Page:Ling-Nam; or, Interior views of southern China, including explorations in the hitherto untraversed island of Hainan (IA cu31924023225307).pdf/30

 26 Ling-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 communi- cation 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, The 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 vome 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 soldiers, which