CHAPTER XXXIII.-FLIGHT OF LOO A-LEE FROM NANKING. SOME days after the foregoing occurrence, Loo A-Lee While she was in this frame of mind, the emissary entered the garden, and approached the arbour where she was sitting. "I have come, fair lady," he said, in a most respectful manner, "to communicate some intelligence that may interest you." "Be seated, kind sir," she said, with a winning. smile, for she surmised that it was some news relating to her father. "Yesterday there arrived here five foreign soldiers who had been taken prisoners by our troops near Shanghai. The Kang Wang and other chiefs had them up before a board of inquiry this day to elicit information from them regarding the strength of the foreign and Tartar forces in the field, but they were very reticent on these points, or at least the information they gave is not considered satisfactory. However, I questioned them after the examination, if there were any Chinese about the foreign generals to assist in guiding their movements, and they said there were. On further questioning one man who had seen them often, he described one, who I have strong suspicions is your father." "I thought as much, kind sir, and that you had come to tell me something about him; I thank you very much for the pleasing intelligence." I had some idea of this before from what the foreign missionary told me, and a vague hint from a brother emissary arrived from the front, but I refrained from saying anything to you about it until I could confirm the news. Now I know your great anxiety to communicate with him, if possible, and an opportunity will occur in a few days, when you may travel as far as Soochow, and there gain more correct intelligence concerning him. I am about to proceed on a diplomatic mission to the Chung Wang, our generalissimo, whose forces hold that city, and if you would place yourself under my protection, I shall feel highly honoured in escorting you thither. I may mention that there are several wives of officers ready to go and share the privations of their husbands in the field, rather than remain in this city, stricken with famine and disorder." "Since you mention that there are ladies ready to undertake the journey, I shall gladly be one of your party, and trust to your honourable protection, as I have hitherto done," she remarked, with significant emphasis. At length the day for her departure came, and she rejoiced at being able to leave the famished capital of Taipingdom and its impious rulers. When she came first to Nanking she was favourably impressed with their religious views. Since then she had seen and heard more of their presumptuous pretensions to divinity, which entirely changed her opinions. She had hoped that their doctrines, though crude and erroneous, might, notwithstanding, embrace some of the elements of Christianity. She found, to her sorrow, nothing of Christianity but its name, falsely applied to a system of revolting blasphemy. The travelling party consisted of twelve persons, six men and six women. Of the former, four were chair-bearers, two of whom relieved each other in carrying Loo A-Lee. Cut-sing and an assistant emissary, together with the five females, rode on ponies. There was very little to distinguish the sexes of the equestrians, for they all rode in the same straddling fashion. When they reached the south gate they had to exhibit passes; each person also had little wooden billets tied round the waist, with a Taiping seal impressed thereon. Indeed, every passenger, whether entering or leaving the city, was obliged to wear one of these billets, under pain of being punished as an imperialist spy. Did a Chinaman venture in without that badge, his head would be in the greatest danger. From the gate the party made a detour and struck into the road leading to the Grand Canal. As they travelled at a walking pace, it took them three days to perform the journey. The country all the way was in a wretched condition, and the towns and villages presented a very sad spectacle. These once flourishing marts were entirely deserted, and thousands of houses were burnt to the ground. Here and there a solitary old man or old woman might be seen moving slowly and tremblingly among the ruins, musing and weeping over the terrible desolation that reigned around. At the ruined villages where they stopped, a small crowd of women was generally to be met with, trying to eke out a living by the sale of cooked rice and tea infused to the passers-by. All the able-bodied men were gone-some had been killed, but more enlisted in the rebel army, from whose ranks death alone could relieve them. All the old women they saw were left in contempt by the Taipings to till the fields, and all of them lamented the loss of their bread-winners. At one place two women were sitting on a bank and crying sadly, one for the loss of her husband and two sons, the other for her husband and father. One old woman, to whom she gave some charity, said, They killed my husband