port to p o r t; and that the articles o f merchandize fo tranf-
ported muft neceffarily have many profits upon them, before
they come to the diftant confumer; which may, in fome
degree, account for the high prices many'of the produ&s o f the
country, as we afterwards found, bore in the capital. In like
manner was the inland commerce o f Afia conduced by caravans,
proceeding from ftation to ftation, at each o f which were
merchants to buy or exchange commodities with each other,
thofe at the limits o f the journey having no connection nor
communication whatfoever with one another; which will partly
explain the ignorance o f the Greeks with regard to the Eaftern
countries, from whence they derived their precious ñones, perfumes,
and other valuable articles.
T he old Governor was evidently relieved from a load o f
anxiety at his fuccefs ; and the tears and entreaties o f the poor
men ferved only to brighten up his countenance. From
civility, or curiofity, or perhaps both, he returned our vifit on
board the brig, which had been crowded with the natives from
morning till night, finc-e her firft arrival in the harbour. T he
want o f curiofity, which has been fuppofed to form a part o f
the Chinefe charafter, was not perceived in this inftance r but
it was that fort o f curiofity, which appeared rather to be incited
by the defire o f looking narrowly at the perfons o f thofe who
were to have the honour o f being prefented to their Great
Emperor,: than for the fake o f gratifying the eye or the mmd,
b y the acquirement o f information or new ideas. The veffel,
although fo very, different from their own, was an objcCt o f
little notice j W although eager to get a tranfient glance at
the pafiengersj their curiofity was fatisfied in a moihent, and
was generally accompanied with fome vague exclamation,
in which the words Ta-whang-tee occurred; and the main
drift o f which feemed to imply, §j is this perfon to appear
“ before our Great Emperor ?” This was ftill more remarkable
in the crowd o f <Ting-hai; nothing fcarcely was there heard
hut the wor&s Ta-whang-tee and Hung-mau, the Emperor and
the Engliihman.
The fquadron had fcarcely got under way, and cleared the
narrow paifages between the illands into the Yellow Sea,
when it was perceived how very little advantage it was likely
to derive from the Chinefe pilots. One o f them, in fa il, had
come on board without his compafs, and it was in vain to
attempt to make him comprehend ours. T he moveable card
was to'him a paradox, as being contrary to the univerfal practice
with them, o f making the needle traverfe the fixed points,
and not the points defcribed on the card to move (by the needle
being attached to the card), as in thofe o f Europe. T he other
was furnifhed with a compafs, about the fize o f a common
fnuff-box, being an entire piece o f wood, with a circular excavation
in the centre, juft large enough to admit the vibration
o f a very fine fteel needle, not quite an inch in length, which,
however, might be found fufficiently ufeful, in their ihort
voyages, b y means o f a peculiar contrivance for preferving the
center o f .gravity, in all pofitions o f the fliip, in coincidence /
nearly with the center o f fufpenfion. Nor is it Beceifary, in
lo ihort and.fine a needle, to' load one end more than the other,
in order to counteract the dip,, oir tendency' that the magnetic
i needle