KAMBLES OF A NATUKALIST. 



CHAPTEE I. 



THE VOYAGE TO CHINA OVERLAND— IMPRESSIONS OF HONG 



KONG. 



Dissolving Views — Marseilles — The Bear Rook — Flocks of Cranes— Alex- 

 andria — The Delta — Grand Cairo— The Desert — Red Sea— Aden — First 

 Shore Hunt— Point do Galle — Tropical Calm— Lightning — Tropic Birds 

 — Singapore— Traveller's Tree — Caricature Plant — Approach to Hong 

 Kong— Appearance from the Sea — Boats and their occupants. 



When a man leaves his home and country for the purpose 

 of malting a closer acquaintance with Nature and natural 

 phenomena in distant lands, he naturally does not wait to 

 begin his observations until he shall have travelled a certain 

 number of thousands of miles. And thus, although my 

 destination was Cliina, I fomad much that was striking and 

 interesting, from the point of view which I had chosen, on 

 the road. The overland route to India and China is indeed 

 so generally known, and so experimentally famihar to a large 

 number of persons, that it would serve no purpose to dwell 

 upon its details ; but nevertheless a work, whose plan mainly 

 seeks to recount tlie aspects of Nature in foreign countries, 

 would scai'cely be complete were no reference made to so 

 large a portion of travel as is passed over by the steamers of 

 the Peninsula!' and Oriental Company between Marseilles 

 and Hong Kong. 



