'This story is told with an intimate knowledge of the country and its customs and with rare insight into the psychology of the Chinese. The exploits of Chun Yut and his friend 'Morris, the English sailor, in rheic search' for the hidden "treasure secreted in a temple in the heart of the Kuangtung province, supply the reader with plenty of excitement. But, somehow, the book lacks vitality. A story of adventure, to be really thrilling, should have the racing touch that some writers of fiction happily possess. Then again, and end of the adventure is lacking in any dramatic Jclement, and is somewhat unsatisfyjing. Where the author has sueceeded, and succeeded admirably, is in his. description of life in the interior. 'The chapters devoted to the journey on the "Saigonga" disclose an intimate knowledge of junk life, and the characterization of the' loot people is extremely effective. One gives thanks to an author who knows this China and writes about it well without having recourse to the "opium den" and other stock sensations.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.