A HONG-KONG SEDAN CHAIR.
THERE are no cabs in Hong-Kong; sedan chairs are the only public conveyances. The newly-arrived resident seldom takes kindly to this substitute for the wheeled vehicles of home, and is for a time affected with a sentiment of compassion towards the unfortunate men who bear him about on their shoulders. This, however, soon wears off; he feels the necessity of rest after a hard day's work in a hot, trying climate, and marks the happy, contented faces of the sturdy chair-bearers who clamour, all unconscious of degradation, for the favour of his regular patronage, and for the trifle which is to be paid for his fare. Chair-stands are to be found at all the hotels, at the corners of the chief thoroughfares, as well as on the wharves, where the eager chair-coolies pounce upon each freshly-arrived stranger as he lands at the port. These bearers vie with each other in keeping their chairs clean and attractive-looking, and in displaying to advantage the muscular proportions of their well-formed limbs, never weary of climbing the steep and tortuous streets, or the scorching pathways that wind about the hill. They address all sailors by the familiar cognomen of "Jack," while strangers in more costly attire come under the designation of "Captain." Simple are the habits of these chair-coolies! During the greater part of the year they have no settled dwelling, and sleep in the open air, at some spot where they will wake to find business early astir. They find their food cooked and ready at the street stalls, and they easily procure substitutes when they wish a few days' leisure and enjoyment.
Public chairs are licensed, and each carries a printed tariff of charges exposed in the chair, ranging from ten cents for the lowest fare to two dollars for the day. Sedan chairs have been in use in China from ancient times, and at the present day, in all parts of the country, they are looked upon as an important article in a civil officer's equipment, the rank of the owner being indicated by the number of bearers and followers attached to his sedan. Military officers are not permitted to employ chairs; if they do not care to walk, they are at liberty to use horses.
In some parts of the interior, as, for example, in the mountainous country above Ningpo, chairs of a lighter build are used for the ascent of the hills; these consist of a simple seat of ratan fixed to two bamboo poles, and having a narrow board slung from the chair by two cords for the purpose of resting the feet.
The chair of most importance is the Bridal Chair. It is richly ornamented and gilded, and is hung with red silk curtains, which screen the blushing fair one, on the day of marriage, from the intrusive vulgar gaze. These Bridal chairs, as well as the gaudy paraphernalia suitable for the occasion, are hired from a contractor.
A CHINESE SCHOOL-BOY.
GOVERNMENT Schools for the education of native boys have long been established in different parts of Hong-Kong, and in conjunction with the schools of the various Christian missions, contain about 2,000 boys, who receive an ordinary English education, such as fits them for useful employment as interpreters, compradores, treasurers, or clerks. The position these educated Chinamen fill in our official and commercial establishments could not well be undertaken by Europeans, for the Chinaman possesses a knowledge of the language and habits of his countrymen which a foreigner can never acquire, while his acquaintance with English is rarely sufficient to raise him above the status of a very careful painstaking copying clerk or accountant; although, versed as he is in our method of accounts, and quite at home in the equally perfect system of his own country, he proves in our mercantile offices a most valuable acquisition.
I have heard the industry and aptitude of the Chinese school-boy highly praised by those who have had experience in teaching European children and natives of the country side by side; and I am assured that notwith-
