The explanation seemed to satisfy Doctor Jefferies and he turned to She-she once more. This time he spoke to her only briefly.
She-she’s reply was even briefer and quite unmistakable. It made Kernow wonder how the doctor had phrased the offer.
There was no time to ask for an explanation. The doctor said he had other patients to see. Kernow hardly had time to smile a farewell to the girls before he was ushered from the room.
Outside, in the corridor, Kernow asked, ‘Where are the other girls?’
‘Occupying a hospital ward I built to house the casualties we expected the last time we almost had a war with the Chinese. The girls can be kept apart from the other patients while they are in there. Unfortunately, I believe it to be a necessary precaution. I am given to understand that the morals of the Canton Hoppo’s blue dress girls are more than a little suspect. It’s rumoured among my porters that they were kept by the Hoppo especially to entertain those merchants from whom he extorted large customs dues. No doubt such ministrations made their payments somewhat less painful.’
‘You mean all those girls – Kau-lin and She-she too, are … prostitutes?’
‘I wouldn’t go as far as to say that, Mister Keats, but many Chinese customs leave a great deal to be desired. There can be no doubt many of the girls have an over-familiar manner when speaking to men. Europeans in particular.’
‘If this is so, how do you explain She-she’s great fear of European men?’ Kernow found himself inexplicably indignant at the doctor’s suggestion.
‘I offer no explanations, Mister Keats. I was merely passing on the rumours circulating among my porters, together with the evidence of my own observations. I admit that She-she does not behave as do the others – but there is a most disturbing boldness in the manner of her friend.’
The thought of Kau-lin made Kernow smile. There was as much cheekiness as boldness in her manner. But his thoughts quickly returned to the quieter She-she and the way she had cringed from him on occasions during the voyage. There was no familiarity with Fan Qui men in her attitude. He resolutely refused to accept the rumours repeated by Doctor Jefferies. Neither did he attempt to analyse the reason why he felt so inclined to leap to her defence.
Chapter 9
DURING THE COURSE of that summer Kernow needed to work very hard to keep up with his fellow students. The missionaries had a burning hunger inside them to learn Chinese. It was a hunger fuelled by an eagerness to go forth and spread the word of their God to the unenlightened millions who were starved of Christianity in the vastness of the land that was China.
Esme Pilkington quickly forged ahead in her mastery of the Chinese language – and of her fellow missionaries. Her loud and booming voice was quite capable of cowing any mere mortal. Fearing neither man nor woman, she gave her love solely and completely to the God she had come to China to serve. It was difficult to hold a debate with the highly opinionated Esme. The world in which she lived was either white or it was black, Christian or heathen. There were no shades of grey. In spite of such bigotry, Kernow found himself respecting the bluff missionary, and she seemed to like him.
The Calvin family were very different. Husband and wife were undoubtedly dedicated Christians, but only Nancy Calvin possessed any real zeal for missionary work. A small, busy woman, she wore thick-lensed spectacles and her expression carried a permanent air of disapproval for the world about her.
Ronald Calvin, her husband, was also small, and decidedly weedy. Kernow gained the impression he was a reluctant missionary. It was generally accepted by all who met them that the path for the whole family had been decided for them by Nancy, and neither father nor son had ever been heard to disagree with anything she decided.
Nevertheless, Nancy Calvin’s own commitment could not prevent her son from falling behind in his studies. He apologised constantly for his many mistakes and lack of learning ability, but it was evident to everyone at the mission that he lacked the will of his fellow students to learn the new and difficult language.
Six years older than Kernow, Arthur Calvin had unfortunately inherited his mother’s poor eyesight and his father’s hesitant manner. Yet neither parent had been able to pass on their own strong religious beliefs.
Possibly as a result of his own inadequacies, or merely because they were more of an age, Arthur Calvin sought out Kernow’s company in the mission classroom. Whenever possible he would join Kernow outside too, asking if he might accompany him on a walk about the bustling town streets, or along the foreshore to look at the ships in the harbour.
