Chap. XX. 



CHUSAN. 



341 



towns on the coast, they might have been procured 

 with the greatest ease. A shipload of emigrants had 

 been induced to embark for California only a short 

 time before, and emigration was carried on most 

 extensively both at Amoy and Canton. But I 

 wanted men from districts far inland, who were 

 well acquainted with the process of preparing the 

 teas. 



In order that I might accomplish this in a satis- 

 factory manner, Mr. Beale kindly lent me his aid. 

 His Compradore, who was a man highly respected 

 by the Chinese and well known, undertook to conduct 

 the negotiations. In the mean time I left Shanghae 

 for the tea-districts about Ning-po, in order to make 

 arrangements for another supply of seeds and young 

 plants from that country. 



In the end of June the weather, as usual, became 

 excessively hot, and it was dangerous to be out in 

 the sun, more particularly in an inland district. I 

 determined, therefore, to leave the old monastery 

 where I was staying, and take up my quarters on 

 some of the islands in the Chusan archipelago. 



I was anxious to see the island of Chusan, which 

 we had held for some years after the war, but which 

 is now once more in the possession of the Chinese. 

 I found it a bustling place, and apparently greatly 

 improved. The fine harbour was full of junks, some 

 bound for the south, others for the north, and all 

 seemed to make Chusan a kind of starting point. A 

 large town had been built along the shore, and it was 

 difficult to find out the old houses in which the 



