theatre, which was entirely open in front, and facing the river, in full view of the crowd; the number of temporary booths and buildings, erected for the use of the viceroy, governor, judges, and other officers of government, and gaily decorated with ribbands and silken streamers; the buzz and merriment of the crowd; had, altogether, so striking an affinity to the usual entertainments of Bartholomew fair, that no extraordinary stretch of the imagination was required to suppose ourselves for the moment to have been transported into Smithfield. We instantly acquitted the Chinese of any want of curiosity. The arrival of Elfi Bey in London drew not half the crowd; and yet the Chinese account us much greater Barbarians than we pretend to consider the Mamelukes. The old viceroy of the province, a Tartar of mild and winning manners, had prepared for us a most magnificent entertainment, with wine, fruits, and great variety of pastry and sweetmeats, together with presents of tea, silk, and nankins, not only to the embassador and his suite, but also to the servants, musicians, and soldiers.

The cheerful and good-natured countenances of the multitude were extremely prepossessing; notless so their accommodating behaviour to one another. There was an innocence and simplicity in their features, that seemed to indicate a happy and contented turn of mind. This, however, being a sort of gala day, we might, on account of the extraordinary occasion, perhaps, have viewed them to the best advantage; yet the same cheerful and willing mind had constantly shown itself on all occasions, by all those who were employed in the service of the embassy. On board the yachts constant mirth and good humour prevailed among the seamen. When the weather was calm, the vessels were generally pushed on by means of two large sculls, or oars, turning upon pivots, that were placed in projecting pieces of wood near the bow of the vessel, and not the stern, as is the practice of most other nations. From six to ten men are required to work one of these oars, which, instead of being taken out of the water, as in the act of rowing, are moved backwards and forwards under the surface, in a similar manner to what in England is understood by sculling. To lighten their labour, and assist in keeping time with the strokes, the following rude air was generally sung by the master, to which the whole crew used to join in chorus:

1

On many a calm still evening, when a dead silence reigned upon the water, have we listened with pleasure to this artless and unpolished air, which was sung, with little alteration through the whole fleet. Extraordinary exertions of bodily strength, depending, in a certain degree, on the willingness of the mind, are frequently accompanied with exhilarating exclamations among the most savage people; but the Chinese song could not be considered in this point of view. Like the exclamations of our seamen in hauling the ropes, or the oar-song of the Hebrideans, which, as Doctor Johnson has observed, resembled the proceleusmatick verse, by which the rowers of Grecian galleys were animated, the chief object of the Chinese chorus seemed to be that of combining chearfulness with regularity.

"Verse sweetens toil, however rude the sound."

Of their honesty, sobriety, and carefulness, we had already received convincing proofs. Of the number of packages, amounting to more than six hundred, of various sizes and descriptions, not a single article was missing or injured, on their arrival at the capital, notwithstanding they had been moved about, and carried by land, and transhipped several times. Of the three state officers, who had been deputed

from court to attend the embassy, two of them were the most obliging and attentive creatures imaginable. The third, a Tartar, who first made his appearance at Tien-sing, was distant, proud, and imperious. The Chinese, indeed, were invariably more affable than the Tartars. In short, had we returned to Europe, without proceeding farther in the country than Tien-sing, a most lively impression would always have remained on my mind in favour of the Chinese. But a variety of incidents, that afterwards occurred, and a more intimate acquaintance with their manners and habits, produced a woful change of sentiment in this respect. Of such incidents, as may tend to illustrate the moral character of this extraordinary people, I shall relate a few, that were the most striking, in taking a general view of their state of society; to which, and to the nature of the executive government, all their moral actions may be referred: and by the influence of which the natural bent of their character evidently has undergone a complete change.

