CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER III.The Pacific Ferry—San Francisco to Japan and China.The American Steamships—A Celestial Company—Leading Cargoes—Corpses and Coffins—Monotony of the Voyage—Emotions Caused by the Sea—Amusements on Board“Chalked”—Cricket at Sea—Balls Overboard—A Six Days’ Walking Match—Theatricals—Waxworks—The Officers on Board—Engineer’s Life—The Chief Waiter—“Inspection”—Meeting theAmerica—Excitement—Her Subsequent Fate—A Cyclone—At Yokohama—Fairy Land—The Bazaars—Japanese Houses—A DinnerMenu—Music and Dancing—Hongkong, the Gibraltar of China—Charming Victoria—Busy Shanghai—English Enterprise.A very ordinary trip now-a-days for those rounding the world is that from San Francisco to China, calling at Japan on the way. The steamships of the Pacific Mail Company are those principally employed, and a voyage on such a vessel as theChina, which is one of the crack vessels of the service, is one almost invariably of pleasure. TheChinais a steamship of over 4,000 tons, and cost 800,000 dollars, or, roughly, £160,000 sterling. She will often carry 2,000 tons of tea on a return voyage, to say nothing of perhaps from five to fifteen hundred Chinamen. A traveller14already referred to states, that with only 580 on board half a ton of rice had to be served out daily, with a modicum of meat and vegetables. One of the leading cargoes on the outward trip from San Francisco is corpses and coffins, few Chinamen being ever buried out of their native land. In the splendid and roomy saloons of these steamers there are always Chinese waiters, who are said to be most obliging, and noiseless in their motions. Negro waiters are civil and assiduous enough in their attendance, but are always fussy; in this respect“John”is a great improvement on“Sambo.”“An additional proof,”said a leading journal“of the new vitality infused into that long inert mass, the Chinese Empire, has just been supplied from San Francisco,”and the writer goes on to describe a new development of their mercantile enterprise. It seems that there has been in existence for some time past an association termed the Chinese Merchants’ Steamship Company, the stockholders of which are wealthy[pg 32]native merchants and mandarins, who own many coasting steamers. The company is now about to start a line from China to the Sandwich Islands and San Francisco, and it is not improbable that the Chinese emigrants may prefer these steamers to any other. The manager of this Celestial“P. and O.”is one Tong Ken Sing, a shrewd native of Singapore; and, continues the writer,“under the enlightened control of this man of his epoch, who is equally at home with tails and taels, the company is sure to succeed.”After leaving the“Golden Gate,”the entrance to the Bay of San Francisco, and passing the rocky Farralones, islands whence a company brings a million of sea-birds’ eggs to the city yearly, the voyager by this route will not see land till Japan is reached. The steamships stop nowhereen route. The passengers must depend on their own resources aboard for amusement, and every passing sail becomes an object of greatest interest. Yet still there is always the sea itself, in its varying aspects of placid or turbulent grandeur.“The appearance of the open sea,”says Frédol,“far from the shore—the boundless ocean—is to the man who loves to create a world of his own, in which he can freely exercise his thoughts, filled with sublime ideas of the Infinite. His searching eye rests upon the far-distant horizon; he sees there the ocean and the heavens meeting in a vapoury outline, where the stars ascend and descend, appear and disappear in their turn. Presently this everlasting change in nature awakens in him a vague feeling of that sadness‘which,’says Humboldt,‘lies at the root of all our heartfelt joys.’”When the Breton fisherman or mariner puts to sea, his touching prayer is,“Keep me, my God! my boat is so small, and Thy ocean so wide!”“We find in the sea,”says Lacepède,“unity and diversity, which constitute its beauty; grandeur and simplicity, which give it sublimity; puissance and immensity, which command our wonder.”That immense expanse of water is no mere liquid desert; it teems with life, however little that life may be visible. The inhabitants of the water through which the good ship ploughs her way are as numerous as those of the solid earth; although, unless the great sea-serpent makes its fitful appearance, the experience of a traveller over the Pacific by this route will be repeated. Says he:—“Few signs of life are visible outside the vessel. Occasionally a whale is reported in sight, but for many days most of the passengers are inclined to think it is only something very‘like one,’till, as the days pass, every person has caught a glimpse of a spout of water suddenly shooting up from the sea without any apparent reason, or of a black line cutting through the blue surface for a moment, and then disappearing to unknown depths. Occasionally, too, one or more sea-birds are seen following in the vessel’s wake, sweeping gracefully across and again across the white band of foam, and with difficulty keeping down their natural pace to that of the steam-driven monster. These birds are of two kinds only: the‘Mother Carey’s Chicken,’and another, called by the sailors the‘Cape Hen’—a brown bird, rather larger and longer in the wing than a sea-gull. Both birds are visible when we are in mid-ocean, 1,000 miles at least from the nearest dry land.”The writer of these pages has seen whales, in the North Pacific, keep up with the vessel on which he was a passenger for half an hour or more together. On one occasion a large whale was swimming abreast of the steamer so closely that rifle and pistol shots were fired at it, some undoubtedly hitting their mark, yet the great[pg 33]mammal did not show the slightest symptoms of even temporary annoyance, and there is reason to believe was not much more hurt by the shots than would the targets at Wimbledon be affected by a shower of peas.Occasionally a little diversity and profit are got out of passengers by the sailors when they go for the first time on the fo’castle. The latter draw on the deck a chalk line quickly round the former, and each visitor so“chalked,”as it is called, must pay a fine in the shape of a bottle of rum. This secures one, however, the freedom of the ship ever after.A CRICKET-MATCH ON BOARD SHIP.A CRICKET-MATCH ON BOARD SHIP.One of the deck games popular on long voyages is a form of quoits, played with rings and chalked spaces, or, in some cases, on a spike driven into the deck. A traveller15gives an amusing account of a cricket club formed on the vessel in which he was a passenger. Fancy playing cricket at sea! He says:—“TheLord Wardencricket-ground is on the main deck, and, owing to the somewhat limited space at the disposal of the ten members, single-wicket matches are the invariable rule. The stumps, which are fixed in a frame so as to remain steady on the deck, are about two feet in height, and of course bails are provided, but never used. Of bats the club boasts not a few, of varied construction. Of these the majority are fashioned out of a thick deal plank, and[pg 34]soon go to pieces; but one of elm, which was christened off Cape de Verde, survived many weeks of hard usage, and was more precious to the club than the most expensive of Cobbett’s productions. It was fully intended by a member of the Marylebone Club to obtain for this tough little piece of elm a final resting-place in the Pavilion at Lord’s, but unfortunately the‘leviathan hitter,’in attempting a huge drive, let it slip out of his hands, and it is lost to us for ever.”The boatswain furnished spun-yarn balls at sixpence each, but these seldom had a long life, four or five being frequently hit overboard in the course of an afternoon’s play; nearly 300 were exhausted on the voyage.“The wicket,”continues the narrator,“is pitched just in front of the weather poop-ladder, the bowling-crease being thirteen yards further forward, by the side of the deck-house. Behind the bowler stands an out-field, while mid-on or mid-off, according to which tack the ship is on, has his back to the midshipmen’s berth, and has also occasionally to climb over the boom-board above it, and search for a lost ball among a chaos of boats and spare spars.... Run-getting on board ship is a matter of difficulty, the ball having the supremacy over the bat, which is exactly reversed on shore. A cricketer who thinks but little of the side-hill at Lord’s would find himself thoroughly non-plussed by the incline of a ship’s deck in a stiff breeze. A good eye and hard straight driving effected much, but a steady defence and the scientific‘placing’of the ball under the winch often succeeded equally well, especially on a wet wicket. The highest score of the season was eighteen, which included two hits on to the forecastle, feats of very rare occurrence.”The games were highly popular, and were watched by appreciative assemblages of the passengers. On the same vessel a glee club was organised, and an evening in Christmas week was devoted to theatricals, by the“Shooting Stars of the Southern Seas.”Dancing is common enough on board, and, of course, is often pursued under difficulties; a sudden lurch of the ship may throw a number of couples off their feet or tumble them in a chaotic heap.Another traveller16gives us some amusing notes on the private theatricals performed on board the famous old steamshipGreat Britain. He was stage manager, and says:—“I had a great deal to do, as I was responsible for dresses, and had to see that everybody was ready. I had among other things to procure a chignon. I was in a dilemma, as I did not like to ask a lady for the loan of one, even where no doubt existed as to her wearing false hair; so at last I procured some oakum from the carpenter, and made three large sausages, and it was pronounced a success. The stage is erected in the saloon, and we had footlights, with a gorgeous screen of flags, &c.”Special prologues were written for these entertainments, one of which, on the occasion of performing the“Taming of a Tiger”and the“Area Belle,”ran as follows:—“Far from Australia or from British home,Across wide ocean’s trackless breast we roam;And though our ship both swift and steady speeds,Yet dreary week to dreary week succeeds.Our joys restricted, and our pleasures few,We all must own the prospect’s rather blue.[pg 35]At such a time to fill the vacant place,A chosen few have taken heart of grace,And tho’ unused the actor’s part to fill,Will show, if not the deed, at least the will.”Then came mention of some of the amateurs who had already played before the passengers:—“Yet not all novices—the veteran FloodYou’ve seen before, and you’ve pronounced him good;The modest Griffiths, and the blushing Lance,Joy of the fair and hero of the dance;”and so forth. The performance took place while the vessel was constantly rolling. Mr. Laird says that he had to think almost as much of his equilibrium as of anything else; but as he had always to appear trembling before the presence of his master in the piece, it did pretty well, except in one lurch, when he went flying in an undignified manner across the stage into the arms of the prompter.On another occasion an entertainment, entitled“Mrs. Jarley’s Waxworks,”was presented. Five children were dressed up to represent different characters, and pretence was made of winding them up to make them go. The best was a cannibal, converted to be a missionary; another personated Fair Rosamond; and a third the Marquis of Lorne. The missionary handed tracts about, and Queen Eleanor alternately presented a dagger and a cup of cold poison to Fair Rosamond. A regularly-organised concert followed, while a farce and spoken epilogue concluded this, the last performance on board theGreat Britain. After speaking of the voyage and the fun on board, it continued:—“And now our sweet communion must shortly see its close,And never more, till next time, shall we share in joys like those;No more the fragrant sea-pie or delectable burgoo,No more on the same plate be seen fish, cheese, and Irish stew.* * * * * * *No longer Mrs. Jarley’s works our mimic stage shall grace,Or the little missionary-eater show his little face.Of Mrs. J. I would not say one harsh word if I could;No use to tread upon her toes, because they’re only wood.No more the sailor’s plaintive song with tears our eyes shall dim,No more on Sunday morning shall we sing the Evening Hymn;”the fact being that a clergyman on board had once inadvertently chosen the latter for morning service! The epilogue concluded by wishing good luck to all the officers and men and to the good old ship.LEAVING THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA.LEAVING THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA.Baron Hübner has given us, in his published work before quoted, some interesting reminiscences of, and graphic notes on, his voyage to Japan from San Francisco. A few extracts may be permitted.“July 4.