Narrative of a voyage in His Majesty's late ship Alceste, to the Yellow Sea, along the coast of Corea, and through its numerous hitherto undiscovered islands, to the island of Lewchew : with an account of her shipwreck in the straits of Gaspar

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THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

NARRATIVE

THE ALCESTE'S VOYAGE

THE YELLOW SEA,

*

*

DS

Si) 7

TO

JAMES WOOD, ESQ.

OF POTTER HILL,

THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE INSCRIBED,

AS A TESTIMONY

OF THE HIGH RESPECT AND ESTEEM
IN WHICH HE IS HELD

BY THE AUTHOR.

ADVERTISEMENT.

THE author of the following pages has attempted to
narrate (in the best and shortest way he can) the occur-
rences of a voyage rendered remarkable by a combina-
tion of extraordinary events, and the circumstance of a
communication with an interesting people, with whom, for
the first time, Europeans have had any intercourse ; and he
has ventured a few occasional remarks, precisely as they
arose in his mind on the spot, and which more mature re-
flection has not induced him to alter. He is aware that his
thoughts, as well as his mode of expressing them, may be
liable to comment ; but he hopes that those who are mighty
in criticism will be merciful in censure, and not visit
with asperity that which is humble in pretension.

DIRECTIONS FOR PLACING THE PLATES.

Tofaee
Portrait of Captain Maxwell Ti tie-Page

Islanders of Sir James Hall's Group 38

Corean Chief and Attendants 40

Lewchewan Chief and Attendants 62

Garden of the Temple at Lewchew 67

VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

TO

CHINA.

1HE British Government, on the repre-
sentation of the Court of Directors of the
East-India Company, respecting the trade
with China, having decided, with the
view of relieving that branch of its com-
merce from the increasing vexatious im-
positions of the local authorities of Can-
ton, on the measure of sending an em-
bassy to the court of Pekin ; as on a former
occasion of a similar kind, a distinguished
nobleman had been selected to fill the situa-
tion of Embassador Extraordinary from the

B

VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

King of Great Britain to the Emperor of
China, who carried out with him a nume-
rous suite composed of gentlemen well
skilled in every branch of natural know-
ledge, with many curious and costly pre-
sents ; so it was now determined v,o leave
nothing short that could contribute to
the splendour and respectability of the
present embassy. The Right Hon. Lord
Amherst (who had already filled the
high situation of Embassador at the court
of Sicily) was appointed to conduct this
difficult and delicate mission. Mr. Henry
Ellis (formerly employed in a success-
ful negotiation with the king of Persia)
was named secretary of embassy, with
dormant powers to act as Minister Ple-
nipotentiary, should any accident to the
Embassador render that circumstance ne-
cessary. The Hon. JefFery Amherst, as
page ; Mr. Hayne, as private secretary ;
Mr. Abel, as surgeon and naturalist ; the
Rev. John Griffiths, as chaplain; Mr.
Havell, as artist; and Dr. Lynn, with
Mr. Maurige, Mr. Poole, and some others

TO CHINA.

to fill the respective departments, consti-
tuted the suite of his excellency *.

Many valuable presents, supplied, as on
the former occasion, by the East-India
Company, for the emperor and his minis-
ters, consisting of specimens of our im-
proved manufactures, made by the firs't
hands, were also prepared. The command
of the naval part of the expedition was in-
trusted to Captain Murray Maxwell ; and
the Alceste, a frigate of forty-six guns,
was fitted up for the reception of the Em-
bassador and suite. His Majesty's brig
Lyra, commanded by Capt. Basil Hall,
and the General Hewitt Indiaman, by
Capt. Campbell, accompanied the Alceste,
the latter carrying out the presents.

On the 9th of February, 1816, the ships
sailed from Spithead, and soon cleared the
Channel, with a favourable breeze, which
continued with us to Madeira, where we

* Lieut. Cooke, of the Royal Marines, was also attached
to the embassy, on its landing in China, the guard being
selected from that corps. Messrs. Abbot, Martin, and
Somerset, were likewise added to it at this period.
B 2

4 VOYAGE OF H. M. S.ALCESTE

arrived on the 18th. In Funchal road
we found the Phaeton, having Sir Hudson
and Lady Lowe, with their suite on board,
in their way to St. Helena ; and the Niger,
with Mr. Bagot, on his mission to America.
Our stay here was only twelve hours, and,
in the evening, we pursued our course to
the south-westward. The weather becom-
ing hourly warmer, our people, who had
been badly clothed, and had suffered a good
deal from the severity of the cold in fitting
out the ship, now began to thaw a little :
things were beginning to find their proper
places in the ship; and those unaccustomed
to the rolling motion had, by this time,
acquired their sea-legs. On the 4th March,
in the evening, at the moment of crossing
the equinoctial line, the voice of some one,
as from the sea, announced himself as Nep-
tune's eldest son, and, after putting the usual
interrogatories, added, that his father being
a little indisposed, and rather squeamish
about exposing himself to the night air,
had deferred his visit until the morning,
when he would personally call on board
to inspect the strangers who were now en-

TO CHINA.

tering his dominions. The son of Neptune
seemed now to sink again into the deep.
In the morning, his godship, agreeably to
promise, appeared, seated in his car (a
gun-carriage), with his trident and other
insignia, attended by Amphitrite, and all
his usual train of inferior deities. He was
received by a strange-looking guard of hi,s
own, the band striking up " Rule-Britan-
nia!" After paying his respects to the
Embassador, the Captain, and the rest, the
novices, of whom there were not a few,
were forthwith shaved, according to a
practice immemorial, with a rusty iron
hoop, full of notches ; and the lather being
washed off, by playing the fire-engine in
their faces, they were then wiped dry with
a dirty swab. Much mirth and good hu-
mour prevailed ; and a double allowance
of grog finished the ceremony. We expe-
rienced none of the calms usual near the
line, and nothing of moment occurred until
we reached the lat. 20° 4" north, long. 31°
52V/ west, on the 16th March, when the Lyra
and Hewitt were directed to make the best
of their way to the Cape of Good Hope,

O VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

whilst the Alceste proceeded to the capital
of the Brazils, where we arrived on the 21st
of that month.

All the bold, as well as beautiful, features
of nature, have conjoined to enrich the
scenery of Rio Janeiro. The luxuriant de-
scriptions of former travellers are by no
means exaggerated, for it would indeed be
difficult to exceed the truth in portraying
the sublimity and grandeur of such a
scene as presents itself on entering the har-
bour. The numerous islets appearing on
this extensive sheet of water, — its richly-
wooded banks, rising like an amphitheatre
on either hand, studded with villages and
country seats, — added to the distant view
of lofty and picturesque mountain s,— form,
altogether, a very unusual and noble land-
scape.

The death of the queen, which hap-
pened the day previous to our arrival, at
the good old age of eighty-two, had rather
cast a gloom over the city of St. Sebastians.
The batteries and ships fired five-minute
guns during the whole day and night ; the
Alceste, Indefatigable, and a Spanish fri-

TO CHINA.

gate, following this example ; displaying
also the usual exterior marks of grief, by
hoisting the colours half-staff high, and top-
ping the yards. The officers likewise wore
crape; and, from a positive order being
issued to all the inhabitants to go into
mourning, (which none dared, under the
severest penalties, disobey,) the prices of all
black articles felt a sudden and enormous
increase.

The government of the Brazils seems
perfectly despotic; and it is painful
to see even Englishmen lose the natural
freedom of their character under such domi-
nion. Some, who from Ions: residence had

o

imbibed the feelings of the Portuguese,
would, in answering any question relative
to public affairs, look cautiously around,
to see who was near them, and then whisper
their reply.

The prince (now the king) during the
period her majesty laid in state, was shut
up, according to their usage, not to be seen
by any but his chamberlain.

Swarms of priests occupied every avenue
to the palace, and hung in clusters on the

8 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

staircases. St. Sebastians seems to be a
soil, in which these members of the autos
da fe still thrive well. The Brazils have
lately been raised from the state of a mere
colony to the dignity of a kingdom ; and
the residence of the court has conferred
still more substantial advantages on it,
arising from the emigration of the chief
nobility from Portugal, and the transfer
of their wealth to this country.

Its commerce has of late years increased
to a great degree, chiefly, however, under
the direction of English houses. The re-
turn of the court to the mother country, it
is thought, would be the signal of revolt ;
for it is not probable the Brazils would
long remain in their present fettered state,
whilst colonies in all directions around them
are freeing themselves from the oppression
of the mother country. The want of the
usual public attentions of saluting the flag
of a foreign power might have been ac-
counted for under the present circum-
stances of the court; but it was singular
(considering, more particularly, our late
relations with Portugal) that a house for

TO CHINA. 9

the accommodation of the Embassador and
suite, during their short stay, and which
had been granted to the former embassy,
should have been refused in the present
instance. The hospitality, however, of
Mr. Chamberlayne, the British minister
here, amply supplied this deficiency. All
places of public amusement were of course
shut; and the only spectacle, during our
stay, was the funeral of the queen, which
took place by torch-light ; all the military
that could be collected, both horse and
foot, lining the streets (which were illumi-
nated) from the palace to the convent of
Ajuda. The hearse and state-coaches were
drawn up at the grand entrance, covered
with black cloth, and near them the chief
mourners, who were eight of the nobles, on
horseback. Their dress was the ancient
Poi tuguese costume of mourning. Each had
a large broad-brimmed hat, rather slouch-
ing down upon the shoulders ; a long black
cloak, or robe, with the star of some order
affixed to it ; conveying to the mind of an
English spectator the whimsical combina-
tion of a coal-heaver, a priest, and a knight.

10 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

The king, accompanied by the two elder
princes, attended the coffin to the principal
porch, and saw it deposited in the hearse,
when the whole cavalcade drove off, and
the body was interred in the convent, with
the usual religious ceremonies. The royal
family next day appeared at the balconies
of the palace ; on which occasion it is usual
for the Portuguese to stand uncovered in
the square opposite ; and, if any of the
royal carriages are met on the road, the
passengers on horseback must dismount,
and even kneel.

Neither of their Portuguese majesties can
themselves be considered as regular beauties;
but the princesses are good figures, and cer-
tainly, upon the whole, handsome women.
Don Pedro, their eldest son, promises to be
a man of some spirit. Much indolence
seems to exist among the inhabitants, and
they are said still to possess their charac-
teristic contempt of all reading ; so that a
publisher of books in the Brazils would
probably earn but a lean livelihood. This
country produces all the various fruits of the

TO CHINA.

warmer climates; such as pine-apples,
oranges, limes, mangoes, guavas, melons,
bananas, £c. ; the tea-shrub still conti-
nues to be an article of growth, under the
direction of some Chinese accustomed to
manage it ; and it is to be hoped they may
succeed in extending and improving its
cultivation. The slave-trade still exists
to its fullest extent; and this class of the po-
pulation, however useful they may be, are
certainly not ornamental ; being the ugliest
race of negroes that can be collected from
the African coast — Gaboons, Congos, and
Angolas. Our West-India islands having
been generally supplied with Fantees, from
the Gold Coast, with Eyeos, and Ashantees,
who are a much finer-looking people ; this
circumstance, added, perhaps, to their im-
proved condition, their better clothing, and
general treatment, gives a slave of Jamaica a
far less degraded appearance than one in
this country. Yet, though the situation of
the former is much ameliorated (and un-
doubtedly superior to his native state in
Africa), it is unfortunate that the first Eu-

12 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

ropean settlers of colonies, had not, instead
of hunting down and oppressing the na-
tives, trained them to habits of industry ;
when the term slavery, so revolting to hu-
manity even under the most favourable
circumstances, so contrary to reason and
natural right, need never have been known.
Our East-India possessions, and late occu-
pation of Java, sufficiently demonstrate the
practicability of this system.

They do Buonaparte, here, the honour of
being very much afraid of him ; and keep a
bright eye to windward, lest he should break
adrift from St. Helena, and come down
upon them before the fcind. This silly ap-
pearance of fear is something like the
weakness of ordering his name never to
be mentioned, than which, perhaps,
nothing tends more to keep up his con-
sequence.

This part of the Brazils is naturally hot
during the months of December, January,
and February ; but (more especially as the
southern, are found to be comparatively
colder than corresponding northern lati-

TO CHINA.

tudes,) it enjoys, during our summer, a sort
of tropical winter, and is not considered an
unhealthy climate,

The town of St. Sebastians, without any
public edifice worthy of notice, is regu-
larly built, and, from the late influx of in-
habitants, is daily extending its limits. Al-
though this country produces plenty of beef,
yet, from want of care and mana^e-
ment, it is such as would be considered car-
rion in England ; and in few parts of the
world is there less accommodation for tra-
vellers, there being only some casas, or inns,
of the most wretched description.

The Brazils display an inexhaustible
field for the researches of the naturalist, for
no where else can the objects of his inquiry
be more varied or multiplied. The state of
society here is represented, by those whose
long residence and close intercourse afford
them the means of judging, as extremely
demoralized. The men, in their exterior
appearance, are a squalid, hysterical, grim-
looking set; but the ladies, though generally
little, and dark-coloured, are not deficient

14 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

in beauty or expression of countenance;
they want, however, that elegance of gait
and graceful walk, peculiar to the Spa-
niards. They are said to be more atten-
tive to the external forms of decorum than
to the essential practice of modesty ; but
.this, if true, may " depend/* as was sug-
gested by an elegant writer of the last
embassy, " on the example of the men ;"
for it would scarcely be reasonable to expect
the perfection of female morals, where every
manly virtue is unknown. At least three-
fourths of the world are in a state of bar-
barism where women have no character at
all ; being either immured in seraglios, or
the mere slaves and play- things of
their savage lords ; but in that portion of
it, which has a claim to civilization, where
they are allowed to have minds, and as-
sume their just rank, the slightest glance
will shew, that among those nations where
honour, intelligence, and worth, are held in
most esteem by the one sex, they are uni-
formly rewarded by corresponding good
qualities in the other.

TO CHINA. 15

The ship having recruited her supply of
very excellent water*, and other matters
settled, we took our leave of the Ameri-
can shore on the 31st of March, steering
south-easterly until we got from 36° to
39° south, where we found the prevailing
westerly winds. Keeping in the usual tract
for ships crossing the Southern Atlantic, we
passed the islands of Tristan d'Acunha,
about fifty miles to the northward of them.
The wind continuing favourable, we saw
the Table Mountain on the 18th of April, and
anchored on the same day in the bay. We
arrived at a gay time, in the middle of horse-
racing and balls. An India fleet touched
here, homeward bound, one of the ships
having on board the Countess of Loudon
and family, on their passage to England.
Cape Town has now become almost an
English place, and is too well known to
require any description here.

* Captain Cook complained of the water here being
very bad. — At that time, perhaps, the aqueduct was not
so extensively covered, and secured from the admission
of impurities, as at present.

16 VOYAGE OF H. AI. S. ALCESTE

As strangers, on first landing here, we
were forcibly struck by the remarkable
difference of complexion in the female part
of the society, compared with the brunettes
we had just left at Rio Janeiro ; and an Eng-
lishman is probably the more inclined to
esteem the beauty of the Cape ladies from
its great resemblance to that which he is
accustomed to admire at home. It is hint-
ed, however, that this resemblance exists
chiefly during youth, and that, in their ma-
turer years, they are apt (from sedentary
habits and want of exercise) to acquire a
peculiar Hottentotish obesity. But this, per-
haps, is only said by ill-natured people.

The ship having gone round to Simon's
Bay, and the necessary refitment being
completed, his lordship embarked at this
place, with the usual marks of attention,
on the 6th of May, and we proceeded on
our voyage. From 38° to 40° south, we
found our expected winds ; but, as winter
was far advanced in this hemisphere, (latter
end of May, and beginning of June,) the
weather was cold, bleak, and boisterous,
with a heavy sea. On the 24th May we made

TO CHINA. 17

the islands of St. Paul and Amsterdam.
Smoke was seen, as we approached, issu-
ing from the crevices of the latter. It is
here where the hot springs so nearly adjoin to
the greatsalt water basin, as to afford the sin-
gular exhibition of catching fish in the latter,
and boiling them in the former, without
taking themorT the hook, and within reach of
the rod. The state of the weather, which was
very rough, and the time of the evening, did
not allow us to verify this fact, but there
is no doubt of its truth. An immense
crater (now apparently converted into a
sort of harbour, the sea having flowed into
it) appears on the eastern side of the
island.

Having got sufficiently to the eastward
for the purpose of fetching Java with the
usual tropical winds, we began to haul
to the northward and eastward, the wea-
ther of course becoming daily warmer;
and, on the 8th June, we saw Java Head,
and anchored next day in Anjeri road,
where we found the Lyra at anchor, and
saw the Hewitt off Cape Nicholas, on
her way to Batavia, they having only

18 VOYAGE OF II. M. S. ALCESTJ3

arrived two days before us*. This pas-
sage was extraordinary for its rapidity, for
in ninety -two days, under sail, the ship had
traversed about fourteen thousand miles,
and visited every quarter of the globe.

After staying a day or two at the village
of Anjeri (where we were amused with the
ceremony of a Javanese wedding,) Colonel
Yule, the resident of the Bantam district,
accompanied by Mr. M'Gregor, waited on
the Embassador to pay their respects ; and
having provided the necessary accommo-
dation for his lordship and suite to pro-
ceed overland to Batavia, they all set out
on their journey thither. During our short
stay here, the king, or sultan, of Ban-
tam, died; and his uncle (the nearest
heir to the sovereignty) refused to accept
the title, preferring to live in humble retire-

* The superior sailing of the frigate enabled us to
touch at Rio Janeiro, without in any way delaying the
general passage ; as, notwithstanding this, she nearly
overtook her consorts at the Cape. The same was the
case here, though she remained ten days behind, being
able to afford them, in such a run, a start of 1000, or
1500 miles.

TO CHINA. 19

merit. The Alceste, having completed
her water, sailed also for Batavia, as she
had brought out duplicate despatches for
the evacuation -of the island of Java. The
Lyra, in the mean time, had been sent on
to China, with a communication from Lord
Amherst to Sir G. Staunton.

On the 21st June we sailed from Batavia,
with the General Hewitt ; saw the island of
Lucepara on the 23d, and entered the
straits of Banca. Our voyage up the
China sea presented nothing unusual. On
the 9th of July we met His Majesty's ship
Orlando, and received intelligence of the
motions of our coadjutors at Macao. We
joined them at anchor near the Grand
Lemma on the following day, and found
along with the Lyra, the Discovery, and
Investigator, two surveying-ships belonging
to the Company, having on board Sir G.
Staunton, and some other gentlemen * be-
longing to the factory, whose knowledge

N Messrs. Morrison, Manning, Toone, Davis, and
Pearson.

20 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

of the Chinese language rendered them
necessary as interpreters.

The apparent reason of choosing this
rendezvous, was to be free from the im-
pertinence of the Canton official people,
whose business it naturally was to thwart
the measures, and throw every possible im-
pediment in the way of, the embassy.
Circumstances occasioning the delay of a
day or two, the ships passed on to an an-
chorage among the Hong Kong islands ;
where the Anjeri water, not being deemed
good, was changed for that which fell from
the rocks, and was certainly uncontaminated
by any vegetable matter, for few places
present a more barren aspect than these
islands. They are also called the Ladrones,
from being the haunts of pirates ; and for
such a purpose their situation is extremely
well adapted. Here a message arrived,
stating the emperor's pleasure that the em-
bassy should be received as in the former
case ; and that the necessary orders had
been sent to the ports of the Eastern and
Yellow Seas for that purpose.

TO CHINA. 21

On the 13th July the squadron (four ships
and the brig) sailed ; and, coasting along
the provinces of Quang-tung and Fokien,
passed through the Straits of Formosa, and
entered the Tung Hai, or Eastern Sea.
The breeze altered its direction occasion-
ally, but was always favourable ; and, pass-
ing out of sight of the Chusan islands, we
saw the land to the eastward, which we then
conceived to be the south-west point of
Corea. On the 24th we made Staunton's
island, and Capes Gower and Macartney,
on the south-east part of the Shan-tong
promontory ; and, the next day, rounding
close the north-east point, we entered the
Gulph of Pe-tche-lee. The country here
had an extremely rugged and sterile look.
On the 26th we passed through the Mee-
a-tau islands, and steered for the mouth
of the White (or North) River*, despatching
the Lyra a-head, to announce the ap-
proach of the squadron.

An address was now publicly read by

* It is doubtful whether Pel means white or north ;
most probably the latter.

22 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

Lord Amherst, to all the individuals who
were to be attendants on the embassy,
touching the great necessity of maintaining
the strictest regularity and propriety of con-
duct in their intercourse with the Chinese,
so as to avoid every cause of offence or dis-
agreement ; and laying down general re-
gulations for their conduct in all respects.

We anchored, on the 28th*, not many
miles distant from the mouth of the river;
but the land is here so very low, that the
mast-heads of the junks in the river, and
the tops of the houses only of the village
of Ta-coo, were visible from the ship. It
would appear that the ships had entirely
outstripped theexpectationsof the Chinese;
for they had no idea of seeing them so soon,
or that they should not have heard of them
in their passage up. Such rapidity of
movement never entered into their con-
ceptions; for they, in fact, had scarce heard

* During our passage up the Yellow Sea the weather
vras remarkably serene and fine, and we experienced
none of the fogs which usually hang over the shallower
parts of the ocean.

TO CHINA. 23

of them at one end of their empire, when
they found them at the other.

The viceroy of this province (Pe-tche-lee)
had been for some offence dismissed from
his office; and his successor, having not
yet left Pekin, it was not until the 4th Aug.
that two duly-authorized mandarins of rank
(Chang and Yin) came on board to pay
their respects to the Embassador, and to
give the necessary directions for the dis-
embarkation of the presents. To those
who had seen, for the first time, the Chi-
nese costume, these mandarins had a very
strange appearance/ — On a back view,
their short jacket, or gown, with their crape
petticoats, gave them the look of bulky old
women ; but, in confronting them, their
clumsy boots and " beards forbade the in-
terpretation.^ The fishermen in this vi-
cinity, (almost within a hundred miles
of the capital,) were literally naked,—
even without a fig-leaf. This sort of in-
decency we were little prepared to meet,
amongst a people who affect to be so
outrageously decorous as to discourage the
art of sculpture, because it displays too

24 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

distinctly the shape and lineaments of the
human body.

Chang was a civil, Yin a military, man-
darin ; and they had, as usual, the title of
Ta-zhin (or great man) added to their
names. They were saluted on approach-
ing the ship with seven guns each, and
received with a guard. Every body was
in lull dress; and it could not be said of
this, as of the last embassy, that there was
any want of splendour in' this respect.
After a conference, in some degree cere-
monious, and partly for arranging future
proceedings, they partook of a banquet
in the captain's cabin, and then returned
to the shore. Quang, the Chin-chae, im-
perial commissioner, or legate, (as he has
been variously termed,) holding a superior
rank to either of the others*, being ready to
receive the Embassador on shore, his lord-

* The person holding such an office as this, under
the great seal, obtains a kind of temporary rank, entitling
him, for the time, to take precedence even of the vice-
roy of a province, although he may have an inferior
button or ball on his cap, and be a mandarin of lower
order in the state.

TO CHINA. 25

ship and the gentlemen of the embassy
took their leave of us for a while, land-
ing in great state on the 9th of August ;
the squadron being dressed in colours,
the standard flying, the yards manned,
and a salute of 19 guns fired from each
ship. They proceeded into the river at-
tended by a number of Chinese junks,
and by our boats in regular order.
During the time we remained at this place,
presents of bullocks, vegetables, rice, tea,
and other refreshments were, according to
usage, sent off to the ships, but by no means
in great abundance. Several of the bullocks
were brought along-side dead, having been
drowned in the bottom of the boats, or died
otherwise in their passage off. This, how-
ever, was not meant as disrespect or incivi-
lity, for they make no distinction themselves
between an animal that is killed by the
butcher, and one which dies naturally ; and
in this way they eat dogs, cats, rats, and
in fact, all manner of carrion and vermin.

In this respect, therefore, they made
no strangers of us, for they gave us their
own family fare.

26 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

It was now determined, by the senior
officer, that the Lyra, attended by the
Investigator, should take a southerly direc-
tion in the Gulf, whilst the Alceste and
Discovery were to proceed to the north,
a certain rendezvous being pointed out for
our meeting again, to which the General
Hewitt was also directed.

On the llth we weighed, and stood to
the north-eastward ; the Discovery in
company : the Lyra and Investigator to
the southward. On the 13th saw the Sha-
loo-poo-tien Islands, extending from north-
west by north to west by south, distant
about five leagues. We coasted along the
western shore of the Gulf of Lea-tong, hi-
therto unexplored by any European ship ;
and found the land, as we advanced, be-
came more and more mountainous. About
noon, on the 14th, in latitude 39° 29' N.
longitude 120°6'E., the great wall of China
opened to the view, bearing north-west
by west, its nearest and lowest point
being then distant about six or seven
leagues ; but we approached it closer in the
afternoon.

TO CHINA. 27

Rising from the sea, this immense bar-
rier passed over the first or lowest hill, and,
mounting the second, was seen stretching
to the right, in our point of view, obliquely
towards its summit : then on the third and
still higher land, it inclined to the left,
making an angle with the last range ; and,
ultimately ascending the highest and most
distant mountain, it was there lost*. The
opportunity of surveying this extraordinary
structure, which, for more than twenty ages,
has been deemed one of the greatest won-
ders of the world, afforded, more especially
in this unexpected way, from the deck
of a British man of war, the most pleasing
sensations. Whether it is considered (as it
is by some) a mighty effort of human in-
dustry, or (as by others) a monument of la-

* It extends for about fifteen hundred miles, and is
carried equally over mountains and rivers. — " It is said
not to be more than five-and-twenty feet high, flanked
with lowers at short distances, but of sufficient breadth
for several horsemen to travel easily abreast. Report says,
that one-third of the men in China, capable of labour,
M'ere employed in its construction, and that it was finished
in the space of five years."

28 VOYAGE OF H. M.S. ALCESTE

borious folly, still it is an amazing object,
not only from its immense extent, but on
account of its great antiquity ; and, from
being so seldom visible to an European eye,
to have beheld it, even at this distance, was
a high gratification of curiosity. Beyond
the wall is a remarkable head-land, very
much resembling Cape Sicie, a notorious
place, near Toulon. The wind heading
us here, we stood across, about sun-set,
toward the coast of Chinese Tartary ; and on
the 15th, in the evening, anchored in a bay *
sheltered by winds from the north-west to
south, but open to the southward and west-
ward, lat. 39° 33' N., long. 121° 19' E.,
We found here a cascade of water gushing
from the rock, which was excellent.

The natives, who most probably had
never seen any ships of our class before,
crowded down next morning on the beach,
but shewed no inclination to come on board.
Indeed the people here seemed to be less
amphibious than those generally found on
sea-coasts ; few fishing or other boats were

* Named Ross Bay.

TO CHINA. 29

to be seen, although a very large and fine
harbour, for vessels of twelve or fifteen
feet water, extended inland round a point
from the head of the bay.

The first officer who wandered up to the
villages, about two miles from the water-
ing place, was nearly devoured by the cu-
riosity of the inhabitants.

Being seated beneath a tree, every part
of his dress underwent the strictest scru-
tiny, from the shirt-frill to the shoes ; but
the anchor-buttons seemed most to attract
attention, for they would refuse a dollar,
and gladly accept a button, for any thing.
The women here had, universally, small
feet, all who were seen (and on the first
morning every woman in the village made
her appearance) being crippled. This we
by no means expected to have found so far
on the Tartar side of the great wall.

But these people are, in fact, completely
Chinese ; the language, dress, and religion
of that country evidently prevailing: and
they appeared to differ in no material re-
spect from those we afterwards saw in the
province of Shan-tong, except that they

30 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

were less rude and uncivil. No public
officer, or man of any rank, made his ap-
pearance to inquire into the motives of our
arrival. They were remarkably neat in
their houses and gardens ; and there was an
air of comfort about their villages, not al-
ways to be found in the more civilized parts
of Europe. The face of the country is
mountainous, and extremely denuded of
wood ; not a tree being visible, except in
the immediate vicinity of their dwellings.
The hills had the appearance of sheep-
feeding downs in England; and the soil,
as far as we could penetrate, was ex-
cellent, and a good deal cultivated ; the
holcus sorghum appearing a prominent ob-
ject.

Many deep fissures or gulleys were ob-
served on the sides of the mountains, oc-
casioned by the torrents from the melting
snow in winter ; for, although this part of
the country is in the same parallel as the
north of Italy or south of France, and was
now (in August) very warm, yet the wintry

season must be extremely cold, from the

j

general situation and appearance of the

TO CHINA. 31

country, and the bleak winds blowing
over the uncultivated wilds to the nlfth-
ward of it. -The rocks here were composed
of a very ponderous sort of stone, evidently
containing a great proportion of iron; and
some slate was observed. There must be
some town of commercial importance si-
tuated at the head of the Gulf, from the
number of junks we saw passing up and
down. Some matchlocks were noticed at
this place, but they were merely in the
hands of individuals, as fowling-pieces ; for
no military made their appearance. We
were unable to procure a supply of fresh
beef; — not from want of cattle; but they
could not comprehend the value of Spanish
dollars, this coin of such universal circula-
tion, being melted down, the moment it
gets into the hands of a Chinese of Canton.
Having completed our water, we weighed
on the 19th, and steered along-shore to the
southward. At four in the afternoon, we
saw a considerable town, lying in a hollow
between two red cliffs, the neighbourhood
immediately around being rather fine, and
better wooded than usual. It seemed a

VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

place of some trade, and a number of junks
were lying at anchor in the roads. The nar-
row promontory which here extends into
the Yellow Sea, and forms the eastern
boundary of the Gulf of Lea-tong, was, from
its resemblance to a sabre, named the Re-
gent's Sword: the south end of it is the ex-
treme Tartar point, and was called Cape
Charlotte, in honour of her royal highness
the princess.

Leopold's Isle lies a little to the north-
west of this cape.

The coast along this shore from our an-
chorage was not unlike that from Plymouth
Sound to the Start. Next morning (20th),
steering southerly, we passed through a
cluster of islands (nearly opposite and not
very far distant from the Mee-a-taus), which
were named the Company's Group. The
space between them and Cape Charlotte,
St. George's Channel ; that through which
we had sailed, Leadenhall-Passage ; Ried's
Rock and Grant's Island were names ap-
propriated on this occasion. Soon after
we saw the Mee-a-tau Islands ; and, in the
afternoon, passed the city of Ten-cheu-foo,

TO CHINA. 83

at which Lord Macartney, in the last em-
bassy, touched. It looks very well from
the sea, but the wall seems of much greater
'extent than is necessary for the town.
Stood on to the eastward, and entered, in
the evening, the bay or harbour of Kin-
san-seu or Zew-a-tau, The clear and ac-
curate description of it, by Sir Erasmus
Gower, enabled the Alceste to proceed in
without the least hesitation or difficulty.
Here we found the General Hewitt. There
are two towns on the peninsula, forming
the north-west side of the harbour, and one
on the opposite shore. The}7 have no for-
tifications here ; at least none deserving
that name. The people appeared a gross
and boorish set, and we enjoyed the hap-
piness of being crowded with them from
daylight till dark, when they always went
away without the least expression of thanks
for civilities shewn them. We here noticed
that all the females, high and low, had small
feet, which is by no means the case in the
southern provinces, especially about Can-
ton. At the latter place, among the mid-
dling and lower classes, the feet are aJ-

D

34 VOYAGE OF H. M. $. ALCESTE

lowed to remain in their proper state,
unless the girl promises to be handsome,
in which case she is crippled, in order to
give the finishing touch to her beauty, and
with the view of preparing her for the man-
darin market, where small feet bring a
higher price, and she occasionally, also, ob-
tains some interest or favour for her parents
through the connexion.

They walk, or rather totter along, like
one shuffling on her heels only, without
putting the fore part of the foot on the
ground ; and, in moving quick, they not
unfrequently tumble down, when they must
get up again the best way they can; for,
Chinese gallantry was never observed to
extend so far as to afford any help on such
an occurrence. Some, more cautious, were
seen to move about, supporting themselves
by the walls of the houses. Girls, from
early infancy to eight or nine years old,
were carried about in arms, their feet being
too tender, during the first years of this
absurd and cruel operation, to enable them
to bear their weight ; the four smaller toes
being turned down under the .sole, the

TO CHINA. 35

whole Toot and ancle cramped, and the
growth impeded by tight bandages, and a
small shoe, which is generally again enclosed
in a larger one. The pain and irritation
excited by this horrid process, as well as
the want of exercise, evidently injures their
general health, for all the female children
had a sickly pallid look. It would be as
difficult to account for the origin of this
barbarous practice, as that of squeezing
the waists of Englishwomen out of all
natural shape by stays (an usage which
has not long been laid aside); or of " treat-
" ing men like mere musical instruments/'
and timing them, as such, in Italy.

