"The order and regularity in serving and removing the dinner was wonderfully exact, and every function of the ceremony performed with such silence and solemnity as in some measure to resemble the celebration of a religious mystery.
"There were present on this occasion three Embassadors from Ta-tze or Pegu, and six Mahomedan Embassadors from the Kalmucs of the south-west, but their appearance was not very splendid. During the ceremony, which lasted five hours, various entertainments of wrestling, tumbling, wire-dancing, together with dramatic representations, were exhibited opposite the Emperor's tent, but at a considerable distance from it.
"The 17th of September, being the Emperor's birth day, we set out for the court at three o'clock in the morning, conducted by Van-ta-gin, Chou-ta-gin, and our usual attendants. We reposed ourselves about two hours in a large saloon at the entrance of the palace enclosure, where fruit, tea, warm milk, and other refreshments were brought to us. At last notice was given that the festival was going to begin, and we immediately descended into the garden, where we found all the great men and mandarins in their robes of state, drawn up before the Imperial pavilion. The Emperor did not shew himself, but remained concealed behind a screen, from whence I presume he could see and enjoy the ceremonies without inconvenience or interruption. All eyes were turned towards the place where his Majesty was imagined to be enthroned, and seemed to express an impatience to begin the devotions of the day. Slow, solemn music, muffled drums, and deep-toned bells, were heard at a distance;—on a sudden the sounds ceased, and all was still—again they were renewed, and then intermitted with short pauses; during which several persons passed backwards and forwards, in the proscenium or foreground of the tent, at if engaged in preparing some grand coup-de-theatre.
"At length the great band, both vocal and instrumental, struck up with all their powers of harmony, and instantly the whole court fell flat upon their faces before this invisible Nebuchadnezzar, whilst
"He in his cloudy tabernacle shrined
Sojourned the while."
"The music might be considered as a sort of birth-day ode, or state anthem, the burthen of which was, 'Bow down your heads all ye dwellers upon earth, bow down your heads before the great Kien-long, the great Kien-long.' And then all the dwellers upon China earth there present, except ourselves, bowed down their heads and prostrated themselves upon the ground at every renewal of the chorus. Indeed, in no religion either ancient or modern has the divinity ever been addressed, I believe, with stronger exterior marks of worship and adoration than were this morning paid to the phantom of his Chinese majesty. Such is the mode of celebrating the Emperor's anniversary festival, according to the court ritual. We saw nothing of him the whole day, nor did any of his ministers, I imagine, approach him, for they all seemed to retire at the same moment that we did.
"In the course of a tour we made in the gardens with the prime minister and other great officers of state, whom the Emperor had directed to attend us, we were entertained at one of the palaces with a collation of petitpatis, salt relishes, and other savoury dishes, with fruits and sweetmeats, milk and ice-water; and as soon as we rose from table, a number of yellow boxes, or drawers, were carried in procession before us, containing several pieces of silk and porcelain, which we were told were presents to us from the Emperor, and we consequently made our bows as they passed. We were also amused with a Chinese puppet-shew which differs but little from an English one. There are a distressed princess confined in a castle, and a knight-errant, who, after fighting wild beasts and dragons, sets her at liberty and marries her; wedding-feasts, jousts, and tournaments. Besides these, there was also a comic drama, in which some personages not unlike punch and his wife, Bandemeer and Scaramouch performed capital parts. This puppet-shew, we were told, properly belongs to the ladies' apartments, but was sent out as a particular compliment to entertain us; one of the performances was exhibited with great applause from our conductors, and I understand it is a favourite piece at court.
"On the morning of the 18th September we again went to court, in consequence of an invitation from the Emperor, to see the Chinese comedy and other diversions given on occasion of his birth-day. The comedy began at eight o'clock and lasted till noon. The Emperor was seated on a throne, opposite the stage, which projected a good deal into the pit. The boxes were on each side without seats or divisions. The women were placed above, behind the lattices, so that they might enjoy the amusements of the theatre without being observed.
"Soon after we came in, the Emperor sent for Sir George Staunton and me to attend him, and told us, with great condescension of manner, that we ought not to be surprised to see a man of his age at the theatre, for that he seldom came there except upon a very particular occasion like the present, for that, considering the extent of his dominions and the number of his subjects, he could spare but little time for such amusements. I endeavoured, in the turn of my answer, to lead him towards the subject of my embassy, but he seemed not disposed to enter into it farther than by delivering me a little box of old japan, in the bottom of which were some pieces of agate and other stones much valued by the Chinese and Tartars; and at the top a small book written and painted by his own hand, which he desired me to present to the king my master as a token of his friendship saying, that the old box had been 800 years in his family. He, at the same time, gave me a book for myself also written and painted by him, together with several purses for Areca nut. He likewise gave a purse of the same sort to Sir George Staunton, and sent some small presents to the other gentlemen of the embassy. After this several pieces of silk or porcelain, but seemingly of no great value, were distributed among the Tartar princes and chief courtiers, who appeared to receive them with every possible demonstration of humility and gratitude.
"The theatrical entertainments consisted of great variety, both tragical and comical; several distinct pieces were acted in succession, though without any apparent connexion with one another. Some of them were historical, and others of pure fancy, partly in recitativo, partly in singing, and partly in plain speaking, without any accompaniment of instrumental music, but abounding in battles, murders, and most of the usual incidents of the drama. Last of all was the grand pantomime which, from the approbation it met with, is, I presume, considered as a first-rate effort of invention and ingenuity. It seemed to me, as far as I could comprehend it, to represent the marriage of the ocean and the earth. The latter exhibited her various riches and productions, dragons, and elephants, and tygers, and eagles, and ostriches, oaks and pines, and other trees of different kinds. The ocean was not behind hand, but poured forth on the stage the wealth of his dominions, under the figures of whales and dolphins, porpesses and leviathans, and other sea monsters, besides ships, rocks, shells, spunges, and corals, all performed by concealed actors, who were quite perfect in their parts, and performed their characters to admiration. These two marine and land regiments, after separately parading in a circular procession for a considerable time, at last joined together and, forming one body, came to the front of the stage when, after a few evolutions, they opened to the right and left, to give room for the whale, who seemed to be the commanding officer, to waddle forward; and who, taking his station exactly opposite to the Emperor's box, spouted out of his mouth into the pit several tons of water, which quickly disappeared through the perforations of the floor. This ejaculation was received with the highest applause, and two or three of the great men at my elbow desired me to take particular notice of it; repeating, at the same time, 'Hao, kung hao!'—'charming, delightful!'