INDIA EXTRA GANGEM.

I NOW enter on that portion of India which is diſtinguiſhed by the name of India beyond the Ganges. The diſtinction is comparatively modern, being known to the antients in an imperfect manner. Here and there are ſcattered a few names, which they could only have collected from the Indian navi⯑gators; but I ſhall mention in courſe any other lights which I diſcover they might have received.

ADJOINING to Chittigong is the kingdom of Aracan, KINGDOM OF ARACAN. which extends along the bay of Bengal about two hundred miles in a ſouth-eaſtern direction. According to Mr. Rennel's map, a chain of mountains, beginning in the ſouthern part of Chittigong ſkirts the ſea the whole length of this kingdom, as well as that of Ava, to within a few leagues of Cape Negrais. The whole tract is infeſted to a very great degree with elephants and beaſts of prey. The topography of this country is very obſcure. The mouth of the river Aracan, the Tocoſannae of Ptolemy, RIVER. is placed in Lat. 20° 12′. M. D'Anville gives its whole courſe. Mr. Rennel, more cautious, and, perhaps, conſcious of the uncertainty, only [2]delineates a ſmall part, ARACAN. or from the capital, Aracan, to the ſea. From Aracan, as high as Lat. 26°, with the exception of a ſmall portion between Malaac and Munnypour, where it is traverſed by the great communication from Ava to the northern parts of Bengal, it is marked with a dotted line; from that point the river is diſtinguiſhed by a certain courſe, which is continued northward, in the kingdom of Thibet, as high as Lat. 30° 10′. All the great tract it paſſes through is level, which makes it liable to annual inundations, from the ſame cauſes as affect the Bengal and other of the Indian plains. The tides which run up this river are very high; they come in with a great bore, and riſe from fifteen to twenty feet, according to the influence of the moon.

THERE is ſix fathom water, according to Mr. Ovington's ac⯑count, at the entrance of the river, and twenty farther up, ſo that it forms a noble harbour. From the mouth to the capital is about fifty miles; moſt of the way deliciouſly bounded by woods or plantations, animated by the gambols of the monkey tribe, or the gay flights of numbers of peacocks. The city of Aracan is ſeated moſt ſingularly, in a valley ſurrounded with vaſt and craggy mountains. Theſe are aſſiſted by art, ſo as to prove the moſt ſubſtantial fortifications. The entrances are cut through the ſolid rock, as are the gates of the city. The precipitous face of the mountains ſerves for walls; beſides theſe, it has a citadel, and other artificial defences. The city is ſaid to be fifteen miles in circumference, and to contain a hundred and ſixty thouſand inhabitants. The regal palace is very magnificent, and highly adorned and enriched with works of maſſive gold.

[3]IN my ^* account of Chittigong, in the preceding volume, I have related the ſhare this kingdom took in the affairs of Hindooſtan, by reaſon of the ſupport it gave the Portugueſe pirates. I ſhall now take notice of a very remarkable event which befel Aracan, the reſult of the misfortunes of Sultan Sujah, OF SULTAN SULJAH. the ſecond ſon of the emperor Shah Jehan, and the unfortunate brother of that ſuc⯑ceſsful hypocrite Aurengzebe. After Sujah had long made head againſt the uſurper, he was at length obliged to retire from his faſtneſs near Monghier to Dacca, and from thence to the king⯑dom of Aracan. He had previouſly ſent his ſon to the king of the country, to implore his protection. This was imme⯑diately promiſed, and the unhappy prince embarked with his whole family on board the veſſels of the Portugueſe pirates, ſet⯑tled in the mouths of the Ganges, intending to profit of the favor of the infidel monarch, till he could procure a ſhip to convey him to the holy city of Mecca. From thence he in⯑tended to go to the courts of Turky or Perſia, in hopes of an aſylum in one or other of the dominions of thoſe mighty poten⯑tates. Sujah is ſaid ſoon to have diſcovered the perfidy of his royal hoſt, who had entered into a treaty with the General of Aurengzebe, to deliver into his hands, for a ſum of money, the fugitive ſultan. This came to the ears of that prince, who raſhly determined on revenge. He entered into a conſpiracy againſt the Aracan monarch, gained over a certain number of Maho⯑metans reſident in the country, and with thoſe, and the few who were left of his train, reſolved to force his way into the palace, to kill the king, and cauſe himſelf to be proclamed ſovereign. [4]All this might have been executed, ARACAN. had not the deſign been diſ⯑covered. The unhappy Sujah attempted to eſcape towards Pegu; he was ſoon overtaken. His ſon, ſultan Banque, defended him⯑ſelf with a courage worthy of his birth, till overpowered with numbers, and fainting under his wounds, he was ſeized, and with his two little brothers, his ſiſters, and his mother, car⯑ried away. As to Sujah, he, with one woman, an eunuch, and two other perſons, in aſcending a mountain, was knocked down with a ſtone by his purſuers. The eunuch bound up his wounded head with a turban, and they both eſcaped into the woods. Many relations were ſpread reſpecting this event. In general he was ſuppoſed to have died either famiſhed with hunger, or fallen a prey to wild beaſts. Mr. Dalrymple had picked up a ſtory, that Sujah eſcaped to Soolo, an iſle between that of Borneo and Magindanao, where he long led an eremitical life; that he died there, and that a tomb was erected over his grave, to this day an object of veneration with the Mahometans.

THE tragical relation does not end here. Sultan Banque, and other fugitives who were brought back, were at firſt treated with a tolerable degree of lenity; the king even took to wife one of Sujah's daughters. This did not prevent Banque and his companions from entering into another conſpiracy, which was detected. The king of Aracan determined to root out this ill⯑fated family; he cauſed the heads of the men to be cut off with blunt axes, the women to be immured, and ſtarved to death; the lady alone whom he had honored with his bed was ſaved.

THE great quantity of gold and diamonds which had been brought into the country by Sujah, proved the cauſe of dreadful [5]wars between the two ſons of the king of Aracan, who ſuc⯑ceeded him in 1690; they quarrelled about the diviſion of the treaſure, and never ceaſed from conteſting the prize till both the competitors were deſtroyed. Many of the diamonds (as is ſuppoſed) were afterwards ſold to the Dutch, who happened to touch at Aracan, at very low prices, by reaſon of the ignorance of the poſſeſſors.

THE next kingdom is that of Ava. KINGDOM OF AVA. I ſhall comprehend in it three; that of Ava proper, Buraghmah, or, as it is vulgarly called, Burmah, and Pegu. They once formed ſo many inde⯑pendent ſtates, governed by their reſpective monarchs; but are now by conqueſt conſolidated into one, being ſubdued by the king of Burmagh. His dominions extend from the province of Yunan, in China, as far ſouth as the mouths of the Ava, a tract of eight hundred miles. The ſtandard of Mahomet was never erected in theſe kingdoms; all the inhabitants are rank idolaters; their mode of worſhip and their rites agree in many points with thoſe of the Hindoos, and they allow the doctrine of tranſmigra⯑tion. Their pagodas, and thoſe of Pegu, very much reſemble in form that of a bell tent. The more northern part is the kingdom of Burmagh; that of Meckly, tributary to it, forms on our maps a large vacant ſpace to the weſt, divided by a vaſt chain of mountains from Silhet and Tipera. Roſhuan, another void, is to the ſouth of Meckly. The kingdom of Aracan ſepa⯑rates Burmagh, for a conſiderable extent, from the eaſtern part of the bay of Bengal. The coaſt of Ava ſucceeds, and runs, waſhed by the ſea, as far as Cape Negrais, an extent of above two hundred miles.

[6]THE great river Ava takes its riſe far beyond the province of Yunan, RIVER AVA. in China, and, as is ſuppoſed, in Thibet. The Chineſe call it Hou-kian. I am uncertain where it becomes navigable, poſſibly at the laſt cuſtom-houſe in the Chineſe dominions; at leaſt we find, that four people of that nation, with ſome others, em⯑barked there on a voyage made in the laſt century down that river. We have an account of it in vol. vii. 123, of the Univerſal Hiſtory. It is deſcribed, even at the cuſtom-houſe, as a large and rapid river. They were twenty days in ſailing to the city of Ava, and a month more from thence to Pegu. Below the capital of the kingdom, the veſſels which navigate this mighty river are ſaid to be as large as our biggeſt ſhips, without ſail, but the planks have neither peg or nail to faſten them; they ſeem to be ſewed, like the Arabian veſſels, which will be deſcribed in vol. of this work.

MR. DALRYMPLE, in p. 112 of his uſeful Repertory, ſays, he is aſſured, that the river paſſes through a great lake, not far above the city of Ava. This lake, in the old maps, ſuch as Speed's, LAKE OF CHIAMAY. is called Chiamay, and it is ſuppoſed that the rivers of Siam, and poſſibly of Aracan, Chittigong, and ſome others, flow out of it. The river is deſcribed as difficult of navigation, by reaſon of ripplings and overfalls; and its water, during the inundations, very cold, occaſioned by the ſnowy mountains from whence it flows.

THE borders of the Ava, after it enters Burmagh, are in ſome parts flat, in others hilly, but in none ſo low as to be over⯑flowed. The neighbouring grounds are replete with ſaltpetre, and quantities of common ſalt are procured by lixiviation from [7]a black earth which abounds in this diſtrict. It is now called the Irabathy. Munchaboo, the royal reſidence of the king of Bur⯑magh, ſtands about twelve miles from the weſtern bank, in Lat. 23° 38′, a walled town, of a ſquare form, containing four thou⯑ſand families.

Ava, the capital of the kingdom of the ſame name, AVA CITY. is ſeated in Lat. 21° 48′, on the eaſtern bank of the river, about 38 miles below Munchaboo. It is a very large city, built of wood, the ſtreets ſtrait, and planted on each ſide with trees. The king's palace alone is of ſtone, but mean in its architecture. It was in the ſixteenth century prodigiouſly populous, but was laid waſte by the king of Pegu in the moſt ſavage manner. Purchas ^* gives the horrible relation. The jewellers of Europe viſited it in the ſame century, for the ſake of its rich gems. At preſent Ava is in a moſt ruinous ſtate, and does not contain above a thouſand families. The kingdom produces ſapphires and rubies of the higheſt quality. Mention is made of its rich mines of copper, lead, and ſilver. Other provinces are rich in gold.

FROM the city the river aſſumes the ſame name of Ava, takes a ſmall curvature from thence towards the weſt, and the channel becomes full of iſles. Near Pegongmew, a town ſeated in a ſterile ſandy country, and which, from the remains of numerous pa⯑godas, ſeems formerly to have been a place of importance, the Ava takes a more ſoutherly courſe. Between Lat. 20° and 19° north, TEEK WOODS. the weſtern ſide is filled with an immenſe foreſt of teek trees, which is ſaid to produce the beſt timber of any in India; it is floated down the river, and is a conſiderable article of com⯑merce. [8] Prone, once encloſed with fortifications, lies on the left bank, and is one of the principal trading towns on its courſe; the environs are extremely fertile.

AT Lundſey, LUNDSEY. a town ſeated on the eaſtern bank, in Latitude 18° 30′, begins a rich, fat ſoil, formed by the mud brought down by the great annual inundations which this river is ſubject to, like the Ganges. Lundſey is diſtant a hundred and eighty miles from the ſea. The Delta of the Ava begins in about Lat. 18°, and extends nearly a hundred and forty miles before it reaches the ſouthern extremity; the baſe, or the lower part, facing the ſea, is about two hundred miles; all the upper part of the Delta is clear land; the lower ſeems filled with wood, and divided by a number of channels into iſlands, like the Sunderbund of the Ganges.

Ptolemy calls the river Ava, Sabaracus. That able geographer D'Anville miſtakes it for the Burrampooter, and accordingly we find it under that name in his maps. The error is venial, for he did not live to the time of our Rennel.

I SHALL now reſume the coaſts from the borders of Chitti⯑gong. COASTS. The country abounds with timber, and the woods with all ſorts of animals for food, ſuch as buffaloes, deer, and wild hogs. Here and there a few iſles are diſperſed along the ſhore; ſome in groups, ISLES. others ſingle, or few together. The iſles are St. Martin's, not far above the mouth of Aracan river; the Oyſter iſlands nearly oppoſite; and the Bolongo, a very little to it's ſouth. CHEDUBAH ISLE. Chedubah, a large iſland in about Lat. 18° 30′, is ſup⯑poſed to be the Bazacuta of Ptolemy, remarkable, ſays he, for the quantity of ſhells; he adds, that the inhabitants were called [9] Agmatae, and that they went naked. The Sada Civitas is placed on the coaſt of Ava by M. D'Anville, in Lat. 18°. We are little acquainted with the country, but that able geographer diſco⯑vers it to have been a place ſtill known by the name of Sadoa. Near it was the Sadus Fluvius. Berabonna was another town of Ptolemy's, ſeated on the ſame coaſt, in Lat. 16° 30′, now called Barabon; and at the extremity of the ſouthern ſide of Ava is Cape Negrais, in about Lat. 16°, CAPE NEGRAIS. the antient Promontorium Te⯑mula. From Mr. Baker's ſurvey, in Mr. Dalrymple's collection, it appears to be lofty, and in part very precipitous. The iſle of Negrais and another, both off the mouth of the river, form within them a noble harbor, ſecure from all winds. The En⯑gliſh, of late years, wiſhed to ſix here a ſettlement. The country is incredibly fertile in rice, and might have proved a fine re⯑ſource to the Coromandel coaſt, and even to Bengal, in times of ſcarcity, excluſive of the advantages to be derived from the har⯑bor in time of war. As to rice, it is ſold here at twelve pagodas a garce; whereas in Coromandel it is generally above thirty, and ſometimes even eighty a garce.

THE kingdom of Pegu begins at this cape; PEGU. the coaſt turns then ſuddenly to the eaſt, and extends above two hundred miles, inclining, after ſome way, ſlightly to the north, as far as the river of Martaban, the boundary between Pegu and the province of Martaban, which adjoins to the kingdom of Siam. Pegu is extremely narrow at the part next to Cape Negrais; but it widens quickly, ſo as to take in the whole Delta of the Ava, and ſtretches north as high as Lat. 19°. In the maps the coaſt of Ava is comprehended in the kingdom of Pegu. We know ſo little of theſe [10]countries, of their revolutions and contra-revolutions, that we dare not deny our aſſent to, or controvert the relations of writers.

THE great branch of the Delta is immediately to the eaſt of Cape Negrais. It is called the Perſaim river, from a town ſeated about ſeventy miles from the ſea, on its eaſtern banks. In 1758 we had a factory on the oppoſite ſide. The channel is very wide and deep, having moſt of the way ſix and ſeven fathoms of water. On each ſide are navigable canals, that probably inſulate part of the flat country to the eaſt and to the weſt. On the eaſtern part there is an inland communication from this river quite to that of Pegu, or the Siriam river, as there is through the Sunderbunds of Bengal. ISLE OF NE⯑GRAIS. Negrais iſle, marſhy and wooded, lies juſt within the entrance; and on the outſide is Diamond iſle, ſmall, and ſurrounded with rocks. Immediately before the front of the whole Delta are banks of mud or ſand, of great extent, formed by the waters of the Ava depoſiting their foul load before the mouths of the ſeveral diſcharges. The Marcura Metropolis of Ptolemy ſtood in about the middle of the Delta, and muſt have had its navigable approach. I do not know that any of the diſcharges are at preſent uſeful in navigation, like the channels between the iſlands of the Sunderbunds, till we reach the entrance of that which leads to the town of Siriam. This, known by the name of the Siriam, SIRIAM. is a branch of the river of Pegu, and contributes to form another Delta. The town is about thirty miles from the entrance; near it are factories, be⯑longing to the French, Engliſh, and Dutch. Raynal ^* ſays, that the Armenians carry on a great trade in topazes, ſapphires, ame⯑thyſts, [11]and rubies. The river was known to Ptolemy by the title of Beſynga, and gave its name to the modern river of Pegu.

THE other exports of Pegu are teek timber, elephants, ivory, EXPORTS. bees-wax, lac, iron, tin, indigo, oil from different woods, oil of earth, or Naptha, and of fiſh. Here are mines of gold and ſilver, but neither of theſe are worked. The iron is native, and found in maſſes of fifteen or twenty pounds weight, and ready for the ma⯑nufacturer; alſo plenty of ſulphur and ſaltpetre, but the exporta⯑tion of the laſt is moſt ſtrictly prohibited. Rice is cultivated in great abundance in the low lands of the country, but no atten⯑tion is paid to any ſort of manufactures, except that of cotton, for home conſumption.

I MAY obſerve, BEES. that the bees of the torrid zone are the ſame with the European, there being only one ſpecies producing honey, which is the Apis Mellifica. No attempts are made, either in India or the hotter parts of Africa, to hive theſe admirable and uſeful inſects; they inhabit the hollows of trees, from which their trea⯑ſures are taken.

LAC is the production of another inſect, a ſpecies of Chermes, LAC. undeſcribed by Linnaeus. Doctor Roxburgh, a naturaliſt now riſing in Hindooſtan, gives us an account of its operations, in the Philoſophical Tranſactions ^*, under the name of Chermes Lacca. This, like the bee, forms cells, pentagons, hexagons, and irregular ſquares, which, at Samulcotta, in Orixa, the Doctor's reſidence, are affixed to the branches of the Mimoſa Cinerea, the Mimoſa Glauca of Koenig, and a new ſpecies called by the Gentoos, Conda Corinda. The inſects are very ſmall; they [12]firſt appear iſſuing out of the cells ſix-legged and wingleſs, and are amazingly active and lively; each cell contains about a hundred; the eggs they proceed from are lodged in the cells in a deep-red liquor. Theſe are the females. The males are winged, and are not in proportion to the females more than one to five thouſand, but they are four or five times their ſize. The eggs, and the liquor they are lodged in, give a moſt beautiful red. Doctor Roxburgh acknowleges, that the ſubject from which the materials of the cells is collected is as yet unknown.

LAC is brought over to Europe in three forms; adhering to the ſticks, with the cells and inſects; prepared in form of cakes; or in ſmall grains, or ſeed lac, which is the inſect advanced into a pupa ſtate. This drug was once uſed in medicine, in diſorders of the gums, proceeding from colds or ſcorbutic habits; but the uſes are now confined to the making of ſealing wax, or for dying. Gerard ^* gives a figure of a ſtick of the tree, and the lac adhering, and ſuppoſes it to be the Luchs of Avicen, the Cancamum of Dioſcorides.

Pegu imports from Bengal great quantities of Indian goods, IMPORTS. and ſome European, eſpecially hats. The coco palm does not grow in Pegu, the nut is therefore a conſiderable import. Dam⯑pier ſhipped eleven thouſand, and five or ſix hundred pounds weight of ſugar, as preſents for the king.

THE river of Pegu ariſes in the province of Yunan, RIVER OF PEGU. in China, paſſes through the upper part of the kingdom of Siam, and forces its way through a great chain of mountains in about Lat. 20° 32′, which run from north to eaſt, dividing Siam from Pegu; here it aſſumes the name of that kingdom. CITY. The capital city [13]ſtands on the eaſtern bank, in about Lat. 18° 8′. In its pro⯑ſperity it conſiſted of two parts, the old and the new; the laſt was the royal reſidence, and completed about the year 1567, by Man⯑daragri, the ſecond Burmagh king. A tyrant monarch aroſe, who oppreſſed his ſubjects to ſuch a degree, as to encourage the neighboring princes to invade his dominions, and in 1596, he was beſieged by them in his capital. The Portugueſe, in con⯑junction with certain Turks, cauſed the ſiege to be raiſed, but out of a hundred and fifty thouſand inhabitants, only thirty thouſand were left, all the others periſhed, either by the ſword or famine; it had at that time three thouſand cannon for its de⯑fence, of which one thouſand were braſs. The kings of Aracan and Tangu took advantage of his diſtreſs, the city was again be⯑ſieged, ſurrendered to the latter, and the unfortunate monarch, and his whole family, put to death by order of his own ſiſter, queen to the victorious king; the place was foon deſerted, and the ſeat of empire transferred to Ava. The city of Pegu was of vaſt ſize, a regular ſquare, with four grand ſtreets leading to four gates, and being ſeated on a plain, a perſon at the center could ſee them all at once, though the city was a mile each way. The houſes were built with bamboo; it was ſurrounded with walls, and a deep wet ditch, ſtocked with crocodiles, CROCODILES. to prevent people attempting to get in or out of the city by ſwimming or wading.

THE bore, or head wave of the tide, BORE, OR HEAD WAVE. which runs up this river is of amazing violence and rapidity; people who have the misfor⯑tune of being ſhipwrecked on the banks near the ſhore, at low water or ebb of tide, are obliged to ſeek the land with all poſſible ſpeed, for fear leſt they ſhould be ſwept away. On its entering [14]the channels and the mouths of rivers, the noiſe is moſt tre⯑mendous. The bore is ſaid to be ſixteen feet high; the barks which run up the Pegu river, are carried with the rapidity of an arrow out of a bow. If they cannot finiſh their voyage in a tide, they anchor on ſome of the numerous ſand banks with which the river is filled. The expanſion of the tide on thoſe elevated parts leſſens the danger; as ſoon as the barks begin to be lifted up, they prepare for their voyage. At a certain time the mariners looſen their anchors, and are carried on as I deſcribe. If they, or even the largeſt ſhips, lay in the channel, they would certainly be overſet, and the crew and the cargo at once over⯑whelmed in the wave; for this reaſon, large ſhips ſeldom ven⯑ture to navigate this river, but diſcharge their lading at Siriam, from whence it was wont to be conveyed to Pegu in barks.

THE Portugueſe very ſoon got conſiderable intereſt in this country, but by their profligate conduct were expelled by the reigning monarch. SYLVEIRA, HIS SAD FATE. One Thomas Sylveira had by his valor done conſiderable ſervice to the king in the Siameſe wars; he became a prime favorite, had his ſtate elephant and body-guard allowed; till one day paſſing through the ſtreets, and hearing the mirth of nuptial merriment in a burgher's houſe, ſtopped at the door, and underſtanding that the bride was a virgin of uncom⯑mon beauty, requeſted a ſight of her; the bridegroom, thinking it an extraordinary honor, brought her to the ſide of Sylveira's elephant; the ruſſian cauſed her to be ſeized, and carried to his houſe. The unhappy bridegroom, unable to ſuſtain his loſs, cut his throat; the relations rent their cloaths, and ran through the ſtreets, appealing to their gods and monarch for revenge. The king heard the complaint, cauſed Sylveira to be ſeized, and [15]to be dragged at the foot of an elephant through the ſtreets till neither ſkin or fleſh were left on his bones, and all the Portu⯑gueſe in Pegu, except the few who could eſcape by flight, were inſtantly maſſacred.

THE laſt great mouth of the Pegu river is the Sitang; SITANG RIVER. it di⯑vides the kingdom of Pegu from the province of Martaban. MARTABAN. The city of that name was for ſome time a royal reſidence, and had once been the capital of an independent monarchy, but was attacked and taken by the king of Ava, who murdered the ſovereign, maſſacred the inhabitants, and reduced the place to aſhes. After this, Hamilton ^* ſays, that the conqueror ſunk large veſſels loaden with ſtones at the mouth of the port, which was once a fine harbor, ſo that at preſent only ſmall ſhips can enter. It had formerly been the moſt flouriſhing commercial town of the Eaſt, and ſtill retains its potteries and manufactures, jars glazed with lead ore, large enough to contain two hogſheads. Hamilton alſo mentions its fiſheries, and adds, that its dried mul⯑lets exceed in delicacy all fiſh of the kind.

FROM the mouth of the Martaban harbor, the courſe runs due ſouth, as far as the iſle of Junkſeilon, ISLE OF JUNK⯑SEILON. an extent of above five hundred miles. The coaſt of Martaban takes in about a hundred and forty of the computation; the currents along the ſhore are moſt ſwift and violent; the country bordering on the ſea little known, and very barbarous. It is ſkirted with ſmall iſles, and is full of danger.

THE natives of the kingdom of Pegu, NATIVES OF PEGU. reſemble the Malays in appearance and diſpoſition, but are more induſtrious. Their [16]maſters, the Buraghmahs, are liker to the Arabs in their features, and of a darker complexion than the Peguers; they are much addicted to commerce, and ſo numerous, even in Pegu, as to ex⯑ceed the natives as 100 to 1. They tattow themſelves, and by rubbing in gunpowder, the marks become permanent: the men are ſtout made; they paint their thighs in graceful flouriſhes.

THE lower Siam, LOWER SIAM. part of the great kingdom of Siam, begins in Lat. 14° 50′. TOWN OF MERGUI. The town of Mergui ſtands on an iſland in the mouth of the river Tenaſſerim, in Lat. 12° 12′; it was once a moſt flouriſhing emporium, till it was, by the tyranny of the go⯑vernment, almoſt totally deſerted, and the whole neighborhood became the habitation of wild beaſts. Mergui was, at the cloſe of the laſt century, much frequented by the Engliſh free mer⯑chants; but they were recalled by the Eaſt India company. They likewiſe had a fort here, now in ruins. During the inun⯑dations, there is a paſſage from Mergui to Juthia, or the capital of Siam, which may at that ſeaſon be performed the greateſt part of the way on rafts in three weeks, but in the dry ſeaſon the paſ⯑ſage takes twice the time. The river runs ſeveral leagues due eaſt, and after it has paſſed the city of Tenaſſerim, turns to the north, and keeps for a vaſt length of way towards its origin, which is ſaid to be in China. The river, and the town of Mergui, were the Daona of Ptolemy, and the city of Tenaſſerim the Berobe.

A GREAT chain of mountains divides the kingdom of Siam in two; it begins to the eaſt of Tenaſſerim, and pointing north paſſes through the kingdom of Ava, continues its courſe through China, and probably unites with thoſe of Thibet and even Tartary.

[17] Mergui ſtands oppoſite to the center of the Archipelago of the ſame name, a moſt numerous group of iſles, ARCHIPELAGO OF MERGUI. beginning in about Lat. 13° 13′, and reaching as low as Lat. 10° 15′, and in length ſtretching along the coaſt a hundred and thirty miles from north to ſouth, and from thirty to fifteen miles diſtant from the continent: the channel has all the way good ſoundings, good anchorage, and regular tides, which on the ſprings riſe to twelve feet. Captain Thomas Forreſt, in 1783, took a moſt accurate ſurvey of theſe iſlands, and proved the advantage of a know⯑lege of the channel between them and the main land. At p. p. i. ii. of his preface, he ſhews how our Indiamen may, in their way to Europe, ſave the hazard of being embayed and loſing their paſſage, by taking this route, and by getting round Atcheen head in Sumatra, proceed to Europe.

ALL the iſles are mountanous, and may be ſeen in clear weather at the diſtance of fourteen or fifteen leagues, and moſt of them finely wooded: many of the trees are very lofty; among them is the Poon tree, or Uvaria Altiſſima, ſo uſeful for maſts, and the Coco palm, of ſuch univerſal uſe in all parts of India. In Pegu, the nut is eſteemed a neceſſary of life, nearly as much as rice.

THE iſlands are of various ſizes and forms, but generally very ſmall; many exactly of the ſhape of a bee-hive, and clothed with woods; a few are very rocky, and ſo rudely broken, as to ſeem flung up by a mighty convulſion; ſuch are the rocks called the Cupelo. The largeſt iſles are St. Mathews, St. Suſannas, and Sullivans, or the Domel. Among them are ſome very good harbors, particularly Haſtings Bay, in the iſle of St. Mathew. HASTINGS BAY. [18]Mr. Forreſt propoſed a ſettlement to be formed of the natives of Hindooſtan, on ſome of the iſlands, in order to profit by the rich commerce of Pegu. He ſays, ſlate and marble are found here, and that there is plenty of coral to burn into lime. He adds, Swallow, i. e. a ſort of Actinia, in great requeſt in China as a de⯑licacy, and alſo the edible birds neſts.

ABOUT a hundred and fifty leagues to the weſt of the moſt eaſtern part of the Archipelago of Mergui, are the greater and leſſer iſlands of Andaman. ISLANDS OF ANDAMAN. Ptolemy calls the firſt, Inſulae Bonae Fortunae, perhaps, ſays M. D'Anville, becauſe navigators might exult at eſcaping from ſhores, infamous for being inhabited by a barbarous Anthropophagi. The antient name of the leſſer Anda⯑man was Maniole. All the iſlands, even as far as the group off the weſt end of Sumatra, labored under the ſame ſcandal.

THE great Andaman is about a hundred and eight miles long, and extends from north to ſouth between Lat. 13° 53′, and 12° 16′; it is nearly of the ſame breadth, or between thirty and forty miles. The mountains riſe rude and lofty; that called the Saddle-back, is ſeen twenty-two leagues diſtance at ſea. By Captain Wragg's view, there appears a conſiderable bay on the weſtern ſide, with a fine river running into the ſouthern part: this is the iſland which Marco Polo calls Angania, and ſays, that the inhabitants live like wild beaſts on fruits, and alſo human fleſh; and that they have heads and teeth like dogs, but that their iſland abounds with fruits and all ſorts of perfumes. The Bramins ſay that theſe iſles are inhabited by devils incarnate, animated by the ſouls of impious men. In reſpect to the teeth of the inhabitants, it may be in ſome meaſure true, for in many [19]parts of the Eaſtern world, the natives are uſed to file their teeth into the form of thoſe of the canine ſpecies.

Frederic Caeſar, a traveller of authority ^*, ſailed by theſe iſlands about the year 1564; he made the ſame report of their barbarity, and adds, that they refuſe all commerce with ſtrangers, and have ſmall barks with which they attack and take any veſſels they can maſter, and kill and eat the priſoners. Caeſar met with two of their barks, having on board nuts and fruit; they refuſed money, and were prevaled on to exchange ſome of their fruits for old rags, but could not be induced by any means to come on board.

Hamilton ^† ſpeaks of them as a fearleſs people; that they will ſwim off to any boat which approaches their iſland, and attack it with their wooden weapons in defiance of numbers, of our muſ⯑quetry, and of the miſſive and defenſive weapons of iron and ſteel. They annually make an excurſion in their preos or little barks to their neighbors of the Nicobar iſles, and kill and take pri⯑ſoners all they can. The Nicobarians are a quiet people, but once they took courage, and collecting their force, gave battle, and totally defeated their barbarous enemies. The ſame writer, from the report of a native who had been taken priſoner when young by ſome Nicobarians, and was converted to Mahometaniſm, made frequent voyages to his native iſlands, and often returned with four or five hundred weight of quickſilver, with which he ſaid they abounded.

THE whole of the greater Andaman is ſkirted with ſmall iſlands. Mr. Dalrymple makes mention of a cluſter inhabited by [20]men moſt ſavage in their appearance, quite black, and with woolly hair like the African Caffres; their noſes not ſo flat, for in feature they reſemble the Malays; they go naked, have canoes, and uſe one end of their paddle as a bow to ſhoot with.

AT a great diſtance from the eaſtern ſide are the Barren Iſle, and the iſle of Narcondra, a vaſt mountain riſing out of the ſea, a land-mark from which ſhips take their departure.

ABOUT twelve leagues due ſouth from the greater, LESSER ANDA⯑MAN. is the leſſer Andaman, in length twenty-ſix miles, a place known only by name.

Carn Nicobar, CARN NICO⯑BAR. BARUSSAE, INS. ANTHROPOPH. is a flat iſland a hundred miles to the ſouth of the leſſer Andaman, nearly five miles broad, and very fertile in all the tropical fruits, rich in graſs, and has plenty of cattle and hogs. This iſland furniſhes Pegu with abundance of coco nuts, which are carried there by the Engliſh, French, and Portugueſe. The Nicobar iſles extend, NICOBAR ISLANDS. at no great diſtances from each other, to the ſouth, SINDAE, INS. ANTHROPOPH. with an inclination to the eaſt. The middle group con⯑ſiſts of fine champaign land; and is called the Sombrera, from the reſemblance of a hill on one of them to a ſombrera or umbrella. Carn Nicobar, lies in Lat. 9° 10′, the ſouthern point of the greateſt Nicobar, the more ſouthern of the ſeries, is in Lat. 6° 51′; this and the adjacent iſles are mountanous. This group was called by Ptolemy, Inſulae Sindae, and the Sombrera Baruſſae; we are made tolerably well acquainted with theſe iſlands by means of Dampier, who on diſcovering the piratical deſigns of his captain, one Read, prevaled to be ſet on ſhore, and with two or three Acheneſe, who were landed after him, re⯑ſided [21]there ſome time. He repreſents the natives as honeſt, civil, and harmleſs, huſband of one wife, and, according to the Engliſh rule, till death doth them part. They are neither ad⯑dicted to quarrel, theft, or murder; in their perſons they are tall and well-limbed, their viſages long, noſes well proportioned, and their whole features agreeable, their hair lank and black, their ſkins a deep copper; the men go naked, excepting the wrapper which paſſes round their waiſt, and from thence under the thighs, and brought ſo as to tuck before. The women wear a ſhort petticoat not reaching lower than the knee.

THESE people have neither an apparent government or reli⯑gion; each man is patriarchal, the ruler of his own family. Their property conſiſts in the plantations of coco palms, COCO TREES. which are along the ſhores; the country inland ſeemed not cleared, and impervious by any paths.

THEY have another tree of uſe, which they call the Melory; MELORY. it grows wild: Dampier, who was very obſervant, ſays he never ſaw any in other parts of his travels; he adds, it grows to the ſize of our larger apple trees; that the fruit is as big as a penny loaf, of the ſhape of a pear, with a ſmooth greeniſh rind; the inſide is like that of an apple, but full of ſmall ſtrings: it is their chief food; they either eat it boiled, or ſcrape the pulp clear from the ſtrings, and make it into a cake as large as a Dutch cheeſe, which will keep ſix or ſeven days, and has a good taſte; they have a few ſmall hogs, and ſome poultry.

THE principal employ of the natives is fiſhing: their ca⯑noes are ſharp at each end; flat on one ſide, and convex on [22]the other, and have ſome ſlight outriggers. Theſe veſſels go either with a ſail or paddle, and hold from nine to thirty men.

THE Nicobar iſlands produce the beautiful and ſingular pigeon, PIGEON. to which they give name; the feathers on the head are purple, thoſe of the neck, long, narrow, and ſharp-pointed like the hac⯑cle of a cock, and reflecting various gloſſes of purple, red, gold, blue, and copper; the back a changeable green; the primaries a fine blue; the tail and its coverts white.

I NOW croſs from the greater or more ſouthern Nicobar to the iſland of Junkſeilon, ISLAND OF JUNKSEILON. about two hundred and ſixty miles diſtant. It lies north-eaſt of the former, between Lat. 7° 30′ and 8° 24′, is of a long form, the coaſt extremely indented with bays, and very ſalient promontories; the chief port is Popra, the Tacola emporium of Ptolemy. Hamilton ^* ſays it produces good maſts, and that it has plenty of tin; about five hundred tons are an⯑nually exported, according to the account given by Captain For⯑reſt, who was there in 1784. The iſland, ſubject to Siam, is governed by a viceroy and three aſſiſtants, and contains about twelve thouſand inhabitants. The northern end is divided from the continent by a channel not exceeding a mile in breadth. Between the eaſtern ſide and the main land, is a great bay filled with numbers of ſmall iſles, and in the middle Pulo Panjang, which from north to ſouth is in length twenty-three miles ^†.

THE kingdom of lower Siam, bounds the northern and eaſtern ſides of the bay; within the laſt is comprehended the narrow iſthmus of the peninſula of Malacca, which does not exceed in breadth fifty miles.

[23]AT the termination of the kingdom of Siam, KINGDOM OF QUEDAH. begins the little monarchy of Quedah, a flat and fertile country, which extends ſeveral leagues along the coaſt. It was once tributary to Siam, but during a war the Siameſe were engaged in with Pegu, it re⯑volted, and is governed by a Malay Mahometan prince, as ty⯑rannical as he is poor; he reſides in a town about fifty miles from the ſea, on a ſmall navigable river; the mouth of which is in Lat. 6° 10′. This river, according to Mannevillette, branches, pe⯑ninſulates a great tract, and reverts to the ſea, forming two diſtant entrances into the country; the interior land riſes to a great heighth. The monarch never fails viſiting the European ſhips which enter the port, to extort from them ſome preſent; the religion of the country is a mongrel Mahometaniſm, mixed with the native idolatry.

THE little Quedah turtle ^* is of the ſize of a ſparrow, TURTLE DOVE. and moſt delicious food; it has been tranſported to the Iſle of France, where it has multiplied greatly.

THE northern end of the iſland of Sumatra lies in Lat. 5° 5′, and immediately oppoſite to old Quedah. That part of Sumatra trends faſt to the ſouth-eaſt till it reaches Cape Diamond, in Lat. 4° 50′, which is the parallel of Pulo Dolom, an iſle cloſe to the ſhore of the peninſula of Malacca. STREIGHTS OF MALACCA. Here commences the Peri⯑mulicus ſinus, or great ſtreights of Malacca, bounded by Sumatra on the weſt, and the peninſula on the eaſt. I ſhall ſcarcely men⯑tion that noble iſland, till I begin with it as chief of thoſe of the Indian Ocean.

THE next place of note on the coaſt, is a great tract of flat [24]land, inſulated by ſeveral channels, which form various iſles, and open by different mouths into the ſea.

THE greater iſle, PULO PERA. or Pulo Pera, the antient Perumela empo⯑rium, has a moſt uſeful and magnificent harbor which runs far inland, with various branches on the right and on the left; it has from eight to five fathoms of water; a mountain riſes out of the middle of the iſle; the river that runs up the country is called by Mr. Forreſt, Pera. Before its mouth is Pulo Ding-Ding, and other iſles. That navigator ^* went up the river to viſit the monarch of the country, who was attended by guards, dreſſed in Chineſe habits, with the dragon on their breaſts.

FARTHER to the ſouth, in Lat. 2° 50′, the ſtreights contract in breadth very conſiderably. PULO ARU. The ſmall iſles Pulo Aru are in the middle of the channel, which here begins to be greatly nar⯑rowed by rocks and banks on each ſhore. On the Malacca ſide, to the ſouth-eaſt of Pulo Aru, is a large bay, filled with flat moraſſy iſles, divided by very narrow channels. On one of the moſt ſouthern of them ſtands Mount Parcelar, a noted ſea⯑mark to ſhips navigating this dangerous ſtreight.

STILL more to the ſouth, MALACCA CITY. in Lat. 2° 20′, is Malacca, the ca⯑pital city of the peninſula; it probably ſucceeded Perimula as the emporium of this part of India. When the great Albu⯑querque had made his country ſovereign of Ceylon, he turned his thoughts towards this territory, and determined to give to Por⯑tugal the whole commerce of the Eaſt. At that time Malacca poſſeſſed the entire trade of India; ſhips from every port of Hindooſtan, from China, the Phillipine and the Molucca iſlands, [25]from Perſia, Arabia, and even Africa, filled its harbor. The Arabians brought with them their religion, and eſtabliſhed Ma⯑hometaniſm in the court of this kingdom, as they had done in that of Hindooſtan.

THIS port was firſt viſited in 1508 by the Portugueſe ad⯑miral Lopez Sequiera. TAKEN BY THE PORTUGUESE. On his arrival he met with the moſt friendly reception from the reigning monarch; but ſuch a jea⯑louſy aroſe among the commercial people of the different na⯑tions, eſpecially the Arabs, which they ſo effectually inſtilled into the prince, as ſoon to deſtroy the good underſtanding be⯑tween him and the ſtrangers he had ſo ſuddenly taken an affec⯑tion for. His conduct had lulled the Portugueſe into ſo deep a ſecurity, that numbers of them took up their reſidence in the city, and Sequiera even appointed Araujo, a favorite of Albu⯑querque's, as conſul. The prince did not dare to attack the ad⯑miral by open force, but uſed every ſpecies of treachery to de⯑ſtroy him. Finding his plots detected, he ordered his ſubjects to maſſacre the Europeans who were in their power. Numbers were ſlain; but Araujo and a few others were kept as hoſtages to prevent the revenge of the admiral, who, after various endea⯑vors to recover them, was obliged to leave them behind, and to ſet ſail for the Malabar coaſt.

Albuquerque took advantage of the quarrel; he ſailed from Goa in 1511, and ſoon appearing before the port of Malacca, clamed the releaſe of his countrymen. Theſe demands were at firſt refuſed; but after ſome hoſtilities, the king was ſo terri⯑fied as to ſend to Albuquerque, Araujo and all the ſurviving Por⯑tugueſe. Notwithſtanding this, it was diſcovered that he intended [26]nothing leſs than the deſtruction of the Europeans. It is evident he had great reaſon to ſuſpect his new gueſts, for Albuquerque, among other requeſts, deſired leave to erect a fort to ſecure his countrymen from any future attacks. This the king knew was only a prelude to the ſubjection of him and his ſubjects to a fo⯑reign yoke. The refuſal was followed by the landing of the Por⯑tugueſe; ſeveral ſevere ſkirmiſhes enſued, which, as uſual, ended with the defeat of the Indians. The city was forced, and the pa⯑lace taken by ſtorm, but though the king found means to eſcape with all his valuable effects, Albuquerque got two hundred thou⯑ſand ducats to his ſhare of the plunder. Among other means of reſiſtance, the Malayes placed in the way of the aſſailants a ſort of chevaux de frize with poiſoned points. No people are ſo expert as the Malayes in that dreadful art. The city was alſo defended by three thouſand cannon, a number of artillery ſurpriſing in thoſe days. The monarch fled to the woods, where he ſoon died of grief. This ſucceſs of Albuquerque's ſtruck all the neighboring nations with admiration. The king of Siam, and the princes of Sumatra and Java, and the other neighboring iſles, ſent to him embaſſadors, and various rich preſents. Thoſe from Java very politically preſented him with ſpears and darts, all kinds of hoſtile weapons, and pieces of embroidery repreſenting the warlike ex⯑ploits of their maſter, to impreſs on the ſtranger an idea of the valor of the Javaneſe monarch.

THE Portugueſe from time to time fortified Malacca in a manner ſuitable to its importance, and it became the greateſt em⯑porium in India. By this wiſe ſtroke of policy, Albuquerque gave to his country the poſſeſſion of the gold, the gems, the ſpices, [27]and other rich productions of India ultra Gangem, and its iſlands, as he did before thoſe of Hindooſtan, by the capture of the famous city of Goa.

THE Portugueſe continued in poſſeſſion of Malacca till the year 1641, EXPELLED BY THE DUTCH. when it was wreſted out of their hands by the Dutch, after a ſix months ſiege. The governor is accuſed by hiſtorians of treachery, and to have been bribed into a ſurrender; but it is certain that he did not give the place up till after the moſt gallant defence. The Dutch, ſenſible of its value, paid the utmoſt attention to its fortifications, and to every thing that could revive the antient commerce, which had almoſt ſunk to nothing, by the tyranny and uſual ill conduct of the Portu⯑gueſe.

