y ^^ ^^ OF — - — ^/^1n the a'arious departments^ oy LITERATURE. THE SCIENCES.it THE ARTS. TOIL, I. HALL'S VOYAGES K'lJ f v|^, r HUH: PRJ.-N-T.KIJ fUK AKi'iiTHAl.lj C (J-fSTABI. K X- (•<» c:r'";:T-, t^y.jX^pff/r//j/ //y even of tip niLisl inamlble attempts to^'firtls tlip arh-tiTitagp of Ihis Subjerte: (Tbis iiibrrHaut). (lisi<4ii>-il 111 fxti-iul Msefiil KriDirlfiloV ami <-li-o':iiit Literature ; Bv jilaciutf Works of StauUard ilcrit . /' uitliin lli<- ;ittaiiiiii<-nt of evei-^' C'l.iss of BY Has M A JE WITT'S rz/.j/z/Z'/'O- y PREFACE. The change that has gradually taken place during the last thirty or forty years in the numbers and circumstances of the reading public, and the unlimited desire of knowledge that now pervades every class of society, have suggested the present undertaking. Pre- viously to the commencement of the late war, the buyers of books consisted principally of the richer classes — of those who were brought up to some of the learned professions, or who had received a liberal education. The sa- ving of a few shillings on the price of a vo- lume was not an object of much importance to such persons, many of whom prized it chief- ly for the fineness of its paper, the beauty of its typography, and the amplitude of its mar- II PREFACE. gins, — qualities vvliicli add to the expense of a work, without rendering it in any degree more useful. But now when the more general diffu- sion of education and of wealth, has occasioned a vast increase in the number of readers, and in tlie works which daily issue from the press, a change in the mode of publishing seems to be called for. The stronsr desire en- tertained by most of those who are engaged in the various details of agriculture, manufac- tures, and commerce, for the acquisition of use- ful knowledge and the culture of their minds, is strikingly evinced by the establishment of sub- scription libraries and scientific institutions, even in the most inconsiderable towns and villages throughout the empire ; and by the extensive sale which several very expensive, though by no means valuable works, publish- ed in numbers, have met with. Under these circumstances, it occurred to the projector of this Miscellany, that if Stakdard Works not hitherto accessible to the great mass of the Public, intermingled with Original Trea- tises on subjects of great general importance, and executed by writ^^rs of acknowledged talent, \ver<} published in a chea}). convc- I'REFAci:. iii nient, and not inelegant i'orni, they would obtain a most extensive circulation, and be productive alike of benefit to the Public, arid of profit to those concerned in them. In the selection of Treatises, and in the mode of circulation, the Publishers have adopted that plan which they snpposed would be moslE likely to meet the wishes of the great mass' of readers, or of the middle classes. x\nd they are resolved to spare neither trouble nor expense to give effect to their purpose, of making this Miscellany the depository of a selection of Works on all the most interest- ing branches of human knowledge, written by the most approved authors, and of rendering it as perfect, as a vehicle both of useful in- formation and of rational entertainment, as it can possibly be made. The EXALTED PATRONAGE under which this Miscellany is ushered into the world, is of itself a sufficient pledge, that nothing will be admitted into its pages tainted with party politics, or which can be construed as milita- ting, in any way, against any of the principles of religion and morality. The object in view is to render this Work a truly National Pub- IV PREFACE. lication, and which shall be equally accept- able to readers of all parties and denomina- tions. In the following list, some of the various works proposed to be embodied in this Mis- cellany, are enumerated ; and they will ap- pear in such order and succession as may seem most likely to suit the taste of those encouraging the design. The works of each author, and each subject, will be kept sepa- rate, so as to enable purchasers to acquire all the numbers or volumes of any work, distinct from the others. Edinburgh, December 26, 1825. LIST OF PUBLICATIONS. Tliose Ai-ticles marked thus « are orig-inal Works, pre- pared or wx-itten expressly for this Miscellauy. CAPTAIN BASIL HALL'S VOYAGES. 3 vols. ^^■^^^^^ contain,— I. VOYAGE to LOO-CHOO, iuici other Places in the EASTERN SEAS, in the Year 1816. Including an Account of Captain Maxwell's Attack on •'i,-^?"'^''"'* ** Canton; and Notes of an Interview ^^I'l^^^i'^^^'^^ BUONAPARTE at St Helena, in Au- gust 1817 — II. EXTRACTS from a JOURNAL written ?S9n iQ^f**^ °/ SJV' ^"■"' '"^'^ Mexico, in the Years 'i^ ' *"" ^°~* 5 containing some Account of the recent Revolutions, together with Observations on the btate ot Society in those Countries. ESSAYS in POLITICAL ECONOMY, by J. R. M'Cui- LOCH, Esq — I. On the Rise, Progress, and Importance ot the Science of Political Economy; with a Sketch of the principal Theories that have been advanced to explain its various results — II. On the Circumstances which Determme the Rate of Wages, and the Condition of tlie L^ouimg Classes.— Ill, On the History, Policy, and *;ftect of the Restrictions on the Freedom of the Com irade. * A NARRATIVE of the principal Occurrences in his Majesty's Ship the Bellerophon, between the 24th May and 8th August 1816, while Napoleon Buonaparte was on board. AVritten by the Captain, Frederick L. Mait- LAND. 4c h^I^r^l ALEXANDER, Emperor of Russia. * MEMORIALS of the LATE WAR.— Viz. JOURNAL ?=„f^ y^^^^o^*'^® 7i?^ Regiment, Highland Light In- fentry, from 1806 to 1815, including Particulars of the Battles of Vuniera, Vittoria, the P>Tenees, Toulouse, and Waterloo LETTERS of Sir JOHN MOORE.— The Earl of HOPETOUN'S DESPATCH after the Battle of Coruima.— Sir WALTER SCOTT'S LETTERS, written from the Continent in the year 1815, &c. LIFE of ROBERT BURNS, by J. G. Lockhvbt, LL. B. * ' HISTORY of VOYAGES, from the earliest Times, showing the part which the various European Nations have had m Maritime Discovery ; and illustrating the Progress of Geographical Science. 3 vols. * n^^ -^^F? ^^ DISCOVERIES of Captain JAMES ^. J,?""^"""^ ^ condensed Narrative of his Voyages *",^ *.^'«!^ of the Progress of Nautical Science and Na- val Discipline during his period. 3 vols. * HISTORY and PRESENT STATE of SOUTH AME- m7.1;(^' P»'tj'^"l»rly Buenos A>Tes, Chili, New Granada, Jx^lSI**^^!^"- Jy ^^'"-i-iAM Jacob Esq. 2 vols. * rnl?^^'^^^^^.?'^ ROAD-MAKING, Railways, Wheel- Carriages, and the Strength of Animals. By Geoug£ BucuANAK, Esq. Civil Engineer. * "«•"««.£ ^' ^'tit of Publications. ERN OCE J^^'r ^f ^'^^'^^'^H SEAMEN in «ie SOUTH- A LADv'?'",^-'^ COOKERY for the mch a*nd Poor. By B^u^^^v' P»^l^^*?^H^^-^L ^nd LITERARY. On tsrauty, by Francis Jeffrey. Esq. TIip Dnm-. rhi valry, and Romance, by Sirwi^iER Scott Bal-onp" inff ToDirs L tV.^^ ot others on several most interest- '"fjf^^P'^l'-^y/arious distinguished Writers. S"her&at^'ll1sir.^"6^^vofs^^- T'^'^'^^ --^^^^- Van 15e''men's''Land *^^^ S^t^i™"" ^""^ P'-^^^n* State of ^ rsL"n?sTAusS'. 'sTol?""^ ' """^ the coasts and "^&'r ' "^-"-^^^^^^^^ Co-erce KIRK hi"*'v^^^'^^'^™ES of ALEXANbER SEL- nim^iV, n ^■T'^*' ^" *'^« '^"Uth Seas, under Captain ^d o hM.-^nf"'-"f'' ''^ t'^^ I^Janl «f Juan Fernandez Histoid of Rnwn '*'°^ particulars, containing the V.« KSou^NSivT'T' °" ^''"*"'^ ^"^ FoeVounded Fim VSenf nV ?; I^AMOIGNON MALESHERBES, State to Lonf, f.5v^rr ^"^'"^ "^ ^''»''' a^^d Minister o By the Rev Pnw J^IV translated from the French. oy lue Key. Edward Mangin, A, M. List 0/ Publicadoiu. ^ll^E.tv^^^^^,:^^^'^;^ the Ana: contain- italiari, aiul English, i"*^"^'" <-">lectu.us of Ana, French, Becknian, Public Profrssm-^f 1*" ^^^'na' Geraian of John ditions to the Modem T^tT^un/'^'^- '^^"'P^''^- "Ith A(d tures of Great Britain 4 .'ofs *""'''' ^'"' •'^^anutac- LIVES of the REFORUPPs ^, .. iancthon Cranmer, Cah'[,^f^ril.;;^f •'" .^"'^^J-' ^e- ^x- 8 vols. * ' ^'■i^'-Oj /lungle, and John HEALTH and LONGEVITV d.,. ^ vatiou of Health and thp Af/- ^"^''** f"'" *'»« Preser- trated by Concise Meiofr^o/^l';'}5t?? of Lo,,^ Life, im'L mai-kable for L(.nffevitv«!- 7, '„'•'"•'*''* "' »>! a^es re- JOHN Sinclair! Rivised'bv«P;*"'f Honourable Sh- MEMOIRS of the MA RPHrnx?! '''*'"•'"• ^ vols. * JAQUELEIN, THE Mak.v "\?'^^*^^ HT ^^AROCHe! The NARRATIVE of RRrv'p'T ^^^^*-' ^'f- ^,I-VIA to discover the Wee ;i^Th.^i^^^'S"^ from the less interesting j^cts^of the r ^'^''- '^''I'arated Mi/KKAV, F.R.S.E. 2 vols" * discovery. By Hucii -u.^A^^K'^.^^>^^;,"L.^^th^^iTe''^' '' METALLIC Exchanjre ; with a Aiew "Ahe ^,1^^/''"'' P^-actice of HIS'JOKV, P({/\flPn?c BKMOFir sotlETIES B\\?"'' /»VAVTaoes of A.Ssr,{A.N(,,s„„,,,V'^^;»-^^'v^ tor 8AV1X0-.S, an IIIVlOKVoftheDjsJoxFi.v i, , ,- -;'>'t Slate, I'oiiti.al a>d(VM;,m,,vi- '■'■?'.'!' ■'''''*'"'''' '''••■- .^jij List of Piihlkallons. Mil IT ARY LIFE of ARTHUR DUKE of M'ELLING- TON ' Bv the Rev. G. R. Gt.eig. 3 vols. * ^ IFF of GENERAL WASHINGTON. 2 vols. * lJIe of BENJAaYiN franklin, written by H.ni- ""lIfI of HORATIO VISCOUNT NELSON. 2 vols. * kb^^^^rof%Ts^T^."^mS^Hlb Svi^UALS 'IS 'Richard Arkwright.-Joseph ^''^^'f^^'-^^' sroFEK^K?^.?^!'^^^ ^ ?ame" Patterson, «. of ^'-J«"*,,^ Jt4«' S- Expedition, .^c— John Rennie, Esq — James V\ alt, i^s.q. •'THE^'CTETALiER'^D'ARVIEUX'S TRAVELS In ARABIA the DESERT, giving a very accurate and en- t^^taifiing account of the Religion, Customs, Diversions, &c of tife Bedouins, or Arabians. Undertaken by ordei "'i?/sTORIEs''of-bREECE, ROME, FRANCE, ENG- '^ msTSRY^oO?o'l)ERN GREECE and the Ionian Isl- .„^ -^ini a View of the Decline of the Turl<.sh As- cendan-Y on tlxe Grecian Continent, and a Sketch of the ^TvlS^ES of the'cHRisTIAN RELIGION briefly -t«iS-0N%i^\0N^ATE^PJ^^^^^ ^ ™!HHf Ij^i^G^/isr ^.' vot.'- -- '"memoirs o7Ihe LIFE of DUNCAN. FORBES of -Hil'a^rE^A-----^^^^^^^ ^"bRITIs'^h'sERMON WRITERS.-Extracts from Je- DICTIONARY. .3 vols, * A NEW GENERAL ATLAS. ^^_„„ BRITISH DRAMA.— BRITISH POEls. VOYAGE c TO THE EASTERN SEAS. "3 EDINBURGH ; PUINTKU BY .lAMES EALLANTYNE AND CO. 1 1 y^ VOYAGE TO L O O - C H O O, AND OTHER PLACES IN THE EASTERN SEAS IN THE YEAR 1816. ^ INCLUDING AN ACCOUNT OF CAl'TAIN maxwell's ATTACK ON THE BATTERIES AT CANTON; AND NOTES OF AN INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE AT ST HELENA, IN AUGUST 1817. BY CAPTAIN BASIL HALL, R. N F. R. S. •^JS^^^ EDINBURGH: \\ PRINTED FOR ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE & CO. ; AND HURST, ROBINSON, & CO., LONDON. 1826. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. TAGE- Passage from England to the Straits of Sunda — An- jeer Point in Java — China — Ilong Kong — Yellow- Sea — Pekin River — Harbour of Oei-hai-oi, ... 3 CHAPTER II. Corea — Sir James Hall's Group — Hutton's Island — Shallow Bay on tlie main land — Amherst Isles, . 55 CHAPTER III. Departure from the Amlierst Isles — Sulphur Island — Loo-Choo, lie CHAPTER IV. Examination of the Coast of the Great Loo-Clioo Island by the Lyra — Discovery of Port Melville, 208 , CHAPTER V. Progress of our acquaintance with the natives — IVfadde- ra — Dinner given to the Chiefs — The Prince of Loo- Choo's Visit to Captain Maxwell — Parting Scene, 221 U CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. PAGE. Captain Maxwell's Attack on the Batteries at Canton, on thel2th of November, 181C, 258 CHAPTER VII. Interview with Buonaparte at St Helena, in August 1817, 302 VOYAGE TO L O O - C H O O, AKD OTHER PLACES IN THE EASTERN SEAS, IN THE YEAR ISIG. VOL. I. VOYAGE TO THE EASTERN SEAS. CHAPTER I. PASSAGE FROM ENGLAND TO THE STRAITS OF SUNDA ANJEER POINT IN JAVA— CHINA— HONG KONG YELLOW SEA FEKIN RIVER HARBOUR OF OLI- HAI-OI. The Embassy to China under Lord Amherst sail- ed froni England on the 9th of February, 1816, iu his Majesty's ship Alceste, Captain MuiTay Max- well, accompanied by the General Hewitt, India- man, and the LjTa a ten-gam brig under my command. The Indiaman carried stores and pro- visions for the ships of war, and various presents intended for the Emperor of China. During the early part of the voyage little oc- curred that was new, or peculiarly interesting, and on the 18th of February, the squadron reached Madeira, but did not anchor. On the 16th of March, after crossing the Equator, and reaching the tenth degree of South latitude, wliich seamen call the heart of the trade-wind, the Alceste bore up and 4 JAVA. proceeded to Rio de Janeiro, leaving the General Hewitt and the Lyra to make the best of their way to the Cape, with orders to lay m provisions and water. The Alceste, after staying ten days at Rio, was still enabled to rejoin her consorts at the Cape by the middle of April, liaving run a distance of more than three thousand miles in nineteen days. On the 26th of that month, the Lyra received orders to go forward with dispatches to the gover- nor of Java, accompanied, as before, by the Ge- neral Hewitt. Tlie eai-ly part of this passage was very boisterous, and the ships sepai-ated in one of the hard North-west gales of wind which blow so frequently in this latitude. Better weather might have been obtained by keeping nearly in the lati- tude of the Cape ; but it is essential to the success of a passage from thence to Java, or to any part of India, to run to the southward as far sometimes as 40 degrees, in which pai-allel the wind blows al- most invariably from the westward, all round the globe. The requisite quantity of Easting is thus easdy gained, although at the expense of some dis- comfort, for the weather is generally tempestuous. This point once accomplished, the ship's head may be turned to the Northward, ajod all sail made to reach the South-Ea.st Trade, which, now that the ship has gone so far to the Eastward, proves a fair wind ; whereas, had its limits been approached sooner, it would have been directly unfavourable. On a knowledge of these particulars, the success of eastern navigation essentially depends ; for such 13 the regularity of these phenomena, and so rigo- rously obedient to known laws, that an experien- ced navigator can calculate, with tolerable cer- tainty, if he sails at a proper time of the vear, upon JAVA. C'i %:^l' "" '^' "^y ^-^ Madeira to Canton. To sailors accustomed only to the con- fined navigation of the Atlantic, or the Mediter- ranean, these bold stretches seem, at first sth an unreasonable prolongation of the voyage ; and h does in fact requn-e considerable resolution to s^eer almost directly away from the port, for many hZ dreds of nnles, m search of a wind. In consequence tfentt' !. 1""'^ precautions, a 8tranger,^impa! tient to reach his pomt, is often tempted to turn too soon towards the North, before enough Eas™ mg has been run down, and accordingly, when he enters the Trades, which he will do Vefore he ■ what : " *'''P" ?' ^^P"««™' ^« fi^^ds the 4d what seamen emphatically term scant, and can not steer his course. In this predicament, there is" Jatit^S'"'''^ ''"' '" ^' ^^^^ 's-in to tho e hrher k itudes where westerly winds prevail, to compete cured m the first instance. «urb°p^ ^T'""' ''^>''-" ^ ^^'^ "« «^«»se for any Sound I't'"^ ''P'^'""^ ^^'^^ «^«^ the same ground ; but we were, nevertheless, extremely near missing the pomt ; for, on reaching the Southern edge of the trade-wind, we could jus? lie up as it^ called, for the Straits of Sunda, and fifty SiJesLs Lasting would have cost us a return-voyage pe haps of a fortmght to repair the fauk. On fhe^th of June, however, at day-break, the magnificent promontory called Java-head, came in sighTaS- mark we 1 known to eastern navigators^ a; poi^t- S t be ^' r^""'^^ '''%'^'' *« *^« China seas h om the Indian ocean. Like most of the scenery riant ^ '^^ ^^"'r'^'''^' .""^'' '' '^ ^'^^^^ -"h S nant fohage, from the water's edge to the very A 9 ' JAVA. summit, and ofifers to the eye a richness and varie- ty of tint unknown in regions nearer the Pole. This sight and the delightful climate were grateful be- yond description ; for during the six weeks since we had lost sight of land, our coiu-se had been over a very rough sea, in cold tempestuous weather ; so that on entering these beautiful straits, where every mile in advance brought us successively in sight of some one or other of the numerous islands which adorn tliis fairy region, or opened some new range or peak of the great Islands of Java and Sumatra, we thought the eye could never tire of admiring the prospect. In the afternoon, the sea breeze gradually died away, and we came to an anchor in Mew Bay, a snug little cove, nearly surrounded by thickly- tvooded cliffs, over which tumbled, very oppor- tunely for us, a fine cascade of clear water, gushing from a deep channel cut by the stream through the lava forming tlus part of the coast. While the boats' crews were busily engaged in filling the water- casks, one or two of the officers endeavoured to pe- netrate the woods in search of game ; but the jungle was found everywhere completely impervious. The whole forest rung with the discordant screams of birds, principally of the paiTot tribe, di-essed in a plumage as brilliant and beautiful as their notes were unmelodious. In every other respect, the scene was perfectly undisturbed, nor could there be dis- tinguished a single trace of inhabitants, or any symptom to tell that the spot had ever been visited since the creation. Nature seemed to revel in a perpetual sunmier — for no change of season is known here — unmolested and unobserved from age to age. JAVA. 7 Shortly after sunset, the liour of which, in a country only six degrees South of the Equator, scarcely varies in a sensible degree throughout the year, a faint and chill land-breeze blew off to us from the high mountain-side, with just strength enough to mffle the sui-face of the water for a few hundred yards from the beach. It was charged not with those rich perfumes with which the imagination loads the gales of tropical countries, but with the damp and noxious vapom-s of decayed vegetation ; and as the rapid decrease of the daylight after sunset, soon deprived the gay landscape of all its beauty, the brilliant romance of the scene we had been admiring so much, speedily vanished. The shore was so steep, or according to nautical lan- guage so bold, that it might be safely approached near enough for us to partake of the light breath of wind which stole off in occasional unsteady flaws. We coasted in tliis manner along the south side of the Straits of Sunda, till the 7th of June, when we anchored in Anjeer Roads, directly opposite to a little Malay village of tliat name, consisting of huts built of bamboos and wattled reeds, thatched over with palm-leaves, and almost concealed amidst plantains, bananas, and other trees of the tropical broad-leaved tribe. By those amongst us already fa- miliar with such scenery, this sight, which was high- ly characteristic, recalled a thousand recollections of those luxurious countries, and was hailed with the liveliest satisfaction. The effect upon others who saw it for the first time, was almost equally striking, though for a dift'erent reason : It opened to their view quite a new world ; since the beauties of this ficeneiy ai'e of a character for which no descrijjtion could prepare their minds. ^ JAVA. In the moral and the political world, likewise, there was nearly an equal degree of novelty • for we found ourselves at once plunged into a con- fused maze of Dutch and Javanese politics, mixed up with many other important and extensive Orien- ta interests, none of which we had ever heard a syllable about before. The island, it was known, m a general way, was to be given up to its old masters ; but we now had the mortification to learn, that much if not all the good so nobly brought about by the English while in authonty, was m danger of being utterly lost, by the establish- ment of the old Dutch system. These topics, quite unlaiown to most people in Europe, or only heard of in occasional whispers by the parties immediate- ly interested, occupied here almost exclusively the attention of every one, whether Native, Dutch, or English. And what was amusing enough, our party, though utter strangers to all the details of these transactions, and of course nowise concerned in them, by a very natural contagion, caught the spirit of the moment, and presently began to wonder how we had lived so long without knowing, and without canng a straw for considerations which now ap- peared so momentous. For my own part, however, I took a still livelier interest m viewing the state of manners amongst the native Malay and Javanese inliabitants, uncon- scious, poor people, of the vast political changes of which they were just about to become the victims. As soon, therefore, as I could make my escape from a dinner-party at the house of one of the EnL i.sh residents, I slipped into the village. The sound of music attracted me to a grove of trees lying between the village and the sea, where a grea! JAVA. g number of the inhabitants were assembled to cele- brate one of their periodical festivals, regularly held, as I learned afterwards, about the period of full moon. The Malays were stretched on the grass in an open space formed by a broad circular belt of the tall and graceftd cocoa-nut tree, which, how- ever thickly it grows, never casts more than a feathery or chequered shade on the ground, soften- ing rather than intercepting the light. The natives had placed themselves in a treble circle, the men and women occupying the outer pait of the ring, while the children were squatted on the ground within. On one side of the circle was placed a Javanese band of music, consisting of four in- struments which played without ceasing while the games lasted. The tones of these instruments were exceedingly wild and sweet ; and as the taste with which they were struck was at all times well re- gulated, and not in any degi-ee boisterous or savage, the accompaniment was not only very pleasing in itself, but tended greatly to heighten the romantic eflfect of this curious scene. In the middle of the ring, which was about fifty paces wide, stood two men who acted as masters of the revels, each holding under his arm a bundle of rattans, or canes, two feet in length. These vyorthies entertained the company from time to time with wild screams, mixed with strange ges- ticulations and grimaces. After a short period had elapsed, during which these men harangued the multitude, to what purpose I could not dis- cover, two boys, about fourteen or fifteen years of age, stepped forward to the centre of the arena. Here each of them was furnished by the managers with a cane, and being then placed fac« It) JAVA. to face, at a yard's distance from one another, they were ordered to begin. The first proceedino-, which was a sort of salute, consisted in touching the ground with the rods, and waving them to the com- pany : they then approached, and each one placing his left hand on his antagonist's right shoulder, raised his elbow till it nearly met that of the other, overhead ; tliis movement brought their bo- dies mto close contact. Both were naked, with the exception of a slight blue cotton cloth round the waist. In this attitude they frequently conti- nued for several minutes, eyeing one another with the keenest attention, holding their rattans extend- ed in the right hand, and evidently watching for a favourable moment to strike, the surrounding na- tives, meanwhile, gazing on the combatants with the most eager and breathless anxiety, and watch- mg for the event. The music at this period low- ered its tones, so as just to be heai-d, and the two directors withdrew themselves to the distance of several paces, in order to leave the ground clear for the combatants. After they had grappled each other in this way for some time, during which they performed a sort of waving or bending motion with their bodies, and described circles on the gi-ass, one or the other, seeing his opportunity, gave his antagonist a violent blow either on the left side, or, more generally, on the calf of the left leg, accom- panying the stroke with a loud yell. The instant the blow was given, the boy who dealt it, sprang quickly backwards, in order if he could to escape the retaliation of his antagonist, who was never slow to return tlie compliment, which he, in like man- ner, it successful, graced with a scream more sa- vage than any sound I recollect ever to have heard JAVA. before. In these cries they were accompanied by the jurrounding Malays, especially whenever a blow happened to be ^ven with particular effect If a bow wa. avoided with remaikable dexterity, a shout, m hke manner, testified the admiration of the spectators, but the distmction between these two cnes was quite obvious. I was so totally un- prepared for such wild sounds, that my blood ran cold when I first heard them, coming as they did from an anned multitude of people, proverbially reputed treacherous and blood-thirsty, '''"'''^^^y *!, . "^^^i ^"^ ,^^*='^ed in mentioning, by the wav hat tbs haish reproach on the Mala^ characters^o long fixed upon them by most historians, ha7b;ea ahnost entu-ely removed by the candour and good sense of more recent observers and writers. The Crawfm-d, the highest possible authorities, are quite decisive on this point. ^ I imagined at first that the blows were given wb? K^;/ t(tT ^""'« ^°*^ *^« ^'"^''^ «f the ring, wh ch the Malays allowed me to do, I discorered that m every mstance where they took effect pro- perly, a gash of some inches in length was general- ly made m the flesh. The seconds or peLns in attendanc^e who carried the canes, made it their business dui-mg the fight to animate the combat- ants by speeches and gestures, and to excite them to mutual defiance ; from which occupation thev occasionally turned aside to divert the spectator! with some ridiculous piece of buffoonery. Only at P.^^"^ by each party wa. allowed to be struck at each round or time of closing. After five or six such contests had taken place between boys of dif- ferent ages, several couples of men stood up, one J 2 JAVA. at a time ; and the cuts wliich their more powerful Sms^v;, were certainly the severest thmgs, m the way of pure sport, I ever witnessed. The screams of the combatants were a pait of the ceremony, not the result of pam, smce neither he boys noi^^he men betrayed the least Bufrenn& howevir deep the wounds might be ; besides which, I remarked Ihat the scream or yell wa. always ut- tered by the successful party, never by him who re- ce ved the blow. The perfect te-per with wl-^^ these battles were canied on, was not the least le- markable circumstance attending them. In one m- S^ce only of about twenty which 1 witnessed, wa. any 11 humom- displayed. Two men who had con- ended for a longtime to no puiT>ose b..ng both 60 dexterous that neither could plant a blow, at enSf lost patience, and rusliing upon each other Sail the ferocity of their natui-e, must soon have ^kd blood, had not their cinses, or short d^" Jers, been left behind as a prehmmary to the fight in ak instant also the two seconds interfered, aided by four or five stout Malays, who sprung from the cJound the moment the first symptom of anger be- Saved itself. The men who had squabbled were Mediately ckagged out of the ring, order was a^ once restored, and the offending parties appear^ to return immediately to their senses, on bemg se- parated, as no one too'k miy furtlier charge of them, after they were expelled from the circle. The musical instruments were four m number. The principal one consisted of five plates of pohsh- ed metal, eight or ten inches long, and two broad laid horizontally across the edges of a wooden trough, two feet long, and held n their places by woodeii pegs, fixed m the edges of the trough. The JAVA. 13 player Who sat behind the frame, struck the plates with a small hammer with his right hand, while he varied the notes by touching the plates with the fingers of the left. Sometimes he raised the ends of the bars a little off the trough on which they M^ed. In this way, by varying the direction and r -iensity of the blow, a considerable range of the weetest musical sounds was produced. The next iastrument consisted of five burnished brass ves- sels, not \inlike small gongs, about six inches in diameter, shaped somewhat like the bonnet of a Highlander, with a small knob or bulge in the centre. These vessels were placed with the open part downwards, side by side, on two parallel strings, stretching from end to end of a case or frame, not unlike a small sofa. Under each vessel was suspended an empty cocoa-nut shell, with one end cut off, and the open part upwards ; so that the inverted pot and the cocoa-nut presented their open- ings respectively to each other, at the distance of about two inches ; a contrivance which greatly im- proves the sound. These pots were of different sizes, and being sti-uck with two stuffed sticks, yielded exceedingly beautiful tones. As a nmning bass to these instruments, a sort of drum was struck rapidly by the fingers. A gong, which measured three feet in diameter, was suspended to a hand- some frame-work ; its lips or edges were turned slightly inwards, so that, when held vertically, it was capable of holding in the lower pait of the rim about two pints of water ; a device used by the Javanese musicians to give softness to the tones of this instrument. The gong, which requires con- siderable skill to produce its proper effect, is struck with a hea\7 soft beater, the knob of which appears VOL. I. B ^4* JAVA. to be formed of elastic gum, and is never rung m the violent manner we see practised in this country ; but is touched gently, and only at intervals m the music, when its sonorous tones are required to give depth to some particular passage. Having no better guide in these matters than my own untaught ear, I have since sought anxiously tor the opmions of qualified judges ; and it gives me much pleasure to find that I was not misguided by my own feelings merely, but that the Javanese music, and musical instniments, are considered bv bir btamford Raffles and Mr Crawfurd as possess- mg great merit. I can myself remember bein^ once attracted by the sound of music to a native's house at Samarang, on this island, in 1814, when returning to my ship, after a tiresome day's work - yet the fascination of the music was so powerful,' that both my wearied companion and myself, nei- ther of us extravagantly fond of music, and both quite ignorant of it as a science, were rivetted to the spot and actually sat all night on the floor, on mats kindly spread by the natives, and never moved till the sun streamed into the open chamber next mormng, A complete set, or Gamelan, according to Sir titamford Raffles, costs from a thousand to sixteen hundred dollars, including all the instmments, a paiticulai- description of which is given in his work on Java. Mr Crawfurd also, in his History of the Indian Ar- chipelago, gives a complete account of the Javanese music and instruments, which is rendered peculiarly valuable, from containing the opinion of the cele- brated Dr Crotch. This gentleman, after being sup- plied with a number of Javanese airs, and having JAVA. 25 inspected the fine collection of musical instruments at the Duke of Somerset's, communicated his opi- nion to Mr Crawftnd. " The tone of these inst™- ments, he observed, « exceeds, in depth and qua- iity, anythmg I have ever heard ;" and alluding to the mstmment which I have described above con- sistmg of a number of inverted vessels resting upon two stnngs, he says, " The tone of this sbgilar instrument is at once powerftil and sweet, and its intonation cleai- and perfect." With respect to the whole band, or Gamelan, he adds, <' he is astonish- ed and delighted with their ingenious fabrication, splendom-, beauty, and accm-ate intonation." It has more than once occurred to me that it mieht prove worth while for some theatrical speculator to import a Javanese band of musicians and instru- ments mto this country, where I am convinced thev would excite a very lively interest. The numerous hast India Company's sliips going to and returning from Chma, through the Straits of Sunda, and al- most always without passengers, would afford a convenient means not only of bringing them from Java, but of returning them to their homes when- ever they pleased. I remained in the village till long past mid- mght, witnessing these games, and wandering about amon^t the natives, who everywhere treated me with the greatest attention, apparently flattered bv the mterest I took in their customs, and pleased perhaps by the um-eserved confidence placed in them ; for I was quite alone and unarmed. i-arly next evening I went again to the villaffe, accompanied by one of the British residents, who had heard that a Malay maniage ceremony was to take place. One of tlie family received us at the 16 JAVA. door, and led us to an inner chamber of considerable size ; round which were ranged five tables, covered with dishes of cuixy, rice, and fish, with nume- rous plates of sugar-cakes. Beyond this apartment, which we were informed was shortly to be occupied by some friends of the bride, lay another room, very gaudily furnished with bright colom'ed drapery, and hung round with numerous elegantly formed lamps, made of split pieces of bamboo, each supporting a shell, in which a small cotton wick was made to float on castor oil ; an article of universal use in Java for household purposes. Ten venerable per- sonages, with long beards, and richly coloured China crape dresses, were seated on a low table, round several smoking bowls of rice, and messes of meat cut into small pieces. These men were not squatting cross-legged, like tailors, as our prints ge- nerally, but falsely, represent the sitting attitude of Orientals, which may be described more propeily as a combination of sitting and kneeling, and is not without grace. The knees and feet are placed to- gether, and the weight of the body rests partly on the calves of the leg, and partly on the heels, whilst the toes project behind, with the soles of the feet turned upwards. Tlie Persians, and many other nations of the East, sit in tliis manner ; but the Chinese, who in most respects differ from all their neighbours, use chairs and benches as we do. Our fi-iends, who were busily employed dispatch- ing their supper, stopped on om* approach, and with gi'eat good-humour, made room for us at their board, and begged us to join in the marriage feast. My companion said he saw no fun in this ; but I mount- ed the table, and made the best use I could of my fingers, for there were no spoons or other imple- JAVA. ] 7 ments of the Mnd. There could not be a more striking example of the difference between Maho- metans and Hindoos, in all matters relating to eat- ing, than this supper afforded. The Malays and Javanese, though formerly Hindoos, are now almost entu-ely followers of Mahomet ; and as such have few of those absmd notions about food, which ren- der the inhabitants of India the slaves of a thousand ndiculous whims. I remember when travelling some years ago near Poonah, being the uncon- scious cause of destroying the dinner of a whole family, by merely allowing my shadow to fall on their pot, or by walking within the circle drawn round the fire-place, I could not exactly discover which ; but the whole mess was thrown away, although provisions were by no means plen- ty. And I once saw and conversed with a man at Bombay, who was absolutely perishing of hun- ger, dunng the famine of 1812 ; and who lite- ra ly died before my eyes, rather than taste a mor- sel of the nee which was presented to him, be- cause it had been cooked by a man of a different caste. It was not until I had been for a minute or two on the table, that I spied the happy couple seated m great state m a deep recess on one side of the apartment, bolstered up with a dozen of large pil- lows covered over with gilt trimmings. They were the only grave persons of the company, and sat with such fixed and demure looks, that they mio-ht have been taken for a couple of stuffed figures, rather than the givers of so jovial a feast. It was evidently, however, part of the etiquette that they should appear unmoved by whatever was passipo-, and accordingly, they took no notice of us, or of the B -4 18 JAVA. multitude of people who soon filled the chamber to gaze at the strangers. But a traveller generally finds more to interest him in observing the ordinary, every-day habits of the people, than in witnessing ceremonies like this, where most things are, to a certain extent, got up for the occasion. The whole field of our view, indeed, at Anjeer Point, was of so novel a descrip- tion, that wherever the eye was directed, it caught something worthy of notice. ^ Amongst the innumerable curious objects of this kind, none struck me more than the method used by the Malays of boiling rice by steam, which is said to have been in use in Java from time im- memorial. It is not easy to describe even the simplest contrivances without a di-awing ; but the principle may perhaps be understood by what fol- lows : — The pot or boiler is a round vessel of metal, about eighteen inches high, narrow at the middle, and swelling out both at bottom and at top, in shape somewhat like a sand-glass, but much less con- tracted in the middle. The diameter of the top and the bottom is about a foot. The water is first poured in till it is four inches in depth, after which is inserted a conical bag, or basket, made of a species of grass, somewhat larger than the ves- sel, and filled with rice. The size and form of this bag are so adjusted, that the tip or apex of the cone shall barely reach to the water. A heavy earthenwai-e bowl is also inverted over the rice, and serves the double pm-pose of confining the heat, and of adding weight to the bag', which is thus forced tightly into the neck of the vessel, and the egress of the steam at the sides is effectually prevented. JAVA. 19 Wheu the water begins to boil, the steam must of necessity find its way through the interstices of the bag amongst the rice. If the heat be conti- nued, the steam gradually makes way to the upper parts ; and after a time, some of it escapes through, and is condensed on the top and sides of the bag. As soon as this fonns into drops, it falls down, and being caught by the projecting margin of the top of the vessel, either gradually trickles back again into the boiler, or by forming a lake of water round the edge, contributes to prevent any steam from rising, except through the rice. On arriving at a strange country one is often at a less which to admire most, the ingenious contri- vances by which man turns to his use the peculiar cii-cumstanccs of the climate, or the less ob\-ious but far more wonderful manner in which nature indicates her beneficent designs. A beautiful example of the latter description oc- curs not far from Anjeer Point, on the road to Ba- tavia, in the grounds of a gentleman whom I visit- ed along with the late Sir Samuel Hood, during a journey over great part of Java. Our host carried us to see a singular tree which had been brought from the island of Madagascar, called familiarly the Traveller's Friend ; Urania being, I believe, its bo- tanical name. From the representation of it given in the vignette, in the title-page of this volume, it will be seen to differ from most other trees in having all its branches in one plane, like the sticks of a fan, or the feathers of a peacock's tail. At the extremity of each branch there grows a broad double leaf, several feet in length, which spreads itself out in a very gi-aceful manner. These leaves have the property of radiating heat so rapidly. 