—The sky is pearly grey. The vessel is all painted white: masts, deck-cabins, deck, tarpaulins, benches—all are white. This deck, from poop to prow, is all in one piece, and makes a famous walk. Almost all the morning I am alone there. The first-class passengers get up very late; the second-class—that is, the Chinese—not at all.[pg 36]They go to bed at San Francisco, and never leave their berths till they reach their destination. You never see one of them on deck. The sailors, having done their duty, disappear likewise. And how easy that duty is in such weather! On leaving the Golden Gate the sails were hoisted, and have remained untouched ever since. The breeze is just strong enough to fill them and keep us steady. The result is a complete calm. The smoke ascends up to heaven in a straight line. So the sailors have a fine time of it. They sleep, smoke, or play down-stairs with their companions. The two men at the helm—these two are Americans—are equally invisible, for a watch-tower hides them from sight, as well as the rudder and the officer of the watch. I have thus got the deck of this immense ship entirely to myself. I pace it from one end to the other, four hundred feet backwards and forwards. The only impediment is a transverse bar of iron, as high as one’s head, which binds in the middle the two sides of the ship. It is painted white, like all the rest, and is difficult to see. In every position in life there is always the worm in the bud or thorn in the flesh—or, at any rate, some dark spot. On board theChinathe dark spot for me is that detestable white bar. Not only am I perpetually knocking[pg 37]my head against it, but it reminds me unpleasantly of the frailty of human things. It is very thin, and yet, if I am to believe the engineer, it is this bar alone which, in very bad weather, prevents the enormous shell of the boat from breaking in half. There are moments when one’s life hangs on a thread; here it hangs on an iron bar. That is better, perhaps, but it is not enough.”The fine vessels of the company then running were, although perhaps the most commodious in the world, hardly the safest. The distance between San Francisco and Japan is 5,000 miles, and, barring a few hundred miles on the coasts of the latter, the ocean is almost one grand calm lake. But cyclones occur in the Japanese seas when the high-built American boats are not safe.Baron Hübner gives us some notes on the passengers on board, which included nine nationalities. Among them was a dignified and venerable Parsee merchant, a merchant prince in his way, who had wished to study European manners, and so had proceeded as far as San Francisco. What he saw there impressed him so unfavourably, that he immediately took passage back again. What he observed, indeed, filled him with disgust.“The men,”said he,“what a lack of dignity! Never in the streets of our towns will you be shocked by the sight of drunkards and bad women.”Hübner gives also some sketches of the officers on board. The chief engineer is described as a thoughtful and meditative man—a Roman Catholic, deeply imbued with the spirit of religious fervour, and spending his time in the alternate study of theology and practical mechanics. His cabin, opening on the one side to the deck and on the other to the machinery, contained a well-selected, though small, library of scientific and classical books, and was adorned by pots of flowers, which he managed to keep alive by constant care, in spite of the sea-breezes, for they had been given to him by his young and beautiful wife, whose portrait hung upon the wall. For a couple of weeks only in each three months could he see his better half.“Sweetly blows the western windSoftly o’er the rippling sea,And thy sailor’s constant mindEver turns to thee.Though the north wind may arise,And the waves dash madly by,Though the storm should rend the skies,And vivid lightnings round me fly;Then I love thee more and more,Then art thou more dear to me,And I sigh for that dear shoreDistant o’er the sea.”The Baron describes the waiters on board as follows:—“The head waiter is a native of Hamburg. He and his white comrade lead an easy life; they confine their labours to overlooking the Chinese men, and pass the rest of their time in flirting with the ladies’-maids. These are the only two idlers in the service. Thirty-two Chinamen do the duties of waiters on the passengers and at table. Although short, they look well enough with their black caps, their equally black pig-tails, which go down to their heels, their dark-[pg 38]blue tunics, their large white trousers, their gaiters or white stockings, and their black felt shoes with strong white soles. They form themselves into symmetrical groups, and do everything with method. Fancy a huge cabin, in which the small table of twenty-two guests is lost, with all these little Chinamen fluttering round them and serving them in the most respectful manner, without making any noise. The Hamburg chief, idly leaning against a console, with one hand in his trousers’ pocket, directs with the forefinger of the other the evolutions of his docile squadron.”The daily inspection, common on all well-regulated passenger ships, is thus described:—“July 6.—Every day, at eleven o’clock in the morning and at eight o’clock in the evening, the captain, followed by the purser, makes the rounds of the ship. In that of the morning all the cabin-doors are opened, only excepting those of the ladies; but the moment these have gone outthecaptain visits them with equal care. If any matches are discovered they are pitilessly confiscated. This morning the captain invited me to accompany him, and I could convince myself with my own eyes of the perfect order and discipline which reign everywhere. Nothing was more tempting than that department which one greatly avoids, the kitchens. The head cook and his assistants, all Germans, did the honours of their domain. Every man was at his post, and only anxious to show the visitors the most secret corners of his department. It was like an examination of conscience carefully made. The provision and store-rooms were admirable. Everything was of the first and best quality; everything was in abundance; everything was classed and ticketed like the drugs in a chemist’s shop. The Chinese quarter is on the lower deck. We have about 800 on board. They are all in their berths, smoking and talking, and enjoying the rare pleasure in their lives of being able to spend five weeks in complete idleness. In spite of the great number of men penned into so comparatively small a space, the ventilation is so well managed that there is neither closeness nor bad smells. The captain inspects every hole and corner, literally everything—and everywhere we found the same extraordinary cleanliness. One small space is reserved for the opium-eaters or smokers; and we saw these victims of a fatal habit, some eagerly inhaling the poison, others already feeling its effects. Lying on their backs and fast asleep, their deadly-pale features gave them the look of corpses.”A common occurrence, but always of great interest to the passengers, is thus described:—“July 7.—Contrary to our usual sleepy habits, we are all to-day in a state of excitement and agitation. TheChinais to come to the point where it ought to meet theAmerica, which was to leave Hong-Kong five-and-twenty days ago. Our top-sails are filled with little Chinamen, whose eager eyes are fixed on the horizon. The captain and officers are standing close to the bowsprit, their telescopes pointed in the same direction. Even my Spanish friend has left his engine, his flower-pots, and his wife’s portrait, to gaze at the blue sea, slightly rippled, but, as usual, without a speck of a sail. NoAmerica! The captain’s heart is in his shoes. He consults his charts, his instruments, his officers, all in vain. The day passes without the steamer being signalled. The dinner is silent and sad. Every one seems preoccupied, and the captain is evidently anxious. It seems that the directors of the company make a point of their two boats meeting. It is[pg 39]to them a proof that their captains have followed a straight course, and that the San Francisco boat has crossed, without any accident, a third of the Pacific. The passengers gladly avail themselves of this precious opportunity to write to their friends. For the captains themselves it is a question of honour. They like to show their skill in this way, and their cleverness in being able, despite the variable and imperfectly-understood currents of the Pacific, to make a straight course across this enormous sheet of water.“July 8.—At five o’clock in the morning the second officer rushed into my cabin—‘TheAmerica17is in sight!’I throw on my clothes and tumble on deck. The morning is beautiful, and this colossal steamer, the largest after theGreat Eastern, draws near majestically. The usual salutes are exchanged, and theAmerica’sgig brings us an extract from their log, the list of the passengers, the newspapers from Hong-Kong, Shanghai, and Yokohama, and, which is essential, takes charge of our letters for America and Europe. A few moments after she resumes her course. What a grand and imposing sight! At six o’clock she has already disappeared behind the horizon. At the moment of meeting we had run exactly 1,500 miles—that is, half the distance between England and New York.”TheChinaencountered a cyclone, or rather the outer edge of one, which is graphically described by Hübner. He says:—“At this moment the ocean was really magnificent. In the boiling sea the foam was driven horizontally towards the east. The water was positively inky, with here and there whitish gleams of light. The sky was iron-grey; to the west a curtain of the same colour, but darker. The thermometer was still falling rapidly. In the air above the waves I suddenly saw a cloud of white flakes; they were little bits of Joss paper which the Chinese were throwing into the sea to appease their gods. I passed before the open door of the engineer; he was watering his plants. The passengers were all gathered together in the saloon. Some of them were moved almost to tears. At twelve o’clock the sky cleared a little, and the faces brightened considerably. I have often remarked that people when in danger, whether real or imaginary, are like children; the slightest thing will make them laugh or cry. The Bombay master-baker, the Chinese merchant, and the two Japanese, struck me by their imperturbability. The first whispered in my ear,‘The company is very unwise to have a Chinese crew; the Malays are much better. Chinese sailors are scared at the least danger, and would be the first to make off in the lifeboats.’Fung-Tang has an equally bad opinion of his fellow-countrymen. He says to me,‘Chinese good men, very good; bad sailors, very bad!’I reply,‘If we go to the bottom, what will become of Fung-Tang?’He replies,‘If good, place above; if bad,below stairs, punished.’“July 20.—In the middle of the night the ocean suddenly calmed. TheChinahas got out of the region of the cyclone. The weather is delicious; the sea like glass. But at[pg 40]four o’clock in the afternoon we suddenly find ourselves amidst colossal waves; and yet there is not a breath of wind. They tell us that this was probably yesterday the centre of the typhoon. It has exhausted itself or gone elsewhere; but the sea which it lashed into fury is still agitated, like the pulse of a fever patient after the fit is over.”Yokohama, whose very name signifies“across the sea and shore,”has been before briefly described in these pages. Travellers have given some interesting accounts of it, and as in a tour round the world it would form one of the leading stopping-places, some further allusion to it may be permitted.Baron Hübner says in effect that at every step one takes there one asks if it be not all a dream, a fairy tale, a story of the thousand-and-one nights. Arriving there from San Francisco, the step from American to Oriental civilisation is particularly noticed. The Baron refers particularly to the courtesy and extreme cleanliness of the people. Even the coolies, bearing great cases or baskets slung on bamboos resting on their athletic shoulders, stop to chatter and laugh so pleasantly that labour seems to have lost half its curse.“Misery,”says he,“is unknown amongst them; so also is luxury.”If the Japanese have arrived at this happy mean it would be a great pity to disturb their peaceful condition by the introduction of a so-called civilisation, and its attendant expenses and new wants.“What adds to the charm of the scene,”says the same authority,“is the smiling look of the country, and the intense beauty, at this season (summer), of the setting sun. The sky is positively crimson, with great clouds of Sèvres blue; the long promontory of Thanagawa is inundated with mother-of-pearl; and on the purpled violet sea the pale shadows of the ships and junks stand out against the sky, the one rocked by the swell, the others gliding across the water like phantoms.”The winter in Japan is cold enough, as Mrs. Brassey discovered;18for icicles were hanging from the shrouds and riggings of theSunbeam.Mrs. Brassey gives some life-like pictures from Yokohama.