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KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



for speaking oracularly on the subject under 

 notice. AVe are in constant and uninterrup- 

 ted communication, and in free intercourse, 

 with many persons whom we have never yet 

 seen. We write as freely to them, as they 

 do to us. If we say we love them, we speak 

 but the simple truth. They have said as much 

 to us. And why not ? If we were to meet 

 to-morrow, there would be no shyness, no 

 strangeness, no distance between us. This 

 result is brought about by that indefinable 

 chord of sweet sympathy, on which we 

 touched emphatically in our earlier volumes. 



Some may connect these remarks with 

 the professed " art of reading characters by 

 the hand-writing ;" but no such jugglery is 

 ours. A good " guess, 11 now and then, may 

 bring grist to the mill of the hungry " pro- 

 fessor ;" but he knows nothing of what WE 

 are talking about. 



Letters truly have a voice, and it some- 

 times speaks softly, eloquently, lovingly, to 

 those who can hear it ; but " no stranger, 11 

 as Montgomery says, can " intermeddle 11 

 with such joys as these. Of letters generally, 

 the same correct judgment may be formed. 

 The mechanical action of the pen is seen 

 on the paper. It is taken up for a purpose, 

 and then laid aside. Cold, dry, formal 

 missives reach us constantly. We reply to 

 them as a matter of course ; and having burnt 

 them, at once cease to think of them and the 

 writers. Selfish are the questioners, and as 

 succinct are we in our replies. 



But such are not the letters of which we 

 have been singing. These, even if burnt, 

 have a " correct copy" stamped upon a sub- 

 stance that is imperishable, — our heart. 



SOME PECULIARITIES OF THE CHINESE. 



BY W. B. LANGDON. 



The constant intercourse now taking 

 place between this country and China, natu- 

 rally renders anything connected with the 

 latter interesting. The subjoined remarks 

 succinctly point out the characteristics of the 

 women of the country ; and give one an idea 

 of their social habits. A Chinese dinner-party 

 is a curiosity in its way. But hommage aux 

 dames ! Let me first speak of the ladies : — 



The women of China, as in all other countries 

 not blessed with Christianity, occupy a rank in 

 society far inferior to that of the men. Neverthe- 

 less, their place in the social scale is higher, their 

 influence greater, and their treatment better, than 

 can be predicated of the sex in any other Asiatic 

 nation. Of school education the mass receive none, 

 though there are occasionally shining exceptions ; 

 but Gutzlaff ascribes to them the possession of a 

 large share of common sense, and says that they 

 make " devoted wives and tender mothers. 1 ' 



The generality of Chinese ladies cannot boast of 

 great b,eauty. They make a free use of rouge, and 



this article is always among the presents to a bride 

 on the occasion of her nuptials. The distinguishing 

 marks of personal attractions among the Chinese, 

 in a gentleman — are, a large person, inclining to 

 corpulency, a full glossy face, and large pendent 

 ears ; the latter indicating high breeding and for- 

 tune. In females it is nearly the reverse, delicate 

 forms are in them highly esteemed, having slender 

 " willow waists.' 1 The eyes are termed " silver 

 seas." The eye-brows are frequently removed, 

 and in their stead a delicately curved pencil line 

 is drawn, resembling the leaf of the willow, " Lew 

 shoo," a species of palm which is considered beau- 

 tiful, and used metaphorically for " Pleasure." 

 Hence the saying — "deceived and stupefied by 

 wullows and flowers ; " *. e. by dissolute pleasures. 

 In what circumstances the " golden lilies," the 

 highest of personal attractions, originated, is not 

 known. The distortion is produced by turning the 

 toes under the soles of the feet at birth, and con- 

 fining them in that position by tight bandages, 

 till their growth is effectually checked. The 

 bandaging is continued for several years, during 

 which the poor child suffers the most excruciating 

 tortures. This is no doubt an absurd, cruel, and 

 wicked practice ; but those who dwell in glass 

 houses should not throw stones. It is not a whit 

 worse, nay, I maintain that it is less irrational 

 and injurious than the abomination of tight-lacing. 

 No vital part is here attacked, no vital functions 

 disordered ; and on the score of taste, if the errors 

 of Nature are to be rectified, and her graceful lines 

 and proportions improved, I see not why the process 

 of amendment may not be as reasonably applied 

 to the feet as to the waist. Almost every family 

 in China, however poor, has one daughter with the 

 small feet. 



Head-dresses of natural and artificial flowers 

 are always worn. " No woman," says Sir George 

 Staunton, "is so poor as to neglect, or so aged as 

 to give up adorning herself in this manner." The 

 culture of flowers for this purpose is a regular 

 occupation throughout the country. 



Wives are distinguished from unmarried females, 

 by the latter allowing the hair near the forehead 

 to hang down towards the eye-brows ; while the 

 former have theirs bound together upon the crown 

 of the head. 



Among the accomplishments of Chinese ladies, 

 music, painting on silk, and embroidery, hold the 

 chief places. The musical instruments are various 

 in kind and material, and a supply of them is held 

 to be an indispensable part of the furniture of a 

 lady's boudoir. Painting on silk is a very common 

 recreation ; and embroidery is an almost universal 

 accomplishment. 



So much for the women of China. Let 

 us now take a peep at a Chinese " spread." 



The ceremony attending an invitation to 

 dinner is somewhat formal, and may be inte- 

 resting to many of your readers. The invita- 

 tion is conveyed some days before, by a 

 crimson-colored ticket, on which is inscribed 

 the time appointed ; and the guest is entreated 

 to bestow " the illumination of his presence." 

 At other times, the phrase is, li I have pre- 

 pared pure tea, and wait for your company to 

 converse." 



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