. Thinkee nothing to make
coat'ees for three gentlemans," he observed, as he pointed to the
uniforms of every possible description hanging up in the shop. He at
once produced a midshipman's uniform, which he kept as a specimen to
show of what he was capable, and having taken their measures, he
promised that all three should be ready the following evening, together
with every other article they might please to order. They, of course,
wanted shirts, socks, caps, and shoes, swords and belts, all of which,
to their surprise, he had in stock--indeed, he showed, like most of his
countrymen, that he had a keen eye for business, and would undertake to
fit out a ship's company, from an admiral down to a powder-monkey.

Leaving the town, they climbed to the top of Victoria Peak, from whence
they could look down on the harbour, which had the appearance of a
picturesque lake, dotted over with vessels of every rig, while they
obtained a good view of the town itself which extended along the shore
for nearly four miles. Below on one side was the Kowloon Peninsula, now
covered with military tents, while on the south side were seen
numberless islands, with the wide expanse of the China Sea beyond.

"Now let us pay a visit to the Happy Valley," said Tom, as they
descended the heights.

"It must be a pleasant place to live in. I should like to take up my
abode there," observed Billy.

"Wait until you reach it before you form an opinion; it has a good many
inhabitants already," observed Tom, who had heard all about the
Wang-ne-chung from Charley Roy.

Billy changed his opinion when they got to the place, which is the
burial ground of Hong-kong. On entering the Protestant cemetery, they
saw a column erected to the memory of the officers and men of the 59th
Regiment, which regiment, in the course of nine years, lost 644 persons,
including a number of women and upwards of 100 children; the greater
number cut down not by the weapons of the enemy, but by the pestiferous
climate.

On their way to the town they met a soldier, holding a Chinaman by his
pigtail, which he had twisted two or three times round his hand. On
asking the Englishman what he was about to do with his prisoner, his
reply was--

"Why, sir, this here chap is a coolie recruit; he has received his pay
in advance, and was bolting, when I clapped eyes on him, and am taking
him back to the barracks."

The coolie corps had just been raised to act as carriers to the