonard, who was, I am afraid, a boy without a particle
+of that virtue which we call "patience." He wanted
+his mother now to go into the poultry-yard with him to
+see the roosts he had, and as she liked to enter into
+all his pleasures and useful occupations, she was very
+pleased to go.</p>
+
+<p>Before either of them came in again, Sybil had
+heard "the rest" from her father; that she and Leonard
+were, after a six months' long holiday in China, to
+return to England to continue their education. It was
+a terrible blow to her, to whom a long separation
+from her parents seemed almost like an impossibility.
+Her bright eyes filled with tears.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father!" she said; "and leave you and
+mother?"</p>
+
+<p>"It must be for a time, my darling, till your
+education is completed, as your mother and I both
+wish you to remain at the school where you are, but
+when school-days are over, about four years hence, I
+hope to be able to have you out with us. It will be
+longer for poor old Leonard, won't it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think I care to go to China now, father,"
+Sybil then said.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh yes you do, Sybil," was the answer; "you like
+your father to be a missionary very much, you know,
+do you not?" Her mother had repeated this saying.
+"And, my child," he continued, "you know that it
+must be a dreadful trial for so very good and loving
+a mother as yours to part from her children; but now<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>
+that a call has come to me to do my Master's work
+in a foreign land, and she is helping me to obey it,
+you would not make her trial greater, would you, by
+letting her see you sad? Oh no! I know you would
+not; but you would help us to do our duty more
+bravely. Is it not so, my child?"</p>
+
+<p>Sybil buried her face on her father's shoulder, and
+sobbed, but on seeing her mother coming up the
+garden towards them, she quickly wiped her tears away,
+and tried to look cheerful. Her father had gone wisely
+to work in giving her such a reason for trying to
+overcome her sorrow, and he knew that now she
+would set herself bravely to work to help, and not to
+hinder, her parents' undertaking.</p>
+
+<p>And they were not to be parted for nearly another
+year, she said to herself, and meanwhile they were to
+have all sorts of enjoyments with their parents.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Graham brought a message from Leonard for
+Sybil to go and see his roosts, which she at once obeyed,
+affectionately kissing her mother as she passed her.
+That was to say that she knew, and a great deal more.</p>
+
+<p>Another piece of news Sybil now conveyed to Leonard,
+and as she told it, even he could not tell that it made
+her very unhappy. I wonder if he believed at once this
+time!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 239px;">
+<img src="images/i-026.png" width="239" height="211" alt="Decoration: Birdhouse" title="" />
+</div><hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-027a.png" width="500" height="161" alt="Decoration: Peepshow" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>THE FIRST PEEP.</div>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 177px;">
+<img src="images/i-027b-t.png" width="177" height="231" alt="T" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'>HE missionary's family party had
+set sail, and the steamship, in which
+they were passengers, was now
+fairly out at sea.</div>
+
+<p>As far as money was concerned,
+Mr. Graham had no anxieties, for
+being the only son of a very wealthy
+man, who had lost his wife some
+time before he died himself, Mr.
+Graham had, at his father's death, inherited the whole
+of his large fortune.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, father, don't you think it's high time you
+began to tell us about old Peking?" Leonard said, a few
+days after they had sailed. "I did not ask you at
+first, because we had plenty to do to look about us, but
+now that there's nothing in the world but water to see
+anywhere, we should so like to hear some stories; so
+please begin, if it won't trouble you too much."</p>
+
+<p>And sitting on deck, with Sybil on his right and
+Leonard on his left, Mr. Graham did as he was requested,
+and gave his children what they considered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>
+a very interesting description of a portion of that vast
+empire which they were so soon to visit. "The Chinese,"
+he began, "are a very ancient race, so ancient, indeed,
+that the origin of their monarchy is not known."</p>
+
+<p>"Do you mind waiting one minute, father, just to
+tell me a thing I have forgotten, and you told me once?"
+Leonard asked. "What does the word China mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"The ancient name for China, Tien-sha, means
+'inferior only to heaven.' Chinese history begins with
+the fabulous ages, two or three million years ago,
+when the Chinese say that no land but theirs was inhabited,
+and gods reigned upon the earth, which was
+made for them. After the gods, they tell us, came
+mythical kings, who were giants, had the power of
+working miracles, and lived for thousands of years; but
+it is really supposed that the first people who passed
+beyond the deserts of Central Asia settled in the province
+of Shen-si, which borders on Tartary, and here laid the
+foundation of the present monarchy of China.</p>
+
+<p>"Some Chinese historians think that their first
+mortal Emperor was Fuh-hi, whose date of coming to
+the throne is fixed as early as 2,852 years <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> He is
+described as possessing great virtues, and was called
+by his subjects the 'Son of heaven'&mdash;a title which
+is still given to Emperors of China, who are foolishly
+supposed, by some of their subjects, to be of celestial
+origin. He is said to have taught them how to keep
+laws and to live peaceably, also to have invented the
+arts of music and numbers. Certainly the Chinese
+have understood music from very early ages, and class
+it among the chief of the sciences.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-029.png" width="600" height="397" alt="MUSICIANS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MUSICIANS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"They have at least fifty different kinds of wind and
+string musical instruments, made of wood, stone, or metal,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
+and they play a great deal, but especially upon their fiddle
+instruments. They do not like our music at all.</p>
+
+<p>"But now we must go back to a little more Chinese
+history. There is nothing to prove that the Chinese
+existed as a nation before the time of Yu the Great,
+whose date of accession is said to be 2,285 years <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>,
+and he is also included in the Legendary Period to
+which Fuh-hi belongs. After the Legendary Period
+came the Semi-Historical Period in Chinese history;
+the really Historical Period dating from the early part
+of the eighth century before Christ.</p>
+
+<p>"Different dynasties succeeded each other, till from
+the years 500 to 200 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> many petty kings, reigning
+over various provinces, waged war against one
+another. At length a fierce warrior, named Ching-wang,
+went to war with, and conquered, all of them,
+and made himself master of the whole empire, about 200
+years <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, his government comprising about the northern
+half of modern China. He was the first monarch of the
+dynasty called Tsin, or Chin. Next he turned his arms
+against the Tartars, who were a portion of those people
+whom we read of in history by the name of Huns, and who
+were now making constant inroads into China. They were
+capital soldiers&mdash;I believe every Tartar has now to be a
+soldier&mdash;and as the Chinese dreaded them very much,
+the Emperor thought out a way to keep them off. He
+erected a great wall along the whole extent of the
+northern frontier of China, of very great height, thickness,
+and strength, made of two walls of brick many feet
+apart, the space between them being, for half the length
+of the wall, filled up with earth, and the other half with
+gravel and rubbish. On it were square towers, which
+were erected at about a hundred yards' distance from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>
+one another. Some say this wall extended 1,500 miles
+from the sea to the most western provinces of Shen-si;
+McCulloch says it is 1,250 miles in length. It was
+carried over mountains and across rivers. Six horsemen
+could ride abreast upon it. But there was great
+cruelty practised in its construction, for the Emperor
+obliged every third labouring man in the kingdom to
+work at this wall without payment.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-031.png" width="500" height="420" alt="GREAT WALL OF CHINA, GULF OF PE-CHI-LI." title="" />
+<span class="caption">GREAT WALL OF CHINA, GULF OF PE-CHI-LI.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"It took five years to finish, and has now existed for
+more than two thousand years. It is called Wan-li-chang,
+or Myriad-mile Wall."</p>
+
+<p>"And did it keep out the Tartars?" Leonard asked.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"No; the little Emperor Tsai-tien, born in 1871, and
+now on the throne, is, I believe, a descendant of theirs.
+He is called Kwang-su, which means 'Continuation of
+glory.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Does the Emperor's eldest son always reign?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; the ablest or best son is generally chosen.
+Ching-wang seemed to think that he was master of
+the whole universe, and called himself Che-Hwang-ti,
+or First Emperor; and then to try to show that he
+was the founder of the monarchy, he had, as he thought,
+all the historical documents burnt that could prove
+otherwise, but did not succeed, for some that had been
+hidden behind the walls of houses were found after his
+death."</p>
+
+<p>"What a quantity of stuff it must have taken to
+build the wall!" said Leonard.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; the material in the Great Wall, including the
+earth in the middle of it, is said to be more than enough
+to surround the circumference of the earth, on two of its
+great circles, with two walls of six feet high and two
+feet thick. Guards are stationed in the strong towers
+by which the wall is fortified; every important pass
+having a strong fortress."</p>
+
+<p>"And what is the height of the wall, father?" asked
+Leonard.</p>
+
+<p>"About twenty feet; and there are steps of brick
+and stone for men on foot to ascend, and slanting places
+for the cavalry."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall like to see Chinese soldiers," Leonard said.
+"Did you ever see them at drill, father?"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-033.png" width="600" height="386" alt="CHINESE ARTILLERY-MEN, PEKING." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHINESE ARTILLERY-MEN, PEKING.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I remember very well seeing a regiment of artillery
+at gun-drill one day, but I believe there has been a new
+armament of Chinese artillery since my time. I suppose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
+you know, children," then said Mr. Graham, "that
+Peking ranks&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"For the number of its inhabitants," Sybil said
+quickly, "as the second city in the world, only London
+having more inhabitants, Paris about the same number."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; and it has&mdash;&mdash;"</p>
+
+<p>"About two million inhabitants."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; and as Peking was built many centuries before
+the Christian era, it is a very old city. The name
+Peking means Court of the North. After the conquest
+by the Tartars of the kingdom of Yen, of which
+Peking was the capital, it became only a provincial
+town, when, at the beginning of the fifteenth century,
+it was again made the capital of China. The Chinese
+sovereigns used to live at Nanking, but when the Tartars
+had so often invaded the country, they removed to the
+northern province, to enable them the more easily to
+keep out the invaders."</p>
+
+<p>"On our Chinese umbrella that we had in the dining-room
+fireplace at home," said Sybil, "there was, I remember,
+a picture of Peking, and some water was close
+by it, but I cannot remember what river Peking is on."</p>
+
+<p>"It is situated in a large sandy plain on the Tunghui,
+a small tributary of the Peiho. This city is again divided
+into the Chinese and Tartar cities, the Imperial
+city, in which live the Emperor and his retainers, and
+another in which the court officials have their residence.</p>
+
+<p>"Like all other Chinese cities, they are surrounded
+by high walls. At the north, south, east, and west sides
+of towns are large folding-gates, which are often further
+secured by three inner gates. The one in the south is
+that of honour, through which the Emperor passes, but
+which is usually kept closed at other times.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-035.png" width="600" height="373" alt="CIEAN-MUN, OR CHEAN-GATE AT PEKING." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CIEAN-MUN, OR CHEAN-GATE AT PEKING.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"The wall of Peking, which is sixteen miles round,
+has two gates on three sides and three on the other, of
+which the principal is Chean-Mun, at the south of the
+Tartar city. Over the gate is a building occupied by
+soldiers, who are there for purposes of defence.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 287px;">
+<img src="images/i-036.png" width="287" height="500" alt="CHINESE SOLDIER." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHINESE SOLDIER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-037.png" width="600" height="380" alt="STREET OF HATA-M&Egrave;NE-TA-KIE, PEKING." title="" />
+<span class="caption">STREET OF HATA-<ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'M&Ecirc;NE'">M&Egrave;NE</ins> -TA-KIE, PEKING.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"The streets in Peking are very broad; we shall find
+them much narrower in the south of China. They are
+raised in the centre, and covered with a kind of stone, to
+form a smooth, hard surface. In summer they are often,
+I remember, very dusty, and during the rainy seasons
+very dirty. At the end of each street is a wooden barrier,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
+which is guarded day and night by soldiers. The
+barrier is closed at nine o'clock at night, after which
+time the Chinese are only allowed to pass through
+if they have a very good reason to give for being out so
+late.</p>
+
+<p>"Order is well kept in the streets of Peking by
+the soldiers and police, who may use their whips on
+troublesome customers whenever they think it necessary
+to do so.</p>
+
+<p>"The principal streets, or main thoroughfares, extending
+from one end of the city to the other, are its only
+outlets. Trees grow in several of these streets. Houses,
+in which the inhabitants live, are in smaller streets or
+lanes, the houses themselves being often shut in by
+walls.</p>
+
+<p>"Pagodas (which, you know, are temples to heathen
+gods, built in the form of towers), monasteries, and
+churchyards, are all outside the walls, and the city itself
+is principally kept for purposes of commerce."</p>
+
+<p>"We know what pagodas are like," Leonard said,
+"because we had two at home for ornaments. I think
+we know many things through being so fortunate as
+to have a father who has travelled."</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 424px;">
+<img src="images/i-039.png" width="424" height="600" alt="CHINESE BARBER." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHINESE BARBER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"There is a great noise in some of the streets," Mr.
+Graham went on: "for instance, in the Hata-m&egrave;ne-ta-kie,
+where many people are to be seen bustling about and
+talking very loudly to one another. Tents are here put up
+in which rice, fruit, and other things are sold, and any
+one wishing for a pretty substantial meal can be supplied
+with it in the Hata-m&egrave;ne-ta-kie, for before stoves stand
+the vendors of such meals, who have cooked them ready
+for purchasers. Other tradesmen carry hampers, slung
+across their shoulders, in which they keep their goods,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
+whilst they call out, from time to time, to let people
+know what these hampers contain. Carts, horses, mules,
+wheel-barrows, and sedan-chairs pass along, the whole
+place seeming to be alive with buyers and sellers.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>
+The cobbler is sure to be somewhere close at hand in his
+movable workshop, and first here and then there, as may
+best suit himself and employers, the blacksmith pitches
+his tent, which sometimes consists of a large umbrella;
+whilst, again, people can refresh themselves, if they do
+not care for a heavier meal, with some soup or a patty
+at a soup stall.</p>
+
+<p>"And the barber does not forget that he is a very
+useful person. There, in the open streets, he communicates,
+by the tinkling of a little bell, the fact that he is
+ready to shave the heads and arrange the cues or pig-tails
+of those who may require his services; and as one man
+after another takes the seat that has been put ready for
+him, the barber not only shaves and plaits, but also
+frequently paints his customer's eyebrows and gives his
+clothes a brush."</p>
+
+<p>"Father, why do Chinamen wear pig-tails?" here
+broke in Leonard, who, with Sybil, was very much interested
+in what he heard.</p>
+
+<p>"After they were conquered by the Tartars they
+were obliged to wear them, to show that they were in
+subjection to their conquerors; but now the pig-tail is
+held in honour, and the longer it will grow the better
+pleased is the Chinese gentleman who wears it. Some
+very bad criminals have their tails cut off as a great
+punishment and disgrace.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, what should you like to hear now?" Mr.
+Graham asked, after a little pause.</p>
+
+<p>"What Chinese shops are like, I think," said Sybil.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 339px;">
+<img src="images/i-041.png" width="339" height="600" alt="A SHOP IN PEKING." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A SHOP IN PEKING.</span>
+</div>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 121px;">
+<img src="images/i-042.png" width="121" height="500" alt="SIGN-BOARD OF A CUSHION AND MATTING MANUFACTORY." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SIGN-BOARD OF A CUSHION AND MATTING MANUFACTORY.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Most of those in China are quite open in front;
+where we are going I suppose we shall see very few, if
+any, shop-windows at all, but in Peking many of the
+shops have glass windows. In China there are certain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+streets for certain shops, where the different branches of
+trade have generally their own sides of the road. A
+shop is called a hong. Sometimes
+the master sits outside, waiting for his
+customers to arrive.</p>
+
+
+<p>"At the door of each hong are
+sign-boards, upon which are painted
+in gold, or coloured letters, a motto
+instead of a name, and what the shop
+offers for sale.</p>
+
+<p>"I do not think," Mr. Graham
+then said, drawing, as he spoke, a
+little representation of a sign-board
+out of his pocket-book, "that I ever
+showed you this."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh no!" both the children
+answered. "And what do those
+characters mean?"</p>
+
+<p>On another piece of paper Mr.
+Graham pointed out to them the
+following interpretation:</p>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="Interpretation">
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><b>Te&euml;n</b></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><b>Yee</b></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><b>Shun</b></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Fung&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </td><td align='left'>Poo</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Seih&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </td><td align='left'>Tian</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='2'><b>T&euml;en</b></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<p>"The three first large characters,
+which form the motto, may be taken
+to signify that 'Heaven favours the
+prudent.' The other smaller characters designate
+the nature of the business, a cushion and matting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
+manufactory; the last character, without which no sign-board
+is complete, meaning shop or factory."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall like to see these sign-boards very much
+when we get to China," Sybil said. "I should think they
+must make the streets look very pretty."</p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-043.png" width="600" height="325" alt="A TWO-WHEELED CART." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A TWO-WHEELED CART.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. Graham had illustrated several things which he
+had told the children by some pictures which he had
+brought on board with him.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-044.png" width="500" height="325" alt="A YOUNG FARMER AND HIS PARENTS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A YOUNG FARMER AND HIS PARENTS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Leonard was now looking again at that of Chean
+Mun, or Chean Gate, for Mun means gate.</p>
+
+<p>"I have been noticing, father," he then said, "that
+all the carts in this picture have only two wheels."</p>
+
+<p>"I never saw any in China with more," was the
+answer. "Both shut and open carts (the latter being used
+as carriages) have all two wheels. Those in common use
+are made of wood, the body of the cart resting on an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
+axle-tree, supported by the wheels. Horses and mules
+are very little used in China, except for travelling and
+for conveying luggage long distances. I remember also
+noticing that horses and ponies require very little guiding
+in China. Sometimes they go without reins, when
+their masters will perhaps walk beside them, carrying a
+whip. I have also seen very polite drivers, who, whenever
+they met a friend, jumped off their carts and walked
+on foot to pass one another.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 524px;">
+<img src="images/i-045.png" width="524" height="500" alt="A CHINESE JUNK." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A CHINESE JUNK.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 399px;">
+<img src="images/i-046.png" width="399" height="600" alt="FLYING KITES." title="" />
+<span class="caption">FLYING KITES.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Government servants generally use ponies, but as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
+China is so densely populated&mdash;having, it has been
+estimated, about four hundred million inhabitants, and
+people find it so hard to obtain enough to support themselves
+and families&mdash;they keep as few beasts of burden as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
+possible. The farmer employs the bullock a great deal,
+and in the north of China the camel is also much used.</p>
+
+<p>"Much trade is carried on by boats, and where there
+is no water, and farmers are without other conveyances,
+they will sometimes push their wives along the roads in
+wheel-barrows, sons giving their parents similar drives.
+There are but few carriage-roads in many parts of China."</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder the Chinese do not make more, then,"
+said Leonard.</p>
+
+<p>"They cannot afford to do so, because to make them
+bread-producing land would have to be done away
+with."</p>
+
+<p>"What a number of rivers and bays there are in
+China!" said Sybil, who was again examining her map.
+"And I see the Great Wall crosses the Hwang-ho."</p>
+
+<p>"And that's the fifth largest river in the world,"
+Leonard answered. "Only the Amazon, Mississippi,
+Nile, and Yantze-kiang are larger; and the Grand Canal
+in China is the very largest canal in the world."</p>
+
+<p>"I learnt once, too, that Hwang-ho meant 'Chinese
+sorrow.' Why is it called that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because it has altered its course, which has caused
+great loss and inconvenience to the Chinese."</p>
+
+<p>"And what does 'Yantze-kiang' mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"The son that spreads; this is their favourite river."</p>
+
+<p>Geography was one of Leonard's favourite studies.</p>
+
+<p>"Why do so many Chinese rivers end in ho and
+kiang?" he then asked, looking over Sybil's map.</p>
+
+<p>"Both words mean river&mdash;the Yantze and the
+Hwang rivers. And the Chinese have all kinds of boats
+for use on their rivers. Here, my boy, is a picture of a
+Chinese junk. Look at it well, and see if you can discover
+anything peculiar about it."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Leonard looked for some time. "It has sails," he
+answered, "like butterflies' wings."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; that is how the Chinese make many of their
+sails."</p>
+
+<p>"But the kites are what I want to see so much," said
+Leonard, as though the sails had reminded him of them
+again. "What are the most peculiar of them like?"</p>
+
+<p>"Like birds, insects, animals, clusters of birds, gods
+on clouds: all kinds of things, in fact, are represented by
+these kites, which the Chinese are most clever in making,
+and also in flying. I have seen old men, of about seventy
+years of age, thoroughly enjoying flying their kites. The
+Chinese do not care much for your, and my, favourite
+games, Leonard: cricket and football."</p>
+
+<p>"What games do they like?"</p>
+
+<p>"They are very fond of battledore and shuttlecock,
+but instead of using a battledore they hit the shuttlecock
+with their heads, elbows, or feet. Seven or eight
+children play together, and nearly always aim the shuttlecock
+rightly. Girls play at this game too, in spite of
+their small feet. Tops, balls, see-saws, and quoits are
+also favourite toys and games amongst the Chinese."</p>
+
+<p>"I remember," Sybil said, "a girl at school having
+a Chinese shuttlecock, and that was like a bird."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, father, go on, please. What other amusements
+have they?" asked Leonard.</p>
+
+<p>"Puppet-shows for one thing I remember, which
+they exhibit in the streets, as we do 'Punch and
+Judy.' The pictures in these shows are exhibited by
+means of strings, which are either worked from behind
+or from above the stand, and as the people look through
+a glass, the views are displayed to them. A man
+standing at the side calls out loudly, and beats a little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
+gong to summon people to attend the show. And now
+I think, as I am rather tired for to-day, I shall beat a
+little gong to dismiss you from the show," Mr. Graham
+said, smiling, as he turned towards his children, who
+never seemed to grow tired of listening.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, father; we will go now, and let you rest,"
+Sybil replied, standing up. "Thank you so much.
+To-morrow, you know, we shall come to the show again,
+so please remember to sound the gong in good time."
+And off they bounded, leaving Mr. Graham at liberty
+to go and seek his wife, who was then lying down in her
+cabin.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;">
+<img src="images/i-049.png" width="266" height="500" alt="Decoration: Man" title="" />
+</div><hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-050a.png" width="500" height="187" alt="Decoration: Road" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>THE RELIGIONS OF CHINA.</div>
+
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 291px;">
+<img src="images/i-050b.png" width="291" height="300" alt="LI-HUNG." title="" />
+<span class="caption">LI-HUNG.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 89px;">
+<img src="images/i-050c-w.png" width="89" height="70" alt="&quot;W" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'>ILL you please
+tell us to-day,
+father, something
+about the religion
+of the Chinese? I know
+they worship idols, but
+how do they believe in
+them?" Sybil asked, as
+soon as their "Peep-show,"
+as the children
+continued to call their
+father's stories, began the
+next afternoon. During the morning she had sat and
+read to her mother, who still felt the motion of the
+vessel very much, and had therefore to lie down part of
+the day.</div>
+
+<p>"I will try to do so," was the answer; "but I think
+what you hear may puzzle you a good deal, for they have
+very strange creeds."</p>
+
+<p>"Did grandfather make many converts?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Very few indeed; but then he was one of our very
+first missionaries to Peking, so was most thankful for
+the very little which he was enabled to do.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 425px;">
+<img src="images/i-051.png" width="425" height="550" alt="A CITIZEN OF TIENT-SIN." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A CITIZEN OF TIENT-SIN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I remember two men for whose conversion from
+Buddhism he often gave thanks. One was a citizen of
+Tientsin, where we landed on our way to the capital.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"This good fellow, who was then a very questionable
+character, was smoking his pipe in a most indifferent
+manner, when my father, through his teacher, first addressed
+him. Missionaries in China, you know, have
+teachers of the dialects."</p>
+
+<p>"Shall you have one?"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course. Well, this man would not listen at all
+at first, and was very angry at my father's interference;
+but after a while we met him again at Peking, and in
+time both he and his wife learnt to believe, and to long
+for Christian baptism, before receiving which they not
+only left off worshipping their family idols, but even
+destroyed them. A short time ago I heard that this
+man had become a native lay teacher, and was a
+great help to the mission, as he could, of course,
+always make himself understood to his own countrymen,
+who were also not unlikely to be won by his
+example."</p>
+
+<p>"What was his name?" asked Leonard.</p>
+
+<p>"Tung-Sean."</p>
+
+<p>"And that of the other convert?"</p>
+
+<p>"Li-Hung. He was a much older man, and was
+sitting, I remember, the day we first saw him, in a field,
+resting from his work, and as he caught sight of my
+father he began to call him all sorts of names, amongst
+which was to be heard very often that of 'foreign devil.'
+I believe he even looked for stones to throw at us.
+Your grandfather&mdash;always a very quiet, self-possessed
+man&mdash;just dropped some tracts at his side, translated into
+Chinese. We often saw Li-Hung again, and though he
+gave us much trouble, a month before my father died he
+had the happiness also of witnessing this man's conversion
+to the true faith."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Grandfather must have been very pleased," Sybil
+said.</p>
+
+<p>"He was; but I think now I have something rather
+interesting to tell you of our journey from Tientsin to
+Peking. We went in carts drawn by two mules, one in
+front of the other, and at night we slept at inns, where,
+I think, you would like to hear about our sleeping accommodation.
+It was winter, and as the Peking winter
+is cold, people there, to make themselves warm at night,
+sleep on kangs. As these were different at both inns to
+which we went, I will tell you about both.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-053.png" width="500" height="223" alt="A KANG." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A KANG.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"In one the kang consisted of a platform built of
+brick, so much larger than a bed that several people could
+sleep on it at once. A kind of tunnel passed through the
+platform, which had a chimney at one end, whilst at the
+other end, a little while before bed-time, a small quantity
+of dry fuel was set on fire, when the flame passed
+through the tunnel and out of the chimney. In this
+way the kang was warmed, when felt matting was put
+upon it. Here we lay down, and were covered over
+with a kind of cotton-wool counterpane.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-054.png" width="600" height="361" alt="BOATS ON THE RIVER PEI-HO AT TIENT-SIN." title="" />
+<span class="caption">BOATS ON THE RIVER PEI-HO AT TIENT-SIN.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"The kang in the other inn was warmed by a little
+stove from underneath, which also served in the day-time
+for cooking purposes, when the bed-clothes were
+removed from the kang, on which mats, and even little
+tables, were also sometimes put, until it became a sofa; so
+it was very useful."</p>
+
+<p>The children laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"We are not hearing about the religion yet, though,"
+Sybil said.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, do let us hear just a little more about Peking
+and Tientsin first," Leonard answered. "How far is
+Tientsin from the capital?"</p>
+
+<p>"Eighty miles. And do you know what river it is
+on?"</p>
+
+<p>Leonard considered. "It must be an important
+one, I should think, as it carries things, doesn't it, from
+the sea-coast to near to Peking?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is only a river of secondary importance, but the
+principal one of the province of Pe-chili. Now for its
+name." Sybil referred to her map.</p>
+
+<p>"The Pei-ho, of course," they exclaimed together.
+"And I suppose there is ever so much traffic on it?"
+Leonard said; "with no end of ships to be seen?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, a good many may be seen there. I have a
+picture of boats on the River Pei-ho."</p>
+
+<p>"What sort of flags do Chinese boats have, father?
+I do not see any hoisted here."</p>
+
+<p>"The Imperial Navy is divided into river and sea-going
+vessels, the former consisting of 1,900 ships, the
+latter of 918; and there are 188,000 sailors. Ships in the
+Imperial Navy generally fly a flag at the main, on which
+red lines are drawn, or sometimes a tri-colour is hoisted
+there instead. Red would, I suppose, be for safety, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
+this is the 'lucky' colour of the Chinese. At the stern
+of the vessel I remember seeing the name of the official
+who directs and superintends the ship."</p>
+
+<p>"Isn't Tientsin noted for something?" Sybil then
+asked.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 264px;">
+<img src="images/i-056.png" width="264" height="400" alt="MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yes; for the treaty of June 26th, 1858, between the
+Chinese and British, some of the terms of which were that
+the Christian religion should be protected by Chinese
+authorities, that British subjects should be allowed to
+travel in the country for pleasure or business, under
+passports issued by their consul, and that the Queen
+might acquire a building site at Peking."</p>
+
+<p>"But now the religion, please, father," she said
+again.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Very well; but you must pay great attention to what
+I say, or you will not understand. Most of the Chinese
+are either Confucianists, Buddhists, or Taouists, although
+there are also Jews and Mahometans amongst
+them. At one time it is supposed that the people of
+China had really a knowledge of the true God, and
+that when they worshipped, in much the same sort of
+manner as did the patriarchs, Him whom they call
+Wang-teen, or Shang-ti, which means Supreme Ruler,
+they worshipped God.</p>
+
+<p>"But mixing with this an idolatrous worship of
+departed ancestors, they nearly lost sight of the Supreme
+Ruler, the jealous God, Who, we know, claims all our
+worship.</p>
+
+<p>"About the latter half of the sixth century before
+Christ, Confucius, a great and clever philosopher of
+China, who was born 551 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, wrote and put together
+books that held very moral and good maxims, afterwards
+called 'The Classics.'</p>
+
+<p>"He taught that men must always be obedient to
+those to whom they are in subjection: people to prince,
+child to parent, filial piety being enforced before every
+other duty. He was very anxious to improve the
+manners of the people; but women he ranked very
+low. Confucianism is&mdash;but perhaps you will not understand
+this&mdash;more a philosophy than a religion. Its
+followers have no particular form of worship, and no
+priesthood. The Pearly Emperor, Supreme Ruler, is
+their deity, but worship is seldom offered to him, and
+then only by a few.</p>
+
+<p>"Although Confucius disapproved very much of idols,
+after he was dead many of his followers worshipped
+him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 383px;">
+<img src="images/i-058.png" width="383" height="500" alt="A MANDARIN." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A MANDARIN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Confucianists do not believe in a future state of
+rewards and punishments, but think that their good
+and bad deeds will be rewarded here by riches or
+poverty, long or short life, good or bad health. Conscience<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
+is to lead people aright, and tell them when they
+do wrong.</p>
+
+<p>"The high mandarins and literary people are
+generally Confucianists; school-boys also worship an idol
+or tablet of the sage, in which his spirit is supposed
+to dwell.</p>
+
+<p>"There is a temple to the honour of 'The Great
+Teacher' in every large town; and on great occasions,
+and always in spring-time and autumn, sacrifices are
+here offered, the Emperor himself, as high priest, presiding
+at these two ceremonies in Peking, the chief
+mandarins of his court giving him assistance. In
+temples of Confucius idols are very seldom to be seen.</p>
+
+<p>"The Confucianists are taught that man was originally
+good, his nature being given by heaven, and that sin
+came through union of the soul with matter."</p>
+
+<p>"What are mandarins, please, father?" asked
+Leonard.</p>
+
+<p>"Chinese officials, of which there are many grades,
+and many in each grade, all of whom are paid by
+Government. To every province there is a viceroy, to
+every city a governor, and to the village a mandarin, who
+is elected to rule over it for three years; and all these,
+again, have many officers under them. There are also a
+great many military mandarins. A great mark of
+imperial favour is to allow mandarins, civil or military,
+to wear a peacock's feather in their caps, which hangs
+down over the back, and the ball placed on the top
+shows, by its colour and material, the rank of the wearer.
+Soldiers fighting very bravely are often buoyed up with
+the hope of receiving one of these feathers.</p>
+
+<p>"Mandarins, who stand in a sort of fatherly relationship
+towards their people, although they do not always<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>
+behave like fathers towards them, look for implicit
+obedience from them."</p>
+
+<p>"Can a mandarin be punished when he does
+wrong?" Leonard asked. "And what sort of dress does
+he wear?"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/i-060.png" width="450" height="450" alt="A MANDARIN WITH PEACOCK&#39;S FEATHER." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A MANDARIN WITH PEACOCK&#39;S FEATHER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"He can be punished when he does wrong; and as well
+as I can remember, those mandarins that I saw, who
+were in high office, wore a long, loose robe of blue
+silk, embroidered with gold threads. This reached to
+their ankles, being fastened round their waists with a
+belt. Over this was a violet tunic, coming just below
+the knees, which had very wide, long sleeves, usually
+worn turned back, but if not, hanging over the hands."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Will you please go on about the religion now,
+father?" Sybil then said. "You had just told us that
+the Confucianists were taught that man was made
+good."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; and their worship is paid almost entirely to
+their ancestors, which worship they look upon as a continuation
+of the reverence they had been taught to show
+them while on earth. I will tell you more about ancestral
+worship presently.</p>
+
+<p>"Many people, as you can well understand, were not
+satisfied with Confucianism as a religion, as it could
+not satisfy their spiritual wants, especially as the Pearly
+Emperor, or Supreme Ruler, generally looked upon as the
+highest divinity worshipped by the Chinese, might
+only be approached by the Emperor and his court;
+so another sect sprang up, having a philosopher
+named La-outze, who was born 604 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, for its
+founder. He thought that to grow perfect he must
+seclude himself from other people, and in his retirement
+was always looking for the Taou-le, the meaning of which
+you will hardly understand&mdash;the cause or the end of
+all things. His followers are called Taouists. This
+philosopher says in his book that 'it is by stillness, and
+contemplation, and union with Taou, that virtue is to be
+achieved'&mdash;Taou here meaning a principle and a way.
+He said that virtue consisted in losing sight of oneself,
+and that man should love even his enemies, and go
+through life as if none of his possessions belonged to
+himself. The Taouists say that 'Taou is without substance,
+and eternal, and the universe coming from him exists in
+the silent presence of Taou everywhere,' and that only
+those who become very virtuous are happy.</p>
+
+<p>"La-outze is now worshipped by the Taouists as the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
+third of a trinity of persons, called 'The Three Pure
+Ones.'</p>
+
+<p>"He is said, when born, to have had long white hair,
+and is therefore represented as an old man, and called
+'old boy.' The Chinese assert that his mother was fed
+with food from heaven, and that when he was born he
+jumped up into the air, and said, as he pointed with his left
+hand to heaven and his right hand to the earth, 'Heaven
+above, earth beneath: only Taou is honourable.' The
+Taouist trinity are supposed to live in the highest heaven;
+and Taouists used to spend a great deal of time in seeking
+for a drink that they thought would make them live
+for ever. Subduing evil is by some of them supposed
+to secure immortality to the soul.</p>
+
+<p>"Their priests are often very ignorant men, but
+they are believed in by the people, and are employed
+by them to perform superstitious rites."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father! Isn't it a dreadful pity that they
+should believe so many things like Christians, even in
+a trinity, and the duty of loving one's enemies, and only
+be heathens after all?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is indeed; but the more we see of heathens,
+Sybil, the more we shall notice how they cannot help
+feeling after truth and grasping some parts of it, which
+seem as though they were a very necessity to religion.
+These Taouist priests are often called in by the people
+to exorcise, or drive away, evil spirits, to cure sick people
+and commune with the dead."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father! I do so like this Peep-show. Please
+tell us now about the people of the other sect."</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 343px;">
+<img src="images/i-063.png" width="343" height="600" alt="A BUDDHIST PRIEST." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A BUDDHIST PRIEST.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"They are the Buddhists, who also worship a
+trinity; indeed, Taouists are thought to have taken
+that idea from them. As early as 250 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> Buddhist<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
+missionaries came over from India to China, but the
+religion did not really take root until an emperor named
+Hing, of the Han dynasty, introduced it, in the first century
+of the Christian era, about 66 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> This emperor
+is said to have seen in a dream, in the year of our Lord
+61, an image of a foreign god coming into his palace,
+and in consequence he was advised to adopt the religion of
+Buddha, when he sent to India for an idol and some
+priests. Towards the end of the thirteenth century
+there were more than 4,200 Buddhist temples in China,
+and more than 213,000 monks. The Buddhist trinity
+is called Pihte, or the Three Precious Ones: Buddha Past,
+Buddha Present, and Buddha Future, and dreadfully ugly
+idols they are. The Buddhist's idea of heaven is Nirv&acirc;na,
+or rest, or more properly speaking, extinction. The
+Chinese Buddhist thinks that a man possesses three souls or
+spirits, one of which accompanies the body to the grave,
+another passes into his ancestral tablet to be worshipped,
+and the third enters into one, or all, of the ten kingdoms
+of the Buddhistic hell, into which people pass after death,
+there to receive punishments according to the lives they
+have led upon earth. From the tenth kingdom they
+pass back to earth, to inhabit the form of a man, beast,
+bird, or insect, as they may have deserved, unless during
+life a man has attained to a certain state of perfection,
+when he mounts to the highest heaven, and perhaps
+becomes a god or buddha. But even from the Western
+Paradise a spirit has sometimes to return to earth.
+Should a man have been good in all the various lives
+that he has lived, he is supposed to attain, I believe, to
+this Nirv&acirc;na, or extinction."</p>
+
+<p>"What a wonderful belief!" Sybil said. "So they
+cannot believe at all in the immortality of the soul?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"No, they do not."</p>
+
+<p>"I should like to see a Buddhist priest very much,"
+Leonard said.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 449px;">
+<img src="images/i-065.png" width="449" height="450" alt="ENTRANCE TO A BUDDHIST MONASTERY." title="" />
+<span class="caption">ENTRANCE TO A BUDDHIST MONASTERY.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I dare say you will see a good many when you get
+to China. They live together in monasteries, sometimes
+in great numbers, and these monasteries are prettily
+situated, surrounded by lakes and gardens. They consist
+of a number of small buildings, to the principal of
+which is a large entrance, that has inscriptions on either
+side of the gateway."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-066.png" width="600" height="352" alt="A MONASTERY." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A MONASTERY.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Are the priests very good men?" asked Leonard.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i-067.png" width="400" height="377" alt="A GONG." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A GONG.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Very often, I am afraid, just the reverse; but this
+is not to be wondered at, for criminals in China, to escape
+from justice, will sometimes shave their heads, and seek refuge
+by becoming Buddhist priests. When they take their
+vows&mdash;some taking nine, some twelve&mdash;for each one a cut
+is made in their arms to help them to remember it. Some
+of the vows resemble the commandments setting forth
+our duty towards our neighbour. A Buddhist priest, in
+China, wears a wide turn-over collar; when he officiates
+he often dresses in a yellow robe made of silk or cotton,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
+but he is only allowed to wear silk when he does
+officiate. At other times his garments are of white or
+ash colour, or he wears a long, grey cowl with flowing
+sleeves. Buddhist priests shave all their hair two or
+three times a month. They think it is of great use to
+repeat their classics very often to the gods, and keep an
+account of the number of times they say them on their
+beads. I fancy they use brooms wherewith to sprinkle
+holy water. There are four special commandments for
+Buddhists, both priests and people: not to destroy animal
+life, not to steal, not to speak falsely, and not to drink
+wine. In monasteries the refectories of the priests are
+very large, and they have all to sit at dinner, so that
+the abbot, who is at their head, can see their faces.
+They are called to breakfast and dinner by a gong,
+where they have to appear in their cowls. Gongs are
+very much used in China, and are to be seen at all the
+temples. When the priest, who presides, comes in, they
+all rise, and putting their hands together, say grace.
+After the food has been so blessed, some is put outside
+as an offering to the fowls of the air. During dinner
+the priests may not speak, and on the walls of the
+refectory are boards, on which are written warnings,
+such as not to eat too quickly; also the rules of the
+monastery."</p>
+
+<p>"That would not have done for you, Leonard, when
+you thought you would be late for school, and gobbled
+your dinner anyhow," said Sybil.</p>
+
+<p>"How many gods have the Chinese?" asked
+Leonard.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-069.png" width="600" height="358" alt="WORSHIP IN A LAMASARY, BUDDHIST TEMPLE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">WORSHIP IN A LAMASARY, BUDDHIST TEMPLE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"So many that it would be impossible to say, and
+the Celestials (as the Chinese are often called, from
+naming their country the Celestial Land) are not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
+particular how they worship them; Taouists, for instance,
+worshipping those who are peculiarly Buddhist divinities,
+and Buddhists invoking, in return, their gods. Indeed,
+the three religions have so borrowed from one another,
+and people have believed so much as they liked, that
+the Chinese themselves often do not know to which
+religion they belong, and are either all or none, pretty
+well as they choose. The Buddhism of China is not
+at all the pure Buddhism, and has been much corrupted
+by its professors."</p>
+
+<p>"Who was the founder of Buddhism?"</p>
+
+<p>"An Indian prince, of beautiful character, born
+620 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, and called Sh&acirc;kyamuni Buddha, who left
+wealth and luxury to go about relieving suffering
+wherever he found it. After he died his followers
+believed that he was transformed into a god, having
+three different forms."</p>
+
+<p>"Tell us some of the gods, please."</p>
+
+<p>"A god of rain; a god of wind; a god of thunder;
+a god of wealth, the latter worshipped very much by
+tradesmen; a god of thieves; a goddess of thunder; a
+guardian goddess of women and little children, called
+Kum-fa, whose ten attendants watch over children, helping
+them to eat, and teaching them to smile and walk;
+a god of wine; a god of fire; a goddess of mercy; a
+goddess of sailors; a goddess of children, called 'Mother';
+a god of the kitchen; a god of measles, a god of small-pox.
+Then the Confucianists worship two stars, who
+are supposed to look after literature and drawing, the
+former called the god of literature. And besides household
+gods belonging to every family, there are a god of
+the passing year, and numerous others. Many of the
+gods are deified persons who once lived on earth."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-071.png" width="600" height="350" alt="TEMPLE OF THE MOON, PEKING." title="" />
+<span class="caption">TEMPLE OF THE MOON, PEKING.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What a number!" Sybil said. "But who, then, is
+the great Lama? You have not told us anything about
+him yet, and I heard you speaking about him the other
+day."</p>
+
+<p>"There is another form of Buddhism, called Lamaism,
+and this, though it prevails principally in Thibet and
+Mongolia, has also its followers in Peking. The Great
+Lama, or Living Buddha, is the head of this."</p>
+
+<p>"And he is a living man?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; but his soul is said never to die; therefore,
+when he dies it is supposed to pass into an infant whom
+the priests select by a likeness that they trace to the late
+Lama. I one day saw worship going on in a Lama
+temple."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you a picture of it, father?" Leonard asked,
+who was getting a little tired of these descriptions, which
+Sybil liked so much.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, and I think it a very good one. In the centre,
+facing the worshippers, is a very large idol indeed of
+Buddha. To the right and left of the temple are smaller
+idols. Some gods in temples do not receive worship, but
+guard the doors. Incense is burning in front; the high
+priest, to the right, is lifting up his hands in adoration,
+whilst the people offer scented rods and tapers to
+Buddha. As they light their offerings they kow-tow,
+or hit their heads upon the floor. This is the Chinese
+way of reverent, respectful salutation. The devotees
+are grouped in squares.</p>
+
+<p>"Then I forgot to tell you that the Sun and Moon are
+also worshipped. Whilst in Peking, I went to a temple
+of the Moon. It was on the day of the autumnal equinox,
+when, at six o'clock in the evening, a very solemn sacrifice
+is offered, and the great ladies of the capital meet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
+to burn their tapers. I approached this temple by a long
+avenue of beautiful trees. The temple was large; but I
+noticed that more women than men had come to attend
+the ceremonies."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought the Chinese were clever people," Sybil
+said; "if so, how can they believe in so many gods?"</p>
+
+<p>"They have been trained to do so. They feel, I
+suppose, that they must offer worship, and until a real
+knowledge of the true God can be planted in their midst,
+they will remain slaves to idolatry. Many of the more
+enlightened heathen, I believe, only regard their idols
+as representations of the Deity they are feeling after,
+and not really as the Deity Himself; although I fear
+many of the simpler sort, in different degrees, regard
+their idols with great religious awe. Then, many a
+Chinaman, again, will so often seem to have no religion
+at all!"</p>
+
+<p>"Is it very difficult to teach the Chinese, father?"</p>
+
+<p>"It is very difficult to find words, in their language,
+clearly to bring home to them the great truths of the
+Bible; and Confucius having for nearly twenty centuries
+held such a sway over their minds, they do not care to
+listen to new teachers."</p>
+
+<p>"I am so glad the Bible is now translated into
+Chinese, and that you are taking some copies out with
+you. But how old these people must be!"</p>
+
+<p>"The Chinese are a very ancient race, and had a
+literature 700 years before Christ. They are very fond
+and proud of their country."</p>
+
+<p>"Do Taouists and Buddhists believe in, and read, the
+writings of Confucius?"</p>
+
+<p>"To a great extent."</p>
+
+<p>"And are there many Christians in China now?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"The Church Missionary Society, at her six chief
+stations of Hong-Kong, Foo-Chow, Ningpo, Hang-Chow,
+Shaou-hing, and Shanghai, now numbers 4,667
+native followers, and 1,702 communicants, of whom
+nine are native clergymen and 174 native Christian
+teachers. In China altogether there are 40,000 Christian
+adherents. But what are these, when we think
+that this vast empire alone contains 400,000,000 people,
+one-third of the human race?"</p>
+
+<p>"They will listen to you, father," Sybil said, looking
+up very brightly. Sybil was a child who thought that
+there was nobody, except her own mother, in the whole
+world to compare with her father.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-074.png" width="500" height="151" alt="Decoration: Landscape" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<div><img src="images/i-075a1.png" width="600" height="165" alt="Decoration" title="" class="splitlt" />
+<img src="images/i-075a2.png" width="211" height="228" alt="Decoration" title="" class="splitlb" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<div class='chapternumber'><br /><br />CHAPTER IV.<br /><br /></div>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>CHINESE CHILDHOOD.</div>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 45px;">
+
+</div><div class='unindent'><img src="images/i-075b-i.png" width="45" height="68" alt="&quot;I" title="" />&nbsp; &nbsp; FORGOT to ask you, father,"
+Leonard said, about a week
+later&mdash;for during that time
+he and his sister had been otherwise
+engaged, and had therefore not come to hear
+anything more about the Chinese and their strange
+doings&mdash;"I forgot to ask you if Celestial boys wore pig-tails
+too. I have never, I believe, seen a picture of a
+Chinese boy."</div>
+
+<p>"Some have pig-tails, but some parents allow just a
+tuft of hair to grow on a boy's head until he is eight or
+ten years old, and shave the rest. Sometimes he wears
+the tuft longer; and I have also seen girls wearing it
+on one or both sides of their heads."</p>
+
+<p>"Father, will you tell us something now about
+the children?" Sybil then asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I know little babies of three days old often have
+their wrists tied with red cotton cord, to which a charm
+is hung, which is, I suppose, to bring it prosperity or drive
+away from it evil spirits. At a month old its head is
+shaved for the first time, when, if its mother does not
+shave it, a hair-dresser has to wear red in which to do it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
+A boy is shaved before the ancestral tablet, but a girl
+before an image of the goddess of children called
+'Mother,' and thank-offerings are on this day presented
+to the goddess."</p>
+
+<p>"What does the ancestral tablet mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"It consists of a piece of wood or stone, which is
+meant to represent the dead. As I told you, one of the
+spirits of a dead man is supposed to enter the tablet, and
+the more this is worshipped the happier the spirit is supposed
+to be. On this tablet are names and inscriptions,
+which sometimes represent several ancestors. After a
+certain time (I think the fifth generation) the tablet is
+no longer worshipped, as by that time the spirit is supposed
+to have passed into another body."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you. I understand that now," Sybil said.
