Ling-Nam; or interior views of Southern China; including exploratiens in the ... Island of Hainan

Preface

. PART from the cursory glances bestowed by travellers upon the coast cities and their immediate surroundings, but little is known by the general public of the extent and nature of the Empire of China, while the great interior, with all its rich variation of surface, is almost an unknown counts. The nature of this country, the distribution of its people and products, and its stores of mineral wealth, are matters of interest to all who wish to know anything about the home of that most ancient and multitudinous people. Favoured by peculiar opportunities, I have traversed the interior of south China in all directions. Sketches of my journeys have from time to time appeared in the China Review and the Chinese Recorder. They have been received with general favour, and the desirability of placing them before the public in book form has been repeatedly urged upon me by those who have read them.

The interest also which I have found to in variably follow my lectures and informal talks on China leads me to hope for a favourable reception for this volume of sketches. The Island of Hainan, which Preface. is here laid open for the first time to the reading world, is of much special interest from a political, a commercial, a geographical, and an ethnographical point of view. The title of the book, " Ling-Nam," means South of the Ridge, and is the general name given by the Chinese to the southern portion of the empire. The maps of Central Canton, Northern Canton, and the Island of Hainan have been prepared from the author's MS. notes, and, with five obvious exceptions, the illustrations are facsimile reproductions of ink sketches taken by a native artist. B. C. H. PAGE 23 35 CONTENTS.

Chapter I. The Entrance To Canton

Hong-kong harbour and city — Botanical gardens — The Peak — Pidgin English — Up the Pearl River — Approach to the city — Throngs of boats — First impressions of a Chinese city — A busy people

Chapter II

" THE CITX OF RAMS." The missionary hospital— Female seminary — Pawnshop — Dog and cat restaurant — Swatow Guildhall — Ivory and sandal-wood carving — French cathedral — Jade-stone Street — Funeral procession — Execution ground — The Emperor's temple — New Year's ceremonies — Modes of greeting — Examination Hall — Viceroy and train — Preaching Hall — The Double Gate — Temple of Horrors — The five-story tower — Goddess of Mercy — The city wall — Sleeping Buddha — Tartar quarter — Flowery pagoda — English consulate — Mosque — Temple of the Five Genii — Prison — Bribery — Ebony furniture — Signs — Curio Street — Silk shops —Native hospital — Houses of the rich — Honam — Buddhist temple — Shameen — Flower gardens — Floating down the river . Contents. 10 PAGE

Chapter III. Through The Delta

Extent of the Delta— White Goose Pool— Vapours of the '-Dragon Well"— Teetotum Fort— Wong's Canal— The hills of Sam-shan — Admiral Keppel's exploit— The city of Fat-shan — Telegraph line— Glazed earthenware of Shek-wdn — The rice district — Duck hatching — Duck boats — Network of streams — Sai-tsiu Hills — Cloudy Mist Tea — Grottoes and cascades — White Cloud Waterfall — Mulberry plantations — Plucking the leaves — Silkworms — Unwinding the silk — Character of the people in the silk district — Accident in a theatre — The women of Sai-tsiu — Anti-matrimonial league — Dense population — The town of Kow-kong — 300,000 men — Kom-chook rapids — Ku-lo and its tea — Down the broad West River — Pig's-Head Hill — Deep channel for steamers 56

Chapter IV. Among The Palms

Kong-mun — Large villages on the way to San-ui — Palm district — Extent of territory — Number of palms to the acre — Extent of the business — Mode of culture — Fine and coarse fans — Manufacture of fans — Cured and piled in stacks — Sulphur fumes, to whiten — Given to women to sew — The city of San-ui — The Sung Palace — Story of Luh-siu-fu — The last of the Sungs — Sweet oranges — Grass linen — Temple converted into a church — San-ui Mountains — Sceptre Peak — Fairy Maiden Temple — The Dragon Pool — Worship for rain — Story of the " Bob-tailed Dragon " — The "Mud-children" Pagoda — Story of the crocodiles—Villages to the south — Charms against epidemics — Anti-foreign demonstrations in Shui-how — Villages seen from Centipede Hill — Mineral deposits — Depredations of pirates — St. John's Island and tomb of Francis Xavier — Peculiar dialect of this district — Theories as to its source . . .73 Contents. 11

