PLATE! XXXVI.
A M A H S T R IK IN G A SM A L L G O N G D U R IN G
r ’A N EC LIP SE .
T h e gSng, or Too', 4s,; a loudrfcandingdqflrament peculiar to jtjbue Chinde.
Ifr/is1 p plate o f componte, medal madfe of ftp, zmc, and copper, with a
id^iow- rim. The larger;- gongs'^ in whififejpbeite fis If id to be a fmail
quantity of -filver, are ufed tn comcerts, in military bands, and not u-nfre-
<juefttly as bells ft i8hey> nreifeueh with, a great woeden mallet, and may fee
heard at the diftan.ce of feveral mile«: The .found is v e r y fo]emn, refembling
a belt, but fhriUcr or deeper, afccbrdihg 'Co the ferae with which they are
beater*. ■ •
-••■.e-.-Tlu1» figure reprefents the performance o^eifolomn rite, of snsfl antique
Origin, but puiiiauahy dUitncd byifthe Chinefe at this prelent hour*.
Th e goft<eriiim.ent?!(®f'-*@hina, which*endeavours1; i t f e l f the foiimg
faihtoi!?ftioncc’®lSVil;dorraKJit i^ ffl jiower, lefaifvLill the jkilffll' itftKW
Homers iri the .capitalirf Pekin. Thefe, ftqm their knowledge .of th e celeftiaf
bodies, predict eoliipfes with much accuracy, and'.cetpmunicate their obfaw
v^|ti'®ns to the L!m|cron^ <'i^omeVBaanth!s befcrd ranitylijS) fcW>tg>' appeals the
©fand * JerVpjrirme' minifter, ■-amposi'neei jtftifay, prodamafio®,. and.
myriads oh>g|^ple « .th e rrioift' diftant ,'pi;6wj^ne.s,>are pjsparsd ip perform
the GcremonieS enjoined on tiheVofic|)fte^avoJaiefly^GPsdifb- in kneeling
down, asdrfferfkUag the ground with their foreheads^ accompanied by art
hideous noife of drums, iiHtMnpets, and gongs, which are unremittingly
perfevered in 'imtsl. the ieeiipfe^tts'ieyer,. The .Chkaefe confidera frightful
din-h® feeS&’gKusd'' Ipseific againftmahihgpant-^iaaats, andlihecnotions of air
eclipfe among: tin Iw i r b.mjcsf A*ptoplj,i.in.l1 •; either .fh^tifjrod (for they
have fome Mteai&ftva- Supreme Beingj is very much difpleafed, p r that the:
luminary is in danger of being Idefcroyed/fe^ In aerial monfterh.
* On the 17.tl1.of November •jfl8&rf&M6dktBrsBi ithis work was gratified with the opportunity
of contemplating, from amidft the flapping at Whampoa, .the jglbonjy grandeur of
a total eclipfe of the fun at ten o’clock'ini. the forenoon. A few of the larger liars were
I for the fpace of three minutes, and during the whole time o f the eclipfe the furround-
ing feene, enveloped in imperfedfc darknefs, -was-moft Angularly piiTiire'fque.:' The;-<Dhincfe,
regarding a folar eclipfe to -be replete with dire portent, either awaited the conclufiqn with
timid ftillnefsi ofdlhook’iUe air with unavailing-noifes ; -whrlft the Europeans, more enlightened,
beheld the phenomenon with reverential curiofity, and being fnpported .by that fupe-;
rior knowledge, which enabled them to “ look through Nature, up to Nature’s G ,”1
odregarded his influence over the planets, and|Gonfiee(.t|ii'i. 'his attributes for reftoring that order
of which they knew him to be the eflence.
t Tibullus, Ovid, Livy, Juvenal, Tacitus, and other writers', have noticed the practice
amorig the ancients of JhiEngupon-fonorous inftruments, to relieve or refeue a celeftial lnnift?
nary from; whattfu^al-fo'.imagined to -be, -the preternatural or evil influence of an eclipfe. ■ -