“Having landed,”says she,“we went with the Consul to the native town to see the curio shops, which are a speciality of the place. The inhabitants are wonderfully clever at making all sorts of curiosities, and the manufactories of so called‘antique bronzes’and‘old china’are two of the most wonderful sights in Yokohama. The way in which they scrape, crack, chip, mend, and colour the various articles, cover them with dust, partially clean them, and imitate the marks and signatures of celebrated makers, is more creditable to their ingenuity than to their honesty. Still, there are a good many genuine old relics from the temples and from the large houses of the reduced Daimios to be picked up, if you go the right way to work, though the supply is limited.“Dealers are plentiful, and travellers, especially from America, are increasing in numbers. When we first made acquaintance with the shops we thought they seemed full of beautiful things, but even one day’s shopping, in the company of experienced people, has educated our taste and taught us a great deal; though we have still much to learn. There are very respectable-looking lacquer cabinets, ranging in price from 5s. to £20. But they are only made for the foreign market. No such things exist in a Japanese home.”[pg 41]A really fine piece of old lacquer is often worth a couple of hundred pounds.“It is said that the modern Japanese have lost the art of lacquer-making; and as an illustration I was told that many beautiful articles of lacquer, old and new, had been sent from this country to the Vienna Exhibition in 1873, but the price put on them was so exorbitant that few were sold, and nearly all had to be sent back to Japan. Just as the ship with these things on board reached the Gulf of Jeddo, she struck on a rock and sank in shallow water. A month or two ago a successful attempt was made to raise her and to recover the cargo, when it was found that the new lacquer had been reduced to a state of pulp, while the old was not in the least damaged. I tell you the tale as it was told to me.A STREET IN JAPAN.A STREET IN JAPAN.“After a long day’s shopping, we went to dine, in real Japanese fashion, at a Japanese tea-house. The establishment was kept by a very pleasant woman, who received us at the door, and who herself removed our exceedingly dirty boots before allowing us to step on to her clean mats. This was all very well, as far as it went; but she might as well have supplied us with some substitute for the objectionable articles, for it was a bitterly cold night, and the highly-polished wood passages and steep staircase felt very cold to our shoeless feet. The apartment we were shown into was so exact a type of a room in any Japanese house that I may as well describe it once for all. The wood-work of the roof and the framework of the screens were all made of a handsome dark polished wood, not unlike walnut.“The exterior walls under the verandah, as well as partitions between the other rooms, were simply wooden lattice-work screens covered with white paper, and sliding in grooves, so that you could walk in or out at any part of the wall you chose, and it was, in like manner, impossible to say whence the next comer would make his appearance; doors and windows are by this arrangement rendered unnecessary, and do not exist. You open a little bit of your wall[pg 42]if you want to look out, and a bigger bit if you want to step out. The floor was covered with several thicknesses of very fine mats, each about six feet long by three broad, deliciously soft to walk upon. All mats in Japan are of the same size, and everything connected with house-building is measured by this standard. Once you have prepared your foundations and wood-work of the dimensions of so many mats, it is the easiest thing in the world to go to a shop and buy a house ready-made, which you can then set up and furnish in the scanty Japanese fashion in a couple of days.“On one side of the room was a slightly raised daïs, about four inches from the floor. This was the seat of honour. On it had been placed a stool, a little bronze ornament, and a china vase, with a branch of cherry-blossom and a few flag-leaves gracefully arranged. On the wall behind hung pictures, which are changed every month, according to the season of the year. There was no other furniture of any sort in the room. Four nice-looking Japanese girls brought us thick cotton quilts to sit upon, and braziers full of burning charcoal to warm ourselves by. In the centre of the group another brazier was placed, protected by a square wooden grating, and over the whole they laid a large silk eider-down quilt, to retain the heat: this is the way in which all the rooms, even bed-rooms, are warmed in Japan, and the result is that fires are of very frequent occurrence. The brazier is kicked over by some restless or careless person, and in a moment the whole place is in a blaze.”The following gives a description of a Japanese meal:—“Presently the eider-down and brazier were removed, and our dinner was brought in. A little lacquer table, about six inches high, on which were arrayed a pair of chop-sticks, a basin of soup, a bowl for rice, a saki cup, and a basin of hot water, was placed before each person, whilst the four Japanese maidens sat in our midst, with fires to keep thesakihot and to light the tiny pipes with which they were provided, and from which they wished us to take a whiff after each dish. Saki is a sort of spirit distilled from rice, always drunk hot out of small cups. In this state it is not disagreeable, but we found it exceedingly nasty when cold.“Everything was well cooked and served, though the ingredients of some of the dishes, as will be seen from the following bill of fare, were rather strange to our ideas. Still, they were all eatable, and most of them really palatable.Soup.Shrimps and Seaweeds.Prawns, Egg Omelette, and Preserved Grapes.Fried Fish, Spinach, Young Rushes, and Young Ginger.Raw Fish, Mustard and Cress, Horseradish, and Soy.Thick Soup of Egg, Fish, Mushrooms, and Spinach; Grilled Fish.Fried Chicken and Bamboo Shoots.Turnip-Tops and Root, Pickled.Ricead libitumin a large bowl.Hot Saki, Pipes, and Tea.“The meal concluded with an enormous lacquer box of rice, from which all our bowls were filled; the rice being thence conveyed to our mouths by means of chop-sticks. We managed very well with these substitutes for spoons and forks, the knack of using which, to a certain extent, is soon acquired. The long intervals between the dishes were beguiled with songs,[pg 43]music, and dancing, performed by professional singing and dancing girls. The music was somewhat harsh and monotonous, but the songs sounded harmonious, and the dancing was graceful, though it was rather posturing than dancing, great use being made of the fan and the long trailing skirts. The girls, who were pretty, wore peculiar dresses to indicate their calling, and seemed of an entirely different stamp from the quiet, simply-dressed waitresses whom we found so attentive to our wants. Still, they all looked cheery, light-hearted, simple creatures, and appeared to enjoy immensely the little childish games they played amongst themselves between whiles.“After dinner we had some real Japanese tea, tasting exactly like a little hot water poured on very fragrant new-mown hay. Then, after a brief visit to the kitchen, which, though small, was beautifully clean, we received our boots, and were bowed out by our pleasant hostess and her attentive handmaidens.”Recommending the perusal of the interesting works last quoted, let us finish our trip on paper at its natural termination, so far as the route from San Francisco is concerned, in China, to which country the American vessels take us in a week or so.Hong Kong is a commercial port of the first order, but has not come up to the expectations once made of it. It has not progressed in the same ratio as has Shanghai. Its situation is picturesque.“Fancy to yourself the rock of Gibraltar, on a large scale, looking to the north. There facing us isterra firma. Let us scramble up to the flag-staff, proudly standing on the highest peak of the mountain. The sun, which is already low, bathes sky, earth, and sea in crude, fantastic, exaggerated lights. Woe be to the painter who should dare reproduce such effects! Happy would he be if he could succeed!“Towards the south, the sun and the fogs are fighting over the islands, which at this moment stand out in black groups on a liquid gold ground, framed in silver. Towards the north we look over the town, officially called Victoria, and vulgarly Hong Kong. It is stretched out at our feet, but we only perceive the roofs, the courts, and the streets; further on the roadstead is crowded with frigates, corvettes, gun-boats, steamers belonging to the great companies, and an infinity of smaller steam and sailing vessels of less tonnage. In front of us, at three or four miles distance, is a high chain of rocks, bare and rugged, but coloured by the setting sun with tints of rose colour and crimson, resembling a huge coral bracelet. That is the continent. Towards the west are the two passages which lead to Canton and Macao; to the north-east is a third passage, by which we ourselves have come. The sea here is like a lake, bordered on one side by the rocks ofterra firma, and on the other by the peaks and summits of the Hong Kong cliffs. I have seen in many other lands softer and more harmonious effects of light, but I never saw any so strange.“Victoria is charming, sympathetic, and imposing: English and yet tropical—a mixture of cottages and palaces. Nowhere can be found a happier combination between the poetry of nature and the prose of commercial life; between English comfort and the intoxicating exuberance of the south. The streets, which are well macadamised, well kept, and beautifully clean, run in a serpentine fashion along the rock, sometimes between houses, of which the rather pretentious façades are coquettishly veiled by the verandahs, sometimes between gardens, bamboo hedges, or stone balustrades. It is like Ventnor or Shanklin seen through a magnifying-glass and under a jet of electric light. Everywhere there are fine trees—banians, bamboos,[pg 44]and pines. One may go on foot from one end of Hong Kong to the other, and yet always be in the shade. No one dreams of walking. Nothing is to be seen but chairs or palanquins. The coolies, their heads sheltered by enormous straw hats, carry you at a rattling pace. Nothing can be more delicious than a night promenade in an open sedan-chair. In the lower part of the town the scene is most animated and busy; officers and soldiers in red uniforms and with swarthy complexions (Sepoys), Parsees, Hindoos, Chinese, Malays, European ladies in elegant toilets, and men and women with yellowish skins, dressed like Europeans (half-caste Portuguese). The higher you climb the quieter you find it. Insensibly the town turns into country. Scramble up still a little higher, and you are in the middle of rocks, bare of trees, but covered with odoriferous shrubs, and traversed by a fine macadamised road, with glimpses of views here and there of marvellous beauty.”19THE CUSTOM HOUSE, SHANGHAI.THE CUSTOM HOUSE, SHANGHAI.Shanghai, as another leading port, would naturally be visited by the tourist of leisure, and it affords a wonderful example of English enterprise. It is by nature the port of Suchow, ninety miles up the great Yang-tse-Kiang river. Near the city its flat, green, cultivated[pg 45]banks recall the Humber in Yorkshire. The port is crowded with foreign shipping: great American steamships, the boats of the English P. and O. Company, those of the French“Messageries,”merchant steamers straight from London, Liverpool, and Glasgow, and sailing vessels in numbers. In a picturesque point of view the place has little to recommend it, but commercially it is a lively place, nine-tenths of the capital employed being English, and the white population counting at least six Englishmen to all the rest of the foreigners put together. There are three“concessions,”i.e., tracts ceded by the Chinese to the English, French, and Americans, for commercial purposes. Stone being scarce, these concessions are fringed by enormous wooden wharves, slips, and piers, outside the warehouses, depôts, and stores. There are streets of well-filled shops, where everything is to be obtained that could be bought in the Strand or Oxford Street. In this point of view, Hübner tells us, neither Yokohama nor any other European town in Asia, saving Calcutta and Bombay, can bear a comparison with Shanghai. The Chinese do not adopt numerals for their shops and warehouses, but use mottoes and descriptive titles, and the great English houses have adopted the custom of the country. Messrs. Dent & Co. have for theirnom de maison,“Precious and Obliging,”while Messrs. Jardine & Co. are known, not as number 45, or what-not, but as“Honest and Harmonious.”VIEW OF HONOLULU, SANDWICH ISLANDS.VIEW OF HONOLULU, SANDWICH ISLANDS.