On shore the people were inhospitably
rude, and even the children were encou-
raged to be insolent, and to throw stones.
One mandarin seized a basket of vegetables
from the officers' steward, ordering him and
the interpreter (whom he also beat) into
the boat, with a number of opprobrious
epithets, such as " Foreign Devils ! Spies !"
£c. Our relation with the embassy tied
our hands at this time.

Finding no refreshment was to be ob-
D 2

36 VOYAGE OF H. M. 8. ALCEiTE

tained here, and being told, by some one in
authority, that there was a greater proba-
bility of getting cattle at another harbour,
forty miles farther to the eastward, we pre-
pared to proceed thither.

We had by this time been joined by
the Lyra ; Captain Hall having surveyed
the western and southern shores of the
Gulf of Pe-che-lee, which were found to
be in general low. One place, remarkable
for its height over the adjoining land, had
been named Mount Ellis. Here we parted
for a time with our worthy friends of
the General Hewitt, the companions of
our voyage outward ; that ship proceeding
to Canton, to complete her ulterior ob-
jects. On the 26th we weighed from
Zeu-a-tau, and next morning arrived at
Oie-aie-oie, a very extensive and secure
harbour, the Lyra sounding the passage
in. On our entrance a number of man-
darins (or, as the seamen termed them,
mad marines) came on board to pay their
respects ; and an old turret on the face
of a hill fired three popguns by way of
salute, turning out about a dozen and a half

TO CHINA.

37

of soldiers, who looked a good deal like the
stage-military in an old-fashioned play.

Their salute was returned by an equal
number of guns from the ships. Here died
Mr. Gawthrop, the master, aged forty-
three years, (thirty -three of which he had
been to sea,) after a severe illness con-
tracted at the Cape of Good Hope. He
had been distinguished as a good seaman
and correct navigator; his career in the
navy had also been marked by his abilities
as a surveyor of coasts and harbours ; and,
although a man of blunt manners, his ho-
nesty was sterling. The ship's reckoning
had been kept, during his confinement, by
Mr. Taylor, the chaplain.

We buried him at sea, near the mouth
of the harbour, with military honours ; it
not being considered right to inter him
among a set of men who would have dis-
turbed the grave for the coffin or the
clothes, and of whose thievish disposition
we had had the fullest example. We lost
no time at this place, where nothing sub-
stantial was to be found*, but proceeded

* Here parted for Macao the Discovery and Investi-
gator. They were towed up, and sailed down again.

VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

to sea on the 29th, standing to the east-
ward along the Shan-tong shore. On the
31st we saw the land bearing east; but,
the wind being light, anchored in forty-three
fathoms. Towards morning we weighed,
and the next day anchored again among
a cluster of islands, lat. 37° 45' 'N.
long. 124° 40' 30" E. on the coast of
Corea. The natives here exhibited, by
signs and gestures, the greatest aversion
to the landing of a party from the ships,
making cut-throat motions by drawing their
hands across their necks, and pushing the
boats away from the beach ; but they of-
fered no serious violence. These islands
were named Sir James Hall's Group; the
main land, of considerable height, was in
view, and not far distant. Weighed again,
and, the wind being easterly, stood to the
southward. On the 2d we were out of sight
of any land ; but, the wind changing to
the eastward, made sail southerly, and, on
the 3d, passed a number of islands, with
which the sea was studded as far as the eye
could reach from the mast-head ; and, on
the 4-th, stood into a fine bay formed by

TO CHINA. 41

in 6'hina for men of merit) ; and the rest
we^e civilians. He was ushered into the
cabin, where, in preference to chairs, he
sat down upon one of the sofa-cushions,
placed upon deck. It appearing to be
etiquette for the head to be covered, the
whole party, consisting of Captains Max-
well, Hall, and other officers, conformed
to this rule, and, squatting on the cabin-
floor, with gold-laced cocked hats on, amid
the strange costume of the Coreans, looked
like a party of masquers.

edifying conversation was no
on this occasion ; for much was
said, but unfortunately not one word was
understood, the Chinese interpreter we
had on board not being able to write his
own language ; and some of the Coreans
could write, although they could not speak,
at least, that dialect which he compre-
hended. The old gentleman, however,
displayed, by signs, his satisfaction at the
mode of his reception ; and, after par-
taking of some liqueurs and sweetmeats,
took his departure late in the evening
from the ship, when he was again saluted,

42 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

his band striking up one of their martial
airs.

During the night several boats were an-
chored near the Lyra, apparently to watch
her motions; and early in the morning the
same chief, accompanied by a still greater
retinue, was seen embarking at the nearest
village, and soon after he visited the Lyra,
where he breakfasted. He had in his train
some secretaries (or men of letters), who
employed themselves in noting down every
thing relative to the ships which could be
acquired by signs: the complemfigt of
men was described by pointing to thiBand
then, holdingupten fingers a certain number
of times, they counted the guns, examined
the muskets, measured the decks, &c. &c.
A shot was fired, by express wish, from
one of the carronades; and the distance
it went, but particularly its recochetting along
the surface of the water, seemed to strike
them with astonishment. After breakfast,
a small party of the officers (Captains Max-
well, Hall, Messrs. Clifford, Law, and
M'Leod) got into the boats with the view
of landing at the village ; and the old chief,

TO CHINA. 43

thinking they were going to the frigate, ac-
companied them, his own boats attend-
ing. But no sooner did he perceive the
course directed to the shore than his coun-
tenance fell, and he seemed altogether in a
state of great perturbation, making signs that
he wished to go to the Alceste, and shaking
his head when they pointed to the town.

Having reached the beach, the party
landed, and were immediately surrounded
by a concourse of people. The old chief-
tain hung his head, and clasped his hands
in mournful silence ; at last, bursting into
a fit of crying, he was supported, sobbing
all the way, to a little distance, where he
sat down upon a stone, looking back at
the officers with the most melancholy aspect.
His feelings appeared to be those of a man
who imagined some great calamity had
befallen his country in the arrival of strange
people ; and that he was the unhappy being
in whose government this misfortune had
occurred.

The natives, who had in the mean time
been driven by their soldiers to a respectful
distance, stood gazing in astonishment

44 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCEST15

alternately at their afflicted chief and at our
party.

Captain Maxwell, seeing what distress
it occasioned him, would permit no ad-
vance, and, beckoning to him to come back,
he arose, and slowly returned.

It was explained as well as could be
done that no injury was intended, and that
we were friends. He pointed to the sun ;
and, describing its revolving course four
times, he drew his hand across his throat,
and, dropping his chin upon his breast, shut
his eyes, as if dead ; intimating that in four
days (probably the period in which an an-
swer could arrive from Kin-ki-tao, the
capital, for he also pointed to the inte-
rior) he would lose his head. One of his
secretaries, or legal advisers (an amazing
long-winded man), squatted on the top of
a large stone, now made a harangue of
considerable length, the purport of which
was evidently against the advance of the
strangers. Signs were made for something
to eat and drink (thinking hospitality might
induce them to invite us into their houses) ;
but messengers were instantly despatched

TO CHINA. 45

to the village, who brought down little
tables, with mats to sit on, and some re*
freshments: this, however, not being the
object, they were not accepted, making
them understand that it was unbecoming
to offer them in that unsheltered manner, on
the open beach; and, by way of a hint that
this was not our mode of treating strangers,
invited them to return to the frigate,
where they should dine handsomely, and
meet with every respect. The old man, who
had observed attentively, and seemed per-
fectly to comprehend, the meaning of the
signs, answered by going through the mo-
tions of eating and drinking with much
appearance of liveliness and satisfaction,
patting his stomach afterwards, to say all
was very fine ; then, looking grave, he drew
his hand across his neck, and shut his eyes ;
as if to say, " What signifies your good din*
" ners when I must lose my head ?"

Perceiving it was impossible to penetrate
farther into the interior without violence,
which we had neither the right nor the in-
clination to use, the party re-embarked.

4(5 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

affecting to be much hurt at the treatment
they had received.

The old gentleman followed on board
the Alceste, seemingly much dejected, and
looking as if ashamed that he could not pay
more attention. Wandering about the
decks, attempting to converse, by signs,
with every one he met, he took a piece of
paper from a gentleman who was sitting at
his desk, and wrote some characters upon
it, which he seemed to require an answer to,
but of course none could be given. The
paper was retained ; and, being shewn «
some months afterwards to Mr. Banner-
man, at Canton, turned out to be " I don't
" know who ye are ; what business have
44 ye here V It was pretty evident, how-
ever, that he was acting from orders which
he dared not trifle with, rather than from
any inhospitable feeling in his own nature.

He received a Bible, which Captain
Maxwell (to whom he seemed very thank-
ful for not insisting upon going into the
town) presented him with, and carried it
on shofe with much care, most likely sup-

TO CHINA. 47

posing it to be some official communica-
tion.

Basil's Bay (which this place was named)
lies in lat. 36° 9' N., long. 126° 32' E., be-
ing, in sea-phrase, about 120 miles high and
dry up the country, according to the exist-
ing charts.

This afternoon (5th) got under weigh,
and stood to the southward, through in-
numerable islands, which were all high,
rising like mountains out of the sea.
None of them seemed of great extent," few
mg longer than three or four miles,
, as far as we could see, in some de-
gree cultivated, the inhabitants generally
crowding to the top of the highest emi-
nence, where they remained huddled to-
gether, and gazing until the ships were
passed.

On the 8th, anchored in lat. 36° 26' N.,
and here we found that the land seen on
coining up the Whang Hai or Yellow Sea,
and which had been called Cape Amherst,
was not the continent. It was now named
Alceste Island ; and another range, about
twenty in number, running north and south,

48 VOYAGE OF H. M. 3. ALCESTE

rather within it, but outside the Corean
Archipelago, was called the Amherst Isles.
This morning, after sounding our way in, '
came to an anchor in a most excellent har-
bour, named Murray's Sound; the two
islands, which principally form it, Sham-
rock and Thistle.

Here a number of observations were
taken, and surveys made, to ascertain the
exact geographical position of the land,
and the qualities of the anchorage; and
distinguishing names were of course given
to remarkable spots, which might serve on
future occasions as leading marks. From
the top of Montreal, one of the highest,
135 other islands were distinctly counted ;
the main land, which seemed very lofty,
was seen ranging from north-east to east-
south-east, distant about forty miles. From
Murray's Sound, Craig Harriet, a very pe-
culiar rock, rising in sugar-loaf form from
the sea, bears south 39°, west five miles.
Another rock (Huntly Lodge), situate on
an island, south 40° east, resembles a church
with a square tower. Windsor Castle,
north 40° 50' east. The direction of the

TO CHINA. 49

sound itself north north-east half east, and
south south-west half west; it is a very se-
cure anchorage, with excellent holding
ground. The intervening spaces between
the multitude of isles, generally from one
to two, or three, and even four miles across,
are all (at least as far as the boats ex-
amined) close harbours, and capable of
containing, in security, all the navies of
the world. They form, in fact, an almost
endless chain of harbours, communicating
with each other. The rise and fall of tide
is here considerable, but the setting of the
currents among; such a multitude of isles

o

must, of course, be extremely various.
They appear to be all inhabited, and there-
fore must possess fresh water. On first
landing on Thistle Island, the women fled,
with their infant children, over the hill, to a
place which we named Eagle Point (from a
large eagle being perched on the precipice as
we came in), and hid themselves in recesses
among the rocks ; Avhilst the men, in a
body, but unarmed, waved and halloed
to us not to advance, making the usual
signal with their hands across the throat,

E

50 VOYAGE OF », M. S. ALCESTE

When they found, however, by repeated
visits, that no hostility was intended, and
that we were rather inclined to give than
to take from them, they became a little
more tame, would crowd round the officers
to see them fire at a mark, bring them wa-
ter to drink, and offer them part of their
humble fare to eat; but all this they
seemed to do in a perfect spirit of inde-
pendence, and not from fear. Then sud-
denly, as if recollecting they were acting
contrary to orders in holding any corre-
spondence whatever with strangers, they
would lay hold of some of the gentlemen
by the shoulders, and push them away,
pointing to the ship ; and this conduct was
uniform wherever we touched. We ob-
served no fire-arms among them, but some
who came on board the Alceste discovered
considerable acquaintance with the sword
exercise. They cultivate as much grain as
they want for their own consumption ;
they feed cattle (at least for domestic pur-
poses) ; and, as may naturally be sup-
posed, from their peculiar and insular
situation, they subsist a good deal by fish-

TO CHINA. 51

ing. Of their government, general man-
ners, and customs, it would be impossible
to speak with any accuracy from so limited
an intercourse as we had with them.

China has very little communication
with the barbarians of the west, and that is
chiefly confined to a particular spot, the
port of Canton ; Japan still less, and Corea
none at all. A connexion, however, is kept
up with China by two or three annual junks
from the eastern coast.

What little knowledge we possess of Co-
rea is mostly derived from the Jesuits of
China, who certainly were not infallible
guides in all matters; but in the geography,
general literature, and delineation of man-
ners and customs, when unconnected with
their own superstitions, their labours are
entitled to a distinguished place in the re-
public of letters, especially when the diffi-
culties they had to struggle with are taken
into consideration ; but here they -were freed
from every motive to deceive, and had only
to tell the simple truth.

Corea (or Kaoli) is tributary to the em-
peror of China, and sends him triennial Em-

£ J5

52 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

bassadors expressive of its homage. We
saw enough, however, to convince us that
the sovereign of this country governs with
most absolute sway ; and that, occasionally,
he makes very free with the heads of his
subjects. The allusion to this danger could
not have been so constant and uniform, in
places so remote from each other, without
some strong reason.

The law against intercourse with fo-
reigners appears to be enforced with the
utmost rigour *. At one of the islands to

o

the north, where we first landed, a Corean,
in an unguarded moment, accepted a but-
ton which had attracted his attention ; but
soon after, as the boats were shoving off, he
ran down into the water, and insisted on
restoring it, at the same time (by way
of reparation) pushing the boat with all
his might away from the beach. On almost
all occasions they positively refused every
thing offered to them. His Corean majesty

* It is said that the crew of a Dutch vessel, a con-
siderable time since, wrecked on the eastern coast, were
detained in slavery for nineteen years, without being
heard of, when some of them managed to get away.

TO CHINAS 53

may well be styled " king of ten thousand
isles," but his supposed continental domi-
nions have been very much circumscribed
by our visit to his shores. Except in the
late and present embassy, no ships had
ever penetrated into the Yellow Sea ; the
Lion had kept the coast of China aboard
only, and had neither touched at the Tartar
nor Corean side. Cook, Perouse, Bougain-
ville, Broughton, and others, had well de-
fined the bounds on the eastern coast of
this countiy, but the western had hitherto
been laid down on the charts from imagina-
tion only, the main land being from a hun-
dred and thirty to a hundred and fifty miles
farther to the. east ward than these charts
had led us to believe.

The Jesuits, therefore, must have taken
the coast of Corea from report, and not
from observation, for their chart is most in-
correct, and by no means corresponds with
their usual accuracy. The Chinese written
characters have found their way here, but
they would appear to be confined to the
literati, for the common language has no
resemblance in sound to the colloquial
language of China.

54 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

On the 10th we got under weigh and
proceeded on our voyage, standing through
the south passage, and made sail to the
southward, giving the name of Lyra to an
island which bore about east of Alceste's ten
or twelve leagues, and distance nearly the
same north-westerly from Quelpart). On
the llth, sounded in forty-nine fathoms
muddy bottom, in lat. 31° 42' N., long.
126° 30' E. On the morning of the 13th we
made Sulphur Island, a volcano, situated in
lat. 27° 56' N., long. 128° 11' E. Whilst yet
at a great distance, we could observe a vo-
lume of smoke at short intervals bursting
from its crater. We hove-to for some time
under its lee, in front of a horrid chasm,
from whence the smoke issued, but found it
impossible to land, as there was much wind
and swell, and the surf broke with tre-
mendous violence around its base. The
island, which does not appear above four
or five miles in circumference, rises pre-
cipitous from the sea, except in one or two
spots; its height must be considerable,
judging from the distance we saw it, per-
haps 1,200 feet. The sulphurous smell
emitted, even when two or three miles off,

TO CHINA. 55

was very strong. One end of the island
displayed strata of a brilliant red-coloured
earth, which had been noticed before on
some part of the Corean main. One would
almost be induced to believe that the mer-
cury and sulphur, so abundant in these
regions, had combined to give this ver-
milion hue to the ground. From hence we
stood on to the southward with a strong wind
at north by east, which soon increased to
a gale. Not having sufficient run for the
night, and being totally unacquainted with
the coast we were approaching, the ship
was put under snug canvass, and hauled
to the wind on the starboard tack. On the
morning of the 14th we again made sail, and
soon observed an island rising like a cone
to a considerable height, with that of the
grand Lewchew* immediately behind it.
The state of the weather would not war-
rant our standing closer in with the land
than about eight miles, as it now blew fresh
from the west-north-west, which made it
a lee shore. We hauled to the south-west-
ward, and in the afternoon saw breakers

* Generally termed Lekeyo in charts.

56 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

under our lee, the Lyra being closer in, and
rather a-head. To have put about with
the wind as it then was, would have em-
bayed us for the night; for the main
body of the island seemed to form, with
the peak we had left astern, and the
position we were now in, a sort of bight.
The Lyra, indeed, could not have tacked
in such a swell, and was almost too near to
attempt wearing. Both ships, therefore,
stood on with every sail they could carry,
on the starboard tack, endeavouring to
weather the reef. Much anxiety existed,
at this moment, on boaYd the Alceste, for
the fate of the brig ; the breakers rearing
their white tops close to leeward of her,
and rolling, with terrific force, upon the
rocks. By steady steerage, however, and
a press of sail, she at last passed the dan- *'
ger, and bore up through a channel formed
by the reef and some high islets to the
southward, very much to the satisfaction of
all concerned; and she was followed by the
frigate. We hove-to, for the night, under the
lee of the larger island, and the next morn-
ing's dawn, the weather being now ex-
tremely fine, displayed to our view a rich

TO CHINA. 57

extent of cultivated scenery, such as we
had not been lately accustomed to, on the
naked coasts of Tartary and China. Rising
in gentle ascent from the sea, the grounds
were disposed more like the finest country-
seats in England than those of an island so
remote from the civilized world, — the
tranquil, placid, and refreshing look of
every thing around, forming a very pleas-
ing contrast with the boisterous sea and
dangerous condition of the previous day.
We were in front of a town, having a sort
of line wall, along the water's edge, from
whence some fishing-boats approached the
Lyra, which by this time had anchored;
and on the people being interrogated, by
signs, as to the proper anchorage, they
pointed round the south-west end of the
island, kindly offering, at the same time,
some vegetables and fresh water, which
they had in their cano s.

We made sail in the direction indicated,
carefully sounding and looking out as we
advanced along shore, and at night an-
chored in eighty-two fathoms. On the
16th, at daylight, we continued our course,
and about noon descried a considerable

58 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

town, with a number of vessels at anchor
under it, in a harbour, the mouth of which
was formed by two pier-heads. In the
afternoon, having explored our passage
through the adjacent reefs, (the Lyra
leading,) we anchored in front of this town.
The astonished natives, who most proba-
bly had never been visited by an European
ship before *, were perched in thousands on
the surrounding rocks and heights, gazing
on the vessels as they entered. Soon after,
several canoes came alongside, containing
some people in office, who wished to know
to what country we belonged, and the
nature of our visit. By the assistance of the
Chinese interpreter, whose language some
of them understood, they were informed
that we were ships of war belonging to the
King of England, which had carried an
Embassador from that monarch to the
Emperor of China; and, after having
landed him and his retinue near Pekin, we
had, on our return to Canton, where the

* Captain Broughton, after the loss of the Providence
in 1797, anchored at this place in a schooner, and re-
mained forty-eight hours.

TO CHINA. 59

Embassador was to re-embark, met with
violent weather at sea, in which the ship
had sprung a leak, obliging us to put in
there, in order to repair our damages. To
make this story feasible, the well was filled
by turning the cock in the hold ; and the
chain-pumps being set to work threw out
volumes of water on the main deck, to the
great amazement of these people, who
seemed to sympathize very much with our
misfortunes. This ruse was necessary to
free their minds from that state of alarm,
which must naturally arise on the arrival
of ships of such unusual appearance and
force, with whose motives they were unac-
quainted, and who would justly be consi-
dered as the objects of suspicion had no rea-
son but mere curiosity been assigned.
They returned on shore, and put in requisi-
tion a number of carpenters, or people
acquainted with the construction of their
own vessels, who, at daylight in the morn-
ing, hurried on board, bringing with them
the rude implements of their art, in order
to render what assistance they could in
stopping the leak. This offer of kindness

60 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

was, of course, civilly declined by the senior
officer, on the ground that we had plenty of
good carpenters on board, who were per-
fectly equal to the task ; that an asylum
was all we required during the time of re-
pair, with permission to take on board some
fresh provisions and water, of which we
stood much in need; and all this we would
most cheerfully pay for.

An immediate supply of bullocks, pigs,
goats, fowls, eggs, and other articles, with
abundance of excellent sweet potatoes, ve-
getables, fruit then in season, and even can-
dles* and fire-wood, followed this intima-
tion ; supplies of the samfe description being
sent on board as often as was necessary, for
about six weeks, the period of our stay on
the island ; those who brought them taking
a receipt to shew they had been delivered
safely ; but the chief authorities, who sent
them, obstinately refusing any payment or
remuneration whatever.

Meantime, it being found impracticable
for the frigate to swing in the inner harbour

* Their candles are made of unrefined wax, with paper
wicks, and give an excellent light.

TO CHINA. 61

at low water, the road in which we lay was
accurately examined, and found to be so
protected with coral reefs to seaward, and
covered by the land to the eastward, as to
be completely sheltered, except in a very
slight degree at its entrance, and of suffi-
cient extent and depth to contain even
ships of the line.

On the 20th, we moved up to the head of
this road, to a place which we called Baron-
pool, where we afterwards rode out the equi-
noctial gales (or change of the monsoons).

On inquiring of them where the king was,
they said, after some hesitation, 10,000
miles off; and when it was hinted that it
was necessary to have a party on shore,
such as ropemakers and smiths, where
they could have more room to work, and
thereby expedite our refit ; they requested
this might not be done until they heard from
the king, it being an unprecedented case, in
which they were incompetent to act with-
out orders.

Unwilling to give cause of alarm or un-
easiness to a people who seemed so well
disposed, and for whose fears and suspi-
cions it was but reasonable to make every

62 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

allowance, we remained quietly on board
until the 22d, when intimation was received
that a great personage intended paying a
visit to the commodore.

At the mouth of a little river, in front of
which we were anchored, we observed this
chief embarking amidst a great concourse
of people. He was saluted on his approach
with three guns from each ship, and re-
ceived on board with every mark of re-
spect. He was a man about sixty years of
age, with a venerable beard : his dress a
purple robe, with very loose sleeves, and
fastened round his middle with a sash of
red silk : he had sandals on his feet, with
white gaiters, not unlike short stockings.
His cap (the badge of his dignity) was
made of some slight material, twisted neatly
into folds, and covered with a light purple-
coloured silk. He had a numerous suite
with him ; some were official people of dif-
ferent ranks, and the rest his personal at-
tendants. Here the occasion of our visit was
again discussed ; the pumps were set to
work to shew the effect of the leak; and pro-
mises, on their part, renewed, of every as-
sistance.

TO CHINA.

Although they had not heard from the
king on the subject of our coming on
shore, and notwithstanding it was con-
trary to a general rule for any stranger to
land upon their coast, yet a few of the
officers were always welcome to walk about
within certain bounds. After partaking of
a very handsome entertainment, he took
his leave, the captain promising to return
his visit. At one o'clock on the following
day the boats were manned, and Captains
Maxwell and Hall, with several of the offi-
cers in full uniform, proceeded into Napa-
kiang*. This harbour is the mouth of a river,
at the entrance of which, on each side, are
strong-built walls or piers, for a consider-
able way up, and inside were anchored
several rather large junks. Vessels under
the size of frigates could be received very
well in this river; — the bottom is soft mud.

* Napa appears to have been the original name of the
town; but, since their connexion wkh China, the term Foo,
(or city of the first class) has been added ; making
Napafoo, Kiang, another Chinese word, signifies river,,
and, when coupled with Napa, means merely the river,
port, or anchorage of the place.

64 VOYAGE Or H. M. S. ALCESTE

The river widens somewhat immediately
above the anchorage, and in it is situated
a very pretty little island. At the landino--

o

place the party were met by some of the
chiefs, who had been most in the habit of
visiting the ships, each of whom, taking
one of the officers by the hand, led him
through an immense collection of specta-
tors to the gate of a public building, where
the old gentleman already mentioned at-
tended to welcome them into the house.
Here an entertainment was served up in
a style, which a pastry-cook, or connois-
seur in eating, might describe; but which
to another might be a difficult task. The
utmost good humour, however, prevailed,
and a liqueur (chazzi) something like rosolio
was passed round in abundance, so that it
was quite a man's own fault if he was not
cheerful.

Many loyal and friendly toasts, appli-
cable to both countries, were given and drank
with enthusiasm. As they had hitherto gene-
rously supplied the ships with fresh provi-
sions, vegetables, and fruit, and constantly re-
fused any kind of payment, either in money

TO CHIXA. 65

or by way of barter, the captains thought this
a proper opportunity to offer, as a mark of
their personal regard, some presents to the
chiefs, consisting of various wines, cherry
brandy, English broad cloths, a telescope,
and other things; and on this ground only
they were accepted ; reserving it to them-
selves, at the same time, to make what per-
sonal return they might think proper to
this interchange of friendship.

At the end of this conference, when it
was proposed to take a walk over the city,
a consultation was held among them ; when
the request was mildly declined, (supposed
to be through the influence of Buonaparte,
a man of dark and peculiar aspect, so
named because he was suspected of being
the most inclined to keep us at arm's length,)
stating, they were afraid some bad people
might be induced to treat us with disre-
spect. It was evident they had not the
power, without higher authority, to admit
us to freer access ; for the people themselves,
almost without exception, appeared by this
time to have no apprehension about our
motives. After much hilarity the party

66 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

took their leave, attended in the same way
as on landing.

It was worthy of notice how much re-
gularity and decorum existed among so
many thousands as were here collected. A
lane was formed, on the inner side of which
the smallest boys (generally kneeling) were
placed ; another row squatted behind these ;
then the men (those nearest stooping a
little); and outside the still taller people, or
those mounted on stones, £c.; so that all,
without bustle or confusion, might have a
complete view of the strangers. The ut-
most silence reigned, and not a whisper was
heard. Perhaps they had purposely sent
their women out of the way, — but the ladies
managed (as usual) to outwit them, and to
gratify curiosity in defiance of every pre-
caution to the contrary. A number of
them had either been placed intentionally
on the other side of the river, or left there
in consequence of all the men having come
over to the show; but the boats, in going out,
had to pass within a few yards of their pier-
head ; when, finding themselves in almost
exclusive possession of that bank, they left

TO CHINA. 67

their station on a hill, ran down to the
point, and had their peep, whilst their
friends on the opposite shore were unable
(had it been their intention) to keep'them
in the back ground.

About this period a mutual friendship
began to exist between us ; confidence
took place of timidity; and now, instead
of permitting only a few to visit the shore
at a time, they fitted up the garden of a
temple as a sort of general arsenal for
us : the habitations of the priests were al-
lotted as an hospital for the sick, whilst
other temporary buildings of bamboo
were erected for *the reception of our
powder, which required airing, and for va-
rious stores wanting inspection and repair.
The rope-makers, smiths, and other arti-
ficers, were established at a convenient
spot, about a mile farther along the beach.
They continued their usual supplies, bring-
ing us even fresh water on board in their
boats; and, understanding we required
some wood for spars, they felled fir-trees,
floated them down the river, and towed

F2

68 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

them alongside, singing their usual boat-
song, which had a very plaintive and
pleasing effect.

The island of Lewchew* is about sixty
miles long and twenty broad ; Napa Kiang,
our position, (and within five miles of
Kint-ching, the capital,) lying in lat. 26*
14' N., long. 127° 52' 1" E. This is its
south-west point, the main body of the
island extending from hence north, a little
eastwardly.

It is the principal island of a group of
thirty-six, subject to the same monarch, and
the seat of the government. The natives
trace their history back to a period long an-
terior to the Christian era ; but their first
communication with the rest of the world,
when their accounts became fully corro^
borated and undisputed, was about the

* It is called by an infinity of names in books and
charts, such as Lekeyo, Lieoo-Kieoo, Lequeyo, and
Lieu-Kieu; but the word Lewchew will better express
the sound, according to the native pronunciation, than
any other. It is often by the lower classes corrupted into
Doo-Ckoo.

TO CHINA. 69

year 605, when they were invaded by China,
who found them at that time — a time when
England and the greater part of Europe
were immersed in barbarism — the same
kind of people they are at the present day,
with the exception of a few Chinese innova-
tions; or, at least, they appear to have
altered but in a very slight degree. Indeed,
it is very obvious that a revolution in man-
ners, and alteration of habits, are by no
means so likely to occur with a people thus
living in an obscure and secluded state, as
among those who have a wider intercourse
with other nations. The only connexion
which the Lewchews have had with their
neighbours, and that but very limited, has
been with Japan and China, from neither
of whom they were likely to receive any
example .of change.

The clearest and perhaps the only account
given of their history is by Su-poa-Koang,
a Chinese doctor or philosopher, who was,
in 1? 19, sent as embassador to them *,

Vide Lettres Edifiantes, tome xxiv.

70 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

The following is the substance of his re-
port as to their origin : — " The Lewchew
" tradition states, that, in the beginning,
" one man and one woman were pro-
" duced in the great void or chaos. They
" had the joint name of Omo-mey-kieou.
" From their union sprung three sons and
" two daughters ; the eldest of the sons
" had the title of Tien-sun, or Grand-
" son of Heaven, and was the first king of
" Lewchew ; the second was the father of
" the tributary princes ; the rest of the
" people acknowledge the third as their
" progenitor *. The eldest daughter had
" the title of Celestial Spirit ; the second,
" the Spirit of the Sea. After the death of
" Tien-sun, twenty-five dynasties reigned
" successively in this country, occupying
" (according to their story) a period of
" 17,802 years previous to the time of
" Chuntein, who commenced his reign in
" 1187- This is their fabulous history, of

* It seems rather unaccountable, in this marvellous
tradition, that the third son, to whutu no wife is assigned,
should have had the most numerous progeny.

TO CHINA. 71

" which they are very jealous ; but nothing
" certain was known until 605, before which
" the inhabitants of Formosa and the adja-
" cent islands were denominated by the
" Chinese the Oriental Barbarians. In this
" year the emperor sent to examine them;
" but, from want of interpreters, no clear
" account was obtained. They brought
" back, however, some of the islanders to
" Sin-gan-foo, the capital of the province
" of Chensi, and the seat of the court
6i under the Sony dynasty. SomeJapan-
" ese, who happened to be there, knew
" the people, and described them as a race
". of barbarians. The Emperor Yang-ti
" sent forthwith some who understood
" their language to Levvchew, to command
" their homage, and acknowledgment of
" him as their sovereign. The prince of
" Lewchew haughtily replied, that he
" would own none as his superior. A
" fleet with 10,000 men was now fitted
" out from Amoi and the ports of Fokien,
" which force, overcoming the efforts of
" the islanders, landed at Lewchew; and
" the king, who had put himself at the

VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

" head of his people to repel the enemy,
" being killed, the Chinese burned the
" capital ; and, carrying off 5000 of the
" natives, as slaves, returned to China.
" From this, until 1 291 , the Lewchews were
" left unmolested, when Chit-soo, an empe-
" ror of the Yuen family, reviving his
" pretensions, fitted out a fleet against them
" from the ports of Fokien ; but, from va-
" rious causes, it never proceeded farther
" than the western coast of Formosa,
" and from thence returned unsuccessful
" to China. In the year 1372, Hong-ou,
" emperor of China, and founder of the
" Ming dynasty, sent a great mandarin
" to Tsay-tou, who governed in Tchon-
" chan, the country being at this period
" divided, in consequence of civil disturb-
" ances, into the three kingdoms, who,
" in a private audience, acquitted himself
" with such address as to persuade the
" king to declare himself tributary to Cln'na,
" and to request of the emperor the inves-
" titure of his estate.

" Having thus managed by finesse what
" arms had been unable to effect, the em-

TO CHINA. 73

" peror took care to receive, with great
" distinction, the envoys sent by their
" master. They were accompanied by
" offerings of fine horses, scented woods,
" sulphur, copper, and tin, and sent back
tf again with rich presents for the king
" and queen ; among which was a gold
" seal.

" The two kings of the other districts,
" Chan-pe and Channan, followed the ex-
" ample of Chonchan, and their submission
" was most graciously received. Thirty-
" six Chinese families were sent to live in
" Cheouli*, where grants of land were
" conceded to them ; here they taught the
" Chinese written characters, introduced
" Chinese books, and the ceremonies in
" honour of Confucius. The sons of the
" Lewchewan grandees were also sent to
" Nankin to study Chinese, and were edu-
" cated with distinction, at the expense of
" the emperor.

