a good laugh since. Preparations began to be made for dinner, and the travellers who were seated around the table arose and wandered about the other parts of the house. It was mid-day, and, as I had eaten no breakfast, I felt rather hungry. In these circumstances it may be thought that the appearance of dinner would have afforded me some pleasure. This, however, was not the case, and for the following reason: I had not eaten with chop-sticks for three years, and I had no confidence in my talents in the use of them. This important circumstance had not struck me before, otherwise I would have practised all the way from Shanghae to Hang-chow, and might have been proficient by this time. As it was I was quite certain that I should draw the eyes of the Chinamen upon me, for nothing would astonish them so much as a person using the chop-sticks in an awkward manner. I was therefore obliged, reluctantly I confess, to abandon all ideas of a dinner on that day.

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Meanwhile the dishes were placed upon the table, and the guests were called by their names and requested to sit down. Sing Wa, Sing Wa" (the name I bore amongst the Chinese), "come and sit down to dinner." I felt much inclined to break my resolution and sit down, but prudence came to my aid, and I replied, "No, I thank you, I shall dine by and by, when my servants come back." I believe it is common enough for travellers to dine at different hours and in different ways, according to circumstances, so that my refusal did not seem to attract much notice.

A short time afterwards my servants returned, bringing a boatman with them to have a chop made out, and to have him "secured" by the innkeeper. As soon as this was done to our satisfaction we left the inn and walked down to the boat, which lay alongside of one of the wharfs at the river side. Several other passengers had also arrived, and we were all to sleep on board, as the boat was to start at daybreak on the following morning. To me this had been an exciting and adventurous day, and I was not sorry when the darkness closed around us and we all retired to rest.

The river Tcien-tang-kiang, on which I was now, has its sources far away amongst the mountains to the westward. One of its branches rises amongst the green-tea hills of Hwuy-chow, another near to the town of Changshan, on the borders of Kiang-see, and a third on the northern side of the Bohea mountains. These streams unite in their course to the eastward, and, passing Hang-chow, fall into the bay which bears the same name. All the green and black tea comes down this river on its way to Shanghae, and at Hang-chow is transhipped from the river-boats into those which ply upon the Grand Canal. The importance of Hang-chow-foo, in a mercantile point of view, is therefore very great. All goods from the south and westward must of necessity pass through this town on their way to the large and populous districts about Soo-chow, Sung-kiang, and Shanghae. In the same manner all foreign imports, and the products of the low countries, such as silk and cotton, in

going to the southward and westward, must also pass through Hang-chow. It therefore appears to be like a great gate on a public highway, through which nothing can pass or repass without the consent and cognizance of the authorities.

The power which this place gives the Chinese authorities over our imports and exports through Shanghae is very great, and hence complaints of stoppages and illegal charges, or "squeezes," have been not unfrequent. The day cannot be very far distant when we shall be allowed to trade and travel in China as in other countries-when all those foolish regulations regarding boundary-lines will be swept away; but, in the event of these changes being gradual, it may be a question whether our Government should not endeavour to open the town of Hang-chow-foo, or at all events have a consular agent there for the encouragement and protection of our trade.

CHAPTER III.

Leave Hang-chow-foo - A China passage-boat

Scenery and natural productions Remarkable hills Our fellow-passengers A smoker of opium - I am discovered to be a foreigner - City of Yen-chow-foo-A Chinaman cheats a Chinaman! - The river and water-mills - A valuable palm-tree — Birds Lime-kilns and green granite Tea-plant met with

Botany of the country

The new FUNEREAL CYPRESS discovered seeds were procured ·

--

Dr. Lindley's opinion of its merits - Strange echo River and land beggars

Charity.

WHEN the next morning dawned we got under way and steered out into the river, which is here three or four miles in width. The boat was strongly built, flat-bottomed, and very sharp both fore and aft. Ordinary boats, such as those seen at Shanghae, would be perfectly useless here, for they would soon be broken to pieces on the rocks and stones which abound in this shallow but rapid river.

We were deeply laden with cargo, and carried about twenty passengers. The cargo was packed in the bottom of the boat, and the passengers above it. Two rows of sleeping-berths were constructed along each side of the boat, and a passage between them, so that both passengers and boatmen could walk from stem to stern without any inconvenience. The firstclass passengers occupied the side-berths, and their servants and coolies slept in the passage.

A Chinese bed is not a very luxurious one. It

consists simply of a mat to lie upon, a hard square pillow for the head, and a coverlet stuffed with cotton to draw over the body as a protection from the cold.

I had the berth nearest the stern of the boat, a dwarf occupied the one opposite, and my two servants slept in the passage between us. The galley, or, I should rather say, cooking apparatus, was placed outside in the stern, near to the steersman.

Each passenger, when he takes his passage in these boats, agrees for three meals a-day at a certain fixed rate. We were to have congé in the morning, rice at mid-day, and rice-congé again in the evening. Anything else the passengers wanted, such as tea, fish, meat, or vegetables, they had to provide and cook for themselves. The arrangement seems a good one, and it enables those who are so inclined to travel at a very small cost. Many of the passengers had nothing else than what was provided by the boatmen, excepting perhaps a little tea, which they all carried with them, and which in this country is cheap enough.

In the morning a basin of hot water, with a cloth in it, was brought to me to perform my ablutions. The following is the Chinese way of using this: the cloth is dipped in the hot water and then wrung until the greater part of the water is pressed out. In this hot and damp state it is spread out on both hands, and the face, neck, and head rubbed over with it. This mode of washing is not the most effectual, but there is nothing more refreshing on a warm day, if