1 88 Sporting Notes in the Far East. 



up the west river twelve miles above Sam-shai, the point where 

 the three rivers meet. The country here is hilly, with wooded 

 ravines ; and in these ravines, towards the close of the year, and as 

 far up as the end of January, one can always depend on killing a 

 fair number of cock. 



Shooting at this place, entails no more than a week's leave from 

 Canton. 



And now while dilating on the sport around " Mystical Canton," 

 I will for one moment fly off at a tangent from the general discourse 

 of this volume, and observe, that I think the Royal Navy will now 

 find the forcing of the Canton river a considerably tougher job 

 than in times gone by, in those days of stinkpots, jingalls, and 

 smoothbore cannonade. 



Before I visited the Southern capital of " Unwieldly China," I 

 am ashamed to say that I indeed laboured under very wrong im- 

 pressions as to the city, and its approaches. When one of our 

 native servants would come (as was constantly the case) with a sad 

 and woebegone face, and unburden himself of the same old excuse 

 for getting leave " Please, I wanshee go Canton-side, my mother 

 makee die ! " I used to imagine to myself his anxiety to return 

 pro tern, to an enormous dirty mud town, at the head of an equally 

 filthy stagnant creek : but how different was the case ! 



As you stand on the deck of your ship, steaming up the broad 

 Canton river, and notice the complete system of forts that the 



