English:
Identifier: mysticflowerylan00halcuoft

Title: The mystic flowery land; a personal narrative
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Halcombe, Charles J. H
Subjects: China -- Description and travel
Publisher: London Luzac
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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r removed from the care and tumult of the busy Westernworld. Regarding the Chinese, I have never allowed caste, family,prejudice, or advice to interfere with my feelings. I have alwaysand shall ever continue to love them; not nationally but individu-ally ; and am honoured to say that I hold their respect andconfidence, and count among them some of my dearest and mostreliable friends who would follow me anywhere and stand by meto the last, as I have more than once proved. But to know andappreciate these people they require to be carefully studied, asthey keenly study you before giving or even accepting friendship. One afternoon, at Seou Jaes request, I paid a visit with herto her aunt, or guardian, who lived near the east gate of theChinese city. On entering the ill-kept house of her relative, the old woman,much to the annoyance and dismay of Seou Jae, gave us a verycool reception. I at once entertained grave doubts as to thehonesty of this aunt, whom I did not at all like the look of.

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CANTONESE WOMEN. •celestial LAIiir.S. Seeing tliat our comimny was not (lesiral)Ie, wt* heat a soinewliatluisty retreat. Not wishing to further -trouble or unnecessarily alarm iMi.irSeou Jae, wlio seemed very downcast and worried, I did notimpart to her the forebodings which begun to crowd inU> njy niin«l. Strange to say, when we met again that evening, Seou Jae, wIm»lived in a very nice house, with her two female attendant«, inthe Nankin Road, seemed very dispirited, and like myself, fore-shadowed calamity. But I thought it was merely her nervoti.sfancy when she said that two or three rejuilsive-looking old hagshad been watching the house. She seemed quite frightened at first,but after a time I allayed her fears and forgot all abt>ut it. We both tried to cheer one another, but it was a most dismalfailure. And when we said good night, neither of us could speak,for anguish has no expression, only most elocpient silence. Thus we parted, very likely for ever, for years have pa

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