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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..650a6e1 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60335 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60335) diff --git a/old/60335-8.txt b/old/60335-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 83f2b7e..0000000 --- a/old/60335-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2717 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Narrative of a Recent Imprisonment in China -after the Wreck of the Kite, by John Lee Scott - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: Narrative of a Recent Imprisonment in China after the Wreck of the Kite - -Author: John Lee Scott - -Illustrator: C. H. Greenhill - -Release Date: September 21, 2019 [EBook #60335] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IMPRISONMENT IN CHINA *** - - - - -Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -NARRATIVE. - - -[Illustration: _Drawn by C. H. Greenhill._ _Engraved by W. Lee._] - - - - -NARRATIVE -OF A RECENT -IMPRISONMENT IN CHINA -AFTER THE -WRECK OF THE KITE. - -[Illustration] - -BY JOHN LEE SCOTT. - -Second Edition. - -LONDON: -W. H. DALTON, COCKSPUR STREET -1842. - - - - -LONDON: -PRINTED BY G. J. PALMER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND. - - - - -TO THE - -RIGHT HON. SIR JOHN PIRIE, BART., - -LORD MAYOR OF LONDON, - -THIS NARRATIVE - -IS, - -WITH HIS LORDSHIP'S PERMISSION, - -RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED - -BY - -HIS OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT, - -JOHN LEE SCOTT. - - - - -PREFACE - -TO THE FIRST EDITION. - - -My only apology for launching this unvarnished narrative upon the -world is, that, after my return to England, I wrote for the amusement, -and at the request of my friends, a short account of my shipwreck and -subsequent imprisonment in the Celestial Empire; and considering that -my sufferings and adventures would, at this time, create an interest -with the public at large, they have strongly urged me to publish this -narrative. This I have ventured to do, hoping that the faults may be -overlooked, and all indulgence shown to a young merchant sailor. - -_London, Nov. 16, 1841._ - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -CHAPTER I. - -Leave Shields--Madras--Hired by government--Arrive at -Chusan--Junks--Sickness--Number of Crew--Yeang-tze-keang--Boat -breaks adrift--Wreck--Mr. Noble and -child drowned--Mrs. Noble--Lieut. Douglas--Vessel -rights--Jolly-boat returns--Chinese--Leave the wreck. - _Page_ 1-16 -CHAPTER II. - -Get ashore--Village--Appearance of country--Made prisoners--Syrang-- -Bound--Chinese gentleman--Old women--Meet some of the crew--Kindness -of one Chinese--Put into irons--Insults--Interrogated by -mandarin--Death of marines 17-32 - -CHAPTER III. - -Temple--Cages--Women--Dinner--Hot water--Taken -down a river--City--Guns--Hall of Ancestors--Twizell -and the missing party--English prisoner--Corporal of -marines--Jail--Other Lascars--Watch 33-49 - -CHAPTER IV. - -Captain Anstruther--Kindness to marines--Mandarin's -questions--Chinese music--Jolly-boat party arrive--Privations-- -Medical treatment--Removed--Sedans--Town--Joshouse--Apartment-- -Guard-room 50-66 - -CHAPTER V. - -Physician--Visitors--Day's employment--Taken before -the mandarin--Letters and clothing from Chusan--Chinese -clothes--Irons taken off--Return home--Salamanders--Amusements 67-81 - -CHAPTER VI. - -Language--Marine dies--Canton interpreter--Lieut. -Douglas--Secret letters--Soap--Money--Christmas--Court-martial-- -Fires--Chinese dinner--Ladies' apartments 82-98 - -CHAPTER VII. - -Jos ceremonies--Chinese New Year's day--New Testament--Epsom -salts--Grief of our jailer--Kites--Procession--Leave -Ningpo--Chinhae--Huge idols--Chinese camp--Mandarin's message 99-109 - -CHAPTER VIII. - -Sampan--Description of junk--Preserved eggs--Reception -from the English--H. M. S. Blonde--Mrs. Noble--Leave -Chusan--Narrow escape--H. M. S. Samarang--Leave -Macao--Arrive at Spithead 110-126 - - - - -NARRATIVE. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - Leave Shields--Madras--Hired by government--Arrive at - Chusan--Junks--Sickness--Number of Crew--Yeang-tze-keang--Boat - breaks adrift--Wreck--Mr. Noble and child drowned--Mrs. - Noble--Lieut. Douglas--Vessel rights--Jolly-boat - returns--Chinese--Leave the wreck. - - -On Monday the 8th July, 1839, I left Shields for Bordeaux in the Kite, -a beautiful brig of 281 tons, commanded by Mr. James Noble; built by, -and belonging to, Messrs. T. and W. Smith of Newcastle. We arrived at -Bordeaux after a three weeks passage, and lay there for two months. -Sailed from thence on the 16th October for the Mauritius, with a cargo -of wines, and arrived there after a passage of ninety-three days. Here -we remained a month, and having landed the wines, sailed from thence -to Madras in ballast; where the vessel was taken up by government, to -carry stores to the British fleet destined for China: we then sailed -for Trincomalee, at which place we took in some more stores, and then -sailed for Singapore; where, on our arrival, we found the fleet had -sailed several days before for Macao. - -Whilst we lay at Singapore, the Melville 72, Blonde 42, and Pylades -18, arrived, and we received orders to sail for Macao immediately, at -which place we arrived after a short passage, but were still behind -the fleet, it having sailed some days before for Chusan. We received -orders to follow it to Buffalo Island, where there was to be a man of -war cruising to give us farther directions; but when we arrived at -this island we found no vessel of any kind; and as we had had a very -quick passage, Mr. Noble was afraid to proceed any further, as perhaps -we might have passed the fleet, and arrived before it. We therefore -brought the ship to an anchor, and lay there till the next afternoon, -when the Melville and a transport arrived, upon which we got under -weigh, and followed the Melville up to Chusan, where we arrived the day -following, and anchored in the outer roads. We found the town in the -possession of our own troops, who had taken it the day previous to our -arrival: so that if we had not stopped at Buffalo Island, we should -have been present at the attack; we heard the firing, and saw the blaze -of the burning town whilst on our passage up. - -The men-of-war junks which had fired on the Wellesley presented a most -wretched appearance, being deserted--some sunk, and others with their -masts shot away; and where a shot had struck the hull, it had not only -passed completely through the vessel, but also through one or two -houses ashore. There were not many Chinese to be seen, and the few that -were still in the town, appeared of the very lowest grade. The town and -harbour presented, nevertheless, rather a lively spectacle, as boats -were constantly passing between the ships and the shore, disembarking -troops of varied dress and nations. Two camps were very soon formed, -one overlooking the town, and the other on a hill commanding the -entrance into the harbour. Sickness soon began to make its appearance -amongst the troops, particularly the Company's native regiments, -brought on, I think, by inactivity, and by the dreadful smells of the -town, as well as the effluvia arising from the imperfectly buried dead -of the Chinese; whilst those who were on board ship, constantly at -work, and yet drinking the same bad water, were not affected in nearly -so serious a manner. - -We lay at Chusan for about a month; during which time Admiral Elliot -and Commodore Bremer were several times on board of the Kite; and -approving of her, all the stores were taken out, and four 32 pounders -were put in the hold, as many Chinese guns as we could obtain, seven -two-tun tanks, and between 30 and 40 water-casks, all for ballast. -After this we received six 12 pound carronades, seven marines, five -first-class boys, from the Melville; and Lieut. Douglas, R. N. came -and took the command. Our crew at this time consisted of the master, -Mr. Noble; the mate, Mr. Witts; and us four apprentices, viz.--Henry -Twizell (acting as second mate), Pellew Webb, Wm. Wombwell, and myself; -one Englishman; an Italian; and a Manilla man; ten Lascars; and our -cook, who was a native of Calcutta, but not a Lascar; Lieut. Douglas, -with the seven marines, and five boys, from the Melville, making in all -thirty-three. Mrs. Noble and her child, a boy of about five months old, -were also on board. - -A short time after Lieut. Douglas hoisted his pennant, we sailed with -despatches for the Conway 28, which with the Algerine 10 gun brig, and -a small schooner called the Hebe, was surveying the Yeang-tze-keang -river, and the adjacent sea. In sailing up this river, we found the -charts very incorrect, and at last got on a bank, where we remained -for several days until the Conway and the other vessels arrived. We had -passed these vessels whilst they were lying at anchor, in one of the -numerous creeks at the entrance of the river. The schooner drawing the -least water came and assisted us off; and as the Kite drew ten feet -water, she was of little use in surveying; we were therefore sent back -on Saturday, the 12th of September, 1840, with despatches for Chusan. -One marine and a boy died of dysentery whilst we were on the bank. - -We brought up that night, and got under weigh next afternoon; anchored -again at dusk, and very unfortunately, just before daybreak, our -jolly-boat broke adrift, and was carried away by the tide. The gig was -manned, and sent after her, and we followed in the vessel, as soon as -we could get our anchor: we picked up both boats, but not without a -great deal of trouble; the gig we hoisted up on the starboard quarter, -and the jolly-boat was towed astern. We anchored again at night, and -next morning started with a fine fair wind, expecting to be at Chusan -in a day or two. At this time all the marines but one, two of the -first-class boys, and Webb and Wombwell, were ill of the dysentery, -leaving very few hands to work the ship. - -At nine o'clock on Tuesday morning, the 15th of September, I was -relieved from the wheel, and went below to look after Webb and -Wombwell, and to get my breakfast. About half past eleven, whilst -attending on the sick, I heard the master order the anchor to be let -go. I immediately jumped on deck, ran forward, and let go the stopper; -the vessel was now striking heavily aft, all the chain on deck (about -sixty fathoms) ran out with so much velocity that the windlass caught -fire. The vessel being by the stem, and catching the ground there, the -anchor holding her forward, she could not get end on to the tide, and -was consequently broadside on, and as it was running like a sluice, she -was capsized in a moment. When the anchor was let go, Twizell and I -ran aft, let go the main top-gallant and top-sail haulyards, and were -clewing the yards down with the larboard clewlines, when I felt the -ship going over. I directly seized hold of the main topmast backstay, -and swung myself on to her side, as she was falling: Twizell caught -hold of one of the shrouds of the main rigging, and did the same. At -this moment I suppose Mr. Noble to have been thrown overboard--I heard -him call out to his wife, "Hold on Anne," but did not see him, and the -tide must have carried him away, and of course he was drowned.[1] - -My first thought now was for the sick people down below, who I feared -must all be drowned, as the vessel was completely on her side, and her -tops resting on the sand. On looking aft, I saw a person struggling -in the water, and apparently entangled amongst the sails and rigging; -I got the bight of the mainbrace and threw to him, and with some -difficulty hauled him on board; but he was only saved then to die a -lingering death at a later period at Ningpo. On looking round, I was -rejoiced to see the sick people (who I had concluded were all drowned) -crawling up the fore and main-hatchways, and immediately assisted -them to get on the vessel's side; the greater part were nearly naked, -having been lying in their hammocks at the moment she capsized, and out -of which some were thrown. I now saw Lieutenant Douglas and the mate -dragging Mrs. Noble into the jolly-boat, which had dropped alongside; -the two Lascar cabin-boys,[2] who were in the boat, were casting her -adrift; she was full of water, and likely to capsize every moment. I -threw my knife to them to cut the towlines, and they, having effected -this, were swept away, Lieut. Douglas calling to us to cut away the -long-boat, which was still on deck. The time between the first going -over of the ship, and the drifting away of the jolly-boat, was only -three or four minutes, though by this account it may seem to have been -much longer. - -[Illustration: _Drawn by W. I. Huggins._ _Engraved by W. Lee._] - -The gig, being hoisted up on the starboard quarter, was lost to us when -the ship fell over, and we could not cut away the long-boat from the -manner in which the guns were hanging: we, however, contrived to cut -the foremast lashing, and made her painter fast to the main rigging, -hoping she would fall off, and that it would hold her. The tide was now -rushing down the hatchways: in a short time the boat fell out of the -chocks, but the strength of the tide was so great that the line, or -painter, snapped, and she was carried away. The weight of water in the -sails carried away the maintopmast, (just above the cap,) the foremast, -and the bowsprit; the part of the foremast below the deck afterwards -shot right up, and floated away, leaving only the mainmast standing, -and from the weight of wreck hanging to it, we expected that to go also. - -We had now nothing but death to look forward to, as the tide was rising -fast, and would inevitably in a short time sweep us off her side, where -we were all collected to the number of twenty-six, and only myself and -one or two more free from dysentery. I expected so soon to be swept -away, that I threw off my trousers and prepared for a swim, as I could -see the land just on the horizon, and at any rate it was better to die -endeavouring to save myself, than to be drowned without making any -exertion. Most providentially, the brig righted gradually, until the -mast lay in an angle of about forty-five degrees, and enabled us to -get, some in the maintop, (where we found a little dog belonging to the -mate,) and others on the mainyard. As soon as we got aloft, we began -cutting the sails away, as they held an immense quantity of water, and -would most likely on that account, cause the loss of the mast; we cut -away the mainsail, trysail, and maintopsail, leaving only the masts and -yards to hang on the mainmast, as with these we intended to make a raft. - -The tide continued rising upon us, until half the top was under water, -and hope was almost dead within us, when to our inexpressible joy, we -found the tide ceased to flow; no time was however to be lost, as in -these places there is very little slack water, so we that could swim, -immediately set to work, and collected all the spars and booms, masts -and yards, we could, (for the rigging still held the topmast, &c.,) -intending, when the tide had ebbed enough, to get on the wreck, which -we expected would be almost dry at low water, and make a stout raft. We -could see some fishing-boats in the distance; but these, though they -must have seen our disastrous situation, appeared to make no attempt to -come to our assistance. - -From so many being sick, and from the Lascars refusing to assist us, we -had very few left to work, and before we had collected many spars, the -ebb tide began to run so strong, that we were obliged to leave off, and -take to the maintop again; the spars we did get, we secured together, -and made fast in such a manner that the tide could not carry them away. -We now sat down again on the top, with hearts most thankful that we had -still a little hope left. This was about four in the afternoon, and in -half an hour or so afterwards, the jolly-boat came in sight;[3] they -had cleared her of water, and they let go the grapnel just abreast of -us. Mrs. Noble waved her handkerchief, but the tide was so strong that -they were driven past, completely out of our sight, without being able -to render us the least assistance, or even being near enough to speak -to us. This was a most cruel disappointment; but we had still our raft -to look forward to, and knowing that Mrs. Noble and Lieut. Douglas -were still alive was some consolation to us; so we cheered one another -in the best manner we could, relying upon Him who was able to save us -from this apparently certain destruction. - -By the time we could begin our work again, it was very dark, but we -knew we should soon have a bright moon; so we set to work cheerfully, -and had succeeded in collecting and lashing together a good many spars -as a raft, when, to our great surprise, we found ourselves surrounded -by Chinese boats, two of them large ones, and full of soldiers. - -We all saw that resistance, if they attacked us, would be perfectly -useless, and thought it would be better to trust to them than to the -waves, so as they all seemed more intent upon plunder than upon us, -Twizell and I, two or three of the marines, two of the first-class -boys, and the greater part of the Lascars, jumped into one boat, and -the rest, with Webb and Wombwell, got into another. The Chinese wished -us very much to get out again, but this we would not think of doing, -as stopping by the vessel for another tide was quite impossible. - -Finding that we were determined not to remain by the wreck, the Chinese -gave in, and shoved off. To our great surprise, we had not gone a few -yards when our junk was aground. The other boat made sail, and stood -away. The men in our junk made signs for us to get out, when we again -refused, fearing, if we did, they would leave us there; and not liking -the idea of remaining on a sand, which we knew the flood tide would -cover. To have stopped by the wreck would have been preferable to this. - -We continued sitting in the boat, until one of the Chinese jumped -out, and, taking his lantern, made signs to us to follow him; this we -consented to do, and taking care not to let our guide get away from us, -we went across the sand for about two miles, with the water sometimes -above our knees, and sometimes only a little above our ankles. At last -we arrived at another large boat, which was aground and apparently -waiting for the tide to float her. Our guide made signs for us to get -into this boat, and that we should be taken ashore in her. This we did, -and lay down to take a little rest, grateful that we had been enabled -to save our lives, at least for the present. - -We hoped that by some means or other we might reach Ningpo, where two -English ships were cruising, and we knew that, if we could only once -reach them, we were perfectly safe; but we had a very vague idea where -we were, though we half suspected we were on the island of Ningpo; we -afterwards found our suppositions to be correct. - -It was now midnight, and when we left the wreck we could walk on her -side, it being only six or eight inches below the surface. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Note 1. - -[2] These two boys told me, when in prison at Ningpo, that when the -brig upset, everything in the cabin fell to the starboard side, where -the child was sleeping; that they could not get out at the door, but -got out at the skylight, leaving the poor baby to its fate, and got -into the boat, which was then on the starboard quarter. - -[3] Note 2. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - Get ashore--Village--Appearance of country--Made - prisoners--Syrang--Bound--Chinese gentleman--Old women--Meet - some of the crew--Kindness of one Chinese--Put into - irons--Insults--Interrogated by mandarin--Death of marines. - - -We reached the shore about three in the morning, and the Chinese -made signs to us, that if we would follow them, they would give us -something to eat; we accordingly walked after them until we arrived at -a small village, which consisted of a few miserable mud huts, with but -one respectable brick house; but from these few huts a swarm of men, -women, and children poured out on our approach. We were taken into -an outhouse, one half of which was occupied by an immense buffalo, -and in the other half was a cane bed with musquito curtains; in one -corner was a ladder, leading to a loft containing another couch. They -now brought us some hot rice, and a kind of preserved vegetable; we -contented ourselves with the rice and a basin of tea, the preserve -being so exceedingly nasty we could none of us eat it. Whilst in this -place, a Chinese, who seemed the superior of the village, and doubtless -was the owner of the one brick house, brought a piece of paper written -upon in Chinese characters, and made signs for one of us to write upon -it; intimating at the same time, that he had written some account of -us on this paper, and that he wanted an account in our writing, which -I accordingly gave him, stating the time and cause of our shipwreck, -and also our present situation; hoping that he would take it to the -mandarin of the district, and that from him it might be forwarded to -the authorities at Chusan, who might thus learn where we were, and take -some steps for our return to the fleet. - -When it was broad daylight we mentioned the name of Ningpo, and they -made signs that if we would go with them they would show us the way -there, so we started, as we imagined, for Ningpo. - -Having no trousers, and my only clothing being a flannel shirt, and -a black silk handkerchief round my head, which Twizell had given me -when in the maintop, they gave me a piece of matting, but this proving -rather an encumbrance than of any service, I soon threw it off, and -walked on _sans culottes_. - -We passed in this style through a highly cultivated country; on every -side large plantations of cotton and rice, and various kinds of -vegetables, but all unknown to me. Having gone six or seven miles, -seeing very few houses, but crowds of people turning out of each as we -passed, we at length arrived at a cross-road. Here another party of -Chinese appeared, who absolutely forbade our proceeding any further: -but as our guides went on, and beckoned us to follow, we pushed through -our opponents and walked on; but they, having collected more men, -headed us, and we were obliged to come to a stand-still. In this case -we found the want of a perfect understanding amongst ourselves, for the -Lascars were so frightened at their situation, that they fell on their -knees before the Chinamen, which of course encouraged the latter, and -before we could look around us, men rose up as it were from the ground, -separated us, and made us all prisoners at once, with the exception of -four, who ran off, though without any idea whither they should run, -or what they should do. Here the[4] Syrang made a foolish attempt to -cut his throat with a rusty old knife he had about him, but he only -succeeded in tearing his flesh a little, for he was soon disarmed and -pinioned. If, perhaps, we had all stood together, and put a bold face -on the matter, though without any kind of arms, we might have gone -quietly to the mandarin's, and then have been treated properly, but -the conduct of the Lascars emboldened our enemies, and we were seized, -bound, and dragged off, almost before we knew where we were. As to -those who ran away, they were obliged to give themselves up after a -short run, and got a very severe beating, besides several wounds from -the spears the Chinese were armed with. - -From this time my narrative becomes almost personal, as I can seldom -give an account of more than what befel myself. - -When we were seized in the manner I have related, a man threw his arms -round me, and though I could easily have shaken him off, I saw five -or six others gathering round me, and I thought it would be useless -to struggle. It was better for me that I made no resistance, as the -others were bound and dragged away, with ropes round their necks; -whereas the man who first seized me, still held me, and walked me off, -without binding me at all. Twizell was amongst those that ran, and I -did not see him again till I got to Ningpo. As I was walking along with -my keeper, we were met by two soldiers, who immediately stopped, and -one, armed with a spear, prepared to make a lunge at me; but my old man -stepped between us, and spoke to him, upon which he dropped his spear, -and allowed us to pass. - -At length we arrived at a large village, and here my first keeper left -me, much to my regret, as, after he was gone, my hands, hitherto free, -were made fast behind my back, and the cord being drawn as tight as -possible, the flesh soon swelled and caused me great pain; another rope -was put round my neck, by which they led me about. - -At times I gave myself up for lost, but still I could not fancy the -Chinese to be so cruel a people, as to murder us in cold blood, -particularly after the manner in which we had fallen into their hands. -I hardly knew what to think. - -My new keeper led me into the courtyard of a house, and made me fast to -one of several pillars that supported a rude kind of verandah, dragging -the rope as tight as he could however, he brought me some water to -drink, when I made signs for it. I had not been here long, when one -of the Melville's people was brought in, and made fast to an opposite -pillar; but we could not speak to, and could hardly see each other, as -the yard was crowded with people anxious to get a peep at us. - -After standing here some time, a man came and took me away to another -house, where, in the yard, was a quantity of cotton, and in one corner, -looking out of a window, a Chinese gentleman and lady, before whom my -guide led me, and prostrated himself, wishing me to do the same; but I -contented myself with bowing, upon which the gentleman waved his hand, -and I was led to the back-yard, where my guide brought me some rice -and vegetables. I did not feel so grateful for my dinner as I perhaps -ought, as I imagined this person had bought me for a slave. - -When I had finished my repast, I was led back, and, being made fast to -a tree, was left exposed to the mercy of the mob, without a guard. -The people amused themselves with making signs; some, that my head -would be cut off, others that I should not lose my head, but my eyes, -tongue, and nose, and all those little necessaries, and then be sent -away--a most unenviable state to be reduced to. I was kept here some -time, surrounded by a number of ugly old women, who seemed to take a -delight in teasing me; but the most active of my tormentors was neither -old nor ugly, being a tall and well-made person; her feet were not so -mishapen as the generality of her countrywomen's; in fact, she was the -handsomest woman I saw in China. At last a man came, loosed me from the -tree, and led me off to a little distance; and while one man brought a -stone block, another was sent away, as I imagined, for an axe or some -such instrument; before this block I was desired to kneel, but this I -refused to do, determined not to give up my life in so quiet a manner -as they seemed to propose. The messenger returned shortly, the block -was taken away, and I was led out of the village. - -[Illustration: _Drawn by C. H. Greenhill._ _Engraved by W. Lee._] - -Being now guarded by a dozen armed men, I was led along the banks of a -canal until I came to a bridge, where I saw some of my companions in -misfortune; I could only exchange a hurried word or two as they dragged -me past, as I supposed, to the place of execution. I went on thus, with -two more of the prisoners at some distance before me, stopping now and -then, and imagining every stoppage to be the last, and that I should -here be made an end of; but they still led me on, until we came to -another village, or rather town, and I was taken to what appeared to me -to be the hall of justice. I was led to the back yard, and placed in a -room half filled with a heap of wood ashes. Here I found three more of -the crew, in the same miserable condition as myself; but still, even -here, we found some to feel for and relieve us a little, for, on making -signs that my hands were bound too tight, one of the Chinese loosened -the bonds, and afterwards went out: returning shortly with a lapful of -cakes, he distributed them amongst us, and then procured us some water, -of which we stood in great need, as we had had a long march under a -broiling sun. - -We had scarcely finished our cakes, when some of the soldiers came -in, and took one of my fellow prisoners just outside the door; as I -could observe almost all that passed, it was with feelings of the most -unpleasant nature that I saw him made to kneel, and directly surrounded -by the soldiers; one of whom came in, and took away a basket full of -the ashes. I now supposed that we had in reality come to the last gasp; -I fancied my companion's head was off, and that the ashes were taken -to serve in the place of sawdust, to soak up his blood. I was not long -kept in suspense, for the door opened, and some soldiers entered, -who forced me to get up, and go out into the yard. I now took it for -granted that my hour was really come; but, to my great relief, they had -only brought me out to fetter me. They put irons on my hands and feet, -those on my ankles being connected by a chain of five or six links, -and an iron collar round my neck, with a stick fast to it, which was -also made fast by a padlock to my handcuffs. I hardly knew whether to -rejoice or not at this prolongation of my life, as I might be kept in -this condition a short time, only to suffer a more lingering death in -the end. When my irons were on, and rivetted, I was led into the outer -yard, now crowded with people, and again tied up to a post. On looking -around me, I saw my companion, who had been led out before me, fastened -in a similar manner to the post opposite; and in a short time they -brought the other two, and made them fast to the corresponding corner -pillars. We remained a short time exposed to the insults of the lower -orders, who amused themselves with pulling our hair, striking us with -their pipes, spitting in our faces, and annoying us in all the petty -ways they could think of. At last our guards came, and led us to a -small room by the side of the gate, where we again had some rice. - -Here I saw a Chinaman prisoner, ironed in exactly the same way as we -were. - -When we had finished our rice, we were led through the town, down to -the side of a canal, where boats were waiting for us. Into one of these -they put me and a Lascar, the other two prisoners in another boat, each -boat having a guard of several soldiers. We were towed, by one man, so -quickly down the canal, that I had little time to notice the country, -even had I been in a state of mind to pay much attention. I could see, -however, that other canals branched from ours in every direction, and -on the banks were an immense number of wheels and machines of various -descriptions, for raising the water from the canals, and irrigating -the rice-fields; some worked by men as at a tread-mill, and others by -buffaloes, which walked round and round in a circle, as we occasionally -see horses in our mills. By dusk, we arrived at a large town, where -we had to change our boat; rather an awkward piece of business, as the -guard would render us but little assistance, and, fettered as I was, I -found it very difficult to crawl from one boat to the other. At last I -managed it, and then lay down in the bottom of my new conveyance, the -soldier taking the precaution of making my neck-rope fast, so that I -could not escape. - -About ten in the evening we arrived at another town, but, being late, -everything here was perfectly quiet. I was now landed, and led through -the town to the mandarin's house; on the way there, I tripped and fell, -breaking the rivet of my fetters, and cutting my knee at the same time. -The soldier who was leading me by the rope round my neck, said nothing, -but waited very quietly till I had picked myself up again, and we -proceeded on, till we came to the head mandarin's house. - -Here, to my great joy, I found the greater part of those who had come -ashore in the junk with me; but still those who had got into the other -boat, on leaving the wreck, and those who had run away, were missing; -and we could hardly hope ever to see them again. I sat down on one of -the steps, an officer brought me some cakes, and on seeing my knee, -which had rather a deep cut, brought a small bottle, from which he -sprinkled some kind of powder on the wound: this immediately stopped -the bleeding, and in a day or two the part was healed. - -I sat here a short time, without being allowed to speak to the others; -till suddenly we were made to stand up and place ourselves in two rows, -and the mandarin and two of his officers made their appearance. They -walked down the rows, stopping at each person, and by signs asked if we -had had guns or opium on board our vessel. We only shook our heads in -answer to their questions, and as we were not able to understand the -other signs, they very soon retired. - -When they were gone, the soldiers led us across one or two yards, into -a joshouse. By the light from the torches, I could distinguish, in -a place railed off from the rest of the building, some people lying -apparently asleep. At first I imagined them to be Chinese; but to my -amazement and great joy, I soon discovered this party to consist of -Webb and Wombwell, and those who had left the wreck in the other junk, -and of whose fate we had hitherto been in ignorance. In consequence -of some misunderstanding, they had been most severely beaten by the -Chinese, and from the effects of this beating, two of the marines -had died, on their way from the coast to this town. Though dead when -they arrived, the Chinese had, nevertheless, put irons on the bodies. -The corporal of marines had been so ill treated, that he could not -move without assistance; and in fact they had all experienced worse -treatment than our party. - -There were now missing, only the four who had run off when the -Chinese stopped us at the cross-way. Of Mrs. Noble, and those in the -jolly-boat, we, of course, knew nothing; but hoped that they might have -escaped the Chinese, and managed to reach Chusan. - -Haying related our different stories, and consoled each other in the -best way we could, we lay down on some loose straw for the night, and, -notwithstanding our miserable condition, we slept soundly. