96 
WANDERINGS IN CHINA. 
Chap. VII. 
embroidery, such as I formerly noticed at Ning-po, 
cotton and cotton goods, porcelain, ready-made clothes 
of all kinds beautifully lined with skins and fur, bamboo 
pipes six feet long and nicely arranged in the shops, 
pictures, bronzes, and numerous curiosity-shops for the 
sale of carved bamboo ornaments, old pieces of porcelain, 
and things of that kind, to which the Chinese attach 
great value. But articles of food form of course the 
most extensive trade of all ; and it is sometimes a diffi- 
cult matter to get through the streets for the immense 
quantities of fish, pork, fruit, and vegetables which 
crowd the stands in front of the shops. Besides the 
more common kinds of vegetables, the shepherds' purse, 
and a kind of trefoil or clover, are extensively used 
amongst the natives here ; and really these things, when 
properly cooked, more particularly the latter, are not 
bad. Dining-rooms, tea-houses, and bakers' shops, are 
met with at every step, from the poor man who carries 
his kitchen or bakehouse upon his back, and beats upon 
a piece of bamboo to apprise the neighbourhood of his 
presence, and whose whole establishment is not worth 
a dollar, to the most extensive tavern or tea-garden 
crowded with hundreds of customers. For a few cash 
(1000 or 1200 = one dollar) a Chinese can dine in a 
sumptuous manner upon his rice, fish, vegetables, and 
tea ; and I fully believe that in no country in the world 
is there less real misery and want than in China. The 
very beggars seem a kind of jolly crew, and are kindly 
treated by the inhabitants. 
Shanghae is by far the most important station for 
foreign trade on the coast of China, and is consequently 
