OUR LITTLE CHINESE COUSIN 
 
 ASIA 
 
 ISAAC TAYLOR • HEADLAND 
 
QJarneU Hmueraty Hthrarg 
 
 itiftua, 2J«n fork 
 
 CHARLES WILLIAM WASON 
 COLLECTION 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 CHARLES WILLIAM WASON 
 
 CLASS OF 1876 
 
 1918 
 
Cornell University Library 
 PZ 7.H4309 
 
 Our little Chinese cousin / 
 
 111 
 
 3 1924 024 011 664 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024011664 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
The Little Cousin Series 
 
 Fifteen volumes, illustrated 
 
 By Mary Hazelton Wade 
 Our Little Japanese Cousin 
 Oar Little Brown Cousin 
 Our Little Indian Cousin 
 Our Little Russian Cousin 
 Our Little African Cousin 
 Our Little Cuban Cousin 
 Our Little Hawaiian Cousin 
 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 Our Little Philippine Cousin 
 Our Little Porto Rican Cousin 
 Our Little Swiss Cousin 
 Our Little Norwegian Cousin 
 Our Little Siamese Cousin 
 Our Little Italian Cousin 
 By Isaac Taylor Headland 
 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 J* 
 
 Each volume illustrated with six full-page plates 
 in tint, from drawings by L. J. Bridgman 
 
 Cloth, i2mo, with decorative cover, per volume, 
 50 cents net. (Postage, 6 cents additional) 
 
 L. C PAGE & COMPANY 
 New England Building, Boston, Mass, 
 
CHENCHU 
 
$ Our Little Chinese I 
 
 | Cousin J 
 
 * * 
 
 * By * 
 
 X Isaac Taylor Headland ^ 
 
 * 
 
 Author of " Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes,'' 
 " The Chinese Boy and Girl," etc. 
 
 a* 
 
 ■^s 
 
 jfc. Illustrated with reproductions of photographs and i 
 t* drawings by. native artists gt 
 
 * *§► 
 
 * * 
 
 t i 
 
 * . Boston T 
 
 X L. C. Page & Company ^» 
 
 4* MDCCCCIII ^ 
 
Copyright, igoj 
 By L. C. Page & Company 
 
 (incorporated)' 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 Published, July, 1903 
 
 Colonial Ureas 
 
 Electrotyped and Printed by C. H. Simonds & Co. 
 
 Boston, Mass., U. S. A. 
 
List of Illustrations 
 
 PAGS 
 
 Chenchu Frontispiece 
 
 Entrance to Chenchu's Home . . . .15 
 A "Punch and Judy" Show .... 19 
 
 Yushan 25 
 
 A Goldfish 27 
 
 A Man with His Tame Bird . . . .30 
 
 Chenchu's Pillow 33 
 
 Chenchu's Father 34 
 
 Chenchu's Nurse 40 
 
 " Her ears were torn " 43 
 
 A Kite 61 
 
 Chenchu's Donkey, Lu'rh 62 
 
 A Doll 69 
 
 A Toy Cart 70 
 
 The Little Clay Lady 71 
 
 "a young wife, whom he was carrying about 
 
 on his back" 72 
 
 " Made them into a lion " 74 
 
 Jugglers ' . . . , . 76 
 
 Playing "Lame Man" 77 
 
 The " Fifteen Magic Blocks " . . . .78 
 " The grass is growing on the pond " . .79 
 " A stone the student's pillow " . . -79 
 " Melting stones to menp the sky " . . .80 
 
 The Earl's Wife 80 
 
 Chenchu's Mother 84 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 " Mamma, you won't let her do it, will you ? 
 Please do not let her do it, mamma ! " 
 
 These were the words of little Chenchu 
 
 (Pearl), uttered in tones of supplication that 
 
 only the pleading voice of a tender-hearted 
 
 little girl carries with it when she has perfect 
 
 ■> confidence in the one besought. 
 
 She was being held by her mamma to have 
 her feet bound for the first time. Her mother 
 loved her very much, but like many another 
 stylish mamma, she was more or less enslaved 
 by the customs of her country, and as Chenchu 
 was her only little girl, she wanted her to grow 
 up to be the most accomplished lady in her 
 
io Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 circle of society. She had four brothers older 
 than herself, and as a consequence she was a 
 great pet, for little girls in wealthy families in 
 China are almost as much appreciated as little 
 boys, especially if they are in the minority. 
 
 When they are in the majority, however, if 
 the family is poor, it is quite a different matter, 
 for whatever she may be in other countries, a 
 girl in China is little more than an expense 
 until she is married, and hence it not infre- 
 quently occurs that parents give their daugh- 
 ters to the families to which they are betrothed 
 to be brought up, taking into their own home 
 the girls who are betrothed to their sons. It 
 thus happens that a boy and his future 
 wife grow up together very much as brother 
 and sister until they are of a marriageable age, 
 when they are united as man and wife, to 
 live happily — or otherwise — ever after. And 
 so our little Chinese cousins often become 
 better acquainted with their future wife or hus- 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 1 1 
 
 band than their antipodal neighbours, with all 
 their boasted freedom. 
 
 I wonder how you would like that. Just 
 think of having the little girl you like best 
 living at your home all the time, — not living 
 with you, however, for girls live in one part of 
 the house in China, and boys in another, after 
 they have reached the age of seven years, and 
 do not play together very much more than if 
 they were strangers. They have less liberty 
 than their brothers, and on the whole most 
 people prefer a preponderance of boys. 
 
 It is often amusing to hear the remarks in a 
 family when a baby comes. If it is a boy, the 
 parents are both congratulated because of the 
 " Great Happiness " that has come to their 
 home ; while if it is a girl, and they already 
 have a girl or two without any boys, the old 
 nurse goes about with her head down as if she 
 had stolen it from somewhere, and when con- 
 gratulated, if congratulated she happens to be, 
 
12 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 she looks more gloomy than before, and with 
 a long-drawn sigh replies in the stereotyped 
 expression of the race : " Only a c Small Hap- 
 piness,' but even girls are worth something." 
 
 It was not so, however, with Chenchu. Her 
 nurse was very fond of her. When she was 
 little she often took off her shoes — which were 
 made with nose, ears, and eyes like a pig, and 
 which she called her " piggy shoes," and taking 
 hold of her toes one by one, she repeated the 
 following Chinese Mother Goose Rhyme, 
 which always amused her as much as " This 
 Little Pig " does her American cousin : 
 
 " This little cow eats grass, 
 This little cow eats hay, 
 This little' cow drinks water, 
 This little cow runs away, 
 This little cow does nothing 
 But just lie down all day, — 
 We'll whip her ! " 
 
 With which last expression she would playfully 
 slap the bottom of her foot. 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 13 
 
 Chenchu was a sweet, but I have sometimes 
 thought rather a solemn little girl. She had 
 beautiful black eyes, just a trifle on the bias ; 
 long, straight, black hair, which was kept 
 shaved off "about her forehead, parted some- 
 times in the middle, sometimes on the side, 
 sometimes diagonally, but usually not at all ; 
 wrapped at the back of her neck with a red 
 cord, and neatly braided in a queue; a clear, 
 yellowish, alabaster skin, and healthy, ruddy 
 cheeks. 
 
 Her clothes were made of silk and were 
 both rich and beautiful. Her skirt reached 
 only to her knees, over which she wore a vest, 
 or sleeveless garment, richly embroidered with 
 butterflies and flowers, while her loose trousers 
 were bound about her ankles with flowered 
 ties, except when she preferred to wear them 
 loose. Of course, she did not wear these silk 
 clothes every day. Her common clothes were 
 made of blue cotton cloth or large print 
 
14 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 calico, but they were always clean and neat, 
 for Chenchu would never allow herself to be 
 seen with soiled clothes or uncombed hair, 
 much less would she go about with a dirty 
 face. 
 
 Her- father was a high official and was not 
 able to be at home more than once every two 
 or three years, so that she saw very little of 
 him, but he loved her dearly, and as she was 
 his only little daughter, he was determined 
 that she should be well educated. He was 
 very wealthy, as all great Chinese officials are, 
 so that she never knew what it was to be 
 in want herself, though she was sensitive to the 
 slightest discomforts of her companions, and 
 was always trying to help them. 
 
 She lived in a fine house with large, stone 
 lions in front of the gate, that looked as if they 
 wanted to eat every little child that came near 
 them, and she often told her nurse that when 
 she grew up she was going to give her a big 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 15 
 
 house, and not let her live in a small, back 
 room. 
 
 " Because, nurse," she used to say in her 
 
 Id when I get 
 
 to be a lady, and pernaps sun, and I will take 
 
 care of you then as you take care of me now." 
 
 "Hey! this little child," the old nurse 
 
1 6 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 would say to herself, as only a Chinese nurse 
 can say it, " she is always thinking of others, 
 and never of herself." 
 
 She had a kind little heart. She was always 
 trying to do for others regardless of herself. 
 If a little playmate fell and hurt herself and 
 began to cry, Chenchu would run to her, rub 
 the spot that was injured, and say so many f 
 kind things that she soon forgot her pain, 
 and so her little playmates were always glad 
 to see her coming. She liked also to run and 
 play with her brothers, but she liked still 
 more to play with her nurse. 
 
 " Because," she said to her nurse one day, 
 " you know how to play so many things. 
 Boys only know how to play boys' games, 
 such as ' Strike the Stick,' ' Kick the Marble,' 
 and fly kites ; but you know everything. 
 How did you learn to play so many things, 
 nurse ? You must have had a very good 
 nurse when you were a little girl." And then, 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 17 
 
 as she looked at the gray hair and wrinkled 
 face of the old nurse, she added, " But perhaps 
 you never were a little girl." 
 
 And the old nurse explained to her for the 
 twentieth time that she did not have a nurse 
 when she was little; that she was poor and 
 had to work very hard, until Chenchu's 
 mamma asked her to come and be her nurse, 
 and then " I studied how to play with children, 
 as all good nurses should ; but come, Chenchu, 
 we must go into the house, the wind is rising 
 and it looks like rain." 
 
