That part of the bay of Hong Kong which skirts the city of Victoria is faced with a substantial sea-wall of stone. The city is built at the foot of the mountains, which, in some places, have been graded to make room for the buildings on the principal street, which winds along the shore of the bay, and is called the “Queen’s Road.” Streets leading from this avenue wind around the declivities of the mountains, upon whose terraced sides are perched the houses of foreigners. From the highest terraces, where some of the finest residences are situated, there is an extensive view of the harbor, which, with its series of bays, white with shipping, stretches far away in the distance. The most desirable locations in the city have distinctive names; and beside the Government House, there is the Carlton Terrace, Spring Gardens, the Hermitage, the Albany, etc. Our friends resided at Spring Gardens, and occupied a large, rambling, stone house, whose apartments and spacious verandas were well arranged for tropical comfort. This place is situated upon the shore of the bay, and the houses, with their pleasant grounds, front the water,--the rear walls of their “compounds” opening upon the Queen’s Road by large gateways. The rooms upon the ground-floor of all foreign residences are called “go-downs,” and are only used for store-rooms, and for the accommodation of the servants of the household. The climate of China is so enervating to people from the Western hemisphere that they rarely take long walks, and in all cases where much locomotion is required they employ Coolies to carry them in sedan chairs. Every family has at least one or two of these chairs, and a couple of chair Coolies; and there are also establishments where strangers can at any time procure, at a very moderate rate, both the chairs and bearers. Some of the private chairs are covered with black or deep-blue broadcloth, and have a lining of silk, with outer trimmings of heavy fringe. These, when ornamented with bright buttons, are very handsome. Among the latter we observed the chair of Lady Robinson,--the wife of the Governor of the colony,--and also that of Mrs. Smith,--the wife of the English Bishop. Mr. S---- being in the United States service, and his father-in-law having been one of our most respected and loyal commodores, I was glad to find his wife’s chairs very appropriately covered with blue navy cloth, and ornamented with our naval button. Sedan chairs are carried by means of poles made of bamboo or wood, which the Coolies bear upon their shoulders, and are so arranged that, when lifted from the ground, the elevation of the lower part of the chair is at least three feet, and sometimes more. Any accident, therefore, involving its fall,--particularly in passing over steep and uneven surfaces,--may occasion very serious consequences.