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[4] Note 3. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - Temple--Cages--Women--Dinner--Hot water--Taken down a - river--City--Guns--Hall of Ancestors--Twizell and the missing - party--English prisoner--Corporal of marines--Jail--Other - Lascars--Watch. - - -In the morning, when I awoke, I found I was in a temple; outside the -railing was a large hall; on each side, rows of seats were ranged, -with a broad space in the centre; the sides of the building were -quite plain, and so also was the roof. Inside the railing was a green -silk canopy, under which were several images, handsomely dressed in -different coloured silks. Standing against the walls were four more -figures the size of life, one painted entirely black, another red, -and the other two variegated; and all armed with some extraordinary -instruments of warfare. These I suppose represented their gods, and -were tolerably well done, but not to be compared to others I afterwards -saw. The whole building was so destitute of any ornaments, that, had -it not been for the images, the idea of it being a jos-house would not -have struck me. - -Breakfast was brought in early, consisting of sweet cakes and tea. When -we had finished, two wooden cages were brought; the Chinese lifted one -of our men into each, and carried them outside the gate, to be looked -at by the common people; whilst the gentlemen, and better class, with -their families, were admitted about two dozen at a time, to look at us -who remained inside: sometimes we were visited by a party consisting -entirely of women; they were a remarkably plain set, their pretensions -to beauty, in their own eyes, appearing to lie in having the face -painted red and white, and the feet distorted into a hoof-like shape. -After keeping those in the cages, outside for about two hours, they -were brought in, and two fresh ones were taken out. Those who came in, -told us that the bodies of our two poor fellows, who had been killed -the day before, were lying outside on the grass, with the fetters still -on. Fortunately it soon began to rain heavily, when the other two were -brought in, and the crowd gradually dispersed. - -About noon we had our dinner; one basin full of rice and vegetables, -and cakes and tea, as before; our jailers would never give us plain -water, but whenever we asked for anything to drink, brought us weak -tea. For supper we had cakes and tea again, and, after this last meal, -lay down on our straw for the night. - -The next day was passed in a similar manner; towards evening there -was a great mustering of cages in the hall; little did I think for -what purpose they were intended. After the Chinese had ranged these -horrible things in the open space in the centre, they made us all get -into them, one into each. I forgot to say that before we were put -into our cages, our jailers gave us each a loose jacket and a pair -of trousers, besides as many cakes as we could carry. In these wooden -contrivances--which were not much unlike what I imagine Cardinal -Balue's machines to have been, only ours were wooden and portable--we -had neither room to stand, sit, nor lie, so that we were obliged to -place ourselves in a dreadfully cramped position. Some few of the cages -had a hole cut in the lid, large enough to allow the top of the head to -pass out: into one of these I was fortunate enough to get; but those -who were not so lucky, had the misery of sitting with their heads on -one side, to add to their other discomforts. Afterwards I was put into -one without a hole, and miserable was my position. - -When we were all stowed in our separate cages, we were carried down to -the side of the canal, and placed in boats, two cages in each boat, -attended by a mandarin officer and several soldiers. My companion was -a marine, one who had come ashore in the junk with Webb and Wombwell, -and was still suffering from the effects of his beating, besides being -almost dead with dysentery. We lay alongside the quay till nearly -midnight, the soldiers and other people constantly running backwards -and forwards on shore, with torches and gongs, shouting and making a -great noise. About midnight we shoved off, and started down the canal; -but as the junk was covered over, and it was very dark, I could see -nothing of the country. - -We soon appeared to be in a wider stream, as they made sail on the -boat, and we went along at a rapid rate. In the morning I found that we -had got out of the canal, and were in a river, going down with wind and -tide. At any other time I should have enjoyed myself very much, but at -present my future prospects were too far from agreeable, to allow of -anything approaching to enjoyment. - -The banks of the river appeared to be well cultivated; here and there -some military stations might be seen, distinguished from the other -houses by their flag-staffs. Many junks were moored alongside the -bank, some very large, one in particular, whose long streamers flew -gaily out in the breeze. - -We stopped at a town on the left bank, where the soldiers got some -firewood, and immediately set to work to prepare breakfast; rice, -and some compounds of I know not what, for themselves, and sweet -cakes and tea for me and my companion; but he was too ill to eat, -and was constantly craving for water, which was never denied him. On -our arrival at this town, the people crowded into our boat, nearly -capsizing her; and to my surprise our guards made no attempt to keep -them out, but on the contrary rather encouraged them. They had not long -to satisfy their curiosity, for as soon as the soldiers had procured -all they wanted, the boat was shoved off, and they hoisted the sail -again. We continued our way down the stream till we arrived at another -large town on the left bank. Here we stopped again, and I could soon -see we were to be disembarked. The people crowded to see us as usual, -but one of the soldiers, throwing part of the sail over the tops of our -cages, kept watch over us, and would allow no one to molest us. - -On the sail being removed, that we might be taken out of the boat, the -first thing that met my eye was one of our guns, with the carriage -belonging to it; soon after I saw another gun and its carriage. To -enable the Chinese to get these guns, the tide must have fallen -considerably after we left the wreck. The sight of these guns, as may -be imagined, caused me anything but pleasurable sensations, as they -proved beyond a doubt to our captors, that we had come to their coast -with warlike intentions; and though they would perhaps be ashamed to -kill a few shipwrecked merchant sailors, they might not hesitate to do -so, if they could be certain that we had been concerned in the recent -warfare, and these guns were strong evidence against us. - -On being taken out of the boat, a long bamboo was passed between the -bars of my cage, and two men, placing the ends on their shoulders, -lifted it off the ground; and in this manner I was carried through an -immense crowd, the bearers sometimes stopping to rest, and placing my -cage on the ground, upon which the people gathered round and began to -torment me, as they had done in former cases. At length, after passing -through a great many streets, some of them very gay, we arrived at an -open space, at the end of which were large folding gates; through these -I passed, and after going up one or two passages, I found myself in a -large hall. It was a large plain room, with a balustrade running down -each side, behind which were several rough horses, saddled and bridled. -At the end opposite the door was a large red silk canopy, under which -was a small table, covered with a green cloth, and on it several metal -plates and vases, dedicated to the manes of the ancestors of the -person to whom the house belonged.[5] Many of the prisoners in their -cages had arrived before me, and the rest followed in due time. The -Chinese ranged us in our cages in two lines, one on each side of the -hall; and at the end of each line they placed one of the guns, with its -muzzle towards us. When we were thus arranged, like beasts in a show, -many well and richly-dressed people came to look at us; and none but -the better sort seemed to be admitted, for, with the exception of the -soldiers, there were no ragged people in the place. Our visitors were -mostly dressed in fine light silks, beautifully worked with flowers and -figures of different descriptions. All of them had fans, some of them -prettily painted, and others plain. One or two of the men had enamelled -watches, which they wore hanging to their girdles by a gold chain. We -were treated pretty well by them, as they gave us fruit and cakes, and -sent water to those who asked for it. - -We did not remain long in this hall, for our bearers again made their -appearance, and mine, shouldering the cage, marched off, and I was -once more exposed to the mercies of the mob; the soldiers, our guard, -never making the slightest attempt to keep the people off. Fortunately -for me I had had my hair cut close only a few days before we were -wrecked, so that there was little or nothing to lay hold of; for the -people on one side would pull my hair to make me look their way, and -those on the other side would instantly pull again, to make me look -round at them; and I, being ironed, hands, feet, and neck, could not -offer the least resistance, but was obliged to sit very patiently, or, -in other words, to grin and bear it. - -Heartily glad was I, when again taken up and walked off with. After -passing through many streets, I arrived at a mandarin's house, and was -placed with the other prisoners in a small court. Some empty cages were -standing about, larger than the one I was in, and with small yellow -flags flying on their tops. - -In a short time some officers came in, and opening the lid of my cage, -lifted me out, and led me out of this court into a larger one. To my -great delight I here saw Twizell, and the three of the crew that had -been missing, sitting in one corner, under a tree. I could not stop and -speak to them, my guides hurrying me on. We scarcely recognized one -another, so much were we altered. - -I walked on for a short time, meditating on the past events, and -wondering what my fate would be, when, raising my eyes from the ground, -to my astonishment I perceived a man walking before me, heavily ironed, -and whom I had never seen before. He was evidently an Englishman, -and seemed almost in a worse condition than myself. When he heard me -clanking after him, he turned round and spoke a few words, expressing -his sorrow at seeing any one else in such a situation. I asked him who -he was, and how he came there; but before he had time to answer, he was -led down one passage, and I along another; so I could neither learn who -he was, nor where or how he had been taken. - -On emerging from the passage, I found myself in a small paved court, -and in the presence of several mandarins. In the centre of this court -an old Chinaman was kneeling, fettered as I was; there was no guard -over him, and nobody seemed to take the least notice of him, at least -not whilst I was there. - -To my surprise, one of the mandarins addressed me in English; there was -also an interpreter present, a native of Macao, and a prisoner like -myself, having his legs in irons.[6] After they had asked me several -questions concerning the Kite, where we had been, whither we were -going, and how we were lost, I was sent away, and the other prisoners -were brought up and interrogated in the same manner. They asked all of -us our names and ages, wrote our names on a strip of cotton, and sewed -it to the backs of our jackets. We were then all sent away: the Chinese -had brought all the cages from the outer to the inner yard, round which -they had ranged them. - -I now had an opportunity of speaking to Twizell and the others who had -run away, and was sorry to hear that two of them (marines) had received -several spear wounds, and that all four had been severely bambooed when -taken. They had travelled by land all the way from the coast, in the -cages, having been put into them the day after we were all captured, -and had been two days sooner in their cages than our party. - -The corporal of marines, who was seriously ill of the dysentery, was -lying on his back in the bottom of his cage, whilst his legs were -raised up in the air, and his heels resting on the upper ledge, the lid -being thrown back. He had entirely lost his senses, and was evidently -dying fast; the maggots were crawling about him, and the smell that -came from him was dreadful. Fettered as we were, we could afford him no -assistance, and the Chinese merely looked at him, and then walked off, -holding their noses. - -The strange Englishman at this moment came by, and seeing his horrible -situation, spoke to the interpreter who was with him, and he to the -Chinese; upon which two of them, though with great reluctance, lifted -the marine into a clean cage, and placed him in an easier posture. The -stranger now told us that he was an artillery officer, and had been -taken some days before at Chusan; but he was hurried away before we -could learn his name, or anything more from him. - -It was now late in the afternoon, and dusk coming on, we were again put -into our cages, and carried through the town, till we arrived at the -jail. We were taken across a yard into a long room, which was divided -into four parts, by gratings run across. In this miserable place we -found eight more prisoners, (Lascars,) some of whom had been for two -months in the same sort of cages that we were in.[7] We were placed in -the small divisions, the coops being ranged round three sides of each -compartment, the fourth side being the entrance. A chain was passed -through each cage, and between our legs, over the chain of our irons; -the two ends being padlocked together, we were thus all fastened one to -another, and also to our cages. In this most uncomfortable manner we -passed the night. - -During the night the corporal I have mentioned died. He never recovered -the use of his senses. - -In the morning the jailer came in, an old man, with a loud voice, cross -look, and a piece of thyme, or some other herb, always stuck on his -upper lip. He opened the lids of the cages of the eight Lascars, and -took the irons off their wrists, thus enabling them to stand upright, -and shake themselves; we had no such indulgence, but were kept fast. -At eight o'clock our breakfast was brought in; it was jail allowance, -two small basins full of rice, and one of vegetables: the cages were -opened, and the irons taken off our hands, whilst we ate our scanty -meal, which we had no sooner finished than we were fastened down again. -We remained in this state all day, and after our evening allowance, -were again secured for the night. - -A little before dark, the watch was set, and a large gong, at a short -distance, was struck once; upon which a number of smaller gongs struck -up, and when they had finished, a boy outside the room began to strike -a piece of bamboo with a stick, which noise was continued without -intermission the whole night. This horrid noise most effectually -prevented my sleeping. The large gong was only struck when the time -changed, striking first one, then two, and so on, till it struck five; -thus regulating the watches of the night, which, in China, I imagine, -is divided into five; at any rate I always found it so. - -The following morning the jailer unlocked the lids of our cages, and -took the irons off our hands; so that we were at liberty to stand -upright, and stretch our limbs; which, from our cramped position, much -needed this relaxation. The large place we were in, was, as I have -said before, divided into four smaller apartments, three of which were -occupied by us in our cages; whilst in the fourth were some Chinese -prisoners, who lived in it by day, but slept in another part of the -jail. Outside was a covered passage, in which were several stoves; and -here the greater part of the Chinese prisoners cooked their rice and -other victuals. They had all chains on their legs, but were otherwise -free; and they gave us to understand that they were imprisoned for -smuggling opium, or for using it. Some were of the better class, being -well dressed, and eating their meals with the mandarin of the place. - -Two of the commoner sort had lost their tails,[8] and one was minus -his nose, which gave anything but a prepossessing appearance to his -countenance. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[5] Note 4. - -[6] Note 5. - -[7] Note 6. - -[8] Note 7. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - Captain Anstruther--Kindness to marines--Mandarin's - questions--Chinese music--Jolly-boat - party arrive--Privations--Medical - treatment--Removed--Sedans--Town--Joshouse--Apartment--Guard-room. - - -Towards the middle of the day, there was a commotion in the yard, and -soon afterwards, the jailers and some other people came in, and I and -two more, a marine and a boy, were carried out; after waiting a short -time in the yard, our cages were again shouldered, and we were conveyed -through the town to the residence of a mandarin, but not the same house -we had been at two days before. We were taken into the entrance-hall, -which had the usual canopy at the farther end; being, I suppose, the -"Hall of Ancestors." I was released from my cage directly it was set -down, and found myself with the English prisoner I had previously seen. -He told me he was Captain Anstruther, and had been kidnapped at Chusan; -that our heads were in comparative security, but that perhaps we should -have a long imprisonment, as the Chinese would only consent to give -us up, if the English would evacuate Chusan; but to this condition we -could not hope the commander-in-chief would accede. However, he was, at -the desire of the mandarins, going to write to Chusan to this effect, -and by this means our countrymen would know where we were, and perhaps -be enabled to procure our release. Whilst I was walking with him, I -saw one of the marines, who had been brought to the mandarins with -me, lying behind a sedan on a grass-plot, and knowing that he had the -dysentery, I feared the poor fellow was dead; but Captain Anstruther -said he had desired him to be placed there, that he might have the -benefit of the sun; he had given him some cakes, and afterwards -procured him a pair of trowsers; he also caused a doctor to be sent for -him; in fact, he did everything that lay in his power to ameliorate our -condition. - -In a short time I was summoned before the mandarin, and found the same -party assembled as before, with the interpreter in waiting. I expected -to be questioned concerning the strength of the fleet and army at -Chusan; but, on the contrary, the mandarins contented themselves with -asking me the most frivolous questions about myself, whether I was -married, how old I was, if I had a father or mother, and such like -inquiries. When this examination was over, Captain Anstruther was -brought in, and as he was a "great captain," was allowed to sit on the -floor of the room, whilst we sat outside on the stones. A plate of -cakes and a cup of tea were also handed to him. The mandarins could -not be made to understand how Captain Anstruther and our party, both -having come from Chusan, should not know each other; nor indeed would -they believe me, when I said I had never seen him until the day before. -They questioned and cross-questioned me, but to no purpose, as I had -never seen or even heard of such a person till then. They could not -comprehend the meaning of marines, till Captain Anstruther explained -it by calling them "sea soldiers," by which name the marines ever -afterwards went. - -They made many inquiries about Captain Noble, his wife and child, and -showed that they knew much concerning our vessel, from the numerous -spies they had at Chusan. After a few more such questions, I was -dismissed; and, being lifted into my cage, was carried back to the -jail, where I had my supper, and was then locked up for the night. At -dark the usual serenade commenced, which noise, with my uncomfortable -position, drove all expectation of sleep, at least by night, out of my -head. - -Soon after we had finished our breakfast the next morning, some of the -Chinese prisoners began to play on musical instruments, in different -parts of the yard, and independent of each other. One of these -instruments was something like a mandoline, and played in the same -way; but it was a most monotonous affair, with trifling variety in the -notes; and the song was as bad, a kind of sing-song noise, with very -little pretensions to the name of music. Another was a kind of small -violin, played with a bow; the player could only produce a wretched -noise. One man had a small fife; he was not a whit superior to his -fellows, though they seemed lost in rapture at their own performance, -and remained strumming and blowing all day long, barely allowing -themselves time for their meals. - -The next morning, Wednesday, two more of our party were taken to the -mandarins, and on their return reported the arrival of Mrs. Noble, -Lieut. Douglas, Mr. Witts our chief mate, and the two Lascar boys, -who had escaped in the jolly-boat. They told us that Mrs. Noble was -in the same kind of cage that we were in. I could scarcely believe -them, till the two Lascar boys were brought in, and they confirmed the -statement They had not only put her in a cage, but had also put irons -on her, treating her in the same manner as they did the male prisoners; -and, indeed, in some instances even worse. The mandarins had not the -humanity to order her to be taken out of the cage, but let her remain -there. - -Soon after the boys had come in, Lieut. Douglas and Mr. Witts were -brought into the jail, not to our place, but to the rooms on the other -side of the yard; and though we could see them, we had no opportunity -of speaking. They had been drifting about in the boat for three days, -in great misery, not having had any food, except a little dry rice, -and some water, out of a junk which they boarded; till at last, being -obliged to go on shore, they were made prisoners. I had hoped they -might have reached Chusan, and given an account of the loss of the -Kite, and the probability of our being prisoners. - -Next day, Saturday, Lieut. Douglas and Mr. Witts, who were kept on the -opposite side to us, were taken out of their cages in the daytime, and -allowed to walk about the yard; and as they were not prevented coming -over to us, they heard our tale, and related theirs in return. Captain -Anstruther and Mrs. Noble were kept in separate rooms in another yard; -they also were allowed their liberty by day, but when night came, -all were locked down in their cages. Through Captain Anstruther's -entreaties (who had many opportunities of seeing the mandarins, besides -having the advantage of the captured interpreter's company) a doctor -came to see some of the prisoners, two of whom had the dysentery very -badly, besides several who had spear wounds, and others whose flesh -the irons had galled and worked into sores; to the latter he applied -plasters, with a pink powder, which healed them in a short time; but -as for those who had the dysentery, he merely felt the pulse, looked at -them, and went away, leaving orders that the lids of their cages should -always be left open, and the irons taken off their hands. - -On Monday morning, Lieut. Douglas came over, and told us we were all -going to be removed to a more comfortable place; he and Mr. Witts very -soon after were taken away. We had an early supper, and as soon as we -had finished, some mandarin officers arrived, one carrying a small -board, with some Chinese characters upon it. Their arrival caused a -great bustle, and the jailer came in, unlocked the long chain that -went through all the cages, and took five of the prisoners away with -him. They walked out of the yard, and soon after he returned and took -five more, and so on till it came to my turn; I was then lifted out -of the cage, and walked out of our yard into a smaller one, where the -ring was taken off my neck, and the irons off my hands, my legs still -remaining chained. I was here motioned to sit down on a small form, -and on looking round I perceived Mrs. Noble standing at a gate in one -corner. I had not seen her since the wreck, so wishing to speak to her, -I got up, and was going towards her, but my keepers immediately stopped -me, and one, to my surprise, said, "Must not, must not." I turned to -him directly, and said, "Do you speak English?" he replied, "Yes, -sare;" though on my asking him some other questions, he either would -not or could not answer me. On my again attempting to go to Mrs. Noble, -he repeated his former expression, and put his hand on my shoulder to -prevent my rising. I was obliged, therefore, to content myself with -exchanging a few signs with her. - -I did not remain long in this place, for I was soon walked out into the -open space before the prison, where I found some sedans, into one of -which I stepped. They were open in front, and the ends of the bamboos -were fastened together by a crosspiece of the same material, which the -bearers, by stopping, placed on their shoulders, and raising the sedan -from the ground, trotted off with us at a great rate; several soldiers -going before to clear the way. - -Some of the streets through which I passed were rather broad, and all -were paved with loose flags, not cemented together. The different -trades appeared to have their particular streets; the dyers were in -one part of the town, the braziers in another, and so on: some of the -shops were very well set off, and all quite open to the street. The -houses were mostly built of wood, and the names and occupations of the -owners were painted up and down the door-posts, in yellow and other -bright colours, some being gilded, giving the streets a gay appearance. -Here and there was an opening where a joshouse stood; the pillars and -other parts of the front gaudily painted and ornamented; and on the -roof were placed several images. I passed several open doors, which led -into courtyards belonging to apparently large houses; the courts were -thronged with women and children, who all crowded to the entrance as I -passed. Neither in this, nor in any other instance did they appear to -be deprived of liberty, or to live secluded. The streets had generally -a door at each end, in an archway; and this being shut at night, -relieves the shopkeepers from the fear of thieves, to whom their open -houses would otherwise be very easy of access. The butchers' shops -were well fitted up with huge wooden slabs and blocks, and quarters -of immensely fat pork hung up for sale; geese, ducks, vegetables, and -fish, were all exposed in the broad open streets, as if in a market. I -was carried across several bridges, which were built over black, slimy, -sewer-looking places, from which, and from the streets themselves, -arose even more than the two and seventy several stenches of Cologne. - -[Illustration: _Drawn by C. H. Greenhill_ _Engraved by W. Lee._] - -My bearers trotted on through innumerable streets, the soldiers -clearing the way before them, not a difficult task, as the curiosity -of the inhabitants seemed satisfied, and there was little or no crowd, -the people merely coming to their doors and looking at me as I passed. -I arrived at length at the end of my journey, the sedan stopped, and I -walked out; then turned to my left up a narrow courtyard, and at the -end found several mandarins sitting with their officers. I ought to -have said before that we knew the mandarins by the balls or buttons -on the top of their caps, there being four kinds that I saw--red, -blue, white, and crystal; red, I believe, being the highest rank. The -officers were distinguished by gilded balls, having one or two tails -of fur appending to them, according to their rank. I made a bow on -passing, which they all returned; and I was led across a small yard, -where I observed large earthen pans for catching water. I walked into -a small square room, and again joined the Englishmen who had preceded -me. The floor was covered with mats, and the change from our cages was -most agreeable. In a short time some more of the prisoners arrived, -and the room was filled with eleven Europeans and four Lascars, making -fifteen in all, just as many as the room would hold; nine being on one -side, and six on the other, the rest of this side being occupied by a -water-bucket, and two small washing-tubs. It being now dark, we began -to think of sleep, so we lay down, which there was just room enough to -do, each man lying on his back, and the feet of both rows meeting in -the centre; so that we had little space to toss about in; however, this -was paradise to the cages, and thinking we should not remain here long, -we made ourselves as comfortable as circumstances would allow. - -The next morning a servant brought us some water to wash ourselves, -(the first time we had been allowed this luxury,) fine white rice -boiled in water, and served up in small wooden tubs. We had as much -rice as we wished for, and a kind of stew, very much like old rags -boiled, in one dish, and salt-fish in another; the dishes were of -common earthenware, and shaped like a bowl. There being fifteen of us, -we divided ourselves into three messes, five in each, and to each mess -was brought a tub full of rice, one dish of stew, and one of very small -fish, salted, and served up raw; but I could not make out what they -were. - -After this meal I began to look about me; the night previous having -been too dark for me to notice any of the surrounding objects. - -The room I was in, I found, was partitioned off from another, in which -was a bed, with two or three chairs, and a small table. In this room -lived an old officer, of some rank, I suppose, as all the soldiers, and -our jailer, paid him great respect. Two young men came to him every -day; whom we used to see, standing up before him, with their hands -behind their backs, like schoolboys, saying their lessons to him. It -looked, as ours did, into a small court, in which, also, were some of -the same kind of large pans for catching rain water, as those before -mentioned. Two sides of the apartment in which I was placed, were of -wood, and the other two of white bricks; but they were so thin, and -so insecurely placed together, that it would have required little -strength to shove them down. The floor was an inch thick in dirt, and -the ceiling (which was a great height) covered with cobwebs. It was a -place that we might have got out of with very little trouble; but when -out, we should not have known which way to turn, if escape had been our -object, and our dress and looks would have betrayed us instantly. The -consequence of such an attempt might have been fatal; so that they had -us as safely confined in this insecure building, as when we were in the -cages, fettered and chained to one another. - -In front of our room was one appropriated to the use of one of the -keepers. An old man, hasty at times, when rather fou, but who always -behaved civilly, and in general very kindly towards us. To the left -of his dormitory was a passage that led to the cook-house; and to -the right, another that led into a large yard, on each side of which -was a spacious apartment, where their jos-ceremonies were performed. -Outside our door was a passage, and a staircase that led to the upper -story. The passage led down to another large yard, one side of which -was walled up, and on the other was a large open room, containing -chairs, tables, and sleeping couches, with cane bottoms: this seemed -the guard-room, as soldiers were always there, playing with dice and -dominoes; and their arms (match-locks, and bows and arrows,) were -scattered about. Beyond this room was another passage, which led to the -room where the sixteen Lascars were confined; a smaller and far less -comfortable place than ours. - -What opportunities I had of seeing the building caused me to conclude, -that it was a jos-house, and of spacious dimensions; but I saw no -images, nor any religious ceremonies performed.[9] - -The day passed on, and supper-time came; this meal was the same as -the morning's: after it was over, and the room swept, an officer came -in, and distributed rugs amongst us; one rug between two. These were -a great improvement upon the mats, being soft to lie upon during the -hot weather, and warm to cover us, in case of our remaining there the -winter. At dark, the watch was set, the same as down at the jail, only -here the noise was not so incessant; and indeed the watchmen very often -fell asleep, and left us undisturbed a long time. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[9] Note 8. