The National Register. — London, England, 1817-11-10 00:00:00

aide, singing weir usual boat-son‘ which had a very plain tive and pleasing effect. The island of Lechew Is about sixty miles long and twen • to broad ; Napa Kiang, our position,) and within live miles of Kint citing, the capital, lying in tat hides. I t min. N., long. 127 deg. 52 min. I see. E. This is its somh-west, point, the main body sit the island extending from hence north, a little east* ly. It is the princill island of a group of thirty - six, sulice• to the saute llloll4lT - E, and the seat le the government. The illative,. wire their history back to a period long anterior to the Christian era; but their first communication with the rest of the world. when their accounts became fully corroborated and undisputed, was about the ray btri,, when they were invaded by China, who found them at that time—a time when England and the great pant of Europe were immersed in bar b tram —the same kind of people they are at the present day, with the exception of a few Chinese innovations ; or, at least they appear to have altered but in a very slight degree. In. deed, it is very obvious that a revolution in manners, and al. tergjion in habits, are by no means so likely to occur it ith a peditle thus living in an (shone and secluded state, as among those who have a wider intercom, e with other nations. The Italy connexion a hillitneLew chests have had w lib their neigh bours, and that but very limited, has been with Japan and China, from neither of whom they were likely to receive any ezamp!e of change." - - - • • •• " The dress of these people is as remarkable for its simpli ei:y as for its elegance. The hair, which is of a glossy black, being anointed with an oloagenons sub-ranee, mitained from the leaf of a tree, is tamed up from b-fore ' from behind, and on both sides. to the crown of the ho ul, and there tied close down ; great care being taken that all should be perfectly smooth, and the part of the hair beyond the fastening, or shrine, tieing now twisted into a neat little top-knot, is time retained by two fasteners, called " camesashee" and " usisa. shee," matle either of gold, silver, or brass, according to the circumstances of the wearer ; the homer of these having a little star on the end of it, which points forward. This mode of hair-dressing is practised with the greatest uniformity, from the highest to the lowest of the males, And has a very pleasing effect, whether viewed singly, or when they are gathered together. At the age of ten years the boys are en titled to the " usisashee," and at fifteen they wear both.— Except those, in office, who wear only a cap on duty, they appear to has e no covering for the head, at least in tine wea ther. Interiorly they wear a kind of shirt, and a pair of drawers, but over all a loose robe, with wide sleeves, anda broad sash rinind their middle. Th , y have sandals on their feet, neatly tOrmed of straw ; and the higher orders have also white gaiters, coming above tic dock. The quality Of their robes depends on that ante imlividual. The superior classes Weill silk of various hues, %do a sash of contrasting colour, sometimes interwoven with gold. —The lower orders male use Of a sort of cotton shill, gellVt ally of a chesemt colour, sad sometimes striped, or spotted, blue and white." " (fa the female attire we timid make but little observa tion. The higher ranks are said to wear, and indeed some were seen with, simply a loose flowing robe, without any sash; the hair either hanging louse over the shouldiers, or tied up over the kit side of the head, the ends falling down again. The lower orders seemed to have petticoats scarcely deeper than a Highlander's kilt. with a short, but loose ha bit above.' " Natore has been bountiful in all her gifts to liewchew for such is the felicity of its soil and climate, that productions of the vegetable kingdom, very distinct in their nature, and generally found in regions far distant from each other, grow hear side by side. It is nut merely, as might be Clpeeled, the country of the orange and the lime; but the banyan of Indian anti the Norwegian fir, the tea Thud. 01141 ill flottri.li together. Li addition to many good qualities, not rifted thund coml • -el, this island eau also boast its elvers and Seem e harbours; arid List, though not least, u worthy, a • friendly, and a happy 1 . 0(.0 Of people. " Many of these i.landets efsplayeil a spirit of intelligence anti genius, winch m*o l l ll4l the' 1111 l Exit - n(0'110a, y, consider ing the confuted Circle in a Melt they live ; such confinement hieing almost universa4• found to be productive o f narrow , nes' of mitiel. Our Emmas here mew an esception to the . general role. - Madera. Cieyong, one of our most constant and intimate friends, neglnnlf such proficiency in the English the ceriuse of a few weeks, as to make himself tole-idiot) node' loud. lie es idently came on board, in the St , as a spy mom out conduct, he rote they were satisfied that we meatii nu harm; and im 01.111 54 . 