Chapter V. Teng-oo And The Mark Le Caves

PAGE Tedious travelling — Mandarin barges — Modes of propelling — Fleet of boats — Wild fowl in the Broad River — -Three remarkable objects — Former course of the river — Entrance to Teng-oo — Gateway of the hills — Lines on the half-way resting-place — Cove ravine — Flying-water cascade — Emerald pools — Buddhist monastery — Politeness of the monks — Fine camellia tree — History of the monastery — Meaning of Teng-oo — Old Teng-oo — New Year's bell-flowers — Shiu-hing gorges — Tea — Ink-stone — The expectant wife — The city of Shiu-hing — Marble caves — Soap-stone — Tung-on marble — The cassia of commerce — The San-bing River — Tigers on the hills — Stories of their ravages —Special sacrifices to heaven — The plain of Teen-tong — The caves of Yeung-chun 89

Chapter VI. The Bamboo River

Its course and name — The city of Sz-ui — Colonies of cranes- Superior oranges — Tsong-kong and its rafts — The bamboo district — Market towns — Bamboo-covered hills — Multiform uses of the bamboo — Its influence in poetry and ornamentation — Many varieties — Tour to Kwong-ning — Fear of tigers — Entering Kwong-si — The plain of Wai-tsap — Picturesque tower — Abundance of partridges — Disposition of the people — Experiences compared . 107

Chapter VII. Along The North Eiver

The old coast line — Mountains of Tsing-uen — Courier road to Lien-chow— Filoy monastery and pass — Cascades — Rhododendrons — Great Temple Pass — Stone drum — Mouth of the Litn-Chow River — Blind Boy's Pass — Stone general — The blind boy — The Contents. 12 PAGE eagle— Pik-lok Tunnel — Limestone — Yung-nen River and its peculiar boats— The city of Ying-tak— The Caves of the Goddess of Mercy— Cannon-ball barrier — The city of Shiu kwan — Productions of the country — Longevity — Floods — Storms — Musical stones — Beautiful valley of Yeung-kai — The city of Lok-cheung — The great pass 119

Chapter VIII. The Gorges Of The Lien-chow River

Mountains at the entrance— Wood-boats — Three Wells Waterfalls — Limestone cliffs — The first pass— Stiff rapids — Amphitheatre of hills — Plain of Sai-ngau — Clear Cloud Cave — Seven-li Pass — Hom-kwong — Striking groups of hills — Ma-pd and Tai-wan — Vistas through the gorges — Panorama of mountain scenery — Castle Rock waterfalls — Sabbath Glen — Silver mine — The Fisherman — Fortified cliffs — Places of refuge — Luxuriance of ferns — The Giant Thumb — Wonderful variety in the rocky cliffs — Waterwheels — Little and Big Tiger Rapids — The city of Yeung-shan — Dragon Tooth Pass — Thunder Rapid — Double Dome — Cathedral Cave — Wonderful formations — Numberless shapes— Echoes — Chinese names for the cave— Siu-kong market — Game in the neighbourhood — Opening coal mines — Noisy Drunkard Rapid — Camellia groves — Hotwater springs — Dragon Cave — Tai-li Pass — Peculiar rock formations — Tung-kun Pass — Pak-fu creek and valley — Pillow Pass — Six fine cascades — Birds and flowers — Sheep Leap Pass — Unequalled attractions — Rock of the Genii— Horse Temple Pass 142

Chapter IX. Lien-chow And The Iu People

The broad plain and villages — uThe old man" of Lien-chow — The abode of the dragon — Great flood — Attractive surroundings of the city — Trade in the hands of the Cantonese — The natives of Lien-cbow — Character of the Sub-Prefect — Duplicity — Encounter with a water buffalo — Streams divide — Sam-kon°- Contents. 13 PAGE military post — First sight of the Iu people — Their dress and appearance — Alpine scenery — Lien-shan and the Ius-chik-nga — Origin of the Iu people — Chinese account — Eight large tribes — Their customs — Powers of endurance — lus of the plain — High mountain lus — No written language— Despised by the Chinese — Strongly bound together — Fight at Kiang-wa — Their number 177

