which frequent inland waters.
They are heavily built, with good beam and watertight compartments.
Their lines, while forbidding any thought of speed, are not
ungraceful, and eminently suitable for weight carrying. With square,
massive bows they thicken away aft, until, curving upwards with a bold
sweep of the gunnels, their covered-in sterns, high above the balanced
rudder, form good quarters for the lowdah and his family, where from
tiny windows women and children peep in shy curiosity at the foreigner
sailing by.

The mainmast, an enormous spar of some sixty or seventy feet in
length, is stepped almost amidships in a kind of tabernacle, and has
neither stays nor shrouds, its only visible support being a wooden
prop, which a few feet above the deck takes part of the pressure when
running before the wind, so that on gazing up at its dizzy height one
continually wonders why in heavy weather it does not go by the board
or pound its way through the bottom of the vessel. The foremast, which
is considerably smaller and stepped well forrard, is in like manner
devoid of any kind of stay. Each mast sets one enormous sail of
graceful shape, and but loosely made of a coarse, native material,
resembling cheap calico. The cloths, running vertically, are
interwoven with the bamboo reefing battens, and though but lightly
stitched together, seem capable of withstanding an enormous strain.

Varnished a light yellow, which shimmers in the sun, and displaying
gaudy banners on which the signs of the guilds to which they belong
are printed in large characters, it is a beautiful sight to watch a
fleet of these stately ships glide by, with their towering sails
goose-winged before the breeze, and churning up the waters with their
blunt, unyielding prows.

Amongst the elaborate system of guilds which permeates Chinese
society, one of the most meritorious is the lifeboat guild. Apart from
official aid and direction, it is mostly supported by voluntary
contributions, and to an extent which allows of lifeboats being
stationed at many points of danger.

In fine weather these "red-boats," as, owing to their usual colour,
they are commonly called, lay up in creeks or shelters while the crews
pass their time at leisure, but as soon as a storm arises they
immediately put out and ride to a drift-anchor, ready at a moment's
notice to hoist sail and dash to the rescue of any craft in distress.

At Hankow, where a north-easterly gale against a four-