[
    {
        "id": 206978,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1974",
        "page_number": 49,
        "title": "RAS-1974",
        "content_text": "ADVENTURERS IN HONG KONG\n\n43\n\nWhen the King had started upon his homeward passage, the Hong Kong police went from house to house collecting the pinchbeck orders which his Majesty had scattered broadcast among his acquaintances; and these pieces of jewelry they subsequently sold by auction for the benefit of the goldsmith who had fashioned them, for the King, like many of his prototypes in history, had proved himself to be a bad paymaster.40\n\nThe Duel\n\nDid Mayréna and Morès fight a duel in Hong Kong? We do not know for certain; we can only use circumstantial evidence to argue that they probably did. In his memoirs Des Voeux would hardly admit that he allowed a duel to take place in a British colony by his negligence, for under English law duelling was a criminal offence.41 But an encounter between the two adventurers could have easily occurred without attracting public attention—early one morning, say, at Deepwater Bay, then a crescent of lonely sparkling sand, not overlooked by any residence; or in a clearing in the sylvan Glenealy Ravine, a solitary spot frequented only by a few health-conscious walkers.\n\nMayréna and Morès were expert in the use of the foil, épée, and sabre; each, previously, in single combat had killed his man; former soldiers, they were extremely brave men, not likely to slink away from an affront. It should be stressed, however, that duelling was a ritual, designed primarily to remove a public stain from a man's social character: the end of a duel was not copious blood-letting, but rather an affirmation that a gentleman had preserved his social standing and the integrity of his personality.42 To utilise theological concepts again, duelling was a type of sacrament: it was a consecration of the gentleman, and of the core element in this class of person—honour. It seems plausible, then, to suggest that the two duelled but only under certain limiting conditions set out in the procès-verbal. A procès-verbal was the set of rules, established beforehand by the seconds of the duellists, which defined the conditions of the duel—often a single shot fired over the opponent's head or blithely into the distance, a thrust or a parry, would suffice to accomplish the ritual. No doubt Mayréna and Morès did simply that—they flexed their muscles, brandished their spurs in public. Then all was over; honour satisfied; each returned to the Hong Kong Hotel and to loud wassail.",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1974.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/x633mp077",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 210733,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1986",
        "page_number": 84,
        "title": "RAS-1986",
        "content_text": "67\n\nmore can be planted. . . . The Fernery in Glenealy Ravine in the New Garden, which was made about five years since, has succeeded admirably.\n\nThe administration of the gardens also became independent of the Survey Department and emerged as the Botanical Department.\n\nMr. Ford also botanised widely in the area and started a collection of plant specimens as soon as he arrived in Hong Kong. The Herbarium was formally established in 1878 and in 1881 he started a series of botanical expeditions to southern China for the purpose of obtaining more knowledge of its then little known flora, especially the economic plants.\n\n\"The living plants introduced to cultivation by this expedition contain many things of very much interest which will be valuable acquisitions to (the) gardens.\"\n\nIn addition to his duties in the Botanic Gardens, Ford also had a much wider outlook on the flora of Hong Kong and in a letter to T. Thistleton-Dyer F.R.S. (dated 16/8/81) he illustrates his interest in the conservation of the natural flora on the hillsides:\n\n\"From the commencement of this year I have had two 'Forest Guards' at work whose special duty is to patrol the Island and prevent wanton destruction of trees and shrubs by grass cutters and other people. They are doing excellent service and I believe that we shall in consequence, get many more new plants. There are many shrubs growing on the hills which are unknown to me, and which, I believe have never been found in flower because of their having been so frequently cut down that they could not attain sufficient size to flower, but which, now that they are being preserved, will be able to flower.\"\n\nIn his report to Kew 1882 Ford estimated that about one-tenth of Hong Kong (including the New Territories, Lantao and Lamma islands) was planted. \"There might be about 25,000,000 trees",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1986.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/jq08c7063",
        "rank": 0
    }
]