+"Does anything else happen on the grand shaving
+day?"</p>
+
+<p>"Presents of painted ducks' eggs, cakes, and other
+things are sent to the baby, and when it is four months
+old 'Mother' is thanked again, and prayed to make
+the child grow fast, sleep well, and be good-tempered."
+Sybil and Leonard laughed. "On this day the
+child also sits for the first time in a chair, when his
+grandmother, his mother's mother, who has to give him
+a great many presents, sends him some soft kind of
+sugar-candy, which is put upon the chair, and when this
+has stuck the baby is put upon it, and I suppose his
+clothes then stick to it also."</p>
+
+<p>"What a fashion to learn to sit in a chair!" Leonard
+said. "And what's done on his first birthday?"</p>
+
+<p>"Another thank-offering is presented to 'Mother,'
+more presents come, and the baby has to sit in front of a
+number of things, such as ink, pens, scales, pencils, tools,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
+books, fruit, gold, or anything the parents like to arrange
+before him, and whatever he catches hold of first will
+show them what his future character or occupation is
+likely to be.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 332px;">
+<img src="images/i-077.png" width="332" height="450" alt="YUEN-SHUH, A LITTLE STUDENT." title="" />
+<span class="caption">YUEN-SHUH, A LITTLE STUDENT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"But the worst part has now to come. As soon as
+the poor little fellow can learn anything, he is taught to
+worship 'Mother' and other idols, before which he has
+to bow down, and raise up his little hands, whilst candles
+and incense are burnt in their honour. So it is no wonder
+that as he grows older he learns his lesson thoroughly.
+At sixteen children are supposed to leave childhood behind
+them, and there is a ceremony for this."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Do Chinese girls learn lessons? or is it only the
+boys?"</p>
+
+<p>"In some parts of China there are, I believe, a few
+schools for young ladies, and instruction is given to
+them by tutors at home; but although two or three
+Chinese ladies have been celebrated for great literary
+attainments, these are quite the exceptions, and there
+are only a very few schools for any girls in China,
+except the mission schools. Those for boys abound all
+over the country."</p>
+
+<p>"Did you ever go into a boy's school, father?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, into several, where I saw many a little
+intelligent-looking boy working very hard at his lessons.
+One little boy, named Yuen-Shuh, told me that he
+meant to get all the literary honours that he could.
+Chinese boys are not allowed to talk at all in school-hours.
+Each boy has a desk at which to sit, which
+is so arranged that he cannot speak to the boy next to
+him. Little Yuen-Shuh had been to school since he
+was six years old.</p>
+
+<p>"Another boy was saying a lesson when I went in,
+and therefore standing with his back to his teacher.
+Boys always say their lessons like this, and it is called
+'backing the book.' The teacher, as they repeat their
+lessons, puts down their marks. When learning their
+lessons they repeat them aloud. There are higher schools
+into which older boys pass, and the great aim of the
+Chinese is to take literary honours, as nothing else can
+give them a position of high rank; but even a peasant
+taking these honours would rank as a gentleman."</p>
+
+<p>"Will you take me to see a school in China?"
+Leonard then asked.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-079.png" width="600" height="331" alt="A CHINESE SCHOOL." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A CHINESE SCHOOL.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>His father, having promised to do so, went on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
+to say to Leonard: "Parents are very particular as to
+their choice of a schoolmaster, who must be considered
+good, as well as able to teach; and to qualify himself
+the master must, of course, know the doctrines of
+the ancient sages. After all has been settled for a
+boy to go to school, the parents always invite the
+schoolmaster to a dinner, given expressly for him.
+Then a fortune-teller is asked to decide upon a 'lucky'
+day for the boy to make his first appearance at school,
+when he takes the tutor a present. No boy ever goes
+to school first on the anniversary of the day on which
+Confucius died or was buried. On entering school, he
+turns to the shrine of Confucius&mdash;an altar erected to
+his honour in every school&mdash;and worships him, after
+which he salutes his teacher very respectfully, hears
+what he has to do, and goes to his desk."</p>
+
+<p>"And are there many holidays at Chinese schools?"</p>
+
+<p>"At the new year and in the autumn there are
+always holidays, but children also go home to keep all
+religious festivals, to celebrate the birthdays of parents
+and grandparents, to worship their tablets, and at the
+tombs of ancestors. Very often schoolmasters are men
+who have toiled very hard at their books, and yet have
+not succeeded in taking a very high degree, but
+sometimes having done so, they choose teaching for
+their profession. Children are very much punished in
+China when they break school-rules. Perhaps the
+punishment they fear most is to be beaten with a
+broom, because they think that this may make them
+unlucky for the <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'r st'">rest</ins> of their lives."</p>
+
+<p>"And they can never have an alphabet to learn,"
+Sybil said, "when they first go to school, as there is not
+one."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 353px;">
+<img src="images/i-081.png" width="353" height="550" alt="A VILLAGE SCHOOLMASTER." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A VILLAGE SCHOOLMASTER.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"No; instead of letters and words, they have to learn,
+and master, characters. In some schools children learn
+names first; in others they have reading lessons, where
+all the sentences consist of three characters. As soon
+as possible they are set to learn the classic on 'Filial
+Piety.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Now, father, will you please describe a Chinese
+house to us?"</p>
+
+<p>"Those of the richer classes are surrounded by a
+high wall, and composed of a number of rooms, generally
+on one floor. In large cities some houses have another
+storey; but the Chinese think it 'unlucky' to live above
+ground."</p>
+
+<p>"The Chinese seem to think everything either lucky
+or unlucky," Sybil said; "it does seem silly. I do not
+wonder that you always told me not to say that word.
+I don't think I shall ever want to say it again now; and
+I used to say it rather often, usen't I? But I did not
+mean to interrupt you, so please go on now."</p>
+
+<p>"Some houses are very large, which they have to be,
+in order to accommodate several branches of the same
+family, who often live together in different parts of
+them.</p>
+
+<p>"There are generally three doors of entrance to a
+house, of which the principal, in the centre, leads to the
+reception hall, into which visitors are shown. I have
+seen the walls of rooms hung with white silk or
+satin, on which sentences of good advice were written.
+All sorts of beautiful lanterns hang from the sitting-room
+ceilings, sometimes by silk cords. The furniture consists
+principally of chairs, tables, pretty screens and cabinets,
+with many porcelain ornaments, and fans are very
+numerous in a Chinese household. Most houses have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>
+very beautiful gardens; even the poor try to have their
+houses surrounded by as much ground as possible. Many
+houses also have verandahs, where the Chinaman likes to
+smoke his evening pipe. Indeed, women, even ladies,
+smoke pipes in China. I have a picture of a verandah
+scene in the south of China."</p>
+
+<p>"Are these people rich or poor?" Sybil asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly not rich, but also not very poor."</p>
+
+<p>"You were saying the other day, father, that
+Chinese people smoke something else besides tobacco?"
+Leonard then asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Opium."</p>
+
+<p>"What is opium?"</p>
+
+<p>"The juice of the poppy, which, after being made
+into a solid form, is boiled down with water."</p>
+
+<p>"Why did you say that opium-smoking was so
+dreadful?"</p>
+
+<p>"You shall hear all about it, and then judge for yourself.
+The opium-smoker, whilst engaged with his pipe,
+thinks of, and cares for, nothing else in the whole world
+besides, and generally lies down to give himself up to
+its more full enjoyment. Holding his pipe over the
+flame of a small oil-lamp beside him, he lights the opium,
+and then gently draws in the vapour which proceeds
+from it. Sometimes people smoke in their own houses,
+and sometimes they resort to horrid places regularly set
+apart for opium-smoking. In Hong-Kong, where we are
+going, there will be many an opium-smoker who will
+buy this drug in quantities when he cannot even afford
+to purchase clothing.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 379px;">
+<img src="images/i-084.png" width="379" height="600" alt="FAMILY SCENE&mdash;AFTER DINNER" title="" />
+<span class="caption">FAMILY SCENE&mdash;AFTER DINNER</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"If a man make a practice of smoking opium at
+stated times, even should these times not be very frequent,
+he so acquires the habit of smoking, that if, when the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
+pipe be due it is not forthcoming, he is quite unable to do
+his work, and wastes all his time thinking of and longing
+for his pipe. The habit is sometimes acquired in less
+than a fortnight. Opium may first be taken in a small
+quantity to cure toothache; the small quantity leads to
+large quantities; the large quantities, or even small ones
+taken regularly, lead at last to the man becoming an
+habitual opium-smoker: and this means that the victim's
+health becomes injured, and that he is unfit for any
+work. If he then leave off his opium, he becomes ill, has
+dreadful pain, which sometimes lasts till he smokes again;
+he has no appetite for food, cannot sleep at night, and
+looks haggard and miserable. Sometimes if opium cannot be procured
+by him he dies.</p>
+
+<p>"And these men make themselves slaves for life to
+this horrid drug, knowing before they touch it what it
+will do for them.</p>
+
+<p>"Opium-smoking makes rich men poor, honest men
+thieves, and poor people even sell their children to obtain
+the drug."</p>
+
+<p>"And can't they be cured, father?" Sybil asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Medical aid has been brought in to help them,
+but it generally fails; and every now and then we hear
+of an opium-smoker becoming a Christian and then overcoming
+the vice, but this is also very rare indeed. And
+what does this teach us, children?"</p>
+
+<p>They thought. "Never to acquire bad habits, I suppose,"
+said Sybil, "for fear they should grow upon
+us."</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 346px;">
+<img src="images/i-086.png" width="346" height="600" alt="HABITUAL OPIUM-SMOKERS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">HABITUAL OPIUM-SMOKERS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Yes; and because they do grow upon us. Everything
+to which we very much accustom ourselves grows
+into a habit; therefore it is so very important for
+both Chinese and English, for both grown-up and little<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>
+people, to cultivate good habits. And more especially is
+this important in the case of young people, because so
+many of our habits, which remain with us and influence
+our whole after-life, are formed in our childish days."</p>
+
+<p>"And do people really sell their children?"</p>
+
+<p>"They do, indeed; and some children are so filial
+that they will even sell themselves for the good of their
+parents. There is very little that a Chinaman will not
+do for a parent. One of their superstitions is that if a
+father or mother be ill, and the child should cut away
+some of its own flesh to mix in the parent's medicine, a
+cure would be effected; and children have been known
+to cut pieces, for this purpose, out of their own arms."</p>
+
+<p>"What would happen," Sybil asked, "if a child were
+to do anything very dreadful to a parent in China?"</p>
+
+<p>"If a son kill a parent, he is put to death, his
+house is torn down, his nearest neighbours are punished,
+and his schoolmaster is put to death; the magistrate of the
+district would also suffer, and the governor of the province
+would go down in rank."</p>
+
+<p>"How unfair!" Leonard exclaimed, "when only
+one person did it."</p>
+
+<p>"Why does all that happen?" Sybil asked.</p>
+
+<p>"To show how great the man's sin is. The schoolmaster
+is punished because it is thought that he did not
+bring up his pupil properly. Of course, it is very unfair,
+but the Chinese are often very cruel in their
+chastisments, and many criminals prefer death to some of
+the other punishments. A great many also suffer capital
+punishment; sometimes as many as ten thousand people
+in a year."</p>
+
+<p>"Then, when children do wrong, their parents and
+schoolmasters are blamed?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Very often their faults are attributed to their
+bringing-up."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! oughtn't we to be careful, then, Leonard?
+Fancy when we do wrong people blaming father or
+mother!"</p>
+
+<p>Leonard was then very anxious to hear more about
+Chinese punishments, so his father told him an occurrence
+that he had once witnessed.</p>
+
+<p>"A very usual way of punishing small offences," he
+began, "is by beating with a bamboo; and whenever
+a mandarin finds that any one, under his jurisdiction, has
+transgressed, he can use the bamboo. Parents use it on
+their children even when they are thirty years of age.
+The poor Chinese culprits used to be subject to very
+horrible tortures, such as having their fingers or ankles
+squeezed until they made confession; but I believe
+a good many of the worst tortures have now been done
+away with. One in common use is the canque, which
+is a collar made of heavy wood, with a hole in the centre
+for the head to come through. It is fastened round the
+neck, and is worn from one to three months, preventing its
+prisoner from lying down day or night. The captive
+remains in the street instead of in prison, and is dependent
+upon his friends to feed him."</p>
+
+<p>"What a shame!" Leonard said. "I'd like to be a
+magistrate in China, to put that sort of cruelty down."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 365px;">
+<img src="images/i-089.png" width="365" height="500" alt="A CHINESE COURT OF LAW." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A CHINESE COURT OF LAW.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/i-090.png" width="450" height="400" alt="CHINESE PUNISHMENT." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHINESE PUNISHMENT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"But now I am coming to a trial that I witnessed
+myself. I remember, as I went into the Provincial
+Criminal Court, one day, seeing the judge sitting
+behind a large table, covered with a red cloth. Secretaries,
+interpreters, and turnkeys stood at each end
+of the table, only the judge having a right to sit down.
+Soon after I arrived the prisoner was led in by a chain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>
+who immediately threw himself down on the ground
+before the judge. The crime brought against him was
+robbing an official of high rank. It was thought that
+he could not have committed the robbery alone, and was
+asked how it was effected, and who were his accomplices.
+He would not say. Then he was beaten; but still this
+brought no answer. Both an arm and a leg were then
+put into a board, which made it almost impossible for
+him either to walk, or sit, or stand. His poor back must
+have ached terribly; and while one man dragged him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>
+along by a chain, another held a whip to urge him
+forward.</p>
+
+<p>"And he had never committed the robbery after all,
+but gave himself up in place of his father, a man named
+Wang-Yangsui, who was really the culprit."</p>
+
+<p>Tears were in Sybil's eyes as she listened.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/i-091.png" width="450" height="422" alt="POOR OLD WANG-YANGSUI IN THE CAGE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">POOR OLD WANG-YANGSUI IN THE CAGE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"And he suffered all that?" she said.</p>
+
+<p>"Sons have been known to allow themselves to be
+transported to save their parents, and then only to have
+felt that they did their duty."</p>
+
+<p>"And in this case was the real culprit ever found
+out?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes; the father, moved with compassion for his
+boy, gave himself up."</p>
+
+<p>"And did they not let him off," Leonard asked, "as
+the son had suffered so much for him?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; they put him into a cage in which were holes
+for his head and feet, but in which he could neither sit
+down nor stand upright. Round the cage was an inscription
+relating the nature of his crime."</p>
+
+<p>"How long was he left there?"</p>
+
+<p>"That I was not able to hear, but the day he was
+incarcerated I saw his daughter feeding him with chop-sticks.
+These, which consist of two sticks that people
+hold in the same hand wherewith to feed themselves,
+instead of knives and forks, the Chinese always use when
+they eat. She must have found it difficult to get to
+him, as she was carrying a basket, as well as a baby on her
+back, for she had small feet, and women with small feet
+cannot walk any distance, even without a load at all. It
+is not the rule for lower class girls to have their feet
+made small, though in some cases it is done. This
+woman had once been better off."</p>
+
+<p>"Why do Chinese ladies have small feet?" Leonard
+asked.</p>
+
+<p>"But, father," Sybil put in, "please tell us first
+what became of that poor old man. I am so sorry he
+stole."</p>
+
+<p>"I heard that great poverty had tempted him to do
+so, but that he afterwards bitterly repented of the crime
+which he had committed. How long he remained in the
+cage I was never able to ascertain; but I really think
+now that we must close our 'Peep-show' for to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"After we've heard about the small feet ladies,
+father. I think you have just time for that."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"The feet of Chinese women would be no smaller
+than, perhaps not as small as, other women's feet, were
+they not compressed."</p>
+
+<p>"What does that mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Made smaller by being pressed."</p>
+
+<p>"How painful it must be!"</p>
+
+<p>"So it is. When very young, a little girl's foot is
+tightly bandaged round, the end of the bandage being first
+laid on the inside of the foot, then carried round the toes,
+under the foot, and round the heel till the toes are
+drawn over the sole, in which an indentation becomes
+made and the instep swells out. After a time the
+foot is soaked in hot water, when some of the toes will
+occasionally drop off. Every time the bandage is taken
+away another is put on, and tied more tightly. For the
+first year there is, as we can imagine, dreadful pain,
+but after two years the foot will become dead and cease
+to ache. You can therefore understand that it is very
+uncomfortable for Chinese ladies to walk, and if they
+go any distance they are carried on the backs of their
+female slaves."</p>
+
+<p>"Are all Chinese parents so silly as to have their
+little girls' feet bandaged?"</p>
+
+<p>"A few are strong-minded enough to break through
+the rule, and all the Tartar ladies have natural feet.
+Anti-foot-binding societies have now been formed by
+the Chinese gentry in Canton and Amoy."</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder what made people first think of doing
+this?" Sybil said.</p>
+
+<p>"Some people think that it was first done to
+help husbands to keep their wives at home; others
+say that it was to copy an Empress who had a deformed
+foot which she bandaged; but whatever the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>
+reason may have been, we cannot but wish very, very
+strongly, that the cruel custom might be soon completely
+done away with!"</p>
+
+<p>"I shall like to see the ladies being carried on their
+slaves' backs," Leonard said. "That will be fun!"</p>
+
+<p>"You will soon see it now," was his father's answer,
+"for we have been six weeks at sea, and the captain says
+we may expect to be at Shanghai in another ten days'
+time, so I think I had better not tell you any more, and
+let you find out the rest for yourselves."</p>
+
+<p>"I think we might have just one more 'Peep-show,'"
+Sybil replied, "and hear how we get our tea-leaves.
+I think we ought to know about that before we
+arrive."</p>
+
+<p>The missionary smiled, and the next time his children
+wanted a "Peep-show" very much, only a very little
+persuasion was required to make him sit down between
+them and let them have it.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/i-094.png" width="300" height="219" alt="Small feet" title="" />
+</div>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-095a.png" width="500" height="189" alt="Landscape" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>THE MERCHANT SHOWMAN.</div>
+
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 285px;">
+<img src="images/i-095b.png" width="285" height="244" alt="Man sitting" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 100px;">
+<img src="images/i-095c-wq.png" width="100" height="70" alt="&quot;W" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'>ELL, so it is to be about
+tea to-day," Mr. Graham
+at once began. "Supposing
+I do not know anything
+about it, though; what are we to
+do then? I know tea comes from
+an evergreen plant, something
+like a myrtle, but
+that isn't much information,
+is it? Wait a
+minute, though, children," he then went on, "and you
+shall have a proper lesson to-day." And as he spoke
+Mr. Graham disappeared, soon to return with a fellow
+passenger, a tea merchant, who would be the kind
+"show-man" for to-day.</div>
+
+<p>"How far did you get?" he asked, as he sat amongst
+the group of father, mother, and children, for Mrs.
+Graham had also come to "the show" to-day.</p>
+
+<p>"That tea was an evergreen plant, something like the
+myrtle," Sybil said, laughing; and all laughed with her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-096.png" width="500" height="402" alt="GATHERING TEA-LEAVES." title="" />
+<span class="caption">GATHERING TEA-LEAVES.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 445px;">
+<img src="images/i-097.png" width="445" height="600" alt="SIFTING TEA." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SIFTING TEA.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Then I have it all to do, it seems. Well, the tea-plant
+yields a crop after it has been planted three years,
+and there are three gatherings during the year: one in
+the middle of April, the second at midsummer, and the
+third in August and September. I suppose it will do
+if we begin here. The plant requires very careful plucking,
+only one leaf being allowed to be gathered at a time;
+and then a tree must never be plucked too bare.
+Women and children, who are generally, though not
+always, the tea gatherers, are obliged to wash their hands
+before they begin their work, and have to understand
+that it is the medium-sized leaves which they have to pick,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>
+leaving the larger ones to gather the dew. When the
+baskets are full, into which the leaves have been dropped,
+they are carried away hanging to a bamboo slung across
+the shoulders, which is a very usual way of carrying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>
+things in China. The tea-plant is the most important
+vegetable production of the 'Flowery Land.' But as there
+are, you know, several kinds of tea, I think I had better
+tell you how that called Congou, which, I suppose, you
+generally drink yourselves, is prepared. The leaves are
+first spread out in the air to dry, after which they are
+trodden by labourers, so that any moisture remaining in
+them, after they have been exposed to the air or sun, may
+be pressed out; after this they are again heaped
+together, and covered for the night with cloths. In this
+state they remain all night, when a strange thing happens
+to them, spontaneous heating changing the green leaves
+to black or brown. They are now more fragrant and
+the taste has changed.</p>
+
+<p>"The next process is to twist and crumple the leaves,
+by rubbing them between the palms of the hands. In
+this crumpled state they are again put in the sun, or if
+the day be wet, or the sky threatening, they are baked
+over a charcoal fire.</p>
+
+<p>"Leaves, arranged in a sieve, are placed in the middle
+of a basket-frame, over a grate in which are hot embers of
+charcoal. After some one has so stirred the leaves that they
+have all become heated alike, they are ready to be sold
+to proprietors of tea-hongs in the towns, when the proprietor
+has the leaves again put over the fire and sifted.</p>
+
+<p>"After this, women and girls separate all the bad
+leaves and stems from the good ones; sitting, in order to
+do so, with baskets of leaves before them, and very carefully
+picking out with both their hands all the bad leaves
+and stems that the sieve has not got rid of. The light
+and useless leaves are then divided from those that are
+heavy and good, when the good are put into boxes lined
+with paper."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What is scented Caper Tea?" Mr Graham asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father! I am so glad that there's something you
+have to ask," Leonard said, "as you seemed to know
+<i>everything</i>."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/i-099.png" width="450" height="447" alt="SORTING TEA." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SORTING TEA.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"The leaves of scented Orange Pekoe," the merchant
+answered, "obtain their fragrance by being mixed with
+the flowers of the Arabian jessamine, and when scented
+enough, they are separated from the flowers by sieves.
+Scented Caper Tea is made from some of the leaves of
+this Orange Pekoe.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 390px;">
+<img src="images/i-100.png" width="390" height="500" alt="PRESSING BAGS OF TEA." title="" />
+<span class="caption">PRESSING BAGS OF TEA.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 394px;">
+<img src="images/i-101.png" width="394" height="500" alt="TEA-TASTING." title="" />
+<span class="caption">TEA-TASTING.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Those leaves which are prepared at Canton are
+black or brown, with a slight tinge of yellow or green.
+The tea-leaves growing on an extensive range of hills
+in the district of Hokshan are often forwarded to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
+Canton, where they are made into caper in the following
+manner. But I wonder if Leonard knows what
+'shan' means?" the merchant interrupted. He did,
+for he had seen in his geography that "shan" meant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
+mountain. "A tea-hong," the merchant continued,
+"is furnished with many pans, into which seventeen
+or eighteen handfuls of leaves are put. These are
+moistened with water, and stirred up by the hand. As
+soon as they are soft they are put into coarse bags,
+which, tightly fastened, look like large balls.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 417px;">
+<img src="images/i-102.png" width="417" height="500" alt="WEIGHING TEA." title="" />
+<span class="caption">WEIGHING TEA.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"These bags are moved backwards and forwards
+on the floor by men holding on to wooden poles, and
+standing upon them. In each bag the leaves take the
+form of pellets, or capers.</p>
+
+<p>"The coarse leaves, gathered from finer ones, thus
+made into Caper, after being well fired, are put into
+wooden troughs, and chopped into several pieces, and
+it is these pieces which become the tea which we call
+Caper."</p>
+
+<p>"Thank you very much," said Mr. Graham. "I did
+not know anything of this."</p>
+
+<p>"Tea-merchants are most particular, before buying
+and selling tea, to taste it and to test its quality.</p>
+
+<p>"And before it is shipped away it is also very carefully
+weighed, when I myself, I know, for instance, sit
+by, watching the process, and taking account of the
+result."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose tea isn't ever sent about in wheel-barrows?"
+then said Leonard, who liked very much
+indeed the idea of wheel-barrows with sails up, such as
+he had heard about.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-104.png" width="600" height="388" alt="GOING TO MARKET." title="" />
+<span class="caption">GOING TO MARKET.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I never saw it," was the merchant's reply; "but if
+you are interested in wheel-barrows, you might like to
+hear about one that I once saw in China. It was conveying
+not only goods, and the scales wherewith to
+weigh them, to market, but the family also to whom the
+goods belonged. The family party made a great impression
+upon me. The master of the barrow was pushing
+it from behind, a donkey was pulling it in front, and on
+the donkey rode a boy; a woman and two children
+were driven in the wheel-barrow, besides the goods for
+market. I thought the man and donkey must have a
+heavy load between them, but both seemed to work most<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>
+cheerfully and willingly; and a sail in the centre of
+the wheel-barrow, gathering the full force of the wind,
+must have been a great help to them.</p>
+
+<p>"The donkey was guided by no reins, only by the
+voice of the boy on his back, who carried a stick, but had
+no occasion to use it, although every now and then he just
+raised it in the air. Sometimes the boy ran beside the
+donkey. Anyhow suited the willing little beast, who
+was as anxious as his master to do his best. A dog
+completed the number of the party.</p>
+
+<p>"The man told me that he was truly fond of this
+dog, and gave him 'plenty chow-chow' (plenty to eat), and
+that he considered he owed all his wealth to him, as he
+had once come to the house, and had since then remained
+with the family.</p>
+
+<p>"A strange dog coming to, and remaining at, a house
+is looked upon by the Chinese as bringing good luck to
+the family, but a strange cat coming is a bad omen."</p>
+
+<p>The children laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"This man certainly treated his dog very well, as do
+some few of his countrymen; but, alas! alas! so many
+poor little faithful dogs in China, as in other countries,
+lead anything but happy lives!"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i-105.png" width="400" height="173" alt="Landscape" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-106a.png" width="500" height="236" alt="On river" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>LITTLE CHU AND WOO-URH.</div>
+
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 316px;">
+<img src="images/i-106b.png" width="316" height="350" alt="Decoration: Palm tree" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 54px;">
+<img src="images/i-106c-n.png" width="54" height="70" alt="N" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'>O more story
+Peep-shows of
+what might be
+seen in China, no more
+wondering what the
+Celestials would be like,
+for Sybil and Leonard
+had now landed on
+Chinese soil, and
+were themselves at
+Shanghai, face to
+face with its inhabitants.</div>
+
+<p>Shanghai seemed,
+and was, a very
+busy place, but not a town of very great importance in
+itself, owing, really, its recent prosperity to having
+opened its port to foreign commerce. The custom-house,
+through which the Grahams' boxes had to be passed,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
+struck the children as a very strange and beautiful
+building, quite different from anything that they had
+seen before; and there was a great noise of chattering
+going on outside, which sounded most unintelligible.
+Coolies were carrying bales of silk and tea to and fro;
+there were also, ready at hand, some of the sedan-chairs
+that Sybil had longed to see, and everywhere "pig-tails,"
+or cues, as they were called, seemed to meet
+Leonard's gaze.</p>
+
+<p>But the ships! Watching them was what he enjoyed
+better than anything else. The town of Shanghai
+is situated on the River Woosung, a tributary of the
+Yangtse-kiang, just at that point where it joins the
+great river, and about one hundred ships were
+anchored before this busy, commercial city. Many
+families resident there have their junks and a little
+home on the river. There were some very pretty
+buildings to be seen at Shanghai, and at one of these
+our little party stayed&mdash;on a visit to another missionary
+from the Church of England&mdash;for the three
+days that they remained there.</p>
+
+<p>At some cities and towns, on the banks of rivers,
+floating hotels are to be seen; and as people generally
+have to travel by water, and the Chinese are not allowed
+to keep open their city-gates after nine o'clock at night,
+these hotels prove very useful to those arriving too
+late to enter the city. Lighted with lanterns, they look
+very pretty floating on the water, and both Sybil and
+Leonard were very pleased to be taken over a large
+floating hotel before they left Shanghai. Leonard was
+very anxious to know how long this town had been open
+to foreign commerce, and was told since the Opium
+War, which lasted from 1840 to 1842, when the British,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>
+having occupied several Chinese cities, and having
+captured Chinkiang in Hoopeh, were advancing to
+Nanking, and the Chinese suing for peace, a treaty
+was concluded which opened the ports of Amoy, Foochow,
+Shanghai, and Ningpo, in addition to Canton, to
+the British, who were henceforward to appoint consuls
+to live in these towns.</p>
+
+<p>The Chinese are very polite to foreigners in Shanghai;
+and as the kind missionary who bade the Grahams
+welcome to his home endeavoured, during their short
+stay, to interest and show them sights, they enjoyed
+themselves very much. Sybil and Leonard could not help
+noticing how very many people they met in spectacles,
+but they were told that the Chinese suffer very much
+from ophthalmia, and that when they wear spectacles,
+some of which are very large, they often have sore
+eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"There is one thing I cannot understand the Chinese
+doing," Leonard said one day to Sybil: "and that is,
+everybody that we have seen, as yet, spoiling their tea
+by not taking any milk or sugar in it; and father says
+all the Chinese drink tea like that, and call milk white
+blood, and only use it in medicine."</p>
+
+<p>"Tea like that would not suit us," Sybil answered,
+"as we like plenty of both milk and sugar; but I dare
+say they think we spoil our tea by putting such things
+into it."</p>
+
+<p>A visit to some rice-fields, a little sight-seeing,
+a little more watching of ships carrying rice and other
+products away, and then it was time for the Grahams
+once more to take their seats on board.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-109.png" width="600" height="397" alt="THE CUSTOM-HOUSE, SHANGHAI." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE CUSTOM-HOUSE, SHANGHAI.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>We can imagine how both children strained their
+eyes, as they steamed farther and farther away from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>
+Shanghai, to see what that port looked like in the
+distance, and how Sybil examined her map as they
+left the province of Kiang-su, to see at what port, and
+in what province, they would next touch.</p>
+
+<p>This was Ningpo, in Che-kiang, but they did not
+land here; neither did they go on shore at their next
+halting-place, Foochow, in the province of Fu-kien.
+It was at Amoy, in the same province, where their
+father had a missionary friend, who had invited them
+to pay him a few days' or a week's visit, as would suit
+them best, that they next purposed landing, and this
+they did about four days after they left Shanghai.</p>
+
+<p>"Whoever thought," Sybil said one day on board,
+"that we should actually be on the Yellow Sea ourselves?
+It seems almost too good to be true now."</p>
+
+<p>"I never knew people like to stare more at anybody
+than they seem to like to stare at us here," Leonard
+thought to himself when first at Amoy.</p>
+
+<p>He and Sybil were then being very carefully observed
+by a group of natives of that place, but Leonard
+had yet to become accustomed to being stared at in
+China.</p>
+
+<p>"And, father," he said later, "I wonder why so
+many of them wear turbans? I did not notice people
+doing this at Shanghai."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-111.png" width="600" height="407" alt="A FLOATING HOTEL AT SHANGHAI." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A FLOATING HOTEL AT SHANGHAI.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Mr. Graham did not know the reason of this
+either; but he and Leonard were later informed
+that the men of Amoy adopted the turban to hide
+the tail when they were made to wear it by
+their conquerors, and that they never gave it up.
+Leonard was also told that they were good soldiers,
+which, he said, he thought they looked. One thing
+remarkable about the people of Amoy was that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>
+different families seemed to consist almost entirely of
+boys. A great many of the inhabitants were very
+poor, living crowded together in dirty houses very
+barely furnished. Mrs. Graham had not to be long
+in China to discover that cleanliness is not a Chinese
+virtue. Sybil bought some very pretty artificial flowers
+of some of the inhabitants of Amoy, which they had
+themselves made. They manufactured them principally,
+she heard, to be placed on graves.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-112.png" width="500" height="172" alt="THE PORT OF SHANGHAI." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE PORT OF SHANGHAI.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Like other Chinese, these people were very superstitious.
+Here and there large blocks of granite were to
+be met with, which were regarded by them with reverence,
+and looked upon as good divinities. On one the
+Grahams saw inscriptions, which related some history of
+the place.</p>
+
+<p>Granite seemed to abound here, for the temples and
+monasteries were, for the most part, erected on the
+heights between rocks of this description.</p>
+
+<p>Two days after reaching Amoy, Sybil was dreadfully
+distressed, and shocked, to see a little girl
+named Chu, of eleven years old, put up for sale by her
+own parents. At ten dollars (&pound;1) only was she valued;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>
+and for this paltry sum the parents were ready to sell
+her to any one who would bid it for her. They were
+very poor, and could not afford to keep her any longer.
+She had four sisters and only two brothers; the youngest
+of all, the baby, was to be drowned by her father, later
+on in the day, in a tub of water. They had never done
+anything like this before: this man and woman had
+never killed a child, although they had had five girls,
+and many of their neighbours had thought nothing of
+destroying most of their daughters so soon as they were
+born; but now, as the man was ill, and able to earn so
+little, they had resolved to rid themselves of two of them
+that day. If the baby lived, the mother comforted herself
+by saying, she must be sold later, or grow up in
+poverty and misery.</p>
+
+<p>Parents think it very necessary that their children
+should marry, and sometimes sell, or give them away,
+to their friends, when they are quite little, to be the
+future wives of the sons of their new owners.</p>
+
+<p>If sold, they will then fetch about two dollars for
+every year that they have lived; so a child of five years
+old would fetch ten dollars; and this little girl, put up
+for sale, was now eleven years old; therefore she was
+being offered, poor little thing, below half price. And
+some little girls of Amoy have been even offered for
+sale for a few pence!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-114.png" width="600" height="380" alt="A FAMILY OF AMOY." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A FAMILY OF AMOY.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 276px;">
+<img src="images/i-115.png" width="276" height="400" alt="THE MISSIONARY&#39;S TEACHER." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE MISSIONARY&#39;S TEACHER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It seemed incomprehensible to Sybil, as it must to
+us, that a mother could wish either to kill or to sell
+her little child, but neither the one nor the other
+event is uncommon in some parts of China, where the
+parent is poor; and even amongst the well-to-do
+classes little girls are sometimes put to death, if the
+parents have more daughters than they care to rear,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
+not only at Amoy, but at other places in the neighbourhood;
+and even Chinese ladies will sometimes have
+their poor little daughters put to death.</p>
+
+<p>"Why do people not kill their boys too?" Sybil
+asked, when she heard all about this.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>"Because when they grow up they can earn money
+that girls could not earn; and not only can they help to
+support their parents when old, but they can worship
+their ancestral tablets and keep up the family name."</p>
+
+<p>"I am sure a girl would do this too."</p>
+
+<p>"Her doing so would be considered of little use."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-116.png" width="600" height="327" alt="A VIEW OF AMOY, WITH A BLOCK OF GRANITE IN THE FOREGROUND." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A VIEW OF AMOY, WITH A BLOCK OF GRANITE IN THE FOREGROUND.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It seemed that the very day before Mr. Graham<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
+arrived in Amoy, a widow lady there had had her little
+baby girl destroyed, and then, in her widow's dress,
+had sat down quietly to talk matters over with her
+sister-in-law, who thought that she had acted very
+wisely. Killing a daughter, in China, is hardly looked
+upon as being sinful. A widow's mourning consists of
+all white and a band round the head, white being
+Chinese deepest mourning.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i-117.png" width="400" height="397" alt="LADIES OF AMOY." title="" />
+<span class="caption">LADIES OF AMOY.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 353px;">
+<img src="images/i-118.png" width="353" height="450" alt="LITTLE CHU." title="" />
+<span class="caption">LITTLE CHU.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Whilst Mr. Graham stood by, a purchaser for little
+Chu stepped forward, holding the ten dollars in his hand;
+but the missionary was before him, and through a teacher,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>
+whom he had already been able to engage, offered the
+father twice that sum not to sell the little girl at all, but
+to let him have her for a servant. He hesitated, as
+though he would rather sell his child right off to any
+Chinaman than trust her to a foreign "barbarian."
+But the sum tempted him; and although he could not
+understand how receiving it did not give Chu altogether
+to her purchaser, he seemed to be contented, especially
+when the teacher explained that she would not be a slave,
+but would be paid for what work she did. Little Chu
+was well off to have stepped into so happy a service, and
+the baby was rescued also. A certain sum was to be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
+paid weekly to the father, towards her support, until he
+recovered his health, if he would only spare her; and both
+parents, who really fondly loved their children, were
+very glad to spare their baby, fifth girl though she was.
+Her name was Woo-Urh, which means fifth girl.</p>
+
+<p>It did not take long to have little Chu tidily dressed,
+with money that her new master supplied, and her poor
+mother, who had some beads stowed away, now looked
+them out and also put these on her. Chu was only
+eleven years old, but poverty and care had given the little
+one an old expression beyond her years. Chinese children
+of from ten to sixteen years of age&mdash;about which
+time they are supposed to marry&mdash;have a fringe cut over
+their foreheads, and Chu wore this fringe now. It has
+to grow again before they marry.</p>
+
+<p>That evening Chu was sent round to Mr. Graham's
+brother missionary's house, where, as Sybil's little maid,
+she was housed for the two or three days longer that they
+would spend at Amoy; and though Chu had come to live
+with foreigners, in the family of a "barbarian," as her
+father thought, we can well imagine that she had never
+been so happy in her life. Mr. Graham had told her
+parents that when they reached Hong-Kong he should
+send her to the mission school.</p>
+
+<p>"And the father would have killed the baby himself!"
+said Sybil. "How could he have done so?"</p>
+
+<p>"That is the marvel; but it is generally the fathers
+who commit the deed; other people might be punished
+if they interfered."</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+
+<div><img src="images/i-120a1.png" width="600" height="441" alt="Decoration" title="" class="splitlt" />
+<img src="images/i-120a2.png" width="247" height="168" alt="Decoration" title="" class="splitlb" />
+</div>
+<div class='chapternumber2'><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />CHAPTER VII.<br /><br /></div>
+
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>LEONARD'S EXPLOIT IN FORMOSA.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 58px;">
+<img src="images/i-120b-a.png" width="58" height="71" alt="A" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'>BOUT the middle of November,
+eleven weeks
+after Mr. Graham and
+his family had left England, they arrived in the
+beautiful island of Formosa, whither they had crossed
+over from Amoy.</div>
+
+<p>Three more persons were now added to the travelling
+party&mdash;the teacher, a Chinese maid, and little Chu, the
+latter having already begun to show herself really
+useful.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/i-121.png" width="450" height="450" alt="ENTRANCE TO THE PORT OF TAKOW." title="" />
+<span class="caption">ENTRANCE TO THE PORT OF TAKOW.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>There is but little fun in travelling, and one does
+not see half there is to be seen unless one climbs; and
+as the Grahams were all bent on having fun and seeing
+as much as they could, on reaching the port of Takow,
+in Formosa, they ascended a very high mountain,
+called Monkey Mountain, because it is the home of very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
+many monkeys, and they were rewarded by having, from
+its height, a capital view of the entrance to the port.
+To the front of the mountain were some European
+houses, belonging to English merchants from Amoy.
+The port of Takow is a very difficult one at which to
+anchor, and is closed for commerce during six months of
+the year, whilst the wind is blowing in an adverse direction;
+but when the wind and tide are favourable, barks
+pass between some rocks at the entrance to the port. It
+is only at the north that the water is deep enough<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>
+for merchant-ships to pass by. Here Leonard saw men
+fishing quite differently from what he had ever seen
+people fish before; and as they walked in the water
+behind their nets, which they seemed to manage very
+cleverly, he wished so much that he could have been
+there with them.</p>
+
+<p>Takow is one of the four ports in Formosa which,
+through treaties, have been thrown open to foreign trade,
+the others being those of Kelung, Tamsui, and Taiwan-fu.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-122.png" width="500" height="178" alt="THE EXTREME NORTH OF TAKOW." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE EXTREME NORTH OF TAKOW.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Formosa, as its name implies, is a very lovely,
+picturesque island, and the Spaniards, who first made it
+known to Europeans, named it "Isla Formosa," which,
+in their language, means "beautiful island." Takow
+seemed to abound in tropical vegetation, palm-trees
+being very conspicuous. The gong, used everywhere in
+China, was much in use here also; and as in other places
+men carried things by balancing them across their
+shoulders, so also they did here. But as Mr. Graham's
+special object in coming to this island was to visit
+Poahbi, the first centre of the population of a tribe
+of aborigines, whom the Chinese have named Pepohoans,
+or strangers of the plain, he moved on thither<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>
+as quickly as he could. The country through which
+they now passed was very beautiful, palm-trees and
+bamboos overshadowing the way.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i-123.png" width="400" height="402" alt="FISHERMEN OF TAKOW." title="" />
+<span class="caption">FISHERMEN OF TAKOW.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Although it was the month of November, the
+weather was hot here, and women, wearing white calico
+dresses, were hard at work in the fields. Many of
+the women of Formosa had compressed feet, and most
+of the children wore charms round their necks.</p>
+
+<p>The Pepohoans used to live in fertile plains, but
+when greedy and grasping Chinese drove them from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>
+the rich and beautiful lands that were then theirs, and
+had belonged to their ancestors before them, they took
+shelter, and made themselves homes, in mountain fastnesses.</p>
+
+<p>Sybil and Leonard were charmed with the people of
+Poahbi, and thought both their faces and manners very
+pretty. Although some of the people stared at the
+foreigners, and laughed at them, many wished to make
+them welcome in their midst. One woman gave them
+shelter for the night&mdash;a very kind-hearted woman, with
+a dear little baby, and a very clean and comfortable
+home. She was a Christian.</p>
+
+<p>At Poahbi Mr. Graham saw a little Christian chapel,
+which the natives had not only built, but which they
+also kept up, themselves. Pepohoans are good builders,
+and do also much work in the fields. They have a
+most affectionate remembrance of the Dutch, who were
+once their masters, but who were afterwards expelled
+from Formosa by a Chinese pirate.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-125.png" width="600" height="344" alt="VIEW OF TAKOW, A TOWN IN FORMOSA." title="" />
+<span class="caption">VIEW OF TAKOW, A TOWN IN FORMOSA.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The huts, or bamboo cottages, of the Pepohoans,
+raised on terraces three or four feet high, looked very
+picturesque, and consisted first of a framework of
+bamboo, through which crossbars of reeds were run;
+the whole being thickly covered over with clay. The
+houses were afterwards whitened with lime. A barrier
+of prickly stems extended round the huts, throwing
+a shade over them, whilst these dwellings often had for
+roofing a thatch of dried leaves. Most things in Formosa
+were made of bamboo, such as tables, chairs, beds,
+pails, rice-measures, jars, hats, pipes, chop-sticks, goblets,
+paper, and pens. Many of the Pepohoans' habitations
+were built on three sides of a four-cornered spot,
+with a yard in the centre, where the families sometimes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>
+passed their evenings together. The natives assembled
+here, in numbers, at about nine o'clock, where they
+made a fire when it was cold. Old and young people
+here often formed a circle on the ground, sitting
+together with their arms crossed, smoking, and talking.
+It was not unusual for dogs also to surround them.
+These people were fond of singing, but played no musical
+instruments. Sybil said, directly she saw them, that
+they were just the sort of people she liked, but this was
+before she heard that they ate serpents and rats. The
+women had a quantity of hair, which they wound round
+their heads like crowns. None of them painted their
+faces. Some of the men were very badly dressed. All
+Pepohoans seemed to have very beautiful black eyes. In
+the different villages the inhabitants were different, and
+where they had most contact with the Chinese they dressed
+better, but were less affable. They seemed to be a
+very honest race.</p>
+
+<p>The Pepohoans are subject to the Chinese Government.
+Some of them, like the Chinese, have been ruined
+by opium. The aborigines, consisting of different
+tribes, talk different dialects. The people of one tribe,
+the most savage of all, are very warlike, and think nothing
+of killing and eating their Chinese neighbours when
+they get the chance to do so; therefore, they are held
+in great terror. Sybil and Leonard would not have liked
+to have visited this tribe, for they also hate Europeans.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 349px;">
+<img src="images/i-127.png" width="349" height="600" alt="MOUNTAINEERS OF FORMOSA." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MOUNTAINEERS OF FORMOSA.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>There was a grandness of beauty in this island of
+Formosa which could not fail, more and more, to charm
+Mrs. Graham, and many a pretty sketch did she here
+make, both for herself and for Sybil's letters. Sybil
+also liked being here very much; "but if she had only
+seen," Leonard said, what he and his father saw one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
+day, when they went for a ramble through the mountains,
+whilst Sybil was helping her mother to sketch by
+keeping her company, and making clever little attempts
+at sketching herself, "she would want to be off that
+very moment."</p>
+
+<p>There were caverns in Formosa, and they were walking
+along, exploring some, Leonard some little way in front
+of Mr. Graham, the teacher, and a native guide, who followed
+a few yards behind, when the English boy suddenly
+caught sight of two huge, yellow serpents twined round
+the branch of an overhanging tree. No one but Leonard
+was near enough to see them, and as the first creature
+stretched its dreadful-looking head out, hissing towards
+him, the brave, self-possessed little fellow, who held a
+stick in his hand, struck his deadly foe with it with all
+his might, and hit and aimed so well that he had the
+satisfaction, the next moment, of seeing the serpent roll
+over and over down the rock. But then the further one
+(which, although rather smaller than the other, measured
+about six feet) wound, in a moment, its wriggling body
+round the branch of the tree, stretching its head out
+almost within reach of Leonard, when the boy-guide and
+Mr. Graham, the same instant, came upon the spot. The
+boy, accustomed to such encounters, at once dealt the
+snake a blow, that caused it to lose its balance, and
+thus all were able to pass on their way in thankfulness
+and safety.</p>
+
+<p>When Sybil heard of the adventure she was very
+proud of her little brother; but, as he had imagined
+when she heard that Formosa was inhabited by serpents,
+she was glad also to think that it was settled for
+them to leave that island for Swatow in two days' time.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-129.png" width="600" height="373" alt="PEPOHOANS AND THEIR HUT." title="" />
+<span class="caption">PEPOHOANS AND THEIR HUT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>That evening was spent very pleasantly comparing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span>
+notes of adventure with an English gentleman, who had
+been in Formosa for some time, and now called upon
+Mr. Graham and his family, who were staying at the
+consul's. He had seen and done a good deal, he said,
+but he spoke very highly of Leonard's brave exploit.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i-130.png" width="400" height="376" alt="HUT OF ONE OF THE SAVAGE TRIBES." title="" />
+<span class="caption">HUT OF ONE OF THE SAVAGE TRIBES.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the course of his wanderings, he told them, he had
+visited the village of Lalung, which is situated on the
+narrowest part of a large river. During the rainy season
+the waters would here rise and cover a vast bed, opening
+out a new passage across the land, and flowing away
+towards the eastern plain. Great mountain heights<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
+surrounded the bed of the river, and the violence of the
+torrent carried away very large quantities of all sorts of
+rubbish, which the sea would collect, and deposit, along
+the eastern coast. Mr. Hardy explained to Leonard how
+this would account for the port of Tha&iuml;-ouan disappearing,
+and that of Takow forming lower down.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 425px;">
+<img src="images/i-131.png" width="425" height="500" alt="SERPENTS OF FORMOSA." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SERPENTS OF FORMOSA.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-132.png" width="600" height="377" alt="THE BED OF THE RIVER LALUNG DURING THE DRY SEASON." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE BED OF THE RIVER LALUNG DURING THE DRY SEASON.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Formosa," he continued, "shows very plainly how
+the violence of waters can quite transform the physical
+aspect of a country."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Hardy then told them that he, with a guide, had
+once visited the bed of the river of Lalung, during the
+dry season, as an explorer, when he had taken off his boots
+and socks, so as to be able to walk wherever he chose,
+and fathom the depth of the water in different parts.</p>
+
+<p>How Leonard wished he had been with him on this occasion,
+which seemed to him a regular voyage of discovery!</p>
+
+<p>Two days later, as arranged, the Grahams made sail
+for Swatow. In crossing the channel, which separates
+the island from the mainland, Leonard, as usual, had
+some questions to ask.</p>
+
+<p>"What made the Chinese call Formosa Tai-wan?"</p>
+
+<p>"Because that word means the terraced harbour."</p>
+
+<p>"The east coast hasn't a harbour at all, has it?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; mountains are on the east, and to the west
+are flat and fertile plains, and all the ports."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose you know, Sybil, that there are some
+wild beasts in Formosa?" Leonard went on.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I heard Mr. Hardy say so: leopards, tigers,
+and wolves."</p>
+
+<p>"I think it's my turn to ask a question now," Mrs.
