m to think they have accomplished their purpose,
leaving me again to my own resources.

Yet again am I in the midst of a tightly wedged crowd, helpless to make
myself understood, and equally helpless to find my own way. Three hours
after entering the city I am following-the Fates only know whither--the
leadership of an individual who fortunately "sabes" a word or so of
pidgin English, and who really seems to have discovered my wants. First
of all he takes me inside a temple-like building and gives me a drink of
tea and a few minutes' respite from the annoying pressure of the crowds;
he then conducts me along a street that looks somewhat familiar, leads me
to the gate I first entered, and points triumphantly in the direction of
Canton!

I now know as much about the road to Sam-shue as I did before reaching
Fat-shan, and have learned a brief lesson of Chinese city experience that
is anything but encouraging for the future. The feeling of relief at
escaping from the narrow streets and the garrulous, filthy crowds,
however, overshadows all sense of disappointment. The lesson of Fat-shan
it is proposed to turn to good account by following the country paths in
a general course indicated by my map from city to city rather than to
rely on the directions given by the people, upon whom my words and
gestures seem to be entirely thrown away.

For a couple of miles I retraverse the path by which I reached Fat-shan
before encountering a divergent pathway, acceptable as, leading
distinctly toward the northwest. The inevitable Celestial is right on
hand, extracting no end of satisfaction from following, shadow-like,
close behind and watching my movements. Pointing along the divergent
northwest road, I ask him if this is the koon lo to Sam-shue; for answer
he bestows upon me an expansive but wholly expressionless grin, and
points silently toward Canton. These repeated failures to awaken the
comprehension of intelligent-looking Chinamen, or, at all events, to
obtain from them the slightest information in regard to my road, are
somewhat bewildering, to say the least. So much of this kind of
experience crowded into the first day, however, is very fortunate, as
awakening me with healthy rudeness to a realizing sense of what I am to
expect; it places me at once on my guard, and enables me to turn on the
tap of self-reliance and determination to the proper notch.

Shaking my head at the almond-eyed informant who wants me to return to
Cant