We saw no musical instruments of any kind; they were, however, aware of their use. The natives almost all sing, and we heard several very sweet airs, principally plaintive: they had many jovial drinking songs, one of which we wrote down from their singing; it was inscribed on a drinking cup, and is as follows:
"Ty´wack koo, tawshoo, shee kackoofing,
"Chaw ung, itchee shaw, shooha neebooroo;
"Ting shee, you byee, chee taroo shoo ninnee
"Nooboo cadsee meesee carra shaw jeeroo
"Shing coodee sackee oochee noo shing."
The Chinese characters on the drinking-cup were thus translated in China, "Tywack hoo[17], inspired by a jar of wine, writes an hundred pages of odes or verses without end. At the market town of Chaw-ung[18] he entered a wine shop to sleep. The Emperor summoned him to appear; in his haste to obey the summons, he forgot to put on his neckcloth, and rushing into the royal presence, exclaimed, 'I am the wine-loving immortal.'"
The Loo-choo dress has been so frequently mentioned, that a brief notice, in recapitulation, will suffice in this place. Their loose robe was generally made of cotton, and of a great variety of colours. The robe of a grown up person was never flowered or printed over with figures, being generally of a uniform colour, though instances occurred of striped cloths being worn by the chiefs. This robe opened in front, but the edges overlapped, and were concealed by the folds, so as to render it difficult to say whether or not the robe was continued all round: the sleeves were about three feet wide: round the middle was bound a belt or girdle about four or five inches wide, always of a different colour from the dress, and in general richly ornamented with wrought silk and gold flowers. The folds of the robe overhang the belt, but not so much as to hide it: the whole of the dress folds easily, and has a graceful and picturesque appearance. The garments worn by the children were often gaudily printed with flowers. In rainy or cold weather, a sort of great coat was worn by the chiefs only, of thick blue cloth, buttoning in front over the robe, and tighter both in body and sleeves than the other. This cloth resembled the coarse cloth used in China; and it looked like woollen manufacture, and may possibly have been originally brought from England. The sandals worn by all ranks were exactly the same; they were formed of straw wrought into a firm mat to fit the sole of the foot, smooth towards the foot, and ragged underneath: a stiff smooth band of straw, about as thick as one's little finger, passes from that part of the sandal immediately under the ancle and over the lower part of the instep, so as to join the sandal at the opposite side; this is connected with the foremost part of the sandal by a short small straw cord which comes between the great toe and the next one. The upper classes wore stockings of white cotton, not unlike our half stockings, except that they button at the outside, and have a place like the finger of a glove for the great toe.
[Illustration: GENTLEMAN of LOO CHOO in his CLOAK.]
Their hair is of a jet black, and is kept glossy by juice expressed from a leaf. There is no variety in the fashion of dressing it; it is pulled tight up all round, and is formed at top into a compact knot, so as to conceal the crown of the head, which is shaved; through the knot are thrust two metal pins, one of which has a square point and flowered head consisting of six leaves or divisions: the other pin has one end sharp, and the other shaped like a scoop: the length of these pins is from four to six inches. We did not see the Prince's, as he remained covered during all the time of his visit; but the Chief of high rank, who visited the Alceste on the 23d of September, had the flowered end of one pin studded with precious stones. The higher orders wear, on state occasions, what they called a "hatchee-matchee," which is a kind of turban, apparently made by winding a broad band round a cylinder, in such a way, that a small segment of each fold is shewn at every turn, in front above, and behind below; this is effected by giving a slight diagonal direction to each fold. The lower orders occasionally tie a coloured cloth or handkerchief round the head; this they call "sadjee:" next the body they wear a thin cotton dress. The men wear no ornaments through their flesh, nor are they tattooed: we saw, indeed, some fishermen who had fish spears marked on their arms, but this does not prevail generally. An etching of these marks is given by Mr. Clifford in the second part of the Vocabulary.
The cattle on this island, which are of a small black breed, are used exclusively for agricultural purposes. Hogs, goats, and poultry, with rice and a great variety of vegetables, form the food of the inhabitants: milk is never used. We saw no geese, so that those left by Captain Broughton most probably did not thrive. They have no sheep nor asses. Their horses are of a small slight make, and the natives are very fond of riding. We saw no carts or wheeled carriages of any kind, horses being used to carry loads; for this purpose the roads are numerous, and kept in excellent order, being from six to ten feet wide.
Their mode of dressing the ground is neat, and resembles the Chinese, particularly in manuring and irrigating it. This is most attended to where the sugar-cane is cultivated: they have, besides, tobacco, wheat, rice, Indian corn, millet, sweet potatoes, brinjals, and many other vegetables. The fields, which are nicely squared, have convenient walks on the raised banks running round each. Along the sides of the hills, and round the villages, the bamboo and rattan grow to a considerable size. The pine is the most conspicuous tree on the island, growing to a great height and size, which we infer from seeing canoes built with planks several feet wide; the trees, however, near the temple at Napakiang were not above ninety feet high, and from three to four in girt. The banyan-tree of India was seen at several places; the finest one overhung the small temple at Napakiang, which circumstance led to the enquiry whether, as in India, this tree is held sacred, but we could gain no information on this subject.
In a little plot of ground in the temple garden, Mr. Phillips, purser of the Alceste, sowed mustard-seed, peas, and a variety of other seeds, the natives taking his directions for their culture. Our total ignorance of botany prevented our making any observations on this subject while at Loo-choo; but to supply this deficiency, we collected specimens of every plant at the place. These were preserved between sheets of brown paper, and given afterwards to Mr. Abel, the naturalist of the embassy, in order to be arranged; but they were subsequently lost, along with the whole of that gentleman's collection.
Of their manufactures it is difficult to speak with certainty. By their own account the silks which they wear are Chinese, but the cotton cloths are made on this and the neighbouring islands; the printed patterns of these are not without elegance. We saw no weaving looms, but as we were only in a few houses, this is not surprising: the webs are thirty-six feet long, and fourteen inches broad. Tobacco-pipes and fans are made at Loo-choo; as well as the sepulchral vases, of which there is a manufactory at Napakiang, from whence they are exported to Oonting, and other parts of the island. Some of the pouches of the chiefs were made of cloth, which they say comes from China; it is exactly like our broad cloth. We tried in vain to learn what goods they send to China in exchange for silks: perhaps sulphur forms a part, which these islands are said to produce, as well as tin. From the number of vessels constantly sailing out and in, it appears that they must have some trade, but our enquiries on this and many other topics, though sedulously pursued, led to nothing satisfactory, owing probably rather to our ignorance of the language, than to any wish on their part to withhold information; because, on topics which had no reference to the royal family or the women, they in general spoke freely.