er being bound
to support them in their old age; the eldest son, in fact, should
the father die, is obliged to take his place, and provide for his
brothers and sisters, who, on their part, are bound to yield
implicit obedience, and show him the greatest respect. These laws
are very strictly observed, and any one infringing them is punished
with death.

The Chinese consider it a great honour to be a grandfather, and
every man who is fortunate enough to be one wears a moustache, as
the distinctive sign of his good luck. These thin grey moustaches
are the more conspicuous, as the young men not only wear none, but,
as a general rule, grow no beard at all.

With regard to the social manners and customs of the Chinese, I am
only able to mention a few, as it is exceedingly difficult, and, in
fact, almost impossible, for a foreigner to become acquainted with
them. I endeavoured to see as much as I could, and mixed on every
possible opportunity among the people, afterwards writing down a
true account of what I had seen.

On going out one morning, I met more than fifteen prisoners, all
with a wooden yoke (can-gue) about their necks, being led through
the streets. This yoke is composed of two large pieces of wood,
fitting into one another, and having from one to three holes in
them; through these holes the head, and one or both hands, are
stuck, in proportion to the importance of the offence. A yoke of
this description varies in weight from fifty to a hundred pounds,
and presses so heavily upon the neck and shoulders of the poor
wretch who bears it, that he is unable to convey his victuals to his
mouth himself, and is compelled to wait till some compassionate soul
feeds him. This punishment lasts from a few days to several months;
in the latter case the prisoner generally dies.

Another description of punishment is the bastinado with the bamboo,
which, when applied to the more tender parts of the body, very
often, as early as the fifteenth blow, frees its victim for ever
from all his earthly sufferings. Other more severe punishments,
which in no way yield the palm to those of the Holy Inquisition,
consist in flaying the prisoner alive, crushing his limbs, cutting
the sinews out of his feet, and so on. Their modes of carrying out
the sentence of death appear to be mild in comparison, and are
generally confined to strangling and decapitation, although, as I
was informed, in certain extraordinary cases, the prisoner is