dangerous China Sea. A few days afterwards they reached Hong-Kong, which
has been an English settlement since 1842. Here Madame Pfeiffer made no
long stay, for she desired to see China and the Chinese with as little
intermixture of the European element as possible. So she ascended the
Pearl river, the banks of which are covered with immense plantations of
rice, and studded with quaint little country-houses, of the genuine
Chinese pattern, with sloping, pointed roofs, and mosaics of variously
coloured tiles, to Canton, one of the great commercial centres of the
Flowery Land. As she approached she surveyed with wonder the animated
scene before her. The river was crowded with ships and inhabited boats.
Junks there were, almost as large as the old Spanish galleons, with poops
impending far over the water, and covered in with a roof, like a house.
Men-of-war there were, flat, broad, and long, mounted with twenty or
thirty guns, and adorned in the usual Chinese fashion, with two large
painted eyes at the prow, that they may be the better able to find their
way. Mandarins' boats she saw, with doors, and sides, and windows gaily
painted, with carved galleries, and tiny silken flags fluttering from
every point. And flower-boats she also saw; their upper galleries decked
with flowers, garlands, and arabesques, as if these were barks fitted out
for the service of Titania and her fairy company. The interior is
divided into one large apartment and a few cabinets, which are lighted by
windows of fantastic design. Mirrors and silk hangings embellish the
walls, while the enchanting scene is completed with an ample garniture of
glass chandeliers and coloured paper lanterns, interspersed with lovely
little baskets of fresh flowers.

It is not necessary to attempt a description of Canton, with its pagodas,
houses, shops, and European factories. Let us direct our attention to
the manners, customs, and peculiarities of its inhabitants. As to dress
and appearance, the costume of both sexes, among the lower orders,