The two front cushions were occupied by the
Taou-tae or Governor of the Province, and
the military commandant, the former in a
splendid dress of sable fur, over another of
rich embroidery, a beautiful fur cap with a
red button and a peacock's feather, so
arranged as to give it and the button very
much the appearance of a bird of paradise;
the dress of the latter was similar, except
that he had no feather. The remaining ten
cushions were occupied by the Ohe-heen or
mayor, the captain of the coast guard and
eight other mandarins, of whom only the
second had a fur dress, the other wearing
black, brown, or purple satin robes, edged
with white fur, and beautiful square pieces
of embroidery, like the Jewish high-priest's
breast-plate, hanging on the breast and
between the shoulders. The cuffs of their
sleeves are shaped like a horse's hoof because
when they prostrate themselves before the
Emperor they fancy themselves horses, and
go on all fours, carefully concealing their
hands within the sleeves.

They walked in in solemn procession, looking
neither to the right nor left, and remained
standing each by his own cushion, till the
deep loud voice of the man who first entered
and acted as master ot the ceremonies uttered
the word " Kwei! " (Kneel down), and down
they all went as though moved by clock-work;
'Keaou sheaou" (Knock the ground with your
heads), was the next word of command; this
was done three times; "Hwang! "(Rise up),
and they all rose at once. This formula was
repeated three times, making three kneelings,
and nine prostrations of the head, all in
solemn silence except the fugleman of the
corps. They rose and passed out quickly;
their attendants came to remove the cushions,
and hearing from them that they were going
next to the Confucian Temple, we took a
shorter road unfettered by red tape, and
arrived there first. This Temple of Confucius
is a very pretty one; the ceiling is painted in
compartments; and there are no idols in it,
only tablets to the sage and his seventy-two
disciples. The same ceremony was twice
repeated here, once in the court-yard and
once in the temple; when it was over, we
went up and spoke to them (as the Taou-tae
spoke English, and nearly all our party spoke
Chinese). After congratulating them, we
inquired WHEN they would worship the gods;
the Taou-tae very coolly said: "To-morrow
we will worship them, we have done quite
enough to-day;" then folding his hands
together and making us a low bow, he walked
off.

Returning home, we went into the
Ching-wang-meaou, to see the ladies worshipping.
They were there in large numbers, very
splendidly dressed, with their faces rouged,
and flowers in their hair; presenting, as they
knelt before the various shrines, rather an
elegant appearance. Poor things, they are
only allowed to go out and show their finery
in public two or three times in the year,
and they esteem this New Year's Day fête
as their most favourable opportunity, and
improve it accordingly.

The festivities last for several days, during
which business is entirely suspended, and all
the shops closed.

It is very amusing to go into the city at this
time, the tea-shops only being open, and the
streets crowded with people in their holiday
attire, rushing about with card-cases in their
hands, busy calling upon all their friends.
As time is precious, friends numerous, and
ceremony all that is thought of, many of the
people have a little square hole in their
shutters, through which the cards are dropped,
precluding the necessity of a personal call.
These cards are simply slips of red paper, on
which are inscribed characters expressing
some congratulatory sentiment, and the
visitor's name.

No one will do any work at this time:
even household servants expect a great deal
of time to themselves: and I am not quite
sure that if anyone were inconsiderate
enough to die at this season of universal
rejoicing, anyone would find time or
inclination to bury him.

The temples, which are very large, present
an odd appearance; the shrines being crowded
with worshippers, while in the courts you
see gambling tables, fortune-tellers,
improvvisatori, and jugglers, all plying their
various trades for their own special benefit, and the
amusement of a crowd of eager gazers. One
man was playing some very clever tricks
with a ball; he had in one hand a circlet of
twisted straw, with a leather socket, looking
like the root of animal's horn; in this he
kept catching the ball in all kinds of positions:
at length he placed it on his head,
with the socket on his forehead, and, throwing
the ball an immense height, caught it
firmly in the socket.

The tea-shops were crowded with visitors.
We went into one, where we found about
three hundred people seated at tables,
smoking and drinking tea. The charge is
ridiculously small: for one halfpenny, you
may have what they would call a sumptuous
meal—three cash being the price of a cup of
tea, fifteen hundred cash going to the dollar.
Their mode of making tea is very different
from ours; they put the tea into the cups,
and then take them to immense copper
kettles with furnaces inside; filling each cup
with boiling water, they put on its little
cover, and allow it to stand for a few minutes;
then pushing the cover just within the rim
of the cup, so as to prevent the leaves making
their escape, they drink it, without sugar or
milk. They will refill the cups once for the
same money, but if you want more, you must
make a second payment.

We ended our New Year's wanderings by
visiting the grottoes, with which most of the
temple gardens abound, and which are nearly