Chapter X. At The Headwaters

Rapids — Dams and waterwheels — Long narrow boats — Deserted coal mines — The Cave of the Dragon — The plain of Shekkok — lus at the market — Fine peaks — Dense forest filled with game —Crab Hill— Calcareous rocks — Yung-shii market — Tai-lung creek — Entrance to the Iu country — Fine deer — Wonderful spring — Numerous villages — Peculiar straw stacks — Fertile valleys — Sai-ngon market — Man-wa school — Coolie road to Hunan — Head of the stream — Large market of Tung-pi — Ascending the Ting-tsz stream — Handsome grasses — Hills covered with camellias — Nuts used to express oil — Many rapids — The plain of Po-on — Bridges of loose boards— Grove and monasteries — Cool retreat — Prayers for rain — " Gander Rapids " — Hill with mysterious caves— In sight of the high mountains — Stone dams and bridges — "Child of the Stars " — Black Cave — Red Cave — Dividing ridge — White Water Cataract — Granite Gorge — Fall of 500 feet — Best point of view — Memories of the scene — Crossing the ridge — A Chinese inn — Ping-shek — The great pass ........... 193

Chapter XI. Nam-wa Monastery And The Sixth Pathiarch

Entrance from Oo-shek — Numerous villages — The Tso-kai brook — Approach to the monastery — Signs of former splendour — History of the past — Luk-tso — His life — His teachings — His memory — No successor — His mummy enshrined — Influence exerted— Contents. 14 PAGF Processions for rain — Present state of the monastery — Portals and shrines — Great cauldron — Rice for one thousand — Iron pagoda — Hall of the patriarchs — Mausoleum — Thirteen gardens — Nam-wa plums— Road to Shiu-kwan — Ma-po market — Large stockade 222

Chapter XII. Tan-ha, Or The Eed Cloud Mountain

Approach from Shiu-kwan by road and by boat — Extensive coal mines — Mr. Hue — Fine show of camellias — Digging pea-nuts — Five Horses' Heads — Mountain chains — Peculiar hills — Variegated sandstone — All shapes — Tortoise Head — Stratified rocks — Yan-fa stream — Semicircle of hills — Tan-ha wedge — Sheer precipice — Embroidered Rock Cave — Ascent to Tan-ha Monastery — Fine view — Chains and steps to the summit — Terrifying . sight — Tomb of the founder — Grove on the summit — Flora of the mountains 238

Chapter XIII. The Stone Portal And The Falling Beook

Streams from the north — The Rocky Gateway — The sunset afterglow — Crew of opium smokers — " What made you go on the shore to anchor ? " — Drifting before the wind — Kam-shan Monastery — Early notices of it — Twin pagoda — One hundred and thirty-seven dams of the Falling Brook — A night on a dam — Endless chain-pumps — Well sweeps— Market town — Fruit orchards — Tsung-fa pagoda — The mart of Kai-how 255

Chapter XIV. Among The Hills In Centeal Canton

Hills around the headwaters — Crossing the ridge — The Gorge of the Dragon Pool — Incense powder mills — A mountain inn — Doubtful accommodation — Sleep interrupted — " It is only a Contents. 15 PAGE foreign devil ! " — Breakfast under the trees — Conversation with the natives — Hakka thrift — Pine-covered heights — Propitious site for a grave — Rapid descent — My friend's village — Boiling spring — Its use by the natives — "Fine pearl" — Tong-tong market — Hostile schemes — Excursion to Fat-kong — Stout coolies — Six miles an hour— The River of Good Luck — Great Temple Pass — Local rebellion — Robber strongholds — Wong-fa creek — Fine gorge and waterfalls — Wong-fa fortress — Story of its occupation— Superstitions — Three caves — Refuge for outlaws — Five Peak Range — Kwan-tsin — A robber caught — Out upon the North River 269

