CHAPTER I.

Produced by Jane Hyland and the Online Distributed

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[Illustration: SULPHUR ISLAND.

_Published Jany. 1. 1818. by John Murray, Albemarle Street, London._]

ACCOUNT

OF

A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY

TO THE

WEST COAST OF COREA,

AND

THE GREAT LOO-CHOO ISLAND;

WITH

AN APPENDIX,

CONTAINING

CHARTS, AND VARIOUS HYDROGRAPHICAL AND SCIENTIFIC NOTICES.

BY CAPTAIN BASIL HALL,

ROYAL NAVY, F.R.S. LOND. & EDIN.

MEMBER OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF CALCUTTA, OF THE LITERARY SOCIETY OF

BOMBAY, AND OF THE SOCIETY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES AT BATAVIA.

AND

A VOCABULARY OF THE LOO-CHOO LANGUAGE,

BY H.J. CLIFFORD, ESQ.

LIEUTENANT ROYAL NAVY.

LONDON

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET.

1818.

TO

CAPTAIN MURRAY MAXWELL,

Knight Companion to the Bath,

TO WHOSE

ABILITY IN CONDUCTING THIS VOYAGE,

ZEAL IN GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT TO EVERY INQUIRY,

SAGACITY IN DISCOVERING THE DISPOSITION OF THE NATIVES,

AND ADDRESS IN GAINING THEIR CONFIDENCE AND GOOD WILL,

IS TO BE ATTRIBUTED

WHATEVER MAY BE FOUND INTERESTING OR USEFUL

IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES,

THIS WORK

IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,

BY

THE AUTHORS.

PREFACE.

The following work contains a Narrative of the Voyage to the West Coast

of Corea, and the Great Loo-choo Island; an Appendix, containing

Nautical details; and a Vocabulary of the Language spoken at Loo-choo.

In drawing up the Narrative from journals written at the time, I have

derived great assistance from notes made by Lieutenant H.J. Clifford, of

the Navy. This officer obtained permission from the Admiralty to

accompany me, though on half pay, and having no specific duty to

perform, he was enabled to devote himself entirely to the acquisition of

knowledge; and had it in his power to record many interesting

occurrences of the voyage, which the numerous duties of my station left

me but little leisure to observe or describe.

All the Charts, Tables, and Nautical Notices have been placed in an

Appendix, in order to avoid the interruption which such details are apt

to occasion when inserted in a journal; and the Nautical reader will

perhaps consider it advantageous, to have this part of the subject set

apart, and condensed, instead of being scattered over the pages of the

narrative.

I am indebted to Mr. Clifford for very important assistance in

collecting and arranging the materials which form this Appendix.

The northern part of the Chart of the Yellow Sea, given in the Appendix,

was taken from a Chart by Captain Daniel Ross, of the Bombay marine, the

scientific and able surveyor commanding the squadron which the

Honourable East India Company, in the spirit of a liberal and enlarged

policy, have employed for upwards of nine years, in surveying the China

Seas.

The Vocabulary is exclusively compiled by Mr. Clifford, who took the

greatest pains to collect words and sentences in common use; and though,

from the shortness of our stay, this part of the work is necessarily

incomplete, it is hoped that a future voyager will derive considerable

assistance from it, in his intercourse with the natives.

The drawings of scenery and costume were made by Mr. William Havell, the

eminent artist who accompanied the Embassy, from sketches taken on the

spot, by Mr. C.W. Browne, midshipman of the Alceste, and myself.

Nothing respecting the west side of Corea has hitherto been accurately

known to Europeans. The coast laid down in most Charts has been taken

from the celebrated map of the Jesuits, which is very correct in what

relates to China, but erroneous with respect to Corea. The Jesuits,

indeed, did not survey this country, but have inserted it in their map,

I believe, from Japanese authorities.

Captain Broughton in his voyage to the North Pacific Ocean visited the

South Coast of Corea, and his account of the inhabitants agrees with

ours in most particulars.

The same distinguished voyager visited the Great Loo-choo Island in

1797, after having been shipwrecked near Typinsan, one of its dependant

islands. He was at Napakiang for a few days, and his account of the

natives is highly interesting.

There is an article by Pere Gaubil, a missionary, on the subject of the

Loo-choo Islands, in the 23d vol. of the "Lettres Edifiantes et

Curieuses." It is a translation from the official report of a Chinese

embassador sent to Loo-choo by the Emperor Kang Hi; our opportunities,

however, were not sufficient to enable us to judge of the accuracy of

this curious memoir.

CONTENTS

NARRATIVE.

CHAPTER I.

H.M.S. Alceste and Lyra leave the Yellow Sea on a Voyage of

Discovery--Sir James Hall's Group on the Coast of Corea--Unsociable

Character of the Natives--Hutton's Island--Interesting geological

Structure--Anchor near the Main Land--Corean Chief's Visit--Objections

made to Strangers landing--Distress of the Chief--His

Character--Departure from Basil's Bay--Clusters of Islands--Murray's

Sound--Deserted Corean Village--View from the Summit of a high

Peak--Interview with the Coreans--Peculiarities of their

Character--Language--Erroneous geographical Position of this

Coast--Leave Corea Page 1

CHAPTER II.

Enter the Japan Sea--Sulphur Island--Volcano--See the Great Loo-choo

Island--Lyra nearly wrecked--First Interview with the Natives--Anchor

at Napakiang--Natives crowd on Board--Their interesting Appearance

and Manners--Several Chiefs visit the Alceste--Land to make

Observations--Astonishment of the Natives--Six Chiefs visit the

Ships--Alceste and Lyra proceed farther in Shore--A Chief of high Rank

waits upon Captain Maxwell--Return his Visit--Feast--Projected Survey

of the Anchorage--Visit Reef Island--The Lyra sent to look for another

Harbour--Arrangements for landing the Alceste's Stores--Description of

the Temple and Garden--First Acquaintance with Madera--Study of the

Language 58

CHAPTER III.

The Lyra sent to survey the Island of Loo-choo--Discovery of Port

Melville--Description of that Harbour, and the Villages on its

Banks--Lyra nearly wrecked--Interview with Natives at the South

Point--Return to Napakiang--Behaviour of the Natives at a Seaman's

Funeral--Madera's Character and Conduct--Sociable Habits of the

Natives--Dinner given to the Chiefs of the Island by Captain

Maxwell--Madera's Behaviour on this Occasion--Two Women seen--A Lady

of Rank visits the Boatswain's Wife--Captain Maxwell fractures his

Finger--Loo-choo Surgeon--Concern of the Natives--Visit of the

Prince--Discussion about the King of Loo-choo's Letter--Madera appears

in a new Character--Feast given by the Prince--List of Supplies given

to the Ships--Behaviour of the Prince on taking Leave--Preparations

for Departure--Madera's Distress--Last Interview with the

Chiefs--Brief Memorandums upon the Religion, Manners, and Customs of

Loo-choo--Advice to a Stranger visiting this Island 135

APPENDIX.

Notice explanatory of a Chart of the Gulf of Pe-chee-lee v

Notice to accompany the Chart of the West Coast of Corea x

Notice to accompany the general Chart of the Great Loo-choo Island

in the Japan Sea, and the Charts of Napakiang Roads and Port

Melville xvii

Observations made at the Observatory at Napakiang xxix

Table of Observations made with Dr. Wollaston's Dip Sector: with

an Engraving, and a Description of this Instrument, and

Directions for its Use xxxi

Meteorological Journal, from July to November 1816, while the

Ships were in the Yellow and Japan Seas li

Abstract of the Lyra's Voyage, from leaving England till her

Return; shewing the Distance between the different Places at

which she touched, and the Time taken in performing each Passage cix

Geological Memorandum; being a Description of the Specimens of

Rocks collected at Macao and the Ladrone Islands, on the Shores

of the Yellow Sea, the West Coast of Corea, and the Great Loo-choo

Island cxix

VOCABULARY.

PART I.--English and Loo-choo words.

PART II.--Sentences in English and Loo-choo, with a literal Translation.

Loo-choo and Japanese Numerals--Names of Persons at Napakiang--Names of

Places--Days of the Moon--Orders of Rank--Tattoo Marks--Hours of the

Day.

Comparison between the Japanese and Loo-choo Languages.

Comparison between the Loo-choo and Insu Languages.

Comparison between the Loo-choo, Japanese, and Insu Languages.

Corean Words.

DIRECTIONS FOR PLACING THE PLATES.

Sulphur Island, to face the Title Page.

Corean Chief and Secretary To face Page 16

Napakiang 77

Loo-choo Chief and his two Sons 97

Priest and Gentleman of Loo-choo 132

The Prince of Loo-choo 176

Scene after the Prince's Feast 196

Gentleman of Loo-choo in his Cloak 215

Bridge of Napakiang 222

APPENDIX.

Chart of the Gulf of Pe-chee-lee v

Coast of Corea x

Chart of the Great Loo-choo Island xix

Napakiang Roads xxi

Port Melville xxiv

Wollaston's Dip Sector xxxiii

* * * * *

[Transcriber's note: The following errors have been corrected in the text.]

ERRATA.

Page 1, line 2 from bottom, for _11th August_, read _9th August_.

