Account of a Voyage of Discovery Part 1

Account of a Voyage of Discovery.

by Captain Basil Hall.

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 a.s.sistance 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 a.s.sistance 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 a.s.sistance 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 Emba.s.sy, 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. .h.i.therto 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 j.a.panese 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 emba.s.sador 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.

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--Cl.u.s.ters 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 emba.s.sy 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 emba.s.sy, 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 Emba.s.sador 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 anch.o.r.ed in a fine bay at the distance of two or three miles from the southern island.

Shortly after anchoring, a boat came from the sh.o.r.e 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 sh.o.r.e, followed us till we landed near a village. The inhabitants came in a body to meet us, forming an odd a.s.semblage, 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 coa.r.s.e open gra.s.s 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 gra.s.s 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 pa.s.s 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 s.p.a.ces 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 gra.s.s and sweet-scented flowers; the lower parts are cultivated with millet, buckwheat, a kind of French bean, and tobacco, which last grows in great quant.i.ty; 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 gla.s.ses; but even these they were unwilling to receive. One of the head men appeared particularly pleased with a gla.s.s, 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 gla.s.ses 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 cla.s.s 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 124 46' E. and lat.i.tude 37 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 sh.o.r.e 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 cl.u.s.ter of the islands, and the pa.s.sages appearing clear between them, we sailed through and anch.o.r.ed inside.

While pa.s.sing 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 a.s.sembled 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 pa.s.sed, 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 anch.o.r.ed far out in five fathoms. The natives who had a.s.sembled in crowds on the point shouted to us as we pa.s.sed, 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 anch.o.r.ed, Captain Maxwell, Mr. Clifford, and I, went towards the nearest village in the bay. On approaching the sh.o.r.e we observed a great bustle among the inhabitants on the sh.o.r.e, 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 c.r.a.pe 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 sh.o.r.e, 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 sh.o.r.e 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, enc.u.mbered 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 p.o.o.p, 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 embarra.s.sed 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].

[Ill.u.s.tration: _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 embarra.s.sment, 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 gra.s.s, the under part being embossed with different coloured silks, and from a gilt ornament on the peak there hangs a ta.s.sel made of peac.o.c.k'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 coa.r.s.e 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 a.s.sist 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 circ.u.mstances, 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 sh.o.r.e; 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 n.o.body to pa.s.s.

The door being opened, the mat-bearer and four of the princ.i.p.al 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 gla.s.s 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 sh.o.r.e; to this we cheerfully a.s.sented, 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 pa.s.sing 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 pa.s.sionate voice, which made them leave their gla.s.ses, 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 ap.r.o.n 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.