+Graham said. "I wonder if you and Sybil can tell
+me what grows principally in Formosa?"</p>
+
+<p>"Rice," Sybil began, "sugar, wheat, beans, tea,
+coffee, pepper."</p>
+
+<p>"Cotton, tobacco, silk, oranges, peaches, and
+plums," Leonard ended. "We saw most of these
+things growing ourselves, so we ought to know."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; and flax, indigo, camphor, and many fruits
+that you have not mentioned."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"The Chinese part of the island, I suppose, belongs
+to Fukien?" Sybil said, "as it is painted the same colour
+on my map."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes."</p>
+
+<p>What religion had the aborigines? she then wanted
+to know.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Graham answered this question by telling her
+that he believed they had no priesthood at all.</p>
+
+<p>"What a pity it is," Sybil said, "that a number of
+missionaries could not be sent out there. I do so like
+the Pepohoans!"</p>
+
+<p>"How long is it now since the Dutch were driven
+away?" Leonard asked. "And how long were they in
+Formosa?"</p>
+
+<p>"About 1634 the Dutch took possession of the
+island, and built several forts, but a Chinese pirate
+drove them out in 1662, and made himself king of the
+western part. In 1683 his descendants submitted to the
+authority of the Chinese Emperor, to whom they are now
+tributary. The Chinese colonists, however, often rebel."</p>
+
+<p>"People have not known very long, have they, that
+the island of Formosa is important?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; only since about 1852."</p>
+
+<p>"About how many inhabitants has Tha&iuml;-ouan, the
+capital?" Leonard asked.</p>
+
+<p>"I should think about 70,000, but it is now decreasing
+in population."</p>
+
+<p>"How much you know, father," Sybil said. "I
+wish I knew all you did!"</p>
+
+<p>"I am afraid that is not very much; but if you
+notice things that you come across, and try to remember
+what you hear and what you read, you will soon gain
+plenty of knowledge and useful information."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-135.png" width="600" height="360" alt="SWATOW." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SWATOW.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I wonder what Swatow is like?" Leonard then said;
+but he had not long to wait to find out, for a week after
+leaving Formosa they landed at Swatow, the port of
+Chaou-Chou-foo, in the province of Kwang-tung, where
+once again, for a fortnight, they were made very
+welcome: this time by some friends of the missionary
+with whom they had stayed at Amoy.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 359px;">
+<img src="images/i-136.png" width="359" height="400" alt="E-CHUNG." title="" />
+<span class="caption">E-CHUNG.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Their home, for the present, was very prettily
+situated on a range of low hills. Many pieces of granite
+were scattered about on the summit of these hills, as
+they were about Amoy, which some people say have
+been caused to appear through volcanic irruptions.
+On them also were Chinese inscriptions. Leonard
+was delighted because the Chinese teacher cut his name<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>
+on one of these pieces of granite. The houses of Swatow
+were built with a kind of mortar, made of China clay,
+and attached to some of them were very pretty gardens.</p>
+
+<p>In front of the Consulate, which was a very large
+building, was a flag-staff, with a flag flying.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 355px;">
+<img src="images/i-137.png" width="355" height="400" alt="WOMAN OF SWATOW." title="" />
+<span class="caption">WOMAN OF SWATOW.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The ceilings of the house, in which the Grahams
+stayed, was painted with flowers and birds, and some of
+the windows were also painted so as to look like open
+fans. The Chinese are fond of decorating their rooms
+and painting their ornaments, and the people of
+Swatow seemed to be better painters than the
+Chinese; but they kept their pictures hidden, only a
+very few of them producing any to show our friends.
+The people of Swatow are also noted for fan-painting.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Sybil thought some of the women of Swatow rather
+nice-looking, but, like other ladies of the "Flowery Land,"
+they had a wonderful way of dressing their hair. One
+woman, Leonard declared, had hers done to represent a
+large shell. A young lady, to whom Sybil was introduced,
+had the thickest hair that she had ever seen.
+She and other Chinese girls wore it hanging down their
+backs in twists. She was just fifteen, and Sybil was
+told that she was going to be married in about a year's
+time, so she would soon have to begin to let her fringe
+grow. She was the daughter of a rich man, and had
+such pretty, dark eyes.</p>
+
+<p>Round a girl's and woman's head, or to fasten up
+her back hair, ornaments are generally worn. E-Chung
+wore rather a large one round her head. Sybil was
+allowed to spend an afternoon, and take some tea, with
+this young lady, but they could not talk much together.
+E-Chung knew, and spoke, a little of what is called
+pidgin, or business English, because many business, or
+shop, people and those who mix most with the English,
+speak this strange language to them; but Sybil could
+understand hardly any of it. Before E-Chung heard
+that Sybil had a brother, she said to her, "You one
+piecee chilo?" meaning to ask if she were the only
+child. Then she was trying to describe somebody to
+Sybil whose appearance did not please her, so she made
+an ugly grimace and said, "That number one ugly man
+all-same so fashion," meaning "just like this." Another
+time she meant to ask Sybil if she were not very rich,
+so she said, "You can muchee money?"</p>
+
+<p>The hair down Sybil's back was such a contrast to
+her friend's, as was also her rather pale complexion.
+E-Chung wished very much to enamel Sybil's face, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>
+she did her own, and could not understand why she
+should so persistently refuse to have it done.</p>
+
+<p>Chinese ladies seldom do without their rouge, and
+often keep their amahs, or maids, from three to four
+hours at a time doing their hair.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 260px;">
+<img src="images/i-139.png" width="260" height="350" alt="SYBIL." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SYBIL.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-140a.png" width="500" height="227" alt="Decoration: Boats on the water" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>THE BOAT POPULATION.</div>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 66px;">
+<img src="images/i-140b-m.png" width="66" height="71" alt="M" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'>R. GRAHAM had thought of visiting Chaou-chou,
+a very fertile city on the river Han, but
+was advised not to do so, as foreigners are
+disliked by its inhabitants; and he was therefore told
+that they might have cause to regret going thither.
+It used not to be an uncommon thing for these people
+to greet an Englishman with a shower of stones.
+People have tried to establish an English consulate
+there, but have not succeeded, although the city is open
+to foreign commerce; and Jui Lin, the late viceroy of
+Canton, succeeded in making people in the neighbourhood
+much more orderly.</div>
+
+<p>A very large bridge crosses the Han River at this
+place, a picture of which the teacher had, and showed to
+the children. It is made of stone, and composed of
+many arches, or rather square gateways, under which
+ships pass to and fro. On the bridge, on each side of
+the causeway, are houses and shops.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-141.png" width="600" height="335" alt="THE BRIDGE OF CHAOU CHOU." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE BRIDGE OF CHAOU CHOU.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I should not care much to live in them," said
+Leonard.</p>
+
+<p>Nor would the teacher, he replied; for they did
+not look, and were not supposed to be, at all safe.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 444px;">
+<img src="images/i-142.png" width="444" height="450" alt="ARCH OF THE BRIDGE OF CHAOU-CHOU." title="" />
+<span class="caption">ARCH OF THE BRIDGE OF CHAOU-CHOU.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Two pieces of wood are suspended between the
+arches, which the inhabitants take up in the day-time
+and let down at night, to prevent, as they say, evil
+spirits passing under their homes and playing them
+tricks.</p>
+
+<p>It was a very happy fortnight that was spent at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
+Swatow, and Sybil was sorry to leave this port to go on
+to Hong-Kong. Somehow, although they were not
+going to settle down now, and had still Macao and
+Canton to visit, it seemed like bringing the end nearer&mdash;going
+much nearer to it, when they went to Hong-Kong
+even for a few days, for there her parents were to
+be left behind when she and Leonard returned to
+England. This English colony, the little island of
+Hong-Kong, about eight miles in length, is separated
+from the mainland by a very narrow strait, in the midst
+of a number of small islands.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/i-143.png" width="450" height="446" alt="CHINESE BOAT-CHILDREN." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHINESE BOAT-CHILDREN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Bishop of Hong-Kong had kindly invited Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
+Graham and his family to stay at his residence, St. Paul's
+College, during the few days that they now remained
+at Hong-Kong, before continuing their tour and returning
+to settle down, and the kind invitation had
+been gladly and gratefully accepted.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 480px;">
+<img src="images/i-144.png" width="480" height="500" alt="CHAIR-MEN OF HONG-KONG." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHAIR-MEN OF HONG-KONG.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The missionary's party landed in a boat, or rather, in
+a floating house, for the people to whom it belonged lived
+here, and it was their only home.</p>
+
+<p>The children had heard that there were so many<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>
+inhabitants in China that for very many of them there was
+no house accommodation, and that these lived in boats,
+and were called the boat population; and Leonard was
+delighted to be travelling in one of these house-boats himself,
+and seeing the homes of the boat people. Their very
+little children were tied to doors, and other parts of the
+boat, by long ropes. Those who were three or four years
+old had floats round their backs, so that if they fell overboard
+they would not sink, and their parents could jump
+in after them. Most care seemed to be taken of the
+boys. Instead of being dedicated to "Mother," boat-children,
+soon after they are born, are dedicated to Kow-wong,
+or Nine Kings, and for three days and nights before
+they marry, which ceremony takes place in the middle
+of the night, Taouist priests chant prayers to the Kow-wong.</p>
+
+<p>The boats in which live the Taouist priests, for the
+boat population, are called Nam-Mo-Teng. These are
+anchored in certain parts, that the priests may be sent
+for when needed. Their boats look partly like temples,
+and have altars and idols, also incense burning within
+them. The names of the priests who live there, and the
+rites they perform, are written up in the boats. The
+boat people can have everything they require without
+going on shore at all. There are even river barbers and
+policemen, which latter are very necessary, considering
+that there are so many pirates.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 363px;">
+<img src="images/i-146.png" width="363" height="500" alt="A PORTRAIT-PAINTER OF HONG-KONG." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A PORTRAIT-PAINTER OF HONG-KONG.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It seemed strange to Sybil and Leonard to
+think that boat-children never went on shore, might
+never do so, and would even marry on board their
+boat homes; but it did not seem at all strange to
+the little children themselves, who played about
+on board quite as happily as did children on shore.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>
+They looked strong, and seemed to be fond of one
+another. One woman going along was very angry
+with one of her children, and for a punishment
+threw him into the water, but he had a float on his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span>
+back, and was quickly brought back again. These
+women often carry their children on their backs, but this
+is a most usual way of carrying children in China, both
+amongst the land and water people.</p>
+
+<p>Sybil had already often had her wish fulfilled, of
+travelling in sedan-chairs, and as that is the regular mode
+of travelling in Hong-Kong, directly they arrived here
+coolies were to be seen, standing and sitting, on the pier
+beside their chairs, waiting for a fare. Very eager they
+seemed to be to secure either people or their baggage.
+And Sybil liked being borne along in these chairs even
+better than she had expected.</p>
+
+<p>The sedans were made of bamboo, covered with oil-cloth,
+and carried on long poles. A great many sedan-chair-bearers
+have no fixed homes, living day and night
+in the open air, and buying their food at stalls on the road.
+They take care to keep their chairs in very good condition,
+ready to hire out whenever they are needed. Leonard
+was charmed with his bearers. They spoke such funny
+pigeon English to him, and made him wonder why they
+would put "ee" to the end of so many of their words.
+When Leonard once wished to speak to his father, who was
+on in front, and succeeded in making his bearers understand
+this, one of them said "My no can catchee." They
+admired the boy very much, and wanted to persuade
+him to let them carry him one day to a "handsome face-taking-man,"
+but he could not understand at all, at
+first, that they wanted him to let them carry him
+somewhere to have his portrait taken. "My likee,"
+one said, pointing to Leonard's face, "welly much."
+The Chinese do not paint pictures very well, and sometimes,
+instead of a brush, will use their fingers and
+nails.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-148.png" width="600" height="392" alt="VIEW OF HONG-KONG." title="" />
+<span class="caption">VIEW OF HONG-KONG.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The chair-men called Leonard "Captain" several
+times, which seemed to be a common way of addressing
+strange "gentlemen."</p>
+
+<p>They then asked him how Mr. Turner was, but he
+shook his head to show that he knew nobody of this name.
+They either did not understand or believe him.</p>
+
+<p>"He hab got London-side," they explained.</p>
+
+<p>Thinking that if he tacked a double "e" on to all
+his words he would be speaking the language they
+talked so much, he said "No-ee know-ee," and shook
+his head again. I think it was the expression on his
+face, and the shake of his head, which made them
+understand at last what he wished to say to them.</p>
+
+<p>It seems that the natives of Hong-Kong, as well as
+other parts of China, think that every Englishman
+must know every other Englishman; having, indeed,
+such very small ideas of our important country, that
+they really think our wealth consists in our possessing
+Hong-Kong.</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 363px;">
+<img src="images/i-150.png" width="363" height="600" alt="THE CLOCK TOWER, HONG-KONG." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE CLOCK TOWER, HONG-KONG.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The first view that the Grahams had of this little
+island was a chain of mountains rising in the background
+to lofty peaks, and diminishing as they approached
+the sea into small hills and steep rocks. Not
+so very long ago, Sybil was told, Hong-Kong used to be
+a deserted island, though it now contained flower-gardens,
+orchards, woods, large trees, beautiful grass slopes,
+and very many buildings. The English town of
+Victoria was built along the sea-coast. As Hong-Kong
+belongs to Great Britain, the Government here was, of
+course, English; there were Christian temples, as well
+as Buddhist, and many European edifices were conspicuous
+in the Chinese streets. Then there were also
+large European club-houses, and, best of all, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>
+Cathedral. The sea-shore stretched round towards a
+very beautiful port, which opened out to the west by a
+pass called Lyce-moun, and to the east by the Lama
+Pass.</p>
+
+<p>"I do think, do you know, Leonard," Sybil said, as
+she wished her brother "Good-night" the evening after
+they had arrived at Hong-Kong, "that China is rather
+a 'Flowery Land' after all. I do not think I shall ever
+forget Formosa, at all events."</p>
+
+<p>"We have seen pretty sights since we came to
+China," Leonard said, agreeing with his sister.</p>
+
+<p>The next day Sybil and he were taken into the
+Queen's Road, which crossed the town from west to
+east, to the right of which was a regular labyrinth of
+streets, some leading into very fine roads. In one
+part of Hong-Kong nothing but shops and houses
+of business were to be seen. One of its principal
+ornaments was the tall clock-tower, which made even
+high trees beside it look quite small.</p>
+
+<p>The most ancient houses of the colony are in a
+street that leads to the clock-tower, and close by it is
+also the hotel of Hong-Kong. Into this Sybil and
+Leonard were taken to have some tiffin, or lunch,
+whilst their sedans and bearers waited for them not far
+off, under some trees.</p>
+
+<p>Leonard took a good view afterwards of a man in a
+turban whom they passed, because, as he was so important
+a person as a policeman, he thought Sybil
+might like to describe him in one of her letters, and she
+might perhaps forget what he was like.</p>
+
+<p>Sybil had, as yet, only written one of her promised
+letters, but this had been full of news, and had told of
+rides in sedan-chairs, little Chu and Woo-urh, and all sorts<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>
+of things; and before they moved on to Macao, she had
+determined to write another letter, and tell of Leonard
+saving himself from the serpent, and what they saw in
+Hong-Kong. This seemed to be a very busy place.
+Steamers were always either coming or going; and here,
+too, telegrams were constantly arriving. Besides English
+merchants, Chinese, American, French, German, Hindoo
+merchants, and others also traded with the little island,
+and shared what wealth she had. Hong-Kong is very
+English-looking, compared with other places in China,
+and the people are not only governed by English
+laws, but their crimes are tried by English judges.
+But even at Canton, Shanghai, and other ports where
+the English have settlements, they now claim, and have
+a voice in trials for crime. It is only because Hong-Kong
+belongs to the English that telegraph-wires are to
+be found there, as the Chinese will not have them anywhere
+else, because they think that they would offend
+the ghosts, or spirits, of the places through which they
+would pass. For the same reason also the Chinese have
+hardly any railroads. Even children could easily
+recognise here the introduction of English ways and
+manners.</p>
+
+<p>Lily Keith was very fond of shopping, therefore in
+her next letter Sybil not only gave an account of
+Leonard's bravery, of which she was really more
+proud than Leonard himself, but also described a visit
+that she had paid to some shops.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We went to some of the best of all the shops in
+Hong-Kong to-day," she wrote, "and as we were going
+into the door of one, the proprietor came to meet us.
+Father said he was a merchant. He spoke English, and
+was very grandly dressed in silk, and wore worked shoes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>
+His shopmen also wore very handsome clothes, and
+served us standing behind beautifully polished counters.
+In one part of the shop were all kinds of silk materials,
+and some stuff called grass-matting. We went down-stairs
+to see furniture and beautiful porcelain. The
+principal curiosities had come from Canton, so I suppose
+when we get there we shall find still better things; and
+in Canton people paint on that pretty rice paper. Across
+the road were meat, fish, vegetable, and puppy-dog
+shops. Yes, the Chinese do eat dogs: in some shops in
+Hong-Kong we have seen a number for sale; and they
+eat cats and rats too. We could tell a shop in which
+clothes were sold some little distance off, because an
+imitation jacket, or something of that sort, was hung up
+outside, as well as the long sign-boards, which told what
+kind of shops they were. Leonard says I am to tell
+you that a policeman was outside. He always knows
+policemen now by turbans that they wear, and they
+often hold a little cane in their hands; and on the pathway
+a man sat, wearing a hat just like one of those
+funny-looking things, with a point, that we wore for fun
+sometimes in the garden. There are no windows to the
+shops.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 357px;">
+<img src="images/i-154.png" width="357" height="600" alt="TEMPLE OF KWAN-YIN." title="" />
+<span class="caption">TEMPLE OF KWAN-YIN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Oh! but some of the Chinese do believe such
+strange things. The other day our amah told Leonard
+and me to chatter our teeth three times and blow. We
+could not understand what she meant us to do until she
+did it first. We had heard a crow caw, so she thought
+if we did not do this afterwards we should be very
+unlucky. The other day a coolie fell down and broke a
+number of things. He had not to replace any of them,
+but the master had to buy all the things again because
+it was fine weather. If it had been dirty and slippery,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>
+the boy must have bought them. None of us could
+understand the meaning of this till it was explained
+to us. If it had been a slippery day, the boy ought to have
+taken care, and it would have been very careless of him
+to fall; but if he did so in fine weather, some god must
+have made him slip, they think, and therefore he could
+not help it. The heathen Chinese have such a number
+of gods and goddesses.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 392px;">
+<img src="images/i-156.png" width="392" height="600" alt="A SHADOW-SHOW." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A SHADOW-SHOW.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The other day we passed the Temple of Kwan-Yin,
+the goddess of mercy. The Hong-Kong people
+think an immense deal of her, and her temple is in such
+a pretty place, with many trees round it. She is a
+Buddhist divinity. A number of beggars were outside
+begging, and they nearly always get something here.
+Very many Chinese beggars are blind, and there are
+also lepers in China. Barriers were put up to keep
+visitors, who were not wanted, such as evil spirits, from
+going in. People say that evil spirits only care to go
+through a straight way, and never trouble to go anywhere
+in a crooked direction. Over the doorway were
+some characters, which father's teacher has written out
+for me. They were, being read from right to left,
+backwards: 'Te&euml;n How Kov Meaou,' and signify,
+'The Ancient Temple of the Queen of Heaven.' Tien-How
+is the goddess of sailors, and often called 'The
+Queen of Heaven.' To the right was a doctor's
+shop, where prescriptions were sold to the priests;
+and to the left an old priest was selling little tapers
+which the worshippers were to burn. We looked in
+for a few moments, and saw people kneeling down
+and asking the goddess to cure their sick friends.
+She was seated at the end of the temple, behind an
+altar, on which were bronze vases, candles, and lighted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>
+sticks of incense. A gong was outside, and on the walls
+of the temple were different representations of acts of
+mercy that the goddess was supposed to have performed.
+On the roof were dragons. The dragon is the Chinese
+god of rain.</p>
+
+<p>"Leonard says I am to tell you that some of
+the Celestials thought once that he was going to beat
+them because he carried a walking-stick. Chinamen,
+excepting policemen and mandarins, are only allowed
+to carry them when they grow old.</p>
+
+<p>"We saw a very strange sort of show the other day,
+called a shadow-show. A man, inside a kind of Punch
+and Judy house, made, with the help of a lantern, all sorts
+of figures, or rather, shadows, appear on the top of the
+Punch and Judy. It looked so strange, but Leonard
+said he thought the people looking at it were stranger
+still, what with the hats they wore and the funny way
+they did their hair. He declared one woman had horns.
+I never saw such pretty lanterns as the Chinese have.
+Father says that on the fifteenth day of their first month
+(which is not always the same, as their New Year's
+Day, like our Easter, is a movable feast regulated by
+the moon) there is a feast of lanterns, when all people,
+both on land and on the water, hang up most beautiful
+lamps, some being made to look like animals, balls of
+fire, or even like Kwan-Yin herself holding a child.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it not strange New Year's Day next year will be
+on the twenty-ninth of January, and in 1882 on
+February eighteenth?</p>
+
+<p>"I seem to have ever so much more to tell you, but
+I am too tired now to write it. I am glad you liked
+mother's pictures that I sent last time. I could only
+write that one short letter in Formosa. We are going<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>
+on to Macao (it is pronounced Macow) the day after
+to-morrow, then we stay at Canton, and then come
+back here. It will be so dreadful when that time
+comes, but I try not to think about it. Dear mother
+does sometimes, I can see. We all went to the
+Cathedral on Sunday.</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+<span style="margin-right: 2em;">"I hope I shall soon have a long letter from you.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-right: 9em;">"Believe me, dear Lily,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-right: 4em;">"Always your affectionate friend,</span><br />
+"<span class="smcap">Sybil Graham</span>.<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>"<i>Hong-Kong, December, 1880.</i>"</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i-158.png" width="400" height="220" alt="Decoration: House with columns" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i-159a.png" width="400" height="126" alt="Decoration: Bridge" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER IX.</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>AT CANTON.</div>
+
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 189px;">
+<img src="images/i-159b.png" width="189" height="225" alt="Decoration: Boat on water" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 58px;">
+<img src="images/i-120b-a.png" width="58" height="71" alt="A" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'> &nbsp; PASSENGER-BOAT conveyed
+our little travellers,
+and their parents, in three
+days, from Hong-Kong to Macao,
+a pretty little sea-side place at
+the entrance of the Bocca Tigris,
+a little gulf, to the head of which
+is the city of Canton.</div>
+
+<p>Macao was not as full now as
+it had been during the summer months, when many
+people resort thither from Canton for change of air
+and to enjoy the fresh sea-breezes. A beautiful walk,
+called the Grand Parade, surrounds its picturesque bay.</p>
+
+<p>As Macao belongs to the Portuguese, a great many
+of the inhabitants speak that language.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. and Mrs. Graham and their children stayed,
+whilst at Macao, at the Grand Hotel, which was situated
+on the Parade, where was also a very pretty jetty, on
+which Sybil and Leonard liked very much to walk.
+Here, again, the houses were painted. In a pretty
+street close by the Grand Parade, protected on both
+sides by walls, the Grahams were shown houses whose<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>
+windows used to have barriers of iron. These houses,
+they were told, were a kind of prison, called Emigration
+Agencies, but where in reality poor coolies were kept for
+sale. This traffic had, happily, now been done away
+with.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the houses in Macao seemed to be painted
+all colours, and many of the windows were bordered
+with red, the favourite colour. Most of the houses
+could boast of large rooms. Not very much commerce
+seemed to be carried on here. Leonard was one day
+taken to pay the European troops a visit in their
+garrison.</p>
+
+<p>At four o'clock in the afternoon many people walked
+upon the Parade. Most of the Christians here were
+Roman Catholics, which was natural, considering that
+the place belonged to the Portuguese. Bells, calling
+people to church, rang two or three times a day, and
+these, and the bugle-call from the garrison, were the
+principal sounds heard. It was interesting to visit
+Macao, because here, in its quiet prettiness, the poet
+Camoens, when banished, spent some of his lonely
+years, and wrote a great part of his epic poem
+"Lusiad;" and here also a French painter, named
+Chinnery, had produced some of his pretty paintings
+and sketches. Sybil was old enough to care about
+such things, and to find both pleasure and interest
+in visiting any places once made memorable by the
+footprints left there of either good or great men; and
+when she had heard the poet's story, she was very sorry
+for him!</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;">
+<img src="images/i-161.png" width="500" height="341" alt="MACAO." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MACAO.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Camoens, who was the epic poet of Portugal, was
+born in Lisbon in 1524. An epic poet is one who
+writes narratives, or stories, which often relate heroic<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>
+deeds. When banished by royal authority to Santarem,
+Camoens joined the expedition of John III. against
+Morocco, and lost his right eye in an engagement
+with the Moors in the Straits of Gibraltar. People
+in Lisbon, who would not admire his poetry, now
+thought nothing of his bravery. Sad and disappointed,
+he went to India in 1553; but being offended by what
+he saw the Portuguese authorities doing in India, he
+wrote a satire about them, called "Follies in India,"
+and made fun of the Viceroy. For doing this, he was
+banished to Macao in 1556, where he lived for six
+years, writing "The Lusiad." On being recalled, he
+was shipwrecked, and lost everything that he had in
+the world but this epic poem, which he held in one hand
+above the waves, while he swam to shore with the other;
+and after suffering many misfortunes, he arrived in Lisbon
+in 1569, possessed of nothing else. He dedicated his
+poem to the young king Sebastian, who allowed him to
+stay at the court, and gave him a pension. But when
+Sebastian died he had nothing at all, and a faithful
+Indian servant begged for him in the streets. At last
+he died in the hospital at Lisbon, in 1579. Sixteen years
+later Camoens was appreciated, and people hunted for his
+grave, to erect a monument to his memory, but had
+much difficulty even in finding it.</p>
+
+<p>The "Lusiad" celebrates the chief events in
+Portugal's history, and has been called "a gallery of
+epic pictures, in which all the great achievements of
+Portuguese heroism are represented." The poem has
+been translated into English, French, Italian, Spanish,
+German, and Polish.</p>
+
+<p>After a short, but pleasant, stay at Macao, the
+Grahams went on to Canton.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"The last place but one," Sybil could not help
+whispering to Leonard on board. "When we next
+arrive&mdash;" she went on, but tears starting into her eyes
+seemed to drown the rest of the sentence. However,
+as some very happy weeks had yet to be passed at
+Canton, neither she nor we must anticipate. A long
+visit of two months was to be spent here at the residence
+of a personal friend of Mr. Graham, the English
+consul of the place.</p>
+
+<p>A servant was stationed on the steps leading round
+to the Consulate, or Yamen, to await the arrival of
+Mr. and Mrs. Graham and their children.</p>
+
+<p>This house was situated on a height, and occupied
+the site of an ancient palace. It consisted of a suite of
+buildings, surrounded on one side by a pretty garden,
+and on the other by a park, in which deer grazed.
+Both Sybil and Leonard thought the deer very pretty;
+and quite near to the Yamen was a pagoda of nine
+storeys, which the Emperor Wong-Ti, who reigned about
+the middle of the sixteenth century, is supposed first to
+have constructed.</p>
+
+<p>"How little," Sybil and Leonard said to one
+another, "we ever thought, when we examined our
+little ornamental pagodas at home, that we should ever
+live quite near to a real one!"</p>
+
+<p>A story relating to this pagoda, being told to
+Leonard, interested him a good deal.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 354px;">
+<img src="images/i-164.png" width="354" height="600" alt="THE ENGLISH CONSULATE AT CANTON." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE ENGLISH CONSULATE AT CANTON.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In 1859 some English sailors climbed up the old
+building, which was then in so tottering a condition
+that it was a really perilous ascent, and when they
+reached the top the Chinese were dreadfully angry, for
+two reasons: first, because they looked upon it as
+sacrilege; and secondly, because from the height the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>
+sailors could look down upon their houses, and the
+Chinese dislike very much indeed to be overlooked,
+especially by "barbarians."</p>
+
+<p>The consul and Leonard were soon very good friends,
+and the elder friend very kindly did not weary of
+answering questions put to him by the little boy.</p>
+
+<p>"Why is your house called a yamen?"</p>
+
+<p>"This word means the same as does consulate, the
+official residence of the consul."</p>
+
+<p>"What are you here for?"</p>
+
+<p>The consul smiled. "To protect your interests and
+those, commercial and otherwise, of every English citizen
+resident here."</p>
+
+<p>"Who is that Jui-Lin of whom you have a picture?
+and is he alive now?"</p>
+
+<p>"He died a few years ago, and was viceroy of
+Canton. He made so good a governor that those
+provinces over which he ruled generally prospered
+under his administration. It is in a great measure
+through his influence that peaceable relations have,
+for some time, been established between China and
+foreign countries. The Emperor Tau-Kwang, who
+came to the throne in 1820, thought so well of him
+that he made him one of his ministers. Later he became
+general of the Tartar garrison at Canton, and soon
+after he was made viceroy. He established order in
+a very troublesome district, where he made the clan
+villagers at last acknowledge some authority, and
+so put the people and their property in much greater
+security."</p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 368px;">
+<img src="images/i-166.png" width="368" height="600" alt="JUI-LIN, LATE VICEROY OF CANTON." title="" />
+<span class="caption">JUI-LIN, LATE VICEROY OF CANTON.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Leonard said Canton was the place for him, for here
+he saw ships and fishing to perfection. In Canton alone,
+the consul told him, it was estimated that 300,000<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span>
+persons had their homes on the water. One Canton
+boat-woman, in whose passenger-boat they travelled,
+said that her husband went on shore during the day to
+work, whilst she looked after the passengers; but he
+seemed to be rather an exception, for most of the boat
+population never went on shore at all, and as people on
+land go to market to buy vegetables and other food, so
+everything in this line, that they required, was brought,
+by boat, to them. Then, besides boats, there were floating
+islands, on which people lived, and these consisted
+of rafts of bamboos fastened together, with a thick bed of
+vegetable soil covering the rafts. Here the owners set
+up houses, cultivated rice-fields, and kept tame cattle
+and hogs. Swallows and pigeons here built their nests
+in pretty surrounding gardens. Sails were put up on
+the houses, and oars were often used to propel the
+islands along. Women worked them frequently, with
+their babies fastened to their backs; and little boys and
+girls would here also play together, having smaller
+brothers and sisters thus attached to them. These floating
+islands, Sybil and Leonard were told, were to be
+seen on almost all Chinese lakes. Many floating
+houses were moored to one another.</p>
+
+<p>Sometimes the boat population made such a noise.
+They seemed a good-natured set of people, but every
+now and then they quarrelled, and this was done very
+noisily. Then if a storm came on, they would call
+out with fear. Those people who lived in river streets,
+where their houses were close against the river, often
+complained of the noise that they heard during the
+night. The boat population are often looked down
+upon by the Chinese who live on land, and may not
+go in for the literary examinations.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There were very many fishing villages about,
+and nothing made Leonard happier than to be taken
+to one or another of them; he was so fond of boats
+of all kinds. Fishing-boats in China had to obtain a
+license from Government. Some of these sailed two
+and two abreast, at a distance, from one another, of
+about three hundred feet, when a net was stretched
+from ship to ship to enclose the fish. Names cut in
+the boats had generally reference to good fortune. The
+name on one, which Leonard had interpreted for him,
+was "Good Success."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i-168.png" width="400" height="365" alt="CHINESE BOAT-WOMAN." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHINESE BOAT-WOMAN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 413px;">
+<img src="images/i-169.png" width="413" height="450" alt="A FISHING VILLAGE ON THE CANTON RIVER." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A FISHING VILLAGE ON THE CANTON RIVER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In fishing as well as in other villages men go
+about hawking things for sale, and carrying them, by
+ship, from one village to another. In the bows of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>
+fishing vessels are large pairs of shears, which can be
+either raised or lowered. A large dip-net, fastened to
+the shears, is drawn up after remaining some time in
+the water, when the fish it contains are emptied into
+a little hole in the middle of the ship, like a large
+cistern, into which fresh water flows. The fishermen
+anchor their boats, and then lower their dip-nets into
+the water by means of these shears, which are made
+of bamboo, and attached to wooden platforms, resting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span>
+on posts. Huts are sometimes erected near the dip-nets,
+so that the fishermen can shelter themselves from
+the hot sun. A great deal of fishing with birds called
+cormorants is also carried on in China, when one man
+will, perhaps, take out a hundred birds to fish for him,
+fastening something to their throats to prevent them
+from swallowing the fish when caught. As they return
+with them, they are given a little piece that they
+can swallow.</p>
+
+<p>After young fish are caught, they are fed with paste
+in the tanks, or wells, into which they are put,
+and when they grow older little ponds are made for
+them.</p>
+
+<p>Sybil and Leonard were taken very often on the
+Canton river in all kinds of boats, both large and
+small. In the stern of very many was an altar, concealed
+generally behind a sliding door, but which, night
+and morning, was drawn aside to admit the altar to
+view, and display the images of household gods that
+were upon it.</p>
+
+<p>Here were also small ancestral tablets, which were
+regularly worshipped, and offerings of fruit and flowers
+were constantly offered to the guardian god of the boat
+and the tablets when they were worshipped. Tien-How,
+Queen of Heaven, also called Ma-chu, and other names, is
+much worshipped by sailors, but each boat has its special
+guardian god. Incense is burnt night and morning at the
+bow of the boat. The Grahams very often travelled in a
+small ship called a sampan, which had a mat roofing
+over the centre, and was driven forward, very frequently
+by women, with two oars and a scull.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 418px;">
+<img src="images/i-171.png" width="418" height="500" alt="CHINESE FISHING." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHINESE FISHING.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"I have seen just the sort of thing for you to sketch,
+mother," Sybil said one day. Like her mother, she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>
+greatly admired what was beautiful, and now, with
+her fellow-excursionists, the consul, her father, and
+brother, returned home, from a ramble, very tired; "a
+dear little pagoda, seven storeys high, very near to the
+banks of the river, with mountains at the back and
+trees near to it, and a little village in the distance; and
+on the opposite side of the river we saw two men and a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span>
+boy: the boy seemed to have a kite, but we thought it
+belonged to one of the men, and he was just carrying it
+for him."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Graham sometimes did not feel equal to long
+expeditions, of which her children never grew tired, so
+then she would remain at home, or walk through the
+pretty gardens and park.</p>
+
+<p>The Canton, Chu-kiang, or Pearl River, has a great
+many names and branches. The great western branch
+is called Kan-kiang, the northern branch Pe-kiang,
+or Pearl River, and the eastern one Tong-kiang. On
+the western branch the children found themselves surrounded
+by lovely mountain scenery. From Canton to
+Whampoa it was called the Pearl River; from Whampoa
+to Bocca Tigris, or Tiger's Mouth, Foo-mon; and beyond
+Shek-moon towards Canton, the Covetous River. The
+passage to Macao was the Wild Goose River. It was
+some time before Sybil and Leonard could understand
+anything at all about these divisions.</p>
+
+<p>One day, on the Pearl River, they came to a very
+pretty spot, where the water was almost entirely land-locked
+by high ranges of hills, and here they asked to
+be allowed to remain stationary, for a little while, to look
+about them.</p>
+
+<p>Another day they went very far indeed with their
+father and mother, crossing the Fatchan River, where
+Leonard heard, with interest, that Commodore Keppel
+engaged in a memorable battle in 1857. The river
+divides the town of Fatchan into two equal parts. Then
+again they went so far that they could not even think
+of returning home the same day, and stayed the night
+on the road to a village called Wong-tong, which was
+very countrified and pretty.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i-173.png" width="400" height="325" alt="PAGODA ON THE BANKS OF THE CANTON RIVER." title="" />
+<span class="caption">PAGODA ON THE BANKS OF THE CANTON RIVER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>And once more they went&mdash;father, mother, and all&mdash;to
+a place quite different from anything that they had yet
+seen, which was the village of Polo-Hang. Here they
+found themselves in the midst of vast plains, on the outskirts
+of which were to be seen lovely-looking hills of
+limestone and rows of wonderfully-shaped mountains.
+Standing on one of these mountains, they had a capital
+view of the Temple of Polo-Hang and its surroundings,
+consisting of bare fields traversed by canals; and, at the
+foot of the mountains of thickets of bamboo, whose light,
+feathery branches swayed gently to and fro. Bamboo
+was very largely cultivated here, and Sybil thought it
+such a fairy-like growth. Must not this scene have
+been very lovely? Sybil was so glad that her mother<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>
+had come to see it. Then other hills appeared, covered
+with trees, and dotted here and there with temples.</p>
+
+<p>"Where <i>did</i> they all come from?" Leonard asked.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Graham was looking very serious. This was
+a scene calculated to leave a deep impression upon the
+beholders.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/i-174.png" width="450" height="417" alt="ON THE CANTON RIVER" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ON THE CANTON RIVER</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"From the hand of God," he said very quietly.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-175.png" width="600" height="361" alt="VILLAGE OF POLO-HANG IN CANTON." title="" />
+<span class="caption">VILLAGE OF POLO-HANG IN CANTON.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>A week later, Sybil wrote again to her friend.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot">
+<div class='right'>
+"<i>Canton, January, 1881.</i><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">My Dearest Lily</span>,&mdash;We saw such a strange sight
+yesterday; and we could not help liking to see it, although,
+of course, it was very dreadful. We went inside<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>
+a Buddhist temple at Canton. These temples are often
+called joss-houses; this one was the Temple of Five
+Hundred Gods. Fancy five hundred gods! and these
+idols were all there, arranged in different lines. They
+all seemed to look different, and some were dreadfully
+ugly. I saw beards on a few of their faces. In the
+part of the temple where, in a church, our altar would
+be, there was a terrible-looking thing: I suppose a very
+special god.</p>
+
+<p>"We saw one of the priests. He had his beads in
+one hand, and a fan in the other. Some of the priests
+are men who have committed great crimes, and have
+escaped to a monastery and had their heads shaved, so
+as not to be caught and punished.</p>
+
+<p>"Some of the idols were as large as if they were alive,
+and they had their arms in all sorts of different positions.
+Some held beads, and a few wore crowns; I think they
+were disciples of Buddha. The buildings of the temple,
+and the houses of the priests, were surrounded by lakes
+and gardens.</p>
+
+<p>"We have been able to get you a picture of part of
+the inside of the temple, so I send it to you; but
+Leonard says that he thinks as you'll have the picture
+(and he considers it a very good one) that you ought to
+know that this temple is said to have been founded
+about 520 years <span class="smcap">a.d</span>., and to have been rebuilt in 1755.
+Fancy people wasting prayers before these images!
+Isn't it a pity that they don't know better? There are
+more than 120 temples, or joss-houses, in Canton.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-177.png" width="600" height="372" alt="THE TEMPLE OF THE FIVE HUNDRED GODS, CANTON." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE TEMPLE OF THE FIVE HUNDRED GODS, CANTON.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Chinese never eat with knives and forks, but
+with chop-sticks. These are generally small square
+pieces of bamboo, as large as a penholder, which they
+hold between the thumb and first finger of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>
+right hand. I can't eat with them at all, nor can
+mother; and the other day, when she went out to
+lunch with some Chinese ladies, they sent for a knife
+and fork for her.</p>
+
+<p>"Chinese ladies in Canton never seem to be with
+their husbands in public, and they never walk in the
+streets with them. Some of them think us such
+barbarous people because we are so different from what
+they are.</p>
+
+<p>"The Chinese have such a funny way of paying
+formal visits, that I think I must tell you about it.
+They often go in sedan-chairs. Officers of the highest
+rank may have eight bearers, people of less rank have
+four, and ordinary people two. The state sedan-chair of
+an official is covered with green cloth, and the fringe on
+the roof and window-curtains has to be green too. So
+much seems to go by rank in China. For the first three
+ranks, the tips of poles may be of brass, in the form
+of a dragon's head; the fourth and fifth rank would
+have a lion's head. On the top of these chairs is a ball
+of tin. Leonard and I can tell the chairs very well now.
+Private gentlemen have blue cloth, and the ends of their
+poles are tipped with plain brass.</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-179.png" width="600" height="366" alt="AN OFFICIAL&#39;S PALANQUIN." title="" />
+<span class="caption">AN OFFICIAL&#39;S PALANQUIN.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Father says when an official calls upon another
+official in Peking, his servant sends in his visiting card.
+The official who is being called upon then sends out to
+know how his visitor is dressed, and if he hears that it
+is in full costume, he dresses himself in the same way,
+and then goes to the entrance of the house, and asks his
+visitor to get out of his carriage or chair, and come in.
+As they pass through a door of the gate, the gentleman,
+to whom the house belongs asks the visitor to go first,
+but he always says 'No' until he has been asked three<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>
+times, and then he walks first to the reception-hall, when
+the two stop again, and ask one another to go first.
+When they have come into the hall, father says, they
+kneel down, and knock their heads on the ground six
+times. This is performing the kow-tow. When they
+get up from this performance, the host arranges a chair
+for the other, and asks him to sit down, but he must not
+do this even till he has bowed again. I am sure I
+should forget when I had to make all these bows, and
+should be sure to do them at the wrong times.</p>
+
+<p>"After they have had a little talk, a servant is told
+to make some tea. I suppose the host would then say
+'Yam-cha' to the other, for this means 'Drink tea.'
+Before either gentleman drinks, both bow again, and
+soon afterwards the visitor gets up, and says, 'I want to
+take my leave.' They walk together to the grand
+entrance, but at every door-way the visitor has to bow,
+and ask his friend not to come any farther, although of
+course he must go, or it would not be polite. And then
+he stands at the entrance door till the carriage has
+driven off. The Chinese do bow so often, and little
+children have to do it too.</p>
+
+<p>"The consul told Leonard that when school-boys go
+to see their masters, they have to arrange the chair-cushions
+for their masters and themselves. The boy
+has to stand outside the visitor's hall till his master
+comes, and when he has been asked to go in, he gives
+him for a present a tael of silver, about 2s. 8d., which
+he holds up with both his hands. Then he looks towards
+the north, kneels, and knocks his head twice
+upon the ground, when the master bows. The boy
+asks how his teacher's parents are, who also asks after
+the boy's. He then invites his little guest to sit down;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>
+but every time the boy is asked a question by his
+teacher he has to stand up to answer it. When he
+leaves, he goes to the entrance door by himself. At
+school, the boys have to make a bow to the schoolmaster
+whenever they go in and out of the room.</p>
+
+<p>"You asked me in your letter if people have very
+many servants in China. Some have a very great
+number. Ordinary Chinese gentlemen might have a
+porter, two or three footmen, coolies for house-work,
+sedan-chair bearers, and a cook. Women servants are
+often bought by their masters. A rich man will have
+sometimes twenty or thirty slaves. People called 'go-betweens'
+generally buy them for the masters. We
+have very few servants of our own now, as we are on a
+visit. Mother's maid shows dear little Chu what to do.
+Female slaves attend upon the ladies and children, and
+we have often seen them carrying their mistresses with
+small feet. It does look so funny. In good families,
+father says, they are very well treated, but some maid-of-all-work
+slaves often run away because they are so
+unhappy.</p>
+
+<p>"Children are sometimes stolen to be slaves.
+Great-grandsons of slaves can buy their freedom. I am
+so glad I have my little Chu, because she cannot be
+bought or sold now: father made that agreement. I
+should not know nearly so much about the servants
+and slaves if I had not wanted to know what might
+have become of little Chu if we had not had her.
+Sometimes servants stand in the streets to be hired.</p>
+
+<p>"In a suburb of Canton, in a street called the Taiping
+Kai, we saw one morning a number of bricklayers,
+journeymen, and carpenters, waiting to be hired. The
+carpenters stand in a line on one side, and bricklayers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>
+on the other. Father said they had been there since
+five o'clock.</p>
+
+<p>"Another day we saw men carrying baskets, in which
+they were collecting every bit of paper they could
+find about the streets, which had been written upon.