Page 60, top line, for _was_, read _saw_.

APPENDIX.

Meteorological Journal.--Longitude on the 1st Sept. for 124.20,

read 124.48.

The longitudes in the Met. Journ. from the 3d to the 7th of Sept. inclusive

are too small by 15'.

VOCABULARY.

For _Tatesee_, read _Tatsee_.

For _Teetesee_, read _Teetsee_.

For _Meetesee_, read _Meetsee_.

For _Eeotesee_, read _Eeotsee_.

For _Eeyatesee_, read _Eeyatsee_.

For _opposite_, read _under_, in the note on the word Hour.

[Transcriber's Note: a letter with a macron above it is denoted by [=x].]

VOYAGE TO THE WEST COAST OF COREA AND THE LOO-CHOO ISLANDS.

* * * * *

CHAPTER I.

H.M.S. Alceste and Lyra leave the Yellow Sea on a Voyage of

Discovery--Sir James Hall's Group on the Coast of Corea--Unsociable

Character of the Natives--Hutton's Island--Interesting geological

Structure--Anchor near the Main Land--Corean Chiefs

Visit--Objections made to Strangers landing--Distress of the

Chief--His Character--Departure from Basil's Bay--Clusters of

Islands--Murray's Sound--Deserted Corean Village--View from the

Summit of a high Peak--Interview with the Coreans--Peculiarities of

their Character--Language--Erroneous geographical Position of this

Coast--Leave Corea.

The embassy to China, under the Right Honourable Lord Amherst, left

England in his Majesty's frigate Alceste, Captain Murray Maxwell, C.B.,

on the 9th of February, 1816, and landed near the mouth of the Pei-ho

river, in the Yellow Sea, on the 9th of August. Shortly afterwards the

Alceste and Lyra sloop of war, which had accompanied the embassy,

proceeded to the coast of Corea, the eastern boundary of the Yellow Sea;

for as these ships were not required in China before the return of the

Embassador by land to Canton, it was determined to devote the interval

to an examination of some places in those seas, of which little or no

precise information then existed. The following pages give the details

of this voyage.

1st of September.--This morning at daylight the land of Corea was seen

in the eastern quarter. Having stood towards it, we were at nine o'clock

near three high islands, differing in appearance from the country we had

left, being wooded to the top, and cultivated in the lower parts, but

not in horizontal terraces as at the places we had last visited in

China. We proceeded to the southward of the group, and anchored in a

fine bay at the distance of two or three miles from the southern island.

Shortly after anchoring, a boat came from the shore with five or six

natives, who stopped, when within fifty yards of the brig, and looking

at us with an air of curiosity and distrust, paid no attention to the

signs which were made to induce them to come alongside. They expressed

no alarm when we went to them in our boat; and on our rowing towards the

shore, followed us till we landed near a village. The inhabitants came

in a body to meet us, forming an odd assemblage, different in many

respects from any thing we had seen; their colour was a deep copper, and

their appearance forbidding, and somewhat savage. Some men, who appeared

to be superior to the rest, were distinguished by a hat, the brim of

which was nearly three feet in diameter, and the crown, which was about

nine inches high, and scarcely large enough to admit the top of the

head, was shaped like a sugar-loaf with the end cut off. The texture of

this strange hat is of a fine open work like the dragon-fly's wing; it

appears to be made of horse-hair varnished over, and is fastened under

the chin by a band strung with large beads, mostly black and white, but

occasionally red or yellow. Some of the elderly men wore stiff gauze

caps over their hair, which was formed into a high conical knot on the

top of the head. Their dress consisted of loose wide trowsers, and a

sort of frock reaching nearly to the knee, made of a coarse open grass

cloth, and on their feet neat straw sandals. They were of the middle

size, remarkably well made, and robust looking. At first they expressed

some surprise on examining our clothes, but afterwards took very little

interest in any thing belonging to us. Their chief anxiety was to get

rid of us as soon as possible. This they expressed in a manner too

obvious to be mistaken; for, on our wishing to enter the village, they

first made motions for us to go the other way; and when we persevered,

they took us rudely by the arms and pushed us off. Being very desirous

to conciliate them, we shewed no impatience at this treatment; but our

forbearance had no effect; and after a number of vain attempts to make

ourselves understood, we went away not much pleased at their behaviour.

A Chinese[1], who accompanied us, was of no use, for he could not read

what the Coreans wrote for him, though in the Chinese character; and of

their spoken language he did not understand a word.

On leaving these unsociable villagers, we went to the top of the highest

peak on the island, the ascent being easy by a winding foot-path. From

this elevation we saw a number of islands to the eastward, and the main

land at a great distance beyond them. The top of the hill being covered

with soft grass and sweet-smelling shrubs, and the air, which had been

of a suffocating heat below, being here cool and refreshing, we were

tempted to sit down to our pic-nic dinner. We returned by the other side

of the hill; but there being no path, and the surface rocky and steep,

and covered with a thick brushwood, we were not a little scratched and

bruised before we reached a road which runs along the north face of the

hill about midway. By following this, we came to a spot from whence we

were enabled to look down upon the village, without being ourselves

perceived by the natives. The women, who had deserted the village on

our landing, had now returned; most of them were beating rice in wooden

mortars, and they had all children tied on their backs. On a sudden they

quitted their work and ran off to their huts, like rabbits in a warren;

and in a few minutes we saw one of the ship's boats row round the point

of land adjacent to the village, which explained the cause of their

alarm. After remaining for some time in expectation of seeing the women

again, we came down to the village, which the natives now permitted us

to pass through. On this occasion one of the gentlemen of our party saw,

for an instant, a woman at no great distance, whose feet he declared

were of the natural size, and not cramped as in China. The village

consists of forty houses rudely constructed of reeds plaistered with

mud, the roofs are of all shapes, and badly thatched with reeds and

straw, tied down by straw ropes. These huts are not disposed in streets,

but are scattered about without order, and without any neatness, or

cleanliness, and the spaces between them are occupied by piles of dirt

and pools of muddy water. The valley in which this comfortless village

is situated is, however, pretty enough, though not wooded; the hills

forming it are of an irregular shape, and covered at top with grass and

sweet-scented flowers; the lower parts are cultivated with millet,

buckwheat, a kind of French bean, and tobacco, which last grows in great

quantity; and here and there is a young oak-tree.

We saw bullocks and poultry, but the natives would not exchange them

for our money, or for any thing we had to offer. They refused dollars

when offered as a present, and, indeed, appeared to set no value upon

any thing we shewed them, except wine glasses; but even these they were

unwilling to receive. One of the head men appeared particularly pleased

with a glass, which, after a good deal of persuasion, he accepted, but,

in about five minutes after, he, and another man to whom a tumbler had

been given, came back and insisted upon returning the presents; and

then, without waiting for further persuasion, returned to the village,

leaving with us only one man, who, as soon as all the rest were out of

sight, accepted one of the glasses with much eagerness.

These people have a proud sort of carriage, with an air of composure and

indifference about them, and an absence of curiosity which struck us as

being very remarkable. Sometimes when we succeeded, by dint of signs and

drawings, in expressing the nature of a question, they treated it with

derision and insolence. On one occasion, being anxious to buy a clumsy

sort of rake made of reeds, which appeared to me curious, I succeeded in

explaining my wish to the owner, one of the lowest class of villagers;

he laughed at first good humouredly, but immediately afterwards seized

the rake which was in my hand, and gave it a rude push towards me with a

disdainful fling of the arm, accompanying this gesticulation by words,

which seemed to imply a desire to give any thing upon condition of our

going away. One man expressed the general wish for our departure, by

holding up a piece of paper like a sail, and then blowing upon it in the

direction of the wind, at the same time pointing to the ships, thereby

denoting that the wind was fair, and that we had only to set sail and

leave the island. Several of the people were marked with the small-pox.

The children kept out of our reach at first, but before we went away,

their fears had, in some degree, subsided, for the boys, who, from their

feminine appearance, were mistaken at first for girls, accompanied us to

some distance from the village.

Captain Maxwell named these islands Sir James Hall's group, in

compliment to the President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. They lie

in longitude 124º 46' E. and latitude 37º 50' N.

At eight o'clock in the evening we weighed and stood to the southward,

but as the coast was quite unknown, we kept rather off shore during the

night, and in the morning no land was in sight. On the 2d we stood to

the eastward, but not having daylight enough to get in with the coast,

it became necessary to anchor for the night, though in deep water.

3d of September.--Having reached nearly lat. 36-1/3 N. and long. 126 E.

we sailed this morning amongst a range of islands extending as far as

the eye could reach, both to the southward and northward, at the

distance of six or seven leagues from the main land. By two o'clock we

were close to the outer cluster of the islands, and the passages

appearing clear between them, we sailed through and anchored inside.

While passing one of these islands in the ships, at no great distance,

it looked so curiously formed, that, on anchoring, we went in the boats

to examine its structure more minutely[2]. While we were thus engaged,

the natives had assembled in a crowd on the edge of the cliff above us;

they did not seem pleased with our occupation of breaking their rocks,

for, from the moment we landed, they never ceased to indicate by shouts,

screams, and all kinds of gesticulations, that the sooner we quitted the

island the better; the cliff being 200 feet high, and nearly

perpendicular, it was fortunate for us that they confined themselves to

signs and clamour, and did not think of enforcing their wishes by a

shower of stones.

