Peeps Into China; Or, The Missionary's Children. E. C. Phillips

in China. Sometimes they go without reins, when their masters will perhaps walk beside them, carrying a whip. I have also seen very polite drivers, who, whenever they met a friend, jumped off their carts and walked on foot to pass one another.

       A CHINESE JUNK.

       FLYING KITES.

      "Government servants generally use ponies, but as China is so densely populated—having, it has been estimated, about four hundred million inhabitants, and people find it so hard to obtain enough to support themselves and families—they keep as few beasts of burden as possible. The farmer employs the bullock a great deal, and in the north of China the camel is also much used.

      "Much trade is carried on by boats, and where there is no water, and farmers are without other conveyances, they will sometimes push their wives along the roads in wheel-barrows, sons giving their parents similar drives. There are but few carriage-roads in many parts of China."

      "I wonder the Chinese do not make more, then," said Leonard.

      "They cannot afford to do so, because to make them bread-producing land would have to be done away with."

      "What a number of rivers and bays there are in China!" said Sybil, who was again examining her map. "And I see the Great Wall crosses the Hwang-ho."

      "And that's the fifth largest river in the world," Leonard answered. "Only the Amazon, Mississippi, Nile, and Yantze-kiang are larger; and the Grand Canal in China is the very largest canal in the world."

      "I learnt once, too, that Hwang-ho meant 'Chinese sorrow.' Why is it called that?"

      "Because it has altered its course, which has caused great loss and inconvenience to the Chinese."

      "And what does 'Yantze-kiang' mean?"

      "The son that spreads; this is their favourite river."

      Geography was one of Leonard's favourite studies.

      "Why do so many Chinese rivers end in ho and kiang?" he then asked, looking over Sybil's map.

      "Both words mean river—the Yantze and the Hwang rivers. And the Chinese have all kinds of boats for use on their rivers. Here, my boy, is a picture of a Chinese junk. Look at it well, and see if you can discover anything peculiar about it."

      Leonard looked for some time. "It has sails," he answered, "like butterflies' wings."

      "Yes; that is how the Chinese make many of their sails."

      "But the kites are what I want to see so much," said Leonard, as though the sails had reminded him of them again. "What are the most peculiar of them like?"

      "Like birds, insects, animals, clusters of birds, gods on clouds: all kinds of things, in fact, are represented by these kites, which the Chinese are most clever in making, and also in flying. I have seen old men, of about seventy years of age, thoroughly enjoying flying their kites. The Chinese do not care much for your, and my, favourite games, Leonard: cricket and football."

      "What games do they like?"

      "They are very fond of battledore and shuttlecock, but instead of using a battledore they hit the shuttlecock with their heads, elbows, or feet. Seven or eight children play together, and nearly always aim the shuttlecock rightly. Girls play at this game too, in spite of their small feet. Tops, balls, see-saws, and quoits are also favourite toys and games amongst the Chinese."

      "I remember," Sybil said, "a girl at school having a Chinese shuttlecock, and that was like a bird."

      "Well, father, go on, please. What other amusements have they?" asked Leonard.

      "Puppet-shows for one thing I remember, which they exhibit in the streets, as we do 'Punch and Judy.' The pictures in these shows are exhibited by means of strings, which are either worked from behind or from above the stand, and as the people look through a glass, the views are displayed to them. A man standing at the side calls out loudly, and beats a little gong to summon people to attend the show. And now I think, as I am rather tired for to-day, I shall beat a little gong to dismiss you from the show," Mr. Graham said, smiling, as he turned towards his children, who never seemed to grow tired of listening.

      "Very well, father; we will go now, and let you rest," Sybil replied, standing up. "Thank you so much. To-morrow, you know, we shall come to the show again, so please remember to sound the gong in good time." And off they bounded, leaving Mr. Graham at liberty to go and seek his wife, who was then lying down in her cabin.