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beauties, mixed indiscriminately with handmaids, dancers, and musicians, as fast asleep as themselves. The business, however, is not thus quietly ended. As soon as the sun begins to call forth the blushes of the morn, by lifting the veil that shades her slumbering eyelids, the faithful slaves rub their own clear of any lurking drowsiness, and then tug their respective mistresses by the toe or the shoulder, to rouse them up to perform the devotional ablutions usual at the dawn of day. All start mechanically, as if touched by a spell; and then commences the splashing of water and the muttering of prayers, presenting a singular contrast to the vivacious scene of a few hours before. This duty over, the fair devotees shake their feathers like birds from a refreshing shower, and tripping lightly forward with garments, and perhaps looks, a little the worse for the wear of the preceding evening, plunge at once again into all the depths of its amusements. Coffee, sweetmeats, kaliouns, as before, accompany every obstreperous repetition of the midnight song and dance; and all being followed up by a plentiful breakfast of rice, meats, fruits, &c. towards noon the party separate, after having spent between fifteen and sixteen hours in this riotous festivity.

Travels in the East, by the REV. HORATIO SOUTHGATE (1840), describe the traveller's route through Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Koordistan, Persia, and Mesopotamia, and give a good account of the Mohammedan religion, and its rites and ceremonies. The following is a correction of a vulgar error :

[Religious Status of Women in the Mohammedan System.]

behind a lattice; and something of the same kind I have observed among the Christians of Mesopotamia. Letters from the South, two volumes, 1837, by MR THOMAS CAMPBELL, the poet, give an account of a voyage made by that gentleman to Algiers. The letters are descriptive, without any political or colonial views, but full of entertaining gossip and poetical sketches of striking and picturesque objects. The grandeur of the surrounding mountain scenery seems to have astonished Mr Campbell. The African highlands,' he says, 'spring up to the sight not only with a sterner boldness than our own, but they borrow colours from the sun unknown to our climate, and they are marked in clouds of richer dye. The farthest-off summits appeared in their snow like the turbans of gigantic Moors, whilst the nearer masses glared in crimson and gold under the light of morning.'

Six Years' Residence in Algiers, by MRS BROUGHTON, published in 1839, is an interesting domestic chronicle. The authoress was daughter to Mr Blanckley, the British consul-general at Algiers ; and the work is composed of a journal kept by Mrs Blanckley, with reminiscences by her daughter, Mrs Broughton. The vivacity, minute description, and kindly feeling everywhere apparent in this book, render it highly attractive.

ALEXANDER, two volumes, 1838, describe a journey Discoveries in the Interior of Africa, by SIR JAMES from Cape-Town, of about four thousand miles, and occupying above a year, towards the tracts of country inhabited by the Damaras, a nation of which very little was known, and generally the The place which the Mohammedan system assigns country to the north of the Orange River, on the to woman in the other world has often been wrongfully west coast. The author's personal adventures are represented. It is not true, as has sometimes been interesting, and it appears that the aborigines are a reported, that Mohammedan teachers deny her admis-kind and friendly tribe of people, with whom Sir sion to the felicities of Paradise. The doctrine of the Koran is, most plainly, that her destiny is to be determined in like manner with that of every accountable being; and according to the judgment passed upon her is her reward, although nothing definite is said of the place which she is to occupy in Paradise. hamined speaks repeatedly of believing women,' commends them, and promises them the recompense which their good deeds deserve.

Mo

James Alexander thinks that an extended intercourse may be maintained for the mutual benefit of the colonists and the natives.

