X.-ABOARD THE "FUNG SHUN.” ΟΝ N the 1st of October, 1888, I left Shanghai for the more northern treaty port of Chefoo, of late years the sanitarium of the Protestant Missions in North China, which is situated in the Gulf of Pechili, on the northern side of the Shantung Promontory, in lat. 37° 33" 20' N., and 121° 02" E. It was a splendid day, and a nice exhilarating breeze from the northward cooled the atmosphere. After tiffin, I hired a fly and drove along the Bund to the C.M.S.N. Co's offices, and booked my passage in the "Fung-Shun," which I was informed would not leave before five o'clock. I then told the driver to turn up the Maloo; and away we rattled, for indeed those hired chariots do make a great clamour which is obnoxious to persons of a retiring disposition, but somewhat beneficial and indispensable to the swarms of buzzing brokers who are thus advertised and somewhat previously announced to the banks and hongs by the bone-shaking rattle of the dislocated fly. The Maloo, or Nankin Road, crosses the Settlement from east to west, and divides it into two nearly equal parts. The first half is lined on either side with European shops, but the western half is exclusively Chinese; the broad 60ft. road being lined on both sides with two-storied wooden houses, built in 1861 and 1863 to accommodate the everincreasing population. This paved thoroughfare terminates at a wooden bridge spanning the Defence Creek, which forms the western boundary of the Settlement. To the left lies the Racecourse and Recreation Ground, a broad expanse of level grassy ground, continually kept in order by a staff of Chinese gardeners. In this enclosure stands a handsome Grand Stand, as races are held at Shanghai in April and November, when the best horses are usually brought up from Hong Kong by their owners to compete for the handsome prizes. The ponies entered for the races generally originate from the north of China-chiefly from Tientsin; and these "griffins" are sold periodically at the Horse Bazaar at an average of Tls. 50. * The country road beyond the Defence Creek, known as the Bubbling Well Road, is the favourite drive for foreigners and is lined on each side with broad-spreading trees and secluded villas. After traversing this tree-shaded way for a distance of nearly three miles, lanes branch off to the right and left. The one to the south leads to the village of Sickawei, where a large Roman Catholic Monastery and Observatory have long existed; and from this point a thoroughfare conducts to the French Settlement. Near this road stood a once famous "Baby Tower," destroyed in 1864-a small oval building, in which parents, unwilling or too poor to meet the cost of interment, and from other more heinous motives, deposited the corpses of their children. As infanticide is allowed, and consequently common in China, these ghastly towers are to be seen in all parts of the country, and are partly filled with quicklime. The name "Bubbling Well" originated from a pit or well, about 12ft. deep and 7ft. square, which stands near a pretty little temple called the Tsing Gan Sze, or "Red Joss House." At the bottom of this well there is from 3ft. to 4ft. of water; and a large quantity of gas, bubbling from the bottom, keeps the surface in constant ebullition. After a pleasant drive along the Bubbling Well Road to Sicawei and back, I proceeded to the Kinl-ee Yuen wharf, situated in the French Concession. My "boy" was waiting there with my luggage. Discharging the fly, I went aboard the "Fung-Shun," which was working cargo. A couple of stewards deposited my luggage in a spacious berth in the saloon, where I found old Capt. C――g writing at the cabin table. I had made his acquaintance before, * One Haikwan or Customs Tael is equivalent to one dollar and a half. so felt confident that with him as my host the trip would be a pleasant one. Slapping me cordially on the shoulder with one hand, while grasping my hand with the other, he called the "Celestial" steward, and told him to bring the "whisky and soda" along. There is no doubt he was a most genial and courteous old gentleman, who had had considerable experience on the China coast, and was a most popular man; for China captains differ from the generality of men of their profession-they are a more hospitable, easy-going set, who philosophically stick to their lucrative posts, making the best of life in the Far East, removed from the social pleasures of Western civilization, until they have "made their pile," and are able to return home, to pass the rest of their days in happy retirement, brightened by the reminiscences of a wellspent sojourn in the far-off "Flowery Land." Even now, when thinking upon those days, I am wont to associate old Captain C--g with them, and to recall the dry anecdotes with which he would regale us, while doing justice to the ample board, or sitting in his snug cabin and enjoying a smoke. During my experience of travel I have generally found that one becomes more sociable on a short trip than on a long one, for the simple reason that, knowing you are soon going ashore, you endeavour to make yourself agreeable and to enjoy the novelty of the situation. Whereas, on a long passage, you do not exert yourself to be very sociable and form acquaintances, unless, of course, you are troubled with mal de mer or mal de penates, and require sympathy, owing to the fact that you are fully conscious that there is ample time for such diversion and more than a fair amount of shaking-up in prospect. Therefore, while soberly contemplating these and other novelties which only those who go "down to the sea in ships" are capable of realising, you become morose, your shipmates cynical and wearisome, and the mode of locomotion monotonous and unsatisfactory; until at length you get near the welcome port of destination. Then, snail-like, you all come "out of your shells" and, while trying to be thoroughly jolly good fellows, and show how elated you are to have neared the end of your journey in safety, |