36 
WANDERINGS IN CHINA. 
Chap. II. 
remainder of the journey, and also articles which would 
sell at a profit farther up the country. I did not regret 
this delay, as it gave me an opportunity of seeing the 
old town, as well as a portion of the country which was 
entirely new to me. 
During our stay here my servant Wang, who was a 
foolish obstinate man, nearly got us all into a very 
serious scrape. It seemed he had given one of our 
boatmen a bad dollar in payment of a debt, which the 
latter brought back, not being able to pass it in the 
town. In the mean time Wang had been indulging in 
a little sam-shoo (a Chinese spirit), and was in a very 
excited state when the dollar was brought back. He 
affirmed that it was not the same one he had given the 
boatman, and that he would have nothing to do with it. 
After some altercation, however, he took it back, and set 
off into the city, as he said, to change it himself. In a 
few minutes he returned with a dollar's worth of copper 
cash strung over his shoulders, exclaiming, in triumph, 
that " the dollar was good enough, and that he had 
found no difficulty in passing it, although the fool of a 
boatman had." He now threw down the dollar's worth 
of cash to the other, and asked him, in an enraged and 
excited manner, if he was satisfied now. The latter took 
up the strings of cash very quietly, and began counting 
and examining them. In a second or two he returned 
them, saying that they were so mixed and inferior that 
it would be impossible to pay them away, except at a 
considerable loss, and that he would not receive them. 
He again demanded to be paid in good and perfect coin. 
Wang now pretended to be very indignant. " I gave 
