d the bearers ran us down
the hill again very quickly, so that we suffered no discomfort.

By the time the city walls were reached, the rain had ceased, and a
glorious red sunset glowed over the roofs, glinting through the holes
in the mats, and lighting up all the vermilion boards and gold
characters with which the houses and shops are decorated. The shadowy
streets were now full of incense or rather joss-stick smoke, for
every house and every shop has a large altar inside, and a small one
without, before which joss-sticks are burnt more or less all day long.

The streets seemed more crowded even than usual. Each of our bearers
struck out a line of his own, and it was not until we reached Shameen
that we all met again. Some of the ladies had been rather frightened
at finding themselves alone in the dark, crowded city. We were only
just in time to dress and go to dinner, after which we examined an
interesting collection, chiefly of coins, in process of formation for
the French Exhibition. They are carefully arranged, and will be most
valuable and interesting when complete. The knife-and-fork coins are
particularly curious and rare, some of them being worth as much as
5,000 dollars each, as curiosities. All the coins have holes in the
centre for convenience of carriage.

_Sunday, March 4th_.--There is a fine cathedral at Shameen, in which
the services are beautifully performed. A lady kindly lent us her
house-boat, and after service we rowed across to Fa-ti, to see the
gardens of Canton. They are laid out on an island a very short way up
the river. The gardens are very wonderful, and contain plants cut into
all sorts of shapes, such as men, birds, beasts, fishes, boats,
houses, furniture, &c. Some are full-sized, others only in miniature.
But almost all must have required considerable time and patience to
reach their present growth, for their ages vary from 10 to 150 years.
There are other plants not so elaborately trained, but the effect of
the whole is rather too formal to be pretty. I managed to bring home
some euphorbias, cut into the form of junks, and some banyan trees,
one 100 and one 50 years old. I believe they are the first that have
ever reached England alive and have flourished. Not far from Fa-ti are
the duck-hatching establishments, and still further up the river are
the duck-sampans, where the crowds of ducks are reared. They are sent
out every morning to get their own living and return at night. Until