20 JAVA. after tlie sua retires, that a copious depositiou of dew takes place upon them ; this soon collect- ing into drops, forms little streams, which run down the branches to the trunk. Here it is recei- ved into hollow spaces of considerable magnitude, one of which is found at the root of every branch. These branches, it will be observed in the drawing, lie one over the other alternately, and when a knife, or, which is better, a flat piece of stick, for it is not necessary to cut the tree, is inserted between the parts which overlap, and slightly drawn to one side, 80 as to cause an openmg, a stream of water gushes out as if from a fountain. Hence the appropriate name of the Traveller's Friend. On the 9th of June the Alceste amved from the Cape of Good Hope with the Embassy, an event which naturally excited so great a sensation in the village, that all farther inquiry into the native habits became impossible. The ordinary employments and amusements of the Javanese were discontmued, and the order of interest inverted, as we ourselves now became the chief objects of attraction, instead of being the curious observers. In the course of the evening of the next day, however. Lord Amherst, accompanied by most of his suite, walked into the village to visit the native chief of the district, a fine old Malay. He received us with much dignity of manner, and seemed highly flattered by the honour which was done him. The walls of his house, like most of the rest in this primitive spot, consisted merely of light basket-work, made sufliciently open to admit the cool night-wind, which swept very agreeably across the room. It was the chiefs inten- tion to have entertained the Ambassador with a dance of native girls to the music of a full Javanese band, CHINA. 21 whicii, in consequence of my description, his lord- ship had become very anxious to hear. This enter- tainment, however, was prevented in rather a lu- dicrous manner. Some of our sailors employed m filling the water-casks at the stream which pass- ed by the village, had contrived to elude the vigi- lance of then- officers, and to get hold of some ^ddy, or fermented juice of the cocoa-nut tree. This mounting into their heads, disposed them, in imitation of his Excellency, to go in quest of adventures. The first object which engaged Jack's attention in this stolen march, was one of the large, red, smooth-skinned buflaloes of the island, tied to a bush near the cliief's house. The men and the beast were mutually strangers to one an- other's appearance, but the effect on eadi was dif- ferent ; for while the sailors were lost in miith and surprise at the novelty of the sight, which it must be owned was very remarkable, fear alone as- sailed the buffalo, who soon broke loose, and scam- pered off towards the village. The seamen, delight- ed to have a hunt, as they called it, pui-sued the ani- mal through the streets, waving their hats, and shouting Tally ho! to the amaze and terror of the Malays, who fled in all directions to the jungle. The chief sent repeated messages to the fugitive figurantes and musicians, hut all his authority was msufiicient to collect the scattered corps du ballet of the village. On the 12ih of June the I.vra was once more dispatched before tiie otiier sliips of the squadron, with letters from the Ambassador to the English authorities at Canton, apprising them of his ap- proach, and pointuig out a rendezvous where Sir George Staunton, chief of the Factory, and the 22 CHINA. Other gentlemen who were to accompany the Em- bassy, might fall in with his Lordship. Owing to light winds, calms, and cmrents, it was not till the 7th of July that we made the coast of China; the South-west monsoon, which blows in summer over the Cliinese and Japanese oceans, not having yet fully set in. On the next day, we com- municated with the chief of the Factory, already waiting for us on board the Discovery. Tliis ship be- longed to the Bombay Marine, and was under the command of Captain Daniel Ross, an officer of great science and industry, well known to every eastern navigator as the most extensive, and at the same time the most accm-ate, of nautical surveyors. Both ships lost no time in repairing to the appointed sta- tion, and in a few days the Alceste and General Hewitt joined us at the rendezvous. Seriotis diificulties now arose as to our future movements. A letter announcing the Prince Re- gent's intention of sending an Embassy to China had been received at Canton, and forwarded to the Em- peror, some weeks before our arrival, the answer to which was hourly expected. But tliere was great reason to fear that the reply would be unfavourable to the mission, in which event, its further progi-ess towards a sea-port near the capital would be a mea- sure of very doubtful propriety. And even admit- ting that the Embassy were not to be rejected al- together, it was conjectm-ed by the residents best acquainted with the Chinese usages, that the Em- peror would assign Canton as a landmg place, which would be exceedingly inconvenient, as the distance is upwards of a thousand miles from the capital. This apprehension was founded on the well-knovra practice of the Chinese, whose constant study it had CHINA. 22 been to render access to the court as difficnh as no. sihle It was finally resolved, after mucrdlscS' to put the most favourable constnzction onXn a?' ter; to take it for granted, in short, that the Z" bassador was to be favoui-ably received nnJ! u on .^hout delay for the Pei^HoTvS; the n^S ^ Pekrn of any part of the sea-coast of China ff was contended, that once fkirly on the threshold 5 the celestial emph-e, we should be less espied " the operation of those multifarious intri^eXoih laiom,, to complete our stock of water • and 1 oTe^t^;s;Se?cl7^^^ we found a%e ^clde^tt^tt ^n5^b:L^^^^^^^ fectly calm, wrth a sea as smooth as a mill nonJTn Tut ;;ra2 liVX; tTeir^T ™^'^^' rl^^: ^^^iaid: in t'^ a^^t^C to one another, hat /, ^ tt^l'^ '' ^'^^« difficult to discover any outle >> / ' I' '''"" mountains appeared to L^ ' " ^* °'?^* *^« The natui-P of Z , ? * continuous barrier. J.ne natuie of the ground also bein^ black ard un broken, It seempd ji« I'f tV.^ u- i !» "^'^'-'^ ai^, and we were well nigh choked in the crowd. It was therefore a great relief to get into the Man- d2 42 CHINA. darin's house, a neat and even elegantly furnished mansion. The walls were finely papered, and or- namented with some spirited landscapes, sketched in Indian ink, and several fantastical highly-finish- ed drawings of their portly deities or sages, whom it is their delight to represent in this manner ; cor- pulence being with them an infallible symptom of wisdom and dignity. The windows consisted of a frame-work of cross bars, forming spaces of two inches square, covered with oiled paper or blue gauze, contrivances to soften the glare of light, out of doors almost insupportable. The Mandarins were extremely glad to see us ; made us take chau's, entertained us with tea, hot wine, and sweet cakes, and appeared most desirous to find out what we were in want of. We succeeded veiy well in eveiy part of our interpretation, excepting in the primary aiticles of bullocks and vegetables. Whenever the conversation took this turn, our interpreter somehow or other could never make them understand what we would be at. This interpreter, by the way, was not of the best description, being merely an imder-servant of the Factory, who ought to have accompanied the embassy, but by accident was left behind. As he spoke English imperfectly, and we had no great opinion of his honesty, we were more at his mercy than was at all agreeable. We ought undoubtedly to have been accompanied by one of the gentlemen of the EstabHshment, who could wiite and speak the language of the country ; but in the bustle of the more important matters rela- ting to the embassy, our wants in this respect were never thought of till it was too late. By the time this visit of ceremony was ovw, the mob liad dispersed, and we separated into dif- CHINA. 43 ferent parties, to stroll about the countiy, no sort of objection being made to our doing- so. I have often remarked that on these occasions, where no harm is intended, and the gratification of curiosity the only object, the best way is to go straight forward, with- out putting difficulties into the people's heads, by seeming to imagine any permission necessaiy. At least duiing tliis voyage, whenever we began by soliciting leave to walk into the country, or to look at anything, our request was almost invariably re- fused. It is always easy enough to discover when such a proceeding is really disagreeable or impro- per ; and it seems then full time to turn back. The first house we visited, at some distance in the country, was surrounded by a wall or fence, made of neatly-wattled twigs. On the steps before the door sat a woman sewing, who as soon as slie be- held the apparition of half a dozen strange-looking men, screamed out, threw down her work, and in spite of all our attempts to pacify her, continued to alarm the neighbourhood with her cries. Amongst the people who came to lier relief was a middle- aged man, probably her husband, who, Avith great roughness, tunied us round by the shoulders, march- ed us out of his grounds, and pointed to the ships. There was no mistaking this, and finding our elo- quence only augmented the lady's fury, and the honest man's indignation, we gave up the point, and turned from this uncivil couple towards a party of men and women employed in winnowing corn. This was done on a liai-d smooth mud floor, raised three feet above the level of the field, near a farm-house. We observed that they first beat the corn with flails, not unlike a watchman's rattle, and then tossed it into the air, that the wind might blow away the '14i CHINA. chaff. One of the farmers showed me a small double drill-plough, and when I expressed some curio- sity about these matters, he put the plough into my hands, implying that he wished me to keep it. In the course of the evening he brought it on board, but would accept nothing in return. We succeeded in gaining giound much better with this group than with the scolding lady, chiefly by making friends in the first instance of the childi-en, to whom we gave buttons, curtain rings, and such trifles as we Jiad put in our pockets on leaving the ship. This speedily opened a way to the good will of the pai-ents, and as soon as we observed them softening a little in their reserve, we engaged theii- full attention and respect, by allowing them a peep through the telescope, always an object of great wonder to such people ; after this had gone round the cu-cle, we produced the pocket-compass, which they stared at with gi-eat delight, and a sight of our watches completed the treaty of amity between us. While this was going on, a countryman driving a donkey loaded with vegetables, joined the party. We instantly tried to open a traffic with him for Ms whole cargo, but here an unexjiected difficulty ai-ose. He knew so little of our money, that he re- fused to pai-t with his vegetables in exchange for Spanish dollars, a coin we had always been taught to believe passed current in every comer of the earth. All the" trinkets we had brought with us had been al- ready disposed of, and nothing but what was valu- able remained ; our friend, however, though evident- ly much amused, and willing enough to sell his cab- bages, would give nothing without some equivalent. In this unwonted dilemma, when silver was of no avail, it occurj-ed to me to try the eJlicacy of a more CHINA. 45 showy metal, and borroAving the coimtryman's knife from him, I cut a button from my uniform, then sei- zing a bundle of leeks in one hand, and displaying the^crown and anchor in the other, I appealed to the company whether the bargain was not a fair one. This was iiTesistible ; and I carried my point by acclamation. In this way, by stripping one side of my jacket of its row of finery, and debatmg the value of each item, I became possessed of the whole cargo. The winnowing party, including several women, and a number of children, had left their work, and assembled round us, listening to this discussion, which I need not say was earned on with much laughing and joking on both sides, al- though neither party understood a syllable of the other's language. I was a little at a loss what to do with my purchase, for my sole object, in which I completely succeeded, had been to produce good- humom-, and I had nobody with me to cany the vegetables. At length, however, I explained to the peasant that I wished them carried to the boat, and although I took no further charge of him, he de- livered them faithfully in the course of the afternoon. In the evening of the same day, Mr Clifford, an officer of the navy on half pay, who accompanied me on this voyage, proposed that we should land on the side of the harbour opposite to the village, with which we had yet held no intercourse, in order to walk for some distance up the country, and thus see tlie inhabitants in places where the news of om* ar- rival had hardly reached. Having landed according- ly, we pursued a path leading from the shore, passed a low ridge of hills, and descended into a secluded valley, in the bottom of which, under a grove of trees, there was built the neatest little hamlet we had yet 46 CHINA. seen in Clrina. Eight or ten of tho villagers came forward to welcome U8, and placing chairs for us under the trees, begged us t<> partake of their hospitality. They had observed us breaking some specimens from the cliffs near the top of the hill, and naturally concluding that we set some value upon what we examined so carefully, dispatched several boys, who returned loaded with many more specimens than we had occasion for. In return for their kindness, we allowed them to examine our dress, which they did with many expressions of astonishment. The objects, however, which excited most wonder were our watches ; and we foxmd universally during this voyage, that when every other thing failed to engage the attention of the na- tives, the sight of a watch accomplished the busi- ness ; or if not, it was hopeless to make further at- tempts. They had a name for it, however, we dis- covered ; and even at this remote corner of the globe, there was always some one of the company who pretended to know more or less of its use. On this occasion all the inhabitants of the village appeared to be assembled ; they grouped them- selves on the grass round about us, the children always in front ; for we observed wherever we went in China, the most studious anxiety on the part of the parents to gratify the little people with the most advantageous sight of the strangers. During the inspection which was instituted into my apparel, I had given to one man my hat, to an- other my gloves, a third amused liimself and the company by opening and shutting my pen-knife, and in the confusion my watch was passed from hand to hand, till lost sight of altogether. At length these good people were satisfied ; and fancying CHINA. 4,7 eveiything was restored, we took oxxv teare as the day was closing. But we left tho ^-illage by a dif- ferent path from that by which we had come ; and after wandeiing for some time amongst the hills, till it became almost dark, retm-ned to the shore. Before stepping into the boat, however, I wished to make a record of the time of tide, and then fii-st discovered that my watch was gone. I had no re- collection of the person into whose hands I had given it ; and even if I had, was without any means of discovering him. -AH the stories about the thievisli disposition of the Chmese now crowded upon our recollection ; and the good opinion we were gradually fomiing of their character, was shaken to its foundation. The watch, however, was much too valuable to be lost without an effort, and we resolved to return to tlie village, to give it a cliance. All was now silent amongst the cottages, and we wandered about for some time, till attracted by a light at a window, we went up to it, and addressed two people sitting at supper in the room. They were much alarmed at our sudden appearance, pushed us redely away, and closed the window. This was an unpropitious begimiing ; but we persevered till, on reaching the comt or squaie near the centre of the village, we fortunately lighted upon a party of eight or ten men, some lying on the ground, others seat- ed on chairs, smoking their pipes, and enjoying the delicious coolness of the evening air, which had succeeded to the bmnuig heat of the day. I was not much in a humour to notice fine gi-ouping or picturesque effects, but liappening to remember tlie Chinese for watch, Pee-o-i, I repeatedly pro- noimcod it, exhibiting at tlie same time my empty 48 CHINA. pockets. The word or the action easily made thera comprehend my loss. But as I was under the full conviction all the while that I never should see my watch again, I may probably have expressed some impatience on the occasion. This, however, pro- duced little effect on the Chinese, who merely took their pipes from their mouths, leaned on their el- bows, and listened with gi-eat attention to all I had to say. When I had finished my speech, which consisted prmcipally of signs, interspersed with occasional mention of the word Pee-o-i, an old gentleman of the pai-ty got up, and patting me good- naturedly on the shoulder, gave me his ready-light- ed pipe to console me, and with great gi-avity, in the midst of which I fancied I could sometimes de- tect an ironical smile when he looked towards his companions, made me a long speech, which, although I could not understand a single word of it, seemed to set forth that it was quite useless to be angry about the matter. The rest of the party laughed heartily at the oddity of this dialogue, and seem- ed determined to take no steps till the discussion was over. As I saw very soon that there was no- thing for it but good-humour — or rather, that no- thing was to be gained by impatience, I sat down amongst them, accepted the orator's pipe, and puff- ed away as well as the most experienced smoker of the party. I had no sooner been seated on a chaii- which was brought for me, as they would not suffer me to stretch myself on the ground, than the spokesman of the party, who had just lectui-ed me, as I conjectured, upon the virtue of patience, looking over liis shoulder and laughing, spoke a few words to one of the young men seated on the grass near him, who irajnediately rose and CHINA. ^ 49 left the party. In about five minutes the messenger returned, bringing along with him another person, who held ray watch in his hand ; and I now re- ct^nized the face of the man I had first given it to. He explained, as I understood him, that as I had left the \illage by another road, (pomting first to the one way, and then to the other,) he had quite lost sight of me, but that next day he meant to have brought the watch on boai'd. This I infened from his pomting to where the sim rose, and then towards the ships. At all events, I was happy enough to recover my lost property, and the first impulse naturally was to give him some rewai'd. I had only a dollar, and two or three smaller coins with me, which I put into the young man's hand ; but this was no sooner observed, than two or three of the others jumped on their feet, and taking the money from liim, thiaist it back again into my pockets. I made him sit down, however, and it will easily be imderstood that the recovery of the watch was more efficacious in restoring good- himiour than the old fellow's lecture had been ; and 80 my sententious friend himself seemed to tliink, for he addressed me with the former affected se- riousness of tone and manner, and then laughed heaitily as he pointed to the watch. It is wonder- ful, indeed, how without language, people can gen- erally maJie themselves mutually understood when tliere is good will on both sides, and how difficult, even with all the advantages of speech, the most simple explanation becomes, when temper or in- terest opposes an obstacle to the mutual apprehen- sion of the subject. I was natmally anxious, before returning on board, to leave some mark of gratitude for the good ser- VOL. I. E 50 CHIN^A. Vice these obliging people had rendered me, Monev It was obvious they would not take; but in con- sidering what I could give them which they would ZZ:l '"^""^?'f ?'"■ ^^^^ ^^"^«d one of my epaulettes which had accidentally fallen from mv shoulder at our first visit, so I pulled it from my pocket, and entreated their acceptance of it. This however^ they positively reftised. But conceiving then dilficulty might mise from doubts as to the division, I began to pull the epaulette to pieces, in- ^nding to give each one a portion of the tassels, lins excited an immediate outciy fi-om the whole party a couple of whom rose up, and forcibly re- placed the epaulette. This amicable discussion had the effect of bringing us more intimately acquainted with each other, than a much longer period of the ordmary kind of intercourse could possibly have done ; and being still desirous of leaving some me- morial of our visit, the idea occurred to me of wri- tmg down what liad passed as a record, which in the very improbable event of a futm-e voyager coming to this port, might be useful to them. The Idea once started I easily explained to them by signs that I wished for writing materials ; and af- ter a short discussivjn among themselves, they all rose and invited me to walk with them to another quarter of the village. The way was led by a very forma^ peipendicular elderly gentleman, who drew a key from his pocket, and holding it up in a signi- bcant manner, beckoned us to follow him. This personage, who from the moment allusion was made to pen and ink, had assumed an air of vast consequence, proved to be the schoolmaster of the VI lage, and under Ms pilotage we proceeded to the school, Avhere oux preceptor having Ughted a can- CHINA. 51 cUo, soon brouglit all that was vvantetl A flat plate of stone hollowed out like a saiicer, being first rub- bed with Indian ink, a brush similar to what we use in painting was put into my hands by the do- minie, who was qmte enchanted with his new pu- pil. A long slip of paper being next laid before me, I was desired by the master to proceed, while he took his station by my side, and arranged his friends round the table, so that every one could get a eight of the strange hieroglyphics I was making. I merely wi'ote in a few words, an account of the adventure of the loss and recovery of the watch, to which I added my opinion of the honesty and kindness of the people, together with a request to any futui-e visitor to whom the paper might chance to be intelligible, that he would do the worthy in- habitants justice, and not be guid-ad, in describing the national character, by the hasty and sweeping prejudice which condemns a whole nation for the vices of one sea-port. The writing being finished, we rose and looked alM)ut the school-room, which was large and airy. In every village however small which we visited in China, there was invariably a school where both reading and writing Avere taught to boys ; but I do not recollect that we ever saw any girls at school on these occasions. As the path which led to the beach from the school-house was rather steep and rugged, the Chi- nese, affecting to fear that we should tumble down, insisted upon encumbering us with help, and taking us by the hands, conducted us slowly and cautious- ly along. Escorted in this ridiculous way by the whole party, we reached tlie boat, where the na- tives pressed our hands between theirs, and took 52 CHINA. leave of us in a manner expressive of the heartiest good will. Our friends then joined a considerable number of the villagers assembled on the top of the sea bank, and called out, as we shoved off, with one voice, some words in Chinese, which, al- though we did not understand them, certainly sounded most kindly. Next day, the man who had restored the watch came on board the Lyra, bringing with him liis two brothers. Even now, when he was unobserved, we could not prevail upon him to receive anything as a reward for his honesty, although the inter- preter explained to him again and again our wish- es on the occasion. He either was, or seemed to be, unconscious that he had done anything remark- able, observing, as we imagined, that if he were, as we said, an honest man, his reward would be elsewhere. On the 29th of August we landed, and walked for many miles over the country without meeting any inteiTuption. On the contrary we were in- vited by the inliabitants to enter many of the hou- ses, where they gave us the never-faiUng tea, and offered us pipes and fruit wherever we went. In the course of this most interesting ramble, we were attracted by the well-known hum to a school, which the master, who came out to the door, begged us to enter. Everything within was remarkably neat and clean, and the room well ventilated ; but the day was very hot, and one of the scholars, obser- ving Mr Clifford fanning himself with his hat, left his seat, and presented him with his fan ; at the same time, turning round, he gave me his book, opened I suppose at the place of the lesson. The whole school were then ordered to read at once, during CHINA. 53 which the master appeared to have the faculty of distinguishing any voice which was in eiTor ; a mode of teaching, it may be obsei-ved, universal from all time over the East, but only recently m- troduced from that hemisphere into this countiy, and I believe wdth much effect. The women were at fii'st rather shy, and retreat- ed within doors as soon as we approached. By and by they gained confidence, upon seeing that we meant hm-m to no one ; and before our walk was half over, we were frequently accosted by parties of two and three cmious damsels, whose wonder was greatly excited by an investigation of cm- ha- biliments. 11 i. 1 11 Most of these women, but not all of them, liaci the well-known small feet, the peculiar barbaiism of tlie country ; but prepared as we were by draw- ino-s and descriptions to expect this remaikable de- fomiity, the actual sight of it caused a feeling of disgust which I shall not attempt to describe. At a subsequent period of the voyage, when at Can- ton, I made many inquiries amongst the Chinese who spoke English, respecting this preposterous custom. I learned from one intelligent man, that the age of four was the usual time for commen- cing the honid ceremony of binding up the wietch- ed children's feet ; and he showed me the man- ner in wliich it was done. The toes are forcibly bent under the foot, in which position they are confined by a silk band three inches wide, and two or tlu-ee yyxds long. My informant told me that he had four daughters, all of whom suffered so much on these occasions, that he could not bear to hear their cries, and being unable to relieve or to console them, still less to exenipt them from this e2 54 CHINA. Vile mutilation, he was obliged to banish himself from home for more than a month, when the season for tormentmg one of his chUdren arrived. He bit- terly deplored the total absence of any free will to depart from the established customs of the Empire In the course of the day, I landed my instra- ments, measured a base, and surveyed the harbour, besides takmg the sun's altitude at noon, without the slightest opposition on the part of the natives • which I mention merely to show, that in places re- mote from Canton, where it is the poHcy of the local authorities to discoui-age all inquiry, there is not naturally any jealousy or apprehension of sti-angers. borne ot these observations I made under the very walls of a mud fort, the defences of which consist- ed of two old matchlocks fixed as wall pieces, and SIX warriors armed with bows and an-ows, while the commander, a jolly Tartar Mandarin, sat on the rampart, with liis gilt button shining above his cap, and a long pipe in his mouth, grinning with de- light and surprise at the sight of the quicksilver in the artificial horizon. It is true, I conciliated lus good will by presentmg him with an old sabre, in retui-n for which, he dispatched one of the gani- son on board my ship with two fowls and a duck two fans, a pipe, and a small parcel of tobacco. In the evening, we sailed from the bay of Oei- hai-oi carrying with us a very favourable impres- sion of the Chinese character. Our next obiect was to visit the coast of Corea, in order to fill up the mterval during which the embassy was likely to be engaged m China, with an examination of that un- known country. We steered, accordingly, direct- y East, along the parallel of 38 degrees of north iatitude wthout seeing any land till the morning of the third day afterwaids. COREA. 55 CHAPTER IL COREA — SIB JAMES IIALl/s GROUP HUTTOn's ISLAND SHALLOW BAY ON THE MAIN LAND AMHERST ISLES. When the day broke, on the 1st of September, 1816, we expected to have found ourselves close to the shore, but no land could be seen from the deck ; and it was not until the sim rose that the look-out man at the mast-head could distinguish a faint blue ridge, lying at a great distance to the Eastward. The annomicement of land being in sight is at all times an enlivening sound ; but upon tliis occasion, it cairied with it peculiar interest. The country we were now steering for was so com- pletely unknown that it held no place on our charts, except that vague sort of outline with which the old map-makers delighted to fill up their paper, and conceal theii* ignorance. This practice has done great disservice to geography ; because the mere embellishments of one fanciful and original ai'tist of this description become, in the hands of a co- pyist, established landmarks ; and thus the error is propagated and repeated till the eye grows as familiar with the outline of the unknown parts of the earth as with the best surveyed coasts. So strongly, indeed, do we leam to associate an idea of reality with what is constantly presented to our view, that at first when we come to examine the actual state of the fact upon the spot, we are perhaps more surprised to find it difterent from 56 COREA. what is laid down In these imaginary maps, tlKui we sliould have been to discover them accurate, thougli this would have been little short of a mi- racle, and the other is the occurrence to be look- ed for. In the case before us, we had soon rea- son to believe oxirselves in a region the exclusive property of those ingenious map-drawers alluded to, who survey the world in their closet ; for on approaching the land, and making observations to ascertain our true place, we discovered that accord- ing to one authority, we were sailing far up in the country, over wide forests and gi eat cities ; and ac- cording to another, the most honest author amongst them, our course lay directly tlu-ough the body of a goodly elephant, placed in the centre of a district of country in token of the maker's candid confes- sion of ignorance. From this time, for many weeks forward, we shut up oiir Atlases, Neptunes, and other nautical authorities, and trasted solely to om- own resources ; or according to the professional phrase, to lead, latitude, and look-out ; though, in truth, it was only the first and last that we had to depend upon, it being useless to know the latitude cf places as yet laid down on no chart. By nine o'clock in the morning, we were not far fiom a group of three high islands, cultivated in the lower ranges next the sea, and wooded to the very summits. The fields were divided, as in Chma, by stone walls very rudely built ; but we missed the extreme nicety in dressing and laying out the ground 60 conspicuous in that agricultural country'. As all places were alike to us, and equally unknown, we steered for the nearest island, the most southern of the group, and came to an anchor about noon in a fine bay, sheltered from all wuids except the South. COREA. 57 The meridian observation placed these islands in 37° 50' North latitude, and our chronometers made tliem in 124" 50' East longitude. Our anchor had scarcely reached the ground, when a small boat was discovered paddling off to us full of people, and on looking more attentively, we saw a village in a little nook at the north-west- ern side of the bay. The natives came boldly on till within about fifty yards of us, when they lay upon their oars to take a more leisurely survey before they ventured nearer. The result appeared not to be such as to encourage farther proceedings, for they would not come alongside, although we made all the signs we could think of to persuade them. Our only resource, therefore, was to man our ovtm boats and pay the first visit ourselves. As we row- ed towards the shore, the boat turned back like- wise, and followed us as fast as possible to the vil- lage. The inhabitants, who received us with looks of distrust and alarm, were evidently uneasy at our landing, for they were crowded timorously together Kke so many sheep. Having tried every art to re- assure them, but in vain, we determined to leave our unsociable acquaintances, and without waiting for an invitation, to take a look at the village. This mea- sm-e elicited something like emotion in the sulky natives, several of whom stepped fonvard, and pla- cing themselves between us and the houses, made very unequivocal signs for us to return to our boats forthwith. We persevered, however, and conti- nued to advance, till a couple of stout fellows fairly took us by the shoulders, and turning us round, pushed us very nidely in the direction we came from. There is no saying exactly how far our forbearance might have endured, had the na- 58 CO RE A. tives proceeded to can-y the joke much fertfier ; but as our object was hy all means to conciliate their good will, we took their incivility pleasantly, affecting not to understand their wishes to get rid of us altogether, but pretending to suppose they merely desired us to avoid the village. We there- fore altered our course, and began to climb the hill which rose on the North-Eastem side of the Bay. There \^'BS nothing in the appearance of these islanders which we recognised as Chinese, in dress, language, or appearance, and in their manners there was none of that courtesy which we met with everywhere in China. It was at once quite evi- dent indeed that they were a much ruder people. Their colour was a dark copper, and the expres- sion of their countenances, though certainly rather forbidding, was not as some of our party described it savage : I think this epithet much too strong, yet there was undoubtedly something wild about them, though not amounting to ferocity. They were dressed mostly in a loose wliite frock, barely reach- ing to the knees, made of an extremely coarse ma- terial, apparently grass-work; below which the legs were covered with wide trowsers of the same stuff; on their feet were tied sandals, made of rice-straw, plaited into the thicloiess of half an inch, and bound to the feet by thongs, the only neat article in the whole dress. Their hair, which was black and glossy, was twisted into a curious conical bunch, or spiral knot, on the top of the head, and there was not the least appearance of the Tar- tar tuft. Two or three of their number, who seem- ed principal persons, wore vast hats, the brims of wliich extended a foot and a half ia all directions, COREA. 59 so as completely to shade the body of the wearer. The top or crown, on the other hand, was dispro- portionably small, being made no larger than just to fit the top-knot of hair, which stood eight or nine inches above the head. This strange cover- ing, which looked more like an umbrella placed over them than a hat, appeared to be made of horse-hair, varnished over ; its texture was open, and the whole quite light, being tied under the chin by a band of oval red and yellow beads. Though it was at first a little vexatious to dis- cover that our Chinese interpreter did not under- stand a word these people said, it certainly added to that adventurous sort of interest which belongs to travelling in regions where the inhabitants dif- fer in every respect from those we have seen be- fore. It was like being transported to the moon, or to some other planet, where notliing existed in common with our previous knowledge. Eveiy- thiiig we saw was strange to our eyes, and we felt certain that each fresh step we took in the voyao-e was to prove equally fertile in unknown scenes and novel incidents ; it was impossible, in short, to go wrong ; a new world was all before us where to choose, and if we failed to derive instruction and pleasure fiom what we saw, the fault was our own ; the materials for both lay thickly around us. Our next object, seeing that we could open no useful communication with the natives, was to look about in order to ascertain if the main land, call- ed in the Jesuit's map Corea, could anywhere be distinguished. With this intention we commenced climbing the lull, which labour, by no means trifling, was lightened by the discovery of a small winding path, not urJike a sheep-track, though we saw no 60 COREA. animals of this description. From the top of the peak which rises in the centre of the island, there could just be discovered what was supposed to be the continent, at a great distance off, between which and the spot upon which we stood lay a countless number of islands of all sizes and forms ; some clad with foliage, and others quite bare and rocky. The temperature of the air, which below had been intolerably hot, was here comparatively cool and refreshing ; and as we found a rich matting of grass spread on the summit, with here and there a sweet- scented shrub, we were tempted to prolong our stay ; and having taken the precaution to bring our dinner with us, remained for upwards of an hour, enjoying the splendid prospect opened for the first time to European eyes. The world, of late years, has been so industri- ously beat up by voyagers and travellers, that it becomes no easy matter to light upon any spot re- specting which nothing whatsoever shall have been told before ; and I find it difficult to describe the sensation of pleasiu-e excited by the consciousness of being the first to witness so stupendous a scene as this multitude of unexplored islands presented. I could observe, however, that this circumstance affected the individuals of om- party very different- ly. Some who were elevated by it to a high de- gree of excitement, were not satisfied with anything short of the most rapturous expression. Others seemed careless of the thing itself, but were proud of it as a rare exploit in travelling, and took occa- sion to crow, as they expressed it, over their absent friends on the embassy, who, poor people, merely saw the interior of China, a country traversed re- 7>eatedly by Europeans, while it was their more fa- - COREA. 