Chap. VIII. 
PERSONAL ADVENTURE. 
131 
about me in all directions, and a brick struck me with 
great force on the back, and nearly brought me to the 
ground. I was stunned for a few seconds, and leaned 
against the wall to breathe and recover myself, thinking 
that I was now comparatively safe as I was out on the 
open road. I was soon undeceived, however, for the 
rascals again surrounded me, and relieved me of several 
articles which had escaped them before. As the whole 
neighbourhood was evidently a bad one, it would have 
been madness to have taken shelter in any of the houses, 
and I therefore had to struggle with the robbers for 
nearly a mile, sometimes fighting, and sometimes run- 
ning, until I got out of their territory, and near the 
more populous parts of the town. The plight I was now 
in may easily be conceived, but, taking everything into 
account, I came off better than might have been ex- 
pected. 
On my way home, having neither hat nor umbrella, I 
suffered greatly from exposure to the sun, which, in the 
south of China, is very powerful on a clear day, even in 
spring. I would have gladly gone into a shop and 
bought a Chinese hat, but the rascals had not left me 
even a copper cash for the purpose. Fortunately I had 
left my watch at home, otherwise that would have been 
taken amongst the first things, as Chinese thieves are 
very partial to watches and know their value well. 
The Honourable F. C. Drummond, with whom I was 
staying at the time, informed me afterwards that the place 
where I had been attacked was one of the worst in the 
suburbs of Canton, and that three gentlemen of his 
acquaintance, a year or two before, had come off even 
