92 
SPPJNG, 
crabsj which, from their abundance in the market, 
seemed to be admired articles of diet amons; the 
poorer Chinese. For half-a-mace I purchased two 
strings, each of nine fulhgrowii “crabs with the 
hairy hand.” 
In many a sunshiny walk to the Bubbling Wells 
or to the Pagoda, my only and nearly constant com- 
panions were the mina-birds and the ]3oor worm 
Avhose peculiarities I have described below. I was 
familiar with these two all the way there and back 
again, for the huge-bodied buffiilo and the yelping 
dog, the oblique-eyed child or the little-footed 
woman, were but casual roadside acquaintances. 
The sky at this time of tlie year (the month of 
IVIarch), <md Avhen the weather is fine, is of a pale 
blue, and the fields, with their fresh crops of young 
Avheat, are of a beautiful emerald-green. At this 
period the first swallow makes its aj)pearance, 
harbinger of spring, always welcomed with joy. 
The quaint little children spread over the fields, 
which are not enclosed by hedges, were always to 
