boats, darting about hither and thither in
shoals, somewhat made up for the absence of the panting tugs and paddle
steamers plying on the former stream, albeit there was no deficiency
here either of Fulton's invention, steamers running regularly a distance
of more than seven hundred miles up the Yang-tse-kiang; and, as for
houses and the signs of a numerous population, there were plenty of
these, although different to the bricks and mortar structures of our
more accustomed eyes in England, with the peaks of pagodas doing duty
for church spires, while the paddy fields planted with rice on either
hand offered a very good imitation of the low-lying banks of our great
mother river along the Essex shore.

"Aye, it's the very image, an' as loike as two pays," reiterated Tim
Rooney on my joining the two. "Don't ye think so, too, Misther Gray-
ham?"

"I wish you would leave the `ham' out of my name!" I replied laughing,
but a bit vexed all the same. "I think you might by this time, it's
getting quite a stale joke."

"Faix, I dunno what ye manes, sorr," he replied, pretending to be
puzzled, but the wink in his eye showing clearly that this density of
his mental powers on the point was only assumed. "Sure, an' I can't
hilp me brogue, ye know, if ye manes that?"

"Nobody says you can," said I rather shortly; for one or two of the
hands by the windlass bitts were grinning, as well as Sam Weeks who was
standing by, too, and I did not like being made fun of before them. "No
one could mistake you for anything else but a Paddy all the world over!"

"Begorra, an' I'm proud av that very same, Misther Gray-ham," he
retorted, not one whit put out by my words, as I imagined he would be.
"If other folks had as little to be ashamed av, it's a blissid worrld
sure this'd be, an' we'd be all havin' our wings sproutin' an' sailin'
aloft, loike the swate little cheroob, they says, looks arter poor
Jack!"

A general laugh followed this; and the captain just then coming out of
his cabin, where he had been busy getting all his papers and bills of
lading together, and ordering the jolly-boat to be lowered to pull him
ashore, Tim turned away to see to the job--so, he had the best of me in
our little skirmish, albeit we were nevertheless good friends
afterwards.

In the afternoon, Captain Gillespie came off to the ship again, with a
gang of coolies under a native comprador. These were sent by the
consignees to help discharge the cargo int