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - Physician--Visitors--Day's employment--Taken before the - mandarin--Letters and clothing from Chusan--Chinese clothes--Irons - taken off--Return home--Salamanders--Amusements. - - -The next morning one of the Melville's boys was taken ill of the -dysentery; the doctor came to see him, and prescribed some medicine, -which came in the shape of a bitter brown mixture; it did him no good, -for in a few days he grew so much worse, that he was removed down to -the jail again, where, by-the-bye, the two marines who were ill had -been left, as they were unable to bear the moving. Poor fellows! they -felt very much being separated from their comrades, and left behind; -but it was of no use complaining; they were obliged to submit. As for -the boy[10] that was taken from us, (the same that I dragged out of the -water when we were wrecked,) he left us, I might almost say, with a -determination to die, so entirely did he despair; his forebodings were -too true, as he died shortly after in the jail. - -The window was besieged all day by well dressed persons, who came to -see "the lions;" at first we only looked again, but getting bolder by -degrees, we turned beggars, and from every fresh batch that came to the -window, we requested something--either money, tobacco, or cakes, not -being very particular: if they refused to give anything, we immediately -slid the panels to, which most effectually prevented their seeing us, -and the soldiers, our guard, very soon turned them out. Our grating was -blockaded continually in this manner for more than a week, when the -visitors ceased to come, and we were left in quietness. - -Being in so crowded a state, and never allowed to go out of the room, -on any pretence whatever, the air soon became very unwholesome; and -animals, the natural consequence of such a state of things, began to -show themselves, and, in spite of our utmost exertions, increased upon -us; so that if the warm weather, which was very favourable to them, -should continue, we stood a fair chance of being devoured alive. But -our deplorable condition fortunately raised up another nation, which, -though living upon the same body, made desperate war upon the other -creatures, and by this means they kept each other under. The principal -employment in the morning was to overhaul our clothes, and kill all we -could catch--a most disgusting way of passing the time, but yet most -necessary; the rest of the day was spent either in walking up and down -the room, spinning yarns, or sleeping. - -After remaining in this place about a fortnight, we were one evening -surprised by the appearance of the compradore, who came to ask if we -wished to send to Chusan for anything, as he was going there. As -I knew nobody there, and felt sure that Lieut. Douglas, who was as -kind and attentive to us as opportunity allowed, would write, and -acquaint the proper persons with our situation and wants, I did not -write, neither did any of the others; he therefore went away, saying, -that in about three weeks he hoped we should all be free; but he -added, "Mandarin big rogue;" however, this was far better news than I -expected, and I looked forward to his return with pleasure and anxiety. - -Time passed on pretty well after this, and things were going on as -usual; those who had been ill of dysentery on board the ship were -gradually getting better, fear having worked wonders; when about a -fortnight after the compradore's visit, we were roused one evening -by a noise in the passage, whilst we were at supper. The board which -had before attended us, again made its appearance, and as soon as we -had finished our repast, all the white men were walked out of the -room, and, after waiting a short time in the yard, sedans having been -collected, we were placed in them, and carried to the chief mandarin's -house. After passing through numerous streets, we arrived at a green -plot railed in; against the railings were placed several small flags, -some yellow and some red, but all having Chinese characters upon them. -Passing through a gate, we came to a pair of large folding doors, on -each fold of which was painted a gaudy figure, bearing a sword, and -very much resembling the king of diamonds in our cards, only not half -so good looking. On each side of this huge door was another smaller, -through one of which we were taken, and here our sedans stopped, and -we alighted. At the end of this new yard was a canopy of red and green -silk as usual; we sat under this canopy until we were summoned before -the mandarins. We were then led through a large place, which appeared -intended for an ornamental garden, several rocks being placed here and -there, round which the path wound; but I saw no flowers, and very few -green things of any description. - -The room in which the mandarins were assembled, was rather a large -chamber, open in front, as it was the hot season; several couches, -and glazed arm-chairs, were arranged about the room; four large paper -lanterns were suspended from the ceiling, and as the evening drew in, -they, and many more placed in other parts of the room, were lighted. -One or two more mandarins arriving, there was a great deal of bowing, -and salaaming, and tea-drinking, after which they proceeded to business. - -The compradore now made his appearance, and produced several letters, -which he handed to me to read: on opening them, I found that they came -from Chusan, with various articles of clothing, and other comforts for -Lieut. Douglas and Captain Anstruther, clothes of all sorts for Mrs. -Noble, and a quantity for the child which was drowned; but nothing -whatever arrived for the crew; although Lieut. Douglas had written for -necessary clothes for us, as well as for himself. I read the letters -over to the compradore, making him understand, as well as I could, -the nature of the contents, and he repeated them to the mandarins, -whose official took them down in Chinese. When we had finished reading -the letters, Mrs. Noble, Lieut. Douglas, Capt. Anstruther, and the -mate, were brought in, and their letters given to them; they were -also permitted to open their stores. We were now allowed to converse -together for a short time. Until now, I had not been able to speak to -Mrs. Noble since the wreck. The mandarins soon called us up, and told -us, by the interpreter, that all was peace, and that in six days we -should be sent down to Chusan; but, after giving us this agreeable -intelligence, they inquired if we had any clothes for the cold weather, -which would soon come on. I immediately said, "If we are going so soon -to Chusan, we shall not require any of your clothes." They sent out, -notwithstanding, and soon after a basket was brought in, containing our -future raiment, which the mandarins distributed amongst our party. They -gave to each man a large loose coat, and a pair of leggings, made of -dungaree, and lined with cotton. - -They were very warm and well calculated to keep out the cold, but very -clumsy and heavy; still they were not to be refused, and indeed had -it not been for this kindness of the mandarins, we should have been -exposed, almost naked, to the approaching inclement season. But this -anxiety to provide us with clothing for the cold weather, made me doubt -very much whether six days, or even six weeks, would find us on our way -to Chusan. As it turned out, it was exactly sixteen weeks from that day -before we were released. - -After another consultation amongst the mandarins, we were all called -up again, and the irons taken off our legs, beginning with Mrs. Noble. -This was a great relief, as our legs were quite stiff with their long -confinement, and in most cases the iron had worked into our flesh. -Whilst they were being taken off, the compradore desired us to tell the -Lascars, who had been left behind in the prison, that if they made no -"bobberee," their irons would be taken off also.[11] - -Being once more unfettered, we were again separated from Lieut. Douglas -and his party, and led away to another room, the ceiling of which -seemed very much inclined to come down on our heads. There was a table -here, and a couch. I had no sooner taken my seat on the latter, than a -well-dressed Chinese put writing materials before me, red paper, Indian -ink, and a small brush. He made signs for me to write, salaaming low -at the same time; I immediately complied with his request, and wrote a -few lines for him. I had no sooner done this, and returned his brush, -than he produced a handful of pice, and presented them to me; my -finances being very low indeed, this donation was not to be rejected; -I therefore accepted them, and found he had given me between fifty and -sixty pice, (about four pence in our money,)--very good pay, I thought, -for writing half a dozen lines. - -In this room refreshments were brought for us; hard-boiled eggs, fowls -and pork cut into small pieces, and two sorts of cakes, one being -plain, with small seeds on the top; the other very like dumplings, with -minced pork inside. In fact, there was as much as we could eat, and all -was good of the kind; at any rate, we completely demolished the good -things, and then we returned to our sedans, and were carried back to -our rooms. Here we found the Lascars anxiously awaiting our return; we -told them that the mandarins said we were going to Chusan in six days, -which good news raised their spirits very much, and they began to abuse -the Chinese, especially the female part of the community, for having -imprisoned them at all. The next day our jailer brought us shoes and -stockings of Chinese manufacture, and made signs that the Lascars' -clothes were being made, and would very soon be ready. - -In the course of the same day, my friend of the previous night came and -requested me to write something more for him; I of course consented, -and he then produced some plain white fans; I wrote a few lines upon -them, and he seemed much pleased with my performance; Wombwell also -wrote on one for him. In return, he gave us two a basket full of sweet -cakes, which were very acceptable; he came to see us several times -afterwards, and never failed to bring some token of his gratitude with -him. - -Time wore away: the six days went by, and we were not released; some -said they were perhaps waiting till the Lascars' jackets were ready, -but they were brought, and we were still kept prisoners. - -With the new clothes came also some of those horrid creatures by which -we had been tormented; these coming fresh from the tailors' hands, -made us observe our guards a little more closely, and we could plainly -discern that they were swarming with vermin. We were glad to find that -what we had at first set down to our own dirt and unwholesomeness, was -more attributable to the dirt and laziness of our jailers and other -people. Even the walls had their inhabitants, for they fell down out of -the rafters upon us. - -Days and weeks passed on, and we gave up all hopes of a speedy release, -expecting nothing less than an imprisonment of a year or two; but I -cannot say that I was now much troubled with the fear of losing my -head. During this time we were sometimes amused with a fight in the -yard, between two of the soldiers--a most unpleasant kind of combat, -for they seized hold of each other's tails with one hand, and dragging -the head down almost to the ground, clawed and scratched with the other -hand, till the one with the weakest tail rolled over and gave in; we -always tried to get out and see fair play, but the soldiers mustered -too strong at these times. Sometimes, again, a drunken soldier would -make his appearance, and coming to the window afford us a little -amusement, for, getting hold of his tail, we made it fast to the -grating, and then left him to get loose as he could; generally one of -his comrades, attracted by his bellowing, came and released him; all -this was not very edifying employment, but it served to pass the time, -which, having no books or employment, hung very heavily on our hands. - -The weather now changed, and the winter set in; we were glad to put on -our thick clothes, which we found very comfortable, except that they -afforded a great harbour to the vermin: this was, however, by this -time only a secondary consideration, as the cold weather had rendered -them very torpid, and they did not bite so hard. We had only two meals -a day, morning and evening, and these being soon settled, and not -being allowed anything in the middle of the day, we made bags of our -old clothes, and at breakfast-time filled them with rice, when the -servants were out of the room, and stowed them away for a mid-day meal. -The servants discovered it once or twice, but we generally managed to -secrete some rice from our breakfast. - -The Chinese used now to carry about little teapots, full of hot water, -at the spouts of which they were constantly sipping; and also a kind -of salamander, an oblong brass vessel, with a handle to it, and filled -with hot water; in the lid were several small holes, and the steam -coming through kept them warm. They carried these things either in -their long loose sleeves, or, sitting down, placed their feet upon -them; but I should have imagined that the steam would have damped their -clothes, and rather chilled than warmed them. About this time, having -got rather free and easy with our jailers, one of our party slipped -out into the passage, whilst the servants were removing the rice and -dishes, and brought in the piece of bamboo and stick, which the watch -used at night; in the evening we saw the soldiers searching for it, but -we kept quiet till dark, and then we began to keep watch ourselves; -but the noise soon brought our jailer in, who took the bamboo away, -threatening to put us in irons. This threat made but little impression, -for, a short time after, another of the party walked off with a teapot -belonging to one of the soldiers; this we kept for several days, till -the owner found out where it was; but we would not give it up unless -he paid for it, and as our jailer and his own comrades only laughed at -him, we obliged him to redeem his teapot with a hundred or more pice, -much to his dissatisfaction. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[10] These _boys_, as they are called in the Navy, were all above -one-and-twenty. - -[11] However, they did not take their irons off until just before our -release. Indeed, they always made a marked difference between the white -men and the men of colour, holding up the thumb to signify the former, -and the little finger the latter. Note 9. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - Language--Marine dies--Canton interpreter--Lieut. Douglas--Secret - letters--Soap--Money--Christmas--Court-martial--Fires--Chinese - dinner--Ladies' apartments. - - -One evening, about the latter end of November, we were surprised by the -appearance of the moving board, and expected that we were to be taken -away again, when, to our great amazement, one of the marines that we -had left in the prison walked in, looking stout and well; but after -him came, or rather was carried, the other, a most horrid spectacle, a -moving skeleton, with the skin stretched tightly over his bones; his -eyes were sunk deep in his head, and his voice was awfully hollow; he -was the most melancholy sight I ever saw. When on board the ship he -was a stout, well-made man, and now how dreadfully changed! he had -come up merely to die with his old companions. The other had been very -ill indeed, but (owing to a good constitution, and the kindness and -attentions of Mrs. Noble, who did all that possibly lay in her power to -alleviate their sufferings) he had got over his sickness, and was now -in a fair way for recovery.[12] They brought notes from Lieut. Douglas -and Mrs. Noble, promising us some money. The marines had received their -pice, and ours were to come the next day, which they accordingly did; -four hundred pice for each of the white men, and three hundred for each -of the Lascars. - -I now began to learn a little of the language, and found out the name -of several things in the eating way; such as pork, beef, and all sorts -of cakes, and the celebrated bird's-nest soup, which, by-the-bye, was -uncommonly good; these things we were enabled to buy with the money we -had received. - -This evening the doctor came and looked at the sick man, and shortly -after his visit, one of the servants brought him a dose, which he -took. That night this old servant was constantly at our window, with a -lantern, to look at the sick person. Towards morning the marine became -much worse, and lost his senses, and soon after he died. He was no -sooner dead than the servant, who had been watching very narrowly at -the window, came in, and rolling the body up in a long coat, and taking -it by the arms, threw it on his back, and making signs for one of the -Melville's boys to keep the legs off the ground, they walked off with -him through the gate, and some way into the town, till they came to an -open space, where there was a shed with some straw in it. Here he laid -the body down, and covering it decently with the coat, made the boy -understand that it would be buried that night. - -There were now only two left of the seven marines who came on board -of the Kite from the Melville; and it was not long before one of these -was taken ill; he soon became so bad, that he was obliged to be moved -out of our room, and we hoped he might be taken down to the jail, where -he would have better attendance, and the advantage of Mrs. Noble's -kindness. Our jailer and attendants made signs to this effect, but they -moved him only to another part of the joshouse. He had received several -spear-wounds when he was taken, which had never properly healed; and -when attacked by the dysentery, these wounds broke out afresh, and -reduced him to a dreadful state, and it was not long before we heard of -his death. There was now only one marine left. - -A short time after this, a new interpreter, who had just arrived, as he -said, from Canton, came up to us; he brought us two letters to read, -one from Mrs. Noble, and the other from Captain Anstruther, to their -friends at Chusan, requesting to have some clothes and other things -sent to them. This man told us that it would most likely be peace, -and that we should be released in a short time. We complained of the -smallness of our room, and of our having nothing but rice to eat, and -said we wished to have meat sometimes; he agreed that it was a most -uncomfortable place, and promised to speak to the mandarins, and get -all things put to rights for us. He then left us, I cannot say with -revived hopes, for we placed but little reliance on his assurances, -being by this time fully aware of the deceitfulness of the Chinese. -He told us, however, that either Captain Anstruther or Lieut. Douglas -would come to see us in a few days. - -On this point he did not deceive us; for two or three days after -his visit, Lieut. Douglas, to our great pleasure, walked in: he was -very indignant at the treatment we had received, and at our being -confined in such a miserable place, and said he would get it altered -immediately. We learned from him, that though the mandarins pressed -the officers to write to their friends at Chusan, and promised that -the letters should be safely conveyed, they had never kept to their -word, but had detained the letters when they had obtained possession of -them; perhaps as curiosities. The officers at Chusan, finding that the -prisoners at Ningpo did not write, suspected the cause to be something -of this kind, and therefore bribed a Chinese to carry letters from -them to Lieut. Douglas and the others; and they answered them by the -same person. They asked for all they wanted, in their letters by the -Chinaman, and always mentioned the same things in those that were given -to the mandarins, so that these gentlemen imagined the English were -conjurors, or some such thing; for with all their cunning they never -found out the spy, and the things that were written for, through them, -always came, although they never sent the letters. Lieut. Douglas, -therefore, knew all that was passing at Chusan, and could tell us what -chance there was of our being speedily released. He told us he had -tried several times to get up to see us, but that the mandarins would -not allow him to come. He had sent us several things, and amongst the -rest a bar of soap; but none of these things arrived, I suppose the -Chinese ate the soap; as they have no such article themselves, they -would most likely imagine it to be some eatable; and as they are in the -habit of eating far nastier things, the soap might have been rather a -delicacy to them than otherwise. After some more conversation, he gave -us a dollar apiece to procure us better and more substantial food, -and then left us, promising to see us soon again, and to improve our -situation. - -Lieut. Douglas continued to supply us with money, at the rate of a -dollar apiece for fourteen days; but the persons who brought it to us -generally pocketed one or two dollars each time, and altogether robbed -us of nine dollars; a large sum in that country, where the necessaries -of life are so cheap. The proper exchange, I believe, is rather more -than a thousand pice to the dollar, but we could only get nine hundred -and thirty-two, or at most nine hundred and fifty. - -Christmas was now close at hand, and we accordingly bought some meat -and other things, that we might not eat such an un-Englishlike dinner -as rice, turnips, and very small fish, our usual food; and with a -little coaxing on our part, we prevailed on the old jailer to allow us -to have some samshu, a liquor very like gin, and obtained from rice. -We made a better Christmas of it than I had expected, and after our -dinner we called our jailer in, and drank his health, to his great -delight; in fact, he was so much pleased, that he ran out of our room, -and immediately returned, bringing with him a haunch of goat, which -he said "he gave to us;" and was going to hang it up in our room, but -we deemed it expedient to place it in the outer air, so he hung it up -outside, and we had it for dinner the next day. From this time we were -allowed to have as much samshu as we liked; and with the exception of -one Lascar getting drunk, no one ever forgot himself. The Lascar, when -he came to his senses in the morning, we tried by court-martial, and -sentenced him to receive three dozen, which were administered with a -cat made for the purpose, of threads twisted and plaited together. - -The marine was now the only Englishman in irons, and notwithstanding -the mandarins had promised Lieut. Douglas, in consequence of his -remonstrances, that they should be taken off, they had as usual -deceived him; so one day we took them off ourselves, and lifting up one -of the floor planks in a corner of the room, hid them there. This we -were enabled to effect the more easily, as they had been taken off when -he was at the jail, to allow him to put on a pair of flushing trousers -Lieut. Douglas had given him; and therefore they were not rivetted, but -merely padlocked together. The Chinese never noticed that his irons -were off, and they were left in the hole as a legacy to the rats. - -One evening, whilst at our supper, one of the soldiers came to the -window, and amused himself by imitating our awkward attempts to eat -with the chopsticks. This impertinence so incensed one of our men, that -he jumped up, and filling a basin with water, dashed it through the -bars into the soldier's face, taking him quite by surprise; the water -streamed down his breast, inside his numerous jackets, and must have -made him most uncomfortable. But his only revenge was swearing and -shaking his fist at us as he ran away. Finding that no harm arose from -this first attempt, we determined never to be annoyed again, regretting -that we had allowed ourselves to be overlooked so long; therefore all -parties that would not pay for peeping, we drove away by throwing water -at them; and having a bucketful in the room, the water was always at -hand. Our proceedings amused the old jailer exceedingly, and he very -often brought people to see us, and then getting behind them, made -signs for us to throw the water in their faces; taking care, however, -always to get out of reach of the shower, and to condole with the -visitors, who generally received a good ducking. - -It was now January, and we had some very cold weather, and several -falls of snow; our jailer, therefore, allowed us sometimes to have a -small earthenware pot, in which was some mould, and on the top a few -pieces of charcoal; this, of course, was soon expended, so, to keep up -the fire, we tore out the bars of the door, and part of the flooring, -and burnt them. These were the only things I saw in use at the joshouse -in lieu of fire-places. - -Our room was too crowded for us to feel the cold much, but still it was -rather chilly; so, to keep ourselves warm, we ran round and round our -apartment, played at leapfrog, and such other games, which kept the -blood from freezing in our veins; besides, we bought pipes and tobacco, -and constantly smoked, which warmed us a little, and probably prevented -sickness getting in amongst us; this was a great advantage, for if any -fever had broken out, we might all have been carried off, from the -extreme unwholesomeness of our apartment. We could see the old officer, -who lived in the room next ours, sitting, for hours together, in his -yard, basking in the sun, and smoking a long pipe; wrapped up in two or -three dresses, made of skins sown together, and wearing a curious kind -of head-dress, resembling the cap worn by jesters in the olden time, -only minus the bells. - -Soon after Lieut. Douglas's visit, Wombwell and I were sent for by the -mandarins; thanks to the person for whom we had written on the fans, -as he came with the servants, and pointed us out. On arriving at the -mandarin's, we found the Canton interpreter, with several letters and -boxes from Chusan. The letters contained the good news that peace -was concluded; this information, coming from English authority, was -the more likely to be true, and of course gave me greater pleasure. -The interpreter wished me to explain the letters, which I did, making -him understand our expressions as well as I could; I then told him -to whom the boxes belonged. Wombwell and I were kept separate, and, -after interpreting one letter, I was sent away, and Wombwell brought -in, to give his interpretation. This way of proceeding of course took -a long time; so that we were there nearly all day. About noon a small -table was brought in, upon which they placed refreshments for us; cold -meat cut into small pieces, hard boiled eggs, cakes, and a metal jug -containing about a quart of samshu. This came in very happily, and the -interpreting went on with fresh vigour. - -Once, when I retired whilst Wombwell was giving his version of a -letter, I was taken to an officer's rooms, and saw him and three others -at dinner; but, notwithstanding my signs to that purpose, they would -not allow me to share it with them. In the centre of the table was -a large bowl, with a heater in the middle of it, containing a rich -soup, full of vegetables and meat, cut into very small pieces. Around -this were several large plates, containing pork and fowls cut up, the -bones having been taken out, pickled fish and vegetables in a rich -thick gravy; two small plates, one containing salted shrimps, and the -other, something exactly like sea-weed, and also a small basin, filled -with a white lard, into which the officers dipped their chopsticks, -and taking out a small quantity, mixed it with their rice. The rice, -which was very fine and white, was in a small wooden bucket; from which -the servants gave their masters a fresh supply, when their basins -were empty. The chopsticks were made of a hard black polished wood, -something like ebony; and the basins and plates were of that beautiful -transparent China ware which we esteem so highly, with figures and -flowers painted on them, in most brilliant colours. Two servants stood -behind their master's chairs, and waited upon them with the assiduity -of European servants. When the officers had finished, the servants took -their places, and made their dinner off the remains. They followed -their masters' example in excluding me from their repast; though they -very readily gave me cups of hot water, which I suppose they called -tea, as I could discern two or three leaves at the bottom of the cup. - -Having now nothing to do, I went to the entrance, and on looking out, -I observed, opposite to me, a building, from which proceeded a Babel -of voices, and seeing a little girl come out of the door, I thought -I would take the opportunity, whilst the officers were in another -apartment, and the servants intent upon their supper, to walk over, and -see what was in this place; so on the girl's return, I followed her; -but was noticed too soon by the ladies inside, who no sooner saw me -than they jumped up, and slammed the door in my face, setting up most -dreadful shrieks, which brought the officers out, who immediately ran -over to me, and led me back, laughing heartily at the same time; so -that my attempt to see a Chinese lady's apartment was frustrated. - -I now returned to the interpreter, and having finished our task, the -small table was again placed before us, furnished in the same manner as -before; so that we could not complain of their want of hospitality. - -The mandarin, a fat jolly-looking old gentleman, asked me, through the -interpreter, whether we ever had any snow in our country; and seemed -very much surprised when I told him, we had far more than was then -on the ground; he was very much taken with the appearance of my blue -flannel shirt, which I was then wearing: but as it was my warmest -piece of clothing, I could not afford to make him a present of it. The -room we were in was very nicely furnished; with painted arm-chairs, a -few couches, with soft cushions, small tables, inlaid with different -kinds of woods, several handsome China vases, and a small English clock -in a wooden case, inlaid with brass. The ceiling was painted buff -colour, and varnished; and from it were suspended four large ornamented -lanterns. There were neither rushes nor mats on the floor, but merely -the bare boards, and these by no means too clean. - -When we reached home (as we were obliged to call our miserable prison) -it was quite dark, and we found all the others had lain down. We -communicated the happy news we had learned from the letters, and then -followed their example. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[12] These two marines had their irons on their legs when they came to -us. