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Reminiscences of Chusan.
SEP.
general agreement, a cow was boo. When the camp-followers went to buy a fowl, they called out cackle! cackle! and cocks and hems went henceforth under the name of kake; a goose for the same rea- son was called wak; and a duck, kwak; and so on, with all articles in common use; There were moreover many Hindostanee and En- glish words, so much abridged, that they would have puzzled even Adelung; but still they were intelligible to all concerned. Behold then a lingua franca, springing up of its own accord, curious in its structure, wonderful in its grammatical bearing, and still highly use. ful to both parties. Any new comer, who at first heard the parlance of the market, laughed outright, especially when he was addressed by the title of foke, which had become the general appellation of all strangers, but when he perceived how easily business might be tran- sacted in this new dialect, which claimed affinity with the lan- guages of both Asia and Europe, and was neither polysyllabic nor monosyllabic, he very soon put on a serious face, and thought it al- most as euphonic as Greek or Italian.
Whilst our soldiers rapidly recovered during the cold weather, confidence between the strangers and the natives was daily gaining ground. The Chinese now discovered, that it was their interest to abide by their new masters, for they had tolak and loopee, while the foreigners were only too glad to keep them in good humor, lest pro- visions might fail. But for fear of the Chinese authorities, who kept the people from bringing teas and raw silk, Tinghae would have far- uished: these goods to our shipping; but as it was, none but pedlars made their appearance, though some very respectable houses at Ningpo sent over agents to test the market.
A few words here respecting our magistracy. At first difficulties were experienced in regard to penal punishments, for according to the manifesto promulgated, the Chinese law ought to have prevailed; but had this been strictly followed up to the letter, many poor fellows must bave lost their lives. As matters were, however, the culprits were generally urged to repentance by blows and imprisonment, and by the loss of their tails if they were felons.
During autumn and winter the legal and magisterial authorities made more frequent visits into the country, and a kind of government was thus established. The jarring elements would very soon have been reduced to order, and already good effects began to appear in various parts of the island. Order began to prevail in the valleys; the disaffected had in a few instances been severely punished; and there was no wish for new scenes of riot. Chusan in a little time would