The boy travellers in the Far East : adventures of two youths ... - Library

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392 THE BOY TRAVELLERS.
' " Man-mnii," une girlee talkee he:
*' What for you go top-side look-see ?'
And one teem raoie he plenty cly,
But alia teem walk jilenty high
Top-side Galah I
'"Take care I'hat spilum tlee, yoLing man,
Take care t'hat ice, must go man-man."
One coolie chin-chin he good niglit
He talkee, "My can go all light"
Top-side Galah I
'T'hat young man die: one large dog see
Too mnchee bobbly fiudee he.
He hand b'long coldee, all same like ire.
He holdee flag, "v^it'h chop so nice
Top-side Galah
"But does every Chinese who goes to a foreign country understand
how to talk pidgin English V Frank asked of Doctor Brouson.
"Not by any means," M-as the reply; "thousands of them are not able
to speak a word when they go abroad, but the}^ gradnallj pick up the lan-
guage of the country to wdiich they go. Not all of them go to America
or other English-speaking lands ; many have gone to Cuba, Peru, and Bra-
zil, where there was no need of a knowledge of English. Spanish and Por-
tuguese are the only tongues in use there, and many an emigrant never
took the trouble to learn a word of them."
Their old acquaintance " the Mystery " had joined the part}' while tlie
conversation just recorded was going on. When the Doctor made allusion
to the emigration to Cuba and Peru, " the Mystery" opened his eyes a little
wider than was his custom,- and said he was •well aware that many had gone
to those countries who knew nothing but Chinese, and never learned a word
of any other language. As the boys showed a desire to hear more on the
subject, he proposed to tell them something about the coolie-trade; and it
was arranged that they should assemble in the smoking-saloou after din-
ner, wliere they could talk at their leisure.
After dinner they met as agreed, and "the Mystery" seated himself
comfortably for the story he was about to tell.
" The coolie-trade," said he, " does not exist any more. It was very
much like the slave-trade, of which you have read ; in fact, it was nothing
more than the slave-trade with the form changed a little. In the African
slave-trade the slaves were bought as one might buy sheep and cattle. In
the coolie-traffic the men were hired for a term of years at certain stipu-
!' "