A Journal Written During an Excursion in AsiaMinor in 1838, by CHARLES FELLOWS, is valuable from the author's discoveries in Pamphylia. Mr Fellows has also written a second work, Ancient

Lycia; an Account of Discoveries made during a Second Excursion to Asia-Minor in 1840. Two recent travellers, LIEUT. J. R. WELLSTED, author of the Shores of the Red Sea (1838), and LORD LINDSAY, Travels in Arabia, the Peninsula of Sinai, and along in his Letters on Egypt, Edom, and the Holy Land (1838), supply some additional details. The scene of the encampment of the Israelites, after crossing the Red Sea, is thus described by Lord Lindsay:

The regulations of the Sunneh are in accordance with the precepts of the Koran. So far is woman from being regarded in these institutions as a creature without a soul, that special allusion is frequently made to her, and particular directions given for her religious conduct. Respecting her observance of Ramazan, her ablutions, and many other matters, her duty is taught with a minuteness that borders on indecorous precision. She repeats the creed in The bright sea suddenly burst on us, a sail in the dying, and, like other Mussulmans, says, 'In this distance, and the blue mountains of Africa beyond it faith I have lived, in this faith I die, and in this faith -a lovely vista. But when we had fairly issued into I hope to rise again.' She is required to do every- the plain on the sea-shore, beautiful indeed, most thing of religious obligation equally with men. The beautiful was the view-the whole African coast, command to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca extends from Gebel Ataka to Gebel Krarreb lay before us, to her. In my journeys, I often met with women on washed by the Red Sea-a vast amphitheatre of their way to the Holy City. They may even under- mountains, except the space where the waters were take this journey without the consent of their hus- lost in distance between the Asiatic and Libyan bands, whose authority in religious matters extends promontories. It was the stillest hour of day; the only to those acts of devotion which are not obligatory. sun shone brightly, descending to his palace in Women are not, indeed, allowed to be present in the occident; the tide was coming in with its the mosques at the time of public prayers; but the peaceful pensive murmurs, wave after wave. reason is not that they are regarded, like pagan was in this plain, broad and perfectly smooth from females, as unsusceptible of religious sentiments, but the mountains to the sea, that the children of Israel because the meeting of the two sexes in a sacred place encamped after leaving Elim. What a glorious scene is supposed to be unfavourable to devotion. This, it must then have presented! and how nobly those however, is an Oriental, not a Mohammedan prejudice. rocks, now so silent, must have re-echoed the song of The custom is nearly the same among the Christians Moses and its ever-returning chorus-Sing ye to the as among the Mussulmans. In the Greek churches Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse the females are separated from the males, and concealed and his rider hath he thrown into the sea!'

It

The French authors Chateaubriand, Laborde, and Lamartine, have minutely described the Holy Land; and in the Incidents of Travel in Egypt, Arabia, and the Holy Land, by J. L. STEPHENS, the latest information respecting these interesting countries will be found.

Various works on India have appeared, including a general political history of the empire, by SIR JOHN MALCOLM (1826), and a Memoir of Central India (1823), by the same author. Travels in the Himmalayan Provinces of Hindostan and the Punjaub, in Ladakh and Cashmere, in Peshawar, Cabul, &c. from 1819 to 1825, by W. MOORCROFT and GEORGE TREBECK, relate many new and important particulars. Mr Moorcroft crossed the great chain of the Himmala mountains near its highest part, and first drew attention to those stupendous heights, rising in some parts to above 27,000 feet. A Tour through the Snowy Range of the Himmala Mountains was made by MR JAMES BAILLIE FRASER (1820), who gives an interesting account of his perilous journey. He visited Gangootrie, an almost inaccessible haunt of superstition, the Mecca of Hindoo pilgrims, and also the spot at which the Ganges issues from its covering of perpetual snow. In 1825 Mr Fraser published a Narrative of a Journey into Khorasan, in the years 1821 and 1822, including an Account of the Countries to the north-east of Persia. The following is a brief sketch of a Persian town:

dom Sketches taken during a Residence in one of the Northern Provinces of Western India. The authoress resided some years in the province of Cutch, and gives a minute account of the feudal government and customs, the religious sects and superstitions of the people. The aristocratic distinctions of caste are rigidly preserved, and the chiefs are haughty, debauched, and cruel.