+The Chinese have such respect for every little piece of
+paper, on which have been any Chinese characters,
+that they will not allow any parcels even to be wrapped
+up in them. When all these scraps have been collected,
+they are burnt in a furnace, and the ashes are put
+into baskets, carried in procession, and emptied into
+a stream. Slips of paper are pasted on walls, telling
+people to reverence lettered paper. Chinese characters are
+called 'eyes of the sage;' and some people think that if
+they are irreverent to the paper, they are so to the sages
+who invented them, and they will perhaps, for a punishment,
+be born blind in the next world.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 309px;">
+<img src="images/i-183.png" width="309" height="450" alt="WAITING TO BE HIRED." title="" />
+<span class="caption">WAITING TO BE HIRED.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Men become famous in China when they write
+very beautifully. They write with a brush and Indian
+ink. Father's teacher says there are three styles of
+writing Chinese characters, and that the literature of
+China is the first in Asia. A Chinaman writes from
+right to left, and all the writing consists of signs or
+characters. I cannot think how Chinese people understand
+either their writing or their conversation. One
+word will mean a number of things, and you know
+which word they mean by the sound of the voice
+and the stress on the word. Leonard asked the teacher
+one day what soldier was in Chinese, and he said,
+'ping;' but he also told him that 'ping' meant
+ice, pancake, and other words too. 'Fu' is father,
+and 'Mu' mother. They think we have no written
+language.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Canton is entered by twelve outer, and four inner,
+gates. The name means 'City of Perfection.' Leonard
+and I are now going for a walk, with father, to the
+Street of Apothecaries, and to-morrow we are to see a
+bridal procession.</p></div>
+
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"There are such a number of narrow streets in
+Canton, and religious worship is carried on in the
+open streets, in front of shrines; and before the
+shops lighted sticks, called 'joss-sticks,' are put at dawn
+and sunset. The natives live in the narrow streets.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span>
+Those in the <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'Europeon'">European</ins> settlement, where we are, are
+larger.</p>
+
+<p>"The ports, which are open to foreign commerce,
+have European parts where the European inhabitants
+live.</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+<span style="margin-right: 4em;">"Always your affectionate</span><br />
+"<span class="smcap">Sybil Graham</span>."<br />
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;">
+<img src="images/i-184.png" width="350" height="350" alt="A CHINESE WRITER " title="" />
+<span class="caption">A CHINESE WRITER </span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class='center'> <table class="river" summary="river">
+<tr><td align='left'><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />
+<br /><br /><br /><br />
+
+
+
+<h2><span style="margin-left: 12em;">CHAPTER X.</span></h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'><span style="margin-left: 15em;">A BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.</span></div>
+</td>
+</tr></table></div>
+
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 40px;">
+<img src="images/i-185b-t.png" width="40" height="69" alt="T" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'>HE Street of Apothecaries
+was no exception to the
+general rule that Sybil
+had laid down. It also was very narrow, and, like
+many other streets in Canton, was so covered over at
+the top that in walking through it the sun did not burn
+too fiercely, neither did the rain fall upon the passers-by.</div>
+
+<p>The shops opened right upon the street, which was
+very gay indeed with sign-boards. Just in front of
+the shops were granite counters, on which goods were
+shown to purchasers.</p>
+
+<p>Many of the sign-boards rested on granite pedestals.
+On one side of each shop was a little altar, dedicated to
+the god of wealth, or the god supposed to preside over
+the special trade carried on within. Every heathen
+Chinese merchant and shopkeeper has some little spot
+set apart for this worship, although all the shops have
+not an altar, but many only a piece of red paper pasted
+upon a wall, on which the characters meaning "god of
+wealth" are written, and before which incense and
+candles are burnt. Every day, as soon as the shop
+is opened, worship is paid to this divinity.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 332px;">
+<img src="images/i-186.png" width="332" height="600" alt="THE STREET OF APOTHECARIES, CANTON." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE STREET OF APOTHECARIES, CANTON.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The counters and shelves inside these hongs were
+very handsome. The accountant's desk was at the end
+of the hong, and here again the red colour was not
+absent, for the scales and weights of the shop were
+covered with cloth of that hue.</p>
+
+<p>Beggars (some miserably and scantily dressed) are
+very numerous in China, people making quite a
+profession of begging, when they visit shops in companies,
+and there make a great disturbance until they
+receive what they demand. These beggars are often
+governed by a head-man, who was really first appointed
+to rule over them by the mandarin, to save
+himself trouble. A head-man will sometimes make an
+agreement with a hong proprietor, that if he will pay
+a sum of money down beggars shall not molest him;
+and when he agrees to this, a notice on red paper,
+stating the arrangement made, is hung up in the shop,
+after which any native beggar applying for aid can be
+shown this, turned out of the hong, and upon refusing to
+go, he can be beaten. But unless such an arrangement
+has been made, beggars may neither be beaten nor
+turned out of a shop, whatever annoyance they may offer,
+unless they steal, or break some other law. Therefore
+it is that poor shop-keepers feel themselves bound to
+pay money in order to avoid such annoyance. When
+the head-man is paid a sum of money, he is supposed
+to divide it amongst his band.</p>
+
+<p>"I never heard such a shame!" Leonard exclaimed,
+when he saw one of these beggars very troublesome
+in the Street of Apothecaries, and heard the law with
+regard to them. "I wish I were a mandarin. I'd
+very soon put a stop to poor shop-keepers being so
+persecuted."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 180px;">
+<img src="images/i-188.png" width="180" height="550" alt="A BEGGAR." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A BEGGAR.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<p>That evening both
+Sybil and Leonard, feeling
+tired, went very early to
+bed, as they wanted to
+be up in very good time
+in the morning, so as to
+see the whole of the bridal
+procession, for the bridegroom
+sends very early
+indeed in the morning
+for his bride. The bridal-chair
+which he sends for
+her is often painted red.
+The one which the Grahams
+saw was of this
+colour, and over the door
+were also strips of red
+paper. Before the bride
+took her seat in the sedan,
+which was brought into
+the reception-room of her
+home for her, she having
+eaten nothing that morning,
+and having kow-towed
+very often to her
+parents, they covered her
+head and face with a thick
+veil, so that she could not
+be seen. The floor, from
+her room to the sedan, was
+covered with red carpet.
+When in the sedan, four
+bread-cakes were tossed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>
+into the air by one of the bridesmaids as an omen
+of good fortune. In front of the procession two
+men carried large lighted lanterns, having the family
+name of the bridegroom, cut in red paper, and pasted on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>
+them. Then came two men bearing the family name of
+the bride, who were, however, only to go part of the
+way. Other men followed, some carrying a large red
+umbrella, others torches, and again some playing a band
+of music. Near the bridal-chair brothers or friends of
+the bride walked. Half-way between the two houses
+the friends of the bridegroom met the bride, and as they
+approached the procession stopped.</p>
+<div class="figright" style="width: 314px;">
+<img src="images/i-189.png" width="314" height="500" alt="BRIDESMAIDS" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BRIDESMAIDS</span>
+</div>
+<p>The children were very much interested in watching
+what happened next. The bride's friends brought out a
+large red card, on which was written the bride's family
+name, and the other party produced a similar one, bearing
+that of the bridegroom. These were exchanged with
+bows. The two men at the head of the procession then
+walked, with their lanterns, between the sedan-chair and
+the lantern-bearers, who carried the bride's family name,
+and returned to their places in front, when the bride's
+party turned round and went back to her father's house,
+carrying home her family name, she being supposed to
+have now taken that of her husband. Even her
+brothers went back also, and then the band played a
+very lively air whilst the rest of the procession took her
+on.</p>
+
+<p>Fireworks were let off along the road, and a great
+many outside the bridegroom's door when the bride
+arrived. Her bridesmaids, who have to keep with her
+throughout the day, accompanied the procession.</p>
+
+<p>As the sedan-chair was taken into the reception-room,
+the torch-bearers and musicians stayed near the
+door, and where it was put down the floor was again
+covered with red carpet. The bridegroom then came
+and knocked at the bridal door, but a married woman
+and a little boy, holding a mirror, asked the bride to get<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>
+out. Her bridesmaids helped her to alight. The mirror
+was supposed to ward off evil influences.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 372px;">
+<img src="images/i-191.png" width="372" height="500" alt="BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM." title="" />
+<span class="caption">BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Sometimes, much for the same purpose, a bride is
+carried over a charcoal fire on a servant's back, but this<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>
+was not done on this occasion. All this time the bride's
+face was hidden by her veil. She was then taken into a
+room, where the bridegroom was waiting for her, and here
+they sat down together for a few minutes, without speaking
+a word. Sometimes the bridegroom sits on a high
+stool, while the bride throws herself down before him, to
+show that she considers man superior to woman.</p>
+
+<p>He then went into the reception-room, where he
+waited for his bride to come to worship his ancestral
+tablets with him. A table was put in front of the room,
+on which were two lighted candles and lighted incense.
+Two goblets, chop-sticks, white sugar-cocks, and other
+things were on the table, when the bride and bridegroom
+both knelt four times, bowing their heads towards the
+earth. This was called "worshipping heaven and earth."
+The ancestral tablets were on tables at the back, on
+which were also lighted candles and incense. Turning
+round towards the tablets, they worshipped them eight
+times, and then facing one another, they knelt four
+times.</p>
+
+<p>Wedding wine was now drunk, and the bride and
+bridegroom ate a small piece from the same sugar-cock,
+which was to make them agree.</p>
+
+<p>The thick veil was now taken off the bride, but her
+face was still partly hidden by strings of pearl hanging
+from a bridal coronet.</p>
+
+<p>It often happens that the bridegroom now sees his
+bride for the first time, the two fathers having perhaps
+planned the marriage, asked a fortune-teller's advice,
+sent go-betweens to make all the necessary arrangements,
+chosen a lucky day, without the bride or bridegroom
+having a voice in the matter. This was the case
+with the young couple, a great part of whose wedding<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>
+ceremony Sybil and Leonard had witnessed. Both
+Chinese boys and girls marry sometimes when they are
+sixteen years of age; these were very little older.</p>
+
+<p>Many other ceremonies had to take place, such
+as kneeling very often before the bridegroom's parents,
+when at last it was time for the bride's heavy outer
+garments to be taken off, together with her head-dress,
+so that her hair could be well arranged; but she was not
+allowed to eat anything at all at the wedding dinner.
+Indeed, on her wedding-day, she is hardly expected to
+touch food at all.</p>
+
+<p>Many people came in to see her, and on this day
+she must be quite natural, and wear no rouge at all.
+She has to stand up quietly to be looked at, blessed, and
+have remarks made upon her appearance. Presents are
+sent to the bridegroom's family. For three days the
+bride's parents send her food, as she may not, during
+that time, eat what her husband provides. In some
+districts of the province of Canton the bride leaves her
+husband, and goes home again for a time after she is
+married, but after marriage she is generally considered
+to belong almost entirely to her husband's family, in a
+wing of whose house she lives with him, and to whose
+parents she is supposed to help him to be filial. On
+many other days the ancestral tablets have to be
+worshipped by the bride and bridegroom, and amongst
+other gods and goddesses, those of the kitchen have
+adoration paid to them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-194.png" width="600" height="358" alt="AT A CHINESE FARM." title="" />
+<span class="caption">AT A CHINESE FARM.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><br /><div class='right'>
+"<i>Canton, February, 1881.</i><br />
+</div>
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">My Dearest Lily.</span>&mdash;Father took us to a lovely
+farm the other day" (Sybil wrote in another letter),
+"where we saw a little donkey, who was so well cared
+for that he seemed like one of the family. Leonard and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>
+I fed him for some time. We both thought that the
+farm-house was something like a Swiss cottage.
+Father said the walls were made of clay, and on these
+walls were scrolls, which were supposed to have power
+to keep the fox and wild cat away.</p>
+
+<p>"There were a few bullocks and cows here, but not
+many; their stalls were quite near to the house. We
+liked the village, to which we went, very much, and it
+was surrounded by high trees. Father says that the
+stables of the Chinese are like cart-sheds, but each
+stable has an altar in honour of the ruler of horses.
+In this city there is a large temple to this god.</p>
+
+<p>"We saw a number of bean, pea, rice, and cotton-fields,
+and had some sugar-cane given us to eat.
+Sugar-cane is grown in Canton, and we had some bean-curds
+to drink. We liked them very much. Mother
+says she was told that they were made in Canton overnight,
+and generally sold very early in the morning.
+The beans are ground to flour, which is strained, and
+then boiled slowly for an hour. I wonder if you would
+like it?</p>
+
+<p>"The Chinese are so fond of sugar-cane, and it grew
+in China before it grew anywhere else. Ever so many
+fruits and vegetables grow also in China, but there
+seem to be more rice-fields than any other. I will
+tell you a few of the vegetables: sweet potatoes, yams,
+tomatoes, cabbages, lettuces, turnips, and carrots; and
+some fruits are apricots, custard-apples, rose-apples,
+dates, oranges, pomegranates, melons, pumpkins, and
+ever so many others. Canton is in the tropics, but
+it is not hot here in the winter. There are such pretty
+water-lilies here, not only white, but also red and red-and-white.
+The Chinese look upon this lily as a sacred<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>
+plant. Some shop-keepers use the leaves, in which to
+wrap up things, instead of paper.</p>
+
+<p>"Chinese people do very funny things. Because they
+think that their birds sometimes like change of air,
+they carry their cages out of doors with them for a
+walk. But I do so wish that they did not eat dogs!
+You see them being sold in the shops, and in one district
+of Canton a fair is held, where they are regularly sold
+for food. Many people like black dogs best. At the
+beginning of summer nearly everybody eats dog's flesh,
+when a ceremony takes place. If people eat it, they
+think that it will keep them from being ill in the summer.
+I am glad, for that reason, that I shall not be
+here in June, as the dogs are cruelly beaten the day
+before they are killed. Fancy, poor little things! I
+suppose that is to bring luck too! And yet the Cantonese
+think that they displease the gods when they eat
+dog's flesh, and we have seen it written on Buddhist
+temples that people ought not to eat 'their faithful
+guardians.'</p>
+
+<p>"The Cantonese must not go into a temple to worship
+till they have been three whole days without eating
+any dog. One of the 'boys' here&mdash;he is a footman; but
+in China all these sort of people are called 'boys'&mdash;eats
+rats. He says he is getting bald, and if he eats them
+his hair will grow again. Horses are sometimes eaten
+too; and worms that spoil the rice-fields, father told me,
+are sent to the markets and sold to be eaten. Isn't that
+nasty? And a kind of swallow's nest is eaten even by
+ladies. It is lined with feathers, which are first removed;
+then it is scraped, washed, and pulled to pieces,
+when it looks white. People say it is something like
+blancmange. I should not like to eat it. Does it not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span>
+seem greedy, when people have so much to eat, to take
+poor little birds'-nests which have been made with such
+pains by their owners?</p>
+
+<p>"There is a bird in China that has such a long tail: it
+is called the Golden Pheasant. The feathers of the cock
+bird are most beautiful. His throat and breast are like
+purple velvet, and his back looks like gold. The upper
+part of his very long tail is scarlet, and the rest yellow.
+When this pheasant lifts his head and neck-feathers he
+shows such a tuft!</p>
+
+<p>"There are a good many deer in China, which are
+also supposed to bring good fortune. Some Chinese are
+very cruel to animals. We have seen them carrying
+pigs, ducks, and geese fastened to a pole, hanging with
+their heads downwards; and some of their dogs look so
+hungry, and their beasts of burden so tired. We saw a
+dreadful thing one day, almost too dreadful to write
+about&mdash;a poor little dog running yelping through the
+streets with its tail cut off! A Taouist priest had cut
+it off, so that it should run screaming through all the
+house in which evil spirits were supposed to be, because
+this would drive them out; then the poor little dog
+rushed into the streets, where we saw it, and, fortunately,
+father was near enough to have it killed at once.</p>
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 360px;">
+<img src="images/i-199.png" width="360" height="600" alt="CHINESE LADIES." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHINESE LADIES.</span>
+</div>
+<p>"The people listen more to father than they do to
+many missionaries, because he goes to the dispensary and
+helps to cure them when they are ill.</p>
+
+<p>"I forgot to tell you that when we first went to
+the farm nobody saw us, because the farmer, his wife,
+daughter, and a labourer were all listening to a man
+reading to them. We thought he must have got hold
+of some of the Chinese classics. The pigeon-English
+people talk sometimes is so funny. They are so fond<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span>
+of the word 'piecee.' Instead of 'one child,' they say
+'one piecee chilo;' and if they had many children, I
+expect they would say 'piecee muchee.'</p>
+
+<p>"Leonard makes very good shots at pigeon-English,
+and can talk it much better than I can. What we
+generally do is to put 'ee' at the end of our words;
+but when we spoke to the farmer he could not understand,
+and so said, 'You talkee me. Very good
+talkee.' When he wanted to tell us that his house was
+very large, he said, 'Number one largee, handsome
+howsow;' and for 'There is a child up-stairs,' he said,
+'Have got chilo topside.'</p>
+
+<p>"You asked me how the Chinese dressed, so I must
+try to tell you this, although I have written you such a
+long letter already.</p></div>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 316px;">
+<img src="images/i-200.png" width="316" height="400" alt="A VILLAGER." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A VILLAGER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 314px;">
+<img src="images/i-201.png" width="314" height="400" alt="A COOLIE." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A COOLIE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Gentlemen and ladies seem to dress very much
+alike; and people cannot change their clothes as they
+choose, because there is a minister of ceremonies, who
+says of what colour, stuff, and shape things are to be
+made, and when winter and summer things are to be
+changed. Even a head-dress may not be altered as
+people like, or they might be breaking a law. And it
+is so funny about the nails; some people let some of
+their nails grow as long as they can, and are so proud
+when they are very long. No Chinaman wears a beard
+till he is forty. The outside robe of a gentleman is so
+long that it reaches to his ankles, and it is fastened with
+buttons. The sleeves are first broad, and then get
+narrower and narrower. A sash is tied round his
+waist, and from this chop-sticks, a tobacco-case, fans,
+and such-like things hang. The head-dress is a cap
+with a peak at the top. Men do not take off their
+hats to bow; indeed, they would put them on if they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>
+were off. In-doors they wear silk slippers, pointed and
+turned up at the toes. Chinese men are admired when
+they are stout, and women when they are thin. Women
+also have two robes, the top one often being made of
+satin, and reaching from the chin to the ground. Their
+sleeves are so long that they do instead of gloves. They
+always wear trousers, and often carry a pipe, for women
+smoke a great deal in China. Some, I think, are
+pretty. They have rather large eyes and red lips.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>
+Old ladies wear very quiet clothes. Mother says the
+Chinese are not at all clean people, and ought to change
+their clothes much oftener than they do. People wear
+shoes of silk, or cotton, with thick felt soles. The women
+spend hours having their hair done into all sorts of
+shapes, such as baskets, bird-cages, or anything they and
+their amahs can manufacture. Then besides ornaments
+in their hair, they wear ear-rings and bangles. Even
+boat-women wear these; and the ladies almost always<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>
+paint their faces, to do which they have a kind of
+enamel. Chinese ladies have little useful occupation,
+and spend a great part of their time, mother says, when
+they are not doing embroidery, in gambling and adorning
+themselves.</p>
+
+<p>"The peasants wear a coarse linen shirt, covered by
+a cotton tunic, with thin trousers fastened to the ankles.
+In wet and cold weather they make a useful covering
+of net-work, into which are plaited rushes, or coarse
+dry grass, and they put on very large hats, made in the
+same way. The Chinese are not at all lazy people,
+for father says after their shutters are shut, and all
+looks dark from the outside, they are often at work,
+and they get up early too. When men grow old their
+tails get so thin. I saw such a wrinkled old man the
+other day, with hardly any tail at all. I think he must
+have been very sorry about that; he was an old villager.</p>
+
+<p>"Coolies wear their tails twisted round their heads.
+They do all the heavy work, and are porters, common
+house labourers, and sedan-chair bearers.</p>
+
+<p>"Leonard says if I write any more stuff he is sure
+you will not read it; but I hope you will think it
+interesting stuff, at all events, and, therefore, not mind
+my letter being so long. There seems to be so much
+to tell you when you have not been to China, and it
+seems selfish to keep all the pleasure of seeing such
+new things to myself. I meant to tell you about the
+New Year, which we have just kept, but I have not
+room. I hope you will write to me very soon. We <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'al'">all</ins>
+send love to you, and</p>
+
+<div class='sig'>
+<span style="margin-right: 6em;">"Believe me,</span><br />
+"Your very affectionate friend,<br />
+<span style="margin-right: 2em;">"<span class="smcap">Sybil Graham</span>."</span><br />
+</div></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i-203a.png" width="400" height="204" alt="Decoration: Between two mountains" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XI.</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>PROCESSIONS.</div>
+
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 200px;">
+<img src="images/i-203b.png" width="200" height="178" alt="Decoration: Carrying water" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 58px;">
+<img src="images/i-120b-a.png" width="58" height="71" alt="A" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'> &nbsp; FORTNIGHT later Mr.
+Graham saw a large,
+Leonard a small, portion
+of a funeral procession, and Sybil
+was very anxious afterwards to
+hear all about it, for Leonard had
+told her that it seemed even grander than the marriage
+one.</div>
+
+<p>"Please, father," she said, "tell me all that the
+Chinese do when anybody dies."</p>
+
+<p>"I do not think I could tell you all," was her
+father's reply, "because it would take too long, and
+I do not know all myself; but I dare say I can tell you
+quite enough to satisfy your curiosity. When a
+Chinese thinks that a relation is likely to die soon,
+he places him, with his feet towards the door, on a
+bed of boards, arranging his best robes and a hat, or
+cap, quite close to him, that he may be dressed in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>
+these just before he dies. It would be considered a
+dreadful thing if he were to die without putting them
+on. Soon after he is dead, a priest&mdash;usually a priest
+of Taou&mdash;is called in to ask the spirit to make haste
+to Elysium, and to cast the man's horoscope, so as to
+see how far the spirit has got on its journey."</p>
+
+<p>"What does casting his horoscope mean?"</p>
+
+<p>"Finding out the hour of a man's birth, and then
+foretelling events by the appearance of the heavens.
+More clothes are then put upon the dead man, who,
+if he be a person of rank, would wear three silk robes.
+Gongs are beaten, and when the body is placed in its
+coffin, every corner of the room is beaten with a
+hammer, to frighten away bad spirits. A crown is
+also put on any person of rank. Widows and children,
+to show their grief, sit on the floor instead of
+on chairs for seven days, and sleep on mats near to
+the husband and father's coffin. On the seventh day
+letters are written to friends, informing them of the
+death, when they send presents of money to help to
+defray the funeral expenses. I saw a very strange
+letter of thanks yesterday, a copy of which had been
+sent to each giver of a present, and besides money,
+food is sometimes given or priests are sent. The
+letter, as far as I can remember, ran thus: 'This is
+to express the thanks of the orphaned son, who weeps
+tears of blood, and bows his head; of the mourning
+brother, who weeps and bows his head; of the mourning
+nephew, who wipes away his tears and bows his
+head.' Then a letter is also written to the departed,
+and burnt, that it may reach him, whilst cakes and
+other presents are also sent to him by means of burning.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 350px;">
+<img src="images/i-205.png" width="350" height="600" alt="MEN ENGAGED TO WALK IN FUNERAL PROCESSIONS." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MEN ENGAGED TO WALK IN FUNERAL PROCESSIONS.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"On the twenty-first day after death a banquet<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>
+is prepared in honour of the spirit, which is supposed,
+on that day, to come back to his home, when the
+entrance doors are shut, for fear any one should come
+in and vex the spirit. On the twenty-third day three
+large paper birds are put on high poles in front of
+the house, to carry the soul to Elysium; and for
+three days Buddhist priests pray to the ten kings of
+Buddhist hell to hasten the flight of the departed
+soul to the Western Paradise.</p>
+
+<p>"The coffin is kept in the house for seven weeks,
+where an altar is set up, near to which the tablet and
+portrait of the deceased are put. Banners, which are looked
+upon as letters of condolence, are fixed upon the walls,
+and on these the merits of the dead man are inscribed.</p>
+
+<p>"Pictures of the three Buddhas are also to be seen
+in the house. A lucky place and day have then to be
+fixed, by fortune-tellers, for the burial, and should these
+not be forthcoming, the coffin would be placed on a
+hill till they can be found. Burial is considered of
+so much importance, that should a man be drowned
+his spirit would be called back into a figure of wood
+or paper, and buried with pomp. Before the grave-diggers
+begin their work, members of the family
+worship the genii of the mountain, and write letters
+to these gods, asking them to be so kind as to allow
+the funeral to take place."</p>
+
+<p>"But how are these letters made to 'arrive?'"</p>
+
+<p>"They are set on fire and burnt."</p>
+
+<p>"Leonard says he saw a number of people dressed
+in white in the procession."</p>
+
+<p>"Those were the relatives in deep mourning,
+white, you remember, being the deepest, white and blue
+lesser, mourning."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 358px;">
+<img src="images/i-207.png" width="358" height="600" alt="CHE-YIN." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHE-YIN.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"And he says he is sure he saw his friend Che-Yin
+among the mourners. You know, father, Che-Yin is
+really a great friend of Leonard's, though he is so much
+older than himself, and now he is taking great trouble
+to teach him to play on the musical instrument which
+he plays so well himself. I believe if Leonard were
+going to stay longer here he would really learn to play
+it quite well. Is it not kind of Che-Yin? But I must
+not interrupt you any more," Sybil went on, "and this
+is so interesting. Leonard said he wondered so much
+what could be happening once when he heard a tremendous
+noise, and saw people rushing out into the
+streets screaming."</p>
+
+<p>"I think I know what that meant," was the
+missionary's answer. "On the day of burial the relatives
+weep and lament very loudly. They carry a long
+white streamer, called a soul-cloth, to the ancestral hall,
+for the spirit to say 'Good-bye' to its ancestors. At
+three or four o'clock in the morning all decorations,
+that have been put up in front of the door, are taken
+down, and a banquet is made ready, of which the
+spirit is invited to partake. You remember I told you
+that they believe one spirit is buried with the body.
+Well, some kind of paper is now again burnt, while
+the spirit is asked to accompany the body, and the
+tablet and portrait of the dead man are put in a
+sedan-chair by his eldest son, over the top of which
+is a streamer of red satin, on which his name and
+titles are written.</p>
+
+<p>"Distant relations remain standing out in the
+streets; but I expect what Leonard saw was people
+rushing out of the house, dreadfully frightened, for fear
+that after all the day might not be lucky, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>
+spirit should be vexed, and send trouble to them, in
+consequence.</p>
+
+<p>"As the coffin is brought out offerings are also again
+presented to the spirit. Two men walk first, carrying
+large lanterns, on which are written the name, title,
+and age of the man who has died. Then come two
+other men with a gong, which they beat from time
+to time."</p>
+
+<p>"Leonard heard that."</p>
+
+<p>"Then follow musicians, and behind these some men
+walk with flags, others with red boards, on which are
+inscribed, in golden letters, the titles of the ancestors of
+the deceased."</p>
+
+<p>"Then Leonard saw some gold canopies and sedan-chairs."</p>
+
+<p>"Offerings made to the dead are carried under gilded
+canopies, and these canopies also follow the ancestral
+tablets. The portrait of the dead man is in one sedan-chair,
+and his wooden tablet in another.</p>
+
+<p>"I believe somewhere about here are more musicians,
+then comes a man scattering pieces of paper fastened to
+tinfoil. This is supposed to be mock-money for hungry
+ghosts, the souls of those people who have died at corners
+of the streets, and this money is to make peace with
+them, so that they shall not injure the soul of the man
+now being buried. The eldest son carries a staff, whilst
+a person walks on either side to support him."</p>
+
+<p>"But Leonard said he saw a white cock, when he
+could not help laughing. What could this be for?"</p>
+
+<p>"The cock is also carried to call the soul to go with
+the body. Behind the eldest son comes the bier, carried
+by men or drawn by horses.</p>
+
+<p>"Many other persons follow. All the people that can,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>
+go in the procession. Women with small feet, unless
+carried on their slaves' backs, can only go a short way.
+At the grave, grains of rice are scattered over the coffin,
+when the priest and all the people lift the cock and
+bend their bodies forward three times. The tablet is
+taken out of the chair, on which the nearest relation
+makes a mark with a red pencil; then the sons kneel
+down, and a priest, if present, addresses them."</p>
+
+<p>"Then a priest is not obliged to go to the funeral?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; sometimes only a man skilled in geomancy is
+present. Geomancy is a kind of foretelling things, by
+means of little dots first made on the ground and then
+on paper. The tablet is marked, I believe, to bring
+good luck to the sons, and then every one knocks his
+head on the ground and does homage to it."</p>
+
+<p>Sybil was looking very serious, though she was
+smiling too.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, father!" she said, "how much you, and other
+missionaries, will have to teach these people! What a
+pity it is that they cannot know that the soul is never
+buried, and that they can't learn to worship and pray to
+God, Who would send them such real happiness in
+answer to their prayers!"</p>
+
+<p>"It is indeed, my child," was the missionary's
+answer.</p>
+
+<p>"And is anything more done for the dead after
+this except worship being paid to them?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; for many days feasts are prepared for the
+departed relative, hot water is carried to him to wash
+his face and hands, and I have also heard of another
+way that the Chinese have of 'conveying' spirits to
+the kingdoms of Buddhistic hell. Little sedan-chairs
+are made of bamboo splints and paper, with four<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>
+little paper bearers, and sometimes there is a fifth little
+paper man, holding an umbrella. These are burnt like
+the paper mock-money; and sometimes, after the death
+of another friend, a little paper trunk, full of paper
+clothes, is supplied for one already dead, and burnt,
+when the senders believe that the person who died last
+is conveying this trunk to the other in safety for them."</p>
+
+<p>"They think that people need a great many things
+in the other world, then," Sybil said. "And do children
+often worship at their parents' tombs?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; at certain seasons of the year they make
+pilgrimages to the tops of high hills, or to other distant
+parts, where they prostrate themselves, this being supposed
+to continue the homage and reverence which they
+showed to them on earth; and they believe that in a
+great measure the happiness of the spirits depends upon
+the adoration and worship which they pay to them, whilst
+those who render it secure for themselves favour from
+the gods. Twice a day do children also pay adoration
+to their dead parents, before a shrine set up in the
+house to the memory of departed ancestors."</p>
+
+<p>"But what is the use of preparing feasts for the
+dead?" Sybil asked. "They cannot think that the
+dead really eat the food?"</p>
+
+<p>"They seem to do so, and not only lay a place for
+them, but even put chop-sticks for their use."</p>
+
+<p>Another procession Sybil and Leonard saw one day,
+and this Sybil described in the last letter that she wrote
+to her friend, before she left China. Some men carried
+an image of the Dragon King, others carried gongs,
+drums, and green and black and yellow and white flags,
+whilst boys, walking in the procession, called out loudly
+from time to time.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The children could not possibly imagine what this
+procession could be all about.</p>
+
+<p>Some characters were written on the flags.</p>
+
+<p>One man who, as Leonard thought, had a very happy,
+smiling face, had a pole slung across his shoulders, from
+which hung two buckets of water. In his hand he held
+a green branch of a shrub which, from time to time, he
+dipped in the water, and then sprinkled the ground;
+while he also continually called out something. Other
+men were carrying sticks of lighted incense. Most of the
+people, in the procession, wore white clothes, and white
+caps without tassels.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 304px;">
+<img src="images/i-212.png" width="304" height="300" alt="SPRINKLING WATER." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SPRINKLING WATER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Sybil and Leonard were afterwards told that this
+was praying for rain, because for some time there had
+been none.</p>
+
+<p>The Dragon King was carried, because he is supposed
+to be the god of rain. Besides the Dragon King
+there is a River Dragon, who is both feared and worshipped.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>
+His mother, Loong-Moo, is often worshipped
+by people engaged in river traffic.</p>
+
+<p>The men and boys were calling out "Rain comes!"
+The yellow and white banners were to represent wind
+and water, and the green and black, clouds.</p>
+
+<p>The inscription on the flags was, when translated,
+"Prayer is offered for rain."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i-213.png" width="400" height="192" alt="Decoration" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i-214a.png" width="400" height="175" alt="Decoration: Building" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER XII.</h2>
+
+<div class='chaptertitle'>THE LAST PEEP.</div>
+
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 208px;">
+<img src="images/i-214b.png" width="208" height="350" alt="Decoration: Woman" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 46px;">
+<img src="images/i-214c-s.png" width="46" height="70" alt="S" title="" />
+</div><div class='unindent'>YBIL had made several
+friends amongst Cantonese
+ladies and children, and
+some very pleasant afternoons
+had she spent with them. The
+girls, she noticed, generally
+wore cotton tunics and trousers.
+One little girl, with whom she
+had spent a few hours, was in
+mourning, so she wore white,
+bound with blue. Sybil could
+not help thinking that this was
+very pretty mourning, but her
+brother's was still prettier, for
+his trousers were of pale blue silk tied round the ankles,
+and he wore white shoes. His cue was tied with blue.
+And there were such very pretty gardens belonging to
+the houses in which they lived, with rockeries, fish-ponds,
+and summer-houses almost large enough to live in.</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>One lady, whom Sybil visited, astonished her very
+much, because she had an only boy, who was very pale-looking
+and delicate, and she called him all sorts of
+names, and seemed to treat him so unkindly. When
+Sybil had been ill herself, her mother had always treated
+her with such extra love and care, and she fancied that
+all mothers behaved like this. Then the Chinese love
+their boys so much, that one would therefore have
+thought an only boy would be so very precious. The
+next time that she saw the lady she had given away
+her child to be adopted by some one else. Mrs.
+Graham heard the explanation to this unnatural conduct,
+and gave it to Sybil. The woman really loved
+her boy most fondly, and would have given anything she
+had to have him well, but she fancied that the gods
+were malicious towards him, and that if she pretended to
+them that she did not care for the child they would let
+him get well again. All that conduct was to deceive
+the gods.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Graham had several times dined out at Chinese
+houses, and sometimes his wife had accompanied him,
+but as Cantonese ladies never dine with their husbands
+in public, where her doing so was likely to give any
+offence, even though she were invited, she never went;
+but many Chinese very well understand that there are
+quite different laws for Europeans than there are for them,
+and these seemed to be glad to admit English ladies, with
+their husbands, to be guests at their houses.</p>
+
+<p>When Mr. and Mrs. Graham went to one of these
+dinners, knives and forks were borrowed for them,
+and the other English visitors, in place of chop-sticks.
+A china spoon and a two-pronged fork were set before
+each person, and there were china wine-glasses. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>
+table-napkins were of brown paper. Basins of fruit,
+from which all helped themselves as they liked,
+were in the middle of the table. There were a
+great many soups and other courses. Every now and
+then the host took something out of a basin with his
+chop-stick, and offered to put it into the mouths of his
+guests. Out of politeness they were bound to accept
+these gifts. There was not any beef, as no Chinaman
+eats beef. Music was played, and slaves fanned the
+people during dinner.</p>
+
+<p>Once when Sybil visited some of her young
+Chinese friends, the tea was brought in to them in
+covered cups, and when they wanted more, tea-leaves
+were put into the cups and boiling water was poured
+upon them. She had learnt now to be able to drink tea
+without milk or sugar, but she could not like it.</p>
+
+<p>A two months' stay at Canton brought the children
+to the end of four months and a half of their stay in
+China, and left but six weeks more before they were to
+return to England. It was the middle of March when
+the Grahams said "Good-bye" to their kind friends
+at the Yamen, and returned to Hong-Kong. Sybil
+could not bear to say this farewell, as it was the last
+but one, and she knew how very quickly six weeks
+would pass.</p>
+
+<p>They had all enjoyed their stay in Canton very
+much, and often thought about the New Year's Day
+which had been kept, while they were there, with such
+grand rejoicings. At midnight, on the last day of the
+old year, a bell, never used except on this occasion,
+pealed forth, when, at the signal, people rushed into
+the streets in crowds to let off fireworks.</p>
+
+<p>Every temple and every pagoda was lighted up, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span>
+people burnt incense before idols in their own homes.
+Some streets are lighted in Canton by lanterns, but,
+as a rule, the smaller streets are in darkness, with
+the exception of paper lanterns, which hang, every now
+and then, from before shops or private houses, and even
+these are put out by half-past nine o'clock. Paraffin lamps
+are now being introduced along Chinese city streets.</p>
+
+<p>All New Year's night a great noise was to be heard,
+and in the morning friends dressed in their best to
+call upon, and salute, one another.</p>
+
+<p>In the streets they were to be seen prostrating themselves
+upon the ground. Rich and poor alike had great
+rejoicings on New Year's Day, the rich often keeping
+up their holiday for ten days.</p>
+
+<p>Latterly Mr. Graham had been several times backwards
+and forwards to Hong-Kong, where he had made
+his final arrangements.</p>
+
+<p>The missionary, whose place he was about to fill,
+would, when he left the island, take with him to
+England, besides his own family, Sybil and Leonard
+Graham. Until they sailed, the Grahams would all stay
+with them at the Mission House, when it would be
+handed over to Mr. Graham.</p>
+
+<p>The other missionary had three children of his own,
+two daughters, twelve and ten years old, and a son of
+nine, but as they had been absent from Hong-Kong
+when the Grahams had been there before, the children
+had not yet made one another's acquaintance.</p>
+
+<p>The eldest, Katie, now became Sybil's very useful
+interpreter, for as she had been born in China and lived
+there all her life, she could understand, and speak, many
+Chinese dialects.</p>
+
+<p>Sybil now knew several Chinese words herself.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>
+"Che-fan," or "Have you eaten your rice?" was "How
+do you do?" though, as a rule, when people said "How
+do you do?" to her it was "Chin-chin mississi?"</p>
+
+<p>When she went out visiting, questions such as the
+following were generally put to her, "What honourable
+name have you?" "What is the name of your beautiful
+dwelling?" and "What age have you?" Had she
+been grown up, this question would probably have been,
+"What is your venerable age?"</p>
+
+<p>Leonard was often told to "catchee plenty chow-chow,"
+which means "eat a very good dinner," but as
+somehow he generally seemed able to do this, he hardly
+needed the kind advice.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Graham's amah amused Sybil very much.
+She had been a great traveller, having visited both
+England and America, and she liked England much the
+best. One day she said to Sybil: "Melic&#257; no good
+countly. Welly bad chow-chow. Appool number one.
+My hab chow-chow sixty pieces before bleakfast. Any
+man no got dollar, all hab got paper. Number one
+foolo pidgin. No good countly. My no likee Melic&#257;.
+My likee England side more better." This meant:
+"America is not a good country. It has very bad food,
+but first-rate apples. I ate sixty before breakfast. No
+one has any dollars there, all use paper money. Very
+foolish business. Not a good country. I do not like
+America. I like England better."</p>
+
+<p>Some pleasure or another was always forthcoming
+for Sybil and Leonard, and the few last "Peep-shows"
+were very precious.</p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 326px;">
+<img src="images/i-219.png" width="326" height="600" alt="&quot;SING-SONG.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;SING-SONG.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>One day, when they were out, they saw a "Sing-Song,"
+as the performance was called. Under a canopy,
+in the open streets, children were acting and dancing.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span>
+To do so, they had dressed up in very gorgeous costumes,
+their ornaments and head-dresses being grander,
+Leonard said, than anything he had ever seen before;
+and the little Chinese actors themselves seemed to be
+thoroughly at their ease, and quite at home, in their
+grand attire.</p>
+
+<p>"Why did that policeman come after you to-day,
+father, and take down the name of the boat that we got
+into?" Leonard once asked, when he and his father had
+been out together, and were returning home.</p>
+
+<p>"Policemen have done that several times, if you had
+only noticed," was the reply. "That was to guard us
+from pirates. They took the name of our boat, so that
+the owner could be held responsible if we did not return
+safely. The Chinese are dreadful pirates, and are
+generally on the look-out for opportunities to rob.
+Sometimes a band of them will take their passages in a
+ship, and when fairly out at sea will all rise in mutiny
+against the captain and his officers, and perhaps murder
+them, so as to be able to plunder as they choose."</p>
+
+<p>"I should think the boat-policemen had plenty of
+work to do," Leonard then said.</p>
+
+<p>"Father, do you remember well when you were just
+eleven?" the child then asked suddenly, going, as it
+seemed, right away from his present subject. "Did
+you ever want to be a sailor then? ever think for
+certain you would be one?"</p>
+
+<p>"I do not remember ever having had that wish."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I have had it over and over again, and
+thought that there could not be anything better in the
+world than going about in ships, and seeing different
+places. I've wished to be a sailor for ever so many
+years; but, you know, I don't wish it now."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i-221.png" width="600" height="359" alt="FISHERMEN AND FISHERWOMEN." title="" />
+<span class="caption">FISHERMEN AND FISHERWOMEN.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Graham smiled. I expect it was Leonard's
+"ever so many years" which made him do so.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you?" his father asked. "Then what do
+you want to be now?"</p>
+
+<p>"Something, father, I'm not half good enough for,"
+the boy answered, thoughtfully. "A missionary! Oh,
+father, I do so want to be a missionary now, and come to
+China, as you and grandfather have done! Shouldn't
+you like it too? I know mother would; and perhaps
+the Church Missionary Society would send me out if I
+asked them."</p>
+
+<p>"I should like nothing better, my little son," was
+the missionary's reply.</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes later Leonard was out of doors
+again, flying himself one of the "wonderful kites,"
+which a Chinaman had made for, and given to, him,
+and his father was watching his little fellow with
+pleasure almost amounting to pride.</p>
+
+<p>Was this his impulsive boy's own thought, he
+wondered, or had his sister suggested it to him.</p>
+
+<p>Quite his own; but no doubt the quiet, gentle influence
+which Sybil exerted over her younger brother
+was very good for him.</p>
+
+<p>"Do you think, Sybil, that the heathen Chinese
+could teach the Christian English anything?" Mr.
+Graham asked his daughter, as they sat and talked
+together the very last evening.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sure they could," she answered quickly;
+"many things. Filial love and obedience for one,
+respect and reverence for old age for another; and then,
+though they do believe such silly, superstitious things,
+there seems to be such a reality, so much earnestness,
+about the way some of them carry out their religion.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span>
+They do not mind how early they get up and go out
+to keep a religious festival, and they seem to ask a
+sort of blessing, from their gods, on everything they
+do, and keep their fasts and feasts so very regularly;
+but I think their love for their parents beats
+everything. 'Boy' asked for a holiday yesterday,
+because it was his mother's birthday, and got up very
+early to do his work before he went." "Boy" was a
+kind of footman.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; parents' birthdays are kept up much more
+than are those of children. Sometimes on their birthdays
+they will sit under a crimson canopy, whilst their
+children kneel and perform the 'kow-tow' to them.
+The fifty-first birthday, and every ten years afterwards,
+is celebrated with great pomp, when religious ceremonies
+are often performed at the Temple of Longevity. I
+believe thirty Buddhist priests will then sometimes
+return thanks for three days.</p>
+
+<p>"When a man is eighty-one, the fact is occasionally
+communicated to the Emperor, who may then allow
+money to be given for a monumental arch to be erected
+to the old man's honour.</p>
+
+<p>"After parents are dead their birthdays are still celebrated
+in the ancestral hall, where their portraits hang."</p>
+
+<p>"I suppose children give their parents beautiful
+presents on their birthdays?"</p>
+
+<p>"When they begin to get old the best present that
+a child can, and does, make a parent, and one which
+he values more than anything else, is a coffin, because,
+you know, a Chinaman thinks that unless his body be
+buried properly his spirit cannot rest.</p>
+
+<p>"The Chinese are strange contradictions," Mr.
+Graham went on. "Although they are very courageous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span>
+in bearing torture, they are dreadful liars, and a great
+liar is generally a great coward. Then they are sober
+and industrious, but slaves to the opium drug; meek
+and gentle, but, at the same time, treacherous and
+cruel; most dutiful to their parents, but often very
+jealous of their neighbours; and then, perhaps strangest
+of all, is their love towards their children, but yet their
+readiness to put their girls to death."</p>
+
+<p>Sybil was silent for several minutes. "Oh, father!"
+she then said, "isn't the time dreadfully near now?
+Fancy leaving you and dear mother! How can we?"</p>
+
+<p>"You must go to <i>your</i> work, darling, and we must
+stay here to do ours. Is it not so?" Mr. Graham asked,
+in the dear, kind, soft voice that Sybil loved so much,
+and which she always called his "preachy voice." "But
+what shall give us comfort? what shall we think about
+when we are trying to do our several duties, though
+apart, I hope contentedly and well? That it is God
+who has called us to our several duties; it is His
+Almighty will which we have now and always to obey;
+but remember, not alone, not unaided, dear Sybil.
+Who will be our guide, stay, and comfort, when we are
+separated from one another?"</p>
+
+<p>Sybil knew, but could not answer, because she was
+crying.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 384px;">
+<img src="images/i-225.png" width="384" height="550" alt="WOMAN OF POAH-BI." title="" />
+<span class="caption">WOMAN OF POAH-BI.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Your mother and I," Mr. Graham went on, "in
+commending our children to the Fatherly love and care
+of Him Who gave you to us, know that we place you in
+the safest keeping; and you yourselves have also both
+learnt, have you not, how to go to our Father and
+'Supreme Ruler' in earnest prayer, whenever tempted
+to do what would displease Him? A missionary, you
+know, is one who is sent on a mission&mdash;to fulfil a duty.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>
+A missionary's children must not shrink from fulfilling,
+must not fail to fulfil, the mission on which they are
+sent, must they?"</p>
+
+<p>Sybil looked comforted. She liked this last "Peep-show"
+very much, and kissed her father to show him
+that she did.</p>
+
+<p>A few minutes later she said, "Do you know,
+father, I believe little Chu is really beginning to
+believe and understand properly, for the other day,
+when I was saying my prayers, she came and knelt
+down beside me, and she would never kneel to our God
+before, even when she saw the Christian woman at
+Poah-bi do so, with whom we stayed, and with whom
+she was such good friends. I shall often remember
+that woman and her dear little baby, which she tied to
+herself so funnily, because I liked them so very much.</p>
+
+<p>"Poor little Chu!" Sybil then went on. "I shall
+be so glad to see her again when I come back to you,
+but I do not think she will like me to go away."</p>
+
+<p>"Chu will have to be a great deal at school now.
+She has her work to do too, you know."</p>
+
+<p>"How I shall think of you, father, and the Hong-Kong
+Mission on Intercession Day, when it comes
+round, shan't I?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, Sybil; and not only on Intercession Day, but
+always in your prayers, you must remember to pray
+very fervently, both for Chinese and other unbelievers,
+and not only for me, but for all who are seeking their
+conversion."</p>
+
+<p>"It seems a more real thing now to pray for,"
+Sybil said.</p>
+
+<p>"And to give thanks for too. Here in Hong-Kong
+we have great cause to be thankful."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What a dear old lady that was who was baptized
+on Sunday! but what was the Christian name she
+chose? I could not hear it."</p>
+
+<p>"Mong-Oi, which means 'desiring the love' (of
+Jesus)."</p>
+
+<p>"That was a beautiful name, wasn't it? And there
+were a number of communicants for here too. How
+many native communicants are there in Hong-Kong?"</p>
+
+<p>"Between sixty and seventy; and what is so
+comforting is that the communicants seem to be really
+devout, and to realise what being a communicant means
+for, and requires of, them, and it is no easy matter at
+all for natives of China to embrace Christianity.
+Sometimes they have to leave all their relations, and
+suffer much persecution in consequence."</p>
+
+<p>"When was the Hong-Kong mission begun?"
