Selected quad for the lemma: water_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
water_n	earth_n	great_a	place_n	4,941	5	4.6672	4	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A49911	Memoirs and observations typographical, physical, mathematical, mechanical, natural, civil, and ecclesiastical, made in a late journey through the empire of China, and published in several letters particularly upon the Chinese pottery and varnishing, the silk and other manufactures, the pearl fishing, the history of plants and animals, description of their cities and publick works, number of people, their language, manners and commerce, their habits, oeconomy, and government, the philosophy of Confucius, the state of Christianity : with many other curious and useful remarks / by Louis Le Compte ... ; translated from the Paris edition, and illustrated with figures.	Le Comte, Louis, 1655-1728.	1697 (1697)	Wing L831; ESTC R15898	355,133	724

they discharge themselves into some Lake or great Pond out of which all the adjacent Country is watered So that these clear and plentiful Streams embellished by so many fine Bridges bounded by such neat and convenient Banks equally distributed into such vast Plains covered with a numberless multitude of Boats and Barges and crowned if I may use the Expression with a prodigious number of Towns and Cities whose Ditches it fills and whose Streets it forms does at once make that Country the most Fruitful and the most Beautiful in the World Surprised and as it were astonished at so Noble a Sight I have sometimes bore a secret Envy to China in Europe's behalf which must own that it can boast nothing in that kind to be compared to the former What would it be then if that Art which in the wildest and most unlikely Places has raised magnificent Palaces Gardens and Groves had been employed in that rich Land to which Nature has been lavish of her most precious Gifts The Chinese say their Country was formerly totally overflowed and that by main Labour they drained the Water by cutting it a way thro' these useful Canals If this be true I cannot enough admir● at once the Boldness and Industry of their Workmen who have thus made great Artificial Rivers and of a kind of a Sea as it were created the most Fertile Plains in the World It will scarce be believed that Men so ignorant in the Principles of Physicks and the Art of Levelling could bring such a Work as that to Perfection yet it is certain that these Canals are natural For they are usually strait the Distribution is equal and orderly there are Flood-gates made for the Rivers to let in their Water at and others to let it out when they are too full so that it cannot be doubted but that the Chinese are only beholding to their own Industry for that great Conveniency Among all those Canals in the Southern Provinces one above the rest is called the Great Canal because it goes thro' the whole Country from Canton which lyes Southwards to Pekin situated in the most Northerly parts of the Empire You must only travel a short days Journey by Land to cross the Hill Moilin that does on one side bound the Province of Kiamsi From this Mountain issue two Rivers one runs Southwards to the Sea and the other Northwards as far as the River of Nankin whence by the yellow River and several Canals you may proceed by Wa●er to the very Mountains of Tartary But by reason in this huge Extent of Ground of above four hundred Leagues in length the Earth is not Level or hath not a Descent proportionable to the Emanation of the Waters it was necessary to set a great number of Sluices awork They call them so in the Relations notwithstanding they be much different from ours They are Water-falls and as it were certain Torrents that are precipitated from one Canal into another more or less rapid according to the difference of their Level Now to cause the Barks to ascend they make use of a great Company of Men who are maintained for that purpose near the Sluice After they have drawn Cables to the right and left to lay hold of the Bark in such a manner that it cannot escape from them they have several Capstans by the help of which they raise it by little and little by the main force of their Arms till such time as it be in the upper Canal in a Condition to continue its Voyage whither it is bound This same Labour is tedious toilsome and exceeding dangerous They would be wonderfully surprised should they behold with what easiness one Man alone who opens and shuts the Gates of our Sluices makes the longest and heaviest laden Barks securely to ascend and descend I have observed in some Places in China where the Waters of two Canals or Channels have no Communication together yet for all that they make the Boats to pass from the one to the other notwithstanding the Level may be different above fifteen Foot And this is the way they go to work At the end of the Canal they have built a double Glacis or sloping Bank of Free-stone which uniting at the Point extends it self on both sides up to the Surface of the Water When the Bark is in the lower Channel they hoist it up by the help of several Capstanes to the plane of the first Glacis so far till being raised to the Point it falls back again by its own weight along the second Glacis into the Water of the upper Channel where it skuds away during a pretty while like an Arrow out of a Bow and they make it descend after the same manner proportionably I cannot imagine how these Barks being commonly very long and heavy Laden escape being split in the middle when they are poised in the Air upon this Acute Angle for considering that length the Lever must needs make a strange effect upon it yet do I not hear of any ill Accident happen thereupon I have past a pretty many times that way and all the Caution they take when they have a mind to go ashoar is to tye ones self fast to some Cable for fear of being tost from Prow to Poop We meet with no such Sluices in the Grand Canal because the Emperor's Barks that are as large as our Frigots could not be raised by force of Arm nay and would infallibly be split in the Fall all the difficulty consists in ascending back again upon these Torrents of which I have spoken yet this is what they perform successively tho' not without some Trouble and Expence The Canal to sail upon was necessary for the Transportation of Grain and Stuffs which they fetch from the Southern Provinces to Pekin There are if we may give Credit to the Chineses a Thousand Barks from Eighty to an Hundred Tun that make a Voyage once a year all of them Freighted for the Emperor without counting those of particular Persons whose number is infinite When these prodigious Fleets set out one would think they carry the Tribute of all the Kingdoms of the East and that one of these Voyages alone was capable of supplying all Tartary where-withal to Subsist for several years yet for all that Pekin alone hath the benefit of it and it would be as good as nothing did not the Province contribute besides to the Maintenance of the Inhabitants of that vast City The Chineses are not only content to make Channels for the Convenience of Travellers but they do also dig many others to catch the rain-Rain-water wherewith they water the Fields in time of Drought more especially in the Northern Provinces During the whole Summer you may see your Country People busied in raising this Water into abundance of small Ditches which they contrive across the Fields In other places they contrive great Reservatories of Tu●f whose Bottom is raised above the Level of the Ground about it to serve