[Sacrifice of a Hindoo Widow.]

[From Mrs Postans's Cutch, or Random Sketches,' &c.] News of the widow's intentions having spread, a great concourse of people of both sexes, the women clad in their gala costumes, assembled round the pyre. In a short time after their arrival the fated victim appeared, accompanied by the Brahmins, her relatives, and the body of the deceased. The spectators showered chaplets of mogree on her head, and at her constancy and virtue. The women especially greeted her appearance with laudatory exclamations pressed forward to touch her garments-an act which is considered meritorious, and highly desirable for absolution and protection from the evil eye.'

The widow was a remarkably handsome woman, apparently about thirty, and most superbly attired. Her her, and by a complete indifference to the preparamanner was marked by great apathy to all around tions which for the first time met her eye. From this circumstance an impression was given that she might be under the influence of opium; and in conformity with the declared intention of the European officers present to interfere should any coercive measures be officers were requested to give their opinion on the subject. They both agreed that she was quite free from any influence calculated to induce torpor or intoxication.

Captain Burnes then addressed the woman, desiring to know whether the act she was about to perform were voluntary or enforced, and assuring her that, should she entertain the slightest reluctance to the fulfilment of her vow, he, on the part of the British government, would guarantee the protection of her life and property. Her answer was calm, heroic, and constant to her purpose: I die of my own free will; give me back my husband, and I will consent to live; if I die not with him, the souls of seven husbands will condemn me!' *

*

Viewed from a commanding situation, the appearance of a Persian town is most uninteresting; the houses, all of mud, differ in no respect from the earth in colour, and, from the irregularity of their construc-adopted by the Brahmins or relatives, two medical tion, resemble inequalities on its surface rather than human dwellings. The houses, even of the great, seldom exceed one storey; and the lofty walls which shroud them from view, without a window to enliven them, have a most monotonous effect. There are few domes or minarets, and still fewer of those that exist are either splendid or elegant. There are no public buildings but the mosques and medressas; and these are often as mean as the rest, or perfectly excluded from view by ruins. The general coup-d'œil presents a succession of flat roofs, and long walls of mud, thickly interspersed with ruins; and the only relief to its monotony is found in the gardens, adorned with chinär, poplars, and cypress, with which the towns and villages are often surrounded and intermingled. The same author has published Travels and Adven- Ere the renewal of the horrid ceremonies of death tures in the Persian Provinces, 1826; A Winter Jour- were permitted, again the voice of mercy, of expostuney from Constantinople to Tehran, with Travels through lation, and even of intreaty was heard; but the trial Various Parts of Persia, 1838, &c. Mr Fraser has was vain, and the cool and collected manner with now settled down on his patrimonial estate of Reelig, which the woman still declared her determination Inverness-shire, a quiet Highland glen. Among unalterable, chilled and startled the most courageous. other Indian works may be mentioned The Annals Physical pangs evidently excited no fears in her; her and Antiquities of Rajasthan, by LIEUTENANT-COLO- singular creed, the customs of her country, and her NEL JAMES TOD, 1830; and Travels into Bokhara, by sense of conjugal duty, excluded from her mind the LIEUTENANT, afterwards SIR ALEXANDER BURNES. natural emotions of personal dread; and never did The latter is a narrative of a journey from India to martyr to a true cause go to the stake with more conCabul, Tartary, and Persia, and is a valuable work. stancy and firmness, than did this delicate and gentle The accomplished author was cut off in his career woman prepare to become the victim of a deliberate of usefulness and honour in 1841, being treacher- sacrifice to the demoniacal tenets of her heathen creed. ously murdered at Cabul. LIEUTENANT ARTHUR Accompanied by the officiating Brahmin, the widow CONOLLY made a journey to the north of India, overwalked seven times round the pyre, repeating the land from England, through Russia, Persia, and usual mantras, or prayers, strewing rice and coories Affghanistan, of which he published an account in on the ground, and sprinkling water from her hand 1834. MISS EMMA ROBERTS, in the following year, over the bystanders, who believe this to be efficagave a lively and entertaining series of Scenes and cious in preventing disease and in expiating comCharacteristics of Hindostan, with Sketches of Anglo-mitted sins. She then removed her jewels, and preIndian Society. This lady went out again to India in 1839, and was engaged to conduct a Bombay newspaper; but she died in 1840. Her Notes of an Overland Journey through France and Egypt to Bombay were published after her death. Another lady, MRS POSTANS, has published (1839) Cutch, or Ran

