ClIAP. V. 
VISIT TO DR. CHANG. 
77 
watch, which they seemed to admire very much. I was 
frequently requested, as a great favour, to allow them to 
see the works, and to hold it to their ears, in order that 
they might hear the sound which it made. The old 
mandarin now led me round his house, and showed me 
all the curiosities which it contained, and of which he 
was a great collector. Old bronzes, carved woods, spe- 
cimens of porcelain, and other articles of that kind, were 
arranged with great taste in several of the rooms. 
From the house we proceeded to the garden, but as it 
was winter, and the trees leafless, I could form but little 
idea of the rarity or beauty of the plants which it con- 
tained. I took my leave, after drinking some more tea, 
promising to visit the old man again whenever I re- 
turned to Ning-po. 
I visited also at this time several other mandarins 
who had gardens, and from all of them I received the 
greatest civility. Some small articles which I brought 
out with me as presents were of the greatest use, not only 
in procuring me a civil reception, but also in enabling 
me to get plants or cuttings of rare species which were 
only found in the gardens of the rich, and which, of 
course, were not for sale. 
The level plain on which the city of Ning-po is built 
is at least thirty miles across, surrounded on all sides by 
a circle of hills, but opening on the east to the sea, 
where the town of Chinhae stands, and forms, as it 
were, the seaport town of Ning-po. The view from the 
hills is very fine — the broad extensive plain forming, as 
it were, a vast amphitheatre, traversed by beautiful 
winding rivers and by canals in all directions; thus 
