In the bird market I saw numbers of little birds for sale, for the Chinese are very fond of pets, and often take their birds out in a cage with them when they go for a walk, just as we should be accompanied by a dog.  They manage to tame them thoroughly, and when they meet a friend they will put the cage down, let the bird out, and give him something to eat while they have their chat.  I saw this done several times.

Our road next led us through part of the butchers’ quarter, where rats were hung up by their tails, and what looked very like skinned cats and dogs dangled beside them.  Whole cages full of these animals were exposed for sale alive.  Some travellers deny that the Chinese eat cats and dogs and rats, but there can be no question that they do so, though they may be the food only of the lower classes.  Nor do ’puppy dogs’ appear on the tables of the rich, except on one particular day in the year, when to eat them is supposed to bring good luck.  We passed a restaurant where I was shown the bill of fare in Chinese of which this is a translation:—­

BILL OF FARE FOR THE DAY.

One tael of black dog’s flesh eight cash. 
One tael weight of black dog’s fat three kandareems of silver. 
One large basin of black cat’s flesh one hundred cash. 
One small basin of black cat’s flesh fifty cash. 
One large bottle of common wine thirty-two cash. 
One small bottle of common wine sixteen cash. 
One large bottle of dark rice wine sixty-eight cash. 
One small basin of cat’s flesh thirty-four cash. 
One large bottle of plum wine sixty-eight cash. 
One small bottle of plum wine thirty-four cash. 
One large basin of dog’s flesh sixty-eight cash. 
One small bottle of pear wine thirty-four cash. 
One large bottle of timtsin wine ninety-six cash. 
One small bottle of timtsin wine forty-eight cash. 
One basin of congee three cash. 
One small plate of pickles three cash. 
One small saucer of ketchup or vinegar three cash. 
One pair of black cat’s eyes three kandareems of silver.

The fish here, as at Hongkong, are almost always kept alive in large tubs of water, with a fountain playing over them.  They even keep some sea-fish alive in salt water.  But it is in the north of China that they excel in rearing fish in large quantities.  At Foo-chow cormorant fishing may be seen to great perfection, and it is said to be a very amusing sight.

At last the city gates were reached, and we once more found ourselves outside the walls, and able to breathe again.  Here a halt was made, and several of the party got out of their chairs and walked, and we were able to chat, whilst we wended our way by a narrow path through nursery gardens and graveyards.  In fact the whole of the White Cloud Mountain is one vast cemetery—­it is the Chinese Holy of