them in Case of Necessity Besides that they have every where in Ch●nsi and Chansi for want of Rain certain Pits from Twenty to an Hundred foot deep from which they draw Water by an incredible Toil. Now if by chance they meet with a Spring of Water it is worth observing how cunningly they husband it they Sustain it by Banks in the highest places they turn it here and there an Hundred different ways that all the Country may reap the benefit of it they divide it by drawing it by degrees according as every one hath occasion for it insomuch that a small Rivulet well managed does sometimes produce the Fertility of a whole Province The Rivers of China are no less considerable then its Canals there are two especially which the Relations have made famous The first is called Kiam or Yamçe which they commonly Translate the Son of the Sea But I am afraid they are mistaken for the Letter the Chineses use for to write Yam is different from that which signifies the Sea altho' the Sound and Pronunciation may have some Affinity Amongst several significations that this Letter may have that which they gave it in former times makes for our purpose Under the Reign of the Emperor Yon it signified a Province of China limitted by this River on the North and it is somewhat probable that they gave this same Name to the River because that Prince drain'd all the Water that overflow'd the whole Country into it This Floud takes its rise in the Province of Yunnan crosses the Provinces of Soutchouen Houquam and Nankin and after it hath watered four Kingdoms far and wide for 400 Leagues together it disimbogues into the East-Sea over against the Isle of Tçoummim cast up at its Mouth by the Sands which it carries along with it the Chineses have a Proverb amongst them that says The Sea hath no bounds and the Kiam hath no bottom And in truth in some places there is none to be found in others they pretend there is Two or Three hundred Fathom water I am nevertheless perswaded that their Pilots that carry not above Fifty or Sixty Fathom Cord at longest never had the Curiosity to Sound so deep as Three hundred Fathom and the impossibility of finding the bottom with their ordinary Plummet is sufficient in my opinion to incline them to such like Hyperboly's I have many times sailed upon this River I have moreover taken a diligent account of its Course and Breadth from Nankin to the Mouth of another River into which Men enter to pursue the way to Canton It is off of Nankin Thirty Leagues from the Sea a little half League broad the Passage along it is come dangerous and becomes more and more infamous every day for its Shipwracks In its Course which is exceeding rapid it forms a great number of Isles all of them very beneficial to the Province by reason of that multitude of Bull-rushes Ten or Twelve foot high that it produceth serving for Fuel to all the Cities thereabouts for they have scarce Wood enough for Buildings and Sh●ips They yield a great Revenew and the Emperor draws considerable Duties from them The River which the Torrents of the Mountains do sometimes swell extraordinarily grow so rapid that many times they bear away the Isles with them or lessen them by the half and for the same reason form other new ones in some other place and one cannot but admire to see them change place in such a short time just as if by diving they had past under Water from one place to another that does not always come to pass But there is observed such considerable Change every year that the Mandarins least they should be mistaken get them to be measured every Three years to augment or diminish the Imposts and Duties according to the Condition they are found to be in The second River of China is called Hoamho as much as to say The yellow River because the Earth it sweeps away with it especially in times of great Rains give it that Colour I have seen a gre●t many others whose Waters at certain Seasons of the year are so over-charged with slime and so gross and thick that they rather resemble Torrents of Mud than real Rivers The Hoamho takes its source at the Extremity of the Mountains that bound the Province of Soutchouen in the West From thence it throws it self into Tartary where it flows for some time all along the great Wall at which it re-enters China between the Province of Chansi and Chensi After that it waters the Province of Honan and when it hath run cross one part of the Province of Nankin and flowed above Six hundred Leagues into the Land it disimbogues at length into the East-Sea not far from the Mouth of Kiam I have crost it and coasted it in divers places it is every where very broad and rapid yet neither deep nor navigable to speak of This River hath in former times caused great Desolation in China and they are still forced to this very day to keep up the Waters in certain places by long and strong Banks which notwithstanding does not exempt the Cities thereabouts from Apprehensions of Inundation So likewise have they been careful in the Province of Honan the Ground lying very low thereabouts to surround the greatest part of the Cities about a Mile from the Walls with a Terrace cased with Turf to prevent being surprised by Accidents and Casualties in case the Bank be broken as happened about Fifty two years ago For the Emperor endeavouring to force a Rebel who for a long time laid close Siege to the City of Honan to draw off caused one part of the Banks to be broken down thereby to drown the adverse Army But the Relief he afforded the City proved more fatal than ●he Fury of the Besiegers would have been the whole Province almost was laid under Water together with many Cities and abundance of Villages above Three hundred thousand Persons drowned in the Metropolis amongst whom were some of our Missionaries who at that time had a numerous Flock of Christians there they and their Church lost their Lives The Low Country ever since is become a kind of a Marsh or Lake not but that they have some design to repair this loss but the Undertaking is difficult and very expensive The Sovereign Court that takes care of Publick Works importuned the Emperor more than once to send Father Verbiest thither and peradventure that Prince would have consented thereto at last but he discovered that the Mandarins made use of this pretence to remove the Father at a distance from Court and that their Design was to engage him in a difficult Enterprise that was enough to destroy him or out of which he could never have disintangled himself with any honour There is to be seen in China abundance of other Rivers less Famous but yet more Commodious for Commerce and Trade Since they afford nothing uncommon

it would be to abuse your Patience Sir to descend to the Particulars As to what concerns Fountains it were to be wisht there were more of them and better 'T is certain that their usual Waters are not good which perhaps hath obliged the Inhabitants especially in the Southern Provinces to drink it always warm but because warm Water is unpalatable and nauseous they bethought themselves of putting some Leaves of a Tree to it to give it a Gusto Those of Tea seemed to be the best and so they frequently make use of it It may be also that God Almighty whose Providence hath so universally provided for the Wants of his People and if I may be bold to say it for their Delight and Pleasure would not deprive China of that which is necessary to Life so that for to Supply the Defect of Wells and Fountains which the Nature of the Ground hath made every where salt and brackish he hath been pleased to produce that Species of a particular Tree in abundance whose Leaves serve not only to purge the Waters from their noxious Qualities but also to make them wholsome and pleasant We are assured that there is to be found in China amongst Fountains several that suffer Flux and Reflux as regularly as