Chap. XIV. APPEARANCE & CONDUCT OF NATIVES. 301 



fortable houses, are better fed and better clothed 

 than they are in other places. In those bleak and 

 barren mountain-districts, both inland and on the 

 seacoast, where the land yields barely a remune- 

 rative crop, the natives are generally ragged and 

 dirty in appearance, while their dwellings are 

 mean hovels which scarcely afford protection from 

 the inclemency of the weather. 



The manners of the people we were now amongst 

 were quite in keeping with their outward appear- 

 ance. As they crowded round our boats they were 

 exceedingly polite and courteous, and gave us any 

 information we required as to our journey through 

 the country, and the state of the canals and 

 bridges. 



It was now past seven o'clock in the evening, 

 and dinner being ready we sat down to enjoy our 

 evening meal. This proceeding seemed highly in- 

 teresting to our Chinese visitors, who now crowded 

 round our boat and were peeping through every 

 crevice where a view of what was going on within 

 could be obtained. They were, no doubt, quite as 

 much surprised at the operation of eating with 

 knives and forks as country-people at home would 

 be if they saw a Chinese family sit down with their 

 chop-sticks. 



The Chinese are early in their habits — they go 

 to bed early and rise early in the morning — so we 

 were soon left by the crowd which surrounded our 

 boats, to enjoy our dinner in peace and quietness. 

 At daybreak on the following morning we took 



