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myself, and then took a brisk walk, which brought quite a lively glow. Seldom has hydropathy been pursued under more difficult circumstances, or with better results. At first this process was gone through on the roof, but we discovered to our horror that the opposite tower contained spectators whose gender could not be determined. The Chinese, who avoid cold water in every form, judged our proceedings to be indications of insanity; and the little children used to gather round the door of the room that was finally set apart for our baths, and comment in awe struck whispers on the splashing of the water. Opinions were divided on the subject: there were some who asserted against the explanation of insanity that the bathing was a species of worship; and others, that it was done in expiation of some horrid crime. In one of the classics of the Taiping rebels there occurs the passage (taken, I rather think, from an older work)-"Thang of the Shang dynasty, and Wang of the Chow, honoured God with the intensest feeling the inscription on Shang's bathing-tub inculcated daily renovation of mind, and hence God commanded him to assume the government of the empire." Had this spirit prevailed among the Chinese, we should at once have been elevated to the dragon throne and placed in possession of the vermilion pencil; but "daily renovation" is as rare a virtue among the Taipings as it is with the Imperialists; it is even rarer than it used to be to find Scotchmen acting on their old adage, that" Cleanliness is next to godliness."

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attempts at imposing on him. This is not an unfrequent characteristic of great sachems; but our Imperial friend carried it to an amusing extent, and I never saw him get rid of it except once, when he was decidedly "sprung," from the unwonted influence of champagne. He was a man of great influence in the district, being consulted on every important occasion by the mandarin of Tam-shui. He had himself purchased a mandarin's cap and white button, and acted, within certain limits, as a kind of justice of the peace. An exceedingly active and temperate man, he looked after everything himself, smoking no opium, and, except on special occasions, drinking only one small cup of t'sow, or light Chinese wine, at his meals. Families and sub-families live together very happily in the Flowery Land. The youthful heir does not think it necessary to set up an establishment of his own, either public or private. He is generally married by his parents at an early age; and if he wishes some less serious arrangement, it is not necessary for him to take a quiet villa in the neighbourhood of St John's Wood. Grandfathers and grandchildren, principal wives and subordinate wives, live in peace under the same tiles, and never separate, except under the pressure of misfortune, so long as the family has a living head. Thus A Shui's sons and their wives and families still lived with him in harmony and contentment. The sons I shall designate by their ages. Thirty-Two, the oldest, and Thirty, were fat, lazy, and might have been designated as bloated aristocrats." To his other accomplishments Thirty-Two added those of meanness and greed, as became the future head of the family. TwentySix was much the best of the lot, being, like his father, modest, active, firm, and truthful. Twenty was pockpitted, presumptuous, and resembled a donkey trying to make itself agreeable. Fourteen was in the disagreeable state of hobblede

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hoyism, but promised to turn out a good man. The defunct eldest brother of all had been sawn asunder by the rebels; but he was represented by his son, a boy of eight years old, with an invariably dirty nose, who, on account of his father's services, had received a pension from the Imperial Government, and the honorary rank of a petty military mandarin. There were also about a dozen more of Wong a Shui's grandchildren, over whom the infantile mandarin affected to exercise severe and judicious control. He also sometimes attempted to command his youngest uncle; but though this was not openly resisted, it usually proved an utter failure from Fourteen's superior knowledge and experience of the world. The wives, except by accident, were not permitted to show us the light of their countenances, but a few elderly female servants and some small girls moved freely about. There were a couple of cooks in the establishment, several male hewers of wood and drawers of water, a schoolmaster, an apothecary who retailed drugs for the family and neighbourhood, a few poor relatives who assumed the dignity of retain ers, a carpenter, and a herd or two employed in looking after buffaloes and bullocks.

About two hundred yards from our residence there was a still larger wai, containing about two hundred people, belonging to Wong Kum Sau, a brother, by adoption, of our excellent host. I have called this gentleman a ruffian, because we discovered that it was he who had instigated the attack upon my companion at Tam-shui, and there was in his possession some of the plunder that was then taken. He actually had the audacity to show us a bottle of rare Dutch bitters that must have been stolen on that occasion, and to ask us if it was good to drink; for it must not be supposed that we betrayed any knowledge of his previous deeds. Wong Kum Sau was a man of the world. When he found that we were under the

protection of the Governor-General at Canton, and benefiting A Shui by our stay at Kum-tow-lek, his entire system of tactics was changed. Instead of inciting assaults, he overwhelmed us with kindness. He was constantly asking us to dinner; almost every day brought from him a present of wine or fruit; and his ponies were freely placed at our disposal. All this, however, had its special object: he was anxious that we should stay with him, and he threatened his brother with a clan fight if he did not send us over. This formidable neighbour was “a perpetual menace," for we were equally desirous not to offend him, and not to place ourselves under much obligation to him, either of which cards would have suited his game. We knew also that he could have instigated a murderous attack upon us without committing himself. I think I have met men like Wong Kum Sau in quieter parts of the world than Kwei-shin. In person he was upwards of six feet in height, cadaverous, gaunt, yet strong. A confirmed opium-smoker, he also had much relish for strong drinks, and was in all respects a questionable person. To add to his formidable character, he possessed no less than three revolvers, which he was perpetually loading, firing, and cleaning, the first process being performed as far as possible with my ammunition ; and gingalls were fired off day and night from his residence, in order to show his martial disposition.

