Cuar. VIII] DIFFICULT OF ACCESS. 131 
understand your language ; you would, of course, 
send to your nurseries for them if I could only 
furnish you with their names?” 
it Xen.” 
“Oh, then, you have nursery gardens in the 
country ?” 
“ Yes; but they are a very long way off.” 
Of course I knew enough of the Chinese by this 
time to doubt every word they told me, unless I 
had good reasons for believing them to be speaking 
the truth, which I had not in this case. I also 
saw at a glance, from the state of the plants, that 
they had not only been grown in the country, but I 
knew from their condition that they could have come 
but avery short distance, for they had been dug 
out of the ground with a portion of the soil 
adhering to the roots. For some few days, how- 
ever, all my efforts were completely baffled, until 
a lucky circumstance enabled me to get the better 
of my Chinese friends. My servant and myself 
were returning home from the country, after an 
unsuccessful day’s search, when, as we neared the 
north gate of the city, Ishot a bird, which was new 
to me; being at that time engaged in making 
a collection of the skins of Chinese birds. I was 
of course immediately surrounded by all the boys 
in the neighbourhood, who were quite in raptures 
at my gun, as it was so different from their own 
clumsy matchlock. ‘‘ Now,” said I to the juvenile 
crowd around me, “who can show me the way to 
the nearest flower-garden, where I can purchase 
K 2 
