"Gno gnae ne," I told him as well as I knew.
"Noo nay nee; well, I think I shall remember that; noo nay nee; yes, that's simple enough; but how shall I meet Cum-ho again to tell her so? that's the question."
"Trust to the Chinese Cupid, if there is one; besides, if she loves you, depend upon it you will hear from her somehow before long; but I must say I still retain a vivid remembrance of some of your Hong-kong attachments; there was A-far, the pretty daughter of Canton Jack, our boatman; do you forget how desperately in love you fancied yourself with that sun-burnt, black-eyed, rough-headed 'Sanpan girl?'"
"Oh, nonsense," replied my friend, pettishly, "there's a vast difference between the two; at that time I was fresh from England and could not be much smitten by a Chinese boat-girl, with the thoughts of the dear girls at home filling my mind. But now I have been so long in China I have almost forgotten what an English woman is like; you cannot deny that Cum-ho is handsome; see what a beautiful little mouth she has, what teeth, what ——."
"There, that will do, my friend; it is needless to recapitulate the fair celestial's charms, you are evidently a victim of the little Chinese god; but I will just ask one thing; apart from the danger of becoming obnoxious to so powerful a chief as the Chung-wang, who would certainly never look with pleasure upon an alliance between his daughter and yourself, leang-sze-ma (lieutenant) in his guards though he has made you,—how would you feel disposed to carry home to England a Chinese wife?"
"Home!" said he, bitterly; "most likely I shall never see home again, at all events I love the girl, and I am determined not to give her up so easily; if I escape the gingall-balls and rusty spears of those rascally Imps, the Chung-wang may yet be willing to give me his daughter; it appears to me the marriage ceremony of the Ti-pings is much like ours, and if nothing else will succeed, why, an elopement à la Ti-ping Gretna Green may."
"You shall never do anything so rash," I responded, as we entered the palace and proceeded to our quarters, "we shall be leaving Nankin for some days very shortly, and when we return, if you are still of the same mind, we will resume the subject and see what can be done."
After this event Cum-ho was never permitted to meet us, although she managed now and then to send a message by Marie to the "Yang-quitzo." The misfortune of that confounded child would have proved a source of much merriment, but for the interruption of our pleasant promenades it effected. Besides making a prisoner of Cum-ho, it very considerably annoyed Marie and myself; for the vigilance of the elder ladies of the household having become aroused, they carefully watched over my betrothed wherever she went. I cannot but admit that, one and all, the women of Ti-pingdom were paragons of modesty and propriety, and although in this case their espionage proved rather vexatious, I did not admire them less for it.
Previous to this, I had determined to take a trip to Shanghae in order to ascertain, if possible, the purport of the will left by Marie's father, and also to make various arrangements with regard to obtaining supplies of grain, European arms, &c., for Nankin; all of which the Manchoos were able to obtain ad libitum from Europeans at the treaty ports, although furnishing the same articles to the Ti-pings was strictly prohibited by the British authorities, in spite of their pledged neutrality. Before setting out upon my journey, I had an interview with the Minister of the Interior, Chang-wang, who gave me a number of passes, requesting me to bestow them upon respectable Europeans and inform them Nankin was open to trade. A few foreign vessels were occupied trading to the city, and among them my friend Mellen, with two of his own lorchas. I had met him several times when in port, and shortly before I set out for Shanghae he had sailed with the vessel he was on board, intending to return with a cargo of rice, &c.
When all was ready for a start, I had no small difficulty in getting my friend away with me; Philip I left behind to continue drilling and otherwise instructing the soldiery, and also as my agent for other affairs. Besides the bother with my friend, I experienced a more serious one before getting the crew of my vessel to obey orders. These men during my stay had become thoroughly Ti-pingized, and having allowed their hair to grow, did not seem at all inclined to shave and adopt the Manchoo badge of slavery again. So attached to the Ti-ping re-establishment of Chinese customs had they become, that I was compelled to call in the Sz-wang to make them shave and leave Nankin. It may be that, as a rule, the Chinese are pretty well contented with and accustomed to the monkey tail, but let their national spirit once be aroused upon the subject, they feel the degradation bitterly. With scarcely an exception, the whole crew violently protested against resuming the guise of the Tartar, and one fine young fellow felt so acutely while under the hands of the barber that he actually cried like a child.