As soon as we had completed our investigation of this spot, we went

round in the boats to a small bay where there was good landing. Here we

were met by the natives, who addressed several long speeches to us in a

very loud tone of voice; to which we replied in English, that our wish

was merely to look at the island, without interfering with any body; at

the same time we proceeded up a foot-path to the brow of a hill. This

the natives did not seem at all to relish, and they made use of a sign

which was sufficiently expressive of their anxiety, though we could not

determine exactly to whom it referred. They drew their fans across their

own throats, and sometimes across ours, as if to signify that our going

on would lead to heads being cut off; but whether they or we were to be

the sufferers was not apparent. It was suggested by one of our party

that they dreaded being called to account by their own chiefs for

permitting us to land. All these signs, however, did not prevent our

advancing till we had reached the brow of the hill to which the path

led; from this place we had a view of a village at the distance of half

a mile, of a much better appearance than that above described. Trees

were interspersed among the houses, which were pleasantly situated at

the bottom of a little cove, with fishing-boats at anchor near it. We

explained readily enough that our wish was to go to the village, but it

was all in vain, for their anxiety increased every moment, and we

desisted from any further attempts to advance.

The dress of these people is a loose white robe, cloth shoes, and a few

wear the broad hats before described; by most the hair is tied in a high

conical knot on the top of the head, but by others it is allowed to fly

loose, so as to give them a wild appearance. Some confine the short hair

by a small gauze band with a star on one side, forming, along with the

top knot, rather a becoming head-dress. Their beards and whiskers which,

apparently, had never been cut, and their fans and long tobacco-pipes,

and their strange language and manners, gave a grotesque air to the

whole group, which it is impossible to describe. They crowded about us,

and, by repeated shouts, manifested their surprise at the form and

texture of our clothes; but on a watch being shewn, they disregarded

every thing else, and entreated to be allowed to examine it closely. It

was evidently the first they had seen, and some of them while watching

the second-hand, looked as if they thought it alive. From the watch they

proceeded to examine the seals and keys; with the former they shewed

themselves acquainted by pressing them on their hands, so as to cause an

impression. Their attention was drawn away from the watch by our firing

a musket, which made the whole party fall back several paces.

After amusing ourselves in this manner for some time, we walked back to

the boats, to the great joy of the natives, who encouraged us by all

means to hasten our departure. They took our hands and helped us over

the slippery stones on the beach; and, on perceiving one of the boats

aground, several of them stript and jumped into the water to push her

off. This gave us an opportunity of observing their remarkable symmetry

and firmness of limb; yet, as their long hair was allowed to flow about

their neck and shoulders, their appearance was truly savage. During this

visit we saw no women; but the children came round us without shewing

any symptoms of fear. The people, upon the whole, are more free, and not

so surly as our acquaintance on Sir James Hall's group. They have a

singular custom of speaking with a loud tone, amounting almost to a

shout. Captain Maxwell named this island after Dr. Hutton the geologist.

4th of September.--During all last night it remained perfectly calm. At

nine o'clock in the morning we got under weigh with a fine sea breeze,

and stood in for the land, leaving on either hand many well cultivated

islands. The main land seems to be populous, from the number of large

villages which we passed, and the cultivation which extends a

considerable way up the mountains. Our object this morning was to

discover some safe anchoring place in the main land, but we were obliged

to coast along for a considerable distance before any opening appeared.

About three o'clock we sailed round a point of land and discovered a

bay, which, at first sight, promised shelter, but the water proved too

shallow even for the Lyra, and we anchored far out in five fathoms. The

natives who had assembled in crowds on the point shouted to us as we

passed, in seeming anger at our approaching so near. This bay is about

four miles in diameter, and is skirted by large villages built amongst

trees, and surrounded by cultivated districts, forming altogether a

scene of considerable beauty.

As soon as the Alceste had anchored, Captain Maxwell, Mr. Clifford, and

I, went towards the nearest village in the bay. On approaching the shore

we observed a great bustle among the inhabitants on the shore, as well

as in the boats at anchor off the village. The people on the beach

hastily jumped into canoes, whilst those in the large boats weighed the

anchors, and pulled out with such expedition, as to meet us in a body

before we were near the landing-place. Every boat was crowded with

people, and ornamented with numerous flags and streamers; but one of

them being distinguished by a large blue umbrella, we steered towards

it, on the supposition that this was an emblem of rank; in which opinion

we were soon confirmed by the sound of music, which played only on board

this boat. On coming closer, we saw a fine patriarchal figure seated

under the umbrella; his full white beard covered his breast, and reached

below his middle; his robe or mantle, which was of blue silk, and of an

immense size, flowed about him in a magnificent style. His sword was

suspended from his waist by a small belt, but the insignia of his office

appeared to be a slender black rod tipped with silver, about a foot and

a half long, with a small leather thong at one end, and a piece of black

crape tied to the other: this he held in his hand. His hat exceeded in

breadth of brim any thing we had yet met with, being, as we supposed,

nearly three feet across.

As this was evidently the chief of the party, we pulled alongside and

got into his boat, where he received us with much politeness; but as he

looked dissatisfied at this proceeding, we returned to our own boat, and

there carried on the conference. While we were endeavouring to make

ourselves understood, the other boats gradually separated, and began to

form a circle round us. Apprehending treachery, we prepared our arms,

and pushed off to a little distance. The old gentleman, perceiving this,

looked about very innocently to discover the cause of our alarm; and at

length being made aware by our signs of what was the matter, he

commanded all the boats to go to the other side. We now remained a

considerable time without being able to make ourselves understood; for

the Chinese whom we had with us was quite ignorant of their language. We

endeavoured, by pointing to the shore, to signify our desire to land,

while the old Chief, by similar signs, expressed his wish to go to the

ships. We accordingly rowed to the Lyra, which lay nearer to the shore

than the Alceste. When the Chief's boat was within ten yards of the

brig, they let go their anchor, and threw a rope on board her, by which

they drew the boat alongside in a very seaman-like style. The old man

did not find it an easy matter to get up the ship's side, encumbered as

he was with his splendid robes; he was no sooner on board, however, than

we were crowded with the natives, who boarded us on all sides. Some

climbed up the rigging, so as to overlook the quarter-deck; others got

on the poop, and a line was formed along the hammock netting from one

end of the brig to the other. As the evening was fine, it was thought

best to entertain the venerable Chief upon deck, rather than give him

the trouble of going down to the cabin, which, indeed, we had reason to

fear would prove too small for the party. Chairs were accordingly placed

upon the deck; but the Chief made signs that he could not sit on a

chair, nor would he consent for a time to use his mat, which was brought

on board by one of his attendants. He seemed embarrassed and displeased,

which we could not at the moment account for, though it has since

occurred to us that he objected to the publicity of the conference. At

length, however, he sat down on his mat, and began talking with great

gravity and composure, without appearing in the smallest degree sensible

that we did not understand a single word that he said. We of course

could not think of interrupting him, and allowed him to talk on at his

leisure; but when his discourse was concluded, he paused for our reply,

which we made with equal gravity in English; upon this he betrayed great

impatience at his harangue having been lost upon us, and supposing that

we could, at all events, read, he called to his secretary, and began to

dictate a letter. The secretary sat down before him with all due

formality, and having rubbed his cake of ink upon a stone, drawn forth

his pen, and arranged a long roll of paper upon his knee, began the

writing, which was at length completed, partly from the directions of

the Chief, and partly from his own ideas, as well as the occasional

suggestions of the bystanders. The written part was then torn off from

the scroll and handed to the Chief, who delivered it to me with the

utmost confidence of its being understood: but his mortification and

disappointment were extreme on perceiving that he had overrated our

acquirements[3].

[Illustration: _Drawn by Wm. Havell, Calcutta._ _Engraved by

Robt Havell & Son._

COREAN CHIEF and his SECRETARY.

_Published Jany, 1, 1818, by John Murray, Albemarle Street, London._]

A debate now appeared to take place between the Chief and his followers,

as to the mode of communicating with us; meanwhile, as we ourselves were

equally at a loss, we became anxious to relieve the old man's

embarrassment, by shewing him all the attention in our power, and

completely succeeded in putting him into a good humour, by giving him

some cherry brandy, and distributing rum to his people.

While these attempts at explanation were going on, the crowd of natives

increased, and their curiosity became so great, that they pressed round

us in a way nowise agreeable. Some of them roved about the ship, and

appeared highly entertained with every thing they saw. The Chief

himself, however, did not appear at ease, but continued giving

directions to his officers and people about him with an air of

impatience. He more than once ordered them all into their boats, but

they always returned after a few minutes. One man persevered in climbing

over the hammocks, close to the Chief, to see what was going on. The

noise made to keep him back attracted the Chief's attention, who

immediately gave orders to one of the attendants for his being taken

away; it will be seen by and by what was his fate.