THE city had in their time ſeveral fine churches, and num⯑bers of monaſteries; and the Jeſuits a noble college, in which they exerciſed great hoſpitality. All theſe of courſe fell to decay under the reign of the ſons of Calvin. Sharp as they are, they were outwitted by the ſons of Rome: the religious of the ſeveral convents made a requeſt to the conqueror, that they might be permitted to quit their houſes in ſolemn proceſſion; each carried a large waxen taper in his hand, within which were concealed their diamonds, and all the leſſer treaſures. The vic⯑tors were defrauded of the fruits of their valor, and, as Son⯑nerat ſays, their commander loſt his head, on his return to Holland, for not having ſagacity enough to diſcover the trick.

Malacca is exceedingly large; much of it is built of ſtrong bamboo, but the ſeveral ſtone buildings, among them the gover⯑nor's houſe, make a conſpicuous figure. A narrow but deep and [28]rapid river divides the town from the fort, one ſide of which is waſhed by the ſea; in that part only four leagues diſtant from the low land of Sumatra. Malacca is a true emporium, or mart, the great magazine of the various rich articles of commerce brought from the ſeveral countries I have mentioned. As to the peninſula itſelf, it yields little more than the ſine tin and elephants' teeth. Let me conclude, that this place was celebrated among the an⯑tients for its gold, AUREA CHER⯑SONESUS. for which reaſon it was called by them Aurea Cherſoneſus; ſtill, at no great diſtance from the city of Ma⯑lacca, is a hill called the Golden Mount. Some imagine this to have been the Ophir of Solomon. I ſhall mention, in vol. of the Outlines of the Globe, the ſuppoſition that Ophir was a place in Aethiopia. I will not enter into the diſpute, and only ſay, that if the birds which we know at preſent by the name of pea⯑cocks, were thoſe intended ^*, this, or ſome other part of India, might have been the place from which Solomon drew his wealth, peacocks being found in plenty here, and unknown, at leaſt in thoſe days, in any part of Africa.

To the ſouth of Malacca is the ſmall kingdom of Johore; KINGDOM OF JOHORE. we have ſcarce any acquaintance with it, and know little more of its hiſtory, than that it was governed by a brutal ſet of princes, and that in 1712 a rebellion aroſe, which ended in the expulſion of the royal family.

THE ſouthern entrance into the ſtreights of Malacca is filled with a moſt numerous archipelago of ſmall iſles, even to the ſhores of Sumatra. The land from Tanjong Buro, in Johore, bends into a creſcent, likewiſe filled with iſles. One is called Sin⯑capour, STREIGHTS OF SINCAPOUR. which gives name to the well-known paſſage for ſhips [29]bound to or from the Eaſt. There are ſeveral other channels be⯑tween the iſlands, but that of Sincapour is the beſt; yet all are ſubject to danger, by reaſon of the rapidity and irregularity of the tides, and the reefs or ſand banks which are found in ſome or other of theſe narrow paſſages. The weſtern horn of the cre⯑ſcent is Cape Romano; this ſtands in Lat. 2° 12′, CAPE ROMANO. and is the moſt ſouthern point of the continent of Aſia. A little to the weſt of that point, on a large river, ſtands the city of Johore, or Batuſa⯑bar, erroneouſly ſuppoſed by M. D'Anville to have been the ſame with the Zaba or Sabana emporium of Ptolemy. The Cape Ro⯑mano is certainly the Magnum Promontorium, or Malaeucolon, a name borrowed from the antient Malayes. Romano ſeems to be a traditional name, uſed in memory of the nations which fre⯑quented the adjacent port, where the ſhips muſt often have been obliged to wait for the proper wind, to enable them to double the great promontory, and purſue their voyage to the ſeveral marts on each ſide of the gulph of Siam.

FOR the tracing the remainder of the coaſts on the continent, I ſhall no more conſult the opinion of my able guide, M. D'An⯑ville, but follow that of a countryman, Mr. John Caverhill, who, in the lviith volume of the Philoſophical Tranſactions, has given a very able criticiſm on thoſe parts of Ptolemy which relate to theſe particular ſhores.

AFTER doubling the Cape Romano, the peninſula takes a north north-weſtern direction. Between Lat. 2° 22′, and Pulo Va⯑rela, in Lat. 3° 20′ is an extenſive group of ſmall iſles, which fill the ſea for a conſiderable breadth, almoſt to the very ſhore; the largeſt is Pulo Timon. PULO TIMON. In paſſing down the ſtreights of Ma⯑lacca, [30]as far as Cape Romano, navigators are obliged to take an eaſtern courſe ^*. This proves how well Ptolemy was informed when he ſaid, that the Roman ſhips bound for Cattigara took that direction, but afterwards, when they had doubled the Cape, they (being hurried eaſterly by the tide, which ruſhes through the ſtreights of Sincapour) were under the neceſſity of making a tack, and proceeding weſterly, to reach the ſeveral ports they might be bound for, in the Magnus Sinus.

Pahang port, PAHANG and town, are in Lat. 3° 50′, and in a moſt fruitful country. The mouth of the river has an iſland before it. The north channel has, at high water, the depth of four fathoms, and juſt within the bar, good anchorage in ſix. The eſtuary is a mile broad, but ſo full of ſand banks, that it is with great trouble a veſſel of thirty tons can work up to the town, diſtant twelve miles from the ſea. The river riſes far up the country, waſhes the foot of the hill of Malacca, GOLD. and contains a vaſt deal of gold. Hamilton viſited this country in 1719, and reports, that lumps of five or ſix ounces weight have been found. The divers uſually deſcend to the depth of three fathoms, but the greateſt lumps of the pretious metal are found in ten. Some years eight hundred weight have been exported. Well may this country have been ſuppoſed to have been another Ophir. Joſephus ^† ſeems to have been right in fixing it here, if his authority was good for ſaying, that the antient name of this part of India was Sophora, now the land of gold, which comes ſo very near to that of Ophir. Poſſibly the word is the Malayan name for the pre⯑tious metal. M. Le Poivre ſays, that the inhabitants of Malacca [31]and Sumatra call their gold mines ophirs, and Mr. Marſden ^*, that in the latter iſland is a hill named Mount Ophir, poſſibly from its having been once rich in gold.

MUCH pepper is cultivated on the ſides of the river; PEPPER. about three hundred tons have been ſent to market, but had there been a demand, three thouſand might be raiſed in the ſpace of five years. The beſt canes in the world are ſaid to grow in theſe parts.

Trangano or Tringoran, TRANGANO. a ſmall town a little to the north of Pahang, is ſeated on a river near the ſea, in which ſmall ſhips may moor ſecurely among the rocks. The town did conſiſt of above a thouſand houſes, half of which are inhabited by Chineſe, who traffic in their jonks to Siam, Cambodia, and Tonquin. Tran⯑gano is moſt deliciouſly ſeated amidſt low hills, covered with the eternal verdure of undeciduous trees; lemons, oranges, FRUITS. mango⯑ſtans, and all the fruits of the Indies grow here in perfection; and the vallies laugh with grain, pulſe, and ſugar, but all owing to the induſtry of the Chineſe. The feudal Malayes are too lazy to make the earth yield its increaſe. Pepper is raiſed in great abundance, but the port is ſhut up from October to March, by a moſt violent ſea, driven in by the north-eaſt monſoons. In the ſtill months, the ſea is ſaid to afford the fineſt of fiſh. Pto⯑lemy places, either in the neighborhood of this town or Pahang, a place called Thagora.

LATITUDE 6° paſſes over part of the group of the Ridang iſles, RIDANO ISLES. which lie not remote from the coaſt. They are inhabited by Malayan pirates, who ſeize on any veſſels they can maſter, eſ⯑pecially [32]the Chineſe, and ſell the crews and paſſengers for ſlaves. It is not infrequent that they murder the whole crew. Their veſſels are crowded with men, armed either with lances and creſſes, or ſhort daggers. They ſuddenly board the ſhips they think they can maſter; and having their native ferocity heightened by opium, inſtantly ſtab all whom they find in their way. Theſe miſcreants ſwarm in the ſtreights of Malacca, and in all the iſlands which go under the name of Malaye.

Patani, PATANI., in Lat. 6° 50′, the next town of note, lies cloſe on the ſhore, and was once greatly frequented by ſhips from Surat, the Malabar coaſt, and that of Coromandel, beſide what come from China and other neighboring countries; but the merchants finding no protection from the murderous pirates, quite deſerted the place. This may have been the Balonga of Ptolemy.

ADVANCING ſtill north, GULPH OF SIAM. we enter the gulph of Siam, the Magnus Sinus of the ſame geographer; the land after paſſing Patani, makes a conſiderable curvature towards the weſt, which continues as far as Patanor, in about Lat. 10°, where it bends towards the north-eaſt, till it ends in the bottom of the gulph at the river of Siam. Thus finiſhes the outline of this celebrated peninſula.

IN this curvature, PIPERI. near the bottom of the bay, ſtood the an⯑tient Sipiberis, the modern Piperi; and to the ſouth of it Sindu, the preſent Sini.

WE ſhall take a review of its whole extent, from the northern end of its iſthmus, in Lat. 9° 12′, to its ſouthern extremity at cape Romano, which is about ſix hundred and ſixty miles. The breadth in the wideſt part, is about two hundred miles; from [33]that part it gradually narrows till it ends nearly in a point at cape Romano. All the interior parts of the country are hilly; the lower grounds towards the ſea marſhy and wooded.

IN reſpect to the general view of the peninſula, its produc⯑tions, and the ſingular manners and government of the inhabi⯑tants, it is impoſſible to give a more clear ſtatement than in the words of M. Le Poivre, the author of the celebrated Voyages d'un Philoſophe. We uſe the tranſlation of 1769, which is done in a ſtyle equally elegant with that of the original; I will not in⯑jure it by abridgment, but give the whole, from p. 67 to p. 78, and afterwards ſome explanatory remarks on certain parts, and a brief account of the natural hiſtory, collected from different ma⯑terials. In the articles of botany, mineralogy, and zoology, there is ſo great agreement between the productions of the op⯑poſite Sumatra and the peninſula, that I ſhall, except in a very few inſtances, defer entering on thoſe ſubjects till I arrive in that great iſland.

I SHALL now return to M. Le Poivre.

"BEYOND the kingdom of Siam," OF THE MALAYES. ſays that moſt obſervant and judicious traveller, ‘is the peninſula of Malacca, a country for⯑merly well peopled, and conſequently well cultivated. This nation was once one of the greateſt powers, and made a very conſiderable figure on the theatre of Aſia. The ſea was covered with their ſhips, and they carried on a moſt extenſive commerce. Their laws, however, were apparently very dif⯑ferent from thoſe which ſubſiſt among them at preſent. From time to time they ſent out numbers of colonies, which, one after another, peopled the iſlands of Sumatra, Java, Bor⯑neo, [34]the Celebes, or Macaſſar, the Moluccas, the Phillippines, and thoſe innumerable iſlands of the Archipelago, which bound Aſia on the eaſt, and which occupy an extent of ſeven hundred leagues in longitude from eaſt to weſt, by about ſix hundred of latitude from north to ſouth. The inhabitants of all theſe iſlands, thoſe at leaſt upon the coaſts, are the ſame people, they ſpeak almoſt the ſame language, have the ſame laws, the ſame manners.—Is it not ſomewhat ſingular, that this nation, whoſe poſſeſſions are ſo extenſive, ſhould ſcarce be known in Europe? I ſhall endeavor to give you an idea of thoſe laws, and thoſe manners; you will, from thence, eaſily judge of their agriculture.’

‘TRAVELLERS who make obſervations on the Malais, are aſtoniſhed to find, in the center of Aſia, under the ſcorching climate of the line, the laws, the manners, the cuſtoms, and the prejudices of the antient inhabitants of the north of Eu⯑rope. The Malais are governed by feudal laws, that capri⯑cious ſyſtem, conceived for the defence of the liberty of a few againſt the tyranny of one, whilſt the multitude is ſubjected to ſlavery and oppreſſion.’

‘A CHIEF, who has the title of king or ſultan, iſſues his commands to his great vaſſals, who obey when they think proper; theſe have inferior vaſſals, who often act in the ſame manner with regard to them. A ſmall part of the nation live independent, under the title of Oramcai or noble, and ſell their ſervices to thoſe who pay them beſt; whilſt the body of the nation is compoſed of ſlaves, and live in perpetual ſervitude.’

‘WITH theſe laws the Malais are reſtleſs, fond of navigation, [35]war, plunder, emigrations, colonies, deſperate enterpriſes, ad⯑ventures, and gallantry. They talk inceſſantly of their ho⯑nor, and their bravery, whilſt they are univerſally conſidered, by thoſe with whom they have intercourſe, as the moſt treacherous, ferocious people on the face of the globe; and yet, which appeared to me extremely ſingular, they ſpeak the ſofteſt language of Aſia. That which the Count de Forbin has ſaid in his memoirs, of the ferocity of the Macaſſars, is exactly true, and is the reigning characteriſtic of the whole Malay nations; more attached to the abſurd laws of their pre⯑tended honor, than to thoſe of juſtice or humanity, you al⯑ways obſerve, that amongſt them, the ſtrong oppreſs and de⯑ſtroy the weak; their treaties of peace and friendſhip never ſubſiſting beyond that ſelf-intereſt which induced them to make them, they are almoſt always armed, and either at war amongſt themſelves, or employed in pillaging their neigh⯑bors.’

‘THIS ferocity, which the Malais qualify under the name of courage, is ſo well known to the European companies, who have ſettlements in the Indies, that they have univerſally agreed in prohibiting the captains of their ſhips, who may put into the Malay iſlands, from taking on board any ſeamen of that nation, except in the greateſt diſtreſs, and then, on no account to exceed two or three.’

‘IT is nothing uncommon for a handful of theſe horrid ſavages ſuddenly to embark, attack a veſſel by ſurpriſe, poignard in hand, maſſacre the people, and make themſelves maſters of her. Malay batteaus, with twenty-five or thirty [36]men, have been known to board European ſhips of thirty or forty guns, in order to take poſſeſſion of them, and murder, with their poignards, great part of the crew. The Malay hiſtory is full of ſuch enterpriſes, which mark the deſperate ferocity of theſe barbarians.’

‘THE Malais who are not ſlaves go always armed, they would think themſelves diſgraced if they went abroad without their poignards, which they call Crit; the induſtry of this nation even ſurpaſſes itſelf, in the fabric of this deſtructive weapon.’

‘As their lives are a perpetual round of agitation and tu⯑mult, they could never endure the long flowing habits which prevail amongſt the other Aſiatics. The habits of the Malais are exactly adapted to their ſhapes, and loaded with a multi⯑tude of buttons, which faſten them cloſe to their bodies in every part. I relate theſe ſeemingly trifling obſervations, in order to prove, that in climates the moſt oppoſite, the ſame laws produce ſimilar manners, cuſtoms, and prejudices; their effect is the ſame too with reſpect to agriculture.’

‘THE lands poſſeſſed by the Malais are, in general, of a ſu⯑perior quality; nature ſeems to have taken pleaſure in there aſſembling her moſt favorite productions. They have not only thoſe to be found in the territories of Siam, but a variety of others peculiar to theſe iſlands. The country is covered with odoriferous woods, ſuch as the eagle or aloes wood, the ſandal, and the Caſſia Odorata, a ſpecies of cinnamon: you there breathe an air impregnated with the odors of innumerable flowers of the greateſt fragrance, of which there is a perpe⯑tual [37]ſucceſſion the year round, the ſweet flavor of which cap⯑tivates the ſoul, and inſpires the moſt voluptuous ſenſations. No traveller, wandering over the plains of Malacca, but feels himſelf ſtrongly impelled to wiſh his reſidence fixed in a place ſo luxuriant in allurements, where nature triumphs without the aſſiſtance of art.’

‘THE Malay iſlands produce various kinds of dying woods, particularly the Sapan, which is the ſame with the Brazil wood. There are alſo a number of gold mines, which the in⯑habitants of Sumatra and Malacca call Ophirs; ſome of which, thoſe eſpecially on the eaſtern coaſt, are richer than thoſe of Brazil or Peru. There are likewiſe mines of fine copper, mixed with gold, which the inhabitants name Tom⯑bage. In the iſlands of Sumatra and Banca, are mines of calin, or ſine tin; and at Succadana, in the iſland of Borneo, is a mine of diamonds. Thoſe iſlands enjoy alſo excluſively, the rotin, the ſagow, (or bread palm tree) the camphre, and other precious aromatics, which we know under the names of va⯑rious ſpiceries.’

‘THE ſea too teems with abundance of excellent fiſh, to⯑gether with ambergris, pearls, and thoſe delicate birds neſts (ſo much in requeſt in China) formed in the rocks with the ſpawn of fiſhes and the foam of the ſea, by a ſpecies of ſmall ſized ſwallow peculiar to thoſe ſeas; this is of ſuch an exquiſite ſubſtance and flavor, that the Chineſe long purchaſed them for their weight in gold, and ſtill buy them at an exceſſive price.’

‘IN the midſt of all this luxuriance of nature, the Malay is [38]miſerable; the culture of the lands, abandoned to ſlaves, is fallen into contempt. Theſe wretched laborers, dragged in⯑ceſſantly from their ruſtic employments, by then reſtleſs maſters, who delight in war and maritime enterpriſes, have rarely time, and never reſolution, to give the neceſſary atten⯑tion to the laboring of their grounds; their lands, in general, remain uncultivated, and produce no kind of grain for the ſubſiſtence of the inhabitants.’

Malacca abounds with quadrupeds, eſpecially with tigers, and others of the moſt ſavage kind. It is cuſtomary here and in Pegu, for the tyrants of the country to make baniſhment into the woods, for a certain time, a puniſhment; the unhappy objects are ſure of never returning; they quickly become a prey to the tiger, or if they chance to eſcape the fangs of that cruel animal, fall victims to hunger or corroding fear.

THE only peculiar quadruped ſeems to be the Civet deſcribed by M. Sonnerat ^*, CIVET ANIMAL. an elegant ſpecies, of the ſize of a common cat; the ground color is a perlaceous grey, darkeſt on the up⯑per part of the body; above the eyes is a line of four ſmall ſpots; on the hind part of the head commence three black bands ending on the ſhoulders; another divides the belly lengthways; on the reins are three, which end at the tail; on the ſides and thighs are ſeven rows of round black ſpots, ſixty-one in number; the tail is long, and annulated with black and grey. This animal inhabits the woods, leaps from tree to tree, and is extremely fierce. It diſtils from the opening placed near the genitals, a muſky liquor, which the Malayes collect, and pretend [39]that it fortifies the ſtomach, and excites the amorous paſſions; for which laſt purpoſe it is bought and highly eſteemed by the Chineſe.

M. Sonnerat ^* gives a very apocryphal account of the wild men of Malacca, WILD MEN. who inhabit the woods and live in the trees. If they ſee any one paſs, they inſtantly deſcend and devour him. There is, ſays he, another kind, leſs ferocious, and which ſhun the ſociety of their anthropophagous brethren; theſe live on fruits, are monogamous, and never cohabit with their wives, but when nature invites; ſome even will enter into a ſort of traffic with the Malayes, and depoſit at the foot of their tree-habita⯑tions, the tin they collect on the mountains, for which the natives leave fruits, and any trifles they think acceptable to their ſecluded brethren; their language is unknown. M. Son⯑nerat ſays he ſaw one (taken young) in the ſervice of a counſellor of Malacca. I wiſh he had fallen to the lot of a Scotch Judge; what a treaſure would he have been to Lord Monboddo! Seriouſly, M. Sonnerat muſt have collected ſome tales of the Ourang Outang, poſſibly a native of this country, as it is of the Malayan archipelago.

THE Malayes are a well made people, but rather below (ſays Mr. Marſden) the middle ſtature; their limbs ſmall, well ſhaped, and particularly ſlender at the wriſts and ancles; their complexions tawney; their eyes large; their noſes flat, probably by art; their hair black, ſhining, and very long.

THERE are a few birds that I mention, BIRDS. becauſe M. Sonnerat aſcribes them to the peninſula; yet all that are found here muſt [40]alſo inhabit Sumatra. He gives us the deſcription of the blue-rumped perroquet of Mr. Latham, Supp. lxvi. The fore head and rump are blue; the predominant color of the reſt of the plumage pale-green; the inner coverts of the wings crimſon.

THE ſhort-tailed Pie, Latham, Supp. 81. Sonnerat, ii. tab. cx. differs very little from that deſcribed in vol. of the Outlines of the Globe.

THE Routoul of Malacca, is a moſt curious ſpecies of crowned pigeon, deſcribed by M. Sonnerat, ii. 174. tab. c.; as is a variety by Mr. Latham, ii. 623, tab. lxiii.

FOR the woodpecker of Malacca, Sonnerat, ii. p. 211, Latham, Supp. p. 111. I refer to the authors cited.

LET me return to the vegetable kingdom to make one excep⯑tion to my deſign. MANGOSTAN. I muſt here mention the Garcinia Mango⯑ſtana, the moſt boaſted fruit of the Indies, and which is found in the higheſt perfection in this peninſula; the name Mangoſtan is Malayan. It is a ſpecies confined to Malacca and the Malaye iſles; grows neither in Hindooſtan, nor naturally in the Mo⯑lucca iſles, but is cultivated in Amboina; the tree does not attain any great height; the fruit is of the ſize of a ſmall apple, of a round form, and deep red wine color; on the ſummit is a ſtar of five or ſix rays, ſquared at their ends; at the bottom are four hollow leaves, the remains of the calyx; the inſide is purple, and like a furrowed globe divided into ſegments, each containing a kernel. Theſe ſegments are full of juice, the moſt delicious that can be imagined, a fine mixture of tart and ſweet, and ſo whole⯑ſome as to be allowed in any quantities to feverous patients. [41]This valuable tree is deſcribed by Bontius, p. 115, of his Hiſtoria Naturalis Ind. Orient. who uſhers in his deſcription with theſe lines,

Laurence Garcin, a phyſician, firſt gave a ſcientifical ac⯑count of it, and was honored by Linnaeus, in having his name given to the genus. A full tranſlation of Garcin's deſcription (with the plate) is publiſhed in vol. viii. p. 755, of Martyn's abridgment of our Tranſactions. In the Herbarium Amboi⯑nenſe ^†, is a very good deſcription, and in plate xliii an excel⯑lent figure of the ſame tree. Every voyager who has viſited the places of the growth of this delicious fruit, is full of its p [...]aiſes.

I NOW return to the coaſt. UPPER SIAM. The kingdom of Siam recom⯑mences on this ſide near Sangora, exactly oppoſite to its limits on the bay of Bengal. The town ſtands on a large river, and has ſome commerce in tin, ivory, aloe-wood, and coarſe gold. Ligore, about twelve leagues to the north, LIGORE. is a very commer⯑cial town, and its neighborhood produces abundance of tin and of elephants teeth. It is ſeated a few miles up the river, and built of bamboo, thatched with reeds; the pagodas have lofty ſteeples in form of pyramids. The Dutch have or had here a factory; their houſes ſtand a league within the mouth of the river, and are built with brick. The road for ſhipping is two leagues at ſea.

[42]THE whole eaſtern ſide of Siam is low, ſteep, and rocky, but inland riſes into lofty mountains. Towards the bottom of the gulph the land approximates, and the contracted part is called the bay of Siam; its entrance is by the mounts of Penſels or Pentens, impending over the water on the weſtern ſhore, and the high cape Siam on the oppoſite. The laſt may be ſeen from the bar of Siam, or the Meinam river, twenty-two leagues diſtant.

ABOUT four hundred and eight miles from Ligore (following the curvature of the gulph) at the very bottom of the bay of Siam, RIVER MEINAM. is the mouth of the great river Meinam, the Serus of Ptolemy, and the moſt conſequential in the kingdom. The road for ſhipping extends for the ſpace of three leagues, in which all ſorts of veſſels may ſafely ride; ſuch was the caſe when that learned traveller Koempfer viſited the place in 1690. The coun⯑try on both ſides the river is marſhy, compoſed of the mud brought down in the annual floods; this river, like the Ganges, being ſubject to periodical inundations. Koempfer informs us that the name Manam or Meinam, in the Siameſe language, ſig⯑nifies the mother of humidities, from its abundance of water, which ſo greatly fertilizes the country. It is deep, rapid, and broader than the Elbe; the upper part is rocky, violent, and in⯑terrupted by cataracts; the lower, divided into ſeveral channels, paſſes through a very level country to the ſea. The banks of the river are covered with trees, animated by monkies; numbers of villages may be ſeen on both ſides; the houſes generally ſtand, I may ſay, upon ſtilts or lofty poſts, ſo that the water during the inundations may paſs without incommoding the occupiers. Near the city of Judia, many of the villages conſiſt of inhabited ſhips, [43]or floating habitations; theſe occaſionally move from place to place when the waters are high; the inmates keep a ſort of fair, and diſpoſe of their various commodities.

THE Meinam riſes at a conſiderable diſtance to the north, in the very extremity of the kingdom, poſſibly far beyond, for its fountains ſeem never to have been traced, and the beſt ac⯑counts are very uncertain; its courſe, as far as we know, runs due north and ſouth.

Juthia or Judia, the capital of Siam, is ſeated in about Lat. CITY OF JUTHIA. 14° 30′, on a low iſland in the form of a man's foot. It is ſur⯑rounded with a lofty brick wall. The ſtreets are ſtrait, and accom⯑modated with canals, which paſs quite through from eaſt to weſt. As Mr. Caverhill very reaſonably fixes the Zaba of Ptolemy to have been in the bottom of the bay of Siam, I ſee no reaſon againſt ſuppoſing that it might have been either at Juthia, or at ſome place not remote from that port. Ships may enter into many of the canals, and diſcharge their cargo near the principal houſes. The greater part of the ſtreets are very mean, built with bamboo, covered with the leaves of palms. Thoſe of the Chineſe, Hindoos, and Moors, are of ſtone, but very low; the fineſt houſes in Koempfer's time, were ſuch which had been inhabited by the Engliſh, Dutch, and French. HISTORY OF PHAULKON. The palace of the unfortu⯑nate Phaulkon, miniſter of ſtate in the laſt century, makes the moſt conſpicuous figure; Phaulkon was a Grecian by birth, and ſeaman by profeſſion; he had ſerved various nations, but chiefly the Engliſh. In their ſervice, in capacity of a cockſwain, he came to Siam, and obtained an employment at court. He was a man of very fine natural abilities; and by his good con⯑duct [44]and his ſucceſs in the management of affairs, roſe to the higheſt dignities, and became prime miniſter to the reigning prince.

HIS ambition proved his ruin, and brought him to a violent death by the hands of the executioner. He became ſo intox⯑icated with power, as to entertain a deſign upon the throne, to depoſe his royal maſter, and to place over the Siameſe, Monpi Totfo, ſon-in-law to the monarch, a phantom of a king, who was to be dependent on his will, and to be depoſed as ſoon as affairs came to a criſis. The king was at that time extremely ill of a dropſy; on his deceaſe, the whole royal lineage was to be put to death, and Phaulkon uſurp the power.

IN order to accompliſh his deſigns, it was neceſſary to call in foreign aid; he perſuaded his weak maſter to ſend an embaſſy to Louis XIV. to requeſt his moſt Chriſtian Majeſty to ſend perſons qualified to inſtruct in the arts his unpoliſhed ſubjects, ſo that he might ſhine pre-eminent among the Eaſtern nations. The firſt, who ſet out in 1680, were ſhipwrecked; the ſecond arrived ſafe in 1686. The vanity of Louis made him receive with every mark of reſpect theſe groteſque legates; the memory of their recep⯑tion is preſerved in a medal ^*. The king is repreſented ſeated on his throne; the embaſſadors making their obeiſance; above his majeſty is inſcribed Fama virtutis, intimating that the fame of his high qualities had induced them to come from this diſtant country. Louis, in compliance with the wiſh of the embaſſy, ſent Jeſuits, artiſts, and military officers; General de Fargues landed with ſeveral hundred ſoldiers, and was put into poſſeſſion [45]of Bankok, the key of the kingdom, ſeated on the river, between the capital and the ſea. Juſt as every thing was ready for exe⯑cution, in May 1689, the plot was diſcovered; Monpi was ſeized by the king's ſon, and his head caſt at Phaulkon's feet. The mi⯑niſter, thus hurled from his greatneſs, was tortured and almoſt ſtarved to death, then carried out of town, and beheaded; his body cut in two, and covered with a little earth, was ſoon de⯑voured by the dogs; a ſad proof how Ambitio male ſuada ruit.

THE kingdom of Siam is divided from north to ſouth by a long range of lofty mountains. On the weſt ſide, ACCOUNT OF SIAM. or next to the bay of Bengal, the country is viſited by continual rains during the time the Monſoons blow from that quarter. On the eaſtern ſide no ſuch deluges are known, nor any floods but what are the effects of the moderate inundations of the Meinam, which fertilize the country beyond deſcription. FERTILITY. The uſeful grain rice is produced in amazing crops, and every delicate fruit of the Indies without cultivation. Raynal mentions among the productions of Siam, log-wood like that cut in Campeachy. It is a terreſtrial paradiſe, but loſes all its advantages by groaning under the moſt deſpotic government on earth. The monarch rules within his ſeraglio, and his grandees are let looſe to oppreſs the wretched common⯑alty, according to their caprice and unreſtrained will. Domi⯑nions thus governed, ſtretch near a thouſand miles from north to ſouth, or from Lat. 20° 35′ to Lat. 7° 0′, and in the broadeſt part extend three hundred and ſixty.

THE religion of the country is the ſame with that inculcated by the Bramins; RELIGION. but the Bramins of Siam are not a peculiar race, like thoſe of Hindooſtan; here every one who chuſes aſ⯑ſumes [46]the prieſthood; they uſually lead a monaſtic life, and have their convents; thoſe of each province are governed by a ſort of biſhop. Nuns or female monaſtics are frequent. The pagodas are of various forms, ſome have a great reſemblance to the Chi⯑neſe architecture. The idols are monſtrous in their appear⯑ance.

THE firſt knowledge of the Chriſtian religion was received by the miſſion of Jeſuits, MISSIONARIES. led here under the conduct of Alexander of Rhodes, ſome time before the year 1658, when pope Alexander VII. ſent over a reinforcement of religious men, but theſe being of other orders, were treated by the Jeſuits with the utmoſt in⯑dignity, nor would they condeſcend to permit them to ſhare in their labors, which had been attended with prodigious ſuc⯑ceſs. As to the meſſage Louis XIV. ſent by his embaſſador Mr. Chaumont, in 1684, modeſtly requeſting his Siameſe Majeſty to become a good Catholic; he received this very proper reply, ‘that he left it to his moſt Chriſtian Majeſty to judge, whether a change of a religion that had been followed in his domi⯑nions, without interruption, during two thouſand two hun⯑dred and twenty-nine years, could be a matter of ſmall im⯑portance to him, or a demand with which it was eaſy to com⯑ply, and a matter which related entirely to God and not to him.’ This well might check the zeal of the miſſionaries; but in the next reign, on the diſcovery of the treachery of the French general, and the murder of Phaulkon, the whole troop of the religious were ſent away, and all hopes of return entirely overthrown.

IN many reſpects the Siameſe have an agreement with the [47] Chineſe; we muſt except their bodies, which are ſmall. In their head-dreſs they agree in the pointed bonnet, in the frequent in⯑habiting of ſhips and boats, and now and then in their orna⯑mented architecture. The faces of the inhabitants are large, FORM OF THE SIAMESE. their cheek bones prominent, their foreheads and chins contract equally to a point; their cheeks hollow, their eyes ſmall and ob⯑lique, noſe ſhort and rounded; their ears long, by artificial diſ⯑tenſion; their complexions ſwarthy; their hair black and coarſe, and would be extremely long, but that it is cut ſo very cloſe that their heads ſeem beſet with briſtles; their teeth black from art.

IT is to be lamented, that ſo well informed a traveller as Koemp⯑fer ſhould not have left us any thing on the ſubject of the natural hiſtory of ſo fertile a kingdom; we have nothing to ſay of its vegetable productions, and as to its animals, we can only inform our readers that it ſwarms with elephants, ELEPHANTS. and that their teeth are a conſiderable article of commerce. In this tyrannous go⯑vernment they are quite a peſt; theſe, and other herbivorous beaſts, deſtroy the labors of the huſbandmen, and none dare re⯑pel the attacks of thoſe ravagers. Elephants are here only re⯑ſerved for ſtate; the king keeps great numbers, and often makes them the inſtrument of his cruelty. They are the executioners of his wrath on his offending ſubjects, and are inſtructed how to put them to various kinds of death, either by trampling them under their broad feet, or deliberately tearing their limbs off with their lithe proboſcis, or flinging them up into the air, and catching them empaled on their great tuſks.

BUFFALOES and deer are found here in vaſt numbers; DEER. their [48]ſkins conſtitute a great article of commerce; fifty thouſand of them have annually been ſent to Japan through the medium of the Dutch. Mandelſlo, a moſt intelligent traveller, gives the fol⯑lowing account of the trade of Siam, as it was in the year 1639; ſpeaking of the city of Juthia, he ſays, ‘the principal com⯑merce conſiſts in ſtuffs brought from Suratta and the coaſt of Coromandel, all ſorts of Chineſe commodities, precious ſtones, gold, benjamin, wax, copper, lead, indico, calamba-wood, brazil-wood, ſapphires, rubies, &c. but above all deer ſkins, whereof they furniſh the Japaneſe with about fifty thouſand every year. It likewiſe yields a great trade of rice, which they tranſport to all the neighboring iſles.’

TO this we may add the more modern account of the rich productions of this kingdom, OTHER PRO⯑DUCTIONS. taken from Mr. Dalrymple's Reper⯑tory ^*. ‘The productions of this country are prodigious quan⯑tities of grain, cotton, benjamin, ſandal, agualo, and ſapan woods; antimony, tin, lead, iron, load-ſtones, gold and ſilver, ſapphires, emeralds, agates, cryſtal, marble, and tambanck.’

HOGS and wild ſwine ſwarm in the dominions of Siam; moſt of the ſavage beaſts of India are equally numerous in this king⯑dom. Koempfer ſpeaks of two ſpecies of monkies, one very large, and black, the other ſmaller, and of a grey color. The firſt ſeems a kind not well aſcertained, for the only black monkey of the old world we are acquainted with, is that deſcribed by Mr. Edwards, tab. 311, which is no larger than a cat.

AFTER doubling cape Liant, RIVER OF LIANT. a bay opens to the north, and at the bottom receives the river of Liant. A vaſt chain of moun⯑tains [49]which run from north to ſouth, and unite with thoſe of China in Lat. 22° 0′, divide the kingdom of Siam from the king⯑doms of Laos and Cambodia, and almoſt reach the ſea near the river of Liant. The upper part of this tract is in Laos, the more ſouthern forms the kingdom of Cambodia, which is compared to a vaſt valley, bounded by the Siameſe chain to the weſt, and that of Cochin-China to the eaſt. The coaſt takes a ſouth-eaſtern di⯑rection from the bay of Liant as far as cape Cambodia, a ſpace of three hundred miles, ſkirted by numbers of ſmall iſles waſhed by the bay of Siam. From the point of Liant is a ſandy barren deſert, reaching, according to Hamilton, as far as Ponteamas, above two-thirds of the coaſt.

THIS extenſive tract has great ſcarcity of ports; PONTEAMAS. the moſt diſ⯑tinguiſhed is that of Ponteamas, in Lat. 10° 45′. M. Le Poivre gives ſo enchanting a picture of this colony, that I will no more riſque injuring it by the abridgment, than I did his hiſtory of the Malayes. His deſcriptions are ſo exquiſite, that I muſt hope that they will not fall under a too frequent imputation on the writers of his lively nation, of being plus beau que la verité.

‘Departing, ſays M. Le Poivre, from the peninſula of Ma⯑lacca, and the iſlands of the Malais, towards the north, I fell in with a ſmall territory called Cancar, but known on the ma⯑ritime charts under the name of Ponthiamas. Surrounded by the kingdom of Siam, where deſpotiſm and depopulation go hand in hand; the dominions of Camboya, where no idea of eſtabliſhed government ſubſiſts; and the territories of the Malais, whoſe genius, perpetually agitated by their feudal laws, can endure peace neither at home nor abroad; this charming [50]country, about fifty years ago, was uncultivated and almoſt deſtitute of inhabitants.’

‘A Chineſe merchant, commander of a veſſel which he em⯑ployed in commerce, frequented theſe coaſts; being a man of that intelligent reflective genius, which ſo characteriſtically marks his nation, he could not, without pain, behold immenſe tracts of ground condemned to ſterility, though naturally more fertile than thoſe which formed the riches of his own country; he formed, therefore, a plan for their improvement: with this view, having firſt of all hired a number of la⯑borers, ſome Chineſe, others from the neighboring nations, he, with great addreſs, inſinuated himſelf into the favor of the moſt powerful princes, who, for a certain ſubſidy, aſſigned him a guard for his protection.’

‘IN the courſe of his voyage to Batavia, and the Philippine iſlands, he borrowed from the Europeans their moſt uſeful diſ⯑coveries and improvements, particularly the art of fortifica⯑tion and defence; with regard to internal police, he gave the preference to the Chineſe. The profits of his commerce ſoon enabled him to raiſe ramparts, ſink ditches, and provide ar⯑tillery; theſe preliminary precautions ſecured him from a coup de main, and protected him from the enterprizes of the ſurrounding nations of barbarians.’

‘HE diſtributed the lands to his laborers, without the leaſt reſervation of any of thoſe duties or taxes known by the names of ſervice, or fines of alienation; duties which, by allowing no real property, become the moſt fatal ſcourge to agriculture, and is an idea which revolts againſt the common ſenſe of [51]every wiſe nation. He provided his coloniſts at the ſame time with all ſorts of inſtruments proper for the labor and improve⯑ment of their grounds.’

‘IN forming a laboring, and commercial people, he thought that no laws ought to be framed, but thoſe which nature has eſtabliſhed for the human race in every climate; he made theſe laws reſpected by obeying them firſt himſelf, and exhi⯑biting an example of ſimplicity, induſtry, frugality, humanity, and good faith: he formed, then, no ſyſtem of laws—he did more—he eſtabliſhed morals.’

‘HIS territories ſoon became the country of every induſtri⯑ous man who wiſhed to ſettle there; his port was open to all nations. The woods were cleared, the grounds judiciouſly labored, and ſown with rice; canals cut from the rivers wa⯑tered their fields; and plentiful harveſts, after ſupplying them with ſubſiſtence, furniſhed an object of extenſive commerce. His integrity, his moderation, and his humanity, made him re⯑ſpected. He never wiſhed to reign, but only to eſtabliſh the empire of reaſon; his ſon, who now fills his place, inherits his virtues as well as his poſſeſſions; by agriculture, and the commerce he carries on with the produce of his lands, he has become ſo powerful, that the barbarians, his neighbors, ſtile him king, a title which he deſpiſes: he pretends to no right of ſovereignty, but the nobleſt of all, that of doing good; happy in being the firſt laborer and the firſt merchant of his country, he merits, as well as his father, a title more glorious than that of king—the friend of mankind.’

‘THE barbarians of the neighborhood, amazed to ſee abun⯑dance [52]ſo ſuddenly ſucceed to ſterility, flocked for ſubſiſtence to the magazines of Ponthiamas; whoſe dominions, at this day, are conſidered as the moſt plentiful granary of that eaſtern part of Aſia; the Malais, the Cochin Chineſe, the Siameſe, whoſe countries are naturally ſo fertile, conſidering this little terri⯑tory as the moſt certain reſource againſt famine.’

LET me here add, that our plain Hamilton, who viſited Ponte⯑amas in 1720, found the town in ruins. It had been taken and plundered in the year 1717 by the Siameſe fleet, at which time it was a place of conſiderable trade. It may have recovered by the time M. Le Poivre was there, ſo as to vindicate his enthuſiaſtic account. The town is ſeated on a deep but narrow river, which in the ſeaſon of inundations communicates with that of Meinam Kom, CAMBODIA. or Cambodia, and the city of the ſame name on its banks; by which means the commodities of the kingdom are ſent to this port, in preference to that at the mouth of the Cambodia, which is ſaid to be of very troubleſome navigation, by reaſon of the numbers of low iſlands and ſand banks which obſtruct the channel.

IT is highly probable that ſuch was the ſtate of this river from the very early times; we find no antient port at this place, but learn from Ptolemy, CATTIGARA. that one, called Cattigara Sinarum Statio, ſtood on or near the ſcite of Ponteamas, on a marſhy coaſt, pro⯑ductive of reeds (bamboos) ſo large, that when they were joined and tied together, paſſengers were enabled to croſs from one ſide to the other.

Marcianus Heracleota, who wrote not long before the building of Conſtantinople, adds beſides, that it ſtood on the river Cotiaris, [53]and was the termination of the known and habitable earth to the ſouth. The Periplus of this geographer, may be found in the firſt volume of the Geographiae veteris Scriptores, publiſhed at Oxford in 1698.

THE Notium Promontorium, NOTIUM PROMONT. was to the north-weſt of Ponte⯑amas. The bay mentioned by Marcianus Heracleota to be ſo in⯑feſted by wild beaſts, and the part inhabited by the Ethiopian Icthyophagi, extended from that port to the ſouth; cape Cambodia ſeems the Satyrorum Promontorium, probably becauſe it was the haunt of ſome large ſpecies of monkey.

THE productions of the kingdom of Cambodia are gold and ivory in great abundance. PRODUCTIONS OF CAMBODIA. The Siameſe, in their expedition of 1717, deſtroyed not leſs than two hundred tons that happened to be in the port, ready for exportation. Sandal wood, ſapan wood, aloes wood, ſtick lac, and a great variety of drugs. Dampier ^* adds rice, dragons blood, lac, i. e. varniſh in large jars, which looked blackiſh and thick, and a yellow purging gum in great cakes called Cambodia, by which he certainly means gamboge. The whole country is prodigiouſly fertile, and yields almoſt every thing that the vegetable or animal kingdom produces in common with other parts of Eaſtern India.

THE Portugueſe, ſays Mandelſlo, were in poſſeſſion of the com⯑merce of Cambodia as late as the year 1639, notwithſtanding every effort of the Dutch to come in for a ſhare; but it muſt have been long enjoyed by the latter nation, after the fall of the Portugueſe empire in India. The reigning prince in 1720, ſeemed very ſolicitous that the Engliſh ſhould ſettle in his domi⯑nions, [54]and offered to permit us to form factories and build forts to protect our trade. Mr. Bowyear (hereafter to be mentioned) ſays that the Cambodians reſemble the Malays, whoſe language is generally underſtood in all theſe parts.