sented them to her relations, saying a few words to
each with a calm soft smile of encouragement and
hope. The Brahmins then presented her with a lighted
torch, bearing which,

Fresh as a flower just blown,
And warm with life her youthful pulses playing,'

she stepped through the fatal door, and sat within the pile. The body of her husband, wrapped in rich kinkaub, was then carried seven times round the pile, and finally laid across her knees. Thorns and grass were piled over the door; and again it was insisted that free space should be left, as it was hoped the poor victim might yet relent, and rush from her fiery prison to the protection so freely offered. The command was readily obeyed; the strength of a child would have sufficed to burst the frail barrier which confined her, and a breathless pause succeeded; but the woman's constancy was faithful to the last. Not a sigh broke the death-like silence of the crowd, until a slight smoke, curling from the summit of the pyre, and then a tongue of flame darting with bright and lightning-like rapidity into the clear blue sky, told us that the sacrifice was completed. Fearlessly had this courageous woman fired the pile, and not a groan had betrayed to us the moment when her spirit fled. At sight of the flame a fiendish shout of exultation rent the air; the tom-toms sounded, the people clapped their hands with delight as the evidence of their murderous work burst on their view, whilst the English spectators of this sad scene withdrew, bearing deep compassion in their hearts, to philosophise as best they might on a custom so fraught with horror, so incompatible with reason, and so revolting to human sympathy. The pile continued to burn for three hours; but, from its form, it is supposed that almost immediate suffocation must have terminated the sufferings of the unhappy victim.

ever, proved a temptation too strong for the virtue of the viceroy, who, gradually forming for himself a party among the leading men of the country, at length communicated to the common people the intelligence that Sultan Hassan was no more, and quietly seated himself on the vacant throne. Sultan Hassan returning shortly afterwards from his pilgrimage, and, fortunately for himself, still in disguise, learned, as he approached his capital, the news of his own death and the usurpation of his minister; finding, on further inquiry, the party of the usurper to be too strong to render an immediate disclosure prudent, he preserved his incognito, and soon became known in Cairo as the wealthiest of her merchants; nor did it excite any surprise when he announced his pious intention of devoting a portion of his gains to the erection of a spacious mosque. The work proceeded rapidly under the spur of the great merchant's gold, and, on its completion, he solicited the honour of the sultan's presence at the ceremony of naming it. Anticipating the gratification of hearing his own name bestowed upon it, the usurper accepted the invitation, and at the appointed hour the building was filled by him and his most attached adherents. The ceremonies had duly proceeded to the time when it became necessary to give the name. The chief Moolah, turning to the supposed merchant, inquired what should be its name! Call it,' he replied, the mosque of Sultan Hassan.' All started at the mention of this name; and the questioner, as though not believing he could have heard aright, or to afford an opportunity of correcting First Impressions and Studies from Nature in Hin-it,' again cried he, the mosque of me, Sultan Hassan ; what might be a mistake, repeated his demand. 'Call dostan, by LIEUTENANT THOMAS BACON, two volumes, and throwing off his disguise, the legitimate sultan 1837, is a more lively but carelessly-written work, stood revealed before his traitorous servant. He had with good sketches of scenery, buildings, pageants, no time for reflection: simultaneously with the disThe HON. MOUNTSTUART ELPHINSTONE, in covery, numerous trap-doors, leading to extensive 1842, gave an account of the kingdom of Cabul, vaults, which had been prepared for the purpose, were and its dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and In- flung open, and a multitude of armed men issuing dia; and A Narrative of Various Journeys in Beloo- from them, terminated at once the reign and life of chistan, Afghanistan, and the Punjaub, by CHARLES the usurper. His followers were mingled in the MASSON, Esq. describes with considerable anima- slaughter, and Sultan Hassan was once more in postion the author's residence in those countries, the session of the throne of his fathers. native chiefs, and personal adventures with the various tribes from 1826 to 1838. MR C. R. BAYNES, a gentleman in the Madras civil service, published in 1843 Notes and Reflections during a Ramble in the East, an Overland Journey to India, &c. His remarks are just and spirited, and his anecdotes and descriptions lively and entertaining.