One day, when the book was closed on the day’s lessons, and prayers had been said, Ronald and Nancy Calvin hurried away to collect the mail which had arrived from England earlier that day. Nancy’s youngest sister had been expecting her first child when the family left for China. The missionary hoped the mail might bring her news of the event.
The others were in less of a hurry to leave and Kernow was adding some notes to his book when Hannah Jefferies spoke to him. ‘The girls you brought to Hong Kong will be boarding a ship bound for Foochow in a few minutes. I thought you might wish to go to the government jetty and say farewell to them.’
The news took Kernow by surprise. ‘Are She-she and Kau-lin leaving Hong Kong too?’
She-she had made a good recovery and Kernow frequently met her and Kau-lin about the mission, where they were busy learning English with one of the other missionaries. He had last seen both girls only two days before. Neither had intimated they would soon be leaving Hong Kong.
Hannah Jefferies raised an eyebrow at Kernow’s evident concern. ‘She-she and Kau-lin will remain in the mission for the time being, at least. I have high hopes that both girls will one day become Christians.’
‘Can I come to the jetty with you?’ The unexpected request came from Arthur Calvin. He felt the need to justify his presumptuousness and added, ‘We’ve been having Chinese lessons for months now, yet I’ve never stood among the Chinese and listened to them talking together. If I did it might help me understand the language a little better.’
Hannah Jefferies was about to suggest Arthur should first seek the consent of Nancy Calvin. She checked herself in time. Arthur was not a child but a young man, some years older than the young Royal Marine lieutenant standing before her. If he were to be of any value to himself or the missionary movement it was time he showed some independent thought.
‘I’m not at all certain that being among a crowd down at the jetty will help your understanding of the Chinese language, Arthur. There are so many dialects spoken in Hong Kong you’ll end up totally confused. But I’ll be there to point out what you should be listening for.’
‘I’ll come along too.’ Esme Pilkington was not in the habit of waiting for an invitation to do something she wanted. ‘Those girls are an interesting bunch. I’ve spoken to them in Chinese once or twice. I only wish I’d found more time to get to know them properly while they were here.’
‘Then we’ll all go, Kau-lin and She-she too. It will be the farthest She-she has walked since she left the hospital, but there’ll be plenty of us on hand to help her if the need arises.’
Arthur Calvin had met none of the blue dress girls before. Their chatter as they all made their way to the government jetty left him more tongue-tied than ever. He tried to stay close to his fellow pupils but both Kernow and Esme Pilkington were walking with She-she and Kau-lin. Between them they managed to maintain a fairly successful conversation and Arthur too was forced to reply to an occasional question.
It proved to be a noisy farewell. The crew of a man-o’-war anchored just off the jetty added their own ribald comments to the calls of the departing blue dress girls. Some of the remarks made by the sailors went far beyond what Hannah Jefferies deemed to be proper. Once the junk taking the blue dress girls on their voyage cast off from the jetty, she led the others away as quickly as possible.
On the way back to the mission, Kernow and Arthur, walking with She-she and Kau-lin, fell behind H
annah Jefferies and the voluble Esme Pilkington.
The two Chinese girls no longer wore the blue dresses that signified their place in the Hoppo’s household. Instead they were dressed in drab brown cotton tunic and trousers. Kernow found their new garb even more fetching than the bright silk dresses of their departing companions.
Looking over her shoulder, Hannah Jefferies frowned when she saw the four young people laughing together. She had learned a great deal about the life led by the blue dress girls in the Hoppo’s Canton home.
Hannah had few doubts about She-she. The girl had been in the Hoppo’s house for no more than a few days before being packed off to Foochow. She believed the Lord had seen fit to save her from a life of sin – although she had been called upon to pay a price for that salvation.
The missionary was less confident about Kau-lin’s morals. The girl was bright and vivacious. Most men, Chinese and European, found her attractive, a fact of which Kau-lin was fully aware. Yet Hannah Jefferies was convinced there was good in the girl. Great good. The devotion she had shown to her wounded friend throughout She-she’s long recovery was quite exceptional.
