Directory_and_Chronicle_1841 — Page 124

1841.

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Illustrations of Men and Things in China.

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remarked 1, taking it out of his hands; and looking farther, saw that the running title was on the edge of the leaves instead of the top; that the pag- ing was near the bottom; that the marginal notes were on the top of the page; that the blank space at the top of the page was very much larger than at the bottom; that the blanks for correction were large black squares in the middle of the column instead of white openinge ;* that the back was open, and the name written on the bottom edge; and lastly that the volume had d heavy line near the middle of every page, which he said separated the two works contained in it. I asked the price of the work, and he said it was a dollar and eight thirds, and on counting out $34 he gave me back $21, say- ing I had paid him too much; 1 asked an explanation, and learned that in China eight thirds meant three eighths; a long time after I learned still fur- ther that it was really eight divided by three, a mode of expression, which, by placing the numerator after the denominator, is just opposite our own. An- other small volume which he took out of his pocket, had the number and caption of the chapters at the foot instead of the head; and my astonishment was increased, when on requesting him to find a word in a small dictionary, he told me the words were arranged by the end instead of the beginning→ ming, sing, king, being all in a row.

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"Giving the book back to him, I begged him to speak of ceremony. He commenced by saying, When you receive a distinguished guest, do not fail to place him on your left hand, for that is the seat of honor; and be cautious 'not to uncover the head, as it would be an unbecoming act of familiarity.' This was a severe 'below to any established notions, but re- quested him to continue. He reopened the volume, and read with becoming gravity, The most learned men are decidedly of opinion, that the seat of the human understanding is in the belly.' 'Better say it is in the feet, and done with it,' exclaimed I, for this so shocked all my principles of correct philoso- phy, that I immediately shut up the book, and dismissed my moonshe to come another day.

"On going abroad, I met so many things contrary to all my preconceived ideas of propriety, that I readily assented to a friend's observation that the Chinese were our antipodes in many things besides geography.' 'Indeed,' said I, it is so; I shall almost, expect shortly to see a man walking on his head; look, there's a woman in trowsers, and a party of gentleman in petticoats; she is smoking a segar, and they are fauning themselves;' but I was taught not to trust to appearances too much, when on passing them, I saw the latter wore tight under-garments. We soon after met the comprador of the house dressed in a complete puit of white, and I stopped and asked him what mer. ry making he was invited to; with a look of the deepest concern, he said, he was just returning from burying his father. Soon we passed a house, where we heard sobbing and crying, and desiring to alleviate grief, I inquir- ed who was ill. The man, suppressing a smile, said, it is a young girl just about leaving her father's house to be married, and she is lamenting The black places which occur in some books, as for instance the Court Ca- lendar, are 'caused by the block being left uncut for subsequent correction.

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