The American Steamships—A Celestial Company—Leading Cargoes—Corpses and Coffins—Monotony of the Voyage—Emotions Caused by the Sea—Amusements on Board“Chalked”—Cricket at Sea—Balls Overboard—A Six Days’ Walking Match—Theatricals—Waxworks—The Officers on Board—Engineer’s Life—The Chief Waiter—“Inspection”—Meeting theAmerica—Excitement—Her Subsequent Fate—A Cyclone—At Yokohama—Fairy Land—The Bazaars—Japanese Houses—A DinnerMenu—Music and Dancing—Hongkong, the Gibraltar of China—Charming Victoria—Busy Shanghai—English Enterprise.

A very ordinary trip now-a-days for those rounding the world is that from San Francisco to China, calling at Japan on the way. The steamships of the Pacific Mail Company are those principally employed, and a voyage on such a vessel as theChina, which is one of the crack vessels of the service, is one almost invariably of pleasure. TheChinais a steamship of over 4,000 tons, and cost 800,000 dollars, or, roughly, £160,000 sterling. She will often carry 2,000 tons of tea on a return voyage, to say nothing of perhaps from five to fifteen hundred Chinamen. A traveller14already referred to states, that with only 580 on board half a ton of rice had to be served out daily, with a modicum of meat and vegetables. One of the leading cargoes on the outward trip from San Francisco is corpses and coffins, few Chinamen being ever buried out of their native land. In the splendid and roomy saloons of these steamers there are always Chinese waiters, who are said to be most obliging, and noiseless in their motions. Negro waiters are civil and assiduous enough in their attendance, but are always fussy; in this respect“John”is a great improvement on“Sambo.”