The persons forming the suite of the Chief were dressed nearly in the

same manner as himself, excepting that their robes were white, and did

not contain such a profusion of cloth. They wore the large hats and wide

trowsers tied above the ancle, with cotton shoes turned up a little at

the toe. The immediate attendants, who seemed also to be soldiers, were

differently clothed: over a loose pink frock with wide sleeves, they

have another which fits closer, and is without sleeves, the corners

being tucked up, like the skirts of some military uniforms. Their hat is

a broad flat cone made of thick grass, the under part being embossed

with different coloured silks, and from a gilt ornament on the peak

there hangs a tassel made of peacock's feathers, and another of hair

dyed red: some are armed with bows and arrows, others with only a

straight sword, having no guard for the hand. A coarse frock without

sleeves, and trowsers, or rather drawers, covering the thigh, are worn

by the lower orders.

It was nearly dark when the Chief gave directions for preparing the

boats, at the same time calling to two of his attendants to assist him

to get on his legs. Each took an arm, and in this way succeeded in

raising him up, which was no sooner observed by the people, than they

jumped into their boats with the utmost alacrity, and the Chief, after

many bows and salams, walked into his boat. This did not give him so

much trouble as he had experienced on coming on board, for a platform of

gratings and planks had been prepared for his accommodation during his

visit, an attention with which he seemed much pleased. So far all seemed

well; but there was still something amiss, for the old man, seated in

state under his umbrella, remained alongside with his attendants ranged

on the deck about him, he and his people preserving the most perfect

silence, and making no signs to explain his wishes. We were greatly

puzzled to discover what the old gentleman wanted, till at length it was

suggested, that having paid us a visit, he expected a similar compliment

in return. This idea was no sooner started, than we proceeded to pay our

respects to him in his boat. He made signs for us to sit down, honouring

us at the same with a corner of his own mat. When we were seated, he

looked about as if in distress at having nothing to entertain us with,

upon which a bottle of wine was sent for and given to him. He ordered an

attendant to pour it into several bowls, and putting the bottle away,

made signs for us to drink, but would not taste it himself till all of

us had been served. He was nowise discomposed at being obliged to

entertain his company at their own expense; on the contrary, he carried

off the whole affair with so much cheerfulness and ease, as to make us

suspect sometimes that he saw and enjoyed the oddity of the scene and

circumstances, as fully as we did ourselves.

After sitting about ten minutes, we left the Chief in great good humour,

and returned on board, thinking, of course, that he would go straight to

the shore; but in this we were much mistaken, for we had no sooner left

him, than he pushed off to the distance of ten or twelve yards, and

calling the other boats round him, gave orders for inflicting the

discipline of the bamboo upon the unfortunate culprit, who had been

ordered into confinement during the conference. This exhibition, which

it was evidently intended we should witness, had a very ludicrous

effect, for it followed so much in train with the rest of the ceremony,

and was carried on with so much gravity and order, that it looked like

an essential part of the etiquette. During the infliction of this

punishment, a profound silence was observed by all the party, except by

five or six persons immediately about the delinquent, whose cries they

accompanied by a sort of song or yell at each blow of the bamboo. This

speedy execution of justice was, no doubt, intended to impress us with

high notions of Corean discipline.

As it was now quite dark, we did not expect the Chief to pay any more

visits this evening; but we underrated his politeness, for the moment

the above scene was concluded, he steered for the Alceste. Captain

Maxwell, who during all the time had been on board the Lyra, hurried

into his boat to be prepared to give him a proper reception in his ship,

and had just time to change his jacket for a coat and epaulettes before

the Chief arrived. After climbing up the ship's side with some

difficulty, and being received in due form on the quarter-deck, which

was lighted up, he was handed into the foremost cabin, where he was met

by Captain Maxwell, and conducted to a seat in the after cabin. As he

declined sitting on a chair, he was obliged to wait for his mat, and, in

the meantime, looked round him in amaze at the magnificence of the

apartments. The change of dress made him behave towards Captain Maxwell

as to a perfect stranger; but the moment he recognised him, he appeared

much amused with his mistake, and his manners became less reserved. He

now turned about to see what was become of his mat, and was astonished

to find himself alone with us in the cabin. It was then discovered that

the sentry at the door, in repressing the crowd of his followers, had

found it impossible to distinguish his more immediate attendants, and

had therefore allowed nobody to pass.

The door being opened, the mat-bearer and four of the principal people

were called in by the Chief; and when we were all fairly seated on the

deck, the secretary was directed to prepare a writing, which was

dictated and delivered much in the same manner as before. Whether the

presentation of a written paper was considered by the Chief as a

necessary piece of etiquette, or whether he really had more hopes of

being understood on this occasion than before, was quite uncertain; but

the mode adopted by Captain Maxwell to undeceive him was conclusive. He

immediately called for paper, and wrote upon it in English, "I do not

understand one word that you say," and presented this paper in return,

with all the forms and ceremonies that had been adopted towards himself.

The Chief, on receiving it, examined the characters with great

attention, and then made signs that it was wholly unintelligible,

alternately looking at the paper and at Captain Maxwell with an

inquiring air, and was only made sensible of the awkward dilemma in

which we were placed, by observing Captain Maxwell repeat all his looks

and gestures as equally applicable to the Corean writing which he held

in his hand[4].

The Chief had now recourse to signs, which he used ever afterwards. He

was in great spirits, and seemed entertained with the efforts which were

made to please him. He asked to look at a mirror which had caught his

attention; when it was put into his hands, he seemed very well satisfied

with the figure which it presented, and continued for some time pulling

his beard from side to side with an air of perfect complacency. One of

the attendants thought there could be no harm in looking at the mirror

likewise, but the Chief was of a different opinion, and no sooner

observed what he was doing, than he very angrily made him put down the

glass and leave the cabin. The secretary too fell under his displeasure,

and was reprimanded with much acrimony for overlooking our paper when we

were writing. Scarcely five minutes elapsed, in short, during his stay,

without his finding some cause of complaint against his people; but we

could not determine whether this arose from mere captiousness, or was

done to give us a higher notion of his consequence, because, in the

intervals, he was all cheerfulness and good humour. He was offered tea

and cherry brandy, which he took along with us, and appeared at his ease

in every respect. We thought that he made signs, implying a wish for us

to visit him on shore; to this we cheerfully assented, and an

arrangement for landing in the morning was made accordingly by means of

similar signs, with which the Chief appeared much pleased, and rose to

go away.

He had not got much beyond the cabin-door, however, before the serenity

of his temper was once more overturned. On passing the gun-room

sky-light, he heard the voices of some of his people whom the officers

had taken below, and who were enjoying themselves very merrily amongst

their new acquaintance. The old Chief looked down, and observing them

drinking and making a noise, he called to them in a loud passionate

voice, which made them leave their glasses, and run up the ladder in

great terror. From thence the alarm spread along the lower deck, to the

midshipmen's berth, where another party was carousing. The grog and wine

with which they had been entertained was too potent for this party, as

they did not seem to care much for the old Chief, who, posting himself

at the hatchway, ascertained, by personal examination, who the offenders

were. On this occasion, his little rod of office was of much use; he

pushed the people about with it to make them speak, and used it to turn

them round, in order to discover their faces. One man watching his

opportunity when the Chief was punching away at somebody who had just

come up, slipped past and ran off; but the quick eye of the old man was

not so easily deceived, and he set off in chase of him round the

quarter deck. The man had an apron full of biscuit, which had been

given to him by the midshipmen; this impeded his running, so that the

Chief, notwithstanding his robes, at last came up with him; but while he

was stirring him up with his rod, the fellow slipped his cargo of bread

into a coil of rope, and then went along with the Chief quietly enough.

The old man came back afterwards, and found the biscuit, which he

pointed out to us, to shew that it had not been taken away.

He continued for some time at the hatchway, expecting more people; but

finding none come up, he went below himself, to the main deck, and

rummaged under the guns and round the main-mast, to discover whether any

one was concealed; but finding no person there, he came again upon deck,

and shortly after went into his boat.

On returning to the Lyra, we found a number of boats anchored round her,

which looked as if they meant to keep strict watch over us. We went in

our boat to one of them, where we found the crew asleep. They seemed to

have had orders not to follow the Chief to the frigate, and were here

waiting his return. On our pointing to the shore, and making signs that

the old man with the long beard and large hat had landed, they began

immediately to get their anchor up, and called to the other boats to do

the same. In a few minutes they were all at work, and every person in

the boats joined in repeating the two words "ho ya, ho ya," the effect

of which, from a great many voices, was not unpleasing.

The cable in these boats is wound round a large reel or barrel; to the

ends of which two wheels with handles are fitted, which enables a

considerable number to apply their strength at the same moment. The

anchor is made of a dark coloured, heavy wood, with a long shank and

flukes, and a short stock crossing the former, near the crown of the

anchor, and not at the end of the shank, as with us in Europe. The mat

sails are divided into horizontal divisions by slender pieces of bamboo.

When not under sail, the boats are moved by oars having a circular piece

of wood tied to the end, and are steered by a large scull over the

stern. The bow is square above, but rises from the water in a slope,

making a small angle with the water, like the end of a coal barge, but

overhanging more. The planks are fastened together by means of square

tree-nails, which pass in a slanting direction through the plank, and

not straight, as with us.