ABOUT two hundred Topaſſes or Indian Portugueſe, were ſet⯑tled and married in the capital of Cambodia when Hamilton was there, and ſeemed the only remains of that people. They all have ſmall penſions from the king of the country; but in order to ſupport themſelves, are obliged to take to the chace of elephants, which they ſhoot, for the ſake of their teeth, with iron ſlugs, poiſoned by immerſion in the thick bark of a certain tree; the beaſt is ſure to fall in a ſhort time after receiving its wound. The ſame method is uſed in killing the buffaloes on account of their tongues.

FROM cape Cambodia, the country bends due eaſt; the river of the ſame name diſcharges itſelf into the ſea, at the diſtance of about one hundred miles, CITY. through ſeveral mouths. The city ſtands ninety miles up the river, and conſiſts of only one ſtreet, which is built on an eminence to preſerve it from the annual in⯑undations; the rains begin to fall in June, and continue during the months of July and Auguſt.

THIS was near the ſcite of Thina Metropolis Sinarum of Pto⯑lemy and Marcianus. Mr. Caverhill quotes Argenſol for the proof, and ſays, on his authority, that marble ruins of an extenſive city have been diſcovered to the north-weſt of Cambodia; yet Ptolemy relates that it was not ſurrounded with brazen walls, nor had any thing worth mentioning. Arrian, in his Periplus Maris Erythraei, calls it the greateſt of the inland cities, and that it ſent to Bary⯑gaza, [55]the modern Barochia, on the weſtern ſide of Hindooſtan, wool, thread, and othonium ſericum ^*. Theſe were carried the whole of the journey by men on foot; prodigious muſt it have been, if it is true that they went through Bactra, a detour of amazing extent.

THE kingdom of Cambodia was known to the Arabs by the name of Rachmi. RACHMI. It was viſited in the ninth century by two Arabian travellers, who report that the fineſt muſlins in the world were made there, and that the natives wore garments ſo fine that they might be drawn through a middle ſized ring. The ſame writers ſpeak wonderful things of the Karkandan or unicorn, but from the whole deſcription, it is evident that they mean no other ani⯑mal than our one-horned rinoceros.

LET me conclude the account of the kingdom with ſaying, THE ANTIENT THINAE AND SINAE. that the antients comprehended under the name of Thinae and Sinae, not only Cambodia, but alſo Pegu, Siam, Laos, Cochin-China, and the more ſouthern parts of China, of which Thina was the common capital.

THE noted iſland of Pulo Condore lies about fifteen leagues to the ſouth of the weſtern channel of the Cambodia. It is ſituated in Lat. 8° 40′, its form is that of a creſcent; the length not above eight miles, the greateſt breadth about two; the whole is lofty and mountanous, and ſurrounded by leſſer iſles; the name is derived from Pulo, an iſle, and Condore a calabaſh, from its pro⯑duction of that fruit. It is mentioned by a captain Saris, an Engliſhman, who ſailed by it in 1605 in his way from Japan. The harbor is between the greater iſland and a leſſer called the [56]little Condore, lying off the north end, in which is ſufficient depth of water and ſafe anchorage. Dampier ^* in 1686 careened and refitted his ſhip here, and has given us a good account of many particulars. He ſays that the ſoil is rich and black, the hills craggy, the eaſtern part of the iſland ſandy, but cloathed with trees of various kinds; ſome of the ſhores are rocky, others low and ſandy. All the iſlands are finely watered with ſmall ri⯑vulets during ten months of the year, which begin to fail towards the latter end of March, in the dry ſeaſon; but on digging, water may be found in many places.

THE vegetabled obſerved by Dampier ^† were mangoes in a ſtate of nature; the Areca Oleracea, or cabbage palm; the coco palm, wild nutmegs, grape trees, and a large tree four feet in diameter, which, on inciſion, yields a clammy juice, that, being boiled, proves an excellent tar, and on farther boiling becomes hard as pitch; DAMMER PITCH. this probably is the Dammer ^† Captain Gore, in Cook's laſt voyage ^‖, adds to the liſt of plants, water melons, po⯑tatoes, gourds, plantains, oranges, ſhaddocks, pomegranates, rice, and black beans. Theſe, poſſibly, were acquiſitions ſince the days of Dampier, and introduced by the French, who hu⯑manely and politically wiſhed to render theſe iſlands uſeful to navigators in their way to or from Japan, China, Manilla, Ton⯑quin, Cochin-China, and many parts of India with which the Europeans have intercourſe. At the time Captain Gore viſited this iſland, a Mandarine from Saigore, came here with a certificate in French, from the biſhop of Adran, a French⯑man, certifying that he was ſent in order to give his aſſiſtance [57]to any European ſhip which might touch at this port. Dampier recommended the erection of a fort, and mentions, among other advantages, that ſhips might in this iſland be ſupplied with maſts and yards, poſſibly from the ſame tree which fur⯑niſhes the tar and pitch.

THE animals, when Dampier reſided on the iſland, ANIMALS. were only hogs, lizards, and guanoes. Before Captain Gore reached Pulo Condore, it was plentifully ſtocked with buffaloes, tranſported from the continent, which increaſe here very ſucceſsfully. Numbers of monkies inhabit the woods, and two ſpecies of ſquirrels, one of a beautiful ſhining black, the other of the kind called flying, ſtriped brown and white, and probably a new ſpecies. Gaubil alſo obſerved rats with pendulous ears. To the reptiles we add, that father Gaubil ſaw here, in 1722, the flying dragon, or Draco-volans; a ſcaly ſpecies of lizard called Koka, from its piercing note reſembling in ſound that word; it reſides in hollow trees; its bite is mortal. From theſe circumſtances I ſuſpect it to be the Gekko.

HERE are a variety of parrots, paroquets, and pigeons, and in the woods numbers of poultry, in a ſtate of nature. I refer the reader, for a further account, to page 262. vol. ii. of the Outlines of the Globe. The thruſh, called by Mr. Latham ^* the Long⯑tailed, may be added to the liſt of birds.

Dampier found on the ſhores great plenty of the green turtle; TORTOISES. theſe he ſuppoſes to have been in a ſtate of migration, being of opinion, that for want of food it is impoſſible for them to ſtay the whole year in the neighboring ſeas. Our great navigator [58]found them here from the 13th of March to the 21ſt of April. The natives of this iſland took them in large nets, and boiled the fat for the ſake of the oil.

THE inhabitants of Pulo Condore, ſuppoſed to be originally of Cochin-China, are ſmall in ſtature, of dark complexion, long viſaged, with black and lank hair, white teeth, thin lips, ſmall eyes, high noſes. Their religion is idolatrous; they worſhip chiefly the elephant and the horſe, ſimilar to the objects of ado⯑ration in Tonquin.

IN 1702 Allan Ketchpole, ENGLISH SET⯑TLEMENT. director of the Engliſh Eaſt India Company at Chuſan, on the deſertion of that ſettlement, made an attempt to form one here. He engaged in his ſervice a num⯑ber of Macaſſars, who were to act as ſoldiers, to aſſiſt in build⯑ing, and to ſerve during three years. At the end of the term he baſely refuſed to fulfil his contract. Thoſe iſlanders, remarkable for the fidelity with which they execute all their agreements, are as determined to revenge any injuries offered to them: in the night they put to death Ketchpole, and moſt of the Engliſh; a few, on the firſt alarm, eſcaped in a boat. The Macaſſars re⯑gained their liberty, and inflicted a moſt juſtifiable puniſhment on their perſidious maſter.

HERE Dampier's crew was welcomed by the people coming on board, and offering the free uſe of their women during their ſtay. This is a practice in Pegu, Siam, and other places in the parts of India cis Gangem. Prior, in his Alma, is very humorous on this ſubject, in the ſecond canto:

ON returning to the eſtuaries of the river of Cambodia, CIAMPA. after a ſhort journey eaſtward, we reach the ſmall territory of Ciampa, or Bink Thoan, which extends about a hundred and fifty miles along the ſhore, the breadth does not exceed ninety. The abo⯑riginal people, called Loyes, are large, muſcular, and well made; LOVES, A PEO⯑PLE. their complexions tinged with red, their noſes ſomewhat flatted; their hair long and black; they have ſmall whiſkers, but ſcarcely any beards; their dreſs, a ſhirt and breeches of cotton, the laſt covered with a ſort of petticoat of white cloth, fringed with ſilk, according to the circumſtance of the wearer. They are go⯑verned by a monarch who reſides at Feneri, the capital of the country, in a mean palace, and with little ſtate; he is in fact a tri⯑butary to the king of Cochin-China, who ſends a mandarine to re⯑ſide at the court as preſident of the council, and without his ad⯑vice nothing of moment is done. The productions of the country are very few; ſome cotton, indigo, and bad ſilk, for which they traffick with the Chineſe. They are inferior to the Cochin-Chineſe in their military, but excel them in naval affairs. [60]Their ſhips or jonks are tolerably well built; they are chiefly em⯑ployed in fiſheries, which are very conſiderable, and form their chief article of commerce. The Chineſe ſend ſhips very fre⯑quently to the northern ports of the country laden with tea, an inferior ſort of ſilk, porcellane, and ſome other commodities of that empire. They take in return gold and columba wood, to be burnt on the tombs of their anceſtors and relations, or before the altars of their divinities.

AMIDST the mountains inhabit a race of people named Moyes, MOYES. who go naked, excepting a cloth which is wrapped round their middle; they are employed in hard labor, and are little better than ſlaves. Both the Loyes and Moyes are regulated by the ſame laws; the government is very oppreſſive; they are puniſhed for the leaſt fault, and among the common people, that of ſhewing any appearance of wealth, is one of the firſt moment; the only good in the ſyſtem of government is the toleration of religion. Here is found a degenerated Mahometaniſm; the doctrine of Con⯑fucius; and idolatry, in all the variety and extravagancy of image worſhip. We know little of this country; I am obliged to M. Mannevillette ^* for my information, which he got from the cap⯑tain of La Galathea, a French frigate which put into one of the ports of Ciamba in 1720, and was detained there for ſome time.

IN 1695 Mr. Higginſon, preſident of Fort St. George, formed the idea of opening a trade with Ciampa, and ſent Mr. Bowyear on a ſort of embaſſy to the king of Cochin-China. At his court he met with the prince of this country, who gave him every encou⯑ragement, [61]and told him he might, by the river Cambodia, diſpoſe of great quantities of woollen-cloth among the Loyes.

I MAY add here to my account of the river, that at the mouth is never leſs than four fathoms of water, and that it is navigable for ſhips of ſome burden up to the very capital, above which ſmall veſſels only are uſed, and the navigation is (by report) ſaid to be interrupted by a cataract.

ACCORDING to D'Anville, COCHIN-CHINA. the kingdom of Cochin-China unites with its tributary Ciampa at the bay of Comorin; the original name is Anam. The Portugueſe beſtowed on it the appellation it bears at preſent, which, by the help of the Japaneſe word Cochi, ſignifies the country weſt of China. In deſcribing the form of this extenſive ſtripe of empire, I ſhall include in it, its les Pais conquis. The whole, beginning from the borders of Cambodia, is in form of a bow, bending into the ocean as far as Cape Varelle, in Lat. 13° 0′, when it inclines to its northern extremity in Lat. 17° 30′. The whole length of this great curvature is about ſix hundred and ſixty miles, the breadth not exceeding that we have given to Ciampa. The northern borders are defended by a wall, which runs from the ſea to the great chain of mountains, and forbids all approach from that quarter, as the inacceſſible chain itſelf does every attempt of invaſion from their weſtern neigh⯑bors. The Moyes, who inhabit theſe mountains, are ſaid to be a moſt ſavage and ferocious race.

THE court of Cochin-China is uſually held at Sinoa; a little to the ſouth of the wall there, ſays Mr. Bowyear, the king, in his Tongtan or eighth moon, takes his recreation with his Mandarines, and forbids all interruption by petitions or any ſort of buſineſs.

[62]ALL the lower part of the kingdom has its annual inundations, INUNDATED. like the other tropical countries, which give it prodigious ferti⯑lity. Borri's account of the peculiarity of the floods in this king⯑dom is very curious. The rains on the mountains during the wet ſeaſon are intermittent; they happen once a fortnight, and laſt three days at a time, bringing fertility and plenty to the ſubjacent country. This rain is called Lut; its arrival is cele⯑brated by every one, from the king to the peaſant, with the ut⯑moſt feſtivity. The overflowing of the Nile is not received in Egypt with greater rapture. The ſeaſons in Cochin-China may be called four. The violent heats laſt during May, June, and July; the rains fall in September, October, and November, and ab ae the violence of the ſun. In December, January, and February, the cold northern winds prevale, accompanied by cooling ſhowers. In March, April, and May, all the beauties of ſpring appear, and the fruits of every kind of vegetation bleſs the country.

THE great harveſt is that of rice; RICE. two ſpecies are cultivated on the mountanous and dry ſoils; one as white as ſnow, and when dreſſed, of a ſlimy viſcous nature, made into paſtes, ſuch as ver⯑micelli and the like. Both theſe kinds are exported to China in great quantities; the different ſorts of rice are the ſtaples of this country.

THE ſugar-cane is another plant to which the Cochin-Chineſe pay the utmoſt attention, SUGAR. and cultivate in vaſt abundance. They are acquainted with moſt of the proceſſes, and annually manufacture great quantities of both white and brown ſugars, ſo that their country ſupplies China with the principal part of this article, that vaſt empire not producing ſufficient for its own [63]conſumption. The city of Faifo or Foy Foe, is the emporium from which the Chineſe annually export about forty thouſand barrels, each weighing above two thouſand pounds. To the credit of theſe orientaliſts, all the cultivation, and all the poſterior proceſſes in the production of the ſugar, is the voluntary labor of freemen.

To theſe articles of commerce may be added woods of different kinds, ſuch as aloes wood, or Agollocha, AGOLLOCHA. erroneouſly called Eagle⯑wood, Columba, and others of value, either in mechanics, or for their ſweet ſcent. COLUMBA WOODS. The price of Columba wood on the very ſpot is five ducats a pound, at the ports ſixteen, and in Japan, to which much is exported, two hundred. A pillow of this wood is the higheſt luxury with the orientaliſts, particularly the Japaneſe, who will give three or four hundred ducats per pound for a piece big enough for that purpoſe. The Agollocha bears a good price; great quantities being ſhipped for Hindooſtan, for the uſe of the Hindoos to burn their dead, who ſeem to emulate the an⯑tient Romans in the aromatic profuſion of their funeral piles.

PEPPER grows here in abundance. PEPPER. Le Poivre and Raynal mention that cinnamon, ſuperior to that of Ceylon, is found on a certain mountain, for which the Chineſe pay a higher price than for that brought from the famous ſtaple of that ſpice. Caſſia is another ſpice; let me queſtion whether the two are not con⯑founded.

COTTON is much cultivated, as is the mulberry tree, COTTON. for the uſe of the ſilk-worms; great quantities of coarſe ſilks are made here, ſome ſo ſtrong as to ſerve for ſails and cordage, but the fineſt ſorts alſo are manufactured. The impoſing Chineſe export [64]from hence the fibres of a tree called Pitre, which they fraudu⯑lently mix with their own manufactures; they even import into their land of tea a courſe and black ſort; poſſibly for the ſake of enabling them to export their own, at greater profit, into our iſland. The mountains yield ſome gold, and much iron; the natives fuſe the laſt, and employ the metal in various manufac⯑tories: raw and wrought ſilk may be added to the articles of commerce.

THE Portugueſe had once conſiderable influence in the court of Cochin-China; the Dutch made a ſtrong effort to come in for a ſhare of the commercial emoluments, but were expelled the kingdom by the ſuperior intereſt of their rivals. At preſent, it is ſaid, that the trade is chiefly in the hands of the Japaneſe and Chineſe, who are ſettled at Foy Foe, and preſerve their own laws, religion, and cuſtoms. The harbors are ſtill caſually frequented by European ſhips, but, I think, their imports inconſiderable.

THE chief port is that of Foy Foe, PORT OF FOY FOE. ſome miles up a navigable river. The entrance has before it, at a little diſtance, the iſles of Champellos; the channel between the mouths and the town is filled with iſlands, and obſtructed by a bar, but not unſurmount⯑able. Ships of ſome burden formerly have been brought over, and then were obliged to anchor before the cuſtom-houſe, which was the caſe with Mr. Bowyear. The town conſiſts but of two rows of houſes, inhabited by Chineſe and a few Japaneſe; the firſt of whom manage the trade, and import various articles from Canton, Siam, Camboja, Batavia, and Manilla; Bowyear met with encouragement to ſettle a factory near the city, but I be⯑lieve it never was carried into effect.

[65]THIS country is certainly very favorable to trade and naviga⯑tion, having not fewer than ſixty ſafe harbors, and a great depth of water in every part.

THE gallies or ſhipping of the Cochin-Chineſe are very nu⯑merous; SHIPPING. part, allotted to the defence of the coaſt, are finely painted and highly varniſhed, rowed with fifty oars, and carry a cannon at the head, and two ſmall ones on each ſide. Notwith⯑ſtanding the Cochin-Chineſe can neither caſt cannon or make fuſils, their dexterity, ſays Mr. Borri ^*, in the art of gunnery is amazing; not one of our Europeans dare enter the liſt with them. The navy of this country is quickly manned, every fa⯑mily being bound to furniſh a ſailor, who ſerves with great ala⯑crity, for they are well treated, and their wives and children ſupported during their abſence; all are dreſſed in an uniform, and when they are about to engage, put on a gilt helmet and a cloak, which leaves their right arm quite bare. Numbers of their veſſels are employed in the fiſheries; the fiſh are found in vaſt abundance, and form a great article of commerce; fiſh and rice conſtitute the principal food of the Cochin-Chineſe.

THE woods and mountains afford all the variety of birds and quadrupeds of the adjacent kingdoms; ELEPHANTS. tigers ſwarm; elephants are in great abundance and of vaſt ſize; theſe are taken and reclamed; numbers are kept in the royal ſtables merely for oſtentation, being no longer uſed in war; they are rendered of infinite ſervice to the inhabitants of the country as beaſts of burden, the carriers both by land and water, I may ſay the ſtage coaches and ferries of Cochin-China. On their backs is [66]placed a machine like the body of a coach; reckoning the outſide as well as inſide they convey thirteen or fourteen paſſengers; when they arrive at a river, they take the water very readily, and will even carry their fare in perfect ſafety over an arm of the ſea a mile wide.

A GREAT monkey called here the Douc, MONKEY. by me the Cochin-China, Hiſt. Quad. ii. N^o 125, is found of the length of four feet excluſive of the tail. The tail and lower parts of the arms are pure white; the crown, upper parts of the arms and thighs black, buttocks clothed with hair, round the neck a collar of purpliſh brown; the face bordered up to the eyes with a great yellowiſh beard. It is alſo found in Madagaſcar, where it is called Sifac; it walks often erect; its food beans.

I BEG not to be underſtood to favor the doctrine of ſome ſyſtem-makers, by connecting the deſcription of the monkey of Cochin-China with that of the man. I readily allow changelings, or ar⯑tificial monkies among our ſpecies, but none that are natural; we have alſo our bears. As to the men of this country, they greatly reſemble the Chineſe, from whom they are diſtantly ſprung; they are featured exactly like them, but are leſs in body, more active and more valiant; the complexion of thoſe on the coaſt is olive, that of the inland or alpine inhabitants is fairer, and not inferior to that of Europeans.

IT is this country that produces in ſuch quantities the edible birds neſts, held by the epicure of the Eaſt to be the firſt of deli⯑cacies. It is chiefly made uſe of in ſoups and ragouts of chickens; the neſts are firſt ſoftened in water, pulled to pieces, and mixed with ginſeng, put into the body of the fowl. The [67]above is then to be ſtewed in a pot with a ſufficient quantity of water, and left on the coals the whole night. The beſt kinds which are white, and quite pure from dirt, are diſſolved in broths in order to thicken them, and to give them that flavor the Orientaliſts ſo much admire. Of the black and foul neſts is made glue.

MR. Latham ^* gives the following account: ‘It weighs about half an ounce, and is in ſhape like half a lemon, or, as ſome compare it, to that of a ſaucer, with one ſide flatted where it adheres to the rock. The texture of it is ſomewhat like Iſin⯑glaſs, or rather more like fine Gum-dragon, and the ſeveral layers of the matter it is compoſed of very apparent; being fabricated from repeated parcels of a ſoft ſlimy ſubſtance, in the ſame manner as the martins form theirs of mud. Authors differ much as to the materials of which it is compoſed; ſome ſuppoſe it to conſiſt of ſea-worms of the Molluſca claſs; others of the ſea-qualm (a kind of cuttle fiſh) or a glutinous ſea-plant called Agal Agal. It has alſo been ſuppoſed that they rob other birds of their eggs, and, after breaking the ſhells, apply the white of them for that purpoſe.’

‘THESE neſts are found in vaſt numbers in certain caverns in various iſles in the Soolo Archipelago, ſituated between Longi⯑tude 117° and 120′, Lat. 5 and 7; particularly in three ſmall iſles or rather rocks, in the caverns of which the neſts are found fixed to the ſides in aſtoniſhing numbers. They are alſo found in amazing quantities on a ſmall iſland called [68] Toc, in the ſtreights of Sunda, the caverns of which are lined with the neſts, but no where in greater abundance than about Croee, near the ſouth end of Sumatra, four miles up a river of that name; but they are not peculiar to the above places; for they are likewiſe common from Java to Cochin-China on the north, and from the point of Sumatra weſt, where it is called Layung, to New Guinea on the eaſt, where the ſea is ſaid to be covered with a viſcous ſubſtance like half melted glue, which the bird is ſuppoſed either to take up from the ſurface with its bill during flight, or to pick it from the rocks when left there by the waves.’

‘THE beſt neſts, or thoſe of a pure white, and free from mixture, ſell in China from 1,000 to 1,500 dollars the picle, the black and dirty ones for only twenty dollars. The laſt are ſuppoſed to ariſe from age, mixed with dirt, or feathers; and the gatherers beat down all the black ones they can get at, in hopes that, from the neceſſity of the birds making freſh neſts, they may meet with the more valuable ones at the next ga⯑thering. It is ſaid, that the Dutch alone export from Batavia 1,000 picles of theſe neſts every year, which are brought from the iſles of Cochin-China, and thoſe lying to the eaſt of them. Among our Eaſt India imports, it is much to be wondered, that, among other luxuries imported by us from the Eaſt, the uſe of theſe neſts ſhould not have found a way to our tables; as yet being ſo ſcarce in England, as to be kept as rarities in the cabinets of collectors.’

THE king reſides generally at Whay, WHAY, THE KING'S COURT. in Lat. 16° 48′ north, [69]about twenty-five miles from the ſea, on a river navigable for veſſels of fifty or ſixty tons up to the city; but the bar has on it at low water only four feet. The city is extenſive; the palace a large ſquare, the ſtreets near it wide, long, and regular; the reſt of the city conſiſts of ſtraggling houſes; ſeveral branches of the river meet here; every family keeps its covered boat; and there are numbers beſides kept for hire, for moſt of the conveyance is by water. It is a place of great trade, both from Kankao, and all parts of their own coaſts.

THE celebrated M. Le Poivre was here in 1749, and appeared at court with great ſplendor ^*, bearing a letter from the king of France, and ſome very paltry gifts for the Cochin-Chineſe mo⯑narch. Le Poivre was too open, and boaſted ſo much of his Grand Monarque, that his veracity was called in queſtion, and in the end he and his countrymen forced to make a haſty retreat.

THE government of Cochin-China is monarchical. GOVERNMENT OF COCHIN-CHINA. It had once been a province to Tonquin, but was ſeparated from it in the beginning of the laſt century. The ſtory is differently re⯑lated. I refer the reader to Hamilton's account ^† of the cauſe and manner: Le Poivre relates it differently; yet both may be right in the chief circumſtances of the event. The ruling re⯑ligion is that of the Chineſe, not the pure and primaeval worſhip of the Shangti, the patriarchal religion; but that of China in its corrupted ſtate. Chriſtianity (introduced by the Portugueſe during the time of their favor at the court of Cochin-China) got ground for ſome little time: miſſionaries were ſent, churches [70]erected, and multitudes of converts made. At length a king aroſe unfriendly to our doctrine, who expelled the miſſionaries, and compelled his ſubjects to return within the pale of the na⯑tional church. Having premiſed this, I ſhall treat the reader with Le Poivre's elegant account of the revolution, and the happy ſtate of this kingdom; but I muſt mix my fears with it, that as he hints at corruptions creeping faſt into the original ſyſtem of government, it may be found at preſent as abſolute, as tyrannical, and as abſurd as other eaſtern dominions, under the rule of the infirm individual. To begin,

‘A Tonquineſe prince, unſucceſsful in a war he carried on againſt the king of Tonquin (under whom he enjoyed an office ſomewhat reſembling the Maires de palais under the Merovingian race of the kings of France) retired with his ſoldiers and adherents acroſs the river which divides that kingdom from Cochin-China. The ſavages, who then poſſeſſed this country, fled before theſe ſtrangers, and took refuge among the mountains of Tſiampa. After a long war with their old enemies, who purſued them, the Tonquineſe fugi⯑tives remained at length peaceable poſſeſſors of the country known under the name of Cochin-China; it extends about two hundred leagues from north to ſouth, but narrow and unequal from eaſt to weſt. They then applied themſelves entirely to the cultivation of rice, which, being the ordinary food of the inhabitants of Aſia, is to them an object of the greateſt importance. They ſeparated into little cantonments, and eſtabliſhed themſelves on the plains, which extend along the banks of the rivers.’

[71] ‘THE ſix firſt kings, founders of this monarchy, governed the nation as a father governs his family; they eſtabliſhed the laws of nature alone; they themſelves paid the firſt obedience to them. Chiefs of an immenſe family of laborers, they gave the firſt example of labor; they honored and encouraged agriculture, as the moſt uſeful and honorable employment of mankind. They required from their ſubjects only a ſmall annual free-gift to defray the expence of their defenſive war againſt their Tonquineſe enemies.’

OFF the coaſt of Cochin-China are the Paracels, THE PARACELS. a vaſt tract of rocks, reefs, ſand-banks, and ſmall iſles, extending from north to ſouth from Lat. 12° 10′ N. to 16° 45′ N. two hun⯑dred and ſeventy-ſix miles in length, and ſixty in breadth. To the north-eaſt of the northern end is a group of ſmall reefs and rocks, called the Triangles, and again a little to the ſouth-eaſt of that is a great irregularly ſhaped ſhoal, called the Macclesfield ſhoal. Between theſe and the iſle of Hainan, belonging to China, is clear and deep water. That iſland lies to the north, about one hundred and thirty miles from the neareſt extremity of the Pa⯑racels; the interval is the common paſſage of our ſhips bound for China; they ſail between the coaſt of Cochin-China and the Paracels, till they get ſight of the Campellos iſles in Lat. 16° 10′. From thence they croſs over towards Hainan, which is ſtrongly marked by ſeveral very high and craggy mountains, foreſights of the general nature of the great empire.

Tinhoſa is the next point navigators make for, a ſmall but lofty iſle not remote from Hainan, and from thence is a direct and clear courſe to the iſlands of Sanciam; a little beyond [72]which is that of Macao, and the numerous iſles that bound the channels to the great port of Canton.

THE bay of Tonquin begins near the wall of Cochin-China, BAY OF TONQUIN. and at the northern extremity of that kingdom. The entrance is bounded on the eaſtern ſide by the iſland of Hainan. The middle of the bay has very deep water, and is free from iſles, excepting a ſmall one called the Nachtigael; but the ſhores are ſkirted with ſands, or groups of little iſles; the coaſts them⯑ſelves, according to Dampier, very low; and the whole interior a flat of the richeſt ſoil, productive of all the fruits, and poſſibly vegetables, of the tropics. Paſtures or rice ground border the banks of the moſt conſiderable rivers.

THE great orange Cam-chain has a thick rind and rough; FRUITS. the inſide of an amber color; the ſmell is moſt fragrant; the taſte moſt delicious

THE Cam-quit is very ſmall, round, and of a deep red. The taſte is equal to the former, but is eſteemed a more un⯑wholeſome fruit, as it both creates and heightens the diſorder of the flux. The limes are equal in ſize to lemons. The betel is ſaid to ſurpaſs any of the Indian.

THE mulberry is much cultivated here for the nouriſhment of the ſilkworms. MULBERRY. There is a ſucceſſion of them, for the leaves of the old trees are held to be leſs nutritive to the worm, and productive of worſe ſilk. The ſpecies of Morus is generally ſup⯑poſed to be the white.

THE Rhus Vernix is found here and in ſeveral other parts of India citra Gangem. RHUS VERNIX. It is the valuable tree which yields the varniſh ſo uſeful in the lacquering of variety of things, and giv⯑ing [73]them a ſort of immortality; the beſt is in Japan. The reader may ſatisfy his curioſity further by conſulting Thunberg, Flora Japon. p. 121. Koempfer's travels, i. 114. and his Amaen. Acad. 791. fig. 792. Kalm ^* found it in North America, and mentions it under the name of the poiſon tree. It certainly merits the title, but its effects are not general; ſome perſons can receive its juice on the body or hands without the leaſt ill con⯑ſequence, while others are afflicted with violent ſwelling, acute pains, and bliſters ſo numerous that the patient will reſemble a leper, and his very ſkin peel off; ſome people are even ſtruck with blindneſs for two days together; much depends on the conſtitutions of thoſe affected. There are men that will handle the tree, or touch the juice with impunity; while others will be viſited with all the deleterious ſymptoms by being in the way of the ſmoke, or even of the wind which carries the effluvia or exhalations of this ſingular tree.

IT has been obſerved that the workers in Laquer or Japan, feel the bad effects, being ſubject to violent eruptions, in form of boils or blotches. The laborers can only work in the dry ſeaſon, when the north winds blow. They are obliged to lay ſeveral coats on, each of which muſt have time to dry, before the other is applied. The varniſh is brought to market in great tubs all the working ſeaſon, the natural color is white, and thick like cream, but changes in the air, and becomes blackiſh; Dam⯑pier ſays that the Tonquineſe have the art of making of it a glue the beſt in the world.

IN this kingdom are abundance of ſir and poon trees, [74]both which are very ſerviceable for maſts. The country alſo produces Sappan-wood, SAPPAN WOOD. which Dampier compares to the Log⯑wood of Campeachy. It proves to be the Caju Sappan, or Lignum Sapan of Rumphius, iv. 56. tab. xxi. Ligno Braſiliano Simile, Bau⯑hin. Pin. 393. Caeſalpina Sappan, Syſt. Pl. ii. 259. Loureiro, Fl. loch. 320. This tree grows principally in Siam and Ciamba; is of the firſt uſe in India for the dying of red. Rumphius gives a very full account of the means by which it produces a tinge of different ſhades. It is alſo brought to the European market. It grows to a moderate ſize; the branches are thick ſet with ſhort ſpines. The wood is very hard, and much uſed by the Indians for pegs to faſten the boards of their ſhips. This plant has been introduced into the Kew garden, and is deſcribed by Mr. Aiton ^* under the name of Caeſalpina veſicaria, narrow-leaved prickly Braſiletto.

THE zoology of Tonquin would give a moſt plentiful harveſt; here ſeems to be a continuation of moſt of the animals of the countries of India we have paſſed over. ELEPHANTS. The elephants are ge⯑nerally in a ſtate of nature; they are very wild and ſhy; but when taken their fleſh is eagerly ſought after; the trunk is a peculiar dainty: The king keeps a few for ſtate; when one happens to die, the fleſh is given to the poor, and the trunk cut to pieces and ſent to the mandarines; horſe-fleſh is alſo fre⯑quently brought to market. This favors of Tartarian origin.

THE variety of birds, BIRDS; terreſtrial and aquatic, is incredible. The water fowl pair before May, and fly in pairs during the months of June and July. From October to March they collect in vaſt [75]flocks. The Tonquineſe take them in nets ſet on poles, which the birds ſtrike on in the twilight.

FISH is in equal abundance. SOYA SAUCE. That delicate ſauce we call Soya is made here of one ſpecies; and of a ſort of ſhrimp, is pro⯑duced another reliſhing luxury called Balichaun.

THE chief river of the country is called the river of Tonquin, which empties itſelf into the bay by two channels, one called Rok-ho, the other twenty leagues to the north-eaſt, which Dam⯑pier named that of Domea. The firſt, frequented by the ſmaller veſſels, has not above twelve feet water at the entrance, and is the moſt convenient for the Siameſe and Chineſe. The other is uſed by the European ſhips on account of the depth. Before the mouth is a line of hard ſand two miles long; the entrance is diſtinguiſhed by a high ridgy mountain far up the country called the Elephant. About ſix leagues from the mouth of the river is the village of Domea, uſually conſiſting of a hundred houſes, yet on the arrival of the European ſhips it ſoon increaſes to a large town; the natives reſort for ſake of trade from all parts; houſes ſuddenly ſpring up; for being only conſtructed of frames of bamboo, and the roof of palm or other leaves, a tem⯑porary town is quickly formed, in which a fair is kept as long as the ſhips remain in the harbor.

THE river is ſubject to the ſame periodical floods as others in the tropical regions; and the ſame fertility is the conſequence. The wet ſeaſon commences the latter end of April or beginning of May, and laſts till towards the cloſe of Auguſt. The rains are intermittent; ſome are of two or three days continuance, others of only a few hours, with intervals of fine weather, eſpecially [76]towards the beginning and concluſion of the ſeaſon. During the wet months the heat is intolerable, eſpecially when the ſun can force its rays through the thick clouds.

THE Typhons, TYPHONS. or as Dampier calls them Tuffoons, are moſt tremendous in this bay and on the coaſt of China. They pre⯑vale in the months of July, Auguſt, and September, and com⯑monly near the change of the moon. They are preceded by very fine weather; a preſaging cloud appears in the north-eaſt, black near the horizon, edged with copper color, on the upper part fading into a glaring white. It often exhibits a ghaſtly appearance twelve hours before the Typhon burſts; its rage laſts many hours from the north-eaſt, attended with dreadful claps of thunder, large and frequent flaſhes of lightning, and ex⯑ceſſive hard rains; then it ſinks into a dead clam; after which it begins again with redoubled rage from the ſouth-weſt, and continues an equal length of time.

THE great Halley gives an account of the ſurpriſing tides in this bay; TIDES. each flux is of twelve hours duration, and its re-flux the ſame, ſo that there occurs but one high water in twenty-four hours. The great Philoſopher ſhall ſpeak in his own words:

‘ON the firſt and ſecond days, at the water's increaſe, the in⯑fluxes are very ſmall and uncertain, but afterwards the tides for thirteen days are conſtant in their courſe, one flood and one ebbing being completed in twenty-four hours time, equally ſharing the ſpace of a lunar circuition of the earth between them, and every flood beginning neareſt three quarters of an hour later than the precedent flood, and alſo conſiderably in⯑creaſing in the height of the tide every day, from the third unto [77]the ſixth and ſeventh days of the water's age, on which two days the flood runs very high; but on the eighth day (which may be accounted the laſt of the ſpring tides) the waters be⯑gin gradually to decreaſe again, retaining the ſame orderly dif⯑ference of time in each tide, until the next following firſt day of the water's increaſe; when, during two days unſettledneſs, there is a ſhifting of the tides in reſpect of the beginning of the flood and ebb, after which ſaid ſhifting, a conſtancy in their inverted courſe is again retained in the above mentioned order for thirteen days following.’

Cachao, the principal city of Tonquin, CITY OF CACHAO. lies about eighty miles higher up the river, and is the place where the chief trade is carried on. The imports are conveyed from the ſhips in large Tonquineſe boats, navigated by the natives. The tide runs with great rapidity thirty or forty miles above Domea, through a rich and beautiful plain; near Hean, a town of two thouſand houſes, is the place where the two channels meet, and form the Delta of Tonquin, about eighty miles from the ſea. The Chineſe mer⯑chants have a ſtreet to themſelves at Hean. For a time they re⯑ſided at Cachao, but became ſo numerous that they ſeemed to ſwallow up the very natives; the king therefore ordered them to remove here. The French alſo had a factory in this town in Dampier's time. Is is from that honeſt voyager I take my ac⯑count, having no later authority of any authenticity. The Chi⯑neſe and Siameſe jonks come up as high as the town, and ride in the middle of the river.

Cachao is a city of twenty thouſand houſes; the walls uſually made of mud and thatch, but ſome are of brick, covered with [78]tiles. Here are three regal places; two very mean, the third more magnificent, but built of timber, and open at the ſides. This, with the courts, fiſh-ponds, and docks for the pleaſure boats, take up a vaſt ſpace of ground, ſurrounded by a wall faced with brick. There are ſeveral gates, and ſtairs to aſcend to the top of the walls, round which is a pleaſant walk. This place is the reſidence or rather priſon of the Boua, or em⯑peror of Tonquin. In this country is a moſt ſingular govern⯑ment; by a revolution which happened long ago, the general of the reigning monarch made himſelf maſter of the empire; he aſſumed all the regal power, and ſeized the whole revenue, but did not venture to extirpate the royal family, for fear of the af⯑fection the people entertained for their antient rulers. The executive power is lodged in the general or his heirs, who is called Choua; he is quite abſolute, has his guards, and all the inſignia of majeſty. The Boua is kept as a ſtate priſoner, with his wives and children, and diverts himſelf within the palace walls, for he is never allowed to ſtir out. The Choua pays him all external reſpects, viſits him three times a year, gives him the precedence, makes him a tender of his life and ſervices, and de⯑clares that all he does is in kindneſs, to ſave him the fatigues of government. The Choua places his own creatures about him, and no others are permitted to have acceſs.

THE Engliſh and Dutch have or had factories in this city. FACTORIES. I am not well acquainted with the exports of the country; they are ſaid to be gold, woods for dying, raw and wrought ſilk, ſome callicoes, varniſh, turpentine, ſalt, earthen ware, anniſeed, and drugs of ſeveral kinds; pearls are alſo found on the coaſts.

[79]THE royal navy is an affair of ſtate, uſeleſs and contemptible in wars; and as to ſhips of commerce, there are ſcarcely any; ſo that every thing is brought in and out of the kingdom in foreign bottoms.

I MAY be pardoned for digreſſing to the healing art of the Tonquineſe. TONQUIN MEDICINE. I muſt produce their receipt for the cure of the bite of the mad dog, the gaol diſtemper, and other maladies incident to human nature; let the good intent apologize for the following extract, thought worthy of a place in the eleventh volume ^* of the Philoſophical Tranſactions.

THEY (the Tonquineſe) take of the beſt muſk about gr. xvi. of the pureſt native cinnabar, and fineſt vermillion, each about gr. xxiv. and, having reduced them ſeparately to impalpable pow⯑ders, mix and adminiſter them in about a gill of arrack; which, in two or three hours, generally throws the patient into a ſound ſleep and perſpiration; if not, they repeat the doſe, and think the cure certain.

THE religion of this country is the ſame with that of Cochin-China, RELIGION. but idolatry appears here with much leſs magnificence; the Pagodas are mean, and their images numerous. It ſhould ſeem that the Mandarines and better ſort of people are more en⯑lightened, and confine themſelves to the worſhip of one GOD. They do not frequent the pagodas, they have no idols, but adore the ſupreme in their courts, with uplifted eyes. A perſon of the family reads the petition to heaven. Dampier's ^† account of the ceremony is curious; "When they make this petition," ſays he, ‘they order a great deal of good meat to be dreſſed, and calling [80]all their ſervants into the court where the ceremony is to be performed, they place the food on a table, where alſo two in⯑cenſe-pots are placed, and then the mandarine preſents a paper to the clerk, who reads it with an audible voice. In the firſt place, there is drawn up an ample account of all that GOD has bleſt him withal, as health, riches, honor, favor of his prince, &c. and long life, if he be old; and towards the concluſion, there is a petition to GOD for a continuance of all theſe bleſ⯑ſings, and a further augmentation of them; eſpecially with long life, and favor of his prince, which laſt they eſteem as the greateſt of all bleſſings. While this paper is reading, the maſter kneels down, and bows his face to the earth, and when the clerk has done reading it, he puts it to the burning ruſhes, that are in the incenſe-pot, where it is conſumed; then he flings in three or four little bundles of ſacred paper, which is very fine and gilded; and when that alſo is burnt, he bids his ſervants eat the meat.’

IT is ſingular that in matters relative to their oaths of allegi⯑ance, OATH. a ſpecies of ſacrament is annually performed, at the ſeaſon in which the Mandarines receive from the great officers under them the oath of fidelity to the king; this is attended with the following ceremony: they cut the throat of a hen, and let the blood fall into a baſon of arrack; of which every man has a ſmall portion given him to drink, after he has publicly declared his loyalty and zeal to ſerve his prince; and this is eſteemed the moſt ſolemn tie by which any perſon can engage himſelf.

THE Chriſtian religion made conſiderable progreſs in this kingdom about the year 1680, MISSIONARIES. and ſome time after. Here were [81]two biſhops, one ſtyled of Aſcalon, the other of Adran; but neither they nor the prieſts were ſuffered to come to Cachao, their reſidence being fixed at Hean; the proſelytes they made were among the meaneſt of the people, and it is ſuggeſted were gained over, more by the charitable donations of rice in times of ſcar⯑city, than by any arguments of the pious miſſionaries. The prieſts were all maſters of ſome mechanic arts which were uſeful in this country, and which ſeem to have been the grounds of their toleration. By reaſon of ſome imprudence on their part, or ſome ſpirit of perſecution in the reigning powers, they were at length expelled; and four of the principal miſſionaries put to death by decapitation.

I WILL conclude with the extent of the kingdom of Tonquin, EXTENT. and with a brief account of the inhabitants. It commences towards the ſouth at the Cochin-China wall, and is there very narrow; to the weſt it is bounded by the Cochin-Chineſe chain, which ſoon re⯑tires, and gradually leaves a larger and larger expanſe to the great plain of this kingdom. Theſe mountains keeping to the north⯑weſt unite with thoſe of China, and by their branches turning eaſt⯑ward, conſtitute the boundaries between Tonquin, and the mighty empire of which the Tonquineſe ſeem originally to have been a colony. The weſtern limit is at the river Gannan Kyan, in Lat. 21° 35′.

THE province bordering on China on the ſide of the bay is that of Tenan, ſmall, but extremely fertile in rice; off the coaſt are multitudes of iſles, very properly called, by the Dutch, the Iſlands of Pirates. They are inhabited by fiſhermen, who make no ſcruple of robbing every ſhip they can maſter. Thoſe can [82]only be of the moſt defenceleſs kind, for theſe pirates have no other veſſels than the boats in which they carry on the fiſhing buſineſs, and thoſe unprovided with any ſort of fire-arms. From the extreme corruption of the government, there is no redreſs to be obtained againſt their exceſſes. An Engliſh captain has been fined for killing one of the crew of theſe petty thieves which had ſhewed a deſign of attacking his veſſel.

IN one of the iſles the Tonquineſe have a cuſtom-houſe, which is ſaid to bring in a million of rix-dollars.

