The " Strangers' Quarter'''' in Shanghai. 449 



dipped in the liot water, and thoroughly wrung out. As wo 

 were taking our departure, our courteous host accompanied 

 us to the threshold. 



In the portico were a number of wooden tables lacquered 

 with red varnish, on which were inscribed in large golden 

 letters of the Chinese character the titles of honour of the 

 family of Wuong, which on festive occasions were drawn in 

 front of the head of the family as he sat on his sofa. 



After this ramble through the Chinese town, we returned 

 to the '' Strangers' Quarter," where we came upon a widely 

 different mode of life. Here everything is arranged upon 

 the European model, and the attention is only diverted by 

 those minor accessories, in which the climatic conditions 

 have necessitated some variation. The houses are universally 

 lofty, roomy, and agreeable, usually surrounded by a gar- 

 den, and many of them present an almost palace-like aspect. 

 More even than to the merchants in Broadway is the desig- 

 nation of " merchant princes " applicable to the foreign mer- 

 chants of China and the East Indies, for it is among them 

 beyond any other class on the globe, that there prevails a 

 luxury almost princely in its magnificence. In such a place 

 as Shanghai, which can present to the educated foreigner 

 such a meagre equivalent for his numerous intellectual pri- 

 vations, each man endeavours in the readiest possible way 

 to render his material existence as comfortable and agree- 

 able as he possibly can. This leadhig princij^le one sees 

 illustrated and carried out in practice in the splendid de- 



. VOL. n. 2 G 



