44 
WANDERINGS IN CHINA. 
Chap. II. 
in any other part of China, and which was quite new to 
me. It was during one of my daily rambles that I 
saw the first specim en. About half a mile distant from 
where I was I observed a noble-looking fir-tree, about 
sixty feet in height, having a stem as straight as the 
Norfolk Island pine, and weeping branches like the 
willow of St. Helena. Its branches grew at first 
at right angles to the main stem, then described a 
graceful curve upwards, and bent again at their points. 
From these main branches others long and slender 
hung down perpendicularly, and gave the whole tree a 
weeping and graceful form. It reminded me of some 
of those large and gorgeous chandeliers, sometimes seen 
in theatres and public halls in Europe. 
What could it be? It evidently belonged to the 
pine tribe, and was more handsome and ornamental 
than them all. I walked, — no, — to tell the plain truth, 
I ran up to the place where it grew, much to the sur- 
prise of my attendants, who evidently thought I had 
gone crazy. When I reached the spot it appeared more 
beautiful even than it had done in the distance. Its 
stem was perfectly straight, like Cryptomeria, and its 
leaves were formed like those of the well-known arbor- 
vitse, only much more slender and graceful. 
This specimen was fortunately covered with a quantity 
of ripe fruit, a portion of which I was most anxious to 
secure. The tree was growing in some grounds belong- 
ing to a country inn, and was the property of the inn- 
keeper. A wall intervened between us and it, which I 
confess I felt very much inclined to get over ; but re- 
membering that I was acting Chinaman, and that such 
