, 1884-07-01
LIFE IN HONG KONG.
The Chinese Merchant Under His
Own Vine and Fig Tree.
His Hospitality to strangers-Tho
NAM Amusements To He En-
joyed-How Foroigners Arc
-B' 'AAt- Looked Upon --. .a

Merchants in China are noted for their
kind hospitality to strangers and globe
t~rotters. Sometimes, perhaps, they en-
terrain angels though judg-
ing from the way their hospital
ity is frequently abused by these globe.
tramps the chances of finding an angelic
guest is small indeed The merchant has his
mansion in town. and usually a bungalow at
the gap the former Of which is furnished
with all the elegance of a palace at Mayfair.
He keeps a large retinue Of native servants,
cooks, buffers, boys and coolies. The back
promises usually swarm with menials. There
are coolies to till his grounds, to carry him
about, and to fan him while he eats and
sleeps. At 6:30H o'clock every morning a
domestic called a "boyp brings him tea and
toast, after which master lounges on a long
chair in the cool veranda while the barber
shayes him or trims his hair. From 10 till 4
o'clock he is in the office, but business will
admit Of a midday break for "tifin" at
his club, and occasional pauses besides for
cocktail" refreshers and chats at the club
bar. Business over, he again seats himself In
his sedan, and lays himself out for such rec
reation as garden parties, lawn tennis,
cricket, bowls, or u row on the harbor: may
be he trots out some pct pony, or dresses
up to call on his lady friends. At 1880 or 8
O'Clock on a sultry night he suffocates him
self in black clothes with swallowtail coat,
and sits down to a dinner of fifteen or six
teen courses of Madeira, Burgundy, or
champagne, the only marvel being how one
small gastric organ can contain all he eats
and drinks. 1t may be mentioned here that
tue most luscious fruits are found upon Hong
Kong tables ut every meal throughout the
year..
After dinner comes whist, billiards, and
other games, which, by the by, are not al
ways played for fun A chatty circle Of
friends gather in the moonlight on the broad
m~arble-paved veranda. The oft-repeated
cry of "Boyi" ~startles the midnight air, and
the arrival of that domestic is soon known to
the eavesdropper in tho next terrace by the
accompanied jingle OF glasses and popping
of corks. Some fino night, perhaps, we ad-
journ after dinner to the public gardens.
The moon light is brilliant, seats are
set in bowers of tropical trees, insects hum IN
the leafy grove. cicadas utter forth their
scissor-grinding sounds, the atmospher Q is
heavy with perfumes from deep-scented mag
nolias and "lady Of the night"
The cypress avenues, fountains playing in
the moonlight, gayly-dressed ladies, officers in
uniform, aud civilians in evening dress,
promenade to and fro, and now the regi-
mental band strikes up with the voluptuous
swell of some operate air, or some dreamy,
plaintive sonata that lulls the listeners ear.
The winter in Hong Kong is spent in one
continual round Of gayety and excitement.
Steam launches carry picnic parties to some
beautiful uninhabited islet of the sea. Yacht
ing parties cruise round the island and boom
along under a spanking breeze. Sportsmen
start or in cozily-furnished houseboats to
some cove on the mainland and succeed in
bagging wild ducks, pigeons, and other
game. Days are also found for athletic
sports, regattas, and horse-racing, the only
drawback to the Britisher's happiness being
that he finds no place for his favorite sport
of fox hunting. Indoors tho season opens
with the grand st. Andrews ball, and the
next few months pass in u continual whirl of
pleasure. One week an operate troupe per-
forms, then a company OF negro Ministries
visit the colony, the intervals being filled up
by occasional balls, and the highly artistic
performances Of the local amateur choral
and dramatic clubs, till the race ball brings
the merry season to a close.
1t need hardly be mentioned that the habits
of foreigners are a perfect enigma to the
thousands of natives with whom he is sur
ounded. They view his money-making and
pleasure-seeking vagaries with mingled
feelings Of wonder and disgust. They re-
spect him for his business integrity and his
general prosperity; but, liks all bIrbarians,
his tastes are coarse and low. An average
Briton is supposed TO consume a round OF
beef per day, and a very general impression
is, that it is a part OF an Enghshman's Sab
bath exercises to get drunk on Sundays. He
S a being supposed to be destitute OF the least
filial piety, and possessing no reverence for
antiquity, for old age, or for persons in au-
thority. To their eyes his marital relations
are as loose as can be. As a husband he is
supposed TO be the slave of his wife, while his
method Of making love is revolving in the
extreme. The sight of a lady and gentleman
walking arm-in-arm along the streets, to say
nothing OF dancing together in q public room,
is simply shocking to John Chinaman's no.
tions OF the eternal proprieties which should
regulate the relations of the sexes. The
foreigner may pride himself on his good
breeding, may even look pityingly upon hin
half-civilized neighbors, may appear to him
self and his fellows the very beau ideal OF a
fine gentleman, and his habits the very quint.
essence of propriety; but seen through Celes-
tial spectacles he is nothing less than u low,
contemplate, barbarian, foreign devil, UNI
lifted for tho walks of polite society.