A friend of mine was once very nearly killed by a boat's crew when being taken to his vessel by them; and although, as it will appear, upon that occasion he managed to escape, he was afterwards brutally murdered by the Chinese. But that terrible affair I will relate at its proper place; for I found his mangled corpse, together with those of his wife and child, some years afterwards, in another part of China.
HONG-KONG BOAT GIRLS.
London, Published March 15th 1866 by Day & Son, Limited Lithogrs Gate Str, Lincoln's Inn Fields.
Day & Son, Limited, Lith.
My friend Mellen was captain of a vessel belonging to himself, and, just after the last Canton war, was at anchor in Hong-Kong harbour. Returning on board late one night, the boatmen—seven in number, six pulling and one in the stern-sheets steering—soon after leaving the shore, instead of steering directly towards his ship, seemed to be keeping away from her. He, of course, endeavoured to make them steer in the right direction; but with that half-complying, half-defying shuffling of your true Chinaman, they managed to persist on the wrong course until reaching some little distance outside all the shipping. At this moment, and while still a considerable way from his own vessel, which happened to be lying outside all the others in port, he was suddenly struck with some heavy weapon by the man behind him, who was steering. Through a forward movement which he made, the blow luckily missed his head and struck him on the shoulder. Mellen very fortunately had a small revolver with him, and at the moment when the rest of the boatmen started from their seats and rushed to attack him, he turned and shot his first assailant, had just time to face them, firing again and wounding the foremost, when they were upon him, armed with formidable knives and the heavy thole pins used to fasten the oars. In an instant he received several wounds, though providentially his assailants were too much in each other's way to use their murderous weapons effectively; but his revolver being self-acting, without a pause, he was enabled to shoot dead another, and severely wound a fourth. At this, seeing four of their number hors de combat almost within five seconds, two of the remaining robbers lost heart, and jumped overboard to swim for it; the last, a large powerful fellow, closed with Mellen in a fierce and deadly struggle. My friend's revolver was empty; so, abandoning the weapon that had already rendered such good service, he grappled with his adversary, endeavouring to wrest away the knife with which he was armed.
In the meanwhile, the reports of the pistol and the noise of the struggle had reached the wakeful ears of my friend's wife, who was by good chance on deck, waiting and watching for her husband's return. Piercing the darkness of the night with eager eyes, she faintly discerned a boat in the distance, outside all the other ships, and naturally concluded it must be bound for their vessel. In agony for her husband's safety, she aroused the crew, seized a pistol from the cabin, and set off in the gig to overhaul the boat which had attracted her attention. The gig's crew pulling fast, arrived at the scene of conflict not an instant too soon; for Mellen being in weak health, was succumbing to the superior strength of his antagonist, who, with one hand grasping him by the throat, was making fierce efforts to release the other, and plunge the dagger it held into my friend's breast.
Just at this critical moment, Mrs. Mellen and her boat's crew arrived alongside, and, seeing all the danger, she presented the pistol at the Chinaman and fired; the ball passed directly through his head and laid him lifeless at her husband's feet. This gallant act was but one of many instances in which that courageous woman had saved her husband's life, and in defending which she eventually lost her own—a fruitless though noble sacrifice.
After landing and reporting myself at head-quarters, I finished my first day in China by seeing as much of Celestial life as my uninitiated state permitted. A sedan chair, the usual and aristocratic style of travelling in China, was hired, which for upwards of three hours transported me all over the town. The Chinese—their country—in fact, all about them—will afford an observant stranger an inexhaustible fund of study and amusement; yet, as a rule, Europeans are singularly neglectful of the country and most interesting traits of the peculiar people they sojourn amongst. They go to China with the sole idea of making a fortune, and too often in its blind pursuit all other principle is sacrificed. Their whole existence seems a feverish dream to obtain dollars enough to return home wealthy; and very seldom, if ever, are any found sufficiently disinterested or philanthropic to study the welfare and future of the immense Chinese empire.
At first, as foreigners generally are, I was considerably disgusted by the unnatural appearance of the men my lot was cast with, consequent upon the shaved head and monkey appendage. This frightful custom in no slight degree adds to the naturally cruel expression of their oblique eyes and altogether peculiar features; in fact, hair is absolutely required to tone down the harsh and irregular contour of their faces.
While wandering through the town, I was much struck by the appearance of many Chinese girls wearing European shoes on naturally formed feet, and head-dresses of brilliant Manchester pattern, in the form of handkerchiefs, folded diagonally and once knotted under the chin, the ends projecting on either side by a particular and almost mathematical adjustment. I soon became convinced that the European proclivities of the Canton girls went much further than this. These young ladies, before marriage or obtaining a "massa," wear their front hair cut short and hanging over the forehead, which gives them an expression between that of a London street-preacher and a person just dragged through a haystack; their back hair is gathered together and plaited into a long tail, which, when loose, strangely resembles the tail of a black Shetland pony. To the best of my knowledge, the Chinese women never cut their hair, and their system might be beneficially imitated by foreigners, for their tresses are certainly much longer and more luxuriant than those of the women of Europe.
I arrived during the Chinese New Year holidays, which, throughout China, are celebrated with extensive merry-making. At Hong-Kong the new year is welcomed with much festivity, and during many days the cracking of fire-crackers, the roar of petards, and the clanging of gongs is incessant; which, being continued all night, renders sleep difficult.