they had collected a number of the skins of seals, sea lions, &c. and a considerable quantity of oil, from the same animals. The soil, congenial to the growth of the various kinds of plants, which they had naturalized there, had begun to reward their toils with a plentiful crop of roots, fruits, and pulse, and they were made happy in the fruition of their hopes, and in the flattering prospects of future independence, which were spread before them.

In the midst of the enlivening feelings which pervaded their minds on the success of their undertaking, a melancholy incident took place, which rent asunder the bonds of this little society, and spread desolation over their domains. This was no less than the death of Lambert, the soul of their enterprise; he is reported to have been drowned, while on a visit to one of the adjacent islands. Disheartened by this unfortunate occurrence, by which they were deprived of an intelligent leader, and distrusting their own powers to prosecute their original designs to a favorable issue, they shortly after this event quitted the island in a ship which touched there; and in 1814 their huts were found falling to the ground, their enclosures in ruins, and every part of this once florishing establishment marked with the devastations of time and neglect.'

On the 23d of July, the Franklin entered the straits of Banca, and on the following day was attacked by three Malay proas. A short engagement ensued.

The carriages of her guns became useless, after a few discharges, and Mr White determined to put into Mintow, a small Dutch settlement in the Island of Banca, where he arrived in the evening. From this place he sailed two days after, and on the morning of August 7th, he discovered Cape St James, the southern point of Cochin China, lying at the mouth of the great Donnai river. This cape he passed in the evening, and anchored just beyond it, in front of the village of Vungtau. On the following day, they were boarded by a Cochin Chinese boat, containing three mandarins with their suite. An amusing description of the first interview between these visitors and our countrymen, is contained in the fourth chapter of this work.

Mr White had necessarily formed his opinion of the character of the Cochin Chinese, from the descriptions of those lively writers, to whom we have already referred. His erroneous impressions on this subject were speedily rectified.

The military chief was a withered, greyheaded old man, possessing however a great deal of vivacity, tinctured with a leaven of

savage childishness, which in spite of his affectation of great state and ceremony, would constantly break out, and afford us infinite amusement. He had several attendants, who were perfectly subservient and promptly obedient to all his orders, yet we observed that on all other occasions the greatest familiarity subsisted between them. One of the attendants carried a huge umbrella, with which he followed the old man to all parts of the ship, where his curiosity or caprice led him, and when invited into the cabin, he would not descend without the umbrella, so tenacious was he of every circumstance of state and appearance. Another attendant was a handsome boy of about fifteen years of age, who carried in two blue silk bags connected with a piece of cotton cloth, and thrown over his shoulder, the areka nut, the betel leaf, chunam and tobacco, of which they chew immense quantities; and so universal is this custom among them, that I never saw a man of any rank or respectability without one of these attendants. They also smoke segars made of cut tobacco, rolled in paper wrappers, like the Portuguese, from whom probably they adopted this custom. Another servant carried his fan; and our risibility was not a little excited on seeing the old fellow strutting about the deck, peeping into the cook's coppers, embracing the sailors on the forecastle, dancing, grinning, and playing many other antic tricks, followed by the whole train of fanners, umbrella bearers, and chunam boys, (for the attendants of the other chiefs had joined in the procession) with the most grave deportment and solemn visages, performing their several functions.'

In person the Cochin Chinese are perhaps somewhat smaller than their neighbors the Malays, and of the same color, though generally not so well formed; their constant habit of chewing areka imparts to their mouths a most disgusting appearance.'

'The habit of the higher classes, in permitting their nails to grow to an enormous length, cannot be supposed to conduce to cleanliness or comfort; and it is remarkable with what unwearied pains they cultivate them, as a person bearing this badge is supposed not to be obliged to perform any manual labor, and the longer the nails, the more respectability do they confer on the wearer. Their garments are seldom taken off by night or by day, after having been first assumed, excepting in cases of ceremony, when they are temporarily superseded by other dresses, till rotten by time and filth, when they are permitted to fall off of themselves. These dirty habits engender vast swarms of vermin, and render their bodies highly offensive to more than one sense; and the epithet frowzy, which has been applied to the Chinese, is exemplified in these people in the most emphatic sense.

After having visited every part of the ship, the old mandarin began to court my favor, with the most unyielding pertinacity, New Series, No. 17.

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hugging me round the neck, attempting to thrust his dirty betel nut into my mouth from his own, and leaping upon me like a dog, by which I was nearly suffocated. I finally succeeded in extricating myself from the ardor of his caresses, and getting to the windward side of him, which I maintained, notwithstanding his reiterated efforts to dislodge me. At first we could not account for this sudden and violent fit of unsolicited friendship, but in a short time the mystery was completely unravelled.

