ftrongest defire to do whatever I thought would be most agreeable to the emperor; but that, being the reprefentative of the firft monarch of the western world, his dignity must be the measure of my conduct; and that in order to reconcile it to the cuftoms of the court of China, I was willing to conform to their etiquette, provided a perfon of equal rank with mine were appointed to perform the fame ceremony before my fovereign's picture, that I fhould perform before the emperor himself. The legate fhook his head; but Van-ta-gin and Chou-ta-gin faid it was a good expedient, and offered immediately to go through the ceremony themselves on the fpot; but as they had no authority for the purpose, I civilly declined their propofal. II. 224, 225. • Tuesday, September 10th. This day the legate Van-td-gin and Chou-ta-gin renewed the converfation of yesterday, relative to the cere mony; in the courfe of which I told them it was not natural to expect that an ambaffador fhould pay greater homage to a foreign prince than to his own liege fovereign, unless a return were made to him that might warrant him to do more. Upon which they afked me, what was the ceremony of prefentation to the king of England? I told them it was performed by kneeling upon one knee, and kiffing his Majesty's hand. Why then, cried they, can't you do fo to the emperor? Moft readily, faid I; the fame ceremony I perform to my own king, I am willing to go through for your emperor, and I think it a greater compliment than any other I can pay him. I fhowed them the manner of it, and they retired feemingly well fatisfied. In the afternoon Chou-ta-gin came to me alone, and faid that he had juft feen the minifter, and had a long conference with him upon this bufinefs; the refult of which was, that either the English mode of presentation (which I had fhown them in the morning), or the picture ceremony fhould be adopted; but he had not yet decided which. I faid nothing.-Soon after the legate arrived, and declared that it was finally determined to adopt the English ceremony; only, that as it was not the cuftom of China to kifs the emperor's hand, he proposed I fhould kneel upon both knees inftead of it. I told him I had already given my anfwer, which was to kneel upon one knee only, on thofe occafions when it is ufual for the Chinese to ́ proftrate themselves. Well then, faid they, the ceremony of kissing the emperor's hand must be omitted. To this I affented, faying, as you pleafe; but remember it is your doing, and, according to your propofal, is but half the ceremony: and you fee I am willing to perform the whole one. And thus ended this curious negociation, which has given me a tolerable insight into the character of this court, and that political address upon which they so much value themfelves.' II. 253, 254. We pass over the other preparations, and the grand procession into Gehol, which seems greatly to have delighted the worthy ambassador, and to have received the emperor's approbation; and hasten to the ceremony itself of presentation, which may indeed be reckoned the whole sum and substance of the embassage. VOL. XI. NO. 22. X •Saturday, Saturday, September 14th. This morning at four o'clock A. M. we fet out for the court under the convoy of Van-ta-gin and Chou-ta-gin, and reached it in little more than an hour, the distance being about three miles from our hotel. I proceeded in great ftate with all my train of mufic, guards, &c. Sir George Staunton and I went in palankeens, and the officers and gentlemen of the embaffy on horfeback. Over a rich embroidered velvet, I wore the mantle of the Order of the Bath with the collar, a diamond badge and a diamond ftar. Sir George Staunton was dreffed in a rich embroidered velvet also, and, being a doctor of laws in the university of Oxford, wore the habit of his degree, which is of scarlet filk, full and flowing. I mention thefe little particulars to show the attention I always paid, where a proper opportunity offered, to oriental cuftoms and ideas. We alighted at the park gate, from whence we walked to the imperial encampment, and were conducted to a large handfome tent prepared for us on one fide of the emperor's. After waiting there about an hour, his approach was announced by drums and mufic, on which we quitted our tent, and came forward upon the green carpet. He was seated in an open palankeen, carried by fixteen bearers, attended by numbers of officers bearing flags, ftandards, and umbrellas; and, as he paffed, we paid him our compliments, by kneeling on one knee, whilst all the Chinese made their usual proftrations. As foon as he had ascended his throne, I came to the entrance of the tent, and, holding in both my hands a large gold box enriched with diamonds, in which was enclof ed the king's letter, I walked deliberately up, and, afcending the fide fteps of the throne, delivered it into the emperor's own hands, who, having received it, paffed it to the minifter, by whom it was placed on the cufhion. He then gave me, as the first prefent from him to his majesty, the ju-eu-jou or giou-giou, as the fymbol of peace and profperity, and expreffed his hopes that my fovereign and he fhould always live in good correfpondence and amity. It is a whitish