In 1865, Robert Steele & Son brought out the sister ships _Ariel_ and _Sir Launcelot_; Alexander Hall, the _Ada_, and Connell & Co., of Glasgow, the _Taitsing_, all of composite construction; and in the following year the most famous race between these vessels--the one which the tea brokers of Mincing Lane still discuss with enthusiasm--was sailed. It was arranged that nine clippers should sail from Foo-chow as nearly the same date as possible, and during the last week in May the picturesque Pagoda Anchorage presented a scene of unusual activity. The _Ada_, _Black Prince_, _Chinaman_, _Fiery Cross_, _Flying Spur_, _Serica_, _Ariel_, _Taeping_, and _Taitsing_ were all hurrying to finish loading and get to sea. Cargo junks and lorchers[17] were being warped alongside at all hours of the day and night; double gangs of good-natured, chattering coolies were on board each ship ready to handle and stow the matted chests of tea as they came alongside; comfortable sampans worked by merry barefooted Chinese women sailed or rowed in haste between the ships and the shore; slender six-oared gigs with crews of stalwart Chinamen in white duck uniforms darted about the harbor; while dignified master mariners, dressed in white linen or straw-colored pongee silk, with pipe-clayed shoes and broad pith hats, impatiently handled the yoke lines. On shore the tyepans and their clerks hurried about in sedan chairs carried on the shoulders of perspiring coolies, with quick, firm step to the rhythm of their mild but energetic “woo ho--woo-ho--woo ho.” The broad, cool veranda of the clubhouse was almost deserted; in the great hongs of Adamson, Bell; Gilman & Co.; Jardine, Matheson; Gibb, Livingston; and Sassoon, the gentry of Foo-chow toiled by candle-light over manifests and bills of lading and exchange, sustained far into the night by slowly swinging punkahs, iced tea, and the fragrant Manila cheroot. The _Fiery Cross_ was the first ship to get her final chest of tea on board, at midnight, and she towed to sea early on the morning of May 29th; the _Ariel_ left the Pagoda Anchorage at 10:30 and the _Serica_ and _Taeping_ at 10:50 A.M. on the 30th; the _Taitsing_ followed at midnight on the 31st. Here we must bid good-bye to the _Ada_, _Black Prince_, _Chinaman_, and _Flying Spur_, for these vessels, unfortunately, did not finish loading in time to take part in the race. The five competing ships, however, represented the flower of the fleet, and for this reason had been the favorites with shippers. The _Fiery Cross_, _Taeping_, and _Serica_ were fast and well-tried vessels, while the _Ariel_ and _Taitsing_ were just beginning their successful career. The captains, Keay, of the _Ariel_; Robinson, of the _Fiery Cross_; Innes, of the _Serica_; McKinnon, of the _Taeping_, and Nutsfield, of the _Taitsing_, were all seamen of skill and experience, well known in the China trade.