THE kingdom is very populous, NATIVES. being thick ſet with villages. The natives generally are of a middle ſtature, of the tawny India color, but the faireſt and cleareſt of the kind; a bluſh or change of tint may be ſeen in ſome of them on any ſurpriſe of paſſion, imperceptible in any other Indians; their faces are flat⯑tiſh and oval, their noſes and lips of due proportions, and alto⯑gether agreeable; their hair black, long, and lank, very thick, and hanging down to their ſhoulders.

THEIR teeth are (like thoſe of the Siameſe) as black as art can make them; BLACK TEETH. the dying occupies three or four days, and is done to both boys and girls when they are about twelve or four⯑teen years old; during the whole operation they never take any nouriſhment, except of the liquid kind, for fear of being poi⯑ſoned by the pigment, if they ſwallowed what required maſtica⯑tion. Every perſon, high and low, rich and poor, is obliged to undergo this ſevere operation, alledging it would be a diſgrace to human nature to have teeth white as thoſe of dogs or ele⯑phants, to which they compare thoſe who labor under that misfortune.

[83] Prior, with his uſual humour, mentions this cuſtom, but transfers it to the Chineſe.

THUS ends my account of India extra Gangem. The Ton⯑quineſe have ſo much ſimilitude with the Chineſe, that it is with ſome reluctance I place them as a ſeparate people. The uni⯑formity of manners, the religion, and even the perſonal appear⯑ance begin to ſhew themſelves far more to the ſouth. The Chi⯑neſe had ſpread themſelves to many of the kingdoms we have paſſed over, and the likeneſs is retained in proportion as they kept diſtinct, or mixed with the natives, ſo as to occaſion a devi⯑ation from their native features and national cuſtoms. We fall in with the general arrangement of geographers, and leave the artificial diſtinctions which ſeparate them from that great em⯑pire whence they originated. The antients thought otherwiſe, and formed of thoſe kingdoms a mighty government, diſtin⯑guiſhed from their neighbors to the ſouth and to the north by the general name of Thinae or Sinae.

CHINA.
CHINA.

THE miracle of governments! GOVERNMENT. Its dominion extends from the ſtreights of Hainan, in north Lat. 20° 13′, to the extre⯑mity of the province of Pe-che-li, in Lat. 41° 15′, comprehend⯑ing a ſpace of near fifteen hundred miles in length, and in breadth above a thouſand. The numbers of its inhabitants (given by the lively Voltaire) are a hundred and fifty millions ^*, yet all are ruled by a ſingle man! The government is founded on the law of the fifth commandment, and the honor paid to the emperor in the character of father, amounts to a veneration due to the Divinity himſelf. The greateſt of his ſubjects never ſpeak to him without kneeling; his words are law, and every thing he ſays is received as oracular. The ſame reſpect, proportion⯑ably diminiſhed, is rendered to all his ſervants, as emanations of his ſacred perſon, from the firſt mandarine down to the loweſt officer who is inveſted with delegated power. He is called Tyen-tſe, the ſon of Heaven; Thau-ting, palace royal; Van-ſwi, ten thouſand years; and by other epithets emblematic of the [88]ſanctity of his perſon. All this reſults primarily from the ſenſe of filial duties, early imprinted on the hearts of his ſubjects as the firſt and greateſt point of religion, and objects of the cogni⯑zance of the magiſtrate. If a ſon is incorrigible by a parent, the parent takes him before the judge, who ſeldom fails to bring him to a ſenſe of his duty. Filial reſpect, ſays Confucius, in his Auking, a book on that very ſubject, is the foundation of all virtue, and of the wiſe government of the empire.

CHILDREN are treated by the parents with the utmoſt rigor; the doctrine of obedience is inculcated with the greateſt ſeverity, ſo that it becomes ever after habitual: but as this reſpect to⯑wards their ſuperiors is attended with fear and meanneſs, ſo deceit and fraud become the characteriſtics of the Chineſe nation.

THE ſame reſpect to thoſe in a higher ſtation pervades all ranks of people; hence the Chineſe are the moſt ceremonious of man⯑kind, and the very loweſt orders full of the moſt profound arti⯑ficial civility.

THE emperor has the diſpoſal of all offices, nay, even of the lives and fortunes of every ſubject. Nothing is done, of any moment, from one extremity to the other of this vaſt empire, without his knowledge; in criminal caſes the calendar of pri⯑ſoners convict are laid before him, with a ſtatement of their crimes; theſe liſts are returned to the reſpective judges, with the ſentence affixed to each name, be it of death or free pardon. The leſſer puniſhments are left to the pleaſure of the ma⯑giſtrate.

THE deſpotiſm of the emperor is founded upon law and cuſtom; DESPOTIC. not expreſſed, yet fully implied, it ſeems admitted that [89]he can do no wrong! but it is on the principle that the ſtate is a vaſt family, that Tyen, i. e. the Supreme Being, hath placed him on the throne, in order that he may be a father and a mother to his people. In conſequence of this, a ſtrong ſenſe of his duty is continually before his eyes. The mandarines and princes of the blood are at liberty to remind him of any faults he may fall into; and even the people, if they find him negligent, are as ready to become tumultuous as in any other country. The grand ſecret of government in the emperor is the unremitting attention paid to the conduct of the mandarines and other magiſtrates, who are carefully watched, and moſt ſeverely puniſhed on every failure of duty. He himſelf is perpetually anxious to conſult the good of his ſubjects, and to avoid incurring their hatred or contempt.

THERE is no country in which the filial duties are carried to ſuch a length. FILIAL DUTIES. "A veneration for fathers," ſays Monteſquieu ^*, ‘was neceſſarily connected with a ſuitable reſpect for all who repreſented fathers, ſuch as old men, maſters, magiſtrates, and the emperor. This reſpect for fathers, ſuppoſed a return of love towards children, and conſequently the ſame return from old men to the young, from magiſtrates to thoſe who were under their juriſdiction, and from the emperor to his ſubjects. This formed the rites, and theſe rites the general ſpirit of the nation.’

A PARRICIDE is extremely rare in this empire: whenever it happens, the whole province is in alarm; the relations are pu⯑niſhed, and the mandarines depoſed, as it is preſumed it muſt [90]have been through their neglect of admonition on the firſt appearance of filial miſconduct, that ſuch a monſter could be found. The emperor himſelf is judge, and the crime is expiated by the ſentence of the criminal being cut into ten thouſand pieces.

THE reigning vice of the Chineſe is ſelf-intereſt, SELF-INTEREST. which gives riſe to the infinite variety of frauds of which they are juſtly ac⯑cuſed. Lord Anſon's account of them is by no means exag⯑gerated. Attempts have been made to clear them from the aſperſion, but all has proved a vain labor. They conſider the art of over-reaching as a mark of ſuperior genius, and laugh at their dupe for ſuffering himſelf to be impoſed on. Du Halde tells a pleaſant ſtory of an Engliſh captain who had bargained with a Chineſe merchant for ſeveral bales of ſilk. On opening the firſt, he found it excellent; but all the reſt were quite rotten. The captain reproached the merchant in the moſt ſevere terms. The Chineſe, with great coolneſs, anſwered, ‘Blame, Sir, your rogue of an interpreter, for he aſſured me, that you never would ex⯑amine the bales.’

PRIDE and ſelf-conceit are the other characteriſtic faults of this people. PRIDE. They aſſume an imaginary pre-eminence over all the world, and conceive nothing can be right but what they do. Their arts and their inventions have been brought to a certain point, at which they muſt ever ſtop, till they can prevale on themſelves to lower their high opinion of ſuperiority, and im⯑prove upon the models brought from Europe. They can copy, but they do it with reluctance, as they look upon them⯑ſelves to be the firſt of men. A good effect ariſes out of this [91]foible, it repreſſes luxury; they think themſelves wiſer than the reſt of mankind, and that they are ſupplied with whatever their ſituation can require. Their rule of government, their cuſtoms, their arts, their habits, have remained for centuries the ſame, and probably will continue ſo to the end of time.

THIS leading feature is, beſides, ANTIQUITY. the reſult of the high and juſt opinion they entertain of the antiquity of the Chineſe nation, in compariſon of that of the reſt of the world; and they with truth obſerve, that they were a poliſhed people ages before the nations of modern Europe had emerged from ſavage manners and pro⯑found ignorance.

THE founder of their empire is ſaid to be Fo-hi, FO-HI, FOUNDER OF THE EMPIRE. cotemporary with Phaleg and Heber. His ſubjects at that time were nearly in the ſtate of nature; they fed on what they caught, ate it raw, drank the blood, and clothed themſelves with the ſkins. He taught them to make fiſhing-nets and ſnares for birds, to rear domeſtic animals, and inſtructed them in various arts of life; and to ſoften the fierceneſs of his people, invented muſic, and the inſtrument Kin. China was inhabited above two thouſand years before the Chriſtian aera, demonſtrable from an eclipſe ob⯑ſerved at that period. The boaſt of the Chineſe is, that their mo⯑narchy has continued four thouſand years under the government of emperors; that it experienced twenty-two dynaſties or revo⯑lutions, but the commotions each occaſioned were ſo ſhort that the country ſuffered very little inconveniency, and returned im⯑mediately into its former regular ſyſtem.

THE original religion of the Chineſe was truly pure, RELIGION. and pro⯑bably delivered to them by the firſt founder of the empire, [92] Fo-hi, as derived from the patriarchs, amongſt whom that illuſ⯑trious character may nearly be ranked. The firſt who reached China brought with them the religion of Noah. They acknow⯑ledged one great and ſupreme Being, and profeſſed to live ac⯑cording to his laws engraven on their hearts. They juſtly made that Being the model of perfection, poſſeſſed of omnipotence, omniſcience, providence, goodneſs, juſtice, and mercy. They admit the doctrine of grace, for they ſay that the moſt wicked man, if he makes uſe of the aſſiſtance offered to him by Tyen, or the Supreme Being, may attain the higheſt virtues. They hold alſo an expiation of ſins by their own ſacrifices; but confeſs that no external adoration will be accepted unleſs it is attended with inward ſentiments, and comes directly from the heart. I cannot, in my contracted plan, give all the detail of their reli⯑gion, or the proofs of its origin from the patriarchs. I will only ſay, that, like them, they had their Pentateuch. Their five vo⯑lumes correſpondent with the Moſaical hiſtory are eſteemed by them the ſource of all ſcience and morality.

The great reformer of the religion of China was Conſucius, CONFUCIUS. cotemporary with Pythagoras, and born 551 years before Chriſt; he purged it from all corruptions, and brought it to the perfection we have deſcribed; it ſtill continues the religion of the emperor and of the good and learned throughout his vaſt dominions.

ABOUT ſix hundred years before the Chriſtian aera, SECT OF TAUT-SE. aroſe the ſect of Taut-ſe, founded by Lau-kyun, who confined the felicity of this life to voluptuouſneſs; and taught that the ſoul died with the body; yet at the ſame time admitted the exiſtence of a Divine Being, which makes ſome people believe, that his doc⯑trine [93]had been corrupted by certain of his profligate diſciples, who might think it better to periſh than burn; yet as they muſt neceſſarily be perpetually diſturbed with the thoughts of death, they pretended to have invented a liquor of immortality, which, with the credulity of ſome of the emperors, gave a prodigious increaſe to their followers; they were greatly addicted to magic, introduced worſhip of ſpirits, ſacrificed to devils, and deluded the vulgar by a thouſand juggling tricks.

THE laſt was the ſect of Fo or Fwe (not to be confounded with the great Fo-hi.) SECT OF FO. Their doctrine was tranſported out of India about 65 years after the birth of Chriſt. An emperor dreamed of a ſaying of Confucius, that the Holy-one was to be found in the Weſt. He ſent ambaſſadors to India, who brought back the monſtrous image Fo, and all the extravagances of the Hindoo mythology. Temples or pagodas were erected in all places, and thoſe filled with the moſt monſtrous idols. They were attended by Bonzees innumerable. This is the religion of the vulgar, but not always confined to them; the emperors have at times been infected with it, deceived by the ſeeming auſterities practiſed by the Bonzees, and their ſenſeleſs penances, ſimilar to thoſe of ſome of the Indian Faquirs.

THE Chriſtian religion was introduced here as early as the year 636, when, to the aſtoniſhment of the Chineſe, CHRISTIANITY. there ap⯑peared among them a ſet of men with fair hair and blue eyes, and of an air, form, and habit quite unknown. Theſe proved to be certain biſhops, prieſts, and deacons ſent out of Judea to propagate the goſpel in theſe diſtant parts. They were Syrians [94]and Neſtorians. At that time Jeſuiabas, ſays Moſheim ^*, was at the head of that ſect. The memory of this tranſaction was quite loſt for ages, till in the year 1625 a monument was found in digging under ground near Si-ngan-ſu, in the province Shenſi. It was a table of marble, ten feet long and five broad, containing the names of the miſſionaries, and a hiſtory of the cauſe of their coming, written in the Syriac language, which was tranſlated by the Jeſuits who happened to be in China at the time of its diſ⯑covery, and is given in Kircher's China Illuſtrata. There is no doubt of the authenticity. The Jeſuits are charged with a moſt uſeleſs and unavaling forgery, eſpecially by Voltaire. The curious may ſee more of the affair in Renaudot's account of India and China ^†. The effect of this miſſion did not continue long; at firſt they made abundance of proſelytes; they were favored by the reigning emperor, permitted to build churches, and inculcate their doctrine among his ſubjects. This monu⯑ment brings down their hiſtory to 783, the time of its being made. In the year 845, an emperor inimical to the monaſtic life aroſe, and by an ordinance entirely ſuppreſſed every religious houſe. This was in fact levelled at the Bonzees, and the profeſſors of the idolatry of Fo or Fwe, who had not only ex⯑pended vaſt ſums in the ornaments of their pagodas and monaſ⯑teries, CONVENTS. but made them ſanctuaries for all kinds of profligates. This event correſponds exactly with our celebrated diſſolution: here four thouſand ſix hundred of the great monaſteries of male and female recluſes, and forty thouſand of the leſſer, were directed to be demoliſhed, the lands and revenues to revert to the royal [95]domain, and a hundred and fifty thouſand ſlaves belonging to the houſes to be ſet at liberty, enrolled and ranked among the people. As to theſe Chriſtians, who in the ordinance are called outlandiſh Bonzees from Ta-tſing or Mu-hu-pa, about three thou⯑ſand in number, they were alſo included, and directed to return to a ſecular life, "to the end that the cuſtoms of our empire," ſays the decree, "may be uniform and unmixed." From this time the hiſtory of theſe people was conſigned to oblivion, nor ever would have been known, but for the diſcovery of the Si⯑gnan-ſu monument.

THE ambition of the great Jeſuit St. ST. FRANCIS DE XAVIER. Francis de Xavier to ex⯑tend the power and importance of his new order, is mentioned largely at vol. i. p. 113. of this work.

IN 1549 he ſailed from Goa to Japan, and after diſcharging his miſſion in that iſland, determined on a viſit to China. Death fruſtrated his pious deſign, but preſerved him from the mortifi⯑cation of being refuſed an entrance into the empire, according to the moſt rigid ordinances then in force. He departed this life off the iſle of Sancian. The Chineſe had no objection to receive a dead chriſtian; they permitted his interment; his coffin was filled with unſlacked lime, which miraculouſly loſt its nature, and the body, preſerved uninjured, was found entire, ſweet, and with all moiſture, fifty years after, (Du Halde ſays only as many months) and brought with due veneration to the city of Goa.

FROM this period to the end of the ſame century, JESUITS. no attempt was made to follow the great example of St. Xavier. A few Do⯑minicans [96]and Franciſcans would have landed in China with the ſame pious intention, could they have obtained leave. The honor of preaching the goſpel with any ſucceſs in this great empire, was reſerved for the riſing order of the Jeſuits.

Valignon, ſuperior general of the order of the miſſion of India, reſident at Macao, burning with zeal for the great deſign, ſelected three of his ſociety for the purpoſe, Roger of Naples, Paſio of Bologna, FATHER RICCI. and Ricci of Macerata. The laſt was a man of ſuperior abilities, who with his two brethren had rendered themſelves maſters of the Chineſe language at Goa, before they began their miſſion. They entered on it in the year 1583. After ſeveral un⯑favorable eſſays, Ricci found his way to the court; he had all the art and inſinuation of his order; a noble air, great ſweetneſs of temper, and an extenſive knowlege of the ſciences, par⯑ticularly of the mathematics. He came alſo provided with pre⯑ſents; he gave the emperor a clock, a picture of our Saviour, and another of the Virgin, each of which, ſay the Jeſuits, had a moſt honorable place. Paſio and Roger had been recalled, and the whole power was veſted in Ricci; under whom crowds of ſubordinate Jeſuits preached the goſpel with the utmoſt ſucceſs. They ſeemed to have a toleration, or at leaſt a connivance. They reconciled the doctrine of their great maſter, and the rites of the Chriſtian religion, with the ceremonies of that of China. Ricci permitted his proſelytes to aſſiſt at the annual commemoration of the followers of Conſucius, and to intermingle the rites of both churches, ſo as to gain converts innumerable. He baptized ſeveral Mandarines and perſous of rank; among others two rich [97]widows, one by the name of Candida, the other that of Agatha. The wealthy founded churches; and the poor filled them with their numbers. Perſecutions were raiſed againſt them; but the abilities of Ricci overcame them all. He died highly reſpected, in 1610, at Peking, in the reign of Van Lye; and by the order of the emperor was moſt honorably interred in a garden allotted for that purpoſe. Ricci inconteſtibly merited the title he re⯑ceived, of founder and father of the Chineſe church.

SEVERAL other Jeſuits of great abilities ſucceſſively ſupported his labors; a perſecution had been raiſed againſt them, but luck⯑ily at the ſame time an invaſion was threatened by the Tartars. A Mandarine, a Chriſtian convert, adviſed the calling in the aſ⯑ſiſtance of the Portugueſe engineers to direct the artillery; the ad⯑vice was taken, and their ſucceſs again brought the Chriſtians into favor.

FATHER Schaal was employed in caſting of cannon, FATHER VERBIEST. and father Verbieſt, another Jeſuit of firſt rate abilities, was engaged in the ſame ſervice. It certainly was not the ſpiritual merits of the fa⯑thers that gained them the patronage of the Chineſe emperors, but their knowlege of the arts. They had brethren of all pro⯑ſeſſions, painters, mechanics, turners, watch-makers, founders, accomptants, aſtronomers, and maſters of ordnance. Verbieſt, and ſome of the ableſt of the fathers, were conſulted about mat⯑ters of ſtate; and by thoſe various means became a moſt pow⯑erful miniſtry. They were created Mandarines, and appeared at court in a rich dreſs of that order, with the dragon flaming on their breaſts. Cam-hi even iſſued an edict in favor of the Chriſtian [98]religion. Among the miracles of the times, an eunuch converted fifty ladies; and Helena Taming, empreſs of China, held epiſto⯑lary correſpondence with pope Alexander VIIth.

UNFORTUNATELY for the Jeſuits, in 1631, an inundation of other miſſionaries poured into the empire. DOMINICANS. The Dominicans and the Franciſcans were zealous to partake of the honor, and ſhare in the good work; but again, unluckily for both, the Jeſuits were more of this world, their rivals of the other. The laſt ſoon diſcovered the arts by which the Jeſuits had eſtabliſhed their power in China. They would not condeſcend to preach any but the pure doctrine of Chriſtianity; an inveterate quarrel enſued among theſe holy men. The Dominicans and Franciſ⯑cans carried their complaints to Rome; the grounds of which were diſcuſſed in the higheſt eccleſiaſtical courts, and with va⯑rious ſucceſs. The monks had the moſt ſubtile orders to coun⯑teract them. The controverſy laſted a hundred years; bulls had been ſent to Peking, to diſannul all the temporizing compliances of the Jeſuits with the religious rites of the Chineſe; ſome they evaded, and at other times, by their power at court, excited perſe⯑cutions againſt their chriſtian brethren. They even procured the impriſonment of Tournon, a legate from the Pope himſelf. His holineſs honored the ſufferer with the cardinal's hat; he re⯑ceived it in conſinement, and ſoon after died, the ridicule of the political Jeſuits. The reader will find a very candid and enter⯑taining account of the Chriſtian church by Moſhcim, in the Chi⯑neſe Miſcellanies, publiſhed in 1762, in two ſmall volumes. My plan forbids me from entering further into the hiſtory; let it [99]ſuffice to ſay, that the Jeſuits, from the death of Kam-hi, expe⯑rienced viciſſitudes of fortune; were either depreſſed or exalted according to the genius of his ſucceſſors, or according to the uſes to which they were found ſubſervient. The diſſolution of the order probably put an end to the Chriſtian church in this poli⯑tical empire ^*.

ANOTHER nation, eminent for extending their religion far and wide, could never effect, by the power of the ſword, what this artful order did by inſinuation, and by temporizing with the cuſtoms and manners of the people of whom they intended to make their advantages. The Arabs, ARABS. who in other places incul⯑cated the doctrine of their famed impoſtor by conqueſt and vio⯑lence, here never made the attempt; long maſters of the ſea, they came from the coaſts of Africa, or of Arabia and India, in the form of traders, in the tenth century. The Chineſe admitted them into their ports in that character, but denied them permiſ⯑ſion to propagate their faith, as they had done in India. They were ſtrictly forbidden to make any converts, but were allowed the free exerciſe of their own religion, as long as they did not in⯑terfere with that of the empire. The Portugueſe, when they firſt arrived in China, found the cities full of Arabs or Moors, and Fa⯑ther Navarette, a Dominican miſſionary in China in 1665, informs us, that in his time there were about five hundred thouſand, which had greatly increaſed by intermarriages with the natives; that many of them took their degrees among the Chineſe literati; [100]which evinces how the Arabs carried with them a thirſt after knowledge; but they were looked on by their brethren as apo⯑ſtates, for mingling with a nation whoſe rites were ſo contrary to their own.

NOTWITHSTANDING the Mahometans have been ſettled ſo many centuries in China, they are in many places conſidered as intruders, are treated moſt contemptuouſly by the vulgar, and ſometimes their moſques have been demoliſhed by the mob.

LET me now return to the temporal concerns of the Chineſe empire. LAST REVO⯑LUTION. The laſt revolution was effected in 1644. The em⯑peror Tſong-Ching, reduced to deſpair by a ſucceſsful rebellion, put himſelf to death; his brave general made head againſt the uſurper, but unfortunately, like our Vortigern, called in the aſ⯑ſiſtance of a foreign power; he invoked the Manchew Tartars, who, headed by their monarch Tſong-te, united with him, and expelled the uſurper. Tſong-te died as ſoon as that was effected; but before his death, declared his infant ſon emperor of China. The general found his error too late, yet ſubmitted to the neceſ⯑ſity, and ſupported the new ſucceſſion. From that time the Tartar line continued on the throne; but the prince, and all the Tartarian ſubjects he brought with him, adopted, in the moſt mi⯑nute articles, the antient rules of the empire, its laws and cuſtoms, and aſſumed the habits of the conquered people. Tartars and Chineſe are admitted indifferently to places of truſt civil and mi⯑litary. The Tartars compoſe moſt of the garriſons, but are now grown as effeminate as the Chineſe themſelves, and very little ſu⯑perior to the native ſoldiery. The army of China conſiſts of [101]ſeven hundred thouſand men, diſperſed in garriſons, or along the great wall; are well cloathed and armed, and make a fine figure on a review or on a march.

THE characteriſtic features of the Chineſe in the males, FORM OF THE CHINESE. are a large forehead, ſhort noſe, well cut ſmall eyes, a large and ſquare face, great broad ears, a middle ſized mouth, black hair, and a large and fat body. Theſe conſtitute beauty in our ſex. The com⯑plexions in general are as fair as Europeans, unleſs in the ſouthern provinces, or among the rank of people who are obliged to be expoſed to the open air.

THE noſes of the females are ſhort, their eyes little, their ears long, their complexions ruddy, their features regular, and coun⯑tenances gay; their feet artificially ſmall. LITTLE FEET. It has ever been the cuſtom of the nurſes to bind thoſe parts ſo cloſe, as to prevent them from growing; they eſteem this a beauty, notwithſtanding it gives them a lameneſs in their gait; yet they think the ſmall⯑neſs of their feet a charm, and ſhew them as much as poſ⯑ſible.

I SHALL now ſpeak of the genius of this ſingular people, ARTS. and the progreſs they have made in the arts.

I WILL begin with the medical. MEDICAL. All their Materia Medica anſwers to our Galenical medicines, being drawn from ſimples; they have a good knowledge of the uſes of the vegetable king⯑dom. They never meddle with the violent remedies; gentle cathartics, emollients, ſtrengtheners, are the kinds they principally preſcribe. Green and bohea tea, the Ginſeng, and other ſalutary roots, are much in uſe. They are totally ignorant of anatomy, but pretend to great ſagacity in the knowledge of the pulſe; they [102]not only judge of the ſpecies and nature of the diſeaſe, but ap⯑ply their remedy according to the ſymptoms it exhibits. I refer to Du Halde ^*, for the long but curious account of the practice. They were well acquainted with the circulation of the blood, long before the Europeans attained that knowlege. As they know nothing of anatomy, it muſt be by reaſoning on the force and action of the pulſe. They bleed, even with a bit of broken china.

THEY had the knowlege of inoculation a great many years ago; INOCULATION. it is a diſputed point whether the Turks (from whom we learned the ſalutary art) received it from the Chineſe, by means of the Armenian caravans, or whether the ſame people might not have communicated it to the Chineſe; certain it is that they have long been in poſſeſſion of the method; and the emperor Kam-hi made a noble uſe of it, ſending ſkilful perſons into Tartary, and other parts of his dominions, to inoculate the children of his Tartarian ſubjects, and others; the diſtemper in every part of the empire being dreaded to the higheſt degree, making the ſame havoc among theſe eaſtern people, as the plague in the weſtern world.

THE art of printing was invented under the emperor Ming-Tſong, PRINTING. about the year of our Lord 904, being above five hundred years before it was diſcovered in Europe. They trace the types through the written copy on blocks of wood; ſo never have occaſion to break the preſs, as we do in our quarter of the globe.

THE manufacture of paper was originally diſcovered by Tſay-Jun, PAPER. [103]a great Mandarine of the palace, A. D. 95, who made it nearly in the manner we do, from old fragments of cloth or ſilk, and the bark of trees, boiled and reduced to a thin paſte. The conſumption of paper in this empire is prodigious; the Cacoethes Scribendi occaſions an amazing demand, and the quantity uſed for the papering of their rooms is inconceivable. Their painted papers are more famed for the richneſs of the colors, than the juſtneſs and elegance of the deſign. They have no notion of perſpective, nor the leaſt ſkill in delineating the human figure, all which appear like ſo many caricatures. The ſubjects are chiefly domeſtic ſcenes, agriculture, ſuch as the cultivation of rice, &c. &c. of tea, and the various proceſſes, from the planting to the package for foreign markets.

THE conſumption of ink muſt neceſſarily be equal to that of paper; the manufacture employs, in the province of Nanquin, INK. whole villages; lamp-black is the baſis, whether of the liquid ink uſed for printing, or of that which is brought over to us under the name of Indian ink, in ſticks, with Chineſe characters, and ornamented with colored figures of flowers, &c. The in⯑vention of ink in China, is ſaid to have been in the reign of Ven-ti, about a hundred and ſixty years before Chriſt.

THE emperor Kam-hi cauſed the wars againſt the Elaths, and thoſe on the frontiers of little Bucharia, to be painted, and ſent long after into Europe, in order to be engraven by the beſt ar⯑tiſts; theſe were the performances of the Jeſuits, and done in a very good manner. They were placed in the hands of Le Bas at Paris, and engraven in 1770; the plates were ſent to China; but becauſe the figures in the back grounds were not drawn as large [104]as thoſe in the fore, the plates were returned to be altered (which was done) quite to the taſte of the Chineſe. The mountain ſcenery is magnificent; the actions or ſurpriſes cruel and ſan⯑guinary; the fortified places, and little wooden forts, exactly re⯑preſented, with various ſpecimens of the art military of theſe diſtant Aſiatics. I obſerved the Bactrian or two bunched camel much in uſe, carrying ſwivel guns on their backs, which were diſcharged at the fugitives climbing up the ſteeps of the moun⯑tains. This work conſiſts of ſixteen very large prints, finely en⯑graven. The copies in Europe are rare; ten thouſand pounds were allowed for the execution.

THE uſe of artillery was not known among the Chineſe till the arrival of the Europeans. ARTILLERY. The firſt cannon they ever ſaw, were three, ſent as a preſent to the emperor, by the Portugueſe of Macao, in 1621. Theſe were afterwards uſed againſt the Tartars, who came in ſwarms to the great wall, but terrified by the ſlaughter made among them by theſe novel machines of war, they never approached it more.

GUNPOWDER was invented in Europe by a monk; GUNPOWDER. the firſt cannon ever caſt in China, were the work of a Jeſuit, Father Adam Schaal, by order of the emperor; the next of the father Verbieſt, the great ornament of the order; he firſt caſt a hundred and thirty, and after that three hundred and twenty. They were tried in the preſence of the emperor, who ſo greatly ap⯑proved the ſervices of Verhieſt, that he loaded him with honors. The Jeſuits, in return, fixed on a day for bleſſing his labors; dreſſed in his religious habit, he nine times proſtrated himſelf, and beat his forehead againſt the ground. He had previouſly [105]fixed a crucifix on an altar before the train of artillery, which he baptized piece by piece, and gave to each the name of a male or female ſaint, taken from the calendar of his own church.

GUNPOWDER was of very early invention in China and in India, but till the time that I have juſt mentioned, it was never applied to any other uſes than fire-works on feſtive occaſions, in which the Chineſe ſtill excel all the reſt of the world. I refer the reader to p. 362 of the preceding volume, for what I have ſaid on the ſubject of the powder and artillery of the Orientaliſts.

Voltaire aſſerts that the Chineſe had a manufactory of glaſs above two thouſand years ago. GLASS. Du Halde ſays that looking glaſſes are not among their articles of furniture. They have in⯑deed at Yen-ching, in the province of Shang-tung, a manufactory, but ſo brittle is their Lew-li, or glaſs, as to break when expoſed to too cold an air. I am farther confirmed by my worthy friend Thomas Fitzhugh, Eſquire, (long reſident in China) that the art of making glaſs in China was in a very imperfect ſtate, as he in⯑forms me that about ſixty or ſeventy years they were ſupplied with that article from England, which would not have been the caſe had they excelled at home. The glaſs was carried over in pieces in the ſhape of bricks, from which trade it may be ſuppoſed the Chineſe either did not then make it, or that they found it more expenſive in the proceſs than purchaſing the ar⯑ticles from foreigners ^*.

[106]THE works in japan or varniſh, JAPANNING. are very conſiderable in this empire, but do not equal thoſe made in Japan itſelf. The beſt is that of Tonking and Nanking; the varniſh is produced from the Rhus-vernix, which the Chineſe call Tſi. It is the ſame with that I have deſcribed at p. 72 of this volume. The proceſs in collecting it is the ſame, and the workmen are affected with the ſame diſeaſes in the operation; I therefore will not repeat what I have before mentioned.

THE very important article of ſilk ſhall next be ſpoken of. SILK. In my account of Spain will be given the hiſtory of the origin of this manufacture, and the various countries it paſſed through in its way from China, its native ſeat. The care of the ſilk-worm was of the moſt early date; it was begun by Si-ling, one of the queens of Whang-ti, third emperor from Fo-hi, at the period in which his ſubjects ſtill clothed themſelves in the undreſſed ſkins of wild beaſts; how ſurpriſing was the change for the luxurious habit of ſilk. Succeeding empreſſes followed her example; they went attended by their fair ſuite to the orchard of mulberry trees, gathered the leaves of three trees, either with their own hands, or by the hands of the ladies under their inſpection. A piece of the fineſt ſilk was woven and devoted to the ceremony of the ſacrifice to the Shang-Ti, or the Supreme Being. More policy than religion is intermixed with this ſacrifice; the wiſe Chineſe knew that they could not inforce too ſtrongly the cultivation of a tree which feeds the great ſtaple of the empire.

The Chineſe have two trees which contribute to this purpoſe; MULBERRY TREES. the one is the Sang or Te-ſang, the Morus Alba or white mul⯑berry tree, ſo well known in the ſouth of Europe; this is culti⯑vated [107]in plantations. The other kind is the Che, or Ye-ſang, the wild mulberry, which grows on the hills in foreſts, has ſmall roundiſh rough leaves ſcalloped on the edges, and termi⯑nating in a point; the branches thorny; the fruit like pepper; in a few words a tree of a diſtinct ſpecies, if not genus, from the former. On theſe trees, the young of the ſilkworms which are hatched, are laid. The ſilk, produced from them, is ſaid to be ſtronger and earlier than from thoſe bred on the common mul⯑berry. Paths are cut among the foreſts of the Che, the ground is cleared of weeds which may give ſhelter to ſerpents that devour the worms; and perſons watch with guns to deſtroy the birds that make them their food; theſe trees are alſo cultivated in ſome places like the white mulberry.

I SHALL make mention of a ſpecies of ſilk totally different in its origin from the preceding; this is deſcribed by Du Halde ^*, SILK OF PLINY. who ſays it is made by certain worms in the province of Shang⯑tong. It is not fabricated by them into Cocons, but left adhering to ſmall trees or ſhrubs in form of very long threads, which are gathered and woven into a coarſe ſilk, called Kien chew, a very thick, laſting ſort, which waſhes well, and is in much eſteem with the Chineſe.

THIS account certainly vindicates the opinion held by the ancients that ſilk was an article combed from the leaves of cer⯑tain trees. "Primi ſunt hominum" ſays Pliny (ſpeaking of the Scytharum Gen. lib. vi. c. xvii.) ‘qui noſcantur Seres, lanicio ſylvarum nobiles, perfuſam aqua depectentes frondium cani⯑tiem:’ Virgil delivers the ſame notion, ‘Velleraque ut foliis depectant tenuia Seres.’ [108]The Romans believed it to be the ſame kind which was pro⯑duced at Rome from the ſilk-thread which had found its way there in the time of Pliny, which makes him complain of the great trouble the Roman women had in winding and weaving their ſilk, whilſt the Seres had no more to do than to gather it from the leaves of trees. ‘Unde geminus foeminis noſtris labor redordiendi fila rurſuſque texendi.’ It was long before the ma⯑nufacture of ſilks was eſtabliſhed at Rome. The uſe was diſ⯑couraged by a law forbidding men to debaſe themſelves by the wearing of ſilk, as fit only for women. The effeminate Helio⯑gabalus is the firſt on record who wore a dreſs entirely of ſilk. The manufactory even in the ribband or haberdaſhery way did not reach our kingdom till about the year 1482. Spain had very long the ſtart of us. Our monarchs were forced to be content with cloth ſtockings. Henry VIII. accidentally got a pair now and then from Spain. Sir Thomas Greſham preſented a pair to Edward VI. which was much talked of. Mrs. Montague, ſilk⯑woman to queen Elizabeth, preſented her with a pair of black ſilk, after which, her highneſs would never wear any of cloth. Broad ſilks were not woven in England till the year 1620. The ſouthern and weſtern parts of Europe for centuries poſſeſſed that ſpecies of manufacture.

THE manufacture of cotton muſt have been of great antiquity. COTTON. Du Halde ^* mentions the ſhrub, and the time of the ſowing, which immediately follows the harveſt, and in the ſame field. The produce is woven into calicoes, and into a cloth well known in England by the name of Nanquins, ſo called from the place [109]of manufacture. I imagine that the Chineſe have not at preſent ſufficient quantity of raw materials, as great quantities are ſaid of late to have been imported from India.

OF the woollen manufactures I can ſay very little. WOOLLENS. In the province of Shenſi the ſheep and goats are ſheered thrice a year; and of the wool of the one and the hair of the other, mixed, is made a ſtuff much in requeſt. The ſheep are the great tailed kind.

THE Porcelain is of unknown antiquity. PORCELAIN. The Jeſuit D'En⯑trecolles who had a church in a town in the province of King-te⯑ching, a firſt rate city which contained upwards of a million of people, could not trace the origin. That reverend father has been indefatigable in his enquiry; and has produced a moſt elaborate account of the materials and proceſs.

THE firſt knowledge which the Europeans had of China was by the means of the Seres, SERES. inhabitants of the northern parts of the empire. Theſe very diſtant people were among the nations whom the fame of Auguſtus had reached, and who complimented him with an embaſſy, which took four years journey to perform. They preſented the emperor with pearls, pretious ſtones, and elephants. Silk is not mentioned; yet probably Virgil learned from them that it was the production of their country, as I re⯑mark from the line of his at p. 107. Horace informs us how expert the Seres were in the uſe of the bow.

[110] THE capital of theſe people is called by Ptolemy, Sera Metro⯑polis, and placed by him in Lat. 38° 36′, which ſo nearly agrees with the latitude of King-chew in the province of Pe-che-li, as to leave no doubt of that having been the ſite. I have, at p. 8. of the firſt volume of this work, mentioned the Comedae, and the ſtation of thoſe who were bound for the commerce with the Seres. A branch of the Imaus runs from thence to the north⯑eaſt, and after ſome ſpace to the eaſt. Part of the country to the ſouth-eaſt of this chain is the Scythia intra Imaum; and the part to the north-eaſt is the Serica Regio, or land of the Seres. Various towns or cities of little uſe to note are mentioned by Ptolemy. In his time the reſting places of the merchants in their road to the Sera Metropolis. We know no more than that there was a commerce carried on with this country by caravans from the more weſtern world; that it was interrupted by the Par⯑thians, who had poſſeſſed themſelves of moſt of the country from the Caſpian ſea to this branch of the Imaus; and by that means the intercourſe was entirely cut off.

VERY long is the interval between that period and that in which we can find any travellers who had viſited this diſtant country by land. In the year 1660 Nicolo Polo and his brother Maffio, illuſtrious Venetians, ſet out on their commercial journey. They took their departure from Conſtantinople for the ſplendid courts of the Tartarian princes, who lived in great magnificence, and gave the utmoſt encouragement to the European merchants and artiſts to come among them, and improve them in the arts. William Ruyſbroek, RUBRUQUIS. better known by the name of Friar Rubruquis, made two journeys into great Tartary, and mentions Guillaume [111]L'Orfevre and other artiſts who were employed in the ſervice of Mongu-khan. To this day many rich proofs of the ſkill of Eu⯑ropean artiſts are diſcovered in tombs and other places. The Polos remained nine years abroad; and returning, Nicolo found his wife dead; he had left her pregnant; the child ſurvived, and became the famous traveller ſo well known by the name of Marco Polo. MARCO POLO. His father in 1271 accompanied his brother on another journey, and took Marco, then only eleven years of age, with him. They arrived at the court of Kublay-Khan, com⯑monly called by the Chineſe, Shi-Tſu, fifth emperor of Cathay or northern China, of the Mogol race, a monarch of abilities, and a great encourager of the arts. He took a particular liking to young Marco, who ſoon learned to read and write the four languages in uſe in the country; he was in the ſervice of the emperor ſeventeen years. The royal reſidence during ſummer at that time was Kambalu or rather Hampalu, i. e. the ſeat of the Emperor, the ſame with the modern Pe-king; but the capital of the empire was the preſent Nanquin. Kublay-Khan made uſe of Marco on ſeveral important embaſſies and weighty affairs. The father and brother continued with the court; and in their commercial capacities contributed to its ſplendor by procuring jewels, and all the materials of luxury. Marco, his father, and uncle remained with the Khan a great number of years, and re⯑turned ſafe to Venice in 1295, enriched by their profeſſion, and in the higheſt eſteem with their countrymen.

Marco wrote his travels, which have been publiſhed in moſt languages; he was a diligent and faithful obſerver. I muſt refer to Bergeron, to Purchas, but particularly to John Reinhold [112]Forſter, for the detail of his travels. He gives a moſt ſplendid account of the court of his maſter, and ſhews the ſtate of the polite arts in China in thoſe early days; mentions the uſe of the ſilk-worm, the knowlege of the making of paper from the Morus Papyriſera; the diſtillation of brandy from the milk of mares, and numbers of other curious circumſtances beyond the limits of my plan. Marco was alſo attentive to the natural hiſtory of the country; mentions coals, which he calls black combuſtible ſtones; deſcribes ſome ſorts of falcons and cranes; the Argus pheaſant, or pheaſants with tails thirty inches long, and in particular ſpeaks about the number of partridges and quails. He takes notice of the Muſk animal, Hiſt. Quad. i. N^o 65. The Thibet cows with long ſilky tails, N^o 8. The Argali, N^o 13, or wild ſheep with enormous horns; and ſeveral other matters, both natural and oeconomical, which have ſince been confirmed by more modern travellers.

I SHALL now ſpeak of the celebrated Sir John Mandeville. SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE. Sir John was born at St. Albans, and became the greateſt traveller of his or any other age, having been out thirty-four years, and in the character of pilgrim, knight-errant, and man of obſerva⯑tion, viſited the greateſt part of Africa and Aſia then known. It is probable that he penetrated as far as China. He left an account of his travels, which were ſhamefully falſified by the monks, who deſtroyed much of their credit, by mingling with them legendary tales, and ſtories out of Pliny; but ſtill truth appears ſo frequently, that the authenticity of the ground work is by no means impaired. He was called Johannes de Mandevile aliter dictus ad Barbam, from his forked beard; he found a grave at [113] Liege, in the convent of the Gulielmites in 1371. He is engraven on his tomb, armed, and treading on a lion. At his head, the hand of one bleſſing him; and theſe words in the French of the time, ‘Vos ki paſeis ſor mi pour l'amour Deix proies por mi.’ His knives, horſe furniture, and ſpurs, were, in the time of Ortelius, preſerved at Liege by the monks, and ſhewn to ſtrangers.

THE intercourſe which the Muſcovites had by their caravans with this part of the eaſtern world, will be given in a future volume. RUSSIANS. I ſhall not therefore introduce it here, but proceed to the firſt diſ⯑covery of China by ſea, by the Europeans, in the buſy ſixteenth century. In the year 1515 Alvarenga, PORTUGUESE. the Portugueſe viceroy of the Indies, turned his thoughts towards a ſettlement in China; and beſtowed on Ferdinand Pedro Andrada, an able officer, the conduct of the expedition. In June 1517 he ſet ſail from Ma⯑lacca, with three ſhips, and arrived at the iſland of Tamanlabua, four leagues from the main land of China. At that time the coaſt was infeſted with pirates; and fortunately Andrada fell in, ſays Oſorio ^*, with the imperial fleet, who on ſight of him (think⯑ing him a pirate) prepared for battle; but how great was their ſurprize when they found that he gave no ſign of hoſtile inten⯑tion, but ſailed peaceably with them till they anchored off the iſle of Tama. I believe this to be the ſame which Mr. Nieuhoff ^† calls Heytamon, and poſſibly that on which Macao was built. The Chineſe admiral there ſent to enquire who theſe ſtrange people were, and received ſuch an anſwer as quite gained his confidence. Andrada then ſailed with them for the port of [114] Nanto, a fine city and harbor about ſixty miles from Canton; there he met with the moſt hoſpitable reception, and by his prudent conduct quite conciliated the affection of the Chineſe. He landed there the embaſſador (Thomas Perez) who was im⯑mediately conducted to the imperial court. Andrada returned to the iſle of Tama, informed himſelf of every thing that was neceſſary, and greatly enriched himſelf and companions by his commerce with the merchants, who flocked to him from diffe⯑rent countries. He left China after impreſſing on the nation the higheſt opinion of the integrity of his countrymen.

