lly accomplished before the
seventeenth. The suffering is said to be intense. Government has in many
provinces interfered, and as civilization advances it is to be hoped
this cruelty will be abolished. A missionary told me, in appealing to
the Chinese, "to desist from this vain and sinful habit, they would at
once retaliate by replying, 'Why do American or European women deform
their waists?'" The rough, uncultivated fields attached to the homes
along the drives we are told are burial places of their dead. Mere
hillocks of earth, so scant as to allow the caskets to be seen plainly,
and oftimes skeletons protrude. Do you wonder that epidemics prevail?
The warning is constantly given the travelers to keep away from native
quarters, but curiosity leads us into temptation. Warehouses,
manufactories, shops, theaters, dwellings and temples are crowded
together; the streets offensive and disgusting. The shops for silks in
the English concession are most fascinating. Beauty of coloring and
quality, with most unique designs, are offered at such low prices that
one must have great control over herself to resist buying in quantities.
The better class of Chinese are most elaborately gowned in these gold
embroidered textures--far more costly than the simple embroidered
kimonas of the Japanese. The absence of jewelry in the latter makes the
love of it with the Chinese most conspicuous. Anklets, imitation of jade
and silver bangles are always in evidence.

Jugglers throng the piazzas of the hotel, and for a trifling
compensation will swallow a sword three feet long which he flaunts
before our eyes and which disappears to all appearances down his throat
with great strangling; this we do not ask him to repeat.

A charming sail of three days brought us into the harbor of Hongkong.
The city is built on the mountainside; a narrow strip along the water's
edge is laid out in a fine driveway, warehouses, hotels and club houses
facing the water. The dwellings, with beautiful gardens attached, are
built upon the terraces of the mountains, which can only be reached in
sedan chairs, borne by coolies. The botanical gardens are most
attractive and are within walking distance of the hotel. Alongside of
these gardens is the St. John's Cathedral, in Gothic style of
architecture. The clock tower is a conspicuous building from which all
local distances are measured. On the summit of the mountain overlooking
the city is Victoria Gap. An inclined railway