ble.

Large numbers of Chinese live a kind of aquatic life, and make their home
on board a river-boat. The husband goes on shore to his work, and his
wife meantime adds to the income of the family by ferrying persons from
bank to bank, or letting out the boat to pleasure parties--always
reserving one half of its accommodation for herself and household. Room
is not very abundant, as the whole boat does not exceed twenty-five feet
in length; but everywhere the greatest order and cleanliness are
apparent, each separate plank being enthusiastically scrubbed and washed
every morning. It is worth notice how each inch of space is turned to
the best advantage, room being made even for the _lares_ and _penates_.
All the washing and cooking are done during the day; yet the pleasure
party is never in the least degree inconvenienced.

Of course our traveller was attracted by the diminutiveness of the feet
of the Chinese women, and she had an opportunity of examining one of
these tiny monstrosities _in natura_. Four of the toes were bent under
the sole of the foot, to which they were firmly pressed, and
simultaneously with which they appeared to have grown, if growth it can
be called; the great toe alone remained in its natural state. The fore
part of the foot had been so swathed and compressed by tight bandages,
that, instead of expanding in length and breadth, it had shot upwards, so
as to form a large lump at the instep, where it became, so to speak, a
portion of the leg; the lower part of the foot was scarcely five inches
long, and an inch and a half broad. The feet are always encased in white
linen or silk, with silk bandages over all, and are then stuffed into
pretty little shoes with very high heels. "To my astonishment," says
Madame Pfeiffer, "these deformed beings tripped about, as if in defiance
of us broad-footed creatures, with tolerable ease, the only difference in
their gait being that they waddled like geese; they even ran up and down
stairs without a stick." She adds, that the value of a bride is reckoned
by the smallness of her feet.

It was characteristic of Madame Pfeiffer that she found means to see much
which no European woman had ever seen before. She obtained access even
to a Buddhist temple,--that of Houan, reputed to be one of the finest in
China. The sacred enclosure is surrounded by a high wall. The visitor
enters first a large outer court, at the extremity of which a huge
gateway opens upon a