Peeps Into China; Or, The Missionary's Children

nd his family had left England, they arrived in the beautifu

ty-the teacher, a Chinese maid, and little Chu, the lat

O THE PORT

eight, a capital view of the entrance to the port. To the front of the mountain were some European houses, belonging to English merchants from Amoy. The port of Takow is a very difficult one at which to anchor, and is closed for commerce during six months of the year, whilst the wind is blowing in an adverse direction; but when the wind and tide are favourable, barks pass be

gh treaties, have been thrown open to foreign trade, t

ME NORTH

conspicuous. The gong, used everywhere in China, was much in use here also; and as in other places men carried things by balancing them across their shoulders, so also they did here. But as Mr. Graham's special object in coming to this island was to visit Poahbi, the fir

MEN OF

ng white calico dresses, were hard at work in the fields. Many of the women of Fo

them from the rich and beautiful lands that were then theirs, and had belonged to their a

the people stared at the foreigners, and laughed at them, many wished to make them welcome in their midst. One woman gave them sh

p, themselves. Pepohoans are good builders, and do also much work in the fields. They have a most affectionate remem

OW, A TOWN

pipes, chop-sticks, goblets, paper, and pens. Many of the Pepohoans' habitations were built on three sides of a four-cornered spot, with a yard in the centre, where the families sometimes passed their evenings together. The natives assembled here, in numbers, at about nine o'clock, where they made a fire when it was cold. Old and young people here often formed a circle on the ground, sitting together with their arms crossed, smoking, and talking. It was not unusual for dogs also to surround them. These people were fond of singing, but played no musical i

k different dialects. The people of one tribe, the most savage of all, are very warlike, and think nothing of killing and eating their Chinese neighbours when they

EERS OF

d for Sybil's letters. Sybil also liked being here very much; "but if she had only seen," Leonard said, what he and his father saw one day, when they went for a ramble through the

hed its dreadful-looking head out, hissing towards him, the brave, self-possessed little fellow, who held a stick in his hand, struck his deadly foe with it with all his might, and hit and aimed so well that he had the satisfaction, the next moment, of seeing the serpent roll over and over down the rock. But then the further one (which, although rather smaller than the other, measured ab

had imagined when she heard that Formosa was inhabited by serpents, she was glad also t

S AND TH

been in Formosa for some time, and now called upon Mr. Graham and his family, who were staying at the c

OF THE SA

opening out a new passage across the land, and flowing away towards the eastern plain. Great mountain heights surrounded the bed of the river, and the violence of the torrent carried away very large quantities of all

TS OF

IVER LALUNG DURI

ly how the violence of waters can quite tr

ung, during the dry season, as an explorer, when he had taken off his boots and socks, so as

him on this occasion, which seemed t

ow. In crossing the channel, which separates the island fro

Chinese call Fo

ord means the t

hasn't a harbour

and to the west are flat and fer

hat there are some wild beast

rdy say so: leopards

Mrs. Graham said. "I wonder if you and Sybil c

"sugar, wheat, beans,

plums," Leonard ended. "We saw most of these t

mphor, and many fruits tha

se, belongs to Fukien?" Sybil said, "as

es

he aborigines? she

n by telling her that he believe

number of missionaries could not be sen

were driven away?" Leonard asked.

hem out in 1662, and made himself king of the western part. In 1683 his descendants submitted to the autho

long, have they, that the is

since ab

ants has Tha?-ouan, the

0,000, but it is now de

her," Sybil said. "I wi

you come across, and try to remember what you hear and what you re

AT

Formosa they landed at Swatow, the port of Chaou-Chou-foo, in the province of Kwang-tung, where once again, for a f

CH

moy, which some people say have been caused to appear through volcanic irruptions. On them also were Chinese inscriptions. Leonard was delighted because the Chinese teacher cu

was a very large building, was

OF S

pen fans. The Chinese are fond of decorating their rooms and painting their ornaments, and the people of Swatow seemed to be better painters than the Chin

represent a large shell. A young lady, to whom Sybil was introduced, had the thickest hair that she had ever seen. She and other Chinese girls wore it hanging down their backs in twists. She was just fift

led pidgin, or business English, because many business, or shop, people and those who mix most with the English, speak this strange language to them; but Sybil could understand hardly any of it. Before E-Chung heard that Sybil had a brother, she said to her, "You one piecee chilo?" meaning to ask if she were t

er pale complexion. E-Chung wished very much to enamel Sybil's face, as she did her

and often keep their amahs, or maids, from t

BI