104 



TEA DISTRICTS OF CHINA. 



Chap. VI. 



agreed to on my part, and the business was appa- 

 rently arranged to Mr. Wang's satisfaction ; and no 

 wonder ; for, having, kept the chop, which I after- 

 wards got translated at Ning-po, I found that five 

 dollars, instead, of twenty-four, was the sum charged 

 for the boat to Nechow; so that the Wangs had, 

 after all, made ten by the transaction. 



Such is the character of the Chinese. They have 

 no idea of telling the truth unless it suits their in- 

 terests to do so; in fact I used often to think that 

 they rather preferred lying unless it was against their 

 interests. 



All our arrangements being complete, the seeds 

 put up, and the plants packed, I hired a chair, and 

 on the afternoon of the 20th of November bade 

 adieu to Wang's family, and to the country of the 

 far-famed Sung-lo-shan. The day was wet and 

 stormy, and I had a most disagreeable ride to Tun- 

 che. Towards evening the gale increased, and the 

 rain fell in torrents. I had procured some oil-paper 

 to protect my feet and knees from the rain, which 

 was blown in upon me in front, and my men who 

 accompanied me also covered themselves with the 

 same material, but it was of very little use to us, and 

 long before we reached our destination we were 

 drenched to the skin. To make matters worse, it 

 became quite dark before we reached Tun-che, and 

 it was with great difficulty that my chairbearers could 

 keep on the narrow road, and prevent themselves 

 from slipping and falling down. Our road led along 

 the high bank of the river, and was rather dan- 