+Sybil asked.</p>
+
+<p>"In 1862."</p>
+
+<p>Although the results were far from what the zealous
+missionaries would fain have seen them, Mr. Graham
+was right in saying that the Mission from the Church
+of England to Hong-Kong had cause to take hope and
+be thankful.</p>
+
+<p>Several men and women were now under instruction
+both for baptism and confirmation. The mission schools
+for boys numbered more than 190, and for girls more
+than thirty, and here the children were religiously
+as well as secularly instructed.</p>
+
+<p>There were, although only two European missionaries
+and one native clergyman, twenty-three native Christian
+teachers, and 183 native Christians. The Mission comprised,
+besides St. Stephen's Church and the agencies
+around it in the island of Hong-Kong, many out-stations<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span>
+in the province of Quangtung occupied by
+native agents.</p>
+
+<p>The Prayer Book, and, still better, the Holy Bible,
+translated into their own tongue, were now circulated
+among the people, some of whom were really learning to
+love and value them; and not only were the services for
+the Christians well attended, but every evening the
+heathen were to be seen in numbers going to hear
+sermons that were to be preached for them.</p>
+
+<p>Well, then, might Mr. Graham go forth to his new
+work with hope.</p>
+
+<p>"How much you will have to do, father," Sybil said,
+"if you go to the Medical Missionary Institution so
+often, and do all your other work besides! But the
+people seem to be very grateful to you. 'Boy' said
+yesterday that you were 'a hundred man good,' and
+I know what that means: 'The best of men.'"</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Graham smiled.</p>
+
+<p>"I like, and it is good for us all," he said, "to have
+plenty to do; and one work, you know, may help on
+the other."</p>
+
+<p>"I expect mother will help you a very great deal
+too."</p>
+
+<p>"She is sure to do that." Sybil knew she was.</p>
+
+<p>All day long the child had spent beside her
+much-loved mother; now, for another hour, she sat
+on and talked with her father, receiving good,
+kind counsel, when Leonard, who had been closeted
+with his mother, listening to her dear words of best
+advice, came in, with eyes swollen from crying, and
+then the four sat together till it was long past bed-time;
+but what of that? To-morrow, on board
+ship, there would be nothing to keep them up late,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span>
+when they could make up for to-night, and go early
+to bed.</p>
+
+<p>To-morrow came, as happy and sad to-morrows all
+alike will come; when the mother gave her children their
+last kisses, the father their last kisses and benedictions,
+and Sybil and Leonard Graham started on their homeward
+voyage to England, leaving their parents very
+grateful for having such good, kind friends to whose
+care on board ship to entrust them.</p>
+
+<p>Both children were to return at once to their former
+schools, and spend their holidays together at Mrs.
+Graham's brother's house, who was also the rector of a
+country parish, and where she knew they would very
+soon feel quite at home.</p>
+
+<p>Sybil and Leonard Graham, the children of brave
+parents, were brave children themselves, and as they had
+promised not to grieve more then they could help, they
+at once did battle with their tears, and before long
+were talking really cheerfully with their friends.</p>
+
+<p>"Who knows," Sybil said once to Leonard, when she
+and her brother found themselves alone, "but what they
+might come over for a small holiday-trip in two or three
+years' time? and if not, I believe when I go out you are
+to go with me for another 'Peep-show' holiday, and to
+see <i>them!</i>"</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I ought to go whenever I can," Leonard
+answered, "as I'm going to be a missionary out there
+myself."</p>
+
+<p>Sybil had said "them" because she could not yet
+say, without crying, those two dear, sacred words, father
+and mother, which stand alone in the vocabulary of
+every language, and have no peers.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Graham herself was then alone, shedding bitter<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span>
+tears, which she had stifled until her children left her,
+but which she could keep back no longer.</p>
+
+<p>Yet, though her mother's loving heart was very sad
+and sore, she would not weep long, but would, to the
+very best of her ability, go forth at once to help her
+husband&mdash;who could not but feel sad now too&mdash;in the
+good work in which she had encouraged him to embark,
+counting <i>all</i> the costs beforehand.</p>
+
+<p>And Sybil, who had said "<i>I like my father to be a
+missionary very much</i>," would not unsay the words
+now, though it took both her parents so far away from
+her and Leonard. Oh no! since she had seen the
+great need that there was for missionaries to China, she
+liked, even better than before, her father "to be a
+missionary!"</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 156px;">
+<img src="images/i-230.png" width="156" height="300" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i-005.jpg" width="400" height="233" alt="Inscription." title="" />
+</div>
+<p>&nbsp;<br /><br /></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 316px;">
+<img src="images/back_cover.jpg" width="316" height="500" alt="Back cover." title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<div class='tnote'><h3>Transcriber's Notes:</h3>
+<p>Obvious punctuation errors repaired.</p>
+
+<p>Text uses uses varied hyphenation on the naming of the cities. This includes both Fu-kien and Fukien,  Poahbi
+and Poa-bi, and Pei-ho and Peiho, among others.</p></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Peeps Into China, by E. C. Phillips
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@@ -0,0 +1,4794 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Peeps Into China, by E. C. Phillips
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Peeps Into China
+       Or: The Missionary's Children
+
+Author: E. C. Phillips
+
+Release Date: November 3, 2010 [EBook #34199]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PEEPS INTO CHINA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Emmy, Charlene Taylor and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: A STREET SHOWMAN.]
+
+
+
+
+
+PEEPS INTO CHINA; OR, The Missionary's Children.
+
+BY E. C. PHILLIPS,
+
+          AUTHOR OF "TROPICAL READING-BOOKS," "THE ORPHANS," "BUNCHY,"
+          "HILDA AND HER DOLL," ETC.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+          CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED:
+          _LONDON, PARIS, NEW YORK & MELBOURNE._
+
+          [ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.]
+
+
+
+
+          To
+
+          MY DEAR PARENTS,
+
+          IN
+
+          LOVING MEMORY.
+
+          "Can I forget thy cares, from helpless years
+          Thy tenderness for me?"
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: Contents.]
+
+
+    CHAPTER                            PAGE
+       I. THE COUNTRY RECTORY             9
+
+      II. THE FIRST PEEP                 21
+
+     III. THE RELIGIONS OF CHINA         44
+
+      IV. CHINESE CHILDHOOD              69
+
+       V. THE MERCHANT SHOWMAN           89
+
+      VI. LITTLE CHU AND WOO-URH        100
+
+     VII. LEONARD'S EXPLOIT IN FORMOSA  114
+
+    VIII. THE BOAT POPULATION           134
+
+      IX. AT CANTON                     153
+
+       X. A BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM        179
+
+      XI. PROCESSIONS                   197
+
+     XII. THE LAST PEEP                 208
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE COUNTRY RECTORY.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"NOT really; you can't mean it really!"
+
+"As true as possible. Mother told me her _very own_ self," was the
+emphatic reply.
+
+Two children, brother and sister, the boy aged ten, the girl three years
+older, were carrying on this conversation in the garden of a country
+rectory.
+
+"But really and truly, on your word of honour," repeated Leonard, as
+though he could not believe what his sister had just related to him.
+
+"I hope my word is always a word of honour; I thought everybody's word
+ought to be that," Sybil Graham replied a little proudly, for when she
+had run quickly to bring such important news to her brother, she could
+not help feeling hurt that he should refuse to believe what she said.
+
+"And we are really going there, and shall actually see the 'pig-tails'
+in their own country, and the splendid kites they fly, and all the
+wonderful things that father used to tell us about? Oh! it seems too
+good to be true."
+
+"But it is true," Sybil repeated with emphasis. "And I dare say we might
+even see tea growing, as it does grow there, you know, and I suppose we
+shall be carried about in sedan-chairs ourselves." She was really as
+happy as her brother, only not so excitable.
+
+At this moment their mother joined them. "Oh, mother!" the boy then
+exclaimed, "how beautiful! Sybil has just told me, but I could not
+believe her."
+
+"I thought the news would delight you both very much," Mrs. Graham
+answered. "Your father and I have been thinking about going to China for
+some time, but we would not tell you anything about it until matters
+were quite settled, and now everything seems to be satisfactorily
+arranged for us to start in three months' time."
+
+"That will be in August, then," they both said at once.
+
+"Oh, how very beautiful!" Sybil exclaimed. "_I like my father to be a
+missionary very much._ He must be glad too; isn't he, mother?"
+
+"Very glad indeed, although the joy will entail some sadness also. I
+expect your father will grieve a good deal to leave this dear little
+country parish of ours, and the duties he has so loved to perform here,
+but a wider field of usefulness having opened out for him, he is very
+thankful to obey the call."
+
+[Illustration: THE CHURCH.]
+
+"And father will do it so well, mother," answered Sybil. "I wonder
+whether I shall be able to do anything to help him there?"
+
+"I think you have long since found out, Sybil," was her mother's loving
+answer, "that you can always be doing something to help us."
+
+Sybil and Leonard had as yet only learnt a part of the story. They had
+still to learn the rest. This going to China would not be all beautiful,
+all joy for them, especially for Sybil, with her very affectionate
+nature and dread of saying "Good-byes," for she and Leonard were only to
+be taken out on a trip--a pleasure tour--to see something of China, and
+to return to England to go on with their education at the end of six
+months.
+
+Mr. Graham then calling his wife, the children were again left alone.
+
+It was no easy matter to go as a missionary to China. This Mr. Graham
+well knew, for his father, although only for a short time, had been one
+over there before him, and had discovered--what so many other later
+brother missionaries have found out also--that to obtain even a hearing
+on the subject of religion from a Chinaman, who has been trained and
+brought up to be a superstitious idolater, very vain of his wisdom and
+antiquity as a nation, and to look upon Europeans as barbarians, is
+often a most difficult matter.
+
+Eighteen years before Mr. Graham the elder went out to Peking as one of
+the first missionaries to China, and his only son, who had then just
+qualified for the medical profession, accompanied him. A year later, the
+father dying, his son returned at once to England, but with a changed
+mind, determined now to seek holy orders and enter the ministry, instead
+of following his profession, so as by thus doing to add one more to the
+number of earnest clergy that his short stay in China had shown him were
+so much needed. To carry out his resolution, he went to Oxford to
+prepare, and soon after his ordination he married, and settled down, in
+the little country village, where we find him, surrounded by his little
+family.
+
+Often since then had he contemplated leaving England for missionary
+work, but until now he had been prevented from carrying his wishes into
+effect.
+
+His knowledge of medicine had not been lost to him, for many a sufferer
+in the little, yet wide-spreading country parish, who lived at too great
+a distance to send for the doctor for a slight ailment, had been very
+thankful, when the clergyman came in to read and pray with him, to learn
+from him what his slight ailment was, and how he could prevent its
+becoming a great one.
+
+And this knowledge would be most helpful and invaluable in China, where
+Mr. Graham knew that the science of medicine was held in veneration by
+the inhabitants, and gained a ready admission to those who were glad to
+be cured of bodily ailments, but knew not how sick their souls were.
+
+The missionary's slight acquaintance with the Chinese dialect, which,
+when time permitted, he had endeavoured to keep up, would also be of
+service to him when he arrived in China; for although the dialects of
+the south, where he was going, were very different from those of the
+north, the Mandarin, or Court language, spoken by the officials, was
+understood in every part.
+
+"That's why father's been reading all those books lately with the
+pig-tail pictures in, and wonderful kites, and why he has been studying
+the language without an alphabet," Leonard said, when he and his sister
+were again alone. "If I hadn't been at school so much, I expect I should
+have found out what was going to happen."
+
+"I don't believe we should ever find out anything that father did not
+wish us to know, however much we wanted to do so," answered Sybil. "But
+isn't it splendid?--all but one thing, and that is having to leave
+everybody, and my best friend Lily Keith. I shan't like doing that at
+all."
+
+"And I shall miss my friends too, of course," said Leonard; "but then I
+expect we shall make some new ones; and I thought you were so fond of
+writing letters. Why, you could write splendid ones from China, and tell
+Lily what we see, and perhaps mother would draw you some pictures for
+them, for she can draw anything, you know."
+
+Sybil was comforted, for she was very fond of writing letters, and her
+friend, she knew, would be very glad to have some from China.
+
+Directly after the six o'clock dinner was the children's hour with
+father, who, being a very busy man, had to regulate all his time; but
+this one hour a day belonged entirely to his family, and unless anything
+unforeseen happened, they had and claimed every moment of it.
+
+Sybil came down-stairs first, and going up to her father, who was
+sitting by a large bow window, gazing out of it, with a very serious
+look on his face, she said with surprise as she kissed him: "You look
+sad, dear father. Aren't you glad to go to China?"
+
+He drew her on to his knee.
+
+"Very glad, my darling," was the answer; "but I was just picturing to
+myself some farewells that will have to be taken. I shall be very
+sorry, too, to say 'Good-bye' here, where our lives have been so blessed
+and our prayers so abundantly answered. We cannot help feeling sorry to
+leave our old friends, can we?"
+
+"But you don't look, father," she continued, "as if that were all that
+you had been thinking."
+
+"I dare say it was also about the work in which I am so soon to engage,
+for that, Sybil, is full of grave responsibility; but now I think it is
+my turn to ask what your thoughts are," he went on, for at that moment
+Sybil was looking quite as grave as, just before, her father could have
+looked.
+
+"I was remembering two verses of a piece of poetry that I learnt last
+term at school, which I think must have been written for missionaries,"
+she replied.
+
+[Illustration: MAP OF CHINA.]
+
+Her father then asking her to repeat them to him, Sybil said:--
+
+          "Sow ye beside all waters,
+           Where the dew of heaven may fall;
+           Ye shall reap, if ye be not weary,
+           For the Spirit breathes o'er all.
+           Sow, though the thorns may wound thee;
+           One wore the thorns for thee;
+           And, though the cold world scorn thee,
+           Patient and hopeful be.
+           Sow ye beside all waters,
+           With a blessing and a prayer,
+           Name Him whose hand upholds thee,
+           And sow thou everywhere.
+
+          "Work! in the wild waste places,
+           Though none thy love may own;
+           God guides the down of the thistle
+           The wandering wind hath sown.
+           Will Jesus chide thy weakness,
+           Or call thy labour vain?
+           The Word that for Him thou bearest
+           Shall return to Him again.
+           On!--with thine heart in heaven,
+           Thy strength--thy Master's might,
+           Till the wild waste places blossom
+           In the warmth of a Saviour's light."
+
+"Thank you, Sybil," said her father. "I am sure you will make a capital
+little missionary's daughter some day."
+
+"To what part of China are we going, father?" she then asked; "to the
+same place where you were before?"
+
+"No; quite in another direction. You know when I was last in China I was
+at Peking, in the north, and now I am to be in Hong-Kong, an island in
+the south; but we shall not go there direct, as I wish to take you to
+see several places before finally landing."
+
+"Wait a minute, please, father," Sybil then exclaimed, "while I just
+fetch my map to look them out as you tell them to me." And as she spoke
+she ran off, to return the next minute with an atlas, in which she found
+these places as her father mentioned them: Shanghai, Amoy, the Island of
+Formosa, Swatow, Hong-Kong, Macao, and Canton.
+
+"I wish, father, you would tell us some day all you can remember about
+Peking," then said Leonard, as he ran in and joined his father and
+sister, having till now been very busy, first coaxing his good friend
+the gardener to help him cut and put up some roosts in the fowl-house,
+and then showing his handiwork to his mother. "You know what I mean:
+something like what you used to tell us."
+
+[Illustration: LEONARD IN THE GARDEN.]
+
+"I will try to arouse up my memory, and tell you what I can on board
+ship, when we shall have, I suppose, seven or eight weeks with very
+little to do, and when you will, no doubt, be glad of some true stories
+to while away the time."
+
+"I wish we were going to start to-morrow," rejoined Leonard, who was, I
+am afraid, a boy without a particle of that virtue which we call
+"patience." He wanted his mother now to go into the poultry-yard with
+him to see the roosts he had, and as she liked to enter into all his
+pleasures and useful occupations, she was very pleased to go.
+
+Before either of them came in again, Sybil had heard "the rest" from her
+father; that she and Leonard were, after a six months' long holiday in
+China, to return to England to continue their education. It was a
+terrible blow to her, to whom a long separation from her parents seemed
+almost like an impossibility. Her bright eyes filled with tears.
+
+"Oh, father!" she said; "and leave you and mother?"
+
+"It must be for a time, my darling, till your education is completed, as
+your mother and I both wish you to remain at the school where you are,
+but when school-days are over, about four years hence, I hope to be able
+to have you out with us. It will be longer for poor old Leonard, won't
+it?"
+
+"I don't think I care to go to China now, father," Sybil then said.
+
+"Oh yes you do, Sybil," was the answer; "you like your father to be a
+missionary very much, you know, do you not?" Her mother had repeated
+this saying. "And, my child," he continued, "you know that it must be a
+dreadful trial for so very good and loving a mother as yours to part
+from her children; but now that a call has come to me to do my Master's
+work in a foreign land, and she is helping me to obey it, you would not
+make her trial greater, would you, by letting her see you sad? Oh no! I
+know you would not; but you would help us to do our duty more bravely.
+Is it not so, my child?"
+
+Sybil buried her face on her father's shoulder, and sobbed, but on
+seeing her mother coming up the garden towards them, she quickly wiped
+her tears away, and tried to look cheerful. Her father had gone wisely
+to work in giving her such a reason for trying to overcome her sorrow,
+and he knew that now she would set herself bravely to work to help, and
+not to hinder, her parents' undertaking.
+
+And they were not to be parted for nearly another year, she said to
+herself, and meanwhile they were to have all sorts of enjoyments with
+their parents.
+
+Mrs. Graham brought a message from Leonard for Sybil to go and see his
+roosts, which she at once obeyed, affectionately kissing her mother as
+she passed her. That was to say that she knew, and a great deal more.
+
+Another piece of news Sybil now conveyed to Leonard, and as she told it,
+even he could not tell that it made her very unhappy. I wonder if he
+believed at once this time!
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+THE FIRST PEEP.
+
+
+THE missionary's family party had set sail, and the steamship, in which
+they were passengers, was now fairly out at sea.
+
+As far as money was concerned, Mr. Graham had no anxieties, for being
+the only son of a very wealthy man, who had lost his wife some time
+before he died himself, Mr. Graham had, at his father's death, inherited
+the whole of his large fortune.
+
+"Now, father, don't you think it's high time you began to tell us about
+old Peking?" Leonard said, a few days after they had sailed. "I did not
+ask you at first, because we had plenty to do to look about us, but now
+that there's nothing in the world but water to see anywhere, we should
+so like to hear some stories; so please begin, if it won't trouble you
+too much."
+
+And sitting on deck, with Sybil on his right and Leonard on his left,
+Mr. Graham did as he was requested, and gave his children what they
+considered a very interesting description of a portion of that vast
+empire which they were so soon to visit. "The Chinese," he began, "are a
+very ancient race, so ancient, indeed, that the origin of their monarchy
+is not known."
+
+"Do you mind waiting one minute, father, just to tell me a thing I have
+forgotten, and you told me once?" Leonard asked. "What does the word
+China mean?"
+
+"The ancient name for China, Tien-sha, means 'inferior only to heaven.'
+Chinese history begins with the fabulous ages, two or three million
+years ago, when the Chinese say that no land but theirs was inhabited,
+and gods reigned upon the earth, which was made for them. After the
+gods, they tell us, came mythical kings, who were giants, had the power
+of working miracles, and lived for thousands of years; but it is really
+supposed that the first people who passed beyond the deserts of Central
+Asia settled in the province of Shen-si, which borders on Tartary, and
+here laid the foundation of the present monarchy of China.
+
+"Some Chinese historians think that their first mortal Emperor was
+Fuh-hi, whose date of coming to the throne is fixed as early as 2,852
+years B.C. He is described as possessing great virtues, and was called
+by his subjects the 'Son of heaven'--a title which is still given to
+Emperors of China, who are foolishly supposed, by some of their
+subjects, to be of celestial origin. He is said to have taught them how
+to keep laws and to live peaceably, also to have invented the arts of
+music and numbers. Certainly the Chinese have understood music from very
+early ages, and class it among the chief of the sciences.
+
+[Illustration: MUSICIANS.]
+
+"They have at least fifty different kinds of wind and string musical
+instruments, made of wood, stone, or metal, and they play a great
+deal, but especially upon their fiddle instruments. They do not like our
+music at all.
+
+"But now we must go back to a little more Chinese history. There is
+nothing to prove that the Chinese existed as a nation before the time of
+Yu the Great, whose date of accession is said to be 2,285 years B.C.,
+and he is also included in the Legendary Period to which Fuh-hi belongs.
+After the Legendary Period came the Semi-Historical Period in Chinese
+history; the really Historical Period dating from the early part of the
+eighth century before Christ.
+
+"Different dynasties succeeded each other, till from the years 500 to
+200 B.C. many petty kings, reigning over various provinces, waged war
+against one another. At length a fierce warrior, named Ching-wang, went
+to war with, and conquered, all of them, and made himself master of the
+whole empire, about 200 years B.C., his government comprising about the
+northern half of modern China. He was the first monarch of the dynasty
+called Tsin, or Chin. Next he turned his arms against the Tartars, who
+were a portion of those people whom we read of in history by the name of
+Huns, and who were now making constant inroads into China. They were
+capital soldiers--I believe every Tartar has now to be a soldier--and as
+the Chinese dreaded them very much, the Emperor thought out a way to
+keep them off. He erected a great wall along the whole extent of the
+northern frontier of China, of very great height, thickness, and
+strength, made of two walls of brick many feet apart, the space between
+them being, for half the length of the wall, filled up with earth, and
+the other half with gravel and rubbish. On it were square towers, which
+were erected at about a hundred yards' distance from one another. Some
+say this wall extended 1,500 miles from the sea to the most western
+provinces of Shen-si; McCulloch says it is 1,250 miles in length. It was
+carried over mountains and across rivers. Six horsemen could ride
+abreast upon it. But there was great cruelty practised in its
+construction, for the Emperor obliged every third labouring man in the
+kingdom to work at this wall without payment.
+
+[Illustration: GREAT WALL OF CHINA, GULF OF PE-CHI-LI.]
+
+"It took five years to finish, and has now existed for more than two
+thousand years. It is called Wan-li-chang, or Myriad-mile Wall."
+
+"And did it keep out the Tartars?" Leonard asked.
+
+"No; the little Emperor Tsai-tien, born in 1871, and now on the throne,
+is, I believe, a descendant of theirs. He is called Kwang-su, which
+means 'Continuation of glory.'"
+
+"Does the Emperor's eldest son always reign?"
+
+"No; the ablest or best son is generally chosen. Ching-wang seemed to
+think that he was master of the whole universe, and called himself
+Che-Hwang-ti, or First Emperor; and then to try to show that he was the
+founder of the monarchy, he had, as he thought, all the historical
+documents burnt that could prove otherwise, but did not succeed, for
+some that had been hidden behind the walls of houses were found after
+his death."
+
+"What a quantity of stuff it must have taken to build the wall!" said
+Leonard.
+
+"Yes; the material in the Great Wall, including the earth in the middle
+of it, is said to be more than enough to surround the circumference of
+the earth, on two of its great circles, with two walls of six feet high
+and two feet thick. Guards are stationed in the strong towers by which
+the wall is fortified; every important pass having a strong fortress."
+
+"And what is the height of the wall, father?" asked Leonard.
+
+"About twenty feet; and there are steps of brick and stone for men on
+foot to ascend, and slanting places for the cavalry."
+
+"I shall like to see Chinese soldiers," Leonard said. "Did you ever see
+them at drill, father?"
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE ARTILLERY-MEN, PEKING.]
+
+"I remember very well seeing a regiment of artillery at gun-drill one
+day, but I believe there has been a new armament of Chinese artillery
+since my time. I suppose you know, children," then said Mr. Graham,
+"that Peking ranks----"
+
+"For the number of its inhabitants," Sybil said quickly, "as the second
+city in the world, only London having more inhabitants, Paris about the
+same number."
+
+"Yes; and it has----"
+
+"About two million inhabitants."
+
+"Yes; and as Peking was built many centuries before the Christian era,
+it is a very old city. The name Peking means Court of the North. After
+the conquest by the Tartars of the kingdom of Yen, of which Peking was
+the capital, it became only a provincial town, when, at the beginning of
+the fifteenth century, it was again made the capital of China. The
+Chinese sovereigns used to live at Nanking, but when the Tartars had so
+often invaded the country, they removed to the northern province, to
+enable them the more easily to keep out the invaders."
+
+"On our Chinese umbrella that we had in the dining-room fireplace at
+home," said Sybil, "there was, I remember, a picture of Peking, and some
+water was close by it, but I cannot remember what river Peking is on."
+
+"It is situated in a large sandy plain on the Tunghui, a small tributary
+of the Peiho. This city is again divided into the Chinese and Tartar
+cities, the Imperial city, in which live the Emperor and his retainers,
+and another in which the court officials have their residence.
+
+"Like all other Chinese cities, they are surrounded by high walls. At
+the north, south, east, and west sides of towns are large folding-gates,
+which are often further secured by three inner gates. The one in the
+south is that of honour, through which the Emperor passes, but which is
+usually kept closed at other times.
+
+[Illustration: CIEAN-MUN, OR CHEAN-GATE AT PEKING.]
+
+"The wall of Peking, which is sixteen miles round, has two gates on
+three sides and three on the other, of which the principal is Chean-Mun,
+at the south of the Tartar city. Over the gate is a building occupied by
+soldiers, who are there for purposes of defence.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE SOLDIER.]
+
+[Illustration: STREET OF HATA-MENE-TA-KIE, PEKING.]
+
+"The streets in Peking are very broad; we shall find them much narrower
+in the south of China. They are raised in the centre, and covered with a
+kind of stone, to form a smooth, hard surface. In summer they are often,
+I remember, very dusty, and during the rainy seasons very dirty. At the
+end of each street is a wooden barrier, which is guarded day and night
+by soldiers. The barrier is closed at nine o'clock at night, after which
+time the Chinese are only allowed to pass through if they have a very
+good reason to give for being out so late.
+
+"Order is well kept in the streets of Peking by the soldiers and police,
+who may use their whips on troublesome customers whenever they think it
+necessary to do so.
+
+"The principal streets, or main thoroughfares, extending from one end of
+the city to the other, are its only outlets. Trees grow in several of
+these streets. Houses, in which the inhabitants live, are in smaller
+streets or lanes, the houses themselves being often shut in by walls.
+
+"Pagodas (which, you know, are temples to heathen gods, built in the
+form of towers), monasteries, and churchyards, are all outside the
+walls, and the city itself is principally kept for purposes of
+commerce."
+
+"We know what pagodas are like," Leonard said, "because we had two at
+home for ornaments. I think we know many things through being so
+fortunate as to have a father who has travelled."
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE BARBER.]
+
+"There is a great noise in some of the streets," Mr. Graham went on:
+"for instance, in the Hata-mene-ta-kie, where many people are to be seen
+bustling about and talking very loudly to one another. Tents are here
+put up in which rice, fruit, and other things are sold, and any one
+wishing for a pretty substantial meal can be supplied with it in the
+Hata-mene-ta-kie, for before stoves stand the vendors of such meals, who
+have cooked them ready for purchasers. Other tradesmen carry hampers,
+slung across their shoulders, in which they keep their goods, whilst
+they call out, from time to time, to let people know what these hampers
+contain. Carts, horses, mules, wheel-barrows, and sedan-chairs pass
+along, the whole place seeming to be alive with buyers and sellers. The
+cobbler is sure to be somewhere close at hand in his movable workshop,
+and first here and then there, as may best suit himself and employers,
+the blacksmith pitches his tent, which sometimes consists of a large
+umbrella; whilst, again, people can refresh themselves, if they do not
+care for a heavier meal, with some soup or a patty at a soup stall.
+
+"And the barber does not forget that he is a very useful person. There,
+in the open streets, he communicates, by the tinkling of a little bell,
+the fact that he is ready to shave the heads and arrange the cues or
+pig-tails of those who may require his services; and as one man after
+another takes the seat that has been put ready for him, the barber not
+only shaves and plaits, but also frequently paints his customer's
+eyebrows and gives his clothes a brush."
+
+"Father, why do Chinamen wear pig-tails?" here broke in Leonard, who,
+with Sybil, was very much interested in what he heard.
+
+"After they were conquered by the Tartars they were obliged to wear
+them, to show that they were in subjection to their conquerors; but now
+the pig-tail is held in honour, and the longer it will grow the better
+pleased is the Chinese gentleman who wears it. Some very bad criminals
+have their tails cut off as a great punishment and disgrace.
+
+"Well, what should you like to hear now?" Mr. Graham asked, after a
+little pause.
+
+"What Chinese shops are like, I think," said Sybil.
+
+[Illustration: A SHOP IN PEKING.]
+
+"Most of those in China are quite open in front; where we are going I
+suppose we shall see very few, if any, shop-windows at all, but in
+Peking many of the shops have glass windows. In China there are
+certain streets for certain shops, where the different branches of
+trade have generally their own sides of the road. A shop is called a
+hong. Sometimes the master sits outside, waiting for his customers to
+arrive.
+
+[Illustration: SIGN-BOARD OF A CUSHION AND MATTING MANUFACTORY.]
+
+"At the door of each hong are sign-boards, upon which are painted in
+gold, or coloured letters, a motto instead of a name, and what the shop
+offers for sale.
+
+"I do not think," Mr. Graham then said, drawing, as he spoke, a little
+representation of a sign-board out of his pocket-book, "that I ever
+showed you this."
+
+"Oh no!" both the children answered. "And what do those characters
+mean?"
+
+On another piece of paper Mr. Graham pointed out to them the following
+interpretation:
+
+               =Teen=
+               =Yee=
+               =Shun=
+          Fung        Poo
+          Seih        Tian
+              =Teen=
+
+[Illustration: A TWO-WHEELED CART.]
+
+"The three first large characters, which form the motto, may be taken to
+signify that 'Heaven favours the prudent.' The other smaller characters
+designate the nature of the business, a cushion and matting
+manufactory; the last character, without which no sign-board is
+complete, meaning shop or factory."
+
+"I shall like to see these sign-boards very much when we get to China,"
+Sybil said. "I should think they must make the streets look very
+pretty."
+
+Mr. Graham had illustrated several things which he had told the children
+by some pictures which he had brought on board with him.
+
+[Illustration: A YOUNG FARMER AND HIS PARENTS.]
+
+Leonard was now looking again at that of Chean Mun, or Chean Gate, for
+Mun means gate.
+
+"I have been noticing, father," he then said, "that all the carts in
+this picture have only two wheels."
+
+"I never saw any in China with more," was the answer. "Both shut and
+open carts (the latter being used as carriages) have all two wheels.
+Those in common use are made of wood, the body of the cart resting on
+an axle-tree, supported by the wheels. Horses and mules are very little
+used in China, except for travelling and for conveying luggage long
+distances. I remember also noticing that horses and ponies require very
+little guiding in China. Sometimes they go without reins, when their
+masters will perhaps walk beside them, carrying a whip. I have also seen
+very polite drivers, who, whenever they met a friend, jumped off their
+carts and walked on foot to pass one another.
+
+[Illustration: A CHINESE JUNK.]
+
+[Illustration: FLYING KITES.]
+
+"Government servants generally use ponies, but as China is so densely
+populated--having, it has been estimated, about four hundred million
+inhabitants, and people find it so hard to obtain enough to support
+themselves and families--they keep as few beasts of burden as possible.
+The farmer employs the bullock a great deal, and in the north of China
+the camel is also much used.
+
+"Much trade is carried on by boats, and where there is no water, and
+farmers are without other conveyances, they will sometimes push their
+wives along the roads in wheel-barrows, sons giving their parents
+similar drives. There are but few carriage-roads in many parts of
+China."
+
+"I wonder the Chinese do not make more, then," said Leonard.
+
+"They cannot afford to do so, because to make them bread-producing land
+would have to be done away with."
+
+"What a number of rivers and bays there are in China!" said Sybil, who
+was again examining her map. "And I see the Great Wall crosses the
+Hwang-ho."
+
+"And that's the fifth largest river in the world," Leonard answered.
+"Only the Amazon, Mississippi, Nile, and Yantze-kiang are larger; and
+the Grand Canal in China is the very largest canal in the world."
+
+"I learnt once, too, that Hwang-ho meant 'Chinese sorrow.' Why is it
+called that?"
+
+"Because it has altered its course, which has caused great loss and
+inconvenience to the Chinese."
+
+"And what does 'Yantze-kiang' mean?"
+
+"The son that spreads; this is their favourite river."
+
+Geography was one of Leonard's favourite studies.
+
+"Why do so many Chinese rivers end in ho and kiang?" he then asked,
+looking over Sybil's map.
+
+"Both words mean river--the Yantze and the Hwang rivers. And the Chinese
+have all kinds of boats for use on their rivers. Here, my boy, is a
+picture of a Chinese junk. Look at it well, and see if you can discover
+anything peculiar about it."
+
+Leonard looked for some time. "It has sails," he answered, "like
+butterflies' wings."
+
+"Yes; that is how the Chinese make many of their sails."
+
+"But the kites are what I want to see so much," said Leonard, as though
+the sails had reminded him of them again. "What are the most peculiar of
+them like?"
+
+"Like birds, insects, animals, clusters of birds, gods on clouds: all
+kinds of things, in fact, are represented by these kites, which the
+Chinese are most clever in making, and also in flying. I have seen old
+men, of about seventy years of age, thoroughly enjoying flying their
+kites. The Chinese do not care much for your, and my, favourite games,
+Leonard: cricket and football."
+
+"What games do they like?"
+
+"They are very fond of battledore and shuttlecock, but instead of using
+a battledore they hit the shuttlecock with their heads, elbows, or feet.
+Seven or eight children play together, and nearly always aim the
+shuttlecock rightly. Girls play at this game too, in spite of their
+small feet. Tops, balls, see-saws, and quoits are also favourite toys
+and games amongst the Chinese."
+
+"I remember," Sybil said, "a girl at school having a Chinese
+shuttlecock, and that was like a bird."
+
+"Well, father, go on, please. What other amusements have they?" asked
+Leonard.
+
+"Puppet-shows for one thing I remember, which they exhibit in the
+streets, as we do 'Punch and Judy.' The pictures in these shows are
+exhibited by means of strings, which are either worked from behind or
+from above the stand, and as the people look through a glass, the views
+are displayed to them. A man standing at the side calls out loudly, and
+beats a little gong to summon people to attend the show. And now I
+think, as I am rather tired for to-day, I shall beat a little gong to
+dismiss you from the show," Mr. Graham said, smiling, as he turned
+towards his children, who never seemed to grow tired of listening.
+
+"Very well, father; we will go now, and let you rest," Sybil replied,
+standing up. "Thank you so much. To-morrow, you know, we shall come to
+the show again, so please remember to sound the gong in good time." And
+off they bounded, leaving Mr. Graham at liberty to go and seek his wife,
+who was then lying down in her cabin.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE RELIGIONS OF CHINA.
+
+
+[Illustration: LI-HUNG.]
+
+"WILL you please tell us to-day, father, something about the religion of
+the Chinese? I know they worship idols, but how do they believe in
+them?" Sybil asked, as soon as their "Peep-show," as the children
+continued to call their father's stories, began the next afternoon.
+During the morning she had sat and read to her mother, who still felt
+the motion of the vessel very much, and had therefore to lie down part
+of the day.
+
+"I will try to do so," was the answer; "but I think what you hear may
+puzzle you a good deal, for they have very strange creeds."
+
+"Did grandfather make many converts?"
+
+"Very few indeed; but then he was one of our very first missionaries to
+Peking, so was most thankful for the very little which he was enabled to
+do.
+
+[Illustration: A CITIZEN OF TIENT-SIN.]
+
+"I remember two men for whose conversion from Buddhism he often gave
+thanks. One was a citizen of Tientsin, where we landed on our way to the
+capital.
+
+"This good fellow, who was then a very questionable character, was
+smoking his pipe in a most indifferent manner, when my father, through
+his teacher, first addressed him. Missionaries in China, you know, have
+teachers of the dialects."
+
+"Shall you have one?"
+
+"Of course. Well, this man would not listen at all at first, and was
+very angry at my father's interference; but after a while we met him
+again at Peking, and in time both he and his wife learnt to believe, and
+to long for Christian baptism, before receiving which they not only left
+off worshipping their family idols, but even destroyed them. A short
+time ago I heard that this man had become a native lay teacher, and was
+a great help to the mission, as he could, of course, always make himself
+understood to his own countrymen, who were also not unlikely to be won
+by his example."
+
+"What was his name?" asked Leonard.
+
+"Tung-Sean."
+
+"And that of the other convert?"
+
+"Li-Hung. He was a much older man, and was sitting, I remember, the day
+we first saw him, in a field, resting from his work, and as he caught
+sight of my father he began to call him all sorts of names, amongst
+which was to be heard very often that of 'foreign devil.' I believe he
+even looked for stones to throw at us. Your grandfather--always a very
+quiet, self-possessed man--just dropped some tracts at his side,
+translated into Chinese. We often saw Li-Hung again, and though he gave
+us much trouble, a month before my father died he had the happiness also
+of witnessing this man's conversion to the true faith."
+
+"Grandfather must have been very pleased," Sybil said.
+
+"He was; but I think now I have something rather interesting to tell you
+of our journey from Tientsin to Peking. We went in carts drawn by two
+mules, one in front of the other, and at night we slept at inns, where,
+I think, you would like to hear about our sleeping accommodation. It was
+winter, and as the Peking winter is cold, people there, to make
+themselves warm at night, sleep on kangs. As these were different at
+both inns to which we went, I will tell you about both.
+
+[Illustration: A KANG.]
+
+"In one the kang consisted of a platform built of brick, so much larger
+than a bed that several people could sleep on it at once. A kind of
+tunnel passed through the platform, which had a chimney at one end,
+whilst at the other end, a little while before bed-time, a small
+quantity of dry fuel was set on fire, when the flame passed through the
+tunnel and out of the chimney. In this way the kang was warmed, when
+felt matting was put upon it. Here we lay down, and were covered over
+with a kind of cotton-wool counterpane.
+
+[Illustration: BOATS ON THE RIVER PEI-HO AT TIENT-SIN.]
+
+"The kang in the other inn was warmed by a little stove from underneath,
+which also served in the day-time for cooking purposes, when the
+bed-clothes were removed from the kang, on which mats, and even little
+tables, were also sometimes put, until it became a sofa; so it was very
+useful."
+
+The children laughed.
+
+"We are not hearing about the religion yet, though," Sybil said.
+
+"Oh, do let us hear just a little more about Peking and Tientsin first,"
+Leonard answered. "How far is Tientsin from the capital?"
+
+"Eighty miles. And do you know what river it is on?"
+
+Leonard considered. "It must be an important one, I should think, as it
+carries things, doesn't it, from the sea-coast to near to Peking?"
+
+"It is only a river of secondary importance, but the principal one of
+the province of Pe-chili. Now for its name." Sybil referred to her map.
+
+"The Pei-ho, of course," they exclaimed together. "And I suppose there
+is ever so much traffic on it?" Leonard said; "with no end of ships to
+be seen?"
+
+"Yes, a good many may be seen there. I have a picture of boats on the
+River Pei-ho."
+
+"What sort of flags do Chinese boats have, father? I do not see any
+hoisted here."
+
+"The Imperial Navy is divided into river and sea-going vessels, the
+former consisting of 1,900 ships, the latter of 918; and there are
+188,000 sailors. Ships in the Imperial Navy generally fly a flag at the
+main, on which red lines are drawn, or sometimes a tri-colour is hoisted
+there instead. Red would, I suppose, be for safety, as this is the
+'lucky' colour of the Chinese. At the stern of the vessel I remember
+seeing the name of the official who directs and superintends the ship."
+
+"Isn't Tientsin noted for something?" Sybil then asked.
+
+[Illustration: MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.]
+
+"Yes; for the treaty of June 26th, 1858, between the Chinese and
+British, some of the terms of which were that the Christian religion
+should be protected by Chinese authorities, that British subjects should
+be allowed to travel in the country for pleasure or business, under
+passports issued by their consul, and that the Queen might acquire a
+building site at Peking."
+
+"But now the religion, please, father," she said again.
+
+"Very well; but you must pay great attention to what I say, or you will
+not understand. Most of the Chinese are either Confucianists, Buddhists,
+or Taouists, although there are also Jews and Mahometans amongst them.
+At one time it is supposed that the people of China had really a
+knowledge of the true God, and that when they worshipped, in much the
+same sort of manner as did the patriarchs, Him whom they call Wang-teen,
+or Shang-ti, which means Supreme Ruler, they worshipped God.
+
+"But mixing with this an idolatrous worship of departed ancestors, they
+nearly lost sight of the Supreme Ruler, the jealous God, Who, we know,
+claims all our worship.
+
+"About the latter half of the sixth century before Christ, Confucius, a
+great and clever philosopher of China, who was born 551 B.C., wrote and
+put together books that held very moral and good maxims, afterwards
+called 'The Classics.'
+
+"He taught that men must always be obedient to those to whom they are in
+subjection: people to prince, child to parent, filial piety being
+enforced before every other duty. He was very anxious to improve the
+manners of the people; but women he ranked very low. Confucianism
+is--but perhaps you will not understand this--more a philosophy than a
+religion. Its followers have no particular form of worship, and no
+priesthood. The Pearly Emperor, Supreme Ruler, is their deity, but
+worship is seldom offered to him, and then only by a few.
+
+"Although Confucius disapproved very much of idols, after he was dead
+many of his followers worshipped him.
+
+[Illustration: A MANDARIN.]
+
+"Confucianists do not believe in a future state of rewards and
+punishments, but think that their good and bad deeds will be rewarded
+here by riches or poverty, long or short life, good or bad health.
+Conscience is to lead people aright, and tell them when they do wrong.
+
+"The high mandarins and literary people are generally Confucianists;
+school-boys also worship an idol or tablet of the sage, in which his
+spirit is supposed to dwell.
+
+"There is a temple to the honour of 'The Great Teacher' in every large
+town; and on great occasions, and always in spring-time and autumn,
+sacrifices are here offered, the Emperor himself, as high priest,
+presiding at these two ceremonies in Peking, the chief mandarins of his
+court giving him assistance. In temples of Confucius idols are very
+seldom to be seen.
+
+"The Confucianists are taught that man was originally good, his nature
+being given by heaven, and that sin came through union of the soul with
+matter."
+
+"What are mandarins, please, father?" asked Leonard.
+
+"Chinese officials, of which there are many grades, and many in each
+grade, all of whom are paid by Government. To every province there is a
+viceroy, to every city a governor, and to the village a mandarin, who is
+elected to rule over it for three years; and all these, again, have many
+officers under them. There are also a great many military mandarins. A
+great mark of imperial favour is to allow mandarins, civil or military,
+to wear a peacock's feather in their caps, which hangs down over the
+back, and the ball placed on the top shows, by its colour and material,
+the rank of the wearer. Soldiers fighting very bravely are often buoyed
+up with the hope of receiving one of these feathers.
+
+"Mandarins, who stand in a sort of fatherly relationship towards their
+people, although they do not always behave like fathers towards them,
+look for implicit obedience from them."
+
+"Can a mandarin be punished when he does wrong?" Leonard asked. "And
+what sort of dress does he wear?"
+
+[Illustration: A MANDARIN WITH PEACOCK'S FEATHER.]
+
+"He can be punished when he does wrong; and as well as I can remember,
+those mandarins that I saw, who were in high office, wore a long, loose
+robe of blue silk, embroidered with gold threads. This reached to their
+ankles, being fastened round their waists with a belt. Over this was a
+violet tunic, coming just below the knees, which had very wide, long
+sleeves, usually worn turned back, but if not, hanging over the hands."
+
+"Will you please go on about the religion now, father?" Sybil then said.
+"You had just told us that the Confucianists were taught that man was
+made good."
+
+"Yes; and their worship is paid almost entirely to their ancestors,
+which worship they look upon as a continuation of the reverence they had
+been taught to show them while on earth. I will tell you more about
+ancestral worship presently.
+
+"Many people, as you can well understand, were not satisfied with
+Confucianism as a religion, as it could not satisfy their spiritual
+wants, especially as the Pearly Emperor, or Supreme Ruler, generally
+looked upon as the highest divinity worshipped by the Chinese, might
+only be approached by the Emperor and his court; so another sect sprang
+up, having a philosopher named La-outze, who was born 604 B.C., for its
+founder. He thought that to grow perfect he must seclude himself from
+other people, and in his retirement was always looking for the Taou-le,
+the meaning of which you will hardly understand--the cause or the end of
+all things. His followers are called Taouists. This philosopher says in
+his book that 'it is by stillness, and contemplation, and union with
+Taou, that virtue is to be achieved'--Taou here meaning a principle and
+a way. He said that virtue consisted in losing sight of oneself, and
+that man should love even his enemies, and go through life as if none of
+his possessions belonged to himself. The Taouists say that 'Taou is
+without substance, and eternal, and the universe coming from him exists
+in the silent presence of Taou everywhere,' and that only those who
+become very virtuous are happy.
+
+"La-outze is now worshipped by the Taouists as the third of a trinity
+of persons, called 'The Three Pure Ones.'
+
+"He is said, when born, to have had long white hair, and is therefore
+represented as an old man, and called 'old boy.' The Chinese assert that
+his mother was fed with food from heaven, and that when he was born he
+jumped up into the air, and said, as he pointed with his left hand to
+heaven and his right hand to the earth, 'Heaven above, earth beneath:
+only Taou is honourable.' The Taouist trinity are supposed to live in
+the highest heaven; and Taouists used to spend a great deal of time in
+seeking for a drink that they thought would make them live for ever.
+Subduing evil is by some of them supposed to secure immortality to the
+soul.
+
+"Their priests are often very ignorant men, but they are believed in by
+the people, and are employed by them to perform superstitious rites."
+
+"Oh, father! Isn't it a dreadful pity that they should believe so many
+things like Christians, even in a trinity, and the duty of loving one's
+enemies, and only be heathens after all?"
+
+"It is indeed; but the more we see of heathens, Sybil, the more we shall
+notice how they cannot help feeling after truth and grasping some parts
+of it, which seem as though they were a very necessity to religion.
+These Taouist priests are often called in by the people to exorcise, or
+drive away, evil spirits, to cure sick people and commune with the
+dead."
+
+"Oh, father! I do so like this Peep-show. Please tell us now about the
+people of the other sect."
+
+[Illustration: A BUDDHIST PRIEST.]
+
+"They are the Buddhists, who also worship a trinity; indeed, Taouists
+are thought to have taken that idea from them. As early as 250 B.C.