the Sea doth whether it be that they have some Communication with the Ocean by certain Subterraneous Conveyances and Conduits or whether it be in passing through certain Earths they are impregnated with Salts and Spirits apt to cause this Fermentation I leave others to determine Since I have begun to speak of the different Waters of China I cannot pass over in Silence the Lakes and Ponds that are every where almost to be seen in all the Provinces Those that are produced in Winter by the Torrents from the Mountains lay waste the Fields and render the whole Country during Summer barren sandy and full of Flints Those that arise from Springs are abounding in Fish and yield a considerable Revenew to the Emperor by the Salt they afford There is one of them amongst the rest if I be not mistaken it is in Chansi in the middle whereof appears a small Island where People divert themselves during the excessive Heat to sprinkle Water all over There is made in a little while a Crust of a certain Salt very white and of a pleasant Scent which they continue all the Summer long with that Success that the Salt would be sufficient for the whole Province if it were as Salt as that of the Sea they commonly make use of it to Season Meat withal Altho' I have not seen all those famous Lakes in China whereunto Historians ascribe so many Miracles yet shall I relate something which I do not care to warrant for Gospel which nevertheless will let you understand the Genius of the Country where People so easily give Credit to what seems most incredible In the Province of Fokien there is one whose Water is green and changes Iron into Copper They have built a Palace upon the Banks of another not far distant from the former in an Apartment of which one hears the ringing of Bells every time Heaven threatens a Storm There are Waters in the Province of Canton that change Colour every year in Summer and in Winer they are very clear in Autumn they turn blue but of such a fine blue that People make use of it to dye Stuffs In that place is to be seen a Mountain full of Caverns whose very Aspect is very terrible in which is found a Lake of that Nature that if one throw a Stone into it one may hear a noise like Thunder sometime after there ariseth a gross Mist which immediately dissolves into Water But the most famous of them all is that of the Province of Iannan The Chineses would make you believe that this Lake came all on the sudden during an Earthquake that swallowed up all the Country with its Inhabitants This was a just Judgment upon them for their wickedness for they were very dissolute Livers Of all that were there at that time there was but one Child that was saved which they found in the middle of the Lake born up upon a piece of Wood. In the Isle of Hainan belonging to China there is a sort of Water whether it be Lake or Fountain I know not that petrifies Fish I my self have b●ought over Crawfish that preserving their intire Natural Figure are so far changed into Stone that the Claws and Body of them are very hard very solid and little differing from Stone The Wonders of Nature are not so far particular to China but the like may be met with elsewhere and if one does not credit all the Chineses relate it is not because there is sometimes no foundation for their Stories But because they have somewhat of the Air of Fable and Hyperbolical in them that would make a Man even suspect their being true I wish with all my heart Sir that I may not omit any thing that any way relates to this Subject I were able to explain all the kinds of Fish that the Rivers and Lakes furnish them with as well as those that are Caught upon their Coasts but to tell you the truth I am not well enough informed to engage my self upon a particular Relation of them I have seen as far as I can guess all the Fish in China that we have in France I have taken notice of a great many others that I did not know no not so much as their Names that is all I can say of it Besides that I shall confirm to you what possibly you may have read in the Relations touching the Fish they call the Golden and Silver Fish that are found in divers Provinces and do afford particular Ornaments in the Courts and Gardens of great Persons They are commonly of a fingers length and of a proportionable thickness the Male is of a most delicate red from the head to the middle of the Body and further the rest together with the Tail is gilded but with such a glittering and burnisht Gold that our real Gildings cannot come near it The Female is white its Tail nay and one part of its Body perfectly washt over with Silver the Tail of both of them is not even and flat as that of other Fish but fashioned like a Nosegay thick and long and gives a particular Grace to this pretty Animal that sets it off being besides perfectly well proportioned Those who would breed them ought to have great Care for they are extraordinary tender and sensible of the least Injuries of the Air. They put them into a great Basin such as are in Gardens very deep and large at the bottom of which they are wont to place an Earthen Pot turned upside down full of Holes on the sides that they may retire into it when it is very hot Weather and by that means shelter themselves from the Sun They likewise throw upon the Surface of the Water some particular Herbs

those whose arm is of any considerable length the thousandth part of a Crown will sensibly turn the Scale There are two sorts of those Scales one more agreeable to the antient Balances which are used in Courts of Justice the beam of this is so divided as exactly to agree with the weight of the French mony since it hath been encreased by a sixth part in weight so that every division of the beam weighs the weight of a Sou or Peny so that seventy two Chinese Sous or Penys weigh exactly a French Crown or an ounce English But the common Balance which is most used in China is somewhat different from this for a French Crown will weigh seventy three divisions of this beam this I thought my self obliged to take notice of that we may the better understand what the Relations hitherto have so much differed about The Chinese divide their pound weight as we do into sixteen ounces each ounce into ten parts called Tçien each of these again into ten peny weights and each of these again into ten grains There are a great many other divisions which decrease in the same proportion that 1 has to 10 which divisions our Language has no names for Altho' these smaller divisions come almost to nothing when single in the Scale yet in great Traffick they reckon them where the multiplication of them arises to a considerable sum In short if we suppose that our Crown should weigh three drachms or one and twenty peny weight and eight grains then the Chinese pound will contain 19 ounces 3 drachms 2 peny weights 13 grains 6 7 7 3. And on the contrary our pound will contain 13 ounces Chinese 1 Tçien and 4 peny weights understanding these two last weights as they are explained above As to the common measures in use in this Empire they have by diverse persons been represented in different manners because of those who have wrote upon this Subject some have had recourse to the measures of one Province others to those of another I have examined all of them carefully and do think that Father Verbiests Measures which they use in the Mathematical Court are the exactest The Chinese Foot is very little different from ours Not but that ours is somewhat longer almost 1 100 but this difference is nothing wi●h the Chinese who do not stand so nicely and strictly to their measure as we do which the People have to measure with and not to contend and quarrel by The Civil Government of the Chinese does