"Impressions of a Journey round the World"

Na introdução ao livro "Impressions of a journey round the world including India, Burmah and Japan" George Henry Peters explica onde começou a sua viagem à volta do mundo:

It was on the morning of Sunday December 11th 1892 that I stepped on board His Imperial Majesty's Mail Steamer Preussen of 4,650 tons owned by the North German Lloyd Company of Bremen and bound with first second and even two third class passengers for Genoa Port, Said, Aden, Colombo, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The vessel was anchored for a few hours at the entrance to Southampton Water and the passengers from England were conveyed to it from the Docks by a small steam tender"

A passagem por Macau ocorreu em Março de 1893 proveniente de Cantão a bordo do vapor "White Foam", segundo o autor, mas trata-se muito provavelmente de um lapso pois deve ter sido o White Cloud, a embarcação que na época efectuava a ligação marítima entre Cantão e Macau. No seu testemunho destaca a paisagem, o jogo do fantan, o jardim/gruta de Camões, o festival da lua, o culto do chá e o conusmo de ópio:

"(...) Rounding this in a short time Macao came into sight lying in a land locked bay with a half circle of houses stretching round it and reminding one of a Riviera watering place with its picturesque lighthouse perched upon a hill to the right and its bold promontory of brown rocks on the left side.

Sailing round this headland we entered the harbour where large numbers of piratical looking craft and junks carrying small cannon were at anchor. Landing here we drove through clean streets all bearing Portuguese names in fact the whole place had a continental aspect the band of the Portuguese regiment playing in the prettily laid out gardens while priests with their shovel black hats perambulated in twos and threes here and there. 

In the Chinese quarter are situated the celebrated gambling houses where the game of fantin is played. There are sixteen of these houses each paying 10,000 dollars concession to the Portuguese government. The game is very fair. At a large table sit two croupiers one of whom throws on to the table a quantity of loose cash over which he places a brass cover. Then the players stake on any of four numbers 1 2 3 or 4 and when the stake is completed the cash is counted out in sections of four and the number of coins remaining whether 1 2 3 or 4 win minus 8 per cent which the bank deducts. As only one number can win of course the bank receives all the money staked on the other three numbers Chinese sit smoking in an upper gallery from which they lower their stakes in a basket. 

Praia Grande no final do século 19
(imagem não incluída no livro referido)
Edifício ao centro é o Palácio das Repartições

Jardim e gruta de Camões

A celebrated Portuguese poet lived in Macao more than 300 years ago and we visited the old house and beautiful gardens in which he used to walk and gain inspiration. Large banyan trees threw their knotted roots and gnarled trunks round loose rocks and in one corner stood the poet's grave a simple bronze bust standing on a stone pedestal with the inscription Luiz de Camoens morrea 1530.

Over the tomb stood a plain arch made by placing one large rock of granite rudely across two upright pieces the whole shadowed by trees and festooned with ivy creepers forming a most natural and poetic mausoleum Leaving this garden we were conveyed in jinrickshas for six miles to a Chinese walled town named Chin San.

Festival da Lua

It was on Sunday March 20th the festival of the moon and the people were letting off crackers in all directions accompanied by vigorous gong sounding to exorcise evil spirits and were also offering roast pig and other delicacies at the gaudily decorated joss houses or temples made simply of bamboo matting in the streets. We were carried along a narrow uneven road lined with prickly pear cactus and bamboo trees through a Portuguese arch erected in August 1849 dividing the Portuguese territory from China proper.

Shortly afterwards we passed the custom house in front of which floated a large yellow flag with a dragon on it the emblem of the Emperor Crowds of people pressed to and fro very quaintly dressed and carrying pale blue umbrellas the walls we at last arrived.

On entering at a palace built and kept up by the relatives of a deceased mandarin named Low Sai Kut where his spirit might wander about at its own sweet will when he desired to revisit this earthly sphere His opium couch was all ready for his reception and servants were in charge to minister to his wants. The rooms were furnished with carved ebony wood furniture handsome porcelain vases and bronzes and upon the walls hung valuable tapestries and embroideries In the garden was a tea house where tea was served to us in the Chinese fashion viz an infusion of undried tea leaves and stalks and hot water without either milk or sugar.

The origin of tea drinking in China is interesting water is man's natural beverage but in this country it is so bad that the Chinese mind perceived the necessity of boiling it to kill the germs.

This again being insipid the leaves of the tea plant were discovered and found to give the water a pleasant flavour hence the general custom of tea drinking. The gardens are kept in scrupulous order and beautiful yellow tea roses were offered to us. Having thus partaken of the hospitality of the departed mandarin we were carried back to Macao.

The next morning we embarked on board the steamship Shahsan* for Hong Kong again. At eight punctually the bells ring, a horn is sounded and we move slowly along the lines of junks, sampans and river craft lying off the jetty through the brown muddy waters out into the deep blue of the open sea passing the nine grass covered rocky islands which are the pride of Macao. After a three hours sail we enter the harbour through the Sulphur Straits between the Green Islands and Hong Kong Island Island itself and are soon on shore. (...)"

Excerto de da autoria de George Henry Peters publicado em Londres em 1897

* provavelmente um lapso, deve ter sido o vapor Fatshan