Cuar. XII.] ITS EFFECTS UPON THE CHINESE. 239 
amined with great care. At this stage of the pro- 
cess, colour forms the principal test of its quality, 
and as the smuggler stirs it round, and holds it up 
to the light, he pronounces it to be “ tung-kow” if 
it is thick like jelly ; “ pak-chat,” if it has a whitish 
colour; “ hong-chat,’ if it is red; and “ kong-see- 
pak,” if it is opium of the first quality, or like that 
sent round by the East India Company. 
Opium is prepared for smoking much in the 
same manner as I have just described, and is kept 
in small cups, which are made for the purpose. 
The smoker lays his head upon a pillow, has a 
lamp by his side, and with a kind of needle he lifts 
a small portion of the opium to the candle; and 
having ignited it, he puts it into the small aperture 
of the bowl of the pipe. The candle is applied to 
the bowl during the process of inhaling, and the 
smoke is drawn into the lungs in the same manner 
as an Indian or Chinese swallows tobacco. A 
whiff or two is all that can be drawn from a single 
pipe, and, therefore, those who are accustomed to 
the use of the drug have frequently to renew the 
dose. 
No one who has seen any thing of the habits of 
the Chinese, will deny that the use of opium, par- 
ticularly when taken to excess, has a most perni- 
cious effect both upon the constitution and morals 
of its victims. From my own experience, however, 
Ihave no hesitation in saying that the number of 
persons who use it to excess has been very much 
exaggerated; it is quite true that a very large 
quantity of the drug is yearly imported from 
