Passage up
thpPëi-îio.
of which the government; isdescribed to have b»eên once
I saperfeüMnd the-pebpl^so strictly honest, tlmt a p um
# £ jewel dropped u p o n -the road, Would -be left by the
finder-011 the nearest conspicuous spot, that thé
might the more easily discover it on missing, and returning
tosearch for, his lost treasure. The ChinêSé did not
certainly borrow this account from the French autho^,n|«|.v
the latter from the former; and the Coincidence leads to
hope that there was some foundation in truth for it.
With regard to more distant regions, no doubt, per-
sons in thé^govéïnment o f Gfeinamust have a knowledge
of its external relations; ' as mercantile men must have,of
the plaees with which their trade connects them'. -The
other classés bf society have scarcely any thing'jto interest
them out of China; and the-bulk of th ^ people’ ' Would
perhaps be little gratified, in respect to foreign COutobries,
with any thing îéss than talés of wonders not performed
at home, or of powersexérted beyond the ordinary boun-
daries of nature.
To thé mandarines who conducted Embassy,if
afforded sufficient pleasure to1 satisfy the inquiries ffijàtlè
about their own country, as far a» they were able. Thb
in their Opinions they were partial and national ; in regard
to facts, they seemoed to endeavour at being :fcötö«ê§t»'
Chow-ta'-zhin particularly, who was a man of business,
founded his information generally upon public; documents.
The Legate seldom passed into familiar converse
with the Embassador ; not was it deemed expedient to
SpfUhr jnquisitivfe «about Ghina in his- presence. He visited
his Ex6eBfem6^|6[mpSt: dflgij^day, tho he travelled
pagr/of1 theWay,"bf- landjiiarid, with no inconsiderable
pomp;;?. H e ^ w f y p s o l d i e r s or> servants, announcing
Toud|*p his approach’,? hnd* clearing ftffie way
Ihfore "him. His.-carri^^was 'su;lfih^seJlhf chair as has
'l^p^mentionjed'in the, firsffvofum'e, 'but i^ if e orna-1
mented with silken tassels. It was’ ffdraie l^rVfour men,
whbSe;~s|rength wasrapplied in t^folSWi^'marinei^-'as
fc^rosehitcd in>ifefannexedm^rav®r|. Th^fiollitof thg
f t ^ r^^«-;suspended-at fheitfextiemities by?g|fesi| in.
th^hendjpf whichshqEt.bamW^W^l^assed. The ends