Jack was much amused, and asked Jos the meaning of the ceremony. Jos answered—
“For why you don’t know? Dere is one great lady, queen, they call her, lives up in de sky, and she like to see dese paper junks; and so when she see dem, den she send breeze to blow junk along.”
Jack was highly amused at this account.
“Well, I never thought much of a Chinaman’s wit,” he observed; “but I did not think he was such a goose as to fancy that a breeze would be sent merely because he put some twisted-up bits of paper on the water.”
Jos, who understood some of these remarks, looked at him, and remarked—
“When I ’board English ship I hear sailors whistle, whistle, whistle when dere is calm. I ask why dey do dat? Dey say, ‘Whistle for a wind.’ Now, I tink Chinaman just as wise as English sailor. Anybody whistle, cost nothing. Chinaman spend money, buy gold paper, make junk, much trouble. Dat please Chinaman’s lady-god more dan empty whistle can Englishman’s fetish, or whatever he whistle to.”
“Excellent,” exclaimed Murray. “The Malay has hit us very hard. That whistling for a breeze is, in most cases, merely a foolish trick, but it is too indicative of unsound principles to be witnessed without pain. If we really considered the matter rightly, we should feel that every time we whistle for a breeze, we are offering a senseless insult to the Great Ruler of the universe. It is a remnant, I suppose, of some superstition of our Scandinavian ancestors, who thought by whistling they were addressing some demon or spirit of the elements.”
“That is taking the matter seriously, Alick; but I suppose you are right,” said Jack.
“Nothing that leads to error, or that encourages superstition, or that leads a person to rely on any other power or influence than that of God’s merciful providence, can be treated too seriously, my dear Jack,” answered Murray. “Here have we, worthless fellows, had our lives providentially preserved; and we ought to do our utmost in every way to employ them in His service, and to do His will and to make known His truth. Depend on it that it is a very useless sort of religion, or seriousness, which a man adopts only when he is on the point of death or feels himself too ill to enjoy life.”
“Well, well, Alick, I will do my best to log that down in my memory and stick to it,” answered Jack, who always felt the force of Murray’s remarks, which had already had a very considerable influence on him for good; more, probably, than Murray himself was aware of. However, he went on in faith, speaking faithfully to his friend, assured that he was doing his duty.