61 vouretl lot, they said, to be classed amongst origi- nal discoverers. There were some, too, who felt nothing at aU about the matter, but whose awk- ward attempts to imitate the enthusiasm of the others were sufficiently ludicrous. We varied the road on returning, by striking out of the path by which we had climbed up, and paid somewhat dearly for our enterprise, by scratches and bruises amongst a brushwood of prickly pears and brambles, gi-owing on a surface of steep rocks, broken across by frequent ravines on the northern side of the island. In process of time, by hard scram- bUng, we came once more in sight of the village, ly- ing immediately at the base of a cliff, over the brink of which we could peep down and see what was going on, without being ourselves perceived. The women, none of whom had been seen previously, were now discovered before the doors of the cot- tages engaged in husking rice, by beating it in great wooden mortars. Most of them supported children on their backs, whose little heads wag- ged to and fro by the motion of the poimding operation ; but habit had probably reconciled these little ^Tetches to this rude species of cradle, for they appeared fast asleep. Whilst we were thus occupied in stealing a view of the ladies, all of them, as if by one consent, threw down their pounding implements and hurried off to their huts like rabbits in a warren. For a minute or two we were at a loss to conjecture the cause of this Budden movement ; till one of the frigate's boats was observed to row round the point forming the western side of the Bay. No more was seen of tlie women ; for when we clambered down the rocks and reached the village, the men and the VOL. T. F 62 COREA. children alone were there to receive us. Enoiigh, however, was discovered of these timorous damsels to satisfy us that their feet were not mutilated on this island, as in China. The natives were now, in a slight degree, more friendly, or rather less un- friendly, than they had been at our first landing ; they permitted us to walk through the village unmolested, but would not suft'er us to enter a single house. The walls of these wretched abodes were ill constructed of canes plastered over with mud, and were not built in straight lines, but in curves, and all at different angles. They were thatched with reeds held down by straw ro])es, and quite destitute of neatness, order, or cleanliness, the spaces between the huts being choked up with piles of dirt and puddles of dirty water. The val- ley, at the end of which this comfortless village was situated, possessed considerable beauty, tliough not thickly wooded : it was cultivated in the lower parts with millet and buck-wheat ; tobacco also was growing in gi-eat abundance. In our liasty passage amongst the houses, for there was little attempt at a street, we saw several bullocks, and a great supply of poultry, but no in- ducement could prevail on the natives to sell or ex- change one of them. They held in no estimation our dollars and gold money ; and nothing else that we offered them appeared to possess value in their eyes except wine-glasses ; but even of this solitary taste we could scarcely take advantage. One of the principal persons, or a man whom we assumed to be such from the dimensions of his hat, looked so wist- fully at a claret-glass during a display which was made of the contents of our pic-nic basket to enter- tain the natives, that we prevailed upon him to ac- CO RE A. 63 ccpt it. Wo were now in hopes, when the ice had been broken, that we should commence a traffic. But in a few minutes the same native came back, and without any ceremony thrust the glass again into the basket, and walked oflF, accompanied by all the party except one man, who the moment the angle of a rock concealed him from the view of his com- panions, eagerly pointed to a tumbler in use at tJie moment to lift water from a spring, and ha- ving carefully hid it in his bosom, returned to the village by another road, evidently apprehensive of being detected by his countrymen. It is scarcely fair, perliaps, to judge of people upon 60 short an acquaintance, at a moment, too, when with some reason they might be under the influence of alarm at so unusual a visit. The same, however, might be said of other people equally ignorant of foreigners ; but I certainly never en- countered, during any voyage, people more re- solutely imsociable than these islanders. A dis- dainful sort of sulky indifference, rather than any direct ill-will, was the most obvious trait in their deportment. They were very rude to us, it is tme, and lost no opportunity of suggesting the fitness of our immediate departure. It seemed al- ways irksome to tliem to take any pains to com- prehend our signs, and often, when our meaning was made clear to them, they treated it with the most provoking contempt. On one occasion, I tried for a considerable time to induce an elderly man of the party to let me have a singular kind of rake which he carried in his hand ; but he woukl accept nothing in exchange ; and at last finduig that I persisted, he laughed heartily for a moment, and then as if relenting of being betrayed into good- 64 COREA. humoui;, placed it in my hands, and gave me a violent push from him, accompanying this insult- ing action by a loud angiy speech, doubtless not more civil, followed by many abundantly significant gestures, implying that the sooner I took to my boat, and left him and his inhospitable island, the better he would be pleased. In this unkindly senti- ment all his companions heartily joined, so that every one was exerting his ingenuity in attempts to get rid of us. One man, in his anxiety to explain that we could not do a more acceptable thing than proceed to sea, caught hold of a scrap of paper which fell from one of our sketch-books, and lifting up a piece of drift-wood from the beach, placed the paper across it like a sail, then blew upon it to make us observe that the wind was in a right direction. The little boys and girls, who indeed were our only friends, crowded round, apparently sensible of om- attentions ; for they were soon quite at their ease with us. The same cordiality on the part of the children prevailed everywhere we went to, however uncourteous the reception of the parents might be. In the charts which were constructed of our dis- coveries in this quarter, Captain Maxwell named these islands Sir James Hall's Group, in compli- ment to my father as President of the Royal So- ciety of Edinburgh ; the idea being suggested to him by observing elsewhere a cluster of islands named after Sir Joseph Banks. At eight o'clock in the evening, the ships weighed anchor, and stood to the South-eastwaid. We were utteriy uncertain what was to be met with next ; but every one was in high spirits, at the prospect of encountering new scenes and new people. After sailing for a considerable distance I COREA. Q5 in the dark, it became expedient to anchor, as we knew not whether we were far fiom land, or close to it. When a cast of the lead was taken, it was discovered that we were in eighty fathoms water ; notwithstanding which Captain Maxwell deter- mined to remain where he was. It is not very common to anchor in such great depths, from twenty to thirty fathoms being generally consider- ed deep water ; but, during this ■s'oyage, we prac- tised it constantly, with the greatest effect ; and I mention the circumstance, as its utility and con- venience may not suggest themselves, or possibly may be as little known to some other professional men, as they certainly were previously to me. In un- known seas, especially in coral latitudes, nothingcan be more dangerous, or moi"e harassing to an officer, than navigating at night. The next moment may place the ship on a reef, or what is very common, the ship may be drifted, by the cuireut, past the object in view, and the labours of the precious day-light be all lost during the darkness. Against such evils, the practice of anchoring, if the water does not much exceed a hundred fathoms in depth, IB a complete security. A ship rides more easily, even in exposed situations, under such circum- stances, from the long scope, and consequent p^eater elasticity of the cable, which is also less liable to be cut than in shallow water. The con- fidence and the security thus given, afford an ample compensation for the trouble of getting the an- chor up again from its deep bed in the ocean. While treating of technical details, I may per- haps be allowed to mention another practical de- vice, wliich, though not new, is certainly very little used, but was found highly advantageous 1- 2 66 COREA. on this occasion. It is common, when sailing along coasts, or when it is necessary to anchor fi-equent- ly, to lower the yards, square them, and furl the sails, as often as the anchor is let go. Hahit has made this almost an essential point in seamanship. The practice with us was never to lower or square the yards on any occasion, unless forced to do so by the violence of the wind ; but merely to clew the sails up, and if required to furl them aloft. The advantages of this were, that without a moment's delay, with a few hands, and in the darkest night, sail could be re-made on the ship. In the usual routine of a man-of-war's duties, this practice would be considered exceedingly slovenly ; but on the present service it was of great consequence, not only in rendering the ships more efficient, but by essentially saving the wear and tear of the ropes and sails, an object of vital importance, when so completely removed, as we were, beyond the reach of dock-yards, and other places of re-equipment. In sailing along these unknown seas, and more particularly when threading our coui'se amongst rocky islands, or when coasting past shores of whose nature we were entirely ignorant, my little brig, which drew only twelve feet water, was sent about half a league a-head, to sound the way, and to look out for dangers. In general it was found suffi- cient in clear weather, to keep the sounding-lines pei^petually going, and to station a midshipman aloft, with a glass at his eye, to assist the ordinary look-out-men placed at the mast-heads and fore- yard arm. But when the weather became hazy, or it was thought necessary to carry the ships into situations peculiarly suspicious, a boat was sent forwards to pioneer the course, even for the COREA. 67 Lyra. In this way we were enabled to visit in safety many places that must have been inaccessi- ble, or extremely dangerous to a ship like tlie Al- ceste, whatever degree of vigilance might have been used. This service was at times a very fati- guing and anxious one ; but on the other hand the interest excited by it was unceasing, and for ever vai-ying. At first our ignorance of the peculiar kind of navigation, and the apparent dangers which beset it, rendered the anxiety insupport- ably great, and the degree of watchfulness indis- pensably necessary for the safety of the ship, al- most too much for the bodily frame. But after a little practice, most of this apprehension vanished, notwithstanding the causes of alarm having greatly increased. The habit of taking much rest in a short time was also soon acquired ; so that the fatigue and anxiety, instead of augmenting with the occa- sion, often became less as the difficulty and the sources of real apprehension became greater. In point of fact the risk of shipwreck, to which we were constantly exposed, though at the beginning of the voyage it affected every one on board pretty much alike, in a few days became so familiai- that every trace of reflection about it was removed from the thoughts of all but one person on board. The load of his cares, indeed, are in general rather in- creased than lightened by the universal indifference of those around him, who, though of course quite as much concerned in the result, are unquickened in their vigilance by high responsibility, and whose duties, therefore, natmally become mere matters of routine, very far from commensurate with that anxiety, which can be felt by the Captain alone. The tendency of strict disciplme, such as pre- 68 COREA. vails on board ships of war, where almost every act of ft man's life is regulated by tlic orders of Ills superior, is to weaken the faculty of independent thought; and on all ordinaiy occasions this answers extremely well. But when the ship is placed in circumstances where success depends on the indi- vidual reflection of those who have been previous- ly taught not to think for tliemselves, but to act solely at the suggestion of other minds, this mecha- nical principle is found to be a serious defect in the system. I have seen occasions, when a ship was sailing amongst ice-bergs in a dark night and stormy weather, or amongst rocks and sand-banks, wlien her safety depended entirely on individual vigilance — yet not a soul on board could be brought to feel the least anxiety, and each man and oflicer, as his turn of duty ceased, rolled into bed, and was asleep the next moment, leaving tlie waking captain to manage the ship as he best could, every one else bemg quite ready to take hi-s chance ; that is to say, never tlunking about the matter. On the morning of the 3d of September, tlie ships again weighed, and stood under all sail to- wards the islands, with which the sea to the East- ward and Southward was thickly studded as far as the eye could i-oach. By two o'clock of this day, we had ai)proached the outermost group, and the passages amongst them appearing to be free from danger, we sailed through, and anchored in a little bight or cove on the Eastern side of the largest. As these islands lay so close to one another, we were obliged to make a zigzag course, in order to j)ass amongst them, and this winding about brought us in sight of ft singular-looking cliff, which we determined to visit after anchoring. Accordingly, COUEA. - 69 at balf past three, as soon as dinner was over, we set out to explore the island ; and the geological appearances which had engaged our attention at some distance, proved in the highest degree cu- rious when more closely examined. The North-eastern end of this singular island is composed of close-grained, whitish granite, and the middle pait of micacious schistus, disposed in strata nearly horizontal, but dipping a little to the S.W. This stratified mass is cut across by a gi-a- nite vein or wall, forty feet wide ; from which in- numerable lateral veins of all sizes, from tliree feet in width, to the tenth of an inch, are seen to penetrate the schistus. The strata hereabouts are also so much broken and distorted as to leave no doubt of the action of some violent force. At no great (iistance from this curious scene, a whin- stone dike cuts across the same strata of schistus, in a plane nearly at right angles to that of the gi-eat vein of gianite. The strata at this junction are considerably bent, but not to the same extent as in the vicinity of the granite. On proceeding iarther to the South, about ten or twelve yards fiom the spot last described, stands a high rugged cliff of breccia, or pudding-stone, composed of ■water-wom fragments of various rocks, evidently the sliingle and gravel which at some remote pe- riod must have formed the bottom of the ocean, though now raised several hundred feet above higli ■water mark. The appearances above described are not given as neAv ; on the contrary, they are familiar to every geologist ; and it is on this very account that they are mentioned. Humboldt somewhere remarks the wonderful uniformity which obtains in the 70 CO RE A. rocks forming tlie crust of the globe, and contrasts this regularity with the diversity prevailing in every other branch of natuial liistory. The truth of this remark was often forcibly impressed upon our no- tice during the present voyage ; for wherever Ave went, the vegetable, the animal, and the moral kingdom, if I may use such an expression, were discovered to be infinitely varied : even the as- pect of the skies was changed, and new constel- lations and new climates co-operated to make us sensible that we were far from home. But on turning our eyes to the rocks upon which we were standing, we instantly discovered the most exact resemblance to what we had seen else^vhere. Captain Maxwell was so highly amused with the interest taken by the geologists of oui- party in these scenes, and with the earnest manner in which the advocates of the rival theories debated the question, each armed with a bag full of ap- j)ropriate specimens, that he determined to chris- ten the island after the celebrated Dr Hutton, whose theory he seemed to think the best adapted to explain the phenomena before us; an exercise of authority, by the way, which the Wemerian com- batants took much amiss. Whilst this scientific controversy was raging below, a party of the natives had assembled on the edge of one of the cliffs in dispute, and were ta- king a share in the discussion, quite as intelligible, it was observed by a wag of our party, as the more learned argumentation on the beach. Be this as people think, the natives appeared greatly in- censed at our brealting up their rocks at such a rate ; and indicated by indignant shouts, and the most significant, though ill-mannered gesticula- CORE A. 71 tions, that we were far from wekomo. As tlie angle of tlie cliff on which these rude islanders were perched, was not less than two hundred per- pendiculai- feet, directly over our heads, we thought ourselves fortunate that they confined themselves to signs and clamour, instead of using tlie more ])otent argument of a shower of stones. We considered it prudent, however, not to tempt them too far ; and therefore rowed to a little bay on the western side of the island, where we dis- covered a good landing-place, on a smooth beach composed of spangles of mica, glistening from end to end, in the setting sun. The natives had crossed the promontory, and H-ere ready to receive us, as we leaped upon the wet sand, for it was low v/ater, and our boat had grounded on the shelving beacli. We walked straight up to the inhabitants, took our hats off, and made them a low bow ; upon which, the foremost of their number addressed us in a long speech, in a tone of voice that was heard on board the ships half a mile oft^ We replied in a more moderate key, in English, that we intended no mortal any harm, and merely begged leave to walk over the island. As tliis was about as much lost upon them as theii- own liarangue had been upon us, a more intelligible language was tried, by our walking di- rectly along the path towards the brow of the high- est hill, a rule, it may be mentioned, which it is useful to follow in strange places, that as soon as possible a general view of the country may be ob- tained ; after which if there be leisure the de- tails may be examined. The natives put a nega- tive on this resolution, as far as they could, without using absolute violence. Sometimes they placed 7S ' COEEA. themselves directly across our path ; and some- times bawled in om- ears some very angry words, at the full stretch of their voices, apparently im- pressed with the belief that mere loudness would make their words more intelligible. It is more than probable that these people had never before met with any one who did not understand them ; and it may be reasonably supposed they ascribed our inattention to deafness. To a person who is unconscious of the existence of any language but his own, the circumstance of meeting people who do not comprehend him, and whom he does not himself understand, must be a very perplexing phenomenon. To us, who are familiar with the idea of many languages, this dilemma is scarcely intelligible ; but many incidents led us to believe, that the people whom we met with on this coast were utterly ignorant, not only of other languages, but of the fact that any such existed at all. One very busy personage now took his station before us, and baring his neck, drew his fan fiom end to end along his throat ; and then, with no great gentleness, went tlu-ough a similar ceremony with the necks of his visitors. Hereupon a great spe- culation was set afloat amongst us, as to the im- port of this significant gesture. One thing was plain, it had reference to cutting off heads ; but our party was equally divided in opinion as to whose heads were to suffer. Some thought the natives were in alarm for themselves, while others considered this ugly sign as a threat to us. We went on, however, till we reached the summit of the island. From this spot, a small village was discovered, at the distance of half a mile, built on COREA. T3 the side of a hill, at the base of which lay a small creek, just large enough to afford shelter for two or three fishing-boats. The sea-bi'eeze, which had never been strong during the day, now gradually expired as the sun went down, and was succeeded by a sultry calm. It would have been delightful to have sat for half an hour in one of the houses, or to have bathed in the little stream which we saw running close by the village. But upon the first motion we made in that direction, the natives raised such a shout, and looked so much distressed, that we gave up the contest, and turned towards our boats. All was nov/ changed.; instead of ob- structing our way, and roaring in om* ears, they were all smiles and assistance : a man on each side seized our hands, and warning us of every ob- stacle, escorted us along the path, and over the slippery stones on the sea bank, with a degree of assiduity extremely ludicrous. Sometimes tlois friendly aid took the shape of a push, and some- times of a pull, both sufficiently expressive of an- xiety to see us depart. On reaching the boats, four or five athletic handsome-looking fellows strip- ped off their clothes, and leaping into the water, caught hold of the gunwale of the boat, ready to launch us from their inhospitable shore with as much momentum as possible. There was but little dift'erence between the dress of the people of Hutton's Island and those we vi- sited on the first of September. The greater num- ber dressed their hair in the conical top-knot be- fore described ; but in some instances it was left to fly loose, in a wild-looking style ; in others con- fined by a nanow gauze fillet, on the side of which was wrought a small star-like ornament ; but not VOL. I. G 3 ) •74. COREA. one of their beards and whiskers had ever linown a razor. Every person we saw smoked from a long hollow reed or cane, having a small hole bored at one side, near the extremity, like the stop of a flute, capable of holding a minute portion of tobac- co ; a large gaudy-coloured paper fan canied in the hand completed the equipment. The children were amazingly diverted with us, and showed none of the surliness of the grown-up people, but examined our clothes with gi-eat attention ; occasionally ma- nifesting their surprise by the most boisterous shouts. This admiration became quite general when a watch was displayed. By their manner of in- specting it, we conjectm-ed that its use was utterly unknown ; one of the seniors, however, showed that he comprehended the use of the seals, by pressing one of them for some time on his copper- coloured hand, and exhibiting the impression to Jiis companions. While the watch was under re- view, and just as their shouting had subsided in- to unaffected and silent admiration, one of our party indiscreetly fired his fowling-piece at a bird in the air. In all probability, it was the first dis- charge of fire-arms they had ever heard ; for they flew back several paces, like a shoal of fish when a Btone is cast amongst them. This unlucky incident removed the only chance we had of gaining their confidence ; for even the watch had now lost its attraction ; and we re-embarked, much entertain- ed with the whole scene, but somewliat provoked with ourselves, for the small impression om- civi- lized manners had made upon these primitive islanders. During all the ensuing night it was a dead calm, and the sea as smooth as a sheet of glass ; a gentle COREA. 75 current glided silently past ug to the Southward, but without causing the least ripple on th« surface. At nine o'clock we got under weiglj, to be ready for the sea-breeze^ which soon canae to refi-esh us, well nigh burned up by the rays of the sun blazing both from above, and by reflection from the bright miiTor round about. On the breeze catching us, we stood boldly on, right in the midst of the islands, and in less than an hour the view of the main ocean was so completely sliut out, that we lost all trace of the track by Avhicli the ships had entered this fairy archipelago. Our na^-igators and surveyors were busily employed in taking an account of tlie most remarkable of these islands. But as this was soon found to be a hopeless task, attempts were made to jot down on the charts at least each dif- ferent cluster or distinct group : at last even this was abandoned in perfect despair ; and it was reluctant- ly confessed, that many months perhaps years of labour would be required to form a correct map of this magnificent scene. It was one, however, so well calculated to rouse the attention of the most unthinkmg person amongst us, that even the sea- men, whose habits dispose them very little to ob- serve what is passing around them, Avere quite astonished. Aliout an hour after taking the meridian obser- vation, it was discovered that we were drawing in with the main land ; and in a short time villages, single houses, and cultivated fields, were distin- guished along the shore. A broad belt of enclosed and cultivated country extended to a considerable distance from the sea, along the sides of a range of mountains lying parallel tothe coast. No harbour nor break in the laiul was visible till about three 76 COREA. o'clock, when a projecting point came in sight, on rounding which a noble bay was discovered, in- denting the land for four or five miles. On sailing farther in, however, it proved a mere shallow basin, and we therefore let go our anchors far out in five fathoms water. As the ships passed the promon- tory, a crowd of the natives came down to the wa- ter's edge, and hailed us with loud and angry shouts, the ungracious tone of which was becoming by this time but too familiar to our ears. As soon as the ships were secured. Captain Maxwell, Mr Clifford, and I proceeded in one of the Alceste's boats towards a considerable village, or rather town, in the North-western angle of the bay. On drawing near it was discovered that the whole population were in a commotion, much re- sembling the sort of bustle into which a colony of ants are thrown by the thrust of a spade. Tliis sen- sation extended to a fleet of boats riding at anchor off the town, the crews of which were busily em'- ployed weighing anchor, and getting their oars to pass. Before we could i"each the landing-place, eight or ten of the lai"gest vessels were seen steer- ing towards us, escorted by more than a hundred canoes and small boats bustling and paddling along in tumultuous procession. Every boat, even the smallest that had a mast at all, was decked out with long streamers, and crowded almost to sinking with people. On arriving within a couple of boats' lengths of the headmost vessel, our ears were sa- luted with sounds not unlike those of the bagpipe, which issued fi-om three pipes, or trumpets, played by men raised high in the bow of the boat. In the middle part of the deck, between the masts, we dis- covered a huge blue umbrella, held by two men over COREA. 77 the head of a very important-looking pereonage, seated cross-legged on a mat, sm-romuled by at- tendants in richly-coloured dresses. The chief him- self, for such he was dubbed the moment we be- held him, is worthy of a particular description. His principal garment consisted of a showy robe, or mantle, of blue satin, inAvhose ample folds he was well nigh lost ; in fi-ont hung down his venerable white beard, as far as a rich embroidered girdle, con- fining the robe. On his head was placed a hat of a size in proportion with that of the other parts of his dress ; the rim measured not less than three feet, over which rose a very small peaked crown. In his right hand he wielded, with an an- of mighty importance, a slender black rod tipped with silver, from which hung at one end a small slip of black crape, and a narrow leather thong was tied to the other end — symbolical, it was thought, of the sum- mary course of justice in Corea. In his left hand he grasped between the thumb and little finger his pipe, trimmed from time to time by an attendant, stationed for that pmiiose close to his elbow, who took the tobacco from a silver box earned by a little boy. As there could be no doubt that this was the principal person, we rowed straight alongside, and stepped on board his boat to pay our respects. He answered our salutations with grave civility, but neither rose nor asked us to sit down. The mu- sic now stopped squeaking, and the vmiversal hub- bub that had the instant before prevailed amongst the boats ceased likewise ; the rowers and the scul- lers were all at a stand, and our conference com- menced, somewhat inauspiciously, by the old chief pointing to our boats with his rod of office, thereby G 2 '^S COREA. very clearly giving us to understand that we must not stay longer upon his quarter-deck. To humour him in this fancy, we immediately took om- seats again in our own boats ; but here our old dilemma arose for want of language. We did what we could, however, in the way of signs, first to show our wish to visit the country ; and finding our signals either unintelligible or not agreeable, we pointed to the Alceste and invited him to visit us. Tliis he com- prehended much better. In the meantime, the other Corean boats, some of them ten times as large as ours, had gradually moved round from the rear, and were nearly encircling us. We had arms ready, but it would have been easy for these boats, had they been so disposed, to have closed upon us. As soon, therefore, as we suspected treacliery, we pull- ed ofi" and prepared for an attack. Tlie old gen- tleman perceived this movement, and being inno- cent of any hostile design, looked about him ta discover the cause of our apprehension. We ex- plained to him that we preferred an open space to such a crowd of vessels, upon which he gave or- ders, which were promptly obeyed by the intruding boatmen, \^'ho hm-ried back to their stations in an instant. The whole procession, like a royal regatta, now proceeded slowly towards the Lyra, to the sound of the pipes, which began to play the instant the boats went on. Captain Maxwell and I rowed to one side of the brig, while the chief's boat was placed on the other in a very seamanlike style. To get on board was not so easy a matter, and it was all our discipline could accomplish to keep the sailors from laughing at the manner in which the old chief got up the gangway, encumbered as he COREA. "79 was wiih his immense robes. As the evening was j&ne, we thought it best to entertain our guest on the quarter-deck, instead of inviting him to my little ca- bin, hardly large enough, as some one observed, to hold the old gentleman's hat. Chairs were accord- ingly brought up, but the chief seemed to despise these European inventions, and vrould accept of no accommodation but his own mat. Even to this he at fii'st objected, leaving us completely perplexed to discover his wishes. It has cccmTed to us since, that the publicity of the conference may have dis- pleased him, and we regretted not having earned him below, hoAvever inconvenient the accommoda- tion. At length he sat do-wn, and immediately the whole of his own crew, and the men from about twenty other boats, leaped on board in all direc- tions, to assist at the ceremony. Some of them climbed into the rigging, others established them- selves on the poop, and one unbroken line of cop- per-colom-ed wondering faces was ranged along the hammocks from stem to stern. When every one was seated, silence and something like order was established, and the cliief, drawing his pipe from his mouth, and flomishing his wand, commenced an ora- tion wliich lasted fully five minutes. When lie had concluded. Captain Maxwell, who had listened with admirable graAaty and a look of respectful attention, made a reply in English, not quite so long, but quite as much to the pui-pose. The chief opened his eyes, stared, listened, and looked round to his attend- ants, as if to inquire the meaning of all this; but ob- taining no satisfaction from the appeal, as they all shook their heads, he called to a person who seem- ed to be his secretajy, and touching him with Iiis rod, inade him sit down before l)im. The secretary 80 COREA, took his place with all due formality, and having rubbed liis cake of Indian inli upon a neat blue • Btone wliich he earned Avith him, di-ew forth his camel-hair binish, and arranging a long scroll of paper on his knees, began at the cliiefs dictation to wnte a dispatch, the by-standers assisting from time to time in the composition of this document, wliich tliey no doubt thought was to set all matters right. When completed tlie cluef looked it over, and then handed it to us. We looked at it too, but were obliged to shrug our shoulders, and signify our ignorance with the best gi-ace we could. The chief was exceedingly provoked, and showed by his ges- tures and the angry tones of his voice how stupid he thought us. His disappointment and surprise are not so un- reasonable as they at first sight may appear. In China, Japan, Corea, and at most of the islands of those seas, the spoken languages differ so complete- ly in sound, that when the several iidiabitants of the countries meet, and try to converse, tliey are mutually unintelligible as long as they confine them- selves to oral communication ; but the instant they have recom-se to the wiitten character, they under- stand each other perfectly. This written language, which is altogether independent of sound, is the same in each of the countries alluded to, while the spoken language on tlie contraiy is different in all of them. In these respects the Arabic numbers 1, 2, 3, exactly resemble the wiitten Chinese charac- ters. There is nothing in these symbols by which their pronunciation can be determined, and in fact every nation of Europe uses difiereut words to express them in speech. In China, and the coun- tnes adjacent, this principle, with us confined to COREA. 81 numerals and to algebraic signs, extends to the whole language ; and, as a loiowledge of reading and writing is very generally diflPused in those coun- tries, it was quite natural that the Coreans should be surprised at the ignorance of people of our pre- tensions. As we made no progress in the mutual expres- sion of our wishe-g, we had recourse to a langxiage which is pretty well understood all over the world —that of the bottle ; and the disturbed features of the irritable old chief speedily became smooth, un- der the genial influence of our most powerful ally, a glass of cherry-brandy. To the Corean boatmen, and other villagers who came on board, we distri- buted ram, which as usual made us all good fiiends. The chief alone, however, who seemed to be sit- ting on thorns, was never long satisfied with any- thing, but was continually ordering and counter- ordering his officers and people in the most petulant manner. More than once he waved his rod, and ordered all hands into the boats, but as soon as he turned round, the people leaped on board again. One fellow, who probably had got double allow- ance of grog, made a great commotion behind the chief, where he had stationed himself across the hammocks. The old man after bidding him as we supposed hold his tongue, to no pm^jose, ordered him into confinement, and he was canied off to the boat. The suite of the chief were dressed in loose white robes, large hats, wide trowsers tied at the ancle, and cotton shoes turned up at the toes. There stood also some persons near him, whom we took to be his body guard. Of these soldiers, some car- ried notliing but a bow and arrows, \vhil8t othera ^^ CO RE A. Td'ofTlot'^'^'-Tf " Their head-dress consist- mss onZ t ' ^f'""^'^' «f thickly.plaited grass, on the top of which was fixed a small silt prSV:lh*""'i'^V^"'^"'^'-dhaIfadozt peacock s feathers worked together It had become nearly dark by this time, and mat- ters were hanging rather hea ^on our hamls, when the chief ordered his boats to be got ready and called two of his attendants to assist him in lisW an operation too undignified it appeared for h"m' ^ffi ,?P ft"'- ^^ ^«™P^^io^ to the old man^ ^fficuhy of locomotion, I had set the carpenters to 2 fo m "r'^'^^W^f-^ on board, to construct a ?h?n ™;r, ''"^i'^^"'^ ^" "«^ ^^^l^ed out of the 8hip, with much more ease than he had entered He remarked the difference, and seemed more plea sed with this mark of attention than he had been ^th anythmg else we did to accommodate him! So far al seemed well. But there was still some tinng amiss, as the boat did not put off, but contl riued alongside, the old chief sitting sto k s ill and ^dent with his unhghted pipe inL mouth. ?„ utter Ignorance of what was expected of us we probably this was what he waited for, since e made room for us to sit down on his ow^ mat?and then lookmg round, appeared sorry that he had no- thing to entertain us with ; at least we coniectu- or a tttt 7" *'' f-1^"/^^' ^"^ thereforfsent han it .11 "^7^"^' ^^"^h the chief no sooner saw, than he called for three or four bowls, and made his pipe-bearer pour out the wine ; th^n touc^W he vessels with his rod, made us all drink before hf voukl taste a drop. The oddity of his entertain! mg the company at their own expense seemed not COREA. 83 to Strike him ; on the contrary he did the honours with much cheeifulness, and for the first time, was quite at his ease. After sitting for ten minutes, we took our leave, and the Corean boats rowed in the direction of the town for about a hundi'ed yards, then sud- denly turning their heads round, proceeded to- wards the Alceste. As it was now dark, we had not dreamed of more visiting, and being sufficiently tired with the day's work, were congratulating oui'- selves with all these ceremonies being at an end, and that the remainder of the evening was at our own disposal, when it was announced that the ve- nerable chief was on his way to the commodore. Captain Maxwell by dint of hard rowing reached his ship in time to have the quarter-deck and ac- commodation ladder lighted up, and everything ar- ranged for the reception of the chief. He was evi- dently much struck with the appearance of the ship, particularly when he entered the cabin, and found himself in a large and elegantly-furnished apartment. Captain Maxwell showed him the way and begged him to sit down, but he would use no- thing but his own favourite mat. The sentinel, however, at the cabin door had orders to stop every one from entering but the chief himself, and seeing nt> reason for admitting the mat-bearer more than the others, some minutes elapsed before this essential part of his establishment could be found. Meanwhile, the old man looked about him, asto- nished at the unexpected splendour of the apart- ment ; and as Captain Maxwell had changed his jacket for a kmg coat, he did not at first recognize kirn. ^ On discovering his mistake, he laughed for the first and I tliink the only time, and lids beha- °* COREA. viour afterwards was certainly less constramed. He did not relish being left alone with us, how- ever, and seemed ill at ease till the secretary and three or four others were called in. It appeared that he had forgotten the fate of his dispatch on board the Lyra, or else he wished once more to fathom the depth of om- ig-norance, pro- bably not conceiving it possible that the owner of such a dwelling should be unable to read or write. Whatever his reasons might be, he ordered his se- cretary to prepare another writing without delay and as soon as it was examined, handed it with great formality to Captain Maxwell. The orio-inal document is now in my possession, as well as^the ti-ansiation, made by the interpreter to the British I'actoiy at Canton, which rmis thus •— " Persons, of what land ai-e you ?_of what na- tion i^—Un account of Avhat business do you come hither ?