Fourteen Months in Canton

by Mrs. John Henry Gray

1880

"The letters forming the subject of this small work were written during a fourteen months' residence in the city of Canton, where I enjoyed many opportunities of seeing the inner life of the Chinese, and of learning much of their daily life in their own homes. The letters were written for circulation amongst my family and a few friends who kindly expressed an interest in all I saw and did in the far-off country of China. These descriptive letters accompanied others I wrote at the same time to my family, and so they do not contain any reference to domestic matters necessary to suppress. They are therefore published in extenso. We left Liverpool in the S.S. Abyssinian on our outward journey, January 13th, 1877, and arrived at New York in fourteen days. Our voyage was rough and uninteresting, especially so perhaps to me, as I was very ill the whole time. Fourteen days spent in a cabin is very trying, even to the most patient of minds"--Introduction.