: That district of Tcfion-chan in which the capital is
situated, and where we resided.

74 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

" The reigns of Ou-ning and Tse-chao,
" the son and grandson of Tsay-tou, pre-
" sented nothing extraordinary ; but that
" of . Chang-pa-chi was marked by the re-
" union of Chan-pe and Channan with
" Tchon-chan into one kingdom, and the
" government has since continued in the
" hands of a single chief. Lewchew is
" said henceforth to have had consider-
" able intercourse with China and Japan
" in the way of commerce, much to her
" advantage, and to have even mediated
" between those two powers when misun-
" derstandings had occured.

" The famous Tay-cosama, however,
" emperor of Japan, whom the Chinese
" call ambitious, piratical, irreligious,
" cruel, and debauched, because he had
" pillaged their coasts, sent a haughty letter
" to Chang-ning, commanding him to
" transfer his homage from China to Japan,
" which Chang-ning as firmly refused.
" Notwithstanding the death of Tay-cosa-
" ma, the Japanese fitted out a fleet at
" Satsuma, made a descent on Lew-chew,

TO CHINA. 75

" took the king prisoner, and carried him
" off, having plundered the palace, and
" killed one of his near relations, who
" also resisted the acknowledgment of
" the Japanese. During a captivity of two
<; years, Chang-i>ing acquired the admira-
" tion of the captors by his unyielding
" firmness and constancy in refusing to
" swerve from his first allegiance, and
" they generously sent him back to his states.

" The Tartar dynasty, soon after this,
" was placed, by conquest, on the throne
" of China, and made some alteration in the
" nature of the tribute to be paid, stipu-
" lating that envoys, in future, should be
" sent to Pekin only once in two years.
" Cang-hi paid much attention to the wel-
" fare of Lewchew ; and his memory to
" this day is much respected by the peo-
" pie. It is said to be nearly a thou-
" sand years since the bonzes of the sect
" of Fo introduced their mode of worship
" into these islands, which has continued
" to the present time.

" When they take an oath, it is not be-
" fore the statues or images of their idols;

76 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

" but they burn incense, and, placing
" themselves in a respectful attitude before
'* certain consecrated stones which are to
" be seen in various public situations, they
" repeat some mysterious words, said to
" have been dictated by the divine daugh-
" tersof Omo-mey-kieou. They have also
" among them a set of holy women, who
" worship certain spirits deemed powerful
" among them, and who visit the sick,
" give medicines, and recite prayers. This
" seems to have given rise to the accusa-
" tion of an old missionary at Japan, who
" said they practised sorcery and witch-
" craft. Cang-hi likewise introduced among
" them the adoration of a new deity, under
" the name of Tien-fey, or Celestial Queen.
" Polygamy is allowed here as in China,
" but seldom practised. Men and women
" of the same surname cannot intermarry.
" The king can only take a wife from one
" of three great families, who always hold
" the most distinguished posts: there is
" also a fourth, of the highest considera-
" tion, but with which the princes cannot
" form an alliance, because it is doubtful

TO CHIXA. 77

*••

" whether that family is not itself of the
" royal line. Their chiefs are generally
" hereditary, but not always ; for men of
" merit are promoted, and all are liable
" to be degraded for improper conduct.
" The king's revenue arises from his own
" domains ; from imposts on salt, sulphur,
" copper, tin, and several other articles ;
" and from this income he defrays the
" expenses of the state, and the salaries
" of the great officers.

" These salaries consist nominally in a
" certain number of bags of rice ; but they
" are paid generally in silks, and various
" other necessary articles of clothing and
" food, in proportions equal to the value of
" so many bags of that grain. All their
" interior commerce or marketting is per-
" formed by the women and girls at regu-
" lated times. They carry their little loads
" upon their heads with singular dexterity,
" consisting of the usual necessaries of
" life and wearing apparel, which they ex-
" change for what they more immediately
" want, or for the copper coin of China and

78 VOYAGE OF H. M. s. ALCESTE

" Japan *. The men are said to be neat
" workmen in gold, silver, copper, and
" other metals ; and there are manufactories
" of silk, cotton, flax, and paper. They
" also build very good vessels, quite large
" enough to undertake voyages to China
" and Japan, where their barks are much
" esteemed. They have adopted the Chi-
" nese calendar with respect to the division
" of the month and year. This island pro-
" duces rice, wheat, and all sorts of vege-
'* tables, in abundance. The people of the
" coast are expert fishermen, and the sea
" and rivers are well furnished with fish.
" They are famous divers, and obtain
" shells and mother-of-pearl, very much
" esteemed in China and Japan.

" They possess many woods proper for
" dying; and one tree in particular yields
" an oil which is held in great repute.
" They have likewise a great variety of
" most delicate fruits, oranges, citrons, le-
" mons, long-y-ven, lee-tchses, grapes, &c.

* We saw no money among them.

TO CHINA. 79

" Wolves, tigers, and bears, are unknown ;
" but they have many useful animals, such
" as horses, water-dogs, black cattle, stags,
" poultry, geese, peacocks, pigeons, doves,
" &c.

" The camphor, cedar, and ebony, are
" among the number of their trees ; and
" they have also wood well fitted for ship-
" building, and for public edifices. They
" are represented as disdaining slavery,
" lying, and cheating. They are fond of
" games and amusements, and celebrate,
" with much pomp, the worship of their
" idols, at the end and commencement of
" the year ; and there exists much union
" among the branches of families, who giv6
" frequent and cheerful entertainments to
" each other.

The ceremony of installation of the king
of Lewchew is thus described: " When
" the king dies, his heir sends an embassa-
" dor to the emperor, to make known that
" circumstance, and to demand his inves-
" titure. — Meantime the Lewchews treat as
" king and queen the prince and the
" princess his wife, though it is not, ac-

80 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

" cording to the Pekin regulations, until
" after the installation that they assume
" the titles. The emperor either sends
" from himself a qualified person to per-
" form this ceremony, or grants full powers
" to the Lewchew embassador to do so on
" his return.

" If the former is determined upon, the
" emperor orders the tribunal of ceremo-
" nies to find a fit person to sustain with
" dignity the majesty of the Chinese em-
" pire; and the choice falls on whom they
" know the emperor wishes, a second being
" named in the event of death or sick-
" ness. The emperor, after approving the
" choice, admits the embassador to an au-
" dience, and gives him the necessary in-
" structions, and the presents intended for
" the king and queen. The mandarins of
" Fokien are ordered to equip a vessel, and
" to choose a captain, officers, sailors, sol-
" diers, and pilots, sometimes amounting
" to three hundred and fifty persons. The
" embassador is conducted from court with
" great pomp to the capital of Fokien,
" where he is lodged in a commodious

TO CHINA. 81

" palace, and treated with much distinc-
" tion.

" He is embarked with great state, when,

" after the usual ceremonies to heaven,

" and the goddess Tienfey, they make sail.

" On their anchoring near Napa Kiang,

" the king gives the necessary orders for

" receiving the embassador, with all the

" honours due to the title of Celestial Envoi/,

" that is, to the envoy of the son of hea-

" ven, or the emperor of China. The

" princes and grandees repair to the port

" in their court dresses. A number of ves-

" sels richly ornamented conduct the

" stranger into harbour, where the embas-

" sador and suite lands, and is attended to

" his palace with great pomp by the

" princes and grandees, who take care to

" make such an appearance as to do ho-

" nour to the nation. Every thing is regu-

" lated with respect to the maintenance of

" the embassador and retinue, who are all

" permitted, even to the lowest domestic,

" the privilege of carrying a certain quan-

" tity of money, and ot Chinese merchan-

" dise, to make a little trade. In the time of

G

82 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

" the Ming dynasty, the profits of the
" Chinese were considerable at Lew-
" chew ; at present only moderate. The
" embassador ordinarily piques himself on
" having no personal connexion with com-

" merce*.

/

" After having taken some repose, he
" repairs to the grand hall, where he finds
" a magnificent estrade, on which he seats
" himself. On a signal given, at the same
" instant, the princes, ministers, and gran-
" dees of the first order, placed according to
" rank, make the nine prostrations to sa-
" lute the emperor. The embassador
" stands; and, after the ceremony, makes
" a profound reverence. When the chiefs
" of the second and third class prostrate
" themselves, he also stands, and after-
" wards presents his hand to them. On
" the performance of the inferior chiefs,
" the embassador is seated, but afterwards
" presents his hand to them. This ceremti-
" nial finished, some grandees on the part

* This is quite in the inflated style of these celestials,
whilst in the practice of every thing that is sordid.

TO CHINA. 83

" of the king come to congratulate the em-

" bassador on his safe arrival. The rest of the

" day is spent in repasts, public rejoicings,

" and concerts, in all the cities and neigh-

" bouring villages, and on board the ves-

" sels. On a certain day the embassador

" goes to the temple of the goddess Tien-

" fey, to return thanks for her protection,

" and from thence to the imperial palace,

" where he performs the Chinese ceremo-

" nies, in honour of Confucius. On another

" day the embassador with all his retinue

" repairs to the royal hall, where are the

" tablets of the deceased kings, the heir to

" the throne also appearing, but as a prince

" simply.

" The embassador then performs, in the

" name of the emperor, the Chinese marks

" of respect in honour of the deceased king,

" the predecessor of the reigning prince,

" and also for his forefathers ; and presents

" the odours, the silks, manufactures, and

" silver, sent by the emperor for that pur-

" pose. The prince then makes the nine
" prostrations to thank the emperor, and

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84 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

" incjiiires after the state of his health.
" He next salutes the embassaclor, and
" dines, familiarly, and without ceremony,
" with him. When all is regulated for
" the instalment, the embassador with
" all his suite, and a great number of
" people, proceed to the palace. The
" court is filled with lords and chieftains,
" richly attired, and ranged in proper
" order. On his entrance, the embassador
" is received by the princes, and con-
" ducted, with music sounding, to the
" royal hall, where there is an elevated
" estrade for the prince and princess, and
" a distinguished place for the embassa-
" dor. All the princes, grandees, niiui-
" sters, standing, the embassador reads,
" with aloud voice, the imperial diploma;
" in which the emperor, after some eulogy
" on the defunct sovereign, acknowledges
" for king and queen the hereditary prince
*' and princess his wife. This declaration
* is accompanied by exhortations of the
" emperor to the new monarch, to govern
" according to law ; and to the people of

TO curxA. 85

" the thirty-six isles to be faithful in their

" allegiance. After it is read, the imperial

" patent is presented to the king, who

" transfers it to the minister, to be re-

" tained among the archives of the court.

" Then the king, queen, princes, &c., make

" the nine prostrations, to salute and thank

" the emperor. The embassador next dis-

" plays the rich presents from his master

" to the king and queen, when the usual

" thanks are returned. Whilst the embas-

" sador reposes himself for a short time in

" an adjoining apartment, the king and

" queen, seated on their thrones, receive

" the homage of the princes, ministers,

" grandees, and deputies, of the thirty-six

" isles. The queen then retires, and the

" king entertains the embassador with

" much splendour.

" Some days afterwards, seated in the

" royal chair, borne by many porters, the

" king, followed by the princes and mini-

" sters, and a brilliant suite, goes to the

" hotel of the embassador.

" The road is ornamented by triumplial

" arches; and at certain distances are

86 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

" found tents, in which are placed fruits,
" flowers, and perfumes. Around the chair
" of the king are seven young girls, on
" foot, carrying his flags and umbrellas.
" The princes, ministers, and grandees,
" are on horseback, and are emulous to
" distinguish themselves, on this occasion,
" by their superb dresses and numerous
" suite.

" The embassador, at the gate of the

" hotel, receives his majesty with great re-

" spect, and leads him to the grand hall.

" The king now again salutes the empe-

" ror ; after which he honours the embas-

" sador, by offering with his own hand

" wine and tea. This the embassador de-

" clines ; and, returning the cup, he takes

" one for himself, which he does not drink

" until after the king has first drank his.

ft This ceremony finished, his majesty and

" suite return to the palace. He names,

" some days afterwards, an embassador to

" proceed to the court ot the emperor, to

" thank his majesty, and to send him pre-

" sents, a list of which is communicated to

" the Chinese embassador, and he orders a

TO CHINA. 87

" vessel to be equipped, which accompa-
" nies that of the Chinese on its return.
" At last, the imperial envoy, having deter-
" mined the day of his departure, takes
" leave of the king ; and some time after-
" wards the latter proceeds to the hotel of
" the embassador, to wish him a happy
" voyage, and to make the usual pro-
" strations in honour of the emperor, and
" to return him thanks.

" During the sojourn of the embassa-
" dor, the king gives him frequent enter-
" tainments; sometimes in the grand palace ;
" at others in his pleasure-houses ; and,
" occasionally, in water parties. The
" queen, princesses, and ladies, assist at
" these ceremonies. They have music,
" dancing, and comedies, with songs, in
" praise of the imperial and royal families,
" and of the embassador, Sec."

Such is the account of Supoa-Koang ;
and, having observed a great part of what
he relates to be true, it is but fair and rea-
sonable to give him credit for what we had
not the opportunity of actually seeing.
One thing appears very evident, — that these

88 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

poor islanders have been much cajoled
and humiliated, as well as encumbered
with a load of ceremonies, very foreign to
their nature, by the usurpation of the Chi-
nese.

The dress of these people is as remark-
able for its simplicity as it is for its ele-
gance. The hair, which is of a glossy
black, (being anointed with an oleagenous
substance, obtained from the leaf of a tree,)
is turned up from before, from behind, and
on both sides, to the crown of the head,
and there tied close down ; great care being
taken that, all should be perfectly smooth ;
and the part of the hair beyond the las ten-
ing, or string, being now twisted into a neat
little top-knot, is there retained by two
fasteners, called camesashee and ustsathee^
made either of gold, silver, or brass, ac-
cording to the circumstances of the wearer;
~

the former of these having a lit le star on
the end of it, which points forwaid. This
mode of hair-dressing is practised with the
greatest uniformity, from the highest to the
lowest of the mules, and has a very pleasing
effect, whether viewed singly, or when they

TO CHINA. 89

are gathered together. At the age of ten
years the boys are entitled to the usisashee,
and at fifteen they wear both. Except
those in office, who wear only a cap on
duty, they appear to have no covering for
the head, at least in fine weather. Inte-
riorly, they wear a kind of shirt, and a pair
of drawers, but over all a loose robe, with
wide sleeves, and a broad sash round their
middle. They have sandals on their feet,
neatly formed of straw ; and the higher or-
ders have also white gaiters, coming above
the ancle. The quality of their robes de-
pends on that of the individual. — The su-
perior classes wear silk of various hues,
with a sash of contrasting colour, sometimes
interwoven with gold. — The lower orders
make use of a sort of cotton stuff, generally
of a chesnut colour, and sometimes striped,
or spotted, blue and white.

There are nine ranks of grandees, or
public officers, distinguished by their caps ;
of which we observed four. — The highest
noticed was worn by a member of the royal
family, which was of a pink colour, with

90 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

bright yellow flowers. — -The next in dignity
was the purple; then plain yellow; and
the red seemed to be the lowest.

On the female attire we could make but
little observation. — The higher ranks are
said to wear (and some indeed were seen
with) simply a loose flowing robe, without
any sash ; the hair either hanging loose over
the shoulders, or tied up over the left side of
the head, the ends falling down again. The
lower orders seemed to have petticoats
scarcely deeper than a Highlander's kilt,
with a short, but loose, habit above.

The island of Lew chew itself is situate in
the happiest climate of the globe. — Re-
freshed by the sea-breezes, which, from its
geographical position, blow over it at every
period of the year, it is free from the ex-
tremes of heat and cold, which oppress
many other countries ; whilst from the ge-
neral configuration of the land, being more
adapted to the production of rivers and
streams than of bogs and marshes, one
great source of disease in the warmer lati-
tudes has no existence : and the people

TO CHINA.

seemed to enjoy robust health ; for we ob-
served no diseased objects, nor beggars of
any description, among them.

The verdant lawns and romantic scenery

of Tinian and Juan Fernandes, so well de-

scribed in Anson's Voyage, are here dis-

played in higher perfection, and on a much

more magnificent scale ; for cultivation is

added to the most enchanting beauties of

nature. From a commanding height above

the ships, the view is, in all directions, pic-

turesque and delightful.— On one hand are

seen the distant islands, rising from a wide

expanse of ocean, whilst the clearness of the

water enables the eye to trace all the coral

reefs, which protect the anchorage immedi-

ately below. To the south is the city of Na-

foo, the vessels at anchor in the harbour,

with their streamers flying ; and in the inter-

mediate space appear numerous hamlets

scattered about on the banks of the rivers,

which meander in the valley beneath ; the

eye being, in every direction, charmed by

the varied hues of the luxuriant foliage

around their habitations. Turning to the

east, the houses of Kint-ching, the capital

92 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

city, built in their peculiar style, are ob-
served here and there, opening from among
the lofty trees which surround and shade
them, rising one above another in gentle
ascent to the summit of a hill, which is
crowned by the king's palace : the inter-
vening grounds between Napafoo and
Kint-ching, a distance of some miles, being
ornamented by a continuation of villas and
country-houses. To the north, as far as
the eye can reach, the higher land is covered
with extensive forests.

At a short distance from this eminence,
the traveller is led by a foot-path to what
seems only a little wood ; on entering which,
under an archway formed by the inter-
mingling branches of the opposite trees,
he passes along a serpentine labyrinth,
every here and there intersected by others.
Not far from each other, on either side of
these walks, small wicker doors are ob-
served, on opening any of which, he is sur-
prised by the appearance of a court-yard
and house, with the children, and all the
usual cottage train, generally gamboling
about ; so that, whilst a man fancies him-

TO CHINA. 95

self in some lonely and sequestered retreat,
he is, in fact, in the middle of a populous,
but invisible, village.

Nature has been bountiful in all her gifts
to Lewchew : for such is the felicity of its
soil and climate, that productions of the
vegetable kingdom, very distinct hi their
^nature, and generally found in regions far
distant from each other, grow here side by
side. It is not merely, as might be expected,
the country of the orange and the lime ; but
the banyan of India and the Norwegian fir,
the tea-plant and sugar-cane, all flourish
together. In addition to many good qua-
lities, not often found combined, this island
can also boast its rivers and secure har-
bours ; and last, though not least, a worthy,
a friendly, and a happy race of people.

Many of these islanders displayed a spi-
rit of intelligence and genius, which seemed
the more extraordinary, considering the
confined circle in which they live; such
confinement being almost universally found
to be productive of narrowness of mind.
Our friends here were an exception to the
general rule. — Madera Cosyong, one of our

94 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

most constant and intimate friends, ac-
quired such proficiency in the English
language, in the course of a few weeks,
as to make himself tolerably understood.
He evidently came on board, in the first
instance, as a spy upon our conduct, before
they were satisfied that we meant no harm ;
and no man was ever better adapted for
this duty ; for, as his conciliatory and
pleasing manner won upon all hearts, he
had therefore a natural access every where,
and, had " stratagems or schemes" existed,
he of all others was the most likely to have
discovered them.

His not assuming his proper character,
which was that of a man of some dis-
tinction, until his mind was satisfied about
us, and his then doing it with frankness, is
a proof that such were his original motives.
To acquire our tongue, he marked the
sound of any English word for the most
familiar articles of the table, or terms of
conversation, and noted them in symbols
of his own language, with their significa-
tion, which enabled, him, with slight re-
ference to his vocabulary, to manage with-

TO CHINA. 95

out having recourse to the interpreter. If
he happened to be walking on shore with
any of the officers, he would not lose the
sound or meaning of a word because he had
not his book with him, but scratched it on
the leaf of a tree, and transcribed it at his
leisure. His first attempt to connect a sen-
tence was rather sudden and unexpected.
Rising to go away one evening after his
usual lesson, he slowly articulated, " You
" give me good wine, — I tank you, — I go
" shore/' — He delighted in receiving in-
formation, and his remarks were always
pertinent. — The map of the world, with the
track of the ship from England to Lew-
chew, was pointed out and explained to
him, which he, as well as others, seemed to
trace with peculiar care, and at last, in a
great degree, to comprehend, although the
subject was, in the first instance, entirely new
to them, for they certainly had no idea of the
vast extent or figure of the globe. He was
gay or serious, as occasion required, but was
always respectable ; and of Madera it might
be truly said, that he was a gentleman, not
formed upon this model, or according to

96 VOYAGE OF II. M. S. ALCESTE

that rule, but " stamped as such by the so-
" vereign hand of Nature/'

They all seemed to be gifted with a sort
of politeness which had the fairest claim to
be termed natural ; for there was nothing
constrained, nothing stiff or studied in it.

Captain Maxwell having one day invited
a party to dine with him, the health of the
king of Lewchew was drunk in a bum-
per:— one of them, immediately addressing
himself with much warmth and feeling to the
interpreter, desired him to state how much
they felt gratified by such a compliment ; that
they would take care to tell it to every body
when they went on shore ; and proposed,
at the same time, a bumper to the king of
the Engelees. A Chinese mandarin, under
the like circumstances, would, most pro-
bably, have chin-chinned (that is, clenched
his fists) as usual ; he would have snivelled
and grinned the established number of times,
and bowed his head in slavish submission
to the bare mention of his tyrant's name ;
but it never would have occurred to him
to have given, in his turn, the health of the
sovereign of England.

TO CHINA. 97

This superiority of manner brought to
our recollection the boorishness of the Chi-
nese near the Pei-ho. Some mandarins,
who were not of a rank sufficiently high to
be entertained in the cabin, were invited
to dine with the officers; and some of
them, after gnawing the leg of a fowl,
would without any ceremony thrust the
remains of it into any other dish near
them ; and instead of following our
example (as the Lewchews uniformly did)
in pouring out the wine into glasses, or, in-
deed, in any way accommodating them-
selves to our style, they would take up,
with both hands, the decanter, and, apply-
ing it to their greasy mouths, thereby secure
the exclusive possession of that bottle.

These islanders are represented as being
remarkable for their honesty and adherence
to truth, and to this character they appear
to be fully entitled. The chiefs informed
us that there was little probability of their
stealing any thing; but, as iron implements
were a great temptation, they begged that
none might be left carelessly about. —
Although, however, the rope machinery and

H

98 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

other articles remained, for many nights, un-
guarded on the beach, and their opportuni-
ties on board were numberless, yet not one
theft occurred during the whole of our so-
journ among them. That proud and
haughty feeling of national superiority, so
strong! y existing among the common class
of British seamen, which induces them to
hold all foreigners cheap, and to treat them
with contempt, often calling them out-
landish lubbers in their OK n country, was, at
this island, completely subdued and tamed
by the gentle manners and kind behaviour
of the most pacific people upon earth.
Although completely intermixed, and often
working together, both on shore and on
board, not a single quarrel or complaint
took place on either side during the whole
of our stay ; on the contrary, each succeed-
ing day added to friendship and cordiality.
Although it was, no doubt, infringing on
their established rules for strangers to land
upon their coasts, yet they granted every
possible indulgence, and conceded the
point as far as they could ; for their dispo-
sitions seemed evidently at war with the un-

TO CHINA. 99

social law. When any of the officers wan-
dered into the country beyond the bounds
prescribed, they were never rudely repulsed,
as in China or Morocco, but mildly en-
treated to return, as a favour to those in at-
tendance, lest they should incur blame;
and, as their appeal was powerful, it was
never disregarded.

They erected little temporary bamboo
watch-houses or sheds, where those engaged
in this duty resided ; and, as we wandered
about, handed us over from one post to an-
other. In these houses they always pressed
the officers to partake of their fare, which
was often very good, especially a kind of
hung beef, which they have the art of curing
extremely well.

They appeared to be much accustomed
to these pic-nic sort of parties, having a
small japanned box, containing sliding
drawers for the various viands, which a boy
generally carried, on the end of a bamboo,
to any part of the fields where they thought
proper to dine.

One man, very often accompanied by
Geroo, or (as he was sometimes termed, from

H2

100 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

having a constant smile upon his counte-
nance) the laughing mandarin, seemed to
carry about with him a constant supply of
these refreshments, and chazzi, a liqueur,
which led us to believe that he had been
deputed for the express purpose of paying
attention to our officers.

The sudden vicissitudes of weather to
which we had been exposed, by leaving
England during extreme cold, and passing
suddenly into the torrid zone ; then imme-
diately afterwards into the cold raw climate
of the southern Atlantic ; meeting with heat
again at the Cape of Good Hope ; then
crossing in rather a high latitude the chilly
SouthernOcean; and, quickly following that,
appearing on the burning coast of Java ;
might, in fact be said to have exposed us,
in the short period of four months, to the
effects of three summers and three winters ;
and proved, as might naturally be sup-
posed, extremely trying to the health of the
men. On our arrival at Lewchew, our cases
of sickness, though not numerous, were se-
vere ; and to the kindness of the natives
may , in a great measure, be attributed their

TO CHINA. 101

recovery. They were not only comfortably
lodged, but the higher class of people*
daily attended, inquiring into their wants,
giving additional coogas or eggs, and other
delicacies, to those whose cases more par-
ticularly required them, and paying a cheer-
ing attention to the whole; for theirs was a
substantial, not a cold or ostentatious, charity.

A young man, whose case had long been
hopeless, died here. On that night a coffin
was made by our own carpenters, whilst
the natives dug a grave, in the English man-
ner, in a small burial-ground under some
trees near the landing-place.

Next morning we were astonished to find
a number of the principal inhabitants clad
in deep mourning (white robes with black

* One elderly man, whom Mr. Fisher (the assistant
surgeon), who was always at the hospital, thought to be a
physician, wrote something at the desk, which Mr. Fisher
concluded was a prescription. On translating it afterwards
at Canton it turned out to be a moral maxim, " Let not
" the present day be passed in idleness. — The days of our
" youth will not return. — By being diligent and studious
" we arrive at offices of rank." — (Literally) " We ride
" on horseback, and wear embroidered clothes."

102 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

or blue sashes), waiting to attend the fune-
ral. The captain came on shore with the
division of the ship's company to which the
man belonged, and proceeded to the garden
where the body lay. His messmates bore
the coffin, covered with the colours; the
seamen ranged themselves two and two, in
the rear of it ; next were the midshipmen ;
then the superior officers ; and last of all
the captain, as is usual in military cere-
monies of this kind. The natives, who had
been watching attentively this arrangement,
and observing the order of precedence to
be inverted, without the least hint being
given, but with that unassuming modesty
and delicacy which characterize them,
when the procession began to move placed
themselves in front of the coffin, and in this
order marched slowly to the grave. The
utmost decency and silence prevailed
whilst the funeral service was performing
by the chaplain, although there was a con-
siderable concourse of people ; and after-
wards they marched back, but in different
order, to the garden. Here they took the
directions for the shape of a stone to be

TO CHINA. 103

placed at the head of a tomb, which, as a
mark of respect, they had already begun
to erect over the grave. This was soon
finished ; and the shape of the English let-
ters being drawn with Indian ink, they,
notwithstanding the simplicity of their tools,
cut out with much neatness the following
epitaph, which, when explained to them,
seemed to be highly gratifying : —

Here lies buried

Aged Twenty-One Years, William Hares, Seaman,
Of His Britannic Majesty's ship Alceste.

Died Oct. 15, 1816.
This Monument was erected

By the King

And Inhabitants

Of this most hospitable Island.

The day after the interment they went
to the tomb, with their priests, and per-
formed the funeral service according to the
rites of their own religion. There is not
an act of these excellent and interesting
people which the mind has not pleasure in
contemplating and recollecting. Not sa-
tisfied with having smoothed the path of

104 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

death, they carried their kind regards even
beyond the grave !

Of our religion they could form no idea,
nor was it possible to explain it to them.
They seemed at first to consider us as wor-
shippers of the sun or moon, and, of course,
our astronomers as high priests, from seeing
them busied about an observatory which
had been erected in our garden, with a large
telescope for the examination of the hea-
venly bodies.

One Sunday a number of them were ob-
served, during divine service, peeping
through the quarter-deck ports, but were
not noticed in sufficient time to invite
them in.

Captain Maxwell's horse, in riding one
morning to inspect the progress of the ar-
tificers, stumbled, and fell among some
rocks ; and by this accident the fore finger
of his left hand was not only fractured, but
badly dislocated. Some of his Lewchewan
friends, who were near him, ran to the
next village for one of their surgical profes-
sors. He soon arrived, and, after much sa-

TO CHINA. 105

Jutation, proceeded to examine the injury,
(the dislocation had in the interim been re-
duced by the coxswain pulling upon it,)
and then stated that he would come on
board the ship, whither the captain was
then proceeding, in an hour, with the ap-
plications he thought necessary for it. At
the 'time appointed, one of the chiefs, with
this surgeon, and another more in the cha-
racter of a physician, and their retinue,
some of them bearing a medicine-chest,
made their appearance alongside. The in-
jury being again examined, (and it having
been previously decided that they were to
have the management of the cure, under
surveillance', in order to observe how they
would act,) a fowl was killed with much
form, and skinned, and a composition of
flour and eggs, with some warm ingredients
about the consistence of dough, was put
round the fractured part, (which had the
effect of retaining it in its position,) and the
whole enclosed in the skin of the fowl. As
this fowl appeared to have been sacrificed,
its skin being applied to enclose the whole

106 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

was most probably meant to act as a
charm.

The manual part finished, the physician
proceeded to examine the general state of
health, and the pulse appeared to be his
chief, and indeed only guide, in this re-
spect. The arm was laid bare to the shoul-
der, and he applied his fingers with great
attention, and with as much solemnity as
ever issued from Warwick-lane, to the
course of the artery, and at all parts of the
arm where he could feel it beat, to ascer-
tain whether it was every where alike; and,
lest there should be any mistake in this
point, the other arm underwent the same
investigation ; the whole party looking all
the while extremely grave. Having now
decided as to the medicines necessary on
this occasion, his little chest was brought
forward, with his pharmacopoeia, and a sort
of Clinical Guide, directing the quantity
and quality of the dose.

His chest was extremely neat, its exterior
japanned black, and a number of par-
titions in it, again subdivided, so as to

TO CHINA. 107

contain about a hundred and eighty dif-
ferent articles (quite enough in all con-
science, even among the greatest hypo-
chondriacs and drug-swallowers) ; but they
were fortunately all simples, being a coU
lection cf wood-shavings, roots, seeds, and
dried flowers of his own country. There
appeared also some ginseng, a product of
Tartary and Corea, much in vogue in these
parts. Small portions of the specified
articles were measured out with a silver
spatula, and put up in little parcels, and
directions were now issued as to the mode
of boiling and drinking the decoction.
Next day they were highly delighted to
hear the good effect of their medicines,
though they had never been taken (as
many a poor doctor is cheated by cunning
patients) ; and a new application was
brought for the finger, termed a fish poul-
tice, so composed as to look, and indeed
to smell, something like currant-jelly.

Having carried on this scheme for a few
days, they were then informed that the
finger was so much better as to render their
attendance unnecessary any longer ; and,

108 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

as a reward for their services, they were
presented with some little articles, and
among others, as an addition to the chest,
some spirits of hartshorn, displaying to
them its effect on the olfactory organs, with
which they were quite astonished and
pleased; some spirits of lavender and oil
of mint, they also considered a great
acquisition. The physician, more espe-
cially, seemed to be a very respectable
man, and was treated as such by those
about him. Their practice seems to be a
good deal derived from the 'Chinese, for
their notion of the circulation of the blood,
or rather their having no correct notion
about it, is the same. Neither have they
any idea of anatomy from actual observa-
tion, and, of course, the greater operations
cannot be undertaken ; one man only was
examined by Mr. Rankin, who had lost his
arm, and his stump was rather a rude one.
Some corn was left with them, which they
promised to cultivate ; and fortunately
Captain Hall had some English potatoes,
which were likely to be productive, and the
mode of planting them was particularly

TO CHINA. 109

described. Their fields were extremely
neat, and their furrows arranged with much
regularity by a plough of a simple con-
struction drawn by bulls, assisted occasion-
ally by the use of a hoe ; and they prac-
tised irrigation in the culture of their rice.
A young bull of English breed (though
calved on the island) was presented to the
chief authorities by Captain Maxwell,
leaving them also a cow (having two on
board,) so that it is possible the next
visitors who touch at Lewchew may find a
larger, though they cannot find a better,
race of cattle.

The mode of dancing of these people
may, strictly speaking, be termed hopping;
for they jump about upon one leg only,
keeping the other up, and changing oc-
casionally, making a number of extrava-
gant motions, and clapping with their
hands, and singing at the same time their
dancing song. According to our notions,
this was their only ungraceful action. A
.number of them thus engaged, more espe-
cially when joined by the officers, (who
must needs acquire their style,) formed

110 VOYAGE OF H. M. *. ALCE6TE

rather a grotesque assembly. Thev at-
tempted our mode of country dancing, and
managed (considering it was necessary to
make use of both feet) tolerably well.