Leaving Tien-sing on the 11th of August, we found the river considerably contracted in its dimensions, and the stream more powerful. The surface of the country, in fact, began to assume a less uniform appearance, being now partly broken into hill and dale; but nothing approaching to a mountain was yet visible in any direction. It was still, however, scantily wooded, few trees appearing except large willows on the banks, and knots of elms, or firs, before the houses of men in office, and the temples, both of which were generally found at the head of each village. More grain was here cultivated than on the plains near the mouth of the river. Two species of millet, the panicum crus Galli, and the Italicum, and two of a larger grain, the holcus forghum, and the saccharatus, were the most abundant. We observed also a few patches of buck-wheat, and different sorts of kidney-beans; but neither common wheat, barley, nor oats. A species of nettle, the urtica nivea, was also sown in square patches, for the purpose of converting its fibres into thread, of which they manufacture a kind of cloth. We saw no gardens nor pleasure grounds; but considerable tracts of pasture or meadowland intervened between the villages, on which, however, were few cattle, and those few remarkably small. Those we procured, for the use of the ships, along the coast of the gulph of Pe-tche-lee, seldom exceeded the weight of two hundred

pounds. The few sheep we saw were of the broad-tailed species; and the cottages of the peasantry were very mean, without any appearance of comfort, and thinly scattered; seldom standing alone, but generally collected into small villages.

If, however, cities, towns, villages, and farm-houses, were less abundant so near the capital, than from the relations of travellers we had expected to find them, the multitudes of inhabitants, whose constant dwelling was on the water, amply made up the apparent deficiency on shore. We passed, in one day, upon this river, more than six hundred large vessels, having each a range of ten or twelve distinct apartments built upon the deck, and each apartment contained a whole family. The number of persons in one of these vessels, we reckoned, on an average, to be about fifty; and we actually counted above one thousand vessels of this description, that were floating on that part of the river, between Tien-sing and Tongtchoo. The different kinds of craft, besides these, that were perpetually passing and repassing, or lying chained to the banks of the river, all of which were crowded with men, women, and children, contained full as many as the large vessels above mentioned; so that, in the distance of ninety miles, on this small branch of a river, there were floating on the water not fewer than one hundred thousand souls.

Among the different cargoes of cotton-wool, copper-money, rice, silk, salt, tea, and other commodities for the supply of the capital, we observed an article of commerce, in several of the large open craft, that puzzled us not a little to find out for what it was intended. It consisted of dry brown cakes, not much larger, but thicker, than those we call crumpets. A close examination, however, soon discovered the nature of their composition, which, it seemed, was a mixture of every kind of filth and excrementitious substances, moulded into their present shape, and dried in the sun. In this form they are carried to the capital, as articles of merchandize, where they meet with a ready market from the gardeners in the vicinity; who, after dissolving them in urine, use them for ma

nure.

Little occurred, that was worthy of note, between Tien-sing and Tong-tchoo, except an instance in the exercise of arbitrary power, not less cruel than that of the governor of Chou

H

san, and ill agreeing with the feelings of Englishmen. Some of our provisions happened one morning to be a little tainted, which could not be wondered at, considering the heat of the weather; the mercury, by Fahrenheit's scale, being from 82° to 88°. The officers, however, who had been commissioned to furnish the supply of provisions, were instantly deprived of their rank, and all their servants severely bambooed. The embassador interceded with Van and Chou in favour of the degraded delinquents, was heard with great attention, but perceived that little indulgence or relaxation from strict discipline was to be expected on such occasions.

The whole distance, from the entrance of the Pei-ho to the city of Tong-tchoo is about one hundred and seventy miles. Here we found two buildings, that had been erected in the space of two days, for the temporary purpose of receiving the presents and baggage; and they were constructed of such large dimensions, that they were capable of containing at least ten times the quantity. The materials were wooden poles and mats, and a fence of wooden pailing surrounded the whole.

We took up our lodging in a spacious temple in the suburbs, from whence the priests were turned out, without the least ceremony, to make room for us, consisting in the whole of nearly one hundred persons. And here it was settled we should remain until every article was landed, and coolies or porters procured, sufficient to carry the whole at once to Pekin, which was computed to be about twelve miles to the westward from this place. And although near three thousand men were required for this purpose, they were supplied the instant the goods were all on shore; nor did it appear that any difficulty would have been found in raising double that number, as there seemed to be ten times the number of idle spectators as of persons employed. The plain between the landing-place and the temple was like a fair, and cakes, rice, tea, and fruit upon masses of ice, and many other refreshments, were exposed for sale, under large square umbrellas, that served instead of booths. A slice of water-melon, cooled on ice, was sold for one tchen, a piece of base copper coin, of the value of about three-tenths of a farthing. Not a single woman appeared among the many thousand spectators that were assembled on the plain.