&c.

[Remark by an Arab Chief.]

An Arab chieftain, one of the most powerful of the princes of the desert, had come to behold for the first time a steam-ship. Much attention was paid to him, and every facility afforded for his inspection of every part of the vessel. What impression the sight made on him it was impossible to judge. No indications of surprise escaped him; every muscle preserved its wonted calmness of expression; and on quitting, he merely observed, 'It is well; but you have not brought a man to life yet.'

[Legend of the Mosque of the Bloody Baptism at Cairo.] Sultan Hassan, wishing to see the world, and lay aside for a time the anxieties and cares of royalty, committed the. charge of his kingdom to his favourite minister, and taking with him a large amount of treasure in money and jewels, visited several foreign countries in the character of a wealthy merchant. Pleased with his tour, and becoming interested in the occupation he had assumed as a disguise, he was absent much longer than he originally intended, and in the course of a few years greatly increased his already large stock of wealth. His protracted absence, how

The recent war in Affghanistan, and the occupation of the Sinde territory by the British, have given occasion to various publications, among which are, a History of the War in Afghanistan, by MR C. NASH; Five Years in India, by H. G. FANE, Esq. late aidde-camp to the commander-in-chief; Narrative of the Campaign of the Army of the Indus in Sinde and Cabul, by MR R. H. KENNEDY; Scenes and Adventures in Affghanistan, by MR W. TAYLOR; Letters, by COLONEL DENNIE; Personal Observations on Sinde, by CAPTAIN T. POSTANS; Military Operations at Cabul, with a Journal of Imprisonment in Affghanistan, by LIEUTENANT VINCENT EYRE; A Journal of the Disasters in Affghanistan, by LADY SALE, &c. These works were all published in 1842 or 1843, and illustrate a calamitous portion of British history.

bassies-the first in 1792-94, under Lord Macartney, Of China we have the history of the two emof which a copious account was given by SIR GEORGE STAUNTON, one of the commissioners. Further in

formation was afforded by SIR JOHN BARROW'S Travels in China, published in 1806, and long our most valuable work on that country. The second embassy, headed by Lord Amherst, in 1816, was recorded by HENRY ELLIS, Esq. third commissioner, in a work in two volumes (1818), and by DR ABEL, a gentleman attached to the embassy. One circumstance connected with this embassy occasioned some speculation and amusement. The ambassador was required to perform the ko-tou, or act of prostration, nine times repeated, with the head knocked against the ground. Lord Amherst and Mr Ellis were in

clined to have yielded this point of ceremony; but Sir George Staunton and the other members of the Canton mission took the most decided part on the other side. The result of their deliberations was a determination against the performance of the ko-tou, and the emperor at last consented to admit them upon their own terms, which consisted in kneeling upon a single knee. The embassy went to Pekin, and were ushered into an ante-chamber of the imperial palace.

[Scene at Pekin, Described by Mr Ellis.]

