30 Eastern Reminiscences. 



room below. He was not aware whether the occupants slept in 

 this low hut, or under a 4-feet long swing immediately in front 

 of the stern. The city of Victoria is situated at the base of 

 a hill rising steeply to a height of over 1,800 feet. It is some- 

 what like, if one could imagine, the waters of the Belfast 

 Lough rising to the level of the Antrim Road, and the town 

 built between it and the steep rocks of the Cave Hill. When 

 he ascended the hill, which he took an early opportunity of 

 doing, he was almost afraid of setting a stone in motion in case 

 he might bring swift destruction on the houses below. He 

 proceeded to describe the town, elaborately commenting, espe- 

 cially on the Botanic Gardens. The streets of Hong Kong 

 reminded him of the streets of Malta, with its flights of steps 

 and narrow ways, along which no carriage can go, so that 

 locomotion is restricted to walking and driving in jinrickshas, 

 something like an overgrown perambulator, or being carried in 

 a chair slung on poles. Chairs made of cane are slung on 

 very long lance poles, and are very comfortable. In the 

 streets one sees a few Chinese women tottering on their small 

 distorted feet, just like goats' hoofs ; but there seem to be 

 two distinct races, for there are many women that do not at 

 all compress their feet. Chinese men of the upper classes have a 

 great dislike to manual labour, and, to show that they are 

 quite above such undignified work, it is considered the proper 

 thing to allow the finger nails to grow to an extraordinary 

 length, so that it is not uncommon to see Chinese gentlemen 

 with nails projecting two or three inches beyond their finger 

 tips. While in Hong Kong he took the opportunity of hear- 

 ing a sermon in Chinese. The sound is very strange, being 

 quite unlike any other language he had heard. It is a mono- 

 syllabic language, and seems greatly to want in expression. 

 It seemed to him to run thus : — "Chuck, lick, sim, sam, sang, 

 he, kang, whang." The lecturer gave several other amusing 

 illustrations of the Chinese language. 



On the evening of the 14th January he set out for Canton on 

 board the s.s. " Powhan." The centre of the steamer was 

 occupied by Chinese passengers. From that part the forecastle 



