the room, than vifitere o f all ranks, from princes o f the blood
to plain citizens, came daily to look at the prefents, but more
particularly, at us, i whom I believe they confidered by much the
greateft curiofities, A ll the men o f letters and rank, who held
employments in the ftate, .and whofe attendance had been dif-
penfed with at Gehol, flocked to, Yuen-min-yuen.
Among the-numerous vifitors came one d a y ‘ in great' ftate
the prefident o f a hoard in Pekin, on which the Jefuits have
conferred the pompous but unmerited title o f the Tribunal o f
Mathematics. H e was accompanied by a Portuguefq miffionary
.of the name of. Govea^iwho is the titular Bifhop o f Pe^in,.Padre
Antonio, and his fecretary, both.JP.ortuguefe, -,apd,a]l,itbWP
menjbprs;of the ,faid tribunaL The, particular, Jaipur
vifit was,to make themfelves fully acquainted with the. nature
and ufe of,the feyeral prefenfs that related to /cieijcq, and e,fp?_
cially o f tJie> Jarge plaqetajrium, which had already made.^.ggejat
noife in China, in order that they might be able to give a proper
defcription and explanation to his Imperial Majefty, both
o f this inftrument, and o f all the others connected with, their
department, and to anfwer any queftion concerning .them that
might be aiked.
It created no fort o f furprize to any o f us, on finding that the
Chinefe who accompanied thefe reverend gentlemen were
completely ignorant o f the nature o f a complicate machine,
whofe motions, regulated by the moft ingenious mechanifm
that had ever been conftruded in Europe, reprefented all thofe
even o f the moft irregular and eccentric o f the heavenly bodies;
nor
nor in perceiving that they, feemed to be rather difappointed in
the appearance and operations o f this inftrument. It was obvious,
from the few queftrosis put by the prefident o f this learned
body, that he had conceived the planetarium to be fomething
fimilar to one o f thofe curious pieces o f mufical mechaniftn
which, in the Canton jargon, are called Sing-fortgs, and that
nothing more was neceflary than to wind it up like a jack,
when it would immediately fpin round, and tell him every thing
that lie wanted to know. ?
But the difficulty o f m aking the right reverend Bifhop and
his 'colleagues comprehend the principles upon which it was
conftruded, and the feveral phenomena o f the heavenly bodies
exhibited by it, conveyed almoft as bad an opinion o f their aftro-
nomical and mathematical knowledge as o f that o f their prefident.
The prelate, however, appeared to be a man o f mild and placid
temper, pleafing manners, and o f a modeft and unaffuming
deportment. His fecretary was a keen ffiarp fellow, extremely
inquifitive, and refolved not to lofe the little knowledge he
might .acquire, for he wrote down the anfwer to every queftion
that was propofed.
The following day the Bifhop came unattended b y the Chinefe
part o f their board, and gave us fome account o f the nature o f
their employ. The aftronomieal part o f the national almanack,
fuch as calculating eclipfes, the times o f new and full moon,
the rifing and fetting o f the fun, were, as he informed us, en-
trufted to him and his colleagues, but the aftrological part was
managed by a committee o f the Chinefe members. He candidly
avowed