They soon remarked that I had no stool for my head.  They offered me one of theirs, and would not be satisfied until I accepted it.  It is a Chinese custom to use, instead of pillows, little stools of bamboo or strong pasteboard.  They are not stuffed, but are rounded at the top, and are about eight inches high, and from one to three feet long.  They are far more comfortable than would at first be imagined.

13th July.  On hurrying upon deck early in the morning to view the mouth of the Si-Kiang, or Tigris, I found that we had already passed it, and were a long way up the river.  I saw it, however, subsequently, on my return from Canton to Hong-Kong.  The Si-Kiang, which is one of the principal rivers of China, and which, at a short distance before entering the sea, is eight nautical miles broad, is so contracted by hills and rocks at its mouth, that it loses one half of its breadth.  The surrounding country is fine, and a few fortifications on the summits of some of the hills, give it rather a romantic appearance.

Near Hoo-man, or Whampoa, the stream divides into several branches; that which flows to Canton being called the Pearl stream.  Although Whampoa of itself is an insignificant place, it is worthy of note, as being the spot where, from the shallowness of the water, all deeply laden ships are obliged to anchor.

Immense plantations of rice, skirted by bananas and other fruit-trees, extend along the banks of the Pearl stream.  The trees are sometimes prettily arranged in alleys, but are planted far less for ornament than for use.  Rice always requires a great deal of moisture, and the trees are planted in order to impart a greater degree of solidity to the soil, and also to prevent the possibility of its being washed away by the force of the stream.  Pretty little country houses of the genuine Chinese pattern, with their sloping, pointed, indented roofs, and their coloured tiles inlaid with different hues, were scattered here and there, under groups of shady trees, while pagodas (called Tas) of various styles, and from three to nine stories high, raised their heads on little eminences in the neighbourhood of the villages, and attracted attention at a great distance.  A number of fortifications, which, however, look more like roofless houses than anything else, protect the stream.

For miles below Canton, the villages follow one another in quick succession.  They are mostly composed of miserable huts, built for the most part on piles driven into the river, and before them lie innumerable boats, which also serve as dwellings.