But before going further, let me tell you who we all are, where we are,
and what we are doing.
Of course I am aware that it is exceedingly impolite to put oneself
first, but in the present instance you must excuse it; for besides
being the oldest, I occupy the position of guide, philosopher and
friend to Charley, and my story would scarcely be intelligible or
complete if I did not begin with myself. Well, to begin: I am one of
those unfortunate individuals known in China as "cha-szes," or
tea-tasters; doomed for my sins, or the hope of one day getting rich,
to pass the time in smelling, tasting and buying teas for the great
mercantile house or "hong" of Young Hyson & Co. The place at which you
find me is Hankow, on the great Yang Tsze Kiang, or river, some six
hundred miles from its mouth. If you have a map of China, and will find
on it the Yang Tsze, by tracing with your finger--if your map is at all
correct--you will discover the cities of Chin Kiang, Nanking, Nganking,
Kiu Kiang, and finally, at the junction of the river Han with the Yang
Tsze, Wuchang. Hankow will probably not be on your map, but on the
north bank of the Yang Tsze, just at the point of junction with the
Han, is this important trading port, thrown open to foreigners in 1861,
after the signing of the treaty of Tein-Tsin.
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