“An additional proof,”said a leading journal“of the new vitality infused into that long inert mass, the Chinese Empire, has just been supplied from San Francisco,”and the writer goes on to describe a new development of their mercantile enterprise. It seems that there has been in existence for some time past an association termed the Chinese Merchants’ Steamship Company, the stockholders of which are wealthy[pg 32]native merchants and mandarins, who own many coasting steamers. The company is now about to start a line from China to the Sandwich Islands and San Francisco, and it is not improbable that the Chinese emigrants may prefer these steamers to any other. The manager of this Celestial“P. and O.”is one Tong Ken Sing, a shrewd native of Singapore; and, continues the writer,“under the enlightened control of this man of his epoch, who is equally at home with tails and taels, the company is sure to succeed.”

After leaving the“Golden Gate,”the entrance to the Bay of San Francisco, and passing the rocky Farralones, islands whence a company brings a million of sea-birds’ eggs to the city yearly, the voyager by this route will not see land till Japan is reached. The steamships stop nowhereen route. The passengers must depend on their own resources aboard for amusement, and every passing sail becomes an object of greatest interest. Yet still there is always the sea itself, in its varying aspects of placid or turbulent grandeur.“The appearance of the open sea,”says Frédol,“far from the shore—the boundless ocean—is to the man who loves to create a world of his own, in which he can freely exercise his thoughts, filled with sublime ideas of the Infinite. His searching eye rests upon the far-distant horizon; he sees there the ocean and the heavens meeting in a vapoury outline, where the stars ascend and descend, appear and disappear in their turn. Presently this everlasting change in nature awakens in him a vague feeling of that sadness‘which,’says Humboldt,‘lies at the root of all our heartfelt joys.’”When the Breton fisherman or mariner puts to sea, his touching prayer is,“Keep me, my God! my boat is so small, and Thy ocean so wide!”“We find in the sea,”says Lacepède,“unity and diversity, which constitute its beauty; grandeur and simplicity, which give it sublimity; puissance and immensity, which command our wonder.”That immense expanse of water is no mere liquid desert; it teems with life, however little that life may be visible. The inhabitants of the water through which the good ship ploughs her way are as numerous as those of the solid earth; although, unless the great sea-serpent makes its fitful appearance, the experience of a traveller over the Pacific by this route will be repeated. Says he:—

“Few signs of life are visible outside the vessel. Occasionally a whale is reported in sight, but for many days most of the passengers are inclined to think it is only something very‘like one,’till, as the days pass, every person has caught a glimpse of a spout of water suddenly shooting up from the sea without any apparent reason, or of a black line cutting through the blue surface for a moment, and then disappearing to unknown depths. Occasionally, too, one or more sea-birds are seen following in the vessel’s wake, sweeping gracefully across and again across the white band of foam, and with difficulty keeping down their natural pace to that of the steam-driven monster. These birds are of two kinds only: the‘Mother Carey’s Chicken,’and another, called by the sailors the‘Cape Hen’—a brown bird, rather larger and longer in the wing than a sea-gull. Both birds are visible when we are in mid-ocean, 1,000 miles at least from the nearest dry land.”The writer of these pages has seen whales, in the North Pacific, keep up with the vessel on which he was a passenger for half an hour or more together. On one occasion a large whale was swimming abreast of the steamer so closely that rifle and pistol shots were fired at it, some undoubtedly hitting their mark, yet the great[pg 33]mammal did not show the slightest symptoms of even temporary annoyance, and there is reason to believe was not much more hurt by the shots than would the targets at Wimbledon be affected by a shower of peas.

Occasionally a little diversity and profit are got out of passengers by the sailors when they go for the first time on the fo’castle. The latter draw on the deck a chalk line quickly round the former, and each visitor so“chalked,”as it is called, must pay a fine in the shape of a bottle of rum. This secures one, however, the freedom of the ship ever after.

A CRICKET-MATCH ON BOARD SHIP.A CRICKET-MATCH ON BOARD SHIP.

A CRICKET-MATCH ON BOARD SHIP.

One of the deck games popular on long voyages is a form of quoits, played with rings and chalked spaces, or, in some cases, on a spike driven into the deck. A traveller15gives an amusing account of a cricket club formed on the vessel in which he was a passenger. Fancy playing cricket at sea! He says:—“TheLord Wardencricket-ground is on the main deck, and, owing to the somewhat limited space at the disposal of the ten members, single-wicket matches are the invariable rule. The stumps, which are fixed in a frame so as to remain steady on the deck, are about two feet in height, and of course bails are provided, but never used. Of bats the club boasts not a few, of varied construction. Of these the majority are fashioned out of a thick deal plank, and[pg 34]soon go to pieces; but one of elm, which was christened off Cape de Verde, survived many weeks of hard usage, and was more precious to the club than the most expensive of Cobbett’s productions. It was fully intended by a member of the Marylebone Club to obtain for this tough little piece of elm a final resting-place in the Pavilion at Lord’s, but unfortunately the‘leviathan hitter,’in attempting a huge drive, let it slip out of his hands, and it is lost to us for ever.”The boatswain furnished spun-yarn balls at sixpence each, but these seldom had a long life, four or five being frequently hit overboard in the course of an afternoon’s play; nearly 300 were exhausted on the voyage.“The wicket,”continues the narrator,“is pitched just in front of the weather poop-ladder, the bowling-crease being thirteen yards further forward, by the side of the deck-house. Behind the bowler stands an out-field, while mid-on or mid-off, according to which tack the ship is on, has his back to the midshipmen’s berth, and has also occasionally to climb over the boom-board above it, and search for a lost ball among a chaos of boats and spare spars.... Run-getting on board ship is a matter of difficulty, the ball having the supremacy over the bat, which is exactly reversed on shore. A cricketer who thinks but little of the side-hill at Lord’s would find himself thoroughly non-plussed by the incline of a ship’s deck in a stiff breeze. A good eye and hard straight driving effected much, but a steady defence and the scientific‘placing’of the ball under the winch often succeeded equally well, especially on a wet wicket. The highest score of the season was eighteen, which included two hits on to the forecastle, feats of very rare occurrence.”The games were highly popular, and were watched by appreciative assemblages of the passengers. On the same vessel a glee club was organised, and an evening in Christmas week was devoted to theatricals, by the“Shooting Stars of the Southern Seas.”Dancing is common enough on board, and, of course, is often pursued under difficulties; a sudden lurch of the ship may throw a number of couples off their feet or tumble them in a chaotic heap.

Another traveller16gives us some amusing notes on the private theatricals performed on board the famous old steamshipGreat Britain. He was stage manager, and says:—“I had a great deal to do, as I was responsible for dresses, and had to see that everybody was ready. I had among other things to procure a chignon. I was in a dilemma, as I did not like to ask a lady for the loan of one, even where no doubt existed as to her wearing false hair; so at last I procured some oakum from the carpenter, and made three large sausages, and it was pronounced a success. The stage is erected in the saloon, and we had footlights, with a gorgeous screen of flags, &c.”Special prologues were written for these entertainments, one of which, on the occasion of performing the“Taming of a Tiger”and the“Area Belle,”ran as follows:—

“Far from Australia or from British home,Across wide ocean’s trackless breast we roam;And though our ship both swift and steady speeds,Yet dreary week to dreary week succeeds.Our joys restricted, and our pleasures few,We all must own the prospect’s rather blue.[pg 35]At such a time to fill the vacant place,A chosen few have taken heart of grace,And tho’ unused the actor’s part to fill,Will show, if not the deed, at least the will.”

“Far from Australia or from British home,

Across wide ocean’s trackless breast we roam;

And though our ship both swift and steady speeds,

Yet dreary week to dreary week succeeds.

Our joys restricted, and our pleasures few,

We all must own the prospect’s rather blue.

