Chinefe wherever he goes. It is faid that in one o f our eaftern
colonies, where Chinefe are encouraged to fettle, they pay to
the government the annual fum o f ten thoufand dollars for a
licence to keep gaming tables and fell opium.
Our route being neceffarily delayed for two days at this place,
on account o f an intervening neck o f land over which all the
baggage was to be tranfported, I prevailed upon our good-natured
companion Van-1a-gin to make a party to the lake See-
boo, to which he readily affented; and this was the only excur-
fron that we had in the courfe o f the whole journey. We
had a fplendid yacht and another made fall to it to ferve as a
kitchen; the dinner began the inllant we went on board and
ceafed only when we Hepped a-iliore. It confided o f at lead a
hundred diihes in fucceffion, among which were excellent eels,
freili caught in the lake and dreffed in a variety o f w a y s ; yet
the water was clear as cryftal. Vaft numbers o f barges were failing
to and fro, all gaily decorated with paint and gilding and
dreaming colours; the parties within them apparently all in
purfuit o f pleafure. The margins o f the lake were ftudded
with light aereal buildings, among which one o f more folidity
and o f greater extent than the reft was faid to belong to the
Emperor. T he grounds were enclofed with brick walls and
moftly planted with vegetables and fruit trees; but in fome
there appeared to be collections o f fuch ihrubs and flowers as are
mod efteemed in the country. . Among the fruits we got at this
place was the Jambo or rofe apple; and, for the firft time, freih
from the tree, but not yet perfectly ripe, two fpecies o f oranges,
the common China and the fmall. one ufually called the Man-
i darin
darin orange; pomgranates, bananas very indifferent , and
melons equally bad 5 apricots far fro,m being equal to thofe of
our own country; a large plumb, refembling the egg plumb,
alfo indifferent,- and peaches that might have been much improved
by judicious culture ; apples and pears that in England
we fliould have no hefitation in pronouncing execrably bad ;
and a fpecies o f fruit unknown to all o f us which the Chinefe
called Z ee-tfe, o f a fweet fickly tafte when ripe, otherwife mod
infufferably aftringent. Some o f the gentlemen thought they
faw hazel nuts among the fhruberry, but it: is more than probable
they were miftaken, A few bad grapes were fometimes
brought to us, but the party who went from hence to Cbu-fan
met with abundance o f this fruit, and o f very good quality,
growing upon ftandards ereCted in the feveral canals and forming
a lhade under which the barges could pafs,-
Among the mod confpicuous o f the ihrubs, on the borders o f
the lake See-bao, was the Hibifcus mutabilis, the Hib'tfcus Syriacus,
the Syringa Vulgaris or common lilac, and the paper mulberry;
we obferved alfo a fpecies o f Mimoja, a Crotularia, Crateegus,
Rofa, Rhamnus, Sambucus, Juniper and the cotton plant. O f
flowers we particularly noticed a large purple-coloured double
poppy which, with the Nelumbium that grew here in all the
ponds and a fpecies o f paonia, appear mod frequently on the
large iheets o f painted paper uled for covering the walls o f their
apartments. A great variety o f beautiful balfams were alfo
in flower, a fpecies o f Amaranthus, a Xeranthcinum and Gnapba-
lium. I mention only fuch plants as caught the eye in pafling,
for pur Chinefe cpmp^iuons, who had a much, better appetite
u for