 Chenchu never objected to what the nurse 
 wanted her to do, but rather turned all her 
 duties into a new kind of entertainment, and so, 
 instead of whining to remain outside, she said : 
 
 " Nurse, what is that rhyme you told me 
 about Wind and Rain ? " at which the nurse 
 repeated the following: 
 
 " Old Grandmother Wind has come from the East, 
 She's ridden a donkey — - a dear little beast ; 
 
1 8 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 Old Mother-in-law Rain has come back again, 
 Direct from the North on a horse it is plain ; 
 Old Grandmother Snow is coming, you know, 
 From the West on a crane — just see how they go ; 
 And ojd Aunty Lightning has come from the South, 
 On a big yellow dog with a bit in his mouth." 
 
 As they were going into the house they 
 heard a rattle at the gate, and Chenchu 
 exclaimed : 
 
 " Oh, nurse, there is ' Punch and Judy ' ; 
 call him in and he can play for us while we are 
 shut up in the house ! " 
 
 Punch and Judy, a play which originated in 
 China more than two thousand years ago, was 
 called in, and for an hour Chenchu and her 
 nurse, with other women and servants of the 
 household, listened to the music of the cym- 
 bals, the singing of the showman, and the 
 squeaking chatter and never-to-be-forgotten 
 jokes of the facetious Punch and other mem- 
 bers of that renowned puppet family, until the 
 audience was satisfied, and the showman con- 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 19 
 
 gratulated himself that he had spent such a 
 pleasant and profitable hour while the "Heav- 
 ens were leaking outside." 
 
 " How much are you giving him, nurse ? " 
 
 woman tak- 
 
 ,. _ „„„. ent. 
 
 " Ten cents," answered the nurse. 
 " That is not enough ; give him a string of 
 cash," said the child. 
 
20 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 " What, sixty cents ! " exclaimed the nurse 
 with feigned surprise, looking at the little girl's 
 mother. 
 
 The latter said nothing but nodded an 
 assent. 
 
 " Yes, give him sixty cents. We can better 
 afford to give him too much than he can afford 
 to go with too little." 
 
 And as she gave him the string of cash, she 
 muttered, "Yes, she thinks of everybody, 
 even the passing showmen." 
 
 " Supper is ready," said one of the servants, 
 stepping inside the door, and standing as 
 straight and stiff as a well-trained footman. 
 
 It was only four o'clock in the afternoon, 
 but, although they were rich, they followed 
 the Chinese custom of eating only two meals 
 a day. They drank tea when they got up in 
 the morning, had their breakfast at ten o'clock, 
 and supper at four or five. 
 
 It was a very different meal from what we 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 21 
 
 usually see. The table was set without knives, 
 forks or plates ; but with spoons, bowls, and 
 chop-sticks. There was neither table-cloth nor 
 napkins, but in place of the latter there were 
 small bits of paper cut in squares, with which 
 they wiped their chop-sticks and small side 
 dishes. 
 
 Only one dish was brought on the table at 
 a time, from which each was helped by a slave, 
 a servant, or a nurse. They all ate together 
 except the wife of the second brother, who 
 took her food in her own room, because in 
 China a younger brother's wife is never allowed 
 to sit at the table with the eldest brother of 
 her husband. 
 
 Chenchu and her brothers treated their 
 mother with the greatest deference, each other 
 with politeness, and the servants and slaves 
 with kindness ; said nothing about the food, 
 whether it was good, bad, or indifferent, and 
 in all their conversation acted as if each were 
 
22 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 the other's guest. One could not but be 
 pleased to see the way in which, when a fresh 
 dish came on the table, each with his own 
 chop-sticks tried to select the choicest morsel 
 for their mother or the older members of the 
 family. Deference to their elders was the 
 atmosphere of their home. 
 
 I am afraid some of Chenchu's little cousins* 
 will be surprised and perhaps offended at the 
 mention of slaves. And perhaps they will be 
 still more surprised when they are told that 
 one of these slave girls was Chenchu's very 
 own. 
 
 She was only a little older than Chenchu 
 herself, and had been with her as playmate, 
 nurse, assistant, or slave, — for she was all of 
 these as occasion demanded, — ever since 
 Chenchu could remember, and she would not 
 have known very well how to get along with- 
 out her. 
 
 When she was a very little child, many long 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 23 
 
 years ago — at least four or five years ago — 
 her mamma had bought this little girl from 
 very poor parents, who said they would have 
 to " throw her away " if they could not sell 
 her, and brought her to their home, where 
 they fed and clothed her very well. 
 
 It was only a few days after she had been 
 given to Chenchu that she began to cough, 
 and then to whoop, and soon Chenchu did 
 the same, and in short they had whooping- 
 cough together. Chenchu did not scold or 
 complain because the little Ya-t'ou, as she 
 called her slave, had brought her this disease. 
 Neither did the old nurse scold or complain, 
 but just took care of the two children as though 
 they had been sisters, always giving the first 
 care, however, to Chenchu. 
 
 It was only a year after they had the whoop- 
 ing-cough until Chenchu " came down with 
 the measles," and a few days later the Ya-t'ou 
 took them, and they both laughed, and said 
 
24 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 that " turn about was fair play," and the nurse 
 comforted them by saying that as every one 
 must have these diseases it were better that 
 they have them in their youth. 
 
 " I wonder if we will 'flower out ' next," 
 said Chenchu to the nurse after they were over 
 the measles. 
 
 " No, indeed," answered the nurse, pulling» 
 up the child's sleeve, " I took care that you 
 should not c flower out ' by ' planting flowers ' 
 in your arms after you had had the whooping- 
 cough." 
 
 And sure enough the two girls, slave and 
 mistress, had the same kind of marks on the 
 same places on their arms, where they had 
 been vaccinated from the same tube of virus, 
 to keep them from " flowering out " with the 
 smallpox, which a large majority of our little 
 Chinese cousins do very early in life. Indeed, 
 one often sees a child on the street with its 
 nurse or playing with its companions, covered 
 
YUSHAN 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 25 
 
 all over with that loathsome disease. And 
 then when they grow up their face as well as 
 their body is covered with the marks, which 
 disfigure them very much, and often injure 
 their prospects for life. 
 
 " Come, Chenchu," said her youngest 
 brother, Yiishan (or, as we would call him Jade 
 Mountain), after supper was over, " would 
 you not like to go for a walk in the garden? 
 The rain has made everything look clean ; let 
 us go out and see the flowers and goldfish, 
 and listen to the birds." 
 
 " Thank you, brother, yes ; the fish will 
 be delighted with the fresh rain water in 
 the pool, and the birds that all the dust is 
 washed from the trees. Come, mamma ; 
 come, nurse, let us go out to the garden ; 
 bring your bird with you, brother, and feed 
 him out there." 
 
 " Quite right, Chenchu, birdie will enjoy 
 his food more if he takes it in the garden, and 
 
26 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 will be better off for the exercise ; besides I can 
 practise him a little." 
 
 The garden was laid out in all kinds of 
 peculiar patterns, around which were borders 
 made of roofing tiles. There were many kinds 
 of beautiful trees, and it was a very paradise 
 of blooming flowers and blossoming shrubs. 
 But the prettiest part of the garden was a large 
 pool in one corner in which were hundreds of 
 goldfish, of which all Chinese are very fond. 
 They are different from any other fish seen in 
 any other country. They have large tails for 
 such small fish, short, thick bodies, and big 
 lumps like eyebrows above their bulging eyes, 
 which make them look very hideous until you 
 know that this is one of their greatest charms. 
 As soon as you have learned that the price of 
 a fish depends upon the size of its eyebrows, 
 you feel inclined to exclaim, " Oh, what beau- 
 tiful big eyebrows it has." 
 
 Chenchu also kept a crock of fish in her 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 27 
 
 own room which took the place in her play- 
 life that Yushan's birds took in his. She had 
 a beautifully carved black ebony stand on 
 
 ..»« ch she kept 
 
 a variety of specimens from the pond. There 
 were two black ones with large eyes, which she 
 said would turn into goldfish after they were 
 
28 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 a little older. Their tails were horizontal and 
 triple fan-shaped, and were so large that she 
 told her nurse one day that she was " uncertain 
 whether the tail wagged the fish or the fish the 
 tail." Then she had two ordinary goldfish 
 whose tails were perpendicular and double fan- 
 shaped, two brown ones of the same general 
 form, another brown one with a tail like the , 
 black ones, and two white ones which she 
 called her " Albino fish." These she fed well, 
 changing their water every day, and was as 
 careful of them as though they were her 
 children, never allowing them to get too 
 hot in summer nor too cold in winter. 
 Then when they grew large she liberated 
 them by putting them into the pond, taking, 
 as she said, " a new family of little ones 
 to raise." 
 
 Rising up from one side of the pool was a 
 rockery, built like a mountain full of caves and 
 winding staircases, with here and there a bridge 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 29 
 
 over a deep ravine, and beside it a little 
 bamboo grove where Chenchu liked to sit in 
 the shade and watch the goldfish when they 
 were fed. Among the rocks and caves in the 
 cliff were birds and animals, lizards, scorpions, 
 and snakes, painted in their natural colours, 
 with here and there a little temple or shrine. 
 In the trees all about the garden, hundreds of 
 birds were singing their last evening song, 
 while the red sun was setting behind the west- 
 ern mountains, lighting up the clouds with a 
 fiery or purple hue. 
 
 " Now, birdie," said Yiishan, " we must 
 have some exercise and get our supper," and 
 with that he tossed a seed into the air which 
 the bird flew up and caught, returning to eat 
 it upon his shoulder, or on the bent perch he 
 held in his hand. Of course, the bird would 
 not do that at first. It had to go through a 
 process of training. When he first got it, 
 Yiishan carried it about in a cage until it be- 
 
30 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 came accustomed to him ; then he tied a string 
 around its neck and let it perch on a stick he 
 held in his hand ; then he made the string so 
 long that it could fly, for the seeds he threw 
 up in the air ; and finally by kind treatment 
 the bird became so tame that it needed no 
 string, for it knew that Yiishan loved it so 
 much that he would not hurt it, and so it 
 would perch on his shoulder, head or arm, 
 and fly up many yards to catch the seeds he 
 tossed into the air. 
 
