V I E W OF A C A S T L E .
near the City o f Tien-sin.
T his castle, o r tow e r, is situ a ted o n a p o in t o f lan d a t th e confluence o f
th re e rivers, d ie PeÍ-h o , th e Y u n -le an g , a n d th e W h e n -h o , n e a r th e celestia
l c ity (T ie n -s in ), w h ic h is th e c h ie f h a rb o u r fo r s h ip p in g , an d p rin c ip a l
d ep o t for merchandize th ro u g h o u t C h in a ; a n d from whence th e various
artic le s o f commerce are circ u la ted , b y means o f the canals, U u o u g h the
mo st d is ta n t p ro v in c e s .
T h i s edifice is th irty -fiv e feet in lie ig h t, a n d b u ilt w ith b rick s, except the
fo u n d a tio n , w h ich is o f stone, a n d h a s been u n d e rm in e d , most lik e ly b y
in u n d a tio n ; th e s u rro u n d in g c o u n try bein g v e iy low an d m a rs h y . A
g u a rd o f soldie rs is co n s tan tly stationed here, a n d , in cases o f tum u lt o r
com m o tio n , th e centinels give th e a la rm to the adjacent m ilita ry posts, in
th e d ay tim e b y h o is tin g a s ig n al, an d a t n ig h t b y the explosion o f fireworks
; o n ivhich the n e ig h b o u rin g g a rriso n s re p a ir to th e spot whe re th e ir
services are re q u ired .
W i t h i n th e battlements is a b u ild in g to sh e lte r centine ls o n d u t y ; one
o f them is bea ting a g o n g , to a n n o u n c e to th e g arriso n th e ap p ro ach o f a
v ic e ro y o r m a n d a rin o f ra n k ; on this notice, th ey im me d iately form in a
ra n k , a n d stan d u n d e r arms to salute h im . W i th in the p a rap e t a lan te rn
is suspended, an d in the opposite angle the im p e ria l standard is elevated;
th e co lo u r o f th e tablet, w ith the in s c rip tio n on it, likewise shews it to be
a ro y a l edifice. I n Nieu-hofif’s a c co u n t o f the D u tc h em ba ssy, w h ich was
sent to P e k in in the y e a r 1 65 6, is a p rin t e ith e r o f this tower, o r one simila
r to it, w h ich stood o n th e same site. T h e h illo c k s o f ea rth u n d e r a c lum p
o f trees, seen in the d istan ce , are b u ry in g -p la c e s .