+Buddhist missionaries came over from India to China, but the religion
+did not really take root until an emperor named Hing, of the Han
+dynasty, introduced it, in the first century of the Christian era, about
+66 A.D. This emperor is said to have seen in a dream, in the year of our
+Lord 61, an image of a foreign god coming into his palace, and in
+consequence he was advised to adopt the religion of Buddha, when he sent
+to India for an idol and some priests. Towards the end of the thirteenth
+century there were more than 4,200 Buddhist temples in China, and more
+than 213,000 monks. The Buddhist trinity is called Pihte, or the Three
+Precious Ones: Buddha Past, Buddha Present, and Buddha Future, and
+dreadfully ugly idols they are. The Buddhist's idea of heaven is
+Nirvana, or rest, or more properly speaking, extinction. The Chinese
+Buddhist thinks that a man possesses three souls or spirits, one of
+which accompanies the body to the grave, another passes into his
+ancestral tablet to be worshipped, and the third enters into one, or
+all, of the ten kingdoms of the Buddhistic hell, into which people pass
+after death, there to receive punishments according to the lives they
+have led upon earth. From the tenth kingdom they pass back to earth, to
+inhabit the form of a man, beast, bird, or insect, as they may have
+deserved, unless during life a man has attained to a certain state of
+perfection, when he mounts to the highest heaven, and perhaps becomes a
+god or buddha. But even from the Western Paradise a spirit has sometimes
+to return to earth. Should a man have been good in all the various lives
+that he has lived, he is supposed to attain, I believe, to this Nirvana,
+or extinction."
+
+"What a wonderful belief!" Sybil said. "So they cannot believe at all in
+the immortality of the soul?"
+
+"No, they do not."
+
+"I should like to see a Buddhist priest very much," Leonard said.
+
+[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO A BUDDHIST MONASTERY.]
+
+"I dare say you will see a good many when you get to China. They live
+together in monasteries, sometimes in great numbers, and these
+monasteries are prettily situated, surrounded by lakes and gardens. They
+consist of a number of small buildings, to the principal of which is a
+large entrance, that has inscriptions on either side of the gateway."
+
+[Illustration: A MONASTERY.]
+
+"Are the priests very good men?" asked Leonard.
+
+[Illustration: A GONG.]
+
+"Very often, I am afraid, just the reverse; but this is not to be
+wondered at, for criminals in China, to escape from justice, will
+sometimes shave their heads, and seek refuge by becoming Buddhist
+priests. When they take their vows--some taking nine, some twelve--for
+each one a cut is made in their arms to help them to remember it. Some
+of the vows resemble the commandments setting forth our duty towards our
+neighbour. A Buddhist priest, in China, wears a wide turn-over collar;
+when he officiates he often dresses in a yellow robe made of silk or
+cotton, but he is only allowed to wear silk when he does officiate. At
+other times his garments are of white or ash colour, or he wears a long,
+grey cowl with flowing sleeves. Buddhist priests shave all their hair
+two or three times a month. They think it is of great use to repeat
+their classics very often to the gods, and keep an account of the number
+of times they say them on their beads. I fancy they use brooms wherewith
+to sprinkle holy water. There are four special commandments for
+Buddhists, both priests and people: not to destroy animal life, not to
+steal, not to speak falsely, and not to drink wine. In monasteries the
+refectories of the priests are very large, and they have all to sit at
+dinner, so that the abbot, who is at their head, can see their faces.
+They are called to breakfast and dinner by a gong, where they have to
+appear in their cowls. Gongs are very much used in China, and are to be
+seen at all the temples. When the priest, who presides, comes in, they
+all rise, and putting their hands together, say grace. After the food
+has been so blessed, some is put outside as an offering to the fowls of
+the air. During dinner the priests may not speak, and on the walls of
+the refectory are boards, on which are written warnings, such as not to
+eat too quickly; also the rules of the monastery."
+
+"That would not have done for you, Leonard, when you thought you would
+be late for school, and gobbled your dinner anyhow," said Sybil.
+
+"How many gods have the Chinese?" asked Leonard.
+
+[Illustration: WORSHIP IN A LAMASARY, BUDDHIST TEMPLE.]
+
+"So many that it would be impossible to say, and the Celestials (as the
+Chinese are often called, from naming their country the Celestial Land)
+are not particular how they worship them; Taouists, for instance,
+worshipping those who are peculiarly Buddhist divinities, and Buddhists
+invoking, in return, their gods. Indeed, the three religions have so
+borrowed from one another, and people have believed so much as they
+liked, that the Chinese themselves often do not know to which religion
+they belong, and are either all or none, pretty well as they choose. The
+Buddhism of China is not at all the pure Buddhism, and has been much
+corrupted by its professors."
+
+"Who was the founder of Buddhism?"
+
+"An Indian prince, of beautiful character, born 620 B.C., and called
+Shakyamuni Buddha, who left wealth and luxury to go about relieving
+suffering wherever he found it. After he died his followers believed
+that he was transformed into a god, having three different forms."
+
+"Tell us some of the gods, please."
+
+"A god of rain; a god of wind; a god of thunder; a god of wealth, the
+latter worshipped very much by tradesmen; a god of thieves; a goddess of
+thunder; a guardian goddess of women and little children, called Kum-fa,
+whose ten attendants watch over children, helping them to eat, and
+teaching them to smile and walk; a god of wine; a god of fire; a goddess
+of mercy; a goddess of sailors; a goddess of children, called 'Mother';
+a god of the kitchen; a god of measles, a god of small-pox. Then the
+Confucianists worship two stars, who are supposed to look after
+literature and drawing, the former called the god of literature. And
+besides household gods belonging to every family, there are a god of the
+passing year, and numerous others. Many of the gods are deified persons
+who once lived on earth."
+
+[Illustration: TEMPLE OF THE MOON, PEKING.]
+
+"What a number!" Sybil said. "But who, then, is the great Lama? You have
+not told us anything about him yet, and I heard you speaking about him
+the other day."
+
+"There is another form of Buddhism, called Lamaism, and this, though it
+prevails principally in Thibet and Mongolia, has also its followers in
+Peking. The Great Lama, or Living Buddha, is the head of this."
+
+"And he is a living man?"
+
+"Yes; but his soul is said never to die; therefore, when he dies it is
+supposed to pass into an infant whom the priests select by a likeness
+that they trace to the late Lama. I one day saw worship going on in a
+Lama temple."
+
+"Have you a picture of it, father?" Leonard asked, who was getting a
+little tired of these descriptions, which Sybil liked so much.
+
+"Yes, and I think it a very good one. In the centre, facing the
+worshippers, is a very large idol indeed of Buddha. To the right and
+left of the temple are smaller idols. Some gods in temples do not
+receive worship, but guard the doors. Incense is burning in front; the
+high priest, to the right, is lifting up his hands in adoration, whilst
+the people offer scented rods and tapers to Buddha. As they light their
+offerings they kow-tow, or hit their heads upon the floor. This is the
+Chinese way of reverent, respectful salutation. The devotees are grouped
+in squares.
+
+"Then I forgot to tell you that the Sun and Moon are also worshipped.
+Whilst in Peking, I went to a temple of the Moon. It was on the day of
+the autumnal equinox, when, at six o'clock in the evening, a very solemn
+sacrifice is offered, and the great ladies of the capital meet to burn
+their tapers. I approached this temple by a long avenue of beautiful
+trees. The temple was large; but I noticed that more women than men had
+come to attend the ceremonies."
+
+"I thought the Chinese were clever people," Sybil said; "if so, how can
+they believe in so many gods?"
+
+"They have been trained to do so. They feel, I suppose, that they must
+offer worship, and until a real knowledge of the true God can be planted
+in their midst, they will remain slaves to idolatry. Many of the more
+enlightened heathen, I believe, only regard their idols as
+representations of the Deity they are feeling after, and not really as
+the Deity Himself; although I fear many of the simpler sort, in
+different degrees, regard their idols with great religious awe. Then,
+many a Chinaman, again, will so often seem to have no religion at all!"
+
+"Is it very difficult to teach the Chinese, father?"
+
+"It is very difficult to find words, in their language, clearly to bring
+home to them the great truths of the Bible; and Confucius having for
+nearly twenty centuries held such a sway over their minds, they do not
+care to listen to new teachers."
+
+"I am so glad the Bible is now translated into Chinese, and that you are
+taking some copies out with you. But how old these people must be!"
+
+"The Chinese are a very ancient race, and had a literature 700 years
+before Christ. They are very fond and proud of their country."
+
+"Do Taouists and Buddhists believe in, and read, the writings of
+Confucius?"
+
+"To a great extent."
+
+"And are there many Christians in China now?"
+
+"The Church Missionary Society, at her six chief stations of Hong-Kong,
+Foo-Chow, Ningpo, Hang-Chow, Shaou-hing, and Shanghai, now numbers 4,667
+native followers, and 1,702 communicants, of whom nine are native
+clergymen and 174 native Christian teachers. In China altogether there
+are 40,000 Christian adherents. But what are these, when we think that
+this vast empire alone contains 400,000,000 people, one-third of the
+human race?"
+
+"They will listen to you, father," Sybil said, looking up very brightly.
+Sybil was a child who thought that there was nobody, except her own
+mother, in the whole world to compare with her father.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+CHINESE CHILDHOOD.
+
+
+"I FORGOT to ask you, father," Leonard said, about a week later--for
+during that time he and his sister had been otherwise engaged, and had
+therefore not come to hear anything more about the Chinese and their
+strange doings--"I forgot to ask you if Celestial boys wore pig-tails
+too. I have never, I believe, seen a picture of a Chinese boy."
+
+"Some have pig-tails, but some parents allow just a tuft of hair to grow
+on a boy's head until he is eight or ten years old, and shave the rest.
+Sometimes he wears the tuft longer; and I have also seen girls wearing
+it on one or both sides of their heads."
+
+"Father, will you tell us something now about the children?" Sybil then
+asked.
+
+"I know little babies of three days old often have their wrists tied
+with red cotton cord, to which a charm is hung, which is, I suppose, to
+bring it prosperity or drive away from it evil spirits. At a month old
+its head is shaved for the first time, when, if its mother does not
+shave it, a hair-dresser has to wear red in which to do it. A boy is
+shaved before the ancestral tablet, but a girl before an image of the
+goddess of children called 'Mother,' and thank-offerings are on this day
+presented to the goddess."
+
+"What does the ancestral tablet mean?"
+
+"It consists of a piece of wood or stone, which is meant to represent
+the dead. As I told you, one of the spirits of a dead man is supposed to
+enter the tablet, and the more this is worshipped the happier the spirit
+is supposed to be. On this tablet are names and inscriptions, which
+sometimes represent several ancestors. After a certain time (I think the
+fifth generation) the tablet is no longer worshipped, as by that time
+the spirit is supposed to have passed into another body."
+
+"Thank you. I understand that now," Sybil said. "Does anything else
+happen on the grand shaving day?"
+
+"Presents of painted ducks' eggs, cakes, and other things are sent to
+the baby, and when it is four months old 'Mother' is thanked again, and
+prayed to make the child grow fast, sleep well, and be good-tempered."
+Sybil and Leonard laughed. "On this day the child also sits for the
+first time in a chair, when his grandmother, his mother's mother, who
+has to give him a great many presents, sends him some soft kind of
+sugar-candy, which is put upon the chair, and when this has stuck the
+baby is put upon it, and I suppose his clothes then stick to it also."
+
+"What a fashion to learn to sit in a chair!" Leonard said. "And what's
+done on his first birthday?"
+
+"Another thank-offering is presented to 'Mother,' more presents come,
+and the baby has to sit in front of a number of things, such as ink,
+pens, scales, pencils, tools, books, fruit, gold, or anything the
+parents like to arrange before him, and whatever he catches hold of
+first will show them what his future character or occupation is likely
+to be.
+
+[Illustration: YUEN-SHUH, A LITTLE STUDENT.]
+
+"But the worst part has now to come. As soon as the poor little fellow
+can learn anything, he is taught to worship 'Mother' and other idols,
+before which he has to bow down, and raise up his little hands, whilst
+candles and incense are burnt in their honour. So it is no wonder that
+as he grows older he learns his lesson thoroughly. At sixteen children
+are supposed to leave childhood behind them, and there is a ceremony for
+this."
+
+"Do Chinese girls learn lessons? or is it only the boys?"
+
+"In some parts of China there are, I believe, a few schools for young
+ladies, and instruction is given to them by tutors at home; but although
+two or three Chinese ladies have been celebrated for great literary
+attainments, these are quite the exceptions, and there are only a very
+few schools for any girls in China, except the mission schools. Those
+for boys abound all over the country."
+
+"Did you ever go into a boy's school, father?"
+
+"Yes, into several, where I saw many a little intelligent-looking boy
+working very hard at his lessons. One little boy, named Yuen-Shuh, told
+me that he meant to get all the literary honours that he could. Chinese
+boys are not allowed to talk at all in school-hours. Each boy has a desk
+at which to sit, which is so arranged that he cannot speak to the boy
+next to him. Little Yuen-Shuh had been to school since he was six years
+old.
+
+"Another boy was saying a lesson when I went in, and therefore standing
+with his back to his teacher. Boys always say their lessons like this,
+and it is called 'backing the book.' The teacher, as they repeat their
+lessons, puts down their marks. When learning their lessons they repeat
+them aloud. There are higher schools into which older boys pass, and the
+great aim of the Chinese is to take literary honours, as nothing else
+can give them a position of high rank; but even a peasant taking these
+honours would rank as a gentleman."
+
+"Will you take me to see a school in China?" Leonard then asked.
+
+[Illustration: A CHINESE SCHOOL.]
+
+His father, having promised to do so, went on to say to Leonard:
+"Parents are very particular as to their choice of a schoolmaster, who
+must be considered good, as well as able to teach; and to qualify
+himself the master must, of course, know the doctrines of the ancient
+sages. After all has been settled for a boy to go to school, the parents
+always invite the schoolmaster to a dinner, given expressly for him.
+Then a fortune-teller is asked to decide upon a 'lucky' day for the boy
+to make his first appearance at school, when he takes the tutor a
+present. No boy ever goes to school first on the anniversary of the day
+on which Confucius died or was buried. On entering school, he turns to
+the shrine of Confucius--an altar erected to his honour in every
+school--and worships him, after which he salutes his teacher very
+respectfully, hears what he has to do, and goes to his desk."
+
+"And are there many holidays at Chinese schools?"
+
+"At the new year and in the autumn there are always holidays, but
+children also go home to keep all religious festivals, to celebrate the
+birthdays of parents and grandparents, to worship their tablets, and at
+the tombs of ancestors. Very often schoolmasters are men who have toiled
+very hard at their books, and yet have not succeeded in taking a very
+high degree, but sometimes having done so, they choose teaching for
+their profession. Children are very much punished in China when they
+break school-rules. Perhaps the punishment they fear most is to be
+beaten with a broom, because they think that this may make them unlucky
+for the rest of their lives."
+
+"And they can never have an alphabet to learn," Sybil said, "when they
+first go to school, as there is not one."
+
+[Illustration: A VILLAGE SCHOOLMASTER.]
+
+"No; instead of letters and words, they have to learn, and master,
+characters. In some schools children learn names first; in others they
+have reading lessons, where all the sentences consist of three
+characters. As soon as possible they are set to learn the classic on
+'Filial Piety.'"
+
+"Now, father, will you please describe a Chinese house to us?"
+
+"Those of the richer classes are surrounded by a high wall, and composed
+of a number of rooms, generally on one floor. In large cities some
+houses have another storey; but the Chinese think it 'unlucky' to live
+above ground."
+
+"The Chinese seem to think everything either lucky or unlucky," Sybil
+said; "it does seem silly. I do not wonder that you always told me not
+to say that word. I don't think I shall ever want to say it again now;
+and I used to say it rather often, usen't I? But I did not mean to
+interrupt you, so please go on now."
+
+"Some houses are very large, which they have to be, in order to
+accommodate several branches of the same family, who often live together
+in different parts of them.
+
+"There are generally three doors of entrance to a house, of which the
+principal, in the centre, leads to the reception hall, into which
+visitors are shown. I have seen the walls of rooms hung with white silk
+or satin, on which sentences of good advice were written. All sorts of
+beautiful lanterns hang from the sitting-room ceilings, sometimes by
+silk cords. The furniture consists principally of chairs, tables, pretty
+screens and cabinets, with many porcelain ornaments, and fans are very
+numerous in a Chinese household. Most houses have very beautiful
+gardens; even the poor try to have their houses surrounded by as much
+ground as possible. Many houses also have verandahs, where the Chinaman
+likes to smoke his evening pipe. Indeed, women, even ladies, smoke pipes
+in China. I have a picture of a verandah scene in the south of China."
+
+"Are these people rich or poor?" Sybil asked.
+
+"Certainly not rich, but also not very poor."
+
+"You were saying the other day, father, that Chinese people smoke
+something else besides tobacco?" Leonard then asked.
+
+"Opium."
+
+"What is opium?"
+
+"The juice of the poppy, which, after being made into a solid form, is
+boiled down with water."
+
+"Why did you say that opium-smoking was so dreadful?"
+
+"You shall hear all about it, and then judge for yourself. The
+opium-smoker, whilst engaged with his pipe, thinks of, and cares for,
+nothing else in the whole world besides, and generally lies down to give
+himself up to its more full enjoyment. Holding his pipe over the flame
+of a small oil-lamp beside him, he lights the opium, and then gently
+draws in the vapour which proceeds from it. Sometimes people smoke in
+their own houses, and sometimes they resort to horrid places regularly
+set apart for opium-smoking. In Hong-Kong, where we are going, there
+will be many an opium-smoker who will buy this drug in quantities when
+he cannot even afford to purchase clothing.
+
+[Illustration: FAMILY SCENE--AFTER DINNER]
+
+"If a man make a practice of smoking opium at stated times, even should
+these times not be very frequent, he so acquires the habit of smoking,
+that if, when the pipe be due it is not forthcoming, he is quite
+unable to do his work, and wastes all his time thinking of and longing
+for his pipe. The habit is sometimes acquired in less than a fortnight.
+Opium may first be taken in a small quantity to cure toothache; the
+small quantity leads to large quantities; the large quantities, or even
+small ones taken regularly, lead at last to the man becoming an habitual
+opium-smoker: and this means that the victim's health becomes injured,
+and that he is unfit for any work. If he then leave off his opium, he
+becomes ill, has dreadful pain, which sometimes lasts till he smokes
+again; he has no appetite for food, cannot sleep at night, and looks
+haggard and miserable. Sometimes if opium cannot be procured by him he
+dies.
+
+"And these men make themselves slaves for life to this horrid drug,
+knowing before they touch it what it will do for them.
+
+"Opium-smoking makes rich men poor, honest men thieves, and poor people
+even sell their children to obtain the drug."
+
+"And can't they be cured, father?" Sybil asked.
+
+"Medical aid has been brought in to help them, but it generally fails;
+and every now and then we hear of an opium-smoker becoming a Christian
+and then overcoming the vice, but this is also very rare indeed. And
+what does this teach us, children?"
+
+They thought. "Never to acquire bad habits, I suppose," said Sybil, "for
+fear they should grow upon us."
+
+[Illustration: HABITUAL OPIUM-SMOKERS.]
+
+"Yes; and because they do grow upon us. Everything to which we very much
+accustom ourselves grows into a habit; therefore it is so very important
+for both Chinese and English, for both grown-up and little people, to
+cultivate good habits. And more especially is this important in the case
+of young people, because so many of our habits, which remain with us and
+influence our whole after-life, are formed in our childish days."
+
+"And do people really sell their children?"
+
+"They do, indeed; and some children are so filial that they will even
+sell themselves for the good of their parents. There is very little that
+a Chinaman will not do for a parent. One of their superstitions is that
+if a father or mother be ill, and the child should cut away some of its
+own flesh to mix in the parent's medicine, a cure would be effected; and
+children have been known to cut pieces, for this purpose, out of their
+own arms."
+
+"What would happen," Sybil asked, "if a child were to do anything very
+dreadful to a parent in China?"
+
+"If a son kill a parent, he is put to death, his house is torn down, his
+nearest neighbours are punished, and his schoolmaster is put to death;
+the magistrate of the district would also suffer, and the governor of
+the province would go down in rank."
+
+"How unfair!" Leonard exclaimed, "when only one person did it."
+
+"Why does all that happen?" Sybil asked.
+
+"To show how great the man's sin is. The schoolmaster is punished
+because it is thought that he did not bring up his pupil properly. Of
+course, it is very unfair, but the Chinese are often very cruel in their
+chastisments, and many criminals prefer death to some of the other
+punishments. A great many also suffer capital punishment; sometimes as
+many as ten thousand people in a year."
+
+"Then, when children do wrong, their parents and schoolmasters are
+blamed?"
+
+"Very often their faults are attributed to their bringing-up."
+
+"Oh! oughtn't we to be careful, then, Leonard? Fancy when we do wrong
+people blaming father or mother!"
+
+Leonard was then very anxious to hear more about Chinese punishments, so
+his father told him an occurrence that he had once witnessed.
+
+"A very usual way of punishing small offences," he began, "is by beating
+with a bamboo; and whenever a mandarin finds that any one, under his
+jurisdiction, has transgressed, he can use the bamboo. Parents use it on
+their children even when they are thirty years of age. The poor Chinese
+culprits used to be subject to very horrible tortures, such as having
+their fingers or ankles squeezed until they made confession; but I
+believe a good many of the worst tortures have now been done away with.
+One in common use is the canque, which is a collar made of heavy wood,
+with a hole in the centre for the head to come through. It is fastened
+round the neck, and is worn from one to three months, preventing its
+prisoner from lying down day or night. The captive remains in the street
+instead of in prison, and is dependent upon his friends to feed him."
+
+"What a shame!" Leonard said. "I'd like to be a magistrate in China, to
+put that sort of cruelty down."
+
+[Illustration: A CHINESE COURT OF LAW.]
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE PUNISHMENT.]
+
+"But now I am coming to a trial that I witnessed myself. I remember, as
+I went into the Provincial Criminal Court, one day, seeing the judge
+sitting behind a large table, covered with a red cloth. Secretaries,
+interpreters, and turnkeys stood at each end of the table, only the
+judge having a right to sit down. Soon after I arrived the prisoner was
+led in by a chain who immediately threw himself down on the ground
+before the judge. The crime brought against him was robbing an official
+of high rank. It was thought that he could not have committed the
+robbery alone, and was asked how it was effected, and who were his
+accomplices. He would not say. Then he was beaten; but still this
+brought no answer. Both an arm and a leg were then put into a board,
+which made it almost impossible for him either to walk, or sit, or
+stand. His poor back must have ached terribly; and while one man dragged
+him along by a chain, another held a whip to urge him forward.
+
+"And he had never committed the robbery after all, but gave himself up
+in place of his father, a man named Wang-Yangsui, who was really the
+culprit."
+
+Tears were in Sybil's eyes as she listened.
+
+[Illustration: POOR OLD WANG-YANGSUI IN THE CAGE.]
+
+"And he suffered all that?" she said.
+
+"Sons have been known to allow themselves to be transported to save
+their parents, and then only to have felt that they did their duty."
+
+"And in this case was the real culprit ever found out?"
+
+"Yes; the father, moved with compassion for his boy, gave himself up."
+
+"And did they not let him off," Leonard asked, "as the son had suffered
+so much for him?"
+
+"No; they put him into a cage in which were holes for his head and feet,
+but in which he could neither sit down nor stand upright. Round the cage
+was an inscription relating the nature of his crime."
+
+"How long was he left there?"
+
+"That I was not able to hear, but the day he was incarcerated I saw his
+daughter feeding him with chop-sticks. These, which consist of two
+sticks that people hold in the same hand wherewith to feed themselves,
+instead of knives and forks, the Chinese always use when they eat. She
+must have found it difficult to get to him, as she was carrying a
+basket, as well as a baby on her back, for she had small feet, and women
+with small feet cannot walk any distance, even without a load at all. It
+is not the rule for lower class girls to have their feet made small,
+though in some cases it is done. This woman had once been better off."
+
+"Why do Chinese ladies have small feet?" Leonard asked.
+
+"But, father," Sybil put in, "please tell us first what became of that
+poor old man. I am so sorry he stole."
+
+"I heard that great poverty had tempted him to do so, but that he
+afterwards bitterly repented of the crime which he had committed. How
+long he remained in the cage I was never able to ascertain; but I really
+think now that we must close our 'Peep-show' for to-day."
+
+"After we've heard about the small feet ladies, father. I think you have
+just time for that."
+
+"The feet of Chinese women would be no smaller than, perhaps not as
+small as, other women's feet, were they not compressed."
+
+"What does that mean?"
+
+"Made smaller by being pressed."
+
+"How painful it must be!"
+
+"So it is. When very young, a little girl's foot is tightly bandaged
+round, the end of the bandage being first laid on the inside of the
+foot, then carried round the toes, under the foot, and round the heel
+till the toes are drawn over the sole, in which an indentation becomes
+made and the instep swells out. After a time the foot is soaked in hot
+water, when some of the toes will occasionally drop off. Every time the
+bandage is taken away another is put on, and tied more tightly. For the
+first year there is, as we can imagine, dreadful pain, but after two
+years the foot will become dead and cease to ache. You can therefore
+understand that it is very uncomfortable for Chinese ladies to walk, and
+if they go any distance they are carried on the backs of their female
+slaves."
+
+"Are all Chinese parents so silly as to have their little girls' feet
+bandaged?"
+
+"A few are strong-minded enough to break through the rule, and all the
+Tartar ladies have natural feet. Anti-foot-binding societies have now
+been formed by the Chinese gentry in Canton and Amoy."
+
+"I wonder what made people first think of doing this?" Sybil said.
+
+"Some people think that it was first done to help husbands to keep their
+wives at home; others say that it was to copy an Empress who had a
+deformed foot which she bandaged; but whatever the reason may have
+been, we cannot but wish very, very strongly, that the cruel custom
+might be soon completely done away with!"
+
+"I shall like to see the ladies being carried on their slaves' backs,"
+Leonard said. "That will be fun!"
+
+"You will soon see it now," was his father's answer, "for we have been
+six weeks at sea, and the captain says we may expect to be at Shanghai
+in another ten days' time, so I think I had better not tell you any
+more, and let you find out the rest for yourselves."
+
+"I think we might have just one more 'Peep-show,'" Sybil replied, "and
+hear how we get our tea-leaves. I think we ought to know about that
+before we arrive."
+
+The missionary smiled, and the next time his children wanted a
+"Peep-show" very much, only a very little persuasion was required to
+make him sit down between them and let them have it.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+THE MERCHANT SHOWMAN.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"WELL, so it is to be about tea to-day," Mr. Graham at once began.
+"Supposing I do not know anything about it, though; what are we to do
+then? I know tea comes from an evergreen plant, something like a myrtle,
+but that isn't much information, is it? Wait a minute, though,
+children," he then went on, "and you shall have a proper lesson to-day."
+And as he spoke Mr. Graham disappeared, soon to return with a fellow
+passenger, a tea merchant, who would be the kind "show-man" for to-day.
+
+"How far did you get?" he asked, as he sat amongst the group of father,
+mother, and children, for Mrs. Graham had also come to "the show"
+to-day.
+
+"That tea was an evergreen plant, something like the myrtle," Sybil
+said, laughing; and all laughed with her.
+
+[Illustration: GATHERING TEA-LEAVES.]
+
+[Illustration: SIFTING TEA.]
+
+"Then I have it all to do, it seems. Well, the tea-plant yields a crop
+after it has been planted three years, and there are three gatherings
+during the year: one in the middle of April, the second at midsummer,
+and the third in August and September. I suppose it will do if we begin
+here. The plant requires very careful plucking, only one leaf being
+allowed to be gathered at a time; and then a tree must never be plucked
+too bare. Women and children, who are generally, though not always, the
+tea gatherers, are obliged to wash their hands before they begin their
+work, and have to understand that it is the medium-sized leaves which
+they have to pick, leaving the larger ones to gather the dew. When the
+baskets are full, into which the leaves have been dropped, they are
+carried away hanging to a bamboo slung across the shoulders, which is a
+very usual way of carrying things in China. The tea-plant is the most
+important vegetable production of the 'Flowery Land.' But as there are,
+you know, several kinds of tea, I think I had better tell you how that
+called Congou, which, I suppose, you generally drink yourselves, is
+prepared. The leaves are first spread out in the air to dry, after which
+they are trodden by labourers, so that any moisture remaining in them,
+after they have been exposed to the air or sun, may be pressed out;
+after this they are again heaped together, and covered for the night
+with cloths. In this state they remain all night, when a strange thing
+happens to them, spontaneous heating changing the green leaves to black
+or brown. They are now more fragrant and the taste has changed.
+
+"The next process is to twist and crumple the leaves, by rubbing them
+between the palms of the hands. In this crumpled state they are again
+put in the sun, or if the day be wet, or the sky threatening, they are
+baked over a charcoal fire.
+
+"Leaves, arranged in a sieve, are placed in the middle of a
+basket-frame, over a grate in which are hot embers of charcoal. After
+some one has so stirred the leaves that they have all become heated
+alike, they are ready to be sold to proprietors of tea-hongs in the
+towns, when the proprietor has the leaves again put over the fire and
+sifted.
+
+"After this, women and girls separate all the bad leaves and stems from
+the good ones; sitting, in order to do so, with baskets of leaves before
+them, and very carefully picking out with both their hands all the bad
+leaves and stems that the sieve has not got rid of. The light and
+useless leaves are then divided from those that are heavy and good, when
+the good are put into boxes lined with paper."
+
+"What is scented Caper Tea?" Mr Graham asked.
+
+"Oh, father! I am so glad that there's something you have to ask,"
+Leonard said, "as you seemed to know _everything_."
+
+[Illustration: SORTING TEA.]
+
+"The leaves of scented Orange Pekoe," the merchant answered, "obtain
+their fragrance by being mixed with the flowers of the Arabian
+jessamine, and when scented enough, they are separated from the flowers
+by sieves. Scented Caper Tea is made from some of the leaves of this
+Orange Pekoe.
+
+[Illustration: PRESSING BAGS OF TEA.]
+
+[Illustration: TEA-TASTING.]
+
+"Those leaves which are prepared at Canton are black or brown, with a
+slight tinge of yellow or green. The tea-leaves growing on an extensive
+range of hills in the district of Hokshan are often forwarded to
+Canton, where they are made into caper in the following manner. But I
+wonder if Leonard knows what 'shan' means?" the merchant interrupted. He
+did, for he had seen in his geography that "shan" meant mountain. "A
+tea-hong," the merchant continued, "is furnished with many pans, into
+which seventeen or eighteen handfuls of leaves are put. These are
+moistened with water, and stirred up by the hand. As soon as they are
+soft they are put into coarse bags, which, tightly fastened, look like
+large balls.
+
+[Illustration: WEIGHING TEA.]
+
+"These bags are moved backwards and forwards on the floor by men holding
+on to wooden poles, and standing upon them. In each bag the leaves take
+the form of pellets, or capers.
+
+"The coarse leaves, gathered from finer ones, thus made into Caper,
+after being well fired, are put into wooden troughs, and chopped into
+several pieces, and it is these pieces which become the tea which we
+call Caper."
+
+"Thank you very much," said Mr. Graham. "I did not know anything of
+this."
+
+"Tea-merchants are most particular, before buying and selling tea, to
+taste it and to test its quality.
+
+"And before it is shipped away it is also very carefully weighed, when I
+myself, I know, for instance, sit by, watching the process, and taking
+account of the result."
+
+"I suppose tea isn't ever sent about in wheel-barrows?" then said
+Leonard, who liked very much indeed the idea of wheel-barrows with sails
+up, such as he had heard about.
+
+[Illustration: GOING TO MARKET.]
+
+"I never saw it," was the merchant's reply; "but if you are interested
+in wheel-barrows, you might like to hear about one that I once saw in
+China. It was conveying not only goods, and the scales wherewith to
+weigh them, to market, but the family also to whom the goods belonged.
+The family party made a great impression upon me. The master of the
+barrow was pushing it from behind, a donkey was pulling it in front, and
+on the donkey rode a boy; a woman and two children were driven in the
+wheel-barrow, besides the goods for market. I thought the man and donkey
+must have a heavy load between them, but both seemed to work most
+cheerfully and willingly; and a sail in the centre of the wheel-barrow,
+gathering the full force of the wind, must have been a great help to
+them.
+
+"The donkey was guided by no reins, only by the voice of the boy on his
+back, who carried a stick, but had no occasion to use it, although every
+now and then he just raised it in the air. Sometimes the boy ran beside
+the donkey. Anyhow suited the willing little beast, who was as anxious
+as his master to do his best. A dog completed the number of the party.
+
+"The man told me that he was truly fond of this dog, and gave him
+'plenty chow-chow' (plenty to eat), and that he considered he owed all
+his wealth to him, as he had once come to the house, and had since then
+remained with the family.
+
+"A strange dog coming to, and remaining at, a house is looked upon by
+the Chinese as bringing good luck to the family, but a strange cat
+coming is a bad omen."
+
+The children laughed.
+
+"This man certainly treated his dog very well, as do some few of his
+countrymen; but, alas! alas! so many poor little faithful dogs in China,
+as in other countries, lead anything but happy lives!"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+LITTLE CHU AND WOO-URH.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+NO more story Peep-shows of what might be seen in China, no more
+wondering what the Celestials would be like, for Sybil and Leonard had
+now landed on Chinese soil, and were themselves at Shanghai, face to
+face with its inhabitants.
+
+Shanghai seemed, and was, a very busy place, but not a town of very
+great importance in itself, owing, really, its recent prosperity to
+having opened its port to foreign commerce. The custom-house, through
+which the Grahams' boxes had to be passed, struck the children as a
+very strange and beautiful building, quite different from anything that
+they had seen before; and there was a great noise of chattering going on
+outside, which sounded most unintelligible. Coolies were carrying bales
+of silk and tea to and fro; there were also, ready at hand, some of the
+sedan-chairs that Sybil had longed to see, and everywhere "pig-tails,"
+or cues, as they were called, seemed to meet Leonard's gaze.
+
+But the ships! Watching them was what he enjoyed better than anything
+else. The town of Shanghai is situated on the River Woosung, a tributary
+of the Yangtse-kiang, just at that point where it joins the great river,
+and about one hundred ships were anchored before this busy, commercial
+city. Many families resident there have their junks and a little home on
+the river. There were some very pretty buildings to be seen at Shanghai,
+and at one of these our little party stayed--on a visit to another
+missionary from the Church of England--for the three days that they
+remained there.
+
+At some cities and towns, on the banks of rivers, floating hotels are to
+be seen; and as people generally have to travel by water, and the
+Chinese are not allowed to keep open their city-gates after nine o'clock
+at night, these hotels prove very useful to those arriving too late to
+enter the city. Lighted with lanterns, they look very pretty floating on
+the water, and both Sybil and Leonard were very pleased to be taken over
+a large floating hotel before they left Shanghai. Leonard was very
+anxious to know how long this town had been open to foreign commerce,
+and was told since the Opium War, which lasted from 1840 to 1842, when
+the British, having occupied several Chinese cities, and having
+captured Chinkiang in Hoopeh, were advancing to Nanking, and the Chinese
+suing for peace, a treaty was concluded which opened the ports of Amoy,
+Foochow, Shanghai, and Ningpo, in addition to Canton, to the British,
+who were henceforward to appoint consuls to live in these towns.
+
+The Chinese are very polite to foreigners in Shanghai; and as the kind
+missionary who bade the Grahams welcome to his home endeavoured, during
+their short stay, to interest and show them sights, they enjoyed
+themselves very much. Sybil and Leonard could not help noticing how very
+many people they met in spectacles, but they were told that the Chinese
+suffer very much from ophthalmia, and that when they wear spectacles,
+some of which are very large, they often have sore eyes.
+
+"There is one thing I cannot understand the Chinese doing," Leonard said
+one day to Sybil: "and that is, everybody that we have seen, as yet,
+spoiling their tea by not taking any milk or sugar in it; and father
+says all the Chinese drink tea like that, and call milk white blood, and
+only use it in medicine."
+
+"Tea like that would not suit us," Sybil answered, "as we like plenty of
+both milk and sugar; but I dare say they think we spoil our tea by
+putting such things into it."
+
+A visit to some rice-fields, a little sight-seeing, a little more
+watching of ships carrying rice and other products away, and then it was
+time for the Grahams once more to take their seats on board.
+
+[Illustration: THE CUSTOM-HOUSE, SHANGHAI.]
+
+We can imagine how both children strained their eyes, as they steamed
+farther and farther away from Shanghai, to see what that port looked
+like in the distance, and how Sybil examined her map as they left the
+province of Kiang-su, to see at what port, and in what province, they
+would next touch.
+
+This was Ningpo, in Che-kiang, but they did not land here; neither did
+they go on shore at their next halting-place, Foochow, in the province
+of Fu-kien. It was at Amoy, in the same province, where their father had
+a missionary friend, who had invited them to pay him a few days' or a
+week's visit, as would suit them best, that they next purposed landing,
+and this they did about four days after they left Shanghai.
+
+"Whoever thought," Sybil said one day on board, "that we should actually
+be on the Yellow Sea ourselves? It seems almost too good to be true
+now."
+
+"I never knew people like to stare more at anybody than they seem to
+like to stare at us here," Leonard thought to himself when first at
+Amoy.
+
+He and Sybil were then being very carefully observed by a group of
+natives of that place, but Leonard had yet to become accustomed to being
+stared at in China.
+
+"And, father," he said later, "I wonder why so many of them wear
+turbans? I did not notice people doing this at Shanghai."
+
+[Illustration: A FLOATING HOTEL AT SHANGHAI.]
+
+Mr. Graham did not know the reason of this either; but he and Leonard
+were later informed that the men of Amoy adopted the turban to hide the
+tail when they were made to wear it by their conquerors, and that they
+never gave it up. Leonard was also told that they were good soldiers,
+which, he said, he thought they looked. One thing remarkable about the
+people of Amoy was that the different families seemed to consist
+almost entirely of boys. A great many of the inhabitants were very poor,
+living crowded together in dirty houses very barely furnished. Mrs.
+Graham had not to be long in China to discover that cleanliness is not a
+Chinese virtue. Sybil bought some very pretty artificial flowers of some
+of the inhabitants of Amoy, which they had themselves made. They
+manufactured them principally, she heard, to be placed on graves.
+
+[Illustration: THE PORT OF SHANGHAI.]
+
+Like other Chinese, these people were very superstitious. Here and there
+large blocks of granite were to be met with, which were regarded by them
+with reverence, and looked upon as good divinities. On one the Grahams
+saw inscriptions, which related some history of the place.
+
+Granite seemed to abound here, for the temples and monasteries were, for
+the most part, erected on the heights between rocks of this description.
+
+Two days after reaching Amoy, Sybil was dreadfully distressed, and
+shocked, to see a little girl named Chu, of eleven years old, put up for
+sale by her own parents. At ten dollars (L1) only was she valued; and
+for this paltry sum the parents were ready to sell her to any one who
+would bid it for her. They were very poor, and could not afford to keep
+her any longer. She had four sisters and only two brothers; the youngest
+of all, the baby, was to be drowned by her father, later on in the day,
+in a tub of water. They had never done anything like this before: this
+man and woman had never killed a child, although they had had five
+girls, and many of their neighbours had thought nothing of destroying
+most of their daughters so soon as they were born; but now, as the man
+was ill, and able to earn so little, they had resolved to rid themselves
+of two of them that day. If the baby lived, the mother comforted herself
+by saying, she must be sold later, or grow up in poverty and misery.
+
+Parents think it very necessary that their children should marry, and
+sometimes sell, or give them away, to their friends, when they are quite
+little, to be the future wives of the sons of their new owners.
+
+If sold, they will then fetch about two dollars for every year that they
+have lived; so a child of five years old would fetch ten dollars; and
+this little girl, put up for sale, was now eleven years old; therefore
+she was being offered, poor little thing, below half price. And some
+little girls of Amoy have been even offered for sale for a few pence!
+
+[Illustration: A FAMILY OF AMOY.]
+
+It seemed incomprehensible to Sybil, as it must to us, that a mother
+could wish either to kill or to sell her little child, but neither the
+one nor the other event is uncommon in some parts of China, where the
+parent is poor; and even amongst the well-to-do classes little girls are
+sometimes put to death, if the parents have more daughters than they
+care to rear, not only at Amoy, but at other places in the
+neighbourhood; and even Chinese ladies will sometimes have their poor
+little daughters put to death.
+
+"Why do people not kill their boys too?" Sybil asked, when she heard all
+about this.
+
+[Illustration: THE MISSIONARY'S TEACHER.]
+
+"Because when they grow up they can earn money that girls could not
+earn; and not only can they help to support their parents when old, but
+they can worship their ancestral tablets and keep up the family name."
+
+"I am sure a girl would do this too."
+
+"Her doing so would be considered of little use."
+
+[Illustration: A VIEW OF AMOY, WITH A BLOCK OF GRANITE IN THE
+FOREGROUND.]
+
+It seemed that the very day before Mr. Graham arrived in Amoy, a widow
+lady there had had her little baby girl destroyed, and then, in her
+widow's dress, had sat down quietly to talk matters over with her
+sister-in-law, who thought that she had acted very wisely. Killing a
+daughter, in China, is hardly looked upon as being sinful. A widow's
+mourning consists of all white and a band round the head, white being
+Chinese deepest mourning.
+
+[Illustration: LADIES OF AMOY.]
+
+[Illustration: LITTLE CHU.]
+
+Whilst Mr. Graham stood by, a purchaser for little Chu stepped forward,
+holding the ten dollars in his hand; but the missionary was before him,
+and through a teacher, whom he had already been able to engage, offered
+the father twice that sum not to sell the little girl at all, but to let
+him have her for a servant. He hesitated, as though he would rather sell
+his child right off to any Chinaman than trust her to a foreign
+"barbarian." But the sum tempted him; and although he could not
+understand how receiving it did not give Chu altogether to her
+purchaser, he seemed to be contented, especially when the teacher
+explained that she would not be a slave, but would be paid for what work
+she did. Little Chu was well off to have stepped into so happy a
+service, and the baby was rescued also. A certain sum was to be paid
+weekly to the father, towards her support, until he recovered his
+health, if he would only spare her; and both parents, who really fondly
+loved their children, were very glad to spare their baby, fifth girl
+though she was. Her name was Woo-Urh, which means fifth girl.
+
+It did not take long to have little Chu tidily dressed, with money that
+her new master supplied, and her poor mother, who had some beads stowed
+away, now looked them out and also put these on her. Chu was only eleven
+years old, but poverty and care had given the little one an old
+expression beyond her years. Chinese children of from ten to sixteen
+years of age--about which time they are supposed to marry--have a fringe
+cut over their foreheads, and Chu wore this fringe now. It has to grow
+again before they marry.
+
+That evening Chu was sent round to Mr. Graham's brother missionary's
+house, where, as Sybil's little maid, she was housed for the two or
+three days longer that they would spend at Amoy; and though Chu had come
+to live with foreigners, in the family of a "barbarian," as her father
+thought, we can well imagine that she had never been so happy in her
+life. Mr. Graham had told her parents that when they reached Hong-Kong
+he should send her to the mission school.
+
+"And the father would have killed the baby himself!" said Sybil. "How
+could he have done so?"
+
+"That is the marvel; but it is generally the fathers who commit the
+deed; other people might be punished if they interfered."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+LEONARD'S EXPLOIT IN FORMOSA.
+
+
+ABOUT the middle of November, eleven weeks after Mr. Graham and his
+family had left England, they arrived in the beautiful island of
+Formosa, whither they had crossed over from Amoy.
+
+Three more persons were now added to the travelling party--the teacher,
+a Chinese maid, and little Chu, the latter having already begun to show
+herself really useful.
+
+[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE PORT OF TAKOW.]
+
+There is but little fun in travelling, and one does not see half there
+is to be seen unless one climbs; and as the Grahams were all bent on
+having fun and seeing as much as they could, on reaching the port of
+Takow, in Formosa, they ascended a very high mountain, called Monkey
+Mountain, because it is the home of very many monkeys, and they were
+rewarded by having, from its height, a capital view of the entrance to
+the port. To the front of the mountain were some European houses,
+belonging to English merchants from Amoy. The port of Takow is a very
+difficult one at which to anchor, and is closed for commerce during six
+months of the year, whilst the wind is blowing in an adverse direction;
+but when the wind and tide are favourable, barks pass between some rocks
+at the entrance to the port. It is only at the north that the water is
+deep enough for merchant-ships to pass by. Here Leonard saw men fishing
+quite differently from what he had ever seen people fish before; and as
+they walked in the water behind their nets, which they seemed to manage
+very cleverly, he wished so much that he could have been there with
+them.
+
+Takow is one of the four ports in Formosa which, through treaties, have
+been thrown open to foreign trade, the others being those of Kelung,
+Tamsui, and Taiwan-fu.
+
+[Illustration: THE EXTREME NORTH OF TAKOW.]
+
+Formosa, as its name implies, is a very lovely, picturesque island, and
+the Spaniards, who first made it known to Europeans, named it "Isla
+Formosa," which, in their language, means "beautiful island." Takow
+seemed to abound in tropical vegetation, palm-trees being very
+conspicuous. The gong, used everywhere in China, was much in use here
+also; and as in other places men carried things by balancing them across
+their shoulders, so also they did here. But as Mr. Graham's special
+object in coming to this island was to visit Poahbi, the first centre of
+the population of a tribe of aborigines, whom the Chinese have named
+Pepohoans, or strangers of the plain, he moved on thither as quickly as
+he could. The country through which they now passed was very beautiful,
+palm-trees and bamboos overshadowing the way.
+
+[Illustration: FISHERMEN OF TAKOW.]
+
+Although it was the month of November, the weather was hot here, and
+women, wearing white calico dresses, were hard at work in the fields.
+Many of the women of Formosa had compressed feet, and most of the
+children wore charms round their necks.
+
+The Pepohoans used to live in fertile plains, but when greedy and
+grasping Chinese drove them from the rich and beautiful lands that were
+then theirs, and had belonged to their ancestors before them, they took
+shelter, and made themselves homes, in mountain fastnesses.
+
+Sybil and Leonard were charmed with the people of Poahbi, and thought
+both their faces and manners very pretty. Although some of the people
+stared at the foreigners, and laughed at them, many wished to make them
+welcome in their midst. One woman gave them shelter for the night--a
+very kind-hearted woman, with a dear little baby, and a very clean and
+comfortable home. She was a Christian.
+
+At Poahbi Mr. Graham saw a little Christian chapel, which the natives
+had not only built, but which they also kept up, themselves. Pepohoans
+are good builders, and do also much work in the fields. They have a most
+affectionate remembrance of the Dutch, who were once their masters, but
+who were afterwards expelled from Formosa by a Chinese pirate.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF TAKOW, A TOWN IN FORMOSA.]
