210 A GARDEN DIARY 
JULY 14, 1900 
ITH a mind full of China, and its abomina- 
tions, I happened this afternoon to take 
up Zhe Opium Eater, and opened full upon the 
passages describing the results of the Malay’s 
visit. What imagery to be sure! What an 
amazing rhetorician! Certainly if all life were 
the feverish dream, the half nightmare, one is 
tempted sometimes to call it, no greater exponent 
of its terrors has ever existed than Thomas de 
Quincey. Take this as a prelude. 
“The Malay has been a frightful enemy for 
months. I have been every night, through his 
means, transported into Asiatic scenes. I know 
not whether others share my feelings on this 
point, but I have often thought that if I were 
compelled to forego England, and to live in 
China, and among Chinese manners, and modes 
of life and scenery I should go mad. The causes 
of my horror lie deep, and some of them must 
be common to others. Southern Asia in general 
is the seat of awful images and associations. As 
