When I Was a Boy in China. By Yea Phou
Lee. (Blackie and Son.)—There are certain of the Christmas gift-books which, though written for young people, are perhaps of even greater interest to their elders. Mr. Lee's little volume is one of these. It is written in a clear and concise style, and is full of novel and
interesting matter. As might be expected, Mr. Lee tells us several rather humorous stories. Here is a reminiscence of his schooldays :—" One afternoon, when the old schoolmaster hap- pened to be away longer than his wont after the noon recess, some of the boys began to 'cut up.' The fun reached its height in the exploding of some fire-crackers. As they went off, making the hall ring with the noise, the teacher came in indignant, you may be sure. His defective eyes darted about and dived around to fix upon the culprit ; but as he didn't happen to be in the line of their vision, the guilty boy stole back to his seat undetected. The old gentleman then seized the rattan, and in a loud tone demanded who it was who let off the crackers. When nobody answered, what do you suppose he did ? He flogged the whole crowd of us, saying that he was sure to get hold of the right one, and that the rest deserved a whipping for not making the real offender known. Truly the paths of Chinese learning in my day were beset with thorns and briers." From this we see not only that Chinese boys are very much the same as other boys, but that the same rule holds good for Chinese schoolmasters. It is not in China only that the paths of learning are thorny. In speaking of Chinese music, Mr. Lee naïvely remarks that the effect of their orchestra is overwhelming on ears unaccustomed to such strange symphonies. This is quite the impression which was left on the present writer by the Chinese musicians who recently appeared in England. How ears ever do get accustomed to these ",symphonies," will always be a matter of wonder to him. Of course, the book chiefly deals with the manners and customs of young China ; but Mr. Lee has something to say on the religion of the country, and on its domestic life, all of which is very interesting. It is to be hoped that he will, at some future date, give us something fuller on the same subject.
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