Chap. VI. 



THE NEW BERBEKIS. 



99 



which I have endeavoured in the last chapter to lay 

 before the reader. 



In the mean time I had not lost sight of the beau- 

 tiful new Berberis, which I have already described, 

 and which I was most anxious to procure, in order to 

 introduce it into Europe. I had frequently desired 

 Wang to endeavour to procure me some young plants 

 of it from some garden in the neighbourhood, as I 

 could not believe it to be so rare as only to exist in 

 the old place where I had first seen it. However, 

 he either could not find it, or, what was more pro- 

 bable, he gave himself no trouble about the matter. 

 Knowing the potent influence of dollars, I called 

 three or four of the family around me one morning, 

 and, showing them the leaf which I had brought 

 with me, promised a dollar to any one of them who 

 would bring me a small plant of the same shrub. 

 One of them went out immediately, and, to my sur- 

 prise and pleasure, returned in less than five minutes 

 with a fresh leaf of the plant in question. " That 

 will do," said I ; " that is just the thing I want : 

 bring me a young plant with good roots, and I will 

 give you the promised reward." They now held a 

 consultation amongst themselves in an under tone, 

 and at last said that the plant in question had some 

 peculiar medical virtues, and that the lucky possessor 

 would not part with it. ".Sell me this one," said I, 

 "and you will be able to buy a dozen others with 

 the money." " No," one of them replied, " my 

 uncle, in whose garden it is growing, does not want 

 money ; he is rich enough ; but he requires a little 



h 2 