Mandarins of all buttons were in waiting; several princes of the blood, distinguished by clear ruby buttons and round flowered badges, were among them: the silence, and a certain air of regularity, marked the immediate presence of the sovereign. The small apartment, much out of repair, into which we were huddled, now witnessed a scene I believe unparalleled in the history of even Oriental diplomacy. Lord Amherst had scarcely taken his seat, when Chang delivered a message from Ho (Koong-yay), stating that the emperor wished to see the ambassador, his son, and the commissioners immediately. Much surprise was naturally expressed; the previous arrangement for the eighth of the Chinese month, a period certainly much too early for comfort, was adverted to, and the utter impossibility of his excellency appearing in his present state of fatigue, inanition, and deficiency of every necessary equipment, was strongly urged. Chang was very unwilling to be the bearer of this answer, but was finally obliged to consent. During this time the room had filled with spectators of all ages and ranks, who rudely pressed upon us to gratify their brutal curiosity, for such it may be called, as they seemed to regard us rather as wild beasts than mere strangers of the same species with themselves. Some other messages were interchanged between the Koongyay and Lord Amherst, who, in addition to the reasons already given, stated the indecorum and irregularity of his appearing without his credentials. In his reply to this it was said, that in the proposed audience the emperor merely wished to see the ambassador, and had no intention of entering upon business. Lord Amherst having persisted in expressing the inadmissibility of the proposition, and in transmitting through the Koong-yay a humble request to his imperial majesty that he would be graciously pleased to wait till to-morrow, Chang and another mandarin finally proposed that his excellency should go over to the Koong-yay's apartments, from whence a reference might be made to the emperor. Lord Amherst having alleged bodily illness as one of the reasons for declining the audience, readily saw that if he went to the Koong-yay, this plea, which to the Chinese (though now scarcely admitted) was in general the most forcible, would cease to avail him, positively declined compliance. This produced a visit from the Koong-yay, who, too much interested and agitated to heed ceremony, stood by Lord Amherst, and used every argument to induce him to obey the emperor's commands. Among other topics he used that of being received with our own ceremony, using the Chinese words, 'ne mun tih lee'-your own ceremony. All proving ineffectual, with some roughness, but under pretext of friendly violence, he laid hands upon Lord Amherst, to take him from the room; another mandarin followed his example. His lordship, with great firmness and dignity of manner, shook them off, declaring that nothing but the extremest violence should induce him to quit that room for any other place but the residence assigned to him;

* The buttons, in the order of their rank, are as follows:ruby red, worked coral, smooth coral, pale blue, dark blue, crystal, ivory, and gold.

adding that he was so overcome by fatigue and bodily illness as absolutely to require repose. Lord Amherst further pointed out the gross insult he had already received, in having been exposed to the intrusion and indecent curiosity of crowds, who appeared to view him rather as a wild beast than the representative of a powerful sovereign. At all events, he intreated the Koong-yay to submit his request to his imperial majesty, who, he felt confident, would, in consideration of his illness and fatigue, dispense with his immediate appearance. The Koong-yay then pressed Lord Amherst to come to his apartments, alleging that they were cooler, more convenient, and more private. This Lord Amherst declined, saying that he was totally unfit for any place but his own residence. The Koong-yay having failed in his attempt to persuade him, left the room for the purpose of taking the emperor's pleasure upon the subject.

and ornaments bespoke him a prince, was particuDuring his absence an elderly man, whose dress larly inquisitive in his inspection of our persons and inquiries. His chief object seemed to be to communicate with Sir George Staunton, as the person who had been with the former embassy; but Sir George very prudently avoided any intercourse with him. It is not easy to describe the feelings of annoyance produced by the conduct of the Chinese, both public and individual: of the former I shall speak hereafter; of the latter I can only say that nothing could be more disagreeable and indecorous.

