C H A P . IX.
Journey from Tong-choo-foo to the Province o f Canton.—
Face o f the Country, and its Produftions.— Buildings and
:other Public Works.— Condition o f the People.— State o f
Agriculture.— Population.
Attentions paid to the Embaffy.— Obfervations on the Climate and Plains of Pe-tcke-
]ee> Plants of. — Diet and Condition o f the People.— Burying-place. — OBfervatioti
on Chinefe Cities.— Trackers o f the Yachts.— Entrance o f the Grand Canal.—
The FifhingCorvorant.— Approach to the Yellow-River.— Ceremony of croffng this
R i v e r .— Qbfervations on Canals and Roads.— Improvement o f the Country in advancing
to the Southward.— Beauty o f near Saa-choo-foo.— Bridge o f ninety-one
Arches.— Country hear Hang-ckoo-foo.— City of.— Appearance o f the Country near
the Po-yangLake.— Obfervations in Proceeding throughKiang-fee.— The Camellia
Sefanqua. RetrofpeBive View o f the Climate and Produce, Diet and Condition of
the People, o f Pe-tche-lee^-— Some Obfervations on the Capital c f China.— Province
o f Shan-tung.— O f Kiang-nan.— Obfervations on the State o f Agriculture in
China.— Rice Mills.— Province of Tche -kiang.— O f Kiang-fee.— Population of
China compared with that o f England.— Erroneous Opinions entertained on this Sub-
Jeff.— Comparative Population of a City in China and in England.— Famines accounted
fo r.— Means of Prevention.— Caufes o f the Populoufnefs of-China.
O n the 8th o f Oitober we embarked, for thefecond time, on
the Pei-ho in yachts, however, that were very different from
thofe on which we had afcended the river, being much fmaller
but broader in proportion to their length, and fo ihallow and
flatflat
bottomed, that they required little depth o f water ; yet we
found them fufficiently commodious. O f the neceflity o f fuch
a changein the accommodation yachts, on account o f the low
fiate of thè river, we were fpeedily convinced, which, previous
to our embarkation, had been by fome attributed to a different
caufe. It was fuppofed that the men in office throughout the
country, piqued at the refufal o f the Embaffador to ffubmit to
their degrading ceremony, would not fail to retaliate the affront
by depriving us o f every little comfort and convenience, and
by otherwife rendering the long journey before us extremely
unpleafant. The charafter o f the people at large juftified fuch
a conclufion ; and, I believe, every individual had laid his account
o f meeting with difficulties and difagreeable occurrences
on the journey to Canton. In juftice, however, to thofe who
had the fuperintendence o f the embaffy, and particularly to the
two moil worthy characters Van and -Chou, who were more immediately
connected with its concerns, it is but fair to obferve
that no attention was wanting, nor expence fpared, to render
our fituation as eafy and comfortable as poffible. Supplies o f
every kind were fent on board in the greateft profufion and
with the moll fcrupulous punctuality. And as a-Angular proof
o f attention ihewn to us in the commencement o f this journey,
our conductors, having obferved that we ufed milk with our
tea, had purchafed two fine cows in full milk, which were put
on board a yacht prepared for their reception, for a fupply o f
that article. And, it was obferved, that whenever the chief officers
o f the provinces, through which the embaffy was to pafs,
prepared an entertainment in honour o f the occafion, .they had
3 R given