Chap. I. BAY OF HONG-KONG— VICTOKI A. 



3 



gers of the ship. By eleven o'clock at night all was 

 perfectly quiet, Captain Potts and myself had our 

 chairs taken up on deck, and we sat down to breathe 

 the cool air and enjoy the scene by which we were 

 surrounded. 



It was a clear moonlight night; such a night as 

 one sees only in the sunny lands of the East. Those 

 who have anchored in the Bay of Hong-kong by 

 moonlight will agree with me that the scene at such 

 a time is one of the grandest and most beautiful 

 which can be imagined. On this evening the land- 

 locked bay was smooth as glass, scarcely a breath of 

 air fanned the water, and as the clear moonbeams 

 played upon its surface it seemed covered with glit- 

 tering gems. Numerous vessels, from all parts of 

 the world, lay dotted around us, their dark hulls and 

 tall masts looming large in the distance. The view 

 was bounded on all sides by rugged and barren hills, 

 and it required no great stretch of fancy to imagine 

 oneself on a highland lake. 



The white town of Victoria was distinctly visible 

 from where we lay, and very pretty it appeared in 

 the moonlight. It is built along the southern shores 

 of the bay, and in some places extends a considerable 

 way up the side of the hill. The background of the 

 picture consisted of a chain of rugged mountains, 

 which are nearly two thousand feet above the level of 

 the sea. Altogether the view was a charming one. 



When I went on shore the following morning I 

 found a great change had taken place since 1845 ; 

 many parts of the town, then bare, were now densely 



b 2 