Misled as we had been by the accounts which we had had of this country, and totally unacquainted with the real character of the people, we had taken no precaution to keep any articles out of their sight, which it would have been improper or inconvenient for us to part with; and on this occasion we suffered severely by our ignorance. One of the inferior chiefs intimated a wish to descend to the cabin, which was granted. No sooner had we entered it, than, pointing to the looking glass, he gave us to understand that he must have that for the old chief; being somewhat surprised at the demand, we smiled, and, endeavoring to divert his attention, presented him a bottle of brandy and a glass to help himself, which he did not hesitate to do most abundantly; and then, giving us to understand that he considered the vessels as a present, passed them to his attendants, who, after swallowing the liquor, deposited them under their robes. The mandarin then renewed his solicitations, nor was there a single article in sight that he did not demand, and in a manner to impress us with an idea that a refusal would give great umbrage to the chief on deck. Our curtains, glassware, wearing apparel, arms, ammunition, spyglasses, and cabin furniture, were successively the objects of his cupidity; we had, however, determined to be very limited in our donations, at the same time, keeping in view the importance of conciliating these people, and gaining their good will, on our first entrance into their country; he was therefore presented with a shirt, a handkerchief, and a pair of shoes for himself, with an intimation that nothing more would be bestowed, on which he went on deck, in a very ill mood. We followed him shortly, and found the aspect of affairs materially changed; from an excess of gaiety and good humour, old Heo, (for that we discovered was his name,) had fallen into very ill humor, and scarcely deigned to speak.'

The old chief was appeased with great difficulty, and at the expense of several very costly presents. He was now

"In high spirits again, and, in the wantonness of his benevolence, took off his old blue silk robe, with which he very graciously invested me; at the same time shrugging his shoulders, and intimating that he was cold. I took the hint, and sent for a white jacket,

which I assisted him in putting on; at this attention he appeared highly gratified. A demand was now made for some refreshments, and we spread before them some biscuit, cold beef, ham, brandyfruits, and cheese; of the biscuit and cheese they ate voraciously, seasoning their repast with bumpers of raw spirit; the other viands they did not seem to relish; neither did the brandy-fruits suit their palates, till it was hinted to them, that they would produce the same effects as the rum, on which they swallowed them with great gout; nor were they disappointed in the effects, which we had promised them would be produced by their debauch, and by the time we had anchored opposite the village, they were in a state of great hilarity.'

Upon leaving the vessel, Heo invited Mr White to visit him on shore. The request was complied with, and after some formal delays, Mr White was ushered into the chief's house, of which he gives the following picture.

"The apartment, into which we were ushered, was about twenty five feet square, and this we found was the usual hall of audience; the floor was composed of a mixture of sand and clay, which, by constant attrition, had become very compact and solid; the walls were decorated with rusty swords, shields, match locks, gongs and spears. On each side of the entrance was an enormous bass drum, called in the East a Tom-tom, mounted on a clumsy wooden frame, and struck with a bamboo, at stated periods, by a soldier on guard; but what method they had of measuring their time we could not ascertain.

'On a raised platform, at the right hand, were seated two miserable looking objects, undergoing the punishment of the caungue, or yoke; this punishment is inflicted by placing over the culprit's neck, and resting on his shoulders, two pieces of large sized bamboo, about ten feet long each, and secured parallel to each other, by two strong wooden bars, which pass on each side of the neck, embracing it very closely, (not, however, so as to prevent its being turned round,) and give the criminal the appearance of carrying a ladder on his shoulders.

'Directly back of this platform was an entrance into another apartment, devoted to domestic purposes, before whch hung a coarse screen, or blind, of split bamboo, resembling those used in Bengal, not, however, so thick and closely woven, as to hide from our view the women, children, and pigs behind it, who were amicably partaking together of the contents of a huge wooden tray, which was placed in the middle of a floor, composed of small sticks, or wattles, laid transversely over rough trunks of trees, and secured by small cords, made of a kind of flax. At the back part of the hall, in a recess, was placed a large wainscot of heavy wood work, on

which was carved, in high relief, a group of non-descript figures, which must have cost the wildest and most prolific imagination no small effort to invent. On each side of the recess, in gaudy water colors, were displayed several paintings of prodigious monsters, "chimeras dire," and many other heterogeneous productions; and in the centre stood a table, on which was placed a censer of brass, a bason of the same metal, filled nearly to the top with ashes, in which were stuck a great number of matches, (the ends of all which had been burnt,) and a little bronze Jos, or god. And, in front of the posts, or pillars, on each side, were suspended long narrow scrolls or columns of colored paper, with various characters of their language upon them, from top to bottom, painted in black.,

Mr White lost no time in informing the chief, that the main purpose of his voyage was to procure a cargo at the city of Saigon, and requested him to grant permission to go up the river to that place.* This the mandarin gave him to understand was beyond his power; and added, that should he comply with the request, both parties would be liable to capital punishment. Mr White then stated, that he should go up without permission, and was informed in return, that he would incur the same penalty. The mandarin, however, agreed to transmit to Saigon an account of the Franklin's arrival, and a request for a chop or pass to go up the river, and assured Mr White that he would receive an answer in two days.

When these had elapsed, the same promise was repeated. In short, after waiting several days longer, after receiving several more visits from Heo, and other mandarins with their followers, and vainly endeavoring to purchase their good offices by more and more costly presents, Mr White at length perceived, that it was entirely out of the power of these officers to facilitate his farther entrance into the country, and learned, that they had not even transmitted the news of his arrival to Saigon. He concluded, therefore, to leave Vungtau and proceed to Hué, the usual residence of the king, a city which lies in the northern extremity of his territories. From the extracts which we have made, our readers will be fully prepared to give credit to the following general view of the Cochin Chinese character,

* As Mr White and the chief were entire strangers to each other's language, they could converse only by signs, which mode of communication, however, they soon learned to employ with great facility.