Augustus F. Lindley

“ We dream with revolver in belt and gun at hand, ready to knock over stray unwary ducks, or savage, plundering, military Manchoos, should it become necessary. Little kings are we in our own right; obsequiously bends As-sam, pattern of boys and servants, to our lordly nod; meekly answers A-foo, lowder, captain, and pirate that he is; for the white men are strong, the Chinese think, and we must be civil to them while awake, even if we murder them when asleep. ”

“ At these gatherings, the infinite variety of military costume, the bright and gorgeous colours, the rich floating folds of the silken flags, the whole variegated appearance of the multitude of well and becomingly dressed members of a new people, as it were, united for the cause of freedom, and imbued in a wonderful and enthusiastic manner with the fixed determination of Christianizing their mighty empire,—all these combined, presented to the moralist a grand and imposing aspect. ”

“ You, our countrymen, have been aggrieved by the oppressions of the Manchoos long enough: if you do not change your politics, and with united strength and courage sweep away every remnant of these Tartars, how can you answer it to God in the highest heavens? We have now set in motion our righteous army, above to revenge the insult offered to God in deceiving Heaven, and below to deliver China from its inverted position, thus sternly sweeping away every vestige of Tartar influence and unitedly enjoying the happiness of the Ti-ping dynasty. ”

“ As a talented writer has just proved, [1] "It is not once, nor yet twice, that the policy of the British Government has been ruinous to the best interests of the world. It is not once, nor yet twice, that British deeds have aroused the indignation and horror of 'highly civilized and half-civilized races.' Disregard of international law and of treaty law in Europe—deeds of piracy and spoliation in Asia—one vast system of wrong and violence have everywhere for years marked the dealings of the British Government with the weaker nations of the globe." ”

“ Happy are they who fall by the merciful administration of Christian warfare, for if once their power is broken, there are other Governor Yehs in China to take the place of the cowardly brute who tortured and slaughtered 60,000 of his countrymen in the Canton province, and Shanghae may be treated to the same spectacle which six years ago sent a thrill of horror all over the civilized world, with only this difference—that the responsibility will rest upon those professedly Christian nations who will have been the cause of them. ”

“ Upon doing so we were met at the gangway by the old nurse of Mellen's children, who was wringing her hands and loudly vociferating the peculiar lament in vogue among the Chinese women when in grief.
A deserted ship has at all times a disheartening, melancholy sort of effect, upon a sailor at all events; but although I had seen such a thing before, even far away upon the vast ocean hundreds of miles from the nearest land, I never experienced so sudden and so fearful a chill as the moment my feet touched that lorcha's deck. ”

“ Of all the blunders which have recently marked her foreign policy, the late intervention in China is the worst; there we find neither the courage nor intellect which, in former ages, by talent, energy, and success redeemed even acts of aggression; neither do we perceive any desire to forego that system of unjustifiable interference which is so much calculated to render this great nation contemptible.
Hong-Kong is a free port, and in that lies the secret of how to establish relations with the Chinese, Japanese, or any other exclusive Asiatic people. ”

“ How strange it is that there are no men in China! China is the head, Tartary is the feet; China is the land of spirits, Tartary the land of demons. Why may China be deemed the land of spirits? Because the true Spirit, the great God, our heavenly Father, made heaven and earth, the land and the sea (and the Chinese honour him) ; therefore from of old China has been termed the land of spirits. Why are the Tartars to be considered demons? Because the devilish serpent, the king of Hades, is a corrupt demon, and the Tartars have been in the habit of worshipping him ”

“ The government was corrupt, the scholars were feeble and inert, the gentry were servile and timid, the lower classes were engrossed in the struggle for subsistence, the whole nation seemed bound hand and foot, with their moral energies paralyzed, their intellectual faculties stunted, and their civil liberties crushed beneath the iron gripe of power and the debasing influence of sensuality. Political subjection to an effete despotism, and addiction to opium, had enervated the national mind, and rendered the Chinese helpless as a race. ”

“ None who love their country can behold its foreign policy with satisfaction, or hope for its future. It requires but a glance at the history of the greatest nations of ancient and modern history to perceive our danger, and the parallel between our present position and the meridian of their greatness. The yearning for self-aggrandizement has caused the overthrow of many nations, and day by day we see the rich colonies forming part of some overgrown aggressively created empire, seceding from and breaking the power of their former oppressor. ”

“ Therefore, whatever may be the apparent result of the hostility of foreign dynasties, of this we may rest assured, the Almighty Power that has seen fit to kindle the glimmering sparks of the first Christian movement in modern Asia has lighted a torch that may not easily be extinguished, faint and obscure as that light may burn amid the gloom of persecution which, in all climes, and in all ages, has marked the dawn of Christianity. ”

“ To behold leagued together, not only the effeminate Chinese, but even their women,—wives and daughters fighting by the side of their husbands and fathers, inspired by one common hope and ardour—all animated by a great religious and political object, for the attainment of which they had suffered and fought many years,—is an event never before realized in the history of China. ”