agate-looking stone, about a foot and a half long, curiously carved, and highly prized by the Chinese; but to me it does not appear in itself to be of any great value. • The emperor then presented me with a ju-eu-jou, of a greenish coloured ftone, and of the fame emblematic character; at the fame time he very graciously received from me a pair of beautiful enamelled watches fet with diamonds, which I had prepared in confequence of the information given me, and which having looked at, he paffed to the minister. Sir George Staunton, whom, as he had been appointed minifter plenipotentiary to act in cafe of my death or departure, I introduced to him as fuch, now came forward, and after kneeling on one knee, in the fame manner which I had done, prefented to him two elegant air guns, and received from him a ju-eu-jou, of greenish ftone, nearly fimilar to mine; other presents were fent at the fame time to all the gentlemen of my train. We then defcended from the fteps of the throne, and fat down upon cushions at one of the tables on the emperor's left hand; and at other tables, according to their different ranks, the chief Tartar princes; and the Mandarines of the court at the fame time took their places, all dreff ed ed in the proper robes of their respective tanks. These tables were then uncovered, and exhibited a sumptuous banquet. The emperor fent us feveral dishes from his own table, together with fome liquors, which the Chinese call wine, not however expreffed from the grape, but diftilled or extracted from rice, herbs, and honey. In about half an hour he fent for Sir George Staunton and me to come to him, and gave to each of us, with his own hands, a cup of warm wine, which we immediately drauk in his presence, and found it very pleasant and comfortable, the morning being cold and raw. Among other things, he afked me the age of my king, and, being informed of it, faid he hoped he might live as many years as himself, which are eighty-three. His manner is dignified, but affable and condefcending, and his reception of us has been very gracious and fatisfactory. He is a very fine old gentleman, ftill healthy and vigorous, not having the appearance of a man of more than fixty. The order and regularity in ferving and removing the dinner was wonderfully exact, and every function of the ceremony performed with fuch filence and folemnity, as in fome measure to refemble the celebration of a religious myftery. The emperor's tent or pavilion, which is circular, I fhould calculate to be about twenty-four or twenty-five yards in diameter, and is fupported by a number of pillars either gilded, painted, or varnished, according to their diftance and pofition. In the front was an opening of fix yards, and from this opening a yellow fly-tent projected, fo as to lengthen confiderably the space between the entrance and the throne. The materials and diftribution of the furniture within at once displayed grandeur and elegance. The tapestry, the curtains, the carpets, the lanthorns, the fringes, the taffels, were difpofed with fuch harmony, the colours fo artfully varied, and the light and fhade fo judiciously managed, that the whole aflemblage filled the eye with delight, and diffufed over the mind a pleafing ferenity and repofe undisturbed by glitter or affected embellishments. The commanding feature of the ceremony was that calm dignity, that fober pomp of Afiatic greatnefs, which European refinements have not yet attained. I forgot to mention, that there were prefent on this occafion three ambaffadors from Tatzi or Pegu, and fix Mahomedan ambassadors from the Kalmucks of the fouth-weft: but their appearance was not very fplendid. Neither muft I omit that, during the ceremony, which lafted five hours, various entertainments of wrestling, tumbling, wire-dancing, together with dramatic reprefentations, were exhibited oppofite the tent, but at a confiderable diftance from it. Thus then have I feen King Solomon in all his glory. I use this expreffion, as the fcene recalled perfectly to my memory a puppet-show of that name, which I recollect to have seen in my childhood, and which made fo ftrong an impreffion on my mind, that I then thought it a true representation of the highest pitch of human greatnefs and felicity. '— II. 258-261. The descriptions of the superb imperial gardens at Gehol, are X 2 highly highly animated and interesting: but they are a great deal too long for either quotation or abstract. Soon after their presentation, attempts were made to enter upon business; but in vain; they were told to wait till the court went to Pekin, whither, indeed, they were themselves speedily ordered to proceed. They had not been long there, when the court followed them; and in a few days, the shortness of their subsequent stay in China, which had repeatedly been hinted at, was more formally unfolded to them, Lord Marcartney had made another attempt at proceeding to business, when The minifter, with his usual addrefs, avoided entering into any dif enffion of thefe points, which I had taken fo much pains to lay before him, and turned the difcourfe upon the ftate of my health, affuring me that the emperor's propofal for my departure arofe chiefly from his anxiety about it; for that