The Lewehews are a very small race of
people, the average height ot the men not
exceeding rive feet two inches at the utmost.
Almost the whole animal creation here is
of diminutive size, but all excellent . in
their kind. Their bullocks seldom weighed
more than 330lh.. but they were plump
and well-conditioned, and the beef vrrv

•/

fine : their goats and pigs were reduced in
the same proportion, their poultry seeming
to form the only exception. However
small the men might be, they were sturdy,
well-built, and athletic. The ladies we had
no opportunity of measuring, but they ap-
peared to be of corresponding stature.

These islanders, most probably, ori-
ginated from Japan or Corea, having a
good deal of the Corean lineaments, but
rather milder, and softened down. They
are obviously not of Chinese origin, having
nothing whatever of that t/rof$i/ and elon-
gated eye which peculiarly distinguishes

TO CHINA. Ill

the latter ; nor would it seem that the few
Chinese and their descendants settled on
the island freely mixed with the native Lew-
chews, the national features and the natu-
ral disposition of the two people being per-
fectly distinct, and differing in every re-
spect. Neither have they any mixture of
Indian blood, being quite as fair as the
southern Europeans ; even those who are
most exposed being scarcely so swarthy
as the same class of society in Spain or
Portugal.

The Chinese language is learnt by a few,
as the French is in our own country; but the
Bonzes, who are also schoolmasters, teach
the boys their native language, which is a dia-
lect of the Japanese, and is rather soft and
harmonious; and they have nothing of that
hesitation in utterance, or appearance of
choking, which is observed in the former,
often requiring the action of the hands to
assist the tongue *. The orders and records
of government are in their own, or Ja-

* In this respect the Chinese seem to resemble what
is said of a Frenchman : — That if his hands are tied he
cannot speak.

112 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

panese character; but they have books
in the Chinese language.

They burn the bodies of their dead, and
deposit their bones in urns, (at least in
our neighbourhood,) in natural vaults, or
caverns of the rocks along the sea-shore.
The graves of the few Chinese residents
here are formed in their own style.

Crimes are said to be very unfrequent
among them, and they seem to go perfectly
unarmed, for we observed no warlike in-
struments of any description ; and our
guns, shot, and musketry, appeared to be
objects of great wonder to them. It must
have been the policy of the Chinese to
disarm them, for it appears that, in the
first instance, they defended themselves
nobly against their attacks, as well as those
of the Japanese. Not even a bow or arrow
was to be seen; and, when they observed
the effect of fowling-pieces in the hands of
some of the gentlemen, they begged they
might not kill the birds, which they were
always glad to see flying about their houses;
and if we required them to eat, they would
send in their stead an additional quantity
of fowls on board every day. — An order

TO CHINA. 113

was immediately issued to desist from this
sort of sporting.

The people of Tatao and the north-east
islands are reported to have been in pos-
session of books previous to the Chinese
attack on Grand Lewchew,and to have been
even more polished than in the principal
island. Tatao and Ki-ki-ai are said to pro-
duce a sort of cedar, termed kien-mou by the
Chinese, and iseki by the inhabitants, which
is considered incorruptible, and brings a
great price, the columns of the palaces of
the grandees being generally formed of it.

The vessels of these islands, in the gene-
ral appearance of their hulls and plan of rig-
ging and sails, are precisely the same as we
had observed throughout the whole of our
track from the Gulf of Pe-che-lee lo Napa-
kiang. They had, in common use, canoes
hollowed from the trunk of a tree, much
the same in shape as those of other parts of
the world where they are employed, and
of sufficient size to contain easily from
six to eight or ten people. For purposes
of heavier burden, they had boats strongly
built, and rather flat-bottomed.

i

114 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

In these boats they brought our water,
bullocks, and other stock, on board. The
water was not sent in barrels, but in open
tubs, and baled from these into our casks.

During our stay here, the Lyra was de-
tached by the senior officer, in consequence
of the people having told us that there was
a closer and more secure harbour to the
northward, to circumnavigate and examine
the coast of the great island ; which service
Captain Hall performed, and returned to
Napa-kiang, in seven days.

The state of cultivation was represented
as very fine on a small island, which was
named by Captain Hall Sugar-loaf Island;
and a town was observed, which had a very
handsome appearance from the sea ; trees,
as usual, filling up the interstices between
the houses, which rose from the water-side
to the foot of the high land.

About twelve miles easterly from this
island they anchored near an islet, which
was named Herbert's Isle ; and from thence
proceeded in the boats to examine what
seemed to be the mouth of a river ; here it is
reported there were not less than ten fathoms

TO CHINA. 115

of depth within it, the whole passage being
narrow, and the direction tortuous ; in short
they here discovered a harbour, not inferior
in any respect, and in some superior, to
Port Mahon, in Minorca. The banks of
this winding arm of the sea are high rocks,
overgrown with climbing plants and flowers.
It has, moreover, the advantage of Mahon
of having a second outlet or communication
with the sea : in short, it was discovered
that an island in the mouth of a deep in-
dent in the coast of the main island formed
a circumnavigable passage, with safe an-
chorage in every part of it, and a sufficient
depth of water for the largest class of ships,
with good holding ground. It was named
Port Melville.

In glens, formed by the opening of the
rocks on its right bank, were observed seve-
ral little villages, prettily situated ; and the
inhabitants were found to be the same civil
creatures as on every other part of the
island.

The north-eastern parts of the great Lew-
chew would appear not to be so populous,
and therefore not so much cultivated, as

i 2

116 VOYAGE OF H. M. S.ALCESTE

the south-western side, or Cheouli, a
greater extent of forest land being noticed ;
and on the western side also appeared
to be the best and safest places for an-
chorages.

A few days previous to our leaving the
island, intimation was sent that a man of
the first distinction (said to be one of the
princes, and nearest heir to the crown) in-
tended paying a visit to the ship. He was
carried down to the mouth of the little river,
opposite to the anchorage, in a close chair,
or palanquin, amidst an immense concourse
of people, who had nocked from all parts to
this spot. — He embarked in great state, in
their own boats, with their flags flying ; and
was saluted, on his approach to the ships,by
seven guns from each, and received on board
the Alceste with every possible respect
and attention ; the rigging being manned,
and the officers in full dress. — He was
above the usual size of the Lewchews, and
had rather more of an European counte-
nance. His robe was of a dark pink-co-
loured silk ; the cap rather lighter, with
bright yellow flowers on it. In his mien

TO CHINA. 117

and deportment there was much dignified
simplicity ; for, although his carriage was
that of a man of high rank, it was totally
unmixed with the least appearance of
hauteur; and his demeanour was, altogether,
extremely engaging.

As he passed along the decks, his own
people saluted him by kneeling ; clasping
the hands before their breasts and bowing
the head. He examined minutely every
thing about the ship, and seemed equally
pleased and surprised with all he saw.
After joining in a sumptuous collation in
the cabin, he took his leave with the same
honours as when he came on board,
having previously invited the captain and
officers to an entertainment on shore.
The day appointed for this feast happen-
ing to be the 25th of October, the anni-
versary of our venerable Sovereign's ac-
cession to the throne, a royal salute was
fired, at sun-rise, by both ships ; at noon
the standard was hoisted, the ships
dressed in colours, and another salute fired ;
after which the boats, with their flags flying,
containing the captains and every officer

118 VOYAGE OP H. M. S. ALCESTE

that could possibly be spared, proceeded
into Napa-kiang.

They were received precisely as on the
former occasion, except that the number
of grandees was greater, and there ap-
peared a higher degree of state. The
prince received the party at the gate, and
conducted them into the hall. Three tables
were laid close to each other ; the first for
the great man and the captains, the second
for the superior officers, and the third for
the young gentlemen. This prince, or
chief, did the honours of his own table,
occasionally directing his attention to the
others; but a man of some rank was added
to each of them, for the purpose of seeing
the strangers properly treated, as well as
to pass and proclaim the toasts; and for
this purpose they were allowed to be
seated, all the rest standing round the
room, but, at the same time, joining heartily
in the general mirth and glee. The healths
of our King and Royal Family were toasted
with much respect, and the anniversary of his
Majesty's accession was a day of real jubilee
atNapafoo. The sovereign of Lewchew,the

TO CHINA. 119

queen and princes, were proposed by our
party ; whilst they (never deficient in po-
liteness) toasted the wives and children of
their friends, the Engelees. In dining on
board the ship, Captain Maxwell had given
confectionary to those who were married,
in parcels, proportioned to the number of
children they had; and on this occasion
they returned the compliment; in the dis-
tribution of which, it was quite amusing to
see some of the young midshipmen ac-
quiring at once wives and large families.

Some personal presents from the cap-
tains were on this day offered to the
chiefs, consisting of various articles as be-
fore, adding some damask table-cloths, and
elegantly cut decanters and glasses, which
they seemed highly to admire. Specimens
of their manufactures in cloth were sent on
board the ships in return.

At their departure, the prince attended
the party nearly to the landing-place; and,
when about to take his leave, two small
additional presents (at the suggestion of
Captain Hall) were given to him, as memo-
rials. One was a very neat pocket thermo-

120 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

meter (the use of the larger ones having
been explained to him on board), and the
other a cornelian seal set in gold, with a
ribband attached to each : they were hung
round his neck ; and the ceremony, being in
public, had the appearance of investing
him with an order, with which he seemed
to be highly gratified. As the boats shoved
off from the landing-place, the crews gave
them three cheers, which they returned in
their own style of salutation. They had
sent on board the ship a great number of
coloured paper lanterns, for the purpose
of illuminating her at night, in honour of
our King. This was done after dark, the
lanterns being regularly ranged along the
yards and rigging, the main-deck ports il-
luminated, sky-rockets thrown up, and blue
lights burnt at the yard arms, bowsprit,
and spanker-boom ends, with a feu-de-joie
of musquetry, thrice repeated round the
ship. The whole had a very brilliant
effect from the shore, where thousands of
the natives had collected to view the scene.
About this time the boatswain's wife of the
Alceste, who had been a good deal on shore,

TO CHINA. 121

and was much noticed by the higher class
of natives, had a splendid proposal made,
by a deputation from some great man, to
remain behind; a grand house to live in,
and all manner of finery and attentions;
great offers were also made to the boat-
swain to induce him to comply with this
bargain ; but (after two days' considera-
tion) the negotiation was broken off on the
part of the husband, who refused to part
with her. These proposals most likely
came from the king, for it is not probable
that any subject could have entered into
a treaty of this sort.

A young lady of high rank, who had a
great curiosity to see this Inago-Engekse,
or Englishwoman, was brought to her one
day when she was quite alone, and walked
round her for a considerable time, eyeing
her with great appearance of surprise.

The marriages of this country are not
managed blindfold, as in China; but the
young people are permitted to make their
own choice, and to communicate without
reserve. In China they would seem to
have a superstitious dread of all foreign

122 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

women ; so much so, that any ship,
having one or more on board, must land
them at the Portuguese settlement of Ma-
cao, before they are permitted to pass up the
river ; as they fancy that their putting foot
on the celestial soil would be attended with
some great calamity to the country, or per-
haps rather that their unrestrained liberty
would be a bad example for their secluded
females.

The rocks about the coasts of Lewchew were
all of the coral kind ; and immense masses,
some assuming very odd shapes, were
seen every where along the sea-shore ; and
some of the same formation were found
on the higher land, and at some distance
from the beach, whose situation is not
easily to be accounted for, unless we sup-
pose them to have been elevated by the
force of volcanic fire.

The period of our departure being now
fixed, all the stores were embarked on the
evening of the 26th October. The next morn-
ing, as the ships unmoored, the Lewchews,
as a mark of respect, arrayed themselves
in their best apparel, and, proceeding to the

TO CHINA. 125

temple, offered up to their gods a solemn
sacrifice, invoking them to protect the En-
gclees, to avert every danger, and restore
them in safety to their native land ! In the
manner of this adieu there was an air of
sublimity and benevolence combined, by
far more touching to the heart than the
most refined compliment of a more civi-
lized people. It was the genuine benignity
of artless nature, and of primitive inno-
cence. Immediately following this so-
lemnity, our particular friends crowded on
board to shake hands, and say " Farewell \"
whilst the tears which many of them shed,
evinced the sincerity of their attachment.
Even hard-faced Buonaparte was not un-
moved ; and, as the ships got under weigh,
they lingered alongside in their canoes, dis-
playing every sign of affectionate regard.

We stood out to seaward ; and, the breeze
being favourable, this happy island soon
sunk from the view ; but it will be long re-
membered by all the officers and men of
the Alceste and Lyra ; for, the kindness and
hospitality of its inhabitants have fixed,
upon every mind, a deep and lasting im-
pression of gratitude and esteem.

124 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

Standing between what had been termed
Lyra's Keef (where she had been so nearly
lost) and the Southern Isles, we pursued
our course to the south-westward. On the
next day we saw Typinsan, one of the most
considerable of the Lewchewan group ;
and, on the 30th, descried Botel Tobago
Xima, very much resembling, in its general
features, St. Helena. Passing to the north-
ward of it, we discovered, on the same day,
the island of Formosa. The south-east
part (that which we saw) is extremely high
and mountainous, as, indeed, the whole of
it is represented to be ; and with the wind
at N. E., as we then had it, and blowing
strong, the surf rolled in with dreadful force
upon the reefs extending from it *. Be-

* The western parts of Formosa are under the domi-
nion of the Chinese, but the eastern shores are still oc-
cupied by the aboriginal inhabitants. They are stated to
be in a very uncivilized condition ; that they can run with
the swiftness of a greyhound ; and are such expert marks-
men with the bow and arrow, as to kill a pheasant on the
wing with the greatest certainty. The water of the island
is considered most insalubrious.

Their mode of courtship is rather odd : When a young
man fixes his affections, he hovers about the house where
the object of his regard resides, and plays upon some inu-

TO CHINA. 125

coming too dark to see our way between the
south end of the island, and the rocks of
VeleRete, we bore up, until, by our run, we
were fairly to the southward of this danger,
and then hauled to the wind on the star-
board tack. The passage across the Straits
of Formosa was boisterous in the extreme,
blowing a severe gale at N. E., with that
sort of tumbling sea felt in many other parts
of the world, and which is infinitely more
trying to ships than the long expansive
swell of the wider ocean. The Alceste was
a good deal injured, and the Lyra had
nearly foundered, the fore-top sides giving
way, and sustaining other damage. On
the 2d November saw the grand Lemma ;
and on the same day pushed up to the an-
chorage, at the island of Lintin, without a
pilot. Here we remained unnoticed for
some days, when a number of men-of-war

sical instrument, which signal she answers by coming out
to meet him, and settle the matter, provided he is to her
taste; should it be otherwise, she takes no notice, the
gentleman whistles in vain, and must try his fortune else-
where. The bridegrooms here transfer their filial duty
to their fathers-in-law, and in fact are considered, after th«
marriage, as part of the wife's family.

126 VOYAGE OF H. M. 8. ALCESTE

junks anchored near us, and a mandarin
(their admiral) came on board, who, after
the usual interrogatories, promised that a
pass and pilot should be sent to us, to pro-
ceed up the river. In the time of Lord
Anson, the Typa, near Macao, was of suf-
ficient depth to receive the Centurion, a
sixty-gun ship ; but, at the present day, no
frigate of large size can with propriety
enter it, having become much shallower
from the deposition of mud. To have
brought up the provisions and stores for the
use of the ships, which had been left at that
place, (subject to the conjoined impositions
of the Chinese and Portuguese,) in hired
vessels, would have been expensive: the
Lyra, therefore, was ordered down for that
purpose.

We soon began to experience the invete-
rate ill-will of the viceroy, Tsong-tou, of Can-
ton, who, well aware thatthe object of theem-
bassy was in a greatmeasure directed against
his extortions, and those of his myrmidons,
on our commerce, naturally entertained the
most perfect hatred and detestation for any
ship attached to such a mission. The peo-
ple of Lintin (no doubt by the influence

TO CHINA. 127

of their superiors) dammed up the course
of the water ; and it was not until sentries
were placed along the little stream, to keep
it clear, that we were enabled to fill our
casks. The Comprador, or the person em-
ployed to supply ships with provisions and
necessaries, could only smuggle himself on
board after dark ; and then hurrying away
trembling, for fear of being found near us
at daylight with his boats. His master, (or
partner,) Aming, had very lately been
tortured, imprisoned, and fined ; or, to use
the Chinese phrase, squeezed in a very
heavy sum, on suspicion that he knew of
the intention of the captains of some Chi-
namen to proceed into the city, in order to
present a memorial to the viceroy ; and that
he had not given information of this cir-
cumstance, that it might have been pre-
vented. It seems the viceroy, in malicious
feeling to the General Hewitt, because she
had been connected with the embassy,
would not permit her to load, under
pretence that she was a tribute ship ; that
she must wait to carry back the unaccepted
presents, and of course could have no room

128 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

for teas. Had it even been intended that
she should carry back the presents (which
was not the case, as, in the event of their not
being received, they were to be otherwise
disposed of), still they would not have oc-
cupied the tenth part of her tonnage; and,
besides all this, it was no business of the
viceroy to interfere with the arrangements
about the unaccepted tribute. Captain
Campbell, therefore, attended by a party of
his brother officers, and some of the gentle-
men of the factory, on finding other mea-
sures vain, proceeded to make a personal
application to the viceroy, and to present
a memorial, stating the great hardship and
unreasonableness of this prohibition. This
bold manoeuvre, however, was unattended
with success; and so far from the memorial
being received they were treated with every
indignity, the people spitting in their faces.
The General Hewitt was guarded with more
rigour than ever, being surrounded by war
junks ; and, previous to our arrival, Capt.
Colin Campbell, of the navy, who, being
unemployed, accompanied his brother in
this voyage, with all who happened to be

TO CHINA. 129

on board, were detained prisoners, at the
second bar, for more than five weeks.

On the llth another mandarin came on
board, who disclaimed any knowledge of
the former, or what he had promised, stat-
ing, through the medium of an interpreter,
(who seemed himself a man of some little
consequence, and who evidently enjoyed
peculiar satisfaction in repeating whatever
was galling to the feelings of a Briton,) that
he had been making fools of us about sending
a pass ; that the Embassador had been sent
away in disgrace from Pekin ; that he must
soon arrive here, when he would be immedi-
ately senton board, and dismissed with all the
English ships from the country, and so forth ;
adding that we must remain at our present
anchorage, not attempting to pass up the
river ; and even, during our stay here, il
would be necessary to have a security-mer-
chant to answer for our good conduct. The
latter part of this rhodomontade about a se-
curity-merchant for the king's ship, Captain
Maxwell begged might not be repeated,
unless they wished to be thrown overboard ;
quietly telling them he would wait a reason-

130 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

able time longer for the viceroy to send
down a pass, or chop, to proceed up the
river, which he was desirous of doing for
two reasons : 1st, The ship required caulk-
ing and other repairs, which it was impos-
sible to accomplish in her present unpro-
tected and exposed situation. Next, the
Lion, in the former embassy, had been
admitted to a place of security ; and the
emperor having, in the first instance, ex-
pressed his pleasure that the Alceste should
have the same reception, it could only be
considered an indignity to be excluded ;
and would be a bad precedent. They now
became a little more cool ; and, after some
desultory conversation, took their leave:
but previously Captain Maxwell insisted on
their admitting (to exclude them from all
shuffling), that, if a pass was not sent down
in 48 hours, he was to take it for granted
that leave was given.

That day arrived without the least notice
being taken of us ; and the pilot who had
come on board, in the hope of carrying us up,
sneaked off in the dark, saying it was danger-
ous for him to have any connexion with us.

TO CHINA. 131

Against an open attack a British com-
mander can never be at a loss how to act ;
but the present was a most trying and em-
barrassing case, and imposed a very heavy
and serious weight of responsibility. That
His Majesty's ship should be supplied by
an unauthorized individual under cover of
night, and by stealth, was not to be endured ;
to be denied admission to the harbour, and
detained in an unprecedented manner, at this
season of the year, in an open and dangerous
road, could not be viewed but as an act of
absolute hostility ; and to all this were
added sneering insult and contempt, of the
most mortifying kind.

To have waited longer for an explicit
answer would have been vain ; for a Chi-
nese who could so far forget himself, even
in the most common occasions of inter-
course, as to give a frank, ingenuous, and
undesigning reply to any communication,
would be considered by his own country-
men a fool, and by foreigners a prodigy.

They are a people, who, by early education
and constant habit, are manceuwers, and al-
ways enjoy a much higher satisfaction in
K 2

132 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

obtaining any purpose by fraud, trick, and
overreaching, than by the most direct, can-
did, or honourable means ; and afford a
strong exemplification of the distinction be-
tween low cunning and true wisdom.

On the other hand, the king's representa-
tive was in their power, and this circumstance
rendered a decision on the case still more dif-
ficult ; but it was equally clear that the go*
vernment which attempted to dishonour- the
flag would not respect the Embassador ;
and experience has fully proved, that the
tame submission of other nations has only
added to the arrogance, and fostered the
insolence of the Chinese. This, perhaps,
was the impression on Captain Maxwell's
mind, when he got under weigh on the 12th;
but not a word was expressed. The ex-
amination, however, of the locks and flints
on the carronades by the gunner, with a few
other minor preparations, were hailed as aus-
picious omens, and excited themostpleasing
hopes ; for the Chinese have no foreign
friends ; every seaman, whether of the navy
or merchant's service, from experience of
their faithless conduct, considering himself

TO CHINA. 133

in a state of warfare from the moment he
enters their territory. We got up as far as
Lankeet Flat that night, without a pilot;
but Mr. Mayne, the master, who knew the
ground, volunteered to carry up the ship as
far as she could go. Here we anchored for
the night, and spoke the Cornwall India-
man, bound homewards.

About two o'clock P.M. next day we again
weighed, the flood tide serving, and beat up
towards the Bocca Tigris, or Bogue, then
distant a few miles. The Bocca Tigris is
the mouth of the principal branch of that
river, on which Canton is situated, and
where it is contracted to about the breadth
of the Thames at London ; but the banks
are formed by high land, more especially
on the east side.

The fortifications on this pass were for-
merly insignificant, and allowed to remain
in a very dismantled state; but lately they
have been repaired and strengthened with
much care ; an additional battery of forty
guns being built, rather farther up, and on
the same side with old Annan-hoy ; a hun-
dred and ten pieces of cannon, of different

134 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. XLCESTE

calibres, being at present mounted on these
forts, including that of the island of Wang-
tong opposite, the whole three being within
half-gunshot of each other, with a garrison
at this time of about 1,200 men.

Chumpee, which lies in a corner farther
down, has about twelve or fourteen guns ;
but a ship may keep out of reach of them.
As we advanced, some war-junks formed a
line off Chumpee, and were soon after
joined by several more, making altogether
seventeen or eighteen. They carry, on an
average, six guns, with from sixty to eighty
men each. About this time (five o'clock)
the same loquacious linguist before men-
tioned came on board from the mandarins,
and desired, in a high and domineering tone,
that the ship should be directly anchored,
and that, if we presumed to pass up the
river, the batteries would instantly sink her ;
availing himself, at the same time, of that
favourable opportunity, to express his per-
sonal sense of low consideration for us, and
plainly telling the captain he thought him
very impertinent. The latter calmly ob-
served that he would first pass the batteries,

TO CHINA. 135

and then hang him at the yard-arm, for
daring to bring on board a British man-of-
war so impudent a message : his boat was
then cut adrift, and himself taken into cus-
tody. The junks now commenced firing
blank cartridge, which we returned with
three guns from the ship, affecting to
consider this as .a mere salute. On the
next tack we passed close to these war-
riors, who remained quiet until we got
inside of them, and opened Chumpee ;
when that fort, little Annan-hoy, and the
junks (now under weigh), began to fire
with shot. At this moment the wind be-
coming light and baffling, we were
obliged to drop anchor in Anson's bay,
in order to hold the ground we had gained,
and that they might not suppose they had
driven us back ; and in the act of wearing for
this purpose, we gave the admiral of the
junks a single shot only, by way of a hint*.

* This first shot was fired by the Captain's own hand,
that, in the event of the Chinese demanding those who
fired, instead of those who ordered, or of seizing upon any
innocent person, he might fully place himself in the situa-
tion of being individually responsible for all consequences.

136 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

They immediately ceased firing ; and their
junks anchoring near us, all remained quiet
until a little after eight o'clock, when a
light breeze sprung up, which enabled us
to lay our course, and the anchor was again
weighed. The moment this was observed
by the junks, they beat their gongs, fired
guns, and threw up sky-rockets, to give the
alarm, and in an instant the batteries were
completely illuminated, displaying lanterns
as large as moderate-sized balloons, (the
finest mark imaginable for us,) commencing
also a warm, but ill-directed, fire from both
sides. Steering a steady course, the ship
maintained a slow and regular fire, as the
guns could be got to bear, without yawing
her.

From the lightness of the breeze, which
the cannonade seemed to lessen, it was a
considerable time before we got abreast of
the largest battery. At last, when within
pistol-shot of the angle of it, and just be-
fore they could get all their guns to bear
into the ship, a whole broadside, with cool
aim, was poured in among them, the two-
and-thirty pounders rattling the stones

TO CHINA. 137

about their ears in fine style, and giving
them at the same time three roaring cheers.

This salvo was decisive at this particular
point; their lights disappeared in a twin-
kling, and they were completely silenced ;
but from the island opposite they still con-
tinued their fire, the balls which passed
over and around us striking New Annan-
hoy, which had thereby the full benefit of
their own as well as our shot.

Soon after this our point was gained ; and,
standing up the river, we displayed our
stern to these gentlemen. It is somewhat
extraordinary that it should have been
gained so easily ; for, notwithstanding we
were nearly an hour wrangling in this nar-
row passage, not a man (on our side) was
killed, the ship only hulled twice, and some
trifling damage done to the rigging. Al-
most any European gunners, with the same
advantages, would have blown the frigate
out of the water. During this affair, the
flashing of the guns on the glassy surface
of the river, and the rolling echo of their
reports along the adjoining hills, had a very
grand and animating effect. The Chinese

138 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

linguist, who had crawled below when he
saw matters taking a serious turn, and
having observed there was no joking in the
case, began in real earnest to think, as one
part of the promise had been fulfilled, that
his time had now arrived. Coming trem-

o

bling upon deck, he prostrated himself, and,
kissing the Captain's feet, begged for
mercy. At that moment, hearing the order
given to " stand by the larboard guns for
" Tiger Island," (on which we then sup-
posed there was a battery,) he said, with a
rueful countenance, " What ! no hab done
" yet r " Not half done" was the reply :
" How many guns have you got on Tiger
" Island?" — but, without waiting to answer
this question, (or indeed reflecting in his
perturbation that there were none at all,)
he wrung his hands, groaned heavily, and
dived again below.

We stood on for some miles farther, and
then anchored. — Next morning, before day,
we found ourselves surrounded by their grand
fleet ; but they were wise enough to make no
attack ; for, having now broken the ice, it was
too late for half-measures, and there was

TO CHINA. 139

plenty of grape at hand to pick their teeth,
had they offered the least molestation.

Half-measures seem to be a bad system
in any dealings, but more especially with
uncivilized people, for they are apt to attri-
bute forbearance to fear, and acquire, under
that impression, fresh courage.

When the late Admiral Drury was in-
duced to make a show of force at Canton,
but was withheld, by circumstances, from
proceeding to actual hostilities, there was
no end to their gasconading ; they consi-
dered his retiring as a great victory gained,
and it is celebrated as such by an inscrip-
tion in one of their pagodas.

On the morning of the 15th, the Alceste
anchored among the Indiamen at second
bar, still attended, but with perfect respect,
by their fleet.

In the evening, Captain Maxwell, at-
tended by two gentlemen of the ship, pro-
ceeded in person to Canton to demand satis-
faction (after having taken it) for the insult
offered in firing upon the king's ship. On
their way up they remained one evening
with Captain Campbell, of the Hewitt, and

140 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

on that night, the news of the business with
the batteries having become public, much
alarm was at first excited at Canton, as to
the consequences of this measure ; but the
next morning they were agreeably surprised
by the appearance of several tea-junks
alongside, with part of her cargo, the vice-
roy having given permission for her to load
immediately ! — It also came to -pass that the
said viceroy thought proper to send down
to the frigate, on this day, a high mandarin,
attended by one of the Hong merchants, to
wait upon the captain to welcome him into
the river, and compliment him with all pos-
sible politeness !

It appeared, therefore, that the late head-
thumping ceremony produced both tea and
civility ; and, most probably, it is the only
mode of Ko-towing*, by which we will ever

* Ko-tozc is the ceremony exacted from all tributary
princes and embassadors on approaching the presence
of the emperor, and consists in kneeling, placing the
hands forward, and then knocking the head thrice against
the ground. The patient now stands upright, and, by word
of command, kneels and knocks again, and afterwards a
third time, making, in all, three prostrations, and nine
thumps ; and this is required not merely in the imperial

TO CHINA. 141

receive either, on reasonable terms, from the
Chinese. They affect in their usual disin-
genuous cant, to despise our commerce;
they say they could do perfectly well with-
out it, and it is a mere matter of grace and
favour that we are permitted to approach
their shores, and carry on a trade highly to
our advantage ; but, when the company's
agents were lately driven to the necessity of
abandoning Canton, of stopping the trade,
and giving up all concern with them,
having actually taken their departure,
struck the flag and flag-staff, and were on
their way down the river, the Chinese au-
thorities became alarmed, and sent after
them to beg they would return, making
such fair promises as patched up, for a time,
their differences. Neither will they trade
honestly, or say at once there is an end of
all intercourse ; and day after day we are
insulted and trifled with by them.

presence, but on receiving any message, or donation of
broken victuals, from the emperor, and was actually per-
formed by the Dutch embassy for some half-gnawed
bones in 179-5. (Vide Van Braam's own account.) So
that a man, to be much about court in China, would re-
quire a skull as thick as a buffalo's.

142 VOYAGE OF H. M. s. ALCESTE

The removal of our trade for a single

o

year, and the appearance of a few of our
lightest cruizers on their coasts, would
throw the whole of this celestial empire into
confusion ; for they are not prepared for
the loss that would occur in the one case,
nor to meet the tumult and convulsion that
would be excited by the destruction of their
fisheries and coasting trade in the other.
So feeble is their naval power, that, after
warring with the pirates for many years, who
chased their vessels up the river, and sacked
the towns and villages within a few miles of
Canton, they were at last obliged to compro-
mise with them, bribing the whole to be quiet,
and making their chiefejirst-chop mandarins.

Krusenstern, the intelligent Russian navi-
gator,who had occasion, in his voyage round
the world, to touch at this port, where he
experienced much vexation and insult,
says, with great truth and propriety, what
all equally feel, that " the forbearance and
mistaken lenity of the greater civilized
powers have emboldened these savages,
not only to consider as barbarians all Eu-
ropeans, but actually to treat them as such."

Captain Maxwell, on arriving at the city,

TO CHINA. 143

sent in a strong note to the viceroy on the
subject of his rudeness to the ship, which
the latter answered by a letter from the
Hong merchants to Sir Theophilus Metcalfe,
the chief of the factory, who told the mer-
chants, that, having no control over the
king's officers, he neither could receive nor
communicate it. The Hong people next
applied to Captain Maxwell personally,
with their letter of explanation about the
fracas that had occurred ; but he refused
to receive them or their letter, on the
ground that Chinese merchants were not
the proper channel of communication be-
tween him and the viceroy. There the
matter rested. The substance of this epistle
was known to be some flimsy excuse about
a mistake in sending down the chop or pass,
which not being received by the man-
darins at the forts, they were obliged to
act according to orders. But what shewed
the barefaced effrontery of their assertions
was their public account of the business,
whilst in the very act of presenting this
letter of explanation, (for they affect to give
a public account of all transactions), which

144 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

stated that the affair at the Bogue was a
mere chin-chinning or saluting matter alto-

o o

gether. The first report, previous to the
official fabrication, was forty-seven killed,
besides a number of men spoiled* (wounded),
which probably might be near the truth,
considering they stood rather thick ; but,
after the appearance of the edict, it be-
came a subject on which "720 man can talk\"
This is what the Chinese call " making
" face," or keeping up appearances, with

* Among these wise and enlightened people, if a man is
materially spoiled he must die ; for they neither will per-
mit the necessary knowledge to be acquired for the per-
formance of any operation, nor will they allow a stranger,
who has that knowledge, to save him, but at the risk of
his own life ; as, in the event of the patient dying within
forty days, from that or any other cause, the anatomist
would certainly be strangled, or, if he had plenty of
money, well squeezed, at least.

t There was, however, a good deal of talk, sub rosa,
upon the subject, and the shot found in the battery
having been sent up to Canton and weighed, they hai-
yawed a great deal at what \ve termed our smaller ships
throwing shot of 25 catties (SSlbs.) each, asking seriously
about the probable consequences of the rejection of the
embassy, and whether our larger ships could come up the
river. The last accounts from China state that these
feelings have rather increased than diminished.

