CHAPTER II.

CANTON: THE METROPOLIS OF THE "MIDDLE KINGDOM."

JUMPING off the boat which brought me to Canton, I began to thread my way through the motley labyrinths before me towards the house of a missionary friend, trusting more to instinct for guidance than to any knowledge that I possessed of the locality. The first thing I tried to find was a street; and, after pushing along through an indefinite number of passage-ways, I came to a long lane, a few yards wide, in which throngs of people were going back and forth. Joining the Chinese current, I was carried rapidly along, continuing meanwhile my unsophisticated search for a "street," until at last it dawned upon me that my notion of what constituted a street was undoubtedly different from the Chinese notion, and that these narrow and dingy defiles, through which the populace were edging their way with wonderful dexterity, were really the avenues for trade and travellers, and must be taken as the celestial equivalent for streets. So, looking

as wise and comfortable as the chattering crowd and slippery pavement would permit, I elbowed my way along with perfect gravity, holding on to my pockets, and wondering why the moving and chattering crowd of celestials took things so coolly. I did not seem to be such a curiosity to them as they were to me; and though some stopped and stared, and others ran away, yet the rabble kept on its course, and nobody cared-much less cleared the road-for a foreigner. In fact, the "get-out-of-theway" spirit was on the other side of the affair. A mandarin procession came trotting along; how it was going to squeeze by I could not imagine, for streets two yards wide are not over-accommodating to big chairs carried by coolies. The crowd, however, slipped into little nooks and crevices, and I took refuge in a store, while the mandarin went by, fat and serene as you please, with runners in front, and donkey-mounted secretaries behind him.

The sights of a Chinese street are a marvellous mixture of incongruities, and everything appears crowded up together, as if people scarcely had room to move or breathe. The stores are ranged thickly on both sides, and resemble great booths or stalls, being entirely open in front, and having substantial counters and chairs and shelves. Their goods are

ranged on the shelves around the three sides of the room, or else in showcases, so that the passer-by may see at a glance all that the shop contains, Every store has its own little "god-house," or sacred tablet and inscription, in a prominent place high up on the wall, and before these tapers are continually burning and incense is offered. Another little shrine, with tablet, to the "God of Wealth," is also placed at the entrance, and before this tapers and joss-paper are burned each evening, just after the shutters are put up in front of the shop. By far the most striking effect in the street is caused by long sign-boards, which hang down from iron brackets, and are so thick that you can only see a short distance ahead. These boards are colored green, blue, and red, and are inscribed with heavy gilt letters; or the names are carved and the alternate characters are colored differently, so that with its variety of hues the crowded causeway has a very gaudy appearance. The Canton streets are celebrated for their cleanliness, but of their odors on a warm day I will not speak. They are all paved with granite slabs, worn smooth and slippery by the tread of generations. These slabs are very long and about a foot wide, and they lie crosswise over the road. Directly under them are the sewers,

which open up to the air through the numerous crevices of the pavement.

The atmosphere is not usually unpleasant though, and there is always so much incense burning, so many fire-crackers exploding, such quantities of sandal-wood, spice, fruit, sugar-cane, and other odoriferous substances exposed for sale, that it takes a long time to discriminate between the scents that please and those that do not. It must be remembered, also, that most of the streets here— many of them main streets-are scarcely as wide as the sidewalk in front of an American house; and if one can imagine miles of such lanes, intersected at irregular intervals by similar crooked and twisting cross-paths, an idea may be gained of what labyrinths Canton is made up. This system is utterly perplexing to a new-comer, and one could not possibly find his way around without an experienced guide; for there are no parks or open spaces whence a general view of the situation may be ob-. tained. Nothing can be seen above but a strip of sky between the projecting eaves of the houses; and even this opening is not unfrequently covered with boards or matting.

Canton impresses one from the first as a vast and populous city; and, indeed, it ranks, in most