 One of Yiishan's pleasantest pastimes, after 
 he had his bird well trained, was to take it out 
 on the common where a hundred other boys 
 and men were gathered practising their birds, 
 and compete with them in his bird tricks. And 
 the birds seemed to enjoy it as much as the 
 men. They would fly up high into the air to 
 catch a seed, the while their masters would 
 change their positions, and, after going in a 
 great circle, would return to their masters' 
 
A MAN WITH HIS TAME BIRD 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 31 
 
 shoulders to eat their seed, and to be kindly 
 stroked or petted for their good conduct. 
 
 As darkness began to gather over the gar- 
 den, the old frog of which the children were 
 very fond hopped up on the edge of the pond, 
 and sang his evening song, while Chenchu 
 repeated the follow rhyme : 
 
 " Froggie, old froggie, come over to me, 
 
 You'll never go back to your home in the sea, 
 
 You're an idle old croaker as ever I saw, 
 
 And if not calling papa, you're calling mamma," 
 
 pronouncing the words papa and mamma in 
 such a way as to imitate the voice of the frog. 
 
 " Come, Chenchu," said her mother, " it is 
 time little girls were in bed ; we must not 
 stay out after dark." 
 
 "Yes, mamma," answered Chenchu, never 
 thinking of remaining outside after her mother 
 told her to come in, " nurse and I are going 
 to bed at once." 
 
 Chenchu always slept with her nurse, and 
 
32 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 the bed on which they slept was very different 
 from that of her little American cousin. It 
 was made of brick — one-half of the room 
 being built up twenty inches above the other, 
 and covered with brick the same as the floor. 
 In winter they built a fire under the bed until 
 the bricks were warm, over which they spread 
 a thin mattress, and thus instead of having 
 one hot brick in their bed they had twenty. 
 
 They folded their bedding up neatly every 
 morning and put it in boxes or piled it up on 
 the end of the bed, and then covered it all 
 over with a spread to keep out the dust. And 
 indeed you would say they ought to do so if 
 you could have seen the dust storm that passed 
 over the city a few days later. The sky be- 
 came overcast with yellow clouds, the wind 
 blew a gale, and finally the rain began to fall ; 
 but not pure, clear drops of water like those 
 you are accustomed to see, but drops of yellow 
 mud, during all which time it was so dark at 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 33 
 
 three o'clock in the afternoon that they had to 
 light the lamps in shops and stores and homes. 
 You would have been surprised, I am sure, 
 if you could have seen Chenchu's pillow. It 
 was made like a tiger with a head on each end, 
 with large, black glass eyes, a savage mouth, 
 
 and leather ears, and filled with sawdust instead 
 of feathers. When not used as a pillow, it was 
 employed as a plaything, and is called the 
 Chinese bogi-boo. Strange, isn't it, that chil- 
 
 head upon 
 
 ~- iten them ? 
 
 But so it is with the people on the other side 
 
 of the earth, who walk with their feet toward 
 
 our feet and their head pointing in the oppo- 
 
34 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 site direction. It was thus Chenchu lay down 
 to sleep on the lower side of the world, like a 
 fly on the ceiling, without falling off. 
 
 " Come, Chenchu," said the nurse the next 
 morning, " the boys are already in school ; 
 you will be late with your lessons this 
 morning." 
 
 " Oh, dear," said the little girl, awaking with , 
 a smile and a little yawn, " I slept so soundly. 
 I did not awake at all during the night." 
 
 She never thought of getting up with a 
 frown and a groan, as some lazy children do, 
 because she had to go into school. She spent 
 two hours in study every morning before 
 breakfast. She loved to get her lessons, in 
 spite of the fact that they were sometimes very 
 hard. And well she might, because did her 
 papa not want her to be as well educated as 
 her brothers ? Of course, she would not dis- 
 appoint her papa. 
 
 They did not have a public school to go to, 
 
CHENCHU'S FATHER 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 35 
 
 nor even a private school like little English 
 and American boys and girls have ; but ever 
 since her oldest brother was seven years old, 
 they had had a teacher who taught them in 
 their own home ; and Chenchu studied with 
 her brothers. 
 
 Each had his own little rough stool at 
 his own little rough table, for although they 
 were rich, they did not have fine furniture in 
 their schoolroom. You should have heard 
 them when they began to study in the morn- 
 ing. It was like — I was about to say pande- 
 monium let loose, — but I do not want to 
 compare those well-bred children to a lot of 
 demons. But just think of it, they all studied 
 aloud and all at the same time, and the 
 louder they studied the better the teacher 
 liked it. The boys began with a book some- 
 thing like this : 
 
 ' Men one and all in infancy- 
 Are virtuous at heart j 
 
36 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 Their moral tendencies the same 
 Their practice wide apart," 
 
 not one word of which they understood until 
 years later, when the teacher went through it 
 with them and explained it. Now all they 
 were expected to do was to commit it to 
 memory, which, of course, they did. 
 
 When they had completed this book, which 
 contained several hundred different characters, 
 like so many A, B, Cs, they took up the 
 " Rules of Behaviour for Boys," which taught 
 them that — 
 
 " When riding or driving, you always descend 
 From your horse or your cart when you meet with a friend, 
 Nor remount till your friend has passed by, I should say, 
 A hundred, or more than that, steps on his way," 
 
 and here again they had several hundred new 
 A, B, Cs which were more difficult than the 
 others. Indeed, American and English boys 
 and girls ought to rejoice that it is English 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 37 
 
 that they are studying, and not Chinese, for 
 every book that these dear little folks pick up 
 is full of nothing but new A, B, Cs from be- 
 ginning to end. 
 
 " And does poor little Chenchu have to 
 learn all this ? " you ask. 
 
 No, not just the same, but what she has to 
 learn is not any easier. And if she hopes 
 to make her papa happy, she will have to 
 learn all these and many thousands of others 
 of the same kind. 
 
 Chenchu began with the little " Classic for 
 Girls," which was very unlike any of the books 
 we read. It began at the right side instead of 
 the left; it was printed on one side of the 
 paper only, the leaves being cut at the back 
 instead of at the edge ; notes were printed at 
 the top instead of at the bottom of the 
 page ; and she read up and down instead 
 of from left to right. But that is not all. 
 She writes with a brush instead of a pen ; 
 
38 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 on tissue instead of stiff paper ; with a cake, 
 instead of a bottle, of ink ; and turns her back 
 to the teacher when she recites. Not very 
 polite, you think ? Yes, indeed, she is a very 
 polite little girl, and never forgets to thank the 
 teacher for hearing her lesson. 
 
 To-day the first verse she learned was : 
 
 " You should well prepare the cooking, 
 Be the food however plain, 
 And be able in receiving 
 To politely entertain," 
 
 and in order to accomplish this end Chenchu 
 was allowed to have as many tea-parties as she 
 wished, to which she invited her little friends, 
 just as her mamma invited and entertained the 
 ladies of her acquaintance. And you should 
 have seen the dignity with which they were 
 conducted, it was : 
 
 " Won't Lilly have another cup of tea ? " 
 with a little bow and a rising from her seat. 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 39 
 
 "No, I thank you, I have had quite 
 enough," with more bows and risings. 
 
 "I am afraid my tea is not to your taste 
 to-day ; " more bows. 
 
 " Indeed, on the contrary, it is very good, 
 I think I have never drunk better tea," 
 etc. 
 
 During the afternoon, Chenchu was allowed 
 to remain out of school and play with her pets, 
 of which she had a goodly number. In the 
 first place she had a large, green grasshopper, 
 which she said could "sing with its legs." 
 She had a beautiful little cage made out of a 
 kind of gourd, in which she kept it, and she 
 carried it with her all the time, feeding it as 
 her brother fed his bird, and treating it very 
 kindly. 
 
 That afternoon as she was playing with 
 it, and talking to it as if it was one of 
 her little friends, she turned and said to her 
 nurse : 
 
40 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 " Next to you and mamma and papa and 
 brothers, I love my grasshopper." 
 
 Then she looked solemn and thoughtful for 
 a moment, and added : 
 
 " No, I forgot ; there is grandpa and 
 grandma and aunties and uncles and cousins — 
 and — no, there are a great many people I 
 love better than grasshopper, — of course, one 
 should love one's friends better than one's pets, 
 shouldn't they, nurse ? " 
 
 And the nurse told her she thought so. 
 
 " But grasshopper is a very good companion, 
 don't you think so ? " 
 
 " Yes, Chenchu, he is a very good compan- 
 ion, and I am sure he loves the little girl that 
 keeps his cage so neat and clean, as much, at 
 least, as a grasshopper can love. But what 
 about Ruffles ? " 
 
 " Oh, Ruffles is a very nice dog, but then, 
 you know, he is such a mischief; he is always 
 biting and tearing things." 
 
CHENCHU S NURSE 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 41 
 
 " Yes, of course ; but he will get over that 
 when he gets bigger; that is the way, you 
 know, with puppies." 
 
 " Quite right, nurse, but he is not bigger 
 yet. I suppose I shall love him more when 
 he grows. Just look at him as he sits there, 
 nurse, isn't he cunning and mischievous look- 
 ing?" 
 
 And sure enough, Ruffles looked as if he 
 would like to have had a sawdust doll or a 
 bogi-boo pillow to tear to pieces. 
 
 And thus Chenchu continued to talk and 
 play and study in her solemn little way, be- 
 coming more and more attractive as the days 
 went by, and the old nurse was heard to utter 
 many, many times : 
 
 " Hey, this little child ! " 
 
 It was only a few days after this that she 
 came to the nurse with her brow puckered into 
 half-century wrinkles with some problem that 
 had been puzzling her wise little brain. She 
 
42 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 had been reading her " Classic for Girls," 
 and had come to that part where it says : 
 
 " Have you ever learned the reason 
 Why your ears should punctured be ? 
 
 'Tis that you may never listen to the talk of Chang. and Li. 
 True the holes were made for earrings 
 That your face may be refined, 
 
 But the other better reason you should ever keep in mind." 
 
 As she repeated these lines, she told the old 
 nurse how it hurt when they made the big 
 holes in her ears for earrings, how they bled, 
 and how sore they were for some days after- 
 ward; and then with a solemn look on her 
 sweet little face, she said : 
 
 " Nurse." 
 
 " Yes, Chenchu." 
 