TO CHINA. 145

respect to any circumstances they are de-
sirous of having reported their own way ;
and the people on the spot are literally or-
dered not to believe the evidence of their
own senses, but to take the proclamation
or edict * (as it is termed) for their guide,
which is spread about in other parts, and
handed down to posterity as good history,
which no man dares to contradict. Few, it is
supposed, will be credulous enough (who
have ever been in China) to believe, that
the people have the privilege of criticising
the conduct of their superiors, and even of
remarking publicly on the conduct of the
Emperor. The law which permits them to do
so may, indeed, be considered as a very
severe piece of irony on their actual state.

That the viceroy had an intention of in-
sult beyond the mere exclusion of the ship
is rendered more than probable from the
circumstance of a number of barges having
been placed in the back passage to Macao,
and not in the route of Lord Macartney to

* Some how or other the word edict has crept into ge-
neral use for any piece of common information, whether
it is from the Emperor, or has the force of a law or not.

L

146 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

Canton, which were removed from that
situation immediately after the late occur-
rence; and likewise from the general tenour
of his conduct throughout. Be this as it
may, it would clear-ly have been a triumph
to his cause, and that of his adherents, that
the Embassador should have arrived at
Canton with as little eclat and appearance
of respect as possible; it would have added
(as exterior is every thing with them) in the
eyes of the Chinese, as well as foreigners,
to the idea of disgrace and discomfiture to
an obnoxious mission. But the advance of
the ship to Wampoa not only commanded
as brilliant an entry for the embassy * as
ever had been witnessed on any other oc-
casion; but, what was of equal importance,
it sustained the dignity of the flag, and re-
duced the viceroy (after offering every
insult) to the meanness of congratulating
those who had defied his flotilla and bat-
tered his fortifications.

Canton may be considered the most in-

* That the Chinese did not join in it, is only an addi-
tional proof that they would have prevented it, had they
dared.

TO CHINA. 147

teresting city in China. It is one of the
first in point of size, and, perhaps, the very
first with respect to wealth ; and here, as the
native manners may be seen in all their pu-
rity as perfectly as in any other part, the
traveller has also the advantage of viewing
them as connected with Europeans, and of
noticing their brightest efforts of imitative
genius, which the encouragement afforded
by the commerce of the place calls forth.

The numerous junks and boats of all de-
scriptions in motion upon the Tigris sur-
passes even the busy scene displayed upon
the Thames ; for here the boats are the only
residence of some thousand families, who
live entirely on the water, and manage to
obtain a livelihood, some by plying pas-
sage, others by fishing and picking up
floating articles, and not unfrequently by
exercising their talents like our mud-larkers
and river pirates.

The appearance of the river at night,
completely illuminated by the lamps and
lanterns in all the boats, has a very pretty
effect. Infanticide is said not to be so
common in China as was at one time be-

L2

148 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTZ

lieved ; but that it actually exists is not at-
tempted to be denied even by the Chinese
themselves; one of whom, on being interro-
gated seriously on this subject, readily ad-
mitted, without seeming to consider it as a
crime, that they certainly did drown their
children when they were so numerous as to
be inconvenient to them ; but that boys
might be exposed alive, and, if picked up,
they became coolees or slaves. Jt would
appear, therefore, that female children
are most likely to become the victims in
this way, from being less . useful to their
parents when they grow up ; for the patri-
archal law of China considers the sons as
slaves of their father ; and he is entitled to
sell them as such, should occasion require.
The entertainments given by the Hong
merchants at Canton to their European
friends are considered to be very superb.
Seldom fewer than a hundred people sit
down in the great hall to dinner, which is
usually dressed in our style, (although they
have also their chop-stick feasts,) and plenty
of the best viands, wines, and fruits, cover
the table. Bird-nest soup is also handed

TO CHINA. 149

round as a great treat, to which the Chinese
attribute very extraordinary and invigo-
rating qualities. On us, however, it pro-
duced no unusual effect; and we should not
have known it from any other, had it not
been pointed out. These bird-nests, which
are collected in the Sunda Archipelago, are
rather expensive articles, being purchased
by an equal weight of silver. Their com-
position is not yet exactly known, but it is
some gelatinous substance, most likely of
the vegetable kind, which the swallows
pick up.

During the whole of the entertainment, a
play is performing on a stage erected at one
end of the hall, the subject of which it is
difficult, in general, for an European to
comprehend, even could he attend to it
for the deafening noise of their music. By
collecting together in a small space a dozen
bulls, the same number of jack-asses, a
gang of tinkers round a copper caldron,
some cleavers and marrow-bones, with about
thirty cats ; then letting the whole com-
mence bellowing, braying, hammering,
and caterwauling together, and some idea

150 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

may be formed of the melody of a Chinese
orchestra*. Their jugglers are extremely
adroit, and the tumblers perform uncom-
mon feats of activity.

The Chinese government, with regard to
religion, is tolerant. It appears to be in
worldly concerns only that it is tyrannical,
and seems to be indifferent as to what a
man professes, provided he does not inter-
fere in state affairs. Some one, calling
himself a Catholic bishop, was, a short
time before our arrival, strangled in one of
the provinces, being suspected of intermed-
dling with temporal matters, and pro-
moting the late rebellions. Another was
said to be under sentence of death on the
same accusation.

They not only worship their own tutelary
deities, but they are represented as making
Offerings to evil spirits, or. as it is vulgarly
termed in this country, they " hold a
" candle to the devil," in order to avert
mischief. They have not the advantage of

* Their softer music, employed at their weddings, and
other occasions unconnected Avith the stage, is not un-
pleasing to the ear.

TO CHINA. 151

any particular day set aside for public
worship, nor do they attend their temples
congregationally . Their priests or bonzes are
not treated with that reverence and respect
which is justly and reasonably due to the re-
spectable ministers of religion in all countries.
They are otherwise free, however, from
indecorum and irregularity, having no wild
fanatics, such as exist in India ; they are
not troubled with domineering spiritual in-
quisitors, as in some of our neighbouring
countries ; nor have they any impious quacks
and mountebank preachers, abusing tole-
ration and dishonouring religion, as in
England.

TheChinese are strangers to love : from the
spirit of their institutions, which unnaturally
prohibit all intercourse between the sexes,
that passion can never be felt; and marriage
is a mere cold-hearted bargain, conducted
through the medium of some female agent,
whenever a man finds it convenient to have
a wife. As he never sees the lady until he
unlocks the door of the sedan chair in which
she is brought home, the key of which is
previously sent to him, he is of course very

152 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

liable to have tricks played upon him. —
For example, more especially as polygamy
is allowed, a man may have a wife suffi-
ciently young to be considered his daugh-
ter ; should he want money, and the lady
another husband, (both very likely cases,)
or from any other reason should they wish
to part, and think proper to act in collu-
sion, she is sold as his daughter to another
man, who is thus imposed upon by having
a second-hand wife palmed off upon him,
instead of a new one. The rigour of the
law against offenders of this kind, which
awards a very severe bambooing to all
principals, aiders, and abettors, affords a
proof that frauds of this description are not
unfrequent. With a people who still ima-
gine the earth to be a plain, and China in
the middle, with all her tributary kingdoms
around her; who are equally uninformed
with regard to astronomy ; who, in the pro-
hibition of the study of the human frame,
preclude the attainment of the very basis
of all medical knowledge ; and who, in fact,
in every branch of natural philosophy, are
equally ignorant, and resolved to continue

TO CHINA. ' 153

so ; it is evidently impossible to connect
the term science in any shape or manner.
The natural productions of the country,
and their acquaintance with agriculture
and the arts, (as far as they have been
able to advance for that glorious edict
which stamped them perfect, and com-
manded they should not proceed beyond
the bounds of excellence,) have already
been (and probably may be again, with
additional information) described, by those
whose peculiar opportunities, as well as
talent for observation, enable them to speak
fully, and with precision, on those subjects.
The government of China, however plau-
sible it may sound in theory, is, by all that
can be observed in a transient view, and
by every concurrent testimony of residents
in the country, most iniquitous and tyran-
nical in practice. The mandarins, and
even the Emperor, it is true, cannot boldly
and openly chop off heads like a Turkish
bashaw or the dey of Algiers, but they
have the knack of rendering life very
miserable, and assume the power of barn-
booing, torturing, fining (or squeezing), and

154 VOYAGE OF II. M.S. ALCESTE

every species of oppression short of death.
The human kind can scarcely be more de-
graded than in China, for no where is
power more diabolically perverted. Their
laws, with the exception of some absur-
dities (such, for example, of visiting mere
accidental homicide with the same punish-
ment as the most deliberate murder), read
very well ; and, were they duly and impar-
tially administered, might be found suffi-
ciently adapted (as all laws ought to be) to
the genius and character of the people they
are formed for; but this is by no means
the case ; bribery and corruption being so
common, as scarcely to be the objects of
indignation or remark.

o

A few years since an affray took place
(as usual) between some of the seamen of
the Indiamen who were at Canton on leave,
and the Chinese mob, in which one of the
latter by an unlucky blow was killed. The
Chinese authorities demanded blood for
blood, one of the seamen having been
seized and detained in the factory: this,
however, was not tamely yielded to (as in
the case of the innocent gunner, who was

TO CHINA. 155

sacrificed in so cowardly a manner many
years ago), but was resisted on the ground
either of the aggression of the Chinese, or
of a mutual inclination to fight, in which a
man happened to be killed, without the
least previous intention of murder. For-
tunately the Lion, of 64 guns, Captain
Rolles, happened to be there, which pro-
bably gave some weight to these argu-
ments ; and the mandarins, having no ob-
jections to compromise the matter for
money, proposed that a certain sum should
be paid to them for the benefit of the de-
ceased's relations, and a slave could then be
purchased of the Portuguese at Macao,
who might be strangled in lieu of one of
the sailors, and thus the law would be per-
fectly satisfied !

It may easily be imagined this proposal
was not acceded to; and at last, after much
discussion, the matter was arranged in some
way or other without resorting to this hor-
rible mode of expiation *„

* Related by J. Cotton, Esq., of the English factory at
Canton.

156 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

It is lamentable to observe that the in-
stitutions of any nation should have the
effect of deadening every feeling of sym-
pathy, and of exciting, instead of discou-
raging, " man's inhumanity to man ;" but
such is the case in this country ; and when
any one is severely wounded by accident,
or falls into a river, or other situation of
danger, he is certain of receiving no assist-
ance from the by-standers, who will most
probably take to their heels, in order to
save themselves from being the last person
seen near him.

About midnight, some time in Novem-
ber, 1816, when the Alceste was lying at
second bar, the shrieks of some people in
the water were heard near the ship. The
Hon. Mr. Stopford, who had the watch,
and another gentleman, collecting a few
individuals who happened to be on deck,
jumped into a boat alongside; pushed off to
their assistance ; and, directed by their
cries, picked up, one after the other, three
Chinese, who were plunging about in the
river, which is here several miles wide.

It was a fine night, and a number of

TO CHINA. 157

small junks were moving up under easy
sail, several of whom passed within a few
fathoms of these people who were bawling
for help ; and although they could, with-
out the slightest difficulty, have saved the
whole, they continued their course, the
crews standing upon deck, and viewing
their struggles with the most callous indif-
ference.

On carrying the three men on board the
frigate, it appeared they had been cro'ssing
the river at this place, in a little Sanpan, or
boat ; in which were, besides themselves,
the wife and child of one of them ; and
that this boat had been run down by one
of the headmost junks, which passed on
without taking the least notice, and regard-
less of their fate, although they had occa-
sioned the mischief; the others coolly
following their example ; when they were
fortunately heard from the ship, and pre-
served by the boat. The poor woman and
child, being unable to swim, sunk and were
drowned.

Before day -light these people got a pas-
sage on shore by a boat which happened to

158 VOYAGE OF H. M. 8. ALCESTE

be passing near the ship, and in the course
of the forenoon one of them returned on
board with a ctimshaw, or present, of three
wild ducks, which lie presented on his
knees to the gentleman who had saved him,
stating that, by the junk running over their
sanpan, he had lost his wife and a bull
child, (his only mode of expressing a boy,)
and must himself with the other men have
perished also but for the assistance we af-
forded them. Pleased with this appearance
of heart and gratitude, where so little was
expected, some money and provisions were
given him for his ducks, and he was allowed
to bring on board fish and other articles for
sale, which, from becoming rather a fa-
vourite, soon enabled him to repair the loss
of his boat.

The Chinese, viewing them in every
point, are assuredly a very singular race,
and afford a melancholy example of the
perverseness of human nature ; exhibiting
a people who have had for some thousand
years a dawn of civilization, which, from
the operation of the most narrow-minded
principles, has never brightened into day.

TO CHINA. 159

But for the presumptuous folly of supposing
themselves at the summit of perfection, and
the absurd tyranny of fettering the human
understanding, by forbidding all innovation
and improvement, China might and ought
to have been at the present hour the greatest
nation of the world. Instead of impotent and
gasconading pretensions to universal supre-
macy, she might have enjoyed, from her early
and local advantages, the real glory of being
the seat of arts, literature, wealth, and power.

AVhat have the governors or the governed
gained by this pretended non-intercourse,
and stupid contempt of the rest of man-
kind? The frequent change of dynasty
and constant rebellions tend to shew that
the former have been by no means secure ;
whilst the debased and humiliated state of
the people sufficiently evinces that their
sordid and illiberal plan confers no benefit
on the general mass.

The Chinese, however, are not without
their admirers. Some attribute their sus-
picious meanness, knavery, silly pride, and
other ill qualities, to their depraved mode

VOYAGE OF H. M.S. ALCESTE

of government, which narrows their ideas,
by compelling their attention, and attaching
importance, entirely to the observance of
useless forms and ceremonies ; and by ad-
mitting of no deviation from one contract-
ed path, even in the simplest transactions
of life; and that, were it not for these
shackles of the mind, they would be a gay,
civil, industrious, and honest people. Per-
haps there may be a good deal of truth in
this argument, and it is, therefore, extremely
unfortunate that some change does not
take place in a system which produces
effects so injurious to the reputation of
mankind. Another, and very distinct class
of encomiasts, (of the true antediluvian
school,) affect to hold them in high estima-
tion, solely on account of their unvarying
habits, and tenacious adherence to their
ancient customs ; and as they are now, in
all respects, precisely what they were two or
three thousand years ago, they venerate
them as living monuments of former times,
and as valuable specimens of the antique. In
their present state, however, from whatever

TO CHINA. 161

cause it is produced, few moderns will take
their leave of them with sentiments of regard
or estimation ; and even the most invete-
rate antiquarian, had he more concerns
with them than those merely speculative,
might be divested, perhaps, of some of his
prejudices.

Of the embassy, we had heard nothing
distinctly for nearly five months, except
that it had not been received ; and it was
not clearly understood, until its arrival at
Canton, that the refusal to submit to a
humiliating ceremonial, considered as stamp-
ing it with a character purely tributary, was
the cause of this failure ; and that a recep-
tion on the unconditional terms of the
Chinese would have been deemed more
prejudicial to the objects of the mission
than even a rejection by a firm resistance.
But these weighty matters are foreign to the
subject of a mere simple sea-voyager, and
will be so well described by those officially
connected with them, as to render any far-
ther observation unnecessary. Although
the viceroy of Canton was in daily com-

M

162 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

munication with the legate, or commis-
sioner, appointed to accompany the em-
bassy through the country, yet he main-
tained a sullen silence as to the probable
period of its arrival, making no commu-
nication that we might prepare for that
event ; and it was not until the 31st of
December that a letter of old date, having
been detained for some time, was put into
Captain Maxwell's hand, from Lord Am-
herst, stating when the embassy was likely
to enter Canton, which took place on the
following day. A procession of boats,
consisting of the barges of the two men of
war, those of the factory, the American
consul, and all the Indiamen, who were
very numerous, with their respective flags,
the captains and officers in full dress, and
the boats' crews in uniform clothing, pro-
ceeded some miles up the river, where they
fell in with the Chinese barges, having the
embassy on board. This meeting was
highly gratifying to both parties, after a
separation of nearly five months, during
which each had, in its respective route,

TO CHINA. 163

observed many novel scenes, and encoun-
tered extraordinary occurrences.

Lord Amherst removing into his own
(or the Alceste's) barge, a double line of
boats was formed on each side, and in this
order proceeded down the river, and was
landed at the entrance of the great temple,
on the Honan side, from whence he was
conducted to his residence by a very nu-
merous assemblage, who had collected to
receive him. The apartments in this place
had been fitted up with much taste, and great
appearanceof comfort, under the inspection
of Mr. Urmston, of the factory, and was by
far the most commodious and respectable
quarters they had met with in China. A
temporary building, or wooden frame co-
vered with yellow screens, and containing
a chair of state, having also yellow orna-
ments and the usual insignia of the Emperor,
was erected in the principal square, for the
occasion of the viceroy's interview with the
Embassador, in order to deliver the Em-
peror's letter to the Prince Regent. This
ceremony took place some days after the
M 2

'

164 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

arrival of his lordship. The viceroy had
been ordered by his court to make a
speech to the Embassador, on presenting
this letter (which speech had been in re-
hearsal for some months, and the substance
of it publicly known through the medium
of Portuguese translations) ; and it appeared
that the tenour of this embryo harangue was
rather of an insultingnature, containing such
expressions as " Your good fortune has been
small ;" " You sighed after happiness, and
were unable to lift your eyes up to
heaven/' i. e. to view the celestial Emperor,
and others of a similar kind. The preamble
of this edict also stated, that there appearing
to be no want of respect in the King or
Prince, who had sent over so many seas to
pay him homage, but that the fault lay in the
Embassadors not understanding the rules of
true politeness ; he therefore had accepted
some trifling articles of the presents of the
said King, and in return had bestowed pre-
cious gifts, agreeably to the maxim of
Confucius, " Take little, and give much ;"
and that, " on the receipt of these gifts, the

TO CHINA. 165

Embassadors became exceeding glad, and
expressed great contrition * for their con-
duct;" and went on to say " that the viceroy,
on their arrival, was to give them an enter-
tainment in compliance with good manners,
after which he was to rid himself of them
as soon as possible; and should they again
supplicate him to accept their presents, he
was enjoined to say to them, " The edict has
passed, and cannot be revoked ! the Em-
peror can be troubled no more !" and so
forth. As it appeared this intended ad-
dress had been made by them matter of
public'notoriety, it was understood, that, in
order to prevent any palaver of this sort, a

* A tolerably strong example of this sort of face"
making occurred during the discussion about the per-
formance of the ceremony, in which the precedent of
Lord Macartney's not having done it was brought for-
ward, when ^the Emperor declared, through his ministers,
that he himself had seen his lordship perform it; and they
coolly called on Sir G. Staunton, who had been page in
that embassy, to vouch for the truth of the fact. — That he
did submit to the Ko-tow is no doubt the fact they have
put upon it iu all the records of the empire.

166 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

hint was given to the viceroy the day pre-
vious to the interview, cautioning him
against the use of any improper language,
as it might call forth replies which would
be unpleasant. At the time appointed this
meeting of ceremony took place, and was
accompanied by the appearance of guards,
music, and other attendants, there being
much state observed on each side.

The Emperor's letter, contained in a bam-
boo case, covered with yellow silk, was
now taken from this throne, and presented
to the Embassador, who transferred it to
his secretary ; and the persons on either side,
who were (by previous regulation) allowed
chairs, having taken their seats, and the
usual unvarying number of complimentary
questions having been gone through, such
as " What age are ye?" and some others of
the same high importance, the viceroy
began to state, through the medium of

o ^

Mr. Morrison, who interpreted, " By the
favour of the Emperor you have traded to
this country for more than a hundred years,
very much to your advantage/' "Tell him/'

TO CHINA. 167

said Lord Amherst, " the advantage is

O

mutual/' This being done, the viceroy
replied, " No, the advantage is very much
on your side/' " Repeat to him/' said his
lordship, " that the advantage is strictly
mutual." From the dignified and inde-
pendent manner in which this was spoken,
(a manner which, of course, from his pecu-
liar situation, and the different style of those
he had to deal with, he could have no con-
ception of,) and perceiving, also, a deter-
mination to repulse every thing bordering
on impertinence, he seemed to be quite
awed and disconcerted ; the thread of his
discourse was broken, and he got no far-
ther on with this mighty specimen of altilo-
quence, than to say something about " the
subject being a disagreeable one;" when the
Embassador, considering the public busi-
ness ended by the presentation of the
Emperor's letter, rose up, and, wishing
him a very good morning, retired in the
same state as on comino; to this hall of

o

audience.

On the 20th, every tiling being ready, his
Excellency left Canton on the forenoon of

168 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

the 20th January, 1817, and was attended
to Wampoa in the same style as on enter-
ing it, except that, in passing the various
ships in that branch of the river, each sa-
luted with nineteen guns, the Chinese war-
junks also saluting. It appeared that the
viceroy, just as the Embassador had em-
barked in his barge to proceed down the
river, approached near in his boat, and
made # tender of a complimentary card,
which was not accepted, it being deemed
an improper time and mode of presenting
it. On the 21st the Alceste weighed and
stood down the river ; and on the morning
of the 22d, as we passed our friends at the
forts, each battery fired a distinct salute,
in honour of the Embassador, as did the
different war-junks ; and their whole mili-
tary force, exclusive of that in the batte-
ries, was drawn out in line in Anson's Bay,
and fired . a feu-de-joie with their match-
locks.

The ship answered all these in rotation,
with three guns to each. On the same
evening we anchored off the city of Macao?
and the next morning his Excellency

TO CHINA. 169

landed ; but here the ghost of the late queen
made its way through the centre of the
earth, (for we were now antipodes to the
Brazils), and prevented any public atten-
tions being paid to the Embassador, be-
cause the accounts of her death had just
arrived. The fact is, these poor people
dare not, were they ever so willing, do any
thing which they think may be displeasing
to the Chinese, under whom they live in
a state of miserable thraldom ; the latter
having it in their power, and frequently re-
sorting to the measure, of stopping their al-
lowance of provisions whenever they display
the least symptom of being unruly; and in
the present case it seemed to be the wish of
the Chinese to have the whole management
of the honours to the Embassador ; a man-
darin receiving him on going on shore,
although within their walls, precisely as he
would have done, had the Chinese flag, in-
stead of that of the Portuguese, been flying
there.

Macao is stated to be a possession of little
or no value to the crown of Portugal, and,

170 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

under the circumstances of its present te-
nure, certainly not one that is either ho-
nourable or independent. The cave of
Camoens is the only object here which
attracts the notice of a traveller, from
its being the spot in which he com-
posed his celebrated poem of the Lusiad.
Camoens, certainly the greatest, and per-
haps the only, Portuguese poet whose fame
ever extended beyond the boundaries of
his own country, deserved a better fate; and
it is painful to think he died a beggar in the
streets of Lisbon.

On the 9th January, the Embassador
having re-embarked, we took our leave of
China, steering for Manilla, the capi-
tal of the Philippines, or Spanish India,
where we arrived on Monday the 3d of Fe-
bruary, but found it was only Sunday at
this place, owing to the different routes
by which the Spaniards and the Portu-
guese advanced to the Asiatic seas ; the
one by Cape Horn, the other by the Cape
of Good Hope; a circumstance which
may produce an awkward effect on people

TO CHINA. 171

newly arrived at Manilla ; — for instance,
a stranger invited to a party on Wednes-
day, without at all reflecting on the way
he came thither, might dress himself for
the occasion, and make his appearance on
Tuesday. The town of Manilla, from its
peninsular situation, having on one side
the sea, and on the other a deep and rapid
river, with strongly-fortified ditches across
the isthmus, ought to be, with a proper
garrison, very defensible, for there are no
commanding heights in its immediate vi-
cinity ; but their soldiers consist almost
entirely of mulattoes and blacks, and
seem to be in a very lethargic state of dis-
cipline.

The Metees, or Mulatto women, who
are a mixture between the Spaniards and
the natives, are remarkable for their symme-
try of form and stately mien, and this
sort of beauty is so universal as hardly to
admit of an exception. The religion of the
Indians under the immediate control of
the Spaniards is Christianity ; but at Min-
danao and the other islands (of which there
are more than a thousand), where they are

172 TOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

governed by their own sultans, it is said to
be a mixture of Mahomedanism with their
original Pagan rites. The banks of the
river, as well as the lake from which it
issues, called the Laguna de Bria, (its near-
est part about eighteen miles from the city,)
are represented as extremely beautiful, and
abounding in tropical scenery.

This lake extends more than thirty miles
into the interior. Near its head are some re-
markable hot springs, called " Los Banos,"
or baths ; but they seemed rather too hot for
that pupose. Luconia * is about four hun-
dred miles in length, and two hundred in

* Canada is said to have derived its name from the
Spaniards, when they landed in that quarter, repeating
the words " aca nada/' or " nothing here," (meaning
there was no gold to be found,) which the Indians caught
the sound of. Some similar occurrence appears to
have occasioned the name of Lugon. When Magellan's
party first went on shore they found one of the native
women beating rice, as is usual at the present time, in a
mortar hollowed frcm the trunk of a tree, and, rinding her-
self surrounded by strange men, she held up to them the
large wooden pestle, calling out Looson, which is the
native term for it; and this becoming a by-word among
the Spaniards, they named the island Luc,on, which has
been modernized into Luconia.

TO CHINA. 173

breadth ; and, were it made the most of, is
fully capable of affording all the produc-
tions of either Western India or of the
neighbouring Archipelago.

It is so healthy, that the medical people
have scarcely any practice, and complain
that there are no "enfermedades reynantes,"
or reigning diseases, such as the yellow fever,
as it exists at the Havannah, Vera Cruz,
Carthagena, and other settlements more (by
their reckoning) to the eastward . This misfor-
tune most probably proceeds from the very
limited intercourse which Manilla has, com-
pared to any of the others, with Europeans,
or new-comers, the Spaniards who inhabit it
being almost without exception Creoles*,
and therefore assimilated, from their birth,
to the climate. This restricted intercourse
may be observed in there not being a single
inn for the accommodation of strangers in

o

the whole city of Manilla or its suburbs.
Chinese emigrants are here in thousands,
and are very industrious and money-making,

' This term does not mean a person having the least

mixture of black blood, but merely a white born in the

%
country.

174 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

being the chief artificers and traffickers in
small matters, resembling the lower class
of Jews. From their being found scattered
about in all the Indian islands, they might
indeed be considered as the Jews of the
east, were they only half as honest.

The Spaniards appear not to be fully in
possession of Luconia at the present day.
They may be said, indeed, only to be
masters of the ground they occupy in a
military point of view, for, by their own
accounts, it is not only dangerous to travel
without an escort in the country, but it is
not safe for a Spaniard to walk out singly
after dark about the suburbs of Manilla.
A day or two after our arrival, three of the
natives, who had been concerned in the
murder of a marchioness, were strangled
before the porch of one of their churches.
These people seemed to have been actuated
not by a spirit of plunder, but of revenge,
for some real or supposed injuries, as the
deed was committed in the public square,
by dragging her from the carriage on her
return home in the evening ; and in this
way frequent assassinations occur. A gen-

TO CH1>TA. 175

tleman of the Alceste being in a party one
evening, where observations on the murder-
ous character of the natives were the subject
of conversation, took occasion to observe that
if such was the case it would be necessary
to keep a look-out in going homewards ; but
he was assured that, as an English officer,
he had nothing to fear. " No, Seilor, temen
" ustedes, pero matan a nosotros," " They
" are afraid of you, but they kill us/' It
cannot be fear alone that induces the na-
tives to spare the English officers, who
certainly freely exposed themselves at time"
and in situations the most favourable for
assassination, without suffering the slightest
injury ; and it is probable that a French,
German, or any other transitory stranger
might do the same; for it evidently is to
their own immediate rulers that this feeling

o

of hostility exists ; and it is no doubt the
result of their impolitic mode of governing.
Such a state of things would render the
Philippines a very easy conquest to any in-
vading force in time of war ; but the court
of Spain, at present, seems to have most to

176 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

fear from those sentiments of independence
which have extended from Buenos Ayres to
Manilla, and appear to be a point of union
in which almost all classes are agreed, not
excepting even the hierarchy.

The celebrated and unfortunate Perouse,
when at this place in his voyage of disco-
very, made the following remarks : — " Ma-
" nilla is built on the shore of a bay of the
" same name, which is more than twenty-
" five leagues in circumference. It lies at
" the mouth of a river, navigable as far
" as the lake from which it rises, and is, per-
" haps, the most delightfully situated city
" in the world. Provisions of all kinds are
" in the greatest abundance there, and ex-
" tremely cheap ; but clothing, European
" hardware, and furniture, bear an exces-
" sively high price. The want of compe-
" tition, together with the prohibitions and
" restraints of every kind laid on commerce,
" render all the productions of India and of
" China at least as dear there as in Europe;
" and this colony, although the various
" imports bring near 800,000 piastres an-

TO CHINA. 177

" nually into the treasury, costs Spain
" 1,500,000 besides, which are sent there
" every year from Mexico.

" The immense possessions of the Spa-
" niards in America have not admitted of
" the government essentially directing its
" attention to the Philippines, which resem-
" ble the estates of those great lords whose
" lands lie uncultivated, though capable of
" making the fortunes of many families.
" I should not hesitate to assert, that a very
" great nation possessed of no other colony
" than the Philippine Islands, and who
" should establish the best government of
" which they are capable, might behold all
44 the European settlements in Africa and
" America without envy.

" Three millions of inhabitants people
" these various islands, of whom that of
" Luconia contains nearly one-third. These
" people appear in no respect inferior to
" those of Europe. They cultivate the
" earth like men of understanding ; are car-
! penters, joiners, smiths, goldsmiths,
" weavers, masons, &c. I have walked
" through their villages, and found them
" kind, hospitable, and communicative;

N

178 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

" and, though the Spaniards speak of and
" treat them with contempt, I perceived
" that the vices they attributed to the
" Indians ought rather to be imputed
" to the government they have themselves
" established/' Speaking of no encou-
ragement being given to labour, he states,
that " as soon as the inhabitants have the
" quantity of rice, of sugar, and of vege-
" tables, necessary for their subsistence,
" the superflux is of no value whatever.
" In such circumstances, sugar has been
" sold for less than a halfpenny the pound,
" and the rice remained upon the ground
" without being reaped.

" It would be difficult for the most un-
" enlightened society to form a system
" of government more absurd than that
" which has regulated these colonies for
" the last two centuries.

" The port of Manilla, which ought to
" be free and open to all nations, has been
" till very lately shut against Europeans,
" and open only to a few Moors, Ameri-
" cans, and the Portuguese of Goa. The
"governor is invested with the most de-
" spotic authority; and the Audiencia, which

^

TO CHINA. 179

" ought to moderate his power, is totally
" impotent before the representative of the
" Spanish government. In point of fact,
" though not by law, it lies in his breast
" to admit or confiscate the merchandise
" of foreigners whom the hope of advan-
" tage may have brought to Manilla, and
" who would not expose themselves to this
" risk but on the probability of a very
" great profit, ultimately ruinous to the
" consumers." It is undoubtedly as unac-
countable, as it appears to be unen-
lightened, that a nation should take de-
liberate measures to make a colony a
burden to it, which is not only fully
able to maintain itself, if permitted, but
to enrich the mother country. It seems
almost equal to that of restoring the inqui-
sition.

The Spanish authorities here were marked
in their attentions to the Embassador during
his stay ; and, on the 9th of February,
having re-embarked, we got under weigh,
bound homeward, and parted company
with our consort, the Lyra, who proceeded
from hence with despatches for India.
N 2

180 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

A course was now shaped to avoid the
numerous rocks and shoals not well defined,
which lie in that part of the Chinese Sea
more immediately to the westward of the
Philippines, and to the north-westward of
Borneo; and having by the 14th passed
the whole, and got into the usual track for
the passage of either the Straits of Banca or
Gaspar, it was resolved to proceed through
the latter, as being more direct and less
subject to calms than the former, and con-
sidering them equally safe from the latest
surveys and directions being on board,
some of them by those who had personally
examined them. At day-light in the morning
of the 18th we made Gaspar Island ex-
actly at the time expected, and, passing it,
stood on for the Straits. As is customary in
approaching any coast or passage what-
ever, but more especially one that all are
not familiarly acquainted with, the utmost
precaution was taken by keeping the leads
going in both chains, men looking out at
the mast-heads, yard-arms, and bowsprit
end, the captain, master, and officer of the
watch, on whom the charge of the ship at

TO CHINA. 181

such a time more particularly devolves,
having been vigilantly on deck during the
whole of the previous night and this morn-
ing. Steering under all these guarded cir-
cumstances, the soundings exactly corre-
sponding with the charts, and following the
express line prescribed by all concurring
directions to clear every danger (and the
last danger of this sort between us and
England), the ship about half-past seven
in the morning struck with a horrid crash
on a reef of sunken rocks, and remained
immovable !

