[ 16^ J 



CHAPTER XX— Continued. 



TOPOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 



FENGWANSHAN s a Trip to the Hills. 



By Mb. and Mes. C. Deiqhton-Beaysheb. 



^ 



" And t'is my faith that every flower 

 Enjoys the air it breathes"— "Wobdsworth. 



r\UR place is among the ferns and flowers, and as we have been asked to say something 

 " about Shanghai's hills we have pleasure in doing so, though it is by no means an easy 

 undertaking owing to the route being so constantly traversed and the rendezvous so very 

 well known. Still many things may strike one that would be overlooked by another, and 

 should these jottings in any measure assist those in search of ferns and flowers or serve in 

 some slight way to recall happy days passed in this district they will have amply fulfilled 

 their purpose. 



In a comfortable houseboat, after being towed up the Whangpoo past the native 

 anchorage by the Feitoo, we slowly yuloh our way with the last of the flood, striking off" at 

 the creek at right angles to the river immediately above the Arsenal. To the left peach 

 orchards clothed in their dark green foliage, with here and there a gleam of ruddy fruit, the 

 last of the season, form a marked contrast to their fascinating charm and beauty in the 

 spring, when they attract thousands of visitors, native and foreign, to be witnesses of their 

 blushing loveliness. 



Wild-flowers of many varieties clothe the banks of the circuitous creek sufficient in 

 number and variety to claim the notice of the botanist. Surely one recognises sweet old 

 friends in the melilot with its pale golden blossoms ; the Persicaria swaying its red-stalked 

 and rosy-headed spikes ; the Michaelmas daisy with its pretty mauve petals ; the yellow 

 hawkweed and fleabane ; the brookline looking up from the stream with its bright blue eyes 

 and many others, not forgetting the Althcea frutex of nobler proportions, — all bringing back 

 fond recollections of Home. One ceases to wonder at the quantity of tuberoses carried about 

 the streets of Shanghai for sale, for here are plateau on plateau of these sweet flowers, needing 

 apparently but a modicum of care to perfect their cultivation. Tufts of reeds and water- 

 grasses swayed-by the strong tide make mimic whirlpools, and the rippling of the water is 

 answered by the note of the frequent reed-warbler. A few purple and bronze-coloured 

 dragon-flies dart hither and thither, and a hungry butcher-bird, intent on prey, anon 

 swoops down on a noisy cicada — striking it but missing its hold : the poor insect falling 

 into the stream, struggling and beating the water with its wings in its vain efforts to rise, 

 its whirring becoming fainter and fainter as it is carried away by the flowing current. 