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - Jos ceremonies--Chinese New Year's day--New Testament--Epsom - salts--Grief of our jailer--Kites--Procession--Leave - Ningpo--Chinhae--Huge idols--Chinese camp--Mandarin's message. - - -A night or two after our visit to the mandarin, we heard the priests -chaunting, two or three silvery toned bells were struck at the -same time, and now and then a drum. We could see nothing of their -proceedings, but from the glare of light the temple must have been -brilliantly illuminated. The priests were not exactly sober all the -next day; so they must have taken strong stimulants during the night. - -A few days after was the Chinese New Year's Day; when an immense -number of worshippers visited the joshouse with offerings of various -kinds; mostly ornaments of filigree paper. All the visitors were -extremely well dressed; silks, satins, and furs of all descriptions, -and very handsome dresses they were. - -One of them, a man, arrayed in a splendid silk garment, had some words -with our jailer, and I believe struck him, at least I saw his hand up: -he was seized by the soldiers, and dragged by his tail to an inner -court, from whence he was shortly led by a soldier with a long heavy -chain round his neck, and handcuffed. What became of him afterwards -I did not learn; but it seemed to me summary justice, and very hard -usage, for apparently so slight an offence. The old officer, who lived -behind our prison, wore a magnificent dress, something similar to a -tartan, but the colours more varied, and brilliant. On his breast was a -piece of beautiful embroidery; representing some extraordinary animal, -only existing, I should suppose, in the imaginations of the Chinese. -At his appearance, all the soldiers, and our old jailer, went to him, -and made their obeisance; salaaming down to the ground; he returned -it most graciously, and they then retired. In the evening rockets and -other fireworks were going off in every direction. This festival was a -great nuisance to us, as the generality of the shops were shut up for a -fortnight, and we could only procure plain cakes. - -It was about this time that Mrs. Noble sent us a New Testament, and -Flavel on Providence, which were very acceptable indeed; and they -enabled us to pass our time in somewhat more respectable a manner than -heretofore. - -We were sometimes very much amused by seeing our jailer's head shaved, -and him in a manner shampooed, the operations altogether occupying -a considerable space of time. The shampooing consisted merely of -having the back well drubbed (for I can call it by no other name) by -the barber, using one hand open and the other clenched; this was a -finishing touch, after shaving him, and washing his head and face; the -razors were excessively clumsy in appearance, but were very keen, and -did their duty well. - -Soon after the New Year's Festival, Wombwell and I were again sent for -by the mandarins, and found letters to the same purport as before; but -in one of the letters was a Latin quotation, which led me to suppose -that peace was not quite so close at hand as the English part of the -letter gave us to understand; however, this I did not translate, nor -did I say anything about it to the other prisoners, thinking it was -intended for the officers' private information. With the letters -came some packets of medicine; and amongst them several doses of -Epsom salts, which the Chinese mistook for saltpetre, and were quite -astonished that it did not take fire when they applied a candle to -it. Seeing them so inquisitive, I tried very hard to persuade them to -take some blue pills which had been sent, telling them that they were -sweatmeats of some sort, and very good for the stomach; but to no -purpose, they were not to be taken in. This was a thoughtless action, -I must own, as the consequences of the experiment, had I succeeded in -persuading them to take some, might have made them imagine that we -wished to poison them. We then returned to our sedans, and were taken -home. - -Just outside the gates of the mandarin's house, I observed a number -of people collected, and amongst them, several children fancifully -dressed, and crowned with artificial flowers; I could not imagine -why they were arrayed in this style, unless they formed part of some -procession in honour of the New Year. - -During our absence, the jailer had been to the window, making signs -that we were all going away; he appeared very much grieved, and putting -his hand to his breast, with tears in his eyes, seemed to express -his great regret at having to part with us. At last, his feelings -completely got the better of him, and he was obliged to run into his -room; where he shut himself up for the remainder of the day; sending -us, however, some substantial marks of his regard, in the shape of -stewed beef, bird's-nest soup, and samshu. - -During the winter months, the Chinese amused themselves with -kite-flying; their kites had a hole in the centre, across which were -placed several strings; and when they were up in the air, the wind -passing through the hole produced a loud humming noise. I suppose this -was on the same principle as the Æolian harp. Some of them were very -pretty and ingenious, being in the shape of birds and butterflies, the -wings of which were made of loose thin paper, which fluttered about as -they rose into the air. - -Time passed, and we two paid several more visits to the mandarins, -when we always heard the same reports of liberty. I rather liked these -visits, as they gave me opportunities, which I should not otherwise -have had, of seeing a little of the Chinese; besides the great -advantage of getting fresh air, and being able to stretch my limbs. - -On my last visit to the mandarin's, I saw another coming in state -to see him; and as his attendants made rather a curious group, I -shall give a description of them. In front walked two men, with high -felt caps, to which were appended two goose-quills, having very much -the appearance of a large ink-bottle, with two pens in it; they -dragged chains after them; then came two more, with the same curious -head-dresses, beating gongs; then a soldier, with a red silk chatty, -which he carried as if about to charge; after him were two more -soldiers, and then the mandarin's sedan made its appearance, carried -by four men, and surrounded by soldiers and other attendants; the -whole party were shouting, and making a great noise. When they had -passed through the great gate, the train filed off to the right and -left, and the mandarin walked out of his sedan, and went in; attended -only by his pipe-bearer, and one or two more officers. All, with the -exception of his immediate attendants, were very raggedly clothed, and -the sedan-bearers were almost naked, notwithstanding the inclemency -of the weather; indeed, the _quantity_, and not the _quality_, of the -attendants, seemed the order of the day. - -I was rather struck with the manner of visiting amongst the Chinese, -as showing a greater degree of refinement existing amongst them than -I had any idea of. The person calling sent in his card, (a piece of -red paper, with a few characters upon it,) and if the master of the -house were in, or chose to see him, he went to the door, and took the -visitor into the sitting-room, where tea was immediately served up. On -the visitor's departure, the master generally accompanies him a certain -distance, according to his rank; if a superior, to the gate; if an -equal, or inferior, not so far: at the same time there being always -a lengthened _combat de politesse_ about taking precedence, although -regular rules are laid down for their guidance on the subject, and -they well know that after a certain number of bows, the superior must -always go first. - -During the month of February the soldiers were constantly making signs, -intimating that we were on the point of departure; and some of them -went away, carrying all their few worldly goods with them, so that we -began to think our liberation was really close at hand. - -One morning very early, before we had risen, a little boy, one of -our attendants, came to the window, and shoving back the shutters, -desired us to get up, for we were all going away; but as we did not -believe him, the only answer he received was a volley of shoes from -all parts of the room, which quickly drove him away; but soon after -our old jailer came, and made signs to the same effect, and that our -rice was coming in directly; we therefore arose, still hardly daring -to believe him. When breakfast was finished, the old man came in and -told us to pack up our rugs; that we were going away, and were to take -them with us. We then imagined Lieut. Douglas's remonstrances had had -some effect, and that, instead of being released, we were only going -to a more commodious prison; however, even this was good news, and we -proceeded very joyfully to pack up our little all. Outside, the place -was all in confusion; a number of fresh soldiers made their appearance, -whilst our own guards were taking their departure, with their beds -and other traps. The jailer was distributing his goods amongst the -servants, giving a pipe to one, a gown to another, and so on. A number -of coolies now came in, and carried away our rugs. Our New Testament we -gave to the old jailer, who, though cross at times, had on the whole -treated us very kindly, and with great consideration. Flavel we gave to -an officer who had often done us various good offices. - -In a short time we ourselves walked out, and found in the passage a -number of sedans, in which we took our seats, one in each, and they -started with us. Thus, on the 21st of February, 1841, we left the place -where we had been confined about five months. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - Sampan--Description of junk--Preserved eggs--Reception from - the English--H. M. S. Blonde--Mrs. Noble--Leave Chusan--Narrow - escape--H. M. S. Samarang--Leave Macao--Arrive at Spithead. - - -On getting outside the gate, we found an immense crowd assembled; they -did not molest us in the least, but we passed on very quietly. We were -taken through a different quarter of the town to any I had been in -before, but the streets were built and ornamented in the same manner; -they were lined, on both sides, with such a number of people, that -where they could all have come from I could not imagine. We went on -thus till we came to the gates of the city, where the mandarins were -assembled to see us pass out. The walls were about eighteen feet thick, -and twenty-five feet high; but the materials (stones and bricks) seemed -so loosely put together, that a swivel might very soon have made a -breach in them. - -We were now in the suburbs, and close to the river, to which we were -taken; and each sedan being placed in a separate boat, we were soon -ferried across. The river here was divided into two branches, across -one of which we had just been carried; and we went down the left bank -of the other; it was about the breadth of the Thames at Westminster. -As they conveyed me over, I got out of the sedan, and looked back at -the place of my imprisonment. It seemed a large town, walled all round; -but in some places the walls were in a very ruinous condition. On the -ramparts and plain, outside the city, were thousands and thousands of -people. - -We were carried down by the water-side, still in our sedans; and as -it was a cold day, and there was a good stiff breeze right in our -faces, I got out of the sedan, and walked between the poles. I observed -that I was not the only one, for I saw that all the white men were -walking also; the Lascars, having their legs still chained, were unable -to walk. The people in the villages turned out everywhere in great -numbers, to stare at us. - -The crops were in some places beginning to make their appearance, and -almost every inch of ground was cultivated; all that appeared bad -unprofitable land was covered with tombs, and particularly the sides -of the hills; in summer, the white tombs peeping out from the high -grass and shrubs would have a very picturesque effect. The coffins -were placed on the ground, and some were covered over with bamboo and -matting; a very slight defence, which in many instances had given way, -and left parts of the coffins exposed; other graves had square tombs -over them, built of brick, and covered with a slab of red stone; but -in some of these the bricks had given way, and the slab falling in -on the coffin, had burst it open: others being, I suppose, for the -superior class, were built entirely of stone, curiously and rather -tastefully ornamented. The coffins being made of slight materials, the -smell on passing the burial places was very unpleasant. - -We continued our journey, sometimes walking, sometimes in the sedan, -the officers scarcely ever allowing the bearers to rest, and indeed -beating them severely with sticks, and their heavy sheathed swords, -if they stopped for even a moment without leave. The old jailer was -with us, in a sedan, and seeing us walking, he spoke to the officer -commanding the party, who came and made signs for us to get into the -sedans; but it was far too cold for an open carriage, and besides, -after so long a confinement, the walk was agreeable. About dusk we came -to the gate of another city, walled round in the same manner as Ningpo. -We passed through several streets till we came to a large joshouse, -before which a number of people were assembled. We went into the outer -court, and perceived, by the sedans, that many mandarins and other -officers were within. Passing through a building in which were four -colossal figures, about twenty feet high, and painted in Chinese style, -we came to another yard, out of which Mrs. Noble and Mr. Witts were -taken in sedans just as we entered. I heard them speaking, but they -went past so quickly, that by the time I had jumped out of my sedan, -they were gone. I saw Lieut. Douglas and Captain Anstruther, who told -me that we were all to be released immediately, and that Mrs. Noble and -Mr. Witts had already started for Chusan, whither we were to follow as -soon as possible. - -The interpreter then made his appearance, and desired me to follow him; -this I did, and soon found myself in the grand hall of the temple, in -the presence of a number of mandarins and other officers. The other -prisoners were here; and another interpreter, whom I had never seen -before, came round and asked our names and country; he could also speak -Bengalee, and therefore interpreted for the Lascars. They then took -the irons off the Lascars' legs, and after the mandarins had looked -at us for a short time, they took their departure, leaving us, with a -few officers, in the temple. I now had time to look about, and found -I was in a large hall, in the centre of which were three colossal -figures, gilded all over, very much resembling in appearance the -Hindostanee idols; under them was a smaller figure of a woman, painted -in gaudy colours, and on each side of her a small model of a temple. -Round the hall were other images, placed in niches, and amongst them I -particularly noticed one of a woman, with a glory round her head, and -holding a child in her arms, bearing altogether, a strong resemblance -to the virgin and child; two others sat side by side, of rather -singular appearance, one having a black face and hands, with a white -dress, and the other a white face and hands, and a black dress. - -Several torches were placed in different parts of the wall, and the -flickering light from these, glancing over the gilded images and the -rich dresses of the officers, contrasted with our miserable appearance, -produced rather a singular scene. We did not remain here long, for -we soon had to return to our sedans, and were carried to the head -mandarin's house, to wait till a junk was ready for us. On the way -to his residence, I came to an open space, and before me could see -a number of small lights dancing about. I imagined this to be the -river, and the lights to be in boats, particularly as there was a -curious noise exactly like an immense number of ducks feeding; but, on -approaching nearer, I found myself in a camp, pitched on a large plain. -I was carried between two long rows of small tents, and before every -other tent was a sentinel, with a piece of bamboo in one hand, and a -stick in the other, with which he incessantly struck the bamboo, and -thereby caused the clacking noise which had deceived me. Before every -tenth tent another sentinel was stationed with a gong, which he struck -at intervals; they were keeping the first watch of the night, which was -about eight o'clock of our time. Having passed through the camp, we -came to the mandarin's house, and were conducted into a court, where -we found Lieut. Douglas and Captain Anstruther. A piazza ran round -this court, and under it we sat, having the pleasure of seeing the -mandarins' supper taken in, but none was brought for us, and we had had -nothing to eat since the morning. - -Through Lieut. Douglas's remonstrances, a few cakes and some -hard-boiled eggs were at length presented to us; and Lieut. Douglas, -going to one of his boxes, brought out two bottles of rum, which were -very acceptable, and helped to pass away the time till twelve o'clock, -at which hour we left the house. - -Lieut. Douglas here told me that several plans had been arranged for -our escape from Ningpo, but, from the known treachery of the Chinese, -they had been dropped. Others also for the escape of Mrs. Noble and -the officers had been concerted, and Mrs. Noble's jailer had even been -bribed to connive at the plan; but they most generously refused to go, -and leave us to the mercy of the Chinese. He also told me he had many -times tried to come to us again, but that the mandarins would never -allow him; they assured him, however, that our condition was materially -improved, that we had three or four hours' liberty every day, better -food, and a more comfortable apartment, all of which was false. The -unfortunate captive compradore the mandarins refused to give up at this -time, but said they would send him down to Canton, to be given up there. - -The mandarin (whom I understood to be commissioner E.) having by this -time finished his supper, came to have a look at us. He desired the -interpreter to tell us "that he was very good to us, and was sending us -away before the time; that he himself was going to leave the island, -and another mandarin, the emperor's cousin, was coming in his place; -that if he arrived before our departure, he would most probably keep -us, and not let us go at all: at the same time he desired Lieut. -Douglas to tell the commanding officer at Chusan, to withdraw his men -and ships as soon as we were given up to them; also that a great many -soldiers would march into Chusan as soon as our fleet left." We then -walked out, about midnight, to go to the junk; on our way down, we -passed through two long files of soldiers, drawn up on each side of the -road, most unmilitary looking warriors; their only uniform was a loose -jacket, with some Chinese characters inscribed on the back and front; -the rest of their dress seemed left to their own taste, and a motley -group they were. They appeared to be divided into three bands, one -bearing long unwieldy spears, another bows and arrows, and the third -having a sword in each hand; these, the interpreter told us, were to -embark the next day for Chusan. At the end of each file of soldiers -a huge gun was placed, of immense thickness, but small calibre, not -carrying, I should think, more than a twenty-four pound shot, if so -much. - -When we arrived at the water's edge, we found a sampan, or small -boat, waiting; the Lascars and most of the Europeans having preceded -us, Lieut. Douglas, Captain Anstruther, myself, and the others, got -into the sampan, and were soon sculled alongside a junk, which the -interpreter, who was with us, told us was only waiting for high water -(which would be about three o'clock A. M.) to get under weigh. -Mrs. Noble, and Mr. Witts, our chief mate, who had preceded us, were in -one junk; the Lascars, who had also reached the water before us, were -in another; and our party, Lieut. Douglas, Captain Anstruther, and the -Europeans, got aboard of the third. Here we found our rugs, and after -partaking of some slight refreshment, in the shape of hot water and -sweet cakes, we lay down to sleep. About three o'clock the junk was got -under weigh, and when I got up in the morning I found that we were out -of the river, and sailing between some islands, and the interpreter -told us we should soon be at Chusan. - -The vessel was covered over with tilts, made of split bamboo, leaving -only the forecastle and poop exposed; under the forecastle-deck was the -tank, and on deck was a sampan, which could be launched at will. The -poop was a very small place, there being only room enough to work the -tiller; and when the wind was adverse, the long tiller was unshipped, -and a short one used instead, and the vessel propelled by means of a -large sweep, which five or six men handled, sculling in the same manner -as we do. The sails were made of cotton, with an immense number of -bowlines, and the tilts were sufficiently strong to allow the men to -walk upon them, and stow or set the mainsail. - -Under the covering were three divisions, or holds, in the foremost of -which the soldiers, our guard, and the crew were; in the middle one a -number of boxes (the cargo, I presume) were stowed, and in the third we -ten Europeans were. Abaft this was the cabin, which Captain Anstruther, -Lieut. Douglas, the interpreter, a mandarin, and the captain of the -vessel, occupied. - -Breakfast was set before us about eight o'clock, consisting of rice, -very white, and well boiled, pig's cheek in small pieces, eggs, -preserved, I think, in lard, as they were very greasy, pickled fish, -and various other things; had I not been able to distinguish the mark -of division between the yolk and white of the eggs, I should not have -discovered what they were, as they certainly had neither the taste nor -appearance of eggs, being of a deep chocolate colour; however, they, -and all the other things, were very good, and we made an excellent -breakfast. - -The Chinese now pointed out whereabouts Chusan lay, and we saw, over -a point of land, the masts of some English vessels. About ten o'clock -we rounded the point, and got into the bay, where several men-of-war -and transports were lying; we soon were abreast of them, and a boat -from one of the men-of-war came alongside, and finding that we were -on board, made a signal to their vessel, when the lower rigging was -manned, and they gave us three cheers; on seeing this, the other -men-of-war and transports did the same, and the bands on board the -transports struck up "Rule Brittania." What my feelings were at -the moment may more easily be imagined than described; after five -months' imprisonment I was once more free, and in the hands of my own -countrymen. I was pennyless, and I might also say naked, for I knew -that the clothes I had on would have to be thrown away; but I was -going amongst Englishmen, and at that time no anxiety for the future -troubled me. - -We Europeans were taken on board of H. M. S. Blonde, captain Bourchier, -where we were rejoiced to meet Mrs. Noble again, and congratulate each -other on our liberation. Mrs. Noble the same day left us, and went -on board a transport: I went to see her again at Macao, where she -remained. Lieut. Douglas and Mr. Witts remained on board the Blonde, -Captain Anstruther went to a transport, and joined his regiment, and -the Lascars were sent on board another transport. - -The next day we left Chusan, and arrived in a few days at the entrance -of the Canton river, where H. M. S. Columbine informed us that -hostilities had again commenced, and that the forts at the Bogue had -been taken a week before. - -A short time afterwards we heard that, two days after our release from -Ningpo, an order had arrived there from the emperor of China, that all -the prisoners were to be sent to Pekin, to be publicly exhibited, and -then put to death, by being cut into a thousand pieces. - -Report also said that Commissioner E., who had rather hurried our -departure, had been sent in irons to the capital for having released us. - -The Blonde proceeded up to Whampoa, and I was on board of her -altogether a month, when, at our request, we were sent down to Macao in -the Hebe tender, where we saw Captain Elliot, the Plenipotentiary, and -Lieut. Douglas. They procured a passage for Twizell, Webb, Wombwell, -and myself to England, in H. M. S. Samarang, Captain Scott; but -afterwards, Twizell having gone ashore to buy some clothes for us, the -ship got under weigh, and he was left behind. - -We left Macao on the 29th March, 1841, and having touched at the -Mauritius, St. Helena, and Ascension, anchored at Spithead on Monday, -the 10th August. On Wednesday we left the ship, and proceeded to -London. - -To Lieut. Douglas and Captain Anstruther I shall ever feel most -grateful for their kindness towards us, and their unceasing endeavours -to ameliorate the miserable condition of their fellow-prisoners at -Ningpo. - - - - -NOTES. - - -NOTE 1, _Page 8_. - -Lord Jocelyn, in his "Campaign in China," gives a very erroneous -account of the loss of the Kite, but as he obtained his information -from some mandarins, they of course would tell the story in such a -manner, as to make it appear that we were prisoners of war. - - -NOTE 2, _Page 13_. - -In Mrs. Noble's letter, which was published in the "Indian News," it is -stated by her that she passed the wreck twice on the 16th, and spoke -to us; but as we left it on the night of the 15th, they must have been -Chinese she saw, and whom she at a distance mistook for the crew. - - -NOTE 3, _Page 20_. - -Syrang is the head or chief of every party of Lascars, and has under -him one or more assistants, called Tyndals, according to the number -of his men; he receives the pay, and manages the affairs of the whole -party. - - -NOTE 4, _Page 40_. - -I saw this kind of hall in every house I entered, and at the time -imagined that it was dedicated to the Chinese penates; but I have -since found, from "Davis's Chinese," that it is called the "Hall of -Ancestors;" so throughout my story I have given it its right name. - - -NOTE 5, _Page 44_. - -This was the compradore, or purveyor, who had been kidnapped before I -left Chusan, so that he must have been some time in imprisonment. He -had been brought with the fleet from Macao, to act as an interpreter -and purveyor. - - -NOTE 6, _Page 46_. - -These Lascars had been captured at different times at Chusan, whilst -engaged in getting fresh water for their ships. I believe there were -regular bands of Chinese round the place, who seized every foreigner -they found wandering at a distance from his party. One of the people, -belonging to a man-of-war in the harbour, having sauntered some -little distance from his companions, was suddenly seized, and was -being dragged off with a rope round his neck. Fortunately for him, -his comrades were near, and, hearing the noise, went immediately to -his rescue, and turned the tables upon the Chinese; for, taking their -weapons from them, they very soon drove them off, killing several in -the skirmish. It was by one of these bands that Captain Anstruther was -taken. - - -NOTE 7, _Page 49_. - -The tails, of which they are so exceedingly proud, are, with many of -them, formed mostly of false hair and silks, plaited together. To be -deprived of this ornament is, I believe, almost as great a disgrace as -can befall them. - - -NOTE 8, _Page 66_. - -In our close confinement we could see nothing of their religious -ceremonies; once or twice, however, I saw our old jailer making his -offerings to his gods. The domestic having placed three tables in -different parts of the yard, (one being exactly before our window,) -ranged round the edge of each nine basins, with chopsticks to all; they -then filled the cups with hot rice, and covered the tables with plates -of pork, fish, and vegetables, and by the side of every table placed a -pile of thin paper. Before each of these tables the old gentleman knelt -three times, bowing his head to the ground thrice each time; after -this he filled a small cup with samshu, and setting fire to the heap -of paper, sprinkled the samshu over the blaze. When he had prostrated -himself before all the tables, and burnt the three heaps, he retired to -his apartment, and the servants removed the whole apparatus. I suppose -his devotions had made him charitable; for all the good things he had -prepared for his deities, he distributed amongst us poor prisoners. -Several of the respectable people had, at various times, asked me by -signs, if the cross were my religion, to which I of course replied in -the affirmative. - - -NOTE 9, _Page 75_. - -I think that the Lascars' custom of eating with their hands, in some -measure caused the Chinese to treat them with more severity, than they -did the Europeans. In lifting the rice to their mouths they generally -spilt a little, and there was always some left on the floor after -meals; this seemed to shock the Chinese excessively, and the jailer -told us "that lightning would fall from heaven, and destroy those who -wasted God's bounties." - - -THE END. - - -LONDON: -G. J. PALMER, PRINTER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND. - - - - -JUST PUBLISHED - -BY W. H. DALTON, - -COCKSPUR STREET, CHARING CROSS. - - -I. - -THE BISHOP'S DAUGHTER. By the Author of "The Life Book of a Labourer," -fcap, 7_s._ cloth. - - -II. - -CONFORMITY; a TALE. By CHARLOTTE ELIZABETH. Foolscap, -3_s._ 6_d._ cloth. - - -III. - -MEMOIR AND REMAINS OF THE REV. CORNELIUS NEALE, M. A. Collected and -Edited by the Rev. WILLIAM JOWETT, M.A. Third Edition, -foolscap, 6_s._ cloth. - - -IV. - -SERMONS ON THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA, AND OTHER SUBJECTS. By the late -Rev. T. W. CARR, M. A., Minister of Southborough, Kent. 12mo. -6_s._ cloth. - - -V. - -_In the Press_, - -AN INTRODUCTION TO A NEW TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS; being an attempt -to ascertain the circumstances under, and the date at which each Psalm -was composed. By the late JOHN MASON GOOD, M.D., F.R.S., &c., -Author of "The Study of Medicine," "New Translation of the Book of -Job," &c. &c. 1 vol. 8vo. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Narrative of a Recent Imprisonment in -China after the Wreck of the Kite, by John Lee Scott - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IMPRISONMENT IN CHINA *** - -***** This file should be named 60335-8.txt or 60335-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/3/3/60335/ - -Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll -have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using -this ebook. - - - -Title: Narrative of a Recent Imprisonment in China after the Wreck of the Kite - -Author: John Lee Scott - -Illustrator: C. H. Greenhill - -Release Date: September 21, 2019 [EBook #60335] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IMPRISONMENT IN CHINA *** - - - - -Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="center"><a name="cover.jpg" id="cover.jpg"></a><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="cover" /></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> - -<p class="bold2">NARRATIVE.</p> - -<hr /> - -<div class="center"><img src="images/i004.jpg" alt="Illustration" /></div> - -<p class="bold"><i>Drawn by C. H. Greenhill.</i> <span class="s6"> </span> <i>Engraved by W. Lee.</i></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span></p> - -<h1>NARRATIVE</h1> - -<p class="bold">OF A RECENT</p> - -<p class="bold2">IMPRISONMENT IN CHINA</p> - -<p class="bold">AFTER THE</p> - -<p class="bold2">WRECK OF THE KITE.</p> - -<div class="center space-above"><img src="images/dec.jpg" alt="Illustration" /></div> - -<p class="bold2 space-above">BY JOHN LEE SCOTT.</p> - -<p class="bold">Second Edition.</p> - -<p class="bold">LONDON:<br />W. H. DALTON, COCKSPUR STREET<br />1842.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center">LONDON:<br />PRINTED BY G. J. PALMER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center">TO THE</p> - -<p class="center">RIGHT HON. SIR JOHN PIRIE, BART.,</p> - -<p class="center">LORD MAYOR OF LONDON,</p> - -<p class="center">THIS NARRATIVE</p> - -<p class="center">IS,</p> - -<p class="center">WITH HIS LORDSHIP'S PERMISSION,</p> - -<p class="center">RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED</p> - -<p class="center">BY</p> - -<p class="center">HIS OBEDIENT HUMBLE SERVANT,</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="s6"> </span>JOHN LEE SCOTT.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p> - -<h2>PREFACE</h2> - -<p class="bold">TO THE FIRST EDITION.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p>My only apology for launching this unvarnished narrative upon the -world is, that, after my return to England, I wrote for the amusement, -and at the request of my friends, a short account of my shipwreck and -subsequent imprisonment in the Celestial Empire; and considering that -my sufferings and adventures would, at this time, create an interest -with the public at large, they have strongly urged me to publish this -narrative. This I have ventured to do, hoping that the faults may be -overlooked, and all indulgence shown to a young merchant sailor.</p> - -<p><i>London, Nov. 16, 1841.</i></p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<div class="box"> -<table summary="CONTENTS"> - <tr> - <td class="center">CHAPTER I.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Leave Shields—Madras—Hired by government—Arrive at -Chusan—Junks—Sickness—Number of Crew—Yeang-tze-keang—Boat -breaks adrift—Wreck—Mr. Noble and -child drowned—Mrs. Noble—Lieut. Douglas—Vessel -rights—Jolly-boat returns—Chinese—Leave the wreck.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_1"><i>Page</i> 1-16</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">CHAPTER II.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Get ashore—Village—Appearance of country—Made prisoners—Syrang—Bound—Chinese -gentleman—Old women—Meet some of the crew—Kindness of one -Chinese—Put into irons—Insults—Interrogated by mandarin—Death -of marines</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_17">17-32</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">CHAPTER III.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Temple—Cages—Women—Dinner—Hot water—Taken -down a river—City—Guns—Hall of Ancestors—Twizell -and the missing party—English prisoner—Corporal of -marines—Jail—Other Lascars—Watch</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_33">33-49</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">CHAPTER IV.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Captain Anstruther—Kindness to marines—Mandarin's -questions—Chinese music—Jolly-boat party arrive—Privations—Medical -treatment—Removed—Sedans—Town—Joshouse—Apartment—Guard-room</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_50">50-66</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">CHAPTER V.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Physician—Visitors—Day's employment—Taken before -the mandarin—Letters and clothing from Chusan—Chinese -clothes—Irons taken off—Return home—Salamanders—Amusements</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_67">67-81</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">CHAPTER VI.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Language—Marine dies—Canton interpreter—Lieut. -Douglas—Secret letters—Soap—Money—Christmas—Court-martial—Fires—Chinese -dinner—Ladies' apartments</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_82">82-98</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center"> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">CHAPTER VII.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Jos ceremonies—Chinese New Year's day—New Testament—Epsom -salts—Grief of our jailer—Kites—Procession—Leave -Ningpo—Chinhae—Huge idols—Chinese -camp—Mandarin's message</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_99">99-109</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span> </td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="center">CHAPTER VIII.</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="left">Sampan—Description of junk—Preserved eggs—Reception -from the English—H. M. S. Blonde—Mrs. Noble—Leave -Chusan—Narrow escape—H. M. S. Samarang—Leave -Macao—Arrive at Spithead</td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class="right"><a href="#Page_110">110-126</a></td> - </tr> - -</table> -</div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> - -<p class="bold2">NARRATIVE.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2> - -<blockquote><p>Leave Shields—Madras—Hired by government—Arrive at -Chusan—Junks—Sickness—Number of Crew—Yeang-tze-keang—Boat -breaks adrift—Wreck—Mr. Noble and child drowned—Mrs. -Noble—Lieut. Douglas—Vessel rights—Jolly-boat -returns—Chinese—Leave the wreck.