It was very soon indeed but too evident
that any attempt to move her would be
attended with the most fatal consequences;
for, on each side of the rocks on which she
hung, the water deepened from ten to se-
venteen fathoms immediately around her;
and, from the injury received, she musthave
gone down in a few minutes, had she forced
her way over this narrow reef. The best
bower anchor was therefore let go, to keep her
fast; and the pumps were soon abandoned,
being clearly of no avail.

The boats were now hoisted out, and

182 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

Lieutenant Hoppner, with the barge and
cutter, ordered to proceed with the Em-
bassador and suite, and all those not es-
sentially required, to the nearest part of the
island, which seemed about three miles
and a half distant. Meanwhile every exer-
tion was used by the captain and officers,
who remained by the ship, to secure what
provisions and stores could be obtained ; a
task of considerable labour and difficulty,
for all was under water, which now rose
above the orlop-deck.

When she struck .the tide must have
been rising, for towards the afternoon it
fell outside, and consequently inside the
ship several feet, thereby enabling us to
save ourselves from absolute starvation by
laying hold of some articles of provender
which floated up, assisted by divers, and
which the boats were employed in con-
veying to the shore. A raft was also con-
structed, on which were placed the heavier
siores, with some baggage, and towed to-
wards the island. By the return of those
boats which carried his Excellency on
shore we learnt the very great difficulty of

TO CHINA. 183

effecting a landing, the mangrove-trees
growing out to a considerable distance in
the water ; and it was not until after ranging
alongshore for nearly three miles from the
place they first attempted that a small
opening' appeared, through which, by
scrambling from rock to rock, they at last
obtained a footing on terra firma. Here,
by cutting away a quantity of the smaller
jungle at the foot of a hill (for the island
was completely overgrown with wood), a
space was cleared away, where, under the
shade of the loftier trees, they bivouacqued
for that day and night.

On board the ship the work went on
with activity, endeavouring to save what-
ever might be most useful on such an oc-
casion ; but, as the tide rose, the swell of
the sea lifting her from the rocks, she
dashed oi>4;hein again with such violence,
as to render it necessary about midnight
to cut away the topmast. At day -light on
Wednesday the 19th, Mr. M'Leod landed
with two men who had been severely
wounded by the fall of the masts, and with
a report from the captain to Lord Amherst.

184 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

The spot in which our party were situated was
sufficiently romantic, but seemed at the same
time the abode of ruin and of havoc.
Few of its inhabitants (and among the rest
the Embassador) had more than a shirt or
pair of trowsers on. 3Phe wreck of books,
or, as it was not unaptly termed, " a literary
manure," was spread about in all directions;
whilst parliamentary robes, court- dresses,
and mandarin habits, intermixed with
check shirts and tarry jackets, were hung
around in wild confusion on everv tree.

•/

On his lordship being informed that no
fresh water had as yet been obtained from
the ship, and that it was barely probable
fcome might be got by scuttling the lower
deck, he desired every body might be '
called around him, and ordered that a gill
of that which had been sent on shore the
day before (what happened to be on deck
in the dripstones and water-jugs), with half
that quantity of rum, should be equally
served out to every man without distinc-
tion, and, taking his own share with perfect
good humour, afforded to others an ex-
ample of calm fortitude, and a cheerful

TO CHINA. 185

readiness to share in every privation, which
never fails on such occasions to have a
powerful and beneficial effect, more espe-
cially when that example is found, where
it ought to be, in the first rank.

Parties were now returning who had
been searching for water in vain, every
attempt to dig for it having proved
fruitless, or, being too near the sea, salt
water alone had oozed into the pits. At
one spot they found the skeleton of a man,
and the horrid idea of his having died from
thirst rushed on every mind. Those who
went into the wood, on these excursions,
were obliged to notch the trees, and leave
marks as they advanced, in order to find
their way back. In the forenoon Captain
Maxwell came on shore, to confer with Lord
Amherst on the best mode to be adopted
in the perilous situation they were then
placed. The boats were utterly incapable
of conveying half our number any where ;
and, as some must necessarily go to the
nearest friendly port for assistance, Cap-
tain Maxwell judged it best that his excel-
lency and suite should proceed with a

186 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

proper guard for Batavia, or whatever part
of Java they could fetch, from whence
vessels could be despatched to bring off
those who remained behind.

This being what is termed the north-west
monsoon, there was every likelihood of the
boats reaching Java (the current being
also in their favour) in three days ; and by
this arrangement, which very happily was
settled without loss of time, two grand pur-
poses were answered the nearest to the cap-
tain's heart, and his first duty, viz., the
immediate conveyance of the Embassador
and suite to a place of safety ; and, by their
safety, ensuring more effectually than by
any other means that of the officers and
men who remained with himself upon this
desert isle. It was thought probable that
row-boats might be despatched from Ba-
tavia after the arrival of his excellency, so
as to reach the island (even against wind
and current) in twelve or fifteen days ; and
as Mr. Ellis volunteered to return with the
first boat or vessel that shoved off to our
assistance, an additional assurance was thus
given, that, combined with the influence of

TO CHINA. 187

the Embassador with the Dutch govern-
ment, no delay would occur in forwarding
relief. After a short, and very slender ftte
champStre in this wilderness (in which salt
was viewed with the same horror as ar-
senic), his lordship about five in the evening,
accompanied by the gentlemen of his suite,
by Lieutenant Hoppner, in command of
the boats, Mr. Mayne to navigate, Lieu-
tenant Cooke, R. M. (with a party as
officers of the guard, in the event of falling
in with any of the Malay pirates who infest
these seas), Mr. Blair, midshipman, and
Mr. Somerset (who had come to see the
world a little), waded out to the edge of the
reef, and embarked in the barge and cutter.
They were in all forty-seven persons, and had
with them a small stock of provisions, con-
sisting of a side of mutton, a ham, a tongue,
about twenty pounds of coarse biscuit, and
some few more of fine, seven gallons of water,
the same of beer, as many of spruce, and
about thirty bottles of wine. This was
all that could be spared ; and being deemed
equal to sustain nature for four or five days,
in which period they must either make the

188 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

land, or be so disposed of as to require no
provisions, it was considered sufficient.
After pulling outwards a little way to clear
all the rocks, they made sail to the south-
ward, attended by the best wishes of every
man of the island, and were soon out of
sight. The number left behind was 200
men and boys, and one woman.

The first measure of Captain Maxwell,
after fixing a party to dig a well in a spot
which was judged, from a combination of
circumstances, the most likely to find water,
was to remove our bivouac to the top of the
hill, where we could breathe a cooler and
purer air ; a place in all respects not only
better adapted to the preservation of our
health, but to our defence in case of attack.
A path was cut upwards, and a party em-
ployed in clearing away and setting fire to
the underwood on the summit. This last
operation tended much to free us from
myriads of ants, and of snakes, scorpions,
centipedes, and other reptiles, which in
such a place and climate generally abound.
Others were employed in removing up-
wards our small stock of provisions, which

TO CHINA. 189

were deposited (under a strict guard), in a
sort of natural magazine, formed by the
tumbling together of some huge masses of
rock on the highest part of this eminence.
On board the wreck a party were stationed,
endeavouring to gain any accession they
could to our stock of provisions and arms,
and to save any public stores that could
be found. There was a communication
for this purpose between the shore and the
ship whenever the tide permitted. For the
last two days every one had experienced
much misery from thirst : a small cask of
water (the only one which could be ob-
tained from the ship) was scarcely equal
to a pint each in the course of that period ;
and perhaps no question was ever so
anxiously repeated, as " What hope from
the well •?" About eleven at night the dig-
gers had got, by rather a tortuous direction
(on account of large stones), as far down as
twenty feet, when they came to a clayey
or marly soil, that above being a red earth,
which seemed rather moist, and had no-
thing saline in the taste. At a little past
midnight a bottle of muddy water was

190 A VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

brought to the captain as a specimen, and,
the moment it was understood to be fresh,
the rush to the well was such as to impede
the workmen ; and it was necessary to
plant sentries to enable them to complete
their task, and permit the water to settle a
little. Fortunately about this time a heavy
shower of rain fell, and, by spreading sheets,
table-cloths, &c., and wringing them, some
relief was afforded. There are few situa-
tions in which men exposed without shelter
to a torrent of rain would, as in the pre-
sent instance, hail that circumstance as a
blessing : bathing in the sea was also re-
sorted to by many in order to drink by ab-
sorption, and they fancied it afforded relief.
Thursday, 20th. This morning the cap-
tain, ordering all hands together, stated
to them in few words, that every man, by
the regulations of the navy, was as liable to
answer for his conduct on the present as
on any other occasion ; that, as long as he
lived, the same discipline should be exerted,
and, if necessary, with greater rigour than
aboard, a discipline for the general welfare,
which he trusted every sensible man of

TO CHINA. 191

the party must see the necessity of main-
taining; assuring them, at the same time,
he would have much pleasure in recom-
mending those who distinguished them-

o o

selves by the regularity and propriety of
their conduct ; that the provisions we had
been able to save should be served out,
although necessarily with a very sparing
hand, yet with the most rigid equality to
all ranks, until we obtained that relief
which he trusted would soon follow the
arrival of Lord Amherst at Java. During
this day the well afforded a pint of water
for each man ; it had a sweetish milk-and-
water taste, something like the juice of the
cocoa-nut, but nobody found fault with it *;
on the contrary, it diffused that sort of hap-
piness which only they can feel who have
felt the horrible sensation of thirst under a
vertical sun, subject at the same time to a
harassing and fatiguing duty. This day
was employed in getting up every thing
from the foot of the hill; boats passing to

* It was happily said, when mixed with a little rum, to
resemble milk punch ; and we endeavoured to persuade
ourselves that it was so.

192 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTK

the ship, but unfortunately almost every
thing of real value to us in our present case
was under water. We were in hopes, how-
ever, that, as no bad weather was likely to
happen, we might be enabled by scuttling
it at low water, or by burning her upper-
works, many useful articles might be ac-
quired.

On Friday (21st) the party stationed
at the ship found themselves, soon after
day-light, surrounded by a number of
Malay proas, apparently well armed, and
full of men. Without a single sword or mus-
quet for defence, they had just time to
throw themselves into the boat alongside,
and push for the shore, chased by the pi-
rates, who, finding two of our other boats
push out to their assistance, returned to the
ship, and took possession of her. Soon
afterwards it was reported, from the look-
out rock, that the savages, armed with
spears, were landing at a point about two
miles off. Under all the depressing cir-
cumstances attending shipwreck; of hunger,
thirst, and fatigue; and menaced by a
ruthless foe ; it was glorious to see the Bri-

.
TO CHINA'. 193

tish spirit staunch and unsubdued. When
the order was given for every man to arm
himself in the best way he could, it was
obeyed with the utmost promptitude and
alacrity. Rude pike-staves, were formed
by cutting down young trees; small swords,
dirks, knives, chisels, and even large spike-
nails sharpened, were firmly affixed to the
ends of these poles ; and those who could
find nothing better hardened the end of
the wood in the fire, and, bringing it to a
sharp point, formed a tolerable weapon.
There were, perhaps, a dozen cutlasses ;
the marines had about thirty muskets and
bayonets, but could muster no more than
seventy-five ball-cartridges among the whole
party. We had fortunately preserved some
loose powder drawn from the guns on the
upper deck after the ship had struck, (for
the magazine was under water in five mi-
nutes,) and the marines by hammering
their buttons round, and by pieces of
broken bottles rolled up in cartridges, did
their best to supply themselves with a sort
of langrage which would have some effect at
close quarters, and strict orders were given

o

194 VOYAGE OF H. M.S. ALCESTK

not to throw away a single shot until sure
of their aim. Mr. Cheffy, the carpenter,
and his crew, under the direction of the
captain, were busied in forming a sort of
abattis by felling trees, and enclosing in a
circular shape the ground we occupied;
and, by interweaving loose branches with
the stakes driven in among these, a breast-
work was constructed, which afforded us
some cover, and must naturally impede the
progress of any enemy unsupplied with ar-
tillery. That part of the island we had
landed on was a narrow ridge, not above
musket-shot across, bounded on one side
by the sea, and on the other by a creek,
extending upwards of a mile inland, and
nearly communicating with the sea at its
head. Our hill was the outer point of this
tongue, and its shape might be very well
represented by an inverted punch-bowl :
the circle on which the bowl stands would
then shew the fortification; and the space
within it our citadel.

It appeared by the report of scouts, a
short time after the first account, that the
Malays had not actually landed, but had

TO CHINA. 195

taken possession of some rocks near this
point, on which they deposited a quantity
of plunder brought from the ship; and
during the day they continued making these
predatory trips.

In the evening all hands were mustered
under arms, and a motley group they pre-
sented ; it was gratifying, however, to ob-
serve, that, rude as were their implements of
defence, there seemed to be no want of
spirit to use them if occasion offered*.
The officers and men were now marshalled
regularly into the different divisions and
companies, their various posts assigned,
and other arrangements made. An officer
and party were ordered to take charge of
the boats for the night, and they were

* Even the little boys had managed to make fast a
table-fork, or something of that kind, on the end of a
stick, for their defence. One of the men who had been
so severely bruised by the falling of the masts, and was
slung in his hammock between two trees, had been ob-
served carefully ^sA/Mg, or fixing, with two sticks ami a
rope-yarn, the blade of an old razor. — On being asked
what he meant to do with it, he replied, " You know I
" cannot stand ; but, if any of these fellows come within
" reach of my hammock, I'll mark them."

02

196 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

hauled closer into the landing-place. An
alarm which occurred during the night
shewed the benefit of these regulations, for,
on a sentry challenging a noise among the
bushes, every one was at his post in an in-
stant, and without the least confusion.

On Saturday morning (22d,) some of
the Malay boats approached the place
where ours were moored ; and, with the
view of ascertaining whether they had any
inclination to communicate on friendly
terms, the gig, with an officer and four
hands, pulled gently towards them, waving
the bough of a tree, (a general symbol of
peace every where,) shewing the usual de-
monstration of friendship, and of a desire
to speak to them ; but all was vain, for they
were merely reconnoitring our position,
and immediately pulled back to their
rock.

The second lieutenant (Mr. Hay) was
now ordered with the barge, cutter, and gig,
armed in the best way we could, to proceed
to the ship, and regain possession of her,
by fair means, or by force ; the pirates not
appearing, at this time, to have more than

TO CHINA.

eighty men. Those, on the rocks, seeing
our boats approach, threw all their plunder
into their vessels, and made off.

Two of their largest proas were now at
work on the ship ; but, on observing their
comrades abandon the rock, and the ad-
vance of the boats, they also made sail
away, having previously set fire to the ship,
which they did so effectually, that in a few
minutes the flames burst from every port,
and she was soon enveloped in a cloud of
smoke. The boats were unable to board
her, and therefore returned.

Here was a period to every hope of ac-
commodation with these people, if, indeed,
any reasonable hope could ever have been
entertained on that head. The Malays,
more especially those wandering and pi-
ratical tribes, who roam about the coasts
of Borneo, Billiton, and the wilder parts of
Sumatra, are a race of savages perhaps
the most merciless and inhuman to be
found in any part of the world. The
Battas are literally cannibals. Insetting
fire to the ship, they gave a decided proof
of their disposition to us ; but, although

198 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

certainly with no good intention, they did
merely what we intended to do ; for, by
burning her upper works and decks, every
thing bouyant could float up from below,
and be more easily laid hold of.

The ship continued burning during the
whole of the night ; and the flames, which
could be seen through the openings of the
trees, shed a melancholy glare around, and
excited the most mournful ideas. This
night also all hands were suddenly under
arms again, from a marine firing his mus-
ket at what he very properly considered
a suspicious character near his post, who
appeared advancing upon him, and refused
to answer after being repeatedly hailed. It
turned out afterwards that the branch of a
tree, half-cut through the day before, had
given way, under one of a race of large
baboons, who we found about this time
disputed the possession of the island with
us. At the well, where there generally was
kept a good fire at night, on account of the
mosquitoes, the sentries had more than
once been alarmed by these gentlemen
shewing their black faces from behind the

TO CHINA. 199

trees. They became extremely trouble-
some to some ducks we had saved from the
wreck, (carrying them up the trees with
them, and letting them fall down again
when alarmed,) who, on several occasions,
left their little yard, and came up among
the people, when the monkeys got among
them, instinctively preferring the society of
man for protection.

On Sunday morning, (23d,) the boats
were sent to the still-smoking wreck, and
some flour, a few cases of wine, and a cask
of beer, had floated up. This last God-
send was announced just at the conclusion
of divine service, which was this morning
held in the mess-tent, and a pint was or-
dered to be immediately served out to each
man, which called forth three cheers *.
This seems to be the only style in which a
British seaman can give vent to the warmer

* Some decorously righteous man observing to the
chaplain that he had never seen such a scene in England
as the congregation cheering at the church-door ; the lat-
ter replied, with proper liberality, (and tolerable good
humour,) tf perhaps you never saw a thirsty English
audience dismissed with the promise of a pint of beer
apiece."

200 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTt

feelings of his heart. It is his mode of
thanksgiving for benefits received ; and it
equally serves him to honour his friend, to
defy his enemy, or to proclaim victory.
This day we continued improving our fence,
and clearing away a glacis immediately
around it, that we might see and have fair
play with these barbarians, should they ap-
proach. They had retired behind a little
islet, (called Pulo Chalacca, or Misfortune's
Isle,) about two miles from us, and seemed
waiting there for reinforcements ; for some
of their party had made sail towards Billi-
ton.

Monday morning, (24th,) the boats, as
yesterday, went to the wreck, and returned
with some casks of flour only partially da-
maged, a few cases of wine; and about forty
boarding-pikes, with eighteen muskets,
were also laid hold of. With the loose
powder secured out of the great guns in the
first instance, Mr. Holman, the gunner, had
been actively employed, forming musket
cartridges; and by melting down some pew-
ter basins and jugs, with a small quantity
of lead, lately obtained from the wreck,

TO CHINA. 201

balls were cast in clay moulds, increasing
not a little our confidence and security. A
quart of water each had been our daily
allowance from the well hitherto, and on
this day a second was completed near the
foot of the hill, in another direction, which
not only supplied clearer water, but in
greater plenty ; and we could now, without
restriction, indulge in the luxury of a long
chink, not caring even to excite thirst, in
order to enjoy that luxury in higher per-
fection.

On Tuesday, (25th,) the boats made
their usual trip ; some more cases of wine
and a few boarding-pikes were obtained,
both excellent articles in their way, in the
hands of men who are inclined to enter-
tain either " their friends or their foes."
On shore employed completing the paths
to the wells, and felling trees which inter-
cepted our view of the sea.

Wednesday, (26th,) at day-light, two of
the pirate proas, with each a canoe astern,
were discovered close in with the cove
where our boats were moored. Lieutenant
Hay, (a straight-forward sort of fellow,)

202 VOYAGE OF H. M.S. ALCESTE

who had the guard that night at the boats,
and of course slept in them, immediately
dashed at them with the barge, cutter, and
gig. On perceiving this, they cut adrift
their canoes, and made all sail ; they rather
distanced the cutter and gig, but the barge
gained upon them. On closing, the Ma-
lays evinced every sign of defiance, placing
themselves in the most threatening attitudes,
and firing their swivels at the barge. This
was returned by Mr. Hay with the only
musket in the boat, and, as they closed
nearer, the Malays commenced throwing
their javelins and darts, several falling into
the barge, but without wounding any of
the men. Soon after they were grappled
by our fellows, when three of them having
been shot, and a fourth knocked down with
the butt end of the, musket, five more
jumped overboard and drowned them-
selves, (evidently disdaining quarter,) and
two were taken prisoners, one of whom was
severely wounded.

They had taken some measure to sink
their proa, for she went down almost imme-
diately. Nothing could exceed the despe-

TO CHINA. 203

rate ferocity of these people. One who
had been shot through the body, but who
was not quite dead, on being removed into
the barge, with a view of saving him, (as
his own vessel was sinking,) furiously
grasped a cutlass which came within his
reach, and it was not without a struggle
wrenched from his hand : he died in a few
minutes. The consort of this proa, firing a
parting shot, bore up round the north end
of the island, and escaped. Their canoes
were also brought on shore, containing se-
veral articles of plunder from the ship.
They appeared to be the two identical
proas which set fire to her. The prisoners
(the one rather elderly, the other young)
when brought on shore, seemed to have no
hope of being permitted to live, and sul-
lenly awaited their fate; but, on the
wounds of the younger being dressed, the
hands of the other untied, and food offered
to them, with other marks of kindness, they
became more cheerful, and appeared espe-
cially gratified, seeing one of their dead
companions, who had been brought on
* shore, was decently buried.

204 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

The Malays are a people of very unpre-
possessing aspect ; their bodies of a deep
bronze colour; their black teeth and red-
dened lips, (from chewing the betel-nut
and siri,) their gaping nostrils, and lank
clotted hair hanging about their shoulders
and over their scowling countenances,
give them altogether a fiend-like and mur-
derous look. They are likewise an un-
joyous race, and seldom smile.

The state of one of the wounds received
by the Malay (his knee-joint being pene-
trated, and the bones much injured) would
have justified, more particularly in this kind
of field practice, amputation ; but, on
consideration that it would be impossible
to convince him of this beinor done with

o

the intention of benefitting him, and might
have the appearance of torture, which it
was not improbable might suggest the idea
of amputation and other operations to
them, in the event of any, or all of us, falling
into their hands, it was determined, there-
fore, to try the effect of a good constitution,
and careful attention. A little shed was
built, and a blanket and other comforts

TO CHIXA. 205

given to him, and his comrade appointed
his cook and attendant. They refused at
first the provisions we offered them ; but,
on giving them some rice to prepare in
their own way, they seemed satisfied. Ne-
ver expecting quarter, when overpowered
in their piratical attempts, and having been
generally tortured when taken alive, may
account for the others drowning them-
selves.

In the forenoon, immediately after this
rencontre, fourteen proas and smaller boats
appeared standing across from the Banca
side, and soon after they anchored behind
Pulo Chalacca. Several of their people
landed, and, carrying up some bundles on
their shoulders, left them in the wood, and
returned for more. We had some hope,
from the direction in which they first ap-
peared, as well as their anchoring at that
spot (the rendezvous agreed upon at the
departure of Lord Amherst), that they
might have been from Batavia to our relief.

The small flag (belonging to the em-
bassy) was brought down and displayed
on the look-out rock : the strangers, each,

206 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

immediately hoisted some flag at their
mast-heads. Anxious to know still more
about them, Mr. Sykes was allowed to
advance with the union jack, accompanied
by some more of the young gentlemen,
along the strand to a considerable distance ;
and soon after some of their party, with a
flag, set off to meet them. As they mu-
tually approached, the Malays dropped a
little in the rear of their flag-bearer, and
laid down their arms ; ours also fell astern,
and the two ancients (or colour men),
wading into a creek which separated them,
cautiously met each other. The Malay sa-
lamed a good deal : many fine Yorkshire bows
were made on the other side : shaking hands
was the next ceremony, and then, joining
flags, they walked up arm and arm to the
place where the captain and several others
were stationed. Satisfied now they must
be friends sent to our assistance, they were
welcomed with cheers, and every counte-
nance was gladdened. But our joy was
of short duration ; for, although their flag
was laid submissively at the captain's feet,
and all were sufficiently civil in their de-

TO CHINA. 207

portment, yet they turned out to be mere
wanderers, employed gathering a sort of
sea-weed, found on the coast of these (but
in still greater abundance among the Pelew)
islands, said by some to be an article of
commerce with • the Chinese epicures, who
use it like the bird-nests in their soups.
All this was made out chiefly by signs,
added to a few Malay words which some
understood.

Mr. Hay, with his division armed, pro-
ceeded down to their anchorage, himself,
and some other officers, going on board
with theiy Rajah (as they styled him), who
expressed a great desire to see the captain
on board, and sent him a present of a piece

of fish, and some cocoa-nut milk. During

o

the night many schemes were proposed as
to the best mode of negotiating with these
people. Some thought that, by the hope
of reward, they might be induced to carry
part of us to Java, and our four remaining
boats would then be equal to the con-
veyance of the rest. Others, adverting to
the treacherous character of the Malays,
and the great temptation to murder us

208 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

when in their power, from that sort of pro-
perty still in our possession, and to them of
great value, considered it safest to seize
upon and disarm them, carrying ourselves
to Batavia, and then most amply to remu-
nerate them for any inconvenience they
might have sustained from being pressed
into the service.

The morning of Thursday, the 27th, how-
ever, perfectly relieved us from any further
discussion on this subject, the Rajah and
his suite having proceeded to plunder the
wreck, which by this time they had espied.
It is probable they were not certain of our
real situation on the first evening, but
might have supposed, from seeing the uni-
forms, colours, and other military appear-
ance, that some settlement, as at Minto,
had been established there ; and this may
also account for their civility in the first
instance, for, from the moment their harpy-
like spirit was excited by the wreck, and
they saw our real condition, there were no
more offerings of fish, or of cocoa-nut milk.

To have sent the boats openly to attack
them was judged impolitic ; it would only

.

TO CHINA. 209

have driven them off for a moment, and
put them on their guard against surprise
by night, should it be thought necessary, in
a day or two, to do so. They could de-
prive us of little ; for the copper bolts and
iron work, which they were now most in-'
terested about, were not to us of material
importance.

We had the dav before moved the boats

•/

into another cove, more out of sight (from
the overspreading branches of the trees),
and safer in case of attack, being com-
manded by two strong little ports (one
having a rude draw-bridge), erected on the
rocks immediately above it, and wattled in,
where an officer and piquet were nightly
placed ; and a new serpentine path was
cut down to this inlet, communicating with
our main position aloft.

On Friday, the 28th, the Malays were still
employed on the wreck. A boat approached
us in the forenoon; but on the gig going out
to meet it, they refused to correspond, and
returned to their party. No relief having
appeared from Batavia,and the period being
elapsed at which (as was now thought) we

p

210 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

had reason to expect it, measures were
taken by repairing the launch, and con-
structing a firm raft, to give us additional
powers of transporting ourselves from our
present abode, before our stock of provi-
sions were entirely exhausted.

On Saturday, the 1st of March, the Ma-
lays acquired a great accession of strength,
by the arrival of fourteen more proas from
the northward (probably of the old party),
who joined in breaking up the remains of
the wreck.

At day-light, on Sunday, the 2d, still
greater force having joined them during
the night, the pirates (leaving a number at
work on the wreck) advanced, with up-
wards of twenty of their heaviest vessels,
towards our landing-place ; fired one of
their patereroes ; beat their gongs; and,
making a hideous yelling noise, they an-
chored in a line, about a cable's length
from our cove. We were instantly under
arms, the party covering the boats strength-
ened, and scouts sent out to watch their
motions, as some of their boats had gone
up the creek, at the back of our position ;

TO CHINA. 211

and to beat about, lest any should be laying
in ambush from the land. About this time,
the old Malay prisoner, who was under
charge of the sentries at the well, and who
had been incautiously trusted by them to
cut some wood for the fire, hearing the
howling of his countrymen, left his wounded
comrade to shift for himself, ran off into
the wood, and escaped, carrying with him
his hatchet. Finding, after waiting a short
time in this state of preparation, that they
made no attempt to land, an officer was
sent a little outside the cove in a canoe,
waving in a friendly manner, to try how
they would act. After some deliberation,
one of their boats, with several men armed
with creeses, or their crooked daggers, ap-
proached : here, as usual, little could be
made out, except a display of their ma-
rauding spirit, by taking a fancy to the
shirt and trowsers of one of the young gen-
tlemen in the canoe ; but, on his refusing
to give them up, they used no force.

A letter was now written, and addressed
to the chief authority at Minto, a small
settlement on the northwest point of Banca,

p 2

212 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

stating the situation in which we were
placed, and requesting him to forward, if
in his power, one or two small vessels to us,
with a little bread and salt provisions, and
some ammunition. Again the officer went
out in the canoe, and was again met by
the Malay boat. This letter was given to
them, the word Minto repeatedly pro-
nounced, (which they seemed to under-
stand,) the direction pointed out, and signs
made that on their return with an answer
they should be rewarded with abundance
of dollars, shewing them one as a specimen.
This was done more to try them than with
any hope of their performing the service;
for, although a boat went down to Pulo
Chalacca, (where they appeared to have
somebody in superior authority,) yet none
took the direction of Banca. Meantime
their force rapidly increased, their proas
and boats of different sizes amounting to
fifty. The larger had from sixteen to
twenty men; the smaller about seven or
eight; so that, averaging even at the lowest
ten each, they had fully five hundred men.
The wreck seemed now nearly exhausted,

TO CHINA. 213

and appeared to be a very secondary ob-
ject, knowing the chief booty must be in
our possession, and they blockaded us
with increased rigour, drawing closer into
the cove, more especially at high water,
fearful lest our boats, being afloat at that
period, should push out and escape them.
In the afternoon some of the Rajah's peo-
ple (whom we at first considered our
friends) made their appearance, as if seek-
ing a parley ; and, on communicating with
them, gave us to understand by signs, and
as many words as could be made out, that
all the Malays, except their party r, were ex-
tremely hostile to us ; that it was their de-
termination to attack us thatnio-ht; and
urging also that some of their people
should sleep up the hill, in order to pro-
tect us. Their former conduct and pre-
sent connexions displayed so evidently
the treachery of this offer, that it is need-
less to say it was rejected, giving them to
understand we could trust to ourselves. They
immediately returned to their gang, who
certainly assumed a most menacing atti-
tude. In the evening, when the officers and

214 VOYAGE OF H< M. S. ALCESTE

men were assembled as usual under arms,
in order to inspect them, and settle the
watches for the night, the captain spoke to
them with much animation, almost verbatim
as follows : " My lads, you must all have
" observed this day, as well as myself, the
" great increase of the enemy's force, for
" enemies we must now consider them;
" and the threatening posture they have as-
" sumed. I have, on various grounds, strong
" reason to believe they will attack us this-
" night. I do not wish to conceal our real
" state, because I think there is not a man
*' here who is afraid to face any sort of dan-
*' ger. We are now strongly fenced in, and
" our position in all respects so good, that,
" armed as we are, we ought to make a for-
" midable defence against even regular
" troops: what then would bethought of us,
" if we allowed ourselves to be surprised by a
" set of naked savages, with their spears and
" creeses ? It is true they have swivels in
" their boats, but they cannot act here. I
" have not observed that they have any
" matchlocks or muskets; but, if they have,
" so have we. I do not wish to deceive you

TO CHIXA. 215

" as to the means of resistance in our power.
" When we were first thrown together on
" shore, we were almost defenceless; seventy-
" five ball-cartridges only could be mustered :
" we have now sixteen hundred ! They can-
" not, I believe, send up more than five
" hundred men ; but, with two hundred
" such as now stand around me, I do not
" fear a thousand, nay, fifteen hundred of
" them ! I have the fullest confidence we
" shall beat them ; the pike-men standing
" firm, we can give them such a volley of
" musketry as they will be little prepared
" for ; and, when we find they are thrown
" into confusion, well sally out among
" them, chase them into the water, and
" ten to one but we secure their vessels.
" Let every man therefore be on the alert
" with his arms in his hands ; and, should
" these barbarians this night attempt our
" hill, I trust we shall convince them that
" they are dealing with Britons/' Pferhaps
three jollier hurras Avere never given than
at the conclusion of this short but well-
timed address. The woods fairly echoed
again ; whilst the piquet at the cove, and

216 VOYAGE OP H. M. S. ALCESTE

those stationed at the wells, the instant it
caught their ear, instinctively joined their
sympathetic cheers to the general chorus.

There was something like unity and con-
cord in such a sound, (one neither resem-
bling the feeble shoutnor savageyell,) which,
rung in the ears of these gentlemen, no
doubt had its effect; for about this time
(8 P.M.) they were observed making signals
with lights to some of their tribe behind the
islet. If ever seamen or marines had a
strong inducement to fight, it was on the
present occasion, for every thing conduced
to animate them. The feeling excited by
a savage, cruel, and inhospitable aggression
on the part of the Malays, — an aggression
adding calamity to misfortune, — roused
every mind to a spirit of just revenge ; and
the appeal now made to them on the score
of national character was not likely to let
that feeling cool. After a slender but cheer-
ful repast, the men laid down as usual
upon their arms, whilst the captain re-
mained with those on guard to superintend
his arrangements. An alarm during the
night shewed the effect of preparation on

TO CHINA. 217

the people's minds, for all like lightning
were at their posts, and returned growling
and disappointed because the alarm was
false.

Day-light, on Monday the 3d, discovered
the pirates exactly in the same position in
front of us ; ten more vessels having joined
them during the night, making their num-
ber now at least six hundred men. " The
" plot began to thicken/' and our situation
became hourly more critical. Their force
rapidly accumulating, and our little stock
of provisions daily shortening, rendered some
desperate measure immediately necessary.