Chapter XV. Eeom The White Cloud Hills To The Deagon Gate

White Cloud Hills — Traces of Su-tung Po — Forts and pagodas — Wampoa — Po-lo Temple — Canal — East River — Banana plantations — Straw houses for watchers — Telegraph laid — Local opposition — Attempt to burn out the mandarin — Tsang-shing River — Island of Palms — Spurs of Loh-fow — Ching-kwo Monastery — Lung-mun River — Peculiar boats — Signs of tigers — The Tiger Bridge — High peaks — City of Lung-mun — Small streams into the mountains 291

Chapter XVI. The Loh-fow Mountains

Overland from Shek-lung — Appearance of the hills — Fa-Shau Monastery — Eight miles to the top — Wa-shau-gurr — Rich vegetation — Among the clouds — The iron bridge — Upper plateau — Flying Cloud Pinnacle — Watching the moon — New species of magnolia Monkey Gorge — The descent by Siu-teen-mun — Precipice and waterfall — New flora — Approach to So-liu — Endowment of monasteries— Character of priest — Through the valleys to the east — Traces of Kat-hung— History of Loh-fow — Network of legends— Wong-lung-Monastery— Schools— Butterfly Gorge Contents.

Chapter XVII. Hainan, Or The Island Of Palms

PAGE Terra incognita — Opening the port of Hoi-how — Recent explorations—Hainan Straits — Bad harbour — Exports from the island — Hainanese dialect — Surroundings of Hoi-how — Old Romanist cemetery — Missions in the past— The city of King-chow-fu — Cocoa-nut ware — Starting on our journey — Lives of coolies — Experience of opium-smoking — Black rock — Tribes of Aborigines become subject to the Chinese — The " Hummocks " — Extinct volcanoes — First night in an inn — Beef-eating — The city of Ching-mai — Wealth of vegetation — Sea-view Tower — Fine bridge 326

Chapter XVIII. Ovee The Eolling Plains Of Lam-ko

Over clayey hills — Rude accommodations — First taste of cocoa-nut milk — Ideal grazing country — Deeply-wooded hills — Little pigs — Termagant hostess — Authority of women — Ox-cart road — Hard-wood houses — People of Shun-to very dark — The grain fields of Ne-pe— Birds following reapers — The city of Lam-ko — The Ko-shan ridge — Coast survey — The Lam-ko magistrate — Peculiarities in the dress of the people — Dispensing medicine at Mai-to — Immense throngs — Sunday in Ma-ting — Consumption of beef — Eager for the doctor's help — An early start — Umbrellas to keep off the dew — Hau-lang — In the midst of the hill country ... 349.

Chapter XIX. Enteeing The Interior Hill Countby

Wo-she and its surroundings — Climbing the wooded hills — White Stone Ridge — The Hakka colony — Their number — Their friendliness — The new Hakkas — Their defeat — Rolling pasture-land Contents. 17 PAGE — Albino buffaloes — Reception at No-tai — Our host a man of influence — Six dialects spoken — A fine banyan — In search of quarters— Nam-fung— Trade in Le goods— Little hamlets- Wild lichee trees — The dome of Sha-mo-ling — Inhabited by Les — Deposits of gold— Rich copper mines 366

Chapter XX. The Aborigines Of Hainan

The unknown valleys of the Les — Seeking information — Wild and tame Les — Tattooed women — Articles purchased by them — Chinese accounts of them — Twenty wild Les — The dress of the women — Their customs in betrothal and marriage — Meaning of different patterns in tattooing — Their use of the bow — Tame Les as guides— Pepper-wine — Love matches — Dancing — Funeral ceremonies — One tribe submits to Chinese rule — Three outbreaks in half a century — Hai-Sui's cross-roads proposal — The wild Kis — The extent of their territory — The three bailiff and four bailiff Les — Tax coUectors — Their deceit and villainy — Intercourse with officials — Two surnames — Mode of selecting a chief — Obligation of debt — Widows remarry — Possessions buried with parents — Curses and sacrifices — Their actions when cheated — Revenge a sacred duty — Methods of revenge — Legend of the great Le grandmother 381

