188 



DISCOVERY 



Trelawny did not rcawake till half-past six, and, when 

 he did, it was to the mingled noises of ships shifting 

 their berths, hastUy shouted commands, the creaking 

 of anchor chains, and suddenly above everything else 

 the " crashing voice of a thunder squall that burst 

 right over our heads." Bj' then the fate of the Ariel 

 had already been sealed. 



{To be concluded in the August number) 



REFERENCES 



I. Biagi, Dr. Guido. The Last Days of Percy Bysshe 

 Shelley. (T. Fisher Unwin, 1898.) 

 11. B},Ton. The Life, Letters, and Journals of. Edited by 

 Thomas Moore. (John Murray, 1920.) 



III. B\Ton. Lord Byron's Correspondence. Edited bv John 



Murray, C.V.O. Vol.11. (John Murray, 1922.) 



IV. Dowden, Edward. The Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley. 



Chapters XXIII and XXIV. (New and abridged 

 edition, Kegan Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co., Ltd., 

 1920.) For the details of Shelley's last days the new 

 edition is as serviceable as the two-volume 1886 

 edition. This admirable work still remains the 

 standard biography. 



V. Leigh Hunt. The Autobiography of. (Smith Elder & 



Co., Ltd.) 



VI. Medwin, Thomas. The Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley 



With an Introduction and Commentary by H. Buxton 

 Forraan, C.B. (Humphrey Milford : Oxford University 

 Press, 1913.) 



VII. Shelley. The Complete Poetical Works of. Edited by 



Thomas Hutchinson, M.A., and including Mary 

 Shelley's notes. (Oxford Edition. Henry Frowde: 

 Oxford University Press.) 



VIII. Trelawny, E. J. Records of Shelley, Byron, and the 



Author. (George Routledge & Sons, Ltd., The New 



Universal Library.) First published in 1878, this 



book is a fuller record than the Recollections of the 



Last Days of Shelley and Byron, first published in 1858. 



IX. Williams, Edward Ellerker. Journal of. With an 



Introduction by Richard Garnett, C.B., LL.D. (Elkin 



Mathews, 1902.) 



These references are to the latest and cheapest editions of 



books, so far as the author knows. Further references will be 



given at the end of the second instalment of the article. 



New Year Decorations 

 in China 



By the Rev. C. W. Allan 



Visiting China at New Year time, one's attention is 

 attracted by the prevalence of paper symbols and 

 pictures to be seen pasted everywhere on the doors 

 and walls of the houses. A description of some of 

 the more common decorations may not be without 

 interest to our readers. 



On the door of almost every house may be seen 

 a single large character, the meaning of which is 



" happiness." The shape of this character is now 

 familiar to many Western people, being very often 

 used by silversmiths in the making of brooches and 

 buckles. It is a character that is used on every 

 available occasion, to express the paramount wish 

 of the Chinaman — a desire for material blessing. 

 It is the character most commonly recurring in the 

 other mottoes and sentences that are used at this 

 time, pasted in all sorts of positions, and meeting 

 the eye at every turn. Of these, the most common 

 are, " May Happiness descend on us from Heaven," 

 " To Dwell in Peace is Happiness," and " May the 

 Five Blessings come to this House." This last 

 sentence is a favourite one, and the sentiment expressed 

 is a wisli for unalloyed pleasure to be extended through 

 life. The "Five Blessings" are Old Age, Wealth, 

 Health, Love of Virtue, and a " Natural Death." 

 The character for a " bat " having the same sound 

 as the one meaning " happiness," it often happens 

 that over doorways are to be seen figures in the 

 plaster moulding of bats flying with outstretched 

 wings, indicating the same sentiments as the written 

 characters. 



Another very common expression is to be found 

 written on red paper and pasted up opposite the door 

 of a dwelling. This may be translated, " May wealth 

 spring up before me," an indication of the Chinese 

 desire ever in evidence, to be quickened into life 

 each time the door is passed. 



The doors of Chinese houses are generally made 

 with two leaves, which, when closed, have an inter- 

 stice down the centre of the doorway. On New Year's 

 Eve this is partly covered over with a piece of red 

 paper on which is written, " May good luck attend 

 the opening of the door." In the morning, when the 

 door is opened, the paper, of course, is split. 



Over every door are hung five pieces of red paper 

 that have been elaborately cut and shaped by hand 

 during the later days of the old year. These are 

 called " door money." In the twelfth month, any 

 number of men can be seen on the street, with stalls 

 for the sale of pictures and paper, who during the 

 hours of business cut out these lengths of paper with 

 small awls or chisels. There are five in a set, and 

 they are supposed to represent the five blessings 

 mentioned above. There are many styles of these, 

 the best being exceedingly pretty and effective. Not 

 only is the paper cut into designs, but characters and 

 pictures are also pasted upon them. Many have 

 characters in gilt paper with this sentiment : " May 

 I be exalted at an early date." 



Perhaps, to the uninitiated, the figures pasted on 

 the doors of Chinese houses are of most interest. 

 These are the " door gods " or guardian deities of 

 the homes. Almost every door possesses a pair of 



