24 The Gardens of the Sim. [ch. \i. 



after the war, lie was conversing with a friend near the 

 Tuileries, when a wicked-eyed young gamin overhearing 

 his bad French with an English accent, observed, " Ah, 

 M'sieu rost-bif, God-dam," as he rapidly vanished round 

 the corner. Many of the rich merchants speak English 

 well ; if not, then Malay is the medium of conversation. 

 And the wherewithal to wash down your food is not for- 

 gotten : indeed, many of the rich " babas " give excellent 

 champagne breakfasts, and " Bass " and good Bordeaux 

 are as common as at European meals. However addicted 

 to "samshu" and " shandu," — the baleful narcotic im- 

 mortalised by De Quincey, — a Chinaman may be privately, 

 you will find him courteous, and eagerly apprehensive as 

 to the comfort and enjoyment of his guests on all occa- 

 sions when he entertains Europeans. 



Sometimes you meet with a surprise at a Chinese 

 dinner — a surprise especially prepared for your benefit. 

 I was present at one where we had small dishes of rice 

 and condiments set before us, with " chop sticks " in 

 lieu of knife and fork. Now a native to the manner 

 born will use his two chop sticks as cleverly as Mr. G. 

 W. Moore handles his bones ; and as he leans over his 

 dish you see a constant stream of food running up to his 

 mouth, while with your chop sticks awkwardly held you 

 simply demonstrate what " eating porridge with a 

 knitting pin " really means. Well, dish followed dish, 

 and we began to think the whole thing " awfully slow," 

 when the host arose and requested us to accompany him 

 to the " dining-room." 



Sure enough we found ourselves in a large and well lit 

 interior. There was a dinner-table laid in European 

 style, the silver and glass irreproachable, and floral deco- 

 rations rather tastefully arranged graced the board. Of 

 course there was a good deal of laughter as the neat 



