Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-19

and 1t will probably remain there for a
year. His funeral procession was from one
of his houses to another The house in
which he died was hung with white satin,
for white is here the color Of mourning.
Upon the walls were banners of satin with
Ching ChangS name and titles embroidered
upon them in gold. The house was lighted
with lanterns of white satin and his coffin
was great casket covered with white.
The body was left for some ,ime ~ the
house where he died. 1t was laid in the
coffin and rested in state In one Of the
largest rooms. Beside 1t his eldest son slept
every night and about Ii the family walled
in the daytime. All the sons wer, dressed
in sackcloth, the garb of mo l"ning. They
spent their days in going to their fIt"e S
favorite room to vail, and once every hour
they came in a body and walled around
the coffin.
During the same time there was a great
wake in the house. The ROOM; and hall
ways were filled with tables AID the feast
ing went on for week. The, We're nFc
Chinese bands in different parts of the great
structure. These filed the house with
mourning music, and behind the curtains
near them came an accompaniment of wall
ing from the women Of the family ana some
hired mourning howlers.
The funeral was a grand one The cot
fin was carried through the streets OF
Shanghai to the other house, at when
time the procession was so great that IL
took three hours for It to pass a given
point Ching Chang's women, wives ana
relatives. all dressed in white, rode IN
chairs behind the coffin. There were MI?
men in white on horseback, ten Chinese
bands and an army of servants carrying
various things. 1t was, indeed, much IKE
n trades procession in the United States
or the Mardi Gras show at New Orleans
Canton millionaire.
Some of the richest men Cf China live at
Canton. The city is full of ilapobs. 1t has
scores of capitalists and many rich mer-
chants 1t has families which have been
rich for generations, corresponding sone-
what to the Astors and Nanacrhilta OF New
York. One of the most famous of these -
the Hou Qua family. founded by million
aire who was a sort of a George Peabody
or w. w. Corcoran in his ptli.;,r ,hropy.
This Hou Qua was one vi ;he richest men
of Canton at the time that city was threat
ened with bombardment % the tnghsh:
The English men-of-war wee IN front OF
it and their commanders had sent wore
that unless the Chinese would nay them
Sc 100000 within forty-eight hours fhey
would reduce the city to ruins. The money
was raised by Hou Qua, who started a
subscription with 81 ,000O0o out of his own
pocket, to which he afterward added an
extra hundred thousand dollars. In giving
this money he itemized it as follows:
II give SS00,0 as thank offering Tor
the business prosperity l have had. give
5000 as a monument to the affection
which / bear my wife, and Sl0o,o'o as
thanks for the fidelity and filial piety OF
my SON..
When Hou Qua died he was worth about
$4,000 600. He had vast estates. streets
of houses and many factories and stores.
His gardens are still among the sights OF
Canton, and his name among the ChlneSe
is synonymous with business honor.
The George Gould of Canton.
/ venture Hou Qua's wealth when he
died was about equal to the amount left
by Jay Gould. He was IN power the Jay
Could Of Sontb China His might
be called the George Gould of Canton. 1
met the son during one of my visits to
that city. He is about sixty years of age,
although he looks much younger. He is
very intelligent, speaks some English and
has many modern ways
At his invitation ! went to sec him at
his palace on the banks of the Pearl
river, and spent an afternoon in going
through his establishment. We walked
through a wilderness OF buildings filled
with his servants and relatives, and as We
did so I asked him how many children,
sisters. cousins, uncleS and auntS he had
with him. He replied that the number
was something like four hundred. reply
which did not surprise me, for l had been
told that the rich man in China is cx-
pected to support all his poor relatives.
4 Shanghai CrocSus.
Fortune making at the ports is by no
means confined to the Chinese. There are
many rich foreigners, and now ana then
one of them marries a Chinese. This was
the case with the richest man in Shanghai
Geo. McBain He is Scotchman,
who came out here SO poor that he
handled freight on the wharves. He saved
his money and bought one little boat after
another until he was able to establish
transportation line and go into general
speculation. He made money right along,
and he is now worth his millions.
But the most curious thing about George
McBain is the romance of his marriage.
He has always been interested in charitable
work and has given lots of money to the
different institutions about Shanghai.
Among others he patroniZed the French
mission school, giving it both money and
advice. Upon going through the school
some years ago one of the sisters called his
attention to a bright little half cast girl,
saying that she had found her running
about the streets of NingpO and had taken
her into the charity department Of the mis-
SION.
The little one was then about ten years
of age and was already very pretty Nc
Balm talked with her and found her az
bright as she was beautiful. He thought so
much of her that he told the sisters to put
her in the pay department of the school, and
he would pay the bills. Later on he sent
her to Europe to be educated She was
taught English, Italian and French. and
when she returned at the age of eighteen
she was as well educated as almost any
American girl of her age. McBan was
more delighted with her than ever. He
proposed marriage, she accepted and the
two were welded.
This was nine years ago, and today Mrs.
McBain, yellow faced and Acknowledged
though she IS. ranks as an accomplshed
lady in Shanghai. She has the most beau
tifuly furnished house in the city. 1t Is
a big thrce-story mansion, with a beautiful
garden about it, so large that it takes
twelve gardeners to keep 1t in order. She
has one of the finest collections of china
and curos, and she has shown herself
woman of excellent taste. She has had
seven children, and says she wants a dozen.
The children sent out to drive every
day. They go all together, and it takes
small omnibus to carry them.
FRANK G.. CARPENTER
The Power of an Ocean Liner.