At such a time to fill the vacant place,

A chosen few have taken heart of grace,

And tho’ unused the actor’s part to fill,

Will show, if not the deed, at least the will.”

Then came mention of some of the amateurs who had already played before the passengers:—

“Yet not all novices—the veteran FloodYou’ve seen before, and you’ve pronounced him good;The modest Griffiths, and the blushing Lance,Joy of the fair and hero of the dance;”

“Yet not all novices—the veteran Flood

You’ve seen before, and you’ve pronounced him good;

The modest Griffiths, and the blushing Lance,

Joy of the fair and hero of the dance;”

and so forth. The performance took place while the vessel was constantly rolling. Mr. Laird says that he had to think almost as much of his equilibrium as of anything else; but as he had always to appear trembling before the presence of his master in the piece, it did pretty well, except in one lurch, when he went flying in an undignified manner across the stage into the arms of the prompter.

On another occasion an entertainment, entitled“Mrs. Jarley’s Waxworks,”was presented. Five children were dressed up to represent different characters, and pretence was made of winding them up to make them go. The best was a cannibal, converted to be a missionary; another personated Fair Rosamond; and a third the Marquis of Lorne. The missionary handed tracts about, and Queen Eleanor alternately presented a dagger and a cup of cold poison to Fair Rosamond. A regularly-organised concert followed, while a farce and spoken epilogue concluded this, the last performance on board theGreat Britain. After speaking of the voyage and the fun on board, it continued:—

“And now our sweet communion must shortly see its close,And never more, till next time, shall we share in joys like those;No more the fragrant sea-pie or delectable burgoo,No more on the same plate be seen fish, cheese, and Irish stew.* * * * * * *No longer Mrs. Jarley’s works our mimic stage shall grace,Or the little missionary-eater show his little face.Of Mrs. J. I would not say one harsh word if I could;No use to tread upon her toes, because they’re only wood.No more the sailor’s plaintive song with tears our eyes shall dim,No more on Sunday morning shall we sing the Evening Hymn;”

“And now our sweet communion must shortly see its close,

And never more, till next time, shall we share in joys like those;

No more the fragrant sea-pie or delectable burgoo,

No more on the same plate be seen fish, cheese, and Irish stew.

* * * * * * *

No longer Mrs. Jarley’s works our mimic stage shall grace,

Or the little missionary-eater show his little face.

Of Mrs. J. I would not say one harsh word if I could;

No use to tread upon her toes, because they’re only wood.

No more the sailor’s plaintive song with tears our eyes shall dim,

No more on Sunday morning shall we sing the Evening Hymn;”

the fact being that a clergyman on board had once inadvertently chosen the latter for morning service! The epilogue concluded by wishing good luck to all the officers and men and to the good old ship.

LEAVING THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA.LEAVING THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA.

LEAVING THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA.

Baron Hübner has given us, in his published work before quoted, some interesting reminiscences of, and graphic notes on, his voyage to Japan from San Francisco. A few extracts may be permitted.

“July 4.—The sky is pearly grey. The vessel is all painted white: masts, deck-cabins, deck, tarpaulins, benches—all are white. This deck, from poop to prow, is all in one piece, and makes a famous walk. Almost all the morning I am alone there. The first-class passengers get up very late; the second-class—that is, the Chinese—not at all.[pg 36]They go to bed at San Francisco, and never leave their berths till they reach their destination. You never see one of them on deck. The sailors, having done their duty, disappear likewise. And how easy that duty is in such weather! On leaving the Golden Gate the sails were hoisted, and have remained untouched ever since. The breeze is just strong enough to fill them and keep us steady. The result is a complete calm. The smoke ascends up to heaven in a straight line. So the sailors have a fine time of it. They sleep, smoke, or play down-stairs with their companions. The two men at the helm—these two are Americans—are equally invisible, for a watch-tower hides them from sight, as well as the rudder and the officer of the watch. I have thus got the deck of this immense ship entirely to myself. I pace it from one end to the other, four hundred feet backwards and forwards. The only impediment is a transverse bar of iron, as high as one’s head, which binds in the middle the two sides of the ship. It is painted white, like all the rest, and is difficult to see. In every position in life there is always the worm in the bud or thorn in the flesh—or, at any rate, some dark spot. On board theChinathe dark spot for me is that detestable white bar. Not only am I perpetually knocking[pg 37]my head against it, but it reminds me unpleasantly of the frailty of human things. It is very thin, and yet, if I am to believe the engineer, it is this bar alone which, in very bad weather, prevents the enormous shell of the boat from breaking in half. There are moments when one’s life hangs on a thread; here it hangs on an iron bar. That is better, perhaps, but it is not enough.”

The fine vessels of the company then running were, although perhaps the most commodious in the world, hardly the safest. The distance between San Francisco and Japan is 5,000 miles, and, barring a few hundred miles on the coasts of the latter, the ocean is almost one grand calm lake. But cyclones occur in the Japanese seas when the high-built American boats are not safe.

Baron Hübner gives us some notes on the passengers on board, which included nine nationalities. Among them was a dignified and venerable Parsee merchant, a merchant prince in his way, who had wished to study European manners, and so had proceeded as far as San Francisco. What he saw there impressed him so unfavourably, that he immediately took passage back again. What he observed, indeed, filled him with disgust.“The men,”said he,“what a lack of dignity! Never in the streets of our towns will you be shocked by the sight of drunkards and bad women.”

Hübner gives also some sketches of the officers on board. The chief engineer is described as a thoughtful and meditative man—a Roman Catholic, deeply imbued with the spirit of religious fervour, and spending his time in the alternate study of theology and practical mechanics. His cabin, opening on the one side to the deck and on the other to the machinery, contained a well-selected, though small, library of scientific and classical books, and was adorned by pots of flowers, which he managed to keep alive by constant care, in spite of the sea-breezes, for they had been given to him by his young and beautiful wife, whose portrait hung upon the wall. For a couple of weeks only in each three months could he see his better half.

“Sweetly blows the western windSoftly o’er the rippling sea,And thy sailor’s constant mindEver turns to thee.Though the north wind may arise,And the waves dash madly by,Though the storm should rend the skies,And vivid lightnings round me fly;Then I love thee more and more,Then art thou more dear to me,And I sigh for that dear shoreDistant o’er the sea.”

“Sweetly blows the western wind

Softly o’er the rippling sea,

And thy sailor’s constant mind

Ever turns to thee.

Though the north wind may arise,

And the waves dash madly by,

Though the storm should rend the skies,

And vivid lightnings round me fly;

Then I love thee more and more,

Then art thou more dear to me,

And I sigh for that dear shore

Distant o’er the sea.”

The Baron describes the waiters on board as follows:—“The head waiter is a native of Hamburg. He and his white comrade lead an easy life; they confine their labours to overlooking the Chinese men, and pass the rest of their time in flirting with the ladies’-maids. These are the only two idlers in the service. Thirty-two Chinamen do the duties of waiters on the passengers and at table. Although short, they look well enough with their black caps, their equally black pig-tails, which go down to their heels, their dark-[pg 38]blue tunics, their large white trousers, their gaiters or white stockings, and their black felt shoes with strong white soles. They form themselves into symmetrical groups, and do everything with method. Fancy a huge cabin, in which the small table of twenty-two guests is lost, with all these little Chinamen fluttering round them and serving them in the most respectful manner, without making any noise. The Hamburg chief, idly leaning against a console, with one hand in his trousers’ pocket, directs with the forefinger of the other the evolutions of his docile squadron.”The daily inspection, common on all well-regulated passenger ships, is thus described:—

“July 6.—Every day, at eleven o’clock in the morning and at eight o’clock in the evening, the captain, followed by the purser, makes the rounds of the ship. In that of the morning all the cabin-doors are opened, only excepting those of the ladies; but the moment these have gone outthecaptain visits them with equal care. If any matches are discovered they are pitilessly confiscated. This morning the captain invited me to accompany him, and I could convince myself with my own eyes of the perfect order and discipline which reign everywhere. Nothing was more tempting than that department which one greatly avoids, the kitchens. The head cook and his assistants, all Germans, did the honours of their domain. Every man was at his post, and only anxious to show the visitors the most secret corners of his department. It was like an examination of conscience carefully made. The provision and store-rooms were admirable. Everything was of the first and best quality; everything was in abundance; everything was classed and ticketed like the drugs in a chemist’s shop. The Chinese quarter is on the lower deck. We have about 800 on board. They are all in their berths, smoking and talking, and enjoying the rare pleasure in their lives of being able to spend five weeks in complete idleness. In spite of the great number of men penned into so comparatively small a space, the ventilation is so well managed that there is neither closeness nor bad smells. The captain inspects every hole and corner, literally everything—and everywhere we found the same extraordinary cleanliness. One small space is reserved for the opium-eaters or smokers; and we saw these victims of a fatal habit, some eagerly inhaling the poison, others already feeling its effects. Lying on their backs and fast asleep, their deadly-pale features gave them the look of corpses.”

