As they drove from the wharf the streets were so narrow and so full of pedestrians that it seemed impossible that the horses would find their way through them.
There were many soldiers and sailors, Portuguese priests, nuns, and Azalea caught a glimpse of a scarlet-curtained palanquin swaying as it was carried by four sturdy men.
She also saw several Mandarins riding in rickshaws – she recognised them because they had jade hat-buttons and robes of brilliant satin embroidered with gold thread. In contrast there were all too many ragged children staring hungrily at the food hawkers and at the Chinese who could afford it sitting down in the street for their shik-anchan. Azalea knew this meant their midday meal.
Fish with open mouths and large eyes hung decoratively head-down from the tops o
