within a couple of inches or so of the tops of my boots. I now really thought nothing could have prevented my being carried off my legs, and had such a catastrophe happened, I cannot see how I could possibly have been saved from being drowned, for I am a most indifferent swimmer, and with my wading-boots on I should forthwith have dived like a brickbat. A friend of mine, who was quartered at last year, was carried off his legs while wading in a much shallower ford of the river, and, but for the lucky chance of a shelving sand-bank, would, although a good swimmer, have inevitably been drowned, as his boots got filled immediately, and held him down. He thought himself very lucky to escape with the loss of half his rod, which broke in his fall, and about twenty yards of his line. They say that there are always three men, at least, drowned in the Blackwater every year, as the fords are very dangerous. My friends always told me, when I used to fish on the weir near the bridge in the town of that I was certain to be one of the fated feeds for the fishes. I escaped, however, but really thought this time that the eels would devour me. I had put my foot into it, far above the knee; and could not clearly see my way out again. I, of course, now when it was too late, perceived that it was impossible to cross the stream, but I little thought I should have nearly as great difficulty in retracing my steps. Such, nevertheless, was the case. The difficulty was to turn round; it took me nearly five minutes to accomplish that, for I could get no hold for my feet, as the stones still kept rolling from under them. I had to put the butt of the rod down to the bottom to enable me to hold on by it. Had it not been for that support, precarious as it was under the circumstances, nothing could have saved me from being carried bodily down into a rush of water that would have drowned a hippopotamus. This operation, I concluded, of course, must have lost me my salmon, but there was nothing else for it. Fortunately, however, my fish remained stationary. I began now to think much more about myself than my tormentor, which he now in verity was; the lookers-on also thought my position past joking at, and gave me no end of good advice how to proceed, which of course, though well intended, was quite useless, as I could not follow it. When I got round, which I had the greatest possible difficulty in doing, I found that Captain H., having had quite enough of it, even in the shallower and less rapid part, and with the gaff-handle to support himself with, had returned to the bank, seeing, as he informed me afterwards, that he could not assist me in any way, having enough to do to prevent himself from being carried off his legs. As soon as he saw me safe back again in my old position, he wished me joy of my bargain, and, as Job's comforters are plenty in this world, gave it as his opinion that I should not get away before night, and not then, unless I broke away from the fish.

"That would indeed be the last resource I should think of," said I (as I had regained my courage when I found there was a chance of my escaping drowning). "I'll kill him yet, you'll see. My patience is not exhausted, though I confess I am getting a little tired; for it's no joke, as you found yourself, stemming this torrent. I wish you had not bolted in such a hurry, and I would have got you to hold the brute a bit."

I never felt more annoyed in my life; it was such a ridiculous position, now that all danger was over, for an old fisherman to be placed in.

Moreover, I could see no immediate prospect of being able to leave it unless I followed H.'s advice, and had a smash of it; but I felt my credit at stake, and still hoped-I confess almost against hope-that I could persuade the fish to come up, and if so, I made up my mind to make a run of it, and try to get round the head of the stream where I first waded in. The brute, who had now rested himself some time, began to come quietly up the stream; and it occurred to me that, perhaps, if I could take some part of the weight of the line from bearing against him— which, of course, in such swift water it did with great force-that he might continue his course, which was straight for the place I had hooked him in, though he was evidently in no great hurry. I therefore placed the top of the rod about two feet into the water; in fact, nearly touching the bottom. (Rather a dangerous experiment, was it not?) The water then had but little resistance against the line, and as I anticipated, so it turned out, my friend sailed quietly on. With what pleasure I made every turn of the reel! I was looking forward to returning, with interest, a little of the chaff that had been so freely lent me. I thought he never would have come up far enough, for he would move but a yard or two at a time, then stop, as if meditating on some new way of trying my tackle and patience. He was evidently not over-anxious to return to his old quarters, where he had the pleasure of taking the tender morsel that gave him so much trouble to get rid of. However, onward he came, never once heading down after I had taken the stress of the line from off him. When he had arrived nearly in a line with the place where I had hooked him, he stopped, and I immediately bolted up the stream as hard as I could. I had scarcely gone twenty yards when he took the alarm, and away he went down again, and I had to return to my prison. Now the laughing on the shore began again, but really I was not astonished at it. I am sure I should have split my sides if I had seen you there in my place. I had the same slow operation to go over again, but this time he came still farther up; so away I started once more, with my rod over my shoulder. I could make but an indifferent burst of it, as the stream was so strong, and I was nearly beaten. When I got within a few yards of the head of the stream, he headed down again, but I was determined I would not go back to my old quarters, so I still pushed on, the line running out like mad. Fortunately I landed with some yards still on the reel, amid the cheers of all those who, only a few minutes before, had been so highly delighted at the prospect of my defeat. One old fisherman told me that he had seen many a salmon hooked there, but never one killed when the water was as high as it then was.