because he was not strong enough to do their labourer's work." It was one great story of violence and wrong carried with a mighty hand throughout the land in the name of the Christian faith, by men as merciless as the stones on which they trod. 66 In good time, and without any mishap, the party reached the Grand Canal, and stopped at the town of Tan-yan. As they journeyed along the canal they observed similar scenes of desolation to those seen on the highway from Nanking. The same sad story of death and devastation everywhere suggested itself. The land on either bank was waste to the distance of a mile, while the towing-path was like an upturned churchyard. Words cannot convey any idea of the utter ruin and desolation which marked the line of Taiping march from Nanking to Soochow. The From the dilapidated state of the towing-path, and the obstructions from wrecked boats in the canal, it was not until the fourth day of their departure from Tan-yan that they reached Soochow. country around it, where flourishing farms formerly yielded heavy crops, was becoming a jungle; while the extensive suburbs, once teeming with an industrious population, were utterly destroyed. A few miserable beings were met with outside the gates, selling bean-curd and herbs, but with these exceptions none of the original inhabitants were to be found. In the wide moat which surrounds this large city, wild aquatic birds fluttered about, where only a year or two previously it was difficult to find a passage from the immense number of boats actively engaged in commerce and traffic. Here our party disembarked, and entered Soochow by the Chang gate. A-Lee had never visited this famous city before, but she had read a good deal about its former grandeur and its wealthy, luxurious inhabitants. She remembered the description of it as the most beautiful and pleasant city in China, in the centre of a district which the poet compared to a terrestrial paradise. Its length and breadth were intersected by a network of cauals, so that there was communication in all quarters both by water and land. It was divided into three parts, where the population were ashore and afloat: the first was within the walls, entered by six gates, and twelve miles in circumference; the second without the walls, extending along the canals on each side; and the third formed by large junks crowded three abreast for miles, like streets of floating houses, having miniature gardens on their decks, and luxuriously furnished apartments in the interior, where persons of rank and wealth lived in grander style than in their mansions on shore. Besides these, there was a large fleet of trading vessels always in port loading and discharging commodities, not only with all the provinces of China, but also with Japan. To behold the immense numbers of people that were here continually in motion, and the throngs there were in every place of those who came to buy and sell, one would have imagined that people flocked to this great mart from every part of the empire to trade at Soochow. Such were the recollections she had of this once famous city. Alas! how different was the aspect of the place under Taiping rule! Of the dwellings and shops on shore, the whole of their gaily decorated fronts had been torn down; and the luxurious boats on the water, after being plundered of their valuable contents, were destroyed for firewood, and their hulls left rotting in the canals amidst broken furniture and other débris of destruction. If Cut-sing had observed the features of his fair companion, he would have remarked her horror and dismay at the frightful aspect of the city, but she prudently suppressed any remarks on this topic, and made inquiry as to the chief in whose residence she was to take up her abode. "He is called the Mo Wang, fair lady, and holds the highest post in the city, where his wife and daughters reside with him, so that you will be honourably accommodated by ladies of rank.” This explanation was satisfactory, and she felt a little more confidence in having taken the advice of Cut-sing. Moreover, as they reached the quarter where the Mo Wang resided, there were evidences that rebuilding was going forward. This functionary was appointed commandant of Soochow, and was one of the few leaders possessed of talent and education among the Taipings; and what was of more importance, used them in reconstructing what had been destroyed. In this way some of the best streets were restored in the vicinity of the official residences, and were new structures of a substantial character, but decorated in the usual gaudy manner. What attracted her attention more than these signs of renovation was seeing a number of foreigners, dressed in military uniform, walking about this quarter of the city. Her curiosity was extreme, so she almost involuntarily exclaimed, "I wonder who these officers can be! Perhaps they could give me some tidings of my father." Cut-sing informed her that foreign officers had