Chap. II. 
CHINESE GARDEN. 
29 
as the Aberdeen gentleman who, some years since, 
when coffee was not so common as it is now, complained 
that " his landlady did not give him the thick as well as 
the thin." Sugar is never used by the Chinese with 
their tea. 
The mandarin, after making various inquiries about 
us — what our names were ? what our occupations ? how 
long we had been from home ? and more particularly how 
old we were ? — and after minutely inspecting our clothes, 
the coloured waistcoats apparently gratifying him very 
much, asked us to walk out and see the grounds around 
the mansion. The house stands near the base of the 
hill, and the garden lies behind it : the whole is really 
pretty ; the large banyan-trees overhanging the walks, 
and the huge and rugged rocks forming caves and shades 
from the sun. A very fine spring issues from the hill- 
side, from beneath a rock. This water the proprietor 
praised very much, and we all drank heartily of it to 
please him : really such a spring, in a place like this, is 
invaluable. A telescope was brought to us, which he evi- 
dently considered a great curiosity. He placed it upon a 
large stone table, carefully adjusting it to the desired view, 
and then asked us to look through it ; but we were not 
accustomed to use the instrument in that way, and took 
it up in our hands in the usual manner. He seemed 
surprised that we could see through it this way. After 
showing us all the curiosities in the garden, he took us 
back into the house, where tea was again set before us, 
with the addition of six or seven kinds of cake, which, 
however good they may be considered by the Chinese, I 
must confess I did not like. I have since tasted excel- 