_Ia the ship are there any literary men, who thoroughly uuderstajid, and caa explain what IS wntten ?" We readily conjectured that something to this purpose must be the import of the writing : had we known it then, however, as correctly as we do now, the knowledge would have served us little purpose, for we had no means of reply, except in- ueed to the latter part of the question, which Cap- tain Maxwell answered in a manner certainly the most effectual tliat could be devised. He did it, hoAvever, with so much ceremony, and at the same time? such perfect gravity, that it was sin- gularly ludicrous. Having called for liis clerk, he proceeded to imitate the chief, and wrote a letter which he presented wuth a low bow. This dis- patch was not quite so long as the chiefs, and COREA. S^ contained simply this :— « I do not understand one word that you say." _ , . .i, . i. The chief not doubting m the least that lie should understand the writing as soon as he look- ed at it, carefully inspected the paper, and turned it first one way and then another, but all to no pur- pose. At last he looked towards Captain Maxwell with an inquiring air and pointed mipatiently to the paper. Cap^tain Maxwell took up the chief s letter and did exactly the same, implying an equal de' '" ^'"P^^^^ '^'^ strangers It tr kll f ^' ""P^'-t^"^^- But whethe? or not this fi-etfulness wa^ feigneel wliile in the cabin, TZ:.""1f '^r^* '^' '^''^'^'y «f '"^ displeasure IT^r n ^^^^°^r" th« quarter-deck to take leave. On passing the gun-room skylight, his quick ear caught the sound of voices below and looking down he detected some of his peopk en- joymg themselves and making very merry over a bott e of wme with the officers of the ship! On his bawling out to them, they leaped on their feet, and iiumed up the ladder in great consternation. The alarm soon spread along the lower deck to another jovial party of the Coreans, who were carousing with the midshipmen. ^ AH over the world it seems to be an Enghsh- mans maxim to give his guest more to drink than IS good for him, and accordingly, most of the Co- reans came stumbling up the ladder half tipsy, and 8 aggered across the deck, to the great wraih of the chief, who disapproved totally of these symptoms of famdianty. The first one or two who made their appearance, bolted over the gangway into their boats and thus eluded the chief's scrutiny; after which he stationed himself at the hatchway, and caught each man as he came up, punching him soundly with his little rod in a very undignified manner, until the culprit by callbg out be'trayed himself. One poor feUow, the broad sleeve of whose robe was filled with biscuits given him below managed to slip pa^t, and run to the oppo- ite side of the deck. The chief left his post, and set out m chase round the quarter-deck, to the un- speakable entertainment of the sailors. As the weight of the biscuit retarded the offender's speed, COREA. 87 he managed, just before the chief reached Urn, to sUde his whole cargo into a coil of rope, and then surrendered himself prisoner. But the old man, catching a lantern from one of the sidesmen, pointed ou-i the stolen goods with an air of great exultation, as a proof of the efficiency of his disci- pline. On finding no more people come up, he went down to the main-deck, and by rummaging about under the guns, and amongst the pumps, satisfied himself that no one was concealed. At length he took his leave, after inviting us, as we thought, to visit him on shore the next day. On returning to the Lyra, well tired with the day's work, I found about a dozen Corean boats anchored in a cu'cle round the brig, but from the crews bemg all asleep, we conjectured they were not there for the purpose of watch- ing us, but were expecting the chief to return. We roused them up by bangmg one of their own gongs ; and they no sooner discovered, by our pointing to the shore and making signs, that the man -tvith the large hat and long beard had gone in that direction, than they bestmred themselves to get their anchors up, and soon left us to ourselves. The Corean boats resemble those of China in many respects ; their bow, and stern, however, are not so upright, but project at an angle of thirty de- grees with the water. The whole cable is wound upon a reel turned at tlie ends by winches, and not coiled away as with us. It appears to be made of a long grass very neatly twisted. To the cable is attached a very primitive description of anchor, being merely two bent elbows of a dark- coloured wood, which sinks in the water, a pro- perty, in some instances, assisted by stones fas- ^^ COREA. tened to the crossing of the flukes and the shanli, both of which are made of wood. When not under sail, these boats are impelled by oars, rude in appearance, but effectual enough in practice consisting merely of a pole, to the extremky of ^hich a flat circular board is laced by thongs. t^very boat also canies over her stem, and fre- quently on bota quarters, a long oar-which serves the double purpose of steering, and of skulling, as It IS technically called, an excellent method of%y- ing impulse to large boats, in which the natives of L.ftma and the adjacent countries excel all other nations. This method, by the way, is well wor- tiiy ot imitation in crowded rivers, from its taking up literally no room. In the Thames, and in all » «^'f .r^f"/, ^'.'^"" ^^ American rivers, the use of the skull, if I am not mistaken, is con- hned almost entirely to small boats. In China I have seen vessels of more than a hundred ton., propelled rapioly by means of several skulls, with four or fi^e men to each; and I am confident it might be usefully apphed to our river barges, instead of the huge sweeps or oars now in use wlxich not only take up unnecessary space, but are not neariy so efficient. The Chinese 'skull, it may be observed is made to work on the smooth top of a nail or bolt, about as large as the httle finger, the top of which fits into a small hollow space cut in the oar, whereas with us the skull is made to turn in a nick in the stem. w«f"lK''^"^'f''"T*"'''"'^"^'^^«"«iderabIe bustle was observed on shore, and shortly afterwards the pei-seven^g old chief again embark'ed anrr^wed to Itnr77K''T'"^r''^^y ^ ^*^" »^«'-« mimerous escort of boats and people, who Imd assembled du- COREA. 89 ring the night from the various villages lying round the bay. The moniing was very fine, and nothing could be more brilliant than the appearance of this procession, with flags and streamers flying from all the masts, and gay cro^'ds of people covering every deck. They came slowly towards us, beating gongs and playing lively mailial airs on their shrill pipes. Tlie LyTa, happening to lie nearest to the shore, was first honoured with a visit. We determined to entertain our guest below upon this occasion, but as tlie cabin was not quite ready for his recep- tion, he was allowed to walk about the decks, and to examine things as he pleased, a degree of liber- ty for which he seemed very grateful. Presently he proposed to go below, but on the way down was neai-ly wedged into the hatchway, the open- in"- being barely sufficient to admit his prodi- gious hat. If he was disappointed with the con- fined accommodation, compared to that of the Al- ceste, he was too well bred to notice such things, and even condescended to sit on a chair, when he saw there was not a bit of room for his mat. A pair of globes first attracted his attention, with the mo- tion of which he expressed a childish sort of de- light. In the same "svay, the pictures in the books amused him, as well as the mirrors, spy-glasses, and everything he saw. The chief was accompanied this morning by a person, whom, from the richness of his dress, we supposed to be a man of rank. He looked, how- ever, so unwell, probably from being a little sea-sick, that we took it into our heads he must have come on boai-d to consult the medical gentlemen. The idea was no sooner stalled than we set about con- firming oui-selves in the mistake, by making signs H 2 ^" COREA. anxiety. The poor man, who, from tlie urbanity ofhis manners, acquired amongst us the name o^' the Courtier, not knowmg what we would be at rephed, as people do on such occasions, by a civ 1 las senffor'^wT 7, T "''^'"^^ ^^-' ^^e' doc^o was sent for, who felt his pulse, made him expose h.s tongue, and as far as could be accomnlished inquired into his ailments-an absurd eno^^h dis-' ciplme for a man m perfect Jiealth. The chiefmea^. .^le looked on with great gravity, and boThTe and the patient probably believe to this hour that nc ? a ceremonial forms merely a part of our es tabhshed etiquette. f...Tf " *^ ''?''"' ^''^^ ^'^^^' the Courtier was freed fi-om farther scmtiny, and he commenced examining the books lying on a shelf near hfm with so much apparent interest that I be^/d £ to accept one. He grasped it with eagernTss, anT a. er clasping it to his breast, dropped it cunningly nto his ong sleeve, wliich, like the same part of a Zk:; 'T?J Europe, forms a most c^paciou^ pocket. I had not the least thought of any re- thron ■ I "/f S'^"* " '"^""^^ afterwardsH^hen the okl chiefs back was turned, the Courtier slin ?he table " T'' ^1^^'^ "'^« ^^ ^^^ "^r tfie table. Seemg that this was to be a Drivate ZlTX'Tr 1 ' r '' ^-'^^ ^^'- -' secrecy by my steward, who was placino- the tea- mntless, lor on the cabm becomins exceedinirlv COBEA. 91 rose half off his chair, his great hat fluttering like a flag in the vAnd with rage, while the poor Courtier stood trembling from top to toe, ready to sink into the ground with feai-. I interfered and endeavom-ed to explain, that if there was any one in fault it was not the Courtier. But it was a long time before the old gentleman was appeased and resumed his seat, allowing the Courtier to keep his book, while ' I carefully locked up the fan. Breakfast not being quite ready, our restless visitor became desu-ous of seeing more of the ship, and proceeded towards the deck ; but happening to discover as he passed the officers sitting at their table, he turned to the left, into the gim-room, in- stead of going up the ladder. Without waiting for any invitation, he steered straight into the first- lieutenant's cabin, which he examined minutely. His cm-iosity in these matters induced me to in- vhe him to go along the lower deck — a pro- posal which delighted him gi-eatly. But it was impossible to keep on the state-hat during this adventure, the deck being only five feet high ; so that at length it came off to the old boy's evident mortification. He was amply repaid, however, for this sacrifice of dignity, by the multitude of ob- jects which lay before liim. Scarcely a sailor's bag or chest escaped his scrutiny ; and wherever he com- menced his researches, nothing short of a thorouo-h overhaul, during which everything was tossed out, would satisfy him. He rummaged over the midship- men's drawers and lockers, tumbled a whole case of marine accoutrements out on the deck ; and turn- ed everything he could lay his Iiands on topsy- turvy. He next went to the kitchen, where he lifted the lids from the cook's boilers, dipped his 92 COREA. little rod Into the boiling cocoa, and inspected all the tea-kettles and coflee-pots. The lustre and sharpness of one of the ship's cutlasses delighted him so much, that I aslied him to accept it. The oflfer seemed to produce a great struggle be- tween duty and inclination, but it was of no long duration, for, after a moment's consultation with the Courtier, he retm-ned the gUttering wea- pon to its scabbard, and, as I thought with a sigh, restored it to its place. What liis scraples were on this occasion I could not imagine, for he had no such delicacy about anything else, but seemed desirous of possessing samples of almost everything he saw. Of course, he was fi-eely sup- plied with each article he pointed out, which, as soon as it was given him, went straight to his im- mense sleeve, which soon hung down with its cargo, Hke the pouch of an overgorged pelican. He contrived at length, when sufficiently loaded, to hobble up the hatchway ladder, and as soon as he reached the air, looked about and laughed, like a schoolboy who, for the first time in his life, has been indulged with a peep at a raree-show. In this interval the natives, by our free permis- sion, had been busily employed in taking the dimen- sions of the brio- with lines and rulers ; tog-etlier with an exact inventory of the guns, shot, spars, rig- ging, boats, and everything capable of enumeration. They were much puzzled at this moment as to the immber of persons on board, for I found the survey- ing commissioner, with his note-book in his hand, in the midst of a party of young gentlemen, who I suspected, were amusing themselves at the Corean's expense, as they were all laughing, and he was look- ing very grave. They stoutly denied having played CO RE A. 93 off any humours on the native; but I had reason to suspect they had been misinforming him as to our numbers, for when I extended my fingers eight times to him, he erased an entry from his book, and substituted the new information, with a look of much satisfaction. The old chief, who must needs be everywhere, came rustling up to us during this dumb-show con- versation, and laying his hand on one of the car- ronades, seemed as I thought, to wish it should be fired off. Notliiiig was easier than gratifying him in this matter, for as it was ready loaded and pri- med, nothing was required but to lift off the leaden apron and cock the lock. I then looked to see that no boat was in the way, and pulling the lan- yard of the trigger, off went the gun, the whole being tJie work of not more than four or five seconds. Had a thunderbolt fallen amongst the natives, it could not have astonished them more ; and their admiration rose to the highest pitch, when they observed the shot strike the water, close to the ship, and rebound eight or ten times before it finally disappeared. They could scarcely, in- deed, believe their senses, and looked incredulous- ly at one another, when I showed them a thu'ty- two pound shot, such as had been fired. They handed it from one to another with looks of un- feigned wonder, and with that sort of respect w;hich a ball of this magnitude seldom fails to ex- cite, even in minds more familiar with the power of gunpowder than the poor Coreans. In the meantime. Captain Maxwell came to us, and breakfast being ready, we prevailed on the indefatigable old chief to attempt the hatchway once more. When fairly seated at table, he ate 94 COREA. heartily of everything placed befbre him, appear- ing particularly to relish a dish of hashed pork. A knife and fork were given him, certainly the first he ever beheld, but after a little instruction, he used them not only without much awkwardness, but to such satisfactory pm-pose, that he declined substituting for these strange implements, a pair of Chinese chop-sticks, which were offered him. When tea was given him without sugar or milk, on the supposition that he would prefer it in the Chinese fashion, he looked to the right and left before tasting it, and observing us drinking it dif- ferently, held up his cup with a look of reproach to the servant, and insisted upon having his share of the good things. The facility with which this Corean chief, who but a few hours before must have been entirely ig- norant of our customs, could accommodate liim- eelf to our habits, was very remarkable. On many occasions where he could not be supposed to act from our immediate example, he adopted the very same forms which our rules of politeness teach us to observe ; and if we did not deceive ourselves, this observation which was actually made at the moment, is so far curious as it seems to show, that however nations differ in the amount of know- ledge, or in degrees of civilization, the usages which regulate the personal intercourse of all so- cieties possess a striking uniformity. As far at least as my experience goes, I have remarked, in a considerable range of the social scale, that where there is at bottom a sincere desire to please, which is quite compatible with the most savage as well as the most refined state of society, the forms in which this disposition is expressed, are pretty much alike in all. COREA. 95 When breakfast was over, and the boats again manned, and ready to shove off, ^ve sit^ified our intention as well as we could, of landini? at the town, to which it was thought the chief had riven us an invitation the evening before. This interpre- tation of the matter he either would not, or could not, be made to take up ; for as often as we point- ed to the shore, the old man pointed to the frigate. Ihemommg, however, was wearing fast away, and It became necessary to decide the matter one way or other; taking therefore to our boats, we rowed m the direction of the landing-place. The chief, evidently in great perturbation, having first turned his boats head towaads the Alceste, made his people he on their oars. Upon seeing this, we rowed alongside of him, to discover if possible what was amiss; but the old chief took nonotice of us, till he had he d a council of war with his attendants ; then suddenly and much to our surprise, he stepped over his own gunwale into Captain Max- well s gig. Ihis manoeuvi-e was construed by some mto a desu-e on the chief's part to keep us com- pany; while others ascribed it to Iiis wish to show publicly that he had no hand in conducting stran- gers to their inhospitable shore ; that compulsion, in short, was used on the occasion. Whatever wa^ his motive, he sat for some time composedly enough ; but before many minutes had elapsed, he repented of Ins too ready compliance, and eagerly made signs for us to go back. ' It was now our tm-n not to understand this dumb language, and we rowed merrily onwards. As we approached the beach, the old man's dis- tress augmented ; and when at length our keel touched the sand, and the bowman, by leaping out 96 COREA. to fix the gang-board, actually landed on the for- bidden soil, he held up his hands in despair droop- ed his woe-begone countenance on one side, ana drew his hand repeatedly across his thi-oat, trom ear to ear, unequivocally implying, that some one or other must lose his head on the occasion. Ihis was perplexing enough ; but as we had now taai'ly done the deed, and reached the shore, it was thought that without any gi'eat aggravation ot the offence, we might enjoy the satisfaction of a walk in this unexplored country. Accordingly, we step- ped out, followed in very miserable plight by om venerable friend. As it was low water, we had to scramble through sea-weed and wet sand for about fifty yards, before reaching a dry spot, where a halt was made in order, if possible, to cmsole our worthy companion. We tried to signify that our wishes went no farther than to walk abottt for half an hour, to stretch our limbs stiffened by so lon^ a voyage ; after which it was our intention to return on boai'd to dinner. To the latter part of our discourse, which consisted in making the ac- tion of eating and pointmg to the ships,_his only reply was, to repeat the beheading motion with which he had before endeavoured, in the boat, to work on our fears or our compassion. •' How can I eat with my head off?" was the interpretation suggested by the late Dr M'Leod a man of in- finite iest, as every one knows who has penised Ms mist amusing narrative. The humorous man- ner in which this was spoken, made all oiu- party laugh ; but our mirth only augmented the chief s distress, and we began seriously to fear that we had proceeded too far. The town, however, not being half a mile from COREA. 97 the spot where we had landed, om- purpose was merely to walk tlu-ough it, to climb tho wooded hill behind, and to return by the top of the ridge to our boats, wliich were ordered to wait at the beach. Before advancing many paces, however, we were surrounded by upwai'ds of a Inmdred of the na- tives, and there was reason to think we might pay more dearly for our curiosity than at first had been reckoned upon. A word from the chief at tliis instant might have finished our expe- dition in a trice ; but on appealing to him against this interruption, he spoke some words to his body-guard, which consisted of four soldiers arm- ed with bows and aiTows. The military soon got the better of the populace, by pelting them hearti- ly with stones ; thus inverting the usage of more polished commiuiities, where these missiles are the established weapons of the mob. The road being now clear, we turned to prose- cute our walk, when lo I the old chief was in tears, literally sobbing like a child, with his head resting on the Courtier's shoulder. This was rather too much ; for however pitiable and ludicrous it may now seem, it had then a very difierent character, and all idea of going farther was instantly given UD. Eveiy one regretted that matters had been pushed to this extremity, but Captain Maxwell probably more than any other person, as he had been in some degree urged into it, against his bet- ter feelings and sounder judgment. The case being now hopeless, the boat was launched again, and we returned to our ships. The signal was made to weigh, and I stood out to sea in the Lyra, to sound the passages in the direction pointed out. I observed, however, that the Al- VOL. 1. I 98 COEEA. ceste did not follow immediately ; and I learned afterwards, that the old chief had paid the Com- modore another visit, just as the fiigate's an- chor was leaving the ground. His appearance was quite changed ; his spiightliness, unceremonious manners, and insatiable curiosity, having given place to a cold and stately civility. He appeared much embarrassed, perhaps from an apprehen- sion of having given offence. But if it were so, he was soon undeceived in this matter, as he could not fail to perceive, that however his want of hospitality had disappointed the Avishes and ex- pectations of his visitor, no trace of iU will could abide on Captain Maxwell's mind. On the con- trary, every attempt was made to repair the injury done to him, by our landing on his teiritory. He was offered many presents, but declined them all ; till at last just when he was going away, Cap- tain Maxwell urged him so earnestly to accept of a large Bible, that the old man could not refuse, and they parted mutual friends. We quitted this bay, the only point at which we touched on the peninsula of Corea, without much regret. There was so little that was conciliatory or inviting in the manners of the inhabitants, that we had not much expectation of being able by a longer stay to establish a useful or friendly inter- course with them. The venerable chief indeed, with his snow-white beard, his pompous array, and his amusing and active curiosity, had made a con- siderable impression upon us all. On the other hand his unmanly distress, from whatever cause it arose, inevitably took away some of the respect \vith which we were disposed to consider him. This circumstance, however, gave the whole picture a COREA. 99 peculiar interest, and we forgot what was ridicu- lous in the old man's character, in the uncertainty which must probably for ever hang over his fate. Frequent mention has been made of the re- coui-se we were obliged to have to signs. But after a time we discovered this method of communica- tion, so much alluded to in voyages and travels, to be often very fallacious. There is no saying what advantage might arise from it after a long acquain- tance, even supposing the oral language unloiown; but certainly when the parties are total strangers to each other, the language of signs in many cases is almost useless. It was remai'ked, indeed, more than once upon the present occasion, that when either the Coreans or the English made signs, un- accompanied by language, their signification was readily understood by the by-standers of the na- tion using them, though absolutely incomprehensi- ble by those to whom they were addressed. This might arise fi-om the essential differences in the ha- bits, and general tenor of thought in the parties respectively ; or it might be, that the individual persons of each nation being acquainted more or less with what was wished, would have little dif- ficulty in apprehending the meaning of any parti- cular point which it was the object of these signs to communicate. Be this as it may, there could be no doubt that our presence was disagreeable, and our departure the great object of their wishes. The extreme promptitude with which we were met at this remote spot, and the systematic per- tinacity with which our landing was opposed, not only on the continent, but even at islands barely in sight of the coast, certainly imply an extraordi- nary degree of vigilance and jealousy on the part 100 COREA. of the government. One can understand this bet- ter in China, where the circumstance of a strange ship calling at one of the outports, is a possible, though not a probable, event ; and where the go- vernment, instead of encouraging foreign trade, are perpetually on the watch to repress all attempts at an extension of foreign intercourse with their Ce- lestial Empire. But in Corea, where there is in- finitely less probability of a foreign ship ever calling, the same watchfulness against foreign in- terference, is far more curious. We need not look so far, perhaps, as the coasts of the Yellow Sea, to be convinced how slowly nations arrive at enlightened ideas on the subject of external relations, as there are not want- ing individuals, and perhaps whole countries in Europe, who still maintain this repulsive Corean system to be the wisest. And it might be curious to trace on the globe the different steps or shades of liberality in this respect. Beginning with Corea and Japan, the least sociable of all nations, we next come to China, the commercial resources of which mighty empire are dribbled sparingly off at the solitary port of Canton. Manilla, which is strictly nded by the principles of the Spanish co- lonial system, is but a single degree better. Pro- ceeding to the westward we come to Java, where the restrictions and monopolies of the Dutch are still felt, though of late somewhat modified. When the Straits of Sunda ai-e passed, a nobler field of view is opened in British India, the Isle of France, the Cape, and still farther westward, the free con- tinents of South and North America. After agam crossing the Trade-winds, we come wnthin the in- fluence of English intelligence on both sides of COREA. 101 the Atlantic ; though even in these latitudes we may perhaps detect some anomalous views of the subject quite worthy of Corea. During the 6th and 7th of September, we steer- ed to the Southward and Westward, amongst the islands, which lay in thick clusters along the coast, and for many leagues out at sea. As most of them were inhabited, frequent oppoi-tunities occurred of seeing the natives, who generally assembled on the highest point of the rocks to look at the ships pass- ing. The water was generally shallow, and many large boats at anchor were busily employed fishing with hooly tiirowing it in the ah-. The only species of work which we saw the men engaged seriously in, at any of these islands, was fishing, and making and repairing their nets. We landed, and walked to the village, where two men and a dog were the only living creatures 104 COREA. that were waiting to receive us. If there was any difference, the dog was the least suily of the tliree'; but on none of them could we make any impres- sion by means of signs, or by offers of buttons and other valuables, which we brought Avith us to bribe their good-will. They would neither speak nor move, or if they did exhibit any show of life, it was by an occasional wave of the hand towards the ships. Our past experience had prepared us to expect a cool reception, but certainly we had not expected to have a whole village to ourselves. We gladly took advantage, however, of the only opportunity we had yet had of carrying our re- searches within doors. Nothing very curious rewarded our pains ; but as there is perhaps no other description of a Corean house on record, a few words may not be out of place. The door was made to turn on an up- right moveable bar, fitted into a cross-beam above, and a hole in the threshold stone below. Before it lay a neat smooth little court, surrounded by a close hedge, of a sweet-scented red and white flower, resembling the honeysuckle in shape. On the ground were lying some bundles of corn, and two wooden mortars, with double-handed pestles, for removing the husks. Cooking utensils were ranged along the wall on one side of the door; to the left of the court were several com stacks. The house was overshadowed by large trees, whose leaf resembled that of the Portugal laurel ; and the trunks of these trees and the ends of the house were covered with a thick matting of small-leaved ivy. Nothing within corresponded to the taste and neat- ness of the exterior. The room, for there was but one, was dark and dirty, the walls and roof being either covered with cobwebs or glazed by COREA. 105 tbe action of wood-smoke. The floor was diversi- fied by hill and dale, much in the manner of some cottages which I have seen nearer home, with the appropriate appendage of a lake here and there. The tire-place stood between two large boilers, - sunk deep in rude brick-work, the use of which vessels we coidd not surmise. On the hot embers of the fire lay a couple of fish, one of which, a fine fresh haddock, we took the liberty of help- ing ourselves to, in the inhospitable absence of the fightful owners. On the wall opposite to this miserable fire-place, were ranged on two shelves a goodly store of coarse crockery, and two or three round shinmg metal pots and pans. On one of the shelves also stood what seemed two wooden stools, handsomely carved, and var- nished with the brilliant lacker used in China. These implements, if we did not mistake their use, certainly appeared much too fine for the rest of the establishment, and quite out of place standing on a shelf. The roof was of thatch, restina; on a net-work of rods, and the eves ex- tended more than a yard from the walls, at once aftbrding shade to a narrow verandah in front of the house, and giving shelter to the windows from rain — a precaution quite necessary to its existence, as it was composed of oiled paper, pasted over email square openings in a wooden frame. The walls themselves were built of stones and mud, most inartificially put together— a want of neat- ness and skill which did not apply to the more difficult branch of architecture, the frame-work of the roof, this being constructed i)recisely on our principles, with a Idng-post and rafters, very neat- ly morticed in their proper places. Having completed our inventor)', we returned ^^^ COREA. to the two Burly guardians of the village, who by this time were somewhat more communicative, and presently yielded completely to Captain Max- well s good humour and invincible patience. As soon as he caught a smile on one of their lips, he msisted on shaking hands, and then drawii.. the native s arm familiarly through his own, fair- ly marched him off. I could do no better, I thought, than follow this example, and thus all four jogged along till we reached a house on the side of the hill, where a lialt was agreed up- on, and signs made to explain that we should have no objection to smoke a pipe with our new tnends. The object in view was if possible to es- tablish something like a friendly intercourse with these jealous people, and in time possibly this might have been eflFected. But while we were getting acquainted by slow degrees with these two men our attention was taken off by a Corean boat, which entered the bay at this moment, and rowed directly to the village. The crew jumped hastily on shore, and came up the hill towards us at a ra- pid pace, and with no very friendly looks or ves- tures. Captain Maxwell and I were alone, and without fire-arms. It was possible, we thought, that violence might be intended, but it was clearly the safest plan to imply just the contrary; and, accordingly, we met them at the entrance of the court with confidence and good humour. Their object proved anythingbut hostile ; for they sat down with us, and hastily filling their pipes, liglited them tor us themselves, and begged us to smoke. Our language appeared to have something ludicrous in ts sound to their ears, for they laughed in the most "nmoderate way at some of our expressions, and made us repeat the words England and Maxwell COREA. 107 over and over again, the whole party, to the num- ber of eight or ten, bursting into a violent laugh the moment they were spoken. After the first civilities, such as they were, had been interchanged, the strangers crowded round, and by their gestures and looks seemed desirous of examining the different articles of our dress. To gratify them in this matter I thought was easy enough; but they wished to carry the inspection to the utmost extent, and were not contented with ta- king off my hat, coat, and gloves, but must needs investigate the shoes and stockings, and finally expressed some dissatisfaction at my declining to proceed farther than the removal of my waistcoat. Captain Maxwell, who stood by with a Corean pipe in his mouth, was as much amused as any of the party ; but he declined being searched, and the natives were willing to leave him alone on condi- tion of my submitting. No part of my dress ex- cited so much interest as the stockings. Holding them up to one another, they shouted, " Hota I Hota !" upon which we took down the word Hota in our vocabularies as the Corean for stockings ; but in the next minute we heard the same word applied to several other things, which made us sus- pect the word meant good, or wonderful. Simi- lar errors are very apt to be committed by per- sons who visit a people with whose language they have not the least acquaintance. To leara the na- tive expressions, therefore, equivalent to " What do you call this ?" should be the first point aimed at ; and it may generally be caught by watching closely when new objects are shown to them. It was reasonable to hope that the other vil- lagers, who had fled on our approach, would now be induced to return, on seeing so cordial a com- J 08 COBEA. munication established between us and their coun- tiymen ; but as not one of them came down, it was determined we should go in quest of them. We therefore proceeded up tlie hill, in expectation ot coming suddenly upon the inhabitants, and thus ob- « tainins a view of their females, not one of whom had been seen at a less distance than half a mile, but om- companions took good care that this manoeu- vre should not serve, as they went along with us, and shouted so loudly, that their comrades and the women having due warning, kept themselves effectually concealed. At length we came near a ravine, inwliich most probably the fugitives were hid • for the Coreans made violent objections to our'further advance. The discussion which now ensued led to the discovery of a sing-ular faculty which these p(Jople possess of imitatmg sounds. One of them, in his anxiety to arrest my further .proceedings, seized my arm, and pinched it so se- verely, that I turned upon him, and exclaimed, *' Patience, sir !" He instantly let go his hold, and repeated what I had said with the most exact articulation and tone. On hearing these words from their companion, the others made the at- tempt likewise, with equal success ; so that no- thing was heard for some minutes but " Patience, eir !'^ This incident, by furnishing a new topic, had the effect of making us better acquainted with one another ; and all the way down the hill we amused ourselves by instructing the Coreans m English. Our scholars were so apt, that before reaching the boat some of them could repeat a whole sentence so correctly, that the boat's crew when they heard the Coreans speak, actually be- lieved they understood our language. COREA. 109 Before quitting the shore, we invited them, in the best manner we could, to come off to the ships in the morning. One of the natives, it was ima- gined, compreliended these signs ; fof he first made preparations, as we thought, for going to bed, placed his head on his hand, closed Ids eyes, and snored very emphatically. After a second or two he started up, aiiected to look about him, and then laid his hand upon Captain Maxwell's shoulder, with an air of welcome. This piece of dumb show was variously rendered. Captain Max- well conceived him to say, that if we would go away for the night, we might expect to be well re- ceived next day ; whilst I understood it as a pro- mise on the part of the Corean to visit us in the morning. Both guesses were wrong ; for the man never came near us, and our reception when we did land again was the reverse of welcome. In one respect alone we probably never erred, name* ly, in supposing our presence irksome ; for the only measure the natives heartily approved of was our preparation to depart. On the 9th September we landed a little before 6un-rise, in hopes to find the villagers still in their houses ; but they had again given us tJie slip, and not a mortal was to be seen anywhere. Thus foil- ed in all our endeavours to con'ciHate this inhospi- table people, we determined merely to talce a look round us from a high peak near the centre of the island, and then to plague them no more. On our way to the summit, tli-ree or four of the Coreans joined us ; two of them were of last even- ing's party, the others were strangers. On reacli- ing a grove of fir-trees growing about half way up the hill, one of the new comers strongly objected VOL. I. K 4. ' -t^Q COREA. to our ovoceecUng ferther ; but wc pursued our way ITitSin/onreacMnganopen^^^^^^ tliprp haBPened to be a decayed stump ot an oiu ree s aSng in the centre, one of onr companions f?ln,1^s knees before it, toucbsd the ground with htSehatandc^^^^^ • A nttUiiflP of m-aVer. This proceeding had all ;L aUrt Jfllratagem t'o dissuade us fi.m gc^ngTarther ; for the other Coreans took no notice of their companion's prostrations, and he lumselt 'S^L^Je » J detect no other circumstance McSe of any -I'P"- ^-^^whe^e^to T; ^i„ r.^ ulnl or even a tomb, was anywheie lo ue JLino^eaxtheirvilk^^^ ^" ^t\^Ts ntherJdse- every village, however small, had its LtprfiUedwi7h jolly images, and was surround- ed by numerous biryig-places, built m the shape of aVorse-shoe, white-washed, and conspicuous ^' vr^^^"^^-^ ^^^ r ^J buttre buuons, fire-arms, or anything we had to offer them Dogs were the only other quadrupeds we saw ; but amongst the trees we observed pigeons and hawte, and on one occasion an eagle. In the fields also wherever we went, not only amongst these islands but in China and elsewhere, we invariably me Sh our old and familiar friend the common black Tow, a bird which, as far as I have observed, is pauallv at home in all parts of the globe. ?