That which seemed most feasible was by
a sudden night attack, by our four boats
well armed, to carry by boarding some of
their vessels, and, by manning them, repeat
our attack with increased force, taking
more, or dispersing them. The possession
of some of their proas, in addition to our
own boats, (taking into consideration that
our numbers would be thinned on the occa-
sion,) might enable us to shove off for Java,
in defiance of them. Any attempt to move
on a raft, with their vessels playing round

218 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

it, armed with swivels, was evidently im-
possible. Awful as our situation now was,
and every hour becoming more so ; starva-
tion staring us in the face, on one hand, and
without a hope of mercy from the savages
on the other ; yet were there no symptoms
of depression, or gloomy despair; every
mind seemed bouyant; and, if any estimate
of the general feeling could be collected
from countenances, from the manner and
expressions of all, there appeared to be
formed in every breast a calm determina-
tion to dash at them, and be successful ;
or to fall, as became men, in the attempt
to be free.

About noon on this day, whilst schemes
and proposals were flying about, as to the
mode of executing the measures in view,
Mr. Johnstone, (ever on the alert,) who had
mounted the look-out tree, one of the lof-
tiest on the summit of our hill, descried a
sail at a great distance to the southward,
which he thought larger than a Malay ves-
sel. The buz of conversation was in a
moment hushed, and every eye fixed anxi-
ously on the tree for the next report, a

TO CHINA. 21ft

signal-man and telescope being instantly
sent up. She was now lost sight of from
a dark squall overspreading that part of
the horizon, but in about twenty minutes
she again emerged from the cloud, and was
decidedly announced to be a square-rigged
vessel. " Are you quite sure of that ?" was
eagerly inquired : — " Quite certain" was the
reply : — •" it is either a ship or a brig stand-
ing towards the island, under all sail !"— The
joy this happy sight infused, and the grati-
tude of every heart at this prospect of de-
liverance, may be more easily conceived
than described. It occasioned a sudden
transition of the mind from one train of
thinking to another, as if waking from a
disagreeable dream. We displayed our
colours on the highest branch of the tree,
to attract attention, lest she should only be
a passing stranger.

The pirates soon after this discovered the
ship, (a signal having been made with a
gbn by those anchored behind Pulo Cha-
lacca,) which occasioned an evident stir
among them. As the water was ebbing
fast, it was thought possible, by an unex-

220 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTZ

pected rush out to the edge of the reef, to
get some of them under fire, and secure
them. They seemed, however, to have
suspected our purpose; for, the moment the
seamen and marines appeared from under
the mangroves, the nearest proa let fly her
swivel among a party of the officers, who
had been previously wading outwards*,
and the whole, instantly getting under
weigh, made sail off, fired at by our people,
but unfortunately without effect; for, in
addition to the dexterous management of
their boats, the wind enabled them to wea-
ther the rocks. It was fortunate, however,
this circumstance took place, and thatithad
the effect of driving them away ; for, had
they stood their ground, we were as much
in their power as ever, the ship being
obliged to anchor eight miles to leeward of
the island, and eleven or twelve from our
position, on account of the wind and cur-
rent ; and, as this wind and current conti-
nued the same for some time afterwards,

* The shot was picked up by one of the young gentle-
men, and appeared to be of malleable iron, not quite
round.

TO CHINA. 221

they might, most easily, (with their force,)
have cut off all communication between us.
Indeed it was a most providential and ex-
traordinary circumstance, during this mon-
soon, that the ship was able to fetch so far
up as she did. The blockade being now
raised, the gig, with Messrs. Sykes and
Abbot, was despatched to the ship, which
proved to be the Ternate, one of the com-
pany's cruizers, sent by Lord Amherst to
our assistance, having on board Messrs. El-
lis and Hoppner, who embarked the day of
their arrival at Batavia, and pushed back to
the island.

The gig was able to return (being a light
boat); but our friends, who attempted to
pull ashore in the cutter, were compelled
to put back, after struggling with the cur-
rent for nine hours, during the night of
Monday, and morning of Tuesday, the 4th.
That day was employed in getting all the
movables we had saved from the wreck
ready for embarkation. Wednesday, the
5th, landed Messrs. Ellis and Hoppner : —
the recollection of the voluntary promise
made by the former at parting, now ful-
filled, and re-appearing as a deliverer.

VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

added to the many interesting and pecu-
liar circumstances of the meeting, gave a
new glow to every feeling of friendship,
and, on entering Fort Maxwell, they were
received with heartfelt acclamation by the
whole garrison, under arms.

This fortification and its inhabitants had
altogether a very singular and romantic
look. The wigwams (or dens, as they were
called) of some, neatly formed by branches,
and thatched with the palm-leaf, scattered
about at the feet of the majestic trees,
which shaded our circle ; the rude tents of
others ; the wrecked, unshaven, ragged ap-
pearance of the men, with pikes and cut-
lasses in their hands, gave, more especially
by fire-light at night, a wild and picturesque
effect to this spot, far beyond any robber
scene the imagination can portray.

Two of the Ternate's boats also arrived
with a twelve-pounder carronade, some
round and grape, and musket ammunition,
in the event of the pirates thinking proper
to return before we had finished our busi-
ness ; which, from the difficulty of commu-
nicating, required the whole of Wednesday
to perform.

TO CHINA. 223

On Thursday, the 6th, the majority of
the officers and men embarked in the boats
(now increased in number), and proceeded
to the Ternate ; the raft, also, with four
officers and forty-six men, (and a cow,) got
under sail, and, after a comfortable cold-
bath navigation, reached the ship after
dark. Every article which could not be
carried off, and was thought might be of
the slightest use to the savages, was piled
into a heap, on the top of the hill, and made
into a bonfire.

At midnight the boats returned to bring
off Captain Maxwell, and those remaining
with him ; the whole arriving safe on board
on the morning of the 7th March. We were
most hospitably received by Captain Da-
vidson and his officers.*

The island of Pulo Leat is about six
miles long, and five broad ; situate about
two degrees and a half to the southward of
the equator : it lies next to Banca, and is
in the line of islands between it and Borneo.

Is is uninhabited, and, as far as we could

•-

! The wounded Malay was also carried to Batavia, and
he is now (although with rather a disabled joint) most pro*
bably employed on board the Ternate.

VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

explore, (and exploring was no easy task,)
produces nothing for the use of man. We
found a great number of the rinds of what
we afterwards discovered at Batavia to be
the far-famed and delicious mangustin,
which only thrives near the line; — the^ba-
boons, who manage to live here, having
monopolized all the fruit. Had we found
any entire, we might have indulged in them,
even without knowing their nature ; as,
more especially in a case of short commons
like ours, there could be no great danger
in following the example of a monkey.

The soil of the island would appear to be
capable of affording any production of the
torrid zone, and, if cleared and cultivated,
would be a very pretty place; the tree which
produces the caoutchouc or Indian rubber
grpws here.

The small stock of provisions saved from
the wreck, and the uncertainty of our stay
there, rendered economy in their distri-
bution, as well as the preventing any waste
or abuse, a most important duty. The
mode adopted by Captain Maxwell, to
make things go as far as possible, was to
chop up the allowance for the day into

TO CHINA. 225

small pieces, whether fowls, salt beef, pork,
or flour, mixing the whole hotch-potch,
boiling them together, and serving out a
measure of this to each, publicly and
openly*, and without any distinction. By
these means no nourishment was lost; it
could be more equally divided than by any
other way ; and although, necessarily, a
scanty, it was not an unsavoury, mess, All
the bread, except a few pounds, was lost.
The men had half allowance of rum divided
between dinner and supper, (sometimes
more on hard fags,) and the officers two
glasses of wine at dinner, and a quarter
allowance of rum (a small dram-glass) at
supper.

A small bag of oatmeal was found one
morning, which some of the young Scotch
midshipmen considered as their own, and
sat down, with great glee, round a wash-

' Truth requires it to be stated, and it may naturally
be supposed, that, among so many, one or two progging
sort of people might be observed, who had no disinclina-
tion to a little more than their just allowance; but the
general feeling was much too manly and fine to admit of
contamination.

Q

226 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

hand basin* full of burgoo, made from it;
but they reckoned too securely on the anti-
pathies of their English friends, for (not
thinking this, perhaps, a proper lime for
indulging national prejudices) they claimed
their share, and managed to get through it
without a wry face.

The guards at the posts, covering the
boats, were generally under charge, alter-
nately, of Messrs. Hay, Casey, Johnstone,
Sykes, Abbot, Brownrigg, and Hope. The
garrison duty, at night, was conducted, in
turns, by the surgeon,chaplain,Messrs.Eden,
Raper, Mostyn, Stopford, and Gore; thus
making it light, and enabling them to keep
their eyes open, and walk vigilantly round
to observe that all the sentries were on the
alert, and called out every quarter of an
hour ; the younger midshipmen being
perched, in rotation, on the look-out rock
during the day, to watch the motions of
the pirates, and give notice of any ship or
vessel which might appear in the offing.

It is somewhat remarkable, that, during

* Not the only extraordinary mess-dish which this oc-
casion had reduced some to.

TO CHINA. 227

our stay here of nineteen days, exposed al-
ternately to heavy rain, and the fierce heat
of a vertical sun, none were taken sick,
and those who landed so (some very ill)
all recovered, except a marine, who was in
the last stage of a liver complaint, contracted
whilst in China, as one of the guard to the
Embassador. Another man, of very trou-
blesome character, thought proper to leave
his companions on the third day after
landing. He may have been bit by a ser-
pent in the woods, and died there, or have
fallen into the hands of the savages • but

O '

he was never afterwards heard of. We
marked with oil and blacking, in large cha-
racters, on the rocks, the date of our de-
parture, to be a guide to any that might come
there in quest of us, and in the afternoon of
the 7th, we bid adieu to Pulo Leat, where
it is not wonderful that, in our situation,
we should have suffered some hardship and
privation ; but it is remarkable, indeed, that,
surrounded by so many dangers, the oc-
currence of any one of which would have
proved fatal, that we should have escaped
the whole. We had, for example, great

228 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

reason to be thankful that the ship did not
fall from the rocks on which she first struck
into deeper water, lor then all must have
perished ; — that no accident happened to
the boats which conveyed the embassy to
Batavia ; for, in that case, we should never
have been heard of; — that we found water ;
— that no mutiny or division took place
among ourselves ; — that we had been able
to stand our ground against the pirates ;—
and that the Ternate had succeeded in an-
choring in sight of the island ; which she was
only enabled to do by a fortuitous slant of
wind for an hour or two. Had we been un-
fortunate in any one of these circumstances,
few would have remained to tell our tale.

It is a tribute due to Captain Maxwell
to state, (and it is a tribute which all most
cheerfully pay,) that, by his judicious ar-
rangements, we were preserved from all the
horrors of anarchy and confusion. His
measures inspired confidence and hope ;
whilst his personal exam pie, in the hour of
danger, gave courage and animation to all
around him.

We arrived at Batavia on the 9th, and,

TO CHINA. 229

from the Ternate being so small, a number
of our party crossed in the boats, which
kept company with the ship. On the 10th
we landed, and were most kindly received
by Lord Amherst, who converted his table
into a general mess for the officers, as well
as the embassy. Comfortable quarters
were also provided for the men *, who, in a
day or two, landed, and marched up there,
with the flag which had been saved. They
were met at Ryswick by his lordship, who
accompanied them up. At Weltevreden,
also, the officers met with a small, but
choice, band of their countrymen, whose
society will not be easily forgotten, or ever
remembered without pleasure.

A short journal of Lieutenant Cooke
describes the passage of the embassy across
the Javanese sea, in the boats. — " At se\ en
" in the evening of Wednesday, the 1 9th
" of February, all arrangements having
" been speedily made, the barge and cutter

The hospitable houses of Messrs. Milne and Termo
afforded lodging to the officers during their stay ; and
much kind attention was experienced from Capta/i.s Forbes,
Dalgains, Hanson, and M'Mahon ; oa the staff of Sir Wil-
liam Keir.

VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

" weighed, and pulled out to seaward, there
" being a heavy swell across the reef; — soon
" after made sail, and sounded in nineteen
" fathoms ;— kept more to the southward,
" having got into mid-channel; — at nine
" at night, entrance point, in the island of
" Banca, bore west, three or four miles.

" Thursday, the 20th.— At day-light, the
" cutter in company ; moderate breezes at
" W. N. W., and fair, with a smooth sea ;
" high land of Banca bearing north ; —
" having been much crowded in the night,
" some shifted into the other boat, in order
" to equalize the numbers. At seven,
" served out, for the first time, some pro-
" visions : a small portion of fresh meat
" and biscuit, with a gill of water and half
" a gill of rum, to each person. At ten a
" heavy squall occurred, attended by rain,
" which enabled us, by spreading cloths,
" and wringing them, to catch a bucket of
" rain-water, affording, to each person,
" about half a pint. Light airs, and calm :
" occasionally found it necessary to pull
" eight oars, and, by the assistance of the
" marines, we had two reliefs. Spelled the
" oars every two hours. Served out pro-

TO CHINA. 231

" visions and grog in the usual small pro-
" portions. Lowered the sails, the wind
" being ad verse, afterwards becoming calm,
" and at other times light breezes from the
" south-west : each person had about half
" a pint of beer. Lightning from west to
" south-west, — water very smooth, — mid-
" night, light airs.

" Friday, the 21st. — Moderate breezes
" from the westward, which soon became
" squally, and more to the southward, oc-
" casioning a swell of the sea. At seven
" o'clock served out the remains of the
" fresh meat, and the usual gill of water,
" and half a gill of rum. Examined stock
" after breakfast, and found remaining six
" gallons of water ; spruce beer, eight gal-
" Ions; rum, four gallons and a half ; beer,
" four gallons ; wine, nineteen bottles ; five
" ditto of additional water, one ham, one
" tongue, and thirty pounds of bread.
" Served out, at twelve o'clock, some spruce
" to all hands. In the afternoon, served
" grog m tne usual quantity. Continued
" rowing all night, and gave some spruce
" beer to the rowers, who began to be

232 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTB

" much fatigued. Wind variable from west
" to south-west.

" Saturday the 22d.— Continued pulling
16 all this morning, the breeze being very
" light; mustered provisions, and found them
" much reduced. At seven o'clock issued
" grog and a little bread to each, reserving
" a ham, the only meat now remaining, until
" dinner time. All the gentlemen who could
" pull relieved the rowers. About one
;< o'clock a favourable breeze sprung up at
" N. W. : made all sail, and at half-past three
" o'clock saw Carawang Point, in Java, dis-
" tant about nine or ten miles. At six o'clock
" the land-breeze coming off obliged the
" boats to anchor. Served out part of the
" ham, and a little biscuit and grog, as usual.
" At seven the wind moderated a little, and
" an attempt was made to row in ; but, the
" people being nearly exhausted, anchored
" again at nine o'clock ; the cutter having no
" grapnel, made fast to the barge. The night
" was fine, but a heavy swell occasioned the
" boat to roll extremely.

" Sunday morning the C3;l, the people
" having had some repose, and a little re-

TO CHINA. 233

" freshment served out to them, weighed the
" grapnel, and pulled towards Batavia. Be-
" tween the two points of land here, we ac-
" cidentally fell in, although at a consider-
" able distance from the shore,' with a stream
" of fresh water running into the sea, which
" put all in high spirits. To prevent any ill
" consequences, a little rum was put into a
" bucket, and every man drank about a pint.
" A favourable breeze also sprung up, and at
" half past ten o'clock we went alongside
" the ship Princess Charlotte, in the roads,
" where we were very kindly received, our
" stock of provisions for forty-seven being
" at this time four or five pounds of bread,
" and (previous to falling in with the stream
" of fresh water in the sea), one gallon of
" water, one gallon of rum, and five bottles
" of wine, with some Madeira in a jar/'
During the whole cf this little voyage the
strictest equality was observed in the dis-
tribution of provisions ; and if any distinc-
tion was made it was in favour of the
rowers, those gentlemen who were unable
to pull themselves taking a rather smaller
proportion than those who did.

234 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTZ

The circumstance of the stream of fresh
water, which seemed so providentially to
extend into the sea, and afforded so much
relief, is found to exist in many parts of the
world, and has been lately turned to advan-
tage by our Toulon fleet, which was en-
abled to water at the mouth of the Rhone,
almost without losing sight of the port
they were blockading.

Off the Mississippi, ships can water even
out of sight of land ; and the same is stated
to be the case with the Oronoco, in South
America. This will most probably be
found in all narrow-mouthed rivers, which
burst suddenly on the sea ; and from the fresh
being specifically lighter than the saltwater,
it naturally floats on the surface of the hea-
vier body, and remains unmixed as long as
the current retains its force.

The chief discomfort of this boat-voyage
proceeded from being so crowded, and being
obliged to sit so long in a particular pos-
ture, and the great distress arising from
thirst. It was very difficult indeed to pre-
vent the people from drinking salt water;
one man became delirious, and it was

TO CHINA. 235

attributed to this cause. It most pro-
bably, however, proceeded from the ex-
treme irritation occasioned by thirst ; for
salt water, although an article of Materia
Mcdica in very extensive use, has never
been known to take the direction of the
head.

About the 21st March the ship Char-
lotte returned to Batavia, which had sailed
in company with the Ternate, having on
board Messrs. Mayne, Blair, and Marrige.
After beating against wind and cur-
rent, from the 24th February to the l'6th
March, without being able to fetch farther
than the south-east end of Banca, the cur-
rent constantly sweeping them to leeward the
moment they opened the Straits, Mr.Mayne,
finding nothing was to be done in the
ship, resolved to shove off in the barge,
accompanied by the above gentlemen, and
Mr. Thomson the supercargo, with two
casks of water and one of beef for us, in
the event of being still on the island. They
tugged at the oars until the next day, when,
arriving in sight of the place we had occu-
pied, they found a large flotilla of the pi-

236 TOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

rates at anchor there, three of whom imme-
diately gave chase to our boat. There was
no time to be lost; the barge made sail;
but, in addition to their sails, the Malays
pulled furiously, and were gaining fast.
The beef and water were now thrown over-
board, to lighten the barge ; and, knowing
whom they had to deal with, they pre-
pared, being tolerably armed, to sell them-
selves as dear as possible. Fortunately at
this moment a strong squall occurred, which
compelled the Malays to lower their sails,
whilst the barge, carrying through all, got
a-head and escaped, the pirates hauling
their wind again towards the island.

These proas were probably of the more
distant islands, who, having only lately
heard of the wreck, had arrived a day after
the fair, and were hungry, and annoyed at
finding no prey.

Nothing could exceed the deplorable
state of Java at the period of its conquest
by the British forces in 1811. The natives
had at all times been enslaved and oppressed
by the Dutch colonists ; and, from the strict
blockade of our cruizers, the produce of

TO CHINA. 237

the soil which they were unable to export
was rotting in their warehouses, and re-
ducing the latter to a state of bankruptcy.

The system of government immediately
introduced by Lord Minto, under the able
superintendence of Mr. Raffles, corre-
sponding with that existing in British (and
what is here termed western) India, very
much altered the state of affairs ; but it
more especially ameliorated the condition
of the native Javanese. It had been usual
to compel the people to labour at the pub-
lic works, whenever occasion required, with-
out any, or at least for a very inadequate,
remuneration. They were also obliged to
deliver in a certain quantity of produce,
often exceeding what they were able to af-
ford ; whilst they were tyrannically restrict-
ed to the cultivation of those articles only
which best answered the purposes of the
Dutch monopolists. By the new order of
things these forced services were imme-
diately abolished. The people were paid a
reasonable price for their voluntary labour ;
and, instead of arbitrary and compulsory
deliveries, encouragement was given to grow

238 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

what were considered the most valuable
productions of the island, and the Javanese
were now stimulated to exertion by having
an interest in the fruits of their industry.
The revenue was now raised (except in one
or two immaterial instances, which could
not at once be conveniently altered) by a
moderate land-tax on the whole. The Ra-
jahs or Regents of the different districts
were allowed (and indeed preferred) a
fixed salary to abandon their claims to the
former harsh method of raisins their in-

o

comes, whilst they were still intrusted under
proper surveillance with the administration
of the laws, which were also new-modelled
and rendered more equitable, torture being
abolished, and the instruments burnt in
the public square. The Chinese farmers of
revenue, employed under the Dutch, who
possessed peculiar ingenuity in squeezing
the natives, were either removed, or their
conduct narrowly inspected by the British
residents *. In Java there is no interrup-

* Sir T. Raffles, in his elaborate work on Java, states,
" that whenever the Chinese formed extensive settlement*

TO CHIXA. 239

tion to the course of vegetation. The spring
is eternal ; and it is quite usual on the same
day to see them sowing in one field, the se-
cond in half blossom, and reaping in the
third. But with all these advantages of
soil and climate the people had been driven
to relinquish their native villages, and even
to destroy the trees which the cruel impo-
licy of the whites compelled them to cul-
tivate equally against their interest and
their inclination.

In the first settlement of colonies, it is
notorious that enormities were committed
by all Europeans on the aborigines of the
country ; but, without flattering our amour
propre national, this unconciliatory and over-
bearing system seems to have been far less
practised by us than by other nations, if

" in Java, the native inhabitants had no alternative but
' that of abandoning the district, or of becoming slaves

" of the soil. Their monopolizing spirit was often

" even pernicious to the produce, as may be seen
[t even at this day in the immediate vicinity of Batavia,
' where all the public markets are farmed by them, and
:< the degeneracy and poverty of the lower classes are

" proverbial."

240 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

we may judge from the comparative per-
sonal security with which a Briton roams
every where at large. Previous to our pos-
session of Java, (when travelling became
even more safe than in England,) no Dutch-
man ever ventured to undertake a journey
among the natives without a guard. The
same is the case with the Portuguese and
the original Brazilians, as well as the Spa-
niards at Manilla, and throughout the whole
island of Luconia.

With the Javanese harsh and rigorous
measures seem, and indeed have been
clearly proved to be, as unnecessary as they
are unjustifiable, for few people bear a more
mild, docile, or inoffensive character.
They are a distinct race from the Malays of
the coasts, not only speaking a different
language, but are anxious not to be
confounded with them. Lord Minto,
who was personally at Java at the pe-
riod of its falling into our possession,
made the following observations on the ex-
isting state of affairs, and the alterations he
judged necessary : —

" Contingents of rice, and, indeed, of

TO CHINA. 241

" other productions, have been hitherto
" required of the cultivators, by govern-
" ment, at an arbitrary rate ; this, also, is
" a vicious system, to be abandoned as
" soon as possible. The system of contin-
" gents did not arise from the mere solici-
" tude for the people, but was a measure
" alone of finance and control, to enable
" government to derive a revenue from a
" high price imposed on the consumer,
" and to keep the whole body of the peo-
" pie dependent on its pleasure for sub-
" sistence. I recommend a radical reform
" in this branch to the serious and early
" attention of government. The principle
" of encouraging industry in the cultiva-
*e tion and improvement of lands, by cre-
" ating an interest in the effort and fruits
" of that industry, can be expected in Java
" only by a fundamental change of the
" whole system of landed property and
" tenure. A wide field, But a somewhat
" distant one, is open to this great and in-
" teresting improvement; the discussion of
" tLe subject, however, must necessarily be
" delayed till the investigation it requires

B

242 YOTAGE OP H. M. S. ALCESTE

" is more complete. I shall transmit such
" thoughts as I have entertained, and such
" hopes as I hare indulged, in this grand
" object of amelioration ; but I am to re-
" quest the aid of all the information, and
" all the lights, that this island can afford.
" On this branch, nothing must be done
" that is not mature, because the change
" is too extensive to be suddenly or igno-
" rantly attempted. But fixed and immu-
" table principles of the human character,
" and of human association, assure me of
" ultimate, and, I hope, not remote, suc-
" cess, in views that are consonant with
" every motive of action that operates on
" man, and are justified by the practice
" and experience of every flourishing coun-
" try of the world/'

The wisdom and sound policy of these
liberal and enlightened views have been

o

fully proved by the increasing happiness
and prosperity of the colony, from the day
they were practically adopted, up to the
period of the transfer of the island; and
that the same system should be continued
under the restored government appears to

TO CHINA. 243

be the decided opinion of the wisest and
most clear-sighted of the Dutch colonists ;
as well for its obvious justice and humanity,
as from a conviction of its superior efficacy
in every other respect.

At the same time measures were taken to
abolish slavery, for the continuance of
which, in Java* there appeared not even
the plea of expediency, Their farther im-
portation was forbidden, (for they were ge-
nerally brought, for obvious reasons, from
the neighbouring islands,) and regulations
were formed for the protection and better
treatment of those actually existing. They
were not allowed, for instance, to be sold
or transferred from one master to another,
but with their own approbation ; they were
permitted the right of acquiring property
either by their own industry, or from the
gifts of others, independent of the control
of their masters, which they might appro-
priate, if they thought proper, after a cer-
tain term, to the purchase of their freedom,
at a reasonable valuation, subject to the
approval of' a magistrate. An annual re-
gistry of each slave was also required, and

VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

a tax laid upon that registry, the proceeds
of which were applied to charitable pur-
poses ; and, in any instance where this re-
gistry was omitted to be given in, the slave
was declared free.

Although their present religion is that of
Mahomet, (with a mixture of Paganism,)
yet the numerous relics of Hinduism, in
high preservation throughout the island,
evidently shew that the latter was the ori-
ginal mode of worship. Indeed, Balli, one
of the neighbouring islands, performs the
Hindu rites at this day.

Batavia is considered, and with much
reason, to be one of the most unhealthy
spots in the world. But this character is
applicable only to the town itself ; which,
agreeably to Dutch usage, wherever they
could find one, is built in a swamp. The
effect of this, within seven degrees of the
equator, is precisely what might be ex-
pected ; but at Ryswick and Weltevreden,
where the ground rises, certainly, not above
a dozen or fifteen feet, and situated within
three miles of the town, health is retained,
at least, as perfectly as in any other part of

TO CHINA. 245

India ; and it has been even said that a bat-
talion of a regiment quartered there has re-
turned a smaller sick report than the other,
Stationed in some part of England. No Eu-
ropean, who can possibly avoid it, ever sleeps
in the city ; but, after transacting his busi-
ness, removes to the neighbourhood. Among
seamen and soldiers, a night or two spent
in Batavia is deemed mortal ; but this in-
creased fatality among them proceeds
evidently from their never sleeping there
but for the express purpose of getting
drunk ; and, when immersion in putrid
and marsh effluvia, in so hot a climate, is
applied to a body, rendered highly suscep-
tible of their impression from previous
ebriety, it is not to be wondered that a
fever of the worst class should be the con-
sequence. They are also not so likely,
in these cases, to receive that prompt as-
sistance (which alone can save them) ; for,
conscious of having been irregular in their
conduct, they are ashamed and unwilling
to make application until it is often too
late ; and the loss of a single day will, in
severer cases, be attended, in all probability,

246 VOYAGE OF H. M.S. ALCESTE

with the most dangerous consequences*,
The insalubrity of Batavia is attributed,
but with little appearance of justice, to the
numerous canals which intersect the town ;
for they rather seem to do good, by acting
as drains, in a marshy soil ; and, if they
are the receptacles of filth and carcases,
(which appeared not to be the case,) it is
the fault of the police, and not of the
canals. Rice-field e, creating an artificial
swamp, in addition to the natural moisture
of the ground, certainly ought not to be
permitted to exist in the immediate vicinity
of a populous city; and cannot be at all
necessary in a country, two-thirds of which
is uncultivated.

The climate of Java may be varied at
pleasure, from the suffocating heat of Ban-

* Captain Charles Ross, of the Pique, in the West
Indies, among other judicious regulations of that ex-
cellent officer, (whose orders were neither multiplied nor
confused, and, for that reason, more likely to be rational,)
always considered a wan found drunk to be an object
tor the surgeon's immediate care, in the first instance ;
and it is astonishing the good effect this had, not only in
preventing druakeuness, but in obviating its effects.

TO CHINA. 247

tarn, or Batavia, to the cool, and even
keen, air of the mountains, where fires and
blankets are necessary ; which, to invalids
requiring an immediate change of tem-
perature, is an advantage of the highest
importance.

It is extraordinary how defective all co-
lonies are in seminaries of education ; — a
defect, more especially in those that are
extensive and populous, for which there
can be no good excuse, and is attended
with much inconvenience ; for either the
youth of both sexes receive no education
at all, or must be sent home, at a great
expense, for that purpose. This would
appear to be much the case at Batavia, for
the young men required to fill situations
of responsibility must be supplied by fresh
importations ; and the ladies, surrouaded
by a crowd of flattering slave-girls, gene^
rally creolize * the whole day in a delectable

* CreoLzing is an easy and elegant mode of lounging
in a warm climate ; so called, because much in fashion
among the ladies of the West Indies : that is, reclining
back in one arm-chair, with their feet upon another, and
sometimes upon the table.

248 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

•

state of apathy, without any sort of occu-
pation ; at sun-set, perhaps, taking a short
airing in the environs. The elder dames
inveterately adhere to the kubaya (a loose
sort of gown, or wrapper, sometimes richly
embroidered), but the English and French
modes are universal among the rising ge-
neration. They form a curious contrast
on public occasions, for, although sump-
tuary laws exist, which prevent, more espe-
cially ladies, from wearing jewels beyond a
certain amount, and appealing abroad at-
tended by servants exceeding the number
allowed for the particular rank of their
husbands or fathers ; yet all classes, male
and female, seem privileged to undress them-
selves as they please.

One evening, on our passage outwards,
at a grand ball given by the British army
officers, on the anniversary of the battle of
Waterloo, at the Harmonic, an elderly
gentleman, in a full suit of black, highly
trimmed, and in the cut of the last century,
was seen strutting about the room with a
white night-cap on his head. Indeed, at
dinner, in the best companies, they do not

TO CHINA. 249

hesitate to wear their hats, if there is the
least motion in the air, for they dread no-
thing so much as sitting in a current.

The villas of the councillors of the Indies
are distinguished by having black instead of
white statues in their fronts, and about their
gardens. They are, generally, heavy-look-
ing houses, situated on the Jacatra and Rys-
wick roads, but have an air of stateliness.

The restored Dutch government profess
to act upon the principles which have been
found successful during our possession ; but
a circumstance which occurred a short time
before our arrival here evinced strong
symptoms of a recurrence to the system of
terror. A body of the natives, about five
hundred in number, having had some dis-
pute with the local authorities near Indra
Mayo, whilst making representation about
some hardship (which they had been lately
freely in the habit of doing, whenever they
considered themselves in any way aggrieved);
were seized, and confined in a house, which,
like the black hole at Calcutta, being too
small for the prisoners, they, in desperation,
attempted to break through the roof; when
a body of military having by tiiis time been

250 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

collected, they were fired upon, the greater
part killed, and the remainder, in some way
or other, destroyed. It is somewhat extra-
ordinary that the Dutch, who are, at home,
a very unassuming, plain, and moral sort
of people, should have displayed, on so
many occasions, a ferocious and blood-
thirsty disposition in their colonies. Mar-
shal Daendels, it is confessed, made many
judicious arrangements by the vigour of his
measures, had he only been a little more
scrupulous as to the mode of obtaining his
purposes ; but, to use his own expression,
he " found it necessary to put himself
" above the usual formalities, and to disre-
" gard every law but that which enjoined
" the preservation of the colony intrusted
" to his management."

On one occasion he is said to have re-
quested the magistrates to demolish their
grand church in Batavia, which was not
only in the way of some favourite scheme
he had in view, but its cupola was the only
land-mark for entering the bay, and, as
such, greatly assisted the enemy's cruizers.
The burgomasters ventured to oppose this
project. In a very short time the church

TO CHINA. 261

was found to be on fire ; and the building
being thereby in a great degree consumed
and damaged, the remainder was soon
razed to the ground *. His great military
road, carried some hundred miles across
the island, cost the lives of thousands of
the Javanese, who were sacrificed to the
system of forced services. He appears to
have been little less despotic with the
whites ; and many stories are told about
him, " that he could even make hens lay eggs
" when he thought proper ;" but, although
all seem to agree that he carried a high and
imperious hand, yet none dare, even now,
speak ill of him, for fear he may return.

In equipping a considerable army, merely
from the resources of the country, when
entirely cut off from any communication
with Europe, supplying them with a cloth
adapted to the climate, and furnishing
them with most of the other accoutrements,
he put the manufacturing talents of the
natives to the test, and he succeeded.

Sir William Keir, Mr. Feudal, and

* The incendiaries were never found out.

252 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

Mr. Cranssen, were still, at Batavia, for
the purpose of finally adjusting the transfer
of the colonies, with the commissioners of
his majesty, the king of the Netherlands.
The Dutch squadron was absent at the dif-
ferent islands, resuming possession of them.
They had, as well as the land-forces, suf-
fered a very heavy loss from deaths ; and
the Baron de Capellan, who is individually
a man of humanity, and was extremely
solicitous about their preservation, wasstated
to have personally interfered with the me-
dical staff, who appear to have been much
wedded to the old-fashioned practice, and
to have given positive orders that the mode
of managing the sick, which had been
proved successful with our troops % on the
very same ground, should be adhered to.