A message arrived soon after the Koong-yay's quitting the room, to say that the emperor dispensed with the ambassador's attendance; that he had further been pleased to direct his physician to afford to his excellency every medical assistance that his illness might require. The Koong-yay himself soon followed, Koong-yay not disdaining to clear away the crowd, and his excellency proceeded to the carriage. The the whip was used by him to all persons indiscrimi indecorous, according to our notions, the employment nately; buttons were no protection; and however might be for a man of his rank, it could not have

been in better hands.

Lord Amherst was generally condemned for refusing the proffered audience. The emperor, in disgust, ordered them instantly to set out for Canton, which was accordingly done. This embassy made scarcely any addition to our knowledge of China. MR JOHN FRANCIS DAVIS, late chief superintendent in China, has published two interesting works, which give a full account of this singular people, so far as known to European visitors. These are, Sketches of China, partly during an Inland Journey of Four Months between Pekin, Nankin, and Canton; and The Chinese: a General Description of the Empire of China and its Inhabitants. The latter work was published in 1836, but has since been enlarged, and the history of British intercourse brought up to the present time. Mr Davis resided twenty years at Canton, is perfect in the peculiar language of China, and has certainly seen more of its inhabitants than any other English author. The Journal of Three Voyages along the Coast of China, in 1831, 1832, and 1833, by MR GUTZLAFF, a German, is also a valuable work. The contraband trade in opium formed a memorable era in the history of Chinese commerce. carried on to a great extent with the Hong merchants; but in 1834, after the monopoly of the East India Company had been abolished, our government appointed Lord Napier to proceed to Canton, as special superintendent, to adjust all disputed questions among the merchants, and to form regulations with the provincial authorities. The Chinese, always jealous of foreigners, and looking upon mercantile

*They are distinguished by round badges.

It was

employments as degrading, insulted our superintendent; hostilities took place, and trade was suspended. Lord Napier took his departure amidst circumstances of insult and confusion, and died on the 11th of October 1834. The functions of superintendent devolved on Mr Davis. The Chinese, emboldened by the pacific temperament of our government, proceeded at length to the utmost extent; and not satisfied with imprisoning and threatening the lives of the whole foreign community, laid also violent hands on the British representative himself, claiming, as the purchase of his freedom, the delivery of the whole of the opium then in the Chinese waters-property to the amount of upwards of two millions sterling. After a close imprisonment of two months' duration, during which period our countrymen were deprived of many of the necessaries of life, and exposed repeatedly, as in a pillory, to the gaze and abuse of the mob, no resource was left but to yield to the bold demands of the Chinese, relying with confidence on their nation for support and redress: nor did they rely in vain; for immediately the accounts of the aggression reached London, preparations commenced for the Chinese expedition." After two years of irregular warfare, a treaty of peace and friendship between the two empires was signed on board her majesty's ship Cornwallis, on the 29th of August 1842. This expedition gave rise to various publications. LORD JOCELYN wrote a lively and interesting narrative, entitled Six Months with the Chinese Expedition; and Commander J. ELLIOT BINGHAM, R. N. a Narrative of the Expedition to

China. Two Years in China, by D. MACPHERSON, M. D. relates the events of the campaign from its formation in April 1840 to the treaty of peace in 1842. Doings in China, by LIEUTENANT ALEXANDER MURRAY, illustrates the social habits of the Chinese. The Last Year in China, to the Peace of Nankin, by a Field Officer, consists of extracts from letters written to the author's private friends. The Closing Events of the Campaign in China, by CAPTAIN G. G. LOCH, R. N. is one of the best books which the expedition called forth.

[Chinese Ladies' Feet.]