"You shan't say that again," said I; for I now pronounced his deathwarrant sealed, and asked H., who had good-naturedly waited to see the end of the battle, to get down below the quay and try and gaff him. I now began to pay my friend off in earnest, and soon bolted him from his resting-place to tumble him over three or four times in the stream, and then guide him towards the stone on which Captain H. stood, who, the moment he was within his reach, drew the gaff across him, and out he came. He was a beautiful fish, but not large-fourteen pounds and a half. I was very sorry that G. was not there to have seen this engagement, but he had gone some distance down the river, where, unfortunately, like most of his fishing brethren that day, he had no sport. I was so

1

exhausted when my fish was landed and the excitement over, that I could scarcely stand, and well do

I remember when the fight was done and I was dry.

In one sense of the word, I certainly was, and sent Jim forthwith for some spring water, into which I emptied half the contents of my flask. Don't imagine that I committed a great excess in so doing; my little bottle only contains one glass of cognac. Jim's pocket-pistol, as he calls it, is of far larger bore, and he takes care to have it well charged; but I never allow him to fire a shot without first offering me some, which, by-the-by,I very seldom take. Had I not put this restraint upon his sporting propensities in that line, he would fire a feu de joie as soon as he reached the river-bank, and probably see half a dozen salmon instead of one whenever I wanted him to gaff for me. Externally, I cannot say I was dry, for the day was very sultry, which accounted for the fish not rising freely; and the exertion of standing for nearly an hour against a stream that runs six or seven miles an hour, with a sporting fish at the end of your line, is rather strong exercise. I killed two other fish in the same place in the course of my visit, but the moment they stopped and gave me the slightest chance, I ran round to the head of the stream and played them from the quay. Once there, I did not care what direction they might choose to take, or how far they ran down, as I could follow them anywhere. So I had scarcely any trouble in killing either of them. They were, indeed, both small fish, five and six pounds each. The river also was at least six inches lower than when I killed my first fish there.

For about three weeks I continued to have fair sport, killing thirtytwo fish, including peel, of which I killed very few. After that came some heavy floods. As soon as the river was nearly in fishing order after one, down came the rain again, of course causing another. This continued for ten days, during which time we never wetted a line, and the river was then nearly over its banks. I now saw that it was decidedly useless waiting any longer, as it must be five or six days at least before the water could be clear enough to fish, even if there was no more rain, which was most likely to be the case. Then all the fish would have run farther up the river, and the weirs being closed, no fresh supply could come up, except on Saturday night and during Sunday; and one is occasionally bilked of even this small supply, for in heavy floods the men at the weirs cannot get on to the dam to lift the barriers that head the fish down. G., to my astonishment, did not seem much annoyed at leaving this splendid river, but said he would not let me return home, and insisted on my going back with him to again try the stream in which we had the otter hunt. I was rather anxious to get home, and at first refused, but he over-persuaded me, and I soon found out the cause of his anxiety to fish that river again. But you shall hear all about that bientôt.

VOL. XLII.

E

CHINA AND THE CHINESE.*

WHATSOEVER tends to make us better acquainted with the character, manners, and customs, as also with the modes of thinking of the Chinese, is at the present moment particularly welcome. It is not impossible that we may have to go to war with a nation very little understood, and it would be well to know if in so doing we are warring with the Chinese as a people, or with the Tartars as the ruling race. It has been justly deemed not to be altogether improbable that the governing powers may insist upon the seclusion of their Chinese subjects simply to uphold a rule which is based upon prejudice and ignorance. Whether this is the case or not, it is certain that there are among the Chinese themselves persons of different education and principles, and Mr. Fortune is very anxious, for example, after long study of this exclusive and strange portion of the human family, to insist upon no estimate of the Chinese character being founded upon the conduct of the low rabble of Canton. This is so far good, and we turn with the greater hopes of gleaning some new insight into a very mysterious matter from his pages.