^No persnasiou could induce any of those 8U.ky COREA. _ 111 natives to take their breakfast with us on board. As an expedition in the boats had been projected for this moming, we wished^ if possible, to have the companionsliip and assistance of the natives, and we hoped to make it worth their while to at- tend us. But they absolutely refused to become our pilots, and they despised everytliing we pos- sessed. Before setting out, we determined, by means of observations on an island neai' the anchorage, that the latitude of this harbour, is 34° 22'^ North, and the longitude 126° 2'| East. Our coui'se in the boats lay amongst islands grouped thickly together, all of them inhabited, and very neatly cultivated, especially in the neigh- bourhood of the numerous villages which every- where lined their shores. The peak at which we aimed, as usual, proved further off than we had calculated upon, and cost us some hard climbing before we reached the summit, though not more than six hundred feet above the level of the sea. The main land of Corea was just discernible from this elevation, and all round us the sea was studded in the most astonishing mamier with the islands so often mentioned. We set ourselves se- parately the task of counting them. One person, by enumerating those only which were evidently separated from the rest, or round which the sea could distinctly be traced, made the number a hundred and twenty. Two others of our party, by taking into account the probable number forming each group, made a hundred and thirty-six, and a hundred and seventy. These results merely show the impossibility of spealcing with precision on the subject. When, however, it is considered that 112 COREA. €ven the lowest number, a hundred and twenty islands, could be counted from one spot, and that for upwards of a hundred and fifty miles we had been sailing without intermission amongst islands not less crowded than they were here, some idea may be formed of this wonderful scene, the very existence of which, I believe, was not even sus- pected in Europe before this voyage. On descending the hill, we found our dinner laid out on one of the boat's sails for a table-cloth, spread under the shade of a thick grove of oaks, growing by the side of a cold spring of water gushing from the mountain side. There was a village not fifty yaids off, which we explored before dining, in hopes of finding some natives to join us. It was neaily deserted, for only two of tlie inhabitants remained. One of these was a very plain old lady, who took no sort of notice of us, but allowed us to pass her door, before which she was seated, without even condescending to look up. The other was a middle- aged man, industriously employed in the manufac- ture of a straw sandal. He showed but one degree more curiosity than his fair fellow-citizen, just raising his head for an instant, and then resuming his work with perfect composure. In order to rouse this stoical and incurious Corean, we thrust a but- ton into his hands, which he received without the least show of gratitude, and put into a bag lying near him, but still went on with his work. Another button oflFered in exchange induced him to surren- der his handywork; and I mention the circumstance as being the only instance which occurred during our visit to Corea of anything like traffic. We made signs that we wished to examine his house, — that is to say, we opened the door and walked in. COIIEA. 113 But even this proceeding elicited no show of interest in oiu- phlegmatic shoemalter, who seizing another wisp of straw, commenced a new pair oi sandals, as deliberately as if Ave had been merely a party of his fellow-'Coreans inspecting the dwelling, in- stead of a company of European strangers, imlike what he could ever have seen before, or was ever likely to see again. During dinner, we detected the heads of five or six of the natives peeping at us over the hill-top behind us. We held up our bottles and glasses, and tried to bring them down to us, but they refused to stii- a single step nearer. TJie boat's crew, who in the meantime had been rambling about the hills, now joined the villagers, and speedily became very good friends with tliem. The present indeed was not the only occasion on which our men foimd no diffictdty in conciliating the good-Avill of the na- tives, when the officers, with ten times more effort, could often make no successful advances. This arose probably from the very different feelings and objects with which we severally undertook the task Our manners may have become in some degree con- strained, by an over-anxiety to please, thus de- feating the object in view by exciting distrust and alarm. On tho other hand, ihe sailors, by habit unreflectinc and inoffensive, never dreamed that their unaffected frankness could possibly be mis- construed, and sometimes gained without effort the very point we were unsuccessfully aiming at. The Coreans on the hill, seeing that we took no notice of them, continued creeping omvards little by little till they appeared fully in view on the slope of the bank. At last one of them, ac- tuated appai-ently by a sudden impulse, started on K 2 114 COREA. his feet, and strode boldly down to us. Without pausing an instant, he walked straight up to Cap- tain Maxwell and offered him his lighted pipe. In return for this bold overture, the Commodore, ha- ving first accepted the Corean's pipe, stood up and filled him a bumper of wine. The native drained the glass to the bottom, and holding it up to his fi-iends on the hill, roared out in ecstasy, Hota ! Hota ! His raptures instantly brought down the whole party, who, unlike most of their country- men we had met before, made no scruples about ac- cepting our hospitality, and several bottles of wine were soon emptied. There was now some reason to hope that the difficult passage to a Corean's heart had been discovered ; but at the very moment we conceived ourselves established in their good graces, one of them unluckily looked over his shoulder, and beheld the sun just touching the horizon. In a moment all his joviality and confidence were dispersed ; and thinking it too good a hint to be lost, he rose from the ground, patted us sharply on the shoulder, and pointed to the setting sun ; then re- clining his head on his shoulder, closed his eyes as if asleep, and most unequivocally made signs for us to retire to bed without delay. We endea- voured, by drawing another cork, to protract our stay a little longer, but they allowed us no peace or quiet till all the things were ordered into the boat, and preparations made for departing. The whole party then accompanied us to the water's edge, helped us rather roughly to embark, and ex- pressed the most lively satisfaction when they were fairly rid of us. This was the last we saw of the Coreans ; and no one was sorrv to quit a country where at every COKEA. 115 moment he wrelves suddenly close to a village, lyin- in the hot torn of a highly-cultimed gle| 'th? ifousefbeYnl' abnost entirely hid under the branches. The w2 vilkge bemg surrounded by a high close bamboo hedge, and each house built .vitliin a separate in- ciosure It was almost invisible even afthe £. tance of a few yaids. To some of the cott^es ■ were attached neat axbours or sheds, formed oT a light trelhs-work of canes, covered over wi^ a variety of creepers. The surrounding fieldrwere tl h^Zr "" ^fi^^^^t^ of earth, made tore^ tam the water. Along the top of each bank ran a convenient foot-path; httle circumstances in the gave this valley very much the air of a scene in ?y crowds o7t-n '' ^'^ ^^^^^^^' — pa" e" nlf IZf '^'''' '^^'^ ^"* t« ^eet us, but not a smgle woman could be seen amongst them. As these people made many objections t? our en walk ' ='' '""^ P"'"'^ "^ '"^ ^«^*^"«d our The mode of dressing the ground at Loo-Choo ;s very neat, and resembles tlmt of China, particu- larly m the process of manuring and trrig^^g These particulais seem to be most seduloufly af-' vated. Tobacco, wheat, nee, Indian com, millet si^eet potatoes, brinjals, and many otheT trS vegetables grow in great perfection at Loo-Choo Along the sides of the hills, and round the villages," But the^r ""^ T'"" ^^^^ ^^ ^ considerablele on tl ^tTT'' -^'^ '""'* conspicuous tree we saw vo!. I ' ™^ '""^'^'^'"^'^ to a great height R 194 LOO-CHOO. and size, as we inferred from seeing canoes built with planks several feet broad ; those near the tem- ple at Napakiang, however, were not above forty feet high, and from thi-ee to four in girth. The banyan tree of India was seen at several places, the finest one completely overshadowing the small temple at Napakiang. But we could not discover whether it was held sacred here, as in India. It may be remarked, that on making such in- quiries in foreign countries, it is easy by puttmg leading questions, to make the natives say whatever you please, and thus any favourite hypothesis of the traveller is sure to find abundant support. But even in cases, wliere there is the most perfect honesty of intention in the traveller, it requires great caution on his part, to frame his queries m a mamier that shall not prompt the answer. Ihe questions put have almost always some reference to preconceived notions, and the reply, although it be not necessaiily connected with these notions, is very apt to be estimated according to its coin- cidence or discordance with them, instead of be- ' ing weighed and judged of solely on its own merits. When to this inevitable tendency in travellers to deceive themselves, is superadded an imperfect knowledge of the language, and little leisure to repeat the inquhy, it is no great wonder that so much eiTor has been put upon record, where not the least intention of deceiving existed m any The cattle we saw on this island were of a small black breed, and invariably used instead of horses for agi-icultural purposes. Hogs, goats, and poul- try, with rice, and a great variety of vegetables, formed the chief food of the inhabitants ; milk, we LOO-CHOO, 195 were told, being never used. We saw no geese, from which we infer tljat those left by Captfl,in Brougliton had not lived, and we never saw or heard of any sheep on the Island. Their horses, though small and slender, were sufficiently strong for the natives. They had no carts or wheeled carriages of any kind, all loads being cairied by horses ; and the roads, which were numerous, and kept in excellent order, measured generally from six to ten feet across. On turning to recross tlie valley, we were at- tracted by the appeai-ance of a cottage, standing by itself, and so completely bmied in foliage, as to be concealed from our view till within a few paces of the door. It was suiTounded by a slight fence of upright rods, standing about an inch apart, with a line of creepers ranning along the top like a cornice, and hanging down on both sides. A wick- er gate admitted us, and we entered the house, which was divided into two apartments, each eight feet square, and opening at one end into a small verandah. The floor, made of elastic slips of bam- boo, Avith the polished surface upwards, and rai- sed about six inches from the ground, was cover- ed with a thin cane mat. The walls were only five feet high, and neatly wattled like a basket; above which rose a pointed roof, thatched slightly with rice straw. This pleasant little cabin was oc- cupied by an elderly man, just sitting down to breakfast, as it appeared, for cups, and other tea- things, were arranged in proper order on the floor. He seemed quite glad to see us, and asked us very kindly to sit down, and take some tea and sweet cakes along with him. This apartment was extremely neat, clean, and well-ordered. On one 196 LOO-CHOO. side, against the wall, were fixed a set of shelves, covered with cups, bowls, and all sorts of cooking utensils of brass, bright and clean ; and on the op- posite side hung several wooden hoes, rakes, and va- rious other implements of husbandry, characteristic of the rural habits of our host, together with hats, straw sandals, and printed cotton dresses. Higher up, could be seen a sort of loft or garret, the floor of which was formed by poles laid horizon- tally on tlie walls ; on this platform rested a very diminutive plough, made out of the crooked branch of a tree, several fishing-nets, and one or two bas- kets of an extremely elegant form. In the space between the house and the fence, was built a pi- geon-house and a poultry-yard, kept as clean as the house itself ; and close to the edge of the verandah stood two small spinning-wheels, of a light and in- genious construction, but we sought in vain for the fair hands that turned them. The trees rose so high and thick on every side, that although the sun was by this time peering above the hills, the cottage was completely shaded, except at one end, where a small opening, or vista, through the woods on the eastern side, admitted a stream of light into the ve- randah. We sat for some time with the old pea- sant, trying to express our admiration of the sim- plicity, beauty, and comfort of his dwelling ; and he appeared unaffectedly pleased with our praises of liis establishment. This was the limit to ttie longest walk we were ever allowed to take on the island. On returning, we came to a road, more like a dressed walk in a flower-garden than a public higlnvay, by following whichjWe passed through a series of beautiful groves, till at length, after winding about a good deal, and losing our way completely, we came to a double I Loo-cnoo. 19'2' row of tall pine trees, interspersed with many others whose names we were not acquainted with, and ^^lose appearance was quite new to us, hut which attorded a most agreeable shady walk. This road It was suspected, would have led to the town ; and therefore to avoid all risk of giving offence, we restrained our curiosity, and, on turning to the nght, soon reached the grove of trees, the limit to our first walk. At this place Captain Maxwell sur- prised the natives a good deal, by shooting several birds on the wing ; but they all refused to fire tJie gun themselves, nor could any persuasions induce any one of them to pull the trigger, even when the towling-piece was held by another, and it was ex- plained to them that no powder was in the pan In the course of the day, the chiefs waited on Captain Maxwell, on board the Alceste. He soon J-aw they were very unhappy at something whicli J.ad passed, for they spoke with agitation and alarm, seemmgly apprehensive of incumng his displea- sure. At length he prevailed upon them to speak out, and to say frankly what 'it was that had so greatly discomposed them. After many apologies and much to Cajjtain Maxwell's relief, who feared something very disastrous had occun-ed, they stated that the inhabitants were alarmed by all this firin.^' and would take it as the greatest possible kind- ness, ,f neither Captain Maxwell, nor any of his ofhcers, would m future carry fire-arms on sliore. Une o the chiefs gave a veiy sentimental turn to the subject, by pretending that the natives were gnevod to see their little birds shot. But it was clear enough their real apprehension was, that some ac- cident might happen through the carelessness of the sportsmen, or the ignorance of ihe inhabitants. 198 LOO-CHOO. Captain Maxwell kept his countenance perfw^t- ly tlu-oughout this scene, and instead of treating the request with ridicule, hastened to assm-e tliem of his regret for what had passed ; and to set their minds at rest, immediately, and in then- presence, wrote an order forbidding any person belonging to the ships to fire at the birds, or even to cany a gun during our stay at Loo-Choo. On Sunday the 6th of October, after Divine service, a long conference was held between Cap- tain Maxwell and the five chiefs, at which, after much discussion, it was agreed on their part to allow the Alceste's stores to be landed, for the purpose of getting at the leak. Our means of communicating on these occasions, as before remai-ked, were un- fortunately not the very best that could be wished; hut the interpreter was a shrewd fellow, and very ready with evasive answers when hard pressed on a topic, the further discussion of which it was desirable to avoid. We generally explained as fully as possible to John what our wishes were, and left him to communicate them in the best manner he could. An instance of his quickness occurred to-day, which seems worth mentioning as illustrative of the state of our communication with these people. John had told them, by Cap- tain Maxwell's desire, that as the leak complam- ed of was near the magazine, it would be neces- sary to land the powder. The bare mention of gunpowder was enough to misettle the nerves of the pacific Loo-Chooans ; and they accordingly debated amongst themselves long and anxiously on this alarming particular; and at last asked why the frigate's powder might not be put on board the little ship '-' Poor John, who was not LOO-CHOO. ]99 aware of any good reason why this should not be done, was disconcerted for an instant, but soon re- covering himself, aflfected to be much surprised at the question, and apprehending that we also might not be able to supply a satisfactory answer if re- ferred to, adroitly wai-ded it oif by absolutely refusing to intei-pret it ; adding, that if Captain Maxwell had thought such a measure right he would not have waited till it was suggested to Inm by the cliiefs. The light in which he^had thus mgeniously put the subject made them sensible of the indelicacy of dictating to Captain Maxwell on a pomt of duty, and they entreated John not to mention what they had just said, declaring that a place should immediately be assigned for the pow- der. This day furnished a new circumstance in their diplomatic conversation, for the chiefs talked un- reservedly of the king, the very mention of whose name they had hitherto studiously avoided. They declared that it was the king of the Island who had sent all the stock and vegetables witli which we had beca daily supplied. " Captain Maxvvell, who was naturally desirous of establishing a com- munication with the court, no sooner 'saw this opening than he intimated his intention of pay- ing his dutiful respects to the king, whenever 'it might be convenient for his majesty to receive him. To our great surprise they heard this with ap- parent satisfaction, and distinctly said the offer should be made known at court. 'We were much at a loss to discover any rational cause for this sudden change of tone ; and could only conjec- ture that the king, on hearing many reports aliout us, might have become so desirous to see us with 200 LOO-CHOO. his own eyes, as to relax the strict etiquette of his nation, and for once condescend to allow liis sacred person to be looked upon by the pro- fane eyes of strangers. At all events it was ob- vious that some alteration must have been made in the instructions to the chiefs, othenvise they would have betrayed their wonted reserve when- ever the king's name was mentioned, and least of all would they have encouraged the idea of our actually visiting the palace. At one o'clock we went on shore by the invita- tion of the chiefs, to look at the place appropriated for the reception of the Alceste's stores. It was an oblong inclosure, sixty yards by forty, siuToimd- ed by a wall twelve feet high, compactly built with squared blocks of coral : the entrance was by a large gate on the south side, from which there extended raised gravel-walks, bordered by clipped hedges, the intermediate spaces being laid out in beds like a garden. The large temple in which we were feasted on the day of our first visit, occupied one corner of the inclosure, where it was com- pletely shaded by a grove of fine trees, whicli overtopped the inclosing wall. In that part of the garden directly opposite the gate, at the up- per end of the walk, stood a smaller pagoda, near- ly hid by the branches of several large banyan trees ; and before it, at the distance of ten or twelve paces, a small square building, with a raised terrace round it. The interior of the tem- ple first spoken of was divided by means of shift- ing pannels into four apartments ; with a veran- dah running all round, and rows of polislied wooden pillars on its outer edge supporting the roof, which extended considerably beyond the co- LOO-CHOO. 201 lumns. The roof was sloping, and covered with handsome tiles ; those forming the eaves beino' or- namented with flowers and v^ious figures in re- lief. In one of the inner apartments we, found three gilt images, eighteen inches high, with a red flower growing in a vase before them. The rooms withm were ten feet high ; and all the cornices, pillars, and other wooden parts of the building, were very neatly can-ed into flowers, and grotesque fi- gui-es of various animals. The ground immediately round was divided into a number of small plots, or beds, planted with diflJerent shrubs and flowers ; and on a pedestal of artificial rock, in one of the walks close to it, stood an elegant urn, full of wa- ter, which theBodz-es cast on the surrounding plants, by means of a large wooden spoon swimming on the surface. On a frame near one of the out-houses, was suspended a large bell, three feet high, resem- ' bling a bee-hive in shape, and richly ornamented in high relief. It being determined to appropriate part of the largest building to the use of the sick and their at- tendants, the assistant surgeon of the Alceste took possession of one room, and the gunner, who was to have the whole inclosure under his charge, of another. The small pagoda-shaped building, at the upper end of the walk, being a retired spot, was assigned to me as an obsen-atory, while the square house in the centre seemed well adapted for a powder magazine. At the gate a notice was hung up, both in English and in the Loo-Choo langxiaffe, signifying, that no person was to enter without a written permission from Captain Maxwell, or from one of the chiefs. During the 7th and 8th of Oc- tober we were busily occupieht lead to, had entered by a naiTow path winding through the grove. The livelmess of the scenery without, and the various amusements of the day, had put us all into high spirits ; but the unexpected and sacred gloom of the scene m which we suddenly found ourselves had an instantaneous effect in repressing the muth of the whole party, who marched out again like so many reformed scoffers from the cave of Trophonius. We named this excellent haibour which we had I-00-CHOO. 0^7 diseoveml, Poit Melville, in honom of the Hrst -Lord of the Admiralty. "'' As it was quite dark before we reached the bri.- and a heavy swell rolled in, no time was Lt S gettrng under weigh ; but before we could 1" ceed .n running well off shore, the S sud' denly changed, and the weather, which befc IS most lost siglit of the coast. Our situatmn „ leZ'Se s'- 'T r '■"•' j'--ffiSri;„r ieuge ot the place to be sensible liow extremolv dangero,3 ,t was ; and the wind, which beT^ rectly on the coast, came in such violent gusts that there was gi-eat reason to apprehend the fos of 1' topmasts, ni which case we must infallibly W nc nshed: to reef the topsails was out of the ques tion, as the delay which this operation must W caused, hoAvever expertly executed wn Tl m-oved fnfnl u-'u-i V.1 • '^^'^^"'^'^"> would have C ' ^•^'- ^^^'^^ thmgs were in this state it became necessary to tack, in order to avoi I r^- rung on the roc Js ; but owing to the heavy^un". regular swel , this evolution failed, and before te sails could be tnmmed again, the brig had gone Btern foremost almost to the verge of the reef on wlnc^Y^'^ ''" ''''' '"^^""^"^ *« ^ ^-«t heigh .C tunately we were more successful on tht next a . tempt, otherw.se nothing could have saved u But we game( so httle at each tack, that our cour o backwards and forwards, for upwa^-ds of an hour lay para el with the line of breakers, at the distance after wh.ch the wmd shifted a little, and enab ed us to stretch off, clear of all danger. Dunng the 12th it blew so hard that we were unde^ tlK. necessity of keeping out at sea, clear of X l derable distance as they were told that the least motion disturbed the surface of the quicksilm a?d prevented our taking observations. ^ They had the rnost laudable patience, and sometin.es saLtill and silent for several hours together, till invited to come forward to look at the instruments. Whilst we were making observations this morning, Ookoo- ina and Jeeroo, with their friends, came to the Ob- servatory, and xve observed them to be in ^reat distress. Upon our begging to know the cf use they explained that Captain Maxwell, durinThS nde had fallen down, or rather that the horse be! and that his finger was broken. A Loo-Choo doc' ai'd woTd""'' Y ^"" ^'^ ^«-'' -'- *ty eaid would soon effect a cure. We repaired im niediately to the Alceste, where we found that the Loo-Choo surgeon had placed Captain Max- well s broken finger in a thick paste ma^de of eg'T flour, and some other substance which he brought ajong with him. Pie then wrapped the whole „ the skm of a newly-killed fowl.' The skin di^d h a short time, and held the paste firm, by wh ch means the broken finger was kept st;ady in Tt3 place. The doctor went through i number of ce^ monies, such as feeling the pulse, and looking at the tongue ; being accompanied by an attendant who earned under his arm a box Led wS me! dicines. While Captain Maxwell was sittin- in a sbpr? h ron'bo"??^' "^^^^"^ '^' ^^- boat ;o%ty him on board, he was surprised to see a person enter the door on all fours,SiaIf dead with Co" This turned out to be the surgeon, who had been instantly sent for, and who, in common with the VOL. I. ^ 242 Loo-CHOO. chit-fs, ^vas horror-struck at the acciaent. T!ie £«- cSap u«. however, soon recovered Ins composure an 1 confidence, on observing that although the fin- ger wL broken, and one of the jomts dislocated, his n^utSf tCcS went on board tlie Alceste early next mornhig, to announce that the pS of the island, the person next m rank to fhe King, and heir-apparent to the throne meant to come on board the frigate to pay a visit of ce- remony and to inquire after Captam MaxweU^s health Accordingly, at noon, four of the senior chet dressed int best state silH -d caps came on board to announce the approach of the pTnce! who, in about half an hour afterwards we Tould Observe through our glasses, was brought m a closed sedan-chair to his boat. A lane was then opened for him, through a vast concourse of people, to whom he seemed almost as rare a sight as to us. Thestate-boat, which was a large flat-botomed barge, covered with an awTimg of dark-blue silk, with white stars on it, and not unhke a hearse in appearance, was preceded by two other boats bear- ing flags, with a long inscription upon each . in the bow stood an officer of justice, cairymg a lackered bamboo, and in the stern a man beatmg a gong. Avast number of other boats were m attendance, fome bearing presents, other, following out of rnere curiosity. One of the chiefs rowed forward to the frigate, to present the Prince's visitmg-c^d to Lap- tain Maxwell. It was made of red paper, forty-e ght inches long, and eleven wide, with an inscription upon it, of which the following is a translation :- "The i-eat personage, Ko Heang, Extender of the Laws of Loi-Choo, bows his head, and worships. Loo-cHoo. ' 243 Shortly afterwarcfe the Prince's barge approached • x.f on which the rigging of both ships wa^ manned ' always a very striking ceremony, and a salute of seven guns fired. When he cami'on board he was received with a guard, and another salute CapS Maxwell, who had been confined to the cabin ev^; «nce his accident, ordered me to receve the Since which I accordingly did at the top of the accom- niodation ladder As there had been no prevTo^s ception, I merely took oflf my hat and made him a bow ; but was surprised to see all the chiefs falTon thear knees the instant he came on the quarter deck L ?:,,"• '^'"^ ^" ""^ «f *he chiefs who had' t'rSn "P '^' ''^'"' ^"'^ ^«^^-*«d him to The Prince, when seated beside Captain Maxwell Zr ""T"^ '"'^""^ ^"'^""•^^^ ^bout his wounded hand, and expressed much regret that so disa^ee- stay aT£oo n ' -'"^'"Ti' '-- ^'^^"'^•-' d--Thl stay at Loo-Choo. He then called to one of his attendants for his pouch, and having prepared a pipe, presented it to Captain Maxwell. Tlfeusual questions as to our ages and families having ^ IL oy "^ ' "''^^ *' '''' '^'^ wonderf of tl e ship. Orders were accordingly given to Dremr^ for his reception; the decks were^clea'ed, anTtI e «hip s company ranged in separate divisions. Mean! while he expressed a wish t'o look round the cabin ihe'nalives " nl^tegg^dToTe' T ""^ '"" '' (England) ;WcSft^.l;^^^Snr^ phon (Japan); Manilla, and Pekin. Yhe chiei\,dio stood apart, woul.l not sit down in his presence, Ind 244- Loo-CHOO. never spoke to him without kneeling, sometimes on one knee, generally on botlu As soon as the ne- cessary arrangements had been made the Prmce proceeded round the decks. He observed eveiy- thin.^ with attention, but without betraymg any erea't degree of curiosity. One of his earliest in- quiries was about the boatswain's wife, of whom he had heard from the chiefs, and asked if it were possible to see her. Nothing was easier than to gratify him in this wish, for the good lady had been long prepared, and was waiting in her gayest attire to be presented. He stood for a moment looking at her with an expression of pleased surprise ; after which, as if suddenly recollecting that this must be eomewhat embairassing to the poor woman, who stood curtseying to the very grotmd, he drew Ins fan from his breast, and with an air of the utmost politeness, held it to her and begged she would accept it. Mrs Loy again curtsied in acknow.edg- ment of the honour intended her, and the Trmce Bent her the fan by Maddera. Some confused account of the fire-engine having been communicated to him, he asked to see it work- ed. In less than a minute a dozen of the firemen, with their buckets full of water, were at his side, the engine filled, and a stream of water spouted over the lower mast-heads, to his infinite astonishment and deliglit. He had heard also of an African negro who was on board, and begged that he might be sent for. When this man, who was a fine speci- men of his race, was brought forward, the Prince looked exceedingly surprised, and probably doubt- ed whether or not the colour was natural, as one ot his people was sent to rub poor blackee's skin with a cloth. The guns, the shot, and above all, the Loo-CHoo. 245 iron cables, excited his closest attention : notbino- indeed escaped his scmtiny. Wherever he passed,' the natives, Avho had flocked on board in crowds teJl on their knees, and clasping their hands be- fore then- breasts bowed their heads till they nearly touched the deck. ^ ' On returning from this excursion, the Prince was mvited to a cold collation prepared for him in the roremost cabm, though for a long time he refused to 8it down, nor could we conjecture what Avas his objection. At length, however, he complied, while the chiefs, who it appeared were neither allowed to sit down nor to eat in his presence, retired to the after-cabin; but he insisted on Captain Max-^ well and me being seated. He tasted every di«h which was oflTered him, but seemed afraid of the wines, havmg probably heard enough of the iovial proceedings of the 19th. In about half an hour he rose and went to the after-cabin; upon which the chiefs and the people of his suite, to the number ot fifteen, took their places at the table which the Pnnce had left, and speedily made ample amends lor the temperance and moderation of Jiis roval highness. •' .u ^^^^'^ .^'^ J'^'^'^y returned to the after-cabin, the official business of the day, for none of these visits ever passed off without some formal diplo- matical conference, was entered upon by Captain Maxwells returning thanks, in the name of the Lngl.sh government, for the liberal manner in which his Majesty's ships had, been supplied with every kind of refreshment; and for the kind as- sistance rendered us in all other respects. The 1 rince replied that the King of Loo-Choo wa«, most anxious to do everything in his power for 24.6 Loo-CHOO. the King of England's ships. Upon this Captain Maxwell observed, that being fully persuaded of this he was very desirous of seeing his Majesty, for the purpose of expressing in person his gi-ati- tude for the kindness with which he had been re- ceived in this countiy. The Prince answered, tliat it was quite contrary to the laws and customs of Loo-Choo for any foreigner of whatever rank to be admitted to the King's presence unless expressly sent by his own sovereign, as the bearer of com- plimentary presents. Such a declaration, coming from authonty so hi-'h, was considered by Captain Maxwell as con- clusive; and as nothing farther could now with any propriety or delicacy be said on the subject, tho hope of opening a communication with the court, which had been so anxiously desiied, was at last reluctantly given up. The Prince, however, most unexpectedly, in a few minutes resumed the sub- iect, by saying that an official letter would be writ- ten to the King of England, if Captain Maxwell would undertake to deliver it ; his answer of course was that nothing would give him more satisfaction than being made the bearer of such a communica- tion : that although he had earnestly desired the honour of paying his respects to liis Majesty the King of Loo-Choo, yet from the moment he heaixl it was contrary to the customs of the coun- try, he had ceased to conceive himself entitled to such an honour. As soon as it was inteqireted that Captain Maxwell was willing to cairy the letter alluded to, and that he had finally relinquished his desire to see the King, the Prince rose and pressed Captain Maxwell's hand between his, while all the chiefs fell on their knees in a cucle romid him, Loo-CHoo. 247 showiug by tlie expression of tJieir countenances, liow great their anxiety had been, from wliich they were at once relieved by Captain Maxwell's judi- cious acquiescence with their wishes : the Prince, in pai-ticidar, who had looked full of anxiety du- ring this discussion, became in a moment quite cheerful and at his ease. But when the Prince again alluded to the letter, it appeared that although it was to be addressed to the King, it was to be written by the minister, and not by the King of the Island. This altered thfe case materially, and the diplomatists were once more at sea. Captain Maxwell said it was his duty to inform the Prince most respectfully, that such a letter could not, with propriety, be received, as it would be an indignity to his own Sovereign to present him with a letter WTitten by another king's minister. The Prince seemed sensible of the propriety of this view of the case the moment it was stated ; and calling the chiefs round him, entered into one of their longest discussions ; at the close of which, they declared themselves in- competent to decide upon so very weighty a mat- ter, but that the Prince would consult with the King, whose pleasure would be communicated in a few days. Captain Maxwell expressed his will- ingness to abide by his Majesty's decision, as far as it was consistent with the respect due to his own government. The Prince seemed entirely satisfied with this answer, and said sometliing to the chiefs, upon which they again fell upon their knees before Captain Maxwell, notwithstanding all his efforts to prevent them. In the early part of this cm-ious interview the pre- sent which the Prince had brought was displayed in 248 LOO-cHoo. the cabin, at least such parts of it as were capable of being thus exhibited. The whole consisted of two bidlocks, three hogs, three goats, and a quantity of vegetables, frait, oranges, charcoal, eggs, and sweet potatoes ; besides fifteen webs of the cloth of tlie island, thirty fans, and twelve pipes. The Prince said he had sent a present to me, which I found to consist of half the above-mentioned good things. While the Prince was looking over the books and other things in the cabin, a picture of his Majesty King George the Third was shown to him. As the interpreter happened not to be present, we could not immediately explain who it was intended to represent, till it occurred to us to join our hands together, and bow to the picture in the Loo-Choo manner : the Prince, with the characteristic readi- ness of his country, saw instantly what was meant, and turning towards the picture, made it a low and respectful obeisance. His suite consisted of several chiefs whom we had not seen before, besides six personal attend- ants, two of whom always stood behind to fan him and to light his pipe. These men, who from their dress and manner appeared to be merely servants, derived a sort of rank from being about the Prince's person ; for when the chiefs sat down to table after he had left it, these attendants stood by as if ex- pecting to be invited to sit down also ; but Mr Clifford, to whom Captain Maxwell had given the party in charge, having observed how particular the Loo-Chooans were with respect to distinctions of rank, conceived it would be improper to ask them to be seated, even when Jeema requested him to do so. Suspecting there was some mistalve, he applied to Maddera, who said it was perfectly Loo-cftoo. 249 coiTect, upon which they were invited to sit down along with the rest. We liad never succeeded in obtaining from the natives any satisfactoiy account of former visitors ; but as the Prince was thought a likely person to be in possession of the desired information, we were in gi-eat hopes of hearing what we wanted from him, and various questions were put to him upon the subject. He said a vessel belonging to some strange nation bad been here about t\A enty years ago ; but that she had gone away immediate- ly, witliout holding any communication with the court. This must have been the Pandora scliooner, in which Captain Broughton visited Napakiang in July, 1797, after he had been wrecked in his Ma- jesty's ship Providence, on the island of Typinsan. He said that he knew of no other stranger who had visited Loo-Choo. On being sounded as to bis knowledge of other countries, he declared he knew nothing of the people whom we called French or English, or any nation indeed but the Chinese, Co- rean, and Japanese. Something was said about Manilla, and as that country is not very remote, it is possible that an accidental communication may have occurred between it and Loo-Choo. Their accounts, however, were all vague and unsatisfac- tory, and it is not impossible that Ave ourselves may have first suggested these names, and afterwards ascribed their use to the natives, a natural and fre- quent source of enor on such occasions. In Captain Broughton s Voyage, book II., an ac- count is given of his visit to Napakiang. He was received with great kindness by the inhabitants, who supplied his wants, but objected to his landing, and sent back to the schooner some of the officers 250 LOO-CHOO. who liad been sent on shore to examine the town. We found Captain Brougliton's account of the people quite accurate. Nothing, however, in the adventures of this day excited such universal interest as Maddera's full and explicit assumption of his long-concealed rank. He came on board for the first time dressed in the robes and hatchee-matchee of a chief ; and instead of keeping in the back-ground as hereto- fore, like one of the common people, he not only took precedence of our old friends, but during the discussions in the cabin with the Prince, maintain- ed in every respect a decided superiority over them all. It was very remarkable, too, that while the others were discomposed by the Prince's pre- sence, and were seen crouching on their knees every time they ventured to address him, Mad- dera, though always respectful, was quite at his ease, and neither in listening to, nor addi-essing the Prince showed the least embarrassment : we could not, therefore, help fancying that he must have been accustomed to the society of the palace. It was no less remarkable, that the Prince referred much oftener to him than to any of the chiefs, and always listened to him with far greater attention than to any one else. Whether Maddera owed such distinction to his elevated rank, or to the ascen- dency of his talents and attainments, or to the accidental circumstance of his having had better opportunities of knowing our language and cus- toms than any other of the natives, we could not pretend to determine : but he admitted, when in- teiTogated upon the subject, that he had in fact often seen the Prince before, while all the other cJiiefs confessed to us, that until to-day they had not known him even bv sight. 