ALL this was ruined by the ill conduct of Simon his brother, who ſoon after arrived there to form the ſettlement. After building a fort he thought himſelf ſecure, and began to offer inſults and violence of every kind to the natives, who fell on the Portugueſe, killed numbers, and obliged Simon to ſecure himſelf by flight.

THE emperor diſmiſſed the embaſſador, who on his arrival at Canton, was flung into priſon by the citizens, where he periſhed miſerably.

THE Portugueſe for a long time were the deteſtation of the Chineſe; towards the cloſe of the century they regained their affection by a piece of ſervice they had an opportunity of doing to the empire by relieving it from the inſult of the pirate Chang⯑ſi-Lau, who had ſeized on the iſland of Macao, and was beſieging Canton. The emperor preſented the Portugueſe with Macao, as a reward, who fortified it with two hundred pieces of cannon, at which the ſubtle Chineſe took no ſort of umbrage; for they had ſtationed their forces in ſuch a manner, as to cut them off [115](at will) from even their daily proviſion. The Portugueſe ſtill re⯑tain poſſeſſion of the city, and have a governor of their own; but a Mandarine reſides here who is ſupreme over the whole iſland, ſo that they are in a very dependant ſtate; and they be⯑ſides pay an annual tribute, on the original agreement of being permitted to erect fortifications. They enjoy their own laws and religion, and have a biſhop of Macao, ſuffragan to the arch⯑biſhop of Goa.

THE Engliſh came in late for their ſhare of the Chineſe trade. ENGLISH, In 1584 we made an unſucceſsful attempt to get there, but ar⯑rived no farther than the Brazils; our thoughts at that period were full of the rich Cathaian coaſt; and all Europe was engaged in many an attempt for the diſcovery of the paſſage to it, but,

OUR firſt factory in that empire was about the year 1701, FIRST AT CHUSAN. when the Chineſe granted to us Chuſan, a ſmall iſland not far from the coaſt of Tche-Tchiang, in Lat. 30° 40′. It had been totally depopulated by the Tartars, but began to be re-peopled when we ſettled there. The beſt account given of the place is by Mr. J. Cunningham, a very ingenious ſurgeon who attended our colony; he ſays ^* it abounded with proviſions of all kind, and with cows, buffaloes, deer, goats, and wild hogs, and many kinds of eſculent plants; and with the tea ſhrub on the tops of the hills. The Kiew-yeu, Croton Sebiferum ^†, or tallow tree, is com⯑mon [116]here, and many other parts of China; and grows as high as a tall cherry tree; the fruit opens like a cheſnut, and contains kernels enveloped with a pulp, which has all the properties of tallow; excellent candles, void of any ſmell, are made of it when melted; it alſo ſupplies the lamps with oil; Du Halde ^* gives us the proceſs. He alſo deſcribes a tree, called Pe-la-ſhu, which pro⯑duces wax; a kind of little worm faſtens on its leaves, where⯑with being covered, in a ſhort time they form combs of wax, much ſmaller than the honey combs; this wax is very hard and ſhining, and conſiderably dearer than bees-wax. When theſe worms are accuſtomed to the trees of any diſtrict, they never quit them, but on particular occaſions; if once they re⯑move from a place they never return, ſo that others muſt be pro⯑cured in their ſtead, there being merchants who deal in them.

I cannot aſcertain the Genus or ſpecies of this tree. There is a Myrica cerifera in North America that affords a very good wax, Cateſby i. tab. 69; and another at the Cape of Good Hope, Journal Hiſtorique, &c. p. 88. tab. oppoſite to the page; Spar⯑man i. p. 346. Myrica Aethiopica Lin. Mr. Sparman ſays, that the berries are covered at a certain time of the year with a greeniſh, wax-like and tallowy ſubſtance, which he ſuppoſes to be the effect of inſects: of this the natives make candles. I ſhould think it the ſame with the ſpecies juſt deſcribed; but, that Du Halde ſays, the inſects in the Chineſe plants depoſit their wax on the leaves. In the Aethiopica it is found on what Lin⯑naeus calls cones.

MR. Cunningham alſo mentions the Syringa Arabica of Ge⯑rard, [117]p. 1400; or the Nyctanthes ſambac of Linnaeus. NYCTANTHES SAMBAC. The Flos Mamorae of Rumph. v. tab. xxx. of general eſteem among the Orientaliſts on account of the fine ſcent of the flowers.

OUR factory at Chuſan was not of long duration; but was re⯑moved to Canton, which, by a decree of the emperor, was di⯑rected to be the only port allotted for the European commerce. We once had intercourſe with the city of Ninpo, but that is alſo prohibited.

THE nature and extent of our preſent trade with China, PRESENT TRADE OF CHINA. both as to Imports and Exports is as follow. It is delivered in the form it was communicated to me by Mr. Fitzhugh.

Bengal Gold, that weigh

• 2^m 9^d & 96 Tauch. — 560 H^d dollars # 100
• 3^m 3^d & 94 Tauch. — 630 H^d dollars # 100
• 3^m 1^d & 95 Tauch. — 600 H^d dollars # 100
• Cenetium & 98 Tauch. — 190 H^d dollars # 100
• Star Pagodas, 145 a. Tauch. — 150 H^d dollars # 100

• 1 Pecul=100 Catties=133 1/1 lb. averdupois.
• 1 Catty=16 Tales (3 Catties=4 lb.)
• 1 Tale=10 Mace.
• 1 Mace=10 Candareens. E.

[122] THE Dutch made their firſt ſettlement for the benefit of the Chineſe on the iſle of Formoſa; DUTCH. and deceitfully, under pretence of building a houſe, erected a ſtrong fort, ſo as to command the en⯑trance into the port they had ſixed on; it was ſaid that they made uſe of the ſtale Phoenician ſtratagem of the ox's hide, in the building of Byrſa, or the famous Carthage. The Japaneſe had not long before made a conqueſt of the iſland, but were too weak to reſent this perfidy. The Dutch now were in poſſeſſion of a flouriſhing trade, with the two great empires of China and Japan. It was loſt to them in the year 1661 by the fault of the factions which reigned at Batavia, the ſeat of the Dutch govern⯑ment in India. Iquon, a taylor, who lived in the Dutch town on the iſland of Formoſa, a man of undaunted courage, had revolted from the Chineſe empire, and became ſo powerful as to induce the Emperor to get him ſeized by perſidy and poiſoned; COXENGA. his ſon Cox⯑enga, inherited all his abilities. At firſt he applied to the Dutch for ſuccor; but being refuſed, turned his reſentment againſt them. He prepared a vaſt fleet, and army; landed near the Dutch ſettlement, and notwithſtanding every effort of the go⯑vernor, Frederick Cojet (whoſe defence was gallant and obſtinate) at length compelled him to ſurrender by capitulation. Cojet had been at firſt neglected by his countrymen, who when it was too late, ſent a ſtrong fleet from Batavia; it met with a ſevere re⯑pulſe, and was compelled to leave their colony to its fate. We ſhall hereafter meet the European nations at their common per⯑miſſive ſettlement at Canton. I ſhall quit the ſubject I have been on, and change it to that of a particular topography of the coaſts of the vaſt empire.

To ſpeak generally; BOUNDARIES OF CHINA. the country may be ſaid to be di⯑vided [123]to the ſouth from Thibet and Boutan, by chains of moſt exalted mountains, branches of the Imaus and Hemodus; they penetrate even into various parts of China: other mountains equally high, ſeparate the empire from weſtern Tartary. Theſe vaſt Alpine chains are the defences of this mighty empire from invaſions by land. The great wall (hereafter to be men⯑tioned) ſecures the parts unprotected by nature. The coaſt is uſually rude and rocky, and the interior often riſes into craggy pictureſque mountains, or is interſected by numerous rivers and canals. The ſeas are ſhallow, ſo that even from a naval attack the country has its protection.

NOTWITHSTANDING part of China is within the tropics, and the great remainder does not exceed Lat. 43 north, yet the cold is, during winter, intenſe. There is no country in which exiſts ſuch a neceſſity for furs; their own empire, Tartary, and Siberia is almoſt exhauſted for the ſupply; the Engliſh even furniſh them with quantities from North America. Ice has been ſeen at Canton an inch in thickneſs. Between Nimpo and Peking the cold has been ſo ſevere in January and February that travellers have been forced to lie by, till the ice could be broken on the river Hoambo, the largeſt in China, before they could paſs over. Mr. Kirwan ſays, that the greateſt cold at Peking (in Lat. 39° 55′) is 5°, the greateſt heat 98; yet on July 25th, 1773, the thermometer roſe to 108 and 110. The extremeſt cold is produced by a north-eaſt or north-weſt wind; the laſt blows over the vaſt tract of Tartary and Siberia. In Peking, during winter, the animals and fowls of all kinds are expoſed to ſale in the markets, frozen, and ſo preſerved from putrefaction for weeks together.

[124]THE interior of China maintains a moſt ſingular character; it is varied with chains of mountains winding along its ſurface, yet ſo as to leave vallies that enabled one of the emperors to open a communication by water, partly by means of rivers and partly by navigable canals, from Peking to Canton, a diſtance of 1500 miles: little interruption occurs in this vaſt ſpace, except the lofty mountains which ſeparate the provinces of Kiang-ſee and Quan-Tung. We ſhall ſpeak farther of this, and the other canals, in their proper places.

I SHALL now enter on the topographical account, ISLAND OF HAI⯑NAN. commencing at its ſouthern extremity. The iſland of Hainan, i. e. the ſouth of the ſea, expreſſes its ſituation. It belongs to the province of Quang-tung (which, oppoſite to Hai-nan, juts far ſouth in a peninſulated form) and is diſtant above twelve miles from the ſhore; is a hundred and ſixty leagues in circumference, and produces every thing that can conduce to the wants and conve⯑niences of life; the climate alone is bad, by reaſon of the quality of the water. GOLD. The iſland abounds with gold; but as it has been but half conquered, that valuable metal is in the power of the natives, a brave, independent people, who live in the middle parts, amidſt arduous mountains; the reſt of the country being a plain. The inhabitants had long a traffic with the Chineſe; one was deputed to examine the goods offered; and on the other part a Chineſe merchant went to ſee thoſe of the mountaineers: the utmoſt honor was obſerved on both ſides. The Chineſe, eſpe⯑cially the governor, made immenſe profit of the gold. This the great Kang-hi diſcovered, and put a final ſtop to a commerce which till then had been allowed by law. The Lapis Armenus, which produces blue ſo much in requeſt for coloring the porce⯑lane, [125]is alſo found here, and much of it ſent to Canton for that purpoſe. The fiſheries are very lucrative, twenty or thirty thou⯑ſand jonks, of no inconſiderable ſize, come annually from Canton to take in cargoes of the dried or ſalted fiſh. Our company's ſhips now and then put in here, and may be ſecure during the mon⯑ſoons.

THE continent, after attaining the bottom of the peninſula, trends towards the north-eaſt, and is all the way ſkirted with iſles. Thoſe beſt known to mariners are the two Sanciams, the Falſe, and that called Saint John's, beneath which is good an⯑chorage. The great Ladrone and the Aſſes Ears are noted land marks. The entrance of the vaſt bay of Canton opens to the eaſt of Sanciam; the breadth there is about two and twenty leagues, and the depth nearly the ſame; but filled with iſlands divided by moſt narrow and intricate channels; poſſibly theſe might be the gates of China mentioned by the two Maho⯑metan travellers of the ninth century, as Canton was their Canfu, even at that time a moſt flouriſhing city. It was alſo the Ca⯑nectum of the Nubian geographer ^*.

Sanciam is famed for having been the place of interment of Saint Francis de Xavier, ISLE OF SAN⯑CIAM. and for his tomb, which ſtill is to be ſeen. Another iſle is that of Hoan-pou, where the Dutch had built a fort in order to command the navigation of the Tigris, or river of Canton. Their deſign was diſcovered, and they were all maſſacred.

THE moſt important city is that of Macao, MACAO. ſeated on a little peninſula, and which was, during a certain period, celebrated [126]for its wealth and commerce; it is now quite declined from its former ſplendor, but is well known to the Europeans, as the place where their ſhips commonly anchor in their way inward, and from being the reſidence of all the European factories, who are obliged by the Chineſe to quit Canton as ſoon as the ſhips have left the river. TYPA. About ſix miles lower is the Typa, a harbor for careening of ſhips. Here Commodore Anſon heaved down the Centurion in January 1743, previous to the capture of the Manilla ſhip on June 20th, old ſtile, which eſtabliſhed the great fortunes of that lucky houſe.

THE Hu-men, BOCCA TIGRIS. or Tigers-gate, or the Bocca-tigris of the Portu⯑gueſe, is the narrow paſs into that river, which is not a muſket⯑ſhot over, and defended by two miſerable batteries. Mr. Anſon paſſed them in his way to the Canton river. The poor pilot, who reluctantly carried him through, and the mandarine who com⯑manded the forts, were moſt ſeverely puniſhed for what they could not poſſibly help; the commodore having threatened to hang the pilot in caſe of non-compliance. The poor mandarine knew his own weakneſs. The real mouth of the river is ſome miles below the Bocca, and has on one ſide the Lion's tower, or pagoda. The river takes from thence a grand curvature towards the weſt. The anchoring place for the European ſhips is under the iſle of Wampoo, a few miles to the eaſt of Canton. The approach into the bay, and the amazing view along the river, is ſo graphically deſcribed by my fa⯑vorite M. Le Poivre, that I cannot reſiſt uſing the words of that enchanting author. ‘On the appearance of land (ſays he) I perceived along the horizon a foreſt of maſts, and ſoon [127]after an innumerable multitude of boats, which covered the ſurface of the water: theſe were thouſands of fiſhermen, whoſe induſtry drew from the deeps ſubſiſtence for numbers. The land now began to riſe to my view. I advanced to the mouth of the river, ſtill amidſt crowds of fiſhers, throwing out their lines on every ſide. I entered the river of Kanton; it is people like the land; its banks lined with ſhips at an⯑chor; a prodigious number of ſmall craft are continually gliding along in every direction, ſome with ſails, others with oars, vaniſhing often ſuddenly from the ſight, as they enter the numberleſs canals, dug with amazing labour acroſs ex⯑tenſive plains, which they water and fertilize. Immenſe fields, covered with all the glory of the harveſt, with ſtately villages riſing to the eye on every ſide, adorn the remoter view, whilſt mountains, covered with verdure, cut into terraces, and ſhaped into amphitheatres, form the back ground of this noble land⯑ſcape.’

THE Chineſe divide their cities into firſt rate, ſecond, and third. CANTON. The firſt may be known by the addition of foo, the ſecond by that of tchoo, the third by that of hyen. Quang-tchoo-foo, or Canton, is chief among the firſt, as it is ſuppoſed to contain a mil⯑lion of inhabitants. Fachan, a village a few miles higher, has the ſame number. This in ſome meaſure inclines us to think that Voltaire's calculation is not very far out of the way. VERY POPULOUS. The land, and the very water is inhabited. Millions live in the Sam⯑panes, or veſſels, placed on each ſide of the great rivers. Thoſe of Canton alone may contain two hundred and twenty⯑five thouſand inmates. Thouſands and thouſands dwell on the [128]exalted rocks; ſome are excavated into manſions, and every ledge has on its its elegant cottage; ſwarms of people inhabit the edges of precipices, as the myriads of birds do the great promon⯑tories of Britain. Paths are cut through the rocks to render them acceſſible, and over ſome are conducted even public roads. I have ſeen ſeveral of theſe populated rocks moſt accurately repreſented in rice, with all the oeconomy of their inhabitants expreſſed.

THE city is divided into three; the Tartarian, the Chineſe, and a third beyond the firſt, which is repreſented on the plan as a void ſpace. The ſtreets are narrow, but well paved; and croſs each other at right angles. The whole is ſurrounded with a wall; and each city ſeparated from the other by another wall. The gates of Canton are ſhut in the evening, as are the barriers at the end of every ſtreet, ſo that the greateſt cities are as quiet as a private family.

TRIUMPHAL arches are very frequent in moſt of the cities; TRIUMPHAL ARCHES. the ancient are the moſt elegant, adorned with beautiful figures of men, birds, and flowers in alt-relief, quite ſtanding from the ſtone, and connected only by cordons left for the purpoſe. Theſe monuments are probably honorary memorials of the great ac⯑tions of individuals.

IN front, on each ſide of the city, and on the oppoſite ſhore of the river, EUROPEAN FACTORIES are large ſuburbs. The factories of the Eu⯑ropean merchants conſiſt of a long row of houſes, ranged on the river ſide, and a ſpace of land behind, about two hundred yards broad; each has a warehouſe for its goods. The mer⯑cantile nations are the Engliſh, French, Imperialiſts, Dutch, Swedes and Danes. Each factory has the flag of its country [129]erected before it on a tall pole. This is the only port in the whole empire allowed to the Europeans. Their ſhips may take in wood and water where they pleaſe, but are every where elſe ſtrictly forbid to trade; even here they are a ſort of priſoners, they are not to go beyond their bounds; they may indeed enter the ſuburbs, but are ſure to meet with every ſpecies of abuſe from the mob. They are allowed to reſide only during the time the ſhips remain at Wampu; for as ſoon as they ſail for Europe every factory is obliged to retire to Macao till the ſeaſon of their return.

THE proper name of the river of Canton is Ta-Ho, RIVER OF CANTON. or the great river. The ſtream is rapid, but affected by the tide which riſes four or five feet oppoſite to the city; it is navigable for numbers of miles into the interior parts of the country for large veſſels, from the ſea even to the city of Quang-ſi; and again its advantages are ſpread far and wide by the infinity of canals. Not only this, and other cities, but the canals themſelves, for miles together, have their quays made of cut ſtone of ſtu⯑pendous ſize, forming the moſt magnificent ſight which art, ap⯑plied to commercial purpoſes, can exhibit.

THE river of Canton is guarded by various fortifications. The ſquare caſtle on the iſland, engraven by Mr. Nieuhoff, is a ſpeci⯑men of that kind of defence.

THE multitudes of ducks which animate the river about Canton is amazing; TAME DUCKS. "they are hatched," ſays Mr. Latham ^* ‘by artificial heat; the eggs being laid in boxes of ſand, are placed on a brick hearth, to which is given a proper heat during the [130]required time for hatching. The ducklings are fed with little craw-fiſhes and crabs, boiled and cut ſmall, and afterwards mixed with boiled rice, and in about a fortnight ſhift for themſelves, when the Chineſe provide them an old ſtep-mother, who leads them where they are to find provender for them⯑ſelves, being firſt put on board a Sampane, or boat, which is deſtined for their habitation, and from which the whole flock, often to the amount of three or four hundred, go out to feed, and return at command. This method is uſed nine months out of the twelve (for in the colder months it does not ſuc⯑ceed) and is ſo far from a novelty, that it may be every where ſeen; but more eſpecially about the time of cutting the rice and gleaning the crop, when the maſters of the duck Sampanes row up and down the river, according to the oppor⯑tunity of procuring food, which is found in plenty at the tide of ebb on the rice plantations, as they are overflowed at high water. It is curious to ſee how the ducks obey their maſter; for ſome thouſands, belonging to different boats, will feed at large on the ſame ſpot, and on a ſignal given will follow their leader to their reſpective Sampanes, without a ſtranger being found among them. This is ſtill more extraordinary if we conſider the number of inhabited Sampanes on the Tigris, ſuppoſed to be no leſs than forty thouſand, which are moored in rows cloſe to each other, with a narrow paſſage at intervals for boats to paſs up and down the river. The Tigris at Canton is ſomewhat wider than the Thames at London, and the whole river is there covered in this manner for the extent of at leaſt a mile.’

[131]THE manner of taking the wild ducks in this country is ſingular. WILD DUCKS, HOW TAKEN. The performers put their heads into the ſhells of large gourds, with holes made in them to ſee and breathe through; then going naked into the water, they walk or ſwim ſo low, that nothing appears but the gourds. The ducks, being ac⯑cuſtomed to ſee gourds floating on the ſurface, and to play about them, approach without fear; when the duck-hunter, taking them by the feet, pulls them under water to prevent their making a noiſe, wrings their necks, and faſtens them to his girdle, pur⯑ſuing his exerciſe till he has procured a great number.

I MAY mention here that moſt elegant of ducks, CHINESE TEAL. the Chineſe Teal ^*; but words are almoſt wanting to expreſs the beauty of the coloring, and the ſpecific oddity of the fine feathers of the wings, erecting themſelves in a curved manner when the wings are cloſed. Mr. Edwards's repreſentation ^† may ſerve to give the idea. Theſe are a ſcarce ſpecies, and kept for ſale at Canton, and ſold at the rate of ſix or even ten dollars the pair.

No country abounds with fiſhes equal to China, FISHES. yet we have been very unfortunate by the inattention paid to that branch of its natural hiſtory. Oſbeck and Sparman, both boaſted diſciples of Linnaeus, have given us but a very meagre catalogue. From theſe, and a few other ſources, I ſhall give all that I can collect; let me obſerve that the moſt numerous genera of freſh water are the carp and the perch. Du Halde mentions ſome curious ſpecies of fiſhes, but his deſcriptions want the perſpicuity of a naturaliſt, ſo are unintelligible.

Du Halde ii. p. 316. gives us two very curious methods of [132]fiſhing, COVORANTS TRAINED FOR FISHING. one is by means of a ſpecies of Corvorant trained for the purpoſe. By the figure given by Mr. Nieuhoff, p. 118. it ſeems the very ſame to our common kind ^*. The Chineſe call it Louwa. In Mr. Willughby's ornithology p. 329, we find that this ſpecies of fiſheries was in old times frequently practiſed in England. Mr. Latham, vi. 346. informs us that a kind of diver is uſed alſo for the ſame purpoſe. "In the morning" (ſays Du Halde, i. 316.) ‘when the ſun riſes one may ſee on the rivers a conſiderable number of boats, and ſeveral of theſe birds ſitting at the head of them. Then the fiſhermen turning their boats about, at the ſignal given by ſtriking the water with an oar, the cormorants fly into the river, one here, another there, and diving to the bottom, ſeize the fiſh they light on by the middle; then riſing up again, they carry it to the bark, where the fiſherman receiving it, takes the bird, and holding its head downwards, paſſes his hand along the neck to make it diſgorge the ſmall fiſh that it had ſwallowed, but is hindred from going into the gullet by a ring put on the lower part of the neck; which after the fiſhing is quite over, they take off and give them ſomething to eat. When the fiſh happens to be too large for one bird, they mutually aſſiſt each other; one takes the tail, another the head, and bring it to the boat to their maſter.’

THE other way of taking fiſh is very ſimple, and gives but little trouble; for this purpoſe they make uſe of long narrow [133]boats, nailing on each ſide from one end to the other, a plank two feet broad. This plank is japanned with white ſhining varniſh, and ſlants gently till it almoſt touches the top of the water; in the night time, when it is uſed, they turn it towards the moon, that the reflection may increaſe its ſplendor, ſo that the fiſh which are ſporting, eaſily miſtaking the color of the japanned plank for that of the water, leap often on that ſide, and fall either on the plank or into the boat.

IN reſpect to quadrupeds, QUADRUPEDS. this empire retains many of thoſe of India, but loſes alſo ſeveral towards the northern and weſtern parts: others appear ſuited to the climate; theſe are pointed out in the Faunula, which I reſerve as a ſort of appendix, unwilling to interrupt the narrative part of this work.

AT Canton begins the celebrated paſſage by water from hence to Peking, WATER PAS⯑SAGE TO PEKING. and the extremity of the great empire of China; an extent, ſays Du Halde ^*, of ſix hundred leagues, or about eigh⯑teen hundred Engliſh miles. The emperor Shi-tſu finding the defect of tribute he annually ſuſtained, or the vaſt loſs of his ſubjects in the articles of commerce which periſhed at ſea in the conveyance from the maritime parts of his dominions, deter⯑mined on creating an internal navigation. IMPERIAL CA⯑NAL. He began the work in 1289; it is probable that he did not complete ſo ſtupendous an undertaking; and it is imagined it was not finiſhed till the time of Yong-Jo, who began his reign about thirty-five years after. We may well admit this, as the length of the imperial canal is nine hundred miles, the depth a fathom and a half, and it conveys annually near ten thouſand large barks belonging to [134]the Emperor, beſides others innumerable, the property of mer⯑chants, or of private people, who hire them to travellers. They are all richly ornamented, eſpecially the imperial, which carry on them the dragon of five claws, the arms of the empire. The traveller, if he takes the route of Quang-ſi and Hu-quang, is under no neceſſity of ever quitting his bark from Canton to Pe⯑king; he meets with rivers and lakes till he falls in again with the Yu-Ho, or Royal Canal, as it is named by way of pre-emi⯑nence. On that canal the voyager is only obliged to quit his veſſel once in nine hundred miles; the mountain Meylin inter⯑venes, and makes it neceſſary for him to take a day's journey before he can again benefit of the royal work. The ſhipping on the canal and rivers are often ſo numerous as to fill the channel for a mile or two, and quite obſtruct for a time their progreſs.

GREAT fairs are alſo kept on the rivers. GREAT FAIR ON THE WATER. "One ſeaſon," ſays Hamilton, ‘at one place, and in other ſeaſons at other places; and though there may be 10,000 veſſels aſſembled at a fair, yet there is as good order and decorum kept as in a well⯑governed city. All ſhips and boats who have the ſame ſpecies of goods are moored together, along a certain place on the river ſide allotted for them by proper magiſtrates, and at night watches are ſent to prevent thieving and diſorder, and of⯑fenders are ſeverely puniſhed without reſpect of perſons.’

John Nieuhoff, J. NIEUHOFF. the celebrated traveller of the laſt century, is the only one ^* who gives an account of the entire inland voyage from the ſouth to almoſt the very north of the mighty empire. [135]That able writer was born on July 22d, 1618, at Uffen, in the earldom of Bentham, of a reſpectable family; his perſon was elegant, his underſtanding good, his temper and converſation amiable; he was fond of the fine arts, poetry, muſic, and draw⯑ing; and maſter of ſeveral languages. In the year 1646 he en⯑tered into the Dutch Weſt India ſervice, and made his firſt voyage to the Brazils, where he reſided nine years. He has left us an admirable deſcription of the country, and of the many great events of that period which happened between his countrymen and the Portugueſe.

HIS next voyage was to the Eaſt Indies, in the year 1653. He viſited the coaſt of Malabar, the peninſula of Malacca, and many of the iſlands, even to the Moluccas. His accounts are the moſt ſatiſ⯑factory of any extant; his attention to ſeveral branches of natural hiſtory was very conſiderable; and he has given various plates of the fiſhes of the Indies, done with much accuracy, conſidering the infant ſtate of the ſcience. On this voyage he was eight years ab⯑ſent from home. His laſt voyage (deſigned alſo for the Eaſt Indies) was begun on January 1ſt, 1672. He landed at Madagaſcar, in order to trade with the natives, and, as is ſuppoſed, was, with his people, maſſacred by the inhabitants in the month of Sep⯑tember of the ſame year, for he never more was heard of. Di⯑ligent enquiry was made after him by the ſurviving part of the crew left on board his ſhip, and afterwards a yatch was diſ⯑patched from the Cape of Good Hope to repeat the ſearch, which proved equally fruitleſs.

HIS brother, Henry Nieuhoff, H. NIEUHOFF. collected together all the papers he left behind, and publiſhed them, to the great honor of his [136]memory. They were written and printed originally in Dutch. Churchill has given us his voyage to the Brazils and to the Eaſt Indies in the ſecond volume of his collection. The learned Hor⯑nius has tranſlated into Latin the famous journey from Canton to Peking. This is ſo curious and novel, that I ſhall attend the able traveller in his route, and briefly notice the moſt remark⯑able things. HIS TRAVELS TO PEKING. An embaſſy was determined on by the Dutch to the coaſt of Peking, to the great emperor Kang-hi. Nieuhoff was for⯑tunately appointed ſecretary. His account is a firſt-rate per⯑formance; and the more pleaſing, as it is attended with views of the country, cities, and buildings, engraven from drawings done by his ſkilful pencil.

THE embaſſadors had every poſſible reſpect paid to them; they embarked at Canton, on board a magnificent jonk, on March 17th, 1656, amidſt the acclamations of the people, and a general diſcharge of the artillery. The Chineſe ſent avant-cou⯑riers from place to place to make proviſions for their reception, even till their arrival at Peking.

THEY began with aſcending the river Pei-kyang-ho, all their route was marked with beautiful ſcenery, and various towns and cities, moſt of them ſurrounded with embattled walls, and ſtrengthened by ſquare towers. Many of the landſcapes are moſt pictureſque. We are ſtruck with the river flowing by the vaſt mountain Sang-won-hab, over-hanging on both ſides; and on one a great frequented road, STRANGE ROAD. cut out of the ſolid rock, impending over the water. At the foot is a pagoda, the nightly haunt (ſay the natives) of daemons.

FARTHER on, CITY XAOCHEW. not remote from the city Xaochew or Tchau-tchoo⯑foo, [137]a vaſt mountain ſeems to open its ſides to make room for the famed pagoda Konjan-Sjam, filled with horrid idols, to whom al⯑moſt conſtant ſacrifices are offered by the fanatical viſitants.

A LITTLE farther is the great caſtle Mongley, of a quadrangu⯑lar form, with a ſquare tower at each corner; equal in ſize within to a town; ſeated on a loſty eminence, and acceſſible by a nu⯑merous flight of ſteps cut out of the live rock.

THE city Xaochew next appears, near the conflux of two rapid rivers, infamous for frequent wrecks. A pagoda is erected on the banks, famed for its idol, to which mariners ſend up their prayers for a ſafe paſſage, as the Romans did of old, and as the Chriſtians of many parts of Europe do to their Saint Elmo to this very day.

THE rocks called the Five horſes heads, FIVE HORSES HEADS. and the ſtill more cu⯑rious rocks named Suytjeen, or the five horrible devils, near to the ferry Suytjeen, as much dreaded as Scylla and Charybdis for the frequent ſhipwrecks near them. They are of a columnar form, and appear as if placed in order by human art.

Nanhang or Nan-ſheun-foo, in Lat. 25° 11′ 58″, CITY NANHANG. is the laſt in the province of Quang-tung, and a conſiderable trading city; to the north of it is a famous road over the mountain Meylin, cut through the rock, three miles in length, with precipices on both ſides, but of a ſecure wideneſs. This ſingular road being a great communication from north to ſouth, is perpetually crowded as much as the ſtreets of the moſt populous cities; on the ſum⯑mit is built a temple in honor of the mandarine who made this uſeful way at his own expence.

AFTER travelling ſome days on horſeback, NANGAN. Mr. Nieuhoff reached the great city Nangan, in the province of Kyang-ſee, ſeated on [138]the river Kanhyang, in Lat. 28° 37′ 12″. This river runs through the middle of the province, and divides it into two equal parts. The Chineſe call it Kan-kiang, THE KYANG RIVER. or ſon of the ſea, and added that "the ſea is without ſhore, and the Kyang without bottom;" this fiction ariſes from the fiſhermen never uſing any ſounding lines above ſixty fathoms long, but even that depth is a vaſt one for a river. By means of the numerous canals that branch from it, the city has vaſt commerce, and was once celebrated for its porcelain of a ſnowy whiteneſs. The province is rich in mines of gold, ſilver, iron, lead, and tin. The ſilks are very beautiful; and the rice, and wine made from it, is in high eſteem in all parts of the empire.

THE lakes of this province are in the ſeaſon covered with the beautiful bloſſoms of the Nymphaea Lotus and Nelumbo; NYMPHAEA NELUMBO. no flowers are in ſuch requeſt with the Chineſe as theſe. The great men have them tranſplanted into their little ponds, filled for the purpoſe with mud and water, in their courts. The phyſicians eſteem the fruit as highly reſtorative after long ſickneſs; and the root of the Nelumbo is a common food, either eaten raw or made into meal; ſo that theſe plants are of the firſt uſe in this empire.

Vannunga, VANNUNGA. on the river Kan, was a city of great ſize and ſplendor, now a heap of ruins from an inroad of the Tartars; a melancholy ſight to the numerous paſſengers who ſail under its walls. PEKKINSA. Pekkinſa is the next city, a moſt flouriſhing place, which ſupplies the mariners with all kind of neceſſaries for their veſſels.

NOT far from thence are various ſpecimens of ſeveral lofty rocky hills, PIERCED HILLS. cut or pierced through by human art, into groteſque [139]forms merely to pleaſe the eye. Thoſe engraven by Mr. Nieuhoff ^* are pierced through in various places, others have great flights of ſteps, cut out of the live rock, either to the ſummit or half way up, round which a walk is conducted, guarded by rails, and forming a gallery beneath the impending remainder of the mountain.

Nang-tchang-foo is a city ſeated in Lat. 29° 30′, NAN-TCHANG⯑FOO. near the lake Po-yang, which is about four leagues broad and thirty in length, LAKE PO-YANG. abounding with excellent fiſh, among which are many European, ſuch as ſturgeon, ſalmon, carp, chubs, trout, ſhads, and lam⯑pries.

ABOUT thirty miles farther to the north of Nan-tchang, the waters of the lake unite with thoſe of the great river Kyang, which is continued from thence to the ſea. HOO-TCHOO. The city Hoo-tchoo ſtands on the eaſtern bank of the junction. A few miles up the river to the weſt, is the city Kyew Kiang, the rendezvous of the barks of many parts of the empire. The river runs gently from hence to the ſea with a courſe almoſt imperceptible; but is at full and new moon affected by the tide.

IN the Kyang near that city, where the river is a league broad, THE FISH WHANG-YU. is found the Whang-yu or yellow fiſh, that often weighs eight hun⯑dred pounds; it is remarkably firm, and moſt excellent eating; theſe fiſh are taken in certain ſeaſons when they come out of the lake Poyang into the river. We cannot aſcertain the ſpecies. Du Halde ^† ſpeaks of another he calls the Cho-kyaryw or armour fiſh, ARMOUR FISH. being covered with ſtrong ſcales, placed like tiles in the roof of a houſe. I ſuſpect it to be the eſox oſſeus of Linnoeus, or the [140] acus maxima ſquammoſa of Willughby, Hiſt. piſc. app. 22. tab. p. viii. This grows to forty pounds weight, and is in high eſteem.

ABOUT fifty miles from the eaſtern ſide of the Poyang lake, KING-TE⯑CHING. in Lat. 29° 15′, ſtands King-te-ching, on a plain ſurrounded with mountains, and having a navigable communication with the lake, by means of a river that paſſes by the city Yau-chew, and is crowded with veſſels which are continually paſſing or re-paſſing, either with the materials for the famous porcelain ware, or with the porcelain itſelf, which is manufactured in no other place in the empire than at King-te-ching.

IN the Itinerary of Mr. Nieuhoff, TONG-LYU. UFUN. Tong-lyu, Ufun, Anhing, and Teytong, appear moſt delightfully ſeated on the river. Tong-lyu bears numerous marks of the ravages of the Tartars; at Ufun is a manufacture of arms famous throughout all the empire.

THE great city of Nanking or Nanquin, NANQUIN. in Lat. 32° 4′ 30″, is ſeated on an extenſive plain, near a league from the river, but united to it by ſeveral canals, capable of bringing up the im⯑perial barks, which are as large as middle ſized ſhips. This city was once the capital of China, till it was removed to Peking. It was the Chambdan of the Nubian geographer, on a river of the ſame name, which he ſays ^* was the largeſt in China. The Tartars made themſelves maſters of this city in 1127, and before they deſerted it, burnt the magnificent imperial palace, demo⯑liſhed the famous obſervatory, and violated and deſtroyed the ſe⯑pulchres of the emperors and other diſtinguiſhed perſonages. The city is reported to be ninety miles in circumference; later [141]ſurveys have made it only eighteen, but it certainly had been of far greater extent; much is now a waſte, and retains all the marks of the Tartarian fury, but enough is inhabited to make it a moſt populous and flouriſhing city. Of the parts which eſcaped the rage of the Tartarian ravages, is the Porcelain tower, PORCELAIN TOWER. a pagoda of nine ſtages, of moſt exquiſite workmanſhip, and lined with beautiful tiles of Porcelain, from which it derives its name. It is far the moſt beautiful in China. Mr. Nieuhoff gives a fine view of this curious ſtructure, as he does of one of the modern ſtreets, the ſigns, and manner of building; the walls of the city, ſome of the gates, and idol temples, evince its former grandeur; it is beſides the ſeat of the literati, and conſequently abounds with fine li⯑braries, and is eminent for its bookſellers ſhops, paper, ink, and all that can feed the Cacoethes ſcribendi. It is not without other manufactures; its fattins are in high requeſt, as are the woollen cloths fabricated here.

Nanquin is garriſoned partly by Chineſe, partly by Tartars; the laſt commanded by one of their country; they poſſeſs one part of the city, and are ſeparated from the other inhabitants by a ſingle wall.

ABOUT the year 1660, the famous Corſair Coxinga came up the river with three thouſand ſail of ſhips, and laid ſiege to the place. It happened that on his birth day, his army paſt the day with carouſals, and all ſorts of feſtivity. The garriſon, gueſſing that they ſhould find the enemy buried in ſleep, ſallied out, ſurpriſed the camp, ſlew multitudes, and forced the reſt to find ſecurity in their ſhips. Coxinga afterwards fought and defeated the Tar⯑tarian fleet, and by his cruelty in cutting off the noſes of four thouſand priſoners, ſullied his victory.

[142]THE paſſage over the Kyang from Nanquin, was in the time of Nieuhoff on a bridge compoſed of fourteen pontoons. The pretty town of Jejenjeen is on the oppoſite ſide. YANG-CHOO. He entered ſoon after on the imperial canal, and paſſed by Yang-choo, a great and populous city, in Lat. 32° 25′, flouriſhing by its being the ſtaple of the ſalt trade; that uſeful article, made on the ſea-ſhores, is brought here by the leſſer canals, and by the ſame means tranſported to moſt parts of the empire; for they extend in many directions weſtward, even to the borders of Tartary. The canal is continued northward on the ſide of the great lake Kao⯑yeou-hoo, SINGULAR VESSELS. the ſame which Mr. Nieuhoff calls Piexe. Here the forms of the veſſels are very ſingular; they are called Longſchon or ſerpentine, and are uſed to carry fiſh, quite to Peking. Theſe are repreſented in form of a ſerpent; from the prow iſſues the head, on which is placed an idol, with ſome live ducks pendent; from the ſtern is ſuſpended a boy, who is playing all ſorts of monkey tricks. The maſts are decorated with numbers of flags, and ſerpents appear cut or painted in every part. It is manned with rowers, who with their broad oars, not unlike paddles, go with moſt aſtoniſhing celerity. It is incredible with what expe⯑dition fiſh are conveyed freſh to Peking, even from diſtances of ſix hundred miles.

THE city of Yang-choo is infamous for its traffic in women. TRADE IN WOMEN. It produces the moſt beautiful in all China, particularly for the admirable ſmallneſs of their feet, and the ſymmetry of their bodies. They are trained from their childhood in every accom⯑pliſhment, ſinging, dancing, painting, and compoſing of verſes, but above all, in the practice of every laſcivious attraction. Theſe [143]unfortunate women form a vaſt article of commerce, and the merchant panders diſpoſe of them to every part of the empire.

THE next city of note is Kajutſiu; KAJUTSIU. then follows Hoin-gan-foo, ſeated on the river Hoai, near which are vaſt embankments to keep off the fury of the ſea; all this neighborhood is marſhy, yet extremely productive of rice. The whole country may have been gained from the watery element, yet it muſt have been many ages paſt, for a field near Hoin-gan is diſtinguiſhed by the numbers of ancient tumuli. Many of the towns appear like Venice, built in the water, and ſome even below.

Whay-ngan-foo, in Lat. 33° 32′, is one; WHAY-NGAN. it is built below the level of the great canal, which is near that city, ſupported by ſtrong dykes. Here, very properly, one of thoſe mandarines re⯑ſides who has the charge of the canal, and is called grand maſter of the waters. Not far from the weſt of it is the vaſt lake Hongtſe-hoo, which juſt below the city is diſcharged into the great river Whang-ho or the Yellow River, which riſes in Lat. RIVER WHANG-HO. 35° north, amidſt the mountains of the Tartars of Kokonor, near the edge of the great deſert Shamo or Gobi. Its courſe is about ſix hundred leagues, and the current ſo violent, that it is impoſſible for a ſhip to ſail up the ſtream; it is liable to great inundations; inſomuch that the inhabitants of the low province of Honan are obliged to ſurround their cities, at a ſmall diſtance from their walls, with a ſtrong mound. Mr. Nieuhoff exemplified this in his plate ^* The waters are of a yellow color, tinged with the ſtrata they paſs through, which is the origin of the name. This [144]river, in the neighborhood of Whay-ngan, notwithſtanding its low latitude, 33° 32′, its great breadth, in that part of more than an Engliſh half mile, and its violent rapidity, is at times entirely frozen.

THE route to Peking is continued through two other provinces, Shan-tung and Pe-tche-lee. The rich, populous, and commercial city Tong-chang is in Lat. 36° 32′. This city has alſo its porcelain tower, being even externally made with that material, and with little bells pendant at each angle of its eight towers, which moved by the wind yield a pretty modulation.

Kyo-Few Hyen is a city renowned for having been the birth place of the great Confucius, CONFUCIUS, WHERE BORN. ſo juſtly celebrated throughout the empire of China.

MR. XANTSUI. Nieuhoff mentions ſeveral other places in this province, ſuch as Xantſui, with the Teywanmiao, its remarkable pagoda, not diſtinguiſhed for its grandeur, FINE PAGODA. but for the great beauty of the workmanſhip. It is rather low, and ſquare, of a vaſt ſize, and incloſed within a moſt extenſive wall made of ſtone, and the upper part of red and green tiles. The temple itſelf is of ſtones, mixed with yellow tiles (the imperial color) ſo reſplendent as to appear like gold when ſhone upon by the ſun; it is beſides richly decorated with dragons and various Chineſe Chimerae; the inſide filled with monſtrous idols. On the back part is a garden, de⯑lightful as that of paradiſe, enriched with variety of fruits and flowers.

Jax Hinno is a town diſtinguiſhed by the multitude of ſquare towers which riſe in all parts, JAX HINNO. like our tower ſteeples; whether they are for defence or belonging to pagodas does not appear.

