16th of September.—At daylight we weighed, and beat to windward all the morning; but owing to the tide being contrary, it was two o'clock before we passed the point mentioned above; which we had no sooner done, than we came in sight of an extensive town, having a harbour filled with vessels at anchor. On steering towards the town, we had to sound our way cautiously amongst coral reefs, which were tolerably well defined by the surf breaking upon them[6]. The Alceste followed as soon as we had ascertained that the passage was clear, and both ships anchored at the distance of half a mile from the town.
In a short time we were surrounded by canoes, full of the natives, who, with their children, flocked on board. They wear a loose dress, tied with a belt round their waist; their hair is brought tight up from all sides, and formed into a knot on the top of the head, with two metal pins stuck in it. In the course of an hour, a native came on board who appeared to be somewhat higher in rank than the rest; and we now discovered, to our great satisfaction, that this man understood our Chinese servant, who had been of no use to us at Corea. As it was found that there were other chiefs on shore superior in rank to this man, Captain Maxwell declined receiving his visit; as well with the view of inducing the principal people to come on board, as of maintaining an appearance of dignity, a point of great importance in all transactions with the Chinese and their dependents, who invariably repay condescension with presumption. As we had heard of these people being tributary to China, it was natural to conclude that there might be some similarity in manners. At all events, it was evidently much easier at any future time to be free and cordial with them, after having assumed a distance and reserve in the first instance, than it would be to repress insolence, if at first encouraged by too hasty familiarity.
Before this man went on shore, he requested to know the reason of our coming into this port; the interpreter was instructed to acquaint him that the ships had experienced very bad weather, and had been a long time at sea; that the large ship had sprung a leak, and required repairs which could only be done in a secure harbour: further explanations, it was observed, would be given to the superior chiefs when they came on board. We had been prepared for these inquiries, not only from the reception we had met with at Corea, but from the well-known character of the nations in this quarter of the globe; and it was so far fortunate, that the Alceste was actually in want of repairs; because to have assigned curiosity, and a desire of gaining information as our object, to people wholly unconscious of such feelings, would naturally have led them to ascribe our actions to some more interested, and consequently more dangerous motive.
The canoes which we have seen to-day are mostly made of one piece of wood; they have two sails, and are moved with considerable velocity, by two or more paddles, assisted by an oar over the stern, which acts both as a scull and a rudder. There is a neat low seat, made of rattans, for each person in the canoe. As the day closed, the fishing canoes came in great numbers from sea, and all came on board the ships on their way; some of the fishermen pulled up our lines and baited the hooks. The whole shore abreast of the ships was covered with people, but the crowd was greatest on two pier-heads, forming the entrance to the harbour; and the variety of colour in their dresses made this a very lively exhibition. In the evening, Captain Maxwell and I rowed round to examine the anchorage, which we found tolerably clear of rocks. An officer was at the same time sent to examine the inner harbour, but he did not go far within the entrance, which was much too shallow for the frigate.
On returning to the Lyra, I found that Mr. Clifford had been entertaining several respectable looking natives who had paid him a visit. As they readily comprehended his desire to know their words for various things, he has succeeded in collecting a considerable number, among which we are surprised to find their name for tobacco the same as ours; all the others are quite new to us.
17th of September.—I carried the interpreter to the Alceste, after breakfast, where I found two chiefs, who had been on board some time, and had been taken care of by the officers, as Captain Maxwell was not prepared to receive them. A message was then sent to intimate that the Ta-yin (a Chinese title, used also by these people to persons of rank) was desirous of seeing the chiefs, and they were introduced into the after-cabin, where they were received in form. They objected to sitting down, making at the same time many low obeisances, which they did by stooping the body, and raising the hands, closed one over the other, to their face. Their scruples about being seated were at length overcome, and the first chief took his place on Captain Maxwell's left hand, the next on my left, and a third, who was evidently of a lower rank, sat beyond the second. The chiefs sat respectfully silent, and Captain Maxwell finding that he was expected to speak first, communicated to them that the ships under his command belonged to the King of England; that they had gone to China with an Embassador, carrying presents to the Emperor, at Pekin; that on their way back to Canton, they had experienced very bad weather, and had been obliged to put in here to refit, and to procure supplies.
