Morewood mentions that numbers of carts loaded with raki entered Pekin daily in his time, and that the liquor was distributed over 1000 taverns; but it should be stated that this proportion of public-houses to the total number of inhabitants is very small compared with those of England, and in China there is no restriction whatever on the sale of intoxicating drink. The Chinese public-houses are, moreover, not mere drinking-shops, but wherever a number of guests are assembled, they usually partake of solid food as well as drink, and during their meals they are entertained with comedies or musical performances. Private drinking parties, called wine clubs, are, however, not uncommon, especially amongst young men, who assemble at each other’s houses or at such places as may be selected, the expenses being defrayed by the members in rotation. On such occasions the day is spent in feasting, wine-drinking, card-playing, and such other amusements as may be suggested by the host for the time being.[49] The liquors drunk are distilled from red and white rice (which impart to them their colours), and sometimes from potatoes, beans, or sugar-cane. The juice of the grape is not used, and the Chinese native wine is in reality whisky, which is drunk hot from cups of small dimensions.[50] The latter fact does not, however, necessarily limit the quantity of liquor consumed, for in some cases thirty or forty rounds are drunk. The older people have similar feasts in connection with their trade guilds, of which interesting descriptions have been given both by travellers and residents. One of the latter, Mr. Giles, who was long connected with the British Consular service, has published a graphic account of modern China, in which he gives minute details of these social gatherings. On one occasion he was present at a Chinese dinner-party of six native gentlemen, who occupied seats at what he calls a four-legged “eight fairy” table. Before each guest there was a pair of chopsticks, a wine-cup, a small saucer of soy, a two-pronged fork, a spoon, a tiny plate divided into two separate compartments for melon seeds and almonds, and a pile of small pieces of paper for cleaning these various articles as required. On the table was a kind of dessert consisting of dried fruits as with us, and in the centre there were slices of ham, sardines, &c., as is the custom in Sweden, Norway, and Russia. “Wine,” he says,[51] “is produced the first thing, and poured into small porcelain cups by the giver of the feast himself. It is polite to make a bow and place one hand at the side of the cup while this operation is being performed. The host then gives the signal to drink, and the cups are emptied instantaneously, being often turned bottom upward as a proof that there are no heel-taps. Many Chinamen, however, cannot stand even a small quantity of wine, and it is no uncommon thing, when the feast is at an eating-house, to hire one of the theatrical singing-boys to perform