charge of the Taiping artillery, and that there were about two hundred of them in Soochow, from some of whom intelligence might perhaps be gained respecting the movements of the mandarin. On arriving at the spacious gateway of the Yamoon, they were ushered into the reception-hall, where the commandant was conversing with some of his officers. When the emissary introduced his party, and explained who they were, he gave the ladies a kind welcome, and said that his wife and daughters would make them comfortable. A more enlivening part, however, was played by two of the Taiping officers, who came forward and recognised among the ladies two of their own wives. They greeted them in the most cordial and unembarrassed manner, greatly in contrast to the ancient Chinese salutation between man and wife, on meeting after a prolonged separation. Indeed, it was as hearty and affectionate a meeting as any between loving husbands and wives among Western nations. Had the Taipings followed the religion of the foreigners in as pure and cordial a manner as they did some of their social customs, they might have found in them their strongest allies, and perhaps have succeeded in overthrowing the Tartar dynasty. PROGRESS OF NEW ZEALAND. FROM the Registrar-General's office at Wellington, New Zealand, we have received the last official statistics of the colony, in a bulky and carefully-compiled report. For reasons given, chiefly in connection with the difficulty of completing the judicial returns, there has been delay in publication, so that the report issued early this year only gives the statistics up to the close of 1872. But a few points illustrating the condition of New Zealand at the opening of last year will interest many readers of the "Leisure Hour." POPULATION. The total (estimated) population on the 31st December, 1872, exclusive of aboriginal natives, was 279,560, viz., 162,404 males, and 117,156 females. The females thus are nearly in the proportion of 72:38 to 100 males. The increase by excess of registered births over registered deaths was 7,601, being 349 less than the corresponding increase in the previous year. The increase by immigration over emigration was 4,973 against 4,786 in 1871. The total increase to the population was thus 12,574 against an increase of 12,736 in the previous year. These figures show a fair amount of increase of population, considering the size and resources of the colony, and its remoteness, compared with the American fields of colonisation. The large number of emigrants, or those annually quitting the colony, is rather startling at first, but is explained by the attraction of the larger island or continent of Australia, to which the majority repair. The estimated population at the middle of the following years, shows the progress of the colony in this re spect:-1860, 76,390; 1863, 144,930; 1866, 197,360; | (and with the only exception of the county of West1869, 231,934; 1872, 273,273. IMMIGRATION AND EMIGRATION. The immigration in 1872 amounted to 10,725 persons, of whom 6,775 were males, and 3,950 females. Of the males, 5,684 were adults and 1,091 children; of the females, 3,017 were adults and 933 children. The emigration from the colony amounted to 5,752 persons, of whom 4,417 were males and 1,335 females. Of the males, 4,036 were adults and 381 children; of the females, 1,001 were adults and 334 children. From detailed tables it appears that the excess of emigration over immigration to the Australian colonies amounted to 758. The excess of immigration over emigration to the United Kingdom was 4,763; there being a total of 5,391 sailing from the old country, while 628 returned to the old country during the year. VITAL STATISTICS. The total births registered in 1872 were 10,795, viz., 5,510 males and 5,285 females. This was an increase of 203 over the previous year. By a singular usage, the birth returns include still-born children, the exclusion of which, 80, brings the amount to 10,715. The total deaths were 3,112, viz., 1,844 males and 1,268 females. The ratio of deaths to every 1,000 living was 11:38, which seems nearly the average of the last five years. In one year, 1862, the mortality was as low as 10.95 per 1,000; in 1864 it was 17.30 per 1,000, the highest recorded since official returns were made. The details of the medical returns would be chiefly interesting to professional readers, but the general salubrity of the climate is evident, whether we look at the tables of adults or children. The total number of marriages was 1,873, of which 1,713 were solemnised by ministers of religion, and 160 by registrars. The numbers returned give approximate notion of the relative influences of certain churches and denominations in the colony. The marriages by ministry of the English church were 496; by Presbyterians, 575, showing a strong Scottish element; Roman Catholic, 277; Wesleyan, 215, and other Methodists, 41; Independent, 57; Baptist, 40; Lutheran, 5; Hebrew, 4; and the others