the Chinese law, and that substitutes may be hired to undergo every legal penalty, even death itself. An additional fact, corroborating this view, is, that great pirates and robbers. have been frequently known to surrender themselves for trial, when a large reward had been offered for their apprehension; in order that their families might be rendered comfortable for life, by the price of their blood. This singular obtuseness to bodily suffering is found, more or less, among all Orientals. The most fearful tortures will rarely extract an avowal of guilt, or the betrayal of a confederate. Captain Marryatt tells a story of a Malay, whom he caught, when on service in the Eastern seas. The Captain was nearly sure that his captive possessed certain information which he wished to obtain, and finding all bribery and gentle means unavailing to make him speak, finally threatened him with death, and ordered a file of marines to be got ready for the purpose. The man was not in the least disturbed, but requested leave to finish a segar which he was smoking; and permission being given, he sat down in a port for the purpose. In a few minutes, however, he threw his segar away, though but half consumed, complaining that it did not draw well, and at once began to make preparations for his own death, by binding up his long hair in a knot, on the top of his head, and unwrapping the dhotee, a long cloth worn about the loins. Folding his dhotee, and laying it on the deck to catch his blood, he knelt down, and waited with perfect unconcern for the fatal stroke. Captain Marryatt, finding that even this means was ineffectual in overcoming the obstinacy of his prisoner, was unwilling to take life unnecessarily, and had him sent ashore, after giving him some slight presents, in admiration of his pluck.

It was in the course of the siege of Shanghae, to which I have alluded above, that the celebrated attack by about two hundred English and Americans on several thousand Chinese, occurred. The Imperial troops had taken up such a position, that the cannon-balls fired by them and the rebels in the town, constantly fell among the houses of the foreign settlement. As this was sufficiently disagreeable and dangerous, notice was given to the Imperial commander, that he had better change

his point of attack. He, however, persisted in remaining where he was, and the above number of Anglo-Saxons started one morning, with several small cannon, and a few marines and sailors from the ships, to dislodge him, and the force under his command. They succeeded in effecting their purpose, though at the cost of several lives, and numerous wounds. On taking possession of the Chinese position, it was found that there was an immense piece of artillery, masked, and crammed to the muzzle with all sorts of projectiles, which completely commanded the road up which the American detachment had marched to the attack. Had the Chinese been able to discharge this cannon, they would probably have killed or wounded most of the Americans who were concerned in this escapade.

3

CHAPTER V.

A TRIP INLAND.

Leave Shanghae for a Trip up the Canals-Our Boat-Swimming-Banks of the CanalMilitary Stations-Temples-Graves-Villages-Dress of Chinese-Town of Kwunsan-Grain Junks-Comparison of Chinese and American Governments-This part of China once Submerged-Cormorants-Approach to Soo-Chow-The City-"Foreign Devils"-Grand Canal-Heat-Hills near Soo-Chow-View of Ty-hao-Mandarin's Tomb-Tyhao-Chinese River Thieves-Their Honesty.

HAVING spent about two weeks, as above described, in the foreign settlement of Shanghae, I became anxious to see a little more of the country, than I had had the opportunity of observing in the walks and sails which we occasionally took in the afternoon. It fortunately happened that an English gentleman, whose acquaintance I had formed in Shanghae was about to go up the canals, for a ten-day excursion in his boat, and he kindly invited me to bear him company.

We started on the afternoon of the eleventh of July, and proceeded up the canal until about ten o'clock, when we anchored, and all hands turned in except one man, left awake to guard against robbers. Our boat was a regular Chinese junkshaped craft, square in the bow and stern. Her mast could be lowered when not required, and she sailed remarkably well before the wind, under her one sail of mats; but on the wind, her flat bottom prevented her from doing much. When there was no wind, we put two or three men ashore, and let them tow us by a rope made fast to the mast head. The man who remained on board assisted by sculling with one of those long, heavy, permanent sculls, with which all Chinese canal boats. are furnished, and which act at once to propel and to steer the vessel. Our boat's crew consisted of three or four sailors and a mate, who also acted as cook and servant. The length of the boat was about twenty-five feet. Of this, about twelve

feet in the waist was occupied by the cabin, which was what is termed half-poop, with windows in the sides. Low lockers which held wine, beer, &c., ran on each side the whole length of the apartment, and served as settees by day and couches by night. The remaining space was occupied by the table. There was, altogether, much more room than one had a right to expect on a boat of the size, and we had in her a most agreeable home during the trip. Of course we had to take wine, beer, coffee, bacon, butter, sugar, and such delicacies with us; but we found, wherever we went, an ample supply of eggs, fowls, fish, and a few other substantials.

On waking on the morning of the second day, we found ourselves, in a flat, but very pretty country, with numerous large trees, and a village on the side of the canal a little way ahead. We at once jumped into the canal, which was tolerably clean, and swam on ahead of the boat, which had been towing slowly since day broke. As we swam past the village before mentioned, the inhabitants espied us, and rushed down in a crowd to the water's edge. They were surprised by three things-first, by the sight of our white, and in their eyes, leprous-looking skins, since outside barbarians rarely go up this canal, and still more rarely expose their heads as we were doing, to the full force of the sun's rays; Secondly, by the fact of our swimming at all, as the inland Chinese are rarely adepts in the natatory art; Thirdly, and this would be the most marvellous feature of the case in a Chinaman's eyes, that we should voluntarily make the exertion to swim, when we could go so much more easily, in our boat. Having astonished the innocent natives, by swimming on our backs, treading water, turning summersaults, and other equally undignified performances, we terminated the exhibition with the fearful hurrah, which is so peculiar a characteristic of the foreign white-skinned and red-haired devil, and soon afterwards reëntered our boat for breakfast.

The banks of the canals in China, are mostly so high, that, from a boat like ours, the fields on each side are quite invisible the view from our cabin windows being generally remarkably similar to that which regales the eyes of railway

travellers, when passing through deep cuttings. We used, however, for some hours each day, to go ashore, and walk on the towing path, from which we could see the canal and country round. The features of the country during the first day were remarkably tame, but the large number of boats on the canal, and foot passengers on the tow-path, relieved the monotony. The levée is raised on each side several feet above the general level of the land, and is commonly about two hundred feet broad. It is not cultivated, but covered with graves. Beyond were cultivated fields, generally of rice, and carefully irrigated by water raised from the canal, and conducted in channels, continually subdividing to every inch of soil that required watering. Every quarter of a mile at least, the levée was interrupted to give passage to the waters of a tributary canal; some large and intended for traffic, some small and used only for irrigating purposes. At such points the tow-path is continued by a stone bridge, passing over the subordinate canal; but these bridges, like most other public works which I saw in China, seemed to be generally in bad repair. We also passed frequently, military stations-wooden houses about thirty feet square, and generally out of order and deserted, either from the troops having been called up country to oppose the rebels, or from the military mandarin's finding it profitable to draw the money for their support from the imperial treasury, without going to the expense of keeping them up. Joss-houses, as foreigners call the Boodhist temples, were also of frequent occurrence on the levées, but no care seemed to be taken of them, and, in many instances, they were used either as workshops, or as storehouses for grain or agricultural implements. Their shape and internal arrangements were the same as I have before described, when speaking of similar buildings in Shanghae.

The graves which I have before said cover the levées, seem here to merit a description. When a Chinese dies, his body, protected from offensive decomposition by quick-lime and similar substances, is encased in numerous coffins, the outer one being as magnificent a specimen of the joiner's art as the relatives can afford. Thus encased, the corpse is either kept