In addition to the great politeness he had previously shown me, Captain Jurianse conferred another favour, by allowing me, during my stay here, to live and lodge on board his ship, thereby saving me an expense of 16s. or 24s. [{91a}] a day; and, besides this, the boat which he had hired for his own use was always at my disposal. I must also take this opportunity of mentioning that I never drank, on board any other vessel, such clear and excellent water—a proof that it is not so easily spoilt by the heat of the tropics, or a protracted period, as is generally imagined. It all depends upon care and cleanliness, for which the Dutch are especially celebrated; and I only wish that every captain would, in this respect at least, imitate their example. It is rather too bad for passengers to be obliged to quench their thirst with thick and most offensive water—a disagreeable necessity I was subjected to on board every other sailing vessel in which I made a voyage of any length.
Victoria is not very pleasantly situated, being surrounded by barren rocks. The town itself has a European stamp upon it, so that were it not for the Chinese porters, labourers, and pedlars, a person would hardly believe he was in China. I was much struck at seeing no native women in the streets, from which it might be concluded that it was dangerous for a European female to walk about as freely as I did; but I never experienced the least insult, or heard the slightest word of abuse from the Chinese; even their curiosity was here by no means annoying.
In Victoria I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted with the well-known Herr Gützlaff, [{91b}] and four other German missionaries. They were studying the Chinese language; and wore the Chinese costume, with their heads shaved like the natives, and with large cues hanging down behind. No language is so difficult to read and write as the Chinese; it contains more than four thousand characters, and is wholly composed of monosyllables. Little brushes dipped in Indian ink are used for writing, the writing itself extending down the paper from right to left.
I had not been above a few days in Victoria before I had an opportunity of proceeding to Canton on board a small Chinese junk. A gentleman of the name of Pustan, who is settled as a merchant here, and whom I found excessively kind, endeavoured very earnestly to dissuade me from trusting myself among the Chinese without any protector, and advised me either to take a boat for myself or a place in the steamer; but both these means were too dear for my small finances, since either would have cost twelve dollars, whereas a passage in the junk was only three. I must also add, that the appearance and behaviour of the Chinese did not inspire me with the slightest apprehension. I looked to the priming of my pistols, and embarked very tranquilly on the evening of the 12th of July.
A heavy fall of rain, and the approach of night, soon obliged me to seek the interior of the vessel, where I passed my time in observing my Chinese fellow-travellers.
The company were, it is true, not very select, but behaved with great propriety, so that there was nothing which could prevent my remaining among them. Some were playing at dominoes, while others were extracting most horrible sounds from a sort of mandolin with three strings; all, however, were smoking, chatting, and drinking tea, without sugar, from little saucers. I, too, had this celestial drink offered to me on all sides. Every Chinese, rich or poor, drinks neither pure water nor spirituous liquors, but invariably indulges in weak tea with no sugar.
At a late hour in the evening I retired to my cabin, the roof of which, not being completely waterproof, let in certain very unwelcome proofs that it was raining outside. The captain no sooner remarked this than he assigned me another place, where I found myself in the company of two Chinese women, busily engaged in smoking out of pipes with bowls no bigger than thimbles, and in consequence they could not take more than four or five puffs without being obliged to fill their pipes afresh.
They soon remarked that I had no stool for my head. They offered me one of theirs, and would not be satisfied until I accepted it. It is a Chinese custom to use, instead of pillows, little stools of bamboo or strong pasteboard. They are not stuffed, but are rounded at the top, and are about eight inches high, and from one to three feet long. They are far more comfortable than would at first be imagined.
13th July. On hurrying upon deck early in the morning to view the mouth of the Si-Kiang, or Tigris, I found that we had already passed it, and were a long way up the river. I saw it, however, subsequently, on my return from Canton to Hong-Kong. The Si-Kiang, which is one of the principal rivers of China, and which, at a short distance before entering the sea, is eight nautical miles broad, is so contracted by hills and rocks at its mouth, that it loses one half of its breadth. The surrounding country is fine, and a few fortifications on the summits of some of the hills, give it rather a romantic appearance.
Near Hoo-man, or Whampoa, the stream divides into several branches; that which flows to Canton being called the Pearl stream. Although Whampoa of itself is an insignificant place, it is worthy of note, as being the spot where, from the shallowness of the water, all deeply laden ships are obliged to anchor.