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Article REVIEWS OF NEW BOOKS. Page 1 of 4 →
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Reviews Of New Books.
REVIEWS OF NEW BOOKS .
[ The Publishers are requested to send works for review not later than the 20 th of the month , addressed to the Editor of the " Freemasons' Monthly Magazine , " 74-5 , Great Queen-street , Lincoln VInn-Fields . ] The Chinese Umpire : forming a Sequel to the Work entitled " Recollections of a Journey through Tartary and Thibet . " By M .
Hue . 2 vols . London : Longman and Co ., 1855 . 8 vo . —This is the narrative of a journey undertaken by a well-known missionary traveller and historian , from the western frontier of China , and through the central provinces of that enormous empire , to Canton ; and forms one of the most interesting books extant upon a most
interesting subject . M . Hue is , it seems , perhaps the only European who has since the seventeenth century travelled under the imperial escort , and had the advantage of free intercourse with all classes , and unlimited opportunity of becoming conversant with the public and domestic history of a people , amongst whom to travel at all , argues no small amount of courage , independence , and tact . He
was accompanied by M . Gabet , a brother missionary , and presents us with some most amusing anecdotes of "hair breadth ' scapes " which befel the pair , from the ridiculous account of their squabble with the : " Tribunal of Bites" relative to costume—they appeared in robes of sky blue , of the latest Pekin fashion , black satin shoes , with soles of dazzling whiteness , red sashes , and yellow caps ! through two volumes of entertainment and instruction .
A few extracts will best illustrate the nature of the work . Of polygamy the author writes much and well . Polygamy and opium , he says , are the two grand curses of the empire . They smoke tobacco also to an excessive degree—a recent improvement introduced by the Mantchoos— -and at the gaming-table , one of their most favourite resorts , at cockfights , and other " fast" sports , the Chinaman is scarcely to be discerned through the clouds of smoke enveloping his head and shoulders : —
" By a curious coincidence this plant is called in the Mantchoo language tambacou ; but the Chinese designate it simply by the word meaning smolce . Thus they say they cultivate in their fields the smoke leaf ; ' they chew smoke , and they name their pipe tjae ' smoke funnel . ' The use of tobacco has become universal throughout the empire ; men , women , children , everybody smokes , almost without
ceasing . Ihey go about their daily business , cultivate the fields , ride on horseback and write , constantly with the pipe in their mouths . During their meals , if they stop for a moment it is to smoke a pipe ; and if they wake in the night , they are sure to amuse themselves in the same way . It may be easily supposed , therefore , that in a country containing 300 , 000 , 000 of smokers , without counting the
tnbe . s of Tartary . and Thibet , who lay m their stocks in the Chinese markets , the culture of tobacco has become very important . The cultivation is entirely free , every one being at liberty to plant it in his garden , or in the open fields , in whatever quantity he chooses , and afterwards to sell it , wholesale or retail , just as he likes , without the government interfering with him in the slightest degree . "
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Reviews Of New Books.
REVIEWS OF NEW BOOKS .
[ The Publishers are requested to send works for review not later than the 20 th of the month , addressed to the Editor of the " Freemasons' Monthly Magazine , " 74-5 , Great Queen-street , Lincoln VInn-Fields . ] The Chinese Umpire : forming a Sequel to the Work entitled " Recollections of a Journey through Tartary and Thibet . " By M .
Hue . 2 vols . London : Longman and Co ., 1855 . 8 vo . —This is the narrative of a journey undertaken by a well-known missionary traveller and historian , from the western frontier of China , and through the central provinces of that enormous empire , to Canton ; and forms one of the most interesting books extant upon a most
interesting subject . M . Hue is , it seems , perhaps the only European who has since the seventeenth century travelled under the imperial escort , and had the advantage of free intercourse with all classes , and unlimited opportunity of becoming conversant with the public and domestic history of a people , amongst whom to travel at all , argues no small amount of courage , independence , and tact . He
was accompanied by M . Gabet , a brother missionary , and presents us with some most amusing anecdotes of "hair breadth ' scapes " which befel the pair , from the ridiculous account of their squabble with the : " Tribunal of Bites" relative to costume—they appeared in robes of sky blue , of the latest Pekin fashion , black satin shoes , with soles of dazzling whiteness , red sashes , and yellow caps ! through two volumes of entertainment and instruction .
A few extracts will best illustrate the nature of the work . Of polygamy the author writes much and well . Polygamy and opium , he says , are the two grand curses of the empire . They smoke tobacco also to an excessive degree—a recent improvement introduced by the Mantchoos— -and at the gaming-table , one of their most favourite resorts , at cockfights , and other " fast" sports , the Chinaman is scarcely to be discerned through the clouds of smoke enveloping his head and shoulders : —
" By a curious coincidence this plant is called in the Mantchoo language tambacou ; but the Chinese designate it simply by the word meaning smolce . Thus they say they cultivate in their fields the smoke leaf ; ' they chew smoke , and they name their pipe tjae ' smoke funnel . ' The use of tobacco has become universal throughout the empire ; men , women , children , everybody smokes , almost without
ceasing . Ihey go about their daily business , cultivate the fields , ride on horseback and write , constantly with the pipe in their mouths . During their meals , if they stop for a moment it is to smoke a pipe ; and if they wake in the night , they are sure to amuse themselves in the same way . It may be easily supposed , therefore , that in a country containing 300 , 000 , 000 of smokers , without counting the
tnbe . s of Tartary . and Thibet , who lay m their stocks in the Chinese markets , the culture of tobacco has become very important . The cultivation is entirely free , every one being at liberty to plant it in his garden , or in the open fields , in whatever quantity he chooses , and afterwards to sell it , wholesale or retail , just as he likes , without the government interfering with him in the slightest degree . "