The ship Caesar, Captain Taylor, having
been engaged to carry to England the em-
bassy, with the officers and crew of the
Alceste, being now ready for sea, her equip-
ment having been expedited by the assist-
ance of our artificers, his lordship em-
barked on the 12th of April, attended by
Sir William Keir, and all his staff, and re-

TO CHINA. 253

ceiving, from the Dutch authorities, every
mark of respect due to his rank. We
sailed on the same morning, and soon
cleared the Straits of Sunda, and proceeded
with a fair wind across the Indian Ocean.
The gay scenes we had experienced for
the last few weeks among our friends at
Weltevreden and Batavia, and which we
had enjoyed with the greater spirit from
our previous adventures, made us more
susceptible of the dull sameness attending
our present sky-and-water view. But a
circumstance occurred, of all others, pro-
ducing the most instantaneous and effec-
tual relief from this feeling of tedium vita or
ennui. The ship, one morning, was de-
clared to be on fire in the after store-room,
and (to render the intelligence still more
agreeable and interesting) close to the ma-
gazine, whilst the flames seen in that direc-
tion, and volumes of smoke now bursting
forth, left no doubt of the fact. In a mo-
ment the liveliest bustle took place of list-
less yawning, and every mind was roused
into a state of the highest activity. To be
in a ship on fire in the middle of the ocean

254 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

is supposed to be the most awkward and
unenviable situation in which a man of
weak nerves can be placed. Some again
assert that it affords, more than any other
occasion, an opportunity for the display of
coolness, presence of mind, and decision.
Happily, there were not wanting many pos-
sessing the latter qualities, who, by pushing
through the smoke to the point of danger,
and scuttling the decks immediately above
the place, succeeded in extinguishing the
flames in about three quarters of an hour,
but not without considerable difficulty and
damage. Very fortunately it was washing
morning, and, of course, buckets, and other
water utensils, were at hand. Had the ac-
cident taken place during the night, or
had it been unobserved for a few minutes
longer, and the fire had communicated to
some oil and other combustibles near it,
no human power could have saved us. This
alarming occurrence, so nearly proving
fatal, was occasioned by an idle looby, be-
longing to the Caesar, carelessly pumping
off spirits with a naked light, in order to
preserve the body of a parrot, which had

TO CHINA. 255

died the night before. It had the effect,
however, of occasioning the most rigorous
precautions in future.

Notwithstanding the crowded state of
the Caesar, two passengers, of rather a sin-
gular nature, were put on board at Batavia,
for a passage to England : the one, a snake
of that species called Boa Constrictor ; the
other, an Ourang Outang. — The former
was somewhat small of his kind, being
only about sixteen feet long, and of about
eighteen inches in circumference ; but his
stomach was rather disproportionate to his
size, as will presently appear. — He was a na-
tive of Borneo, and was the property of a
gentleman (now in England), who had two of
the same sort ; but, in their passage up to
Batavia, one of them broke loose from his
confinement, and very soon cleared the
decks, as every body very civilly made
way for him. Not being used to a ship,
however, or taking, perhaps, the sea for a
green field, he sprawled overboard, and
was drowned. He is said not to have
sunk immediately, but to have reared his
head several times, and with it a consider-

256 VOYAGE OP H. M. S, ALCESTE

able portion of his body, out of the sea,
His companion, lately our shipmate, was
brought safely on shore, and lodged in the
court-yard of Mr. Davidson's house at
Ryswick, where he remained for some
months, waiting for an opportunity of being
conveyed home in some commodious ship
sailing directly for England, and where he
was likely to be carefully attended to.
This opportunity offered in the Caesar, and
he was accordingly embarked on board
of that ship with the rest of her numerous
passengers.

During his stay at Ryswick he is said to
have been usually entertained with a goat for
dinner once in every three or four weeks,
with occasionally a duck or a fowl, by way
of a desert. — He was brought on board
shut up in a wooden crib or cage, the bars
of which were sufficiently close to prevent
his escape ; and it had a sliding door, for
the purpose of admitting the articles on
wrhich he was to subsist; the dimen-
sions of the crib were about four feet
high, and about five feet square; a space
sufficiently large to allow him to coil him-

TO CHINA. 257

self round with ease. The live stock for his
use during the passage, consisting of six
goats of the ordinary size, were sent with
him on board, five being considered as a
fair allowance for as many months. At ail
early period of the voyage we had an exhi-
bition of his talent in the way of eating,
which was publicly performed on the quar-
ter-deck, upon which he was brought. The
sliding door being opened, one of the goats
was thrust in, and the door of the cage
shut. The poor goat, as if instantly aware
of all the horrors of its perilous situation,
immediatelybegan to utterthe most piercing
and distressing cries, butting instinctively,
at the same time, with its head towards
the serpent, in self-defence.

The snake, which at firstappeared scarce-
ly to notice the poor animal, soon began
to stir a little, and, turning his head in the
direction of the goat, it at length fixed a
deadly and malignant eye on the trembling
victim, whose agony and terror seemed to in-
crease; for, previous to the snake seizing its
prey, it shook in every limb, but still con-
tinuing its unavailing show of attack, by

s

*

258 VOYAGE OF H. M.S. ALCESTE

butting at the serpent, who now became
sufficiently animated to prepare for the
banquet. The first operation was that of
darting out his forked tongue, and at the
same time rearing a little his head ; then
suddenly seizing the goat by the fore leg
with his mouth, and throwing him down,
he was encircled in an instant in his horrid
folds. So quick, indeed, and so instanta-
neous was the act, that it was impossible
for the eye to follow the rapid convolution
of his elongated body. It was not a re-
gular screw-like turn that was formed, but
resembling rather a knot, one part of the
body overlaying the other, as if to add
weight to the muscular pressure, the more
effectually to crush his object. During this
time he continued to grasp with his mouth,
though it appeared an unnecessary pre-
caution, that part of the animal which
he had first seized. The poor goat, in
the mean time, continued its feeble and
half-stifled cries for some minutes, but
they soon became more and more faint,
and at last it expired. The snake, how-
ever, retained it for a considerable time

TO CHINA. 259

in its grasp, after it was apparently
motionless. He then began slowly and
cautiously to unfold himself, till the goat
fell dead from his monstrous embrace,
when he began to prepare himself for the
feast. Placing his mouth in front of the
head of the dead animal, he commenced
by lubricating with his saliva that part of
the goat ; and then taking its muzzle into
his mouth, which had, and indeed always
has, the appearance of a raw lacerated
wound, he sucked it i?i, as far as the horns
would allow. These protuberances opposed
some little difficulty, not so much from their
extent as from their points; however, they
also, in a very short time, disappeared; that
is to say, externally ; but their progress was
still to be traced very distinctly on the
outside, threatening every moment to pro-
trude through the skin. The victim had
now descended as far as the shoulders ; and
it was an astonishing sight to observe the

o o

extraordinary action of the snake's muscles
when stretched to such an unnatural ex-
tent— an extent which must have utterly
destroyed all muscular power in any

s 2

260 VOYAGE OF H. Wf. S. ALCESTE

animal that was not, like itself, endowed
with very peculiar faculties of expansion
and action at the same time. When his
head and neck had no other appearance
than that of a serpent's skin, stuffed
almost to bursting, still the workings of the
muscles were evident ; and his power of
suction, as it is erroneously called, unabated ;
it was, in fact, the effect of a contractile
muscular power, assisted by two rows of
strong hooked teeth. With all this he must
be so formed as to be able to suspend, for
a time, his respiration, for it is impossible
to conceive that the process of breathing
could be carried on while the mouth and
throat were so completely stuffed and ex-
panded by the body of the goat, and the
lungs themselves (admitting the trachea to
be ever so hard) compressed, as they must
have been, by its passage downwards.

The whole operation of completely
gorging the goat occupied about two hours
and twenty minutes : at the end of which
time, the tumefaction was confined to the
middle part of the body, or stomach, the
superior parts, which had been so much

TO CHINA. 261

distended, having resumed their natural
dimensions. He now coiled himself up
again, and laid quietly in his usual torpid
state for about three weeks or a month,
when, his last meal appearing to be com-
pletely digested and dissolved, he was pre-
sented with another goat, which he devoured
with equal facility. It would appear that
almost all he swallows is converted into
nutrition, for a small quantity of calca-
reous matter (and that, perhaps, not a
tenth part of the bones of the animal)

with occasionallv some of the hairs,

«/

seemed to compose his general feces ; — and
this may account for these animals being able
to remain so long without a supply of food.
He had more difficulty in killing a fowl
than a larger animal, the former being too
small for his grasp.

Few of those who had witnessed his first
exhibition were desirous of being present
at the second. A man may be impelled by
curiosity, and a wish to ascertain the truth
of a fact frequently stated, but which seems
almost incredible, to satisfy his own mind
by ocular proof; but he will leave the

262 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

scene with those feelings of horror and dis-
gust, which such a sight is well calculated
to create. It is difficult to behold, without
the most painful sensation, the anxiety and
trepidation of the harmless victim, or to ob-
serve the hideous writhing of the serpent
around his prey, and not to imagine what
our own case would be in the same helpless
and dreadful situation.

A lion, a tiger, and other beasts of prey,
are sufficiently terrible ; but they seldom,
unless strongly urged by hunger, attack
human beings, and generally give some sort
of warning ; but, against the silent, sly, and
insidious approach of a snake, there is no
guarding, nor any escape when once en-
twined within his folds.

As we approached the Cape of Good
Hope, this animal began to droop, as was
then supposed, from the increasing cold-
ness of the weather, (which may probably
have had its influence,) and he refused to
kill some fowls which were offered to him.
Between the Cape and St. Helena he was
found dead in his cage; and, on dissection,
the coats of his stomach were discovered

TO CHINA. 263

to be excoriated and perforated by worms.
Nothing remained of the goat except one
of the horns, every other part being dis-
solved.

It may here be mentioned, that, during
a captivity of some months at Whidah, in
the kingdom of Dahomey, on the coast
of Africa, the author of this narrative had
opportunities of observing snakes more
than double the size of this one just de-
scribed ; but he cannot venture to say
whether or not they were of the same
species, though he has no doubt of their
being of the genus Boa. They killed their
prey, however, precisely in a similar
manner ; and, from their superior bulk,
were capable of swallowing animals much
larger than goats or sheep. Governor Ab-
son, who had for thirty-seven years resided
at Fort William, (one of the African Com-
pany's settlements here,) described some
desperate struggles which he had either
seen, or came to his knowledge, between
the snakes and wild beasts, as well as
the smaller cattle, in which the former
were always victorious. A negro herds-

264 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

man belonging to Mr, Abson (who after-
wards limped for many years about the
fort) had been seized by one of these
monsters by the thigh; but, from his situa-
tion in a wood, the serpent, in attempting
to throw itself around him, got entangled
with a tree; and the man, being thus pre-
served from a state of compression which
would have instantly rendered him quite
powerless, had presence of mind enough
to cut with a large knife, which he car-
ried about with him, deep gashes in the
neck and throat of his antagonist, thereby
killing it, and disengaging himself from
his alarming situation. He never after-
wards, however, recovered the use of that
limb, which had sustained considerable
injury from his fangs, and the mere force
of his jaws.

These larger reptiles are seldom ob-
served to be venomous, the smaller tribe
being, in this respect, much more dan-
gerous.

In this country they had a smaller
species of snake, called Daboa, which is
the object of their worship and adoration.

TO CHINA. 265

It is perfectly harmless, (to larger crea-
tures,) and is tameable. Great attention
is paid to any that are found, being
lodged in their temples, and fed by the
priestesses with rats, mice, and smaller
animals. People who are sick apply to
it for relief; and, should one of them
happen to entwine itself around a preg-
nant woman, it is considered the happiest
possibJe omen for herself and child. In
this state she proudly marches through
the town, sanctified, as it were, by the
attachment of the snake, which encircles
her naked frame ; and followed by
crowds, those who meet her falling on
their knees, and snapping their fingers
(the usual salutation) as she passes.

The Ourang Outang, also a native of
Borneo, is an animal remarkable not only
from being extremely rare, but as possess-
ing, in many respects, a strong resemblance
to man. What is technically "denominated
the cranium is perfectly human in its ap-
pearance ; the shape of the upper put of
the head, the forehead, the eyes (which are
dark and full), the eye-lashes, and, indeed.

266 VOYAGE OF H. M.S. ALCESTE

every thing relating to the eyes and ears,
differing jh no respect from man. The hair
of his head, however, is merely the same
which covers his body generally. The nose
is very flat, — the distance between it and
the mouth considerable ; the chin, and, in
fact, the whole of the lower jaw, is very
large, and his teeth, twenty-six in number,
are strong. The lower part of his face is
what may be termed an ugly, or caricature,
likeness of the human countenance. The
position of the scapulae, or shoulder blades,
the general form of the shoulders and
breasts, as well • as the figure of the arms,
the elbow-joint especially, and the hands,
strongly continue the resemblance. The
metacarpal, or that part of the hand imme-
diately above the fingers, is somewhat elon-
gated ; and, by the thumb being thrown a
little higher up, nature seems to have
adapted the hand to his mode of life, and
given him the power of grasping more
effectually the branches of trees.

He is corpulent about the abdomen, or,
in common phrase, rather pot-bellied, look-
ing like one of those figures of Bacchus

TO CHINA. 267

often seen riding on casks ; but whether
this is his natural appearance when wild, or
acquired since his introduction into new
society, and by indulging in a high style of
living, it is difficult to determine.

His thighs and legs are short and bandy,
the ankle and heel like the human ; but the
fore part of the foot is composed of toes,
as long and as pliable as his fingers, with a
thumb a little situated before the inner
ankle ; this conformation enabling him to
hold equally fast with his feet as with his
hands. When he stands erect he is about
three feet high, and he can walk, when led,
like a child ; but his natural locomotion,
when on a plane surface, is supporting
himself along, at every step, by placing the
knuckles of his hands upon the ground.
All the fingers, both of the hands and feet,
have nails exactly like the human race,
except the thumb of the foot, which is
without any.

His natural food would appear to be all
kinds of fruit and nuts ; but he eats biscuit,
or any other sort of bread, and sometimes

268 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

animal food. He will drink grog, or even
spirits, if given to him ; and has been known
repeatedly to help himself in this way : he
was also taught to sip his tea or coffee, and,
since his arrival in England, has discovered
a taste for a pot of porter. His usual con-
duct is not mischievous, and chattering
like that of monkeys in general ; but he has
rather a grave and sedate character, and
is much inclined to be social, and on good

o

terms, with every body. He made no diffi-
culty, however, when cold, or inclined to
sleep, in supplying himself with any jacket
he found hanging about, or in stealing a
pillow from a hammock, in order to lie
more soft and comfortably.

Sometimes when teased by shewing
him something to eat, he would display
in a very strong manner the human pas-
sions, following the person whining and
crying, throwing himself off on his back,
and rolling about apparently in a great
rage, attempting to bite those near him,
and frequently lowering himself by a
rope over the ship's side, as if pretending

TO CHINA. 269

to drown himself; but, when he came near
the water's edge, he always reconsidered
the matter, and came on board again. He
would often rifle and examine the pockets
of his friends in quest of nuts and biscuits,
which they sometimes carried for him. He
had a great antipathy to the smaller tribe of
monkeys, and would throw them overboard
if he could ; but in his general habits and
disposition there is much docility and good
nature, and, when not annoyed, is ex-
tremely inoffensive. He approaches, upon
the whole, nearer to the human kind than
any other animal.

On the 2?th May we anchored in Simon's
Bay, at the Cape of Good Hope, from
which we sailed again on the llth of June,
steering for St. Helena, where we arrived
on the 27th. The exterior of this island
has much of that appearance which induced
Madame Bertrand to term it the birth-
place of the demon of Ennui ; but the in-
terior is not destitute of beauties, for there
are many very pleasing spots situated in its
different valleys.

270 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

One cannot help, in contemplating the
calm tranquillity which reigns about Long-
wood (now the peaceful habitacion of the
greatest agitator of the world), being forci-
bly struck by the great mutability of human
affairs.

Buonaparte had for a considerable time
past been very retired and difficult of
access, but he was perfectly disposed to
see Lord Amherst; and on the day pre-
vious to our departure his lordship rode
out there, accompanied b}T the gentlemen
of his suite. He was introduced by Ber-
trand with not a little form, and had, as well
as Mr. Ellis, a very long private conver-
sation previous to the introduction of the
other gentlemen, wrho in the mean time
were attended by Generals Bertram!, Mon-
tholon, and Gourgaud, in the next room.
At last they also were ushered in ; and a
ring having been formed by the Marshal
round the principal personage of the group,
Lord Amherst presented to him fust Captain
Maxwell, to whom he bowed very civilly,
and said his name was not unknown to

TO CHINA.

271

him ; observing, he had commanded on an
occasion where one of his frigates, La Po-
mone, was taken in the Mediterranean.
" Vous etiez trfa mtchant — Eh bien! your
government must not blame you for the
loss of the Alceste, for you have taken
one of my frigates/' He said he was very
happy to see young Jeffery Amherst, and
good-humouredly asked him what pre-
sents he had brought with him from China,
and so forth.

The author of this narrative he interro-
gatedaboutthe length of time he had served,
and whether he had been wounded ; re-
peating the last question in English.

Proceeding next to Mr. Abel, (who was
introduced as naturalist,) he inquired if he
belonged to the Royal Society, or any of
the public institutions, or was a candidate
for that honour ; asking if he had been
happy, in this voyage, in making any dis-
coveries in natural history, which could add
to our stock of knowledge on that subject.
Whether he knew Sir Joseph Banks, whose
name, he said, was a passport in France ;

272 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE

and his wishes always attended to, even
during war.

Mr. Cooke's name induced him to ask
if he was a descendant of the celebrated
navigator ; observing, " You had a Cook,
who was, indeed, a great man/' He re-
quested to know, on Dr. Lynn being pre-
sented, at what university he had studied. —
" At Edinburgh" was the reply. — " Edin-
boorg \" he repeated ; and went on to in-
terrogate him whether he was a Brunonian
in practice; or if he bled and gave as much
mercury as our St. Helena doctors.

Mr. Griffith, the chaplain, was next in-
troduced, whom Buonaparte termed I'Au-
monier, and pronouncing, also, in English,
clair-gee-man. " Well, sir/' he continued,
" have you found out what religion the Chi-
nese profess V Mr. G. replied it was some-
what difficult to say ; but it seemed a sort of
polytheism. Not appearing to understand
the meaning of this word, spoken in Eng-
lish, Bertrand remarked " PluraliteckDieiLr"
— " Ahl pluralite deDieux? said he; " do they
believe in the immortality of the soul ?" " I

TO CHINA. 273

think they have some idea of a future state"
was the reply. " Well," said Buonaparte,
" when you go home you must get a gocd
living ; I wish you may be made a pre-
bendary, sir/' Proceeding to Mr. Hayne, he
also questioned him in some general way ;
and having now completed the circle, and
said something to every body, he very
courteously bowed to each of the party as
they retired, who all felt much gratified at
the opportunity of the interview. Although
there was nothing descending in his manner,
yet it was affable and polite ; and, whatever
may be his general habit, he can behave
himself very prettily if he pleases. He is
by no means so corpulent as is usually re-
presented, and his health appears to be
excellent. Longwood, from its situation,
ought certainly to be highly salubrious.
On the 2d of July we sailed from St. Helena,
touched at the Island of Ascension on
the 7th, and, on the 12th, crossed the line,
and got into our own hemisphere. Our
passage homewards was extremely favour-
able, on the 16th of August making the

T

274 VOYAGE OF H. M. S. ALCESTE TO CHINA.

land, and the next morning brought us to
Spithead, from whence we landed once
more in our native isle; not merely with
the common feeling of happiness which all
mankind naturally enjoy on revisiting the
land of their birth, but with those sensa-
tions of pride and satisfaction with which
every Briton may look round him, in his
own country, after having seen all others.

END OF THE NARRATIVE.

APPENDIX.

No. I.

ON our arrival at Portsmouth, a court-martial (as is
usual in the navy) was held on board the Queen Char-
lotte, to inquire into all the circumstances attending the
loss of the ship, and into the conduct of the officers and
men on that occasion; composed of Captaia Sir Archi-
bald Dickson, Bart. President; Captains Alexander,
Dacres, Meynell, and Hickey ; Moses Greatham, Judge
Advocate ; when, after Captain Maxwell's interesting nar-
rative, detailing the facts relative thereto, having been read,
and a number of witnesses examined on the various state-
ments contained in it, the Court pronounced the following
sentence, after the usual preamble : —

" Having maturely and deliberately weighed and consi-
" dered the whole, the Court is of opinion that the loss
" of his Majesty's late ship Alceste was caused by her
" striking on a sunken rock, until then unknown hi the
*' Straits of Gaspar. That Captain Murray Maxwell,
' previous to the circumstance, appeared to have con-

T 2

276 APPENDIX.

" ducted himself in the most zealous and officer-like inan-
" ner; and, after the ship struck, his coolness, self-col-
" lection, and exertions, were highly conspicuous ; and
" that every thing was done by him and his officers,
" within the power of man to execute, previous to the
" loss of the ship, and afterwards to preserve the lives of
" the Right Honourable Lord Amherst, his Majesty's
" Embassador, and his suite, as well as those of the
" ship's company, and to save her stores on that occa-
" sion ; and therefore adjudge the said Captain Murray
" Maxwell, his officers and men, to be most fully
" acquitted."

The Court was very crowded, and there were
present Lords Amherst and Colchester. The former,
being examined by the Court, stated, '* that he had se-
" lected Captain Maxwell, on the occasion of the em-
" bassy, from motives of personal friendship, as well as
" from the high opinion he entertained of his professional
" character, which opinion had been much increased by
" the events of this voyage."

APPENDIX. 277

No. II.

CHRONOLOGICAL LIST of the Kings of Lewcherc,
from the End of the Twelfth Century, to the Beginning

of last.

.

First Year of Duration of

their Reign. Lired. Reign.

NAMES OF KINGS.

A. D. Yean. Years.

Chun-tien 118? 72 51

Chun-Machuny, son of Chun-tien . 1238 64 11

Ypen, son of Chun-Machuny - ... 1249 — * —

Yn-tsou 1260 71 40

Ta-tching, son of Yn-tsou 1301 — 9

Yn-tse, second son of Ta-tching.. 1309 — 5

Yu-tching, fourth son of Yn-tse .. 1314 — 23

Ly-Oucy, son of Yu-tching .... 1337 23 14

Tsay-tou 1350 — 46

Ou-ning, son of Tsay-tou 1396 — —

Tse-chao, son of Ou-ning 1406 — 16

Chang-pa-tchi, son of Tse-chao .. 1424 68 18
Chang-tchong, second son of

Chang-pa-tchi 1440 54 —

Chang-tse-ta, son of Chan-tchong . 1445 42 5
Chang-kin-foo, paternal uncle of

Chang-tse-ta 1450 52 4

Chang-tai-kieou, brother of Chang-
kin-foo 1454 46 T

278 APPENDIX.

NAMES OF KINGS.

First-Ye»T of Duration of

tbeir R'ign. Lired. Rrign.

A. D. Yean. Year*.

Chang-te, third son of Chang-

ta-kieon 1461 29 9

Chan-y-ven 1 470 62 7

Chang-tching, sonof Chang-y-ven. . 1477 62 50

Chang-tsing, third son of Cbang-

tching 1527 59 29

Chang-y-ven, second son of Chang-
tsing 1556 45 17

Chartg-yong, second son of Chang-
y-ven 1573 35 16

Chang-ning, grandson of Chung-

tsing 1 588 57 S2

Chang-fong, descendant of a bro-
ther of Chang-yong 1 6<2 1 . 51 20

Chang-hien, third son of Chang-fong 1641 23 7

Chang-tche, brother of Chang-hien 1648 40 21

Chang-tching, son of Chang-hien. . 1669 65 41

Chang-pen, grandson of Chang-
tching 1710 34 3

Chang-king, son of Chang-pen. ... 1713 — —

The above list being copied, by Pere Gaubil, from the

Chinese Report of Suppa-Koang, they have, in that
translation from the original language, no doubt, acquired
their present Chinese character of expression.

APPENDIX.

279

No. III.

NAMES and SITUATION of the Lezvchew Islands,
according to the same authority..

To the North-eastward.

Yoii-chang-pou

Fokou

Yeoula

Oa-kinou

Kia-ki-luma

Tatao (of considerable size)

Ki-ki-ai

To the South and Westward.
Typin chan,orMa-kou-chan
Ykima
Yleang-pa
Koulirna
Talama
Mienna
Oukorai
Pat-chong-chan
Palouma
•Yeouni Koumi
Kaumi

Te-ke-tou-non
Kauli-che-ma
Ola-ke-se-kou
Pa-tou-li-ma

To the North and Westward.

Gan-kiui-chan

Kichan

Ye-Kichan

Lun-koan-chan (or Sulphur

Island)
Mat-che-chan, surrounded

by five islets
Another Mat-che-chan
Koumi- chan

To the Eastward,
Kon-ta-tia
Tsin-kinou
Ysi
Pama

The whole situate at va-
rious distances, extending
from the main island to-
wards Japan, Corea, and the
island of Formosa, four only
lying to the eastward.

280

APPENDIX.

No. IV.

MR. FISHER collected a few of the I^ewchewan words,
which may tend to give some idea of the sound of their
language.

Beard.

Button.

Book.

Bite.

Boat \vith Sails.

Boat rowed with Oars.

Brunches of Trees.

Comb.

Chair.

Cows.

Cold.

Cut.

Candle.

Coffin.

Come a shore.

Cloth.

Colours (Ensign).

Coral.

Figoo.

Tama.

Shumutsee.

Quayon.

Tima.

Chunee.

Tanuii.

Sabachee.

Ee.

Ooshu.

Fuisa.

Chichau.

Doe.

Quan.

Chung.

Dasha.

Chuata.

Ooru.

APPENDIX.

281

Come here.

Cuma cay-chung.

Day.

Okiou.

Drink.

iN'ummee.

Dead.

Sijoug.

Eye.

Me.

Egg.

Cooga.

JEarth.

Sinna.

Eat.

Conun.

Fingers.

Ibec.

Feet.

Fisha.

Fowls.

Fuee.

Fan.

Ogee.

Fan-ning.

Ogee-shun.

Fish-ing.

Juh-shun.

Goat.

Figa.

Good.

Yuti.ssa.

Grave (for dead).

Hacka.

Good-by, or adieu.

Wa-coutee.

God.

Joh.

Gong.

Caniutchung.

Hair.

Carasee.

Hat.

Camuree.

He.

Adee.

Handkerchief.

Sagee.

Horse.

Mah.

•Head-pin with a star-head.

Camesashee.

Head-pin with a scoop-head

. Usisashee.

How do you do ?

Uga-ina-bidda ?

Ink.

Tamagufing.

Jar.

Tusaadzee.

I or me.

Oau.

I will come again.

Atucara.

282

APPENDIX.

I do not understand.

I thauk you.

I will go.

1 v, ill sing.

Knife.

Lurge.

Moon.

Musquito,

Milk.

Man.

Nose.

Nails.

Night.

Not good.

No.

Oil.

Paper.

Potatoes (sweet)

Physician or Surgeon.

Priest.

Pig.

Rain.

Riding.

Sun.

Stars.

Shoes.

Stones.

Sit down.

Ship (large).

Ship (small).

Sleep.

Sick.

Chi-carang.
Ca-fush.

O& Atchung.

Oa Utshaug.

Sigu.

Utisha.

Stee.

Gadjang.

Chee.

Ekegah.

Hana.

Cimee.

Masta.

Wassa.

Arang.

Unda.

Cabee.

Moo.

Isha.

Bozy.

Oa.

Amuie.

Ditaugin.

Tida.

Hushee

Saba.

Ishee.

Iree.

Ufubuny.

Cubunee.

Ninjun.

Yadon.

APPENDIX.

283

Sailor.

Shell.

Silk.

Stone-mason.

Square used by ditto.

Serpent.

Sea.

Sand.

Sash or Girdle, worn by
the Lewchewans.

Stop.

Small.

Teeth.

Trowsers.

Trees.

Tobacco-pipe.

To bring.

Tea.

Temple, or house of wor-
ship in the garden,
where the sick were.

Umbrella.

Very good.

Water.

Wind.

Wood.

Woman.

You.

You give me.

Yes.

You are a good fellow.

Biotee.

Keh.

Duusy.

Ichi-secu.

Banjoganee

Onegha.

Ooshu.

Sinna.

Ubu.
Ichuna.
Coosa.
Ha.

Jacama.
Ifcoojee.
Tsidee.
'Toute-coo.
Cha (Chinese).

Jah Joh.

Cassa.

Churissa.

Midzee

Casechute.

Kee.

Inago.

Ya.

Yare Curran.

Simung.

Churamung.

284

APPENDIX.

NUMERALS.

1 Titsee.

2 Tatsee.

3 Metsee.

4 Yutsee.

5 Ititsee.

6 Mutsee.

7 Nanatsee.

8 Jatsee.

9 Cucunutsee.

10 Too.

11 Too-Titsee.

12 Too-Tatsee, and so on to

nineteen.

20 Nijoo.

21 Nijoo-Titsee, &c.

30 Sanjoo.

31 Sanjoo-Titsee, &c.

40 Sinjoo.

41 Sinjoo-Titsee, &c.

50 Gunjoo.

51 Gunjoo-Titsee, &c.

60 Docodoo.

61 Docodoo-Titsee, &c.

70 Stigoo.

71 Stigoo-Titsee, &c.

80 Hacheegoo.

81 Hachegoo-Titsee, &c.

90 Cunjoo.

91 Cunjoo-Titsee, &c.
100 Hiacoo.

The numbers after each ten were always repeated in a
manner similar to our own arithmetic.

APPENDIX. 285

No. V.
THE FAREWELL.

[The insertion of the folio-wing verses, by Mr. Gillard, Clerk of
the Lyra, may not, perhaps, be deemed irrelevant to the sub-
ject, as they express not only his own, but the general senti-
ments, on leaiing the worthy Islanders at Grand

THE sails are set, — the anchor weigh'd;

Their course, south-west, the ships pursue
And, friendly signs at parting made,
We bid the land a last adieu !

From crowded boats, that grace our wake,
In cap and vest but seldom wore,

Their last " FAREWELL" the natives take,
And, half-reluctant, seek the shore.

Each cliffs rude height and sea-worn base
Presents a silent gazing throng ;

Where e'en regret may find a place,
As swift the vessels pass along.

286 APPE1VDIX.

And now the harbour's far astern ;

The dang'rous reefs in distance fade :—
No object can the eye discern

Without the glass's friendly aid.

Yet, while the anxious straining sight
Can still behold the fleeting shore,

The telescope shall yield delight,
And all its pleasing scenes restore.

Again the rocks and tombs appear,
The trees and straw-built huts arise,

Where constant guards were plac'd, by fear,
To screen each beauty from our eyes.

The path beside the wat'i ing-place,
Where branching pines adorn (he lull,

Th' assisted eye can faintly trace,

And mark its nurn'rous windings still.

There, too, the stone enclosure stands,
Within whose high extensive walls

The Pagan native lifts his hands,
And on his wooden idol calls.

Yet ye, who boast the Christian name,

Blush at a deed which truth must tell; —
Hither they brought the sick and lame,
. And bade them iu their temples dwell.

APPENDIX. 287

From noise and crowded decks remov'd,

TV infirm inhal'd a purer air ;
And native kindness daily prov'd

They bless the hand that led them there.

In yonder grove's encircling shade,
Where time will long the truth attest,

The last sad rites by strangers paid,
A youthful seaman's ashes rest.

What tho' Oblivion o'er his name

May spread her veil of deepest gloom,

Full many a fav'i ite child of fame
Would not disdain an equal tomb.

Yet not the sick their thoughts confin'd,

Nor yet th' interment of the dead ;
The living still they bore in mind,

And gave the ships their daily bread.

Wrhile friendship thus was shewn to all,

. Congenial minds attach 'd a few ;
And mem'ry oft will pleas'd recall

The names of" Mad'ra," and " Geroo."

Farewell, dear isle ! — on you may breath

Of civil discord never blow !
Far from your shores be plague and death,

And far — oh ! far — the hostile foe !

APPENDIX.

To distant climes our course we steer,
AVhere Fashion boasts her splendid reign;

Where Science, Fame, and Wealth, appear,
While Lux'ry reve.ls in their train.

Meanwhile, ne'er 'mid your smiling scenes
May Pride and fierce Ambition spring !

Ne'er may they know what mis'ry means,
Which Vice and Dissipation bring !

Still on your sons may Plenty shine,

Still may their happiness increase ;
And Friendship long their hearts entwine

With love, with innocence, and peace.

No more ; — for now the fresh'uing breeze

Impels us swiftly o'er the deep ;
Your verdant shores no longer please,

And faint appear your mountains steep.

Their summits now are cloth 'd in gray,

And scarce the eye their place can tell ;

/*

And now they're melted quite away, —

Once more, DEAR ISLAND, FARE THEE WELL!

THE END.

Printed by W. CLOWES, Northu«ib«laod-conrt, Sinnd, London.

University of California

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