SOJOURN IN CHINA AND RETURN
Prior to the Civil War, Mr. Gouverneur received an appointment from James Buchanan as U.S. Consul to Foo Chow in China, and I decided to accompany him upon his long journey. Meanwhile a second daughter had been added to our family, much to the disappointment of the large circle of relatives who were still anxiously expecting me to hand down the name of Gouverneur. We named her Ruth Monroe. We took passage upon the clipper ship Indiaman, a vessel of heavy tonnage sailing from New York and commanded by a "down-east" skipper named Smith. No railroads crossed the American continent in those days, and the voyage to the far East had to be made either around Cape Horn or by way of the Isthmus of Panama or around the Cape of Good Hope. We selected the latter route, leaving New York in October and arriving in Shanghai the following March. My preparations for such a protracted journey with two very young children were carefully and even elaborately planned but, to my dismay, some of the most important articles of food for the childrens' diet became unfit for use long before we reached our destination. As one may readily imagine, I was accordingly put to my wits' end for substitutes. We also provided ourselves with a goodly amount of literature, and more particularly books relating to China, among which were Father Evariste Régis Huc's volume on "The Chinese Empire," and Professor S. Wells Williams's work on "The Middle Kingdom." We read these en route with great interest but discovered after a few months' residence in the East that no book or pen we then knew conveyed an adequate idea of that remarkable country.
We had a very favorable voyage, and sailing in the trade winds in the Southern hemisphere was to me the very acme of bliss. I was thoroughly in sympathy with the passage of Humboldt where he speaks of the tropical skies and vegetation in the following beautiful manner:—"He on whom the Southern Cross has never gleamed nor the Centaur frowned, above whom the clouds of Magellan have never circled, who has never stood within the shadow of great palms, nor clothed himself with the gloom of the primeval forests, does not know how the soul seems to have a new birth in the midst of these new and splendid surroundings. Nowhere but under the equatorial skies is it permitted to man to behold at once and in the same sweep of the eye all the stars of both the Northern and Southern heavens; and nowhere but at the tropics does nature combine to produce the various forms of vegetation that are parceled out separately to other climes."
The patience of our captain was sorely tried by the lack of wind while passing through the Doldrums. This nautical locality, varying in breadth from sixty to several hundred miles and shifting in extreme limits at different seasons of the year, is near the equator and abounds in calms, squalls and light, baffling winds which sometimes prevent the progress of sailing vessels for weeks at a time. When we finally emerged from the Doldrums, we were compensated for the trying delay by greeting the trade winds so cherished by the hearts of mariners. We sailed many leagues south of the Cape of Good Hope and much too far away even to catch a glimpse of it, but we realized its proximity by the presence of the Cape pigeons which hovered around our vessel. The albatross was also our daily visitor and one or two of them were caught by the sailors, regardless of the superstition of possible calamity attending such an act. Our only stop during the long voyage was at the Moluccas or Spice Islands, in the Malay Peninsula, and was made at the request of the passengers who were desirous of exploring the beauties of that tropical region. The waters surrounding these islands were as calm as a lake and all around our ship floated the débris of spices. The vegetation was more beautiful than I can describe and the shells which covered the shores were eagerly collected by the passengers.
Our fellow voyagers were four missionaries, who on Sundays conducted divine service, and a Mr. Pemberton, a young Canadian who was en voyage to join the Hong of Purden and Company in Shanghai. In these early days it was the custom of parents of refractory or adventurous sons to place them on board sailing vessels for lengthy outings. Occasionally they were sent upon whaling voyages, where the hardships were greater and the voyage more prolonged. On the Indiaman there were several of these youths and it was quite pathetic as well as comical to see them ascend the rigging amid the jeers of a well-disciplined crew. One of them, whose father had occupied an official position in the City of New York, had been quite a society "swell" and claimed acquaintance with me. At times he was required by the captain to hold my younger child, a mere babe, in the arms. Every now and then we were startled by her shrieks and for quite a time we could not detect the cause until we finally discovered that his task was uncongenial and that, in order to get rid of his charge, the incorrigible youth had administered an occasional pinch.
