Sailing forward in a southerly direction the vessel soon came near the Loo Choo islands, the largest of which is sixty miles long. It would seem that these islands possess the most delightful climate in the world. Fanned by perpetual sea-breezes, they are alike free from the frosts of winter and the scorching heat of summer. The soil is prolific, and the vegetation is of the most luxuriant kind.
But the people of these islands are the most interesting objects of observation. The captain of the Czarina went ashore upon the great Loo Choo, and Suvarrow and Alexis were permitted to accompany him. They found the people not more than five feet high, very fat, and with a smooth, oily skin, of a copper color. Their houses were low, and built in the Chinese fashion. The people seemed the most cheerful and happy creatures imaginable. They were very polite to the captain and his party, and gave them a feast of roasted dogs, monkeys and cats. Nothing could exceed the beauty of the country. Though it was now winter, still the whole extent of the landscape was nearly as verdant as spring. The high state of cultivation gave the island the appearance of a vast garden.
Alexis and Suvarrow left this lovely island and these gentle people with great regret, and proceeded, with the captain, to the ship. Their course was still southward, and they soon came in sight of the large island of Formosa, a name which signifies “fair.” It belongs to China. The western portion of it is very fertile and inhabited by a civilized people. The eastern part is rugged and mountainous, and is occupied by savages, who tattoo their skins, sleep in caves on beds of leaves, and have scarcely any clothes or furniture.
While the ship was passing by the island, the Russian merchant asked Alexis if he had ever heard of Psalmanazar. To this the youth replied in the negative; but expressing a desire to hear the story, the merchant related it as follows:
“The extraordinary man, who called himself Psalmanazar, is supposed to have been a native of France, but this is not certainly known. He obtained an excellent education in some of the colleges of the Jesuits; and at an early age he stole a pilgrim’s cloak from a church, where it had been dedicated, and putting it on, travelled about as a pilgrim, and lived upon the charity he thus obtained.
“After this, he put on another disguise, and pretended to be a native of Japan. Not succeeding very well in his scheme, he went to another place, and there passed himself off as a native of Formosa. In this character he went to Liege, in Belgium, and there being met with by an English clergyman, who was duped by his plausible story, he was converted to Christianity, baptized, and formally admitted into the church!
“The conversion of so able and extraordinary a man was esteemed a great thing, and accordingly, as he went to London soon after, he easily obtained the patronage of Compton, the bishop of London. Under his auspices, Psalmanazar became one of the greatest objects of interest and curiosity, especially among learned men. He lived in the house of bishop Compton, and was greatly sought after and flattered by persons of high rank and station. All this time, he pretended to be very pious, but to keep up his imposition, he affected a little of the wild man too, and fed upon raw flesh, roots and herbs.
“Things went on very well with him, and so he set to work and made up a language, which he called the Formosan! He even translated the church catechism into this fictitious lingo; and finally he wrote a history of Formosa out of his own brains!—Such was the ingenuity of his trick, and such the credulity of the public, that this quickly passed through two editions, few or none doubting that it was all a genuine relation of real events. But at last some inconsistencies were detected in the history; suspicions were excited; the learned Formosan was charged with his imposition; and being thus detected, he confessed his guilt. He lived a number of years in London after this—and though fully exposed, he devoted himself to writing books, and greatly assisted in preparing a famous work entitled a ‘Universal History.’ He professed to be penitent for his imposture, and lived in an exemplary manner. He wrote a life of himself, in which he told the story of his deception, and died in 1763.”
Leaving the Chinese Sea to the right, the navigators now turned to the east, and were soon upon the bosom of that mighty sea—the Pacific Ocean. In a few weeks they came to the Ladrones, a group of islands, inhabited by an interesting race of people, who appeared to have made farther advances in civilization than most of the barbarous tribes who occupy the islands of the Pacific. When first discovered, in 1512, the islands were quite populous, the whole number of inhabitants amounting to forty thousand. They are now reduced to five thousand.
Leaving the Ladrones, and passing by various other groups of islands, our voyagers at length approached the Fejee islands, which are situated nearly in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. At one of the largest of the group, called Paoo, the captain concluded to stop for a short time, for the purpose of obtaining fresh water. The vessel was accordingly brought to anchor near the land—and the captain, with two or three of the officers, the Russian merchant, and about a dozen men, went ashore.