+
+The huts, or bamboo cottages, of the Pepohoans, raised on terraces three
+or four feet high, looked very picturesque, and consisted first of a
+framework of bamboo, through which crossbars of reeds were run; the
+whole being thickly covered over with clay. The houses were afterwards
+whitened with lime. A barrier of prickly stems extended round the huts,
+throwing a shade over them, whilst these dwellings often had for roofing
+a thatch of dried leaves. Most things in Formosa were made of bamboo,
+such as tables, chairs, beds, pails, rice-measures, jars, hats, pipes,
+chop-sticks, goblets, paper, and pens. Many of the Pepohoans'
+habitations were built on three sides of a four-cornered spot, with a
+yard in the centre, where the families sometimes passed their evenings
+together. The natives assembled here, in numbers, at about nine o'clock,
+where they made a fire when it was cold. Old and young people here often
+formed a circle on the ground, sitting together with their arms crossed,
+smoking, and talking. It was not unusual for dogs also to surround them.
+These people were fond of singing, but played no musical instruments.
+Sybil said, directly she saw them, that they were just the sort of
+people she liked, but this was before she heard that they ate serpents
+and rats. The women had a quantity of hair, which they wound round their
+heads like crowns. None of them painted their faces. Some of the men
+were very badly dressed. All Pepohoans seemed to have very beautiful
+black eyes. In the different villages the inhabitants were different,
+and where they had most contact with the Chinese they dressed better,
+but were less affable. They seemed to be a very honest race.
+
+The Pepohoans are subject to the Chinese Government. Some of them, like
+the Chinese, have been ruined by opium. The aborigines, consisting of
+different tribes, talk different dialects. The people of one tribe, the
+most savage of all, are very warlike, and think nothing of killing and
+eating their Chinese neighbours when they get the chance to do so;
+therefore, they are held in great terror. Sybil and Leonard would not
+have liked to have visited this tribe, for they also hate Europeans.
+
+[Illustration: MOUNTAINEERS OF FORMOSA.]
+
+There was a grandness of beauty in this island of Formosa which could
+not fail, more and more, to charm Mrs. Graham, and many a pretty sketch
+did she here make, both for herself and for Sybil's letters. Sybil also
+liked being here very much; "but if she had only seen," Leonard said,
+what he and his father saw one day, when they went for a ramble
+through the mountains, whilst Sybil was helping her mother to sketch by
+keeping her company, and making clever little attempts at sketching
+herself, "she would want to be off that very moment."
+
+There were caverns in Formosa, and they were walking along, exploring
+some, Leonard some little way in front of Mr. Graham, the teacher, and a
+native guide, who followed a few yards behind, when the English boy
+suddenly caught sight of two huge, yellow serpents twined round the
+branch of an overhanging tree. No one but Leonard was near enough to see
+them, and as the first creature stretched its dreadful-looking head out,
+hissing towards him, the brave, self-possessed little fellow, who held a
+stick in his hand, struck his deadly foe with it with all his might, and
+hit and aimed so well that he had the satisfaction, the next moment, of
+seeing the serpent roll over and over down the rock. But then the
+further one (which, although rather smaller than the other, measured
+about six feet) wound, in a moment, its wriggling body round the branch
+of the tree, stretching its head out almost within reach of Leonard,
+when the boy-guide and Mr. Graham, the same instant, came upon the spot.
+The boy, accustomed to such encounters, at once dealt the snake a blow,
+that caused it to lose its balance, and thus all were able to pass on
+their way in thankfulness and safety.
+
+When Sybil heard of the adventure she was very proud of her little
+brother; but, as he had imagined when she heard that Formosa was
+inhabited by serpents, she was glad also to think that it was settled
+for them to leave that island for Swatow in two days' time.
+
+[Illustration: PEPOHOANS AND THEIR HUT.]
+
+That evening was spent very pleasantly comparing notes of adventure
+with an English gentleman, who had been in Formosa for some time, and
+now called upon Mr. Graham and his family, who were staying at the
+consul's. He had seen and done a good deal, he said, but he spoke very
+highly of Leonard's brave exploit.
+
+[Illustration: HUT OF ONE OF THE SAVAGE TRIBES.]
+
+In the course of his wanderings, he told them, he had visited the
+village of Lalung, which is situated on the narrowest part of a large
+river. During the rainy season the waters would here rise and cover a
+vast bed, opening out a new passage across the land, and flowing away
+towards the eastern plain. Great mountain heights surrounded the bed of
+the river, and the violence of the torrent carried away very large
+quantities of all sorts of rubbish, which the sea would collect, and
+deposit, along the eastern coast. Mr. Hardy explained to Leonard how
+this would account for the port of Thai-ouan disappearing, and that of
+Takow forming lower down.
+
+[Illustration: SERPENTS OF FORMOSA.]
+
+[Illustration: THE BED OF THE RIVER LALUNG DURING THE DRY SEASON.]
+
+"Formosa," he continued, "shows very plainly how the violence of waters
+can quite transform the physical aspect of a country."
+
+Mr. Hardy then told them that he, with a guide, had once visited the bed
+of the river of Lalung, during the dry season, as an explorer, when he
+had taken off his boots and socks, so as to be able to walk wherever he
+chose, and fathom the depth of the water in different parts.
+
+How Leonard wished he had been with him on this occasion, which seemed
+to him a regular voyage of discovery!
+
+Two days later, as arranged, the Grahams made sail for Swatow. In
+crossing the channel, which separates the island from the mainland,
+Leonard, as usual, had some questions to ask.
+
+"What made the Chinese call Formosa Tai-wan?"
+
+"Because that word means the terraced harbour."
+
+"The east coast hasn't a harbour at all, has it?"
+
+"No; mountains are on the east, and to the west are flat and fertile
+plains, and all the ports."
+
+"I suppose you know, Sybil, that there are some wild beasts in Formosa?"
+Leonard went on.
+
+"Yes, I heard Mr. Hardy say so: leopards, tigers, and wolves."
+
+"I think it's my turn to ask a question now," Mrs. Graham said. "I
+wonder if you and Sybil can tell me what grows principally in Formosa?"
+
+"Rice," Sybil began, "sugar, wheat, beans, tea, coffee, pepper."
+
+"Cotton, tobacco, silk, oranges, peaches, and plums," Leonard ended. "We
+saw most of these things growing ourselves, so we ought to know."
+
+"Yes; and flax, indigo, camphor, and many fruits that you have not
+mentioned."
+
+"The Chinese part of the island, I suppose, belongs to Fukien?" Sybil
+said, "as it is painted the same colour on my map."
+
+"Yes."
+
+What religion had the aborigines? she then wanted to know.
+
+Mr. Graham answered this question by telling her that he believed they
+had no priesthood at all.
+
+"What a pity it is," Sybil said, "that a number of missionaries could
+not be sent out there. I do so like the Pepohoans!"
+
+"How long is it now since the Dutch were driven away?" Leonard asked.
+"And how long were they in Formosa?"
+
+"About 1634 the Dutch took possession of the island, and built several
+forts, but a Chinese pirate drove them out in 1662, and made himself
+king of the western part. In 1683 his descendants submitted to the
+authority of the Chinese Emperor, to whom they are now tributary. The
+Chinese colonists, however, often rebel."
+
+"People have not known very long, have they, that the island of Formosa
+is important?"
+
+"No; only since about 1852."
+
+"About how many inhabitants has Thai-ouan, the capital?" Leonard asked.
+
+"I should think about 70,000, but it is now decreasing in population."
+
+"How much you know, father," Sybil said. "I wish I knew all you did!"
+
+"I am afraid that is not very much; but if you notice things that you
+come across, and try to remember what you hear and what you read, you
+will soon gain plenty of knowledge and useful information."
+
+[Illustration: SWATOW.]
+
+"I wonder what Swatow is like?" Leonard then said; but he had not long
+to wait to find out, for a week after leaving Formosa they landed at
+Swatow, the port of Chaou-Chou-foo, in the province of Kwang-tung, where
+once again, for a fortnight, they were made very welcome: this time by
+some friends of the missionary with whom they had stayed at Amoy.
+
+[Illustration: E-CHUNG.]
+
+Their home, for the present, was very prettily situated on a range of
+low hills. Many pieces of granite were scattered about on the summit of
+these hills, as they were about Amoy, which some people say have been
+caused to appear through volcanic irruptions. On them also were Chinese
+inscriptions. Leonard was delighted because the Chinese teacher cut his
+name on one of these pieces of granite. The houses of Swatow were built
+with a kind of mortar, made of China clay, and attached to some of them
+were very pretty gardens.
+
+In front of the Consulate, which was a very large building, was a
+flag-staff, with a flag flying.
+
+[Illustration: WOMAN OF SWATOW.]
+
+The ceilings of the house, in which the Grahams stayed, was painted with
+flowers and birds, and some of the windows were also painted so as to
+look like open fans. The Chinese are fond of decorating their rooms and
+painting their ornaments, and the people of Swatow seemed to be better
+painters than the Chinese; but they kept their pictures hidden, only a
+very few of them producing any to show our friends. The people of Swatow
+are also noted for fan-painting.
+
+Sybil thought some of the women of Swatow rather nice-looking, but, like
+other ladies of the "Flowery Land," they had a wonderful way of dressing
+their hair. One woman, Leonard declared, had hers done to represent a
+large shell. A young lady, to whom Sybil was introduced, had the
+thickest hair that she had ever seen. She and other Chinese girls wore
+it hanging down their backs in twists. She was just fifteen, and Sybil
+was told that she was going to be married in about a year's time, so she
+would soon have to begin to let her fringe grow. She was the daughter of
+a rich man, and had such pretty, dark eyes.
+
+Round a girl's and woman's head, or to fasten up her back hair,
+ornaments are generally worn. E-Chung wore rather a large one round her
+head. Sybil was allowed to spend an afternoon, and take some tea, with
+this young lady, but they could not talk much together. E-Chung knew,
+and spoke, a little of what is called pidgin, or business English,
+because many business, or shop, people and those who mix most with the
+English, speak this strange language to them; but Sybil could understand
+hardly any of it. Before E-Chung heard that Sybil had a brother, she
+said to her, "You one piecee chilo?" meaning to ask if she were the only
+child. Then she was trying to describe somebody to Sybil whose
+appearance did not please her, so she made an ugly grimace and said,
+"That number one ugly man all-same so fashion," meaning "just like
+this." Another time she meant to ask Sybil if she were not very rich, so
+she said, "You can muchee money?"
+
+The hair down Sybil's back was such a contrast to her friend's, as was
+also her rather pale complexion. E-Chung wished very much to enamel
+Sybil's face, as she did her own, and could not understand why she
+should so persistently refuse to have it done.
+
+Chinese ladies seldom do without their rouge, and often keep their
+amahs, or maids, from three to four hours at a time doing their hair.
+
+[Illustration: SYBIL.]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE BOAT POPULATION.
+
+
+MR. GRAHAM had thought of visiting Chaou-chou, a very fertile city on
+the river Han, but was advised not to do so, as foreigners are disliked
+by its inhabitants; and he was therefore told that they might have cause
+to regret going thither. It used not to be an uncommon thing for these
+people to greet an Englishman with a shower of stones. People have tried
+to establish an English consulate there, but have not succeeded,
+although the city is open to foreign commerce; and Jui Lin, the late
+viceroy of Canton, succeeded in making people in the neighbourhood much
+more orderly.
+
+A very large bridge crosses the Han River at this place, a picture of
+which the teacher had, and showed to the children. It is made of stone,
+and composed of many arches, or rather square gateways, under which
+ships pass to and fro. On the bridge, on each side of the causeway, are
+houses and shops.
+
+[Illustration: THE BRIDGE OF CHAOU CHOU.]
+
+"I should not care much to live in them," said Leonard.
+
+Nor would the teacher, he replied; for they did not look, and were not
+supposed to be, at all safe.
+
+[Illustration: ARCH OF THE BRIDGE OF CHAOU-CHOU.]
+
+Two pieces of wood are suspended between the arches, which the
+inhabitants take up in the day-time and let down at night, to prevent,
+as they say, evil spirits passing under their homes and playing them
+tricks.
+
+It was a very happy fortnight that was spent at Swatow, and Sybil was
+sorry to leave this port to go on to Hong-Kong. Somehow, although they
+were not going to settle down now, and had still Macao and Canton to
+visit, it seemed like bringing the end nearer--going much nearer to it,
+when they went to Hong-Kong even for a few days, for there her parents
+were to be left behind when she and Leonard returned to England. This
+English colony, the little island of Hong-Kong, about eight miles in
+length, is separated from the mainland by a very narrow strait, in the
+midst of a number of small islands.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE BOAT-CHILDREN.]
+
+The Bishop of Hong-Kong had kindly invited Mr. Graham and his family to
+stay at his residence, St. Paul's College, during the few days that they
+now remained at Hong-Kong, before continuing their tour and returning to
+settle down, and the kind invitation had been gladly and gratefully
+accepted.
+
+[Illustration: CHAIR-MEN OF HONG-KONG.]
+
+The missionary's party landed in a boat, or rather, in a floating house,
+for the people to whom it belonged lived here, and it was their only
+home.
+
+The children had heard that there were so many inhabitants in China
+that for very many of them there was no house accommodation, and that
+these lived in boats, and were called the boat population; and Leonard
+was delighted to be travelling in one of these house-boats himself, and
+seeing the homes of the boat people. Their very little children were
+tied to doors, and other parts of the boat, by long ropes. Those who
+were three or four years old had floats round their backs, so that if
+they fell overboard they would not sink, and their parents could jump in
+after them. Most care seemed to be taken of the boys. Instead of being
+dedicated to "Mother," boat-children, soon after they are born, are
+dedicated to Kow-wong, or Nine Kings, and for three days and nights
+before they marry, which ceremony takes place in the middle of the
+night, Taouist priests chant prayers to the Kow-wong.
+
+The boats in which live the Taouist priests, for the boat population,
+are called Nam-Mo-Teng. These are anchored in certain parts, that the
+priests may be sent for when needed. Their boats look partly like
+temples, and have altars and idols, also incense burning within them.
+The names of the priests who live there, and the rites they perform, are
+written up in the boats. The boat people can have everything they
+require without going on shore at all. There are even river barbers and
+policemen, which latter are very necessary, considering that there are
+so many pirates.
+
+[Illustration: A PORTRAIT-PAINTER OF HONG-KONG.]
+
+It seemed strange to Sybil and Leonard to think that boat-children never
+went on shore, might never do so, and would even marry on board their
+boat homes; but it did not seem at all strange to the little children
+themselves, who played about on board quite as happily as did children
+on shore. They looked strong, and seemed to be fond of one another. One
+woman going along was very angry with one of her children, and for a
+punishment threw him into the water, but he had a float on his back,
+and was quickly brought back again. These women often carry their
+children on their backs, but this is a most usual way of carrying
+children in China, both amongst the land and water people.
+
+Sybil had already often had her wish fulfilled, of travelling in
+sedan-chairs, and as that is the regular mode of travelling in
+Hong-Kong, directly they arrived here coolies were to be seen, standing
+and sitting, on the pier beside their chairs, waiting for a fare. Very
+eager they seemed to be to secure either people or their baggage. And
+Sybil liked being borne along in these chairs even better than she had
+expected.
+
+The sedans were made of bamboo, covered with oil-cloth, and carried on
+long poles. A great many sedan-chair-bearers have no fixed homes, living
+day and night in the open air, and buying their food at stalls on the
+road. They take care to keep their chairs in very good condition, ready
+to hire out whenever they are needed. Leonard was charmed with his
+bearers. They spoke such funny pigeon English to him, and made him
+wonder why they would put "ee" to the end of so many of their words.
+When Leonard once wished to speak to his father, who was on in front,
+and succeeded in making his bearers understand this, one of them said
+"My no can catchee." They admired the boy very much, and wanted to
+persuade him to let them carry him one day to a "handsome
+face-taking-man," but he could not understand at all, at first, that
+they wanted him to let them carry him somewhere to have his portrait
+taken. "My likee," one said, pointing to Leonard's face, "welly much."
+The Chinese do not paint pictures very well, and sometimes, instead of a
+brush, will use their fingers and nails.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW OF HONG-KONG.]
+
+The chair-men called Leonard "Captain" several times, which seemed to be
+a common way of addressing strange "gentlemen."
+
+They then asked him how Mr. Turner was, but he shook his head to show
+that he knew nobody of this name. They either did not understand or
+believe him.
+
+"He hab got London-side," they explained.
+
+Thinking that if he tacked a double "e" on to all his words he would be
+speaking the language they talked so much, he said "No-ee know-ee," and
+shook his head again. I think it was the expression on his face, and the
+shake of his head, which made them understand at last what he wished to
+say to them.
+
+It seems that the natives of Hong-Kong, as well as other parts of China,
+think that every Englishman must know every other Englishman; having,
+indeed, such very small ideas of our important country, that they really
+think our wealth consists in our possessing Hong-Kong.
+
+[Illustration: THE CLOCK TOWER, HONG-KONG.]
+
+The first view that the Grahams had of this little island was a chain of
+mountains rising in the background to lofty peaks, and diminishing as
+they approached the sea into small hills and steep rocks. Not so very
+long ago, Sybil was told, Hong-Kong used to be a deserted island, though
+it now contained flower-gardens, orchards, woods, large trees, beautiful
+grass slopes, and very many buildings. The English town of Victoria was
+built along the sea-coast. As Hong-Kong belongs to Great Britain, the
+Government here was, of course, English; there were Christian temples,
+as well as Buddhist, and many European edifices were conspicuous in the
+Chinese streets. Then there were also large European club-houses, and,
+best of all, the Cathedral. The sea-shore stretched round towards a
+very beautiful port, which opened out to the west by a pass called
+Lyce-moun, and to the east by the Lama Pass.
+
+"I do think, do you know, Leonard," Sybil said, as she wished her
+brother "Good-night" the evening after they had arrived at Hong-Kong,
+"that China is rather a 'Flowery Land' after all. I do not think I shall
+ever forget Formosa, at all events."
+
+"We have seen pretty sights since we came to China," Leonard said,
+agreeing with his sister.
+
+The next day Sybil and he were taken into the Queen's Road, which
+crossed the town from west to east, to the right of which was a regular
+labyrinth of streets, some leading into very fine roads. In one part of
+Hong-Kong nothing but shops and houses of business were to be seen. One
+of its principal ornaments was the tall clock-tower, which made even
+high trees beside it look quite small.
+
+The most ancient houses of the colony are in a street that leads to the
+clock-tower, and close by it is also the hotel of Hong-Kong. Into this
+Sybil and Leonard were taken to have some tiffin, or lunch, whilst their
+sedans and bearers waited for them not far off, under some trees.
+
+Leonard took a good view afterwards of a man in a turban whom they
+passed, because, as he was so important a person as a policeman, he
+thought Sybil might like to describe him in one of her letters, and she
+might perhaps forget what he was like.
+
+Sybil had, as yet, only written one of her promised letters, but this
+had been full of news, and had told of rides in sedan-chairs, little Chu
+and Woo-urh, and all sorts of things; and before they moved on to
+Macao, she had determined to write another letter, and tell of Leonard
+saving himself from the serpent, and what they saw in Hong-Kong. This
+seemed to be a very busy place. Steamers were always either coming or
+going; and here, too, telegrams were constantly arriving. Besides
+English merchants, Chinese, American, French, German, Hindoo merchants,
+and others also traded with the little island, and shared what wealth
+she had. Hong-Kong is very English-looking, compared with other places
+in China, and the people are not only governed by English laws, but
+their crimes are tried by English judges. But even at Canton, Shanghai,
+and other ports where the English have settlements, they now claim, and
+have a voice in trials for crime. It is only because Hong-Kong belongs
+to the English that telegraph-wires are to be found there, as the
+Chinese will not have them anywhere else, because they think that they
+would offend the ghosts, or spirits, of the places through which they
+would pass. For the same reason also the Chinese have hardly any
+railroads. Even children could easily recognise here the introduction of
+English ways and manners.
+
+Lily Keith was very fond of shopping, therefore in her next letter Sybil
+not only gave an account of Leonard's bravery, of which she was really
+more proud than Leonard himself, but also described a visit that she had
+paid to some shops.
+
+          "We went to some of the best of all the shops in
+          Hong-Kong to-day," she wrote, "and as we were
+          going into the door of one, the proprietor came to
+          meet us. Father said he was a merchant. He spoke
+          English, and was very grandly dressed in silk, and
+          wore worked shoes. His shopmen also wore very
+          handsome clothes, and served us standing behind
+          beautifully polished counters. In one part of the
+          shop were all kinds of silk materials, and some
+          stuff called grass-matting. We went down-stairs to
+          see furniture and beautiful porcelain. The
+          principal curiosities had come from Canton, so I
+          suppose when we get there we shall find still
+          better things; and in Canton people paint on that
+          pretty rice paper. Across the road were meat,
+          fish, vegetable, and puppy-dog shops. Yes, the
+          Chinese do eat dogs: in some shops in Hong-Kong we
+          have seen a number for sale; and they eat cats and
+          rats too. We could tell a shop in which clothes
+          were sold some little distance off, because an
+          imitation jacket, or something of that sort, was
+          hung up outside, as well as the long sign-boards,
+          which told what kind of shops they were. Leonard
+          says I am to tell you that a policeman was
+          outside. He always knows policemen now by turbans
+          that they wear, and they often hold a little cane
+          in their hands; and on the pathway a man sat,
+          wearing a hat just like one of those funny-looking
+          things, with a point, that we wore for fun
+          sometimes in the garden. There are no windows to
+          the shops.
+
+[Illustration: TEMPLE OF KWAN-YIN.]
+
+          "Oh! but some of the Chinese do believe such
+          strange things. The other day our amah told
+          Leonard and me to chatter our teeth three times
+          and blow. We could not understand what she meant
+          us to do until she did it first. We had heard a
+          crow caw, so she thought if we did not do this
+          afterwards we should be very unlucky. The other
+          day a coolie fell down and broke a number of
+          things. He had not to replace any of them, but the
+          master had to buy all the things again because it
+          was fine weather. If it had been dirty and
+          slippery, the boy must have bought them. None of
+          us could understand the meaning of this till it
+          was explained to us. If it had been a slippery
+          day, the boy ought to have taken care, and it
+          would have been very careless of him to fall; but
+          if he did so in fine weather, some god must have
+          made him slip, they think, and therefore he could
+          not help it. The heathen Chinese have such a
+          number of gods and goddesses.
+
+[Illustration: A SHADOW-SHOW.]
+
+          "The other day we passed the Temple of Kwan-Yin,
+          the goddess of mercy. The Hong-Kong people think
+          an immense deal of her, and her temple is in such
+          a pretty place, with many trees round it. She is a
+          Buddhist divinity. A number of beggars were
+          outside begging, and they nearly always get
+          something here. Very many Chinese beggars are
+          blind, and there are also lepers in China.
+          Barriers were put up to keep visitors, who were
+          not wanted, such as evil spirits, from going in.
+          People say that evil spirits only care to go
+          through a straight way, and never trouble to go
+          anywhere in a crooked direction. Over the doorway
+          were some characters, which father's teacher has
+          written out for me. They were, being read from
+          right to left, backwards: 'Teen How Kov Meaou,'
+          and signify, 'The Ancient Temple of the Queen of
+          Heaven.' Tien-How is the goddess of sailors, and
+          often called 'The Queen of Heaven.' To the right
+          was a doctor's shop, where prescriptions were sold
+          to the priests; and to the left an old priest was
+          selling little tapers which the worshippers were
+          to burn. We looked in for a few moments, and saw
+          people kneeling down and asking the goddess to
+          cure their sick friends. She was seated at the end
+          of the temple, behind an altar, on which were
+          bronze vases, candles, and lighted sticks of
+          incense. A gong was outside, and on the walls of
+          the temple were different representations of acts
+          of mercy that the goddess was supposed to have
+          performed. On the roof were dragons. The dragon is
+          the Chinese god of rain.
+
+          "Leonard says I am to tell you that some of the
+          Celestials thought once that he was going to beat
+          them because he carried a walking-stick. Chinamen,
+          excepting policemen and mandarins, are only
+          allowed to carry them when they grow old.
+
+          "We saw a very strange sort of show the other day,
+          called a shadow-show. A man, inside a kind of
+          Punch and Judy house, made, with the help of a
+          lantern, all sorts of figures, or rather, shadows,
+          appear on the top of the Punch and Judy. It looked
+          so strange, but Leonard said he thought the people
+          looking at it were stranger still, what with the
+          hats they wore and the funny way they did their
+          hair. He declared one woman had horns. I never saw
+          such pretty lanterns as the Chinese have. Father
+          says that on the fifteenth day of their first
+          month (which is not always the same, as their New
+          Year's Day, like our Easter, is a movable feast
+          regulated by the moon) there is a feast of
+          lanterns, when all people, both on land and on the
+          water, hang up most beautiful lamps, some being
+          made to look like animals, balls of fire, or even
+          like Kwan-Yin herself holding a child.
+
+          "Is it not strange New Year's Day next year will
+          be on the twenty-ninth of January, and in 1882 on
+          February eighteenth?
+
+          "I seem to have ever so much more to tell you, but
+          I am too tired now to write it. I am glad you
+          liked mother's pictures that I sent last time. I
+          could only write that one short letter in Formosa.
+          We are going on to Macao (it is pronounced Macow)
+          the day after to-morrow, then we stay at Canton,
+          and then come back here. It will be so dreadful
+          when that time comes, but I try not to think about
+          it. Dear mother does sometimes, I can see. We all
+          went to the Cathedral on Sunday.
+
+            "I hope I shall soon have a long letter from you.
+               "Believe me, dear Lily,
+                   "Always your affectionate friend,
+                                         "SYBIL GRAHAM.
+
+          "_Hong-Kong, December, 1880._"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+AT CANTON.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A PASSENGER-BOAT conveyed our little travellers, and their parents, in
+three days, from Hong-Kong to Macao, a pretty little sea-side place at
+the entrance of the Bocca Tigris, a little gulf, to the head of which is
+the city of Canton.
+
+Macao was not as full now as it had been during the summer months, when
+many people resort thither from Canton for change of air and to enjoy
+the fresh sea-breezes. A beautiful walk, called the Grand Parade,
+surrounds its picturesque bay.
+
+As Macao belongs to the Portuguese, a great many of the inhabitants
+speak that language.
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Graham and their children stayed, whilst at Macao, at the
+Grand Hotel, which was situated on the Parade, where was also a very
+pretty jetty, on which Sybil and Leonard liked very much to walk. Here,
+again, the houses were painted. In a pretty street close by the Grand
+Parade, protected on both sides by walls, the Grahams were shown houses
+whose windows used to have barriers of iron. These houses, they were
+told, were a kind of prison, called Emigration Agencies, but where in
+reality poor coolies were kept for sale. This traffic had, happily, now
+been done away with.
+
+Some of the houses in Macao seemed to be painted all colours, and many
+of the windows were bordered with red, the favourite colour. Most of the
+houses could boast of large rooms. Not very much commerce seemed to be
+carried on here. Leonard was one day taken to pay the European troops a
+visit in their garrison.
+
+At four o'clock in the afternoon many people walked upon the Parade.
+Most of the Christians here were Roman Catholics, which was natural,
+considering that the place belonged to the Portuguese. Bells, calling
+people to church, rang two or three times a day, and these, and the
+bugle-call from the garrison, were the principal sounds heard. It was
+interesting to visit Macao, because here, in its quiet prettiness, the
+poet Camoens, when banished, spent some of his lonely years, and wrote a
+great part of his epic poem "Lusiad;" and here also a French painter,
+named Chinnery, had produced some of his pretty paintings and sketches.
+Sybil was old enough to care about such things, and to find both
+pleasure and interest in visiting any places once made memorable by the
+footprints left there of either good or great men; and when she had
+heard the poet's story, she was very sorry for him!
+
+[Illustration: MACAO.]
+
+Camoens, who was the epic poet of Portugal, was born in Lisbon in 1524.
+An epic poet is one who writes narratives, or stories, which often
+relate heroic deeds. When banished by royal authority to Santarem,
+Camoens joined the expedition of John III. against Morocco, and lost his
+right eye in an engagement with the Moors in the Straits of Gibraltar.
+People in Lisbon, who would not admire his poetry, now thought nothing
+of his bravery. Sad and disappointed, he went to India in 1553; but
+being offended by what he saw the Portuguese authorities doing in India,
+he wrote a satire about them, called "Follies in India," and made fun of
+the Viceroy. For doing this, he was banished to Macao in 1556, where he
+lived for six years, writing "The Lusiad." On being recalled, he was
+shipwrecked, and lost everything that he had in the world but this epic
+poem, which he held in one hand above the waves, while he swam to shore
+with the other; and after suffering many misfortunes, he arrived in
+Lisbon in 1569, possessed of nothing else. He dedicated his poem to the
+young king Sebastian, who allowed him to stay at the court, and gave him
+a pension. But when Sebastian died he had nothing at all, and a faithful
+Indian servant begged for him in the streets. At last he died in the
+hospital at Lisbon, in 1579. Sixteen years later Camoens was
+appreciated, and people hunted for his grave, to erect a monument to his
+memory, but had much difficulty even in finding it.
+
+The "Lusiad" celebrates the chief events in Portugal's history, and has
+been called "a gallery of epic pictures, in which all the great
+achievements of Portuguese heroism are represented." The poem has been
+translated into English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Polish.
+
+After a short, but pleasant, stay at Macao, the Grahams went on to
+Canton.
+
+"The last place but one," Sybil could not help whispering to Leonard on
+board. "When we next arrive--" she went on, but tears starting into her
+eyes seemed to drown the rest of the sentence. However, as some very
+happy weeks had yet to be passed at Canton, neither she nor we must
+anticipate. A long visit of two months was to be spent here at the
+residence of a personal friend of Mr. Graham, the English consul of the
+place.
+
+A servant was stationed on the steps leading round to the Consulate, or
+Yamen, to await the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Graham and their children.
+
+This house was situated on a height, and occupied the site of an ancient
+palace. It consisted of a suite of buildings, surrounded on one side by
+a pretty garden, and on the other by a park, in which deer grazed. Both
+Sybil and Leonard thought the deer very pretty; and quite near to the
+Yamen was a pagoda of nine storeys, which the Emperor Wong-Ti, who
+reigned about the middle of the sixteenth century, is supposed first to
+have constructed.
+
+"How little," Sybil and Leonard said to one another, "we ever thought,
+when we examined our little ornamental pagodas at home, that we should
+ever live quite near to a real one!"
+
+A story relating to this pagoda, being told to Leonard, interested him a
+good deal.
+
+[Illustration: THE ENGLISH CONSULATE AT CANTON.]
+
+In 1859 some English sailors climbed up the old building, which was then
+in so tottering a condition that it was a really perilous ascent, and
+when they reached the top the Chinese were dreadfully angry, for two
+reasons: first, because they looked upon it as sacrilege; and secondly,
+because from the height the sailors could look down upon their houses,
+and the Chinese dislike very much indeed to be overlooked, especially by
+"barbarians."
+
+The consul and Leonard were soon very good friends, and the elder friend
+very kindly did not weary of answering questions put to him by the
+little boy.
+
+"Why is your house called a yamen?"
+
+"This word means the same as does consulate, the official residence of
+the consul."
+
+"What are you here for?"
+
+The consul smiled. "To protect your interests and those, commercial and
+otherwise, of every English citizen resident here."
+
+"Who is that Jui-Lin of whom you have a picture? and is he alive now?"
+
+"He died a few years ago, and was viceroy of Canton. He made so good a
+governor that those provinces over which he ruled generally prospered
+under his administration. It is in a great measure through his influence
+that peaceable relations have, for some time, been established between
+China and foreign countries. The Emperor Tau-Kwang, who came to the
+throne in 1820, thought so well of him that he made him one of his
+ministers. Later he became general of the Tartar garrison at Canton, and
+soon after he was made viceroy. He established order in a very
+troublesome district, where he made the clan villagers at last
+acknowledge some authority, and so put the people and their property in
+much greater security."
+
+[Illustration: JUI-LIN, LATE VICEROY OF CANTON.]
+
+Leonard said Canton was the place for him, for here he saw ships and
+fishing to perfection. In Canton alone, the consul told him, it was
+estimated that 300,000 persons had their homes on the water. One
+Canton boat-woman, in whose passenger-boat they travelled, said that her
+husband went on shore during the day to work, whilst she looked after
+the passengers; but he seemed to be rather an exception, for most of the
+boat population never went on shore at all, and as people on land go to
+market to buy vegetables and other food, so everything in this line,
+that they required, was brought, by boat, to them. Then, besides boats,
+there were floating islands, on which people lived, and these consisted
+of rafts of bamboos fastened together, with a thick bed of vegetable
+soil covering the rafts. Here the owners set up houses, cultivated
+rice-fields, and kept tame cattle and hogs. Swallows and pigeons here
+built their nests in pretty surrounding gardens. Sails were put up on
+the houses, and oars were often used to propel the islands along. Women
+worked them frequently, with their babies fastened to their backs; and
+little boys and girls would here also play together, having smaller
+brothers and sisters thus attached to them. These floating islands,
+Sybil and Leonard were told, were to be seen on almost all Chinese
+lakes. Many floating houses were moored to one another.
+
+Sometimes the boat population made such a noise. They seemed a
+good-natured set of people, but every now and then they quarrelled, and
+this was done very noisily. Then if a storm came on, they would call out
+with fear. Those people who lived in river streets, where their houses
+were close against the river, often complained of the noise that they
+heard during the night. The boat population are often looked down upon
+by the Chinese who live on land, and may not go in for the literary
+examinations.
+
+There were very many fishing villages about, and nothing made Leonard
+happier than to be taken to one or another of them; he was so fond of
+boats of all kinds. Fishing-boats in China had to obtain a license from
+Government. Some of these sailed two and two abreast, at a distance,
+from one another, of about three hundred feet, when a net was stretched
+from ship to ship to enclose the fish. Names cut in the boats had
+generally reference to good fortune. The name on one, which Leonard had
+interpreted for him, was "Good Success."
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE BOAT-WOMAN.]
+
+[Illustration: A FISHING VILLAGE ON THE CANTON RIVER.]
+
+In fishing as well as in other villages men go about hawking things for
+sale, and carrying them, by ship, from one village to another. In the
+bows of fishing vessels are large pairs of shears, which can be either
+raised or lowered. A large dip-net, fastened to the shears, is drawn up
+after remaining some time in the water, when the fish it contains are
+emptied into a little hole in the middle of the ship, like a large
+cistern, into which fresh water flows. The fishermen anchor their boats,
+and then lower their dip-nets into the water by means of these shears,
+which are made of bamboo, and attached to wooden platforms, resting on
+posts. Huts are sometimes erected near the dip-nets, so that the
+fishermen can shelter themselves from the hot sun. A great deal of
+fishing with birds called cormorants is also carried on in China, when
+one man will, perhaps, take out a hundred birds to fish for him,
+fastening something to their throats to prevent them from swallowing the
+fish when caught. As they return with them, they are given a little
+piece that they can swallow.
+
+After young fish are caught, they are fed with paste in the tanks, or
+wells, into which they are put, and when they grow older little ponds
+are made for them.
+
+Sybil and Leonard were taken very often on the Canton river in all kinds
+of boats, both large and small. In the stern of very many was an altar,
+concealed generally behind a sliding door, but which, night and morning,
+was drawn aside to admit the altar to view, and display the images of
+household gods that were upon it.
+
+Here were also small ancestral tablets, which were regularly worshipped,
+and offerings of fruit and flowers were constantly offered to the
+guardian god of the boat and the tablets when they were worshipped.
+Tien-How, Queen of Heaven, also called Ma-chu, and other names, is much
+worshipped by sailors, but each boat has its special guardian god.
+Incense is burnt night and morning at the bow of the boat. The Grahams
+very often travelled in a small ship called a sampan, which had a mat
+roofing over the centre, and was driven forward, very frequently by
+women, with two oars and a scull.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE FISHING.]
+
+"I have seen just the sort of thing for you to sketch, mother," Sybil
+said one day. Like her mother, she greatly admired what was beautiful,
+and now, with her fellow-excursionists, the consul, her father, and
+brother, returned home, from a ramble, very tired; "a dear little
+pagoda, seven storeys high, very near to the banks of the river, with
+mountains at the back and trees near to it, and a little village in the
+distance; and on the opposite side of the river we saw two men and a
+boy: the boy seemed to have a kite, but we thought it belonged to one of
+the men, and he was just carrying it for him."
+
+Mrs. Graham sometimes did not feel equal to long expeditions, of which
+her children never grew tired, so then she would remain at home, or walk
+through the pretty gardens and park.
+
+The Canton, Chu-kiang, or Pearl River, has a great many names and
+branches. The great western branch is called Kan-kiang, the northern
+branch Pe-kiang, or Pearl River, and the eastern one Tong-kiang. On the
+western branch the children found themselves surrounded by lovely
+mountain scenery. From Canton to Whampoa it was called the Pearl River;
+from Whampoa to Bocca Tigris, or Tiger's Mouth, Foo-mon; and beyond
+Shek-moon towards Canton, the Covetous River. The passage to Macao was
+the Wild Goose River. It was some time before Sybil and Leonard could
+understand anything at all about these divisions.
+
+One day, on the Pearl River, they came to a very pretty spot, where the
+water was almost entirely land-locked by high ranges of hills, and here
+they asked to be allowed to remain stationary, for a little while, to
+look about them.
+
+Another day they went very far indeed with their father and mother,
+crossing the Fatchan River, where Leonard heard, with interest, that
+Commodore Keppel engaged in a memorable battle in 1857. The river
+divides the town of Fatchan into two equal parts. Then again they went
+so far that they could not even think of returning home the same day,
+and stayed the night on the road to a village called Wong-tong, which
+was very countrified and pretty.
+
+[Illustration: PAGODA ON THE BANKS OF THE CANTON RIVER.]
+
+And once more they went--father, mother, and all--to a place quite
+different from anything that they had yet seen, which was the village of
+Polo-Hang. Here they found themselves in the midst of vast plains, on
+the outskirts of which were to be seen lovely-looking hills of limestone
+and rows of wonderfully-shaped mountains. Standing on one of these
+mountains, they had a capital view of the Temple of Polo-Hang and its
+surroundings, consisting of bare fields traversed by canals; and, at the
+foot of the mountains of thickets of bamboo, whose light, feathery
+branches swayed gently to and fro. Bamboo was very largely cultivated
+here, and Sybil thought it such a fairy-like growth. Must not this scene
+have been very lovely? Sybil was so glad that her mother had come to
+see it. Then other hills appeared, covered with trees, and dotted here
+and there with temples.
+
+"Where _did_ they all come from?" Leonard asked.
+
+Mr. Graham was looking very serious. This was a scene calculated to
+leave a deep impression upon the beholders.
+
+[Illustration: ON THE CANTON RIVER]
+
+"From the hand of God," he said very quietly.
+
+[Illustration: VILLAGE OF POLO-HANG IN CANTON.]
+
+A week later, Sybil wrote again to her friend.
+
+
+                              "_Canton, January, 1881._
+
+          "MY DEAREST LILY,--We saw such a strange sight
+          yesterday; and we could not help liking to see it,
+          although, of course, it was very dreadful. We went
+          inside a Buddhist temple at Canton. These
+          temples are often called joss-houses; this one was
+          the Temple of Five Hundred Gods. Fancy five
+          hundred gods! and these idols were all there,
+          arranged in different lines. They all seemed to
+          look different, and some were dreadfully ugly. I
+          saw beards on a few of their faces. In the part of
+          the temple where, in a church, our altar would be,
+          there was a terrible-looking thing: I suppose a
+          very special god.
+
+          "We saw one of the priests. He had his beads in
+          one hand, and a fan in the other. Some of the
+          priests are men who have committed great crimes,
+          and have escaped to a monastery and had their
+          heads shaved, so as not to be caught and punished.
+
+          "Some of the idols were as large as if they were
+          alive, and they had their arms in all sorts of
+          different positions. Some held beads, and a few
+          wore crowns; I think they were disciples of
+          Buddha. The buildings of the temple, and the
+          houses of the priests, were surrounded by lakes
+          and gardens.
+
+          "We have been able to get you a picture of part of
+          the inside of the temple, so I send it to you; but
+          Leonard says that he thinks as you'll have the
+          picture (and he considers it a very good one) that
+          you ought to know that this temple is said to have
+          been founded about 520 years A.D., and to have
+          been rebuilt in 1755. Fancy people wasting prayers
+          before these images! Isn't it a pity that they
+          don't know better? There are more than 120
+          temples, or joss-houses, in Canton.
+
+[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF THE FIVE HUNDRED GODS, CANTON.]
+
+          "The Chinese never eat with knives and forks, but
+          with chop-sticks. These are generally small square
+          pieces of bamboo, as large as a penholder, which
+          they hold between the thumb and first finger of
+          the right hand. I can't eat with them at all,
+          nor can mother; and the other day, when she went
+          out to lunch with some Chinese ladies, they sent
+          for a knife and fork for her.
+
+          "Chinese ladies in Canton never seem to be with
+          their husbands in public, and they never walk in
+          the streets with them. Some of them think us such
+          barbarous people because we are so different from
+          what they are.
+
+          "The Chinese have such a funny way of paying
+          formal visits, that I think I must tell you about
+          it. They often go in sedan-chairs. Officers of the
+          highest rank may have eight bearers, people of
+          less rank have four, and ordinary people two. The
+          state sedan-chair of an official is covered with
+          green cloth, and the fringe on the roof and
+          window-curtains has to be green too. So much seems
+          to go by rank in China. For the first three ranks,
+          the tips of poles may be of brass, in the form of
+          a dragon's head; the fourth and fifth rank would
+          have a lion's head. On the top of these chairs is
+          a ball of tin. Leonard and I can tell the chairs
+          very well now. Private gentlemen have blue cloth,
+          and the ends of their poles are tipped with plain
+          brass.
+
+[Illustration: AN OFFICIAL'S PALANQUIN.]
+
+          "Father says when an official calls upon another
+          official in Peking, his servant sends in his
+          visiting card. The official who is being called
+          upon then sends out to know how his visitor is
+          dressed, and if he hears that it is in full
+          costume, he dresses himself in the same way, and
+          then goes to the entrance of the house, and asks
+          his visitor to get out of his carriage or chair,
+          and come in. As they pass through a door of the
+          gate, the gentleman, to whom the house belongs
+          asks the visitor to go first, but he always says
+          'No' until he has been asked three times, and
+          then he walks first to the reception-hall, when
+          the two stop again, and ask one another to go
+          first. When they have come into the hall, father
+          says, they kneel down, and knock their heads on
+          the ground six times. This is performing the
+          kow-tow. When they get up from this performance,
+          the host arranges a chair for the other, and asks
+          him to sit down, but he must not do this even till
+          he has bowed again. I am sure I should forget when
+          I had to make all these bows, and should be sure
+          to do them at the wrong times.
+
+          "After they have had a little talk, a servant is
+          told to make some tea. I suppose the host would
+          then say 'Yam-cha' to the other, for this means
+          'Drink tea.' Before either gentleman drinks, both
+          bow again, and soon afterwards the visitor gets
+          up, and says, 'I want to take my leave.' They walk
+          together to the grand entrance, but at every
+          door-way the visitor has to bow, and ask his
+          friend not to come any farther, although of course
+          he must go, or it would not be polite. And then he
+          stands at the entrance door till the carriage has
+          driven off. The Chinese do bow so often, and
+          little children have to do it too.
+
+          "The consul told Leonard that when school-boys go
+          to see their masters, they have to arrange the
+          chair-cushions for their masters and themselves.
+          The boy has to stand outside the visitor's hall
+          till his master comes, and when he has been asked
+          to go in, he gives him for a present a tael of
+          silver, about 2s. 8d., which he holds up with both
+          his hands. Then he looks towards the north,
+          kneels, and knocks his head twice upon the ground,
+          when the master bows. The boy asks how his
+          teacher's parents are, who also asks after the
+          boy's. He then invites his little guest to sit
+          down; but every time the boy is asked a question
+          by his teacher he has to stand up to answer it.
+          When he leaves, he goes to the entrance door by
+          himself. At school, the boys have to make a bow to
+          the schoolmaster whenever they go in and out of
+          the room.
+
+          "You asked me in your letter if people have very
+          many servants in China. Some have a very great
+          number. Ordinary Chinese gentlemen might have a
+          porter, two or three footmen, coolies for
+          house-work, sedan-chair bearers, and a cook. Women
+          servants are often bought by their masters. A rich
+          man will have sometimes twenty or thirty slaves.
+          People called 'go-betweens' generally buy them for
+          the masters. We have very few servants of our own
+          now, as we are on a visit. Mother's maid shows
+          dear little Chu what to do. Female slaves attend
+          upon the ladies and children, and we have often
+          seen them carrying their mistresses with small
+          feet. It does look so funny. In good families,
+          father says, they are very well treated, but some
+          maid-of-all-work slaves often run away because
+          they are so unhappy.
+
+          "Children are sometimes stolen to be slaves.
+          Great-grandsons of slaves can buy their freedom. I
+          am so glad I have my little Chu, because she
+          cannot be bought or sold now: father made that
+          agreement. I should not know nearly so much about
+          the servants and slaves if I had not wanted to
+          know what might have become of little Chu if we
+          had not had her. Sometimes servants stand in the
+          streets to be hired.
+
+          "In a suburb of Canton, in a street called the
+          Taiping Kai, we saw one morning a number of
+          bricklayers, journeymen, and carpenters, waiting
+          to be hired. The carpenters stand in a line on one
+          side, and bricklayers on the other. Father said
+          they had been there since five o'clock.
+
+          "Another day we saw men carrying baskets, in which
+          they were collecting every bit of paper they could
+          find about the streets, which had been written
+          upon. The Chinese have such respect for every
+          little piece of paper, on which have been any
+          Chinese characters, that they will not allow any
+          parcels even to be wrapped up in them. When all
+          these scraps have been collected, they are burnt
+          in a furnace, and the ashes are put into baskets,
+          carried in procession, and emptied into a stream.
+          Slips of paper are pasted on walls, telling people
+          to reverence lettered paper. Chinese characters
+          are called 'eyes of the sage;' and some people
+          think that if they are irreverent to the paper,
+          they are so to the sages who invented them, and
+          they will perhaps, for a punishment, be born blind
+          in the next world.
