Mr. Morrison, the circumstance was explained, and the money restored to the persons whom he had duped.

The water which was used on board was pumped into the tanks once a week. It was not used until it had been three weeks on board, and was purified with alum, as is the practice throughout China. The proportion used was half an ounce to a ton of water, than which nothing could be finer; yet upon the 5th of August the cholera appeared on board, and between that day and the 2nd of September took off eight persons; three of whom died on the 21st, and three afterwards.

Fresh beef, with pigs, poultry, and eggs (particularly those of ducks,) were to be had; but not regularly. The Chinese who use oxen only for tilling the ground, knew not what we could want with them, and it was believed that the Mandarins at Shang-hai had given orders which prevented our being supplied. It was therefore necessary to forage, and the mode adopted was to go in a boat up the river, and where some persons were collected together at a village, to select the best dressed, or principal person amongst them, and to take him on board the ship, giving those who were left to understand that he would be taken care of until ransomed by a certain number of bullocks, goats, fowls, ducks, and eggs, which would be paid for. This method was not required to be repeated more than twice.

The birds here are remarkably tame, allowing one to go close to them without showing any symptoms of fear. Pheasants are numerous and equally tame. Both the birds and plants seem to resemble those found in Europe. Of wild plants it is difficult to find any, the earth being so entirely under cultivation. Those which in England decorate the gardens and greenhouses are in China to be found principally about the tombs and graves, or rather coffins of the dead.

I believe that I did not see six plants cultivated in China, in the gardens or round the tombs that I had not been acquainted with in England, but I have seen many in England which I did not see in China.

The women here are all allowed to have their feet of the natural form and size. The dress of the men and women are nearly alike-a pair of loose trousers and a jacket of blue cotton dungaree, bare legs, a pair of grass shoes, a high conical formed hat of straw, or a satin skull cap, a pouch of tobacco, long pipe, and paper folding fan, form the costume.

The lever appeared to be their principal mechanical power. I have seen a Chinese blacksmith and carpenter show surprise at the action of the screw, a power which I never saw applied in China except to fasten the button on to the crown of the cap of a mandarin.

In looking over this level country the most remarkable objects that attract the notice are, the small clumps of trees and mounds of earth. Where the view is not obstructed by the enclosures round the different habitations, the country is studded with these mounds. Upon the top or in the centre is the coffin, sometimes protected from the weather by a mat. Many are empty, ornamental shrubs and trees are planted round them, the latter as they grow up form ornamental clumps, and the field cultivation is carried on close up to the verge of the mound of earth which is about 18 feet round, so that the dead encumber the ground to the serious incon

venience of the living, and their graves are the only waste ground I saw there; the soil is a very stiff loam and clay.

When the alarm was over the people returned to their houses, which were scattered in great numbers over the country. The schools were opened for their children, and the cultivation of the land was carried on with the greatest activity; they were remarkably civil at all times, and when the marines landed to exercise in a large meadow, which they did once a week, the people always came out with water for the men to drink, and fire for their pipes, supposing that they would of course smoke, and a stool for the officer to sit upon.

On the 8th of July the eclipse of the sun was observed upon the rampart of the fort; sights for time were taken immediately afterwards as soon as the sun's limb was clear; the time of the ingress was 6h. 54m. 55s., and that of the egress 9h. 2m. 2s.8. The error of the chronometer upon mean time of the place, 8h. 21m. 45s-72.

The variation of the compass, by an excellent compass of Capt. Kater's invention, was 2° 0' W., which compass I had the misfortune to leave on shore one day after observation, and never saw it again. The dip of the needle was found to be 44° 33', and the needle which I had hitherto used for vibrations was unfortunately bent and damaged by the person in whose charge it was for a short time left, upon the 29th August, since which time I considered it entirely as a new needle. All the observations by it are given in a table by themselves.

The thermometer and barometer ranged between the degrees of 69° and 78°-29.52 and 29.78 in June; of 69° and 91°-29.50 and 29.80 in July; of 75° and 88°-29.50 and 29.95 in August; of 70° and 89° -29.68 and 30.15 in September; of 61° and 78-29.90 and 30.28 in October, during our stay at Woosung.

