Model Hotel Bill 49 



illumination^ of Chinese houses after dark, being barely 

 " darkness visible," I always burden my coolie with foreign 

 candles, which are much admired, and without which 

 travelling in China is simply misery. At the wood-fire on 

 the ground I cooked my " Cadbury " — another indispensable 

 when travelling in winter amongst savourless nations — and 

 enjoyed with it a good supper of mountain rice and bean 

 curd. Porters, the humble beasts of burden of the land- 

 roads in South and Mid-China, with " pei-tz " on their backs 

 — some twenty to thirty — -dropped in and shared the floor, 

 each unrolling a mattress of plaited straw from the corner, 

 for the use of which he paid ten cash. 



My model hotel bill, on leaving the next morning, 

 was : — 



Supper for self and coolie, 4 bowls of rice at 10 cash (copper 



cash), " fixings " of cabbage and bean curd free 40 



Use of straw-plaited mattress for ditto, 2 at 10 20 



Breakfast, same as supper 40 



Supper and breakfast for " Nigger," my dog 20 



Pair of straw sandals for coolie (his old ones being worn out) ... 12 



132 

 Total 132 copper cash, or, in English money, i/1. 



We were off at eight, and after a long tramp, during which 

 we crossed on a single plank bridge a beautiful clear river, 

 200 yards wide and five to ten feet deep, flowing between 

 conglomerate cliffs, we reached Ichang at two p.m., after a 

 niost delightful two days' outing. 



