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GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



Feb. 15. 



unread, and many a pleasant acquaintance un- 

 cultivated, for the King's business requires 

 haste. 



In my last, about the Indian money-lenders, 

 I used an unfortunate expression when I said 

 the Chitty was "' soulless, ov as near it as he 

 could well be." The meaning I intended to 

 convey was, " merciless, pitiless." He has ini- 

 doubtedly a soul for which Chj'ist died, that is 

 capable of being transformed into the likeness 

 and image of Jesus Christ. 



In the picture I send you this time you behold 

 one of the institutions of the East, and just in 

 front of it a sample of one of the institutions of 

 this world — the former a jinricksha, the latter 

 an almond-eyed inhabitant of the land of Si- 

 nlm, or In, common parlance, a " heathen Chi- 



a considerable revenue to tlie government. The 

 chief means of public conveyance here is the 

 hackney carriage and the jinricksha. It costs 

 but Hve cents to go a mile in one of the latter, 

 and you can ride to your own doorstep at that. 

 They are much more comfortable than the 

 hackney carriages, and four times cheaper. 



In Hong Kong and other towns in China, 

 they are beautifully finished, and are used by- 

 gentlemen of every rank. Here they are pat- 

 ronized chiefly by the native community and 

 Europeans. 



Every vehicle is licensed. A 'ricksha pays 

 one dollar a year, and a hackney carriage one 

 dollar and a half. The municipality registers- 

 both the carriage and the driver. You will see 

 a number on the side of the 'ricksha in the 



THE .IINIUCKSIIA, THE COOLY, AND THE MALAY. 



nee." This man is one of the " cooly " class, 

 or a common laborer. Let me first tell you 

 what I know about tlie jinricksha. 



One of the early American residents on the 

 China coast lived in a city (Hong Kong it may 

 have been) where there were no wheeled vehi- 

 cles of any kind, and no horses or ponies. The 

 only means of locomotion was by foot or in se- 

 dan chairs. This Yankee verified the old adage, 

 that necessity is the mother of invention. To 

 carry a sedaii -chair, two chairmen were neces- 

 sary"; but when a very light little carriage like 

 the one in the plctui'e had been constructed he 

 found that one man was able to make better 

 speed, with greater comfort and greater econo- 

 my to the travelei', than two in the old way. 

 The result has been tens of thousands of these 

 tiny road-carts in all the towns from Singapore 

 to Pekin and Tokio: a lucrative employment 

 for thousands of wheelrights and laborers, and 



picture, and one on the arm of the Chinaman. 

 The man in the 'ricksha is a Malay from the 

 island of Java. His head gear consists of a 

 piece of cloth made expressly for the purpose, 

 and twisted about the head, often leaving the 

 crown entirely exposed. Tlie most singular 

 part of his dress is the garment that supplies 

 the place of pantaloons. It is called sa-rong. 

 and is a piece of figured cotton a yard or more 

 wide, sewed togeher at the ends. This encircles 

 the waist, and, after being folded over, is held 

 in place by means of a belt of some sort. Most 

 Malays wear under this a pair of short close- 

 fitting drawers. They go bai'efooted, as all the 

 Chinese coolies do, unless they have a small in- 

 come, when they sport sandals or European 

 shoes. 



By far the most promising race are the Chi- 

 nese. They are sometimes one thing and some- 

 times another in religion, but always ancestral 



