sights; but nothing that I ever see reminds me of an opium-smoker. His lank and shrivelled limbs, tottering gait, sallow visage, feeble voice, and the death-boding glance of his eye, are so superlative in their degree, and so closely blended in their union, that they at once bespeak him to be the most forlorn creature that treads upon the ground. Such sights, however, are not very common, for the miserable beings generally hide themselves from public view, so that, amidst many thousands of healthy and happy faces, we only see here and there one of these prodigies of evil habit. Too much leisure, more money than is required for the necessaries of life, a guilty conscience, an unquiet mind, and bad company, are the promoters, if not the causes, of opium smoking. Happy is that man who, when he has provided for the necessities of the body, has nothing to bestow upon its vices."

The fumes of this noxious drug are inhaled through a peculiarly constructed pipe, whilst the wretched victim reclines at his ease. In this position he soon falls asleep, and on awaking takes a cup of tea, and then resumes the process. When the habit is confirmed, the degraded wretch seems unable to leave it off; his strength soon fails, and he becomes a walking shadow, with eyes vacant and staring, and his whole bodily frame deranged: on his brows are stamped the mark of infamy, and he seldom reaches an advanced age. And such are the sufferings and misery which millions endure from the use of this foreign and fatal narcotic. The use of it has grown to an evil of enormous magnitude in China; and the anxiety of the Chinese govern

ment to abolish the illicit traffic in the poison is commendable, though hitherto unsuccessful. In the "Chinese Repository" there is an account of a series of paintings, by a Chinese artist, illustrating the progress of the opium-smoker: it is from health and affluence, to poverty, disease, and death.

The lower orders among the Chinese are prone to the vice of gambling. Dice, cards, and dominoes, are all known and used among them, though infamy is attached to the practice, and it is discountenanced by the severity of the law. The idle and dissolute meet in their public-houses, which are generally open sheds, and where they are afforded the means of both gambling and drinking to excess. These evil habits are more especially observable among the sea-faring inhabitants of Canton and Fokien. The dangerous profession of these poor people, and their unsettled, wandering habits, tend to give them the reckless and improvident character attached to the lower grades of the maritime population in every part of the world. So degraded are these people by their habits, that it gives their superiors advantage over them. They become the frequent victims of cruelty and oppression, and none dare complain. Their dead bodies are sometimes seen floating down the river; and the living, fearing the infliction of the bastinado by their overseers, see them pass onward without a sigh of regard. Yet, in the midst of oppression and wrong, they are apparently light-hearted. To lighten their labour, and assist them in keeping time with the strokes of their oars, the boatmen often have recourse to a rude air, which is generally sung by

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the master, the whole of the crew joining in the chorus. 'On many a calm still evening," says Barrow," when a dead silence reigned upon the water, have we listened with pleasure to this artless and unpolished air, which was sung, with little alteration, through the whole fleet."

In common with the nation in general, the maritime population of China are prone to superstition. Although the dragon is generally held in honour, yet on some occasions he is treated with great rudeness. This is especially the case on the fifth day of the fifth month, when he is supposed to lurk in ambush in some of the caves, with the fell intention of drowning some unlucky crew, and sinking their boat. To prevent him, the dragon-boat performs its fantastic feats about the river immediately in the vicinity of Canton, and noise and menace prevail as it is urged along by the rowers. This is deemed sufficient to scare him from his purpose.

Another occasion, when the dragon is treated disrespectfully, is during an eclipse, when he is supposed to be making an essay to swallow the sun or the moon, to gratify his hunger. To frighten him from this act, or to entice him to quit his grasp, gongs are beaten incessantly while this phenomenon lasts. Yet the same people hold processions to his honour on the same river. One of these is thus graphically described by Lay :-"On the evening of March 10, 1838, as I was returning from a walk to the barrier, I observed that the drums were more noisy than usual near the village of Mongha, while sudden gleams of light were seen from between the trees and tufts of bamboo. After a short time, a long train

of lights, differing in volume and brilliancy, was seen, and soon presented to view transparent images of fish and other living things, which were made of paper, and lighted within. Among them, an enormous dragon was borne by a row of men, who moved about in fantastic evolutions, to represent the writhings and contortions of the ugly beast. As it was illuminated like the rest, the horned head, large eyes, and wide-yawning jaws, glared fiercely upon the crowd, as the men who bore that part capered and sidled about to give a characteristic effect to it. The fish were very large, and exceedingly well executed; for the Chinese show a taste for natural beauty sometimes, and are peculiarly happy in their paper imitations of the 'finny drove.'

"The drum is indispensable in every procession of any importance; and as the Chinese have not adopted the plan of making it light enough to be slung from the neck, they are obliged to place it in a kind of stand or frame, which is carried by several men, while the drummer follows his instrument on foot. In the head or prow of this litter was placed the little drum, the sharp clicking sound of which was intended as a treble to the

large drum. A gong was suspended upon a post near the little drum, while a fourth musician made a most obstreperous din with a large pair of cymbals. The man who beat the little drum seemed to find an extraordinary delight in his occupation; while the swain with the cymbals held them close to the ear of the drummer, as if he meant to requite him for his diligence with a flood of sonorous vibrations poured fresh into his ear.

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Among the illuminated fishes lanterns were

carried, of various forms, but generally shaped like a Chinese house, with a succession of stories, each story running out conspicuously into a revolute cornice or eaves. A flag was borne before, with a dragon painted upon it, followed by two large maces, of a square shape, and divided into several tiers, with a light in each of them. But the most engaging part of the spectacle consisted of two litters, brilliantly illuminated, and borne aloft in the air; in each of which were two little girls, with lovely features, and very gay attire. One of the twain stood upon a large pair of embroidered shoes, like those worn by Tartar ladies, out of compliment to the nation that governs China; the other little girl was reared upon a branch of the peach-tree in full flower, which, among the Chinese, is accounted the emblem of beauty and loveliness."