not only preside over the Towns but extends also over the Highways which they make handsome and easily passable The passages for their Water are in several places fenced in with Stone Walls for the convenience of travelling over which there are a great number of Bridges which unite the Towns and the Fields together Canals are also cut for the water to pass thro' all the Towns of the Southern Provinces to make their Ditches more secure and the Towns more pleasant In low and marshy grounds they throw up prodigious long Banks which keep their Roads in those parts good to perform which they stick at no cost cutting a passage even thro' Mountains when they stand in their way The Road from Signanfou to Hamtchoum is one of the strangest pieces of work in the world They say for I my self have never yet seen it that upon the side of some Mountains which are perpendicular and have no shelving they have fixed large beams into them upon the which beams they have made a sort of Balcony without rails which reaches thro' several Mountains in that fashion those who are not used to these sort of Galeries travel over them in a great deal of pain afraid of some ill accident or other But the People of the place are very hazardous they have Mules used to these sort of Roads which travel with as little fear or concern over these steep and hideous precipices as they could do in the best or plainest Heath I have in other places exposed my self very much by following too rashly my Guides One can't imagin what care they take to make the common Roads convenient for passage They are fourscore foot broad or very near it the Soil of them is light and soon dry when it has left off raining In some Provinces there are on the right and left hand Causeways for the foot Passengers which are on both sides supported by long rows of Trees and oftimes tarrassed with a Wall of eight or ten foot high on each side to keep Passengers out of the fields Nevertheless these Walls have breaks where Roads cross one the other and they all terminate at some great Town There are several wooden Machines made like Triumphal Arches set up in the Roads about a Mile and a half distant from each other about thirty foot high which have three doors over which is wrote upon a large Frize in Characters so large as may be read at almost half a quarter of a Mile distance how far it is from the Town you left and how far to the Town you are going to So that you have no need of Guides here for you may by these directions see what place the Road leads to and from whence you came how far you have already gone and how far you have yet to go The great care which they have taken to lay out all these distances by the Line makes the account which these inscriptions give to be pretty sure yet they are not equal because the Miles in some Provinces are longer than in others It has happened likewise that some of these Arches being ruined and consumed by decay and time have not been set up exactly in the same place but generally speaking they serve for a good measure of the Highways besides that in several places they are no small Ornament On one side of these Ways about the same distance are fixt little Towers made of earth cast up on which they set up the Emperors Standard near it is a Lodge for Soldiers or Country Militia These are made use of in time of Rebellion or indeed at any other time to carry any Express if occasion be or to hand Letters from one to another but especially they take care to stop Highway men and Robbers Every Man who goes by armed is obliged to give an account whence he came whither he is going and upon what business and must shew his Pass Beside these Guards upon case of an allarm give a helping hand to Travellers and stop all those who are suspected or accused of Robbery Among the mighty number of Inhabitants which are in China a great part of which scarce know how to get a Subsistance a body would imagine that abundance must needs turn Thieves yet one may travel there with as great safety as here I have travelled there six thousand Miles up and down thro' almost all the Provinces and was never but once in Danger of being robbed Four strange Horsemen

Crowd and is usually as great in those Streets as here at a Solemn Procession Over against it on the other side of the River stands Qua-chéou another great trading Town a little beyond lyes Yam-chéou one of the most remarkable Cities in the whole Empire which according to the Chinese contains two Millions of Inhabitants If I did not here recal my self I should unawares describe all the Cities of China but designing only to give your Highness a general account of their Largeness and Number I shall without a needless tedious descending into Particulars assure your Eminency that my self have seen seven or eight of them as big at least as Paris besides several others where I have not been which I am assured are not less There are fourscore of the first Rank equal to Lyons or Bourdeaux Among 260 of the Second above a Hundred are like Orleance and among 1200 of the Third there are five or six hundred as considerable as Rochel or Angoulesme besides an innumerable quantity of Villages greater and more populous than Marenes and St. Iohn de Luz These My Lord are no Hyperbole's neither do I speak by Hear-say but having travelled in Person over the greatest part of China I hope your Highness will favour me so far as not to question the sincerity of my Relation I shall conclude with the several Ports and Havens of China which do not a little contribute ●o the Increase of its Wealth It s Chinese Emperors had forbid the Entrance of them to Foreigners but the Tartars more sond of Money than of Ancient Customs have of late years granted a free Access to all Nations The first beginning Southwards is Macao famous for the great Traffick which the Portuguese formerly made there before the Dutch had expelled them out of the greatest part of the Indies They still have a Fortress in it but their Garrison is small as indeed they are not able to keep a very great one Besides their best way to maintain themselves in this Post is to ingratiate themselves with the Chinese by a blind obseq●iousness to all their Commands which they do very wisely The Town if I may so call a few Houses not inclosed with any Walls is built on a narrow uneven Soil on the Point of a small Island which commands a good Road where Ships by the means of several other little Islands which lye to the Windwards are secure from any Storm The Haven is Narrow but Safe and Commodious All the Customs belong to the Emperor and tho' the Portuguese do still preserve a Form of Government among themselves yet they obey the Mandarines in whatsoever bears the least Relation to the Chinese The second Haven of this Coast is formed by a pretty wide River up the which great Vessels can go as far as Canton This place is very convenient to Foreigners because the City supplies them with abundance of all kind of Merchandises and Refreshments but the Mandarines are not fond of letting them approach too near their Walls least they should be surprised or rather they are unwilling that their Merchants should deal with ours to whom themselves do underhand sell their Commodities by the means of their Brokers The Province of Fokie● adjoyning to that of Canton has another celebrated Haven which they call Emoui from the Island which forms it for it is properly speaking but a Road lockt in on the one hand by the Continent and on the other by the said Island The biggest Ships ride here secure and the Banks so high that they may come as near the Shoar as they will The late great improvement of Trade in that City invites to it a considerable number of