miscellaneous sects. SHIPPING. Entering inwards at colonial ports there were 775 vessels, of 300,302 tonnage; clearing outwards, 743 vessels, of 285,366 tonnage. Of the ships arriving only 70, with 58,270 tonnage, were from the United Kingdom, and 101, of 49,625 tonnage, from foreign ports, including the South Sea whale fisheries. The great interchange is with the Australian colonies, from which there arrived 604 vessels, of 192,407 tonnage. Of the foreign ships 59 were American, with 47,631 tonnage. Besides these there were 364 vessels registered as belonging to New Zealand ports, for coast and colonial trade and traffic, viz., 307 sailing and 57 steam vessels. IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. The total value of imports in 1872 was £5,142,951; an increase of £1,064,758 over the previous year, or 26-10 per cent. The increase was in all the provinces land). From the United Kingdom the imports were £2,685,160. From the British colonies £2,276,052; from foreign States £181,739. The total value of exports, excluding re-export of imported goods, was £5,107,186; gold forms of this amount £1,731,261. The gold export of 1871 was £2,787,520. The total registered quantity of gold exported for April 1, 1857, to December 31, 1872, was 6,718,248 ounces; the total value, £26,084,260. Of wool, the quantity exported in 1872 was 41,886,997 lbs., an increase of 4,093,263 over 1871. The value in 1872 was £2,537,919 against £1,606,144 in 1871, or increase of above 58 per cent. Among other noticeable articles of export are cheese, cordage, flour, oats-£55,000 value to the Australian colonies; wheat-above £55,000 to the same colonies and £56,000 to the United Kingdom; kauri gum-£154,000, of which £92,700 went to the United States and £58,500 to England; hides, £28,500; phormium, New Zealand flax-nearly £100,000, half of which came to England; timber, in various forms, £26,000; all these figures in round numbers. The relative increase of wool and other permanent exports over that of gold is satisfactory. The finance and revenue tables are too elaborate, and too purely of local interest to be dwelt upon in this brief notice, but it is pleasant to find that the postal returns, those of savings' banks, telegraphs, and especially of education and religion, all show satisfactory progress. A less agreeable class of statistics are those pertaining to law and crime, an examination of which shows that the vices and miseries, as well as the virtues and traditions of older countries, appear in a new nation. But on the whole we are gratified by studying this official report from New Zealand. Sonnets of the Sacred year. BY THE REV. S. J. STONE, M.A. TWENTY-FOURTII SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. "Partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light."-Coloss. i. 12. MEN walk the world in dulness or affright; Careless of all beyond them, or in fear, They close, or seek to close, both eye and ear, And love, for their deeds' sake, the circling night. Not so the Church of JESUS: on her sight The things unknown in prospect fair appear; And on her darksome way her soul can hear Voices that carol from within the light. O blessed! strengthened thus with glorious power, In alien ways so certain of her home, Willing she waits and works her one dark hour, In joyful vision of her bliss to come, This word illuming all her path below, "To-day believe, to-morrow thou shalt know." WAITING AT HOME. THE eastern gale is shrilling cold, The sky is fiercely frown- And shorter grows secutor should be appointed. All these should be subordinate to the chief public prosecutor, and act as his deputies, and be bound to obey his directions. They should be removable at his discretion, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State of the Home Department. London and the area comprised within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court, or, possibly, one extending over the whole of the metropolitan counties of Kent, Surrey, and Essex, should constitute a district of itself. For this district a sufficient number of public prosecutors should be the appointed, and these should constitute the immediate staff and council of the chief prosecutor, should assist him with their advice, and under his directions conduct all prosecutions within the district in question. All persons holding the office of deputy public prosecutor should be barristers or attorneys of a given standing. They should be paid by salaries, not by fees, and be required to give up all other practice. It should be their duty in all cases of more than ordinary difficulty to comThey plunge against the municate with the chief public prosecutor, and act under his instructions. His lordship further suggests that the power rocky cliffs; now vested in the attorney-general of entering a nolle prosequi Broad breadths of ocean lie should be transferred to the public prosecutor, and that all around prosecutions in which the Government is immediately concerned should be left to the attorney-general; the public prosecutor, Where toss the fisher skiffs. however, to render assistance in this class of cases whenever the I see below the sombre And you are out on foreign seas, Upon your sails strange sunsets burn; My eyes are wearied with their watch, Waiting till you return. When will you come? I call your name; My sad voice in the bay. Some time your wandering ship will rest And tho' the winter storm comes down, And tho' the summer fields be fair, For I have had a weary watch, Varictics. ALFRED NORRIS. