(sores or a JouRNEY THROUOT cHTNA.)
March Gth.—Yesterday I had the pleasure of releasing a fine young girl just twelve years old from the vilest of bondage. She was being offered for Tls. 20 to an one who would buy her, and the broth Keepers were on the alert, as they usually are, waen a healthy young girl is to be sold on reasonable terms. A young woraan with a child in her arms ran in to tell my copie, and Limmediately sent and released ier, Whilst the others were haggling over the price. I then laid out a little more money for clothing and the poor creature now looks quite respectable, She has a foreign shaped nose, that is to say, one with bridge to it anda square point, and is large for her age. She had not been in the house long before she amused herself by dissecting my thermometer—the best one I have left.
She succeeded in bulb before I noticed it. claimed Mong-mei, "your price doubted Phot thing you h broken, is not procurable here for Ils. 20."
The jank I am to travel in, I am told, is pered by young woman, The Chief gator, and the Second who was born afloat and is likely to di imilar mat Yang Ho-shang is in clined to be attentive to the skipper, but the worthy marineres detests opium smokers, however sprightly they may appear to be, und 1 can but admire her taste in that respect. At elevon-a.m. by my Yankee watch, ® crowd of coolies poured into the inn armed with cords and canes, and a erable amount of talking power.
mutes argument, five minutes reflection, and then " rush for my inoffensive baggage, and it is lashed and carried, lifted shouldered, and off it goes, and 1 alone am left here to record the fact, until such time as 'Their Lmportances' shall consider it proper to call for me. Then 1 shall be boxed up, duly labelled, with some pomp and vanity, and borne off the face of the earth to the surface of the water, the Governor-General does not protond to be an anti-opiumist, although he does not smoke the pernicious drug.
"he young crop, Lam told, is cot finely, having received amount of vigour from the late rain, Sunshine tov, is indispensable for the production of good crops, and the farmers are all being especially favoured in this respect. Rain by night and sunshine by day will give the farmers a good return for the Inbour expended, and the officials will all derive an excelled' the way, I ain told tha which may be b of silver, has to pay a duty of on four-tenths at the gates of thia city. One half the amount is for the lekin, or war tax, and the other half for octroi of the Cheng-tu Prefect. Everything else is equally heavily taxed, and trade, thus hampered, is not likely' to flourish. ' 8.E. is however " progressive man in his own way, and he has employed the services of a Yunnan export to travel all over the ince i i. The expert has failed to discover any thi worth mining, although all the pri ipal metals known to be present in th mountains. Perhaps the ores are not rich as those of Yunnan, where gold and copper may be quarried out in lumps.
At half-past_oue everything was announced as ready, 80 I mounted my chair. Mong-mei and my young girl Ci also mounted, overflowing with tandem on parting with Madame Ho, who made herself to them both during our short at Women have a knack of making themselves agreeable sometimes; that is, when they wish to do a0. They also ha selves very disagrecabl hearts, however, are nearly all_ tender towards us of the male sex. The young Tartar lady next door actually shed tears at our last interview when she told me that she was twen! x8 old and not ried, Her be! husband not found it convenient to marry her the dared not seek another husband. Pessing swiftly through the crowded streets for a quarter of an hour or #0, we left the city by the east gate, where the guardians rushed out and took hold of my chair, asking for my card, the crowd and confusion being 0 groat that my men had forgotten, or been unable, to perform their duty. I however referred the guardians of the law to my orderlies, riding behind, and so went on, having nearly caused a block by that moment's stay. "The river of human beings passing in and out of this gate is indeed all sorts of domestic necessities are being carried in and out—being principally night soil, manufactured articles of various kinds, and the personal effects of travellers. At a quarter to two we reached the river side, and embarked on our cranky junk, being assisted by our ing she-skipper, who took hold of us, conducted us to cur rooms of state, of bins if you please, carried the many little indisponsubles of our journey, introduced us to her sickly son, and told us he refused to grow any more than two foot nothing.
March 7th. stayed in bed till daylight this morning, having had but very litle sleep during' the night owing to various causes, but principally through the noise made by opium-smokers, who became livelier by the time they had fortified themselves with opium, being as courageous 1 after (king schnapps of girl Chun-she is at the lively scone around, and eau amusement to Mong-mei, whose northern temper is usually dull and stolid.
Tam now told the nnpleasnnt nows that the animals refused to embark on the three junks provided for them, although the Hovr or skins have been covered with thick straw mats, spread over with earth. Ihave usually ridden them on board ferry-boati when crossing andriddon them ashore lit they will not go on board. however, the worst of the affair is that they were taken to an inn and put up for the night, but the accom. modation was so limited that they kicked down the partitions to make themselves some heel-room, and did great damage, Tam told. Two horses and a mule being much larger than the native nags, require more room in every way. Besides, very few inns have accommodation for more two or three animal: and I have six, it is not conveni to separate for -boys prefer ishing then other than the animals, and L have not many people to look after them, My short away in Chang-tu has boon costly one, and that, added to my exp from Hsi-un Fu, has been very trouble. some in various ways, travelling under such conditions being anything but pleasant, More than half the men are confirmed opium-smokers, and will tell any number of lies, and do many mean things to get 'a suck of the pernicious drug; they are thus ruining: themsel.
My young companion Yang Ho-sheng hus again returned to the opium pipe, which I had persuaded him twice to abstain at cost of trouble and money. Like the sow that was washed, he is dirtier than before, and I uow give up hopes of curing him, Nothing. but " voluntary effort on his part, backed up by a determination to conquer or die, will enable Yang to give the pi ly. Tt la a pity, boom ang 1d intelligent young man, of twenty years only, lowe management of official documents and handwriting have gained him n just renown which might have grown with age, but which is now undergoing a sort of dwarfing process all the intelligence he possesses being required to furnish the opium wow neces-oary to satisfy the intense craving for it as the time for smoking approaches, Food and drink are as nothing to the opium; even clothing is parted with, and nakedness exposed in order to procure the regular quantity.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.