+
+          "Men become famous in China when they write very
+          beautifully. They write with a brush and Indian
+          ink. Father's teacher says there are three styles
+          of writing Chinese characters, and that the
+          literature of China is the first in Asia. A
+          Chinaman writes from right to left, and all the
+          writing consists of signs or characters. I cannot
+          think how Chinese people understand either their
+          writing or their conversation. One word will mean
+          a number of things, and you know which word they
+          mean by the sound of the voice and the stress on
+          the word. Leonard asked the teacher one day what
+          soldier was in Chinese, and he said, 'ping;' but
+          he also told him that 'ping' meant ice, pancake,
+          and other words too. 'Fu' is father, and 'Mu'
+          mother. They think we have no written language.
+
+          "Canton is entered by twelve outer, and four
+          inner, gates. The name means 'City of Perfection.'
+          Leonard and I are now going for a walk, with
+          father, to the Street of Apothecaries, and
+          to-morrow we are to see a bridal procession.
+
+[Illustration: WAITING TO BE HIRED.]
+
+          "There are such a number of narrow streets in
+          Canton, and religious worship is carried on in the
+          open streets, in front of shrines; and before the
+          shops lighted sticks, called 'joss-sticks,' are
+          put at dawn and sunset. The natives live in the
+          narrow streets. Those in the European settlement,
+          where we are, are larger.
+
+          "The ports, which are open to foreign commerce,
+          have European parts where the European inhabitants
+          live.
+
+                         "Always your affectionate
+                                           "SYBIL GRAHAM."
+
+[Illustration: A CHINESE WRITER ]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+A BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+THE Street of Apothecaries was no exception to the general rule that
+Sybil had laid down. It also was very narrow, and, like many other
+streets in Canton, was so covered over at the top that in walking
+through it the sun did not burn too fiercely, neither did the rain fall
+upon the passers-by.
+
+The shops opened right upon the street, which was very gay indeed with
+sign-boards. Just in front of the shops were granite counters, on which
+goods were shown to purchasers.
+
+Many of the sign-boards rested on granite pedestals. On one side of each
+shop was a little altar, dedicated to the god of wealth, or the god
+supposed to preside over the special trade carried on within. Every
+heathen Chinese merchant and shopkeeper has some little spot set apart
+for this worship, although all the shops have not an altar, but many
+only a piece of red paper pasted upon a wall, on which the characters
+meaning "god of wealth" are written, and before which incense and
+candles are burnt. Every day, as soon as the shop is opened, worship is
+paid to this divinity.
+
+[Illustration: THE STREET OF APOTHECARIES, CANTON.]
+
+The counters and shelves inside these hongs were very handsome. The
+accountant's desk was at the end of the hong, and here again the red
+colour was not absent, for the scales and weights of the shop were
+covered with cloth of that hue.
+
+Beggars (some miserably and scantily dressed) are very numerous in
+China, people making quite a profession of begging, when they visit
+shops in companies, and there make a great disturbance until they
+receive what they demand. These beggars are often governed by a
+head-man, who was really first appointed to rule over them by the
+mandarin, to save himself trouble. A head-man will sometimes make an
+agreement with a hong proprietor, that if he will pay a sum of money
+down beggars shall not molest him; and when he agrees to this, a notice
+on red paper, stating the arrangement made, is hung up in the shop,
+after which any native beggar applying for aid can be shown this, turned
+out of the hong, and upon refusing to go, he can be beaten. But unless
+such an arrangement has been made, beggars may neither be beaten nor
+turned out of a shop, whatever annoyance they may offer, unless they
+steal, or break some other law. Therefore it is that poor shop-keepers
+feel themselves bound to pay money in order to avoid such annoyance.
+When the head-man is paid a sum of money, he is supposed to divide it
+amongst his band.
+
+"I never heard such a shame!" Leonard exclaimed, when he saw one of
+these beggars very troublesome in the Street of Apothecaries, and heard
+the law with regard to them. "I wish I were a mandarin. I'd very soon
+put a stop to poor shop-keepers being so persecuted."
+
+[Illustration: A BEGGAR.]
+
+[Illustration: BRIDESMAIDS]
+
+That evening both Sybil and Leonard, feeling tired, went very early to
+bed, as they wanted to be up in very good time in the morning, so as to
+see the whole of the bridal procession, for the bridegroom sends very
+early indeed in the morning for his bride. The bridal-chair which he
+sends for her is often painted red. The one which the Grahams saw was of
+this colour, and over the door were also strips of red paper. Before the
+bride took her seat in the sedan, which was brought into the
+reception-room of her home for her, she having eaten nothing that
+morning, and having kow-towed very often to her parents, they covered
+her head and face with a thick veil, so that she could not be seen. The
+floor, from her room to the sedan, was covered with red carpet. When in
+the sedan, four bread-cakes were tossed into the air by one of the
+bridesmaids as an omen of good fortune. In front of the procession two
+men carried large lighted lanterns, having the family name of the
+bridegroom, cut in red paper, and pasted on them. Then came two men
+bearing the family name of the bride, who were, however, only to go part
+of the way. Other men followed, some carrying a large red umbrella,
+others torches, and again some playing a band of music. Near the
+bridal-chair brothers or friends of the bride walked. Half-way between
+the two houses the friends of the bridegroom met the bride, and as they
+approached the procession stopped.
+
+The children were very much interested in watching what happened next.
+The bride's friends brought out a large red card, on which was written
+the bride's family name, and the other party produced a similar one,
+bearing that of the bridegroom. These were exchanged with bows. The two
+men at the head of the procession then walked, with their lanterns,
+between the sedan-chair and the lantern-bearers, who carried the bride's
+family name, and returned to their places in front, when the bride's
+party turned round and went back to her father's house, carrying home
+her family name, she being supposed to have now taken that of her
+husband. Even her brothers went back also, and then the band played a
+very lively air whilst the rest of the procession took her on.
+
+Fireworks were let off along the road, and a great many outside the
+bridegroom's door when the bride arrived. Her bridesmaids, who have to
+keep with her throughout the day, accompanied the procession.
+
+As the sedan-chair was taken into the reception-room, the torch-bearers
+and musicians stayed near the door, and where it was put down the floor
+was again covered with red carpet. The bridegroom then came and knocked
+at the bridal door, but a married woman and a little boy, holding a
+mirror, asked the bride to get out. Her bridesmaids helped her to
+alight. The mirror was supposed to ward off evil influences.
+
+[Illustration: BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM.]
+
+Sometimes, much for the same purpose, a bride is carried over a charcoal
+fire on a servant's back, but this was not done on this occasion. All
+this time the bride's face was hidden by her veil. She was then taken
+into a room, where the bridegroom was waiting for her, and here they sat
+down together for a few minutes, without speaking a word. Sometimes the
+bridegroom sits on a high stool, while the bride throws herself down
+before him, to show that she considers man superior to woman.
+
+He then went into the reception-room, where he waited for his bride to
+come to worship his ancestral tablets with him. A table was put in front
+of the room, on which were two lighted candles and lighted incense. Two
+goblets, chop-sticks, white sugar-cocks, and other things were on the
+table, when the bride and bridegroom both knelt four times, bowing their
+heads towards the earth. This was called "worshipping heaven and earth."
+The ancestral tablets were on tables at the back, on which were also
+lighted candles and incense. Turning round towards the tablets, they
+worshipped them eight times, and then facing one another, they knelt
+four times.
+
+Wedding wine was now drunk, and the bride and bridegroom ate a small
+piece from the same sugar-cock, which was to make them agree.
+
+The thick veil was now taken off the bride, but her face was still
+partly hidden by strings of pearl hanging from a bridal coronet.
+
+It often happens that the bridegroom now sees his bride for the first
+time, the two fathers having perhaps planned the marriage, asked a
+fortune-teller's advice, sent go-betweens to make all the necessary
+arrangements, chosen a lucky day, without the bride or bridegroom having
+a voice in the matter. This was the case with the young couple, a great
+part of whose wedding ceremony Sybil and Leonard had witnessed. Both
+Chinese boys and girls marry sometimes when they are sixteen years of
+age; these were very little older.
+
+Many other ceremonies had to take place, such as kneeling very often
+before the bridegroom's parents, when at last it was time for the
+bride's heavy outer garments to be taken off, together with her
+head-dress, so that her hair could be well arranged; but she was not
+allowed to eat anything at all at the wedding dinner. Indeed, on her
+wedding-day, she is hardly expected to touch food at all.
+
+Many people came in to see her, and on this day she must be quite
+natural, and wear no rouge at all. She has to stand up quietly to be
+looked at, blessed, and have remarks made upon her appearance. Presents
+are sent to the bridegroom's family. For three days the bride's parents
+send her food, as she may not, during that time, eat what her husband
+provides. In some districts of the province of Canton the bride leaves
+her husband, and goes home again for a time after she is married, but
+after marriage she is generally considered to belong almost entirely to
+her husband's family, in a wing of whose house she lives with him, and
+to whose parents she is supposed to help him to be filial. On many other
+days the ancestral tablets have to be worshipped by the bride and
+bridegroom, and amongst other gods and goddesses, those of the kitchen
+have adoration paid to them.
+
+[Illustration: AT A CHINESE FARM.]
+
+
+                                 "_Canton, February, 1881._
+
+          "MY DEAREST LILY.--Father took us to a lovely farm
+          the other day" (Sybil wrote in another letter),
+          "where we saw a little donkey, who was so well
+          cared for that he seemed like one of the family.
+          Leonard and I fed him for some time. We both
+          thought that the farm-house was something like a
+          Swiss cottage. Father said the walls were made of
+          clay, and on these walls were scrolls, which were
+          supposed to have power to keep the fox and wild
+          cat away.
+
+          "There were a few bullocks and cows here, but not
+          many; their stalls were quite near to the house.
+          We liked the village, to which we went, very much,
+          and it was surrounded by high trees. Father says
+          that the stables of the Chinese are like
+          cart-sheds, but each stable has an altar in honour
+          of the ruler of horses. In this city there is a
+          large temple to this god.
+
+          "We saw a number of bean, pea, rice, and
+          cotton-fields, and had some sugar-cane given us to
+          eat. Sugar-cane is grown in Canton, and we had
+          some bean-curds to drink. We liked them very much.
+          Mother says she was told that they were made in
+          Canton overnight, and generally sold very early in
+          the morning. The beans are ground to flour, which
+          is strained, and then boiled slowly for an hour. I
+          wonder if you would like it?
+
+          "The Chinese are so fond of sugar-cane, and it
+          grew in China before it grew anywhere else. Ever
+          so many fruits and vegetables grow also in China,
+          but there seem to be more rice-fields than any
+          other. I will tell you a few of the vegetables:
+          sweet potatoes, yams, tomatoes, cabbages,
+          lettuces, turnips, and carrots; and some fruits
+          are apricots, custard-apples, rose-apples, dates,
+          oranges, pomegranates, melons, pumpkins, and ever
+          so many others. Canton is in the tropics, but it
+          is not hot here in the winter. There are such
+          pretty water-lilies here, not only white, but also
+          red and red-and-white. The Chinese look upon this
+          lily as a sacred plant. Some shop-keepers use the
+          leaves, in which to wrap up things, instead of
+          paper.
+
+          "Chinese people do very funny things. Because they
+          think that their birds sometimes like change of
+          air, they carry their cages out of doors with them
+          for a walk. But I do so wish that they did not eat
+          dogs! You see them being sold in the shops, and in
+          one district of Canton a fair is held, where they
+          are regularly sold for food. Many people like
+          black dogs best. At the beginning of summer nearly
+          everybody eats dog's flesh, when a ceremony takes
+          place. If people eat it, they think that it will
+          keep them from being ill in the summer. I am glad,
+          for that reason, that I shall not be here in June,
+          as the dogs are cruelly beaten the day before they
+          are killed. Fancy, poor little things! I suppose
+          that is to bring luck too! And yet the Cantonese
+          think that they displease the gods when they eat
+          dog's flesh, and we have seen it written on
+          Buddhist temples that people ought not to eat
+          'their faithful guardians.'
+
+          "The Cantonese must not go into a temple to
+          worship till they have been three whole days
+          without eating any dog. One of the 'boys' here--he
+          is a footman; but in China all these sort of
+          people are called 'boys'--eats rats. He says he is
+          getting bald, and if he eats them his hair will
+          grow again. Horses are sometimes eaten too; and
+          worms that spoil the rice-fields, father told me,
+          are sent to the markets and sold to be eaten.
+          Isn't that nasty? And a kind of swallow's nest is
+          eaten even by ladies. It is lined with feathers,
+          which are first removed; then it is scraped,
+          washed, and pulled to pieces, when it looks white.
+          People say it is something like blancmange. I
+          should not like to eat it. Does it not seem
+          greedy, when people have so much to eat, to take
+          poor little birds'-nests which have been made with
+          such pains by their owners?
+
+          "There is a bird in China that has such a long
+          tail: it is called the Golden Pheasant. The
+          feathers of the cock bird are most beautiful. His
+          throat and breast are like purple velvet, and his
+          back looks like gold. The upper part of his very
+          long tail is scarlet, and the rest yellow. When
+          this pheasant lifts his head and neck-feathers he
+          shows such a tuft!
+
+          "There are a good many deer in China, which are
+          also supposed to bring good fortune. Some Chinese
+          are very cruel to animals. We have seen them
+          carrying pigs, ducks, and geese fastened to a
+          pole, hanging with their heads downwards; and some
+          of their dogs look so hungry, and their beasts of
+          burden so tired. We saw a dreadful thing one day,
+          almost too dreadful to write about--a poor little
+          dog running yelping through the streets with its
+          tail cut off! A Taouist priest had cut it off, so
+          that it should run screaming through all the house
+          in which evil spirits were supposed to be, because
+          this would drive them out; then the poor little
+          dog rushed into the streets, where we saw it, and,
+          fortunately, father was near enough to have it
+          killed at once.
+
+          "The people listen more to father than they do to
+          many missionaries, because he goes to the
+          dispensary and helps to cure them when they are
+          ill.
+
+          "I forgot to tell you that when we first went to
+          the farm nobody saw us, because the farmer, his
+          wife, daughter, and a labourer were all listening
+          to a man reading to them. We thought he must have
+          got hold of some of the Chinese classics. The
+          pigeon-English people talk sometimes is so funny.
+          They are so fond of the word 'piecee.' Instead of
+          'one child,' they say 'one piecee chilo;' and if
+          they had many children, I expect they would say
+          'piecee muchee.'
+
+          "Leonard makes very good shots at pigeon-English,
+          and can talk it much better than I can. What we
+          generally do is to put 'ee' at the end of our
+          words; but when we spoke to the farmer he could
+          not understand, and so said, 'You talkee me. Very
+          good talkee.' When he wanted to tell us that his
+          house was very large, he said, 'Number one largee,
+          handsome howsow;' and for 'There is a child
+          up-stairs,' he said, 'Have got chilo topside.'
+
+          "You asked me how the Chinese dressed, so I must
+          try to tell you this, although I have written you
+          such a long letter already.
+
+[Illustration: CHINESE LADIES.]
+
+[Illustration: A VILLAGER.]
+
+[Illustration: A COOLIE.]
+
+          "Gentlemen and ladies seem to dress very much
+          alike; and people cannot change their clothes as
+          they choose, because there is a minister of
+          ceremonies, who says of what colour, stuff, and
+          shape things are to be made, and when winter and
+          summer things are to be changed. Even a head-dress
+          may not be altered as people like, or they might
+          be breaking a law. And it is so funny about the
+          nails; some people let some of their nails grow as
+          long as they can, and are so proud when they are
+          very long. No Chinaman wears a beard till he is
+          forty. The outside robe of a gentleman is so long
+          that it reaches to his ankles, and it is fastened
+          with buttons. The sleeves are first broad, and
+          then get narrower and narrower. A sash is tied
+          round his waist, and from this chop-sticks, a
+          tobacco-case, fans, and such-like things hang. The
+          head-dress is a cap with a peak at the top. Men do
+          not take off their hats to bow; indeed, they would
+          put them on if they were off. In-doors they wear
+          silk slippers, pointed and turned up at the toes.
+          Chinese men are admired when they are stout, and
+          women when they are thin. Women also have two
+          robes, the top one often being made of satin, and
+          reaching from the chin to the ground. Their
+          sleeves are so long that they do instead of
+          gloves. They always wear trousers, and often carry
+          a pipe, for women smoke a great deal in China.
+          Some, I think, are pretty. They have rather large
+          eyes and red lips. Old ladies wear very quiet
+          clothes. Mother says the Chinese are not at all
+          clean people, and ought to change their clothes
+          much oftener than they do. People wear shoes of
+          silk, or cotton, with thick felt soles. The women
+          spend hours having their hair done into all sorts
+          of shapes, such as baskets, bird-cages, or
+          anything they and their amahs can manufacture.
+          Then besides ornaments in their hair, they wear
+          ear-rings and bangles. Even boat-women wear these;
+          and the ladies almost always paint their faces,
+          to do which they have a kind of enamel. Chinese
+          ladies have little useful occupation, and spend a
+          great part of their time, mother says, when they
+          are not doing embroidery, in gambling and adorning
+          themselves.
+
+          "The peasants wear a coarse linen shirt, covered
+          by a cotton tunic, with thin trousers fastened to
+          the ankles. In wet and cold weather they make a
+          useful covering of net-work, into which are
+          plaited rushes, or coarse dry grass, and they put
+          on very large hats, made in the same way. The
+          Chinese are not at all lazy people, for father
+          says after their shutters are shut, and all looks
+          dark from the outside, they are often at work, and
+          they get up early too. When men grow old their
+          tails get so thin. I saw such a wrinkled old man
+          the other day, with hardly any tail at all. I
+          think he must have been very sorry about that; he
+          was an old villager.
+
+          "Coolies wear their tails twisted round their
+          heads. They do all the heavy work, and are
+          porters, common house labourers, and sedan-chair
+          bearers.
+
+          "Leonard says if I write any more stuff he is sure
+          you will not read it; but I hope you will think it
+          interesting stuff, at all events, and, therefore,
+          not mind my letter being so long. There seems to
+          be so much to tell you when you have not been to
+          China, and it seems selfish to keep all the
+          pleasure of seeing such new things to myself. I
+          meant to tell you about the New Year, which we
+          have just kept, but I have not room. I hope you
+          will write to me very soon. We all send love to
+          you, and
+
+                            "Believe me,
+                         "Your very affectionate friend,
+                                 "SYBIL GRAHAM."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+PROCESSIONS.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+A FORTNIGHT later Mr. Graham saw a large, Leonard a small, portion of a
+funeral procession, and Sybil was very anxious afterwards to hear all
+about it, for Leonard had told her that it seemed even grander than the
+marriage one.
+
+"Please, father," she said, "tell me all that the Chinese do when
+anybody dies."
+
+"I do not think I could tell you all," was her father's reply, "because
+it would take too long, and I do not know all myself; but I dare say I
+can tell you quite enough to satisfy your curiosity. When a Chinese
+thinks that a relation is likely to die soon, he places him, with his
+feet towards the door, on a bed of boards, arranging his best robes and
+a hat, or cap, quite close to him, that he may be dressed in these just
+before he dies. It would be considered a dreadful thing if he were to
+die without putting them on. Soon after he is dead, a priest--usually a
+priest of Taou--is called in to ask the spirit to make haste to Elysium,
+and to cast the man's horoscope, so as to see how far the spirit has got
+on its journey."
+
+"What does casting his horoscope mean?"
+
+"Finding out the hour of a man's birth, and then foretelling events by
+the appearance of the heavens. More clothes are then put upon the dead
+man, who, if he be a person of rank, would wear three silk robes. Gongs
+are beaten, and when the body is placed in its coffin, every corner of
+the room is beaten with a hammer, to frighten away bad spirits. A crown
+is also put on any person of rank. Widows and children, to show their
+grief, sit on the floor instead of on chairs for seven days, and sleep
+on mats near to the husband and father's coffin. On the seventh day
+letters are written to friends, informing them of the death, when they
+send presents of money to help to defray the funeral expenses. I saw a
+very strange letter of thanks yesterday, a copy of which had been sent
+to each giver of a present, and besides money, food is sometimes given
+or priests are sent. The letter, as far as I can remember, ran thus:
+'This is to express the thanks of the orphaned son, who weeps tears of
+blood, and bows his head; of the mourning brother, who weeps and bows
+his head; of the mourning nephew, who wipes away his tears and bows his
+head.' Then a letter is also written to the departed, and burnt, that it
+may reach him, whilst cakes and other presents are also sent to him by
+means of burning.
+
+[Illustration: MEN ENGAGED TO WALK IN FUNERAL PROCESSIONS.]
+
+"On the twenty-first day after death a banquet is prepared in honour
+of the spirit, which is supposed, on that day, to come back to his home,
+when the entrance doors are shut, for fear any one should come in and
+vex the spirit. On the twenty-third day three large paper birds are put
+on high poles in front of the house, to carry the soul to Elysium; and
+for three days Buddhist priests pray to the ten kings of Buddhist hell
+to hasten the flight of the departed soul to the Western Paradise.
+
+"The coffin is kept in the house for seven weeks, where an altar is set
+up, near to which the tablet and portrait of the deceased are put.
+Banners, which are looked upon as letters of condolence, are fixed upon
+the walls, and on these the merits of the dead man are inscribed.
+
+"Pictures of the three Buddhas are also to be seen in the house. A lucky
+place and day have then to be fixed, by fortune-tellers, for the burial,
+and should these not be forthcoming, the coffin would be placed on a
+hill till they can be found. Burial is considered of so much importance,
+that should a man be drowned his spirit would be called back into a
+figure of wood or paper, and buried with pomp. Before the grave-diggers
+begin their work, members of the family worship the genii of the
+mountain, and write letters to these gods, asking them to be so kind as
+to allow the funeral to take place."
+
+"But how are these letters made to 'arrive?'"
+
+"They are set on fire and burnt."
+
+"Leonard says he saw a number of people dressed in white in the
+procession."
+
+"Those were the relatives in deep mourning, white, you remember, being
+the deepest, white and blue lesser, mourning."
+
+[Illustration: CHE-YIN.]
+
+"And he says he is sure he saw his friend Che-Yin among the mourners.
+You know, father, Che-Yin is really a great friend of Leonard's, though
+he is so much older than himself, and now he is taking great trouble to
+teach him to play on the musical instrument which he plays so well
+himself. I believe if Leonard were going to stay longer here he would
+really learn to play it quite well. Is it not kind of Che-Yin? But I
+must not interrupt you any more," Sybil went on, "and this is so
+interesting. Leonard said he wondered so much what could be happening
+once when he heard a tremendous noise, and saw people rushing out into
+the streets screaming."
+
+"I think I know what that meant," was the missionary's answer. "On the
+day of burial the relatives weep and lament very loudly. They carry a
+long white streamer, called a soul-cloth, to the ancestral hall, for the
+spirit to say 'Good-bye' to its ancestors. At three or four o'clock in
+the morning all decorations, that have been put up in front of the door,
+are taken down, and a banquet is made ready, of which the spirit is
+invited to partake. You remember I told you that they believe one spirit
+is buried with the body. Well, some kind of paper is now again burnt,
+while the spirit is asked to accompany the body, and the tablet and
+portrait of the dead man are put in a sedan-chair by his eldest son,
+over the top of which is a streamer of red satin, on which his name and
+titles are written.
+
+"Distant relations remain standing out in the streets; but I expect what
+Leonard saw was people rushing out of the house, dreadfully frightened,
+for fear that after all the day might not be lucky, and the spirit
+should be vexed, and send trouble to them, in consequence.
+
+"As the coffin is brought out offerings are also again presented to the
+spirit. Two men walk first, carrying large lanterns, on which are
+written the name, title, and age of the man who has died. Then come two
+other men with a gong, which they beat from time to time."
+
+"Leonard heard that."
+
+"Then follow musicians, and behind these some men walk with flags,
+others with red boards, on which are inscribed, in golden letters, the
+titles of the ancestors of the deceased."
+
+"Then Leonard saw some gold canopies and sedan-chairs."
+
+"Offerings made to the dead are carried under gilded canopies, and these
+canopies also follow the ancestral tablets. The portrait of the dead man
+is in one sedan-chair, and his wooden tablet in another.
+
+"I believe somewhere about here are more musicians, then comes a man
+scattering pieces of paper fastened to tinfoil. This is supposed to be
+mock-money for hungry ghosts, the souls of those people who have died at
+corners of the streets, and this money is to make peace with them, so
+that they shall not injure the soul of the man now being buried. The
+eldest son carries a staff, whilst a person walks on either side to
+support him."
+
+"But Leonard said he saw a white cock, when he could not help laughing.
+What could this be for?"
+
+"The cock is also carried to call the soul to go with the body. Behind
+the eldest son comes the bier, carried by men or drawn by horses.
+
+"Many other persons follow. All the people that can, go in the
+procession. Women with small feet, unless carried on their slaves'
+backs, can only go a short way. At the grave, grains of rice are
+scattered over the coffin, when the priest and all the people lift the
+cock and bend their bodies forward three times. The tablet is taken out
+of the chair, on which the nearest relation makes a mark with a red
+pencil; then the sons kneel down, and a priest, if present, addresses
+them."
+
+"Then a priest is not obliged to go to the funeral?"
+
+"No; sometimes only a man skilled in geomancy is present. Geomancy is a
+kind of foretelling things, by means of little dots first made on the
+ground and then on paper. The tablet is marked, I believe, to bring good
+luck to the sons, and then every one knocks his head on the ground and
+does homage to it."
+
+Sybil was looking very serious, though she was smiling too.
+
+"Oh, father!" she said, "how much you, and other missionaries, will have
+to teach these people! What a pity it is that they cannot know that the
+soul is never buried, and that they can't learn to worship and pray to
+God, Who would send them such real happiness in answer to their
+prayers!"
+
+"It is indeed, my child," was the missionary's answer.
+
+"And is anything more done for the dead after this except worship being
+paid to them?"
+
+"Yes; for many days feasts are prepared for the departed relative, hot
+water is carried to him to wash his face and hands, and I have also
+heard of another way that the Chinese have of 'conveying' spirits to the
+kingdoms of Buddhistic hell. Little sedan-chairs are made of bamboo
+splints and paper, with four little paper bearers, and sometimes there
+is a fifth little paper man, holding an umbrella. These are burnt like
+the paper mock-money; and sometimes, after the death of another friend,
+a little paper trunk, full of paper clothes, is supplied for one already
+dead, and burnt, when the senders believe that the person who died last
+is conveying this trunk to the other in safety for them."
+
+"They think that people need a great many things in the other world,
+then," Sybil said. "And do children often worship at their parents'
+tombs?"
+
+"Yes; at certain seasons of the year they make pilgrimages to the tops
+of high hills, or to other distant parts, where they prostrate
+themselves, this being supposed to continue the homage and reverence
+which they showed to them on earth; and they believe that in a great
+measure the happiness of the spirits depends upon the adoration and
+worship which they pay to them, whilst those who render it secure for
+themselves favour from the gods. Twice a day do children also pay
+adoration to their dead parents, before a shrine set up in the house to
+the memory of departed ancestors."
+
+"But what is the use of preparing feasts for the dead?" Sybil asked.
+"They cannot think that the dead really eat the food?"
+
+"They seem to do so, and not only lay a place for them, but even put
+chop-sticks for their use."
+
+Another procession Sybil and Leonard saw one day, and this Sybil
+described in the last letter that she wrote to her friend, before she
+left China. Some men carried an image of the Dragon King, others carried
+gongs, drums, and green and black and yellow and white flags, whilst
+boys, walking in the procession, called out loudly from time to time.
+
+The children could not possibly imagine what this procession could be
+all about.
+
+Some characters were written on the flags.
+
+One man who, as Leonard thought, had a very happy, smiling face, had a
+pole slung across his shoulders, from which hung two buckets of water.
+In his hand he held a green branch of a shrub which, from time to time,
+he dipped in the water, and then sprinkled the ground; while he also
+continually called out something. Other men were carrying sticks of
+lighted incense. Most of the people, in the procession, wore white
+clothes, and white caps without tassels.
+
+[Illustration: SPRINKLING WATER.]
+
+Sybil and Leonard were afterwards told that this was praying for rain,
+because for some time there had been none.
+
+The Dragon King was carried, because he is supposed to be the god of
+rain. Besides the Dragon King there is a River Dragon, who is both
+feared and worshipped. His mother, Loong-Moo, is often worshipped by
+people engaged in river traffic.
+
+The men and boys were calling out "Rain comes!" The yellow and white
+banners were to represent wind and water, and the green and black,
+clouds.
+
+The inscription on the flags was, when translated, "Prayer is offered
+for rain."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+THE LAST PEEP.
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+SYBIL had made several friends amongst Cantonese ladies and children,
+and some very pleasant afternoons had she spent with them. The girls,
+she noticed, generally wore cotton tunics and trousers. One little girl,
+with whom she had spent a few hours, was in mourning, so she wore white,
+bound with blue. Sybil could not help thinking that this was very pretty
+mourning, but her brother's was still prettier, for his trousers were of
+pale blue silk tied round the ankles, and he wore white shoes. His cue
+was tied with blue. And there were such very pretty gardens belonging to
+the houses in which they lived, with rockeries, fish-ponds, and
+summer-houses almost large enough to live in.
+
+One lady, whom Sybil visited, astonished her very much, because she had
+an only boy, who was very pale-looking and delicate, and she called him
+all sorts of names, and seemed to treat him so unkindly. When Sybil had
+been ill herself, her mother had always treated her with such extra love
+and care, and she fancied that all mothers behaved like this. Then the
+Chinese love their boys so much, that one would therefore have thought
+an only boy would be so very precious. The next time that she saw the
+lady she had given away her child to be adopted by some one else. Mrs.
+Graham heard the explanation to this unnatural conduct, and gave it to
+Sybil. The woman really loved her boy most fondly, and would have given
+anything she had to have him well, but she fancied that the gods were
+malicious towards him, and that if she pretended to them that she did
+not care for the child they would let him get well again. All that
+conduct was to deceive the gods.
+
+Mr. Graham had several times dined out at Chinese houses, and sometimes
+his wife had accompanied him, but as Cantonese ladies never dine with
+their husbands in public, where her doing so was likely to give any
+offence, even though she were invited, she never went; but many Chinese
+very well understand that there are quite different laws for Europeans
+than there are for them, and these seemed to be glad to admit English
+ladies, with their husbands, to be guests at their houses.
+
+When Mr. and Mrs. Graham went to one of these dinners, knives and forks
+were borrowed for them, and the other English visitors, in place of
+chop-sticks. A china spoon and a two-pronged fork were set before each
+person, and there were china wine-glasses. The table-napkins were of
+brown paper. Basins of fruit, from which all helped themselves as they
+liked, were in the middle of the table. There were a great many soups
+and other courses. Every now and then the host took something out of a
+basin with his chop-stick, and offered to put it into the mouths of his
+guests. Out of politeness they were bound to accept these gifts. There
+was not any beef, as no Chinaman eats beef. Music was played, and slaves
+fanned the people during dinner.
+
+Once when Sybil visited some of her young Chinese friends, the tea was
+brought in to them in covered cups, and when they wanted more,
+tea-leaves were put into the cups and boiling water was poured upon
+them. She had learnt now to be able to drink tea without milk or sugar,
+but she could not like it.
+
+A two months' stay at Canton brought the children to the end of four
+months and a half of their stay in China, and left but six weeks more
+before they were to return to England. It was the middle of March when
+the Grahams said "Good-bye" to their kind friends at the Yamen, and
+returned to Hong-Kong. Sybil could not bear to say this farewell, as it
+was the last but one, and she knew how very quickly six weeks would
+pass.
+
+They had all enjoyed their stay in Canton very much, and often thought
+about the New Year's Day which had been kept, while they were there,
+with such grand rejoicings. At midnight, on the last day of the old
+year, a bell, never used except on this occasion, pealed forth, when, at
+the signal, people rushed into the streets in crowds to let off
+fireworks.
+
+Every temple and every pagoda was lighted up, and people burnt incense
+before idols in their own homes. Some streets are lighted in Canton by
+lanterns, but, as a rule, the smaller streets are in darkness, with the
+exception of paper lanterns, which hang, every now and then, from before
+shops or private houses, and even these are put out by half-past nine
+o'clock. Paraffin lamps are now being introduced along Chinese city
+streets.
+
+All New Year's night a great noise was to be heard, and in the morning
+friends dressed in their best to call upon, and salute, one another.
+
+In the streets they were to be seen prostrating themselves upon the
+ground. Rich and poor alike had great rejoicings on New Year's Day, the
+rich often keeping up their holiday for ten days.
+
+Latterly Mr. Graham had been several times backwards and forwards to
+Hong-Kong, where he had made his final arrangements.
+
+The missionary, whose place he was about to fill, would, when he left
+the island, take with him to England, besides his own family, Sybil and
+Leonard Graham. Until they sailed, the Grahams would all stay with them
+at the Mission House, when it would be handed over to Mr. Graham.
+
+The other missionary had three children of his own, two daughters,
+twelve and ten years old, and a son of nine, but as they had been absent
+from Hong-Kong when the Grahams had been there before, the children had
+not yet made one another's acquaintance.
+
+The eldest, Katie, now became Sybil's very useful interpreter, for as
+she had been born in China and lived there all her life, she could
+understand, and speak, many Chinese dialects.
+
+Sybil now knew several Chinese words herself. "Che-fan," or "Have you
+eaten your rice?" was "How do you do?" though, as a rule, when people
+said "How do you do?" to her it was "Chin-chin mississi?"
+
+When she went out visiting, questions such as the following were
+generally put to her, "What honourable name have you?" "What is the name
+of your beautiful dwelling?" and "What age have you?" Had she been grown
+up, this question would probably have been, "What is your venerable
+age?"
+
+Leonard was often told to "catchee plenty chow-chow," which means "eat a
+very good dinner," but as somehow he generally seemed able to do this,
+he hardly needed the kind advice.
+
+Mrs. Graham's amah amused Sybil very much. She had been a great
+traveller, having visited both England and America, and she liked
+England much the best. One day she said to Sybil: "Melicae no good
+countly. Welly bad chow-chow. Appool number one. My hab chow-chow sixty
+pieces before bleakfast. Any man no got dollar, all hab got paper.
+Number one foolo pidgin. No good countly. My no likee Melicae. My likee
+England side more better." This meant: "America is not a good country.
+It has very bad food, but first-rate apples. I ate sixty before
+breakfast. No one has any dollars there, all use paper money. Very
+foolish business. Not a good country. I do not like America. I like
+England better."
+
+Some pleasure or another was always forthcoming for Sybil and Leonard,
+and the few last "Peep-shows" were very precious.
+
+[Illustration: "SING-SONG."]
+
+One day, when they were out, they saw a "Sing-Song," as the performance
+was called. Under a canopy, in the open streets, children were acting
+and dancing. To do so, they had dressed up in very gorgeous costumes,
+their ornaments and head-dresses being grander, Leonard said, than
+anything he had ever seen before; and the little Chinese actors
+themselves seemed to be thoroughly at their ease, and quite at home, in
+their grand attire.
+
+"Why did that policeman come after you to-day, father, and take down the
+name of the boat that we got into?" Leonard once asked, when he and his
+father had been out together, and were returning home.
+
+"Policemen have done that several times, if you had only noticed," was
+the reply. "That was to guard us from pirates. They took the name of our
+boat, so that the owner could be held responsible if we did not return
+safely. The Chinese are dreadful pirates, and are generally on the
+look-out for opportunities to rob. Sometimes a band of them will take
+their passages in a ship, and when fairly out at sea will all rise in
+mutiny against the captain and his officers, and perhaps murder them, so
+as to be able to plunder as they choose."
+
+"I should think the boat-policemen had plenty of work to do," Leonard
+then said.
+
+"Father, do you remember well when you were just eleven?" the child then
+asked suddenly, going, as it seemed, right away from his present
+subject. "Did you ever want to be a sailor then? ever think for certain
+you would be one?"
+
+"I do not remember ever having had that wish."
+
+"Well, I have had it over and over again, and thought that there could
+not be anything better in the world than going about in ships, and
+seeing different places. I've wished to be a sailor for ever so many
+years; but, you know, I don't wish it now."
+
+[Illustration: FISHERMEN AND FISHERWOMEN.]
+
+Mr. Graham smiled. I expect it was Leonard's "ever so many years" which
+made him do so.
+
+"Don't you?" his father asked. "Then what do you want to be now?"
+
+"Something, father, I'm not half good enough for," the boy answered,
+thoughtfully. "A missionary! Oh, father, I do so want to be a missionary
+now, and come to China, as you and grandfather have done! Shouldn't you
+like it too? I know mother would; and perhaps the Church Missionary
+Society would send me out if I asked them."
+
+"I should like nothing better, my little son," was the missionary's
+reply.
+
+A few minutes later Leonard was out of doors again, flying himself one
+of the "wonderful kites," which a Chinaman had made for, and given to,
+him, and his father was watching his little fellow with pleasure almost
+amounting to pride.
+
+Was this his impulsive boy's own thought, he wondered, or had his sister
+suggested it to him.
+
+Quite his own; but no doubt the quiet, gentle influence which Sybil
+exerted over her younger brother was very good for him.
+
+"Do you think, Sybil, that the heathen Chinese could teach the Christian
+English anything?" Mr. Graham asked his daughter, as they sat and talked
+together the very last evening.
+
+"I am sure they could," she answered quickly; "many things. Filial love
+and obedience for one, respect and reverence for old age for another;
+and then, though they do believe such silly, superstitious things, there
+seems to be such a reality, so much earnestness, about the way some of
+them carry out their religion. They do not mind how early they get up
+and go out to keep a religious festival, and they seem to ask a sort of
+blessing, from their gods, on everything they do, and keep their fasts
+and feasts so very regularly; but I think their love for their parents
+beats everything. 'Boy' asked for a holiday yesterday, because it was
+his mother's birthday, and got up very early to do his work before he
+went." "Boy" was a kind of footman.
+
+"Yes; parents' birthdays are kept up much more than are those of
+children. Sometimes on their birthdays they will sit under a crimson
+canopy, whilst their children kneel and perform the 'kow-tow' to them.
+The fifty-first birthday, and every ten years afterwards, is celebrated
+with great pomp, when religious ceremonies are often performed at the
+Temple of Longevity. I believe thirty Buddhist priests will then
+sometimes return thanks for three days.
+
+"When a man is eighty-one, the fact is occasionally communicated to the
+Emperor, who may then allow money to be given for a monumental arch to
+be erected to the old man's honour.
+
+"After parents are dead their birthdays are still celebrated in the
+ancestral hall, where their portraits hang."
+
+"I suppose children give their parents beautiful presents on their
+birthdays?"
+
+"When they begin to get old the best present that a child can, and does,
+make a parent, and one which he values more than anything else, is a
+coffin, because, you know, a Chinaman thinks that unless his body be
+buried properly his spirit cannot rest.
+
+"The Chinese are strange contradictions," Mr. Graham went on. "Although
+they are very courageous in bearing torture, they are dreadful liars,
+and a great liar is generally a great coward. Then they are sober and
+industrious, but slaves to the opium drug; meek and gentle, but, at the
+same time, treacherous and cruel; most dutiful to their parents, but
+often very jealous of their neighbours; and then, perhaps strangest of
+all, is their love towards their children, but yet their readiness to
+put their girls to death."
+
+Sybil was silent for several minutes. "Oh, father!" she then said,
+"isn't the time dreadfully near now? Fancy leaving you and dear mother!
+How can we?"
+
+"You must go to _your_ work, darling, and we must stay here to do ours.
+Is it not so?" Mr. Graham asked, in the dear, kind, soft voice that
+Sybil loved so much, and which she always called his "preachy voice."
+"But what shall give us comfort? what shall we think about when we are
+trying to do our several duties, though apart, I hope contentedly and
+well? That it is God who has called us to our several duties; it is His
+Almighty will which we have now and always to obey; but remember, not
+alone, not unaided, dear Sybil. Who will be our guide, stay, and
+comfort, when we are separated from one another?"
+
+Sybil knew, but could not answer, because she was crying.
+
+[Illustration: WOMAN OF POAH-BI.]
+
+"Your mother and I," Mr. Graham went on, "in commending our children to
+the Fatherly love and care of Him Who gave you to us, know that we place
+you in the safest keeping; and you yourselves have also both learnt,
+have you not, how to go to our Father and 'Supreme Ruler' in earnest
+prayer, whenever tempted to do what would displease Him? A missionary,
+you know, is one who is sent on a mission--to fulfil a duty. A
+missionary's children must not shrink from fulfilling, must not fail to
+fulfil, the mission on which they are sent, must they?"
+
+Sybil looked comforted. She liked this last "Peep-show" very much, and
+kissed her father to show him that she did.
+
+A few minutes later she said, "Do you know, father, I believe little Chu
+is really beginning to believe and understand properly, for the other
+day, when I was saying my prayers, she came and knelt down beside me,
+and she would never kneel to our God before, even when she saw the
+Christian woman at Poah-bi do so, with whom we stayed, and with whom she
+was such good friends. I shall often remember that woman and her dear
+little baby, which she tied to herself so funnily, because I liked them
+so very much.
+
+"Poor little Chu!" Sybil then went on. "I shall be so glad to see her
+again when I come back to you, but I do not think she will like me to go
+away."
+
+"Chu will have to be a great deal at school now. She has her work to do
+too, you know."
+
+"How I shall think of you, father, and the Hong-Kong Mission on
+Intercession Day, when it comes round, shan't I?"
+
+"Yes, Sybil; and not only on Intercession Day, but always in your
+prayers, you must remember to pray very fervently, both for Chinese and
+other unbelievers, and not only for me, but for all who are seeking
+their conversion."
+
+"It seems a more real thing now to pray for," Sybil said.
+
+"And to give thanks for too. Here in Hong-Kong we have great cause to be
+thankful."
+
+"What a dear old lady that was who was baptized on Sunday! but what was
+the Christian name she chose? I could not hear it."
+
+"Mong-Oi, which means 'desiring the love' (of Jesus)."
+
+"That was a beautiful name, wasn't it? And there were a number of
+communicants for here too. How many native communicants are there in
+Hong-Kong?"
+
+"Between sixty and seventy; and what is so comforting is that the
+communicants seem to be really devout, and to realise what being a
+communicant means for, and requires of, them, and it is no easy matter
+at all for natives of China to embrace Christianity. Sometimes they have
+to leave all their relations, and suffer much persecution in
+consequence."
+
+"When was the Hong-Kong mission begun?" Sybil asked.
+
+"In 1862."
+
+Although the results were far from what the zealous missionaries would
+fain have seen them, Mr. Graham was right in saying that the Mission
+from the Church of England to Hong-Kong had cause to take hope and be
+thankful.
+
+Several men and women were now under instruction both for baptism and
+confirmation. The mission schools for boys numbered more than 190, and
+for girls more than thirty, and here the children were religiously as
+well as secularly instructed.
+
+There were, although only two European missionaries and one native
+clergyman, twenty-three native Christian teachers, and 183 native
+Christians. The Mission comprised, besides St. Stephen's Church and the
+agencies around it in the island of Hong-Kong, many out-stations in the
+province of Quangtung occupied by native agents.
+
+The Prayer Book, and, still better, the Holy Bible, translated into
+their own tongue, were now circulated among the people, some of whom
+were really learning to love and value them; and not only were the
+services for the Christians well attended, but every evening the heathen
+were to be seen in numbers going to hear sermons that were to be
+preached for them.
+
+Well, then, might Mr. Graham go forth to his new work with hope.
+
+"How much you will have to do, father," Sybil said, "if you go to the
+Medical Missionary Institution so often, and do all your other work
+besides! But the people seem to be very grateful to you. 'Boy' said
+yesterday that you were 'a hundred man good,' and I know what that
+means: 'The best of men.'"
+
+Mr. Graham smiled.
+
+"I like, and it is good for us all," he said, "to have plenty to do; and
+one work, you know, may help on the other."
+
+"I expect mother will help you a very great deal too."
+
+"She is sure to do that." Sybil knew she was.
+
+All day long the child had spent beside her much-loved mother; now, for
+another hour, she sat on and talked with her father, receiving good,
+kind counsel, when Leonard, who had been closeted with his mother,
+listening to her dear words of best advice, came in, with eyes swollen
+from crying, and then the four sat together till it was long past
+bed-time; but what of that? To-morrow, on board ship, there would be
+nothing to keep them up late, when they could make up for to-night, and
+go early to bed.
+
+To-morrow came, as happy and sad to-morrows all alike will come; when
+the mother gave her children their last kisses, the father their last
+kisses and benedictions, and Sybil and Leonard Graham started on their
+homeward voyage to England, leaving their parents very grateful for
+having such good, kind friends to whose care on board ship to entrust
+them.
+
+Both children were to return at once to their former schools, and spend
+their holidays together at Mrs. Graham's brother's house, who was also
+the rector of a country parish, and where she knew they would very soon
+feel quite at home.
+
+Sybil and Leonard Graham, the children of brave parents, were brave
+children themselves, and as they had promised not to grieve more then
+they could help, they at once did battle with their tears, and before
+long were talking really cheerfully with their friends.
+
+"Who knows," Sybil said once to Leonard, when she and her brother found
+themselves alone, "but what they might come over for a small
+holiday-trip in two or three years' time? and if not, I believe when I
+go out you are to go with me for another 'Peep-show' holiday, and to see
+_them_!"
+
+"Of course I ought to go whenever I can," Leonard answered, "as I'm
+going to be a missionary out there myself."
+
+Sybil had said "them" because she could not yet say, without crying,
+those two dear, sacred words, father and mother, which stand alone in
+the vocabulary of every language, and have no peers.
+
+Mrs. Graham herself was then alone, shedding bitter tears, which she
+had stifled until her children left her, but which she could keep back
+no longer.
+
+Yet, though her mother's loving heart was very sad and sore, she would
+not weep long, but would, to the very best of her ability, go forth at
+once to help her husband--who could not but feel sad now too--in the
+good work in which she had encouraged him to embark, counting _all_ the
+costs beforehand.
+
+And Sybil, who had said "_I like my father to be a missionary very
+much_," would not unsay the words now, though it took both her parents
+so far away from her and Leonard. Oh no! since she had seen the great
+need that there was for missionaries to China, she liked, even better
+than before, her father "to be a missionary!"
+
+[Illustration]
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and italic text by
+_underscores_.
+
+Text uses uses varied hyphenation on the naming of the cities. This
+includes both Fu-kien and Fukien, Poahbi and Poa-bi, and Pei-ho and
+Peiho, among others.
+
+Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
+
+Page 31, Illustration caption: MENE changed to MENE (HATA-MENE-TA-KIE)
+
+Page 74, "r st" changed to "rest" (rest of their lives)
+
+Page 178, "Europeon" changed to "European" (the European settlement)
+
+Page 196, "al" changed to "all" (soon. We all)
+
+Page 212, twice the word "Melicae" was spelled with a macron over the
+"a". This was replaced with a "ae" for this text version.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Peeps Into China, by E. C. Phillips
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