The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1874-05-22

great luxury, they get hold of few bad
eggs, and break them over the rice. The
| shops are not often more than IL or 15 feet
wide and about as deep, to brick wall,
where there is a small door, to get in be-
| hind, and behind that wall they live; but
they seem to do all their feeding right in
| the shop. Nearly every house is shop.
A few mandarins and people of that sort
live in large brick places and have no
| stores, but they are certainly q nation of
traders, and the man who gets ahead of one
of them in trade, has got to get up very
early in the morning. Every house in the
| town has little niche built in the wall
somewhere, and they keep it always full of
Josh sticks burning, consequently you
smell nothing but this incense. It is per-
fectly horrid and suffocating; but very of
ten it is kept under by worse smells. So
between the two, your natural impulse is
to hold your nose. In the way of smells
you may add that Fourth of July odor from
shooting crackers In one of these little
narrow streets they let them off, not one
cracker at time, as | used to do when
boy, but half dozen packs, put in bas-
ket and all let off at once, as likely as not
just at your heels as you walk along and
then the devils laugh to see you jump
Tdeir great object in life seems to be to
make noise. There was never moment,
while was in Canton, that did not hear
crackers going off. Even wake up in the
| middle Of the night it was the same thing,
and add gongs, horns, fiddlcs, bells and
| drums.
There are some few shops that have
| fronts, and small doors to enter, but even
those are all one high story open up to the
| roof, and built of black brick inside. The
| temples are the same dark looking places,
full of "joshes" or gods with an immense
smell of josh sticks, and little lamps, with
priest or two knocking about to take
charge of the money the people bring when
| they come to "chin, chin" their -ioshes;
| that is to pray to them. Their gods are
called "joshes." They have no good ones,
| believe, but simply pray to the bad ones
to leave them alone. They think the bad
gods don't like the smell of josh sticks, and
| that's why they keep so many of them burn
| ing. Of course | saw the pagodas and all
the temples, but every body is posted
about them.
! | took look into one the city PRISONS
found it rather hard place and did not
stay long. | saw man slung up in the
air in a big basket. Some months ago the
judges tried to make him confess to some
thing and because he would not do it
they broke all his bones. He is still alive,
but has lost his mind, which think is
quite possible under the circumstances
He was the most horrid looking sight | ev-
er looked on.
The city is divided off into wards, with
lots of gates every where, and after nine at
night, each ward is shut up to ITSELF which
prevents all prowling around, because they
can't get through a gate without pass from
the Tartar General.
| must say that the brick and stone work
done by these people is as fine as any l
ever saw. The bricks are about the size of
ours, and the laying and jointing is ele-
CANT There is lots of granite work, and
that is all beautifully done. They keep
store just about as we do; have their goods
nicely fixed on shelves and in cases, but
| they never show half they have, and to all
appearances don't seem to care a cent
whether you buy or not. Every thing is
awfully cheap compared with prices in the
United States, and people who import Chi
ma goods into the I. S. must make lots of
money. They make lovely furniture. The
chairs, sofas and beds most all have mar
BILE bottoms, that is in fine furniture; eve
rything is deliberately carved and the wood
black
There are about 800 white people in
Canton, and half of them are missionaries,
who evidently have better living out here
than they could possibly get at home They
are not the martyrs you would suppose
| One of the finest houses on the "Charmine"
(the English and French reservations be.
longs to some missionaries. have always
been opposed to this foreign missionary
business, simply because there is plenty of
room i'll our own country, for the expendi-
OF all the money and talent that can be
gotten. Since have come to China, and
have heard something of the working of
the business out here, l am still more salts
fed that | am right in my views, for rea-
sons too numerous to mention. | did not
intend to touch on the missionary question,
but have heard so much of it out here, it
is impossible not to say something. One
of the greatest curiosities in this part of
the world is Christian Cinnamon.
The white population nearly all live on
Charmine, which is an island of about 80
acres, connected with the city by two
bridges. No Chinese are allowed on the
reservation, but servants, and those on
business. 1t is lovely spot, has nice
praya or water front, walled up from the
water, lovely flowers, trees, club, bowling
alley, billiard rooms and library, and lots
OF very handsome houses.
have endeavored to give you some idea
of Canton, in my poor way, but when l
begin to write | can never think of any
thing. | forgot to say there are no horses
used. Everything is carried by the coolies
on bamboo poles, resting on their should
ers, and when four of these fellows come
along street, you have to step in a shop
to prevent being knocked over.
will try and send you another letter
from Macao in few days. l expect to go
down there Saturday. 1t is celebrated
place on account of being the head quar-
tiers of the great Coolie trade, now done
away with. A. N.