[145] Lintſin-choo is a city in Lat. 36° 57′, LINTSIN-CHOO. diſtinguiſhed by the mul⯑titude of veſſels continually there in their paſſage to the capital, or different parts of the empire, as the great river Eu-teo unites here with the imperial canal. There is alſo a cuſtom-houſe which brings in a vaſt revenue. Without the walls is a very ſplendid pagoda of nine ſtories; the outſide is of the very fine earth with which porcelain is made, and richly painted.

Te-tchoo, the laſt city in the province of Shantung, TE-TCHOO. is ſeated on the river, in Lat. 37° 32′. From hence we immediately enter into the province of Pe-tche-lee, the moſt northern in China. The navigation is continued to Tong-choo-ſoo, within a ſmall diſtance of Peking, the latter part on the river Pei-ho, which flows from the northern capital of China into the gulph of Pe-tche-lee.

ON the mountains near Sinkoſien grow the eagle-wood trees and the Calamba; EAGLE WOOD. both form great articles of commerce, and are ſold even in China at a large price, but at ſtill greater in Hin⯑dooſtan, where ſo much is conſumed by the Gentoos for burning their dead. Near this city is a moſt beautiful octagonal pagoda, conſiſting indeed but of three ſtages, but admirable for the roofs, of moſt exquiſite workmanſhip.

Single and Tien-ſing-foo are the next cities. SINGLE AND TIEN-SING-FOO. The laſt is ſeated Lat. 39° 10′, on the conflux of three great rivers. On an iſland formed at that ſpot is a moſt ſingular caſtle, of a triangular form, truncated at the top; this is the greateſt emporium in all China, and ſtrongly fortified in the manner of the country; the reſort of jonks, and all ſorts of ſhipping, are incredible, it being a port free from tribute. The city is not large, but the ſuburbs ſo extenſive as to make it one of the moſt populous in the em⯑pire, [146]and are filled with palaces and pagodas. Nieuhoff imagines this city to have been the Quinſay of Marco Polo ^* which he ſays "was like Venice built on a moraſs." The emperor, he informs us, had a magnificent palace here; and adds, that no leſs than ſix hundred thouſand families were to be found in this vaſt place. What is ſingular, the Neſlorians had a church in the city; a proof that Chriſtianity was tolerated in this empire in the thir⯑teenth century.

NEAR Joerwoe Mr. JOERWOE. Nieuhoff went along another canal, made in the river Chaolcang; he paſſed by Focheen, Sanſianſwey, and Tong-tchoo-foo. TONG-TCHOO⯑FOO. At the diſtance of four miles from Peking the na⯑vigation ends. The reaſon aſſigned for its not being brought to the walls of the city is, that multitudes of the poor entirely ſub⯑ſiſt by the carriage of goods and the neceſſaries of life into the capital. At this place the Dutch embaſſadors were met by a magnificent cavalcade of mandarines and people of rank, ſent by the emperor to do them honor; and they entered the city in a moſt pompous proceſſion. After being treated with the utmoſt external reſpect, they were diſmiſſed without obtaining the end of their embaſſy.

I SHALL not attempt the deſcription of this magnificent city, but will content myſelf with ſpeaking to the eyes by the plates of Mr. Nieuhoff, which I believe repreſent with great fidelity the various cities, pagodas, and other buildings he paſſed by; in theſe may be ſeen the different forms of houſes, and public edifices. The ſplendor of the emperor's palace, and a general view of the city, are ſhewn in the 158th page. The pagodas, [147]the idols, in various other pages, and the cuſtoms and dreſſes of the inhabitants are moſt frequently exhibited. In reſpect to the gardens of the Chineſe, thoſe of the private men are mentioned in the ſecond volume of the Chineſe Miſcellany, and thoſe of the emperor moſt admirably deſcribed by Le Frere Attiret, painter to the reigning monarch in 1743.

I NOW return to the latitude of Canton, COASTS OF CHINA. and purſue the to⯑pography of the coaſts. By reaſon of the great rigor with which the Chineſe exerciſe their prohibition of trading in any of their ports except Canton, our knowledge of the ſhores or harbors is very confined. We ſhall have very little to ſay of an extent of between two and three thouſand miles of coaſt, following the bending of the outline; the whole of which appears ſtrangely rugged, with promontories, divided by bays, harbors, and creeks.

THE Ladrone iſles, LADRONE ISLES. and thoſe of Lema before the bay of Can⯑ton, are lofty, rude, and broken; that of the Aſſes ears takes its name from two hills that aſſume the form. Piedra Biancas, far⯑ther to the north, is a very high rock of a white color; both the laſt are marks to navigators.

Foo-tchien, the province adjoining to Quang-tung on the north, FOO-TCHIEN. is a mountanous country, but the mountains, by the induſtry of the inhabitants, are formed into amphitheatres, with terraces, which often extend ſeveral miles in length, and a ſeries of twenty or thirty, one above the other. The account given by Du Halde ^* is ſo curious as to merit the attention of our readers. Theſe are planted with rice, which is nouriſhed by water forced [148]up to a great height, and conveyed to the different plantations in pipes of bamboo. This province is remarkable for its vaſt com⯑merce, opulence, and population, and alſo for its amazing fertility.

AMONG the vegetable productions, ORANGES. it is diſtinguiſhed for its fine oranges; one is very large, and its rind quite looſe to the pulp, which has the taſte and ſmell of the muſcadine grape. This kind is candied, and ſent to all parts of the empire; another is of a deep red; and a third very ſmall. China is the native place of oranges, from whence they were communicated to the weſtern world.

THE Li-chi and Long-ywen are fruits peculiar to the more ſouthern parts of this empire, LI-CHI FRUIT. of moſt exquiſite flavor, eſpecially the firſt, which has of late years been moſt ſucceſsfully intro⯑duced into Bengal.

Hyamen, A-MWY. or the port of A-mwy, is an excellent road for ſhips, in a deep bay, beneath the ſhelter of the iſle of A-mwy, in Lat. 24° 27′. The iſland is flat and moraſſy, and garriſoned by about ſix or ſeven thouſand men. Before the prohibitory edict it was much frequented by European ſhips. The Dutch, about the year 1645, made a treacherous attempt on the place; they came with five ſhips, and landed about three hundred men, who entered the town; the greater part of the inhabitants fled, but cunningly left in their houſes abundance of ſpirituous liquors; this proved the bait they intended. The Dutch intoxicated themſelves to a great degree; of this the fugitive citizens had notice; they re⯑turned, ſurpriſed the invaders in their ſleep, and put them all to the ſword. The Chineſe have preſerved the hiſtory in large characters, on the face of a ſmooth rock near the entrance of the harbor.

[149]ON the iſle of A-mwy is a vaſt rocking ſtone of forty tons weight, moveable by the ſlighteſt touch. ROCKING STONE. Whether it is treated with ſuperſtitious reſpect, as the Britons did their Loggan-ſtone, Hamilton does not inform us. A ſtone of this kind is found in Cachemire, which the Mullahs or prieſts ſay is moved by the miraculous power of the ſaint to whom it is dedicated.

THE great iſland of Formoſa, ISLE OF FORMOSA. or Ta-wan as it is called by the Chineſe, lies off the coaſt of Foo-tchien, at the diſtance of about ſixty miles from the neareſt place. The length is ninety leagues, the greateſt breadth about thirty. It is of a curvated form, with the convexity facing the continent; the tropic of Cancer paſſes over it, at the diſtance of a hundred and five miles from the ſouthern end, almoſt dividing it in equal parts. It is very ſin⯑gular, that notwithſtanding its proximity it was unknown to the Chineſe till the year 1430, when a eunuch of that nation, returning from the weſt, was driven there by a tempeſt. This was not imme⯑diately productive of any conſequences, nor did his countrymen profit of the diſcovery before the laſt century, when, in the reign of the emperor Kang-Hi, it was invaded by the famous Coxinga, who conquered at laſt the weſtern part, not for the empire of China, but for himſelf. At that time the kings of Quang-tung and Foo-tchien had revolted from the empire. As ſoon as their rebellion was quelled, Kang-hi, in 1683, was put in poſſeſſion of as much of Formoſa as the young deſcendant of Coxinga had power to yield.

THE Japaneſe ſeized on this iſland about the year 1620. The Dutch, in their way from Japan, about the year 1633 made here a ſettlement. The manner of obtaining it, and their future [150]expulſion, has been given at p. 122 of this volume, in my account of their firſt commerce in theſe parts with the empire of China.

THE coaſts of Formoſa are rude, PORT OF TA-WAN. lofty, and rocky. The prin⯑cipal port is that of Ta-wan, the ſame with that which the Dutch took poſſeſſion of. Near it is the capital city of the ſame name; unfortified, but garriſoned by ten thouſand Tartars, and very populous, to which the Chineſe, who are a commercial people, carry on a prodigious trade. There are beſides three other cities and ſeveral villages, all inhabited by Chineſe. The whole is remark⯑ably fertile, productive of grain, and all the fruits which the cor⯑reſpondent parts of China afford. As the whole of the iſland was inhabited by a barbarous people, domeſtic animals are in ſome degree ſcarce. Oxen are in uſe for riding inſtead of horſes; ſtags abound; and among the wild animals, monkies; but it does not appear that tygers or beaſts of prey are known in any part of Formoſa.

THE iſland is divided from north to ſouth by chains of lofty and inacceſſible mountains. NATIVES OF FORMOSA. The greater part of the weſtern ſide is inhabited by Chineſe, the natives have the eaſtern entirely to themſelves; thoſe which continue on the weſtern are not better than ſervants to the coloniſts, except the inhabitants of three out of the twelve diſtricts formed by the Chineſe, which have revolted. The Formoſans are a fine people, and of remark⯑able ſwiftneſs, which they attain by practice, ſo that they can outrun a horſe at full ſpeed. Their ſhape is eaſy and ſlender, their complexions olive, and their hair fleck, and hanging over their ſhoulders. In the ſouthern part of the iſle they wear a linen wrapped round the middle, and falling to the knees: in [151]the northern, the ſkin of a ſtag made into a ſleeveleſs jacket. Their bonnet is formed of Banana leaves, adorned with tufts of the feathers of cocks or pheaſants.

THEIR morals have been much miſrepreſented by the Chineſe and the Jeſuits. They have no external worſhip, but a ſtrong notion of a Supreme Being, which renders them a quiet, honeſt, and benevolent race. An inveterate hatred ſubſiſts between them and the Chineſe. The laſt had reaſon to ſuppoſe that the iſland had its gold mines; but as they could not diſcover them in their part, they equipped a ſhip, and ſailed to the eaſtern. They were received by the natives in the moſt humane manner, invited on ſhore, and furniſhed with every neceſſary. In this viſit the Chineſe obſerved in the poor cottages a few ingots of gold left negligently, as if of no value. This excited their avarice; they made their hoſts drunk, and in their ſleep cut all their throats, and carried away the gold, the incitement to this horrid action.

IT muſt not be forgotten, OF PSALMANA⯑ZAR. that the hiſtory of Formoſa was written by a perſon who pretended to be a Japaneſe converted to chriſtianity, and to have fled from his country to avoid the dreadful puniſhment inflicted by the emperor on all proſelytes. He aſſumed the name of Pſalmanazar, and is generally ſup⯑poſed to have been born in the ſouth of France. He was a man of uncommon abilities. After leading a vagabond life through various parts of Europe, in which he acted the part of a moſt conſummate impoſtor, and ſuffering frequently the greateſt mi⯑ſery from his profligate life, he was reduced to become a com⯑mon ſoldier in a Scotch regiment at Sluys; there he firſt aſſumed the character of the Japaneſe. Innes, a worthleſs chaplain of [152]the corps, undertook his converſion, not through principle, but the hopes of promotion on his arrival in England. Innes had diſ⯑covered him to be an impoſtor, but for their joint intereſt they united in the deceit. Pſalmanazar formed a Formoſan alphabet; he pretended to be converted in form, was baptized by Innes by the name of George, and the credulous governor of Sluys ſtood godfather. Innes had, by his correſpondence with the good Compton, the biſhop of London, been encouraged to bring him to our capital. The prelate was made moſt completely the dupe of theſe villains. Pſalmanazar had many patrons and many op⯑ponents, but his abilities and impudence baffled all detection. He undertook a hiſtory of Formoſa (which he pretended was ſubject to Japan), a moſt fabulous compoſition; yet, as the Engliſh are always delighted with the marvellous, it was ſo gree⯑dily bought up as to induce him to prepare a ſecond edition. Innes attained his end, got preferment, and then baſely deſerted the cauſe of his promotion. Pſalmanazar lived ſome time by various tricks and impoſtures. At length, at the age of thirty⯑eight, he began to feel compunction at the infamy of his life, and was ſtruck with moſt ſincere remorſe. He became a moſt lively penitent, and applied his great abilities to uſeful learning. He wrote his own life, which was not to be publiſhed till after his death. I believe it to be a true narrative, and that he con⯑cealed nothing but his real name and the place of his birth, fearing to leave reproach upon his family. The liſt of his works, many of which are on important ſubjects, may be found in the Gentleman's Magazine ^*. He lived till Auguſt 1763, when he died [153]at the age of eighty; having long led an exemplary life, fully atoning for the irregularity of his early career.

THE iſles of Pong-ho form an Archipelago off the weſtern coaſt of Formoſa, having the tropic paſſing over them. ISLES OF PONO-HO. They are deſtitute of all the neceſſaries of life, even to fuel, ſo that every thing muſt be brought from Formoſa to ſupply the Chineſe gar⯑riſon. They conſiſt of only rocks or ſand; yet, as they poſſeſs a fine port (which Formoſa is deſtitute of), they become eſſential in the preſervation of that great iſland. The Dutch built a fort at the entrance of the harbor, of which nothing except the name remains. The Chineſe remember it by that of the fort of the Red hairs. It was the famous Coxinga who took theſe iſlands from the Dutch, and kept them for his own uſe.

THE province of Tche-Tchiang continues the maritime parts of China from Foo-tchien. This, like the reſt, TCHE-TCHIANG. is amazingly com⯑mercial; remarkable for its rich ſilks, embroidered with gold and ſilver; for its timber, vaſt foreſts of the uſeful bamboo; for its muſhrooms, hams, and the vegetable tallow. SALT. Salt is made in abundance along the ſhores, and ſerves to cure the quan⯑tities of fiſh taken on the coaſts, which are packed in bar⯑rels, and ſent to the more diſtant provinces. The ſalt itſelf is tranſported to ſeveral of the internal parts within any reaſonable diſtance; but thoſe which border on Tartary are ſupplied from certain ſalt-pits, providentially given for the uſe of the inha⯑bitants ^*.

THIS province, PROVINCES GAINED FROM THE SEA. and that of Kyang-nan are ſuppoſed to have [154]been gained from the ſea, as Holland was by the Dutch. The period is not juſtly known. The tradition of the Chineſe is, that there had been a mighty deluge: in all probability that of Noah. Du Halde ^* attributes to the emperor Yau the vaſt works which recovered theſe provinces from the ſea. I will not diſpute the learned Jeſuit's ſkill in chronology; but the emperor began his reign in 2237 before Chriſt, and reigned a hundred years; the period in which he was born could not therefore have been long after the univerſal deluge.

Le Poivre alſo informs us, that theſe provinces were, ſome thouſand years ago, covered with water, and regained from the ſea by the induſtry of the inhabitants. The immenſe mounds which guard it from the fury of the waves, are ſtupendous marks of the power of labor exerted by a moſt populous nation. They exceed all the ſimilar dikes of Holland; beſides, they have a much more powerful ſea to reſiſt than that which beats on the coaſt of the European low countries. Monteſquieu attributes to the induſtry of the natives of theſe two provinces, their ſuperior fertility to any in the Chineſe empire.

In Lat. ISLE OF CHEW-SHAN. 30°, at a ſmall diſtance from the coaſt, is the iſland of Chew-ſhan, or as we call it Chuſan, mentioned in this volume at p. 115 as the firſt ſettlement the Engliſh had in China. It is ſur⯑rounded with many little iſles, the remoteſt of which conſtitutes the moſt eaſtern part of the great curved ſhore of the empire.

AT the bottom of a long eſtuary ſtands the city of Ning-po, NING-PO, OR LIMPO. known to the Europeans by the Portugueſe name of Liampo or Limpo. It is ſeated in the midſt of a fine plain, cultivated like a [155]garden, ſurrounded with hills, and divided by a principal canal branching from it, with ſixty-ſix others. On one of theſe canals, between Shau-hing-foo and this city, is an example of the ſingular method of paſſing from one level to another, and ſeemingly a very awkward one ^*. The waters of one canal not being on a level with that of another, the boat, by means of two capſtans, is hoiſted upon a ſtone glacis, or ſlope, which being made ſlippery with water, the boat glides down into the ſecond canal, as ſwift as an arrow out of a bow. For this reaſon, they are made in form of Gondolas, with keels of a wood hard enough to ſuſtain the weight of a bark. Theſe boats are proper only for carrying goods from Ning-po, and the towns depending on it, as far as the canal of Shau-hing. They differ much, both as to ſize and make, from the imperial barks, which would be broken to pieces, or at leaſt receive ſome conſiderable damage in the deſcent.

Ningpo carries on a conſiderable trade with Batavia, Siam, and Japan. The Portugueſe had early a ſettlement in this city, where they acquired immenſe wealth, and with it, all the vices atten⯑dant on riches. Inſolent and highly debauched, PROFLIGACY OF THE PORTUGUESE. they dared to ſeize the moſt beautiful young girls they could hear of, and em⯑ployed a ſet of profligates for that purpoſe. When they had kept theſe poor victims as long as they thought proper, they returned them to the unhappy parents. Enraged at this, the Chineſe cut off a party of the infamous Chaſſeurs. The Portu⯑gueſe had the audacity to complain; the affair was brought before the higheſt tribunal; and ſuch ſcenes of iniquity were diſcovered, that a decree was immediately made that the Portu⯑gueſe [156]ſhould inſtantly quit the empire; thus, ſays Hamilton ^*, "ended the moſt opulent colony at that time in the world."

To the north of this city an open bay runs deeply weſtward into the country, the vaſt eſtuary of the river Tchen-tang-tchiang The great city Hang-tchoo ſtands at ſome diſtance from its diſ⯑charge into the bay, HANG-TCHOO. on a ſpot where the river is a league broad; here is carried on a great manufactory of ſilk, as the province is diſtinguiſhed for the cultivation of the worm. In Hang-tchoo ſixty thouſand workmen live within the walls, and ſeveral hundred thouſand in the adjacent country.

NEAR this city is a moſt beautiful little lake called Si-hû, SI-HÛ LAKE. about two leagues in compaſs. The water quite cryſtalline; cauſeways are made through it for the convenience of walkers, and elegant open halls raiſed on poſts for the amuſement of the citizens. It is full of the famous golden fiſh, GOLDEN FISH. which ſhew to great advantage among the leaves and flowers of the Nymphaea, with which the lake is filled. This favorite fiſh of the Chineſe is found in many other provinces; here it forms a ſpecies of commerce, the ſpawn and fry being tranſported to all parts of the empire which do not produce them.

THE golden fiſh is of the moſt vivid colors; Linnaeus names it Cyprinus auratus; the gold is highly reſplendent, but varies in part of the ſame fiſh into the brighteſt ſilver or richeſt blues which can be imagined. It ſeldom reaches the length of eight inches, com⯑monly is much ſmaller; has one dorſal ſin, which ſometimes is wanting, and the back marked by one or two ſmall protuberances; in many the tail is moſt remarkable, being ſo formed as to exhi⯑bit [157]the appearance of two, and even three tails. Mr. Edwards, tab. 209, and Bloch. iii. tab. 92. give figures of the varieties. They have been introduced into all parts of Europe, and will not only live but multiply prodigiouſly in our little ſtews.

Du Halde gives the following account of the treatment of them in China: ‘The next thing remarkable (ſays the accurate hiſtorian) is the Kin-yu or golden fiſh; theſe are kept, either in little ponds, made for that purpoſe, wherewith the houſes of pleaſure belonging to the princes and great lords are embel⯑liſhed, or elſe in baſins, that commonly adorn the courts of their houſes; in theſe baſins, which are more deep than wide, they put the leaſt that can be found; for the ſmaller they are, they think them the more beautiful; beſides, the greater number may be kept of them, and they afford more di⯑verſion.’

‘THE prettieſt of them are of a curious red, ſpeckled as it were with gold duſt, eſpecially towards the tail, which is forked with two or three points; ſome are of a ſilver color, others white, and ſome ſpotted with red; both ſorts are extraordinary lively and active, delighting to play on the ſurface of the water; but then their ſmallneſs renders them ſo tender, that the leaſt impreſſion of air, and even any violent ſhaking of the veſſel, will kill great numbers of them. Thoſe that are bred in ponds are of various ſizes; ſome are bigger than our largeſt pilchards; they teach them to riſe up to the top of the water at the noiſe of a clapper, which the perſon uſes who feeds them. What is moſt ſurpriſing is, that according to all accounts, the beſt way to preſerve them is to give them [158]nothing in winter; it is certain they do not feed them for three or four months at Peking, while the very cold weather laſts; what they live on in the mean time, under the ice, it is not eaſy to underſtand, except we ſuppoſe, either that they find little worms in the roots of herbs, which grow at the bottom of the ponds, or elſe, that pieces of roots them⯑ſelves, being ſoftened by the water, become proper food for them; but thoſe which, to prevent their being frozen, are taken into the houſes, and kept all winter in a chamber, often ſhut up in a china veſſel, without being fed at all, are towards ſpring put into the baſins again, where they ſport with the ſame ſtrength and agility as they did the year before. One would imagine they knew their maſters, and thoſe who carry them food, by their being ſo ready to riſe at their ap⯑proach. The greateſt lords themſelves delight in feeding them with their own hands, and ſpend ſome time to obſerve their nimble motions, and ſporting in the water.’

FROM the eſtuary of the Tchen-tang-tchiang the land bends towards the north-weſt. PROVINCE OF KYANG-NAN. The next province to Tche-tchang is Kyang-nan. On the ſouthern ſide of the entrance into the bay of the great river leading to Nanquin, ISLE OF TSONG-MING. is the iſland of Tſong-ming, ninety miles in length, in the breadth about twenty. It was originally a ſandy ſpot overrun with reeds, to which it was cuſto⯑mary to baniſh robbers and all kinds of profligates; neceſſity compelled them to induſtry; they cleared the ground, ſowed the few ſeeds they brought with them, and by the aſſiſtance of ſome Chineſe who came from the continent to ſettle among them, made a barren land fruitful. Other families arrived; the [159]iſland was divided among them, and the ſhares granted in per⯑petuity, on the payment of a ſmall yearly rent of the produce of their labor. It is at preſent well ſtocked with buffaloes and hogs, and bears the uſual grain and fruits of the neighboring continent; among the laſt, it is remarkable for its fine peaches.

THE approach to Nanquin is now very difficult, the channel being obſtructed by ſand, ſo that the greater ſhips cannot enter. The Chineſe poſſibly might remedy this, but it is ſuppoſed they wiſhed rather to promote their inland trade than launch into diſtant commerce.

THE great and rapid Whang-ho-hoo alſo empties itſelf into the ocean near the northern boundary of this province. RIVER WHANG-HO. Some leagues farther, oppoſite to the little iſle Yun-tay-ſhan, in about Lat. 34° 31′, begins the province of Shan-tung. From thence the land changes its courſe, and trends to the north-eaſt as far as Chin-ſhan-wey. The correſpondent coaſt to China, all the way from the mouth of the Yellow river, is the kingdom of Korea, and the intermediate ſpace is named Whang-hay, or the Yellow ſea. The promontory of Shan-tung advances greatly, YELLOW SEA. and forms the entrance into the gulph of Pe-che-li, which is bounded by part of the province of Shan-tung, of Pe-che-li, and of Lyau⯑ting, a portion of Chineſe Tartary, and finally by the weſtern coaſt of Korea.

WITHIN the gulph, in Lat. 37° 48′, TEN-CHOO-FOO. is the city and port of Ten-choo-foo. On the part of the province more ſalient, towards the north, a number of ſmall iſles ſtretch out ſtill further. This port is a very fine one, and has a ſtrong garriſon and fleet to guard the coaſt.

[160]AMONG the productions of this province is the famous worm producing the ſilk mentioned by Pliny ^* SILK OF PLINY., which that naturaliſt, with other antient writers, believed to have been a vegetable combed from the leaves and branches of trees. I vindicate his opinion ſo far as to ſay that it was collected from a plant, but he was ignorant that it was the produce of an inſect. Du Halde ^† gives an account of its hiſtory, but leaves us in the dark as to the ſpecies of inſect which yielded this kind of ſilk. Speaking of a certain ſort of ſilk manufactured at Tri-nan, a city of this pro⯑vince, he ſays, that the ſtuffs named Kyen-chow incline to a greyiſh color, which is produced only by the wild worms, re⯑ſembling caterpillars. Theſe worms ſpin their webs on ſhrubs and buſhes, and furniſh as great quantities as the domeſtic worms. This ſilk is the more eſtimable, as it coſts in a manner nothing, and ſo ſtrong, that the goods made of it are very laſting, and have a tolerable vent every where.

THE gulph, PROVINCE OF PE-CHE-LI. from Ten-choo-foo, retires far towards the ſouth, then returns northward, and in Lat. 38° 12′ begins the province of Pe-che-li, which in Lat. 39° takes a north-caſtern direction, and on the gulph finiſhes this great empire, in Lat. 40°. The capital, Peking, is about a hundred miles from the mouth of the Pei-ho, TIAN-SIN, PORT OF PEKING. on which is Tian-ſin, the port of the capital. The river flows far to the ſouth-weſt, out of the lake Tay-hoo. A canal joins it about thirty miles from the ſea, and receives the veſſels which are to diſcharge their ladings near to the imperial reſi⯑dence. This province was conquered in about 1324 from the Tartars, by Tay-tſu, the firſt emperor of the dynaſty of My [...]g; [161]he took the capital, Peking, in one day, erected the country into a ſovereignty, and veſted it in his fourth ſon.

THE empire ends about 150 miles farther, in Lat. 40° 45′. GREAT WALL. Here begins the celebrated wall, completed two hundred and twenty-one years before Chriſt, by the emperor Tſing-chi-whung, to protect the northern parts of China from the incurſions of the Tartars. It appears firſt in the very ſea, on a vaſt bulwark, founded on a number of ſhips, ſunk by a wonderful weight of huge ſtones, to render immoveable the terminating ſuper⯑ſtructure. The wall is all the way from twenty to twenty-five feet high, generally caſed with brick, and terraſſed at top of a breadth ſufficient for five or ſix horſemen to ride a-breaſt. It paſſes along the frontiers of the provinces of Pe-che-li, Shan-ſi, and Shen-ſi; is guarded by a ſeries of ſquare towers or forts, at proper intervals, of only two bow-ſhots aſunder; and has its gates often of a vaſt ſize, with rooms adjacent, fitted up as places d'armes, and peculiarly well garriſoned. At no great diſtance, in ſeveral cities, general officers are poſted with conſiderable bodies of troops. The generaliſſimo reſides at Kan-choo. Many of theſe cities are the magazines for the articles of commerce brought from different parts to be tranſported into the various provinces of the empire.

THIS great protection of China is not uniformly built of the ſame materials. In ſome places the walls, and even the forts, are of earth. In the diſtrict of Ning-hya, a few leagues from the city of the ſame name, the mountains are ſo high and precipitous as to ſupply the neceſſity of a wall for the ſpace of ten leagues. In other places it is carried along vaſt and rugged mountains, almoſt [162]inacceſſible, yet the fears of the Chineſe urged them to prolong their defence even over the ſides or ſummits of theſe alps, which direct its courſe, according to the nature of the country, over deep vallies or level plains. In a certain tract a great trench is cut to ſupply the place of the wall; and on the banks of the fierce river Whang-ho, or the yellow, are ſeries of ſentry-boxes, filled with ſoldiers, who keep watch night and day. As the wall muſt in its courſe paſs over various great rivers, arches or bridges, of a ſtupendous height and ſtrength, are thrown over them.

Later emperors, SECOND WALL. to give greater ſecurity to their capital, have built a ſecond wall, at ſome diſtance from Peking, as ſtrong as the firſt: It is called the great inner wall, and unites with the other by Wen-wha-fu. Near it is a city which riſes and falls with the form of the mountain it is built on, and amazes the ſpectators with the boldneſs of the ſtructure.

THE length of the wall, in a ſtrait line, is ſeven or eight hun⯑dred miles, and allowing for the windings, for the aſcents over the craggy mountains, or deſcent into the deep vallies, may be eſtimated at double that length. Yet what may juſtly excite our admiration is, that this ſtupendous work was ſaid to have been completed in the ſpace of five years. In this empire of obedience every power was exerted to perform the commands of their common father, iſſued forth for the common ſecurity.

IMMEDIATELY beyond this bulwark begins the country of the antient Liau-tong, LIAU-TONG. or part of that of the Manchew Tartars, the laſt conquerors of China, and who gave the preſent imperial family to the throne. The gulph of Liau-tong runs deeply into the north of the country from the foot of the Chineſe wall. This [163]territory has alſo its guard, but no better than a precinct of paliſadoes with a few mean gates. The capital Mugden, which the Manchews look on as their metropolis, has a Tartarian commander in chief, and is inhabited by multitudes of Chi⯑neſe, who carry on the trade of Tartary. Juſt without the gates are the magnificent tombs of their antient princes. Pa⯑per, made of cotton, is a great manufacture of this country, its principal uſe is for the ſaſh windows of the palaces and houſes of men of rank in Peking; thoſe of glaſs have not reached even the cold latitude of ſo ſplendid a people. GING-SENG. Ging⯑ſeng, the celebrated medicinal plant of the Chineſe, is found in this country, and many parts of Chineſe Tartary, of Korea, and even in the provinces of Shan-ſi and Ho-nan, in China itſelf; but the latter is of an inferior kind. It grows on the ſteeps of wooded mountains, or rocks, and on the banks of deep rivers. The root which is applied to uſe is ſaid to be of the ſhape of a man. There is not a phyſician of eminence but who has cele⯑brated its virtues; and exactly in the ſtyle of our empyrics. "It fortifies," ſays Shi-Chin, ‘the noble parts, keeps the body in good plight, fixes the animal ſpirits, cures the palpitations occaſioned by ſudden frights, diſpels malignant vapours, clears the ſight, opens and dilates the heart, and ſtrengthens the judgment. When it is taken a conſiderable time together, it makes the body light and active, and prolongs life.’ In a few words, there is not a diſeaſe incident to the human body but what it infallibly cures. The Manchews ſtyle it Orhota, the moſt noble, or queen of plants; others the golden well bordered with pretious ſtones. There are extant nine antient receipts and ſixty⯑nine [164]modern. GING-SENG. The value of the root increaſes; it was formerly worth its weight in ſilver; "at preſent," ſays Du Halde ^*, ‘it is ſold for nearly its weight in gold.’

IN 1709, when the great Kang-hi was on one of his pro⯑greſſes into his Manchew dominions, he was deſirous to give his favorite Tartarians a valuable perquiſite, and ſent ten thouſand of his ſoldiers to collect all the Ging-ſeng they could find. Each was to give him two ounces of the beſt, and to receive for the remainder an equal weight of fine ſilver. They ſallied forth, and collected in the year twenty thouſand pounds weight; but ſuffered ſufficiently, for they were allowed neither tent or any ſort of covering, and the places of ſearch ſwarmed with tigers. Thoſe who did not return on the ſignal of moving their quarters, were ſuppoſed to have been devoured by thoſe dreadful animals.

IN the Chineſe dominions Ging-ſeng grows between the thirty⯑ninth and forty-ſeventh degree north Latitude, and between ten and twenty eaſt Longitude from Peking: but is not confined to the old world; it was diſcovered in Canada, in 1704, by M. Sar⯑raſin, who ſent ſpecimens to Paris. It was introduced into Eng⯑land, in 1740, by the worthy Peter Collinſon, and now flouriſhes in Kew garden. Linnaeus firſt called this plant Sion Ninſi, after⯑wards Panax quinquefolium. Ehret. in Trew, tab. 6. names it Araliaſtrum; and Cateſby, Appendix, tab. 16. Aureliana Cana⯑denſis, after Lafilau. Doctor Woodville, i. 270. retains the Linnaean name.

IN America it is not confined to Canada. IN AMERICA ALSO. It is found even as [165]far ſouth as Virginia ^*, being diſcovered on the ſhady hills and vallies of that ſtate, towards the end of the laſt century, by doctor John Clayton. The ſix Indian nations call it Garangtoging, or the human thighs. The Europeans have imported a great deal into China; but it is not in the ſame eſteem, ſays Oſbeck, in which the roots of the Chineſe dominions are held. The Indians of America do not apply them to any uſe, but multitudes are em⯑ployed in collecting them for ſale to the merchants of Quebec. Our phyſicians depreciate the virtues of this root ſo much, that notwithſtanding it has found a place in our diſpenſatory, yet is not mentioned in the Pharmacopoeia of the London College. The power of the medicine may poſſibly have been exaggerated in China, but I never can believe that a root ſo univerſally eſteemed in that empire for ages can be deſtitute of virtues. Father Jar⯑toux ſpeaks highly of its qualities from his own experience, and on the very ſpot ^†. To him I give full credit, but at the ſame time ſhall obſerve that the trial he made was from the freſh roots. The experiments on which the Engliſh phyſicians founded their opinion, were from dried and exhauſted ſpecimens.

ADJACENT to the eaſtern ſide of Liau-tong is the peninſula of Korea, KOREA. extending from Lat. 42° 50′ to Lat. 34°, bounded on one ſide by the gulph of Pe-che-li, and the approach to it, on the eaſtern, by the Japaneſe gulph. Japan extends the whole length of the coaſt, and even ſtretches beyond its ſouthern part. Korea is of an oblong form; about a hundred leagues in breadth; its greateſt length extends a hundred and eighty. ITS SITUATION. It lies between three mighty nations, ſo that the inhabitants are a mixed people, [166]but call themſelves of Tartar origin; boaſt of great antiquity; and produce ſome books which are two or three thouſand years old. They have been conquered by the Chineſe, Japaneſe, and Tartars; ſince the conqueſt of China by the latter, their yoke has been light; they only are obliged to ſend four ambaſſadors to Peking annually, to perform homage, where, after their audience from the emperor, they remain in a ſtate of confine⯑ment till their return. The Chineſe fear that ſome time or other they may unite with the Ruſſians, who have advanced far towards the Chineſe frontiers; this may occaſion a revolt, and the conſe⯑quences prove fatal to the repoſe of the empire.

Korea had its wall to the north-weſt, which has long ſince been in a ruinous ſtate; but even when complete, did not pre⯑vent the conqueſt of the country by the Manchew Tartars.

THE Korea is mountainous, and not very fertile, except the vales. It is full of woods, and produces moſt of the European fruits and foreſt-trees. The ſouthern part yields rice and excel⯑lent grain. It breeds a hardy race of horſes, excluſive of a ſmall variety not three feet high; alſo cows, and black ſwine; abounds with various animals; among others are numbers of tigers, the ſkins of which are a conſiderable article of commerce in their intercourſe with Japan. Among the noxious reptiles are cro⯑codiles of an enormous ſize.

THEY have great quantities of feathered game, and a variety of birds; poſſibly many of thoſe we have deſcribed in the Arctic Zoology, as belonging to the Tartarian or Siberian world. But the ſpecies of the pheaſant kind, with feathers of the tail three feet long, are confined to this country. The feathers are ſent [167]from Korea an article of commerce to various parts of the Chineſe empire.

THE natives of the northern part are a fine race of men, tall, NATIVES. robuſt, active, and without any of the Tartarian aſpect. Thoſe of the ſouthern part reſemble the Chineſe, of a ſallow com⯑plexion, and tender conſtitutions.

THEIR government is regular, GOVERNMENT. and its cuſtoms and laws re⯑ſemble thoſe of the Chineſe. This makes it likely that their origin may more ſafely be derived from China than Tartary. The Chineſe pretend that they were ſubdued as early as the reign of Yau, eighth emperor from Fo-hi, which may well account, if true, for the ſimilitude of laws and cuſtoms. Their rulers are abſolute and ſole maſters of the land, which is granted to every man according to his family; but the perſonal eſtate deſcends from father to ſon. Their religion is that of Fo, with all its ſuperſtitions; they are very fond of literature, and have triennial examination of Doctors, Bachelors, and Maſters of arts. Theſe adopt the pure doctrine of Confucius, and deſpiſe the ridiculous idolatry of Fo.

THE Koreans of rank are very ſplendid in their habits, wear fur caps and brocade cloaths; and affect purple-colored ſilk richly ornamented with gold and ſilver. Furs are much in uſe. The learned are diſtinguiſhed by two feathers in their caps.

THE productions of the country are Ginſeng, cotton, paper, PRODUCTIONS. gold, ſilver, iron, mineral ſalt, the ſkins of ſables and beavers; and a beautiful varniſh which reſembles gilding, made from the gum of a tree.

THE natives carry on a great commerce with China; TRADE. about [168]ſixty merchants attend the annual ambaſſadors; they travel in March, and croſs the ice of the gulph in ſledges; ſo ſevere is the cold, even in this latitude! Others go in Auguſt in large veſſels, diſcharge their cargoes in the Chineſe ports, and carry it by land to Peking. They bring with them great quantities of the window paper, umbrellas, fine mats, tobacco, ſtriped cotton, furs, and dried fiſh taken from a large ſhell on the coaſt of Japan. This dried fiſh is only a covert to the other articles of commerce. They import beſides great quantities of gold and ſilver in ingots, and part in Spaniſh Piſtoles, and carry back prodigious cargoes of raw and fine ſilk, which they manufacture at home; thin ſilks, the kind called by the Chineſe, Kao-li-Toanza, or Korean damaſk; tea, vaſt quantities of cotton, china ware, and white copper veſ⯑ſels of all ſorts.

THAT penetrating writer, Mr. Campbell, has given an excel⯑lent account of the commerce of this people. My plan is of that confined nature, that I muſt content myſelf with a reference; and requeſt the reader's peruſal of Mr. Campbell's ^* account, in his collection of voyages, which will amply repay them.

THE Koreans trade openly with China, WITH CHINA, &c. clandeſtinely with Japan, the Phillippine iſles, and perhaps Java; under the general notion of their being Chineſe, they may traffick in diſguiſe to many other places. Their trade with the nations to the north, and north-weſt, and probably with the Ruſſians of their Aſiatic dominions, comes under the ſame deſcription; all this is ſtrictly prohibited by the Chineſe emperor; who even keeps a Mandarine at the Korean court, to take care that the order be obſerved; this precaution, with ſo corrupt a nation, has very little effect.

[169]THE intercourſe to the north, RUSSIANS. is the moſt dreaded by the Chineſe. The Ruſſians have made great advances on that ſide, and had formed ſettlements on the Amur, which runs through the northern part of the empire. This brought on more than one war. The Koreans are ſaid either to navigate the river Songor, or the Schingal, till they arrive in the Amur; or to ſail along the coaſt, and proceed directly up its mouth, and trade either with the ſubjects of Ruſſia, or poſſibly with the Ruſſians themſelves. All the intervening track from Korea is affectedly given wrong by the Chineſe, in order to keep both their own ſubjects and thoſe of Ruſſia in ignorance; but in vain; the Koreans are a match for them in cunning. They pretend in their voyage up the Amur that they come from ſome diſtant iſle. Yſbrande Ides informs us of this, but without knowing that they impoſed on him. They trade even with the Manchew Tartars, ſubjects of the emperor; but theſe people, for gains ſake, content themſelves with the deception. From them, and from the Ruſſians, or Ruſſian ſubjects, they procure the quantities of furs which they pretend are the produce of their own country.

THE Koreans, having their country three parts ſurrounded by the ſea, muſt naturally be a naval people; they trade com⯑monly with Japan, and obtain the articles of commerce of thoſe iſlands. WITH JAPAN. The Japaneſe have ceded the little intermediate iſle of Suſima, the Tuitatao of the Koreans, on purpoſe to facilitate the trade.

By the pretence of ſailing to the iſland of Quel-praet, ſeated to the ſouth of the peninſula, to take in the Chineſe manufacture [170]from the magazines formed there, they proceed on the eaſt ſide of Formoſa, MANILLA. and to Manilla, where they trade under the name of Chineſe, and by this means acquire ſuch quantities of Spaniſh ſilver; they likewiſe get abundance of ducats in Japan, ex⯑changing their ingots for ſpecie; with this ſilver they pay for great part of the manufactures of China.

THEY do not purchaſe any European goods in China, yet Korea abounds with thoſe of our diſtant world; theſe are pro⯑cured in the Phillippines, or at Batavia; ſpices, and ſeveral other inſular commodities, are bought in the ſame market; from that of Manilla, they bring amethyſts and emeralds; the laſt cer⯑tainly from the mines of Atacames, Manta, and Santa-Fe ^*, in Spaniſh America. Their intercourſe with the Oriental iſlands muſt have been long, for Mr. Campbell obſerves, that the people who were ſo cruelly murdered by the Dutch, in Amboina in the year 1622, for the pretended conſpiracy with the Engliſh, were Koreans, and not (as they are called) Japaneſe. But there is no limiting the period of trade among theſe diſtant nations, forward as we have ſhewn them to be in the arts of navi⯑gation.

I SHALL conclude the account of this ſingular country, with a view of the adjacent nations, whether dependent or indepen⯑dent on this mighty empire.

THE kingdoms on the ſouth are Tonquin and Laos; NATIONS ADJACENT TO THE CHINESE EMPIRE. AVA, THIBET. a ſmall part of Pegu advances a little into the ſouth-weſt, and the northern end of Ava borders on the lower part of the province of Yunan. Thibet is adjacent to the provinces of Sechwen, a great [171]part of Shen-ſi, and the upper part of the laſt is bounded by Hoko⯑nor Tartars; in their country is a large lake of the ſame name, in Lat. 35. 36. Theſe Tartars have among them a coarſe woollen manufacture, which they diſpoſe of to the Chineſe. Inacceſſible and rude mountains lie to the ſouth of that people, inhabited by a moſt ſavage race, ſo as to cut them off from all intercourſe with the ſtill more ſouthern countries.

LET me here introduce ſome account of the celebrated drug, OF RHUBARB. the Rhubarb, of which Tartary and China is the ſeat. The rhubarb of all the medicinal kinds is found in great abundance in ſeveral parts of the Chineſe dominions, and even in China itſelf. In the province of Se-chwen, in the mountains of Snow, in Shen-ſi, where troops of camels are loaden with nets full of rhu⯑barb in the months of October and November: it abounds alſo in Tanguth about the lake Koko-nor, Little Bucharia, and all the chain of hills from lake Baikal weſtward. It grows ſouth as far as Quang-tung; but the ſouthern rhubarb is little eſteemed, yet much of it comes to Europe by ſea; I may add, that out of the Chineſe empire it is found in Thibet.