'O' LOO-CHOO. 05J No sooner was the Prince fairly pfeced in his sedan-chair, and lifted out of his boat by his peo- ple, than Maddera came on board, and entered with gi-eat good-humour into the jokes which were poured upon him from all sides upon the subject of his newly found character. He declined tell- mg why he had kept his rank so long a secret but It was sufficiently obvious, that his main ob- ject had been to establish an intimacy with all tlie different classes on boai-d the ships. In this he completely succeeded; for he had advanced gradually in his acquaintance, first with the sailors, then the midshipmen, next with the officers, and last of all with the captains. By this means he gained the confidence and good-will of each class as he went along, and by rising in consequence every day, instead of putting fonvard all his claims at once, acquired not only substantial importance with us, but gained a much more intimate know- ledge of our chai-acter and customs than he could have hoped to do in any other way. Our opinion of the other chiefs fluctuated from day to day • whereas oiu- esteem for Maddera never suffered dimmution. With a sort of intuitive and happy discretion, he always did what the event proved to be the most appropriate thing he could have done- ^"4 ^y ^^>^°g *=^aim to no knowledge or merit which he did not possess, but always keeping more in the back ground than his friends thought there was occasioji for, he was sure never to forfeit any good opinion which he had once gained. Next day, Mr Clifford went along with me, for the purpose of sketdiing the bridge, which, though not above tlu-ee hundred yards from the landing- l)lace, the chiefs had always objected to oui- ex- 252 LOO-cHoo. aminin"-. We took-Jeeroo with us without telling liim our object, which he no sooner discovered than he became quite alarmed, and sent off for Maddera, who came to us immediately, and upon learnmg that nothing further was proposed than a mere ex- amination of the structure of the arch, saul we might so on • having first made us promise solemnly not to proceed a step further. While Maddera was enter- ino- into this bargain with us, and makmg minute and as I thought needless stipulations, I expressed some impatience at his doubting our simple decla- ration that nothing more was intended than what we actually avowed: he smiled good-humouredly, but said he must do his duty ; nor would he leave us till the matter was arranged in his own way. As soon as he was satisfied on this point, he said something to Jeeroo and left us ; but turning back again in a few minutes, he came iip to Mr Clifford, and pointing to me, whispered, " Lap- tain no sulky?" meaning, no doubt, to expre^ss his apprehension that I had been angry at the conditions so positively required of us. Mr Llit- ford having assured him tliat nothmg could pos- sibly make me sulky with so obliging and good a friend, detained him for a moment to ask him what it was he feared? what he had seen m us to excite such constant dread of oui' going near the town? He replied, « Loo-Choo woman see Ingeree man ; Loo-Choo woman cry ! He then left us ; and Jeeroo, who remained in a boat close to the bridge while we were employed m measuring and drawing it, was highly interested by our ac- counts of the great age of our venerable Sovereign, and of the number of his family, circumstances which excited his astonishment and admiration. Loo-CHOO. 253 He talked quite freely while the topic was the King of England, but the instant the slightest turn in the convereation was made towards the Kins: of Loo- Choo, our friend, communicative enough in every other point, became impenetrable upon this. " He did not know," he said, " how old he was, nor how many children he had ;" in short, he seemed scarcely to admit that he had ever before heard of the King of his own country. From Maddera, however, who had no concealments, we leamt afterwards that the King was an old man, with seven children. It was absurd enough that none of the chiefs would inform Captain Maxwell whether or not the Prince who visited the ships yesterday had any children. Jeeroo, who was a merry light-hearted fellow, sung several songs to us during this excursion, and told us that his countrymen were very fond of music ; but gave us no satisfactory information re- specting musical instruments: neither did we ever see any. The natives almost all simg, and we heard several very sweet and plaintive airs. They had also many jovial drinking songs with noisy choruses, one of which was wiitten down from Jeeroo's dictation, inscribed on a drinking-cup which he presented to me. It is as follows: — " Tywacku tawshu, shee kackufing, " Chaw ung, itchee sliaw, shooha neeburu ; " Ting shi, you byee, chi taru shu ninnee " Noobu cadsee meesee carra shaw jeeroo " Shing coodee sackee oochi noo shing." The characters on the cup being interpreted, sig- nify, " Tywacku, being inspired by a jar of wine, wrote an hundred pages of verses without end. At the market town of Chaw-vuig he entered a wine shop to sleep. The Emperor happening to VOL. I. Y .8 254t Loo-CHOO. summon him at tliis moment, he, in his haste to obey the mandate, forgot to put on his upper gar- ment, and rushing into tlie royal presence, ex- claimed, ' Here am I, the wine-loving immortal I' " On the 25th of October, being the anniversary of his Majesty's accession to the throne, the ships were dressed in colours, and a royal salute fired. This splendid exhibition of flags and streamers, a beautiful sight at any time, if seen from a short distance, produced a gieat effect upon the natives, who had never seen any other flags than a single ensign lioisted on Sundays, on board eacli of the ships. They had been previously informed that there would be certain ceremonies in honour of our King on this day, and great numbers of people had been assembled from all parts of the Island to witness the show. As this morning had also been fixed upon for returning tlie Prince's visit, we left the Alceste at one o'clock, form- ing a procession of four boats, each bearuig flags. Captain Maxwell was accompanied by twelve of his officers and young gentlemen, and six sent along with me from the Lyi'a, all dressed in full uniform. We entered the harbour, and landed at the same part of the causeway as before, where we foimd the chiefs in attendance, as on the occasion of our visit on the 23d of last month. The Prince advanced a few yards on the out- side of the gate, and having taken Captain Max- well's hand, conducted him to the temple, where an ingenious device was adopted in order not to infringe the etiquette, which requii-es that none but persons of high rank shall be seated in presence of the Blood Royal. The temple, as I have before described, was divided into several rooms by ranges Loo-cHOo. 255 of columns, capable of being connected at pleasure by moveable partitions. When these pannels were removed there still ajipeared to be three separate apartments, or at least there was separation enouc^h to save the Prnice's official dignity, while, at the same time, no person in the other rooms could feel himself excluded, since the division by the pillars might be considered merely nominal. The feast was sumptuous, consisting of twelve regular cour- ses, besides tea and sackee at short intervals. There were many dishes new to us, principally of meat, dressed in various ways in large bowls. It having been thought necessary to make some return tor the presents brought on board by the 1 nnce two days before, Captain Maxwell beVd Jns acceptance of several pieces of scarlet and blue cloth, as well as samples of every species of our manufacture, that could be scraped together, from the hnest damask to the coarsest sail canvass ; with a very handsome set of cut crystal decanters and glasses, and three dozen of wine of different sorts with several books, and a number of smaller articles' He also requested the Prince to offer the Kin- of -Loo-Choo, in his name, a cow and a bull calf of the best English breed, as a humble offering of his sense of the kindness which we had all experien- ced. rhe Prince expressed much satisfaction at this gift, saying that the calf being born in the coun- try, had become a great favourite with the na- tives, and he had no doubt would prove in time of essential benefit to the Island. My present con- sisted of half the quantity of wine given by Can- am Maxwell, a mh-ror taken from a dressing ;tand, samples of English pens, ink, and paper, all >f winch differ totally from those we met Avith 256 Loo-cHoo. on the Island, an atlas, and a small bmss sextant ; which latter present I was induced to include from having often witnessed the wonder and delight it had invariably excited at the observatory. Mr John Maxwell, the commodore's son, to whom the Prince had sent a present of doth and pipes, gave him a spy-glass and a map of London ; the map was coloured, and round the edges were the pa- laces, Greenwich Hospital, and other public build- ings, all of which were examined with great atten- tion. After his highness had looked over most of the things, and. satisfied himself with the explanations given, he rose and said that a great deal too much had been given ; to which we replied, that a great deal too little had been given, and that these things were not offered as being, in any respect, an equi- valent for the supplies sent on board, but merely as marks of our gratitude for the great kindness and attention with which we had been received. The following is a list of the supplies which we received at Loo-Choo, and for which the natives could not be prevailed upon to accept any sort of payment. Lisi of Articles supplied at Loo-Choo. Alceste. Lyra. Bullocks, 19 8 Pigs, 23 10 Goats, 15 7 Fowls, 216 102 Fish, 29 12 Eggs, 920' 455 Bags of sweet potatoes, . 59 27 Squashes, • • • • 34 14 Jars of sackce , each containing about fift« ^en gallons, 6 3 LOO-CHOO. Baskets of oranges, . Bundles of gingerbread, onions, radishes, celery, . garlick, . candles, . wood, charcoal, Akcste. 9 8 16 30 12 8 7 16 20 60 7 2 U 6 50 257 Lyra. 4 3 8 12 5 4 3 8 15 30 3 1 7 3 30 Pumpkins, Baskets of vennicelli, Boxes of sugar. Rolls of printed linen, Bundles of paper, Pipes finely japanned. During the time we sat at table to-day, the in- terpreter was hardly ever called in, as Maddera and Mr Clifford contrived between them to explain everything, if not as clearly as couJd liave been wished, yet we conceived in a more satisfactory manner tlian could liave been done through the medium of Jolm the Chinaman, of whose fidelity we were never certain, and of whose discretion, taste, and delicacy in conveying our sentiments, we had many doubts. The Prince, as soon as dinner was over, rose and proposed the King of England's health, which was accordingly drunk in a full cup of sackee. In return, we gave the King of Loo-Choo. As the surgeon had desired Captain Maxwell, on account of his accident, to drink no wine, we were very temperate at the Prince's taJjle ; but at the others every art was used to circulate the wine-pot. Lit- v2 258 Loo-CHOO. tie persuasion, it is true, was required, for the sfiekee, though not strong, was very good ; resem- bling, in some degi'ee, weak punch. Ookooma pre- sided at the table occupied by the officers, and Jeeroo at that where the midshipmen sat. One of the chiefs having remarked on board, that when- ever the King's health was drunk, whether of Eng- land, or of Loo-Choo, the cups were always fakly emptied, took advantage of this loyalty of senti- ment, and gave " The King of Injeree's health" three or four times over, to which, of course, the officers were obliged to reply, by giving " The King of Loo-Choo" as often. Finding this manoeu- vz'e to answer so well, he caiTied it rather farther than is customary with us on similar occasions, for, observing the company somewhat backward in dis- cussing a mess of sweet rice-meal ponidge, which had been placed before each of them, he stood up with his bowl in his hand, and, calling out " King of Injeree's health !" swallowed the whole, and in- vited the rest of the company to follow his loyal example. The Prince seemed to enjoy the noise and mu-th of the other tables very much ; and he himself was more cheerful and conversible than when we first saw him, though naturally a silent man. Ookooma, by acting his part as toastmastei', got, we thought, a little tipsy ; for he came several times into the state-chamber, where he talked a great deal loud- er than was quite suitable to the occasion ; an in- discretion of which the good-natured Prince took no notice. When Ookooma came near my chau-, I whispered to him, " Ya weetee," — You are drunk ; he turned round, and, affecting to be angry, called out, " Weetee nang !" — I am not I but his voice Loo-CHOO. 259 and manner were in direct contradiction to tliis assertion. His subsequent behavionr, however, when the feast was ovei*, was so orderly, tliat probably he only pretended to be tipsy, in order to suit what he might consider to be the convivial humour of the moment. On rising to depart, the Prince led Captain Max- well by the hand, not only tlu-ough the gate of the temple, but about twenty yards further, along the causeway : here he stopped and took leave. Cap- tain Maxwell availed himself of this public oppor- tunity to repeat, for the last time, his sincere thanks, in the name of the English government, for the nu- merous attentions and marks of kindness with which we had been honoured at Loo-Choo. He requested that these sentiments might be communicated offi- cially to the King, and assured the Prince, in the most earnest and respectful manner, that all the circumstances of our reception and entertainment should be stated to his own Sovereign. Upon this assurance, the Prince bowed in a manner which seemed to express much satisfaction at the pro- mise. Captain Maxwell next observed, that he felt, individually, so greatly honom-ed and obliged by the particular attention which had been shown to himself, and to the captain of the little ship, that he hoped the Piince would deign to accept from each of us a small mark of his respect and grati- tude. He then took from his neck a small thermo- meter, set in silver, and presented it to the Prince, who leaned liis head forward, and requested that it might be hung round his neck by Captain Max- well's own hands. This may be supposed a curious place to hang a thermometer, but we had learned during our in- 260 LOO-CHOO. tercourse witli the chiefs, that some management of this kind was necessary Avhenever it Avas intend- ed to offer them presents, as their extreme delicacy- made tliem unwilling to accept anything of value, lest it might appear in the light of remuneration for their hospitality. But whenever anything mere^ ly ornamental, or of little value, was offered, parti- cularly if worn about the person, no objection was made. It thus became the practice, as the most convenient method, to tie the proposed gift by a ribbon round the neck ; so that after a time, every one wore rings, seals, or other trinkets, ready for such occasions. This thermometer was selected as a present for the Prince, fi-om its having parti- cularly attracted his notice on board the Alceste. After Captain Maxwell had given his little pre- sent, the Prince turned to receive mine ; upon which I put over his neck a cornelian seal, suspended by a ribbon, in the manner described. He was so de- lighted with these compliments, that instead of turn- ing back, as strict etiquette probably required, he again took Captain Maxwell's hand, and led him along the ^vhole lengtli of the causeway through the crowd to the boat. He then stepped upon the top of the parapet to see us row away. As soon as we had put off, Captain Maxwell ordered the boats to assemble, and that every one should stand up. and give tluee hearty cheers. Ne- ver was an order more promptly obeyed ; while the Prince and the people looked quite amazed at this novel mode of bidding adieu, but they all seem- ed pleased and bowed several times, with their hands closed and raised to their breasts. The natives, who up to this moment had observed nothing on board the ships but the utmost order and silence, were LOO-CHOO. 261 quite confounded with tliis unexpected uproar. The Prince remained on the parapet, and continued wa- ving his fan to us as we rowed down the harbour, as long as we could see him. The chiefs ran to the end of the causeway, where they continued, sur- rounded by a vast crowd of natives, waving their handkerchiefs and fans till we were far from the shore ; and on every side, the rocks, trees, houses, and boats, were crowded with people cheering us in the same manner as we went along. Tliis brilliant scene had less novelty in it, to be sure, than the dis- play which we had witnessed at the same place on the twenty-third of last month ; but it was even more pleasing on this occasion, for we had now become acquainted with many of the individuals forming the assemblage, and felt assured that their expressions of kindness and respect were sincere. At our first visit, the natives being ignorant of our intentions, were greatly alarmed at our appearance; and accordingly, though much curiosity was shown, a profound silence and stillness prevailed over the whole crowd, veiy different from the friendly shouts and signs with which they greeted us as we pass- ed among them to-day. Precautions had been taken to prevent the ladies from indulging then- curiosity as they had done on the former occasion, not a single female face being anywhere discernible amongst this gi'eat multitude, probably the majority of the male inhabitants of the island. Of the population of Loo-Choo we could never learn anything having the least pretensions to ac- curacy. From the south point, to within five or six miles north of Napakiang, an extent of six- teen or eighteen miles, the country is highly cul- 262 Loo-CHOo. tivated, and almost entirely covered with houses. All round Port Melville too there are populous villages, but tlie north, north-east, and eastern dis- tricts are thinly peopled, and not cultivated to any extent. We saw nothing like poverty or dis- tress of any kind ; every one we met seeming con- tented and happy. Not a single deformed person, nor any one who bore indications of disease, was seen, except a few marked with the small-pox. As soon as it became dark both the Alceste and Lyi-a were illuminated ; and at nine o'clock, after a royal salute and a feu de joie had been fired, a number of fire-works were let off from the yard- arms. An immense concourse of the natives, who had been apprised of our intentions, assembled on the shore, highly delighted with tliis briUiant exhi- bition. The sick people, as well as the stores belong- ing to the Alceste, were removed on board on the morning of the 26th of October, and every pre- paration made for our departure. While employ- ed in concluding the last series of observations, Maddera joined us, having in his hand the sextant which I had given to the Prince the day before. It seems he had received orders to make himself acquainted with its use ; but a more hopeless en- terprize, under such circumstances, could hardly have been proposed. Maddera, however, was not a person to be daunted by difficulties ; on the con- trary, he resolutely persevered in trying to make observations with the sextant; and the more the difficulties were made apparent, the more arduous- ly he laboured to overcome them. The progress which he made in a few hours in the mere practi- cal operation of taking angles and altitudes was Loo-cHoo. 263 really surprising, but he was by no means satisfied with this degi-ee of proficiency, and entreated to be taught how to apply it to some practical and useful purpose. I endeavoured to confine him to one subject, merely to ascertain the time of appa- rent noon ; and I thinlv succeeded in explaining to him how this was to be done. But I found it dif- ficult to fix him, for he broke off from his work re- peatedly to express his regret at our approaching departure; in which friendly sentiment he was heartily joined by some of tlie chiefs, who came to us quite out of spirits. Jeeroo, poor fellow, while his companion Maddera was learning practical as- tronomy, had prepared a handsome dinner for us under a tree near the observatory, to which farewell feast he invited us when om- observations were con- cluded, and made us drink what he called " wack- arittee," or the parting-cup, several times over. An unusual number of visitors came to the obser- vatory to-day, who stood by and saAv the instru- ments packed up, and sent off, with looks of real re- gret. They all expressed themsehes very sony we were going away so soon. One man brought Mr Clifford, as a farewell gift, a curious drawing of the Alceste, as she appeared on the twenty-fifth, dress- ed in flags, executed he said by his son. All our ittle favourites too, the children, were much af- ected by our preparations ; and the wonted hilari- y of the lower classes was quite gone. Having taken our final leave of the shore, we vent to the Alceste, where we found the chiefs in iiournful conference witli Captain Maxwell about lis departure. Before tliey went, he made eacli >t them a present of a finely-cut nine glass, which le fancied they Jiad long-desired to possess ; but to 264 LOO-CHoo. Ookooma, as the principal person, he gave a richly- cut tumbler, inclosed in a red morocco case. This was much beyond his expectations, and perhaps his wishes, for he observed the wine glasses of the others with a wistful eye. Captain Maxwell, perceiving in a moment that his friend had set his heart upon a wine glass also, opened the case, and pretending that it had been accidentally omitted, placed one inside the tumbler, to the chief's great satisfaction. Soon afterwards the whole party went on shore, saying, before they left the ship, that in the morn- ing the Bodzes would come on board in order to perform some sacrifice. But as they never made their appearance, it is probable the interpreter mis- understood them, particularly as Isacha Sandoo said, in his own language, " To-morrow the ships will go, and all the Loo-Choo people will pray for them ;" which was probably all that the chiefs meant, although the interpreter said the priests were to come on board during the next day. While we Avere at dinner, Maddera came into the Alceste's cabin, for the purpose of asking me some questions about the sextant. He was not aware of oui- being at dinner, and looked quite shocked at having intruded ; of course he was invited to sit down, but no entreaties could prevail upon him to do so ; being determined to show that his coming at this moment was accidental. From the cabin he went to the gun-room, to see his friend Mr Hopp- ner, the junior lieutenant of the Alceste, with whom he had formed a great friendship, and who gave him a picture of the Alceste and some other farewell presents ; upon which Maddera, who was much affected, said, " To-morrow ship go sea — I go my father house, — two days distance : — when xoo-CHOo. 265 I sec my father, I show liim your present, and I tell him, Henry Hoppner all same as my brother " and buist into tears ! ' The officer here spoken of, is now well kno^vn to the public, as one of the intrepid and perseve- rmg navigators, who have four times engaged in the formidable enterprize of discovering a North- West passage. At daybreak on Sunday, the 27th of October 1816, we unmoored; upon which the natives see- ing us take up one of our anchors, naturally thought we were going to sea immediately, and meant to give them the slip, without bidding adieu. This was very far from our intention ; but the alarm spread nnmediately, and brought the chiefs off in a great hurry ; not in a body, in theii- ordinary for- mal way, but one by one, as they could find sepa- rate canoes to paddle them from the shore. Old Jeema called on board the Lyi-a on liis way to the frigate ; he was a good deal agitated, and the tears came mto his eyes when I drew a ring from my finger and placed it on his, in exchange for a knife, which he took from his girdle to present to me. The other cliiefs called alongside on their way to the frigate, but they went on when I told them I was just going to the Alceste myself. In the meantime poor Maddera came on board with the sextant in his hand ; he was in such distress that he scai-cely knew what he was about. In this distract- ed state he sat down to breakfast with us, during which he continued lighting his pipe and smoking as fast as he could ; instinctively drinking and eat- ing whatever was placed before him. In a little while he recovered his composuie in some degree. VOL. I 2 266 Loo-CHOO. and asked what books it would be necessary for him to read, in order to understand the use of the sextant ; I gave him a nautical almanack, and told him he must understand that in the first instance : he opened it, and attentively looking at the rows of figures for a few minutes, held up his hands in absolute despair, being at last forced to confess it a hopeless business ; he then put the sextant into its case, and bade us farewell. Before leaving the Lyra, he gave Mr CliiFord his pipe and tobacco- pouch, with a crystal ornament attached to it, say- ing, as he held them out, " You go Ingeree, you give this to your childs." Mr CliiFord gave him a few presents in return, and expressed his an- xiety to be always remembered as his friend. Mad- dera, with great earnestness, and Avith the tear* streaming down his cheeks, placed his hand seve- ral times upon his heart, and cried, " Eedooshee, eedooshee 1" — My friend, my friend I To me he gave a fan, and a large picture of a man looking up at the sun, drawn, he said, by him- self, probably in allusion to my usual occupation at the observatory. After he had put off in his boat, he stood up and called out several times, " Ingery noo choo sibitty yootusha," — I shall al- ways i-emember the EngUsh people. ^Vhen he went to the Alceste, one of the chiefs remarked to him, that he had come on board without his hatchee- matchee, or his state-robes, and told him it was not respectful to wait upon Captam Maxwell, for tlie last time, in his ordinary dress ; paiticulariy as all the others were in full array. Maddera, who, poor fellow, had been too much concerned about other matters to tliink of dress, was distressed at this apparent neglect of propriety, and immediately Loo-CHOo. 267 apologized to Captain Maxwell, who took him kindly by the hand, and, giving him a present, told him, he was always much toohappy to see liim to notice what dress he had on. On going to the Alceste, I found the chiefs seat- ed m the cabin, all looking very disconsolate. We tned in vain to engage them in conversation ; but their wonted cheerfulness had quite deserted them : and, indeed, it was natural that they should be so aftected, for, unlike their visitors, these simple peo- ple could have had little experience of parting scenes. I took this opportunity of giving each of the chiefs some trinket, as a farewell present, and they m return gave me their pipes, fans, and knives, as memorials, accompanied by many friendly expres- sions. Mutual assurances then passed between us, of being long remembered, and the natives rose to take their last leave of us. Ookooma, who, as well as the others, was much agitated, endeavour- ed to say something, but his heart was full, and he could not utter a word. The rest did not at- tempt to speak ; and before they reached their boats, they were all in tears. Maddera, who was the last to quit the ship, cried bitterly as he wrung the hands of his numerous friends, who crowded round him, and loaded him with presents. While we Avere heaving up the anchor, the na- tnes assembled not only in canoes round the ships, but in va-st crowds along the neighbouring heiohts '; and as we sailed away,^hev all stood up, and^'con- tmued waving their fans and handkerchiefs till they could no longer be distinguished. 268 CANTON. CHAPTER VI. CAPTAIN maxwell's ATTACK ON THE BATTERIES AT CANTON, ON THE 12TH OF NOVEMBER, 1816. On leaving our primitive and kind friends at Loo-Choo, we steered directly across the Japan sea, and having sailed between the Philippine Is- lands and Formosa, made directly for the anchor- age of Lintin, which takes its name from an island lying opposite the mouth of the great river flow- ing past Canton. On the 3d of November, 1816, shortly after anchoring, we received despatches from the British Factory, announcing the unsuc- cessful issue of the Embassy, and the expected re- turn of Lord Amherst. The failure of the mission, it appeared, had disposed the Chinese authorities at Canton to treat the interests of the British Factory with gi-eat contempt, and in several instances to visit his Majesty's peaceable subjects with insult and di- rect injury. Next morning was received a copy of a recent edict, or proclamation, of the Viceroy of Can- ton : in this document, worded in the most offensive terms, it was stated that the Ambassador would not be permitted to embark in the river, but must find his way as he best could to the ships, which were to remain at anchor amongst the Ladrone Islands, almost in the ojien sea. There was every reason for supposing that this insulting mandate was a gi'atuitous piece of impertinence on the part of the CANTON. 269 local anllioritios, not authorized by the Supreme Go- A eiiinient. Iji China everytliing is regulated by custom ; and the precedent of the embassy under Lord Macartney was more likely to be adhered to, than tliat so inconvenient and degrading a mode of embarkation sliould be wantordy assigned to Lord Andierst. The hostile sentiments of the Viceroy towards all foreigners, and especially the English, had long been well known to om- establishment at Canton ; and as these proceedings were precisely what liad been anticipated, the greatest anxiety was felt by our countrymen, and indeed by all the fo- reign residents, as to the line of conduct which Captain Maxwell would adopt on the occasion. Nothing could be conceived more dissimilar to our recent occupations tlian the duties which now devolved upon this officer. Instead of the pacific, timid, hospitable Loo-Chooans, he had to deal with the arbitrary and unsociable militaiy authorities of China, at no time very friendly, and at the present moment professedly hostile to his nation. The same deliberate good sense, however, canied him suc- cessfully through these diametrically opposite ser- vices, and what in one instance took the character of patient forbearance, became in the other the most prompt and vigorous action. Both lines of conduct were so admirably suited to the occasions respec- tively, that had their order been reversed, as they might readily enough have been by a less judicious officer, the consequences must have been mischie- vous In the highest degree. It should not be for- gotten, that as neither our visit to Loo-Choo, nor the iliscussions with the Chinese, could have been an- ticipated, no specific instructions beforehand could by any possibility have been given for the perform- ance of these services. The most perplexing di- z 2 270 CANTON. lemmas, indeed, must often occur in a profes- sion, tlic extent of wliose range is only limited by that of the globe itself. But it is on such occasions that the distinction between one officer and an- other comes into play : that the man who dreads and shuns responsibility, or whose shoulders are not broad enough to bear it when it happens to fall on them, is crushed beneath the weight ; while tlie professional genius of another will sport with the difficulty, and, like Nelson, turn what to ordi- nary eyes seems irreparable disorder into the means of enhancing his country's lionour. Shortly after the ships had come to an anchor off Lintin, a Mandarin, in command of a fleet of war junks, came on board the Alceste. He said a pilot would be soon sent, together with the usual permit, or Chop, as it is cafled, sanctioning the entry of the ships into the river. But on the 7th, three days afterwards, a Mandarin of much higher rank came to the frigate, expressly directed, he said, by the Viceroy, to order us to remain where we were, and on no account presume to approach nearer the river's mouth. Captain Maxwell ex- pressed great surprise at this rude message, and argued the question the more earnestly, as this Mandarin said he was in confidential communica- tion with the Viceroy, and authorized by Jiim to make arrangements. It was in vain represented, that the proceeding alluded to would be highly indecorous, not only on account of the inconve- nience and difficulty of communicating with the slups anchored so far off; but being directly in the teeth of an established precedent in the case of Lord Macartney, such a line of conduct would be a palpable insult to the j)resent Ambassador. It IS material to mention that an edict of the CANTON. 271 Emperor Jiad been published some time before, in ^\ liicli it was specified that tlie present Embassy was to be treated in every respect exactly as the former had been : and Captain Maxwell conceived it improbable that the Emperor would recall his own orders in this essential particular, when he had scrupulously adhered to them in every other. The Mandarin, however, shook his head at all these arguments, as if quite unconvinced ; but he was too well-bred to give the only good reply — that tlie proposed measure was actually intended as an insnlt. Captain Maxwell, however, who saw this clearly, gave him to understand, -that whatever the Viceroy, or even the Emperor himself, might be disposed to do, lie was determined not to permit any such indignity to pass with impunity. Tlie Mandarin, struck with this manner of viewing the case, stoutly denied any disposition on the part of Government to slight the Ambassador, but repeat- ed that express orders had come from Pekin to for- bid tlie entry of the ships. The whole of this interview was interesting and curious in a very high degree ; for it was evidently a sort of experiment on tlie part of the Chinese to discover what manner of man they had to deal with ; and Captain Maxwell, who had an important duty to fulfil, maybe supposed to have been feeling his way likewise, and endeavouring to discover to wliat lengths fair words would reach, and how far, in the event of the worst, it might be necessary to bring the argument within tlie range of cannon- shot. It was as fair a diplomatical skirmish, there- fore, as could be, and to a spectator like myself, amusing beyond description. The conversation was carried on principally througli the medium of a 2*72 CANTON. Chinese interpreter, or linguist; but the Manda- rin himself also understood some English, and more than once showed, by the expression of his countenance, that he knew what was meant, even before the interpreter had time to render the words. When Captain Maxwell asked how it happened that the commander of the fleet, who had visited him on the 3d instant, had undertaken to procure pilots,^ Chops, and so on, if not duly authorised ? " Oh," repHed the Viceroy's envoy, " that officer happens to be partly a fool, and partly a wit ; he was acting the latter character when he came to you, and merely wished to make sport ; he was only quizzing, I assure you, and had no authority." — " Well," said Captain Maxwell in reply, " it may be very well for such a fellow to take these liber- ties ; but," added he, in a tone and manner which made the Mandarin's button wag on the top of his bonnet, " I advise his Excellency the Viceroy not to take example from his admiral, and attemjjt to pass any such humours on me !" Our Chinese di- plomatists exchanged expressive glances, and for some time all was allowed to go on smoothly. The next experiment which the Mandarin tried on Cap- tain Maxwell's temper related to what is called in China a Security-merchant, a term which requires a little explanation. Every foreign ship which goes to Canton for the purpose of trading is obliged, before commencing busmess, to have a high bond or security for good behaviour lodged by one of the gi-eat dealers in tea, known by the title of Hong merchants. In the event of any disturbance occurring on board that ship, or any breach of the laws and eustoms of the country being committed by her officers or CANTON. 273 crew, the unhappy Security-merchant has to pay the penalty — sometimes in the shape of a large fine of hard dollars to the Viceroy, and sometimes in the less expensive shape of a round dozen or two with the bamboo, inflicted in a manner which, were the sufferer a Emopean, would be the most hurt- ful possible to liis feelings and dignity, but which in China, where it is said there is not much honour to be tarnished, goes merely for so much drubbing ; and the poor Hong merchant limps on board next day, with tears in his eyes, to supplicate his indis- creet constituents to behave better in future, if not in consideration of their own interest, at least in compassion to his poor bones. As men-of-war, however, have nothing to do with the commerce of the port ; as none, indeed, had ever entered the river before, except the ships of Lord Macartney's embassy, the idea of a Secu- rity-merchant for a king's ship had never been dreamed of till this occasion. The Mandarin, not duly warned by the tone and manner of Cap- tain Maxwell's first reply about the facetious admi- ral, or more probably being misled by his uncom- mon gentleness of manner, said it was the inten- tion of the Viceroy not to allow the ships to re- main longer, even at their present anchorage, un- less tliey procured a Hong merchant forthwith to answer for their good behaviour. " What is it you mean?" said Captain Maxwell, warnning a little ; " let me hear that again, if you please." The Cliinese, not altogether at his ease, repeated that security must immediately be lodged for the good behaviour of the ships. " Are you aware," said Captain Maxwall, " that this is a sliip of war— King George tlie Third of England's frigate the 274 CANTON. Alceste?"-"! did not distinctly understand," stammered out the Mandarin, wlio saw too late tliat he was m a scrape, and knew not for his life how to get out of it ; " I wished to be better in- formed-I wished merely to leam from you what cargo you brought-what kind of goods to dispose r 7- A^'""" •— ?«o''« to dispose of!" exclaimed Captam Maxwell, nsmg and strildng the table with his clenched hand, in admirably feigned anger-^ Cargo, did you say !-powder and sliot, sir, are the cargo of a British man-of-war ! Did you see ins Majesty s pendant flying at the mast-head? 1 you did not, I desire you will take a good look at It on your Avay to Canton, where you may tell the Viceroy you have seen a flag that has never yet been d.ishonoured-and please God, while it waves over my head, it never shall !" When Captain Maxwell began this address, the Mandann opened his eyes, and stared amazedly at liim ; then rose half off his seat, and presently vvith his hands shaking, as if the cold fit of an ague had overtaken him, doffed his cap of office, and gave a glance over his shoulder towards the stem windows to see whether, in extremity, he had any chance of makmghis escape. As Captain Maxwell approacii- ed his climax about the flag, and struck the table a second time, the Mandarin and intei-preter both re- treated, step by step, as far as the sides of the cabin permitted them, where they stood with uplifted hands, quite aghast, and in an ecstacy of terror. It was with the utmost difficulty I kept my counte- "2-Kl M^''^^;' ^y ^ ^%'^* ^^^1 ^l™«'t impei- fJnM '""t.^- ^'''^ '"'"^*" «f ^"« "^«"th, that Cap tain Maxwell himself, so far from having given wL to passion, was not only perfectly coolf but wai CANTON. 