5th of September.--A considerable bustle was observed on shore at

daybreak this morning; and shortly afterwards, we saw the old Chief and

his suite embark, and pull towards us, accompanied by a numerous fleet

of smaller boats, all ornamented with showy flags, and crowded with

people in gay and bright coloured garments, forming, upon the whole, a

splendid and imposing scene. As the procession moved slowly along, the

band in the Chief's boat struck up a lively, martial sort of air, on

instruments similar to those we had heard last night; the tone of which

is not unlike the drawling sound of the bagpipe, the bass or drone being

produced by a long horn, and the squeaking sounds by four trumpets, two

of which have stops in the middle, by which the notes are distinctly

marked.

The Chief's visit was so unexpectedly early, that we had not put things

in order for his reception, before he was alongside: he came on board,

however, and seemed happy at being allowed to walk about the decks, and

examine every thing at his leisure. When the cabin was ready, and the

Chief seemed to have satisfied himself with looking round the upper

deck, he was asked to walk down; which he complied with as soon as he

understood what was meant. But he found it no easy matter to get down

the narrow hatchway, in which there was barely room for his hat; but

this he would by no means take off. As he entered the cabin, his robes

and hat completely filled the door-way; and when seated at the table,

(for he now made no objection to a chair) he occupied no inconsiderable

portion of the whole apartment. He sat here for some time, and examined

every thing in the cabin with great attention, pointing with the little

stick whenever he saw any thing which he wanted to look at more closely.

In this way, the books, globes, glasses, &c. were put into his hands;

and it was not a little amusing to see the old gentleman wheeling the

globes round, and hunting over the books for pictures, like a child. A

person of rank who accompanied the Chief this morning, was asked to the

cabin along with him; and was no sooner seated, than we observed that he

had a very sickly look; which circumstance was the cause of a curious

mistake. It had been supposed that the Chief, during last night's

conference, made allusions to some friend of his who was unwell; and

accordingly, in our arrangements for the morning, it was proposed to

take the doctors of both ships on shore, to visit him. As the Chief had

himself come on board, our plans for landing were interrupted, and we

ascribed this early visit to his anxiety on account of his friend's

health.

It was therefore taken for granted, that this sickly looking companion

of the Chief, who, some how or other, got the title of the "Courtier,"

amongst us, was the patient alluded to last night; and no sooner were

the first compliments over in the cabin, than the doctor was sent for to

prescribe. On his being introduced, the Courtier was made to hold out

his tongue, have his pulse felt, and submit to various interrogatories,

the object of which the unfortunate man could not divine, particularly

as there was nothing at all the matter with him. He submitted with so

much patience to all these forms, and the Chief looked on with such

grave propriety during all the examination, that they evidently

considered the whole scene as a part of our ceremonial etiquette. When

this gentleman was released from the doctor's hands, he began to examine

the books with the air of a person who understands what he is about. He

appeared desirous of passing for a literary character; and observing us

hand the books about in a careless manner, ventured to ask for one, by

drawing it towards himself with a begging look. As he happened to select

a volume of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, I was under the necessity of

refusing; but offered in its stead a less valuable, though more showy

book, which he accepted with much gratitude. No return, of course, had

been looked for, and I was for a moment at a loss to understand what my

friend meant, by slipping his fan into my hand, under the table. He did

this in so mysterious a way, when the Chief was looking in another

direction, that I saw it was his wish to conceal what he had done, and

the fan was sent privately away. But unfortunately, my precaution was

fruitless, for a few minutes afterwards, on finding the crowded cabin

very hot, I called for a fan, and the servant, unconscious of the

mischief he was doing, brought the Courtier's present; which no sooner

met the old man's eye, than he rose half off his chair, and gave his

unhappy companion such a look of furious anger, as made him tremble from

top to toe: but he was soon pacified when he saw that we took an

interest in the question, and the Courtier was allowed to keep his book.

After sitting half an hour, and drinking a glass of Constantia, the old

man proposed to go upon deck. I accordingly led the way, and had gone

some steps up the ladder, in advance, before I perceived that he had

stopped at the door of the gun-room, where the officers mess, and was

looking in, with his usual curiosity. I begged him to go in, which he

accordingly did, and entertained himself for some time, with looking

over the different cabins of the officers. From having observed the

pleasure which he took in the sight of any thing new, I was induced to

propose his going round the lower deck, and he looked quite pleased when

I pointed along the passage. The state hat, which had been resolutely

kept on during all this time, notwithstanding its perpetual

inconvenience to himself and every one around him, was here destined to

come off; for after making two or three attempts, he found it impossible

to get along and wear the hat too; and being of a very inquisitive

disposition, he chose the degrading alternative of being uncovered, and

his researches proceeded without interruption. Nothing escaped the old

man's observation; whatever was shut or tied up, he requested to have

opened; and in this way he rummaged the midshipmen's chests, and the

sailors' bags, all along the lower deck. He looked into the holds, took

the lid off the boilers, and turned every thing topsy-turvy. Seeing a

cutlass tied to the deck, overhead, he took it down, and on drawing it

from the scabbard, its lustre, and the keenness of its edge, surprised

and delighted him so much, that I asked him to accept it. At first he

seemed willing enough, but after holding a consultation with the

Courtier for five minutes, he reluctantly put it back again. As he went

along, he took samples of every thing that he could easily put into his

sleeve, which served him instead of a sack; so that when he came upon

deck, he was pretty well loaded, and looked about with the satisfaction

of a school-boy, on having visited a show for the first time in his

life.

Whilst we were below, one of the natives had been busily employed in

taking the dimensions of the ship with a string, and another person was

engaged under him, taking an account of the guns, shot, and rigging, all

which details he wrote down; but not being able to ascertain, himself,

the exact number of people on board, he had recourse to me for the

information; this I communicated by opening eight times the fingers of

both hands. The only part of the ship to which he had not free access

was the cabin under the poop, and from which he felt much annoyed at

being excluded: but when told that a gentleman was shaving there, he

shewed himself quite satisfied with the explanation, and waited

patiently until the door was opened to him.

The old gentleman and his followers appearing anxious to see a shot

fired, an eighteen pound carronade was loaded before them, and

discharged with the muzzle so much depressed, that the shot struck the

water close to us, and then rose and fell eight or ten times, to the

great entertainment and surprise of the whole party. In the mean time,

Captain Maxwell had come on board, and breakfast being ready, we

prevailed upon the Chief to sit down with us. He ate heartily of our

hashes, and of every thing else that was put before him, using a knife,

fork, and spoon, which he now saw, probably, for the first time in his

life, not only without awkwardness, but to such good purpose, that he

declined exchanging them for Chinese chopsticks, which were provided for

him. In fact, he was so determined to adopt our customs in every

respect, that when the tea was offered to him in the Chinese way, he

looked to the right and left, and seeing ours differently prepared, held

up his cup to the servant, for milk and sugar, which being given to him,

the old gentleman remained perfectly satisfied.

The politeness and ease with which he accommodated himself to the habits

of people so different from himself, were truly admirable; and when it

is considered, that hitherto, in all probability, he was ignorant even

of our existence, his propriety of manners should seem to point, not

only to high rank in society, but to imply also a degree of civilization

in that society, not confirmed by other circumstances. Be this as it

may, the incident is curious, as shewing, that however different the

state of society may be in different countries, the forms of politeness

are much alike in all. This polished character was very well sustained

by the old Chief; as he was pleased with our attempts to oblige him, and

whatever we seemed to care about, he immediately took an interest in. He

was very inquisitive, and was always highly gratified when he discovered

the use of any thing which had puzzled him at first. But there was no

idle surprise, no extravagant bursts of admiration, and he certainly

would be considered a man of good breeding, and keen observation, in any

part of the world. Towards his own people, indeed, he was harsh and

impatient at all times; but this may have arisen from his anxiety that

no offence should be given to us by the other natives, whom he might

know were less delicate and considerate than himself, and therefore

required constant control.

When breakfast was over, and the old man once more upon deck, we

endeavoured to signify to him that we meant to land, according to our

engagement yesterday evening; but this he either did not, or would not

comprehend; for whenever we pointed towards the shore, he directed our

attention to the frigate. At length he got into his boat, pushed off,

and was making for the Alceste, when Captain Maxwell followed in his

boat, and drawing up alongside of him, tried to prevail upon him to

accompany us to the village: the Chief shook his head by way of

disapprobation, and turning towards his attendants, entered into a

discussion with them, which terminated by the Courtier and himself

stepping into Captain Maxwell's boat.

We ascribed this measure to a desire on the Chief's part to show

publicly that he had not himself invited us on shore, and had only

acceded to our request to land. We had not proceeded far before the

Chief repented of his ready compliance, and tried to persuade us to

return; but finding the ordinary signs of no avail, he held his head

down and drew his hand across his throat, as if his head was to be cut

off. It was now our turn not to comprehend signs, and thinking it would

be idle to lose so favourable an opportunity, spared no pains to

reconcile the old man to our landing. In this, however, we did not

succeed, for, as we approached the shore, his anxiety increased, and he

frequently drew his hand across his neck, as if to shew that he would

lose his head if we persisted. We again tried to re-assure him, by

explaining that we had no intention of going near the village, but

merely desired to walk about for a short time, and then to go to the

frigate to dine. He was of course included in this invitation; but his

only answer consisted in pointing to us and making signs of eating, and

then drawing his hand across his throat; by which he was understood to

mean, that it might be very well for us to talk of eating, but, for his

part, he was taken up with the danger of losing his head. We could not

but laugh at this, as we had no notion of any such apprehension being

well grounded; and, in a short time, landed at the distance of half a

mile from the village.