RHUBARB was known to Dioſcorides, who lived in the reign of Nero, as a valuable purge; and Paulus Aeginetus, a phyſician of the ſeventh century, preſcribed it for the ſame purpoſe. It was brought from the remoteſt parts of the ancient Scythia, and the uſe was continued through all ſucceeding ages, without any cer⯑tain knowledge of the plant to which the roots belonged. Marco Polo obſerved it on the rocky mountain near Suchur, in the pro⯑vince of Tanguth, and ſays it was ſent to all parts of the earth; for it found its way to Europe from thoſe diſtant regions even in that early time.

[172] Gerard ^* gives a figure of the well known rhubarb of our gardens, with roundiſh criſped leaves. This he names, very properly, Rha verum antiquorum. Parkinſon gives another ^† in his Paradiſus terreſtris, which he procured from Doctor Mathew Liſter, phyſician to Charles I. This is acknowledged, from both their accounts, to be weaker than the other kind which came from China; it is frequent in our gardens. I do not remember that the roots were ever applied to medicinal uſes, but of the tender ſhoots of the leaves, are made excellent tarts, in the early ſummer, not inferior in taſte to the codling.

THE plants which produce the true rhubarb have been but lately diſcovered; the ſeeds of the Rheum Palmatum were ſent from Ruſſia by the late Doctor Mounſey, to Doctor Hope of Edin⯑burgh, in 1763. He ſowed them in the botanical garden; they ſucceeded greatly; and he, with his uſual liberality, commu⯑nicated them to the curious. He drew up an account of the plant, and inſerted it, attended with moſt accurate plates, in vol. lv. p. 290, of our Phil. Tranſactions. Doctor Woodville gives alſo a good figure of the plant at p. 227 of his medicinal botany; as to that referred to by Linnaeus (Le Brun's travels, i. p. 188, 189) it ſeems of ſome other ſpecies of Rheum ^†.

THAT moſt excellent character the Duke of Athol, CULTIVATED IN SCOTLAND. propagated it with great ſucceſs, not only in his garden, but on the highland mountains that ſurround his ſeat at Athol. His benevolent de⯑ſign of rendering common and cheap this uſeful medicine, is bleſt with the utmoſt ſucceſs. The roots which he cul⯑tivated in the light ſoils, ſimilar to thoſe of the Tartarian deſerts, [173]the native place, encreaſe to a vaſt ſize; ſome, when freſh, have been found to weigh fifty pounds, and to be equal in ſmell, taſte, and effect to thoſe we import at an enormous expence to our country. On being dried, they ſhrink to one quarter of their original weight. There is reaſon to ſuppoſe that the Scotch rhubarb may be ſuperior in virtue to the foreign, the laſt being gathered in all ſeaſons, as the Mongall hunters chance to paſs by. They draw up the roots indiſcriminately, pierce them at one end, ſling them on their belts, and leave them to dry on their tents without further care. In all probability the time is not remote in which the Britiſh rhubarb will ſuperſede the neceſſity of the uſe of the foreign.

BUT there are other kinds which are ſaid to be equally effi⯑cacious with the Rheum Palmatum, ſuch as the Rheum Rhabar⯑barum of Linnaeus, the Undulatum of the Hortus Kewenſis, with long waved leaves; the Rheum Compactum, a third ſpecies, boaſts of the ſame virtues; Miller had the ſeeds ſent to him as thoſe of the true kind. The Rheum Rhaponticum is beſides met with in Tartary about lake Baikal, as well as moſt of the others. This is the ſpecies which gave the name of Rhubarb or rather Rhabarb to this drug, the plant being firſt obſerved near to the banks of the ancient Rha, or river Volga; the ſame pre⯑ſcribed by Paulus Aeginatus as one of the ingredients for a purge, under the name of Rheum Ponticum; perhaps the trivial might be derived from its being brought from ſome part of Pontus, to which it was carried from its place of growth. Pliny ^* mentions a plant with a medicinal root called Rhacoma; he ſays it came [174]from the countries beyond the kingdom of Pontus, and by the name, probably from the Rha. He deſcribes its uſes, but none of them are ſimilar to that of the rhubarb; I cannot therefore venture to ſay that it is the ſame plant.

IN Chineſe Tartary the Bobak Marmots, (Hiſt. Quad. ii. N^o 324) are ſaid to be the propagators of Rhubarb. Wherever ten or twenty plants grow you are ſure of ſinding ſeveral burrows under the ſhades of their broad ſpreading leaves. It is probable the ma⯑nure they depoſit about the roots contributes not a little to its in⯑creaſe; and their caſting up the earth makes it ſhoot out young buds and multiply. It appears that the Mongalls never accounted it worth cultivating; but that the world is obliged to the Marmots for the quantities ſcattered, at random, in many diſtricts of this country. For whatever part of the ripe ſeed happens to be blown among the thick graſs, can very ſeldom reach the ground but muſt there wither and die; whereas, ſhould it fall among the looſe earth thrown up by thoſe animals, it immediately takes root, and produces a new plant.

THE Chineſe call rhubarb Tay-whang; they uſe it nearly in the ſame manner as is done in Europe; eſteem its virtues much as we do, except that which comes from Canton: the greateſt part of the Tartarian, or moſt valuable, is engroſſed by the Ruſſians, who purchaſe it at their town of Kiachta (a little ſouth of lake Bai⯑kal) from Bucharian merchants, and ſend it to Peterſburgh. This is called the Turkey Rhubarb, becauſe formerly it was brought from Conſtantinople, the merchants there receiving it from the Bucharians, who now find a readier market near home. The Chineſe prohibit the exportation of the beſt rhubarb under [175]ſevere penalties, but much of it is procured, either by concealing it mixed with roots of inferior quality, or by a contraband trade. The Ruſſian government is very attentive to the buſineſs, and appoints at Kiachta perſons to inſpect the drug, and to reject all that is bad.

ALL this extenſive tract has a moſt elevated ſituation, ELEVATED COUNTRY. giving riſe to numbers of great rivers, which, running ſouthward, water the ſeveral parts of India, both intra and extra Gangem: the Ganges itſelf is one: the Burrampooter, or Tſampoo of the Chineſe, another, with the various contributary ſtreams that fall into thoſe amazing rivers: the river of Arrakan may be added to the liſt; as to thoſe of Ava, Pegu, Siam, and Cambodia, each of them originate in the ſouth of China. The elevated plains of this part of Aſia did not eſcape the notice of Marco Polo, for he mentions his journey of twelve days over one called Pamer ^*; and aſſerts that he found on thoſe heights the fire to burn with difficulty, by reaſon of the exceſſive cold and rarefaction of the air. Theſe plains are on the north of Caſhgur, and to the weſt of Little Bucharia.

THE immenſe deſerts of Gobi, or as the Chineſe call them, DESERTS OF SHAMO. Shamo and Hankai, are dreadful boundaries to the north and north⯑weſt of the Chineſe dominions. They conſiſt of ſands that move with the winds like the current of a river. Nature has formed three paſſagesacroſs them, by means of three chains of mountains, which run from the great Tartary, and are mixed with pleaſant vallies amidſt theſe oceans of ſand. Travellers who take any other courſe are liable to be overwhelmed with the torrents of [176]ſand, equally dangerous with the deſerts of Arabia. The firſt of theſe communications is in Lat. 42° north, to the E. N. E. of Peking; the ſecond to the eaſt of the province of Shen-ſi; and the third in Lat. 32° to the eaſt of Hami, on the frontiers of Thibet. By theſe means a ſafe acceſs was given from the vaſt Tartarian regions, and through them, from the countries bor⯑dering on the Caſpian ſea, and more remotely from Europe itſelf; they were the roads of the travellers and merchants of the middle ages.

ADJACENT to the ſouth-weſtern parts were ſome important cities well known to thoſe adventurers, HIERKIN. CASHGUR. ſuch as Hierkin, and Caſh⯑gur, already mentioned in this work ^*, to which Ptolemy gives the names of Comedae and Caſia Regio; the firſt is ſuppoſed to have been Caſhgar, the capital of Caſia Regio; Hierkin, the Carcham of Marco Polo, p. 34, is conjectured to have taken its name from its ſituation on the Aechardes, a river which runs from the north⯑eaſt, and was remarkable as a ſtation which merchants trading with the Seres had in the very neighborhood. In the time of our great traveller the inhabitants were Mahometans, intermixed with a few Neſtorians.

Hoton or Coton, HOTON. a province to the ſouth-eaſt of Hierkin, bor⯑dering on the deſert, is ſuppoſed to have belonged to the ancient Chatae. It is very populous; the inhabitants are commercial, cultivate cotton, PEYM. flax, hemp, and wheat, and make wine. Peym is another province productive of Chalcedonies and Jaſpers. The capital of the ſame name is in Lat. 38. Theſe places, and many others mentioned by Polo, are to be found in the modern maps.

[177] Lop, the city viſited by Marco Polo, lies in Lat. 41°, LOP. and is ſeated on a lake, which gave name in his time to the great deſert. At Lop the travellers always ſtop to provide themſelves with mules or ſtrong aſſes, and proviſions for their toilſome journey over the barren waſte, which takes a whole month. Marco Polo ſeems to have croſſed it in the moſt difficult part, for the entire tract conſiſted of unſtable ſands or rugged mountains, uninha⯑bitable by even birds or beaſts, with ſcarcely any water, and that uſually bitter. At length he arrived at the city of Sachion, the modern Shatcheu, at the entrance into the kingdom of Tan⯑guth.

NOT far from thence is Camul, CAMUL. a city to be found in the old maps. Polo celebrates the great kindneſs of the inhabitants, who on the arrival of any ſtrangers, immediately ſurrender to them their wives and houſes, and retire for the time to other habita⯑tions. He adds, that Mangu Khan, ſhocked at the indecent cuſtom, directed them to build inns for the reception of the tra⯑vellers. This, theſe contented Cornuti took in ſuch ill part, that they never reſted till by preſents and remonſtrances they pre⯑valed on the Khan to revoke the edict.

FURTHER, in Lat. 44° 11′, Long. 107° from Greenwich, KARAKARIN. ſtood Karakarin, the Holin of the Chineſe, the capital of the antient Mongois, founded before the twelfth century, or the time of Jenghiz Khan. It was previous to his reign an inconſiderable place, and the reſidence of Ung, Khan of the Karaites, when Jenghiz wreſted it from him. The conqueror improved it greatly, and his ſon Oktay Khan rebuilt it with great ſplendor about the year 1225; ten years afterward he ſurrounded it with [178]walls, of no better materials than of mud; but his palace called Wangan, was of great magnificence. Rubriquis ^* gives a full account of it to his maſter. He informs us that Wil⯑liam the Goldſmith was employed in the ornamental work. The famous ſilver tree in one of the courts was in a fine taſte. SILVER TREE. At the foot of the tree were four lions, the ſame number of gilt ſerpents twined round the ſtem, and their heads appeared out of the branches pointing different ways, ſpouting various liquors, one of wine, another of Caracoſmos, or the liquor of mares milk; the third made of honey; the fourth of rice; and each fell into a great ſilver ciſtern placed beneath. On the ſummit of the tree was an angel with a trumpet, which ſounded by the help of a pipe blown by a man artificially concealed. All this ſhewed taſte in the Khan, as well as beauty of deſign in the artiſt. This city, placed in the middle of the deſert, on a ſalient chain of mountains, might well aſtoniſh the traveller with its population, and the ſplendor of its palaces. Theſe parts of Tar⯑tary were about that period full of opulent cities, but little more than the ſite of them, or of Karakarin itſelf, was diſcoverable by the Jeſuits who were employed by the emperor in the vaſt work of the ſurvey of his Tartarian dominions. The labors of the Fathers Regis, Fidelli, and many others, are compriſed in twelve maps, in the ſecond volume of Du Halde. In the third ſheet is ſhewn the ſituation of this once famous city; and in ſome of the others, the whole of the deſert which lies in the Chineſe terri⯑tories. The chains of communication are expreſſed; and the roads, which the more hardy travellers ventured over, amidſt the trackleſs ſands.

[179]THE part of this deſert which is clamed by the Chineſe, be⯑gins in Lat. 35° north, and in Long. 112° 30′ eaſt from Paris, winds towards the north-eaſt as high as Halter Gobi, HALTER GOBI. in Lat. 47° and Long. 136. After running ſouth-weſtward to the borders of India, it ſkirts Thibet, the country of the Koko-nor Tartars, and then the borders of the far projecting province of Shen-ſi. Theſe tracts were known by the almoſt obſolete name of the once potent kingdom of Tanguth. TANGUTH. Rubruquis and Marco Polo travelled through, and deſcribe its flouriſhing ſtate, and the number of its cities. The friar is the firſt who mentions the ox with a tail like a horſe, covered with ſilken hairs, the grunting ox, Hiſt. Quad. i. N^o 8, ſince his days fully verified. Polo, in his road to Tanguth, paſſed through the great deſert, which he names that of Lop. During night, ſays he, the caravans are terrified with the deluſions of demons which haunt theſe horrid ſands. The travellers muſt be careful how they ſtray, for they will imagine themſelves to be called by their proper names by ſome of their comrades, till they are brought to the edge of a pre⯑cipice; and ſometimes they will be entertained with aerial muſic. Superſtitions fitted to the dread of the place.

IT afterwards paſſes between the country of the Calmucs and the Kalkas to the north-weſt, the Ortus Tartars and the Mongols to the ſouth, and concludes its courſe of above two thouſand miles, from the borders of India to Halter Gobi, its remoteſt ex⯑tremity. The extreme point to the ſouth-weſt is not diſtant from the lakes Lanke and Manſaroar, the ſources of the Ganges; and the lake which gives origin to the great Burrampooter.

EVEN theſe deſerts do not want inhabitants: ſome pittance is [180]found amidſt the ſands to ſupport the Takija, or wild horſes; the Dſhikketei, WILD MULES AND ASSES. or wild mules; and the Koulan, or wild aſs. I refer the readers to p. 2. 4. 8. vol. i. of my Hiſtory of Quadru⯑peds, for an account of thoſe curious animals.

THE Chineſe empire in Tartary extends to the north as high as Lat. 56° 32′. Its moſt weſtern limit is not far from the ſouthern end of lake Baikal, in Lat. 51° 30′, and Long. 100° 30′ weſt from Greenwich. It paſſes ſouthward, with ſome irregularity, to the kingdom of Thibet; and has on that ſide, as a difficult limit, the great deſert of Shamo. The northern boundary runs from the ſpot defined, near lake Baikal, eaſtward for ſome ſpace, then turns northward along a vaſt and lofty range of mountains, the more antient ſeat of the Mongols, and at their extremity, not far from the ſource of the river Aldan, in Lat. 56° 32′, bends to the ſouth-eaſt, and concludes in the ſea, in Lat. 54° 30′, to the north of the river Amur. All the tract between theſe lines and the em⯑pire of China Proper are inhabited by Tartars, ſubject to or under the protection of the Chineſe government. For the fur⯑ther explanation, I refer to my friend the Reverend William Coxe's Ruſſian Diſcoveries ^*, and Mr. Arrowſmith's Map of the World, but above all to the Travels of Father Gerbillon and other Jeſuits, who followed the progreſſes of the great Kang-hi, or were employed in the actual ſurvey of his vaſt empire. Their travels are given in the ſecond volume of Du Halde's Hiſtory of China.

THE boundaries were ſettled in 1689 by the treaty of Nert⯑ſhinſk, TREATY OF NERTSHINSK. upon the river Ingoda, in the reigns of John and Peter, [181]afterwards ſurnamed The Great, and that of Kang-hi. The po⯑litic Ruſſians had long been endeavoring to make themſelves maſters of the important navigation of the river Amur, which in time might have given them the command of the Japaneſe and Chineſe ſeas. This the Chineſe foreſaw, attacked and took a fort called Albaſin, built by the Ruſſians. They levelled it to the ground, and carried the garriſon priſoners into China. This brought on an embaſſy from the Ruſſians. Gallowin, governor of Siberia, was the embaſſador, attended by a moſt ſplendid train. So San, captain of the life guard and miniſter of ſtate, and Tong Jau-ye, maternal uncle to the emperor, were embaſ⯑ſadors on the part of the Chineſe, both men of the higheſt rank, and to them were added four others of the firſt diſtinction. The cunning of the Chineſe was aſſiſted by the ſubtlety of the Jeſuits, for Kang-hi added to the negotiators Father Gerbillon and Fa⯑ther Pereyra. The Chineſe miniſters had a ſuite inferior indeed in magnificence; but what gave the greater weight to the ne⯑gotiation was, that the wiſe Kang-hi had added ten thouſand men beſides the eſcort, and which were attended by a fleet of ſeventy-ſix veſſels, each carrying a piece of artillery. The Ruſ⯑ſians had fixed on Albaſin as the place for ſettling the buſineſs; but to their ſurpriſe, the Chineſe appeared ſuddenly before Nert⯑ſhinſk, or, as they call it, Nip-chu, encamped near the place, and the whole buſineſs was tranſacted under tents. All this gave argument irreſiſtible. The treaty was concluded. The Chineſe offered to ſwear to the performance on the crucifix. Gallowin choſe that they ſhould ſwear by their own gods; and both couched the ſacred appeal in theſe terms (imprecating the [182]Divine vengeance on the faithleſs party): ‘We, embaſſadors extraordinary of the two empires, having been ſent to ſettle the bounds of both dominions, and eſtabliſh a ſolid and per⯑petual peace between both nations, which we happily exe⯑cuted in the conferences held by us in the ſeventh moon of the 28th year of Kang-hi, near the town of Nip-chu, by diſtinctly ſetting down in writing the names of the countries and places where the two empires join each other, have, by fixing the bounds of both, and ordering in what manner ſuch diſputes as may fall out for the future are to be treated of; have mutually received an authentick writing, in which is contained the treaty of peace, and have agreed that the ſaid treaty, with all its articles, ſhall be engraven on ſtone, to be fixed in the places appointed by us for the bounds of both empires, to the end that all who paſs by thoſe places may be fully informed thereof, and that this peace, with all its con⯑ditions, OATH OF OBSERVANCE. may be for ever inviolably obſerved. But ſhould any one have the thought only, or ſecret deſign, to tranſgreſs theſe articles of peace, or breaking his word and faith, ſhould violate them out of private intereſt, or from the deſign of ex⯑citing new troubles, and rekindling the fire of war, we pray the ſupreme Lord of all things, who knows the bottom of men's hearts, not to ſuffer ſuch people to live out their days, but to puniſh them by an untimely death.’

I MAY here remark the obſervance of two very antient cuſ⯑toms in the execution of this treaty; A ROMAN FORM. the one in the manner of the oath, which agrees with that in uſe among the Romans, of which Polybius has leſt us the following form, made on the oc⯑caſion, [183]and which remained in his days, cut on tables of braſs, in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, in the archives of the aediles.

‘THE firſt of theſe treaties was confirmed by oath in the following manner: The Carthaginians ſwore by the gods of their country, and the Romans by a ſtone, agreeably to an antient cuſtom; and by Mars Enyalius. The ceremony of ſwearing by a ſtone was thus performed: the perſon that was appointed to this office, having firſt ſolemnly atteſted the publick faith for the due obſervance of the treaty, took in his hands a ſtone, and pronounced the following words—'If I ſwear truly, may the gods be propitious to me: but if I think or act any thing that is contrary to my oath, then let the reſt enjoy in ſafety their country, laws, poſſeſſions, houſe⯑hold gods, and ſepulchres; and let me alone be caſt out from the ſociety, as this ſtone is now caſt away.' At the ſame time he threw away the ſtone ^*.’

THE other cuſtom was one of the earlieſt date on this very continent, COLUMNS ME⯑MORIAL. that of preſerving the memory of any remarkable tranſactions by pillars of ſtone. Thus we find in Geneſis ^†, that the treaty between Laban and Jacob was confirmed and per⯑petuated by the erection of a pillar and a heap of ſtones. The Chineſe embaſſadors raiſed two pillars on the ſpot, to determine the boundaries of the reſpective empires, and on them engraved the treaty.

IT was the intention of the Ruſſians to have made the Amur the limits of their empire. RIVER AMUR. This vaſt river is formed originally [184]by the junction of the Onoa and the Schilka, to the weſt of Nert⯑ſhinſk. From thence it flows eaſterly, takes a vaſt bend ſouthernly, and then returns to the north-eaſt, and falls through a mouth four or five leagues wide into the lower part of the ſea of Ochotzk, oppoſite to the great iſland Sachalin, in Lat. 53°. The Tartars call the river Sachalin ula, or the black river; the Chi⯑neſe, Helong Kiang, or the river of the black dragon; and the Ruſſians, the Amur. It was firſt known to them in 1639, by means of ſome Coſacks, ſent on an expedition towards the river Witim. According to Du Halde ^*, it is navigable for large barks for the ſpace of five hundred leagues.

THE Ruſſians were charmed with the diſcovery of a river which report made to fling up gold and ſilver; and its neigh⯑borhood to abound with the moſt pretious ſables, cattle, fruit, and grain; and its inhabitants to be clad in nothing but damaſk and gold brocades: in ſhort, it was repreſented as a land of Ca⯑naan. The Ruſſian coloniſts of the neighboring places migrated thither in crowds, and depopulated their former country. They founded a fort in Lat. 53°, FORT ALBUSIN. which they called Albaſin, the Chineſe, Jakſa, from the river near which it was ſeated. The Chineſe burnt it in 1680; but it was reſounded, and at length ſtrongly garriſoned, till it gave ſuch ſerious cauſe of jealouſy to that na⯑tion as to bring on the treaty which occaſioned its total demoli⯑tion. It is no wonder that they were alarmed: the borders of the river were remarkably fertile, had numbers of large cities, and a moſt populous territory; beſides, the mountains to the [185]north were productive of the richeſt ſables and other furs, and inhabited by a hardy race of hunters. Had the Ruſſians rendered themſelves maſters of the Amur, even Katherine, the moderate, might have made the Chineſe tremble for the fate of Peking itſelf.

THE Chineſe had ſeveral places on the Argun of ſome im⯑portance, ſuch as Aigun, or, as it is called by them, AIGUN. Sachalin ula Choton, near the junction of the Seja with that great river, a fort from which they detached their fleets againſt the Ruſ⯑ſian encroachments. Tondon is another town, in Lat. 50°, where the cold begins with great ſeverity as early as the beginning of September; later in the year the greateſt rivers are frozen over. Tigers inhabit even theſe high Latitudes. This country was viſited and ſurveyed by ſome of the miſſionaries, by order of Kang-hi. Whoever wiſhes to gratify his curioſity farther, may conſult Du Halde, vol. ii. p. 245, and the following pages.

THE country is full of foreſts; the miſſionaries were nine days in paſſing through one. They obſerved that the inha⯑bitants of Uſuni made uſe of ſledges drawn by dogs, and perſons of rank have ſometimes a hundred to relieve each other on long journies on the ſnows or frozen rivers. The river of Uſuri ^*, which riſes far to the ſouth, and falls into the Amur, abounds with fiſh, moſtly of ſpecies common to Europe. Theſe ſerve the Ypi Tartars for food and raiment. YPI TARTARS. They are very inge⯑nious in dreſſing the ſkins, which they dye of various colors, cut them into ſhape, and ſew them ſo neatly that they ap⯑pear like ſilk. Sturgeons ſwarm in theſe waters. The native [186] Tartars make their boats of the bark of trees, ſewed lightly to⯑gether.

IT does not appear that the miſſionaries went farther than Tondon. ISLE OF SAGA⯑LIN. The report they had of the great iſland of Sagalin, or Saghalian anga hata, or the iſland of the mouth of the black river, was from ſome Manchews ſent by the emperor in their barks. For want of neceſſaries, they were ſoon obliged to re⯑turn. They obſerved certain villages; and that the inhabitants had neither horſes or any beaſts of burden, but made uſe of a ſort of tame ſtags (rein deer) to draw their ſledges. The iſland is ſaid to be a hundred and eighty miles long and ſixty broad. All the coaſt of the continent, from the part oppoſite to this iſland, as low as the northern boundary of Korea, is ſcarcely known; it bounds the weſtern ſide of the ſtreights of Yoſo. What could be ſaid of this obſcure part, and of the oppoſite iſlands, will be delivered in a future volume of this work.

JAPAN.
JAPAN.

THE remainder of the north of Aſia has been deſcribed in my ARCTIC ZOOLOGY, what I have ſaid in this, ſerves to give all I can collect reſpecting that vaſt continent. The iſlands to the north of Formoſa muſt now be added, the omiſſion would render this volume incomplete, for we ſhould not only loſe the account of the important iſland of Japan, but break into the great chain, which extends quite from the firſt of the Malayan to the Kuril iſles, already deſcribed in the above work.

THE iſlands, called by Mr. Arrowſmith the Tatpin, TATPIN ISLES. form a nu⯑merous group of ſmall iſles dependent on thoſe we are juſt going to mention; they lie not remote from the eaſtern ſide of For⯑moſa, with the tropic of Cancer paſſing over the ſouthern end.

THE iſles of Liquejo, or as they are called by the natives Riuku, ISLES OF LIQUEJO. are the next; they are ſeventy leagues to the north-eaſt of For⯑moſa; the moſt conſiderable, Kintſchin, which lies north and ſouth, between Latitudes 26° 28′, and 25° 45′, is about fifty leagues long, and fifteen broad: the eaſt ſide and ſouth end ſkirted by num⯑bers of little iſles and rocks; the inhabitants are chiefly Chineſe, who fled from the Tartars at the time of the laſt revolution. They were well received by the natives, who ſpeak a broken [210] Chineſe, which argues their deſcent, ſo that the new comers were conſidered as countrymen. They are principally huſbandmen and fiſhermen, and are a moſt cheerful happy people, diverting themſelves, after the labor of the day, with a glaſs of rice beer, and with their muſical inſtruments, which they take into the field with them. A few centuries ago, theſe iſlands were conquered by a prince of Satzuma, a province of Japan, who governed them by his lieutenants; they ſtill remain in the ſame ſtate of dependence, but are taxed with much gentleneſs. The inhabi⯑tants alſo ſend annually to the emperor of China, a gift in token of loyalty and ſubmiſſion. They carry on a commerce with Satzuma, and viſit it once a year; they have there a company of merchants, but are confined in their commerce to that port, and limited to the value of their trade, but by the connivance of the Japaneſe officers, they diſpoſe of an infinitely greater quantity than the law admits. They import into Satzuma all kinds of ſilks and ſtuffs, and various Chineſe commodities, which they carry over in their own jonks, and ſome of their own produce, ſuch as corn, rice, fruit, and pulſe, and a ſort of brandy made from the remainder of their crops. They bring great quantities of the Cypraeae Monetae, CYPRAEAE MONETAE. or cowries, the ſame ſpecies which is found in the Maldive iſles ^*; from thoſe ſhells is alſo prepared a white varniſh, with which the boys and girls paint their cheeks; they beſides export a ſort of large flat ſhells, which when po⯑liſhed, are almoſt tranſparent, and ſerve the Japaneſe for glaſs in their windows; to theſe add ſome articles of luxury, in various ſcarce flowers and plants brought in pots, and a few other mat⯑ters of a trifling nature. Notwithſtanding theſe people are really [211]ſubject to the Japaneſe, they do not allow the emperor's ſu⯑premacy, yet, like them, they have a Dairi or hereditary eccleſi⯑aſtical governor, to whom they pay great reſpect, and ſuppoſe to be lineally deſcended from the gods of their country; he reſides at the iſle called by Kaempfer ^† (to whom we are indebted for all this account) Jajama, not remote from Oſima, an iſland of ſecond magnitude.

THAT iſland, another larger, called Tanaaſima, TANAASIMA ISLAND. with ſeveral leſſer, extend north and ſouth to the north-eaſt of the Liquejo iſlands, and form the links between them and Japan. Between the iſle of Tanaaſima, and that of Liquejo, are the ſtreights of Van Diemen; that iſland is the moſt ſouthern of thoſe which compoſe the great empire of JAPAN. and is the ſmalleſt of the number; the latitude of the ſouth end is 30° north, according to Doctor Thunberg, and the moſt northerly of the Japaneſe iſlands extends to 40°, the longitude from 143° to 161° eaſt. The coaſts are rude and rocky; the circumambient ſeas, raging with ſtorms during nine months of the year, STORMY. are ſhallow, filled with ſhoals and rocks, and extremely ſubject to frequent ſhipwrecks. Off this coaſt are two whirlpools, dan⯑gerous, and not leſs tremendous than thoſe of the famous Mael⯑ſtrom near the Norwegian ſhores; there are frequent inſtances of ſhips being abſorbed in the vortex, and their ſhattered fragments ſlung up at the diſtance of many leagues. The poets of Japan make conſtant alluſions to theſe horrible phaenomena.

THE climate of the Japaneſe iſles, like that of Great Britain, [212]is very changeable, and ſubject to frequent rains, fertilizing the ground, as they do that of our iſland. Thunder is frequent, and earthquakes ſo common, as never to be minded, unleſs attended (as has been often the caſe) with dreadful conſquences.

THE ſummer heat is very great, HEAT. and ſcarcely tolerable, when not alleviated by the winds; it ſometimes, in July and Auguſt, raiſes Fahrenheit's thermometer to 100°. The cold on the contrary is exceſſive, and ſinks the mercury many degrees below the freezing point, eſpecially when the winds blow from the north and the eaſt; in the northern parts there are mountains ſcarcely ever free from ſnow.

THE whole empire is mountanous, SOIL. level meadows are un⯑known; the fields of the vallies conſiſt of a clayey ſoil, ſometimes ſandy, yet rendered fertile by the incredible induſtry of the in⯑habitants; even the higher hills are cultivated to the very tops.

IN my account of the objects of their labor, BOTANY. and the botanical productions, I ſhall follow that able naturaliſt and traveller Doctor Thunberg, who viſited this empire in 1775, and even had the happineſs of making a journey to its capital Jedo; as yet we have only been favored by him with the Flora of the country ^*; I ſhall not purſue the brief account of the vegetable productionsſy ſtema⯑tically, but claſs them as Doctor Thunberg has done, according to their uſes. Japan has been fortunate in having been viſited in 1699 by Doctor Engelbert Kaempfer, one of the ableſt naturaliſts and ſcholars of his time. His Amoenitates exoticae, and his travels into this empire, render any other eulogium ſuperfluous. He will [213]be frequently quoted in the enſuing pages, as (ranking with Doctor Thunberg) my beſt authorities.

THE firſt claſs comprehends the vegetables of uſe in medicine. MEDICAL.

Roſmarinus officinalis, Flora Japonica, 22. Fl. Coch. 34. Sp. pl. i. 60. Gerard, 1292, cultivated here, a native of Spain, Italy, and the Levant, introduced poſſibly by the Portugueſe.

N. B.—Such ſpecies which are peculiar to Japan, have not the mark Sp. pl. of Linnaeus affixed.

Urtica nivea, 71. Rumph. Amb. tab. 79. f. 1. Sp. pl. 4. 153. Fl. Coch. 683. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 891. A cauſtic oil is expreſſed from the ſeeds; the bark is uſed to make ropes, and the ſtrong threads for weaving.

Fagara piperita, 64. Sp. pl. i. 333. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 892. fig. p. 893. Fl. Coch. 101. The bark, leaves, and berries aromatic, and uſed inſtead of pepper; the leaves ground, mixed with rice flour, and formed into a poultice, ſerve as a bliſter in rheu⯑matiſms.

Ipomoea triloba, 86. Sp. pl. i. p. 451. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 856.

Nicotiana tabacum, 91. Sp. pl. i. p. 502. The plant, as the name imports, introduced by the Portugueſe, alſo the uſe.

Sium ninſi, 118. Sp. pl. i. 694, Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 818. fig. p. 819. The higheſt cordial in all Japan, and the deareſt; the root is brought from Korea, and uſed in moſt medicines pulveriſed; a pound coſts ſix hundred imperials.

Lycium barbarum, 94. Sp. pl. i. 525. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 777. Fl. Coch. 165. The leaves are adminiſtered to the ſick as tea; phy⯑ſicians preſcribe the eating the fruit; the plant is uſed to incloſe the ſegments of the Japaneſe gardens.

[214] Chenopodium ſcoparia, 113. Sp. pl. i. 622. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 885. A famous medicine, ſays Doctor Thunberg, according to Kaempfer, from whom he borrows moſt of the medicinal virtues of the plants.

Aeorus calamus, 144. Sp. pl. 2. p. 92. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 912. Fl. Coch. 259.

Calamus aromaticus, Gerard, 63, ſtill retained in our diſpenſa⯑tory.

Convallaria Japonica, 139. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 823. fig. p. 824. Lin. Suppl. p. 204. The roots, preſerved in ſugar, are re⯑commended both by the Chineſe and Japaneſe to ſick people.

Smilax China, 152. Sp. pl. 4. 256. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 781. fig. p. 782. Flor. Coch. 763.

Polygonum multiflorum, 169. The root eaten raw is eſteemed a cordial; roaſted it has a bitter taſte.

Laurus camphora, CAMPHOR. 172. Sp. pl. 2. p. 226. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 770, f. 771. Travels, i. 115. Flor. Coch. 306. The camphor tree grows to a vaſt ſize in all parts of Japan, and its iſlands; as yet it has only been figured by Kaempfer. The camphor is extracted from the wood by the peaſants, who cut it into ſmall pieces, and boiling them in water, obtain this drug, which they ſell very cheap. The Japaneſe value the camphor of Sumatra and Borneo much more than their own, and will give eighty or a hundred Catti of their boiled camphor for one of the Bornean; the laſt is native, and gathered on the ſtumps of the trees, or taken from the in⯑terſtices in ſmall cryſtallized lumps. There is another kind found fluid, which is called camphor oil, but never on the ſame tree with the concrete; this ſeems another ſpecies, and is obtained by inciſion; a hole is made in the trunk capable of holding [215]about a quart, a lighted reed is placed in it, which attracts the fluid to that part. Neither of the trees which yield the Suma⯑tran or Bornean camphors are yet aſcertained; Kaempfer ſays, "ex Daphneo Sanguine non eſt;" ſo it certainly is not even of the ſame genus as the Japaneſe.

Thea Bohea, 225, Sp. pl. 2. p. 589. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 505. TEA. 817. Kaempfer's Travels, i. 115. ii. appendix, 2. tab. 38, 39. The tea cultivated in Japan is the Bohea, the Tſjaa of the Japaneſe, the Theh of the Chineſe. The origin of it has its legend equal to any in the univerſe. Darma, the ſon of an Indian king, who flouriſhed about the year 519 of the Chriſtian era, arrived in China to preach his doctrine to the inhabitants. It ſeems he was a ſort of pope in India, the twenty-eighth in ſucceſſion from the founder of eaſtern paganiſm. He had vowed the greateſt au⯑ſterities, particularly a perpetual watchfulneſs; nature, worn out, was obliged at length to ſubmit to the refreſhment of ſleep; on finiſhing his ſlumbers, he cut off both his eye-brows, which had dared to cloſe, and flinging them on the ground, each became a ſhrub; Darma eat ſome of the leaves, and to his great ſurpriſe, found himſelf invigorated, ſo as to undergo any labors or any watchings; he communicated the virtues to his diſciples, and tea became of univerſal uſe. It is therefore ſtyled by ſome the eye-brows of Darma; he is repreſented as a horrid ugly fellow, with vaſt eye-brows, wrapped in a great cloak, and ſtanding on a reed, on which he had been wafted from region to region.

WE may be certain from this tale, that the tea plant was abo⯑riginal of China. It is cultivated by ſowing, not in whole fields, but round the borders in rows, ſo that it may not hurt the land; good farmers manure the plants with human ordure. In ſeven [216]years time it grows to the height of a man; its few leaves, at that time are gathered, the ſhrub cut down, and the moſt plentiful harveſt is obtained from the vigorous ſhoots of the ſucceeding years.

THE leaves are gathered by laborers, peculiarly brought up to the buſineſs; they muſt not be taken by handfuls, but pulled off one by one. The trees are not ſtripped entirely, for there are three gatherings in the year. The leaves are ſorted into three parcels; the fineſt, the ſmall, tender, primaeval ſhoots, are re⯑ſerved for princes and great men, and on that account called imperial. They are next prepared by drying over the fire in an iron pan, and after that rolled with the palm of the hand on a mat, in order to fold them. Public laboratories are built for the purpoſe. All the proceſſes are given at large by Kaempfer ^*.

TEA is in as univerſal uſe in Japan as in China, and taken two ways. The moſt common is ſimilar to the European, or ra⯑ther the mode we learned from the Orientaliſts; but the manner of taking it is attended with the utmoſt ceremony. The art is called Sado and Tſianoi. We have our dancing-maſters, &c. and in my time M. Veſtris gave lectures to our quality on the manner of eating gracefully their ſoup. The Japaneſe maſters are to in⯑ſtruct in the manner of behavior at tea, how they are to make it, and how they are to preſent it in a polite manner.

THE qualities of tea are as much diſputed in Japan as they are in Europe; but ſuch is the charming infatuation, that the uſe is ſtill followed in defiance of thoſe who take the ſide of de⯑pretiation in the old controverſy. Kaempfer gives us an excel⯑lent figure of the plant, in vol. ii. tab. 38, and of the proceſs of [217]the tea-table, and all its apparatus, in tab. 39, and of the tea⯑cup; nor is the repreſentation of its great founder Darma, for⯑gotten, with his vaſt over-hanging eye-brows.

Arum dracontium, 233. Sp. pl. 4. p. 68. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 786. Flor. Coch. 651. Has a hot and purgative quality.

Dracontium Polyphyllum, 234. Sp. pl. 4. p. 74. From the acrid root is prepared the famous medicine Konjakf.

Illicium aniſatum, 235. Sp. pl. 2. p. 624. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 880. ſeqq. fig. p. 881. Flor. Coch. 432. The Bonzees believe this plant to be peculiarly grateful to the gods; they ſtrew the branches before their idols, and burn the bark as incenſe to them. The leaves are uſed to increaſe the virulence of the poiſon of the Tetraodon ocellatus.

Ocymum criſpum, 248. Kaemp. Amoen. v. p. 784.

Bignonia catalpa, 251. Sp. pl. 3. p. 155. Kaemp. Amoen. v. p. 841. fig. p. 842. The leaves uſed in nervous caſes, the pods in aſthmas.

Seſamum Orientale, 254. Sp. pl. 3. p. 188. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 835. Flor. Coch. 464. Uſeful for the oil expreſſed from it; conſtitutes in Japan an article of food; and alſo a medicine, on account of its emollient virtues.

Clerodendrum trichotomum, 256. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 827. Children are often made to ſwallow the larva of an inſect bred on this plant, as a cure for the worms.

Taxus nuciſera, 275. Sp. pl. 4. p. 280. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 814. fig. p. 815. The interpreters who are obliged to ſtand long at court eat the nuts, to enable them to retain their urine for a great length of time.

[218] Citrus Trifoliata, 294. Sp. pl. 3. p. 585. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 801. fig. p. 802. The live ſhrub is excellent for hedges, on ac⯑count of its vaſt, ſtrong, and ſharp ſpines.

Artemiſia vulgaris, 310. Sp. pl. 3. p. 744. Kaempf. Amoen. v. 897. Fl. Coch. 600. Common mugwort, Gerard, 1103. Hudſon. Fl. Angl. ii. 359. Flor. Coch. 600. The famous antient cau [...]ic of the Eaſt, the moxa is made of the leaves of this plant. Kaemp⯑fer's Travels, ii. App. 37.

Trichoſanthes cucumerina, 322. Sp. pl. 4. p. 199. Flor. Coch. 722. The ſeeds ſometimes uſed to diſſolve the viſcid juices of the bowels.

Polypodium dichotomum, 338. The aſhes uſed with allum pul⯑verized, for ulcers in the mouth and elſewhere.

Ficus Pumila, ESCULENT. 33. Sp. pl. 4. p. 368. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 803. Flor. Coch. 820.

Scirpus Articulatus, 36. Sp. pl. 1. p. 130. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 827.

Holcus ſorghum, 42. Sp. pl. 4. 307. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 834. Grows naturally, and alſo cultivated.

Panicum verticillatum, 45. Sp. pl. 1. p. 153. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 835. Its flour is made into cakes.

Cynoſurus Coricanus, 51. Sp. pl. 1. p. 200. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 835. Cultivated on account of the ſeeds.

Avena Sativa, 54. Sp. pl. 1. p. 222. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 834. Common oats.

Hordeum vulgare, 55. Sp. pl. 1. p. 235. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 834. Barley cultivated here and there.

[219] Triticum aeſtivum et hybernum, 56. Sp. pl. 1. p. 238. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 834. Both ſpecies cultivated.

Trapa natans, 65. Sp. pl. 1. p. 341, Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 817.

Convolvulus edulis, 84. A not well-taſted vegetable, yet the black roots are uſed in broths.

Solanum Aethiopicum et tuberoſum, 92. Sp. pl. 1. p. 515. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 810. The berries of the former uſed in broths.

Potatoes are cultivated near Nagaſaki, but do not proſper.

Hovenia dulcis. 101. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 808. fig. p. 809. The foot-ſtalks eaten, are ſweet like a pear.

Vitis vinifera, 103. Sp. pl. 1. p. 569. Flor. Coch. 192. Grapes do not ripen here well.

Beta vulgaris, 113. Sp. pl. 1. p. 623. Flor. Coch. 217. The root in Japan is red, in moſt other parts of India white.

Daucus carota, 117. Sp. pl. 1. p. 667. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 822. Flor. Coch. 222. Common carrot, every where cul⯑tivated.

Allia varia, 132. All the various kinds of leeks are cultivated in Japan.

Oryza ſativa, 147. Sp. pl. 2. p. 113. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 834. Flor. Coch. 267. This grain is cultivated in all parts of Japan, on the mountains as well as low grounds, and is eſteemed the fineſt in the world.

Zca mayz, 37. Sp. pl. 4. p. 96. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 834. Flor. Coch. 272. Mayz is cultivated near Nagaſaki, ſuppoſed to have been introduced by the Chineſe.

[220] Aſparagus Oſſicinalis, 139. Sp. pl. 2. p. 68. Cultivated at Jedo.

Dioſcoreoe, 149. All the different ſorts are cultivated or eaten wild.

Lilium bulbiſerum, 134. Sp. pl. 2. p. 43. Kaemp. Amoen. v. p. 871. The root is eaten.

Dioſpyros Kaki, 157. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 805. 806. 807. fig. p. 806. Flor. Coch. 278. The fruit is preſerved like figs; eaten before it is ripe, occaſions a diarrhaea.

Polygonum ſagopyrum, 169. Sp. pl. 2. p. 212. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 835. Buck wheat is made into round cakes, and ſold to tra⯑vellers at all the inns.

Quercus cuſpidata, 176. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 816. A ſpecies of oak; the acorns are eaten either dreſſed or raw.

Fagus caſlanea, 195. Sp. pl. 4. p. 166. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 816. Flor. Coch. 699. The common cheſnut.

