Dwelling‑houses, and the gardens and yards around them, are usually surrounded by a wall which is built close on the street, and so high as to prevent any one passing along, from seeing the houses. At each end of the principal streets, there is a gate and a watch‑house built above it. The gates are closed at night, and the watchmen keep a constant look out, and beat with their gongs or bells the watches of the night.
The _population_ of Canton is very numerous. I think, not less than a _million of souls_. Many people think this number too great, and perhaps it is. Including those who live on the river, and all those within and without the city, the number is very great. Though the houses are not high, yet the people live together very thick. They marry young, and live to a good old age. In the same house, you will sometimes find great grand‑parents, grand‑parents, parents, children, grand‑children, great, and even great, great, grand‑children, making in all a very great number. From personal observation, I should not think that more than one tenth or one fifteenth part of the whole people of Canton live on the river. But if to the 40,000 boats, we allow only three persons to each boat, we shall have 120,000 on the river, and if this is only one ninth part of the whole population, it will amount to more than one million. But, my young friends, I will not trouble you any more with these hard reckonings; your teachers will explain the whole for you.
Foreign merchants have for several years traded to China. Only a few rods from the south‑west corner of the city walls, there are twelve or thirteen large buildings, or rather rows of buildings, and each of the rows contain three or four, and sometimes more houses, built like the houses in the United States, and _here_ we live; in all, I suppose, about 100 persons, English, French, Dutch, _Americans_, &c. These houses are sometimes called factories, and sometimes hongs. The English have a chapel and clergyman, and worship on the Sabbath. While Mr. Abeel was here, and also since he left, the Americans have had worship on the Sabbath in a large room in one of the private houses.
We live very comfortably here, though cut off from some of the greatest domestic and social enjoyments. No man can bring his family with him to Canton. All the work about house, cookery and every thing, is done by Chinese men servants. The servant that was with me several months after I came to China, did his work well enough, but did not like to read; besides, he was quite old. So I mentioned one day, that I should like a lad that would learn to read and write. A servant of one of the gentlemen with whom I lived heard this, and immediately wished me to take his little brother, then ten years old. His name is Atsan. In a few days, he made his appearance, a fine, round‑faced, sprightly‑looking boy. He knew something of his own language, but not a single letter of the English. Just at this time, Afa came and wished me to take his little son, Atih; and in a few days, the boy came, poorly clothed, with great head, flat nose, and crooked shoulders. His first appearance was not very promising. He could read and write his own language well, for a boy of his age, but knew not a word of English. I wrote out the alphabet for the two boys, and they began to learn; two or three days after this, they wished to introduce another boy. This was Achang, fifteen years old, and had been to school about three years. He had learnt also a part of the English alphabet.