“ Forcibly as the moral effect of the general foreign policy of England has been denounced by statesmen, how few have been found to raise their voices in the British senate in protestation against the practical evils which that policy has engendered in the far East, a country abounding in tea and silk, and now paralyzed by opium instead of being enriched by the manufactures of Great Britain. The moral effect of bad statesmanship, however much it may weaken England's just influence and the future peace of Europe, cannot sensibly affect the present wealth and pursuits of the people. ”

“ The boat and laundry women are peculiar to the South of China, being only met with at Macao, Canton, Whampoa, and Hong-Kong. They seem to have become a distinct part of the population of China since the arrival of Europeans to its shores, as employment by the latter affords their principal means of livelihood. Throughout the year they constantly amuse themselves in the water, swimming and disporting themselves about the above-mentioned harbours, like so many young porpoises in a gale of wind. ”

“ I am no [96] advocate of revolutionary principles or outbreaks against constituted authority, but we must always distinguish between the laws of a country and the unrighteous decrees of a tyrant usurper. Moreover, the progress of liberty and right has always been maintained through collisions with oppressive ruling powers; and the great leaders of the people may be the rebels of to-day, and yet should the morrow crown them with success, they may become the heroes and patriots of the age. ”

“ Vainly strove the bravest Tartar officers to animate their men; the hardiest veterans, extricating themselves from the confusion, uselessly sacrificed their lives attempting to re-form and gain time for the broken lines to rally and open out in order; equally vain were the fierce efforts of the main body, as, rolling and staggering along, they wavered, hesitated, and sent forth storms of fire upon friend and foe alike, while the rallied horsemen feebly charged the Foo-wang's cavalry, and, driven back, hovered in rear and flank of its defeated infantry. ”

“ Have we not always acted with good faith and friendship?"
"Cannot your foreign nations see," he said, "that the imps of Hien-fung (the Manchoo Emperor of China) , knowing you are of the same religion and family as ourselves, are plotting to establish a connection with you in order to produce trouble, misunderstanding, and separation between us? To do this they will tell many lies, pretend to be very friendly, and for the time let you do much trade to fool you." ”

“ The cowardice and cruelty of the Imperialists have long been notorious, and, after the experience foreign officers have lately had, the courage and humanity of the Ti-pings should have become equally so. I can assure my readers that it is no slight devotion to the sacred cause of civil and religious liberty, and not a little hatred of the Manchoo oppressor, that encourages these people in their gallant struggle for freedom, and makes them so cheerfully accept all the rigours, deprivations, and incessant dangers of their cause. ”

“ It is utterly impossible to describe a more striking contrast than that presented in the walk and carriage of two women, one having the compressed, and the other natural feet; the former, even when standing still, has a very unsteady appearance, but when stumping along with the usual uncertain tottering gait, apparently in danger of rolling over at every step, the crippling custom excites the utmost disgust and the greatest commiseration for its victims. ”

“ Ever since the Manchoos have spread their poisonous influence through China, the flame of oppression has risen up to heaven, and the vapour of corruption has defiled the celestial throne, the offensive odour has spread over the four seas, and the demoniacal influence has distressed surrounding regions; while the Chinese, with bowed heads and dejected spirits, willingly became the servants of others. ”

“ A sedan chair, the usual and aristocratic style of travelling in China, was hired, which for upwards of three hours transported me all over the town. The Chinese—their country—in fact, all about them—will afford an observant stranger an inexhaustible fund of study and amusement; yet, as a rule, Europeans are singularly neglectful of the country and most interesting traits of the peculiar people they sojourn amongst. They go to China with the sole idea of making a fortune, and too often in its blind pursuit all other principle is sacrificed. ”

“ These Maoutze are the very bravest soldiers in China, and are easily to be recognized by the enormous quantity of their hair; for never having succumbed to and adopted the usurper's badge of slavery—the shaved head—their hair has grown from infancy, reaching almost to their feet when loose, and when dressed forming a tail of great thickness, which, when wound round the neck, acts as a protecting armour that no sword can penetrate in the day of battle.
Besides his brigade of guards, the Chung-wang reviewed another, composed of remarkably fine Honan men, and commanded by Ling-ho, an adopted son. ”

“ Personal experience, the reports of men of intelligence and honour, all prove but too plainly how the friendly Ti-ping nation was crushed by British interference. It has been urged that the friendly professions of that people were not genuine, and that their undertaking would never have been performed. Had such a course, so opposed to their nature, been pursued, surely it would have been more grateful to the martial spirit of England to resort to arms for the purpose of enforcing an observance of good faith and honour, than for that of avenging the capture of a wretched opium smuggler. ”

“ But as it is obligatory on our Divine armies to kill the imps wherever they are to be found, how can our heavenly troops be forbidden to fulfil this duty? If there were no impish forces at Shanghae and Woo-sung, the Chung-wang and She-wang would certainly not think of sending their troops to take those places; and should you be willing to undertake the expulsion of the impish soldiers, then our Divine dynasty will send officers to tranquillize those places, and to protect not only the people but your trade also. ”