Cactus ſicus, 198. Sp. pl. 2. p. 470. Indian ſig, common to Japan and South America.

Punica granatum, 199. Sp. pl. 2. p. 480. Flor. Coch. 383. The pomegranate.

Amygdalus perſica, et nana, 199. Sp. pl. 2. p. 481. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 798. Flor. Coch. 386. Peach, and dwarf almond.

Prunus Armeniaca, ceraſus, aſpera et domeſtica, 200. 201. Sp. pl. 2. p. 485. Flor. Coch. 388. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 798. The apricot, cherry, both the rough and common plum, cultivated; the aſpera a new ſpecies.

Meſpilus Japonica, 206. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 800. A tree of vaſt height and ſize, the berries as large as a cherry.

[221] Pyrus communis, 207. Sp. pl. 2. p. 500. Kaempf. Amoen. 800. Flor. Coch. 393. Common pear.

Pyrus baccata, 207. Sp. pl. ii. p. 502. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 800. Grows in the Dutch hotel at Oſakka; perhaps introduced from Sibiria.

Pyrus Japonica et cydonia, 207. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 844. Flor. Coch. 394. The Japan pear and the quince.

Rubus trifidus et palmatus, 217. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 787. The fruits of theſe two have a grateful taſte.

Nymphaea nelumbo, 223. Sp. pl. 2. p. 579. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 880. Flor. Coch. 416. A ſacred plant; the flowers ornament the altars, and are painted as the ſeat of the gods. The ſtalks eaten among other greens.

Arum eſculentum, 234. Sp. pl. 4. p. 69. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 828. Flor. Coch. 654. The roots and ſtalks uſed in broths.

Cycas revoluta, 229. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 897. Titſjiu, Rumph. Amb. 1. 70. tab. 24. The drupae are eaten; the ſago, or pith, is beyond meaſure nutritive, a ſmall bit will ſupport a man a very long time. It is forbidden, on pain of death, to export any out of Japan.

Sagittaria Sagittata, 242. Sp. pl. 4. p. 155. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 827. Flor. Coch. 698. The root eſculent.

Braſſica rapa, 261. Sp. pl. 3. p. 278. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 822. Rape, common in England, uſed for oil, and the ſeeds for ſmall birds. The root eaten in Japan.

Raphanus Sativus, 263. Sp. pl. 3. p. 284. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 822. Raddiſh, Gerard, 237. Flor. Coch. 481. The moſt common edible root in Japan; eaten raw, dreſſed, and dried.

[222] Phaſeolus vulgaris, 278. Sp. pl. 3. p. 441. Flor. Coch. 527. Com⯑mon kidney bean, much eaten.

Phaſcolus radiatus, 278. Sp. pl. 3. p. 444. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 837. Flor. Coch. 529. Alſo much uſed.

Dolichos polyſlachyos, 281. Sp. pl. 3. p. 450. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 856. Often cultivated.

Dolichos Soja, 282. Sp. pl. 3. p. 451. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 837. ſig. p. 838. Flor. Coch. 537. Alſo cultivated; uſed in ſoups; the commoneſt diſh in Japan. An exquiſite ſauce, called Soja, is pre⯑pared from its ſeeds. Bruiſed, it ſerves the purpoſe of ſea ſalt.

Piſum ſativum, 283. Sp. pl. 3. p. 457. Flor. Coch. 539. Our common pea, cultivated in moſt parts of Japan.

Vicia ſaba, 284. Sp. pl. 3. p. 475. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 836. Flor. Coch. 540. Beans, much cultivated.

Citrus Japonica, 292. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 801. The Japan citron fruit is quite diminutive, but ſweet and grateful.

Citrus Aurantium, 293. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 801. Sp. pl. 3. p. 585. Flor. Coch. 569. The orange in Japan excellent.

Citrus Decumana, 293. Flor. Coch. 571. Shaddock, introduced from Batavia by the Dutch.

Lactuca ſaliva, 300. Sp. pl. 3. p. 625. Flor. Coch. 585. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 831. Common lettuce, cultivated and eaten in theſe iſlands.

Cichorium, 304. Sp. pl. 3. p. 665. Flor. Coch. 583. The C. endivia and intybus, both much cultivated and eaten.

Cucurbita pepo, 323. Sp. pl. 4. p. 203. Flor. Coch. 728. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 811. The European gourd. The C. lagenaria uſed for bottles; but rather ſcarce.

[223] Cucumis melo, 323. Sp. pl. 4. p. 205. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 811. Flor. Coch. 726. The melon often cultivated near Nagaſaki.

Cucumis ſativus, 324. Sp. pl. 4. p. 206. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 811. Flor. Coch. 726. Common cucumber.

Cucumis flexuoſus et conomon, 324. Sp. pl. 4. p. 207. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 811. The twiſted; eſteemed very delicate. The fruit is preſerved in the lees of the Japaneſe rice beer, and con⯑ſtitutes a frequent diſh; it is called Conomon, and is ſometimes imported into Holland.

Pteris Aquilina, 332. Sp. pl. 4. p. 396. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 912. The very young ſhoots of the leaves are eaten, and often ſold in bunches. The woody root is bruiſed, and the water being expreſſed, in which it had been ſteeped, the pulp is eaten by the pooreſt people.

Agaricus campeſtris et alii, 346. Sp. pl. 4. p. 597. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 832.

Fucus ſaccharinus, 346. Sp. pl. 4. p. 597. Kaempf. Amoen. v. 833. Flor. Scot. ii. 940. Flor. Coch. 847. Eaten much in Japan, as it is in Iceland, Scotland, and even on ſome of the Engliſh ſhores.

Lycoperdon tuber, 349. Sp. pl. 4. p. 623. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 832. Trufles, Fl. Scot. ii. 1064. A well known vegetable; when ſalted, uſed in the Japaneſe ſoups.

Betula Alnus, 76. Sp. pl. 4. p. 127. DYING. The cones are uſed to dye black, and ſold ready dried.

Rubia cordata, 60. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 912.

Lithoſpermum aruenſe, 81. Sp. pl. 1. p. 385. From the root is made a red dye.

[224] Gardenia Florida, 108. Sp. pl. 1. p. 592. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 808. Flor. Coch. 83. The fruit gives a yellow dye. Com⯑mon alſo to Hindooſtan, Amboina, and the Cape of Good Hope.

Baſella Rubra, 127. Sp. pl. 1. p. 748. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 784. The Japaneſe uſe the berries to dye the ſilks and cotton, red.

Eurya japonica, 191. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 778.

Commelina communis, 35. Sp. pl. 1. p. 113. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 888. ſig. p. 889. Flor. Coch. 48. Of the flower is made a blue, reſembling the rich ultramarine. Kaempfer gives the pro⯑ceſs at length.

Polygonia varia, 163. Of the leaves of the Chinenſe barbatum and aviculare, Sp. pl. 2. p. 208, 209, 211, are made a dye that colors like Indigo.

Thea Bohea, 225. Sp. pl. 2. p. 589. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 817. The leaves of this tree are ſometimes uſed to dye the ſilk webs of a pale brown color.

Ocymum Criſpum, 248. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 784. The Ja⯑paneſe uſe this plant to give a full red color to the roots of rad⯑diſhes, and ſeveral kinds of fruits.

Carthamus tinctorius, 307. Sp. pl. 3. p. 697. Flor. Coch. 587. Baſlard ſaffron, much cultivated in Spain, Egypt, and the Eaſt, and forms a great article of commerce, as a yellow dye, ſee Haſſelquiſt, p. 483. Common proſtitutes dye their lips with this plant.

Impatiens balſamina, 327. Sp. pl. 3. p. 971. The Japaneſe tinge their nails red with its juice mixed with alum.

Oſyris japonica, FOR SAUCES. 31.

[225] Arundo bambos, 54. Sp. pl. 1. p. 227. Flor. Coch. 70. I am obliged to my friend the reverend Mr. Dickinſon, for the follow⯑ing curious account of the Arundo Bambos, "which" ſays he, ‘grows in the woods and mountains of Japan, and produces many varieties, differing much in habit, and diſtinguiſhed by different names. Yet, amidſt all this variety, Thunberg ob⯑ſerves that he never had the ſatisfaction of meeting with a ſingle plant of it in the flowering ſtate. This is not to be wondered at, when we are informed by Reede, Mal. v. i. p. 25. that it does not flower till it has attained the age of about ſixty years, and what is very remarkable, ſheds its leaves a month previous to the time of flowering, and immediately after having perfected its fruit, withers and dies.’

‘The ſmall ſlender walking canes, ſo much admired for their elegant rings, are obtained from young irregular ſuckers or ſhoots of the bambo, which ſpring from the root, after the main ſtem has been repeatedly cut down. Nature has not formed them preciſely of the figure in which we receive them. They are originally crooked and pliant, and much art is uſed, by ſuſpended weights attached to them, and the application of ſmoke, to render them ſtrait and ſtiff. It is farther neceſſary to retrench with a knife the fibres which adhere to the rings, and were intended by nature to propagate the plant, in the ſame manner as the Triticum repens (couch graſs) multiplies its offsets by ſhoots from the joints.’

‘This ſpecies of walking ſtick is diſtinguiſhed from the Rotang, or true cane, not only by its ſingular protuberances, but alſo by a ſmall perforation extending through the center [226]of the whole length of it, which is common to all Bambus, and in their mature ſtate enlarges into ſpacious cavities, ren⯑dering this ineſtimable vegetable ſubſervient to a thouſand uſeful domeſtic purpoſes. It is only in the iſland of Japan that the Bambu is thus artificially prepared for the purpoſe of a walking cane: and conſtituting a lucrative article of com⯑merce, it is counterfeited at Surat (upon the Malabar coaſt) and a ſpurious ſort made of a different wood impoſed upon the ignorant. The name of Bambu is not Indian, but was given to this plant by Europeans, as expreſſive of the violent ex⯑ploſion that comes upon committing its branches to the flames, the report of which is ſaid to equal that of the firing of guns, and is cauſed by the rarefaction of great quantities of air, which had been impriſoned in its numerous chambers. See an accurate deſcription of the Japan walking-ſtick with por⯑tuberant joints, Rumph. Amb. vol. iv. lib. 6. p. 18. ſect. the laſt. The minute perforation of the young ſhoots of the Bambu is noticed by Rheede, Hort. mal. v. 2. p. 25. ſect. 3. 'Stipites qui ex radice, &c.' So high a ſenſe had the Indians in antient times of the multifarious benefits and bleſſings of this vegetable, that they actually made it an object of divine wor⯑ſhip, particularly in the iſland of Amboina, Rumph. v. iv. p. 18. ſect. 3. Ob multiplicia arundinum, &c.’ Let me add, that of the germs which ſpring from the root is made the fine pickle called Atsjaar, they are macerated in ſalt and vinegar, with leeks, and capſicum pods added.

Fagara Piperita, 64. Sp. pl. 1. p. 333. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 895. Flor. Coch. 101. The bark, leaves, and aromatic fruit uſed in ſoups.

[227] Menyanthes nymphoides, 82. Sp. pl. 1. p. 415. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 828. The leaves are ſalted, and become a very glutinous ſubſtance; it is uſed in ſoups, boiled in which it becomes very tender.

Capſicum annuum, 93. Sp. pl. 1. p. 521. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 826. Flor. Coch. 157. Cultivated every where.

Anethum faeniculum, 120. Sp. pl. 1. p. 722. Flor. Coch. 226. Common fennel; the ſeeds are brought from China, and culti⯑vated near Jedo.

Pimpinella aniſum, 120. Sp. pl. 4. p. 724. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 825. Aniſeed, an eaſtern plant, rarely cultivated in Japan; introduced in our diſpenſatory.

Apium Petroſelinum, 120. Sp. pl. 1. p. 725. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 825. Common parſley, cultivated in many places.

Illicium aniſatum, 235. Sp. pl. 2. p. 624. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 880. ſeq. fig. p. 881. Flor. Coch. 232. Doctor Thunberg places this under the head of ſauces, the very plant which gives ſuch additional power to the virus of the Tetraodon. It reminds me of part of the Fryar's ſpeech in Romeo and Juliet, in which he deſcribes the diſcordant powers reſident in the ſame plant.

Sinapis cernua, 261. The Dutch uſe it as a muſtard.

Lycium japonicum, 93. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 780. FENCES. A low plant very full of branches.

Lycium barbarum, 94. Sp. pl. 1. p. 525. Kaempſ. Amoen. v. p. 1. p. 577. Flor. Coch. 165. ſee p. 213 of this volume.

Citrus triſoliata, 294. Sp. pl. 3. p. 585. Kaempſ. Amoen. v. p. 801. ſig. p. 802. A moſt excellent hedge, by reaſon of its long, ſtrong, and horrid ſpines.

[228] Gardenia florida, 108. Sp. pl. 1. p. 592. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 808.

Dolichos polyſtachyos, ARBORS. 281. Sp. pl. 3. p. 450. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 856. Uſed to form arbors.

Syringa ſuſpenſa, 19.

Buxus ſemper-virens, COMBS. 77. Sp. pl. 4. p. 128. Flor. Coch. 678. for making combs.

Pinus ſylveſtris, TUEL. 274. Sp. pl. 4. p. 172. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 883. Flor. Coch. 709. The Scotch pine; many other trees uſed for fuel.

Morus papyrifera, PAPER. 72. Sp. pl. 4. p. 134. The great material for making paper. Doctor Thunberg gives the proceſs at length, as does Doctor Kaempfer, attended with a print of the tree, vol. ii. appendix p. 21. tab. 40. The part applied to the manu⯑facture is the bark.

Celtis orientalis, 114. Sp. pl. 11. p. 4, 335. Kaempfer's Travels, ii. app. 26. tab. 40. Called by Kaempfer the Papyrus ſpuria. It is uſed for making the coarſer papers.

Hibiſcus manihot, Oreni Japanor, Sp. pl. 3. p. 363. Alcea, &c. Kaempfer's Travels, ii. app. 27. tab. 41. Contributes to the manu⯑facture of paper, by the admixture of the viſcous matter pro⯑duced from the roots.

Uvaria Japonica, 237. Sp. pl. 2. p. 628. Kaempfer's Travels, ii. 58. tab. 42. The leaves and ſtalks likewiſe produce a viſcous juice uſed for the ſame purpoſe as the laſt. The ladies of Japan oil their hair with a cryſtalline mucilage which exudes from the ſtalks, to make it ſhine and lie ſmooth.

Arundo bambos, 54. Sp. pl. 1. p. 227. Contributes alſo to the paper manufacture.

[229] Laurus camphoriſera, 172. Sp. pl. 2. p. 226. Flor. Coch. 306. MECHANICS. The camphor tree.

Pinus Sylveſtris, 274. Sp. pl. 4. p. 172.

Cupreſſus japonica, 265. Lin. Suppl. p. 421. grows to a vaſt height, very ſtraight, and about the thickneſs of a man's thigh. It is cultivated, and alſo grows on all the mountains.

Taxus macrophylla, 276. Theſe five laſt ſpecies are of the greateſt uſe in Japan among mechanics, eſpecially the cabinet makers.

Rhus vernix, 121. CANDLES. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 791. fig. p. 792. Sp. pl. 1. p. 728.

Rhus ſuccedaneum, 122. Sp. pl. 1. p. 728. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 794. fig. p. 795.

Laurus Camphora, 172. Sp. pl. 2. p. 226. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 770. fig. p. 771.

Laurus glauca, 173. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 770.

Melia azederach, 180. Sp. pl. 2. p. 271. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 788. Flor. Coch. 239. The five laſt are greatly uſed in making candles.

Braſſica orientalis, 261. Sp. pl. 3. p. 276. LAMP OIL.

Dryandra cordata, 13. 267. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 789. From the ſeeds of the two laſt is expreſſed an oil uſeful in lamps.

Urticae variae. CORDAGE.

Cannabis ſativa, 113. Sp. pl. 4. p. 251. Flor. Coch. 756. Both of the above are much uſed in the rope manufacture.

Deutzia ſcabra, 185. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 854.

Prunus Aſpera, 201. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 779.

Artemiſia vulgaris.

[230] Gnaphalium arenarium, 312. Sp. pl. 3. p. 754. Kaempf Amoen. v. p. 912.

Salix alba, 25. Sp. pl. 4. p. 234. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 908. The five laſt are in much uſe for the poliſhing of wood.

Ricinus communis, INK. 270. Sp. pl. 4. p. 194. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 790. Flor. Coch. 716.

Bignonia tomentoſa, 252. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 859. fig. p. 860.

Malva mauritiana, 271. Sp. pl. 3. p. 347. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 858.

Nymphaea nelumbo, IDOLATROUS. 223. Sp. pl. 3. p. 579. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 880.

Ocymum inflexum. 249. The two laſt are ſacred to the idols, as is the Illicium aniſatum, uſed alſo for making muſical inſtru⯑ments.

Thca bohca, TEA. 225. Sp. pl. 2. p. 589. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 817.

Camellia ſaſanqua, 273. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 853, both theſe uſed as teas. The appearance of the ſhrub Saſanqua, is ſo like that of the tea as ſcarcely to be diſtinguiſhed. The leaves are mixed with the bohea tea to improve its flavor ^*.

Uvaria Japonica, A WASH. 237. Sp. pl. ii. p. 628. Is uſed as a waſh for the hair, as are the Saſanqua, and the Hibiſcus Manibot.

Goſſypium herbaccum, LINENS. 271. Sp. pl. iii. p. 355. Flor. Coch, 505. A vaſt manufacture of this plant (cotton) is carried on in Japan for the cloathing the inhabitants.

Morus papyriſera, 75. Sp. pl. 4. p. 134. A ſtrong cloth is woven from parts of this, and richly painted for cloathing; uſed as [231]handkerchiefs to wipe the noſe, &c. alſo for the packing of goods.

Cucurbita lagenaria, 323. Sp. pl. 4. p. 202. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 8. o. Flor. Coch. 728. Serves inſtead of a bottle.

Fucus ſaccharinus, 346. Sp. pl. 4. p. 577. Fl. Scot. ii. p. 940. Eaten in Japan, as it is in many parts of the north of Europe. The leaf of this plant glued to paper, and edged with gold or ſilver thread, is uſed as a plate to offer gifts on ceremonious occaſions.

Mirabilis jalapa, 91. Sp. pl. i. p. 490. Flor. Coch. 123. PAINT.

Carthamus tinctorius, 307. Sp. pl. 3. 697. Flor. Coch. 587. The Japaneſe ladies uſe the former as a white paint for their com⯑plexions; this to give a ruddineſs to their lips.

Rhus vernix, VARNISH. 121. Kaempf. Amoen. Ex. p. 790. and tab. 791. Sp. pl. i. p. 728, as a varniſh to their fine cabinet work. The Rhus ſuc⯑cedaneum, 122. Kew Garden, i. 366, is made uſe of for the fame purpoſe, but the quantity of juice it exudes is ſo ſmall, as ſcarcely to make it worth the gathering. The Japaneſe call it Urus, Urus noki, and Sitz. That which grows at Jamatto is the beſt, but the Japaneſe in general is far ſuperior to that of other countries; great quantity of the varniſh is imported from Siam, Cambodia, Tonquin, and other places, and uſed in the coarſer works.

Chamaerops excelſa, 131. BRUSHES. Bruſhes are made from the bark of the trunk, finely netted.

Juncus effuſus, 145. Sp. pl. 2. p. 94. MATTING.

Oryza ſativa, 147.

Morus papyriſera, 71. Sp. pl. 4. p. 134.

[232] Morus alba, 71. Sp. pl. 4. p. 134. Of theſe four are worked carpeting for floors, and hanging for the walls.

Arundinum culmi, 55. Sp. pl. i. 225. Of the ſtalks of various ſorts of reeds are made writing pens.

Lindera umbellata, 145. The Japaneſe clean their teeth with ſoft bruſhes made of this wood, and alſo of the two former.

Salices, 24. Different ſorts of willows.

Euonymus tobira, 99.

Celaſtrus alatus, PHILTRES. 98. Lovers place the buds of the flowers before the doors of parents, as philtres, to conciliate the affections of the daughters.

Nyctanthes ſambac, ORNAMENTAL. 17. Sp. pl. i. p. 15. Flor. Coch. 75.

Syringa ſuſpenſa, 19. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 907.

Roſmarinus officinalis, 22. Sp. pl. i. p. 60. Our well-known roſemary cultivated and introduced from Europe.

Orchides, 25. Orchis ſaſannae. Sp. pl. 4. p. 4. Japonica, Fal⯑cata.

Limodorum ſtriatum, 28, enſatum, 29. Sp. pl. 4. p. 32.

Epidendra varia, 30.

Irides, 33. The ſeveral ſorts of Iris or fleur de lis, Squalens, Sp. pl. i. p. 106. Sibirica, Sp. pl. i. p. 108. Verſicolor, Sp. pl. i. p. 108. Graminea, Sp. pl. i. p 109.

Morea chinenſis, 34. Ixia chinenſis, Sp. pl. i. p. 98.

Ilex japonica, 79.

Primula cortuſoides, 82. Sp. pl. i. p. 413.

Celaſtrus alatus, 98. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 796.

Convolvulus japonicus, 85. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 856.

Ipomaea triloba, 86. Sp. pl. i. p. 451. Kaempſ. Amoen. v. p. 856.

[233] Azalea Indica, 84. Sp. pl. i. p. 428. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 845. 847. fig. p. 846. The flowers of great elegance, and infinite va⯑riety of colors.

Bladhia japonica, 95. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 775.

Coloſia argentca, 106. Sp. pl. i. p. 577. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 863. Flor. Coch. 203.

Celoſia criſtata, 106. Sp. pl. i. p. 577. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 962.

The cockſcomb is of various colors, red, yellow, and mixed; it grows here to vaſt perfection, but degenerates when carried to other countries.

Gardenia florida, 108. Sp. pl. i. p. 592. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 808.

Gardenia radicans, 109. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 808.

Vinca roſea, 110. Sp. pl. i. p. 594. Flor. Coch. 146.

Nerium oleander, 110. Sp. pl. i. p. 594. Flor. Coch. 141. The Oleander grows common in Spain, India, and Japan.

Viburna varia, 122. Five ſpecies, all peculiar to Japan.

Amaryllis ſarnienſis, 131. Sp. pl. 2. p. 27. Flor. Coch. 247. A moſt elegant ſpecies, firſt introduced into England in 1659, by that ac⯑compliſhed gentleman general Lambert, at his ſeat at Wimbleton. The root is poiſonous.

Lilium candidum, 133. Sp. pl. 2. p. 43. Flor. Coch. 256. Our white lily. This common ſpecies inhabits alſo Syria and Pa⯑leſtine.

Lilium japonicum, 133. Kaempf. Amoen. 879.

Lilium pomponicum, 134. Sp. pl. ii. 2. 44. Flor. Coch. 257. Na⯑tive alſo of the Pyrences and diſtant Sibiria.

[234] Lilium Bulbiferum, 134. Sp. pl. 2. p. 43. alſo of Sibiria, Auſtria, and Italy.

Lilium Superbum, 134. Sp. pl. 2. 45. Trew's Ehret. tab. xi. The great yellow martagon orange ſpotted with black. A rich flower, native of North America.

Lilium Canadenſe, 135. Sp. pl. 2. p. 45. Native of North Ame⯑rica; yellow, ſpotted with black, the flower grows in rich cluſters.

Lilium Philadelphicum, 135. Sp. pl. 2. p. 46. Miller's plants, 110. tab. 165. fig. i. Flowers purple, marked at the baſe with ſpots of the ſame more deeply colored, native of Penſylvania. It is obſervable that many plants of Japan, Sibiria, and North America, approximate each other.

Hemerocallis, 143. Three ſpecies, the H. fulva. Sp. pl. 2. 91. or copper colored day lily. Gerard. Herb. 99. native alſo of China and Hungary.

H. Japonica and Cordata. The two laſt peculiar to Japan.

Nandina domeſtica, 147. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 776.

Scdum anacampſeros, 186. Sp. pl. 3. p. 380. Flor. Coch. 353.

Scdum ſpinoſum, 186.

Lychnis coronata, 187. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 873.

Euphorbia canarienſis, 196. Sp. pl. 2. p. 435.

Eurya japonica, 191. Kaempf. Amoen. v. 778.

Rhododendron maximum, 181. Sp. pl. 2. p. 291. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 877.

Cactus ſicus, 198. Sp. pl. 2. 470.

Punica granatum, 199. Sp. pl. 2. p. 480. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 800. Flor. Coch. 383.

[235] Amygdalus Perſica, 199. Sp. pl. 2. 481. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 798, Flor. Coch. 386.

Amygdalus nana, 199. Sp. pl. 677. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 799.

Meſpilus Japonica, 206. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 800. A tree of vaſt ſize, and very lofty.

Spiraeae plures, 209.

Roſae plures, 213. ſuch as the Rugoſa Gallica, Sp. pl. 2. p. 529. Canina, Sp. pl. 2. p. 530, multiſlora.

Papaver ſomniferum, 222. Sp. pl. 2. p. 574. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 835.

Papaver rhoeas, 222. Sp. pl. 2. p. 572. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 910. often cultivated in vaſes for ornament.

Corchorus japonicus, 227. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 844. Cultivated for the beauty of its flower.

Magnolia glauca, 236. Sp. pl. 2. p. 626. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 845.

Melittis meliſſophyllum, 248. Sp. pl. 3. p. 91.

Volkameria japonica, 255. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 861. A tree of vaſt ſize, full of branches, very ſmooth.

Thuia dolabrata, 266. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 884. A vaſt and lofty tree; the moſt beautiful of ever-greens.

Alcea roſea, 271. Sp. pl. 3. p. 342. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 888.

Croton acutum, 269.

Malva mauritiana, 276. Sp. pl. 3. p. 347. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 858.

Hibiſcus ſyriacus, 272. Sp. pl. 3. p. 361. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 978. Flor. Coch. 511.

Camellia japonica, 272. Sp. pl. 3. p. 368. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 850. fig. p. 851.

[236] Citrus omnis, 292. The four ſpecies of this country are culti⯑vated for beauty as well as uſe.

Hypericum patulum, 295.

Hypericum monogynum, 297. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 845.

Clchorium Intybus et endivia, 304.

Inula helenium, 317. Sp. pl. 3. p. 823.

Tagetes patula, 320. Sp. pl. 3. p. 840. Flor. Coch. 616.

Chryſanthemum Indicum, 320. Sp. pl. 3. p. 848. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 875. Flor. Coch. 610.

Calendula officinalis, 321. Sp. pl. 3. p. 924.

Cucurbita lagenaria, 333. Sp. pl. 4. p. 202. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 810. Flor. Coch. 728. cultivated for its ſingularity.

Impatiens balſamina, 327. Sp. pl. 3. p. 971.

Acroſtichum lingua, 320. Kaempf. Amoen. v. p. 891.

Acroſtichum haſtatum, 331.

THE quadrupeds of theſe iſlands are not numerous. QUADRUPEDS. The horſes are ſmall, but well ſhaped; and employed for riding, drawing, and ploughing.

Cows are never uſed for the purpoſes of the dairy. The Ja⯑paneſe know nothing of milk or butter. The oxen are of a vaſt ſize, with bunches on their ſhoulders, and only uſed for the plough, or the conveyance of goods in great cities.

ASSES, mules, camels, and elephants are not known here.

SHEFP, goats, and ſwine are not among the native animals; the Dutch and Portugueſe imported ſome, and the firſt ſtill bring a few from Batavia, for their own uſe. As to ſwine, the Japaneſe get them from China, but merely to ſell to the Chineſe [237]traders. They hold the Pythagorean doctrine ſo ſtrongly as to forbear eating any thing that has had life.

Japan has deer and wild boars. Theſe, and hares, the fol⯑lowers of certain ſects are at one time of the year permitted to eat, contrary to their uſual rule of religion.

MR. Zimmerman, in his zoological chart, gives the Rupi⯑capra, or Chamois, as an animal of Japan.

NO country breeds more dogs; they have maſters, DOGS; but lie about the ſtreets, and are very troubleſome to paſſengers. In Kaempfer's time there was an emperor ſo fond of theſe animals as to cauſe huts to be built, MUCH RESPECTED. and proviſions to be found for them in every ſtreet; the utmoſt care was taken of them during ſick⯑neſs, and when they died, they were carried to the uſual bu⯑rying-places on the tops of the mountains. This attention to the canine ſpecies at that time aroſe from its happening, that the reigning emperor was born under the ſign of the dog, one of the Japaneſe conſtellations. A poor fellow who had loſt his dog by death, ſweating under his load in climbing the mountain of interment, was heard by his neighbor curſing the plaguing edict at a terrible rate. "Friend," ſaid his neighbor to him, ‘you ſhould rather return thanks to the gods that the emperor was not born under the horſe, for what would have then been your load.’

WILD dogs, with large gaping ſnouts, are among the animals of the country.

THE cats are very beautiful; whitiſh, CATS. marked with large yellow and black ſpots, their tails very ſhort, as if they had been mutilated. The ladies carry them about, and are perpetually careſſing them. As to mouſing, they are quite uſeleſs.

[238]HERE are ſome monkies, MONKIES. by Kaempſer's deſcription, of the baboon claſs, and of the kind I deſcribe under the name of the dog-faced. Hiſt. Quad. N^o 103. They are of a duſky brown, with naked red faces and buttocks.

A FEW ſmall bears are found in the northern provinces. Foxes are very common. Rats and mice ſwarm. The rats are taught ſeveral tricks, and ſerve for the amuſement of the com⯑mon people. The animals called Tanucki, Pulor, Stutz, and Tin, are unknown to me.

"Thunberg to the foregoing catalogue only adds the wolf, an animal confined to the northern provinces." E.

THE birds of this empire are probably ſimilar to thoſe which inhabit the ſame Aſiatic Latitudes immediately to the weſt. BIRDS. I find here cranes, Arct. Zool. ii. p. 141. and ſnowy geeſe, N^o 477. and doubtleſsly many others will be diſcovered as ſoon as Doctor Thunberg has favored us with his Fauna Japonenſis.

THE Japan peacock, Latham, ii. 672. Aldrov. av. ii. tab. 33. 34. Johnſton. av. tab. 23. may be a new ſpecies.

"DR. Thunberg, vol. iv. p. 99. of the tranſlation of his travels, gives the following unſatisfactory liſt:

• Phaſianus gallus, Latham, iv. 700.
• Corvus corax, raven, Latham, i. 367. Br. Zool. i. N^o 74.
• Anas Anſer, wild gooſe, Latham, vi. 459 Br. Zool. ii. N^o 266.
• Galericulata, Chineſe teal, Latham, vi. 548.
• Querquedula, Garganey, Latham, vi. 550. Br. Zool. ii. N^o 289. tab. 101.
• Ardea alba, great white heron, Latham, v. 91. Br. Zool. ii. N^o 175.
• [239] Ardea major, Common Heron, Latham, v. 83. Br. Zool. ii. N^o 173.
• Tetrao coturnix, quail, Latham, iv. 779. Br. Zool. i. N^o 97.
• Loxia pyrrhula, bulfinch, Latham, iii. 143. Br. Zool. i. N^o 116.
• Loxia Oryzivora, Latham, iii. 129. rice bird. Edw. tab. 41. 42.
• Columba oenas, ſtock dove, Latham, iv. 604. Br. Zool. i. N^o 103.″ E.

IN reſpect to reptiles, we may inform the reader, TORTOISES. that the Teſtudo Graeca, or common land tortoiſe, is found here; ſome ſea tortoiſes of enormous ſize; another ſpecies, with a long beak-like noſe, called Doogame, is figured by Kaempfer, tab. xiii. fig. 6.

A BLACK water lizard, with a red belly and pinnated tail, LIZARD. is deſcribed by the ſame writer, p. 138. tab. xiii. fig. 2. as exceed⯑ingly venomous.

A GREEN ſnake, with a flat head and ſharp teeth or fangs, SNAKES. is reputed to give a mortal bite. The name ſignifies the length of a day, for people are ſuppoſed to die of the effect before the ſun quits the horizon. Kaempfer ^* ſays that it is alſo found in Ma⯑labar. The Boa, or at leaſt ſome monſtrous ſnake, an amphi⯑bious kind, is found on the mountains and in the waters.

THE fiſhes are very numerous. Whales are frequent, FISHES. and taken not only by harpooning, as in Greenland, but alſo by nets, in which thoſe huge animals are entangled, ſo that they become a ready prey to the harpooners. Much oil is extracted from them; the fleſh is a common food. Of the tendons are made [240]ropes and cords, chiefly for packing the bales of cotton; and of the finer ſort, the ſtrings for muſical inſtruments.

Kaempfer has given good outlines of ſeveral of the fiſhes; not a few are common to our ſeas, ſuch as the ſpotted ſhark, Br. Zool. iii. N^o 46. our lampries, N^o 27, 28, eels, and ſeveral others. The famous Fu Rube, the Tetraodon ocellatus, a luxury and a poiſon before deſcribed at p. 203 of this volume, is frequent. Kaempfer ^* mentions the fatal effects of this faſcinating food.

THE few other fiſhes that I can enumerate from Linnaean authority are the following: FISHES.

• Callionymus Japonicus, Gm. Lin. iii. 1155.
• Uranoſcopus Japonicus, 1157.
• Coryphoena Japonica, 1195.
• Cottus Japonicus, 1213.
• Scorpoena volitans, 1217.
• Pleuronectes Japonicus, 1239.
• Chaetodon Imperator, 1255.
• Chaetodon guttatus, 1256.
• Chaetodon collare, 1263.
• Chaetodon meſomelas, ibid.
• Sparus argentatus, 1272.
• Sparus boops, 1274.
• Sparus latus, 1276.
• Sparus virgatus, 1276.
• Sparus notatus, 1272.
• Sparus ſuſcreſeens, 1279.
• Labrus hoops, 1291.
• Gaſteroſteus Japonicus, 1325.
• [241] Scomber Japonicus, 1329.
• Scomber auratus, 1330.
• Centrogaſter fuſceſcens, 1337.
• Cobitis Japonica, 1352.
• Silurus imberbis, 1361.
• Fiſtularia tabacaria, 1387.
• Clupea Thriſſa, 1406.
• Clupea Thunberg adds (vol. iv. p. 99).
• Muroena nebuloſa.
• Muroena picta.
• Muroena annulata.
• Muroena faſciata.
• Ophicthus cinereus.
• All beautiful and ſingular ſpecies of eels.

THE following are extracted from Bloch's magnificent Icthyo⯑logy:

• Scarus viridis, vol. vii. p. 20. tab. 222.
• Bodianus Boenac, vol. vii. p. 31. tab. 226.
• Bodianus maculatus, vol. vii. p. 35. tab. 228.
• Holocentrus ongus, vol. vii. p. 52. tab. 234.
• Holocentrus ſervus, vol. vii. p. 61. tab. 238. fig. 1.
• Holocentrus quinque lineatus, vol. vii. p. 65. tab. 239.
• Holocentrus calcariſer, vol. vii. p. 80. tab. 244.
• Lutianus lutianus, vol. vii. p. 85. tab. 245.
• Lutianus haſta, vol. vii. p. 87. tab. 246. fig. 1.
• Lutianus erythropterus, vol. vii. p. 93. tab. 249.
• Lutianus verres, vol. viii. p. 7. tab. 255.
• Sparus faſciatus, vol. viii. p. 15. tab. 257.
• [242] Sparus chlorourus, vol. viii. p. 21. tab. 260.
• Sparus erythrouros, vol. viii. p. 23. tab. 261.
• Sparus vittatus, vol. viii. p. 83. tab. 275.
• Sparus Japonicus, vol. viii. p. 87. tab. 277. fig. 1.
• Sparus cynodon, vol. viii. p. 91. tab. 278.
• Labrus viridis, vol. viii. p. 104. tab. 282.
• Labrus melapterus, vol. viii. p. 111. tab. 285.
• Labrus chloropterus, vol. viii. p. 121. tab. 288.
• Labrus faſciatus, vol. ix. p. 6. tab. 290.
• Labrus trichopterus, vol. ix. p. 21. tab. 295. fig. 2.
• Labrus mclapterus, vol. ix. p. 26. tab. 296. fig. 2.
• Perca argentata, vol. ix. p. 75. tab. 311. fig. 1.
• Perca Japonica, vol. ix. p. 77. tab. 311. fig. 2.
• Anthias macropthalmus, vol. ix. p. 99. tab. 319.
• Anthias Voſmeri, vol. ix. p. 103. tab. 321.
• Anthias teſtudineus, vol. ix. p. 104. tab. 322.
• Anthias bilineatus, vol. x. p. 1. tab. 325. fig. 1.
• Anthias Japonicus, vol. x. p. 3. tab. 325. fig. 2.
• Anthias orientalis, vol. x. p. 8. tab. 326. fig. 3.
• Epinephetus, merra, vol. x. p. 15. tab. 329.
• Epinephetus, ruber, vol. x. p. 19. tab. 331.″ E.

CRABS of great variety inhabit theſe ſeas; and that greateſt of inſects, CRABS. the Monoculus polyphemus, or Molucca crab, is not in⯑frequent.

AMONG other inſects is found the claſſical Cicada, CICADA. Roeſel, ii. tab. 25. Mouſſet 127.

Cantharides, or Spaniſh flies, are frequent here, but never ap⯑plied [243]to uſe. Another very cauſtic fly is deſcribed by Kaemp⯑fer ^*, reckoned by the Japaneſe poiſonous: it is of a blue and gold color, enriched with ſcarlet ſpots and lines.

Japan is rich in minerals. GOLD. Gold is found in various parts of the iſland, ſometimes in grains waſhed out of the ſand; in other places it is extracted by fuſion, from its matrix, or the ores of copper. All the mines of this metal are claimed by the emperor, and none dare work without his permiſſion; when this is obtained, two thirds of the produce are the portion of the emperor, the pro⯑prietor of the land receives one third for his expences.

SILVER mines abound. Copper is the moſt common of all the metals, SILVER. COPPER. and the greateſt article of commerce with the Dutch factors. All the ore is melted at Saccai or Oſacca, and there only, where it is caſt into cylinders, about a ſpan and a half long, and a finger thick. The fineſt ore is dug at Seruga, from which the Japaneſe ſeparate and refine a quantity of gold. The coin of Japan is made either of gold, ſilver, or copper; COINS. thoſe of the two former are generally of an oblong ſhape, rounded at the ends, and inſcribed with letters, and the arms of the mint maſ⯑ter, or the emperor, or Dairo. The form of the coins is given by Kaempfer, i. tab. 19. and by Tavernier, part ii. p. 9. tab. 9. p. 10. tab. 10.; in the laſt, the ſilver coins are irregular at their edges. As to the copper coins, they are round, and perforated in the middle, in order to ſtring them for conveniency of car⯑riage. Some of the gold coins weigh an ounce and ſix drams; and of the ſilver ſeven ounces. Several of the ſilver Japaneſe [244]coin are ſtamped with the image of Daikoſ, the Plutus or god of riches of the country; he is repreſented ſeated on two barrels of rice, with a ſack in his left hand and a hammer in his right, by a ſtroke of which he is ſuppoſed to produce, on any ſpot, money, food, cloathing, or whatever is uſeful to man ^*.

THE Japaneſe ſpeak of two iſlands ^† one named Ginſima or the ſilver, GOLD AND SILVER ISLES. the other Kinſima or the golden. Their ſituation is kept very ſecret; but Philip III. having heard of them, and in⯑ſtigated by avarice, ſent a ſhip with a ſkilful pilot to find them out. The Dutch, urged by the ſame paſſion as the Spaniards, made two attempts to diſcover them, one in 1639, the other in 1643, but both were fruitleſs. They are ſaid to lie to the E. N. E. of the coaſts of Japan, a hundred and fifty miles diſtant. All that I can find is, that they are both put down in Mr. Arrow⯑ſmith's map; one in about Lat. 30° north, under the name of Rica di oro or the gold iſland, and the other Rica di plata or the ſilver, ſtill farther north. Mr. Arrowſmith ſuppoſes it to be that ſtupendous rock called Lot's Wife, a pyramid three hundred and fifty feet high, admirably deſcribed and depicted by Mr. Meares, in p. 97 of his voyage. ‘The Lat. ſays he, was 29° 50′ north, the Longitude 142° 23′ caſt of Greenwich. The waves broke againſt its rugged front with a fury proportioned to the im⯑menſe diſtance they had to roll before they were interrupted by it. It roſe almoſt perpendicular to the height, according to the tables, of near three hundred and fifty feet. A ſmall black rock appeared juſt above the water, at about forty or fifty yards from the weſtern edge. There was a cavern on [245]its ſouth eaſtern ſide, into which the waters rolled with an awful and tremendous noiſe. In regarding this ſtupendous rock, which ſtood alone in an immenſe ocean, we could not but con⯑ſider it as an object which had been able to reſiſt one of thoſe great convulſions of nature, that change the very form of thoſe parts of the globe which they are permitted to deſolate.’

SOME ^* tin is found in Japan of exquiſite fineneſs, TIN. almoſt equal to ſilver, but it is a metal very little uſed.

IRON abounds in the Japaneſe empire; IRON. that likewiſe is fuſed into cylindrical forms; it is as dear as copper; moſt ſorts of in⯑ſtruments are compoſed of that metal and of braſs; but they are wiſe enough to make their culinary veſſels of a compoſition of iron.

COALS abound in Japan, COALS. but notwithſtanding the ſeverity of the weather in winter, the inhabitants chiefly uſe charcoal, placed on aſhes in a great pot, ſo prepared as to prevent any noxious effect from the fumes.

THAT uſeful article, ſalt, is made from the ſea-water, SALT. filtrated through ſand, and then boiled to a proper conſiſtence, and cal⯑cined in earthen pots.

Naptha is frequent in one part of Japan. NAPTHA. The natives collect and burn it in their lamps inſtead of oil.

Sulphur abounds in an iſland called Iwogaſima or Sulphur iſle, SULPHUR. near the province of Satzuma. Kaempfer gives a curious ac⯑count of the place. ‘It is, ſays he, not above a hundred years ſince they firſt ventured thither. It was thought before that time to be wholly inacceſſible, and by reaſon of the thick [246]ſmoke which was obſerved continually to ariſe from it, and of the ſeveral ſpectres, and other frightful uncommon appa⯑ritions, people fancied to ſee there in the night, it was believed to be a dwelling-place of devils, till at laſt a reſolute and cou⯑rageous man offered himſelf, and obtained leave accordingly to go and examine the ſtate and ſituation of it. He choſe fifty reſolute fellows for this expedition, who upon going on ſhore found neither hell nor devils, but a large flat ſpot of ground at the top, which was ſo thoroughly covered with ſulphur, that wherever they walked a thick ſmoke iſſued from under their feet. Ever ſince that time this iſland brings in to the prince of Satzuma about 20 cheſts of ſilver per annum, ariſing only from the ſulphur dug up there, beſides what he gets by the trees and timber growing along the ſhore.’