Had nothing been said respecting the number of persons that were to proceed in the boats, it might have been supposed that the government had concluded that they had sent what they conceived to be ample accommodation for the whole. But they had already been put in possession of the fullest information on every subject regarding the mission: and a list of the number of persons constituting it had been transmitted, together with other documents. They were therefore perfectly aware of our numbers. Had the mission, as fitted out from Bengal, appeared at court, it would have made an appearance both respectable and imposing; but this, it was very obvious to perceive, the court was desirous to avoid. Not only did they strenuously and firmly oppose every thing like a decent and respectable appearance in the mission, but they carried this conduct so far as to infringe even upon the personal comforts of the reduced number that were to proceed. It was evident that their object was to render the mission as obscure as possible, and to give it an indifferent reception. This was subsequently rendered the more conspicuous by their sending persons of mean condition to confer with Mr. Crawfurd on the subject of the letter to the king. The governor of Saigon, who had behaved in a polite and courtly manner toward us, had said, that on our arrival at Hué, the Mandarin of Elephants would transact business with the Agent to the Governor General; but this personage was contented to send his deputies for that purpose.
On the 24th, about three p.m., the two barges sent from the capital came alongside. The mandarin who commanded them was the finest figure of a man we had yet seen since we entered the country. He was advanced in years, yet hale and even athletic. He was, in fact, a perfect figure of an old soldier, inured to toil and accustomed to hardships. He proposed that we should sail towards evening, and stopped to dine with us. The Cochin Chinese make no difficulty of eating of whatever is placed before them: and both this man, who sat with us at table, and his followers, partook of almost every dish. They are, in fact, rather coarse feeders. When we came to examine the boats, we found the accommodation they afforded more wretched than we had anticipated. The boats, indeed, made up in length for what they wanted in breadth; they are fashioned like canoes, very narrow, but extremely long. They contained forty rowers each, and were provided with a few small brass swivels. The only accommodation left for us, was a narrow, close place, covered with a paltry bamboo matting, of a rounded form, one end of which was left open to creep in at. It was not sufficiently high to allow even of our sitting erect. We had, of course, concluded that the two boats were to be at our disposal, but to this arrangement the Mandarin strenuously objected, insisting on keeping the best accommodation for himself. When we came to take possession of our hut, we found it barely sufficient for two persons to squeeze into side by side in a recumbent posture.
CHAPTER IX.
Voyage from Turon Bay to Hue’.—Mouth of the River of Hue’.—Politeness of the Cochin Chinese has not tended to ameliorate the treatment of females.—Arrive at Hue’.—Perpetual watch kept over the Members of the Mission.—Military costume.—The Governor-General’s letter to the King sent to the Mandarin of Elephants.—The Chinese translation altered.—Interview with the Mandarin.—Canal surrounding the city.—Beautiful prospects on the river of Hue’.—Neatness of the Villages.—Horses.—Soil.—Fortified city.—French Mandarins.—Conference with the Mandarin of Elephants.—Difficulty respecting an audience with the King.—An Entertainment served.—Further discussion.—The Audience with the King refused.—Beauty and strength of the fort.—Inhospitality of the Government.—Royal Barracks.—Artillery Store-Houses.—Enormous Gun.—Citadel.—Remarks on the French Interest at court.—The Presents from the Governor General and an Audience refused.—Poverty of the Bazar.
Collecting together whatever seemed most essential during our excursion, we took possession of our boat about six p.m., and left the ship, which as on the former occasion, fired a salute. Neither the painter, nor any one likely to be of much use in procuring objects of natural history, was permitted to accompany me.
It was feared that, at this season of the year, we should experience tempestuous weather, a prospect not altogether agreeable to us, considering that we were to go to sea in an open boat. The Mandarin comforted himself with the knowledge that the coast, though bold and rocky, abounded in excellent harbours, which he could at all times gain without much difficulty. Fortunately, however, the weather was agreeable during the whole of the passage, and though we obtained little aid from our sails from the time we left Turon Bay, we reached the mouth of the river of Hué at three p.m. on the 25th, after a passage of twenty hours.
It was thought that the ship’s long boat would have kept pace with the barges, but it turned out quite otherwise. She fell into the rear from the commencement, and did not reach Hué for a day and a night after our arrival.
From Turon to Hué, the country, as seen from the ocean, bears a similar appearance to that between the former place and Saigon. It is bold, rugged, and picturesque. The chain of mountains is continued; the ridges bear the same forms and direction. There can be little doubt but that they are of granitic structure. As you approach the river of Hué, they increase in altitude, and the peaks become more acuminated. Yet the aspect is, perhaps, more sterile. On the approach of morning, however, we were delighted with the union of grandeur and beauty in the vast prospect before us. The dense white clouds yet rested tranquilly mid-way upon the mountains, whilst their bold summits were seen to project into the pure ether. The darker shade of the valley contrasted admirably with the lighter colour of a few scanty patches of cultivation. Industry laboured at the oar, and a multitude of small boats gave life and animation to the scene.
The nature of the soil was too evident, from the situation of numerous villages erected upon bare and sandy beaches. These had no vestige of cultivation or of vegetation in their neighbourhood. They depended solely for subsistence upon the fisheries; and upon the dry sands we often saw small boats drawn up to the number of several hundreds in the same place. On the left bank of the mouth of the river of Hué, there is constructed a small, but remarkably neat fort, with a rampart surrounded by a stone wall, and the guns mounted en barbet. This place commands the entrance into the river very completely, but does not appear capable of affording much resistance to a force capable of using artillery with advantage. The place is remarkably clean and neat. The walls were almost covered with soldiers, armed with muskets and lances. To man the walls of a fort is considered by the Cochin Chinese complimentary, and to be equivalent to our custom of firing a salute as a mark of distinction.