</p></blockquote> - -<p>On Monday the 8th July, 1839, I left Shields for Bordeaux in the Kite, -a beautiful brig of 281 tons, commanded by Mr. James Noble; built by, -and belonging to, Messrs. T. and W. Smith of Newcastle. We arrived at -Bordeaux after a three weeks passage, and lay there for two months. -Sailed from thence on the 16th October for the Mauritius, with a cargo -of wines, and arrived there after a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> passage of ninety-three days. Here -we remained a month, and having landed the wines, sailed from thence -to Madras in ballast; where the vessel was taken up by government, to -carry stores to the British fleet destined for China: we then sailed -for Trincomalee, at which place we took in some more stores, and then -sailed for Singapore; where, on our arrival, we found the fleet had -sailed several days before for Macao.</p> - -<p>Whilst we lay at Singapore, the Melville 72, Blonde 42, and Pylades -18, arrived, and we received orders to sail for Macao immediately, at -which place we arrived after a short passage, but were still behind -the fleet, it having sailed some days before for Chusan. We received -orders to follow it to Buffalo Island, where there was to be a man of -war cruising to give us farther directions; but when we arrived at -this island we found no vessel of any kind; and as we had had a very -quick passage, Mr. Noble was afraid to proceed any further, as perhaps -we might have passed the fleet, and arrived before it. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> therefore -brought the ship to an anchor, and lay there till the next afternoon, -when the Melville and a transport arrived, upon which we got under -weigh, and followed the Melville up to Chusan, where we arrived the day -following, and anchored in the outer roads. We found the town in the -possession of our own troops, who had taken it the day previous to our -arrival: so that if we had not stopped at Buffalo Island, we should -have been present at the attack; we heard the firing, and saw the blaze -of the burning town whilst on our passage up.</p> - -<p>The men-of-war junks which had fired on the Wellesley presented a most -wretched appearance, being deserted—some sunk, and others with their -masts shot away; and where a shot had struck the hull, it had not only -passed completely through the vessel, but also through one or two -houses ashore. There were not many Chinese to be seen, and the few that -were still in the town, appeared of the very lowest grade. The town and -harbour presented, nevertheless, rather a lively<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> spectacle, as boats -were constantly passing between the ships and the shore, disembarking -troops of varied dress and nations. Two camps were very soon formed, -one overlooking the town, and the other on a hill commanding the -entrance into the harbour. Sickness soon began to make its appearance -amongst the troops, particularly the Company's native regiments, -brought on, I think, by inactivity, and by the dreadful smells of the -town, as well as the effluvia arising from the imperfectly buried dead -of the Chinese; whilst those who were on board ship, constantly at -work, and yet drinking the same bad water, were not affected in nearly -so serious a manner.</p> - -<p>We lay at Chusan for about a month; during which time Admiral Elliot -and Commodore Bremer were several times on board of the Kite; and -approving of her, all the stores were taken out, and four 32 pounders -were put in the hold, as many Chinese guns as we could obtain, seven -two-tun tanks, and between 30 and 40 water-casks, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>all for ballast. -After this we received six 12 pound carronades, seven marines, five -first-class boys, from the Melville; and Lieut. Douglas, R. N. came -and took the command. Our crew at this time consisted of the master, -Mr. Noble; the mate, Mr. Witts; and us four apprentices, viz.—Henry -Twizell (acting as second mate), Pellew Webb, Wm. Wombwell, and myself; -one Englishman; an Italian; and a Manilla man; ten Lascars; and our -cook, who was a native of Calcutta, but not a Lascar; Lieut. Douglas, -with the seven marines, and five boys, from the Melville, making in all -thirty-three. Mrs. Noble and her child, a boy of about five months old, -were also on board.</p> - -<p>A short time after Lieut. Douglas hoisted his pennant, we sailed with -despatches for the Conway 28, which with the Algerine 10 gun brig, and -a small schooner called the Hebe, was surveying the Yeang-tze-keang -river, and the adjacent sea. In sailing up this river, we found the -charts very incorrect, and at last got on a bank, where we<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> remained -for several days until the Conway and the other vessels arrived. We had -passed these vessels whilst they were lying at anchor, in one of the -numerous creeks at the entrance of the river. The schooner drawing the -least water came and assisted us off; and as the Kite drew ten feet -water, she was of little use in surveying; we were therefore sent back -on Saturday, the 12th of September, 1840, with despatches for Chusan. -One marine and a boy died of dysentery whilst we were on the bank.</p> - -<p>We brought up that night, and got under weigh next afternoon; anchored -again at dusk, and very unfortunately, just before daybreak, our -jolly-boat broke adrift, and was carried away by the tide. The gig was -manned, and sent after her, and we followed in the vessel, as soon as -we could get our anchor: we picked up both boats, but not without a -great deal of trouble; the gig we hoisted up on the starboard quarter, -and the jolly-boat was towed astern. We anchored<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> again at night, and -next morning started with a fine fair wind, expecting to be at Chusan -in a day or two. At this time all the marines but one, two of the -first-class boys, and Webb and Wombwell, were ill of the dysentery, -leaving very few hands to work the ship.</p> - -<p>At nine o'clock on Tuesday morning, the 15th of September, I was -relieved from the wheel, and went below to look after Webb and -Wombwell, and to get my breakfast. About half past eleven, whilst -attending on the sick, I heard the master order the anchor to be let -go. I immediately jumped on deck, ran forward, and let go the stopper; -the vessel was now striking heavily aft, all the chain on deck (about -sixty fathoms) ran out with so much velocity that the windlass caught -fire. The vessel being by the stem, and catching the ground there, the -anchor holding her forward, she could not get end on to the tide, and -was consequently broadside on, and as it was running like a sluice, she -was capsized in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> moment. When the anchor was let go, Twizell and I -ran aft, let go the main top-gallant and top-sail haulyards, and were -clewing the yards down with the larboard clewlines, when I felt the -ship going over. I directly seized hold of the main topmast backstay, -and swung myself on to her side, as she was falling: Twizell caught -hold of one of the shrouds of the main rigging, and did the same. At -this moment I suppose Mr. Noble to have been thrown overboard—I heard -him call out to his wife, "Hold on Anne," but did not see him, and the -tide must have carried him away, and of course he was drowned.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - -<p>My first thought now was for the sick people down below, who I feared -must all be drowned, as the vessel was completely on her side, and her -tops resting on the sand. On looking aft, I saw a person struggling -in the water, and apparently entangled amongst the sails and rigging; -I got the bight of the mainbrace and threw to him, and with some -difficulty hauled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> him on board; but he was only saved then to die a -lingering death at a later period at Ningpo. On looking round, I was -rejoiced to see the sick people (who I had concluded were all drowned) -crawling up the fore and main-hatchways, and immediately assisted -them to get on the vessel's side; the greater part were nearly naked, -having been lying in their hammocks at the moment she capsized, and out -of which some were thrown. I now saw Lieutenant Douglas and the mate -dragging Mrs. Noble into the jolly-boat, which had dropped alongside; -the two Lascar cabin-boys,<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> who were in the boat, were casting her -adrift; she was full of water, and likely to capsize every moment. I -threw my knife to them to cut the towlines, and they, having <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>effected -this, were swept away, Lieut. Douglas calling to us to cut away the -long-boat, which was still on deck. The time between the first going -over of the ship, and the drifting away of the jolly-boat, was only -three or four minutes, though by this account it may seem to have been -much longer.</p> - -<div class="center"><img src="images/i024.jpg" alt="Illustration" /></div> - -<p class="bold"><i>Drawn by C. H. Greenhill.</i> <span class="s6"> </span> <i>Engraved by W. Lee.</i></p> - -<p>The gig, being hoisted up on the starboard quarter, was lost to us when -the ship fell over, and we could not cut away the long-boat from the -manner in which the guns were hanging: we, however, contrived to cut -the foremast lashing, and made her painter fast to the main rigging, -hoping she would fall off, and that it would hold her. The tide was now -rushing down the hatchways: in a short time the boat fell out of the -chocks, but the strength of the tide was so great that the line, or -painter, snapped, and she was carried away. The weight of water in the -sails carried away the maintopmast, (just above the cap,) the foremast, -and the bowsprit; the part of the foremast<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> below the deck afterwards -shot right up, and floated away, leaving only the mainmast standing, -and from the weight of wreck hanging to it, we expected that to go also.</p> - -<p>We had now nothing but death to look forward to, as the tide was rising -fast, and would inevitably in a short time sweep us off her side, where -we were all collected to the number of twenty-six, and only myself and -one or two more free from dysentery. I expected so soon to be swept -away, that I threw off my trousers and prepared for a swim, as I could -see the land just on the horizon, and at any rate it was better to die -endeavouring to save myself, than to be drowned without making any -exertion. Most providentially, the brig righted gradually, until the -mast lay in an angle of about forty-five degrees, and enabled us to -get, some in the maintop, (where we found a little dog belonging to the -mate,) and others on the mainyard. As soon as we got aloft, we began -cutting the sails away,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> as they held an immense quantity of water, and -would most likely on that account, cause the loss of the mast; we cut -away the mainsail, trysail, and maintopsail, leaving only the masts and -yards to hang on the mainmast, as with these we intended to make a raft.</p> - -<p>The tide continued rising upon us, until half the top was under water, -and hope was almost dead within us, when to our inexpressible joy, we -found the tide ceased to flow; no time was however to be lost, as in -these places there is very little slack water, so we that could swim, -immediately set to work, and collected all the spars and booms, masts -and yards, we could, (for the rigging still held the topmast, &c.,) -intending, when the tide had ebbed enough, to get on the wreck, which -we expected would be almost dry at low water, and make a stout raft. We -could see some fishing-boats in the distance; but these, though they -must have seen our disastrous situation, appeared to make no attempt to -come to our assistance.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p> - -<p>From so many being sick, and from the Lascars refusing to assist us, we -had very few left to work, and before we had collected many spars, the -ebb tide began to run so strong, that we were obliged to leave off, and -take to the maintop again; the spars we did get, we secured together, -and made fast in such a manner that the tide could not carry them away. -We now sat down again on the top, with hearts most thankful that we had -still a little hope left. This was about four in the afternoon, and in -half an hour or so afterwards, the jolly-boat came in sight;<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> they -had cleared her of water, and they let go the grapnel just abreast of -us. Mrs. Noble waved her handkerchief, but the tide was so strong that -they were driven past, completely out of our sight, without being able -to render us the least assistance, or even being near enough to speak -to us. This was a most cruel disappointment; but we had still our raft -to look forward to, and knowing that Mrs.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> Noble and Lieut. Douglas -were still alive was some consolation to us; so we cheered one another -in the best manner we could, relying upon Him who was able to save us -from this apparently certain destruction.</p> - -<p>By the time we could begin our work again, it was very dark, but we -knew we should soon have a bright moon; so we set to work cheerfully, -and had succeeded in collecting and lashing together a good many spars -as a raft, when, to our great surprise, we found ourselves surrounded -by Chinese boats, two of them large ones, and full of soldiers.</p> - -<p>We all saw that resistance, if they attacked us, would be perfectly -useless, and thought it would be better to trust to them than to the -waves, so as they all seemed more intent upon plunder than upon us, -Twizell and I, two or three of the marines, two of the first-class -boys, and the greater part of the Lascars, jumped into one boat, and -the rest, with Webb and Wombwell, got into another. The Chinese wished -us<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> very much to get out again, but this we would not think of doing, -as stopping by the vessel for another tide was quite impossible.</p> - -<p>Finding that we were determined not to remain by the wreck, the Chinese -gave in, and shoved off. To our great surprise, we had not gone a few -yards when our junk was aground. The other boat made sail, and stood -away. The men in our junk made signs for us to get out, when we again -refused, fearing, if we did, they would leave us there; and not liking -the idea of remaining on a sand, which we knew the flood tide would -cover. To have stopped by the wreck would have been preferable to this.</p> - -<p>We continued sitting in the boat, until one of the Chinese jumped -out, and, taking his lantern, made signs to us to follow him; this we -consented to do, and taking care not to let our guide get away from us, -we went across the sand for about two miles, with the water sometimes -above our knees, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> sometimes only a little above our ankles. At last -we arrived at another large boat, which was aground and apparently -waiting for the tide to float her. Our guide made signs for us to get -into this boat, and that we should be taken ashore in her. This we did, -and lay down to take a little rest, grateful that we had been enabled -to save our lives, at least for the present.</p> - -<p>We hoped that by some means or other we might reach Ningpo, where two -English ships were cruising, and we knew that, if we could only once -reach them, we were perfectly safe; but we had a very vague idea where -we were, though we half suspected we were on the island of Ningpo; we -afterwards found our suppositions to be correct.</p> - -<p>It was now midnight, and when we left the wreck we could walk on her -side, it being only six or eight inches below the surface.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> <a href="#Note_1">Note 1.</a></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> These two boys told me, when in prison at Ningpo, that -when the brig upset, everything in the cabin fell to the starboard -side, where the child was sleeping; that they could not get out at the -door, but got out at the skylight, leaving the poor baby to its fate, -and got into the boat, which was then on the starboard quarter.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> <a href="#Note_2">Note 2.</a></p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2> - -<blockquote><p>Get ashore—Village—Appearance of country—Made -prisoners—Syrang—Bound—Chinese gentleman—Old women—Meet -some of the crew—Kindness of one Chinese—Put into -irons—Insults—Interrogated by mandarin—Death of marines.</p></blockquote> - -<p>We reached the shore about three in the morning, and the Chinese -made signs to us, that if we would follow them, they would give us -something to eat; we accordingly walked after them until we arrived at -a small village, which consisted of a few miserable mud huts, with but -one respectable brick house; but from these few huts a swarm of men, -women, and children poured out on our approach. We were taken into -an outhouse, one half of which was occupied by an immense<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> buffalo, -and in the other half was a cane bed with musquito curtains; in one -corner was a ladder, leading to a loft containing another couch. They -now brought us some hot rice, and a kind of preserved vegetable; we -contented ourselves with the rice and a basin of tea, the preserve -being so exceedingly nasty we could none of us eat it. Whilst in this -place, a Chinese, who seemed the superior of the village, and doubtless -was the owner of the one brick house, brought a piece of paper written -upon in Chinese characters, and made signs for one of us to write upon -it; intimating at the same time, that he had written some account of -us on this paper, and that he wanted an account in our writing, which -I accordingly gave him, stating the time and cause of our shipwreck, -and also our present situation; hoping that he would take it to the -mandarin of the district, and that from him it might be forwarded to -the authorities at Chusan, who might thus learn where we were, and take -some steps for our return to the fleet.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p> - -<p>When it was broad daylight we mentioned the name of Ningpo, and they -made signs that if we would go with them they would show us the way -there, so we started, as we imagined, for Ningpo.</p> - -<p>Having no trousers, and my only clothing being a flannel shirt, and -a black silk handkerchief round my head, which Twizell had given me -when in the maintop, they gave me a piece of matting, but this proving -rather an encumbrance than of any service, I soon threw it off, and -walked on <i>sans culottes</i>.</p> - -<p>We passed in this style through a highly cultivated country; on every -side large plantations of cotton and rice, and various kinds of -vegetables, but all unknown to me. Having gone six or seven miles, -seeing very few houses, but crowds of people turning out of each as we -passed, we at length arrived at a cross-road. Here another party of -Chinese appeared, who absolutely forbade our proceeding any further: -but as our guides went on, and beckoned us to follow, we pushed through -our opponents and walked on; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> they, having collected more men, -headed us, and we were obliged to come to a stand-still. In this case -we found the want of a perfect understanding amongst ourselves, for the -Lascars were so frightened at their situation, that they fell on their -knees before the Chinamen, which of course encouraged the latter, and -before we could look around us, men rose up as it were from the ground, -separated us, and made us all prisoners at once, with the exception of -four, who ran off, though without any idea whither they should run, -or what they should do. Here the<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> Syrang made a foolish attempt to -cut his throat with a rusty old knife he had about him, but he only -succeeded in tearing his flesh a little, for he was soon disarmed and -pinioned. If, perhaps, we had all stood together, and put a bold face -on the matter, though without any kind of arms, we might have gone -quietly to the mandarin's, and then have been treated properly, but -the conduct of the Lascars emboldened our enemies, and we were seized, -bound, and dragged off,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> almost before we knew where we were. As to -those who ran away, they were obliged to give themselves up after a -short run, and got a very severe beating, besides several wounds from -the spears the Chinese were armed with.</p> - -<p>From this time my narrative becomes almost personal, as I can seldom -give an account of more than what befel myself.</p> - -<p>When we were seized in the manner I have related, a man threw his arms -round me, and though I could easily have shaken him off, I saw five -or six others gathering round me, and I thought it would be useless -to struggle. It was better for me that I made no resistance, as the -others were bound and dragged away, with ropes round their necks; -whereas the man who first seized me, still held me, and walked me off, -without binding me at all. Twizell was amongst those that ran, and I -did not see him again till I got to Ningpo. As I was walking along with -my keeper, we were met by two soldiers, who immediately<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> stopped, and -one, armed with a spear, prepared to make a lunge at me; but my old man -stepped between us, and spoke to him, upon which he dropped his spear, -and allowed us to pass.</p> - -<p>At length we arrived at a large village, and here my first keeper left -me, much to my regret, as, after he was gone, my hands, hitherto free, -were made fast behind my back, and the cord being drawn as tight as -possible, the flesh soon swelled and caused me great pain; another rope -was put round my neck, by which they led me about.</p> - -<p>At times I gave myself up for lost, but still I could not fancy the -Chinese to be so cruel a people, as to murder us in cold blood, -particularly after the manner in which we had fallen into their hands. -I hardly knew what to think.</p> - -<p>My new keeper led me into the courtyard of a house, and made me fast to -one of several pillars that supported a rude kind of verandah, dragging -the rope as tight as he could however, he brought me some water<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> to -drink, when I made signs for it. I had not been here long, when one -of the Melville's people was brought in, and made fast to an opposite -pillar; but we could not speak to, and could hardly see each other, as -the yard was crowded with people anxious to get a peep at us.</p> - -<p>After standing here some time, a man came and took me away to another -house, where, in the yard, was a quantity of cotton, and in one corner, -looking out of a window, a Chinese gentleman and lady, before whom my -guide led me, and prostrated himself, wishing me to do the same; but I -contented myself with bowing, upon which the gentleman waved his hand, -and I was led to the back-yard, where my guide brought me some rice -and vegetables. I did not feel so grateful for my dinner as I perhaps -ought, as I imagined this person had bought me for a slave.</p> - -<p>When I had finished my repast, I was led back, and, being made fast to -a tree, was left exposed to the mercy of the mob, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>without a guard. -The people amused themselves with making signs; some, that my head -would be cut off, others that I should not lose my head, but my eyes, -tongue, and nose, and all those little necessaries, and then be sent -away—a most unenviable state to be reduced to. I was kept here some -time, surrounded by a number of ugly old women, who seemed to take a -delight in teasing me; but the most active of my tormentors was neither -old nor ugly, being a tall and well-made person; her feet were not so -mishapen as the generality of her countrywomen's; in fact, she was the -handsomest woman I saw in China. At last a man came, loosed me from the -tree, and led me off to a little distance; and while one man brought a -stone block, another was sent away, as I imagined, for an axe or some -such instrument; before this block I was desired to kneel, but this I -refused to do, determined not to give up my life in so quiet a manner -as they seemed to propose. The messenger returned shortly, the block<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> -was taken away, and I was led out of the village.</p> - -<div class="center"><img src="images/i042.jpg" alt="Illustration" /></div> - -<p class="bold"><i>Drawn by C. H. Greenhill.</i> <span class="s6"> </span> <i>Engraved by W. Lee.</i></p> - -<p>Being now guarded by a dozen armed men, I was led along the banks of a -canal until I came to a bridge, where I saw some of my companions in -misfortune; I could only exchange a hurried word or two as they dragged -me past, as I supposed, to the place of execution. I went on thus, with -two more of the prisoners at some distance before me, stopping now and -then, and imagining every stoppage to be the last, and that I should -here be made an end of; but they still led me on, until we came to -another village, or rather town, and I was taken to what appeared to me -to be the hall of justice. I was led to the back yard, and placed in a -room half filled with a heap of wood ashes. Here I found three more of -the crew, in the same miserable condition as myself; but still, even -here, we found some to feel for and relieve us a little, for, on making -signs that my hands were bound too tight, one of the Chinese loosened -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> bonds, and afterwards went out: returning shortly with a lapful of -cakes, he distributed them amongst us, and then procured us some water, -of which we stood in great need, as we had had a long march under a -broiling sun.</p> - -<p>We had scarcely finished our cakes, when some of the soldiers came -in, and took one of my fellow prisoners just outside the door; as I -could observe almost all that passed, it was with feelings of the most -unpleasant nature that I saw him made to kneel, and directly surrounded -by the soldiers; one of whom came in, and took away a basket full of -the ashes. I now supposed that we had in reality come to the last gasp; -I fancied my companion's head was off, and that the ashes were taken -to serve in the place of sawdust, to soak up his blood. I was not long -kept in suspense, for the door opened, and some soldiers entered, -who forced me to get up, and go out into the yard. I now took it for -granted that my hour was really come; but, to my great relief, they had -only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> brought me out to fetter me. They put irons on my hands and feet, -those on my ankles being connected by a chain of five or six links, -and an iron collar round my neck, with a stick fast to it, which was -also made fast by a padlock to my handcuffs. I hardly knew whether to -rejoice or not at this prolongation of my life, as I might be kept in -this condition a short time, only to suffer a more lingering death in -the end. When my irons were on, and rivetted, I was led into the outer -yard, now crowded with people, and again tied up to a post. On looking -around me, I saw my companion, who had been led out before me, fastened -in a similar manner to the post opposite; and in a short time they -brought the other two, and made them fast to the corresponding corner -pillars. We remained a short time exposed to the insults of the lower -orders, who amused themselves with pulling our hair, striking us with -their pipes, spitting in our faces, and annoying us in all the petty -ways they could think of. At last<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> our guards came, and led us to a -small room by the side of the gate, where we again had some rice.</p> - -<p>Here I saw a Chinaman prisoner, ironed in exactly the same way as we -were.</p> - -<p>When we had finished our rice, we were led through the town, down to -the side of a canal, where boats were waiting for us. Into one of these -they put me and a Lascar, the other two prisoners in another boat, each -boat having a guard of several soldiers. We were towed, by one man, so -quickly down the canal, that I had little time to notice the country, -even had I been in a state of mind to pay much attention. I could see, -however, that other canals branched from ours in every direction, and -on the banks were an immense number of wheels and machines of various -descriptions, for raising the water from the canals, and irrigating -the rice-fields; some worked by men as at a tread-mill, and others by -buffaloes, which walked round and round in a circle, as we occasionally -see horses in our<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> mills. By dusk, we arrived at a large town, where -we had to change our boat; rather an awkward piece of business, as the -guard would render us but little assistance, and, fettered as I was, I -found it very difficult to crawl from one boat to the other. At last I -managed it, and then lay down in the bottom of my new conveyance, the -soldier taking the precaution of making my neck-rope fast, so that I -could not escape.</p> - -<p>About ten in the evening we arrived at another town, but, being late, -everything here was perfectly quiet. I was now landed, and led through -the town to the mandarin's house; on the way there, I tripped and fell, -breaking the rivet of my fetters, and cutting my knee at the same time. -The soldier who was leading me by the rope round my neck, said nothing, -but waited very quietly till I had picked myself up again, and we -proceeded on, till we came to the head mandarin's house.</p> - -<p>Here, to my great joy, I found the greater part of those who had come -ashore<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> in the junk with me; but still those who had got into the other -boat, on leaving the wreck, and those who had run away, were missing; -and we could hardly hope ever to see them again. I sat down on one of -the steps, an officer brought me some cakes, and on seeing my knee, -which had rather a deep cut, brought a small bottle, from which he -sprinkled some kind of powder on the wound: this immediately stopped -the bleeding, and in a day or two the part was healed.</p> - -<p>I sat here a short time, without being allowed to speak to the others; -till suddenly we were made to stand up and place ourselves in two rows, -and the mandarin and two of his officers made their appearance. They -walked down the rows, stopping at each person, and by signs asked if we -had had guns or opium on board our vessel. We only shook our heads in -answer to their questions, and as we were not able to understand the -other signs, they very soon retired.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span></p> - -<p>When they were gone, the soldiers led us across one or two yards, into -a joshouse. By the light from the torches, I could distinguish, in -a place railed off from the rest of the building, some people lying -apparently asleep. At first I imagined them to be Chinese; but to my -amazement and great joy, I soon discovered this party to consist of -Webb and Wombwell, and those who had left the wreck in the other junk, -and of whose fate we had hitherto been in ignorance. In consequence -of some misunderstanding, they had been most severely beaten by the -Chinese, and from the effects of this beating, two of the marines -had died, on their way from the coast to this town. Though dead when -they arrived, the Chinese had, nevertheless, put irons on the bodies. -The corporal of marines had been so ill treated, that he could not -move without assistance; and in fact they had all experienced worse -treatment than our party.</p> - -<p>There were now missing, only the four who had run off when the -Chinese stopped<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> us at the cross-way. Of Mrs. Noble, and those in the -jolly-boat, we, of course, knew nothing; but hoped that they might have -escaped the Chinese, and managed to reach Chusan.</p> - -<p>Haying related our different stories, and consoled each other in the -best way we could, we lay down on some loose straw for the night, and, -notwithstanding our miserable condition, we slept soundly.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> <a href="#Note_3">Note 3.</a></p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2> - -<blockquote><p>Temple—Cages—Women—Dinner—Hot water—Taken down a -river—City—Guns—Hall of Ancestors—Twizell and the missing -party—English prisoner—Corporal of marines—Jail—Other -Lascars—Watch.</p></blockquote> - -<p>In the morning, when I awoke, I found I was in a temple; outside the -railing was a large hall; on each side, rows of seats were ranged, -with a broad space in the centre; the sides of the building were -quite plain, and so also was the roof. Inside the railing was a green -silk canopy, under which were several images, handsomely dressed in -different coloured silks. Standing against the walls were four more -figures the size of life, one painted entirely black, another red, -and the other two variegated; and all armed with some extraordinary -instruments<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> of warfare. These I suppose represented their gods, and -were tolerably well done, but not to be compared to others I afterwards -saw. The whole building was so destitute of any ornaments, that, had -it not been for the images, the idea of it being a jos-house would not -have struck me.