The old man was lifted out of the boat by several of his people, and we

were amazed to find, when they set him down, that he was in tears, and

looking altogether very unhappy. In a few minutes a crowd, consisting of

more than a hundred people, assembled round us, and we began to think

we should pay dearly for our curiosity. But the poor old man had no

thoughts of vengeance, and was no better pleased with the crowd than we

were; for turning to his soldiers, he desired them to disperse the mob,

which they did in a moment by pelting them with great stones. The Chief

now began crying violently, and turning towards the village walked away,

leaning his head on the shoulder of one of his people. As he went along,

he not only sobbed and wept, but every now and then bellowed aloud. We

had been nowise prepared for such a scene, and were extremely sorry for

having pushed matters to this extremity. It had never occurred to us

that the old Chief's head was really in danger; and even now we could

not satisfy ourselves whether he was sincere, or merely acting in order

to prevail on us to retire. The perfect tranquillity, nay even

cheerfulness of the Courtier, who staid with us all this time, puzzled

us extremely: nor could we account for the indifference of the other

attendants, who looked on with as much composure as if such scenes were

every day occurrences. But at all events, it was necessary before

proceeding any further, that the old man should be pacified; and in

order to effect this, we sat down on the beach, upon which he turned

about and came crying back again. He seated himself by us, and waited

very patiently whilst we remonstrated on the unreasonableness of his

conduct, and contrasted the reception he had met with from us, with his

present unaccountable behaviour. This was expressed by a dumb show

acting of all that had taken place since we came to anchor in the bay;

and these signs we thought might be intelligible to the Chief, because

they were so to all of us, although no words were used. The signs used

by different nations, however, are often dissimilar when the same thing

is to be expressed: and it happened frequently with us that all attempts

at explanation failed, on both sides, though the signs used appeared to

be understood by all the people of the same nation with the person

making the signs.

The old man made a long speech in reply; in the course which the

beheading sign was frequently repeated. It is curious that he invariably

held his hands towards his throat after he had gone through this motion,

and appeared to wash his hands in his blood: probably he did this in

imitation of some ceremony used at executions.

Upon one occasion the Chief endeavoured to explain something to us which

had a reference to a period of two days; this he did by pointing to the

sun, making a motion twice from east to west, and, at the end of each

time, closing his eyes as if asleep. This sign was variously

interpreted: some believed it to mean that in two days his head would be

taken off: others imagined that in two days a communication might be

made to his government, and that orders for our reception would be

transmitted. Whatever might have been meant by this particular sign, it

seems very probable that some general instructions were in force along

the whole of this coast by which the treatment of strangers is

regulated. The promptitude with which we were met at this place, where,

perhaps, no ship ever was before, and the pertinacity with which our

landing was opposed, seem to imply an extraordinary degree of vigilance

and jealousy on the part of the government.

We expressed a desire to eat and drink, in the hopes of working on the

old man's hospitality, and, perhaps, inducing him to entertain us in his

house; but he made no motion towards the village, and merely sent off a

servant for some water and a few small cockles. When this sorry fare was

laid on the beach, the old gentleman made signs for us to begin; but we

did not choose to be pleased either with the entertainment itself, or

with the place and manner in which it had been served. We explained to

him that the proper place to eat was in a house, and not on a wet dirty

beach; he made no offer, however, of any other; but leaning his head

pensively on his hands, seemed entirely resigned to his fate.

The case was now utterly hopeless; and after an ineffectual attempt to

cheer him up, we went on board, as the last, and indeed only favour we

could grant him. Thus we quitted this inhospitable shore, after a stay

of not quite an hour, in which time we had never been twenty yards from

our own boats. We saw the village, however, to some advantage; it is

neatly built, and very pleasantly situated under fine trees, in a valley

cultivated like a garden, in small square patches.

It was now determined to prosecute the voyage to the southward, and the

Lyra was accordingly ordered to proceed as usual to sound the passages

a-head of the frigate, but had not gone far before the Alceste, still at

anchor, was observed to be surrounded with boats. In about an hour she

weighed and stood to sea. Captain Maxwell had received another visit

from the old Chief, whose appearance was described as being quite

altered; his sprightliness and curiosity all gone, and his easy

unceremonious manner exchanged for cold and stately civility: he looked

embarrassed and unhappy, as it appeared, from an apprehension of having

offended Captain Maxwell. When this was discovered, no pains were spared

to convince him that, in this respect, there was not the slightest cause

for uneasiness. He would not accept any presents, but appeared much

relieved by the unexpected kindness with which he was received, and

before he went away, was restored, in some degree, to his wonted

spirits. When looking over the books in the cabin, he was a good deal

taken with the appearance of a Bible, but when offered to him he

declined it, though with such evident reluctance, that it was again

shewn to him just as he was pushing off in his boat, and he now received

it with every appearance of gratitude, and took his leave in a manner

quite friendly.

We quitted this bay without much regret. The old Chief, indeed, with his

flowing beard, and pompous array, and engaging manners, had made a

strong impression upon us all; but his pitiable and childish distress,

whatever might have been the cause, took away from the respect with

which we were otherwise disposed to regard him: yet this circumstance,

though it makes the picture less finished, serves to give it additional

interest; whilst every thing ridiculous in the old man's character is

lost in the painful uncertainty which hangs over his fate.

From this bay we steered amongst the islands, during all the 6th and

7th, to the S.W. before the natives were met with again; we saw them

indeed, but never got near enough to converse with them. They were

frequently observed seated in groups watching us on the islands which we

passed. We saw several fishing-boats, with a crew of about a dozen men,

crowded on a sort of poop. At a little distance these boats appeared to

be formed of two vessels lashed together. This appearance we believe to

be caused by their having an outrigger on one side, on which their oars,

sails, and masts are piled, in order probably to keep the boat clear

when they are at anchor fishing. Their mast is lowered down and hoisted

up by means of a strong tackle from the mast-head to the stern, as in

the barges on the Thames.

We threaded our way for upwards of a hundred miles amongst islands which

lie in immense clusters in every direction. At first we thought of

counting them, and even attempted to note their places on the charts

which we were making of this coast, but their great number completely

baffled these endeavours. They vary in size, from a few hundred yards in

length to five or six miles, and are of all shapes. From the mast-head

other groups were perceived lying one behind the other to the east and

south as far as the eye could reach. Frequently above a hundred islands

were in sight from deck at one moment. The sea being quite smooth, the

weather fine, and many of the islands wooded and cultivated in the

valleys, the scene was at all times lively, and was rendered still more

interesting by our rapid passage along the coast, by which the

appearances about us were perpetually changing. Of this coast we had no

charts possessing the slightest pretensions to accuracy, none of the

places at which we touched being laid down within sixty miles of their

proper places. Only a few islands are noticed in any map; whereas the

coast, for near two hundred miles, is completely studded with them, to

the distance of fifteen or twenty leagues from the main land. These

inaccuracies in the charts naturally gave a very high degree of interest

to this part of the voyage; yet the navigation being at all times

uncertain, and often dangerous, considerable anxiety necessarily mingled

itself with the satisfaction produced by so new and splendid a scene. We

always anchored during the night, or when the tides, which were very

rapid, prevented our proceeding in the deliberate manner absolutely

required by the nature of the circumstances. An instance of the

necessity of these precautions occurred on the 7th of September, at four

o'clock in the afternoon, when, it being quite calm, we were drifting

along with the tide, which suddenly shifted and carried us rapidly

towards a reef of rocks, which was invisible till the strong rippling of

the water shewed us our danger: we let go the anchor immediately, but

the jerk was so great, as to break the Lyra's cable. A second anchor,

however, brought her up at a sufficient distance from the reef.

As soon as the tide slacked, a boat was dispatched to examine the

anchorage on the other side of an island near us. The officer landed

about sunset, and from the top of the island could discover a village on

the other side, on the shores of a fine large bay. He afterwards sounded

the anchorage, and found it of a convenient depth. On his way back he

landed near the village, but though it was bright moonlight he saw none

of the inhabitants.

8th of September.--About noon we weighed and sailed round the north end

of the island, which had been visited last night. The Alceste anchored

nearly in the middle between the two islands which form the anchorage;

but as the Lyra draws less water, she was placed as close off the

village as was safe, being then about a quarter of a mile from the

beach. At this distance, by means of a telescope fixed on a table on the

poop, we were enabled to see what was going on in the village, while the

people were unconscious of being observed. Mr. Clifford, who was too

unwell to land with Captain Maxwell and myself, placed himself at the

glass, and made many observations which must otherwise have escaped

notice.

At first the only inhabitants visible were seated on the top of the hill

watching us, the village itself being quite deserted; but shortly after

our anchoring, the inhabitants began to assemble from different parts of

the island. Of these several were women, some of whom had children on

their backs, and others carried them in their arms. They looked stout,

were fairer in complexion than the men, and were dressed in a long white

robe, loose and open in front, with a petticoat of the same colour

reaching a little below the knees; their hair was tied in a large knot

behind; a small piece of white cloth was thrown loosely over the head to

protect them from the rays of the sun. Some women were engaged in

husking rice in a mortar with a wooden beater; these had no dress above

the waist. The men and boys were seen carrying loads on a wooden frame

hooked to the shoulders.