 " Why are the lower parts of your ears so 
 much torn ? " 
 
 " That, my little girl, is because my ear- 
 rings were so heavy that they tore out the first 
 hole, and I had to have another made," said 
 the nurse. 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 43 
 
 Chenchu hesitated a moment as if in deep 
 thought, and then continued : 
 
 " Nurse, if people ought to wear earrings, why 
 are they not born with holes in their ears, so that 
 they would not have 
 to have them bored ? " 
 
 But the old nurse 
 could not answer 
 her question ; and 
 indeed I doubt if it 
 occurred to her that 
 boring holes in little girls' ears in which to 
 put jewels, is a heathen practice, which, by 
 the way, very many of Chenchu's little Chris- 
 tian cousins have not yet given up. 
 
 If you had seen the old nurse's earrings you 
 
 that her ears 
 
 ■'.'•' t'hstw were made of large, heavy 
 
 pieces of silver in the form of rings, on which 
 
 were hung other rings made of glass or stone 
 
 which looked like jade. 
 
44 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 Chenchu's, of course, were little as well as 
 light. They were small, gold rings in the 
 shape of dragons, with savage eyes and open 
 mouth ; with two little coil wire springs for 
 feelers, on the ends of which were two little 
 pearls ; and Chenchu was very proud of them, 
 for she had not yet learned that it was wrong 
 to bore holes in the perfect little ears nature 
 had given her, in order to make them into a 
 jewel case. 
 
 She was very proud also, of course, in an 
 inoffensive way, of her finger nails, and their 
 shields. She had let the nails grow on her 
 little finger and ring-finger, until they became 
 very long, and then wore nail-protectors on 
 the ends of her fingers like thimbles, to keep 
 them from being broken. The protectors were 
 made of silver, plated with gold, with beauti- 
 ful flowers enamelled all over the back, and 
 were about two and a half inches long. 
 
 Every afternoon after her lessons were done, 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 45 
 
 in addition to her play, Chenchu had to spend 
 an hour or two in learning to embroider. Her 
 nurse as well as her mamma was very skilful 
 with the needle, and Chenchu never thought 
 of growing up to be a woman without know- 
 ing how to make beautiful shoes for herself as 
 well as her husband, finely embroidered hand- 
 kerchiefs, and all kinds of pretty clothing, be- 
 sides having an accomplishment which would 
 be a recommendation in the eyes of any mother- 
 in-law. Had she not learned also in her 
 little "Classic for Girls"? 
 
 "If from fancy work and cooking 
 
 You can save some precious hours, 
 You should spend them in embroidering 
 Ornamental leaves and flowers." 
 
 Chenchu's mamma often told her how the 
 Chinese are famed, and have been for centu- 
 ries, for their beautiful embroidery, and she 
 herself undertook the teaching of her little 
 daughter in this particular art, for her mamma 
 
46 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 was very skilful with the needle. They not 
 only embroidered " ornamental leaves and 
 flowers," as they were taught in the little 
 classic, but dragons, demons, and children, on 
 all kinds of decorations, from magnificent tap- 
 estries and screens, to dolls' clothing and fans. 
 None of them were more skilful than the old 
 nurse, and it was not uncommon to see the 
 mother, the little girl, and the nurse doing the 
 same kind of work, with but little difference in 
 the degrees of perfection except in the case of 
 Chenchu. She was not yet able to ply her 
 needle as well as her elders, but every one said 
 she did very well for a girl of her age. 
 
 " Mamma," said Chenchu one day as she 
 was embroidering a beautiful little child on a 
 piece of silk, " I would like to learn to paint." 
 
 " Very well, my daughter, just as soon as 
 you learn to write well you may begin to 
 paint. But you can never hope to be a 
 painter unless you are a good writer." 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 47 
 
 " Why, mamma ? " 
 
 " Because writing is the A, B, Cs of paint- 
 ing." 
 
 For many days thereafter Chenchu spent a 
 large part of her time with her pen (which 
 was a brush) writing or painting out the words 
 she found in her lessons, and she was delighted 
 when, showing it to her mother, it met with 
 her approval, and she was allowed to begin her 
 painting lessons. 
 
 Now I have no doubt that most of Chen- 
 chu's little English-speaking cousins do not 
 know that all the art of eastern Asia originated 
 in China. They have seen such beautiful 
 things from Japan that they think the Japanese 
 are the artists of the East, but if they will in- 
 quire of the Japanese they will find that the 
 highest ambition of a Japanese artist is to do 
 something that will compare favourably with 
 the work of the Chinese master he happens to 
 be imitating. Eight hundred years before 
 
48 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 Michael Angelo and Raphael were decorating 
 the cathedrals of Rome, and painting pictures 
 of the angels, Wu-tao-tzu and Yen-li-pen had 
 decorated with Buddhist divinities the temples 
 of the East, and were establishing schools 
 which were to do for Asia what the Italian 
 schools did for Europe. 
 
 Of course, Chenchu's papa had a large col- 
 lection of the paintings of great artists. Every 
 official and scholar, who pretends to be any- 
 thing, is more or less of a patron of art, for, 
 next to literature, art stands highest in the esti- 
 mation of the Chinese people. These pictures 
 are very different from those which hang on 
 your parlour walls. They are painted on 
 paper or silk (paper being preferable), mounted 
 on soft paper with silk facing all around the 
 picture, and then put up in the form of a scroll, 
 so that it can be rolled up when not hung on 
 the wall. Some of them are six or seven hun- 
 dred years old, and have become a deep, rich 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 49 
 
 brown with their advancing years, which gives 
 them a value that only age and a good state 
 of preservation lend to all things human. 
 Many of them are painted by women, and so 
 Chenchu wanted to see if she could not follow 
 in the footsteps of Yun Ping and Chao Meng- 
 hui, two of the greatest of these female paint- 
 ers, of whose pictures she was especially fond. 
 
 The first thing to be done was to find her 
 a teacher who could give her proper instruc- 
 tion ; and the next thing was to purchase 
 books which contained pictures worthy to be 
 copied. To get these she must send a servant 
 or make a trip to Liu-li-ch'ang, the great book 
 street of the city, if not the greatest street in 
 China. 
 
 After she had talked the matter over with 
 her nurse, she came to her mamma greatly ex- 
 cited. 
 
 " Mamma," she said, " I want you to prom- 
 ise me something, will you do it, mamma ? " 
 
50 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 " I can hardly grant my little girl's requests 
 until I know what they are," said her mamma. 
 
 " Oh, yes, mamma, you need not be afraid, 
 I will not ask anything wrong." 
 
 " I know you would not," said her mamma. 
 " But you know it would be rash for me to 
 grant a thing before I know what it is, and 
 you know what the ' Rules of Behaviour for 
 Boys' says." 
 
 " What is that ? " asked Chenchu. 
 
 "About — 
 
 '"A rash promise, if ever you make it, 
 
 It's wrong if you make it, and wrong if you keep it.' 
 
 answered her mamma." 
 
 " Well, it is this," said Chenchu, communi- 
 cating it as a matter of the greatest importance. 
 " I want you to let nurse and me go with the 
 teacher to Liu-li-ch'ang to buy a copy-book." 
 
 Consent was given at once, the mule was 
 hitched to the official cart, and it was not long 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 51 
 
 before they had arrived at the east end of the 
 great street. 
 
 It is not great like Broadway, because of its 
 length ; nor like Commonwealth Avenue, be- 
 cause of its width ; nor like Wall Street, because 
 it is a great financial centre ; but because it is 
 the centre of literature and art of the oldest, 
 longest-lived, and greatest literature and art- 
 loving nation the world has ever known. 
 
 At the east end is a framework which looks 
 like the relic of an ancient gateway. Here 
 Chenchu insisted upon getting out and walk- 
 ing with the nurse that she might get a view 
 of the stores. 
 
 Now the side of the stores that faced the 
 street looked very much like broken-down pig- 
 stys, but when once you were inside you could 
 find all the treasures of porcelain, jade, pearls, 
 and precious stones, together with curios, that 
 had been sold and resold, and then sold again 
 and yet again for two thousand or more years. 
 
52 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 There were book stores, book shops, book 
 stalls, and book peddlers in which or from 
 whom you could get any book that is pub- 
 lished or has ever been published in China. 
 There were encyclopaedias that contained as 
 many volumes as there are days in a hundred 
 years ; and there were histories that a two- 
 horse cart would not haul, because, forsooth, 
 you could not pile them on a cart. 
 _ About half-way down the street there is a 
 large, — no, we cannot say large, for no build- 
 ing in China is large as we view buildings, — 
 but a very noted candy store. The guide- 
 books say it is the best place in the city to 
 buy candy ; at any rate Chenchu bought some. 
 Then she went into an art store just opposite. 
 There were cases after cases of pictures in a 
 most dilapidated-looking condition — pictures 
 for which they asked three hundred dollars. 
 In a back room they had stacks of books of 
 paintings by famous artists, some of which 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 53 
 
 were only to look at, while others were de- 
 signed as copies for budding genius to begin 
 by. 
 
 Chenchu bought three or four of these at 
 an enormously high price for a copy-book, but 
 a very reasonable rate for a work of art, and 
 then returned home as delighted with what she 
 had seen as any of you would be if you were 
 to visit this great curio centre. 
 
 That evening when Chenchu was about to 
 go to bed, feeling tired after her long ride, 
 she said, as she laid her head down on her 
 bogi-boo pillow : 
 
 " Nurse, can you tell me a story before I go 
 to sleep ? " 
 
 "Yes," answered the nurse, "if you will 
 guess who the story is about." 
 
 " Very well," said Chenchu, " if I do not 
 go to sleep." 
 
 " Once upon a time," began the nurse, 
 "there was a little boy who lived in a quiet 
 
54 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 home with his father and mother, and the 
 three were very happy together, for they all 
 loved each other dearly." 
 
 "As soon as I know who it is I will tell 
 you," said Chenchu, breaking in at this point. 
 
 " But the mother died when the child was 
 only seven years old, leaving him and his 
 father alone together. 
 
 " The father was very lonely without his 
 wife, and often his eyes would fill with tears. 
 The child noticed this and wondered what he 
 could -do to comfort his papa, for he had a 
 kind heart and thought more of his papa's 
 sorrow than he did of his own. 
 