The time of high water and the velocity of current or tide are about 1h. 20m. PM., strength of tides at springs 24 miles per hour, and at neaps 24 per hour, and they assume the course up and down the river. The atmosphere is so clear that I was able to see the planet Venus with the naked eye, and others readily saw it when pointed out to them, about one hour after the sun had passed the meridian.

On the 19th of October the North Star sailed from Woosung, and proceeded to Chusan where she arrived on the 21st, having had moderate breezes from the N. and N.N.E., and fine weather.

She remained at that anchorage until the 9th of January, during which time the weather was as follows:

During the latter part of October, from the 21st to the end of the month, the winds were from the N., N.N.E., and E., N.W., S.b.E., and S. The weather, which had been moderate and fine, changed upon the 23rd to squally with rain and strong breezes until the 26th, after which the winds were fresh with fine weather.

During the months of November and December, the winds were principally from N., N.N.W., and N.W., there were a few days calm, the wind usually shifted to the N.E., N.N.E., and S.E., and once at the end of December to S.W. The barometer and thermometer ranged in NO. 12.-VOL. XV. 4 M

October from the 19th to 31st, the barometer from 29.94 to 30-32, the thermometer from 60° to 76°.

In November the barometer ranged between 30-05 and 30-38. The thermometer between 46° and 75°; and in December the barometer between 30.02 and 30.54, and the thermometer between 43° and 78°.

The dip of the needle was observed upon the site of an old fort, called Observatory Point, near Hall Gates, upon which all observations were made, and was found to be 42° 31', and the variation by azimuths observed with the large compass was 6° 40′ E.

The city of Chusan, although very extensive is not to be compared with Shang-hai in size or opulence. The watering place is inconvenient, it is in a creek northward from the anchorage called Sipthead. The water is not good. Firewood is always scarce in China, and the coal is bad.

Fresh beef is plentiful, and extremely good. The Chinese frequently stole the cattle from the other islands, and sold them at the markets where they were immediately bought, and as they were soon after slaughtered and skinned, there was little chance of detection. Ducks are bred in vast abundance. The markets are well supplied with fish.

The women here have their feet distorted according to the Chinese custom. And Punch and Judy (she is called by that name here,) is the amusement of the passengers in the streets as in London, where it is not so well performed; but is in all other respects precisely the same.

The aptness of the boys to acquire the English language is extraordinary, and I believe there will be few young persons in Chusan unable to speak English fluently when that place is given up. Gloves were new to the Chinese, and they immediately had them in the shops for sale, made of fur and various other things, the weather being very cold.

PORT ROYAL AND ITS ASSOCIATIONS.
Continued from p. 368.

WE may now turn from this uninviting picture to one far more cheering, as it displays British bravery in a conspicuous light, and will further serve to rescue from oblivion the name of a deserving officer who has long since closed his earthly career. In the year 1806, whilst Lieutenant Theophilus Shaw was serving on board an English corvette, then cruizing on the Spanish main, the ship fell in with a small British force attached to the expedition under General Miranda, who, it will be recollected, was the first patriot, of note at least, that hoisted the standard of revolt against the Spanish power, in South America. Miranda solicited the assistance of the captain of the corvette, (which was assented to), in a meditated attack on the town of Coro, situated in an islet on the eastern side of the Gulf of Maracaybo, nearly under the 70th degree of west longitude, and on the parallel of 11° 30′ N.

The combined squadron anchored in the bay during the night, and, by the dawn of day, the boats had received the motley troops of the independent General, for the purpose of landing and attacking the place. Many of the boats had preceded those of the corvette; some of those had reached the beach, but the troops were so slow in landing and forming, that the enemy's ambuscade party, who kept up a brisk fire, killed and wounded many of them. Lieutenant Shaw, observing this, immediately altered the course of the boats under his orders, and pulled directly for the battery, under which he landed, and with the boats' crews alone stormed and carried it. The Spaniards were driven out and the gates shut, and the union-jack hoisted. A midshipman was now despatched with the boats to the ship, for the marines; when they arrived, the gallant Lieutenant marched for the town, and, in like manner, carried it also.

The promptitude with which our energetic sailor had altered his plan, pulled to, landed, stormed, and got possession of the battery, may be better understood when we inform the reader, that the enterprise was effected before half of Miranda's inert soldiers (if they could be so called), had disembarked.

