VIEW OF CHOLON.
"Well, we reached Cholon after a leisurely walk, and went down to the bank of the river, where great numbers of boats were moored. There were hundreds, and perhaps thousands of these boats, and at the place where they are moored they are tied very close together. They are rather long and narrow, and the best of them have a roof over the centre to protect the occupants from the sun and rain. Some of them are hewn out of single logs, and others are built of planks, as in other countries. Many are permanently fastened to the bank and are occupied as houses, like some of the boats in Canton; and altogether there is a pretty large water population. Near the water's edge there are huts built on platforms, and so arranged that the refuse of the kitchen falls into the river. The owner is under no expense for drainage, and the whole cost of his building does not exceed five dollars. Living is cheap in Cholon, if you are willing to occupy a grass-roofed hut, six feet square, on the bank of the river, and eat nothing more costly than boiled rice and fish. We saw two or three huts of the kind we describe, occupied by half a dozen persons each. They must have found the quarters rather close at times, but probably did not mind a trifle like that. A single plank served as the roadway to the shore, and in some instances it was so shaky that it required a steady head and careful stepping to avoid being thrown into the water.
A CHINESE FAMILY AT CHOLON.
"More than half the people we saw were Chinese, and not the natives of the country, and nearly all the business in the shops appeared to be done by the former. We peeped into some of the houses where the Chinese live, and they did not seem to care how much we looked at them. We saw one group that was quite interesting, in spite of the poverty of the habitation and the scarcity of furniture; there were five persons in all, or perhaps we should say eight, as there were three cats under the table that acted as though they were as good as anybody else. Two men and two children were at a table, and a woman was standing up behind them to see that everything was all right. On the table there was a small tub that contained stewed fish and some kind of vegetables, and there was a bowl for each one to eat from. They were better off than some other parties we saw at breakfast, who had only one bowl for the whole lot, and everybody helped himself with his chop-sticks.
A CAB FOR TWO.
"We saw something that reminded us of Shanghai; it was nothing more nor less than a wheelbarrow, but, unlike the Shanghai one, it had no passengers. Wouldn't it be funny to see a wheelbarrow in America for carrying passengers, just as we have cabs and coaches? You must come to China for a sight like that, and also for a regular ride in a wheelbarrow, and you can have the consolation of knowing that it is very cheap and also very uncomfortable. The wheelbarrow has no springs, and so you get the benefit of every jolt, however small; and as the vehicle is somewhat weak in the joints, and the man who pushes it is far from powerful, you feel all the time as though you were liable to be spilled out. The wheel is large and clumsy, and the frame has a sort of rest in the centre, where you can put your arms. Two men can occupy one of these coaches, and they are very popular among the natives, but less so among the foreigners.