A common occurrence, but always of great interest to the passengers, is thus described:—

“July 7.—Contrary to our usual sleepy habits, we are all to-day in a state of excitement and agitation. TheChinais to come to the point where it ought to meet theAmerica, which was to leave Hong-Kong five-and-twenty days ago. Our top-sails are filled with little Chinamen, whose eager eyes are fixed on the horizon. The captain and officers are standing close to the bowsprit, their telescopes pointed in the same direction. Even my Spanish friend has left his engine, his flower-pots, and his wife’s portrait, to gaze at the blue sea, slightly rippled, but, as usual, without a speck of a sail. NoAmerica! The captain’s heart is in his shoes. He consults his charts, his instruments, his officers, all in vain. The day passes without the steamer being signalled. The dinner is silent and sad. Every one seems preoccupied, and the captain is evidently anxious. It seems that the directors of the company make a point of their two boats meeting. It is[pg 39]to them a proof that their captains have followed a straight course, and that the San Francisco boat has crossed, without any accident, a third of the Pacific. The passengers gladly avail themselves of this precious opportunity to write to their friends. For the captains themselves it is a question of honour. They like to show their skill in this way, and their cleverness in being able, despite the variable and imperfectly-understood currents of the Pacific, to make a straight course across this enormous sheet of water.

“July 8.—At five o’clock in the morning the second officer rushed into my cabin—‘TheAmerica17is in sight!’I throw on my clothes and tumble on deck. The morning is beautiful, and this colossal steamer, the largest after theGreat Eastern, draws near majestically. The usual salutes are exchanged, and theAmerica’sgig brings us an extract from their log, the list of the passengers, the newspapers from Hong-Kong, Shanghai, and Yokohama, and, which is essential, takes charge of our letters for America and Europe. A few moments after she resumes her course. What a grand and imposing sight! At six o’clock she has already disappeared behind the horizon. At the moment of meeting we had run exactly 1,500 miles—that is, half the distance between England and New York.”

TheChinaencountered a cyclone, or rather the outer edge of one, which is graphically described by Hübner. He says:—“At this moment the ocean was really magnificent. In the boiling sea the foam was driven horizontally towards the east. The water was positively inky, with here and there whitish gleams of light. The sky was iron-grey; to the west a curtain of the same colour, but darker. The thermometer was still falling rapidly. In the air above the waves I suddenly saw a cloud of white flakes; they were little bits of Joss paper which the Chinese were throwing into the sea to appease their gods. I passed before the open door of the engineer; he was watering his plants. The passengers were all gathered together in the saloon. Some of them were moved almost to tears. At twelve o’clock the sky cleared a little, and the faces brightened considerably. I have often remarked that people when in danger, whether real or imaginary, are like children; the slightest thing will make them laugh or cry. The Bombay master-baker, the Chinese merchant, and the two Japanese, struck me by their imperturbability. The first whispered in my ear,‘The company is very unwise to have a Chinese crew; the Malays are much better. Chinese sailors are scared at the least danger, and would be the first to make off in the lifeboats.’Fung-Tang has an equally bad opinion of his fellow-countrymen. He says to me,‘Chinese good men, very good; bad sailors, very bad!’I reply,‘If we go to the bottom, what will become of Fung-Tang?’He replies,‘If good, place above; if bad,below stairs, punished.’

“July 20.—In the middle of the night the ocean suddenly calmed. TheChinahas got out of the region of the cyclone. The weather is delicious; the sea like glass. But at[pg 40]four o’clock in the afternoon we suddenly find ourselves amidst colossal waves; and yet there is not a breath of wind. They tell us that this was probably yesterday the centre of the typhoon. It has exhausted itself or gone elsewhere; but the sea which it lashed into fury is still agitated, like the pulse of a fever patient after the fit is over.”

Yokohama, whose very name signifies“across the sea and shore,”has been before briefly described in these pages. Travellers have given some interesting accounts of it, and as in a tour round the world it would form one of the leading stopping-places, some further allusion to it may be permitted.

Baron Hübner says in effect that at every step one takes there one asks if it be not all a dream, a fairy tale, a story of the thousand-and-one nights. Arriving there from San Francisco, the step from American to Oriental civilisation is particularly noticed. The Baron refers particularly to the courtesy and extreme cleanliness of the people. Even the coolies, bearing great cases or baskets slung on bamboos resting on their athletic shoulders, stop to chatter and laugh so pleasantly that labour seems to have lost half its curse.“Misery,”says he,“is unknown amongst them; so also is luxury.”If the Japanese have arrived at this happy mean it would be a great pity to disturb their peaceful condition by the introduction of a so-called civilisation, and its attendant expenses and new wants.

“What adds to the charm of the scene,”says the same authority,“is the smiling look of the country, and the intense beauty, at this season (summer), of the setting sun. The sky is positively crimson, with great clouds of Sèvres blue; the long promontory of Thanagawa is inundated with mother-of-pearl; and on the purpled violet sea the pale shadows of the ships and junks stand out against the sky, the one rocked by the swell, the others gliding across the water like phantoms.”The winter in Japan is cold enough, as Mrs. Brassey discovered;18for icicles were hanging from the shrouds and riggings of theSunbeam.

Mrs. Brassey gives some life-like pictures from Yokohama.

“Having landed,”says she,“we went with the Consul to the native town to see the curio shops, which are a speciality of the place. The inhabitants are wonderfully clever at making all sorts of curiosities, and the manufactories of so called‘antique bronzes’and‘old china’are two of the most wonderful sights in Yokohama. The way in which they scrape, crack, chip, mend, and colour the various articles, cover them with dust, partially clean them, and imitate the marks and signatures of celebrated makers, is more creditable to their ingenuity than to their honesty. Still, there are a good many genuine old relics from the temples and from the large houses of the reduced Daimios to be picked up, if you go the right way to work, though the supply is limited.

“Dealers are plentiful, and travellers, especially from America, are increasing in numbers. When we first made acquaintance with the shops we thought they seemed full of beautiful things, but even one day’s shopping, in the company of experienced people, has educated our taste and taught us a great deal; though we have still much to learn. There are very respectable-looking lacquer cabinets, ranging in price from 5s. to £20. But they are only made for the foreign market. No such things exist in a Japanese home.”

A really fine piece of old lacquer is often worth a couple of hundred pounds.

“It is said that the modern Japanese have lost the art of lacquer-making; and as an illustration I was told that many beautiful articles of lacquer, old and new, had been sent from this country to the Vienna Exhibition in 1873, but the price put on them was so exorbitant that few were sold, and nearly all had to be sent back to Japan. Just as the ship with these things on board reached the Gulf of Jeddo, she struck on a rock and sank in shallow water. A month or two ago a successful attempt was made to raise her and to recover the cargo, when it was found that the new lacquer had been reduced to a state of pulp, while the old was not in the least damaged. I tell you the tale as it was told to me.

A STREET IN JAPAN.A STREET IN JAPAN.

A STREET IN JAPAN.

“After a long day’s shopping, we went to dine, in real Japanese fashion, at a Japanese tea-house. The establishment was kept by a very pleasant woman, who received us at the door, and who herself removed our exceedingly dirty boots before allowing us to step on to her clean mats. This was all very well, as far as it went; but she might as well have supplied us with some substitute for the objectionable articles, for it was a bitterly cold night, and the highly-polished wood passages and steep staircase felt very cold to our shoeless feet. The apartment we were shown into was so exact a type of a room in any Japanese house that I may as well describe it once for all. The wood-work of the roof and the framework of the screens were all made of a handsome dark polished wood, not unlike walnut.

