142 Through the Yang-tse Gorges 



them— ten boys and eight girls. The women were only 

 allowed to peep in at the barbarian through curtained doors. 

 As soon as we sat down, cloths wrung out of hot water 

 were handed to us to wipe our faces — a most refreshing 

 custom in a warm climate, and the usual hot tea, which the 

 two assiduous servants would never allow to cool, marching 

 round with a kettle of hot water to replace each sip taken 

 by the guests. Then, in my honour, followed the usual 

 Chinese dinner-party, which to the western is an intolerably 

 tedious affair. Seven of us sat down to a small square table, 

 I, as the guest of the day, having a seat at the top all to 

 myself, the others sitting two each on short benches. The 

 table was adorned at starting with sixteen large set dishes of 

 highly-flavoured mincemeats, fruits, and vegetables, and 

 about a dozen saucers containing melon-seeds, pea-nuts, 

 candied orange-peel, etc., the centre being occupied by the 

 " removes," which are replaced successively a dozen times 

 or more throughout the feast, and consist largely of fat pork 

 cooked in various ways. The business of the day com- 

 menced with swallowing endless thimblefuls of hot " sam- 

 shu," a fiery spirit made from millet, interspersed with the 

 cracking of melon-seeds and pea-nuts, and the tasting of the 

 different dishes with chop-sticks, the Lilliputian saucer in 

 front of the honoured guests being heaped up with tit-bits 

 fished out with the chop-sticks of the too polite hosts. 

 Gradually, after all have drunk well, the removes are 

 seriously attacked, when the company, after about two hours' 

 time, being absolutely unable to swallow any more food, 

 wine-drinking recommences, stimulated by the noisy and, to 

 the Chinaman, highly exciting game of Morra, in which I am 

 fairly proficient. All this time not a morsel of bread or 

 grain of rice to assist the deglutition of the greasy dishes, 

 only occasional hot cloths to wipe the mouth and the; 