As soon as Miranda had been left to his own resources, the Spaniards rallied, and the patriot general and his followers were constrained to evacuate the town, and re-embark on board their vessels.

There were several actions fought by our smaller vessels of war on the Spanish main with the gun-boats and schooners of the enemy, with as little success as ours. Captain R. Nicholas, in the Lark sloop of war, succeeded in capturing two schooners, but they got aground in ascending a creek or river after the gun-boats, and he was constrained to set them on fire. The Elk brig sustained some damage, and lost some men, killed in a spirited encounter with the Spanish flotilla; the unfortunate purser, it was said, had his head cut off from his body as he was ascending the ladder from below. The beautiful little brig Raposa, commanded by Lieut. Violet, unfortunately grounded whilst engaging the gun-boats; and the only alternative left the gallant and mortified officer was, to set her on fire, and retreat with his crew in the boats.

I have no intention of going through the list of actions and encounters on the station, the accounts of which were not published in the Gazette, but I may with propriety record here, that Captain Fyffe (already spoken of,) in the Reindeer brig, brought to action the two beautiful French brigs Photon and Voltigeur, which were subsequently captured by the Pique frigate, after a very spirited resistance. Capt. F. obtained his promotion as a reward for his gallantry on the occasion.

During the late American war, the privateers fitted out in the States were not very numerous on this station; but wherever they appeared, they seemed to consider that caution was unnecessary, and they generally paid for their temerity. We have seen one of these vessels, a fine schooner, run along shore within three miles of the land, and capture a sloop off Round Hill to leeward of Montego Bay; but she was caught off the west end of the island by a frigate. They even ventured inside of Sambro lighthouse at Halifax; and above Lundy Island, in the Bristol Channel.

We shall here mention an incident which may be of some service to the merchant captain in any future war.

A very beautiful ship, called the Nelson, whilst running down for Jamaica, was chased by an American clipper. On nearing the ship, she appeared so warlike, that Jonathan, thinking, no doubt, with Falstaff, that, the "better part of valour was discretion," hauled off; thus following the economical principle of catching as many prizes as he could conveniently, without the hazard of being himself caught.

It so happened, however, that the "Britisher" did not entertain a similar opinion, and thought all such careful calculations needless, whilst he possessed iron guns, and sinewy arms to work them. A little vain, too, of his very showy craft, he may have considered that the effect she had already produced was half the battle won; and thus cherishing the notion that he had nothing to do than to push alongside of the fugitive and demand her surrender-secure her! The idea was too inviting to be resisted-to think of the eclût that would attend his entry into his destined port with the "bold Yankee" as his prize, was most encouraging; he did not remember that those who play at balls with professors in the art, require some degree of previous practice to give them a chance of success in the game; for, although it appears that he was an experienced hand in contention with the hurricane, yet he was rather green at a seafight.

What was the old wise saw of the "golden bridge" to him? The valuable cargo committed to his care was a consideration which the flying enemy had completely obliterated from his memory. The ship was probably insured, if so, had he any thing to do with the interests of the underwriters? The happy moment seemed arrived when he might establish a name for prowess-it was an objeet worthy a Briton, and, no doubt, all meaner things were absorbed in that thought. Chase was given, and the beautiful ship dashed on like a race-horse to win the goal. Elated at the prospect before him, and impatient to arrest the fugitive, he commenced firing his six-pounders. The first pop-gun report dissolved the delusion under which the American acted. The moment the sound met his ear, he put his vessel round, ran alongside of the ship, and was soon in possession of her! We have noticed this circumstance for the purpose of showing the necessity for a running ship, during a war, to be provided with at least, one heavy gun, for effect.

I recollect a very exciting chase by a frigate after a fast-sailing schooner, from Cape Tiburon towards Cuba. Edging down we gained upon her so far as to get within range; but when fairly in her wake we did not gain an inch. The long gun was brought aft to the break of the quarter-deck, the sprit-sail yard topped up out of the way, and shot after shot went through her sails, but she heeded them not. Wearied with the inefficacy of this mode for arresting the flight of the persevering little craft, the captain determined to try what virtue there might be in a 66 shrapnell"-he fired the gun himself-the messenger fell directly upon her deck, in an instant she rounded to, letting fly every sail in the wildest confusion.

The ingenuity of man in providing means for the destruction of his