Soon after our arrival, he asked us over to join in the festivities occasioned by the marriage of a young relative of his, who was dressed in yellow silk, while the rest of the party wore bright-blue garments. This thin and feeblelooking bridegroom was only sixteen years old; but I am bound to say that he flourished in the sacred state, for a few weeks after, the sen lang, or new man," ," looked quite fat and comfortable. These early marriages in China do not seem to injure the race well-to-do persons, who indulge most in them, and who fre

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quently commit the sin of taking second wives, are usually much superior in physique. We asked to see the bride, but this was refused to the strangers as not conformable to China custom. I have frequently, however, met sedan-chairs carrying the bride home to her husband, and had auricular demonstration of their curious rule, that she should weep and lament on the first half of the journey that from her father's house; and that she should laugh and rejoice on the half to her new home. Another custom is, that the marriage-chair is locked by her father and mother, and the key is handed over to one of the bridesmen, who gives it to the bridegroom on reaching the house. After the poor lady is brought into her husband's home, she has to undergo the openly-expressed criticisms of his relatives, an opportunity of which the female portion sometimes make cruel use. In addition to the tsai, or first wife, it is legal for the man who can afford it to take four tsaich, or second wives. These subordinate wives are in the position of half-wife, half-concubine. They cannot be divorced at the husband's pleasure, and have legal claims upon him for support; but they are subject to the first wife, and their children are considered to be her children. This system works pretty well, and a wife sometimes likes her husband to take second wives, in order that the family may have female servants who have an interest in the house. Of course, such a system would be quite out of place in this country, and in China it is rendered useful through the habits of obedience to which Celestial females are trained. Until she is herself a mother, or can claim the child of a subordinate wife, even the first wife is kept in great subjection, both to her husband and to his parents, if they happen to be alive. Consequently, childless wives always wish their lord to take a second rib unto himself. The system cannot be defended, but it has its advantages, and may in many

points be contrasted favourably with the crude concubinage of the East, and the revolting social evil of the West. Wong a Shui offered to provide Chinese wives for us out of his own relatives, but saddled his proposal with the objectionable condition that we should engage not to take them out of China, and provide suitably for them if we ourselves went away. Had we consented, the young ladies would not have had much to say in the matter, as marriages are always conducted for them by their parents, and young men are usually provided for by the same knowing parties. Only those rules annoy which one thinks of resisting, and as Young China has not yet begun to question these marriage arrangements, they do not much interfere with happiness. Even when the parties are not suited for each other, they know that their bed is made, and set themselves to lie on it as they best can. When the marriage is very unsuitable, there is the remedy of suicide, to which the Chinese have so frequent and fond recourse against the diseases to which flesh and spirit are heir. A touching instance of this occurred at Canton some years ago, in the case of a young accomplished girl, who had been unfortunately married to a brutal husband. When on a visit to her parents, she complained to a small party of her unmarried sisters and cousins of the misery she endured, and declared her intention of drowning herself. "Oh!" said these young ladies, "if that is married life, we shall drown ourselves too." So they all joined hands together, and, walking into a fishpond, became brides of Death.

On the occasion of the marriage there was much feasting and drinking going on. Almost all the party had very flushed faces when we went over, and the foreign wine which we brought added to the mirth. Even Wong a Shui, who was in his mandarin's hat and dress, ceased to lean against an imaginary wall, and became exceeding

ly talkative and jolly. Only Wong Kum Sau's cadaverous face remained unmoved, as his tall form towered above his friends, and his keen eye noted their weakness. One old man was particularly pleasant. He made the nearest approach to a speech that I ever heard delivered by a Chinaman,saying that he was so delighted to welcome us; that he was glad to see foreigners (Fan Yan, he did not use the objectionable Fan Quei, or foreign devil) coming into the Flowery Land in a friendly way, as we were doing; that he wished some of the younger Chinamen would visit our country; that he did not know what our customs were, being himself old and unable to take up new things, but he would treat us according to his own customs, and the admirable laws of Chinese politeness. This old gentleman (who was "screwed") was so very pressing that he upset a cup of hot wine over my legs; and on this his friends banished him to the outer circle, where he mounted on a sort of drum, and, whenever he caught my eye, drained an imaginary cup of t'sow by way of encouragement to me to go on tippling, and to bring myself to the condition which he found so satisfactory at the time. It is only on special occasions that such jollity is allowed, and it is very rarely permitted to go to great excess. It is indulged in more by these Hakkas than by other Chinese. On returning to the tower I was pestered by one of the party a decayed teacher, and gone case of dipsomania.

