2946 CURIOSITY AT SEEING A FOREIGNER. [Cuar. XIII. 
out of the water: he was completely covered with 
mud, and my saddle and bridle were of course in a 
sad condition. By the assistance of some labourers 
who were at work within a short distance, I was 
soon enabled to get out of this network of canals, 
and regain the main road; but this was a lesson 
to me, and as long as I was in China, I never after- 
wards went off the main road when I was on 
horseback. 
I reached a small town in the vicinity of the 
hills about two o’clock in the afternoon; the pony 
having had nothing to eat since we left Shanghae, 
was much exhausted, and I was therefore anxious 
to procure a feed of corn for him at some of the 
shops. The news of the presence of a foreigner in 
the town spread like lightning, and I was soon sur- 
rounded and followed by some thousands of people 
of both sexes, young and old, who were all anxious 
to get a glimpse of my features and dress. Their 
behaviour on the whole, however, was civil and re- 
spectful, and the only inconvenience I had to 
complain of was the pressure of the crowd. For a 
few of the copper coin of the country, a boy had 
promised to take me to a shop where I could pur- 
chase something for the pony, and we wended our 
way through the crowd, which was every moment 
becoming more dense, towards, as I supposed, a corn 
or hayshop. At last, to my surprise, he came to a 
halt in front of an eating house, and my guide came 
and asked me for money to go in and buy some 
boiled rice. “ But I want a feed for the pony,” 