In a square flat place near the village a number of women and children

were employed winnowing corn by pouring it from a height, so that the

husks blew away. Fishing-nets were spread to dry on most of the houses.

We landed about five o'clock, and found in the village only two men, who

obstinately remained at one place without speaking, and looking anxious

that we should go away; they refused the buttons which we offered them,

and resisted our persuasions to accompany us to the upper part of the

village, which we were anxious they should do, to shew that we had no

intention of hurting any thing, but merely to look about us. We went on

alone, and on reaching a deserted house thought it a good opportunity to

examine it. Before the door, on a neat clean level space, enclosed by a

hedge covered with a sweet-scented white flower, we found several heaps

of corn and straw, and several of the wooden mortars in which the rice

is pounded, also a number of vessels, some filled with water and others

with rice. Cooking utensils were lying about, and a number of fishing

lines coiled neatly in baskets, and split fish spread out to dry on the

top of little corn ricks on one side of the court. The inside was dark

and uncomfortable; the mud floor was full of hollow places; the walls

were black with soot, and every thing looked dirty. On the left of the

entrance two large metal boilers, twenty inches deep, were sunk in the

brickwork, the upper part being about a foot above the floor. The

fire-place was between the boilers, and on the hot embers lay three

split fish. On the wall opposite to the fire were shelves, having a

number of cups, basons, and cooking utensils, principally of coarse

stone ware, and some few of a sort of bell-metal. The number of

inhabitants in one house must be considerable, if we can form an

estimate from the quantity of their dishes and vessels. There were three

neat small pieces of furniture on one of the shelves, the use of which

we could not discover; they were made of wood, elegantly carved and

varnished, with a round top about a foot in diameter, and four legs a

foot and a half long. The roof was well constructed, the rafters being

mortised into the ends of the horizontal beams, and tied to the middle

by a perpendicular beam or King-Post. Over the rafters is laid a

net-work of rods, to which the thatch is tied. There was no chimney to

this house, and only one window made of slender bars of wood, forming

square spaces three inches by two, covered by a thin semi-transparent

paper defended by the roof, which extends so far beyond the wall as to

shelter it not only from the rain but from the sun. Most of the houses

had a sort of raised verandah under the eaves, about a foot or more

above the ground, extending from the door on either hand to the end of

the house; these places were neatly levelled, and must afford a cool

seat. The walls of the houses are from six to eight feet high, and from

fourteen to twenty feet long; the top of the roof being about fourteen.

The walls are of stone and mud, the door moves on the bar, which forms

one of its sides; this bar is prolonged, and works in holes in the beam

above, and a stone below. There was a back door to the house which we

examined. On opening this we found a bare bank of earth as high as the

house, at the distance of three feet from the walls, and a hedge rising

still higher on the top; this effectually excluded all light.

This minute survey of the house being completed, we returned to our

friends, who seemed in some measure re-assured. We tried to prevail upon

them to accompany us in our walk, in hopes that the rest of the

cottagers might be induced to return when they saw how peaceably we were

disposed. Captain Maxwell used every sign he could think of to no

purpose, and tired at length of these attempts, took hold of the oldest

man's hand, drew it through his arm, and walked off with him. I followed

his example with the other; and this familiarity amused the natives, who

now accompanied us in perfect good humour. The ease and apparent

indifference with which they walked along with us was curious, and had

so little of awkwardness in it, that one might have supposed it to be

the fashion of Corea to walk arm in arm. Having reached the house which

we had before examined, we sat down in the verandah, and made signs that

we wished to smoke a pipe with them. In the meantime a boat was observed

to come to the landing-place; the crew quitted her and came towards us

at a rapid pace. The quick manner of these people, so different from the

ordinary behaviour of the Coreans we had seen, made us apprehend that

some violence was meditated; but in this we were mistaken, for they sat

down with us, gave us their pipes to smoke, and laughed immoderately at

some of our words: we took the hint from them, and laughed heartily

whenever we observed that any thing good had been said amongst them;

this was well received, and proved afterwards a good mode of

introduction.

Their curiosity was strongly excited by our clothing, which they

examined minutely; they wished to see some parts of our dress taken off,

and in order to gratify them they were allowed to have our coats, shoes,

stockings, hats, &c. They were more struck with the stockings than with

any thing else, frequently shouting "Hota! Hota!" This word, which is

pronounced with a strong aspiration, was noted down in our list as the

Corean word for stockings; but it was found afterwards to be an

expression of approbation, applied indiscriminately to whatever they

consider remarkably good. After sitting some time with these people, and

smoking several pipes with them, we gave up all hopes of seeing the

villagers return while we were there, and as the night was falling we

proposed taking a short walk with our friends, and then going on board.

But as soon as they saw us go up the hill instead of returning to the

boat, they became very uneasy, and wanted us to turn back. As we had

reason, however, to conjecture that the women and children were on the

other side of the hill, we went on in the expectation of getting a sight

of them before dark. This the Coreans prevented by following us with

shouts wherever we went, so as to give warning of our approach. The

women and children probably retreated before us to a ravine on the north

side of the island, for when we approached it the Coreans became more

anxious than ever for our return; and one man seeing us still advance,

took hold of my arm and gave it a sharp pinch. I turned round and

exclaimed, "Patience, Sir!" He drew back on observing my displeasure,

and a moment after called out himself, "Patience, Sir!" The others

hearing this caught the words too, and nothing was heard for some time

amongst them but "Patience, Sir," pronounced in every instance with

perfect propriety. They seemed surprised themselves on discovering

powers of imitation hitherto in all probability unexercised. This

incident brought us better acquainted, and we remained on the top of the

hill teaching them English words till it was dark. They were certainly

entertained with our instructions, but nevertheless shewed much more

satisfaction in attending us down hill again to our boats. Before going

on board we invited them to come to the ship next day, which one of the

party was supposed to comprehend: he first made preparations for going

to bed, then closed his eyes, hung his head on his hand, and snored very

properly; after a time he opened his eyes, started and looked about him,

then laid his hands on Captain Maxwell's shoulders with an air of

welcome. This was interpreted by some into a wish for our departure

till the morning, and by others that he himself would visit us at

daylight. As he never came on board, and received us on landing next day

with any thing but welcome, probably both guesses were wrong: of one

thing there was no doubt, his anxiety to get rid of us; and his signs

may have meant that it was time for all honest people to be in bed.

9th of September.--At sunrise we landed at the same village, and found

it deserted as before. We left it and made for the highest peak on the

island, accompanied by a few of the Coreans, who did not interfere with

us till about halfway up, when on our entering a grove of fir trees,

with the appearance of which we had been struck, one of the Coreans

objected; we went on, however, and upon reaching the stump of an old

tree the Corean fell on his knees, bowed his head to the ground, and as

he raised it again held his hands closed and pressed together towards

the stump. This had very much the air of a stratagem to dissuade us from

going further in that direction, where the women probably were

concealed. Admitting this to have been the motive, it is curious that he

should have supposed such a shew of religious form calculated to

restrain us. It is further remarkable as being the only circumstance

which we have seen on this coast implying a knowledge of religion or

religious ceremony. There are here no temples, idols, nor tombs, whereas

in China, villages much smaller than these of Corea have them in every

corner. The other Coreans took no notice of the stump, and the man who

was prostrating himself before it finding that his behaviour produced

nothing but a number of questions from us concerning the nature of the

tree, got on his legs and walked sulkily away. In the course of our walk

we saw six bullocks of a small breed and very fat, but which the Coreans

were not to be tempted to sell by any thing which we had to give them.

Dogs were the only quadrupeds besides that we saw. There were pigeons,

hawks, and eagles, but few small birds. Crows were as numerous here as

in every other part of the world. We returned on board to breakfast, and

afterwards set out on an excursion to the top of a high island lying

some leagues to the south-east of us. On our way we landed, and observed

the sun's meridian altitude with an artificial horizon, by which we

ascertained the latitude to be 34º 22' 39" north, the longitude by the

mean of two chronometers is 126º 2' 45" east.

We passed, for the distance of five miles, amongst islands, all, except

the very smallest, inhabited. The villages are built in the valleys,

where the houses are nearly hid by trees and hedges. The sides of the

hills are cultivated with millet and a species of bean; and in the

numerous small gardens near the villages, we saw a great variety of

plants.

As the peaked island which we had undertaken to climb was steep, and

covered with a long coarse grass, it cost us a tiresome scramble to gain

the top, which is about six hundred feet above the level of the sea. The

main land of Corea is just discernible in the north-east and east, from

this elevation; but it commands a splendid view of the islands, lying in

thick clusters, as far as the eye can reach, from north-west quite round

by east to south. We endeavoured to count them. One person, by reckoning

only such as were obviously separate islands, made their number one

hundred and twenty. Two other gentlemen, by estimating the numbers in

each connected cluster, made severally, one hundred and thirty-six, and

one hundred and seventy; a difference, which at once shews the

difficulty of speaking with precision on this subject. But when it is

considered, that from one spot, which though considerably elevated, was

not centrical, one hundred and twenty islands could be counted, and that

our course for upwards of one hundred miles had been amongst islands no

less crowded than these, some idea may be formed of this great

Archipelago.

