28
Letter from B. J. Bettelheim.
JAN.
nanimity, be humane and compassionate. Give up the design of stop- ping in this land; wait till wind and weather be favorable, then em- bark in the same ship, and sail back to your country. This is what I anxiously hope and look for you to do.
"An urgent petition. Táukwáng, 26th year, 4th month, 7th day (May 2d, 1846). Hiáng Yungpáu, treasurer of Chungshan fú in Lewchew.”
With this request of course we could not comply, and contented ourselves by returning a good present instead of an answer. An Ame- rican clock, one of those so elegantly and showily made, and yet so cheaply sold at Hongkong, was the greatest attraction among the whole, for at the time of our arrival we mustered a good stock of fancy things, with which our home friends—Bath and Ireland in par- ticular—had so kindly furnished us. I added a good number of bottles containing Price's aromatic spirits and oils, of which we soon perceived the grandees were extremely fond, and also a delicately wrought small silk purse, with some of the smaller English coins in it, given me by Miss Bacon, sister-in-law to Consul Alcock; to which I added every description of gold, silver, and copper coin found in my collection.
This present, partly intended for the king, and partly for the trea- surer, I insisted on personally accompanying to the office, thinking it possible to get at least into the neighborhood of the independent so- vereign of Lewchew; but after having been led a long and wearisome way, I succeeded only in being brought to what I now know to be the kung kwán, or public hall at Tumai. I was not even privileged to see the treasurer, but only his delegate, he himself having been excused on grave business. Indeed, I could easily believe, poor things, they had extraordinary affairs to attend to; for by this time, the French frigate had already sent out several engineering parties to various localities, which could not but cause the Lewchewans greatly to won- der, and perhaps to be alarmed. Far as I was from wishing this na- tion any harm, or even an apprehension of harm, I could not but feel grateful for the providential succor, we, without seeking or appealing for, derived from the presence of this man-of-war. Considering its simultaneous arrival with us, it looked somewhat as if intentionally come for our protection, and also served as a counter-irritant, engaging the brains of government, and no doubt also of their spies, on another side; and it thus unwittingly effected a diversion most favorable for us. Often have I had to acknowledge, and will always thankfully ac- knowledge, the uniform friendship and kind attentions we received from the Sabine, and later from the Victorieuse, and in general from
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.