a kind of private Empress Dowager.
A man knows, says the proverb, but a woman knows better. As a widow
in early life, her lot is not quite so pleasant. It is not thought
desirable for widows to remarry; but if she remains single, she becomes
"a rudderless boat;" round which gathers much calumny. Many young women
brave public opinion, and enter into second nuptials. If they are bent
upon remarrying, runs the saying, they can no more be prevented than the
sky can be prevented from raining.

The days of "golden lilies," as the artificially small feet of Chinese
women are called, are generally believed to date from the tenth century
A.D., though some writers have endeavoured to place the custom many
centuries earlier. It must always be carefully remembered that Manchu
women--the women of the dynasty which has ruled since 1644--do not
compress their feet. Consequently, the empresses of modern times have
feet of the natural size; neither is the practice in force among the
Hakkas, a race said to have migrated from the north of China to the
south in the thirteenth century; nor among the hill tribes; nor among
the boating population of Canton and elsewhere. Small feet are thus in
no way associated with aristocracy or gentleness of birth; neither is
there any foundation for the generally received opinion that the
Chinese lame their women in this way to keep them from gadding about.
Small-footed women may be seen carrying quite heavy burdens, and even
working in the fields; not to mention that many are employed as nurses
for small children. Another explanation is that women with bound feet
bear finer children and stronger; but the real reason lies in another
direction, quite beyond the scope of this book. The question of charm
may be taken into consideration, for any Chinaman will bear witness to
the seductive effect of a gaily-dressed girl picking her way on tiny
feet some three inches in length, her swaying movements and delightful
appearance of instability conveying a general sense of delicate grace
quite beyond expression in words.

The lady of the tenth century, to whom the origin of small feet is
ascribed, wished to make her own feet like two new moons; but whether
she actually bound them, as at the present day, is purely a matter of
conjecture. The modern style of binding inflicts great pain for a long
time upon the little girls who have to endure it. They become very shy
on the subject, and will on no account show their