[
    {
        "id": 209600,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1982",
        "page_number": 257,
        "title": "RAS-1982",
        "content_text": "Smashed up the matsheds over at Kowloon; And here, perhaps, I may be allowed to say Apropos of nothing in the play,\n\nThese Kowloon matsheds are a perfect bane; They're hot and stuffy and let in the rain; And oh! those musical and parched mosquitoes When they are hungry, don't they fairly us.\n\nThe British soldiers should have bricks and mortar.\n\nOur Ayrun* brother has them, then we oughter.\n\n235\n\nThen there were the opinions of life at the lower end of the military hierarchy. Giacomo and Beppo treat sarcastically the soldiers' life — they have just been encouraged to \"go and enlist — you'll have extensive pay\". Giacomo replies:\n\nAnd get boiled beef for dinner every day.\n\nA soldier's life ain't quite all beer and skittles, There's too much guard and not enough o' vittles.\n\nAnd as for Beppo:\n\nMe be a soldier not much. I couldn't stick it What price the slow march in defaulter's piquet, Instruction drill and then fatigues, although We don't mind working for the good old P. and O.** I rather fancy we should greatly like\n\nTo see the coolies go again on strike.\n\nA dollar a day, more beer than we can carry\n\nIs better than parade in Happy Valley\n\nIf that were all they did I would enlist.\n\nThe long delayed unveiling of the Queen Victoria Jubilee statue† in Statue Square drew comment when Fra Diavolo, being pounced upon by villagers, expresses surprise:\n\nWell, landlord, may I beg an explanation Of this great rising of the population? Perhaps another statue has been found\n\n* Native Indian troops also stationed at Kowloon,\n\n** During a coolie strike in 1895 soldiers were used to load and unload cargoes.\n\n†The statue was commissioned in 1890. It was not unveiled until May 1896.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1982.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/mk61z420p",
        "rank": 0
    }
]