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-13-

Immediately after breakfast we started out with Mrs. Young in her car. Our first stop was at Tai's Linen Shop, where Bill picked out some handkerchiefs and I got two ecru linen luncheon sets. The hadnwork on them was beautiful, and Mr. Tai wanted to know if I would like the napkins monogrammed. I said that would be very nice, but there was not time. However, he assured me that he could have them monogrammed, and Bill's hankies as well, and down to the ship by two o'clock. The two sets came to about $11, and the sixteen monograms were finished, and delivered to us at the customs jetty at two. 

From Tai's we went to the Zoo, a pretty little place, although most of the animals were huddled away from the cold, in little houses well covered with straw and thatch. Floyd Smith met us there, and took us around. Bill was much interested in a pair of blue sheep that belong to Smith, and made a deal to buy them later on. 

Our next step was to see Pere Piel, and his Pere Heude Museum. We saw a marvelous archeological collection, of ancient Chinese art, and also the entomological collection, which is housed in the neatest insect cabinets I have ever seen. It was delightful to see the old priest, but Bill was feeling pretty shaky, and the museum was cold as the Antarctic, so we hurried him away. 

We had a brief drive through the native city, pretty ^[[d]]epressing with its endless acres of poverty, and millions of human beings living in hovels and sampans. The water front was lined with junks, many of them with enormous eyes painted on the bow, and here,we were told, thousands of persons live all their lives. Meals were being cooked and laundry washed on board the wretched little boats. 

We had a momentary glimpse at the Museum of the Royal Asiatic Society, and saw Mr. and Mrs. Sowerby again. Then we were hurried off to the New Asia Hotel, where our Chinese friends had planned a luncheon for us. We had nine or ten courses of perfectly delicious food, much tastier to our palates than the rather flat Japanese menus. There was roast duck, roast quail, ham, octopus, shrimps, abalone, Pekin duck (crisp duck skin served on bamboo curd patties), various mixed stews or fish or meat with vegetables, three soup courses, one of shark's fin soup, one of bird's nest (the saliva of swallows) and pigeon's eggs, and one of mushroom. With it we drank numerous glasses of Chinese wine, and were disappointed because we had to rush away before the rice course in order to make our boat. 

We just made the tender, and sailed at three on the Corfu.

[[underlined]] February 17 - At Sea [[/underlined]]

From time to time all day we could see fleets of Chinese junks, some with quite elaborate rigging, and some with one almost square sail of rice-straw matting. In the morning Bill counted 152 all in sight at the same time. The islands in thee distance looked desolate and forbidding, but apparently they support a large population of fishermen. 

[[underlined]] February 18 [[/underlined]]

In the evening we came into HongKong harbor. When we came up on deck after dinner, there were thousands of lights twinkling merrily at us from the mountain side, and the fairy-land picture was 

Transcription Notes:
Used ^[[text]] to indicate handwritten text in typed page as instructed by TC. - @siobhanleachman