People and this Post has been judged of such a Consequence that the Emperor has for some years past kept there a Garrison of six or seven Thousand Men under a Chinese Commander The fourth called Nimpo lyes in the most Easterly part of China There it was we landed The Entrance is very difficult and wholly impracticable to great Vessels the Bar at the highest Tides not being above 15 Foot under Water That Place is nevertheless very well traded for thence they make a speedy Voyage to Iapan being but two days in their passage to Nangazaki Thither they carry Silks Sugar Drugs and Wine which they Exchange for Gold Silver and Brass Nimpo is a City of the first Class and was in former times very remarkable but has been much damaged by the late Wars however it daily regains something of its former Splendour the Walls are in a good Condition the City and Suburbs well inhabited and the Garrison pretty numerous The Town is still full of a kind of Monuments called by the Chinese Paifam or Pailou and by us Triumphal Arches which are very frequent in China They consist in three great Arches abreast built with long Marble Stones That in the middle is much higher than the other two The four Columns which support them are sometimes round but of●ner square made of one only Stone placed on an irregular Basis. In some this Basis is not to be seen whether they never had any or that thro' Age it was sunk into the Ground They have no Capitals but the Trunk is fastned into the Architrave if we will give that Name to some Figures over the Pillars The Frize is better distinguished but too high in proportion to the rest they adorn it with Inscriptions Figures and Embossed Sculptures of a wonderful beauty with Knots wrought loose one within another with Flowers curiously carved and Birds flying as it were from the Stone which in my Mind are Master-pieces Not that all these Arches are of this make Some are so ordinary that they are not worth the seeing but others there are which cannot enough be prised Instead of a Cornish they have before and behind large flat Marble Stones like Pent-houses There are so many of these Monuments at Nimpo that in some places they are more a Trouble then an Ornament tho' at a Distance they make an agreeable Prospect I have omitted the Haven of Nankin which methinks because of the breadth and depth of the River Kiam should have been first in order but not any Ships put in there at present I do not know whether the Mouth of the said River is now choaked up with Sand but sure I am that the whole Fleet of that famous Pyrat who besieged Nankin during the late Troubles passed it without any difficulty and perhaps it is to prevent any such Accident for the future that the Chinese will not make use of it that by degrees it may grow out of knowledge This My Lord is in general what may be said of the Ports Fortresses and Cities of China the number of which is so great that scarce can a Traveller distinguish them they lye so thick together Therefore the Chinese have ever thought that no Nation in the World was to be compared to them much like those People whom the Prophet

that keep always green and maintain the coolness This Water is to be changed two or three times a Week yet so that fresh Water may be put in according as the Basin is emptied which must never be lest dry If one be obliged to remove the Fish from one Vase to another great care must be taken not to touch them with the Hand all those that are touched dye quickly after or shrivel up you must for that purpose make use of a little Thred Purse fasten'd at the upper end of a wooden Circle into which they are insensibly ingaged when they are once got into it of themselves one must take heed of hurting them and be sure to hold them still in the first which empties but slowly and gives time to Transport them to the other Water Any great noise as of a Cannon or of Thunder too strong a smell too violent a motion are all very hurtful to them yea and sometimes occasions their dying as I have observed at Sea every time they discharged the Cannon or melted Pitch and Tar Besides they live almost upon nothing those insensible Worms that are bread in the Water or that most Terrestrial Parts that are mixt with it suffice in a manner to keep them alive They do notwithstanding throw in little Balls of Past now and then but there is nothing better than a Wafer which s●eep't makes a kind of Pap of which they are extream greedy which indeed is very proportionable to their natural Delicacy and Tenderness In hot Countries they multiply very much provided care be taken to remove their Eggs which swim upon the Water which the Fish most commonly eat They place them in a particular Vase exposed to the Sun and there they preserve them till the heat hatcheth them the Fish come out of a black colour which some of them keep ever after but is changed by little and little in other Colours into Red White Gold and Silver according to their different Kind The Gold and Silver begins at the extremity of the Tail and expand themselves somewhat more or less according to their particular Disposition All this Sir and other Marvels of the Universe makes us acknowledge the Finger of God every where who for our sakes hath embellished the World many thousand ways He is not only content to enlighten the Heavens and enrich the Earth but descends into the Abysses into the very Waters he hath lest some Footsteps of his profound Wisdom and not to mention those prodigious Monsters that seem to be made to astonish Nature he hath likewise created those wonderful Fish I but now described which as little as they are yet by their singular Beauty are the Subject of our Admiration and furnish us with some faint Idea's of the Greatness of the wise Creator Here I present you Sir in a Compendium the Draught and as it were the Map of that Country which I design'd to give you some knowledge of these are but the outside and if I may so say but the Body of that Empire whose Soul and Spirit is disperst through its Inhabitants Peradventure when you shall have read what I have writ to you about it you will be apt to enquire what People they be who are so happy as to receive the greatest fairest and most fertile Portion of the Earth for their Inheritance such a Land in a word that it wants nothing to make it a real Land of Promise but to be Cultivated by God's People and inhabited by true Israelites indeed If we had nothing as the Hebrews had but the Red-Sea and Wilderness to go through probably Forty years might suffice to bring it under Subjection to the Gospel But that vast Extent of Seas those infinite and unpracticable Land Journeys that were capable of putting a stop to Moses and the Prophets do allay the Zeal of the Ministers of Jesus Christ and lessen the number of his New Apostles Oh! that I could as the Hebrews did whom Moses sent to discover the Promised Land represent the immense Richness and most precious Harvest that China promises to the Labourers in the Vineyards we have hopes that probably the prospect of such an abundant Crop might in time prevail with all Europe to come and reap it At least I hope that my Testimony will not be insignificant and that the more than ordinary Zeal of the small Company of Missionaries that shall succeed me will make amends for the vast Number of those which such a vast Empire might demand I am with all the respect imaginable SIR You most humble and most affectione Servant I. J. LETTER V. To the Marquis de TORSI Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Of the peculiar Character of the Chinese Nation its Antiquity Nobility Manners and its good and bad Qualities My Lord SEeing in the Employment wherewith the King hath honoured