</p> - -<p>Breakfast was brought in early, consisting of sweet cakes and tea. When -we had finished, two wooden cages were brought; the Chinese lifted one -of our men into each, and carried them outside the gate, to be looked -at by the common people; whilst the gentlemen, and better class, with -their families, were admitted about two dozen at a time, to look at us -who remained inside: sometimes we were visited by a party consisting -entirely of women; they were a remarkably plain set, their pretensions -to beauty, in their own eyes, appearing to lie in having the face -painted red and white, and the feet distorted into a hoof-like shape. -After keeping those in the cages, outside for about two hours, they -were brought in, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> two fresh ones were taken out. Those who came in, -told us that the bodies of our two poor fellows, who had been killed -the day before, were lying outside on the grass, with the fetters still -on. Fortunately it soon began to rain heavily, when the other two were -brought in, and the crowd gradually dispersed.</p> - -<p>About noon we had our dinner; one basin full of rice and vegetables, -and cakes and tea, as before; our jailers would never give us plain -water, but whenever we asked for anything to drink, brought us weak -tea. For supper we had cakes and tea again, and, after this last meal, -lay down on our straw for the night.</p> - -<p>The next day was passed in a similar manner; towards evening there -was a great mustering of cages in the hall; little did I think for -what purpose they were intended. After the Chinese had ranged these -horrible things in the open space in the centre, they made us all get -into them, one into each. I forgot to say that before we were put -into our cages, our jailers gave us each<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> a loose jacket and a pair -of trousers, besides as many cakes as we could carry. In these wooden -contrivances—which were not much unlike what I imagine Cardinal -Balue's machines to have been, only ours were wooden and portable—we -had neither room to stand, sit, nor lie, so that we were obliged to -place ourselves in a dreadfully cramped position. Some few of the cages -had a hole cut in the lid, large enough to allow the top of the head to -pass out: into one of these I was fortunate enough to get; but those -who were not so lucky, had the misery of sitting with their heads on -one side, to add to their other discomforts. Afterwards I was put into -one without a hole, and miserable was my position.</p> - -<p>When we were all stowed in our separate cages, we were carried down to -the side of the canal, and placed in boats, two cages in each boat, -attended by a mandarin officer and several soldiers. My companion was -a marine, one who had come ashore in the junk with Webb and Wombwell, -and was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> still suffering from the effects of his beating, besides being -almost dead with dysentery. We lay alongside the quay till nearly -midnight, the soldiers and other people constantly running backwards -and forwards on shore, with torches and gongs, shouting and making a -great noise. About midnight we shoved off, and started down the canal; -but as the junk was covered over, and it was very dark, I could see -nothing of the country.</p> - -<p>We soon appeared to be in a wider stream, as they made sail on the -boat, and we went along at a rapid rate. In the morning I found that we -had got out of the canal, and were in a river, going down with wind and -tide. At any other time I should have enjoyed myself very much, but at -present my future prospects were too far from agreeable, to allow of -anything approaching to enjoyment.</p> - -<p>The banks of the river appeared to be well cultivated; here and there -some military stations might be seen, distinguished from the other -houses by their flag-staffs. Many<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> junks were moored alongside the -bank, some very large, one in particular, whose long streamers flew -gaily out in the breeze.</p> - -<p>We stopped at a town on the left bank, where the soldiers got some -firewood, and immediately set to work to prepare breakfast; rice, -and some compounds of I know not what, for themselves, and sweet -cakes and tea for me and my companion; but he was too ill to eat, -and was constantly craving for water, which was never denied him. On -our arrival at this town, the people crowded into our boat, nearly -capsizing her; and to my surprise our guards made no attempt to keep -them out, but on the contrary rather encouraged them. They had not long -to satisfy their curiosity, for as soon as the soldiers had procured -all they wanted, the boat was shoved off, and they hoisted the sail -again. We continued our way down the stream till we arrived at another -large town on the left bank. Here we stopped again, and I could soon -see we were to be disembarked. The people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> crowded to see us as usual, -but one of the soldiers, throwing part of the sail over the tops of our -cages, kept watch over us, and would allow no one to molest us.</p> - -<p>On the sail being removed, that we might be taken out of the boat, the -first thing that met my eye was one of our guns, with the carriage -belonging to it; soon after I saw another gun and its carriage. To -enable the Chinese to get these guns, the tide must have fallen -considerably after we left the wreck. The sight of these guns, as may -be imagined, caused me anything but pleasurable sensations, as they -proved beyond a doubt to our captors, that we had come to their coast -with warlike intentions; and though they would perhaps be ashamed to -kill a few shipwrecked merchant sailors, they might not hesitate to do -so, if they could be certain that we had been concerned in the recent -warfare, and these guns were strong evidence against us.</p> - -<p>On being taken out of the boat, a long bamboo was passed between the -bars of my cage,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> and two men, placing the ends on their shoulders, -lifted it off the ground; and in this manner I was carried through an -immense crowd, the bearers sometimes stopping to rest, and placing my -cage on the ground, upon which the people gathered round and began to -torment me, as they had done in former cases. At length, after passing -through a great many streets, some of them very gay, we arrived at an -open space, at the end of which were large folding gates; through these -I passed, and after going up one or two passages, I found myself in a -large hall. It was a large plain room, with a balustrade running down -each side, behind which were several rough horses, saddled and bridled. -At the end opposite the door was a large red silk canopy, under which -was a small table, covered with a green cloth, and on it several metal -plates and vases, dedicated to the manes of the ancestors of the -person to whom the house belonged.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> Many of the prisoners in their -cages had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> arrived before me, and the rest followed in due time. The -Chinese ranged us in our cages in two lines, one on each side of the -hall; and at the end of each line they placed one of the guns, with its -muzzle towards us. When we were thus arranged, like beasts in a show, -many well and richly-dressed people came to look at us; and none but -the better sort seemed to be admitted, for, with the exception of the -soldiers, there were no ragged people in the place. Our visitors were -mostly dressed in fine light silks, beautifully worked with flowers and -figures of different descriptions. All of them had fans, some of them -prettily painted, and others plain. One or two of the men had enamelled -watches, which they wore hanging to their girdles by a gold chain. We -were treated pretty well by them, as they gave us fruit and cakes, and -sent water to those who asked for it.</p> - -<p>We did not remain long in this hall, for our bearers again made their -appearance, and mine, shouldering the cage, marched off,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> and I was -once more exposed to the mercies of the mob; the soldiers, our guard, -never making the slightest attempt to keep the people off. Fortunately -for me I had had my hair cut close only a few days before we were -wrecked, so that there was little or nothing to lay hold of; for the -people on one side would pull my hair to make me look their way, and -those on the other side would instantly pull again, to make me look -round at them; and I, being ironed, hands, feet, and neck, could not -offer the least resistance, but was obliged to sit very patiently, or, -in other words, to grin and bear it.</p> - -<p>Heartily glad was I, when again taken up and walked off with. After -passing through many streets, I arrived at a mandarin's house, and was -placed with the other prisoners in a small court. Some empty cages were -standing about, larger than the one I was in, and with small yellow -flags flying on their tops.</p> - -<p>In a short time some officers came in, and opening the lid of my cage, -lifted me out,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> and led me out of this court into a larger one. To my -great delight I here saw Twizell, and the three of the crew that had -been missing, sitting in one corner, under a tree. I could not stop and -speak to them, my guides hurrying me on. We scarcely recognized one -another, so much were we altered.</p> - -<p>I walked on for a short time, meditating on the past events, and -wondering what my fate would be, when, raising my eyes from the ground, -to my astonishment I perceived a man walking before me, heavily ironed, -and whom I had never seen before. He was evidently an Englishman, -and seemed almost in a worse condition than myself. When he heard me -clanking after him, he turned round and spoke a few words, expressing -his sorrow at seeing any one else in such a situation. I asked him who -he was, and how he came there; but before he had time to answer, he was -led down one passage, and I along another; so I could neither learn who -he was, nor where or how he had been taken.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p> - -<p>On emerging from the passage, I found myself in a small paved court, -and in the presence of several mandarins. In the centre of this court -an old Chinaman was kneeling, fettered as I was; there was no guard -over him, and nobody seemed to take the least notice of him, at least -not whilst I was there.</p> - -<p>To my surprise, one of the mandarins addressed me in English; there was -also an interpreter present, a native of Macao, and a prisoner like -myself, having his legs in irons.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> After they had asked me several -questions concerning the Kite, where we had been, whither we were -going, and how we were lost, I was sent away, and the other prisoners -were brought up and interrogated in the same manner. They asked all of -us our names and ages, wrote our names on a strip of cotton, and sewed -it to the backs of our jackets. We were then all sent away: the Chinese -had brought all the cages from the outer to the inner yard, round which -they had ranged them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span></p> - -<p>I now had an opportunity of speaking to Twizell and the others who had -run away, and was sorry to hear that two of them (marines) had received -several spear wounds, and that all four had been severely bambooed when -taken. They had travelled by land all the way from the coast, in the -cages, having been put into them the day after we were all captured, -and had been two days sooner in their cages than our party.</p> - -<p>The corporal of marines, who was seriously ill of the dysentery, was -lying on his back in the bottom of his cage, whilst his legs were -raised up in the air, and his heels resting on the upper ledge, the lid -being thrown back. He had entirely lost his senses, and was evidently -dying fast; the maggots were crawling about him, and the smell that -came from him was dreadful. Fettered as we were, we could afford him no -assistance, and the Chinese merely looked at him, and then walked off, -holding their noses.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p> - -<p>The strange Englishman at this moment came by, and seeing his horrible -situation, spoke to the interpreter who was with him, and he to the -Chinese; upon which two of them, though with great reluctance, lifted -the marine into a clean cage, and placed him in an easier posture. The -stranger now told us that he was an artillery officer, and had been -taken some days before at Chusan; but he was hurried away before we -could learn his name, or anything more from him.</p> - -<p>It was now late in the afternoon, and dusk coming on, we were again put -into our cages, and carried through the town, till we arrived at the -jail. We were taken across a yard into a long room, which was divided -into four parts, by gratings run across. In this miserable place we -found eight more prisoners, (Lascars,) some of whom had been for two -months in the same sort of cages that we were in.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> We were placed in -the small divisions, the coops being ranged round three sides of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> each -compartment, the fourth side being the entrance. A chain was passed -through each cage, and between our legs, over the chain of our irons; -the two ends being padlocked together, we were thus all fastened one to -another, and also to our cages. In this most uncomfortable manner we -passed the night.</p> - -<p>During the night the corporal I have mentioned died. He never recovered -the use of his senses.</p> - -<p>In the morning the jailer came in, an old man, with a loud voice, cross -look, and a piece of thyme, or some other herb, always stuck on his -upper lip. He opened the lids of the cages of the eight Lascars, and -took the irons off their wrists, thus enabling them to stand upright, -and shake themselves; we had no such indulgence, but were kept fast. -At eight o'clock our breakfast was brought in; it was jail allowance, -two small basins full of rice, and one of vegetables: the cages were -opened, and the irons taken off our hands, whilst we ate our scanty<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> -meal, which we had no sooner finished than we were fastened down again. -We remained in this state all day, and after our evening allowance, -were again secured for the night.</p> - -<p>A little before dark, the watch was set, and a large gong, at a short -distance, was struck once; upon which a number of smaller gongs struck -up, and when they had finished, a boy outside the room began to strike -a piece of bamboo with a stick, which noise was continued without -intermission the whole night. This horrid noise most effectually -prevented my sleeping. The large gong was only struck when the time -changed, striking first one, then two, and so on, till it struck five; -thus regulating the watches of the night, which, in China, I imagine, -is divided into five; at any rate I always found it so.</p> - -<p>The following morning the jailer unlocked the lids of our cages, and -took the irons off our hands; so that we were at liberty to stand -upright, and stretch our limbs; which,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> from our cramped position, much -needed this relaxation. The large place we were in, was, as I have -said before, divided into four smaller apartments, three of which were -occupied by us in our cages; whilst in the fourth were some Chinese -prisoners, who lived in it by day, but slept in another part of the -jail. Outside was a covered passage, in which were several stoves; and -here the greater part of the Chinese prisoners cooked their rice and -other victuals. They had all chains on their legs, but were otherwise -free; and they gave us to understand that they were imprisoned for -smuggling opium, or for using it. Some were of the better class, being -well dressed, and eating their meals with the mandarin of the place.</p> - -<p>Two of the commoner sort had lost their tails,<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> and one was minus -his nose, which gave anything but a prepossessing appearance to his -countenance.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> <a href="#Note_4">Note 4.</a></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> <a href="#Note_5">Note 5.</a></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> <a href="#Note_6">Note 6.</a></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> <a href="#Note_7">Note 7.</a></p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2> - -<blockquote><p>Captain Anstruther—Kindness to marines—Mandarin's -questions—Chinese music—Jolly-boat -party arrive—Privations—Medical -treatment—Removed—Sedans—Town—Joshouse—Apartment—Guard-room.</p></blockquote> - -<p>Towards the middle of the day, there was a commotion in the yard, and -soon afterwards, the jailers and some other people came in, and I and -two more, a marine and a boy, were carried out; after waiting a short -time in the yard, our cages were again shouldered, and we were conveyed -through the town to the residence of a mandarin, but not the same house -we had been at two days before. We were taken into the entrance-hall, -which had the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> usual canopy at the farther end; being, I suppose, the -"Hall of Ancestors." I was released from my cage directly it was set -down, and found myself with the English prisoner I had previously seen. -He told me he was Captain Anstruther, and had been kidnapped at Chusan; -that our heads were in comparative security, but that perhaps we should -have a long imprisonment, as the Chinese would only consent to give -us up, if the English would evacuate Chusan; but to this condition we -could not hope the commander-in-chief would accede. However, he was, at -the desire of the mandarins, going to write to Chusan to this effect, -and by this means our countrymen would know where we were, and perhaps -be enabled to procure our release. Whilst I was walking with him, I -saw one of the marines, who had been brought to the mandarins with -me, lying behind a sedan on a grass-plot, and knowing that he had the -dysentery, I feared the poor fellow was dead; but Captain Anstruther -said he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> desired him to be placed there, that he might have the -benefit of the sun; he had given him some cakes, and afterwards -procured him a pair of trowsers; he also caused a doctor to be sent for -him; in fact, he did everything that lay in his power to ameliorate our -condition.</p> - -<p>In a short time I was summoned before the mandarin, and found the same -party assembled as before, with the interpreter in waiting. I expected -to be questioned concerning the strength of the fleet and army at -Chusan; but, on the contrary, the mandarins contented themselves with -asking me the most frivolous questions about myself, whether I was -married, how old I was, if I had a father or mother, and such like -inquiries. When this examination was over, Captain Anstruther was -brought in, and as he was a "great captain," was allowed to sit on the -floor of the room, whilst we sat outside on the stones. A plate of -cakes and a cup of tea were also handed to him. The mandarins could -not be made<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> to understand how Captain Anstruther and our party, both -having come from Chusan, should not know each other; nor indeed would -they believe me, when I said I had never seen him until the day before. -They questioned and cross-questioned me, but to no purpose, as I had -never seen or even heard of such a person till then. They could not -comprehend the meaning of marines, till Captain Anstruther explained -it by calling them "sea soldiers," by which name the marines ever -afterwards went.</p> - -<p>They made many inquiries about Captain Noble, his wife and child, and -showed that they knew much concerning our vessel, from the numerous -spies they had at Chusan. After a few more such questions, I was -dismissed; and, being lifted into my cage, was carried back to the -jail, where I had my supper, and was then locked up for the night. At -dark the usual serenade commenced, which noise, with my uncomfortable -position, drove all expectation of sleep, at least by night, out of my -head.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p> - -<p>Soon after we had finished our breakfast the next morning, some of the -Chinese prisoners began to play on musical instruments, in different -parts of the yard, and independent of each other. One of these -instruments was something like a mandoline, and played in the same -way; but it was a most monotonous affair, with trifling variety in the -notes; and the song was as bad, a kind of sing-song noise, with very -little pretensions to the name of music. Another was a kind of small -violin, played with a bow; the player could only produce a wretched -noise. One man had a small fife; he was not a whit superior to his -fellows, though they seemed lost in rapture at their own performance, -and remained strumming and blowing all day long, barely allowing -themselves time for their meals.</p> - -<p>The next morning, Wednesday, two more of our party were taken to the -mandarins, and on their return reported the arrival of Mrs. Noble, -Lieut. Douglas, Mr. Witts our chief mate, and the two Lascar boys, -who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span> had escaped in the jolly-boat. They told us that Mrs. Noble was -in the same kind of cage that we were in. I could scarcely believe -them, till the two Lascar boys were brought in, and they confirmed the -statement They had not only put her in a cage, but had also put irons -on her, treating her in the same manner as they did the male prisoners; -and, indeed, in some instances even worse. The mandarins had not the -humanity to order her to be taken out of the cage, but let her remain -there.</p> - -<p>Soon after the boys had come in, Lieut. Douglas and Mr. Witts were -brought into the jail, not to our place, but to the rooms on the other -side of the yard; and though we could see them, we had no opportunity -of speaking. They had been drifting about in the boat for three days, -in great misery, not having had any food, except a little dry rice, -and some water, out of a junk which they boarded; till at last, being -obliged to go on shore, they were made prisoners. I had hoped they -might<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> have reached Chusan, and given an account of the loss of the -Kite, and the probability of our being prisoners.</p> - -<p>Next day, Saturday, Lieut. Douglas and Mr. Witts, who were kept on the -opposite side to us, were taken out of their cages in the daytime, and -allowed to walk about the yard; and as they were not prevented coming -over to us, they heard our tale, and related theirs in return. Captain -Anstruther and Mrs. Noble were kept in separate rooms in another yard; -they also were allowed their liberty by day, but when night came, -all were locked down in their cages. Through Captain Anstruther's -entreaties (who had many opportunities of seeing the mandarins, besides -having the advantage of the captured interpreter's company) a doctor -came to see some of the prisoners, two of whom had the dysentery very -badly, besides several who had spear wounds, and others whose flesh -the irons had galled and worked into sores; to the latter he applied -plasters, with a pink<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> powder, which healed them in a short time; but -as for those who had the dysentery, he merely felt the pulse, looked at -them, and went away, leaving orders that the lids of their cages should -always be left open, and the irons taken off their hands.</p> - -<p>On Monday morning, Lieut. Douglas came over, and told us we were all -going to be removed to a more comfortable place; he and Mr. Witts very -soon after were taken away. We had an early supper, and as soon as we -had finished, some mandarin officers arrived, one carrying a small -board, with some Chinese characters upon it. Their arrival caused a -great bustle, and the jailer came in, unlocked the long chain that -went through all the cages, and took five of the prisoners away with -him. They walked out of the yard, and soon after he returned and took -five more, and so on till it came to my turn; I was then lifted out -of the cage, and walked out of our yard into a smaller one, where the -ring was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> taken off my neck, and the irons off my hands, my legs still -remaining chained. I was here motioned to sit down on a small form, -and on looking round I perceived Mrs. Noble standing at a gate in one -corner. I had not seen her since the wreck, so wishing to speak to her, -I got up, and was going towards her, but my keepers immediately stopped -me, and one, to my surprise, said, "Must not, must not." I turned to -him directly, and said, "Do you speak English?" he replied, "Yes, -sare;" though on my asking him some other questions, he either would -not or could not answer me. On my again attempting to go to Mrs. Noble, -he repeated his former expression, and put his hand on my shoulder to -prevent my rising. I was obliged, therefore, to content myself with -exchanging a few signs with her.</p> - -<p>I did not remain long in this place, for I was soon walked out into the -open space before the prison, where I found some sedans, into one of -which I stepped. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> were open in front, and the ends of the bamboos -were fastened together by a crosspiece of the same material, which the -bearers, by stopping, placed on their shoulders, and raising the sedan -from the ground, trotted off with us at a great rate; several soldiers -going before to clear the way.</p> - -<p>Some of the streets through which I passed were rather broad, and all -were paved with loose flags, not cemented together. The different -trades appeared to have their particular streets; the dyers were in -one part of the town, the braziers in another, and so on: some of the -shops were very well set off, and all quite open to the street. The -houses were mostly built of wood, and the names and occupations of the -owners were painted up and down the door-posts, in yellow and other -bright colours, some being gilded, giving the streets a gay appearance. -Here and there was an opening where a joshouse stood; the pillars and -other parts of the front gaudily painted and ornamented; and on<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> the -roof were placed several images. I passed several open doors, which led -into courtyards belonging to apparently large houses; the courts were -thronged with women and children, who all crowded to the entrance as I -passed. Neither in this, nor in any other instance did they appear to -be deprived of liberty, or to live secluded. The streets had generally -a door at each end, in an archway; and this being shut at night, -relieves the shopkeepers from the fear of thieves, to whom their open -houses would otherwise be very easy of access. The butchers' shops -were well fitted up with huge wooden slabs and blocks, and quarters -of immensely fat pork hung up for sale; geese, ducks, vegetables, and -fish, were all exposed in the broad open streets, as if in a market. I -was carried across several bridges, which were built over black, slimy, -sewer-looking places, from which, and from the streets themselves, -arose even more than the two and seventy several stenches of Cologne.</p> - -<div class="center"><img src="images/i080.jpg" alt="Illustration" /></div> - -<p class="bold"><i>Drawn by C. H. Greenhill.</i> <span class="s6"> </span> <i>Engraved by W. Lee.</i></p> - -<p>My bearers trotted on through innumerable streets, the soldiers -clearing the way before them, not a difficult task, as the curiosity -of the inhabitants seemed satisfied, and there was little or no crowd, -the people merely coming to their doors and looking at me as I passed. -I arrived at length at the end of my journey, the sedan stopped, and I -walked out; then turned to my left up a narrow courtyard, and at the -end found several mandarins sitting with their officers. I ought to -have said before that we knew the mandarins by the balls or buttons -on the top of their caps, there being four kinds that I saw—red, -blue, white, and crystal; red, I believe, being the highest rank. The -officers were distinguished by gilded balls, having one or two tails -of fur appending to them, according to their rank. I made a bow on -passing, which they all returned; and I was led across a small yard, -where I observed large earthen pans for catching water. I walked into -a small square room, and again<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> joined the Englishmen who had preceded -me. The floor was covered with mats, and the change from our cages was -most agreeable. In a short time some more of the prisoners arrived, -and the room was filled with eleven Europeans and four Lascars, making -fifteen in all, just as many as the room would hold; nine being on one -side, and six on the other, the rest of this side being occupied by a -water-bucket, and two small washing-tubs. It being now dark, we began -to think of sleep, so we lay down, which there was just room enough to -do, each man lying on his back, and the feet of both rows meeting in -the centre; so that we had little space to toss about in; however, this -was paradise to the cages, and thinking we should not remain here long, -we made ourselves as comfortable as circumstances would allow.</p> - -<p>The next morning a servant brought us some water to wash ourselves, -(the first time we had been allowed this luxury,) fine white<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> rice -boiled in water, and served up in small wooden tubs. We had as much -rice as we wished for, and a kind of stew, very much like old rags -boiled, in one dish, and salt-fish in another; the dishes were of -common earthenware, and shaped like a bowl. There being fifteen of us, -we divided ourselves into three messes, five in each, and to each mess -was brought a tub full of rice, one dish of stew, and one of very small -fish, salted, and served up raw; but I could not make out what they -were.</p> - -<p>After this meal I began to look about me; the night previous having -been too dark for me to notice any of the surrounding objects.</p> - -<p>The room I was in, I found, was partitioned off from another, in which -was a bed, with two or three chairs, and a small table. In this room -lived an old officer, of some rank, I suppose, as all the soldiers, and -our jailer, paid him great respect. Two young men came to him every -day; whom we used to see, standing up before him, with their hands -behind their backs, like schoolboys,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> saying their lessons to him. It -looked, as ours did, into a small court, in which, also, were some of -the same kind of large pans for catching rain water, as those before -mentioned. Two sides of the apartment in which I was placed, were of -wood, and the other two of white bricks; but they were so thin, and -so insecurely placed together, that it would have required little -strength to shove them down. The floor was an inch thick in dirt, and -the ceiling (which was a great height) covered with cobwebs. It was a -place that we might have got out of with very little trouble; but when -out, we should not have known which way to turn, if escape had been our -object, and our dress and looks would have betrayed us instantly. The -consequence of such an attempt might have been fatal; so that they had -us as safely confined in this insecure building, as when we were in the -cages, fettered and chained to one another.</p> - -<p>In front of our room was one appropriated to the use of one of the -keepers. An<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> old man, hasty at times, when rather fou, but who always -behaved civilly, and in general very kindly towards us. To the left -of his dormitory was a passage that led to the cook-house; and to -the right, another that led into a large yard, on each side of which -was a spacious apartment, where their jos-ceremonies were performed. -Outside our door was a passage, and a staircase that led to the upper -story. The passage led down to another large yard, one side of which -was walled up, and on the other was a large open room, containing -chairs, tables, and sleeping couches, with cane bottoms: this seemed -the guard-room, as soldiers were always there, playing with dice and -dominoes; and their arms (match-locks, and bows and arrows,) were -scattered about. Beyond this room was another passage, which led to the -room where the sixteen Lascars were confined; a smaller and far less -comfortable place than ours.</p> - -<p>What opportunities I had of seeing the building caused me to conclude, -that it was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> a jos-house, and of spacious dimensions; but I saw no -images, nor any religious ceremonies performed.