China—Plate 3
Plate III.
THE FISHING CORMORANTS.
The Leu-tzé, or fishing cormorant of China, is the pelicanus sinensis, and resembles very much the common cormorant of England, which, we are told by naturalists, was once trained up to catch fish, pretty much in the same manner as those of China are. They are exceedingly expert in taking fish, and pursue them under water with great eagerness. They are taken out, on the rivers and lakes, in boats or bamboo rafts; and though sent on the chace after long fasting, they are so well trained that they rarely swallow any of the fish they take until they are permitted to do so by their masters. Many thousand families in China earn their subsistence by means of these birds.
China—Plate 4
Plate IV.
A MAN SERVANT.
We have little to observe on this figure. His dress is pretty nearly that of the class of people to which he belongs. The Chinese are excellent domestic servants, and when honest, which is a quality not common among them, they are invaluable. They are rather slow, and do not like to be put out of their way, but they do their work well and neatly. Every European resident at Canton and Macao has Chinese servants, which on the whole, are preferable to any other race of Orientals. They are sometimes brought over to England, but are seldom happy till they get back to their own country, which has the same kind of charm to them as the vallies of Switzerland had to the natives of that once happy country.