you and which you do already discharge with so much Wisdom nothing can contribute more to promote you to that high pitch of Perfection that all Europe expects from you than the exact Knowledge of the Manners and Genius of Foreigners I made account that by ordering me to write to you concerning the Empire of China you did particularly desire to learn what was the Genius of its Inhabitants It is true that to judge of the future by preceding Reigns such Informations would perhaps stand you in no stead Hitherto France hath had nothing to do with that People and Nature seems not to have placed them at such a distance from us but only intirely to separate them from our Interests But under the Reign of Lewis the Great for whom Nature her self hath so often changed her Laws is there any thing impossible Nay will not Heaven which seems to have employed all Nations to make him Renowned oblige China as proud and haughty as it is to contribute something to his Glory It is according to all Human Probability under your Ministry My Lord that we shall behold the most flourishing and mighty Empire of the West unite it self with the most puissant Realm in all Europe And perhaps if it had not been for this fatal War the dire Consequences of which have made themselves be felt as far as the Extremities of the Universe you would e're this have given Audience to the Envoys of a Prince who never acknowledged any other Sovereign besides himself in the World This Negotiation so glorious for you and so much conducing to the Establishment of Religion which the Iniquity of the Times hath hitherto interrupted may be hereafter set afoot again and it is on purpose to dispose and incline you to the same that I presume to take the liberty My Lord to let you understand the Character of those who are to be employed therein The Chineses are so Ancient in the World that it fares with them as to their Original as with great Rivers whose Source can scarce be discovered It is necessary for that purpose to look back farther then all our

the whole Body of it was carried by the force of the Currant upon the Rock where it remained immoveable If instead of touching at the Stern it had hit sideways we had been infallibly lost but those are ●ot the most dangerous places In the Province of Fokien whether one comes from Canton or Hamt-cheou one is during Eight or Ten days in continual danger of perishing The Cataracts are continual always broken by a Thousand Points of Rocks that scarce leave breadth enough for the passage of the Ba●k there are nothing but Turnings and Windings nothing but Cascades and contrary Currants that dash one against another and hurry the Boat along like an Arrow out of a Bow you are always within Two foot of Shelves which you avoid only to fall foul upon another and from that to a third if the Pilot by an address not sufficiently to be admired does not escape from Shipwrack that threatens him every moment There are none in all the World besides the Chineses capable of undertaking such like Voyages or so much concerned or interessed as not to be discouraged maugre all the Accidents that befal them for there passes not a day that is not memorable for Shipwracks nay and I wonder all Barks do not perish Sometimes a Man is so fortunate as to split in a place not far distant from the shoar as I chanced twice to do then indeed one escapes by swimming provided one has strength enough to struggle out of the Torrent which is usually very strait Other times the Barks run adri●t and in a moment is upon the Rocks where it remains aground with the Passengers but sometimes it happens especially in some more rapid Vortices that the Vessel is in pieces and the Crew buried before one has time to know where they are Sometimes also when one descends the Cascades formed by the River that altogether runs headlong the Boats by falling all on sudden plunge into the Water at the Prow without being able to rise again and disappear in a trice In a word these Voyages are so dangerous that in more then Twelve thousand Leagues that I have Sail'd upon the most tempestuous Seas in the World I don't believe I ever run through so many Dangers for Ten years as I have done in Ten days upon these Torrents The Barks they make use of are built of a very thin light Timber which makes it more fit to follow all the impressions one has a mind to give them They divide them into five or six Apartments separated by good Partitions so that when they touch at any place upon any point of a Rock only one part of the Boat is full whilst the other remains dry and affords time to stop the hole the Water has made For to moderate the Rapidity of the Motion in places where the Water is not too deep six Seamen three on each side hold a long Spret or Pole thrust to the bottom wherewith they resist the Currant yet slackning by little and little by the help of a small Rope made fast at one end to the Boat and twined at the other round the Pole that slips but very hardly and by a continual rubbing slackens the motion of the Bark which without this Caution would be driven with too much Rapidity insomuch that when the Torrent is even and uniform how precipitous soever its Course be you float with the same slowness as one does upon the calmest Canal but when it winds in and out this Caution is to no purpose then indeed they have recourse to a double Rudder made in fashion of an Oar of forty or fifty foot long one whereof is at the Prow and the other at the Poup In the plying of these two great Oars consists all the Skill of the Sailors and Safety of the Bark the reciprocal Jerks and cunning Shakes they give it to drive it on or to turn it right as they would have it to fall just into the Stream of the Water to shun one Rock without dashing on another to cut a Currant or pursue the fall of Water without running head-long with it whirles it about a Thousand different ways It is not a Navigation it is a Manege for there is never a managed Horse that labours with more fury under the hand of a Master of an Academy then these Boats do in the hands of these Chinese Mariners So that when they chance to be cast away it is not so much for want of Skill as Strength and whereas they carry not above eight Men if they would take fifteen all the Violence of the Torrents would not be capable to carry them away But it is a thing common enough in the World and especially in China rather to hazard a Man's Life and run the risk to lose all he has then to be at indifferent Charges one thinks not absolutely necessary Seeing I am speaking of the Address and Skill of the Chineses upon Rivers I cannot forbear My Lord letting you observe what they are Masters of in matter of Fishing besides the Line Nets and the ordinary Instruments we make use of in Europe which they employ as well as we they have moreover two ways of catching Fish that seem to me very singular and odd The first is practised in the Night when it is Moon-shine they have two very long strait Boats upon the sides of which they Nail from one end to the other a Board about two foot broad upon which they have rub'd white Varnish very smooth and shining this Plank is inclined outward and almost toucheth the Surface of the Water That it may serve their turn it is requisite to turn it towards the Moon-shine to the end that the Reflexion of the Moon may increase its brightness the Fish playing and sporting and mistaking the Colour of the Plank for that of the Water jerk out that way and tumble before they are aware either upon the Plank or into the Boat so that the Fisher-man almost without taking any pains hath in a little time his small Bark quite full The second manner of Fishing is yet more pleasant They breed in divers Provinces Cormorants and they order and mannage them as we do Dogs or even as we do Hawks for the Game one Fisherman can very easily look after an hundred he keeps them perched upon the sides of his Boat quiet and waiting patiently for orders till they are come at the place designed for fishing in then at the very first signal that is given them each takes its flight and flies toward the way that is assigned it 'T is a very pleasant thing to behold how they divide amongst them the whole breadth of the River or of the Lake they seek up and down they dive and come and go upon the Water an hundred times till they have spy'd their Prey then do they seize it with their Be●k and immediately bring it to their Master When the Fish is too big they help one another interchangeably one takes

