Chap. XIII. DINNER AND ITS CEREMONIES. 



231 



provinces both in the north and in the south, of which 

 they knew little or nothing themselves. He told 

 them of his visit to Pekin, described the Emperor, 

 and proudly pointed to the livery he wore. This 

 immediately stamped him, in their opinions, as a 

 person of great importance. They expressed their 

 opinions freely upon the natives of different pro- 

 vinces, and spoke of them as if they belonged to 

 different nations, just as we would do of the natives 

 of France, Holland, or Denmark. The Canton men 

 they did not like ; the Tartars were good — the Em- 

 peror was a Tartar. All the outside nations were 

 bad, particularly the Kwei-tszes, a name signifying 

 Devil's children, which they charitably apply to the 

 nations of the western world. 



Having finished dinner, we rose from the table and 

 returned to the hall. Warm water and a wet cloth 

 were now set before each of us, to wash with after 

 our meal. The Chinese always wash with warm 

 water, both in summer and winter, and rarely use 

 soap or any substance of a similar nature. Having 

 washed my face and hands in the true Chinese style, 

 I intimated my wish to go out and inspect the hills 

 and temples in the neighbourhood. 



Calling Sing-Hoo to accompany me, we descended 

 the flight of steps and took the path which led down 

 to the lake at the bottom of the basin. On our way 

 we visited several temples ; none of them, however, 

 seemed of any note, nor were they to be compared 

 with those at Koo-shan near Foo-chow-foo. In 

 truth the good priests seemed to pay more attention 