otherwise my ftay could not but be agreeable to him. Although from the courfe of the converfation, and from the deportment of the minifter and his two affeffors, I was led to draw rather an unfavourable inference relative to my business, yet when I rofe to take leave, nothing could be more gracious, or more flattering, than the expreffions which he made ufe of to me upon the occafion, in so much that my interpreter congratulated me on the fair profpect of my negociation, and faid that he expected the happiest iffue from it. Nevertheless, fince my return home, I have received two different communications, by which I am informed, that the emperor's answer to the king's letter is already prepared, and fent to be tranflated into Latin from the Chinese. This, I find, is an infallible indication of the court's intentions, and as a fignal for us to take our leave. I am afraid that there is good ground for my apprehenfion, as Van-ta-gin and Chou-ta-gin, who have juft been here, tell me that I fhall have a meffage from the minifter to meet him to-morrow at the palace. They fay, that the emperor's letter for the king will probally be then delivered to me (for they pretend not to know certainly that it will), in which cafe, they advife me to afk permiffion to depart without delay. 1 fuppofe they have been directed to hold this difcourse to me.'-11. 299. A few more suggestions were given next day; and, in short, they were so pressed from different quarters, that it was absolutely necessary they should demand leave to set out, in order to prevent some still broader and coarser hints.' It was immediately granted, and they began their journey on the 7th October. The account of this journey is very interesting. The following passage does not certainly confirm the high notions which fanciful writers have conceived of the Chinese administration. In the courfe of converfation, they faid that, including all the yachts, baggage-boats, and those of the attending Mandarines, there were were forty veffels employed on our prefent expedition, and upwards of a thousand perfons attached to this fervice. That the emperor allows five thousand taels per day (each tael equal to 6s. 8d.) for defraying the expense of it; and that, if that fum fhould fall fhort, it must be levied on the provinces we pass through. That one thousand five hundred taels per day were allotted for the expenfe of our refidence at Pekin, aud that they were scarcely fufficient. Although the maintenance of the embaffy muft have undoubtedly been very confiderable, 1 can by no means conceive it in any degree adequate to fo large an amount. That it has been fully charged to the emperor is highly probable; but between the money charged, and the money actually expended, I understand there is ufually a very material difference; for, though the emperor's warrant may be figned for a great fum, yet the checks of office, as they are called, are fo numerous and fo burdenfome, that before it arrives at its laft ftage, it is almoft sweated to nothing. I remember Chou-ta-gin telling me one day, as an inftance of this, that an inundation in the courfe of last year had fwept away a village in the province of Chantong fo fuddenly, that the inhabitants could fave nothing but their lives. The emperor (who, from having formerly hunted there, was well acquainted with the place) immediately ordered one hundred thousand taels for their relief, out of which the firft Li-poo took twenty thousand; the fecond, ten thousand; the third, five thousand; and fo on till at last there remained no more than twenty thousand for the poor fufferers. So we find, that the boafted moral inftitutes of China are not much better observed than those of fome other countries; and that the difciples of Confucius are compofed of the fame fragile materials as the children of Mammon in the western world.' II. 317-318. We recommend the following answer to a charge of proselytizing, to the attention of certain well-disposed persons in this island, who have conceived so earnest a desire for the conversion of our Eastern subjects. To this I replied, that whatever might be the practice of fome Europeans, the English never attempted to difpute or disturb the worship or tenets of others, being perfuaded that the Supreme Governor of the universe was equally pleased with the homage of all his creatures, when proceeding from fincere devotion, whether according to one mode or another of the various religions which he permitted to be published; that the English came to China with no fuch views, as was evident from their merchants at Canton and Macao having no priests or chaplains belonging to them, as the other Europeans had; and that fo far from an idea of that kind entering into my mind, or my commiffion, I had not in my whole train any perfon of the clerical character, and that it was such perfons only, who were employed as the inftruments of conversion; that it was true, as ftated in the letter, the English had been anciently of the fame religion as the Portuguese and the other miffionaries, and had adopted another; but that one of the principal differences between us and them was our not having the fame zeal for making profelytes which they had.' II. p. 327. X 3 We |