The author, it will be remembered, travelled in China some fourteen years ago in the capacity of Botanical Collector to the Horticultural Society. He has since that time been employed by the East India Company in procuring supplies of tea-plants, seeds, implements, and greentea makers for the government plantations in the Himalayas. In the year 1852 he was deputed a second time for the purpose of adding to the collections already formed, and particularly of procuring some first-rate black-tea makers for the experimental tea-farms in India. During his first visit, Mr. Fortune's investigations were chiefly confined to the coast near the five ports at which foreigners are permitted to trade. In his second book he described some very interesting long journeys to the green and black-tea countries; and in his present work he gives us a minute account of the extensive districts of country which lie between the coastline and the points formerly reached.

Leaving Hong-Kong on the 14th of March, 1853, in the Peninsula and Oriental Company's steamer Ganges, Mr. Fortune arrived at Shanghae, the most northerly of the five ports at which foreigners are permitted to trade, after a run of four days. There he was hospitably entertained by Mr. Beale, in whose garden he was enabled to store the collections made in his excursions until an opportunity presented itself of having them shipped for their destination. An incident occurred here at the onset which was not a little characteristic of Chinese character. smart shock of earthquake was experienced; it did some, but no considerable damage to the town; but it was reported that in the country a large tract of ground, on which a populous village stood, had sunk down into the bowels of the earth, carrying with it the whole of the people, and that the spot was now marked by a large pool of water. The residents at Shanghae made up a party to go and see the phenomenon, but after

A

* A Residence among the Chinese. By Robert Fortune. London: Murray.

1857.

vain endeavours to ascertain the whereabouts of the catastrophe, they were told a few days afterwards, with the greatest coolness, "that it was quite true such an occurrence had taken place, but that it had happened about two hundred years ago!"

Rebellion was rife at this epoch in various provinces of the "Flowery Land," and when the news came of the successes of the rebels at Nanking and Chinkiang, the alarm amongst all classes of the community at Shanghae was very great. It is remarkable, however, that throughout, whilst the greatest atrocities were being perpetrated in one locality, the people pursued their usual avocations with the utmost unconcern in others close by. This is a trait in the character of the Chinese which is not without its application to present circumstances. A treaty negotiated at Pekin would be little regarded by the Canton rabble, whilst a condign punishment inflicted on the vain-glorious Cantonese would be utterly disregarded in other portions of the empire.

Mr. Fortune does everything in his power to destroy all illusions with respect so the true character of the Chinese rebellion. He allows to it a very slight political importance, and evidently sneers at its supposed Christianity. The rebels, he says, were known as the Kwang-si men, as they belonged to the province of that name, which had been for several years in a state of great disorder.

In August, 1851, Hung-sew-tseuen, subsequently known as Tai-ping-wang, seized Yung-ngan, a city of a sub-prefecture in the east of the province, and held it until April, 1852. The insurgent force, of which he was the chief, advancing slowly at first, then commenced its northern march by moving upon the provincial capital Kwei-lin. The rebels soon left this city behind them, and, after seizing and abandoning various places in the south of Hoo-nan, in the middle of December took Yohchau, a city on the river Yang-tse-kiang. Before the end of the month they had crossed this river, and stormed Wu-chang, the capital of Hu-peh; then descending the stream, they captured every city of note on or near its banks, both in Kiang-si and Ngan-hwui, until they arrived at Nanking, the ancient southern capital, in Kiang-su, which they stormed in March, 1853.

Like the generality of their countrymen, the insurgents were full to the brim with the idea of their superiority over all the nations of the earth; a circumstance which our traveller justly remarks augurs ill for our future connexion, should they be successful in upsetting the present

dynasty and establishing one of their own. "Listen," he says, "to the

modesty of the Northern Prince:"

The

"The Lord of China is the lord of the whole world; he is the second son of God, and all the people in the whole world must obey and follow him. true Lord is not merely the Lord of China; he is not only our lord, but he is your lord also."

In order to show their views more fully, I must quote from another extraordi nary document received by her Majesty's plenipotentiary at the time: "But now that you distant English have not deemed myriads of miles too far to come and acknowledge our sovereignty, not only are the soldiers and officers of our celestial dynasty delighted and gratified thereby, but even in high heaven itself our Celestial Father and Elder Brother will also admire this manifestation of your fidelity and truth."

Mr. Fortune does not even think that the numerous interviews of English, French, and American officials and commanders with the