275 enjopng, to the very top of liis bent, the conster- nation into whicli lie had thrown the Viceroy's de- puty and his attendant. Matters, however, were soon apparently re-ad- justed, by Captain Maxwell's ringing the bell, and ordering some cheiTy brandy, which the terrified Mandarin relished vastly more than the gunpowder speeches he had just been treated with ; and I could see him more than once cast a side glance to the racks suspended under the guns, each holding a dozen of twenty-four pound shot. A desultory conversation ensued, during which all official business was sedulously avoided for a time ; but Captain Maxwell, whose object was to be fully understood, would not allow the unhappy worshipper of Fo to leave the ship without some- thing so explicit, that even the acuteness of Chi- nese diplomacy should not be able to evade or mis- consti-ue it. He accordingly resumed the subject by asking the Mandarin, now he was aware what the frigate's cargo consisted of, whether he thought the Viceroy would grant the proper Chop. " I have no sort of doubt of it," he replied eagerly ; " and if you will only consent to wait till the twen- ty-third day of the moon, four days hence, you may rely upon it that a free permission, a grand Chop of the fii-st order, will be sent to you, together with pilots, refreshments, and all you require."— " Be it so," said Captain Maxwell • " I am the last man in the world to do anything in a huny I have not the least wish to do what is offensive or contrary to the usages of any countiy. But under- stand me, once for all : I am perfectly resolved that neither the Ambassador, nor the flag of my nation, sliall be insulted in the manner alluded to 276 CANTON. in the Viceroy's communication ; and if, on or be- fore the twenty-thu'd day of the moon, a free permis- sion to enter the river does not arrive^ I most cer- tainly shall proceed in this ship without it ; and shall not stop till I have reached the spot occupied by his Britannic Majesty's ships employed on the former embassy. You regulate all things in this Celestial Empire of yours by precedent, you tell me, and it shall go hard but I will furnish you with one that will serve you for many years to come." The Mandarin thus schooled was in a great hurry to be ofi", and caiTying with him the linguist as a witness to bear him out in the strange story he had to tell, made all sail towards the city. We had a good laugh over the conference when the Chinese had gone away : but I was anxious to know what Captain Maxwell really meant to do in the event of no Chop coming from the Vice- roy. He told me he had no expectation that "any permission would come ; and from what he had heard and seen, was satisfied that the Vice- roy was resolved to carry matters to the utmost, feeling confident that his insolence would be tame- ly submitted to as it had heretofore been, on al- most all occasions, even after positive threats had been used. He added, that for his part he did not mean to use any threats, but to act, and if no Chop came on the 11th of this month, which coiTespond- ed with the 23d of the moon, to proceed straight up the river. A well-established precedent was before him in the case of the Lion, Lord Macart- ney's sliip, which was permitted to go as high as Wampoa, the station where the China ships take in theii' cargoes ; and in proportion to the advan- tage supposed to be gained upon that occasion, he CANTON. 277 considered the loss would now be great if this point were to be given up. He observed, also, that if he waited for the Ambassador's arrival and in- structions, it would imply a doubt as to the validity of the right ; but as he had no doubt, and meant to admit of none, there was no reason why, in the event of a refusal, it should not be enforced. Be- sides, were the measure to be delayed till Lord Amherst should reach Canton, it would throw the whole burthen of responsibility on his Lordship, already abimdantly loaded; on the other hand, by taking it entirely upon himself, the Ambassa- dor would be left more fi-ee, and liis dignity much better maintained, than if an altercation with the Viceroy were prepared for him. From all we yet knew, the Embassy had failed, and was returning in a manner sufficiently humiliating, without addi- tional dishonour. And Captain Maxwell thought, that if he sailed resolutely up, and took the station which, according to precedent, he was entitled to claim, such a step might show the Chinese, that however we might have failed in obtaining further advantages, the English nation was in no humour to relinquish those which it already possessed. Such being his feelings and views on the occasion, he prepared to carry them mto execution, without delay. It must be allowed by all parties, if, indeed, there can be two opinions on the subject, that whether the resolution adopted was right or wi'ong, prudent or otherwise, it evinced a high degree of political courage : since, if the Viceroy's orders to deny admission to his Majesty's ships had really been derived from the Court, a serious national quarrel, or the stoppage of the tea trade at least, VOL. I. 2 a 278 CANTON. would have been the inevitable consequence. Be- sides which, the Ambassador, and many other Bri- tish subjects, were completely in the power of the Chinese, and there was no knowing to what risk their lives might be exposed, if the government were roused to take summary revenge, for what they might consider an outrage. No doubt, all these considerations had their weight ; but when carefully balanced, they were not found to shake the original plan, deliberately formed, for resisting this attempt to degi'ade the national character. The twenty-third day of the moon came accord- ingly, without any reply from the Viceroy : neither pilot nor Chop making its appearance. The Lyra in the meantime was despatched for provisions to the Portug-uese settlement of Macao, in the im- mediate neighbourhood. But Captain Maxwell wishing to give ample time, and above all unwill- ing to do anything precipitate, waited four-and- twenty hours later than the day specified ; at the end of which period, on the 12th of November, he weighed and proceeded to Chuen Pee, an anchor- age a few miles below the narrow entrance called the Bogue, or Mouth, the Boca of the Portuguese navigfltors. Here a fleet consisting of seventeen large men-of-war junks, each mounting from four to six guns, with a complement of sixty men, was drawn up in line-of-battle to oppose the further progress of the frigate. The numerous batteries along shore were also observed to be filled with men : indeed the whole scene indicated a resolu- tion of resisting the intention of the strangers to pass the prescribed limits. A small boat, or as it is called a Sanpan, was now seen to put off from the admiral's junk and make towards the frigate. CANTON. 279 This boat was rowed by a single old woman, which ridiculous circumstance, though not uncommon in the upper parts of the river, was certainly now in- tended as an additional indignity. On her comino- alongside, the same interpreter who had accompa- nied tlie Mandarin at the memorable interview of the 7th, made his appearance on the quarter-deck, along which he strode with an air of much greater confidence than he had shown in the cabin a few days before. He was the bearer of an order, as he expressed it, from the commander-in-chief of the Emperor's war junks, for the frigate to anchor in- stantly. Captain Maxwell, whom nothing could irri- tate or discompose, answered this impertinent man- date by jocularly asking in the broken English used by the interpreter, " Suppose no do — what then ?" ♦' Then, I thinkee," retorted the linguist, with a very significant wink of his small red eye, — <' I thinkee that my great Mandarin there sinkee your ship I" And sure enough, while they were still in conver- sation, the admiral fired first one gun, then another, and 80 on along the whole line. Although these guns were all shotted. Captain Maxwell, with good- humour and presence of mind, called out that he was greatly obliged to the admiral for his salute, and ordered three guns to be fired with powder only, in retm-n for the compliment, but continued his course onwards, under all sail. The Mandarin soon put this mistake to rights by firing more shot, in which example he was followed by the whole fleet. Their guns were worked with considerable spirit and rapidity ; but somehow or other, not only the admiral, but all the oflBcers under his orders, managed never to strike the fiigate, or even to fire directly over her, taking care to pitch their shot 280 CANTON. either just a-head or just a-steni. It is not fair, perhaps, to insinuate what motives influenced this gallant officer on the occasion ; it was sufficient for Captain Maxwell's purpose that no shot actual- ly hit liis ship, and he sailed on without taking the smallest notice of the uncivil cannonading in his rear. When the frigate had reached nearly to the Bogue, or entrance, and almost within range of the battery called Annanhoy, the light wind which had carried her so far, gradually died away, and the tide, setting strongly out, rendered it necessary to drop the anchor. The Chinese fleet brought up like- wise, but continued foing away as briskly as before. Captain Maxwell, whose attention had hitherto been occupied by piloting the frigate, was now at leisure to attend to the warlike admiral. He according- ly loaded one of the quarter-deck guns, a two- and-thirty-pound carronade, and having directed it and primed the lock all with his own hands, drew the trigger himself. The gun was aimed so that the shot should pass over the centre of the com- mander-in-chief's junk. The effect was instanta- neous, and most ludicrous : the crews, not only of this vessel, but of the whole line, fell flat on their faces, as Captain Maxwell described it in his letter to me, " hke Persians at sun-rise," while the admiral in person was seen for a moment actually in the air, into which he had leaped in the extremity of his amaze, and in the next instant he lay prostrate on the deck. So remarkable was this exhibition, that Captain Maxwell at first feared he had pointed the gun too low, and actually killed the poor Mandarin ; while the sailors, who were in ecstacies with the sight, exclaimed that the captain had shot away the Cliina CANTON. 281 admiral's head. Without any such serious issue, the effect was quite as complete, for the filing in- stantly ceased. It is an invariable rule in China, whenever a casualty happens in consequence of guns fired from any foreign ships, to insist upon the man who ac- tually fired the gun being given up, not the officer who gave the order ; as if the guilt rested with the mere agent, rather than with the chief at whose in- stigation he has acted. Captain Maxwell was there- fore determined, at all events, to simplify the present question, by loading and firing the first gun with his own hand, and thus to make himself, in every sense of the word, Chinese as well as European, the responsible person. This incident may perhaps appear a trifle to some persons, but it was one strictly in character with the whole of these pro- ceedings ; and the anecdote is worthy of being borne in the recollection of every officer in command, who, as he shares all, or nearly all the credit of successful enterprize, should be ready to take upon himself the whole weight of censure, should the consequences be disastrous. About half past eight o'clock of the same even- ing a breeze sprang up, which admitted of the ship steering through the Bogue. The anchor was in- stantly weighed ; but so vigilant were the Chinese, that the topsails were hardly sheeted home before a flight of rockets, and a signal gun from the fleet, announced that night or day the passage was to be disputed. In the next instant there was a simul- taneous flash of light from one end to the other of the batteries, on both sides of the river sky-rock- ets were tlu•o^A'n up in every direction, and all the A 2 282 CANTON. embrasures were illuminated in the most brilliant manner. " The boatswain's pipe," to use Captain Maxwell's own expression, " did not man the Al- ceste's guns more smartly than these signals did the Chinese batteries. The very first shot they fired," to continue the extract from a letter I received some days afterwards, " hit us very hard in the bows, and pretty low down ; the second cut away one of the mizen-shrouds, and went through the spanker ; in short, they went on remarkably well. It really put us quite in mind of old times again. My orders were that not a shot should be fired until one was heard from the quarter-deck, the trigger of which I pulled myself when within less than half-musket shot of Annanhoy, the battery at the Bogue ; and then the main-deck and forecastle very speedily put out all the John China-man's lights. It really was a very fine and spirited scene while it lasted. " But the best effect of the whole is," continues Captain Maxwell, " that the Viceroy has quite re- covered his good breeding, and become remarka- bly civil. A Mandaiin of much higher rank than our former visitor was sent down to where the ship had anchored in the river, after passing the batte- ries, to say that I might come as far as I pleased ; that the Lyra might also enter the river when I pleased ; all boats might pass and repass the Bogue when I pleased ; in short everything is to be done according to my pleasure : and, what is amusuig enough, a Chop, or edict, has been published in Canton, stating that the Alceste had entered and come up the river by the Viceroy's express per- mission, in the same manner as the ships of the for- mer embassy." CANTON. 283 Thus fki' Captaiii Maxwell ; but I cannot omit relating two characteristic traits of this officer, of which he has omitted all mention himself. At the time of passing through the Bogue, and after the first broadside from the frigate had been poured into the battery, but wliile some of the guns still continued firing at the ship, the gi'eater number of the Chinese who had not been knocked over by the Alceste's fue, scampered off to the right and left up the hill, each with a paper lantern in his hand, thus affording a conspicuous mark for the small arms. Captain Maxwell, however, jumped on the poop, and would not allow a single musket to be fired ; remarking that liis purpose was to eftect a passage by silencing the great guns, and tliat if he could avoid it not a smgle Chuiese should be hurt. The other anecdote is equally in character. On the morning after the ship had passed the batte- ries, and reached the mtended anchorage, Captain Maxwell ordered his gig, a small four-oared boat, to be maimed; and without taking arms, or making any previous stipulations for his own safety, rowed straight up to Canton, a distance of more than thirty miles from his ship. The news of the action had preceded his anival, and immense multitudes were assembled to see the officer who had destroyed those fortresses considered by the whole empire as impregnable. He was received on the wharf by the members of the British Factory with al- most equal admiration. " Gentlemen," said he, ** I have felt it my duty to take a step of great importance, and one wliich may perhaps serious- ly involve not only the Ambassador and his suite, but all of you ; and as I am the person piincipally coucemed, I have come here to share the risk wJiat- 284. CANTON. ever it may prove." The crowd as lie walked along fell back in as much amaze as if a tiger from the woods had sprung amongst them, but towards evening they were all dispersed, and the danger which, had he shrunk from facing it, would have been imminent, was entirely at an end. While Captain Maxwell was thus busily'employ- ed, I had proceeded by his orders on the 7th Novem- ber to a harbour called the Typa, within a mile or two of Macao. Early next morning a large Chinese war vessel, mounting seven guns and crowded with people, anchored about a quarter of a mile to the eastward of us. All eyes were turned to this new and strange sight, for we had not before seen any junk nearly so large ; but whilst we were engaged in examining her more minutely, another still lar- ger dropped anchor under our stern ; presently an- other took his station on the bow, and one on the quarter, till in the course of half an hour we found ourselves fairly encaged by these immense vessels. One very zealous officer amongst them took a birth rather too close as I thought, as he brought up ac- tually within the Lyra's buoy. So great a departure from professional etiquette I imagined must be in- tended as a prelude to something hostile, and I pre- pared my little ship for the contest. We had only ten guns, indeed, but these were thirty-two pound car- ronades, and we might, I dare say, have done very well on the occasion of coming to blows, unless, indeed, it had occurred to the Chinese to have sail- ed their immense castles one on each side of us, in which case the poor Lyra must have been crushed like an egg-shell. For the smallest of these junks could not have been less than four or five times CANTON. 285 our tonnage, and at least three times as high out of tlie water. As soon as the guns were shotted, I sent my boat to the junk which had anchored so close as almost to be touching us, to beg he would move a little further off. The officer of my boat found a linguist on board, to whom he readily ex- plained the impropriety of anchoring so near ; and I confess I was not sorry to observe my friend comply so readily, and get his anchor up again to take his station along with the rest of the fleet. It Avas soon apparent they intended us no immedi- ate mischief, but were sent to watch us, and I sup- pose to keep us in awe ; for eveiy morning and evening, at sun -rise and sun-set, there was a grand mustering on board each junk ; all the crews were displayed on the decks, and a furious beating of gongs set up, which was doubtless meant to be very terrific and impressive. We took no further notice, but proceeded with our re-equipment, till on the 13th of November ac- counts reached Macao that Captain Maxwell had been engaged with the batteries, and had after- wards sailed up the river. I was on shore at Macao at the time the news amved, but went on board in- stantly to see what part the Chinese fleet would take, not knowing how far it might suit the admiral's ideas of the service, to visit the sins of the frigate upon the sloop of war. But to my surprise I be- held them all getting under weigh in the utmost hurry and confusion, as if the pigmy Lyra was go- ing to swallow these giants up ; and without ivait- ing for order of battle, or any order at all, ran off as hard as they could scamper out of our reach, into the inner liarbour of Macao, where they crowded 286 CANTON. themselves together like sheep, and moored in a compact body, actually touching one another. As I knew nothing of the Alceste's proceedings, except through the reports of the Chinese and Por- tuguese, which varied every hour, I resolved to wait Captain Maxwell's fm-ther instructions. It was a week before I heard from him, and my or- ders then were to proceed up the river, to where the Alceste lay, and not to return the fire of the batteries, should they recommence hostilities, but in that case to anchor below the Bogue, until I was jomed by the frigate. In order to avoid all mis- takes, or misunderetandings, he also sent me po- sitive directions to avoid all intei'course with the Chinese, whatever advances might be made by the commanders of the forts or fleets. In pursuance of these directions, I tripped my anchor on the 25th, and sailed out of the Typa ; but the tides not being favourable, we were obliged to force our way through the mud, and at one place actually sailed for upwards of half a league in two feet less water, by the sounding line, than the ship drew : that is to say, we appeared to be in ten feet water, while the vessel drew twelve. The moment our sails were set, we observed a stir amongst the men-of-war junks, and in a little while they came out one by one. As the wind was against us, we had to make a tack to^'ards the harbour's mouth, where we were met by the Avhole eight sail of the line, gaily dressed out in long swallow-tailed streamers, and led by their gallant commodore, wlio carried a flag twice as large as any of the rest. At sunset it fell calm, and the tide having turned, we all anchored toge- ther, no one of tlie junlcs being above a cable's CANTON. 2St length, or two hundred yards from tlie brig. As soon as the sails were fmled, the commodore man- ned his baige, and came himself to pay the Lyra a \dsit. I should have been very glad to have recei- ved him, but Captain Maxwell's orders against any intercourse being explicit, I could do nothing but decline his civility, and keep him off. In spite of all I could do, however, he rowed alongside, and sent an officer up with his card. This personage who for- ced his way on board addressed me in these words, " I come to see about your pigeon." — "My pigeon," said I ; " I have no pigeons on board, and you must go away — I cannot receive you — go down the side, if you please." — " No 1 no," exclaimed he, by way of clearing up the mystery, " my master, this great Mandarin," pointing to his chief, " has come to see about the ship's pigeon." While I was puzzling over this speech, I observed the commodore and two or three of his attendants climbing on boaid the brig, and therefore called out to some of the sailors, " Here, my lads, put this gentleman into his boat again." In an instant a couple of strapping fellows, who liked no better sport, leaped up, and would have tumbled the poor Chinese over the gangway in a trice, had I not caught their arms. The inter- preter, seeing what was going to happen, made a wise and precipitate retreat, dragging the com- mander-in-chief along with him by the tail, and screaming to the boatmen to shove off. I was really extremely sorry to be guilty of such rudeness ; but my orders being imperative, I had no other way of resisting such determined in- trusion, but that of threatening to throw the fore- most of my visitors overboard. I was glad it was not the chief himself who led the way, as I must 288 CANTON. have used some equally uncivil arguments with him, which I confess would have been a monstrous breach of naval etiquette. I afterwards learned that the word " pigeon," in the strange jargon which is spoken at Canton by way of English, means business, so that what the linguist meant to say was, " I am come to see about your business." It is, perhaps, not generally known that all transactions between foreigners, of whatever nation, are can-ied on here in a singular dialect, called English, but which is scarcely in- telligible at first, even to an Englishman, and must be totally unintelligible to every other foreign- er. It is made up of English, Portuguese, and Chinese, and although barbarous in the highest degree, must be studied by every trader at the port. Until very lately, all business was transacted by the British Factory in this most absurd lan- . guage. Of late years, however, the Company's ser- vants at Canton have made themselves acquainted both with the written and spoken Chinese, and everything material now passes in the language of the country. The natives themselves, whose prin- ciple it is to discourage all assimilation, sometimes lament this newly acquired power of commimica- ting, and look back with regret to the times when the supercargoes drank a great deal of wine, and spoke not a word of then- language. '< Now," as I heard one of the Hong merchants say, with a sigh and a shake of the head, " the English speak Chinese as well as I do, and drink nothing but wa- ter." - As soon as the tide served next morning, after daybreak, we weighed, in company with the fleet, and continued all day beating to windward. For CANTON. 289 some time these vessels held very good way with us, but when the breeze freshened we left them to leeward, though not by any means so fast as we liad been led to expect we should have done. Dming the day we often crossed one another, on opposite tacks, sometimes to windward, sometimes to leeward, and often so close as almost to touch, making a very amusing and spirited sailing-match. As the night closed in I let go my anchor, not being willing to incur the risk of running upon the shoals. The Chinese commodore and two of his next best sailers wei'e just in sight at sunset, far to leeward, but being well acquainted with the river they had no occasion to anchor, and before mid- night, they were once more clustered round their little charge. We were now at Chuen Pee where Captain Maxwell had anchored previous to enter- ing the Bogue, and I could observe from the lights in the batteries, and an occasional rocket, that the garrison were no less upon the alert than they had been upon that occasion. By the first peep of dawn next morning we were again under weigh, and about brealdast-time steer- ed for the naiTow neck, or Bogue, the scene of ac- tion on the 13th. The flags were hoisted at all the signal-posts, and the batteries eveiywhere crowded with people. I went as close as possible to Annan- lioy, in order to see what damage had been done. Thirty-nine pieces of cannon were counted, none of them less than twenty-four povmders, and all within five or six feet of the level of the water ; and so judiciously arranged, that if properly served, they might repulse a considerable force. The face of the wall, blown down by the Alceste's broad- side, had been built up again, and the Chinese must VOL. I. 2 B 9 290 CANTON. have worked night and day to conceal their disas- ter. From the new appearance, however, of the works, and the marks of shot on the steep face of the rock immediately behind the guns, I shouhl think that most, if not all the g-uns must have been dismounted, and the embrasures beaten together. As the Alceste passed considerably within her own length of the battery, and the water was perfectly smooth, every shot must have told. We were greeted very differently; for as we passed, a boat with four large skulls, and dressed up with long streamers reaching to the water, came from the fort with an officer, who hailed us, and said he was sent by the governor to ask if we want- ed a pilot or any other assistance. But he did not come close alongside, having probably heard from the admiral, whose boat we saw lying at the sally-port of the battery, that we were not very civil to our visitors. I hesitated a moment whether or not I should take a pilot, but upon considering- the matter a little, declined his offer, and he row- ed back again, after making the most respectful sa- lams as he took his leave. I refused this offer not only from feeling confident that we could do without assistance, but also because I thought it likely that Captain Maxwell, who had himself taken the fri- gate up, might wish to demonstrate to the Chinese that we could do without them in this matter ; a circumstance, we learned afterwards, which caused almost as much surprise at Canton as the passage of the batteries. There was, however, no mystery in the case, as an admirable chart of the river had been constructed shortly before this period, by Cap- tain Daniel Ross, a gentleman to whom the naviga- tors of every nation, whose business leads them i CANTON. 291 to the Eastern seas, are indebted in the highest degree. The East India Company have the sole merit, and a very liigh one it is, of having originated the splendid idea of surveying in a scientific manner, not only the vast seas and coasts of China, but all the straits, bays, and islands in the Indian Ocean and Malay Archipelago. Tliis work, perhaps the most useful, and certainly the greatest of its kind that any nation ever undertook, has been steadily carried on at an enormous expense for many years, under every circumstance of peace or war. To many persons this language may seem too strong ; but I write without exaggeration, at the dictation of feelings which most people will be ready to make allowance for. In an open sea, in broad day-light, and in fine Aveather, nothing can be more delight- ful than sailing along on such a voyage as ours to visit strange countries. But when the scene is changed to a dark stormy night, in narrow rocky passages, with rapid tides sweeping through them, the blessing of such charts as those of Captain Ross, and such directions as those of Horsburgh, is felt in a manner that the " gentlemen of England, who live at home at ease," can form but a faint con- ception of. The flood tide was now making, and we were carried gently past the various batteries on both sides of the river, eveiy one of which sent off a boat to offer us any assistance we might require: but I declined all their offers. At noon it fell al- most calm, but the water being perfectly smooth, the brig still had steerage way, and I sent the people to dinner, thmking we should not require them to perform any evolution before one o'clock. 292 CANTON. The last ch-ain of the flood was now stealing along, and the river seemed like a bowl filled up to the brim. The banks were low and swampy, without trees or houses, or any definite land-mark, by which our precise place could be told. Everything look- ed so perfectly placid, that I dreamed of no danger, after having akeady navigated by the chart, for thirty or forty miles through a succession of intri- cate and dangerous shoals. I was thus lulled into a,n undue degree of security, and permitted the tide to drift the brig silently and imperceptibly towards the Eastern bank of this immense river. While I was standing on the poop, endeavouring, if possible, to catch some object on the monoto- nous flat shore, by which the vessel's progress might be indicated, a small Chinese boat glided slowly up under the quarter, as if to watch our motions. I took no notice of the boatman, who, howeVer, after lying in the same spot for five minutes, stood up, and said in English, " Don't you want a pilot ?" I said, " Oh, no — I know the river as well as you do. I want no pilot." The man shrugged bis shoulders and sat down again. It now wanted only ten minutes of one, but I was unwilKng to distmb the people at their meal, although I began to sus- pect, from seeing the bull-rushes a little more dis- tinctly, that we were drifting too neai-, and in the next moment we slipped gently upon a shoal— so gently mdeed, that I should not have known it, had not -the tide, along with which we had been borne msensibly, now streamed past us. The hands were up instantly, and an anchor and hawser, kept in readiness alongside for such accidents, sent out to draw us off the ground. Wliile this was going on, tlie tJnnese m his boat paddled once more close under CANTON. 293 tlie spot where I was standing, and said, with his former tone and manner, and the addition of a knowing smile, " Don't you want a pilot?" I laugh- ed, and told him to come on board. In half an hour we were again afloat, and a light breeze springing up, we soon reached the anchorage called the Second Bar, where a fleet of fourteen large ships of the East India Company lay at an- chor. Being uncertain at first whether the brig would soon get afloat again or not, I had thought it best to make a signal for assistance. In less than an hour, upwards of a dozen of the Indiamen's long- boats, each manned Avith not less than eighteen hands, came to us. Before they reached the brig we had got off the shoal, and I might have made signals to show they were no longer necessary, but was willing to indulge both my own crew and these strangers with a meeting. We had now been nearly nine months from England, dming the whole of which period we had either been at sea, or amongst remote countries, beyond the reach of news ; and nothing, certainly, was ever better bestowed than this rencontre. Our men were bmsting with ea- gerness to tell the stoiy of their adventures, and the people in the boats, who had just anived from England, had much to impart of friends and home. On reaching the Alceste, I found orders lying for me to proceed to Canton ; and as a captain of one of the tea ships was just setting off in a large and commodious barge, I prefened accompanying liini to rowing up alone. Probably, had I gone in a man- of-war's boat, the Chinese, who liad treated Cap- tain Maxwell with great politeness wherever he passed, might Iiave been equally civil to his bro- ther oliiccr. But they observed no such delicacy 294) CANTON. in the case of the East India captain ; for wherever we passed, they climbed to the most conspicuous parts of their boats, and saluted us in a style tlie very furthest removed from good manners ; suit- ing tlie rudest actions to words probably not more coui-teous. The eloquence was quite thrown away upon us, but there was no mistaking the pur- port of the gestui-e. For some time this was amu- sing, rather than otherwise ; and to me at least the whole scene, from beginning to end, was subject of unmixed entertainment. But my companion, though one of the best men alive, was not the most patient person in the fleet, and replied at first to these insults by a few emphatic oaths in broad Scotch. Presently he stood up, and shook his list in a very angry manner, which produced no- thing but a loud and scornful laugh ; this instant- ly drove my friend into a towering passion ; and before I could stop him, he caught up a fowling- piece, lying on the stem sheets, and discharged It directly at a thick cluster of Chinese, not one of whose faces could be seen, but who neverthe- less oflPered a most conspicuous front to his aim. Fortunately the piece was loaded with snipe-shot, and tlie distance being considerable, the dose, thus promptly administered, acted merely as a sedative, not only upon the crew of the nearest vessel, but upon that of every other in sight. " There, you long-tailed rascals," exclaimed the Highlander, " there is a second edition of Maxwell and tlie batteries for you !" And no doubt the effect was analogous; for many weeks afterwards, when I passed in the same boat with the same person, the natives recognised the hand that had peppered them, and were extremely civil as we rowed along. CANTON. 295 We had thus to fight our way, step by step, in- to the good graces of the Chinese. The last con- flict which we had with them took place about an hour after I had reached Canton, at Captain Max- well's lodgings. We heai-d a great noise at the top of the stairs, and on going out to see what was the matter, found my coxswain and boat's crew in high altercation -nath a Chinaman, who was endea- vouring to deprive them of a tnmk which they can-ied on their shoulders. My boat had followed me to Canton, and the sailors on landing natm-ally brought the things to onr lodgings : just as they crossed the threshold, however, they were observed by the Mandarin of the custom-house, who called out to them to stop, and insisted upon searching the packages. Jack resisted this, and both parties havmg entered the house, the action which had disturbed us was raging on the staircase. As it was an established practice at Canton for no Chinese authority to enter the house of a Eiiro- pean resident without fiist obtaiaing permission, this proceeding was quite contraiy to usage. At all events, Captain Maxwell, who had commenced by assuming a high tone in great matters, was resol- ved to cariy it through even in trifles, and turning to the Chinese, asked him by what right he had dared to violate the quarters assigned to his Bri- tannic Majesty's officers, Avithout fiist appealing to him. The Mandarin looked a little suii)rised ; but a reply being insisted upon, he said it was quite a mistake — that he liad imagined the trunks had belonged to some merchant ship, and not to a king's sliip. " Well, then," said Captain Max- well, " you must learn better in future." And turn- ing to the sailors, ordered them to put the oflicer ^96 CANTON. out of the Jiouse, and retired to liis own room, whis- pering to me in passing to take care that the intra- der was not hmt. I had enough to do, however, to attend to this hint, for my fellows, the moment t ley .heard the words " turn him out," caught up the unliappy Chinaman, and bore him along over their heads, till they reached the door, whence as they expressed it, tlieygave him fresh head-way into the street ; and in fact, had it not been for the crowd assembled before the door, against whom he fell headlong, it might have fared worse for the poor Mandann, who, gathering himself up, took to his heels, and never stopped till he reached his little o&ce at the beach. The rest of the crowd, fan- cying, by the impetus with which their countryman had been projected from the house, that the temble Captain himself was in his rear, were seized with a panic, and in a few seconds not a soul was to ba seen. Under any other than the very peculiar cir- cumstances in which we were placed, such de- termined measures for maintaining our independ- ence might have been questionable. As it was, however, we remained after these contests several months at Canton without receiving the slightest in- sult; and the gentlemen of the Factory declared, that they had never, till now, been treated even with common attention ; and when at last the Embassy arrived from the interior, the Chinese vied with one another who should be most obliging. It must be remembered, in considering tliese questions, that ij^nglaud has no treaty with China ; everything, therefore, relating to the intercourse of foreigners, being regulated by custom alone, it becomes real- i CANTON. 297 ly important, when an opportunity occurs, to es- tablish convenient, instead of irksome usages. In this view. Captain Maxwell, tlie next day, explain- ed in an official communication to the Chinese au- thorities, that as his Majesty's ships had nothing to do with trade, none of their boats ever carried goods; and he pledged himself to take care that no smuggling occurred through theii- means: but he positively refused to allow a king's boat or a king's officer under any pretence whatsoever to be search- ed. And although at a distance this may be thought an insignificant matter, it was considered a material point gained, in a country where such trifles take the place of more important affairs ; and where, m fact, if they were not attended to fi-om time to time, the life of a foreigner would soon be- come almost insupportable. In this point of view, it is extremely satisfactory to leara, that ever since the wholesome lessons which Captam Maxwell read to the Chinese on the score of good manners, there has been a remarkable improvement in the condition of all the foreign residents, who have the supreme happiness, as the Chinese express it, of being suffered to live in the Celestial Empire. So much has been written respecting China, and especially about Canton, that I shall be excused for not entering on so threadbare a subject. We were allowed to walk about the streets to a great distance from the Factory, without meeting any kind of obstraction or insult ; and when we hap- pened to come near the gates of the Citadel or inner town, Vv^ere warned off by sentinels with long- poles, but no impediments were ever thrown in the way of om- examining the shops, or the different manufactories, with whicli the other parts of this im- 2^ CANTOW. meme city abound; and as the sight of B-uropeans w-is famihar to the people, no notice was taken of us, and every one continued at his business as if no stranger was looking on. The gentlemen of the Embassy, when they returned from travelling upwards of a thousand miles through the interior o¥ the country, declared that in a few days thev had seen m Canton not only everything they had met with before, but could observe it to better pur- pose than during the journey. The only evil likely to attend these perambula- tions through the streets, was the loss of a hand- kerchief or two. A Chinese thief picked my pocket one day, so dexterously, that I did not per- ceive the loss: but my companion, the same gentleman who had silenced the significant saluta- tion ot the Chmese boatmen, and who was better acquamted with the people, detected the rogue, and caught hira by the end of his long tail, as it was whisking round the corner of the street. He began instantly to belabour the thief with his cane and what seemed odd enough, to the entire satisi faction of the multitude, who, so far from attempt- ing a rescue, encouraged the due infliction of this discipline. After a certain number of blows had been given, however, there was a cry of «' enough " and I was informed that if the punishment had not been discontinued at once, the extra allowance bes owed on the culprit, would have been paid back to the donor with a certain per-centage of m erest It seems every conceivable offence in nfT uu^' "umerical value expressed in terms «m r, fl '''^•''^^''* "'^'^^ '' ^^'^ be expiated; and as this scale ,s well Icnown to every man in Urn streets, a stranger is safe in administering the CANTON. 