Games  !  Why,  when  English  boys  are  passing  out
of  petticoats  into  knickers,  Chinese  boys  put  on
petticoats,  and,  if  scholarly,  wear  these  long  robes
all  their  life !  We  are  silenced  by  his  eloquence ;
and  upon  this  his  fifteen  or  twenty  boys  (who  have
stopped  for  a  moment,  like  a  chorus  of  frogs  in  a
paddy-field  silenced  awhile  by  a  stone  thrown  or
a  sudden  shout)  give  tongue  again,  and  each  one
at  the  top  of  his  voice  bawls  or  drones  out  his
repetition  of  the  sayings  of  those  ancient  sages
whose  writings  form  the  chief  part  of  old  Chinese
education.  The  Headmaster  then  calls  one  boy  by
name  to  leave  his  stool,  and  come  up  and  "back"
his  lesson,  for  he  does  turn  his  back  deliberately
on  the  master.  This  attitude  we  should  think  dis
respectful,  but  really  it  gives  the  master  a  marked
advantage  over  his  pupil,  since,  with  his  bamboo
rod  or  flat  ruler  in  his  hand,  he  can  whack  judici
ously  the  careless  or  thoughtless  scholar  as  he
"  bays "  (i.e.,  repeats  by  rote)  his  lesson.  As  we
move  out  of  reach  of  the  old  master's  rod,  let  me
give  you  an  account  of  the  wonderful  bamboo-tree,
which  I  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter.
The  following  clever  poem  was  composed  many
years  ago  by  Major  Arthur  T.  Bingham  Wright.
Perhaps  you  have  heard  before  of  Pigeon-English?
Well,  these  verses  are  written  in  Pigeon-English,
which  is  a  strange  kind  of  jargon  invented  in  China
as  a  means  of  communication  between  English  or
Americans  and  the  natives.  Many  of  the  queer-
looking  words  are  English  words  altered  to  suit
the  Chinese  pronunciation ;  "  Pigeon "  is  said  to


LETTING  OFF  FIEEWOEKS.
[See  p.  48.