There was a good deal of trouble about our walking in the neighbourhood of our tower. The lower class of Chinese have some very curious ideas about gems and jewels buried in the earth, and of the power of foreign devils to discover these. Frequently they had asked me on my excursions to discover for them a kum-kei-tan, or "golden fowl's egg," that being their phrase for hidden treasures. They have even mistaken a bull's-eye lantern as

useful for that purpose, and they regard blue and light eyes as particularly powerful. At Kum-towlek the rumour got abroad, from our wandering so much over the hills with no apparent purpose, that we were enriching the Lau-Yeh and ourselves by finding enormous quantities of these eggs. Even two intelligent men, collecting revenue for the mandarin of Tai-poong, told us they understood we had been very successful in collecting gems. Once, when I broke a piece of rock on a hillside to examine its structure, I noticed a peasant, who was passing, lay down his panniers, and turn perfectly pale with rage and expectation. This report, which spread abroad, was rather dangerous for us, and annoying to our host, whom it injured, and who besought us not to walk at all, or, at least, to carry a gun when doing so, so that he could explain our conduct by the familiar phrase, ta ch'eok, or "bird - shooting." We saw that we were becoming unpopular, for the Chinese are generally hospitable to foreigners, and very anxious to see them; but at a large magnificent wai, with beautiful gardens, only about two miles off, the gates were closed against us, though we did not offer to go in without an invitation; and a crowd which collected outside behaved rather rudely. The pony which Wong Kum Sau gave me the use of was thus acceptable, but not altogether pleasant. The country round had a good many deep crevasses, to be crossed on long granite slabs scarcely two feet wide, which made dubious bridges for even a sure-footed animal. The pony had a habit of diving into turnip-fields, which the bit could not check, and of apparently standing on its head, which the saddle could not bear. A tall fine young military mandarin, the eldest son of Kum Sau, went on it for a visit one day, but he was brought back with what he called a dislocated, but which appeared only a sprained, hip, that laid him up for weeks. The beast was quiet

enough, excepting in its mania for turnips; but it was impossible to mount without some one to hold the enormous saddle, and not always easy to preserve the balance of that cumbrous article, which was about the size of an elephant's back. The first day I tried it, I found my limbs so benumbed on getting home that I had to be lifted off bodily; and the dirty cotton reins broke twice in the course of the ride.

Chinese women of the better classes are kept very much secluded, and we had no intercourse with that department of the house. Once I happened to be sunning myself at the gateway, when the wife of Twenty-Six returned from a visit in a chair. She was a very handsome young woman, and slightly painted in imitation of that profusion of surface-blood which is a desire of the eye to the lemoncoloured Chinaman as well as to the ruddier Occidental. Under some pretence or other, there being only an old female servant present, she delayed for five minutes at the gate in order to gratify her curiosity by taking furtive glances at the foreign devil. We had a tame otter with us, which raised a great disturbance one day by penetrating into the apartments of the ladies, who immediately began screaming; and the married sons looked very suspiciously at the occurrence, as if they imagined it was a scheme on our part for opening up communications. A large shaggy old Siberian dog which I had also excited much curiosity, and the children used to speak of it with bated breath as the "man-eating foreign dog." Much trouble did Wolf cause me by his fondness for chasing bullocks, though otherwise harmless; and ancient women would ask, reprovingly, what I meant by bringing a wild animal of that sort to frighten the people of the Flowery Land. Women, on seeing it, used to exclaim, "Eiya! lo foo!"—"Oh dear! a tiger!" and once, when it had got some way in front, I found

a small village turning out to attack it with spears and gingalls. Thus its desperate character, though very useful, was quite undeserved. When I first got it, Wolf was a fine, ferocious animal; but years and heat had destroyed its spirit, and only the lingering weakness for buffaloes remained as an indication of its former fire.

When other exercise was inexpedient, we warmed ourselves by forking grass into the fire of the brick-kiln beside the house. There was a wonderful little boy connected with this kiln, who seemed to carry water all day, and to fork in grass all night, though half an hour of the latter exercise was more than sufficient for us at a time. The fire beneath a relay of bricks was kept burning for three days, and then, for as long a period, all the apertures were closed with moist clay. The grass for the fire was gathered on the hills by poor women and boys, who made about a hundred cash per day by that work, or three dollars (thirteen shillings) per month. They sometimes exclaimed "Eiya!" with a sigh, when they found the weight of their bundle below their fond expectation; but, on the whole, they seemed wonderfully happy and full of fun, notwithstanding their hard work and small pay. They laughed as much in an hour as a philosopher would do in a year, and chattered in a way to make one's heart glad and grateful.

One clear frosty morning towards the end of January, when the ground was covered with hoarfrost, which soon disappeared before the sun, we started for the village of P'eung-shan, or "Flat Mountain," distant about ten miles. The country on the way was barren but picturesque, with trees surrounding the villages, and the views ending in mountains of imposing form-those on the south bearing the poetic name of Tientau Shan, or "Mountains of the Heavenly Head." The wais that we passed were in ruins or burned down, showing that local warfare

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