New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-08-11

correspondent of the Boston Globe fur
nishes some pleasant and unpleasant read
ing about the Chinese city of Shanghai,
Pits tea gardens and prisons. The tea gar
dens on ordinary days are not much visited,
but on Sundays they are filed to overflow
ing with persons IN pursuit of pleasure.
| This is doubtless one of the effects of Shang-
hal being foreign port. In any purely
Chinese town Sunday is like any other day.
| The gardens, we are told, cover an area of
some four or five acres. In the centre is q
| pond, with an island crowned by a tea
| house, approached by zigzag bridges,
| There are several other tea-hOuses about
/ the place, all built in the most ultra Chi
nese style, A space OtabOut an acre in one
| corner is walled off for the special deleota-
| ton of the TaOutai's wives, or anybody else
| who can afford to pay for the privilege of
| going in. The gardens are not very beauti-
full and it is more the people and things to
be seen there than the grounds that attract
foreigners.
Scattered over the place are various
vendors of cakes, oranges, ETC., all of whom
much prefer gambling with the visitors
than selllngrtheir wares. Numerous peep
shows, and other places of entertainment
are scattered over the grounds, the most at
tractive of which are said to be those of
the cOnjurors. These perform on the bare
ground a variety of tricks that might even
orally patronized by native and foreigner,
the enjoyment afforded to each class being
about equally great.
Half mile distant, in the direction of the
city, are the prisons. Behind a row of
strong wooden bars, says the writer, is a
chamber full of a mass of seething and
writhing humanity, swarming over each
other in heaps, more like a lump of maggOts
on dead dogs carcass than so many fell
lOw-men. Those in front thrust their arms
out between the bars, begging for food like
monkeys in a cage, while, in the dim OBJ
security of the background, pallid, blenched
faces, void of all expression, are turned
blinkingly on the observer Some of them
are chained to the wall, without room to lie
down, sweltering with heat, and smothered
with Vermin and filth The endurance of
such punishment would kill nine ordinary
people out of ten in day; but, if this CORE
spOndent is to be believed, it does not affect
these wretched creatures except when
fever attacks them. In addition to this pun
ishment, says the writer, they have several
round cages about two feet in diameter
and over five feet high, made of stout
wooden bars, wide apart. The top is like
the head of barrel, with hole no larger
than an ordinary mans neck in it; the
wretched victim is put in this, and the hole
at the top is fitted round his neck. The
cage Is chosen so that his feet shall not
touch the ground, and a brick or two put
in, so that he can just rest his toes on them;
and there he is left to die. No food or
drink being given him he would speedily
starye; but it is not that that kills him. he
soon has cramp in his legs, and to relieve
it has TO try to cling by his legs and arms
to the bars and to hang by his chin. Soon
his limbs are covered with sores from his
and then the flies come. In about
three days a shapeless, tortured halt
devoured mass of flesh, death relieves him
from further pain,' And these are the ten
der nlercies of the Chinese.