Directory_and_Chronicle_1841 — Page 685

1841.

Illustrations of Men and Things in China.

667

Along the dreary distant way, the word of a letter has ceased so long, My silvery dress, upon my pillow, with my tears is deeply dyed, And on my gilded robe and on my satin coat, the flowers are

wholly spoiled.

This spring did the cry of the geese and storks, in their passage

north when heard,

Seem to me, whose friend is far dispart, like tearing my heartstrings

out.

The strings of my lute had not yet broke, but my feelings were all

subdued ;

My grief was at its utmost bent, but my song was still unsung. I feel that your present love for me is stable as the hills,

And my thoughts from you, my lord, for a moment never stray. When I had woven but half my task, I presented it to his majesty, Wishing him to release my husband, that he may quick return to me

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Portable writing apparatus. The Chinese, and others who write. with a hair pencil, have a sort of pocket inkhorn which is very neatly contrived. It is usually carried in a long pouch, which, along with two or three others, containing a pipe, chopsticks, fan, &c., hang pendent from the girdle. It consists of a brass tube as long as the pencil, having a lid at the end to close it up, and a cup or bowl to contain the ink. The cup is frequently dispensed with, and in its stead the cap of the pencil is made of brass, and liquid ink put into it to saturate the pencil. In an inkhorn, now before us, from Lewchew, the brazen tube to hold the pencil is seven inches long, and the cup for the ink holds about a table-spoonful; both tube and cup have a lid, and the four pieces are all connected by a cord running through rings, by which it is carried. Another one, from Japan, is in a single piece; the cup is attached to the tube somewhat as a ladle is joined to its handle, and one lid closes them both; a long cord running through a ring secures it to the girdle. In both of them, the ink is kept from evaporating by a ball of cotton wool. A seal, also from Lewchew, is made of buffalo's horn, and composed of three parts. The lower part is a cup to hold the ink, the upper is the seal, and fits closely into the middle part; the three are kept together by a cord running through them, by which also it is worn. The stamp is very neatly cut in intaglio in the seal character. The custom of wearing seals and inkhorns by the side is referred to in Ezekiel ix, 2, and from Harmer's description of this part of the Persian dress, considerable resemblance to the Chinese is observed..

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