In reply, they expressed their willingness to assist us as much as lay in their power, but said that the harbour was too shallow for so large a ship, and recommended our proceeding to another harbour called Kinching, which they described as being secure and commodious, and only a few hours sail from this anchorage: they offered to furnish pilots and a boat to conduct us. Captain Maxwell, however, was unwilling to quit this anchorage unless certain of finding a better; he therefore proposed to send the Lyra to examine and report upon the harbour alluded to. The chiefs paused upon this, and said they could not take upon them to send pilots to the Brig without consulting the Great Man on shore. We were very curious to know who this great personage might be, but they evaded all our inquiries. Captain Maxwell asked where the king resided, and intimated his intention of waiting upon him; to this they strongly objected, declaring moreover, that it was impossible, as his majesty lived a thousand miles off. They did not seem aware of their inconsistency, when they undertook, immediately afterwards, to get an answer from court about pilots for the Lyra, in a few hours.
We had been led to hope, from the frankness and kindness of these people, that no restraint would be imposed on us; and we were the more disappointed at observing, that whenever we spoke of landing, or asked any questions about the king, the chiefs became uneasy, and replied in a mysterious manner. We consoled ourselves, however, with the supposition, that upon further acquaintance their apprehension would wear off.
Business being over, the chiefs were asked to walk round the cabin, an invitation which they accepted with manifest satisfaction. During the conference they had preserved a gravity suited to an important ceremony, and, though surrounded by new and curious objects, had never expressed the least curiosity. They were now no longer formal, and looked over the various articles with attention, taking particular notice of the globes, books, and mirrors. Their manners are remarkably gentle and unassuming. They are observant, and not without curiosity, but they require encouragement to induce them to come forward, being restrained, it would seem, by a genteel self-denial, from gratifying curiosity, lest it might be thought obtrusive. Their dress is singularly graceful; it consists of a loose flowing robe, with very wide sleeves, tied round the middle by a broad rich belt or girdle of wrought silk, a yellow cylindrical cap, and a neat straw sandal, over a short cotton boot or stocking. Two of the chiefs wore light yellow robes, the other dark blue streaked with white, all of cotton. The cap is flat at top, and appears to be formed by winding a broad band diagonally round a frame, in such a manner, that at each turn a small portion of the last fold shall be visible above in front, and below at the hinder part. The sandal is kept on by a stiff straw band passing over the instep, and joining the sandal near the heel; this band is tied to the forepart by a slight string, drawn between the great toe and the next, the stocking having a division like the finger of a glove for the great toe. They all carry fans, which they stick in their girdles when not in use, and each person has a short tobacco pipe in a small bag, hanging, along with the pouch, at the girdle. When they had satisfied themselves with looking over the cabin, they went away, with a promise of returning in the evening as soon as the answer from the Great Man should arrive.
During all this morning, the whole space between the ships and the shore has been covered with canoes, each containing about ten persons. The scene was very lively, for few of the parties which came to visit the ships remained long on board, so that the canoes were continually passing backwards and forwards, and the number which came in this way must have been immense. They all seemed highly gratified at being allowed to go wherever they liked over the ships, nor was this liberty ever abused. The manners even of the lowest classes are genteel and becoming; their curiosity is great, but it never makes them rudely inquisitive: their language is musical, and in most cases easy of pronunciation. We heard a boat song to-day, the air of which was sweet and plaintive; we tried in vain to catch the words, and unfortunately, none of us had skill enough to note down the air. We observed several people in canoes, making drawings of the ships, but they hid their work when they were observed. In consequence of what had been said last night of our wanting repairs, a party of shipwrights and caulkers was sent on board the Alceste this morning, but their tools were of a Lilliputian order, and quite unsuited to the rough work required.