Chap. X. SING-HOO'S SPECULATION. 



195 



I attempted to reason with him on the folly and 

 impropriety of his conduct, but his excuse was plau- 

 sible enough. " You see," said he, "it will be neces- 

 sary to have a coolie to carry our baggage, but we 

 have reduced it so much that he will not have half a 

 load. Now the carriage of this cloth will not add 

 anything to the expenses, and the man's load will be 

 properly balanced. And," added he, with great 

 gravity, " travellers in my country who have a goodly 

 portion of luggage are always considered more re- 

 spectable than those who have little." 



While this conversation was going on we were 

 sailing rapidly down the stream in the direction of 

 Hokow, a large town about ninety or a hundred le 

 westward from the city of Quan-sin-fbo. The valley 

 through which the river flows is thickly studded with 

 little hills, and far away to the right and left lofty 

 mountains were seen rising in all their grandeur. I 

 observed many curious rocks, shaped like little hills, 

 but without a vestige of vegetation of any kind upon 

 them. They stood in the midst of the plain like 

 rude monuments, and had a curious and strange ap- 

 pearance. 



The country through which I passed is an exten- 

 sive rice district. No very large trees were observed ; 

 and the tallow-tree, which forms such an important 

 branch of agriculture in the countries nearer the sea, 

 is scarcely ever met with, or only seen here and 

 there. Camphor-trees are common, but they do not 

 attain the size they do in many other parts of the 

 country. Nevertheless, on passing down the river, 



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