Chapter XXI. Into Unknown Regions

Our hostess a Le — Contradictory accounts — Oui' deaf and dumb coolie — Titles of chiefs — Kind of coin used — Opium a substitute for money — Floods in the interior — Crossing the island — Various routes suggested — Dangers of the way — Ferried over the river in a canoe — Teak trees— Grass-grown wastes — Hidden streams — A slippery climb — The hamlet of Chi-wan — Continuous rain — Jungle grass — A mixed population — Luxuriant vegetation-^- Contents. The An PAGE Two miles in the brook— Bamboo bridge— Land leeches in abundance— Their ravages — Their scientific name unknown — Wild tea 398

Chapter XXII. Oue Eec'eption By The Les

village of Ta-man-teen — The headman's house — Mode of con struction — View from the portico — Dress and appearance of the women — No signs of idol worship — The fairy grandmother — Character of our host — Canvas cots — Bamboos supplied — People curious, but not rude — Innate politeness — One kettle for everything — Nets for capturing game — Mutiny among our bearers — Escort of Les — Need of a guide — Discomforts of travel — Remains of a Le encampment — The fat rock — The mountain Mioas — Conflicting accounts of their disposition — Fertile valleys — Up the sand stonehill — The plain of Fan-lun — Picket fences — Traps in the fence — Le hospitality — A little maid as hostess — The young people control affairs — Harvesting under difficulties — Indian corn — Its introduction into China — Extensively used by the Aborigines 110

Chapter XXIII. In The Homes Of The Aboeigines

evening company — All eat at the same table — Demands for medicine — The gentle mother and the little maid — A social scene — Graceful mode of greeting — A visit from the chief — His appearance and manner — Several styles of dress — A pretty hand-loom — Peculiar earrings — Forlorn dogs — The little maid bitten — A wild boar captured — Popping corn — Castor oil — Pass ing the chief village — An Albino — Grain ricks — White leaves for scarecrows — Rest at Fung-ma — The people dark and savage — Deer horns — Crossing bridgeless streams — The village of Kiip-how — Great hospitality — Large houses — Notice of feast: Efforts to secure us as guests — Arrival at Loi-ban — The size of our house — Chinese among the Les — Their bad character — The money question — Opium-smoking — Honesty of the people — Contents. 19 PAGE 126 450 468 Their good physique — Comely women — The process of tattooing — Robust health — No graves — Various names of the Le people — Charming surroundings of Loi-ban — Paroquet Ridge — Desire for schools

Chapter XXIV. In The Heaet Of The Island

A Cantonese scribe — Bracelets of fragrant wood —The value of this wood — Hemmed in by high hills — Wading the river thirty times in a day — Romantic gorge — Old Le at Ka-la — The head of the valley — Hospitality of the people toward each other — Twenty circlets of beads on the neck — Tdols in the house — Teeth extracted — Family records displayed — A bright boy — Killing the fatted pig for us — Sunday in the village — Cross the Great Ridge — A toilsome climb — Ubiquitous leeches — Storms of mist — A wretched house — Cold comfort — The road to Ta-han — A village burned — Women not tattooed — Generous hospitality — Charming scenery — The Five-Finger Mountain — Source of many streams — High water — The guest of a Chinaman — His Le wife — Trouble among the bearers — To the chief's village — Retracing our steps

Chapter XXV. The Valleys And Steeams Of The Le Mothee Eidge

The Chinaman's chicanery — His motives in turning us back — A trying day — A written invitation — Back toward Chinese territory — A visitation of robbers — Bamboo water-jars— High hills on every' side — No sight of the mountain king — A son of the soil — Noon rest at Viaban — Besotted Chinaman — Along the Le Mother Ridge — A wonderful cataract — Heavily-wooded ridges — New species of oak — The upper valley of the Ka-chik river — The village of Shui-Kwai— Bearers delayed— A search party— Proposing to bivouac on thc hills— The height of the great peaks — Our last day in the Le country — Jungle fowl— Bottomless mud --Searching for lodgings — Suggestion for travel among the Les Les found in eleven districts — Number of tribes — Malay origin— Their attitude toward the Chinese— Modes of warfare —The outbreak of 1882— The Toa-tai's subterfuge and its result Contents. 20

