The captain no sooner remarked this than he assigned me another place, where I found myself in the company of two Chinese women, busily engaged in smoking out of pipes with bowls no bigger than thimbles, and in consequence they could not take more than four or five puffs without being obliged to fill their pipes afresh.
They soon remarked that I had no stool for my head.

They offered me one of theirs, and would not be satisfied until I accepted it.

It is a Chinese custom to use, instead of pillows, little stools of bamboo or strong pasteboard.

They are not stuffed, but are rounded at the top, and are about eight inches high, and from one to three feet long.

They are far more comfortable than would at first be imagined.
13th July.