uantity of Swatow
oranges, about the size of heavy bullets. They could not understand the
native seller, and permitted him to take his pay out of a handful of
coins; but he took next to nothing, and they were confident they were
not cheated, for he took the same coins from the hands of all.

Among the pedlers all sorts of vegetables were for sale, and the
groper-fish, shark-fin soup, meats minced with herbs and onions, poultry
cut up and sold in pieces, stewed goose, bird's-nest soup, rose-leaf
soup with garlic--heaven with the other place, Scott called it--and
scores of other eatables for native palates, and some of them would suit
the taste of Americans.

Taking their places in the vehicles, the tourists were borne through the
principal streets. There are only five or six thousand English in the
city, and Hong-Kong is substantially Chinese. At about eleven, the
coolies toted the sedans to the top of the peak, where an observatory is
located, following a zigzag path. The approach of every vessel of any
consequence is signalled from this elevation by flags. The ascent is
difficult, it is so steep; and the bearers of the sedans had to stop and
rest occasionally. The view is magnificent, and the consul pointed out
the objects of interest.

It was easier to get down the steep than to get up, and the party
reached the hotel at the appointed time. The lunch was ready, though it
was hardly first-class. When the captain asked about the expense of
living for Europeans in China, the colonel said that the price per day
at the best hotels was from four to six dollars, and that one could not
keep house for less than four thousand dollars a year. In summer the
people live in bungalows on the peaks, where quite a town has grown up.
The captain paid the bill in English gold. In the afternoon the company
made an excursion by a regular steamer to Macao, on the other side of
the river, forty miles distant. It has been a Portuguese settlement
since 1557; but it had little interest for the tourists, and they
returned by the same steamer, and went on board of the ship.

The colonel dined on board, and the captain announced his intention to
go to Canton the following day. The next morning the tourists were on
board of the steamer for that city. The colonel could not go with them;
but he procured a couple of English guides to attend them, one of whom
was Mr. Inch and the other Mr. Larch.

"Kwang-tung is the native name of the city to whi