One Sunday afternoon while sailing in the Indian Ocean we had a narrow escape from shipwreck. Every sail was set to catch the least breath of air, and Mr. Gouverneur and the children were on deck with the captain, when in the distance they saw what seemed to resemble a huge wall. The moment the experienced eye of our skipper saw it he exclaimed, "My God, we are gone!" It slowly but surely approached our ship and when it reached us its force was so great that our sails almost dipped into the ocean. The ship, however, gradually righted itself and we were naturally more than grateful for our deliverance. I chanced to be resting in my cabin at the perilous moment and in a most unceremonious manner was thrown to the floor. After reaching the mouth of that stupendous river, the Yangtze Kiang, we thought our long voyage was nearly ended, but we soon discovered that we had not yet "crossed the Rubicon," and that trouble was still in store for us. We had just passed the mouth of this river and cast anchor when, to our surprise and dismay, we encountered a severe storm, and during the night dragged anchor for about twenty miles. The morning, however, dawned bright and clear, but our captain, who had lost his temper during the storm, did not accord the Chinese pilots who boarded us a very gracious reception. This was my first glimpse of the Chinese within the limits of their own domain.
When we reached the city of Shanghai it was quite dark, but we found coolies awaiting us with chairs. I shall never forget my first impressions of China. All of my anticipations of the beautiful Orient were fully realized, and, as I was carried through the crowded streets, visions of the Arabian Nights enchanted me and it seemed to me a veritable region of delight. The streets of Shanghai, however, after the broad thoroughfares of Washington, appeared like small and complicated pathways. They were not lighted with public lamps at this time, but myriads of lanterns of every conceivable shape and color carried by wayfarers met the eye at every turn and made the whole scene appear like fairyland. But, alas, the following morning I was undeceived, for daylight revealed to my vision a very squalid and dirty city. We were carried to the largest hotel in Shanghai, where it seemed as though I were almost receiving a home greeting when the sign over the door told me that it was the Astor House! Still another surprise awaited me. Although in a strange land, one of the first persons to welcome me was a former acquaintance, the wife of Mr. Robert Morrison Olyphant, the head of the prominent Hong of Olyphant and Company. Her maiden name was Anna O. Vernon and I had formerly known her quite well in New York and Newport.
We did not linger long in Shanghai, but embraced the first opportunity to reach Foo Chow. It was a coast voyage of several days and was attended with much discomfort, as the choppy seas through which we sailed made all of us very ill—a remarkable experience, considering the fact that during the whole of our protracted voyage we had not suffered an uncomfortable moment. We reached Foo Chow, however, in due time, and Mr. Gouverneur at once assumed his official duties. Foo Chow is called by the natives Hok Chiu, or "Happy City." It is also what is termed a "Foo-City," signifying a place of the largest magnitude, and was the sole Chinese port where royalty was represented. It is situated upon the Min River, about twenty-five miles from its mouth, and is the capital of the Province of Fokien. The navigation of the river Min was regarded as dangerous, and the insurance rates for vessels navigating it were higher than those of any other Chinese port. The place is surrounded by castellated walls nine or ten miles in circumference, outside of which are suburbs as extensive as the city itself. Its walls are about thirty feet high and twelve wide at the top. Its seven gates are overlooked by high towers, while small guardhouses stand at frequent intervals along the walls.
Upon our arrival in Foo Chow we found no house provided for the U.S. Consul, and immediately made our residence with a missionary family, where we were most comfortable, until the Hong of Augustus Heard and Company provided us with a residence for which we paid rent. The English government took better care of its representative. Not far from us was the British Consulate, a fine building reminding one in certain respects of the White House. In another residence near by, and provided by his government, lived the British interpreter, a Scotchman named Milne. Walter H. Medhurst, the British Consul, and his interpreter were descendants of early English missionaries. We found Foo Chow to be a somewhat lawless city. Many of its inhabitants were mountaineers from the surrounding region who had become pretty well starved out and had found their way into the city. As a result of their early training, they gave the authorities much trouble.
I was naturally much impressed by some of the novel and curious customs then prevalent. The seat of honor assigned a guest was on the left of the host. The uncovered head for a man was a mark of disrespect and a servant would accordingly be severely reprimanded if he appeared before his master with his hat off. Persons in mourning wore white, in striking contrast with the somber apparel used by ourselves. The shoe polish in vogue was a chalky white substance. From these and other examples it can readily be seen I was justified in feeling that I had been transferred to another planet and had left "dull earth behind me." When we reached Foo Chow, the gorgeous flowers and other vegetation were at their best. The month of April was a season set apart by the Chinese to decorate with flowers the graves of their ancestors; and coming from a land where such a ceremony was unknown, it impressed me as a beautiful custom. It suggests, moreover, the inquiry as to whether it was from the Chinese, or from an innate conviction of the beautiful sentiment demanding an outward expression, that induced the descendants of the Blue and the Gray, at a later period, to strew with flowers the last resting-places of those whose memories they delighted to honor.