 "What thoughts passed through his mind 
 we cannot tell, but he seemed to have deter- 
 mined to devote himself entirely to the task of 
 making his father happy. 
 
 " In summer when it came time to go to 
 bed, the child would fan his father's pillow to 
 make it cool, and in winter he would lie down 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 55 
 
 on his couch to make it warm, and in a hun- 
 dred little ways like this he manifested his love 
 for — " 
 
 " Wasn't it Huang Hsiang ? " asked Chen- 
 chu, with a little yawn. 
 
 " Yes, do you not think he was a good little 
 boy ? " 
 
 " Very good," said Chenchu, " tell me 
 another." 
 
 " Once upon a time," began the old nurse, 
 in the stereotyped way, ready at once with the 
 story, " there were a number of little boys who 
 lived in neighbouring homes, and always played 
 together. 
 
 " They were very careful in their play never 
 to hurt each other or to say anything that 
 would hurt any one's feelings. None of them 
 ever thought of using any bad language, or of 
 saying anything that they would be ashamed 
 to have their nurse or their mother hear. 
 
 " One of them was especially diligent in his 
 
56 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 study, and always slept at night on a round 
 pillow, so that when he became restless and 
 moved about, it would slip out from under his 
 head and he would awake and resume his 
 work. 
 
 " He was also very careful of his books and 
 would never soil them by wetting his thumb to 
 turn over the leaves, or run the risk of tearing 
 them when turning the leaves by scratching 
 them up with his nails. 
 
 " One day when he and a lot of his little 
 companions were playing together, one of 
 them by accident fell into a large crock of 
 water that stood near by. 
 
 " While all the others scattered in every 
 direction calling for help, the boy who had 
 spent so much time at his books quietly 
 kept his presence of mind, picked up a large 
 stone, with which he struck the crock such a 
 blow as to make a hole in it so that the water 
 all ran out, and thus he saved the life of the 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 57 
 
 child who must have otherwise been drowned 
 before help could have arrived." 
 
 The old nurse had been watching the droop- 
 ing lids while she related this story, and as she 
 finished, a little start and a catching of the 
 breath told her that Chenchu was in the land 
 of dreams. 
 
 " Come, Chenchu," said nurse, about two 
 o'clock in the afternoon, " come and dress ; 
 mamma is going to call on Mrs. Ch'en." 
 
 " Oh, goody, goody ! " said Chenchu, in 
 childish glee, and ran to be dressed, for Mrs. 
 Ch'en's was one of the most delightful places 
 to go calling. 
 
 Now when they arrived at Mrs. Ch'en's you 
 would never have thought that this little lady 
 was the one who had so far forgotten her 
 dignity as to have said " Goody, goody." She 
 met Mrs. Ch'en's two little daughters, and 
 they her, with the same dignity and respect 
 shown to each other by their mammas ; but a 
 
58 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 few moments later when, with their nurses, 
 they were out in the garden, they were again 
 little children, and were down on the ground 
 playing " jackstones " as naturally as any other 
 little folks you ever saw. After a few mo- 
 ments they tired of this, and changed to 
 "Blind Man's Buff," and then "Three-cor- 
 nered Cat," and a kind of " Hop-scotch," and, 
 would you believe it ? they even took off their 
 good, silk garments, and played roly-poly, and 
 tumbled about as boys would have done, even 
 climbing some of the smaller trees, — and their 
 nurses did not scold them. 
 
 Then they were called into the house, not 
 to be scolded by their mammas, for had not 
 they done the same when they were little girls ? 
 but to have tea with them. Now again they 
 were little ladies, and drank their tea and ate 
 their cookies and candy with the same quiet 
 dignity as their mammas, only engaging in 
 such part of the conversation as concerned 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 59 
 
 them, for children in China act upon the prin- 
 ciple that it is better to be seen than to be 
 heard" when mamma has company. 
 
 As they were going home that afternoon, 
 a little beggar girl, with bound feet and noth- 
 ing on but a pair of trousers, ran after their 
 cart begging for a cash. Chenchu asked the 
 nurse to stop the cart, and she gave the child 
 a handful of cash, and, after saying a few kind 
 words to her, she told her to come to their 
 house, and she would give her some of her 
 clothing, as she was the same size as Chenchu 
 herself. 
 
 " It is very hard," she said to the nurse 
 after they had passed on, "to have to run 
 after a cart and beg when your feet are not 
 bound, but when they are bound it is very 
 much harder." 
 
 As they passed on the nurse saw a shoe- 
 maker with his shop slung on the two ends of 
 a stick, and she once more stopped to tell him 
 
60 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 to bring it around to their house to mend her 
 shoes. Queer, isn't it, that the shoemaker 
 should carry his shop to people's houses to 
 mend their shoes, rather than that they should 
 take their shoes to his shop ? But so it is in 
 the land of the Celestials, where not only the 
 shoemaker, but the barber, the blacksmith, 
 and the soup-kitchen are willing to go to the 
 customer, rather than wait for the customer 
 to come to them. 
 
 As the spring winds began to blow, Yiishan 
 got out his kite, and he and his grandfather 
 went to fly their kites together, that of his 
 grandfather being a centipede about thirty feet 
 long, while Yiishan's was in the form of a 
 butterfly, painted in the most gorgeous col- 
 ours. How high they went ! Away up 
 above where the crows fly, and while they, 
 with a hundred others, were flying their kites 
 on the common, thousands of crows came in 
 flocks from the country where they had been 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 61 
 
 feeding, and went to roost in the gates of the 
 palace grounds and other imperial buildings, 
 
 rookery to which 
 all the crows of the neighbourhood resort. 
 
 Of course, Chenchu could not go out on 
 the common to see the sport, as our little 
 
62 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 Chinese girl cousins are not allowed to play 
 with the boys, — not even in kite-flying or 
 coasting, but she had just as good a time in- 
 side the court, for as soon as they went out 
 she called to a servant to tell the carter to 
 saddle her donkey. 
 
 " What are you going to do, Chenchu ? " 
 asked the nurse. 
 
 " Going for a ride. You see if I do not 
 exercise Lii'rh, we will not be able to live 
 with him." 
 
 Lii'rh was the dearest little donkey you ever 
 saw ; but perhaps you never saw very many 
 donkeys. He was about the colour of a rat, 
 but his hair, or fur, for it was more like fur 
 than hair, stuck out like the bristles on a shoe- 
 brush. He was very, very little even for a 
 donkey, and his ears were almost a foot long. 
 He had the wisest kind of a look on his face 
 when he threw his ears forward, and a very 
 mischievous look when he turned them back- 
 
X 
 
 a 
 
 s 
 u 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 63 
 
 ward. His little tail, which was very much 
 like a cow's, kept going swish-swash, this way 
 and that, to keep off the flies. If a man 
 jumped on his back, even though he was so 
 large that his feet almost dragged on the 
 grdund, Lu'rh would trot off with him as 
 though he were no heavier than a bag of hay 
 for his dinner, so that Yushan said there was 
 " more muscle wrapped up in the same space 
 in a donkey than in anything else in creation," 
 which Chenchu felt was almost the truth. 
 
 But you should have seen him when he 
 had Chenchu on his back. He seemed to 
 know that he must be gentle. He would 
 canter off as carefully as though he were carry- 
 ing eggs, his long ears bent forward, and a 
 look on his face as wise as that of a judge, 
 while he seemed to be saying to himself: 
 
 " Now you must be careful, Lii'rh, and not 
 throw Chenchu oft"; and do not run with a 
 rough gait, for little girls do not like to be 
 
64 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 jolted when they are riding," and off he ran 
 as fast as he could go, and as gently as any 
 one could wish. 
 
 The following day was to be a holiday ; no 
 school, not even in the forenoon. It was the 
 fifth day of the fifth month, and one of the 
 greatest holidays of the year. The children 
 had waited anxiously for its coming, and now 
 it was at hand. It was the Spring Festival, 
 which was ushered in by the beauties of bud- 
 ding and blossoming trees and flowers, and all 
 the promises of summer filled with luscious 
 fruits and rich harvests. There was no " spring 
 fever " feeling as the children arose that morn- 
 ing. Indeed all the children in the city, as 
 well as most of the grown people, were in holi- 
 day garb and ready for a picnic. The labourers 
 had all "knocked off" work for the day, and 
 were going to spend as much money in a few 
 hours as they could make in a week. 
 
 Each one had made for him, out of silk, a 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 65 
 
 little ornament in which was a mulberry, a 
 cherry, a cucumber, a bean, and a small gourd, 
 all of which were also made of silk, and which 
 for five days he wore suspended from the but- 
 ton of his coat, after which he threw it away, 
 with the belief that he was casting off all ills 
 for at least a year, and any one who picked it 
 up would " take " the diseases which otherwise 
 would have come to him. 
 
 When they arose in the morning, each one 
 had powdered " dragon stone " put into his 
 ears and nose to prevent scorpions, snakes, 
 lizards, and hundred or thousand - legged 
 worms from creeping into his head, and a 
 little bunch of fragrant weed tied to the tassel 
 of his queue to ward off disease. They ate 
 three-cornered rice dumplings wrapped up in 
 reed blades, in memory of one of the great 
 poets who gave his life for the sake of his 
 prince, and then if they were convenient to 
 a river or a lake, they went for a ride in a 
 
66 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 dragon boat all decorated with bright-coloured 
 flags and paper lanterns. 
 
 There was a fair at the largest Buddhist 
 temple in the city, and both Chenchu and 
 Yiishan were to be allowed to go. It was 
 almost as important a time as the New Year's 
 festival, and they were very much excited over 
 the prospects. 
 
 The large, black mule was hitched to the 
 cart, — the official cart, with red wheels, 
 notched tires, two windows on each side, and 
 a red oilcloth band around the bed. It was 
 like a very large Saratoga trunk on two wheels, 
 and would have been rough to ride in but for 
 the fact that it was well filled with cushions. 
 As it was, the rider was tossed from side to side, 
 his head bumped against the framework, and 
 he was in danger of coming home, after a short 
 ride, with his head a veritable " brain-bag." 
 
