JOURNEY 



TO THE 



TEA DISTRICTS OF CHINA. 



CHAPTER I. 



Arrive at Hong-kong — Excitement on the arrival of the mail — - 

 Centipede boats — Bay of Hong-kong by moonlight — Town of 

 Victoria — Its trees and gardens — Mortality amongst the troops 



— Its cause — A remedy suggested — Sail for Shanghae — Its 

 importance as a place of trade — New English town and shipping 



— The gardens of the foreign residents. 



On the 14th of August, 1848, the Peninsular and 

 Oriental Company's steam-ship " Braganza," in which 

 I was a passenger, dropped her anchor in the Bay of 

 Hong-kong, at nine o'clock in the evening. In a few 

 seconds our decks were crowded with the inhabitants of 

 the place, all anxious to meet their friends, or to hear 

 the news from home. As I did not intend to go on 

 shore until the following morning, I had sufficient lei- 

 sure to survey the busy and exciting scene around me. 



Amongst the numerous boats which came off to us 

 there were two which presented a most striking ap- 

 pearance. They were very long and narrow, and 

 were each propelled by about fifty oars. They had 

 been built by the English and American merchants 



B 



