en in an official despatch we find him writing of it as
follows:--

With the exception perhaps of Chusan, I have as yet seen no place in
China which, in point of beauty of scenery, rivals Foochow. The Min
river passes to the sea between two mountain ranges, which, wherever
the torrents have not washed away every particle of earth from the
surface, are cultivated by the industrious Chinese in terraces to
their very summits. These mountain ranges close in upon its banks
during the last part of its course: at one time confining it to a
comparatively narrow channel, and at another suffering it to expand
into a lake; but in the vicinity of the Pagoda Island they separate,
leaving between them the plain on which Foochow stands. This plain is
diversified by hill and dale, and comprises the Island of Nantai,
which is the site of the foreign settlement. At the season of my
visit, both hills and plain were chiefly covered with wheat; but I was
informed that the soil is induced, by irrigation and manure applied
liberally, to yield in many cases, besides the wheat crop, two rice
crops during the year. We walked with perfect freedom, both about the
town and into the surrounding country. Nothing could be more courteous
than the people of the villages, or more quaint than the landscape,
consisting mainly of hillocks dotted with horseshoe graves, and
monuments to the honour of virtuous maidens and faithful widows,
surrounded by patches of wheat and vegetables. Kensal Green or Pere la
Chaise, cultivated as kitchen gardens, would not inaptly represent the
general character of the rural districts of China which I have
visited.

In some respects, however, the impression was not so satisfactory. In his
journal he says:--

The people whom we met in our peregrinations were perfectly civil. The
Consul, too, and Europeans were civil likewise. They were willing to
give me information. I do not know that I carried much away with me,
except the general impression, that our trade is carried on on
principles which are dishonest as regards the Chinese, and
demoralising to our own people.

[Sidenote: American missionaries.]

At Foochow, I saw one of the American missionaries, a very worthy man
I should think, but not of the stamp of Mr. Burns. He had been about
eight years at Foochow, and he computed the converts