1 68 Through the Yang-tse Gorges 



innocent of soap or penknife. In spring-time the hard- 

 worked coolie doffs his wadded winter garments, and 

 parades his naked skin, happily unconscious of any dis- 

 grace attending the exhibition of the itch-sores which dis- 

 figure it. In the narrow crowded streets rain-storms are 

 the only scavengers, and if we look into the interiors, we 

 find the mud on the floors and the dust on the furniture 

 steadily accumulating, until the New Year brings round the 

 solitary annual house-cleaning. What, however, can be ex- 

 pected of a race who cripple their women, and incapacitate 

 the natural guardians of the home from all active exertion ? 

 During my stay I received many invitations to dinner- 

 parties. These are generally given in one of the dozen 

 spacious -guildhalls in the city, or in one of the many really 

 beautiful club-gardens in the surrounding country. One 

 party, given in the Canton guild-garden, had the most 

 exquisite setting for a banquet possible. The Canton 

 guild-gardens cover some two or three acres, all laid out 

 with paths winding between masses of rockwork and great 

 bouquets of flowers and flowering shnibs. A precipitous slope, 

 rising a few hundred feet and covered by a mass of fine 

 bamboos, forms the background, while the " little river " flows 

 in front in its narrow valley an equal distance below. Spacious 

 houses with courtyards, solidly built and beautifully adorned 

 with wood and stone carving, marble floors, and wide 

 verandahs, form the chief reception-rooms, while elegant 

 smaller pavilions are scattered about the grounds, so ar- 

 ranged as to secure perfect privacy to each party of visitors. 

 For the hot weather, caves have been excavated in the soft 

 sandstone rock, which are much affected by the Chinese as 

 being cool and draughtless. These "halls" are mostly 

 owned in shares by a group of friendly families, and form 

 in fact institutions analogous to our dubs ; they differ. 



