When the captain had exchanged his cargo for an other of dates, which he intended again to exchange profitably in Leao-tong for peas and drugs, Nicholas purchased a quantity of furs and mats, which he soon found to be necessary; for, as they approached further to the north, the winds blew keenly, and the iceblocks floated so numerously as frequently to impede their voyage; indeed, the cold was so intense that nothing but the fear of losing life or liberty, or the love of gold, would have induced any one to make the voyage in that inclement season (it was in November). Indeed, by the time they had passed the mouth of the Pei-ho and got into the gulf of Pe-tche-Lee, the snow fell so heavily, and the north winds blew so keenly, that, breaking through all discipline, the sailors lighted fires upon the deck, and laid near them, drinking rice spirit so copiously, that had not Nicholas, who knew so well how to manage such insubordinates, thrown the spirit tubs overboard, they must have foundered upon the _Sha-loo-poo-teen_ islands. As it was, so long and so rough was the passage across the gulf, that the princess became fearfully ill; so much so, indeed, that at one time they feared she would have died. At length, however, they came to an anchor off the coast of Kin-Chow, a distance of seven miles from the shore, and so planted with dangerous rocks that they were compelled to make fire-signals for the townspeople to put off to them in their lighters or barges. As the people have these lighters always ready for the purpose, it was not long before several answered the signal, and came alongside. Choosing the most commodious, Nicholas caused a large fire to be lighted in the cabin, where the princess, who was too ill to walk, was lifted on board, and the lightermen rowed them the roughest seven miles of their journey. Nicholas and Chow paced the deck in no very good humor, as they were obliged to entrust themselves to the slow movements of the boatmen, who neither for love nor money would hasten their pace. Moreover, as the sea rolled so heavily, the distance was lengthened by their being compelled to take a circuitous course between and around the dangerous rocks. When the boatman, who, although slow, were sure, brought them beneath the huge rocks which form the sea-walls of Leao-tong, Chow looked up with amazement. "Surely," said he, "Yen-Vang must have built these great rocks to prevent the province from falling upon the heads of the people in his watery dominions;" adding, as he saw some little birds, like swallows, flying about the rocks, "Truly, if my eyeballs are straight, those little creatures promise us some of the soup of life." "Truly our eyeballs play us false, O Chow, for these birds are seldom found but on the coast of Tonquin, Java, and Cochin-China," said Nicholas doubtfully.