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They are unacquainted with the use of soap. We procured, in Pekin, a sort of barilla with which and apricot oil we manufactured a sufficient quantity of this article to wash our linen, which, however, we were under the necessity of getting done by our own servants.

On approaching the town of Tien-sing we observed a prodigious number of large stacks of salt, piled up in sacks of matting. The quantity thus stored was found, on rough calculation, to be sufficient for the consumption of 30,000,000 of people, for a whole year. Such a surprizing aggregate of one of the useful and almost necessary, articles of life, was a preparative, in some measure, for the vast multitudes of people which appeared on our passing this northern emporium of China. The gabelle, or duty on salt, which the government here, as well as elsewhere, had found convenient to impose on one of the indispensable articles of life, partly accounted for such an extraordinary accumulation. The collector of the salt duties of Tien-sing held one of the most lucrative appointments in the gift of the crown.

The crowds of large vessels lying close together along the sides of the river; the various kinds of craft passing and repassing; the town and manufactories and warehouses extending on each bank as far as the eye could reach, indicated a spirit of commerce far beyond any thing we had hitherto met with. The large vessels, the small craft, the boats, the shores, the walls surrounding the houses, the roofs, were all covered with spectators. Our barges, being retarded in the narrow passages among the shipping, were at least two hours in reaching the head of the town. During the whole time the populace stood in the water, the front rank up to the middle, to get a peep at the strangers. Hitherto among the spectators there had generally appeared full as many of the fair sex as of the other; and the elderly dames, in particular, had been so curious as to dip their little stumps into the water in order to have a peep into the barges as they glided slowly along; but here, among the crowd, not a single female was visible. Although the day was extremely sultry, the thermometer of Fahrenheit being 88 degrees in the shade, as a mutual acco

modation their heads were all uncovered, and their bald pates exposed to the scorching rays of the sun. It was an uncommon spectacle to see so many bronze-like heads stuck as close together, tier above tier, as Hogarth's group, intended to display the difference between character and caricature, but it lacked the variety of countenance which this artist has, in an inimitable manner, displayed in his picture.

The deep sounding gong, a sort of brazen kettle struck with a mallet, and used in the barges to direct the motions of the trackers on shore, the kettledrums and the trumpets in the military band, the shrill music and squalling recitative in the theatre, which was entirely open in front, and facing the river in full view of the crowd; the number of temporary booths and buildings erected for the use of the viceroy,. governor, judges, and other officers of government, and gaily decorated with ribbons and silken streamers; the buzz and merriment of the crowd, had, altogether, so striking an affinity to the usual entertainments of Bartholomew fair, that no extraordinary stretch of the imagination was required to suppose ourselves for the moment to have been transported into Smithfield. We instantly acquitted the Chinese of any want of curiosity. The arrival of Elfi Bey in London drew not half the crowd; and yet the Chinese account us much greater barbarians than we pretend to consider the mamelukes. The old viceroy of the province, a Tartar of mild and winning manners, had prepared for us a most magnificent entertainment, with wine, fruits, and great variety of pastry and sweetmeats, together with presents of tea, silk, and nankins, not only to the ambassador and his suite, but also to the servants, musicians, and soldiers.

There was an that seemed to

The cheerful and good-natured countenances of the multitude were extremely prepossessing; not less so their accommodating behaviour to one another. innocence and simplicity in their features, indicate a happy and contented turn of mind. being a sort of gala day, we might, on extraordinary occasion, perhaps have viewed them to the best advantage; yet the same cheerful and willing mind had

This, however, account of the

constantly shewn itself on all occasions, by all those who were employed in the service of the embassy. On board the yachts constant mirth and good humour prevailed among the seamen. When the weather was calm, the vessels were generally pushed on by means of two large sculls, or oars turning upon pivots that were placed in projecting pieces of wood near the bow of the vessel, and not the stern, as is the practice of most other nations. From six to ten men are required to work one of these oars, which, instead of being taken out of the water, as in the act of rowing, are moved backwards and forwards under the surface, in a similar manner to what in England is understood by sculling. To lighten their labour, and assist in keeping time with the strokes, a rude air was generally sung by the master, which the whole crew used to join in chorus.

́ Of their honesty, sobriety, and carefulness, we had already received convincing proofs. Of the number of packages, amounting to more than 600, of various sizes and descriptions, not a single article was missed or injured, on their arrival-at the capital, notwithstanding they had been moved about, and carried by land, and transhipped several times. Of the three state-officers, who had been deputed from court to attend the embassy, two of them were the most obliging and attentive creatures imaginable. The third, a Tartar, who first made his appearance at Tien-sing, was distant, proud, and imperious. The Chinese indeed were invariably more affable than the Tartars. In short, had we returned to Europe, without proceeding farther in the country than Tien-sing, a inost lively impression would always have remained on my mind in favour of the Chinese.

Leaving Tien-sing on the 11th of August, we found the river considerably contracted in its dimensions, and the stream more powerful. The surface of the country, in fact, began to assume a less uniform appearance, being now partly broken into hill and dale; but nothing approaching to a mountain was yet visible in any direction. We saw no gardens nor pleasure-grounds, but considerable tracts of pasture or meadowland intervened between the villages, on which however were few cattle, and those few remarkably small. Those we

[graphic]

ECONOMY OF TIME AND LABOUR EXEMPLIFIED IN A CHINESE WATERMAN.

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