The Sun.
London, England, 1862-06-02 00:00:00

A CHINESE TOWER.

Our tower was a very jolly
place for invalids—in fact,
it was one of those places that either kill or cure ; and while
it proceeded at once to benefit me, it soon threatened to do
for my companion. Loopholes are very romantic things to
peep through (more especially if some fair face be attempt-
ing to do PO at the same moment) ; they are interesting, no
doubt, and they have their uses occasionally; but the fact
is, we had rather too many of them. There were no less
than eighteen loopholes in this large upper room where we
captives chose to sleep ; and as the season was wet and
cold, the country bleak and hilly, it may well be believed
that they were occasionally 4 regarded with " the eye of
eur,ing." It was in vain that we filled them with pieces of
wood, and pasted them over with paper; that only served
to create a more hideous noise at night, and by no means to
keep out the 'damp chill wind which howled round our
tower. Then the lofty room was simply composed of tiles,
which admitted more wind; the boards below were not parti-
cularly close ; and, altogether, a cage could scarcely have
been airy. The Chinese of the south never use fire, for
purposes of warmth, though those of the north cline
emetimes
(..ne and
sleep on stoves. They. meet the winter by putting on
more coats, and by sitting in'c]ose inner rooms without
windows. The cold we experienced in Kuni.tow.u. was
singularly penetrating, and no amount of clothes we had
tocovered all the hetandtex_oel
heapoli
mo
lovn,
swians
beluantlikceitean
et
aprriontgecttihoen.tpidWii}ea
of
the day, buried
t into the way of constantly wearing a Chinese and I
teafkhabodveo,f
go
green cloth, which
and rose up into a pyramidal
which might have been a disfiguremeut
lips to the eyes,
ch vils, but -vas a recommendation with the
eyes of forrign
At one time we tried an earthen pot with Celestials.
but that only burned our knees, and
the a chary fire ;
into our Ara . Our only real der smoke was whirled
was still colder water. Avh defence against the cold
intolerable, 1 emptied half a elnever I felt it getting
myself, and then took a brisk Walk 'ticket of water over
lively glow. Seldom has h d , which brought quite a
more difficult circurestaneksY ropathy been pursued under
first this process wasgone 11 or with better results. At
dis-
covered to our horror
t r, ugh on the roof, but we
spectators whose gender that the opposite tower containo
could not be determined. The
Chinese, who avoid cold
proceedings to b a indications of insanity; and the little

children used to gather round the door of the room that
was finally set apart for our baths, and comment in awe-
struck whispers on the splashing of the water. Opinions
were divided on the subject : there were some who asserted
against the explanation of insanity that the bathing was a
ecies of worship ; and others that it was done in expiation
of some horrid crime. In one of the classics of the Taiping
rebels there occurs the passage (taken, I rather think, trot's
an older work)—" Thang of the Shang dynasty, and Wang
of the Chow, honoured God with the intensest feeling : the
inscription on Shang's bathing-tub inculcated daily reno-
vation of mind, and hence God commanded him to assume
the government of the empire." Had this spirit prevailed
among the Chinese, we should at once have been elevated
to the dragon throne and placed in possession of the ver-
milion pencil ; but daily renovation' is es rare a virtue
among the Taipings as it with the Imperialists; it is even
rarer than it used to be to find Scotchmen acting on their
old adage, that " Cleanliness is next to godliness."
Returning, the writer had a taste of the delights
of the