Nevertheless, Hannah would have dropped back to join the others had she not noticed that Arthur Calvin was involved in animated conversation with Kau-lin. He was talking with an eagerness she had not seen him display since his arrival in Hong Kong. It could be that talking to the two girls would give him the incentive to learn the Chinese language that religion had so far failed to provide.
She would have preferred it to have been mission work that had provided the key but, in the words of the poet and hymn-writer William Cowper, ‘God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.’ Anything that motivated Arthur Calvin would ultimately serve the Lord’s purpose. Hannah hoped his companions too might eventually provide her with a convert – possibly two.
She continued to walk in company with her fellow missionary, her comforting thoughts providing a buffer against the loud voice of Esme Pilkington.
Hannah might have felt less reassured had she been close enough to listen to the conversation between Kau-lin and Arthur.
Kau-lin had enough experience of men to recognise the painful shyness of Arthur Calvin. She set about tackling the problem in her usual straightforward manner. Moving to his side whilst Kernow and She-she were talking together, she asked him, ‘You a missionary?’
‘N … no …’ Arthur stuttered in his eagerness to reply to this girl who had singled him out to make conversation. ‘I … my mother and father are.’ He needed to repeat the reply twice before Kau-lin comprehended his garbled words. But she still looked puzzled.
‘You have no wife?’
‘No.’
Arthur kept his reply simple, desperate not to frighten her away by the difficulty of making conversation with him.
‘Why no wife?’
At a loss about how to reply to such a blunt question, Arthur said lamely, ‘I’ve never found the right girl.’
In truth, his mother had allowed him no opportunity to find a wrong girl – or any other girl.
‘Some Shang Ti men …’ Kau-lin used the Chinese word for ‘God’ ‘… never take wives. You all same them?’
Arthur shook his head vigorously. ‘No, they’re Catholics. They’re not the same.’
‘Not same? Not Christians?’
‘Yes, they’re Christians.’ The puzzled expression had returned to Kaulin’s face and Arthur wished fervently he had concentrated more on his Chinese lessons. ‘It’s just … they don’t worship the same as us.’
‘Have different God?’
‘No.’
Lacking the command of Kau-lin’s language, Arthur did not know how to reply, yet he desperately wanted her to continue to talk to him. ‘We all have the same God … but ask Mrs Jefferies, she’ll be able to explain it to you better than I can.’
Still puzzled, Kau-lin nodded acceptance of his reply. ‘I ask.’ Unexpectedly, she added, ‘My brother a Christian.’
Her statement startled Arthur. He had learned enough about missionary work to realise that a Christian Chinese was still a very rare phenomenon. This was despite all the work carried out in China by missionaries of a dozen denominations. ‘Does Mrs Jefferies know about your brother?’
‘I tell her, but she say he a Taiping. Not same Christian. Perhaps he like Catholic.’
‘Did I hear you say your brother is a Taiping?’
Much to Arthur’s disappointment, Kernow turned back to rejoin them.
‘Yes, very important man. General.’
Kernow’s interest quickened immediately. Although he was on a language course with missionaries, he was still a Royal Marine officer. The Taiping rebels were of great interest to all military men.
Many years before, a Chinese named Hung Hsiu-ch’uan had suffered an illness during the course of which he had visions of rising to Heaven and being welcomed as part of the family of God. Later, enjoying a brief sojourn in Canton with the American Protestant missionary, Issachar Roberts, Hung received a limited instruction in Christianity.
Inspired by the writings of the New Testament, Hung became convinced that during his illness he had been carried up to Heaven. He also arrived at the conclusion that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ and had been sent to earth to rid China of those who refused to accept God’s will – especially the Manchus who ruled the country.
Among his own people – the Hakkas, to which tribe both Kau-lin and She-she belonged – he gained immediate and impressive support. Hung imposed the strictest discipline upon his followers including the segregation of men and women, even husbands and wives, yet his support grew to mammoth proportions. It seemed not to matter that the segregation rule did not apply to the Taiping leaders, each of whom acquired huge harems.