 Both children and the old nurse were packed 
 in the cart, while one servant walked on each 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 67 
 
 side with one hand on the shaft, and another 
 led the mule. They went just as fast as the 
 legs of the servants could carry them, bumpity 
 bump, bumpity bump, over the rough streets, 
 now through a narrow alley, and now along a 
 broad avenue, with clouds of dust following 
 them all the way, until when they reached the 
 temple you could have written your name 
 with your finger in the dust on their fine silk 
 garments. 
 
 But what did they care for dust ? Besides, 
 one of the servants soon brushed it all off with 
 a piece of silk tied to the end of a stick with 
 which every cart is provided. There were too 
 many attractions to allow them to think of 
 dust, or of anything else except the many 
 things there were to hear and see and eat and 
 drink. It was like Fourth of July, or Bunker 
 Hill Day on Boston Common, with many 
 other side-shows and entertainments added to 
 the list. 
 
68 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 First and foremost, before they entered 
 the gate, was the peanut man, with Chinese 
 peanuts, and American peanuts, and hulled 
 peanuts, and salted peanuts, and sugared pea- 
 nuts, and peanuts in every form that would 
 attract the attention of the child. There were 
 peanut hulls all about his stand ; and little 
 boys and girls, well dressed, medium dressed, 
 poorly dressed, and undressed, on all sides 
 eating peanuts and scattering the hulls in every 
 direction. 
 
 Next to him, but just inside the gate, was 
 the toy man, and, as they entered, Chenchu, 
 forgetting for the moment that she was the 
 daughter of a great official, and realizing that 
 she was only a little girl, exclaimed : 
 
 "Oh, nurse, just look at the toys ! " 
 
 " Yes," said the nurse, " would you like to 
 have some ? " 
 
 But as she spoke the toy-seller turned 
 from a poor little girl who did not have 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 69 
 
 money enough to buy the doll she wanted, 
 saying : 
 
 " No, if you do not have the money, you 
 
 cannot have the doll. What will the little lady 
 
 :,w o'.s-rsg gjgie wraic r asked Chenchu, 
 pointing to the poor little girl. 
 
 " She wants that large doll, but she does 
 not have the money to buy it." 
 
70 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 " How much is it? " she continued. 
 
 " Twelve cents," said he, adding two cents 
 to the price he had just asked the little one. 
 
 " Give it to me," she said, and taking it in 
 her arms she placed it gently in the arms of 
 the other, saying : 
 
 " Do you like it ? Nurse will give him the 
 money. Would you like anything else ? " 
 
 "You are very kind," said the little girl, 
 with a polite bow and a thank you, " I would 
 not dare to ask for anything else." 
 
 "Yes, she wanted this cart," said the toy 
 man, with an eye to business, " but if she could 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 71 
 
 not buy the doll, she certainly could not buy 
 both." 
 
 " Would the cart make you happy ? " asked 
 Chenchu, " because my 
 papa lets me do whatever 
 I wish that will make any 
 one happy," looking at her 
 nurse. 
 
 The nurse paid the 
 money without a word, as 
 though it was something 
 she was accustomed to 
 doing, and purchasing a S 
 toy or two for Chenchu, 
 they walked on, leaving 
 the little girl very happy 
 
 '?i3»5 W& c™r7"^:~rr that could at- 
 tract, interest, or amuse children of all ages, 
 from fifty down to four. There were curios 
 two thousand years old. There were rich gold 
 
72 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 and silver ornaments, jades and pearls. There 
 were birds and kites that vied with each other 
 in flying high into the sky, and there was the 
 
 little clay lady, with 
 skirts loaded at the 
 bottom, and round 
 like the end of an 
 egg, so that she 
 could not be upset. 
 But the thing that 
 was most amusing 
 to the children, was 
 an old man who 
 had married a young 
 wife, whom he was 
 carrying about on 
 his back, watching 
 in all directions lest 
 she should speak to some one else. 
 
 There were men and women, boys and girls, 
 who had come in from the country to spend 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 73 
 
 the day, and who could be easily distinguished 
 from their city cousins by their healthy, ruddy 
 faces, their bright green or pink trousers, the 
 open-mouthed wonder with which they gazed 
 at the sights, and the way they ate peanuts and 
 drank suan-rtni-t'ang, — a drink made of sour 
 plums, — a good substitute for lemonade in 
 hot weather at city or country picnics. Men 
 had brought their kitchens on their shoulders, 
 slung on the two ends of a stick, and were 
 kept busy baking cakes and frying onion and 
 garlic hash for the thousands whose business 
 it was, for the day at least, to eat, drink, and be 
 merry. 
 
 The showmen were there too. There was 
 the man with the trained bear which would 
 juggle with the sword, wrestle with the man- 
 ager, stand on his head, turn somersaults, or 
 sell bean-curd as the spectators might desire. 
 There was the man with the trained mice, 
 "the cunningest little things you ever saw," 
 
74 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 so he told the children. They would draw 
 water, turn a mill, go through a pagoda, climb 
 a tree, or do whatever the manager indicated 
 with his wand was expected -of them. Then 
 
 there was the man with his two little boys, one 
 of whom he dressed up like a girl when they 
 played in the " dry-land boat show," and then 
 made them into a lion by covering them with a 
 grass mat, and putting a lion's head on the one 
 in front. There were men sitting on the ground 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 75 
 
 whittling toys out of wood, and others mould- 
 ing them out of clay, and what was that? a 
 boy with a clay chicken and bellows attached, 
 by the pulling of which "he could make it 
 cackle like a real hen. The queer thing about 
 these clay toys was that the rooster crowed, the 
 dog barked, and the baby cried all in the same 
 tone as the hen cackled. Do you ask why ? 
 Because they all had the same kind of a whistle 
 in them, — a whistle made of a reed. 
 
 " Oh, look at the jugglers," said Yiishan. 
 
 "Where?" asked Chenchu. 
 
 " Under the shade of that big tree. Let us 
 go and see them." 
 
 And sure enough, there was a man balancing 
 a table on one leg on his chin, while a small 
 boy, standing on a stool a foot high, was bend- 
 ing backward and picking up a handkerchief 
 from the floor with his teeth. As the boy 
 raised up, the man let the table down, amid 
 the applause of the crowd, and they each took 
 
76 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 up one new trick after 
 another, the best of 
 which was when the man 
 balanced a pole twenty 
 feet tall on his shoulder 
 with the boy lying on his 
 back on the top. 
 
 All day they wandered 
 about among the stalls, 
 watching the hucksters 
 sell their goods, eating 
 cakes hot from the pans 
 of the travelling kitchens, 
 or candies blown into 
 various forms for them 
 by the candy blowers ; 
 talking with friends who 
 had come to enjoy the 
 day as they had done, or 
 watching the sleight-of- 
 hand performer manipu- 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 77 
 
 late his little wax balls, or take dinners of ten 
 courses out of an empty cylinder, until they 
 were tired, and as glad to go home as they had 
 been to come in the morning. 
 
 On their way home they saw a company of 
 boys playing at " Lame Man." One of them 
 had wrapped his girdle about his legs and had 
 a shoe in his hand with which he was trying 
 to hit one of the other boys. In case he suc- 
 ceeded in doing so, the one hit had to have his 
 legs wrapped and be the catcher. Yiishan would 
 have liked very much to have stopped and taken 
 a part in the game, but, of course, he could not 
 do so, and leave the others in the cart. 
 
 "Why do you not hit the boy on the 
 right ? " he called out as they passed, but the 
 rattle of the cart drowned his voice, or he did 
 not call loud enough, for the other paid no 
 attention to what he said. 
 
 " Let us have a game of c Magic Blocks,' " 
 said Chenchu to Yiishan after supper. 
 
78 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 " Very well," answered Yiishan, and away he 
 ran, returning after a moment with two copies 
 
 of the "Fifteen 
 Magic Blocks." 
 Each copy 
 contained two 
 volumes and a 
 piece of paste- 
 board cut into 
 fifteen forms, 
 all of w h i c h 
 was wrapped up in a cloth cover. On each 
 page was a picture illustrating some incident in 
 history or poetry, which the children could 
 make out of the blocks, at the same time 
 repeating the poetry or relating the incident. 
 " What is that ? " asked Yiishan as Chenchu 
 finished making a picture of a man standing 
 by an imaginary pool. 
 
 Chenchu answered by repeating the follow- 
 ing rhyme : 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 79 
 
 " The grass is growing on the pond, 
 While on my books I labour, 
 
 And listen to the frogs at 
 night, 
 Each calling to his 
 neighbour," 
 
 with which she tossed the blocks off into a 
 pile, asking : 
 
 " What have you made ? " 
 
 " A stone the student's pillow, 
 And his home a paper screen, 
 
 He lies upon 
 
 a bamboo 
 bed, 
 And dreams 
 a pleasant 
 dream," 
 
8o Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 ^ 
 
 , answered Yiishan, toss- 
 ing his blocks off into a 
 pile as his sister had done. 
 
 It was only a mo- 
 ment until each had 
 completed another picture, Chenchu's being, 
 
 as she explained, that 
 
 of an old woman 
 
 standing by the side 
 
 of a furnace in which 
 
 she was "melting 
 
 stones to mend the 
 
 Yiishan's was 
 
 wife of an 
 
 husband being 
 
 sky ; " while 
 that of the 
 earl, whose 
 
 repeatedly insulted by another earl, went 
 into the home of the latter at night and 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin Si 
 
 carried away the box in which he kept his 
 most precious jewels. The following day she 
 returned them by her husband with the threat 
 that if he continued his arrogance his head 
 would be taken just as his box had been. And 
 thus they continued to play until they had 
 made a large portion of the two hundred and 
 sixteen pictures the book contains. 
 
 The next day, after school, Chenchu had 
 a good romp with Ruffles, then, stopping 
 suddenly, she came to her nurse very much 
 disturbed. She had been learning in her little 
 " Classic for Girls " the following verse : 
 
 " Have you ever learned the reason for the binding of your 
 
 feet ? 
 'Tis from fear that 'twill be easy to go out upon the street. 
 It is not that they are handsome when thus like a crooked 
 
 bow, 
 That ten thousand wraps and bindings are thus bound around 
 
 them so," 
 
 and her little face was more solemn looking 
 than ever as she repeated it to the nurse. 
 