“The exterior walls under the verandah, as well as partitions between the other rooms, were simply wooden lattice-work screens covered with white paper, and sliding in grooves, so that you could walk in or out at any part of the wall you chose, and it was, in like manner, impossible to say whence the next comer would make his appearance; doors and windows are by this arrangement rendered unnecessary, and do not exist. You open a little bit of your wall[pg 42]if you want to look out, and a bigger bit if you want to step out. The floor was covered with several thicknesses of very fine mats, each about six feet long by three broad, deliciously soft to walk upon. All mats in Japan are of the same size, and everything connected with house-building is measured by this standard. Once you have prepared your foundations and wood-work of the dimensions of so many mats, it is the easiest thing in the world to go to a shop and buy a house ready-made, which you can then set up and furnish in the scanty Japanese fashion in a couple of days.

“On one side of the room was a slightly raised daïs, about four inches from the floor. This was the seat of honour. On it had been placed a stool, a little bronze ornament, and a china vase, with a branch of cherry-blossom and a few flag-leaves gracefully arranged. On the wall behind hung pictures, which are changed every month, according to the season of the year. There was no other furniture of any sort in the room. Four nice-looking Japanese girls brought us thick cotton quilts to sit upon, and braziers full of burning charcoal to warm ourselves by. In the centre of the group another brazier was placed, protected by a square wooden grating, and over the whole they laid a large silk eider-down quilt, to retain the heat: this is the way in which all the rooms, even bed-rooms, are warmed in Japan, and the result is that fires are of very frequent occurrence. The brazier is kicked over by some restless or careless person, and in a moment the whole place is in a blaze.”

The following gives a description of a Japanese meal:—“Presently the eider-down and brazier were removed, and our dinner was brought in. A little lacquer table, about six inches high, on which were arrayed a pair of chop-sticks, a basin of soup, a bowl for rice, a saki cup, and a basin of hot water, was placed before each person, whilst the four Japanese maidens sat in our midst, with fires to keep thesakihot and to light the tiny pipes with which they were provided, and from which they wished us to take a whiff after each dish. Saki is a sort of spirit distilled from rice, always drunk hot out of small cups. In this state it is not disagreeable, but we found it exceedingly nasty when cold.

“Everything was well cooked and served, though the ingredients of some of the dishes, as will be seen from the following bill of fare, were rather strange to our ideas. Still, they were all eatable, and most of them really palatable.

Soup.Shrimps and Seaweeds.Prawns, Egg Omelette, and Preserved Grapes.Fried Fish, Spinach, Young Rushes, and Young Ginger.Raw Fish, Mustard and Cress, Horseradish, and Soy.Thick Soup of Egg, Fish, Mushrooms, and Spinach; Grilled Fish.Fried Chicken and Bamboo Shoots.Turnip-Tops and Root, Pickled.Ricead libitumin a large bowl.Hot Saki, Pipes, and Tea.

“The meal concluded with an enormous lacquer box of rice, from which all our bowls were filled; the rice being thence conveyed to our mouths by means of chop-sticks. We managed very well with these substitutes for spoons and forks, the knack of using which, to a certain extent, is soon acquired. The long intervals between the dishes were beguiled with songs,[pg 43]music, and dancing, performed by professional singing and dancing girls. The music was somewhat harsh and monotonous, but the songs sounded harmonious, and the dancing was graceful, though it was rather posturing than dancing, great use being made of the fan and the long trailing skirts. The girls, who were pretty, wore peculiar dresses to indicate their calling, and seemed of an entirely different stamp from the quiet, simply-dressed waitresses whom we found so attentive to our wants. Still, they all looked cheery, light-hearted, simple creatures, and appeared to enjoy immensely the little childish games they played amongst themselves between whiles.

“After dinner we had some real Japanese tea, tasting exactly like a little hot water poured on very fragrant new-mown hay. Then, after a brief visit to the kitchen, which, though small, was beautifully clean, we received our boots, and were bowed out by our pleasant hostess and her attentive handmaidens.”

Recommending the perusal of the interesting works last quoted, let us finish our trip on paper at its natural termination, so far as the route from San Francisco is concerned, in China, to which country the American vessels take us in a week or so.

Hong Kong is a commercial port of the first order, but has not come up to the expectations once made of it. It has not progressed in the same ratio as has Shanghai. Its situation is picturesque.“Fancy to yourself the rock of Gibraltar, on a large scale, looking to the north. There facing us isterra firma. Let us scramble up to the flag-staff, proudly standing on the highest peak of the mountain. The sun, which is already low, bathes sky, earth, and sea in crude, fantastic, exaggerated lights. Woe be to the painter who should dare reproduce such effects! Happy would he be if he could succeed!

“Towards the south, the sun and the fogs are fighting over the islands, which at this moment stand out in black groups on a liquid gold ground, framed in silver. Towards the north we look over the town, officially called Victoria, and vulgarly Hong Kong. It is stretched out at our feet, but we only perceive the roofs, the courts, and the streets; further on the roadstead is crowded with frigates, corvettes, gun-boats, steamers belonging to the great companies, and an infinity of smaller steam and sailing vessels of less tonnage. In front of us, at three or four miles distance, is a high chain of rocks, bare and rugged, but coloured by the setting sun with tints of rose colour and crimson, resembling a huge coral bracelet. That is the continent. Towards the west are the two passages which lead to Canton and Macao; to the north-east is a third passage, by which we ourselves have come. The sea here is like a lake, bordered on one side by the rocks ofterra firma, and on the other by the peaks and summits of the Hong Kong cliffs. I have seen in many other lands softer and more harmonious effects of light, but I never saw any so strange.

“Victoria is charming, sympathetic, and imposing: English and yet tropical—a mixture of cottages and palaces. Nowhere can be found a happier combination between the poetry of nature and the prose of commercial life; between English comfort and the intoxicating exuberance of the south. The streets, which are well macadamised, well kept, and beautifully clean, run in a serpentine fashion along the rock, sometimes between houses, of which the rather pretentious façades are coquettishly veiled by the verandahs, sometimes between gardens, bamboo hedges, or stone balustrades. It is like Ventnor or Shanklin seen through a magnifying-glass and under a jet of electric light. Everywhere there are fine trees—banians, bamboos,[pg 44]and pines. One may go on foot from one end of Hong Kong to the other, and yet always be in the shade. No one dreams of walking. Nothing is to be seen but chairs or palanquins. The coolies, their heads sheltered by enormous straw hats, carry you at a rattling pace. Nothing can be more delicious than a night promenade in an open sedan-chair. In the lower part of the town the scene is most animated and busy; officers and soldiers in red uniforms and with swarthy complexions (Sepoys), Parsees, Hindoos, Chinese, Malays, European ladies in elegant toilets, and men and women with yellowish skins, dressed like Europeans (half-caste Portuguese). The higher you climb the quieter you find it. Insensibly the town turns into country. Scramble up still a little higher, and you are in the middle of rocks, bare of trees, but covered with odoriferous shrubs, and traversed by a fine macadamised road, with glimpses of views here and there of marvellous beauty.”19

THE CUSTOM HOUSE, SHANGHAI.THE CUSTOM HOUSE, SHANGHAI.

THE CUSTOM HOUSE, SHANGHAI.

Shanghai, as another leading port, would naturally be visited by the tourist of leisure, and it affords a wonderful example of English enterprise. It is by nature the port of Suchow, ninety miles up the great Yang-tse-Kiang river. Near the city its flat, green, cultivated[pg 45]banks recall the Humber in Yorkshire. The port is crowded with foreign shipping: great American steamships, the boats of the English P. and O. Company, those of the French“Messageries,”merchant steamers straight from London, Liverpool, and Glasgow, and sailing vessels in numbers. In a picturesque point of view the place has little to recommend it, but commercially it is a lively place, nine-tenths of the capital employed being English, and the white population counting at least six Englishmen to all the rest of the foreigners put together. There are three“concessions,”i.e., tracts ceded by the Chinese to the English, French, and Americans, for commercial purposes. Stone being scarce, these concessions are fringed by enormous wooden wharves, slips, and piers, outside the warehouses, depôts, and stores. There are streets of well-filled shops, where everything is to be obtained that could be bought in the Strand or Oxford Street. In this point of view, Hübner tells us, neither Yokohama nor any other European town in Asia, saving Calcutta and Bombay, can bear a comparison with Shanghai. The Chinese do not adopt numerals for their shops and warehouses, but use mottoes and descriptive titles, and the great English houses have adopted the custom of the country. Messrs. Dent & Co. have for theirnom de maison,“Precious and Obliging,”while Messrs. Jardine & Co. are known, not as number 45, or what-not, but as“Honest and Harmonious.”

VIEW OF HONOLULU, SANDWICH ISLANDS.VIEW OF HONOLULU, SANDWICH ISLANDS.

VIEW OF HONOLULU, SANDWICH ISLANDS.

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