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR.-A memorandum drawn up by the Lord Chief Justice of England on the advisability of appointing a public prosecutor appears in the fifth and final report of the Judicature Commission. The system which Sir Alexander Cockburn recommends is thus described:-There should be a chief public prosecutor-an officer of the State. He should be a barrister of standing and attainments, experienced in the practice of Criminal Courts. He should hold his office during good behaviour. If he were made removable at the pleasure of the Government, it would be difficult to induce members of the profession of sufficient standing and qualifications to accept the office. The whole of England and Wales should be divided into a given number of districts, according to the number and character of the population, and for each of these a public pro Government may call for his services. EMIGRATION TO CANADA.-Mr. E. Jenkins, M.P., thus sums up a letter on emigration to Canada :-"I would advise persons who know nothing personally of Canada not to endeavour to prejudice emigrants against it. I would recommend persons who are afraid of hard work and some discomfort and sacrifice not to try to better themselves by transplanting their inefficiency from Great Britain to Canada. I would earnestly recommend gentlemen of no occupation, clerks, et id omne genus, not to try the Dominion unless they are content and fit to begin as common labourers. And lastly, I say that there is nothing in the soil or climate, or in any of the physical, social, or political conditions of Canada, to deter any energetic and steady man from throwing himself and his family into it; but, on the con. trary, there is such a prospect of independence and of even brighter success for himself and his children as Great Britain denies to him." SARDINES. The pilchard of Cornwall and the sardine of France are the same fish. Mr. Yarrell, one of the first authorities in ichthyology, and Mr. Benjamin Couch, the eminent Cornish naturalist, had no doubt at all as to the identity of the species. The preparation of sardines with oil in tin boxes is a source of vast wealth in France. In the "Leisure Hour" for Janu ary, 1870, we gave an account of the sardine fishery and sardine trade at Nantes and other places on the French coast. Mr. Fryer, of the Salmon Fisheries Office, refers in a letter in the "Times," to an attempt to manufacture sardines at Mevagissey. There is no reason why the small pilchards off the Cornwall coast, now regarded as worthless, should not become valuable sardines. GRANGERS.-The new political party in the United States, known by the name of Grangers, has, during the past year, grown to be a powerful force in the State, and may influence the next election for president. It is essentially a free trade and agricultural party. The farmers of the West chafe under the restrictive laws which injure them for the protection of the manufacturers of the Eastern States. The high tariffs for railway freight are also a grievance. The connecting bond of the Grangers is not one of any high moral or political principle, such as the anti-slavery feeling was, or the anti-popish feeling and anti-Irish of an earlier platform, but it is strong from its touching personal interest, the farmers naturally wishing to buy their commodities cheaply, and to get the best prices for their produce. LODGING-HOUSE AND HOTEL KEEPERS CAUTIONED.-By the Sanitary Laws Amendment Act of last Session (1874) it is enacted with respect to England that-"If any owner or occupier, or person employed to let for hire, or to show for the purposes of letting for hire, any house or part of a house, when questioned by any person negotiating for the hire of such house or part of a house as to the fact of there being in such house, or having within six weeks previously been therein, any person suffering from an infectious, contagious, or epidemic disease, knowingly makes a false answer to such question, the person so answering falsely shall be guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction, and, at the discretion of the justices having cognisance of the case, be liable to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for a period not exceed ing one month, or to pay a penalty not exceeding £20." With respect to Ireland there is, in the Public Health (Ireland) Act, 1874, a similar enactment. |