Page:Illustrations of China and Its People vol. IV.pdf/38

 the mysterious scenes as he introduces them, and dexterously manipulates the whole by means of a series of cords. Some of the subjects are of the most indecent character.

The stand, and indeed the whole apparatus, is extremely light and ingenious. The stand is made up of a series of iron rods, linked together, so that they may at once be folded up beneath the box; and this done, the showman will shoulder the whole, and march off to some new field.

The figure of the showman, here represented, gives a perfect specimen of the winter dress of a Pekingese labourer. It is made out of coarse cotton cloth, and is lined with sheepskin, or padded with cotton wool. The smallest figure is that of a young Tartar or Manchu girl, and depicts one sort of shoe worn by Manchu women, who never compress their feet The third figure is that of a poor Manchu bannerman in his regulation sheepskin coat.

IKE all foreigners who visit Peking, I had been but one night in the metropolis when I found myself waited upon by half a dozen dealers in curiosities, introduced to my notice by a servant whom I had engaged at Tientsin.

These curiosity-mongers spread out before me sundry specimens of old china, and a variety of articles such as those shown in No. 28, and for all these they demanded the most extortionate prices. However they seemed by no means anxious to sell their goods. I had been warned beforehand to be careful in my dealings with these gentlemen, but after all I was more than once taken in. It is customary for dealers of this sort to effect an arrangement with a foreigner's servants, undertaking to share with them the profits of a sale, so that they must, of necessity, charge high prices in order to make the thing pay. These vendors of " articles de vertu" come from three streets in the Chinese city. One is occupied by booksellers, another by picture dealers, and a third consists of old curiosity shops. They are most interesting shops to visit, not only on account of their miscellaneous stores, but also because the shop-keepers carry on their business in their own most peculiar style. Thus, if you enter one of their shops, the proprietor treats you with the utmost degree of unconcern, smoking his pipe without interruption, and retaining his seat behind the counter. You may try to put him off his guard by looking at every article except the one which you want, and by inquiring, in an off-hand sort of way, the price of the piece of goods on which you have set your heart; but your dissimulation is all in vain, for the vendor seems to know instinctively what it is you are seeking, and asks treble the fair value of his wares; and then tells you, with an air of supreme indifference, that this thing has been sought after by some of the first collectors of Peking, and that he has now a very good offer for it. You make a bid, and he simply resumes his pipe with a shake of the head, and allows you to depart in peace. But the placid face of the rascal, and the atmosphere of intense respectability generated by his careful dress, his polite but careless mien, and his well-ordered establishment, bring you back again the next day. You find the place and the man just as you left them; but somehow the rare object of your affection has grown in your estimation. You buy it at the seller's own price, and carry it away, feeling grateful to the polished rogue by whom you most probably have been done.

A lady, for many years connected with one of the Protestant missions in Peking, after having, for some time, lost sight of two or three ordinary foreign-made plates, discovered one of them, when passing through the Ia-sha-lan, exposed for sale in a shop. On inquiry, she was informed that it was a rare gem in its way, a specimen of ancient porcelain ware, and to be bought for six taels, or ,£1 15^. of our own currency.

There are shops of course in this street, as in all others, of the highest respectability, where a foreigner, conversant with the language, can purchase articles at their fair market value. Indeed, taken as a whole, and judging from my own experience, I believe that, in upright dealing, the shop-keepers in Chinese cities are not inferior to those of Europe. I cannot say that they are as honest and truthful, on principle, as the traders in Christian