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - -<p>The day passed on, and supper-time came; this meal was the same as -the morning's: after it was over, and the room swept, an officer came -in, and distributed rugs amongst us; one rug between two. These were -a great improvement upon the mats, being soft to lie upon during the -hot weather, and warm to cover us, in case of our remaining there the -winter. At dark, the watch was set, the same as down at the jail, only -here the noise was not so incessant; and indeed the watchmen very often -fell asleep, and left us undisturbed a long time.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> <a href="#Note_8">Note 8.</a></p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER V.</h2> - -<blockquote><p>Physician—Visitors—Day's employment—Taken before the -mandarin—Letters and clothing from Chusan—Chinese clothes—Irons -taken off—Return home—Salamanders—Amusements.</p></blockquote> - -<p>The next morning one of the Melville's boys was taken ill of the -dysentery; the doctor came to see him, and prescribed some medicine, -which came in the shape of a bitter brown mixture; it did him no good, -for in a few days he grew so much worse, that he was removed down to -the jail again, where, by-the-bye, the two marines who were ill had -been left, as they were unable to bear the moving. Poor fellows! they -felt very much being separated from their comrades, and left behind; -but it was of no use complaining; they were obliged to submit. As<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> for -the boy<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> that was taken from us, (the same that I dragged out of the -water when we were wrecked,) he left us, I might almost say, with a -determination to die, so entirely did he despair; his forebodings were -too true, as he died shortly after in the jail.</p> - -<p>The window was besieged all day by well dressed persons, who came to -see "the lions;" at first we only looked again, but getting bolder by -degrees, we turned beggars, and from every fresh batch that came to the -window, we requested something—either money, tobacco, or cakes, not -being very particular: if they refused to give anything, we immediately -slid the panels to, which most effectually prevented their seeing us, -and the soldiers, our guard, very soon turned them out. Our grating was -blockaded continually in this manner for more than a week, when the -visitors ceased to come, and we were left in quietness.</p> - -<p>Being in so crowded a state, and never<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> allowed to go out of the room, -on any pretence whatever, the air soon became very unwholesome; and -animals, the natural consequence of such a state of things, began to -show themselves, and, in spite of our utmost exertions, increased upon -us; so that if the warm weather, which was very favourable to them, -should continue, we stood a fair chance of being devoured alive. But -our deplorable condition fortunately raised up another nation, which, -though living upon the same body, made desperate war upon the other -creatures, and by this means they kept each other under. The principal -employment in the morning was to overhaul our clothes, and kill all we -could catch—a most disgusting way of passing the time, but yet most -necessary; the rest of the day was spent either in walking up and down -the room, spinning yarns, or sleeping.</p> - -<p>After remaining in this place about a fortnight, we were one evening -surprised by the appearance of the compradore, who came to ask if we -wished to send to Chusan for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> anything, as he was going there. As -I knew nobody there, and felt sure that Lieut. Douglas, who was as -kind and attentive to us as opportunity allowed, would write, and -acquaint the proper persons with our situation and wants, I did not -write, neither did any of the others; he therefore went away, saying, -that in about three weeks he hoped we should all be free; but he -added, "Mandarin big rogue;" however, this was far better news than I -expected, and I looked forward to his return with pleasure and anxiety.</p> - -<p>Time passed on pretty well after this, and things were going on as -usual; those who had been ill of dysentery on board the ship were -gradually getting better, fear having worked wonders; when about a -fortnight after the compradore's visit, we were roused one evening -by a noise in the passage, whilst we were at supper. The board which -had before attended us, again made its appearance, and as soon as we -had finished our repast, all the white men were walked out<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> of the -room, and, after waiting a short time in the yard, sedans having been -collected, we were placed in them, and carried to the chief mandarin's -house. After passing through numerous streets, we arrived at a green -plot railed in; against the railings were placed several small flags, -some yellow and some red, but all having Chinese characters upon them. -Passing through a gate, we came to a pair of large folding doors, on -each fold of which was painted a gaudy figure, bearing a sword, and -very much resembling the king of diamonds in our cards, only not half -so good looking. On each side of this huge door was another smaller, -through one of which we were taken, and here our sedans stopped, and -we alighted. At the end of this new yard was a canopy of red and green -silk as usual; we sat under this canopy until we were summoned before -the mandarins. We were then led through a large place, which appeared -intended for an ornamental garden, several rocks being placed here and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> -there, round which the path wound; but I saw no flowers, and very few -green things of any description.</p> - -<p>The room in which the mandarins were assembled, was rather a large -chamber, open in front, as it was the hot season; several couches, -and glazed arm-chairs, were arranged about the room; four large paper -lanterns were suspended from the ceiling, and as the evening drew in, -they, and many more placed in other parts of the room, were lighted. -One or two more mandarins arriving, there was a great deal of bowing, -and salaaming, and tea-drinking, after which they proceeded to business.</p> - -<p>The compradore now made his appearance, and produced several letters, -which he handed to me to read: on opening them, I found that they came -from Chusan, with various articles of clothing, and other comforts for -Lieut. Douglas and Captain Anstruther, clothes of all sorts for Mrs. -Noble, and a quantity for the child which was drowned; but nothing -whatever arrived<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> for the crew; although Lieut. Douglas had written for -necessary clothes for us, as well as for himself. I read the letters -over to the compradore, making him understand, as well as I could, -the nature of the contents, and he repeated them to the mandarins, -whose official took them down in Chinese. When we had finished reading -the letters, Mrs. Noble, Lieut. Douglas, Capt. Anstruther, and the -mate, were brought in, and their letters given to them; they were -also permitted to open their stores. We were now allowed to converse -together for a short time. Until now, I had not been able to speak to -Mrs. Noble since the wreck. The mandarins soon called us up, and told -us, by the interpreter, that all was peace, and that in six days we -should be sent down to Chusan; but, after giving us this agreeable -intelligence, they inquired if we had any clothes for the cold weather, -which would soon come on. I immediately said, "If we are going so soon -to Chusan, we shall not require any of your clothes." They sent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> out, -notwithstanding, and soon after a basket was brought in, containing our -future raiment, which the mandarins distributed amongst our party. They -gave to each man a large loose coat, and a pair of leggings, made of -dungaree, and lined with cotton.</p> - -<p>They were very warm and well calculated to keep out the cold, but very -clumsy and heavy; still they were not to be refused, and indeed had -it not been for this kindness of the mandarins, we should have been -exposed, almost naked, to the approaching inclement season. But this -anxiety to provide us with clothing for the cold weather, made me doubt -very much whether six days, or even six weeks, would find us on our way -to Chusan. As it turned out, it was exactly sixteen weeks from that day -before we were released.</p> - -<p>After another consultation amongst the mandarins, we were all called -up again, and the irons taken off our legs, beginning with Mrs. Noble. -This was a great relief, as our legs were quite stiff with their long -confinement, and in most cases the iron had worked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> into our flesh. -Whilst they were being taken off, the compradore desired us to tell the -Lascars, who had been left behind in the prison, that if they made no -"bobberee," their irons would be taken off also.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p>Being once more unfettered, we were again separated from Lieut. Douglas -and his party, and led away to another room, the ceiling of which -seemed very much inclined to come down on our heads. There was a table -here, and a couch. I had no sooner taken my seat on the latter, than a -well-dressed Chinese put writing materials before me, red paper, Indian -ink, and a small brush. He made signs for me to write, salaaming low -at the same time; I immediately complied with his request, and wrote a -few lines for him. I had no sooner done this, and returned his brush, -than he produced a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> handful of pice, and presented them to me; my -finances being very low indeed, this donation was not to be rejected; -I therefore accepted them, and found he had given me between fifty and -sixty pice, (about four pence in our money,)—very good pay, I thought, -for writing half a dozen lines.</p> - -<p>In this room refreshments were brought for us; hard-boiled eggs, fowls -and pork cut into small pieces, and two sorts of cakes, one being -plain, with small seeds on the top; the other very like dumplings, with -minced pork inside. In fact, there was as much as we could eat, and all -was good of the kind; at any rate, we completely demolished the good -things, and then we returned to our sedans, and were carried back to -our rooms. Here we found the Lascars anxiously awaiting our return; we -told them that the mandarins said we were going to Chusan in six days, -which good news raised their spirits very much, and they began to abuse -the Chinese, especially the female part of the community,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> for having -imprisoned them at all. The next day our jailer brought us shoes and -stockings of Chinese manufacture, and made signs that the Lascars' -clothes were being made, and would very soon be ready.</p> - -<p>In the course of the same day, my friend of the previous night came and -requested me to write something more for him; I of course consented, -and he then produced some plain white fans; I wrote a few lines upon -them, and he seemed much pleased with my performance; Wombwell also -wrote on one for him. In return, he gave us two a basket full of sweet -cakes, which were very acceptable; he came to see us several times -afterwards, and never failed to bring some token of his gratitude with -him.</p> - -<p>Time wore away: the six days went by, and we were not released; some -said they were perhaps waiting till the Lascars' jackets were ready, -but they were brought, and we were still kept prisoners.</p> - -<p>With the new clothes came also some of those horrid creatures by which -we had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> been tormented; these coming fresh from the tailors' hands, -made us observe our guards a little more closely, and we could plainly -discern that they were swarming with vermin. We were glad to find that -what we had at first set down to our own dirt and unwholesomeness, was -more attributable to the dirt and laziness of our jailers and other -people. Even the walls had their inhabitants, for they fell down out of -the rafters upon us.</p> - -<p>Days and weeks passed on, and we gave up all hopes of a speedy release, -expecting nothing less than an imprisonment of a year or two; but I -cannot say that I was now much troubled with the fear of losing my -head. During this time we were sometimes amused with a fight in the -yard, between two of the soldiers—a most unpleasant kind of combat, -for they seized hold of each other's tails with one hand, and dragging -the head down almost to the ground, clawed and scratched with the other -hand, till the one with the weakest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> tail rolled over and gave in; we -always tried to get out and see fair play, but the soldiers mustered -too strong at these times. Sometimes, again, a drunken soldier would -make his appearance, and coming to the window afford us a little -amusement, for, getting hold of his tail, we made it fast to the -grating, and then left him to get loose as he could; generally one of -his comrades, attracted by his bellowing, came and released him; all -this was not very edifying employment, but it served to pass the time, -which, having no books or employment, hung very heavily on our hands.</p> - -<p>The weather now changed, and the winter set in; we were glad to put on -our thick clothes, which we found very comfortable, except that they -afforded a great harbour to the vermin: this was, however, by this -time only a secondary consideration, as the cold weather had rendered -them very torpid, and they did not bite so hard. We had only two meals -a day, morning and evening, and these being soon settled, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> not -being allowed anything in the middle of the day, we made bags of our -old clothes, and at breakfast-time filled them with rice, when the -servants were out of the room, and stowed them away for a mid-day meal. -The servants discovered it once or twice, but we generally managed to -secrete some rice from our breakfast.</p> - -<p>The Chinese used now to carry about little teapots, full of hot water, -at the spouts of which they were constantly sipping; and also a kind -of salamander, an oblong brass vessel, with a handle to it, and filled -with hot water; in the lid were several small holes, and the steam -coming through kept them warm. They carried these things either in -their long loose sleeves, or, sitting down, placed their feet upon -them; but I should have imagined that the steam would have damped their -clothes, and rather chilled than warmed them. About this time, having -got rather free and easy with our jailers, one of our party slipped -out into the passage, whilst<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> the servants were removing the rice and -dishes, and brought in the piece of bamboo and stick, which the watch -used at night; in the evening we saw the soldiers searching for it, but -we kept quiet till dark, and then we began to keep watch ourselves; -but the noise soon brought our jailer in, who took the bamboo away, -threatening to put us in irons. This threat made but little impression, -for, a short time after, another of the party walked off with a teapot -belonging to one of the soldiers; this we kept for several days, till -the owner found out where it was; but we would not give it up unless -he paid for it, and as our jailer and his own comrades only laughed at -him, we obliged him to redeem his teapot with a hundred or more pice, -much to his dissatisfaction.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> These <i>boys</i>, as they are called in the Navy, were all -above one-and-twenty.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> However, they did not take their irons off until just -before our release. Indeed, they always made a marked difference -between the white men and the men of colour, holding up the thumb to -signify the former, and the little finger the latter. <a href="#Note_9">Note 9.</a></p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER VI.</h2> - -<blockquote><p>Language—Marine dies—Canton interpreter—Lieut. Douglas—Secret -letters—Soap—Money—Christmas—Court-martial—Fires—Chinese -dinner—Ladies' apartments.</p></blockquote> - -<p>One evening, about the latter end of November, we were surprised by the -appearance of the moving board, and expected that we were to be taken -away again, when, to our great amazement, one of the marines that we -had left in the prison walked in, looking stout and well; but after -him came, or rather was carried, the other, a most horrid spectacle, a -moving skeleton, with the skin stretched tightly over his bones; his -eyes were sunk deep in his head, and his voice was awfully hollow; he -was the most melancholy sight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> I ever saw. When on board the ship he -was a stout, well-made man, and now how dreadfully changed! he had -come up merely to die with his old companions. The other had been very -ill indeed, but (owing to a good constitution, and the kindness and -attentions of Mrs. Noble, who did all that possibly lay in her power to -alleviate their sufferings) he had got over his sickness, and was now -in a fair way for recovery.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> They brought notes from Lieut. Douglas -and Mrs. Noble, promising us some money. The marines had received their -pice, and ours were to come the next day, which they accordingly did; -four hundred pice for each of the white men, and three hundred for each -of the Lascars.</p> - -<p>I now began to learn a little of the language, and found out the name -of several things in the eating way; such as pork, beef, and all sorts -of cakes, and the celebrated bird's-nest soup, which, by-the-bye, was -uncommonly good; these things we were <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>enabled to buy with the money we -had received.</p> - -<p>This evening the doctor came and looked at the sick man, and shortly -after his visit, one of the servants brought him a dose, which he -took. That night this old servant was constantly at our window, with a -lantern, to look at the sick person. Towards morning the marine became -much worse, and lost his senses, and soon after he died. He was no -sooner dead than the servant, who had been watching very narrowly at -the window, came in, and rolling the body up in a long coat, and taking -it by the arms, threw it on his back, and making signs for one of the -Melville's boys to keep the legs off the ground, they walked off with -him through the gate, and some way into the town, till they came to an -open space, where there was a shed with some straw in it. Here he laid -the body down, and covering it decently with the coat, made the boy -understand that it would be buried that night.</p> - -<p>There were now only two left of the seven<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> marines who came on board -of the Kite from the Melville; and it was not long before one of these -was taken ill; he soon became so bad, that he was obliged to be moved -out of our room, and we hoped he might be taken down to the jail, where -he would have better attendance, and the advantage of Mrs. Noble's -kindness. Our jailer and attendants made signs to this effect, but they -moved him only to another part of the joshouse. He had received several -spear-wounds when he was taken, which had never properly healed; and -when attacked by the dysentery, these wounds broke out afresh, and -reduced him to a dreadful state, and it was not long before we heard of -his death. There was now only one marine left.</p> - -<p>A short time after this, a new interpreter, who had just arrived, as he -said, from Canton, came up to us; he brought us two letters to read, -one from Mrs. Noble, and the other from Captain Anstruther, to their -friends at Chusan, requesting to have some clothes and other things -sent to them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> This man told us that it would most likely be peace, -and that we should be released in a short time. We complained of the -smallness of our room, and of our having nothing but rice to eat, and -said we wished to have meat sometimes; he agreed that it was a most -uncomfortable place, and promised to speak to the mandarins, and get -all things put to rights for us. He then left us, I cannot say with -revived hopes, for we placed but little reliance on his assurances, -being by this time fully aware of the deceitfulness of the Chinese. -He told us, however, that either Captain Anstruther or Lieut. Douglas -would come to see us in a few days.</p> - -<p>On this point he did not deceive us; for two or three days after -his visit, Lieut. Douglas, to our great pleasure, walked in: he was -very indignant at the treatment we had received, and at our being -confined in such a miserable place, and said he would get it altered -immediately. We learned from him, that though the mandarins<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> pressed -the officers to write to their friends at Chusan, and promised that -the letters should be safely conveyed, they had never kept to their -word, but had detained the letters when they had obtained possession of -them; perhaps as curiosities. The officers at Chusan, finding that the -prisoners at Ningpo did not write, suspected the cause to be something -of this kind, and therefore bribed a Chinese to carry letters from -them to Lieut. Douglas and the others; and they answered them by the -same person. They asked for all they wanted, in their letters by the -Chinaman, and always mentioned the same things in those that were given -to the mandarins, so that these gentlemen imagined the English were -conjurors, or some such thing; for with all their cunning they never -found out the spy, and the things that were written for, through them, -always came, although they never sent the letters. Lieut. Douglas, -therefore, knew all that was passing at Chusan, and could tell us what -chance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> there was of our being speedily released. He told us he had -tried several times to get up to see us, but that the mandarins would -not allow him to come. He had sent us several things, and amongst the -rest a bar of soap; but none of these things arrived, I suppose the -Chinese ate the soap; as they have no such article themselves, they -would most likely imagine it to be some eatable; and as they are in the -habit of eating far nastier things, the soap might have been rather a -delicacy to them than otherwise. After some more conversation, he gave -us a dollar apiece to procure us better and more substantial food, -and then left us, promising to see us soon again, and to improve our -situation.</p> - -<p>Lieut. Douglas continued to supply us with money, at the rate of a -dollar apiece for fourteen days; but the persons who brought it to us -generally pocketed one or two dollars each time, and altogether robbed -us of nine dollars; a large sum in that country, where the necessaries -of life<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> are so cheap. The proper exchange, I believe, is rather more -than a thousand pice to the dollar, but we could only get nine hundred -and thirty-two, or at most nine hundred and fifty.</p> - -<p>Christmas was now close at hand, and we accordingly bought some meat -and other things, that we might not eat such an un-Englishlike dinner -as rice, turnips, and very small fish, our usual food; and with a -little coaxing on our part, we prevailed on the old jailer to allow us -to have some samshu, a liquor very like gin, and obtained from rice. -We made a better Christmas of it than I had expected, and after our -dinner we called our jailer in, and drank his health, to his great -delight; in fact, he was so much pleased, that he ran out of our room, -and immediately returned, bringing with him a haunch of goat, which -he said "he gave to us;" and was going to hang it up in our room, but -we deemed it expedient to place it in the outer air, so he hung it up -outside, and we had it for dinner<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> the next day. From this time we were -allowed to have as much samshu as we liked; and with the exception of -one Lascar getting drunk, no one ever forgot himself. The Lascar, when -he came to his senses in the morning, we tried by court-martial, and -sentenced him to receive three dozen, which were administered with a -cat made for the purpose, of threads twisted and plaited together.</p> - -<p>The marine was now the only Englishman in irons, and notwithstanding -the mandarins had promised Lieut. Douglas, in consequence of his -remonstrances, that they should be taken off, they had as usual -deceived him; so one day we took them off ourselves, and lifting up one -of the floor planks in a corner of the room, hid them there. This we -were enabled to effect the more easily, as they had been taken off when -he was at the jail, to allow him to put on a pair of flushing trousers -Lieut. Douglas had given him; and therefore they were not rivetted, but -merely padlocked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> together. The Chinese never noticed that his irons -were off, and they were left in the hole as a legacy to the rats.</p> - -<p>One evening, whilst at our supper, one of the soldiers came to the -window, and amused himself by imitating our awkward attempts to eat -with the chopsticks. This impertinence so incensed one of our men, that -he jumped up, and filling a basin with water, dashed it through the -bars into the soldier's face, taking him quite by surprise; the water -streamed down his breast, inside his numerous jackets, and must have -made him most uncomfortable. But his only revenge was swearing and -shaking his fist at us as he ran away. Finding that no harm arose from -this first attempt, we determined never to be annoyed again, regretting -that we had allowed ourselves to be overlooked so long; therefore all -parties that would not pay for peeping, we drove away by throwing water -at them; and having a bucketful in the room, the water was always at -hand. Our proceedings <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>amused the old jailer exceedingly, and he very -often brought people to see us, and then getting behind them, made -signs for us to throw the water in their faces; taking care, however, -always to get out of reach of the shower, and to condole with the -visitors, who generally received a good ducking.</p> - -<p>It was now January, and we had some very cold weather, and several -falls of snow; our jailer, therefore, allowed us sometimes to have a -small earthenware pot, in which was some mould, and on the top a few -pieces of charcoal; this, of course, was soon expended, so, to keep up -the fire, we tore out the bars of the door, and part of the flooring, -and burnt them. These were the only things I saw in use at the joshouse -in lieu of fire-places.</p> - -<p>Our room was too crowded for us to feel the cold much, but still it was -rather chilly; so, to keep ourselves warm, we ran round and round our -apartment, played at leapfrog, and such other games, which kept the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> -blood from freezing in our veins; besides, we bought pipes and tobacco, -and constantly smoked, which warmed us a little, and probably prevented -sickness getting in amongst us; this was a great advantage, for if any -fever had broken out, we might all have been carried off, from the -extreme unwholesomeness of our apartment. We could see the old officer, -who lived in the room next ours, sitting, for hours together, in his -yard, basking in the sun, and smoking a long pipe; wrapped up in two or -three dresses, made of skins sown together, and wearing a curious kind -of head-dress, resembling the cap worn by jesters in the olden time, -only minus the bells.</p> - -<p>Soon after Lieut. Douglas's visit, Wombwell and I were sent for by the -mandarins; thanks to the person for whom we had written on the fans, -as he came with the servants, and pointed us out. On arriving at the -mandarin's, we found the Canton interpreter, with several letters and -boxes from Chusan. The letters contained the <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>good news that peace -was concluded; this information, coming from English authority, was -the more likely to be true, and of course gave me greater pleasure. -The interpreter wished me to explain the letters, which I did, making -him understand our expressions as well as I could; I then told him -to whom the boxes belonged. Wombwell and I were kept separate, and, -after interpreting one letter, I was sent away, and Wombwell brought -in, to give his interpretation. This way of proceeding of course took -a long time; so that we were there nearly all day. About noon a small -table was brought in, upon which they placed refreshments for us; cold -meat cut into small pieces, hard boiled eggs, cakes, and a metal jug -containing about a quart of samshu. This came in very happily, and the -interpreting went on with fresh vigour.</p> - -<p>Once, when I retired whilst Wombwell was giving his version of a -letter, I was taken to an officer's rooms, and saw him and three others -at dinner; but, <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>notwithstanding my signs to that purpose, they would -not allow me to share it with them. In the centre of the table was -a large bowl, with a heater in the middle of it, containing a rich -soup, full of vegetables and meat, cut into very small pieces. Around -this were several large plates, containing pork and fowls cut up, the -bones having been taken out, pickled fish and vegetables in a rich -thick gravy; two small plates, one containing salted shrimps, and the -other, something exactly like sea-weed, and also a small basin, filled -with a white lard, into which the officers dipped their chopsticks, -and taking out a small quantity, mixed it with their rice. The rice, -which was very fine and white, was in a small wooden bucket; from which -the servants gave their masters a fresh supply, when their basins -were empty. The chopsticks were made of a hard black polished wood, -something like ebony; and the basins and plates were of that beautiful -transparent China ware which we esteem so highly, with figures and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> -flowers painted on them, in most brilliant colours. Two servants stood -behind their master's chairs, and waited upon them with the assiduity -of European servants. When the officers had finished, the servants took -their places, and made their dinner off the remains. They followed -their masters' example in excluding me from their repast; though they -very readily gave me cups of hot water, which I suppose they called -tea, as I could discern two or three leaves at the bottom of the cup.</p> - -<p>Having now nothing to do, I went to the entrance, and on looking out, -I observed, opposite to me, a building, from which proceeded a Babel -of voices, and seeing a little girl come out of the door, I thought -I would take the opportunity, whilst the officers were in another -apartment, and the servants intent upon their supper, to walk over, and -see what was in this place; so on the girl's return, I followed her; -but was noticed too soon by the ladies inside, who no sooner saw me -than they jumped up, and slammed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> door in my face, setting up most -dreadful shrieks, which brought the officers out, who immediately ran -over to me, and led me back, laughing heartily at the same time; so -that my attempt to see a Chinese lady's apartment was frustrated.</p> - -<p>I now returned to the interpreter, and having finished our task, the -small table was again placed before us, furnished in the same manner as -before; so that we could not complain of their want of hospitality.</p> - -<p>The mandarin, a fat jolly-looking old gentleman, asked me, through the -interpreter, whether we ever had any snow in our country; and seemed -very much surprised when I told him, we had far more than was then -on the ground; he was very much taken with the appearance of my blue -flannel shirt, which I was then wearing: but as it was my warmest -piece of clothing, I could not afford to make him a present of it. The -room we were in was very nicely furnished; with painted arm-chairs, a -few couches, with soft cushions,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> small tables, inlaid with different -kinds of woods, several handsome China vases, and a small English clock -in a wooden case, inlaid with brass. The ceiling was painted buff -colour, and varnished; and from it were suspended four large ornamented -lanterns. There were neither rushes nor mats on the floor, but merely -the bare boards, and these by no means too clean.</p> - -<p>When we reached home (as we were obliged to call our miserable prison) -it was quite dark, and we found all the others had lain down. We -communicated the happy news we had learned from the letters, and then -followed their example.</p> - -<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTE:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> These two marines had their irons on their legs when they -came to us.</p></div></div> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER VII.</h2> - -<blockquote><p>Jos ceremonies—Chinese New Year's day—New Testament—Epsom -salts—Grief of our jailer—Kites—Procession—Leave -Ningpo—Chinhae—Huge idols—Chinese camp—Mandarin's message.