4o6 Voyage of the Novara. 



dollars, and who thought by this means to display his taste, 

 his luxury, and his nobility ! 



We had heard so much of certain wonderful singing stones, 

 on a large island opposite the inner part of the harbour, that 

 several of our party made an excursion thither. Neither 

 natives nor indeed Europeans could give us any explanation 

 of this singula!' phenomenon, but all hold that the stones 

 must contain metal in some certain proportion, while elec- 

 tricity and magnetism would do the rest. The naturalists 

 were accompanied to this mysterious spot by M. Von Car- 

 lowitz, Dr. Kane, and a Chinese physician, Dr. Wong-fun. 

 The estimable and highly-educated Wong-fun had graduated 

 ,as Doctor of Medicine in the University of Edinburgh, and 

 had afterwards enlarged his experience by practising some 

 time in the United States, since which he had practised the 

 healing art with great success upon his own countrjonen. 

 A European in intelligence and education, he was still a 

 Chinese in external appearance, and wore, as formerly, a long 

 tail. Probably Wong-fun adhered to this ancient custom 

 in order the more readily to indoctrinate his fellow-country- 

 men with European ideas. 



Some small Tanka boats, in which, as already mentioned, 

 only two persons can be accommodated at once, and which 

 are exclusively managed by women, conveyed our party 

 over the bosom of the inner harbour to the opposite shore. 

 We then proceeded through a beautiful valley, covered with 

 rice fields, and traversed in its entu^e extent by a mountain 



