( . | P | );
T o accelerate the paflage o f veffels at thofe plactes where the
difference o f levels forbids any further ‘progrefs on the furface of
the water, the powers o f mechamfm are'-applied to let the veffel
down into a lower ftream, or- lift* it ug info an higher one, in the
following manner. In the firft place, twp ftrong ftentions are
-fixed fo the center o f the river,, from, which two largp beams, am
made to project in a ftate_of fefgenfion overthe other water l to thefe,1
ftpong blbckis arc attached-, with ropes o f fufficient ftrength; foi'tHat
w hen .a junk arrives at the place, foe is well fecurecT afore and" aft,
to preferve an equilibrium; when the perfons, who are always flattened
at thefe: places for the purpoie, and ace accuftomed to the»
gbufmefs, Hoifefchejunk, with its; paffengers and contents, from one-
riven into thes other»,, oven every intermediate obftrudtion, So certain
is this extraordinaiy.'operation* thatr icooGupieshut a few minutes in
its execution, and is.not confideredi b y thofe- who, navigate thefe rivers,
as attended with: greater-danger, on more-liable toaccident, than many.
other frequent contingencies which are infeparable from thevoyages.
on them.
Captain Mackintofti and his party were treated by the mandarins,
o f the different dries and; towns through which they paffed, with-a-
degree of attention and hofpitality equal to- that which the emba%
itfdf- reeeiyed. They were- ten- days- in their ‘paflage fi-pm.
tchew< to Chufan.
I fhdll now proceed to give fome detached accounts, o f the manners
andcuftoms o f the Chinefe, as they came beneath my obfervatiom ?
To an accurate defcoption o f the marriage ceremony i&
China, is to do little more than to reply to the Abbe Grofier
whofe account o f the Chinefe nuptials,, as well as o f many other of
jtheir cuftoms, is, altogether, erroneous. T h e Abbe fays, “ On
sthe- day appoirtted for die ceremony, the bride is*firft placed in;
an Wlofed chair, or palanquin, when all the articles thatcompofej
1 her
"%ee petition are borne before apd behind her by differeiit perfons b£
"both foxes, while others Wou nd her, carrying*flambeau*, even in fhe-
Wddle of the dayjfi The marrj^g|*eer^nony, $hich I faw at Macao,:
had little in comrpx^with tbisjdcfcription, pips thej palanquin. The-
bride, feated in that W h in e / f& s preceded by mufic,f:pid enfigns of
..various colours were ‘borne’by menWt$,before had "in ffle rear of the ‘IprOtrfffion, &hkh cottfilted principally df the,relativcs of the bride and
'bridegroom, who efcort ,}ier to fhe houfe o f hen hufband, where a
■ is prepared, and the day is paffed in mirth andffeftivily. No%is the:
' evening 'concluded with, thofe akfurd cCrCmonies, with which the:
Abbd Grofier, and other authors, have, rifliculoufly encumbered the-
eonfummation. of; a Chinefe -wedding.
T h e idea which Sfe mid «diets have propagated o f the tigid^ou-
rinement Of the Chfodfe women, is equally void b f truth. In diffe-
rent-parts o f that extenfive country, different cuftoms may prevail; and
• the power o f httfbands over their wives may be fuck as to render therm
mafters o f their liberty, which they taay exercife, with Werity, *i£
«ircumftanees rfhotild, >at any time, foggeft die «oceffity of foch a.
meafufej-Or, caprice fancy itr: but I do not -hefitate to »iflfert, that w o -
men, m general, -have a reafonable liberty in China; and that there,
is the fame communication md focia! intercom* wjth.womea,. which,
in Europe, is 'conMetedus a principal charm o f fofcialllife.
The: AbBe' has alfo. t o e d , with e qW ignorance o f'^ e : eountiy,.
Whofe hiftorian he* pretends ts> fee W a t »lafters »are defiroUi'of y ro'mo--
-hng- marriage among--their Wes-, in, c#der fo * iW C ^ number of:
them, is 'the children are bom fo inherit the lofc b f foetr .parents-..
| is a mere fable, asj-there -a£e®o fuch clafsasK people.as ilaves in«
rfoe CMnefo empire. They tsarmst impdtf-flaxes in theirmwu
■ nyhich « e uevorumployedibutin !tter;d®mefoc*crin^e£6es-. WWmuft-:
be -aftli^fed-with' the «»oft creittdous dgnoiaMce, whobeheves that-they
im p ^ t th em A fm e ig n . f e s ^ s .- u;nfoefBt e ,T h e r e .a r e . t o yW w im