BACK TO CIVILIZATION 375 



pore, Mr. Dubois, is one of the best men I have yet 

 encountered in one of our consulates. He is a new- 

 comer in Singapore and yet in his few months he 

 has added more prestige to our consulate general 

 than all the former men put together. One can not 

 but wonder why he is not a minister or an ambassa- 

 dor, instead of only a consul general. 



Hongkong has been fortunate in having an ex- 

 cellent representative in Mr. Rublee, and his recent 

 untimely death is a distinct loss to the country. Mr. 

 Wilder is in Shanghai and he is decidedly a man of 

 the best mental and temperamental equipment. So 

 now an American traveler may go up and down the 

 China coast and "point with pride" to his nation's 

 representatives. How different it was ten or twelve 

 years ago ! 



We barely managed to get on board the Prinz 

 Ludwig Singapore to Hongkong. It is one of 

 the X. D. Lloyd's crack ships and everybody tries 

 to take it. We got the last cabin, as usual, and spent 

 hours thanking our lucky stars. 



The China Sea is chronically disposed to be dis- 

 agreeable, but on this occasion it was quite well 

 behaved. There were three days of delightful sun- 

 shine and then a sudden blighting chill in the air. 

 We landed in Hongkong with overcoats buttoned 

 up and with garments drenched by the rains and 

 mist clouds that battled around the great peaks of 

 this little island. The hotels were jammed to the 

 sidewalks and we got the last room at the 

 Hongkong Hotel, while throngs were turned away; 