Chapter XXVI. The Eetuen To Hoi-how

PAGE Baggage booked —Alarm of robbers — Preparing to defend the town — Unnecessary barbarity — Mart for Le goods — Big snakes — Betel-nut palms — Baskets of bones — The crowded inns of Au-p. — Palm groves and camellia trees — Lofty wooded ridges — Varieties of rattan — By boat down the stream — Miasmatic vapours — The mart of Ka-chek — Cheap provisions — Cantonese merchants — Great cocoa-nut belt— Hwui-tung pagoda — Smitten by fever — Sedan chairs — Strings of coolies carrying goods — " Hello, sir ! " 485

Chapter XXVII. Geneeax View Of The Island

Topography of Hainan — Districts all converge towards the centre — The flora new and rich — Great variety of fruits— Natural history — Number and variety of birds — Mammals — Species of deer — Reptiles — Abundance of fish — Whales — Pearl fisheries —Meteorology — Typhoons — Earthquakes — Minerals — The Hainanese people — Su-tung-po — His influence upon the people — H wang-Toa-po teaches cotton-spinning — Kiu-Siun — " Ode to the Five-Finger Mountain" — Hai- Sui — His address to the emperor and imprisonment — Memorial gateway in Canton — " The Story of the Scarlet Robe" — The religions of Hainan — An interesting field of inquiry — Its population . ..... VICTORIA HARBOUR, HONG-KONG LING-NAM

Chapter I. The Entrance To Canton He

traveller from the east, or from the west usually receives his first impressions of south China from the charming and picturesque island of Hong-kong. Entering the harbour of Hong-kong in the early morning, its quiet, lake-like beauty impresses one favourably, as it lies almost land encircled between Victoria Peak and the high hills on the mainland opposite. Its waters, usually placid, but often stirred into wild con fusion by the dreaded typhoon and other storms, are well covered with a busy and animated maritime life. Steamers from all parts of the world come and go incessantly, bearing a rich and varied commerce. Sailing-ships from Oregon, New York, Norway, or Australia, bringing cargoes of timber, kerosene, and other goods that admit of long transit, and taking matting, rattan, and similar articles in return, lie in the outer circle.

Grotesque junks from the north coast of China, on their semi-annual trips, and an almost endless Ling-Nam. 24 line of motley craft peculiar to a Chinese port, from the clumsy red-sided, dragon-eyed passenger barge, to the little mat-covered sampan, fill in the details of the scene. Beyond this thronging life on the water rises the city, beautiful for situation and tastefully laid out. Skirting the shore are the long streets, the Praya and Queen's Road, along which the principal streams of traffic flow. Merchant houses of fine proportions and most comfortable appointment, and the extensive barracks for the British troops, occupy the central portion, while the inferior structures of the Chinese hongs stretch far to the east and west. The streets rise one above the other in terraces far up the slopes.

Many of the residences are of palatial dimensions, surrounded by ornamental grounds filled with tropical plants that flourish luxuriantly. Roads high up the hillside have been constructed at great expense, and extend for miles east and west, affording facilities for most attractive walks and short excursions in Sedan chairs. Government House occupies a conspicuous site, overlooking the harbour and town beneath, and is surrounded by broad parks and gardens. Many sheltered roads lead to the upper parts of the town, shaded by evergreen arches, which the interlacing branches of the ever-present banyan have woven. Profusely flowering creepers and tree-ferns of wondrous size and grace overhang the walls and line the walks that lead up ravines, where art has assisted nature not only in confining the wayward mountain brook to its rock-bound channel, but in bringing rare plants to mingle with the native beauties.