82 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 " I do not like that, nurse," she said. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " asked the nurse. 
 
 " I do not like to think of having my feet 
 bound," answered Chenchu ; " I cannot run, I 
 cannot play, I can scarcely walk, — and, nurse, 
 does it not hurt dreadfully ? " 
 
 " For every pair of bound feet there is a bed 
 full of tears," said the nurse, repeating a prov- 
 erb the little girl had often heard before. 
 "You know your little friend Manao (Ame- 
 thyst). Her feet were not bound until she 
 was eight, at which time they had grown so 
 large that the bones of the instep had to be 
 broken. Her cries could be heard a li (one- 
 third of a mile) and her tears flowed like water, 
 but they were all disregarded. Her feet were 
 wrapped up with strips of cloth, and bound 
 around with bands, as all of our feet are, 
 regardless of swelling or pain. They festered 
 and broke and large sores formed, and for 
 weeks the little girl who had listened so joy- 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 83 
 
 fully to the singing of the birds, and had 
 run and played as freely as her brothers had 
 done, lay weeping on a hard bed, until she 
 once more fulfilled the proverb that c For 
 every pair of bound feet there is a bed full of 
 tears.' " 
 
 " Chenchu ! " 
 
 The call came from one of the servants who 
 had just emerged from the front gate. 
 
 " What is it? " inquired the nurse. 
 
 " Her mamma wants Chenchu to come in." 
 
 The little girl went tripping toward the 
 house much faster than the old nurse could 
 follow, hobbling along as- she must on her 
 small feet. When it occurred to Chenchu that 
 the nurse was old, and walking was not an 
 easy matter with her, she turned about, tripped 
 as lightly back as she had gone forward a 
 moment before, and taking hold of her hand, 
 she said : 
 
 " You cannot run as I can, can you, nurse? " 
 
84 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 " No, Chenchu, an old woman with bound 
 feet cannot run like a little girl whose feet are 
 natural and free." 
 
 She entered the house as light-hearted and 
 happy as a lark rising in mid-air with its morn- 
 ing song bursting from its throat, and with her 
 face still aglow with her romp, yet not for- 
 getting to be dignified in the presence of her 
 mother, she made a polite little bow, and 
 asked : 
 
 " What is it, mamma ? " 
 
 Her mother took her on her knee with as 
 much affection as any mamma could show for 
 her only little daughter, as she said : 
 
 " The woman has come to bind my little 
 girl's feet." 
 
 " Please, mamma," said the little girl, throw- 
 ing her arms around her mother's neck, and 
 kissing her again and again, " please, mamma, 
 don't let her do it, don't let her do it, mamma." 
 
 " No, no, my darling, that would never do ; 
 
CHENCHU'S MOTHER 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 85 
 
 you must have your feet bound, or mamma 
 can never get a husband for you," said her 
 mother, taking off her shoes. 
 
 " I don't want a husband ! I don't want a 
 husband ! I'll live with nurse ! " said Chenchu, 
 bursting into tears. 
 
 But her mother was a stylish mamma, and 
 could not afford to let her little girl grow up 
 " with feet like a man," and run the risk of 
 not getting her a respectable husband, and so 
 she was forced to disregard her pleadings and 
 her tears ; and the little pink toes were one 
 by one bent in under the foot, and they were 
 just about to apply the bandages, when the 
 servant announced a visitor who requested the 
 privilege- of seeing Chenchu's mamma at once. 
 
 As the visitor was a woman, she was allowed 
 to enter that the process already undertaken 
 might not be interfered with, but when she 
 saw what was going on, unlike most middle- 
 men, which she happened to be, in spite of 
 
86 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 the fact that she was a woman, she at once 
 announced the mission on which she had 
 come. 
 
 " You know the family of Yuan," she said 
 to Chenchu's mamma, by way of introducing 
 the subject. 
 
 " The young Liberal ? " said the latter, in- 
 terrogatively ; "yes, I know them very well. 
 They are a fine family, and he has prospects 
 of being a great official. Few do not know 
 them, but we have the honour of a pleasant 
 and intimate acquaintance." 
 
 " As you know, he has just been made gov- 
 ernor, and it is rumoured that he may be a 
 viceroy at an early age." 
 
 " My husband has a very high regard for 
 him, and thinks he will be an influential man 
 in a large way, in the near future," said Chen- 
 chu's mamma. 
 
 " They are very fond of Chenchu," ventured 
 the middleman. 
 
Our Little Chinese Cousin 87 
 
 " Indeed ? I am glad to hear it ; we should 
 feel greatly flattered, as indeed we are." 
 
 " They have a son who is now just ten, a 
 strong, healthy, good-tempered boy, and very 
 smart," continued the middleman. 
 
 " Yes, I have often seen him. He is a boy 
 of whom any parent might well be proud." 
 
 " And they would like to know if it would 
 be agreeable to you to give him Chenchu as 
 his wife," she went on. 
 
 The mother looked lovingly at the little 
 girl, whose foot she still held in her hand, 
 pressed her to her bosom, and kissed her 
 forehead. 
 
 "Would he take me if my feet were not 
 bound ? " asked Chenchu, innocently. 
 
 " Yes," answered the middleman, " Mr. 
 Yuan is a member of the Anti-footbinding 
 Society, and I was ordered to say that if the 
 matter be agreeable to you, Chenchu's feet 
 need not be bound." 
 
88 Our Little Chinese Cousin 
 
 " Then," said Chenchu, jerking her little, 
 bare foot from her mother's hand, and forget- 
 ting for the moment that she was the daughter 
 of a dignified and very stylish mamma, " I'll 
 be his wife, may I, mamma ? " 
 
 And so the matter was settled, and Chenchu 
 by the same act secured a husband, and was 
 allowed to grow up with natural feet ; and it 
 is difficult to say which was the most happy, 
 the mother who was relieved from such a dis- 
 agreeable undertaking, the old nurse who had 
 endured it all her life, or the little girl who 
 was thus happily rescued. 
 
 THE END. 
 
THE UTTLE COUSIN SERIES 
 
 By MARY HAZELTON WADE 
 
 FIRST SERIES 
 
 These are the most interesting and delightful accounts 
 possible of child-life in other lands, filled with quaint say- 
 ings, doings, and adventures. The " Litde Japanese 
 Cousin," with her toys in her wide sleeve and her tiny bag of 
 paper handkerchiefs ; the " Litde Brown Cousin," in whose 
 home the leaves of the breadfruit-tree serve for plates and 
 the halves of the cocoanut shells for cups ; the " Litde 
 Indian Cousin," who lives the free life of the forest, and the 
 " Little Russian Cousin," who dwells by the wintry Neva, 
 are truly fascinating characters to the littie cousins who 
 will read about them. 
 
 Four volumes, as follows : 
 
 Our Little Japanese Cousin 
 Our Little Brown Cousin 
 Our Little Indian Cousin 
 Our Little Russian Cousin 
 
 Each I vol., i2mo, cloth decorative, with 6 full-pags 
 illustrations in tints, by L. J. Bridgman. 
 Price, per volume . . $ o.jo net (postage extra) 
 
 Price, per set, 4 vols., boxed . 2.00 net (postage extra) 
 
 " Juveniles will get a whole world of pleasure and instruction 
 out of Mary Hazelton Wade's Little Cousin Series. . . . Pleas, 
 ing narratives give pictures of the little folk in the far-away lands 
 in their duties and pleasures, showing their odd ways of playing, 
 studying, their queer homes, clothes, and playthings. . . . The 
 style of the stories is all that can be desired for entertainment, 
 the author describing things in a very real and delightful 
 fashion." — - Ditroii A'ews- Tribune. 
 
THE LITTLE COUSIN SERIES 
 
 By MARY HAZELTON WADE 
 
 SECOND SERIES 
 
 The great success and prompt appreciation which this 
 charming little series met last season has led to its continua- 
 tion this year with a new set of child characters from other 
 lands, each as original and delightful as the little foreign 
 cousins with whom the little cousins at home became ac- 
 quainted in last season's series. 
 
 Six volumes, as follows s 
 
 Our Little Cuban Cousin 
 Our Little Hawaiian Cousin 
 Our Little Eskimo Cousin 
 Our Little Philippine Cousin 
 Our Little Porto Rican Cousin 
 Our Little African Cousin 
 
 Each i vol., i2mo, cloth decorative, with 6 full-page 
 illustrations in tints by L. J. Bridgman. 
 Price, per volume . . . $0.50 net (postage extra) 
 Price, per set, 6 vols., boxed . 3.00 net (postage extra) 
 
 " Boys and girls, reading the tales of these little cousins in 
 different parts of the world, will gain considerable knowledge of 
 geography and the queer customs that are followed among 
 strange people." — Chicago Evening Post. 
 
 " Not only are the books interesting, but they are entertain- 
 ingly instructive as well, and when entertainment can sugar-coat 
 instruction, the book is one usually well worth placing in the 
 hands of those to whom the knowledge will be useful." — Utica 
 Observer. 
 
 " To many youthful minds this little series of books may open 
 up the possibilities of a foreign world to which they had been 
 total strangers. And interest in this wider sphere, the beyond 
 and awayness, may bear rich fruit in the future." — N, Y. Com- 
 mercial Advertiser, 
 
COSY CORNER SERIES 
 
 It is the intention of the publishers that this series shall 
 contain only the very highest and purest literature, — 
 stories that shall not only appeal to the children them- 
 selves, but be appreciated by all those who feel with 
 them in their joys and sorrows, --- stories that shall be 
 most particularly adapted for reading aloud in the 
 family circle. 
 
 The numerous illustrations in each book are by well- 
 known artists, and each volume has a separate attract- 
 ive cover design. 
 
 Each, i vol., i6mo, cloth $0.50 
 
 By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON 
 
 The Little Colonel. 
 
 The scene of this story is laid in Kentucky. Its 
 heroine is a small girl, who is known as the Little 
 Colonel, on account of her fancied resemblance to an 
 old-school Southern gentleman, whose fine estate and 
 old family are famous in the region. This old Colonel 
 proves to be the grandfather of the child. 
 
 The Giant Scissors. 
 
