In Chinatown—­A Chinese Editor—­His Views of Chinese Life—­A Daily Paper and the Way in Which it is Printed—­A Night School—­The Mission of the English Language—­A Widow and Her Children—­Pair of Small Shoes—­Binding of the Feet and Custom—­Mrs. Wu Ting-Fang on Small Feet—­Maimed and Veiled Women—­The Shulamite’s Feet—­An Opium-joint—­A Wretched Chinaman—­Fascination of Opium—­History and Cultivation of the Poppy—­The East India Company and the Opium War—­An Opium Farmer—­How the Old Man Smoked—­De Quincey and His Experiences—­“I Will Sleep No More.”

As my guide and I went forth to visit the places of interest in Chinatown, we directed our steps first of all to the Chinese newspaper office.  This is located at No. 804 Sacramento street, corner of Dupont street.  On being ushered in I met with a cordial welcome from the managing editor, Mr. Ng Poon Chew, who, before I bade him good-bye, exchanged cards with me.  He, I learned, is a Christian minister and is the pastor of a Chinese church in Los Angeles.  His literary attainments and business capacity peculiarly fit him for his work on the Chinese paper, and he is held in high esteem by Chinamen generally.  He is a man about four feet five inches in stature, and possibly forty years old.  It is hard, however, to tell a Chinaman’s age, and so he may be five or ten years older.  He is what you would call a handsome man, with a fine head and a beaming countenance.  He showed great warmth in his greeting—­and this was the more remarkable as the Chinaman is generally cool and impassive.  He was dressed in the Chinese fashion with the traditional queue hanging down behind.  He presented altogether a striking appearance, and you would single him out from a crowd as a man of more than ordinary cultivation and ability.  He talked English fluently, and it was a pleasure to listen to him.  He has well defined views regarding China and other countries.  When questioned about the Flowery Kingdom, he said that the people were very conservative, that they do not wish for change, and that Chinese women dress as they did thousands of years ago.  He remarked, however, that there is a younger generation of Chinamen who long for a change and for reform in methods, I suppose after the manner of the so-called “Young Turks” in the Sultan’s dominions.  They would like the improvements of European and American life, and would shake off the trammels of the past to a large extent, just as Japan has shaken off the sleep of centuries and is marching towards greatness among the strong nations of the world.  With the modern appliances and advances in civilisation and armies well drilled like those of England or the United States of America, and with great war-ships well manned, they would be able to meet the world and to defend themselves and repel every invader from their country.  He says the Chinese have good memories, that they will never forget the manner in which opium came to them, and the opium war of 1839.  When he was a child he