299 law himself^ since ho may. be quite etire of having a limit set to his proceedings when, according to the refined calculus alluded to, justice has been satisfied. I was never very desirous of putting this to the test of actual experiment, but some days afterwards when the same fellow again pick- ed my pocket, I seized him by the collar and was carrying him to the Police Office close at hand, when he fell on his knees and supplicated me to beat him, knowing perhaps that the sitting Man- darin would not let him oft' so cheaply as I should. The oddity of the request disai'raed me entu'ely, and I gave him a small copper coin, bidding him not rob me any more — and he adhered faithfully to his promise, although I passed him frequently every day. This man was as well known to the police, as our professional rogiies in London are said to be to the ofticers of Bow-Street, and as far as I could leam, made his bread by the same laud- able calling. The convention between him and me did not extend to my couutiymen, however, and in the course of ten days, one of the midshipmen of my ship, a careless, gaping mortal, whose insa- tiable curiosity led him to wander in a sort of ec- stacy through the streets, lost no less than twelve pocket-handkerchiefs ; so that he became a sort of little fortune to my friend the pickpocket, who looked very ill pleased one day when I passed in company with the youngster, and by keeping be- tween them convoyed him in safety for once. This persevering rogue never shifted liLs station, but sat curled up like a spider in his liole, at the end of one of tlie numerous little bridges which cross the streets of Canton. It may not be uninteresting to Italian travellers 300 CANTON. to mention that about two years afterwards when in Venice, I was struck with the exact resemblance between one of the canal bridges of that city, and the post of this Chinese thief. Pursuing the pa- rallel, I was led to recognise the most remarkable similarity in the two places. Of com-se, I do not speak of the open squares and finer parts of Ve- nice, for there is nothing similar to these in Can- ton : but in all that quarter of the town, which lies between the Rialto and the Place of St Mark, the coincidence is exact ; and he who has seen one of these cities, can form a tolerably correct concep- tion of the other. The streets are paved exactly in the same style — they are of the same width — have the same degi'ee of light — the shops are just of the same dimensions and form — the houses are equal in height. The only difference that I could discover, lies in the signs : in China, each shop has a large finely japanned board, six feet long, with gilt letters, hanging not horizontally like ours in Europe, but pei-pendicularly, and left loose to flap about with the wind on one side of the door. Neither in Venice nor in Canton, are there any wheeled-caniages or horses; the same method of carrying loads at the end of poles across the shoulders, being practised in both places, a cir- cumstance which tends gi-eatly to heighten tlie un- expected resemblance between two places so re- mote from each other, and so differently cucurn- stanced. On the first of January 1817, a gi-and proces- sion of the boats of the men-of-war, and of all the Indiamen, left Canton, where they had been assem- bled in readiness for two days, and rowed about a league and a half up the river to meet the Am- CANTON 801 bassador. The Chinese authorities were sorely an- noyed by such a host of men in their city, for there were thirty large boats, each carrying about sixteen men, all dressed alike, and kept in the strictest dis- cipline under their respective officers. These pre- parations were made to ensure the Ambassador as respectable an entry into the city as 'possible, but not until it was found, upon application to the local government, that it was intended to ])ay him none of the usual honours. When tlie baffled Viceroy, however, beheld boat after boat an-iving in his city, he would have been glad to have made any conditions on the subject of Lord Amherst's reception ; but Captain Maxwell had taken his line, and it was now too late. When the procession reached the Factory, the boats drew up and saluted his Excellency with three hearty cheers, the sormd of which reached as fai- as the Viceroy's palace, and is said to have disturbed him exceedingly. VOL. 1. 2 c 302 INTERVIEW WITH BUONArARTE. CHAPTER VII. INTERA'^IEW WITH BUONAPARTE AT ST HELENA IN AUGUST 1817. In pursuance of Captain Maxwell's plan, ar- rangements were made by which Lord Amherst left Canton with still greater pomp and ceremony than he had entered it. He embarked at Wampoa on board the Alceste, which for this purpose was anchored at the highest point ever reached by any foreign ship : and such was the improvement in Chinese manners in the interval, that as the frigate dropped down the river, and passed the batteries a second time, the British flag was honoured by a complimentary salute from each in succes- sion. The Embassy finally quitted China in Janu- ary 1817. The subsequent fate of the frigate, and the new and arduous duties which fell to the lot of her commander on that trying occasion, are well known to tiie world. The Lyra was sent to Cal- cutta with despatches to the Governor-general ; from whence she proceeded to Madras and the Isle of France, and after a prosperous and pleasant pas- sage round the Cape of Good Hope, ancliored at St Helena on the 1 1th of August. Of course, nothing could engage our attention on arriving at this island so strongly as its wonder- INTERVIEW WITH BUOXAPARTE. 803 ful inhabitant, Napoleon Bnonaparte. For many weeks before, the probability of seeing him had engrossed the thoughts of every one on board in a degree which it is difficult to describe, and would hardly be credited by those who, from distance or other circumstances, never by any possibility could have been admitted to his presence. Whatever pre- judices or opinions we might previously have en- tertained respecting his character, eveiy former sen- timent was now overwhelmed by the intense anxiety to see a man who had exercised such an astonish- ing influence over the destinies of mankind. The vivid interest recently excited in our minds by tra- velling into remote countries, and being the first to contemplate unknown nations, and a totally new state of manners, high though it had been, anduniver- eally felt, was feeble in comparison to what we now experienced, when conscious of being within so ehort a distance of such a man as Napoleon. I say this without the least affectation, but simply as a curious fact in the history of curiosity, if I may use 60 quaint an expression, by which every individual on board, high as well as low, was infinitely more occupied about this one man, than he had been with all the incidents of our singular" voyage put to- gether. Even those of our number who, from their situation, could have no chance of seeing him, caught the fever of the moment, and the most cold and indifferent person on board was roused on the occasion into unexpected excitement. If this were true of others, it was ten times more striking in the case of those who had any expectation of being ad- mitted to an inten-iew ; and I lauded with two gen- tlemen who were passengers in my sliip, ia a state 304 INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE. of greater anxiety than I ever experienced before 01 since. As I had the pleasure of being personally ac- quainted with the governor and his family, aiid had received an invitation to live at Plantation-House, I calculated with some confidence on the assistance ' which this acquaintance would afford in forward- ing the object in view. Before taking any steps, however, I waited upon the Admiral to receive his orders for my further proceedings. He had no objections to my attempting to see Buonaparte, but gave me very slender hopes of success ; and on reaching the governor's country-house, I was much disappointed by finding that Buonaparte and he were on tenns which rendered it impossible for him to request an interview for any stranger. He most kindly, however, undertook to do all that was in his power, and immediately wrote a note to Captain Blakeney, the officer who was at that period in charge of Longwood, to say that I Jiad just an-ived from the Eastern Seas, and was desi- rous of waiting upon General Buonaparte, to whom ray wishes were to be made known in the manner most likely to succeed. No answer came that evening ; and I did not sleep a wink all night. A positive refusal would probably liave had a different effect ; the disap- pointment must have been submitted to ; but this uncertainty was harassing and agitating in a de- gi-ee which, though it sui-prised me a good deal at the time, I have since learned to consider per- fectly natural : for I see abundant explanation of my aixxiety and want of rest, on comparing what I feel now on the subject, with the lasting regret I should inevitably have experienced, had I failed, INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE. 30o wlien 80 very near, to see the most remarkable man of the age. This night was succeeded by a still more an- xious morning. After breakfast an answer came from Longwood to say, that my name had been mentioned to Buonaparte, as well as my desire of paying my respects to him ; but it seemed he had not taken the slightest notice of the communica- tion. Captain Blakeney added, that he thought it might be as well for me to come to Longwood, as Buonaparte might possibly choose to receive me if actually on the spot : I accordingly rode over, ac- companied by my two companions. Dr O'Meara and Captain Blakeney received us as we entered the grounds of Longwood, but gave us no hopes. Buonaparte, they were sorry to say, was not in a humour to see any one ; he had not even mentioned my name ; and in all probability did not choose to have the subject spoken of again. It was a pity, they said, tliat we had not been a few minutes sooner, as he had been walking in the garden, and we might at least have had the sa- tisfaction of seeing him. Here was a fresh mortifi- cation, and we felt that we could have gone away contented and happy had we got but one glimpse of him, and have had it to say, or rather to feel and recollect, that so prodigious a meteor had not shot across the political sky of our times without arrest- ing, if only for an instant, our actual observation. I have often heard this description and degree of curiosity called unreasonable, and have even known some ])eople who said they would have cared mighty little to see Buonaparte; that in short they would haidlv have crossed the street merely to see 2c2 306 INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE. liim. With such persons I can acknowledge no sympathy in this matter; and witliout fearing to lay myself open to the charge of trifling, I can assert with confidence, that no exertions I have ever made, have been nearly so well repaid by subse- quent reflection, as those which have had for their object to get even a momentary view of distin- guished men. This is most especially trae in the case of Buonaparte ; and it would be easy, were it not tedious and out of place, to explain, and, as I think, to justify all this. Meanwhile we proceeded onwards to Count Bertrand's house, at the bottom of the gently slo- ping bank, on the western brow of which stood the dwelling of Buonaparte. Between the two houses lay aneat flower-gaiden, intersected by gra- vel walks, and enclosed by a low hedge : the immedi- ate vicinity was distinguished from the surrounding bleak and desolate country by a few trees, dropped as if by accident in the desart. The Countess Ber- trand received us in the midst of her family, in a small, low, uncomfortable apartment, which was rendered still more incommodious in consequence of some repairs in another part of the house, fi-om whence the furniture had been removed ; so that sofas, beds, and tables, were huddled together where they had no proper places. The good lady her- self seemed to be suffering from toothache ; the day was cold, and the scanty fire scarcely warmed the room ; a little child was moaning in its mother's arms, and in short, everything wore an air of dis- comfort. The person most concerned, however, appeared to be the least sensible of anything being ^^Tong, and received us with smiles and kindness^ INTERVIEAV WITH BUONAPARTE. 307 and spared us all apology for the disorganized state of her establishment. Several very pretty childi-en hearing the voices of strangers, came running in, and played merrily roimd us during all oiu- stay, unconscious, poor little things, of the strange re- verses of fortune under which their parents were suffering. The Countess appeared a remarkably lady-like person; and what was more to our pur- pose, spoke English perfectly well, and soon gain- ed our good-will by the active interest she took in the object we had so much at heart, and on which alone we could think or speak. In a short time she had wrought herself into so much anxi- ety about our seeing the Emperor, that a stranger coming in might have thought she was one of the })arty who were endeavouring to see him for the first time. Her husband was also very obliging, and seemed willing to forward our views as much as lay in his power ; but he partook little of the vi- vacity of his wife, and seemed upon the wliole rather out of spirits, and not altogether pleased with his situation. He described himself, indeed, as having suffered considerably in health from the confinement and the insalubrious air of the cli- mate. After sitting for about half an hour chatting on various topics, but always coming round to the ori- ginal subject which filled our thoughts. Count Bev- trand caught some portion of the interest we felt, and in which his wife so strongly participated. He said it was just possible the Emperor might ad- mit us : at all events he would wait upon him, to communicate our wishes, and return presently to let us know how he liad fared in liis mission. The 308 INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE, interval was passed in a state of the utmost anxiety, and at every casual sound which we thought mio-ht be Count Bertrand's footstep, we started up, in ex- pectation of a summons. Madame Bertrand mean- while alternately consoled us, and rallied us upon our taking the matter so much to heart. Half an hour at least elapsed before we heard anything of his success: at length the door opened, and instead of the Grand Marshal himself, a servant entered and said he was desired to tell us, that the Em- peror, on returning from his walk, had thrown off his coat, and lain down on the sofa ; in short, that he did not choose to receive any visitors. Here, then, was a termination to all our ex- pectations ; and we rose to take leave with a mix- ed feeling of regret at having lost the pleasure we had promised ourselves ; some degree of provo- cation at Napoleon's cavalier treatment of us ; and perhaps a little dash of self-reproach, for having given the whole affair such immense importance. After mounting our horses, and riding away for about a quarter of a mile, it was recollected we had not seen Dr O'Meara on leaving the grounds of Longwood ; and, having heard that this gentle- man was intimately acquainted with Buonaparte's disposition and habits, we turned our horses' heads back again, and found the Doctor at the gate. He gave us little or no hopes of accompMshing a sight of Buonaparte by any means he could think of; and we were just coming away, when I chan- ced to mention my regret at not seeing the Empe- ror, as I wished to ask about Brienne, where my father. Sir James Hall, had passed some time at Uie vciy period lie was a student at the JMilitary INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE. 809 College tliero. Dr O'Meai-a said this materially altered the case, since Buonaparte took gi-eat in- terest in every circumstance relative to Brienne, however minute, and might very possibly have ad- mitted me, had he known more particularly who I was. He added, that Buonaparte had already made some inquiries respecting the L\Ta's voy- age to the East, but was not sufficiently inte- rested by what he had heard, to see me on that account alone ; and that some farther motive was wanting to induce him to aflford me an audience. It was now, however, long past his usual hour of seeing company, and Dr O'Meara recommended us to go away for the night, promising, if an opportu- nity occurred, to speak to him on the subject ; and, if anything encouraging took place, to inform the Governor of it by telegraph. With this slender hope we again left Longwood ; my friends took tlie direct road to James's Town, while I recrossed the hills to Plantation-House. We were greatly surprised next morning not to receive any telegraphic message, favourable or otherwise ; but I kept my horse at the door, saddled, and all ready to start at a moment's warning. At one o'clock it was discovered that a signal had been made and duly received, more than an hour before, at the gate of Plantation-House, to the fol- lowing effect : — " General Buonaparte wishes to see Captain Hall at two o'clock." The signal-man, knowing nothing of me, naturally conceived that I must be in James's Town, and repeated the sig- nal to the Fort, near the anchorage ; so that it was not until the message had been transmitted back again from the town to Plantation-House, that I knew anything of the matter. 310 INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPAUTE. It was as much as I could now do to save my time, by galloping at the risk of my neck over the hills to Longwood, at the gate of which I found the other gentlemen, who had hurried from the ship on hearing of the signal. The Countess Ber- trand, to whose house we were conducted, was un- aflfectedly delighted to hear the news. Her rooms were now all in order, the toothache gone, and everything wore a more smiling aspect than on the day before. The Count informed us it was the Emperor'a desire that I should be introduced first, alone, and my companions afterwards, together. As I had been told of liis impatient manner to those who understood French imperfectly, I requested Gene- ral Bertrand to be present, in case I should hap- pen not to understand what was said, or, fi-om want of familiarity witli the language, not be able to make myself understood. He assured me that there need be no difficulty on this head ; and ob- served, that I was quite mistaken in supposing the Emperor at all impatient on such occasions, since, on the contrary, he was extremely considerate, and always ready to make allowances. Thus reas- sured, I proceeded to an anti-room, where I wait- ed for about ten minutes, till a servant announced, that his Majesty the Emperor was ready to re- ceive me. On entering the room, I saw Buonaparte standing before the fire, with his liead leaning on his hand, and his elbow resting on the chimney-piece. He looked up, and came forward two paces, returning my salutation with a careless sort of bow, or nod. His first question was, « What is your name .^' INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE. 311 and, upon my answering, he said, " Ah, — Hall — I knew your father when I was at the Military College of Brienne — I remember him perfectly — he was fond of mathematics — he did not associate much with the younger part of the scholars, but rather with the priests and professors, in another part of the town from that in which we lived." He then paused for an instant, and as he seemed to expect me to speak, I remarked, that I had often heard my father mention the circumstance of his having been at Brienne during the period referred to ; but had never supposed it possible that a private individual could be remembered at such a distance of time, the interval of which had been filled with 60 many important events. " Oh no," exclaimed he, -" it is not in the least sm'prising ; your fa- ther was the first Englishman I ever saw, and I have recollected him all my life on that account." It may be right to mention here, that althougli the conversation was carried on entirely in French, I prefer reporting it in English, as I can be cer- tain of conveying the con^ect meaning in a transla- tion, while I could hai'dly pretend to give the pre- cise words in the original language ; certainly not the exact turn of expression ; and a false conception might therefore be formed of what passed. The notes from which this account is diawn up, were made within a few hours after leaving Longwood, before I slept, or was engaged in any other occu- pation. But in fact, the impression left upon my mind by the whole scene dwelt on my thoughts, to the exclusion of almost everything else, for many da> s afterwards. in a few seconds after making this remark, Bug- 312 INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE. naparte asked, with a playful expression of coim- tenance, as if amused with what he was saying, « Have you ever heai-d your father speak of mc ?" I replied instantly, " Very often." Upon which be said, in a quick, sharp tone, " What does he say of me ?" The manner in which this was spoken seem- ed to demand an immediate reply, and I said that I had often heard him express great admiration of the encouragement he had always given to science while he was Emperor of the French. He laughed and nodded repeatedly, as if gratified by what was said. His next question was, " Did you ever hear your father express any desire to see me ?" I re- plied that I had beard him often say there was no man alive so well worth seeing, and that he had strictly enjoined me to wait upon him if ever I should have an opportunity. " Very well," re- torted Buonaparte, " if be really considers me such a curiosity, and is so desirous to see me, Avby does he not come to St Helena for that purpose ?" I was at first at a loss to know whether this question was put seriously or ironically ; but as I saw him waiting for an answer, I said my father had too many occupations and duties to fix him at home. « Has he any public duties ? Does he fill a pub- lic station ?" I told him. None of an official na- ture ; but that he was President of the Royal So- ciety of Edinburgh, the duties of which claimed a good deal of his time and attention. Tins obser- vation gave rise to a series of inquiries respecting the constitution of the Society in question. He made me describe the duties of all tlie office-bearers, from the president to the secretaiy, and the manner INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE. 313 in wliicli scientific papers were brouglit before tlio society's notice : he seemed much struck, I thought, and rather amused, with the custom of discussing subjects publicly at the meetings in Edinburgh. When I told him the number of members was several hundreds, he shook his head, and said, " All these cannot surely be men of science !" When he had sa- tisfied himself on this topic, he reverted to the sub- ject of my father, and after seeming to make a cal- culation, observed, " Your father must, I think, be my senior by nine or ten years — at least nine — but I think ten. Tell me, is it not so ?" I answered, that he was very nearly correct. Upon which he laugh- ed and turned almost completely round on his heel, nodding his head several times. I did not presume to ask him wliere the joke lay, but imagined he was pleased with the correctness of his computa- tion. He followed up his inquiries by begging to know what number of children my father had ; and did not quit this branch of the subject till he had obtained a coiTect list of the ages and occupation of the whole family. He then asked, " How long were you in France ?" and on my saying I had not yet visited that coimtry, he desired to know where I had learned French. I said, from Frenchmen on hoard various sliips of war. " Were you the prisoner amongst the French," he asked, " or were they your prisoners?" I told him my teachers were French officers captured by the ships I had served in. He then desired me to describe the details of the chase and capture of the ships we had made prize of; but soon seeing that this subject aflbrd- ed no point of any interest, he cut it short by asking mc about the Lyra's voyage to the Eastern Scaf(, from which I was now returning. This topic VOL. I. 2 D 314 INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE. proved a new and fertile source of interest, and he engaged in it, accordingly, with the most astonish- ing degree of eagerness. The opportunities which his elevated station had given Napoleon of obtainuig information on almost every subject, and his vast power of rapid and cor- rect observation, liad rendered it a matter of so much difficulty to place before him anything to- tally new, tliat I considered myself fortunate in ha- ving something to speak of beyond the mere com- monplaces of a formal- interview. Buonaparte has always been supposed to have taken a particular interest in Eastern affairs ; and from the avidity with which he seemed to devour the information I gave him about Loo-Choo, China, and the adja- cent countries, it was impossible to doubt the sin- cerity of his oriental predilections. A notion also prevails, if I am not mistaken, that his geo- graphical knowledge of those distant regions was rather loose — a charge which, by the way, Buo- naparte probably shai'es with most people. I was, therefore, not a little surprised to discover his ideas upon the relative situation of the countries in the China and Japan seas to be very distinct and pre- cise. On my naming the island of Loo-Choo to him, he shook his head as if he had never heard of it before, and made me tell him how it bore from Canton, and what was the distance. He next asked its bearing with respect to Japan and Manilla, by the intersection of which tlu-ee lines, in his imagi- nation, he appeared to have settled its position pretty accurately, since every observation he made afterwards appeared to imply a recollection of this pai-ticulai- point. For instance, when he spoke of the probability of the manners and institutions of the i INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE. 815 Loo-Chooans having been influenced by the inter- ference of other countries, he drew correct inferen- ces as far as geographical situation was concerned. Ha%'ing settled where the island lay, he cross-ques- tioned me about the inhabitants with a closeness — I may call it a severity of investigation — which far exceeds everything I have met with in any other instance. His questions were not by any means put at random, but each one had some definite re- ference to that which preceded it or was about to follow. I felt in a short time so completely exposed to his view, that it would have been impossible to have concealed or qualified the smallest particular. Such, indeed, was the rapidity of his apprehension of the subjects which interested him, and the asto- nishing ease with which he aiTanged and generalized the few points of information I gave him, that he sometimes outstripped my narrative, saw the con- clusion I was coming to before I spoke it, and fairly robbed me of my story. Several circumstances, however, respecting the Loo-Choo people, sui-prised even him a good deal ; and I had the satisfaction of seeing him more than once completely perplexed, and unable to account for the phenomena which I related. Nothing struck him so much as their having no arms. " Point d'armes 1" he exclaimed, " c'est a dire point dti cannons — ils ont des fusils ?" Not even mus- kets, I replied. " Eh bien done — des lances, ou, au nioins, des arcs et des fleches ?" I told him they had neither one nor other. " Ni poignards ?" cried he, with increasing vehemence. No, none. " Mais I" said Buonapaite, clenching his fist, and raising his voice to a loud pitch, " Mais ! sans armes, comment se bat-on ? 316 INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE. I could only reply, tliat as far as we had been able to discover, they had never had any wars, but remained in a state of internal and external peace. " No wars !" cried he, with a scornful and incredu- lous expression, as if the existence of any people under the sun without wars was a monstrous ano- maly. In like manner, but without being so much mo- ved, he seemed to discredit the account I gave him of their having no money, and of their setting no value upon our silver or gold coins. After hearing these facts stated, he mused for some time, mutter- ing to himself, in a low tone, «' Not know the use of money — are careless about gold and silver." Then looking up, he asked, sharply, '< How then did you contrive to pay these strangest of all people for the bullocks and other good things which they seem to have sent on board in such quantities ?" When I informed him that we could not prevail upon the people of Loo-Choo to receive payment of any kind, he expressed gi-eat surprise at their liberality, and made me repeat to him twice, the list of things with which we were supplied by these hospitable islanders. I had can-ied with me, at Count Bertrand's sug- gestion, some drawings of the scenery and costume of Loo-Choo and Corea, which I found of use in describing the inhabitants. When we were speaking of Corea, he took one of the drawings from me, and running his eye over the different parts, repeated to himself, " An old man with a very large hat, and long white beard, ha !— a long pipe in his hand -—a Chinese mat — a Chinese dress, — a man near him writing— all very good, and distinctly drawn." He then required me to tell him where the different INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE. 817 parts of these dresses were manufactured, and what were the different prices — questions I could not answer. He wished to be informed as to the state of agriculture in Loo-Choo — whether they plough- ed with horses or bullocks — how they managed their crops, and whether or not their fields were ii-rigated like those in China, where, as he under- stood, the system of artificial watering was earned to a great extent. The climate, the aspect of the country, the structure of the houses and boats, the fashion of their dresses, even to the minutest parti- cular in the formation of their straw sandals and to- bacco pouches, occupied his attention. He appeared considerably amused at the pertinacity with which they kept their women out of our sight, but repeat- edly expressed himself much pleased with Captain Maxwell's moderation and good sense, in forbearing to urge any point upon the natives, which was dis- agreeable to them, or contrary to the laws of their country. He asked many questions respecting the religion of China and Loo-Choo, and appeared well aware of the striking resemblance between the appearance of the Catholic Priests and the Chi- nese Bonzes ; a resemblance which, as he remark- ed, extends to many parts of the religious cere- monies of both. Here, however, as he also ob- served, the comparison stops ; since the Bonzes of China exert no influence whatsoever over the minds of the people, and never interfere in their temporal or eternal concerns. In Loo-Choo, where every- thing else is so praiseworthy, the low state of the priesthood is as remarkable as in the neighbouring continent, an anomaly which Buonaparte dwelt upon for some time without coming to any satis- factory explanation. 2 D 2 318 INTERVIEAV WITH BUONArARTE. With the exception of a momentary fit of scorn and incredulity when told that the Loo-Chooans had no wars or weapons of destruction, he was in high good humour while examining me on these topics. The cheerfulness, I may almost call it familiarity, with which he conversed, not only put me quite at ease in his presence, but made me repeatedly forget that respectful attention with which it was my duty, as well as my wish on every account, to treat the fallen monarch. The interest he took in topics which were then uppermost in my thoughts, was a natiu"al source of fresh animation in my own case ; and I was thrown off" my guard, more than once, and unconsciously addressed him with an unwaiTantable degree of freedom. When, how- ever, I perceived my eiTor, and of couree checked myself, he good-humour edly encouraged me to go on in the same strain, in a manner so sincere and altogether so kindly, that I was in the next instant as much at my ease as before. " What do these Loo-Choo fiiends of yours know of other comitries?" he asked. I told him they were acquainted only with China and Japan. " Yes, yes," continued he ; " but of Eiu'ope ? What do they know of us ?" I replied, " They know no- thing of Europe at all ; they know nothing about France or England ; neither," I added, " have they ever heard of your Majesty." Buonapai'te laughed heartily at this extraordinary particular in the his- tory of Loo-Choo, a circumstance, he may well have thought, which distinguished it from every other comer of the known world. I he-ld in my hand a drawing of Sulphur Island, a solitary and desolate rock in the midst of the Japan sea. He looked at it for a moment, and cried INTERVIEAV WITH BUONAPARTE. 3IJ> out, " Why, this is St Helena itself." When lie had satisfied himself about our voyage, or at least had extracted everything I could tell him about it, he returned to the subject which had first occupied him, and said in an abrupt way, " Is your father an Edinburgh Reviewer ?" I answered, that the names of the authors of tliat work were kept secret, but that some of my father's works had been cri- ticised in the Journal alluded to. Upon which he turned half round on his heel towards Bertrand, and nodding several times, said, with a significant smile, " Ha ! ha !" as if to imply his perfect know- ledge of the distmction between author and cri- tic. Buonaparte then said, " Are you married ?" and upon my replying in the negative, continued, " WTiy not ? What is the reason you don't marry ?" I was somewhat at a loss for a good answer, and re- mained silent. He repeated his question, however, in such a ^vay, that I was forced to say something, and told him I had been too busy all my life ; be- sides which, I was not in circumstances to marry. He did not seem to understand me, and again wished to know why I was a bachelor. I told him I was too poor a man to marry. " Aha !" he cried, " I now see — want of money — no money — yes, yes !" and laughed heartily ; in which I joined, of course, though, to say the trath, I did not altoge- ther see the humorous point of tlie joke. The last question he put related to the size and force of the vessel I commanded, and then he said, in a tone of authority, as if he had some influence in the matter, " You will reach England in thirty-five days," — a prophecy, by the by, which failed miserably in the accomplishment, as we took 320 INTERVIEW WITH BUONAt>ARTE. sixty-two days, and were nearly starved into the bargain. After this remark he paused for about a quarter of a minute, and then makini? me a slio-ht inc ination of his head, wished me a good voyaoe, and steppmg back a couple of paces, allowed me to retire. My friends, Mr Clifford and Mr Harvey, were now presented to Jiim. He put some civil com- monplace questions, and after an audience of a few minutes, dismissed them. Buonaparte stmck me as differing considerablv trom the pictures and busts I had seen of him. Wis face and figure looked much broader and more square, larger, indeed, in every way, than any representation I had met with. His corpu- lency, at this time universally reported to be ex- cessive, was by no means remarkable. His flesh Jooked, on the contrary, firm and muscular. There was not the least trace of colour in bis cheeks ; in tact his skill was more like marble than ordinary flesli Not the smallest trace of a wrinkle was dis- cernible on his brow, nor an approach to a fur- rovy on any part of his countenance. His health and spirits, judging from appearances, were excel- lent ; though at this period it was generally be- heved in England, that he was fast sinking under a complication of diseases, and that his spirits were entirely gone His manner of speaking was rather slow than otherwise, and perfectly distinct: he waited with great patience and kindness for my answers to his questions, and a reference to Count iiertrand was necessary only once during the whole conversation. The brilliant and sometimes dazzling expression of his eye could not be over- looked. It was not, liowever, a permanent lustre, INTERVIEW WITH BUONAPARTE. 321 for it was only remarkable A\'lien he was excited by some point of particular intei'est. It is impossible to imagine an expression of more entire mildness, I may almost call it of benitriiity and kindliness, than that wluch played over his features during the whole interview. If, therefore, he were at this tune out of health and in low spirits', his power of self-command must have been even more extraordinary than is ge- nerally supposed ; for his whole deportment, his conversation, and the expression of his countenance, indicated a frame in perfect health and a mind at ease. We sailed next morning from St Helena, and reached England in the middle of October, 1817, after an absence of twenty months. In that brief in- terval we had traversed a distance of nearly forty- two tliousand miles, or little short of twice the circuit of the globe, having visited great part of tlie coast of China, many islands of the Eastern Archipelago and Japan seas, several of the principal stations on the continent and islands of India, and twice rounded the Cape of Good Hope. The peculiar interest of this voyage, however, arose less from the extent than fi"om the great va- riety of its range, which not only included both hemispheres, and every description of climate and scenery, but brought us, in rapid succession, into close contact with many of the most remarkable nations of the earth. Some of these countries were well known before ; yet they were scarcely on that account less interesting : while others had remained almost entirely unknown previous to our visit. The busy nature of the voyage, while it abridged 322 CONCLUSION. our means of cai'eful, or rather of minute observa- tion, attbrded excellent opportunities of comparison between place and place, while the image of each was still fresh in the memory. And although only a small part of our adventures has been here de- scribed, enough, perhaps, has been told to justify the reflection which the whole, taken together, left upon oiu- minds at the conclusion ; that however remarkably nature may be diversified in external aspect, it is still more essentially distinguished, by the boundless variety of human character and in- stitutions. END OF VOYAGE TO THE EASTERN SEAS. EniNBUKGH: rRINTED BY JAMLS UALLANTVNE AND CO. c I - r.WGZ-mr University of Toronto Library DO NOT REMOVE THE CARD FROM THIS POCKET Acme Library Card Pocket LOWE-MARTIN CO. LIMITED