 This is the story of Joyce and of her adventures in 
 France, — the wonderful house with the gate of The 
 Giant Scissors, Jules, her little playmate, Sister Denisa, . 
 the cruel Brossard, and her dear Aunt Kate. Joyce is 
 a great friend of the Little Colonel, and in later volumes 
 shares with her the delightful experiences of the " House 
 Party " and the " Holidays." 
 
1 L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S 
 
 By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON (Continued) 
 
 Two Little Knights of Kentucky, 
 
 Who Were the Little Colonel's Neighbors. 
 
 In this volume the Little Colonel returns to us like an 
 old friend, but with added grace and charm. She is 
 not, however, the central figure of the story, that place 
 being taken by the " two little knights," Malcolm and 
 Keith, little Southern aristocrats, whose chivalrous na- 
 tures lead them through a series of interesting adven- 
 tures. 
 
 Cicely and Other Stories for Girls. 
 
 The readers of Mrs. Johnston's charming juveniles 
 will be glad to learn of the issue of this volume for 
 young people, written in the author's sympathetic and 
 entertaining manner. 
 
 Big Brother. 
 
 A story of two boys. The devotion and care of 
 Steven, himself a small boy, for his baby brother, is the 
 theme of the simple tale, the pathos and beauty of 
 which has appealed to so many thousands. 
 
 Ole Mammy's Torment. 
 
 " Ole Mammy's Torment " has been fitly called " a 
 classic of Southern life." It relates the haps and mis- 
 haps of a small negro lad, and tells how he was led by 
 love and kindness to a knowledge of the right 
 
 The Story of Dago. 
 
 In this story Mrs. Johnston relates the story of Dago, 
 a pet monkey, owned jointly by two brothers. Dago 
 tells his own story, and the account of his haps and mi* 
 haps is both interesting and amusing. 
 
COSY CORNER SERIES 
 
 By EDITH ROBINSON 
 
 A Little Puritan's First Christmas : 
 
 A Story of Colonial Times in Boston. 
 
 A story of Colonial times in Boston, telling how 
 Christmas was invented by Betty Sewa.ll, a typical child 
 of the Puritans, aided by her " unregenerate " brother, 
 Sam. 
 
 A Little Daughter of Liberty. 
 
 The author's motive for this story is well indicated 
 by a quotation from her introduction, as follows : 
 
 " One ride is memorable in the early history of the 
 American Revolution, the well-known ride of Paul 
 Revere. Equally deserving of commendation is another 
 ride, — untold in verse or story, its records preserved 
 only in family papers or shadowy legend, the ride of 
 Anthony Severn was no less historic in its action or 
 memorable in its consequences." 
 
 A Loyal Little Haid. 
 
 A delightful and interesting story of Revolutionary 
 days, in which the child heroine, Betsey Schuyler, 
 renders important services to George Washington and 
 Alexander Hamilton, and in the end becomes the wife of 
 the latter. 
 
 A Little Puritan Rebel. 
 
 Like Miss Robinson's successful story of " A Loyai 
 Litde Maid," this is another historical tale of a real girl, 
 during the time when the gallant Sir Harry Vane was 
 governor of Massachusetts. 
 
 A Little Puritan Pioneer. 
 
 The scene of this story is laid in the Puritan settle- 
 ment at Charlestown. The litde girl heroine adds 
 another to the list of favorites so well known to the 
 young people in " A Little Puritan Rebel," etc. 
 
4 L. C. PAGE AND COMP ANY'S 
 
 By OUIDA (Louis* de la Ramie) 
 
 A Dog Of Flanders : A Christmas Story. 
 Too well and favorably known to require description. 
 
 The Nurnberg Stove. 
 
 This beautiful story has never before been published 
 at a popular price. 
 
 A Provence Rose. 
 
 A story perfect in sweetness and in grace. 
 
 Findelkind. 
 
 A charming story about a little Swiss herdsman. 
 By MISS MULOCK 
 
 The Little Lame Prince. 
 
 A delightful story of a little boy who has many adven- 
 tures by means of the magic gifts of his fairy godmother. 
 
 Adventures of a Brownie. 
 
 The story of a household elf who torments the cook 
 and gardener, but is a constant joy and delight to the 
 children who love and trust him. 
 
 His Little Mother. 
 
 Miss Mulock's short stories for children are a constant 
 source of delight to them, and " His Little Mother," in 
 this new and attractive dress, will be welcomed by hosts 
 of youthful readers. 
 
 Little Sunshine's Holiday. 
 
 An attractive story of a summer outing. " Little Sun- 
 shine " is another of those beautiful child-characters for 
 which Miss Mulock is so justly famous. 
 
COSY CORNER SERIES 
 
 By JULIANA HO RATI A EWING 
 
 Jackanapes. 
 
 A new edition, with new illustrations, of this exquisite 
 and touching story, dear alike to young and old. 
 
 Story of a Short Life. 
 
 This beautiful and pathetic story will never grow old. 
 It is a part of the world's literature, and will never die. 
 
 A Great Emergency. 
 
 How a family of children prepared for a great emer- 
 gency, and how they acted when the emergency came. 
 
 The Trinity Flower. 
 
 In this little volume are collected three of Mrs. 
 Ewing's best short stories for the young people. 
 
 Madam Liberality. 
 
 From her cradle up Madam Liberality found her 
 chief delight in giving. 
 
 By FRANCES MARGARET FOX 
 
 The Little Giant's Neighbors. 
 
 A charming nature story of a "little giant" whose 
 neighbors were the creatures of the field and garden. 
 
 Farmer Brown and the Birds. 
 
 A little story which teaches children that the birds are 
 man's best friends. Miss Fox has an intimate knowl- 
 edge of bird life and has written a little book which 
 should take rank with " Black Beauty " and " Beautiful 
 Joe." 
 
 Betty of Old Mackinaw. 
 
 A charming story of child-life, appealing especially to 
 the little readers who like stories of " real people." 
 
6 L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S 
 
 By WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE 
 
 The Farrier's Dog and His Fellow. 
 
 This story, written by the gifted young Southern 
 woman, will appeal to all that is best in the natures of 
 the many admirers of her graceful and piquant style. 
 
 The Fortunes of the Fellow. 
 
 Those who read and enjoyed the pathos and charm 
 of " The Farrier's Dog and His Fellow " will welcome 
 the further account of the " Adventures of Baydaw and 
 the Fellow " at the home of the kindly smith among the 
 Green Hills of Tennessee. 
 
 By FRANCES HODGES WHITE 
 
 Helena's Wonderworld. 
 
 A delightful tale of the adventures of a little girl in 
 the mysterious regions beneath the sea. 
 
 Aunt Nabby's Children. 
 
 This pretty little story, touched with the simple humo • 
 of country life, tells of two children, who, adopted by 
 Aunt Nabby, have also won their way into the affections 
 of the village squire. 
 
 By CHARLES LEE SLEIGHT 
 
 The Prince of the Pin Elves. 
 
 A fascinating story of the underground adventures of 
 a sturdy, reliant American boy among the elves and 
 gnomes. 
 
 The Water People. 
 
 A companion volume and in a way a sequel to " The 
 Prince of the Pin Elves," relating the adventures of 
 " Harry " among the " water people." While it has the 
 same characters as the previous book, the story is com- 
 plete in itself. 
 
COSY CORNER SERIES 
 
 By OTHER AUTHORS 
 
 The Story of Rosy Dawn. By Pau- 
 line Bradford Mackie. 
 The Christmas of little Wong Jan, or " Rosy Dawn," 
 
 a young Celestial of San Francisco, is the theme of this 
 
 pleasant little story. 
 
 Slisanne. By Frances J. Delano. 
 
 This little story will recall in sweetness and appealing 
 charm the work of Kate Douglas Wiggin and Laura £. 
 Richards. 
 
 flillicent in Dreamland. By Edna s. 
 
 Brainerd. 
 
 The quaintness and fantastic character of Millicent's 
 adventures in Dreamland have much of the fascination 
 of "Alice in Wonderland," and all small readers of 
 *' Alice " will enjoy making Millicent's acquaintance. 
 
 Jerry's Adventures. By Evelyn snead 
 
 Barnett. 
 
 This is an interesting and wholesome little story of 
 the change that came over the thoughtless imps on Jef- 
 ferson Square when they learned to know the stout- 
 hearted Jerry and his faithful Peggy. 
 
 A Bad Penny. By John T. Wheelwright. 
 
 No boy should omit reading this vivid story of the 
 New England of 1812. 
 
 Qatty and I. By Frances E. Crompton. 
 
 The small hero and heroine of this little story are 
 twins, " strictiy brought up." It is a sweet and whole- 
 some little story. 
 
8 L. C. PAGE AND COMPANY'S 
 
 The Fairy of the Rhone. By a. comyns 
 
 Carr. 
 
 Here is a fairy story indeed, one of old-fashioned pure 
 delight. It is most gracefully told, and accompanied by 
 charming illustrations. 
 
 A Small Small Child. By E. Livingston 
 
 Prescott. 
 
 "A Small Small Child" is a moving little tale of 
 sweet influence, more powerful than threats or punish- 
 ments, upon a rowdy of the barracks. 
 
 Peggy's Trial. By Mary knight potter. 
 
 Peggy is an impulsive little woman of ten, whose 
 rebellion from a mistaken notion of loyalty, and her sub- 
 sequent reconciliation to the dreaded " new mother," are 
 most interestingly told. 
 
 For His Country. By Marshall Saunders, 
 
 author of " Beautiful Joe," etc. 
 
 A sweet and graceful story of a little boy who loved 
 his country; written with that charm which has endeared 
 Miss Saunders to hosts of readers. 
 
 La Belle Nivernaise. the story of an 
 
 Old Boat and Her Crew. By Alphonse 
 
 Daudet. 
 
 All who have read it will be glad to welcome an old 
 favorite, and new readers will be happy to have it 
 brought to their friendly attention. 
 
 Wee Dorothy. By Laura updegraff. 
 
 A story of two orphan children, the tender devotion 
 of the eldest, a boy, for his sister being its theme and 
 setting. With a bit of sadness at the beginning, the 
 story is otherwise bright and sunny, "and altogether 
 wholesome in every way.