After enjoying this scene for some time, we went down on the other side

of the peak, which is much less steep. We found the boat's crew

preparing dinner for us, under some trees, close to a well of cool

water. The village to which the well belonged not being many yards off,

we proceeded to explore it, and found it deserted by all except an old

woman and a man. The woman, seated on a pile of stones, in the middle of

the village, took no notice of us as we passed; and indeed, she was

herself so very homely, as to occupy but little of our attention. The

man was seated at the door of a cottage, making a straw sandal: on our

entering his inclosure, he looked up for an instant, and immediately

resumed his work, with as much composure as if we had been a party of

the villagers. A button was offered to him, which he accepted without

scruple: he agreed, with equal readiness, to exchange his unfinished

sandal for another button, which having carelessly put away, in a bag

lying near him, he took some straw and re-commenced his business,

without seeming to notice that we were rummaging his house. He is the

only Corean we have met with, who has not shewn some slight symptoms of

curiosity: indeed, he seemed totally indifferent about our staying or

going, or about what we were doing in his house; and we left him without

knowing whether to ascribe his apathy to fear, or to absolute

stupidity.

On returning from the village, we saw a party of the natives assembled

on a rising ground near us; they were invited, by signs, to join us at

dinner, but they kept their places unmoved. While we were at dinner, the

sailors, who had been rambling about, joined the natives, and in a few

minutes became very good friends with them; the natives giving up their

pipes, and the sailors in return supplying them with tobacco. We have

frequently remarked during this voyage, that the sailors make

acquaintance with the natives much sooner than the officers. This seems

the natural effect of the difference in our manners. On meeting with

natives, we feel so anxious to conciliate, and to avoid giving offence,

that our behaviour, thus guarded and circumspect, has an air of

restraint about it, which may produce distrust and apprehension on their

part; whilst, on the other hand, Jack, who is not only unreflecting and

inoffensive himself, but never suspects that others can possibly

misconstrue his perfect good-will and unaffected frankness, has an easy,

disengaged manner, which at once invites confidence and familiarity.

In about an hour after we had sat down, one of the natives hastily rose,

and without appearing to deliberate, but as if actuated by a sudden

impulse, strode rapidly down to us, and in the most unceremonious way

possible, presented his lighted pipe for us to smoke. We received him

as kindly as we could, and prevailed upon him to take a glass of wine;

which he had no sooner drank off, than he roared out, "Hota! Hota!"

This exclamation brought the rest down, who seating themselves by us,

drank freely, and became very cheerful and communicative, telling us the

Corean names of every thing we pointed to, and asking, in return, the

English names for our clothes.[5] But though the wine made these people

far more sociable than any we had yet seen, they never forgot the

principal object of their thoughts, and suggested, every now and then,

by pointing to our boats, the propriety of our going away. After sunset,

they became very impatient and uneasy at our stay; but when at length we

yielded to their entreaties, the whole party accompanied us to the

water's side, and took leave with the most lively marks of satisfaction

at our departure.

10th of September.--This morning, about ten o'clock, we got under weigh,

and stood to the southward. By sunset we were clear of all the islands,

and could just distinguish the island of Quelpaert in the south-east

quarter.

The shortness of our stay on this coast, and the difficulty we

experienced in communicating with the inhabitants, will account for the

scanty and disjointed nature of the information obtained. A future

voyager would do well to be accompanied by a person who can write the

Chinese character, and should have full leisure to overcome, by patient

management, the distrust of strangers evinced by this unsociable people.

A chart of our track along this coast is subjoined to this work, in the

hope that it may prove useful to a future voyager. As it was constructed

under circumstances of great haste, it is necessarily incomplete; yet it

will probably be found more accurate than any maps or charts hitherto

published.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: A servant of the embassy, left behind by accident at the

Pei-ho river.]

[Footnote 2: We found the north-east end composed of a fine-grained

granite; the middle of the island of a brittle micaceous schistus of a

deep blue colour; the strata are nearly horizontal, but dip a little to

the S.W. This body of strata is cut across by a granite dyke, at some

places forty feet wide, at others not above ten; the strata in the

vicinity of the dyke are broken and bent in a remarkable manner; this

dislocation and contortion does not extend far from the walls of the

dyke, but veins of granite branch out from it to a great distance,

varying in width from three feet to the hundredth part of an inch: the

dyke is visible from the top of the cliff to the water's edge, but does

not re-appear on the corresponding cliff of an island opposite to it,

though distant only thirty yards. This island is composed of the same

schistus, and is cut in a vertical direction by a whin dyke, four feet

wide, the planes of whose sides lie N.E. and S.W., being at right angles

to those of the great granite dyke in the neighbourhood, which run S.E.

and N.W. The strata contiguous to the whin dyke are a good deal twisted

and broken, but not in the same degree as at their contact with the

granite dyke.

The whin dyke is formed of five layers or sets of prisms laid across in

the usual way. Beyond the small island cut by the whin dyke, at the

distance of only forty or fifty feet, we came to an island rising

abruptly out of the sea, and presenting a high rugged cliff of breccia,

fronting that on which the granite dyke is so conspicuous: the junction

of this rock with the schistus cut by the granite and the whin would

have been interesting; but although we must have been at times within a

few yards of it, the actual contact was every where hid by the sea.

The whole of the S.W. end of this island is formed of breccia, being an

assemblage of angular and water-worn pieces of schistus, quartz, and

some other rocks, the whole having the appearance of a great shingle

beach. The fragments of the schistus in this rock are similar to that

which forms the cliff first spoken of.

The theory which presented itself to us on the spot was, that the great

mass of strata which forms the centre of the island was formerly at the

bottom of the ocean; and that the western part, which is now a firm

breccia, had been a beach shingle produced by the action of the waves on

the strata: the granite which forms the eastern end of the island had

been forced into its present situation from beneath the strata, with

sufficient violence to dislocate and contort the beds nearest to it, and

to inject the liquid granite into the rents formed by the heaving action

of the strata as they were raised up. It is natural to suppose that the

ragged edges of the strata forming the sides of these cracks would be

subjected to a grinding action, from which the strata more remote might

be exempted; and in this way we may account for the extraordinary

twisting, and separation of masses along the whole course of the granite

dyke. In the dyke, as well as in the veins which branch from it, there

are numerous islands of schistus. That this last was softened, seems to

follow from the frequent instances which occur of its being bent back

upon itself without producing cracks. The same heat, propagated by the

melted granite in the neighbourhood, may also be supposed to have

reduced the shingle beach to a state of semifusion by the aid of some

flux contained in the sand scattered amongst it. We could not discover

any circumstance by which the relative antiquity of the two dykes

mentioned above, could be ascertained.]

[Footnote 3: _Note on the peculiar character of the written language in

that quarter of the globe._

In China, Japan, Corea, and the islands in the adjacent seas, the spoken

languages are different from one another; the written language, on the

contrary, is the same in all. Thus a native of China is unintelligible

to a Corean or Japanese, while he is speaking, but they mutually

understand one another when their thoughts are expressed in writing. The

cause of this may be thus explained. We in Europe form an idea in the

mind, and this we express by certain sounds, which differ in different

countries; these sounds are committed to writing by means of the letters

of the alphabet, which are only symbols of sounds, and, consequently, a

writing in Europe is unintelligible to every one who is ignorant of the

spoken language in which it happens to be written. The Chinese and the

other natives in these seas have, on the contrary, no alphabet; no

symbols of sounds; their ideas are committed to writing at once without

the intervention of sound, and their characters may therefore be called

symbols of ideas. Now, as the same characters are adopted in all these

countries to express the same ideas, it is clear that their writings

will be perfectly intelligible to each other, although their spoken

languages may be quite incomprehensible.

The case of the Roman numerals in Europe furnishes a ready illustration

of this symbolical language. There is nothing in the symbols 1, 2, 3,

&c. by which their pronunciation can be ascertained when presented to

the eye, yet they communicate meaning independent of sound, and are

respectively intelligible to the inhabitants of the different countries

of Europe; while, at the same time, the sounds by which a native of one

country distinguishes the written symbols 1, 2, 3, &c. are

unintelligible to all the rest.

The knowledge of writing is supposed to be very generally diffused over

the countries using what is called the Chinese character, and, as

probably none but the lowest vulgar are ignorant of it, the surprise of

these people on discovering our inability to read their papers is very

natural. The case, we may imagine, had never occurred to them before,

and it was highly interesting to watch the effect which so novel an

incident produced. At first they appeared to doubt the fact of our

ignorance, and shewed some symptoms of impatience; but this opinion did

not last long, and they remained completely puzzled, looking at each

other with an odd expression of surprise.]

[Footnote 4: This paper, presented by the Corean Chief, has been

translated by Mr. Morrison at Canton, and is as follows: "Persons, of

what land--of what nation (are you)? On account of what business do you

come hither? In the ship are there any literary men who thoroughly

understand, and can explain what is written?"]

[Footnote 5: See note at the end of the Loo-choo vocabulary.]