</p></blockquote> - -<p>A night or two after our visit to the mandarin, we heard the priests -chaunting, two or three silvery toned bells were struck at the -same time, and now and then a drum. We could see nothing of their -proceedings, but from the glare of light the temple must have been -brilliantly illuminated. The priests were not exactly sober all the -next day; so they must have taken strong stimulants during the night.</p> - -<p>A few days after was the Chinese New<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> Year's Day; when an immense -number of worshippers visited the joshouse with offerings of various -kinds; mostly ornaments of filigree paper. All the visitors were -extremely well dressed; silks, satins, and furs of all descriptions, -and very handsome dresses they were.</p> - -<p>One of them, a man, arrayed in a splendid silk garment, had some words -with our jailer, and I believe struck him, at least I saw his hand up: -he was seized by the soldiers, and dragged by his tail to an inner -court, from whence he was shortly led by a soldier with a long heavy -chain round his neck, and handcuffed. What became of him afterwards -I did not learn; but it seemed to me summary justice, and very hard -usage, for apparently so slight an offence. The old officer, who lived -behind our prison, wore a magnificent dress, something similar to a -tartan, but the colours more varied, and brilliant. On his breast was a -piece of beautiful embroidery; representing some extraordinary animal, -only existing, I should <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>suppose, in the imaginations of the Chinese. -At his appearance, all the soldiers, and our old jailer, went to him, -and made their obeisance; salaaming down to the ground; he returned -it most graciously, and they then retired. In the evening rockets and -other fireworks were going off in every direction. This festival was a -great nuisance to us, as the generality of the shops were shut up for a -fortnight, and we could only procure plain cakes.</p> - -<p>It was about this time that Mrs. Noble sent us a New Testament, and -Flavel on Providence, which were very acceptable indeed; and they -enabled us to pass our time in somewhat more respectable a manner than -heretofore.</p> - -<p>We were sometimes very much amused by seeing our jailer's head shaved, -and him in a manner shampooed, the operations altogether occupying -a considerable space of time. The shampooing consisted merely of -having the back well drubbed (for I can call it by no other name) by -the barber, using<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> one hand open and the other clenched; this was a -finishing touch, after shaving him, and washing his head and face; the -razors were excessively clumsy in appearance, but were very keen, and -did their duty well.</p> - -<p>Soon after the New Year's Festival, Wombwell and I were again sent for -by the mandarins, and found letters to the same purport as before; but -in one of the letters was a Latin quotation, which led me to suppose -that peace was not quite so close at hand as the English part of the -letter gave us to understand; however, this I did not translate, nor -did I say anything about it to the other prisoners, thinking it was -intended for the officers' private information. With the letters -came some packets of medicine; and amongst them several doses of -Epsom salts, which the Chinese mistook for saltpetre, and were quite -astonished that it did not take fire when they applied a candle to -it. Seeing them so inquisitive, I tried very hard to persuade them to -take some blue pills which had been sent, telling them that they were -sweatmeats<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> of some sort, and very good for the stomach; but to no -purpose, they were not to be taken in. This was a thoughtless action, -I must own, as the consequences of the experiment, had I succeeded in -persuading them to take some, might have made them imagine that we -wished to poison them. We then returned to our sedans, and were taken -home.</p> - -<p>Just outside the gates of the mandarin's house, I observed a number -of people collected, and amongst them, several children fancifully -dressed, and crowned with artificial flowers; I could not imagine -why they were arrayed in this style, unless they formed part of some -procession in honour of the New Year.</p> - -<p>During our absence, the jailer had been to the window, making signs -that we were all going away; he appeared very much grieved, and putting -his hand to his breast, with tears in his eyes, seemed to express -his great regret at having to part with us. At last, his feelings -completely got the better of him, and he was obliged to run into his -room; where he<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> shut himself up for the remainder of the day; sending -us, however, some substantial marks of his regard, in the shape of -stewed beef, bird's-nest soup, and samshu.</p> - -<p>During the winter months, the Chinese amused themselves with -kite-flying; their kites had a hole in the centre, across which were -placed several strings; and when they were up in the air, the wind -passing through the hole produced a loud humming noise. I suppose this -was on the same principle as the Æolian harp. Some of them were very -pretty and ingenious, being in the shape of birds and butterflies, the -wings of which were made of loose thin paper, which fluttered about as -they rose into the air.</p> - -<p>Time passed, and we two paid several more visits to the mandarins, -when we always heard the same reports of liberty. I rather liked these -visits, as they gave me opportunities, which I should not otherwise -have had, of seeing a little of the Chinese; besides the great -advantage of getting fresh air, and being able to stretch my limbs.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p> - -<p>On my last visit to the mandarin's, I saw another coming in state -to see him; and as his attendants made rather a curious group, I -shall give a description of them. In front walked two men, with high -felt caps, to which were appended two goose-quills, having very much -the appearance of a large ink-bottle, with two pens in it; they -dragged chains after them; then came two more, with the same curious -head-dresses, beating gongs; then a soldier, with a red silk chatty, -which he carried as if about to charge; after him were two more -soldiers, and then the mandarin's sedan made its appearance, carried -by four men, and surrounded by soldiers and other attendants; the -whole party were shouting, and making a great noise. When they had -passed through the great gate, the train filed off to the right and -left, and the mandarin walked out of his sedan, and went in; attended -only by his pipe-bearer, and one or two more officers. All, with the -exception of his immediate attendants, were very raggedly clothed, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> -the sedan-bearers were almost naked, notwithstanding the inclemency -of the weather; indeed, the <i>quantity</i>, and not the <i>quality</i>, of the -attendants, seemed the order of the day.</p> - -<p>I was rather struck with the manner of visiting amongst the Chinese, -as showing a greater degree of refinement existing amongst them than -I had any idea of. The person calling sent in his card, (a piece of -red paper, with a few characters upon it,) and if the master of the -house were in, or chose to see him, he went to the door, and took the -visitor into the sitting-room, where tea was immediately served up. On -the visitor's departure, the master generally accompanies him a certain -distance, according to his rank; if a superior, to the gate; if an -equal, or inferior, not so far: at the same time there being always -a lengthened <i>combat de politesse</i> about taking precedence, although -regular rules are laid down for their guidance on the subject, and -they well know that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> after a certain number of bows, the superior must -always go first.</p> - -<p>During the month of February the soldiers were constantly making signs, -intimating that we were on the point of departure; and some of them -went away, carrying all their few worldly goods with them, so that we -began to think our liberation was really close at hand.</p> - -<p>One morning very early, before we had risen, a little boy, one of -our attendants, came to the window, and shoving back the shutters, -desired us to get up, for we were all going away; but as we did not -believe him, the only answer he received was a volley of shoes from -all parts of the room, which quickly drove him away; but soon after -our old jailer came, and made signs to the same effect, and that our -rice was coming in directly; we therefore arose, still hardly daring -to believe him. When breakfast was finished, the old man came in and -told us to pack up our rugs; that we were going away, and were to take<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> -them with us. We then imagined Lieut. Douglas's remonstrances had had -some effect, and that, instead of being released, we were only going -to a more commodious prison; however, even this was good news, and we -proceeded very joyfully to pack up our little all. Outside, the place -was all in confusion; a number of fresh soldiers made their appearance, -whilst our own guards were taking their departure, with their beds -and other traps. The jailer was distributing his goods amongst the -servants, giving a pipe to one, a gown to another, and so on. A number -of coolies now came in, and carried away our rugs. Our New Testament we -gave to the old jailer, who, though cross at times, had on the whole -treated us very kindly, and with great consideration. Flavel we gave to -an officer who had often done us various good offices.</p> - -<p>In a short time we ourselves walked out, and found in the passage a -number of sedans, in which we took our seats, one in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> each, and they -started with us. Thus, on the 21st of February, 1841, we left the place -where we had been confined about five months.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p> - -<h2>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> - -<blockquote><p>Sampan—Description of junk—Preserved eggs—Reception from -the English—H. M. S. Blonde—Mrs. Noble—Leave Chusan—Narrow -escape—H. M. S. Samarang—Leave Macao—Arrive at Spithead.</p></blockquote> - -<p>On getting outside the gate, we found an immense crowd assembled; they -did not molest us in the least, but we passed on very quietly. We were -taken through a different quarter of the town to any I had been in -before, but the streets were built and ornamented in the same manner; -they were lined, on both sides, with such a number of people, that -where they could all have come from I could not imagine. We went on -thus till we came to the gates of the city,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> where the mandarins were -assembled to see us pass out. The walls were about eighteen feet thick, -and twenty-five feet high; but the materials (stones and bricks) seemed -so loosely put together, that a swivel might very soon have made a -breach in them.</p> - -<p>We were now in the suburbs, and close to the river, to which we were -taken; and each sedan being placed in a separate boat, we were soon -ferried across. The river here was divided into two branches, across -one of which we had just been carried; and we went down the left bank -of the other; it was about the breadth of the Thames at Westminster. -As they conveyed me over, I got out of the sedan, and looked back at -the place of my imprisonment. It seemed a large town, walled all round; -but in some places the walls were in a very ruinous condition. On the -ramparts and plain, outside the city, were thousands and thousands of -people.</p> - -<p>We were carried down by the water-side, still in our sedans; and as -it was a cold day,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> and there was a good stiff breeze right in our -faces, I got out of the sedan, and walked between the poles. I observed -that I was not the only one, for I saw that all the white men were -walking also; the Lascars, having their legs still chained, were unable -to walk. The people in the villages turned out everywhere in great -numbers, to stare at us.</p> - -<p>The crops were in some places beginning to make their appearance, and -almost every inch of ground was cultivated; all that appeared bad -unprofitable land was covered with tombs, and particularly the sides -of the hills; in summer, the white tombs peeping out from the high -grass and shrubs would have a very picturesque effect. The coffins -were placed on the ground, and some were covered over with bamboo and -matting; a very slight defence, which in many instances had given way, -and left parts of the coffins exposed; other graves had square tombs -over them, built of brick, and covered with a slab of red stone; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> -in some of these the bricks had given way, and the slab falling in -on the coffin, had burst it open: others being, I suppose, for the -superior class, were built entirely of stone, curiously and rather -tastefully ornamented. The coffins being made of slight materials, the -smell on passing the burial places was very unpleasant.</p> - -<p>We continued our journey, sometimes walking, sometimes in the sedan, -the officers scarcely ever allowing the bearers to rest, and indeed -beating them severely with sticks, and their heavy sheathed swords, -if they stopped for even a moment without leave. The old jailer was -with us, in a sedan, and seeing us walking, he spoke to the officer -commanding the party, who came and made signs for us to get into the -sedans; but it was far too cold for an open carriage, and besides, -after so long a confinement, the walk was agreeable. About dusk we came -to the gate of another city, walled round in the same manner as Ningpo. -We passed through several<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> streets till we came to a large joshouse, -before which a number of people were assembled. We went into the outer -court, and perceived, by the sedans, that many mandarins and other -officers were within. Passing through a building in which were four -colossal figures, about twenty feet high, and painted in Chinese style, -we came to another yard, out of which Mrs. Noble and Mr. Witts were -taken in sedans just as we entered. I heard them speaking, but they -went past so quickly, that by the time I had jumped out of my sedan, -they were gone. I saw Lieut. Douglas and Captain Anstruther, who told -me that we were all to be released immediately, and that Mrs. Noble and -Mr. Witts had already started for Chusan, whither we were to follow as -soon as possible.</p> - -<p>The interpreter then made his appearance, and desired me to follow him; -this I did, and soon found myself in the grand hall of the temple, in -the presence of a number of mandarins and other officers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> The other -prisoners were here; and another interpreter, whom I had never seen -before, came round and asked our names and country; he could also speak -Bengalee, and therefore interpreted for the Lascars. They then took -the irons off the Lascars' legs, and after the mandarins had looked -at us for a short time, they took their departure, leaving us, with a -few officers, in the temple. I now had time to look about, and found -I was in a large hall, in the centre of which were three colossal -figures, gilded all over, very much resembling in appearance the -Hindostanee idols; under them was a smaller figure of a woman, painted -in gaudy colours, and on each side of her a small model of a temple. -Round the hall were other images, placed in niches, and amongst them I -particularly noticed one of a woman, with a glory round her head, and -holding a child in her arms, bearing altogether, a strong resemblance -to the virgin and child; two others sat side by side, of rather -singular appearance, one having a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span> black face and hands, with a white -dress, and the other a white face and hands, and a black dress.</p> - -<p>Several torches were placed in different parts of the wall, and the -flickering light from these, glancing over the gilded images and the -rich dresses of the officers, contrasted with our miserable appearance, -produced rather a singular scene. We did not remain here long, for -we soon had to return to our sedans, and were carried to the head -mandarin's house, to wait till a junk was ready for us. On the way -to his residence, I came to an open space, and before me could see -a number of small lights dancing about. I imagined this to be the -river, and the lights to be in boats, particularly as there was a -curious noise exactly like an immense number of ducks feeding; but, on -approaching nearer, I found myself in a camp, pitched on a large plain. -I was carried between two long rows of small tents, and before every -other tent was a sentinel, with a piece of bamboo in one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> hand, and a -stick in the other, with which he incessantly struck the bamboo, and -thereby caused the clacking noise which had deceived me. Before every -tenth tent another sentinel was stationed with a gong, which he struck -at intervals; they were keeping the first watch of the night, which was -about eight o'clock of our time. Having passed through the camp, we -came to the mandarin's house, and were conducted into a court, where -we found Lieut. Douglas and Captain Anstruther. A piazza ran round -this court, and under it we sat, having the pleasure of seeing the -mandarins' supper taken in, but none was brought for us, and we had had -nothing to eat since the morning.</p> - -<p>Through Lieut. Douglas's remonstrances, a few cakes and some -hard-boiled eggs were at length presented to us; and Lieut. Douglas, -going to one of his boxes, brought out two bottles of rum, which were -very acceptable, and helped to pass away the time till twelve o'clock, -at which hour we left the house.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p> - -<p>Lieut. Douglas here told me that several plans had been arranged for -our escape from Ningpo, but, from the known treachery of the Chinese, -they had been dropped. Others also for the escape of Mrs. Noble and -the officers had been concerted, and Mrs. Noble's jailer had even been -bribed to connive at the plan; but they most generously refused to go, -and leave us to the mercy of the Chinese. He also told me he had many -times tried to come to us again, but that the mandarins would never -allow him; they assured him, however, that our condition was materially -improved, that we had three or four hours' liberty every day, better -food, and a more comfortable apartment, all of which was false. The -unfortunate captive compradore the mandarins refused to give up at this -time, but said they would send him down to Canton, to be given up there.</p> - -<p>The mandarin (whom I understood to be commissioner E.) having by this -time finished his supper, came to have a look at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> us. He desired the -interpreter to tell us "that he was very good to us, and was sending us -away before the time; that he himself was going to leave the island, -and another mandarin, the emperor's cousin, was coming in his place; -that if he arrived before our departure, he would most probably keep -us, and not let us go at all: at the same time he desired Lieut. -Douglas to tell the commanding officer at Chusan, to withdraw his men -and ships as soon as we were given up to them; also that a great many -soldiers would march into Chusan as soon as our fleet left." We then -walked out, about midnight, to go to the junk; on our way down, we -passed through two long files of soldiers, drawn up on each side of the -road, most unmilitary looking warriors; their only uniform was a loose -jacket, with some Chinese characters inscribed on the back and front; -the rest of their dress seemed left to their own taste, and a motley -group they were. They appeared to be divided into three bands,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> one -bearing long unwieldy spears, another bows and arrows, and the third -having a sword in each hand; these, the interpreter told us, were to -embark the next day for Chusan. At the end of each file of soldiers -a huge gun was placed, of immense thickness, but small calibre, not -carrying, I should think, more than a twenty-four pound shot, if so -much.</p> - -<p>When we arrived at the water's edge, we found a sampan, or small -boat, waiting; the Lascars and most of the Europeans having preceded -us, Lieut. Douglas, Captain Anstruther, myself, and the others, got -into the sampan, and were soon sculled alongside a junk, which the -interpreter, who was with us, told us was only waiting for high water -(which would be about three o'clock <span class="smcap">A. M.</span>) to get under weigh. -Mrs. Noble, and Mr. Witts, our chief mate, who had preceded us, were in -one junk; the Lascars, who had also reached the water before us, were -in another; and our party, Lieut. Douglas, Captain Anstruther, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> the -Europeans, got aboard of the third. Here we found our rugs, and after -partaking of some slight refreshment, in the shape of hot water and -sweet cakes, we lay down to sleep. About three o'clock the junk was got -under weigh, and when I got up in the morning I found that we were out -of the river, and sailing between some islands, and the interpreter -told us we should soon be at Chusan.</p> - -<p>The vessel was covered over with tilts, made of split bamboo, leaving -only the forecastle and poop exposed; under the forecastle-deck was the -tank, and on deck was a sampan, which could be launched at will. The -poop was a very small place, there being only room enough to work the -tiller; and when the wind was adverse, the long tiller was unshipped, -and a short one used instead, and the vessel propelled by means of a -large sweep, which five or six men handled, sculling in the same manner -as we do. The sails were made of cotton, with an immense number<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> of -bowlines, and the tilts were sufficiently strong to allow the men to -walk upon them, and stow or set the mainsail.</p> - -<p>Under the covering were three divisions, or holds, in the foremost of -which the soldiers, our guard, and the crew were; in the middle one a -number of boxes (the cargo, I presume) were stowed, and in the third we -ten Europeans were. Abaft this was the cabin, which Captain Anstruther, -Lieut. Douglas, the interpreter, a mandarin, and the captain of the -vessel, occupied.</p> - -<p>Breakfast was set before us about eight o'clock, consisting of rice, -very white, and well boiled, pig's cheek in small pieces, eggs, -preserved, I think, in lard, as they were very greasy, pickled fish, -and various other things; had I not been able to distinguish the mark -of division between the yolk and white of the eggs, I should not have -discovered what they were, as they certainly had neither the taste nor -appearance of eggs, being of a deep chocolate colour;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> however, they, -and all the other things, were very good, and we made an excellent -breakfast.</p> - -<p>The Chinese now pointed out whereabouts Chusan lay, and we saw, over -a point of land, the masts of some English vessels. About ten o'clock -we rounded the point, and got into the bay, where several men-of-war -and transports were lying; we soon were abreast of them, and a boat -from one of the men-of-war came alongside, and finding that we were -on board, made a signal to their vessel, when the lower rigging was -manned, and they gave us three cheers; on seeing this, the other -men-of-war and transports did the same, and the bands on board the -transports struck up "Rule Brittania." What my feelings were at -the moment may more easily be imagined than described; after five -months' imprisonment I was once more free, and in the hands of my own -countrymen. I was pennyless, and I might also say naked, for I knew -that the clothes I had on would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> have to be thrown away; but I was -going amongst Englishmen, and at that time no anxiety for the future -troubled me.</p> - -<p>We Europeans were taken on board of H. M. S. Blonde, captain Bourchier, -where we were rejoiced to meet Mrs. Noble again, and congratulate each -other on our liberation. Mrs. Noble the same day left us, and went -on board a transport: I went to see her again at Macao, where she -remained. Lieut. Douglas and Mr. Witts remained on board the Blonde, -Captain Anstruther went to a transport, and joined his regiment, and -the Lascars were sent on board another transport.</p> - -<p>The next day we left Chusan, and arrived in a few days at the entrance -of the Canton river, where H. M. S. Columbine informed us that -hostilities had again commenced, and that the forts at the Bogue had -been taken a week before.</p> - -<p>A short time afterwards we heard that, two days after our release from -Ningpo, an order had arrived there from the emperor of China, that all -the prisoners were to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> sent to Pekin, to be publicly exhibited, and -then put to death, by being cut into a thousand pieces.</p> - -<p>Report also said that Commissioner E., who had rather hurried our -departure, had been sent in irons to the capital for having released us.</p> - -<p>The Blonde proceeded up to Whampoa, and I was on board of her -altogether a month, when, at our request, we were sent down to Macao in -the Hebe tender, where we saw Captain Elliot, the Plenipotentiary, and -Lieut. Douglas. They procured a passage for Twizell, Webb, Wombwell, -and myself to England, in H. M. S. Samarang, Captain Scott; but -afterwards, Twizell having gone ashore to buy some clothes for us, the -ship got under weigh, and he was left behind.</p> - -<p>We left Macao on the 29th March, 1841, and having touched at the -Mauritius, St. Helena, and Ascension, anchored at Spithead on Monday, -the 10th August. On<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> Wednesday we left the ship, and proceeded to -London.</p> - -<p>To Lieut. Douglas and Captain Anstruther I shall ever feel most -grateful for their kindness towards us, and their unceasing endeavours -to ameliorate the miserable condition of their fellow-prisoners at -Ningpo.</p> - - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p> - -<h2>NOTES.</h2> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p class="center"><a name="Note_1" id="Note_1"></a><span class="smcap">Note 1</span>, <i>Page 8</i>.</p> - -<p>Lord Jocelyn, in his "Campaign in China," gives a very erroneous -account of the loss of the Kite, but as he obtained his information -from some mandarins, they of course would tell the story in such a -manner, as to make it appear that we were prisoners of war.</p> - -<p class="center"><a name="Note_2" id="Note_2"></a><span class="smcap">Note 2</span>, <i>Page 13</i>.</p> - -<p>In Mrs. Noble's letter, which was published in the "Indian News," it is -stated by her that she passed the wreck twice on the 16th, and spoke -to us; but as we left it on the night of the 15th, they must have been -Chinese she saw, and whom she at a distance mistook for the crew.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center"><a name="Note_3" id="Note_3"></a><span class="smcap">Note 3</span>, <i>Page 20</i>.</p> - -<p>Syrang is the head or chief of every party of Lascars, and has under -him one or more assistants, called Tyndals, according to the number -of his men; he receives the pay, and manages the affairs of the whole -party.</p> - -<p class="center"><a name="Note_4" id="Note_4"></a><span class="smcap">Note 4</span>, <i>Page 40</i>.</p> - -<p>I saw this kind of hall in every house I entered, and at the time -imagined that it was dedicated to the Chinese penates; but I have -since found, from "Davis's Chinese," that it is called the "Hall of -Ancestors;" so throughout my story I have given it its right name.</p> - -<p class="center"><a name="Note_5" id="Note_5"></a><span class="smcap">Note 5</span>, <i>Page 44</i>.</p> - -<p>This was the compradore, or purveyor, who had been kidnapped before I -left Chusan, so that he must have been some time in imprisonment. He -had been brought with the fleet from Macao, to act as an interpreter -and purveyor.</p> - -<p class="center"><a name="Note_6" id="Note_6"></a><span class="smcap">Note 6</span>, <i>Page 46</i>.</p> - -<p>These Lascars had been captured at different times at Chusan, whilst -engaged in getting fresh<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> water for their ships. I believe there were -regular bands of Chinese round the place, who seized every foreigner -they found wandering at a distance from his party. One of the people, -belonging to a man-of-war in the harbour, having sauntered some -little distance from his companions, was suddenly seized, and was -being dragged off with a rope round his neck. Fortunately for him, -his comrades were near, and, hearing the noise, went immediately to -his rescue, and turned the tables upon the Chinese; for, taking their -weapons from them, they very soon drove them off, killing several in -the skirmish. It was by one of these bands that Captain Anstruther was -taken.</p> - -<p class="center"><a name="Note_7" id="Note_7"></a><span class="smcap">Note 7</span>, <i>Page 49</i>.</p> - -<p>The tails, of which they are so exceedingly proud, are, with many of -them, formed mostly of false hair and silks, plaited together. To be -deprived of this ornament is, I believe, almost as great a disgrace as -can befall them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p> - -<p class="center"><a name="Note_8" id="Note_8"></a><span class="smcap">Note 8</span>, <i>Page 66</i>.</p> - -<p>In our close confinement we could see nothing of their religious -ceremonies; once or twice, however, I saw our old jailer making his -offerings to his gods. The domestic having placed three tables in -different parts of the yard, (one being exactly before our window,) -ranged round the edge of each nine basins, with chopsticks to all; they -then filled the cups with hot rice, and covered the tables with plates -of pork, fish, and vegetables, and by the side of every table placed a -pile of thin paper. Before each of these tables the old gentleman knelt -three times, bowing his head to the ground thrice each time; after -this he filled a small cup with samshu, and setting fire to the heap -of paper, sprinkled the samshu over the blaze. When he had prostrated -himself before all the tables, and burnt the three heaps, he retired to -his apartment, and the servants removed the whole apparatus. I suppose -his devotions had made him charitable; for all the good things he had -prepared for his deities, he distributed amongst us poor prisoners. -Several of the respectable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> people had, at various times, asked me by -signs, if the cross were my religion, to which I of course replied in -the affirmative.</p> - -<p class="center"><a name="Note_9" id="Note_9"></a><span class="smcap">Note 9</span>, <i>Page 75</i>.</p> - -<p>I think that the Lascars' custom of eating with their hands, in some -measure caused the Chinese to treat them with more severity, than they -did the Europeans. In lifting the rice to their mouths they generally -spilt a little, and there was always some left on the floor after -meals; this seemed to shock the Chinese excessively, and the jailer -told us "that lightning would fall from heaven, and destroy those who -wasted God's bounties."</p> - -<p class="center space-above">THE END.</p> - -<p class="center space-above">LONDON:<br />G. J. PALMER, PRINTER, SAVOY STREET, STRAND.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p> - -<div class="box"> -<h2>JUST PUBLISHED</h2> - -<p class="bold2">BY W. H. DALTON,</p> - -<p class="bold">COCKSPUR STREET, CHARING CROSS.</p> - -<hr class="smler" /> - -<p class="center">I.</p> - -<p>THE BISHOP'S DAUGHTER. By the Author of "The Life Book of a Labourer," -fcap, 7<i>s.</i> cloth.</p> - -<p class="center">II.</p> - -<p>CONFORMITY; a <span class="smcap">Tale</span>. By <span class="smcap">Charlotte Elizabeth</span>. Foolscap, -3<i>s.</i> 6<i>d.</i> cloth.</p> - -<p class="center">III.</p> - -<p>MEMOIR AND REMAINS OF THE REV. CORNELIUS NEALE, M. A. Collected and -Edited by the Rev. <span class="smcap">William Jowett</span>, M.A. Third Edition, -foolscap, 6<i>s.</i> cloth.</p> - -<p class="center">IV.</p> - -<p>SERMONS ON THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF ASIA, AND OTHER SUBJECTS. By the late -Rev. <span class="smcap">T. W. Carr</span>, M. A., Minister of Southborough, Kent. 12mo. -6<i>s.</i> cloth.</p> - -<p class="center">V.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>In the Press</i>,</p> - -<p>AN INTRODUCTION TO A NEW TRANSLATION OF THE PSALMS; being an attempt -to ascertain the circumstances under, and the date at which each Psalm -was composed. By the late <span class="smcap">John Mason Good</span>, M.D., F.R.S., &c., -Author of "The Study of Medicine," "New Translation of the Book of -Job," &c. &c. 1 vol. 8vo.</p> -</div> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Narrative of a Recent Imprisonment in -China after the Wreck of the Kite, by John Lee Scott - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IMPRISONMENT IN CHINA *** - -***** This file should be named 60335-h.htm or 60335-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/3/3/60335/ - -Produced by Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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