China and lower Bengal Author:George Wingrove Cooke Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: APPROACH TO HONGKONG. 9 bundle was seen a small human figure, squatted upon its haunches. The little thing gradually picked itself up, came out of its bundle,... more » and fell upon its knees before the master of the house, putting up its hands in the posture of a suppliant. The Chinaman rose from his seat, waved his hand with dignity, and the little lady arose. As she did so, he said to his European guests, " My wife." My wife made a slight salutation around, and then, retiring into her handkerchief again, was covered up, and was borne from the room as she entered. The guests were a little surprised to hear afterwards that this magnificent husband was the chief of the recent Chinese insurrections, and that one of the guns upon the Governor's Hill had been laid to command this particular house. CHAPTER IL HONGKONG. Appearance of the Island—First Impressions of the City of Victoria— Difficulty in obtaining Quarters—Precautions—Aspect of Victoria City—Ships in the Harbour—Expectations of a Junk-Hunt—The Raleigh. Hongkong, May 22. After long looking out for the "Asses' Ears," our first promised landmark, the rock appears, at the very point where it had been reckoned upon. We steamed on and on into an archipelago of islet rocks, with a sort of green mildew upon them, but no mark of habitation or of animals. Oh ! where is the beautiful vegetation of Ceylon and Penang ? Then an officer points out, not far a-head, the island of Hongkong, with Victoria Peak. It appears to us an irregular line of broken, barren highlands, almost mixed up with the higher mountains of the main-land, which have clouds skimming under their summits, and a large pale sun setting behind them. A thin mist hangs around. An enthusiastic Scotchman says it is something like the western islands of Scotland,...« less