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April 30, 1906.J
REVIEWS.
Mast and Sail in Europe and 4ain, by H. WARINGTON SMYTH. London: John Mariny 218
This copiously illustrated and altogether handsome volume of over four hundred pages is an outcome of some years of very varied sea travel.” The author is so M.A., LI. M., F.G.S., FRGS, and a prominent member of the Boyal Thames Yacht Club. He has carefully observed the peculiarities of the principle types of sailing-oraft, in almost all parts of Europe Asia, in many oises handling and sailing them, personally. He has chosen the best plan of classification, geographic, and in a few cases where he needed other eyes to complete his own researches, the author has secured the services of thoroughly competent friends, "Ana," be remarks, * may well claim precedence for the t antiquity of its types of sea-craft, which in most cases can claim a more remote origin than the oldest of those surviving in the fadtarranean or Norse sonS As being of most inferest to our readers, we will take note ony of these portions, therefore, of a book which nevertheless deals exhaustively and in a vividly interesting fashion with oraft ranging from the Arab baggara, to the Scottish sulu, from the Egyptian, dahabia to the Barbary zebec. His. Ingiau, Malayan, and Siamese experienpes have caused the anthor to consider craft from those localities at greater length than those peculiar to our own corner of the Far East. China gets only the last chapter, which moreover includes a section about Japanese sailing, craft. The author remarks that "the striking originality which pervades their (Chinese) architecture their painting, and their life on shore, is even characteristically, displayed by them
masters". And the "
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He refuses to countenance the common smused contempt for the junk, than which there is no class of vessel "more suited or better adapted: to its purpose"; while “it is certain that for flatness of mail and for handiness the Chinese rig is unsurpassed." He quotes Capt. FitzGerald, R.N., as a most capable authority Who said that the smaller junks are "the handiest vessels in the world.". The hinese were undeniably far ahead of all other nations in their comprehension of the principles of adentifie fore-and-aft sailing. "When our forefathers paddled alongshore in open boats, the Uhinsman sailed to East Africa in five over-hang", developed so conspicuously by nineteenth-century yachts. has been a well-understood_principle in Chins for a thousand years, "In wind. lasses and labour-saving applianos the Chinese appear to have been always far shead of the standard resohed by European nations.. until the last. o-ntury."
They have scarcely altered a single detail for centuries. The author calls the Chinese, in things nautical, "the Dutchmen of the East", and points out many points of resemblance, to establish the parallel: The Chinese junk is as. perfect in its own way as it can well be. Its peculiar superstructures add comfort, without interfering with its sailing qualities. Its under water lines, especially in the south, are generally very sweet, and corvette-like, Mora keel might be an advantage, but the dep rud fer and extended forefoot largely take its place in holding the vessel up to windwapi...“ A few hours spent watching the daily wrowd of junks besting through the Lysemun Pass, out of Hongkong harbour during the north-east monsoon, will (he saga) peranade the greatest unbeliever that | for speed, and set of her sails the junk is not sarily beaten; and a finer ses picture not the Thames in Sea Roach can show' The rig and
pagement of the sails is elaborately explained in detail, with carefully drawn pictures of the srious types. In the case of the Japanese the author is not at all enthusiastic, surprised him. "The national, high. Junk of Japan, the largest. sen-going developed in the islands, was always ny construolion, and had neither the Speed nor that of ability to work to * It has been suggested that the orate policy of seclusion had much to do small advance made by Japanese ship. builders, but the author does not somept that
resson. He omits to point out that |
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT, the same argument would also apply to Chinees | shipbuilders. Japanese junka were excessively strong and cumbersome, and slow sailers. The modern Japanese, whose sailing tonnage is keeping pace with the increase of steam. are wiser. They are fully realising now the value of the fore-and-aft sail, especially in their new type of schooners. They are, the author admits, excellent sailors, if as builders they have only recently improved.
Kakemono : Japanese Skatches, by A. HERBAGE EDWARDS. London : William Heinemann. This book of exclamatory paragraphs, de- dicated "to my teachers, the people of Japan", is characterised more by fine writing than originality of thought and observation. The author seems to belong to that quaint school whose modern apostle seems to be Mr. " Bart Kennedy. His style may be fairly parodied in the following "kakemono", largely compiled from sctual quotations from the book:
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Sunny Japan sits peaceful and still. It has rained all night and all day; big, solid drops that fall as compactly through the air as battalions of small shot, but at twilight the raindrops dwindled, slackened, dwindled, ceased.
The rain had stopped.
The stones on the pathway were all wet and shining. The rain had done that.
Ah! The rain. It had done more than that. Listen.
The gallant kurumaya, gallant descendant he of no less gallant samurai, stops. Stands.still. Perhaps it is the wonderful Japanese sympathy. Remember. The rain had also stopped.
Kurumaya-san (Oh! That Japanese polite- ness!) produces a dainty oigarette-a cigarette. made of mermaid's hair.
Kaji. That is what he needs, yearns for, needs, requires.
He produces a box, a little box, It is a match. box, a frail, tiny affair. Japanese houses, those dear houses, are like that, frail, tiny, frail. One takes off one's boots before going in.
