174 Among Men and Horses. 



One day, when at Tientsin, my wife met with a bad acci- 

 dent, by the pony which she was riding, rearing up, coming 

 over, and then kicking her repeatedly while she was on the 

 ground. During this performance, the animal's mafoo and a 

 comrade of his looked on, without making the slightest at- 

 tempt to save her, which they might easily have done by 

 catching the pony, and turning him round. They conscien- 

 tiously refrained from interfering with, what they were pleased 

 to term, 'jos pidgin.' The accident made us relinquish the 

 idea of going to Pekin, which was only about fifty miles 

 distant ; and we decided to spend our holidays in Japan. 

 While staying in Tientsin, I became acquainted with a funny 

 custom of the Chinese, by hearing, on the first night of our 

 arrival, outside our window, a noise as if someone were ringing 

 a cracked bell, or beating a tin can. As it soon faded away 

 in the distance, I did not mind it at first, and being tired, I 

 had just dropped off into a dose, when the same inharmonious 

 tinkle, tinkle, came nearer and nearer. I bore with it for a 

 time ; but was at last roused to fury by its infernal repetition, 

 as it went round the house, dived off into the stable, and 

 then returned to its old place under our window. I ran out 

 with a big whip and a volley of ' language,' which must have 

 frightened the delinquent ; for he ceased performing during 

 the remainder of the night. In the morning I learned that 

 he was the hotel watchman, whose function is to go about the 

 premises rattling a stone in an old tin pot in order to frighten, 

 not thieves, with whom he has no concern, but the devil. 



At Tientsin, we saw for the first time in China, several 

 very fine mules, which in height and substance, almost equal 

 those of Spain. We also met on the road from time to time, 

 Tartar horsemen who proudly 'show off' by making their 

 hardy little ponies amble at a great rate, to the terror of the 

 sober-minded Chinese, to whom rapidity of action, as well as 

 of thought, is an abomination. My only regret was that we 

 were unable to find time for a tour among these ardent lovers 

 of horses, to whose country we were then very near. When 



