o f Pa-girt, or great man. Vq& had th,e rank o f Lieutenant-General
in the army, and Chou was the Governor o f a diftnct in
P e tche lee, We pbferved in their manners no indication o f
that ftiff gtjd cefempplouis conduit, which cuftom obliges them
to put on in public. On the contrary, they fat down to table
with us, endeavouring to learn the ufe o f the knife and fork,
and made themfel.ves extremely agreeable; lamented they re
npt able t° hold cpnverfatlon with us in our own language;
and on gping away, (hook hands with us like Englilhmen.
Proviiions, fruit, and wines (fuch as the country affords)
were fent on board in fuch profufion, that I really believe the
Chinefe boatmen, in the courfe o f the paffage up this river,
were ppabled tp lay by their winter’s ftock from the furplus.
In truth, M Sir G e ° rge Stauntpn ha? pbferved, the hofpitality,
attention, and refpe.6t we hitherto experienced, wpre fjich as
flxangers meet w ith only in the Eaftern parts o f the world.
hjpthing that copld convey the idea o f extraordinary wealth
or co.mfort among the inhabitants, .or o f extraordinary abundance
and fertility in the ¡GQBftfa, fonleft in the eopious fop-
plies o f our proyiftons) had y e t occurred» either at phu-fan
or in the firft three, days’, fail up the Pei-hg towards the capital.
The land on both (ides yyijis and flat, and infteafl o f hedgerows,
trenches were dug to mark the boundaries o f property.
A fmall proportion only Wilder T b? grgajter
part appeargd to be font fwampy ground» covered with coarfe
graft, wifo ruihes, and thp .common yoefo Thgre wpre feyy
trees, except near fog pfoifh IB ill ° f taxenn appearance,
i the
the houfes generally confifting o f mud walls, one ftory in.
height, and thatched with ftraw or ruihes. Here and there a
folitary cottage intervened, but nothing that bore any refem-
blance to the refidénée o f a gentleman, or that could even be
called a comfortable farm-houfe. And although villages were
numerous, nó affemblage o f houfes were perceived, that properly
could be clatfed under the name o f a town, except that
o f See-koo, near the mouth o f the river, and Pa-koo, a few
miles higher, until we proceéded to the diftance o f about ninety
miles, when we entered the fuburbs o f the large citÿ o f Piett-
Jing, ftretching, like London on the Thames, for feveral miles
along each bank o f thé river P ei-h 'o. But neither the buildings
nor the river would bear any comparifon, even with thofé parts
about Redriffe and Wapping. Every thing, in fa d , that we had
hitherto feen wore an air o f poverty and meanneft. After a long
confinement on board a ihip, to thofe at leaft who are not accuf-
tomed to it, almoft any country appears to poffefs the charms
o f a Paradife ; yet on our firft landing in this celebrated empiré
to the prefent place, which is no great diftance from the capital,
I am perfuaded, that every individual' o f the embaffy felt
himfelf rather difapjpointed in the expectations he had formed.
I f any thing excited admiration, it was the vaft multitudes o f
people that, from our firft arrival, had daily flocked down to the
banks o f the river, o f both fexes arid o f all ages. Their general
appearance, however, was not fuch as to indicate any extraordinary
dégrèe ò f Happinefs òr comfort. Thé beft drefled
men wòre a fórt o f vélvèt cap on their heads ; a fhort jacket,
buttoned clòfe round the heck, and folded acroft the brcaii, the
fleevës remarkably widë ; the materials cotton cloth, black,
blue,