Page:Inside Canton.djvu/32

Rh friend the mandarin Pan-se-Chen, whom badly-brought up people call Poul-tin-Quoy, like his father the merchant."

"You can call him Pan, his father's name, if you please—he has no parvenu's weakness; but you must be able, if necessary, to point out your residence. Remember, that you live in Tchaoin-Kiaï—that is, 'The Sound-of-the-tide Street'—in the house Thè-kì-Han, which means 'The Remembrance-of-virtue Factory.' Remember, also, that the Chinese word han, which the English pronounce hong, is applied to all houses connected with trade."

In order to get to Pan's, we crossed some streets of the floating town; they were crowded with vessels, but no confusion resulted from this concourse. In other countries, a great crowd of people, and the tumult resulting from it, is an excitement to disorderly conduct and quarrels; here, on the contrary, it seemed as if each had undertaken to avoid disputes, and to prevent causing others trouble and embarrassment; there was a continued interchange of kind offices and polite attentions; sailors and fish-women carefully avoided collisions, and warned those they met of the obstacles they would meet with on their road. The conduct of these poor people says more for the civilisation of China, than all that may be written on the subject; and it will be understood how remarkable the gentle disposition of these