The kurumaya is sad, sorrowful. Jap nese matches strike only on the box; and the rain (see page 159) has made the box damp. amp
fe
This
Mr Herbage Edwarda's book is in that tone, but there is nothing funny in it. He is in deadly earnest all through. He raves about the wonderful expression of Dai-Buten, to begin with, and deliberately states that "the heavy lidded eyes droop lower, and the slow smile is still", in response to the enquiry, What is thy secret, Great Lord Buddha p′′ is extraordinary, in the case of a broase image, whose expression we have examined and identified as a faintly cynical one. Bat it is no more extraordinary than his further statement that "the murmuring water runs more swiftly." Apart altogether from the fact that to the best of our recollection, all the water in the vicinity is in stagnant ponds, we do not believe that running water ever accelerates its pace because a phrase-monger needs the emphasis thus obtained. We have no doubt that we are not being quite fair; that many readers will wade through this addition to the already copious bibliographica Japonios with keen delight; but we are sure that they will also soquire many wrong impressions; and personally, we find the style irritating. The author, who admits that he allowed his riosha puller to stop and genuflect at every “sscred" camphor-tree (ours never tried that on), remarks page 141 that "many writers have exclaimed in paragrapha sprinkled with interjections." We on think of no comment more just than tu quoque.
Judas, by SIDNEY MOUTRIE Shanghai:
Kelly & Walsh, Ltd.
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313
give it thee.
proud of race, learns that he has black dishonour, she bids him
"If still wouldal bé % Die that I may love. I shall not blush in weeping See there, that rope : take Now, dost thou understand i The wretched man to whom pieces of silver is a reproach, presenta blind beggar, who, returns them not assured they have been honestly Judes at last throws them ont of the afterwards hangs himself. His mo and enters the chamber to mare her arrives too late. The pathos is deepened element. The foster daughter of Judith with Judas, and the, dialogue between. women when the older relates her dream troscherous act of Judas is partionlarly fina, Undoubtedly" Judas" pomonnel both Hterary and dramatic merit.
MISCELLANEOUS.
this time fatal, has oilled forth additional
Another plague case at Beaconsfield Arcade Sanitary Board measures,
has lately proved inadequate; and the suggestion The fire extinguishing apparatus at Hankow
should co-operate and subscribe for an up-to-date is made that the various foreign settlemeninɛ
motor-engine.
paying a final dividend for 1895. of sevenper-
Lane, Crawford, & Co., Ltd., Shanghai, ent., making with interim twelve per cent, for the year, as well as a bonus of two, dollars per share. The net profit was nearly $55,000,
Holders, of paddy slong the railway line in Burma expect prices to rule very high thin, yang in consequence of the famine in Japan, Priosa: usually advance with the season, but are unprecedently, high now, for so, early, in the
year.
A European resident of the upper levels of West Point on April 25th reported to the stairway. Sergeant Gordon was despatched, police that a dead body had been glaord on his with an ambulance to remove it, bat was greatly surprised on arrival at the house to observe thë
man get up and walk away.
"dead
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On the 28th April Chief Excise Officer Hoggarth seined five more cases of morphine at Godown No. 31, Kowloon. This shipmant arrived by the P. and O. steamer: Davanka ou the 5th April, and the usual applications for the confiscation of the goods to the Opium Farmer, will be posted in due course,
The universal boy" is no empty phrase. Even China can claim him. Ng Cheung Hau, in an essay published in the Yellow Dragon, the Queen's College magazine, says he doesn't minke much of book-keeping, which teacher okapu how to make accounts and books in a shop. I am simply sick of those heaps of secounts Goods Cash, Personal, Subsidiary, Capital and others." The same boy. remarks that gymutation is. more useful subject than" drawing'or trigonometry.
A marked improvement has been made of late in the methods of silk-wesving in Japan; especially with reference to kilks, intended, for export to America and India, but quality insoli much inferior to the silks produced in America and Europa for the reason thabiɔm: Japan weavers are using modern looms.. 'To eno the improvement of the quality of silk, for export market, the Department of Agricultur and Commerce has decided to purchase wearing machinery and looms from Europe, and, lean them to silk-weavers in Kizyn, Ashikaga Lone- sawa, and other silk-wesying centres." Ordars have already been dispatched for the machinery, A rathen startling ernah swakened residents of Queen's Road West, early on. April 28th, The author, Mr. Sidney Moutrie, of Shanghai, | when the first and second, foer vernadaks. is not unknown in the literary world. Several house No. 341 come clear away from the he of his works have already attracted. favourable As it happened no one was in the way of notice, and the present, which is dedicated to | material when it fell, but as portion of Herbert, Beerbohm Tree in grateful acknowledg. was observed among, the debris, 18, ment of his interest and encouragement," hids that a coolie might fair to rival some of his previous efforts, Mr. fall. Consequendly, Moutrie has, in his own words, fulfilled in some on to tara, ores: Loe, degree Aristotle's definition of tragedy. Cer- fortunately... - parts tainly, he raises pity and stirs the soul to a kind | notified the- of intellectual delight. No one can feel aught | nên on duty-toộ kee but pity for the miserable. Judas who betrayed | premises. The baldin his master for a comparatively. trifling mum of Wong Yes-long, money. When his mother, affectionate, but 1 and O; Ca
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