18 HONG KONG ISLAND. 



the weather is stormy, the vessels bring up under 

 lee of one of the numerous islands, grouped 

 about the coast. I have often seen them assem- 

 bled, from twenty to fifty, for the night, under 

 the lee of one of them, on the shore close to 

 which, some small miserable thatched huts, con- 

 taining numbers of wretched inmates, and small 

 patches of cultivated land were visible. 



On the 10th we were off Hong Kong Island. 

 It is lofty, bold, and occasionally its barren 

 appearance is diversified by the verdure of the 

 ferns and other plants, which give some beauty 

 to the huge piles of rocks, towering towards the 

 heavens, in gently sloping as well as abrupt decli- 

 vities. At one part a small cascade fell from the 

 rocks above into the ocean abyss beneath, and 

 other places bore the appearance of mountain 

 torrents being formed during heavy rains. 



Dr. Abel, who landed upon it, says, " I took 

 advantage of the first watering boat to visit the 

 shore, and made one of these mountains and the 

 waterfall the principal objects of my visit. This 

 mountain, the highest on the island, is, accord- 

 ing to Captain Ross, who has measured it, about 

 fifteen hundred feet above the level of the sea, 

 and is composed of trap approaching to basalt 

 in the compactness of its structure. In ascending 

 it, I followed the course of a delightful stream, 



