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EAMBLES OP A NATURALIST. [Oh. XX. 



difficulty of English to the Chinese. Of course the com- 

 paratively few' Chinese who are brought up as children in 

 our schools learn our language with facility ; but, although 

 a barbarous corruption of the Queen's English is current 

 in Hong Kong, it only serves as a very imperfect medium 

 of business-communication, — a lame substitute for the 

 genuine grammatical tongue. Nor is it more easy to teach 

 a Chinaman good EngKsh, than for an English iaan of 

 business to learn Chinese ; the former can, on no account, 

 be induced to learn beyond a certain point, just suf&cient 

 for mutual comprehension on very limited subjects, and 

 there they inevitably stop. So also the Englishman, as a 

 rule, would laugh to scorn the idea of understanding Chi- 

 nese. Not that it is an impossibility, as some suppose; 

 for while we all know the proficiency which a Morrison or 

 a Legge has attained in the written character, so also I 

 have heard an American gentleman address a native au- 

 dience in Canton with perfect fluency after a few years' 

 residence. But the difficulties are doubtless enormous. 

 Few or none have ever mastered both the written and spoken 

 language ; but although the written character is neces- 

 sary for the student, the colloquial (and more easy portion) 

 is the available means of intercommunication. It is im- 

 possible for a Chiaese to afford information on points of 

 political economy, government, or hterature, in pidgin 

 English ; and as it is equally impossible for more than one 

 or two English to converse in Chinese, the two peoples are 

 like two deaf persons conversing with one another, who may 

 make a few mutual inquiries, but can never become ac- 

 quainted with one another. The Chinese have given us a 

 lesson in this respect, by establishing the school of languages 

 at Pekin, with English, French, and Russian teachers ; and 



