54 



TEA DISTRICTS OF CHINA. Chap. III. 



which would sell at a profit further up the country. 

 I did not regret this delay, as it gave me an oppor- 

 tunity of seeing the old town, as well as a portion of 

 the country which was entirely new to me. 



During our stay here, my servant Wang, who was 

 a foolish, obstinate man, nearly got us all into a very 

 serious scrape. It seemed he had given one of our 

 boatmen a bad dollar in payment of a debt, which the 

 latter brought back, not being able to pass it in the 

 town. In the mean time Wang had been indulging 

 in a little sam-shoo (a Chinese spirit), and was in a 

 very excited state when the dollar was brought back. 

 He affirmed that it was not the same one he had 

 given the boatman, and that he would have nothing 

 to do with it. After some altercation, however, he 

 took it back, and set off into the city, as he said, to 

 change it himself. In a few minutes he returned 

 with a dollar's worth of copper cash strung over his 

 shoulders, exclaiming, in triumph, that "the dollar 

 was good enough, and that he had found no difficulty 

 in passing it, although the fool of a boatman had." 

 He now threw down the dollar's worth of cash to the 

 other, and asked him, in an enraged and excited 

 manner, if he was satisfied now. The latter took up 

 the strings of cash very quietly, and began counting 

 and examining them. In a second or two he returned 

 them, saying that they were so mixed and inferior 

 that it would be impossible to pay them away, except 

 at a considerable loss, and that he would not receive 

 them. He again demanded to be paid in good and 

 perfect coin. Wang now pretended to be very indig- 