that of a Man others respire in the Air like other terrestrial Animals We see some of them fly like Birds that croak at the bottom of Waters like Toads and bark like Dogs some have Heads pretty like ours they call them in Siam Mermaids in some certain ones the Flesh is so firm that it nourisheth as much as Meat in others it is so soft that it may not be so properly called Fish as an indigestedness of slimy gross and transparent Matter wherein no Organ is to be discerned yet is it quick it moves and even swims methodically In a word Altho' the most part of them be good to eat yet I have seen some that are poysonous which infallibly lame the Fishermen when they can strike their Fins into them I forbear all the other Wonders of the Sea that no ways come short of those in the Heavens and in the Earth that I may speak mo●e particularly of what we have learn'd of the Birth Nature and Fishing of Pearl You may assure your self that these are of that kind of Description upon which the Publick may rely for we derive them from the Fountain head This is what Father Bouchet the Missionary of Madura sent by the King into the Indies left me his own self in Writing Men know well enough that Pearls are engendered in a sort of Oyster found in the Indies between Cape Comarin and the Chanel de la Croux which occasioned the giving the Name de la Pescherie or the Fishery to the whole Coast This fishing is exceeding chargeable whether it be that it continues three whole months without any Intermission or whether it be that they are sometimes fain to employ above an hundred and fifty Men therein all at once So that before they engage in it for good and all they begin upon tryal from whence they can tell more or less what Profit they may possibly hope for Now if the Pearls of the first Oyster be fair big and in great number then the whole body of Fishers are in a readiness against the 15th of March the time when the Parav●s People of that Coast do always begin that precious fishing In the last there were but eight hundred Barks yet sometimes there are to be seen to the number of three thousand At that time the Hollanders arm two Pataches to convoy the Fleet and defend them from Pirates The Crew of each Bark consists of fifty or sixty Mariners amongst whom there are twenty Divers each of which hath his two Assistants which for that Reason they call the Fisher Assistants in fine the Gain is distributed after the following manner each Diver is bound to pay six Crowns to the Hollanders which hath sometimes amounted to a Million every eight days they fish one whole day for the profit of the Skipper of the Bark the first Throw of the Nets is for him they give the third part of what remains to the Assistants the Surplus belongs to the Divers But yet the Hollanders do not always give them leave to dispose of it as they please So that these poor Wretches do often complain of their hard Fate and bewail their Loss when they think of the time they lived under the Dominion of the Portuguese When fishing time is come this is the manner of the Paravas's preparing themselves for it The whole Fleet puts out to Sea as far as seven eight ten fathom Water off of certain huge Mountains which they discover far up in the Country they have learn'd by experience that this is the most commodious Latitude of the Coast and the place where there is the most copious fishing Soon after casting Anchor every Diver fastens under his Belly a good big Stone six inches diameter a foot long cut archwise on that side that is applied to his skin they make use of it as Ballast that they may not be carried away by the motion of the Water and to go more firmly through the Waves besides that they tie a second heavy one to one of their feet that presently sinks them to the bottom of the Sea from whence they quickly draw it into the Bark by help of a small Cord but because the Oysters are often fixed to the Rocks they surround their fingers with Copper Plates for fear of hurting them in pulling the Oysters with Violence some others also use Iron Forks for the same purpose Lastly every Diver carries a great Net in fashion of a Sack hung about his Neck by a long Rope the End of which is fastned to the side of the Barks that Sack is designed to receive the Oysters they pick up during the fishing and the Rope to draw up the Fishers when they have fill'd their Sack In this Equipage they precipitate themselves and go down into the Sea above sixty foot deep Since they must lose no time so soon as they touch the bottom they run to and fro upon the Sand upon a slimy Earth and amongst the craggy Rocks snatching hastily the Oisters they meet with in their way At what depth so ever they be the light is so great that they discern what happens in the Sea as easily as tho' they were upon Land They sometimes see monstrous Fish from which the Christians defend themselves by crossing themselves which hitherto hath preserved them from all Accidents For as for who are Mahumitans or Pagans what shift soever they make by troubling the Water or flying away to avoid them many have been devoured by them and of all the dangers in Fishing this is without all doubt the most ordinary and greatest In fine the expert Divers remain commonly under Water half an hour others are no less than a good quarter of an hour They do no more but hold their breath without using for that purpose either Oil or any other Liquor Custom and Nature having indued them with that power which all the Art of Philosophers hath not been able to this day to communicate to us When they perceive they can hold no longer they pull the Rope to which their Sack is fastened and tie themselves very fast to it by their hands Then the two Assistants that are in the 〈◊〉 hoist them aloft into the Air and unload them of what they have got which is sometimes five hundred Oysters sometimes fifty or an hundred only according to their good or bad luck Amongst the Divers some rest a little to refresh themselves in the Air others do not require it and incontinently plunge again into the Water co●tinuing in that manner this violent Exercise without respit for they feed but twice a day once in the Morning before they put to Sea and in the Evening when Night forces them to make to Shoar It is upon this Shoar where they unload all the Barks and the Oysters are carried into a great many little pits digged in the Sand about five or six Foot Square The heaps they throw in rises sometimes to the height of a Man and look like a

