[He] stepped with terrible suddenness into what proved to be no more than a trickle of freezing water, enough at any rate to freshen his armpits, crotch and feet.

The predominantly calcareous alluvium of the North China plain and the summer rainfall have made the region one of the most important agricultural areas of China.

No fear, therefore, that, suddenly deprived of companionship, he should feel dull, and that dulness might take the shape of remorse; so repent, return, and be forgiven.

Certainly they had brought with them some rotten hippo–meat, which couldn’t have lasted very long, anyway, even if the pilgrims hadn’t, in the midst of a shocking hullabaloo, thrown a considerable quantity of it overboard.