These, with opportune seats The Entrance to Canton. 25 in secluded nooks, offer cool retreats from the heat of a tropical sun. Among the chief attractions of the island we place the Botanical Gardens, where an unusual number and variety of rare and beautiful plants flourish in great luxuriance under the assiduous and efficient care of those in charge. It is less than half a century since Hong-kong came into the possession of Great Britain, and, although it then appeared to bebut a barren, uninhabited rock, it has proved unusually rich in floral treasures. The work of afforestation has been actively carried forward, hundreds of thousands of young trees having been planted over the hills, and the native growth of the island protected from the depredations of Chinese wood-cutters. As a result of this work, the rocky hills are becoming gradually clothed with trees, and the island fast assuming the appearance described by travellers centuries ago when its well-wooded slopes and profusion of fragrant flowers attracted their attention, and made the name Hong-kong — " Fragrant Harbour" — one of real poetic import, and no mere fancy.

In the family of ferns alone over one hundred and twenty species are enumerated as being indigenous to the island, besides the many that have been introduced from abroad and successfully cultivated. Above the botanical gardens rises the peak, reached by a well-constructed footpath, up which strong coolies bear Sedan chairs with comparative ease. Besides the main peak, on which the signal station stands, are several others of lesser height, on the slopes of which are many houses and cottages highly prized by the citizens as summer residences. These peaks, which lie fully open to L ing-Nam. the strong sea breeze, have become a most popular resort, and all the land available for building purposes has been bought up, while the construction of roads in all direc tions has brought the isolated peaks into easy communication with each other and the town below.

But Hong-kong is not Canton, and the phases of life shown among the Chinese there are modifications, more or less divergent, of the real life seen in the middle kingdom itself. Tl.e houses they live in, their modes of doing business, and even their social life, are widely different from the same things under the rule of the mandarin. The peculiar jargon of " Pidgin English," so widely used, greets the ear as something at once harsh and ludicrous, as we hear such expressions as the following : " My wantchee you catchee chow-chow chop-chop," to which the reply comes, " Man-man my waitee dat coolie come back, he belong one piece fulo man too muchee chin-chin joss," or the following in a silk shop : " More better you cum shaw my one piece, sillik numba one look see," to which the shop-keeper objects, " No can my makee too muchee losee, you no likee, maskee, my chin chin you come back."

Leaving Hong-kong by one of the very comfortable steamers that traverse the Pearl River to the provincial capital, we pass through a succession of attractive river scenes, until we reach the narrow pass of Fu-mun, or Tiger Gate, otherwise known as the Bogue. Military stations rise on either side, all fresh and white from recent repairs, with guns, banners, and heaps of ammuni tion, together with some thousands of soldieis, which SCENE ON THE PEARL RIVER. Ling-Nam. show the importance attached to the place as one to be held at all hazards against invading forces. Besides the land fortifications are several gunboats and a supply of torpedoes, ready to be placed in the channel should necessity require. Their estimate of the importance of this pass, which commands the entrance to the whole broad expanse of Canton waters, is not exaggerated ; and if their skill in fortification and use of the means of defence were equal to the occasion, they could hold it against almost any force.

Above the Bogue the river is still very wide, and is bordered by broad fields of rice and extensive banana plantations, with high mountains in the distance. The " lotus-flower " pagoda stands on a lofty hill opposite the mouth of the East River, so placed as to throw back over the land the good influences which the strong current of the river would otherwise carry off to the coast. The steamer calls at Whampoa, once the anchorage for ocean ships and the site of a busy trade, but which, since the opening of Canton as a treaty port, has sunk into insignificance, being almost forgotten in the rush of traffic between Canton and Hong-kong. Two fine specimens of pagodas appear on the left as we proceed, and abreast the second are extensive fortifications on the island in the river and the mainland as well.

Passing these, the towers of the " City of Rams " begin to appear distinctly, the French cathedral rising conspicuous over all, both for its size and for the beauty of its architecture. We are soon in the midst of the boats that densely line the river on both sides for a distance of six miles, backed in some places by rows of wooden huts, set The Entrance to Canton. 29 on piles above the slimy mud of the tidal river. Scores of immense black barges are used as warehouses for salt, the sale of which is a Government monopoly, while similar vessels farther up receive cargoes of grain brought in for temporary storage. Junks, cargo-boats, floating-stores, and a dozen varieties of passenger barges, with innumer able smaller craft, swarm on all sides, or lie packed in solid phalanxes half across the stream.