Chap. XVI. 
A MISFORTUNE. 
253 
chase a bamboo and some rope by which he could carry 
the luggage on his shoulders. In the mean time I busied 
myself in packing up my plants and other things in as 
small bulk as possible. 
When Sing-Hoo returned with the ropes and bam- 
boo he got the luggage on his shoulders, and we left the 
inn, in which we had spent a most uncomfortable night. 
It had been raining heavily for many hours, and it 
was now pouring in torrents. The streets were com- 
pletely flooded, and almost impassable. We plunged 
along, however, and were soon clear of the city, and on 
the great north road which leads to the passes across the 
Bohea mountains. When about a mile from the city 
walls, the bamboo with which Sing-Hoo was carrying 
our luggage suddenly snapped in two, and the whole of 
our effects were deposited in the mud and water with 
which the road was flooded. This part of the road was 
in the midst of a rice-field ; no houses were near into 
which we could go for shelter, or where it was possible 
to purchase another bamboo. 
I confess I felt a strong inclination to lose my temper, 
and to give utterance to some ill-natured reproaches ; 
but when I looked at my servant, who stood covered 
with perspiration and dripping with rain, I had not the 
heart to reproach him. With the broken pieces of the 
bamboo in his hand, and the luggage (which included 
his own packages of grass-cloth) scattered about in the 
mud and water, he looked perfectly miserable. 
About half a mile farther on I observed one of those 
sheds which are often built across the road in this coun- 
try for the accommodation of travellers, and determined 
