6th July. For the first few days after entering the Chinese sea, we
sailed pretty well in the same fashion we had done in the Pacific--
proceeding slowly and quietly on our way. Today we beheld the coast
of China for the first time, and towards evening we were not more
than thirty-three miles from Macao. I was rather impatient for the
following morning. I longed to find my darling hope realized, of
putting my foot upon Chinese ground. I pictured the mandarins with
their high caps, and the ladies with their tiny feet, when in the
middle of the night the wind shifted, and on the 7th of July we had
been carried back 115 miles. In addition to this, the glass fell so
low, that we dreaded a Tai-foon, which is a very dangerous kind of
storm, or rather hurricane, that is very frequent in the Chinese sea
during the months of July, August, and September. It is generally
first announced by a black cloud on the horizon, with one edge dark
red, and the other half-white; and this is accompanied by the most
awful torrents of rain, by thunder, lightning, and the violent
winds, which arise simultaneously on all sides, and lash the waters
up mountains high.
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