of its Salts and there at last assumed the colour figure and hardness of Pearls not much unlike some certain Liquors that are transmuted into Crystals in the Earth or as some Flowers are transformed into Honey and Wax in the Bee Hives All this is Ingenious and pretty but the worst of it is 't is all false for these Oysters are strongly fastened to the rock and never did any Fisher see one to float upon the Superficies of the Water Notwithstanding Pearls are found in several Places yet those of La Pescherie are the most valued for they never lose their Lustre others turn Yellow or of a Pale decayed White As to the true Value it is very hard to determin any thing for certain the biggest of all that was found in the last Fishing was sold but at Six Hundred Crowns I have sometimes asked the Divers if they did not now and then find Coral at the bottom of the Sea they answered that they being for the most part busied in what concerns seeking for Pearl took no great notice of any thing besides that nevertheless they found from time to time Branches of Black Coral there is some of it added they which altho ' it be pretty hard at the bottom of the Water yet becomes much more so when it hath been some time exposed to the Air. But the greatest part of it hath acquired even in the Sea all its natural Hardness It sticks fast to the Rocks and when we cast Anchor in Foggy weather it often happens that our Anchor matches hold on some Branches of Black Coral and brings along with it whole Trees but it is very rare to find any Red Coral all along the Coast of La Pescherie I shall here make a Reflection that not many have made viz. that the Coral-Tree hath no Root Some of it was shown in Rome in Father Kercher's Musaeum that sprung out of several Stones some of them have been after that pull'd away and the Coral had not only no Root but was not so much as tied by any Fibre or any the least Filament whatsoever There also was seen several Branches of Coral issuing from a Nacre of Pearl and in Cardinal Barbarin's Closet there is still to be seen a Shrub of Coral whose Foot is Black the Trunk White and the very Top of all Red. Thus doth Nature ●ir disport her self in the great Abyss as well as in the other parts of the Universe by the Production of prodigious Numbers of Things equally Profitable and Precious which she bestows not to excite and irritate Mens Concupiscence or to foment their sottish Pride but to serve them for Ornaments as Reason and the Decency of every State requires or permits Nay perhaps Sir these Beauties of the Universe were created not so much to adorn the Body as to exercise the Mind Reliquit Mundum disputationi eorum For of all natural Pleasures the most innocent and substantial without all doubt is the study of Nature and the Consideration of the Marvels it contains in its Womb. When one hath once run over the Ground work of Divine Wisdom and penetrated into the Mysteries of it this general View of so many Beauties hath more powerful Charms and begets in our Spirit a more taking and affecting Image and Representation than all that the Senses and Passions are ever able to present to us You know it Sir better than any Body you I say who by your particular Study and your continual Correspondence with the Learned have required in so short Time so many Notions in all the different kinds of Erudition and certainly that constant Application that you every Day afford in reference to the perfection of Arts and Sciences sufficiently declares that nothing can more profitably and pleasantly take up the Time of a Gentleman and honest Man But what is still more singular you sanctifie all this Knowledge by the good Improvement you make of it You bring it I may so say to the Sanctuary you make use of it in the Pulpit of Truth to make our Mysteries more intelligible and not satisfied with the ordinary Phylosophy and Eloquence you do thereby become a Christian Philosopher and an Evangelic Orator I am with all respect SIR Your most humble and most obedient Servant L. J. FINIS Books Printed for Benj. Tooke at the Middle-Temple-Gate in Fleetstreet FAbles of Aesop and other eminent Mythologists with Morals and Reflections By Sir Roger L' Estrange Folio Sir Richard Baker's Chronicle of the Kings of England from the time of the Roman Government unto the Death of K. Iames I. whereunto is added the Reigns of K. Charles I. and K. Charles II. The Ninth Impression Corrected Folio A New Theory of the Earth from its Original to the Consummation of all Things wherein the Creation of the World in six Days the Universal Deluge and the General Conflagration as laid down in the Holy Scriptures are shewn to be perfectly agreeable to Reason and Philosophy With a large Introductory Dis●ourse concerning the Genuine Stile and Extent of the Mosaick History of the Creation By W. Whiston M. A. Chaplain to the Right Reverend the Bishop of Norwich and Fellow of Clare-Hall in Cambridge Books newly Printed for Sam Buckley at the Dolphin in Fleetstreet CHristianity not Mysterious or A Treatise shewing That there is nothing in the Gospel contrary to Reason nor above it and that no Christian Doctrine can be properly called a Mystery By Mr. Foland The Second Edition enlarged in Octavo Price 2 ● The French Perfumer teaching the several ways of Extracting the Odours of Drugs and Flowers and making all the Compositions of Perfumes for Powder Wash-balls Essences Oils Wax Pomatum Paste Queen of Hungary's Water Rosa Solis and other Sweet Waters The manner of Preparing sweet Toilets Boxes c. with the Preparations and Use of Perfumes of all kinds whatsoever Also how to Colour and Scent Gloves and Fans together with the secret of Cleansing Tobacco and Perfuming it for all sorts of Snuff Spanish Roman c. Done into English from the Original printed at Paris The Second Edition corrected from all the Faults that happened in the first 12 o. Price 1 s. Latitudinarius Orthodoxus 1. In Genere de fide in Religione Naturali Mosaica Christiana 2. In particulari de Christianae Religionis Mysteriis accesserunt Vindiciae Ecclesiae Anglicanae c D. Arthuri Bury Twelves Price 2 ● * See Ramusio Viaggi Navigationi Printed at Venice in 3 Vol. fol. * See the Theatro Iesuitico printed at Conimbre in Fol. Also the Morale Pratique des Peres Iesuites in 8 Vol. 8 o. particularly the second and third Parts * Observations Physiques Mathematiques envoyées de Siam Avec les Restexions de Messieurs de l` Academic Notes du Pere Gouye Paris 1688. in ●8 Observations pour setvir a l' Hist●ire Naturelle a la Verfection de l' Astronoinie de la Geographie Envoy●es des Indes de la Chine Avec les Reflexions c. Paris 1692. iń 4● Recucil d' Observations faites en plusieurs Voyages par Ordre de sa Majesté c. Paris 1693. in Fol. * Efsunde Iram tuam in Gentas quae Te non noverunt Psal. 58. Ne tradas Bestiis animas confitentes tibi Psal. 73. * Hi in Curris in Equis Nos autem in Nomine Domini * As with us the Colledge of Heralds * In the Draught the Length does not bear a reciprocall Proportion to its Circuit * Zeph. 2.15 * Isaiah 26.5 * Hal vou pim Kiam vou ti * They call it Inchu Ti●ochu * Yam-pi * The first Book called Chu-kim † The second Book Chi-kim * The third Book V-kim † The Fourth Tchun-tsiou ‖ The fifth Li-ki * Tcheou-coum and Cham-tcho * It is just 4392 years * Thee is a corrupt word of the Province of Fokien it must be called Tçha it is the term of the Mandarin Language * Kiou-tchien Kiou-pé Kiou-ché Kiou * Ta-fou * cam-vam * This Emperor dyed 1753 years before the birth of Iesus Christ and the seven years of scarcity according to the Scripture happen'd 1743 years before the same birth * Cham y. * Ki●ou-Kiou●Chan * After our Saviour * Tien-tchu signifies Lord of Heaven Cham-ti Sovereign Emperor * An Idols Temple * Iehovah * Chinkio * 1631. * Ier. 1.10 * The Reverend Father de Lionissa † Mo●s Maigrot and Monsieur Pin. * Father Spinola died by the way * Barnaby Theonvil Nivart † Rochette le Blanc Serlu Daudy * Psal. cxix * This happened about the middle of August An. 1691. * Iudith chap. 9. * Psal. 73. † The Dragon i● the Emperors Arms and is adored in China