SWATOW.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.
E-CHUNG.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 nameon 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.
WOMAN OF SWATOW.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, asshe 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.
SYBIL.SYBIL.
Decoration: Boats on the water
THE BOAT POPULATION.
M
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.
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.
THE BRIDGE OF CHAOU CHOU.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.
ARCH OF THE BRIDGE OF CHAOU-CHOU.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 atSwatow, 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.
CHINESE BOAT-CHILDREN.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.
CHAIR-MEN OF HONG-KONG.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 manyinhabitants 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.
A PORTRAIT-PAINTER OF HONG-KONG.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 hisback, 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.
VIEW OF HONG-KONG.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.
THE CLOCK TOWER, HONG-KONG.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, theCathedral. 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 sortsof 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.
"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.
TEMPLE OF KWAN-YIN.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.
"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.
A SHADOW-SHOW.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 lightedsticks 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 goingon 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."
"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 lightedsticks 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 goingon 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."
Decoration: House with columns
Decoration: Bridge
AT CANTON.
Decoration: Boat on water
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 whosewindows 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!
MACAO.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 heroicdeeds. 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.
THE ENGLISH CONSULATE AT CANTON.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 thesailors 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."
JUI-LIN, LATE VICEROY OF CANTON.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 300,000persons 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."
CHINESE BOAT-WOMAN.CHINESE BOAT-WOMAN.
A FISHING VILLAGE ON THE CANTON RIVER.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 offishing 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, restingon 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.
CHINESE FISHING.CHINESE FISHING.
"I have seen just the sort of thing for you to sketch, mother," Sybil said one day. Like her mother, shegreatly 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 aboy: 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.
PAGODA ON THE BANKS OF THE CANTON RIVER.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 motherhad come to see it. Then other hills appeared, covered with trees, and dotted here and there with temples.
"Wheredidthey all come from?" Leonard asked.
Mr. Graham was looking very serious. This was a scene calculated to leave a deep impression upon the beholders.
ON THE CANTON RIVERON THE CANTON RIVER
"From the hand of God," he said very quietly.
VILLAGE OF POLO-HANG IN CANTON.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 insidea 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 yearsa.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.
"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 insidea 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 yearsa.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.
THE TEMPLE OF THE FIVE HUNDRED GODS, CANTON.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 theright 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.
"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 theright 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.