[From Captain Bingham's Narrative.] During our stay we made constant trips to the surrounding islands; in one of which-at Tea Islandwe had a good opportunity of minutely examining the far-famed little female feet. I had been purchasing a pretty little pair of satin shoes for about half a dollar, at one of the Chinese farmers' houses, where we were surrounded by several men, women, and children. By signs we expressed a wish to see the pied mignon of a really good-looking woman of the party. Our signs were quickly understood, but, probably from her being a matron, it was not considered quite comme il faut for her to comply with our desire, as she would not consent to show us her foot; but a very pretty interesting girl of about sixteen was placed on a stool for the purpose of gratifying our curiosity. At first she was very bashful, and appeared not to like exposing her Cinderella-like slipper, but the shine of a new and very bright loopee' soon overcame her delicacy, when she commenced unwinding the upper bandage which passes round the leg, and over a tongue that comes up from the heel. The shoe was then removed, and the second bandage taken off, which did duty for a stocking; the turns round the toes and ankles being very tight, and keeping all in place. On the naked foot being exposed to view, we were agreeably surprised by finding it delicately white and clean; for we fully expected to have found it otherwise, from the

* Macpherson's Two Years in China.'

known habits of most of the Chinese. The leg from the knee downwards was much wasted; the foot appeared as if broken up at the instep, while the four small toes were bent flat and pressed down under the foot, the great toe only being allowed to retain its natural position. By the breaking of the instep a high arch is formed between the heel and the toe, enabling the individual to step with them on an even surface; in this respect materially differing from the Canton and Macao ladies; for with them the instep is not interfered with, but a very high heel is substituted, thus bringing the point of the great toe to the ground. When our Canton compradore was shown a Chusan shoe, the exclamation was, ' He yaw! how can walkee so fashion?' nor would he be convinced that such was the case. The toes, doubled under the foot I have been describing, could only be moved by the hand sufficiently to show that they were not actually grown into the foot. I have often been astonished at seeing how well the women contrived to walk on their tiny pedestals. Their gait is not unlike the little mincing walk of the French ladies; they were constantly to be have often seen them at Macao contending against a seen going about without the aid of any stick, and I fresh breeze with a tolerably good-sized umbrella spread. The little children, as they scrambled away before us, balanced themselves with their arms extended, and reminded one much of an old hen between walking and flying. All the women I saw about Chusan had small feet. It is a general characteristic of true Chinese descent; and there cannot be a greater mistake than to suppose that it is confined to the higher orders, though it may be true that they take more pains to compress the foot to the smallest possible dimensions than the lower classes do. High and low, rich and poor, all more or less follow the custom; and depend upon it the possessor is not of true Chinese when you see a large or natural-sized foot, you may blood, but is either of Tartar extraction, or belongs to the tribes that live and have their being on the this Chinese habit of distortion, as the accompanying waters. The Tartar ladies, however, are falling into edict of the emperor proves. For know, good people, you must not dress as you like in China. You must follow the customs and habits of your ancestors, and wear your winter and summer clothing as the empe ror or one of the six boards shall direct.' If this were the custom in England, how beneficial it would be to our pockets, and detrimental to the tailors and milliners. Let us now see what the emperor says about little feet, on finding that they were coming into vogue among the undeformed daughters of the Mantchows. Not only does he attack the little feet, but the large Chinese sleeves which were creeping into fashion at court. Therefore, to check these misdemeanours, the usual Chinese remedy was resorted to, and a flaming edict launched, denouncing them; threatening the heads of the families with degradation and punishment if they did not put a stop to such gross illegalities; and his celestial majesty further goes on and tells the fair ones, that by persisting in their vulgar habits, they will debar themselves from the possibility of being selected as ladies of honour for the inner palace at the approaching presentation!' How far this had the desired effect I cannot say. When the children begin to grow, they suffer excruciating pain, but as they advance in years, their vanity played upon by being assured that they would be exceedingly ugly with large feet. Thus they are persuaded to put up with what they consider a necessary evil; but the children are remarkably patient under pain. A poor little child about five years old was brought to our surgeon, having been most dreadfully scalded, part of its dress adhering to the skin. Dur ing the painful operation of removing the linen, it only now and then said 'he-yaw, he-yaw.'

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