In 1851, with Hung now calling himself ‘The Heavenly King’, the Taipings rose in rebellion and swept all before them. Conquering almost half of China, the armies of ‘The Heavenly King’ advanced to the very gates of the Chinese capital, Peking, before being checked.
The momentum of the first all-conquering uprising had faltered in the six years that had passed since 1851, but the ‘Heavenly King’ and his followers still occupied a sizeable territory. It was centred upon the important valley of the Yangtze-kiang, China’s greatest river. The walled city of Nanking, on the Yangtze, had become the capital of Hung Hsiu-ch’uan’s Heavenly Kingdom.
Many senior and junior officers of the British army and navy, exasperated by the procrastination and corruption of Imperial China, felt that the British government should have backed the Taiping rebellion, thereby ensuring its success.
A number of missionaries took the same view. Hung’s version of Christian religion left much to be desired, but it was a beginning. It held far more promise than the implacable hostility of Imperial policy.
‘Where is your brother now?’
‘Nanking, with Tien Wang – the Heavenly King.’
‘Do you hear from him sometimes?’
‘No,’ Kau-lin admitted reluctantly. She liked the importance the young English officer attached to the fact that she had a brother who was a Taiping general. It was something she had learned to say nothing about while she was a blue dress girl in the Canton Hoppo’s household. ‘But my cousin here, in Hong Kong. He tell me about brother.’
‘You have a cousin here in Hong Kong? One who is in touch with the Taiping rebels?’
‘Yes. He Christian too. Work with Reverend Legge.’
‘At the London Missionary Society?’
Kau-lin shrugged, ‘Only know with Reverend Legge.’
Arthur’s expression was becoming increasingly downcast. Kernow knew the reason. Arthur had been talking to Kau-lin when he had broken in on the conversation. Forming new relationships was not easy for the missionaries’ son. Kernow had no wish to stand in his way.
‘We must talk some more about your brother – and your cousin sometime,’ he said to Kau-lin. ‘I hope one day to meet up with t
he Taiping. Quite apart from their religion, they’ve earned a reputation as excellent fighting men.’
‘Not only Taiping men who fight,’ corrected Kau-lin. ‘The Tien Wang says women are all same men, good fighters too. He has women’s army. Fight beside men.’
‘I’m even more impressed! A man who can form and control an army of men and women must be very special indeed. We’ll talk about this some more, Kau lin.’
Chapter 10
A FEW DAYS after the other blue dress girls set sail for Foochow, Hannah Jefferies arrived for the morning lessons accompanied by She-she and Kau-lin.
‘I think most of you have already met,’ the missionary addressed her small class. ‘You will be pleased to know the girls are joining us for future lessons. Their English has improved so much I thought we would all benefit by their presence. You have all done exceptionally well with your Chinese studies, but now we need to study the Cantonese dialect in more detail. I am hoping the girls will be able to help me out, and at the same time further their own knowledge of English.’
Kernow was as delighted as Arthur Calvin at the thought of having the two Chinese girls join their class. Witnessing the smile with which Kau-lin greeted Arthur, Nancy Calvin did not share the general enthusiasm. However, amidst the loud and exuberant welcome given to the girls by Esme Pilkington, only Ronald Calvin recognised the narrowing of his wife’s lips as a measure of her disapproval.
It quickly became apparent that both She-she and Kau-lin were bright girls and they were quick to learn. Far from slowing down the lessons, they put everyone on their mettle. Arthur, in particular, tried valiantly to make up for his lethargy in earlier weeks. Unfortunately, he had dropped so far behind the others his efforts were largely in vain.
Lessons ended early that afternoon. There was to be a memorial service in Hong Kong Cathedral for the wife of a missionary who had died on board ship during the voyage between Shanghai and Hong Kong the previous week. Nancy and Ronald Calvin had met the woman two years before, when she was on leave in England. They particularly wanted to attend the service, but Arthur declined to go with them.
The Blue Dress Girl Page 7