290 COFFEE. 



passes. It is said that he has a keen eye for commissions or bro- 

 kerages, and in addition to his salary, takes them from both buyer 

 and seller. Certain it is that some of the " compradors " here are 

 reputed to wield a larger capital than the houses whom they nomi- 

 nally serve. The necessity for the " comprador " originally grew out 

 of the inability of foreign merchants to speak Chinese sufficiently 

 well to conduct their business with the native merchants. It was, 

 therefore, found necessary to employ a capable Chinaman, who 

 could speak English, to facilitate these negotiations, and the " com- 

 prador " gradually became an institution. A few years ago an 

 effort was made by the leading foreign houses to do without them 

 and educate their clerks, so that they would be able to perform the 

 " comprador's " functions ; but it failed, and the " comprador's " in- 

 fluence is now again supreme. 



There are many peculiarities in life here in the East which 

 impress a visitor as being novel and curious. Sedan chairs, sus- 

 pended on two long poles, the ends of which are placed on the 

 shoulders of two coolies, are the means generally employed for 

 getting about — no wheeled vehicles, not even jinriJcshas, having 

 yet been employed to any extent for this purpose. On the water, 

 " sampans," a species of boat, are used, and in their way they are 

 quite as much of a curiosity as the chairs. In China they are 

 somewhat different from the Japanese sampan, and those in 

 Hong-Kong are modelled more after the fashion of an ordinary 

 boat. In the centre of them, however, most of them have an 

 awning or canopy, to shield passengers from the sun and rain, 

 while the ends are occupied by those who propel the boat. These 

 are largely women and children. Indeed, whole families make 

 these sampans their home, both by day and night. In a little 

 locker, in one end, they keep a small brazier for cooking their 

 meals, and they eat, sleep, and raise families within this narrow 

 compass. It is no uncommon thing to see a woman sculling a 

 boat with a young infant strapped upon her back, and children 

 which an American mother would feel sure were in imminent 

 danger of falling overboard, take a hand in propelling or steering 

 the boat. Children, from one to three years of age, may be 

 seen toddling about with a small buoy or life-preserver, composed 

 of cork or other light material, strapped upon their breasts, so 