4. 1 . eser bet ter atapted for this duty f for his conciliator! and .pleasing manner o 011 upon all hearts, he had klieriekui e a main al access every where, and bad " stiaiagems ur seliems" existed, he of all others was Ilic.inust likely person to have discovered them. " His not assn fling his proper character, which was that of a manr of sonic distinction, until his nitwit w as ttAieti about us, and his then doing it with frankness, is a prooli hat such wore Its original motives. To acquit - e our tongue, be marked the sound of any English word for the trust familiar :uncles of the taint. ur (1.1'111.1 of conversati 1111 l and noted them in symbols of iii 6 own line.oiage, with Own . signified:mu, offich enabled him, with slight reference to his. vocabulary, to ma nage with t leaving recourse to the interpreter. If he hap pened 111 he walking on slime with any of the officers, he would loot lose the sound or me, gof a weird because lie hail nut his hunk w itli him, but scratched it ou the leaf of a tiee, and transcribed it at his leisure. His first attempt to unm -et smartie'. was rather sualdou and unexpected:— Bast lig ill g , i no ay one erelong after his usual lesson, Ise slow iy MA 11'111.0E11, " 1 011 give Inc good wine,--1 tank you,--1 go allot lie delighted in receiving inffirmatiots, and his te. mai ks seers• always pertinent. The map of the world, with the traei, 01 the shill h out Eoglaud to Lewchew, was pointed ont .aiiiaiiiied to him, which he, as well as others, secon to trace with peculiar care, and at last, in a great degree, to comp. clienet, although the subject was, lit the first instance, entirely lira to them, fur they et rtaiiily had 110 idea of the Vast extent or figure of the. globe. Ile was gay or serious, as occasion required, but W 45 always respectable ; and of Ma. dtra it might be truly said, that lie was a gentleman, not, formed upoii this model, or according to that rule, but' ‘• stamped as 5111.11 by the sovereign bawl of Natut e." " they all Nt . 1!111t - ti to be gilled with a sort of politeness which had toe fattest Claim to be termed natural; for diet-t -wat notkiiig coaitrained, *minim; slid or studied to it. • Capra 1 alaswell Laving one day iiivited a patty to dine , with him, the he ilth of the King of Li-welters was drank nit a b 0121.4 r . of taeat, immediately addressilia iti i din t in, hog to the interpretet min to sidle how notch they fell grddied by such a t:111111111111Vlit 11241 lit V a1,2::1 lake care to testi it to ever, body w lan they mein On shore ; and proposed, at the saute time, a buttiker to the ikiag of th?. Ltriefecs." • .4 THE NitTIONAL REGISTER One of the sailors died here, and was interred in a small burial-ground near the landing place ; the na tives put on their mourning (white robes with black or blue sashes) and attended the procession to the grave ; and an inseriptien having been drawn on a stone with indian ink, they managed to cut it out in a very tolerable manner, and placed it at the head of the grave, and the next day their prie►ts performed their own funeral service over it. A few days previous to quit ting Lewchew, a person of high distinction (said to be heir to the crown) visited the Aleeste in great state. " He was above the usual size of the Lewehewa, and bad rather more of an European countenance. His robe was of a dark pink coloured silk, the cap rather lighter, with bright yellow flowers on it. In Iris mien and deportment 'Abele was much dignified simplicity; for, although his carriage was that of a man °filial' rank, it was totally unmixed with the least appearance of hauteur ; and his demeanour was, altogether, extremely . engaging. " As he passed along the decks, his own people saluted him by ktieelinv; clasping the hands before their breasts and bossing the head. He examined miuttcly every thing about the ship, and seemed equally pleased and surprised ailh all he sa w. tier joining in a sumptuous collation is the cabin, he took his leave with the same hononrs as when he came on board, has ing previously invited the captain and officers to on entertainment on shore. The day appointed tar this feast happening to be the 2:stii of October, the anniversary of our venerable Sovereign's accession to the throne, a royal salute was tired, at suu.rise, try both ships : at noon the standat d was hoisted, the ships dressed in colours, mid another salute tired ; af.er which the boats, with their flags flying, containing the captains and every oftiner that could puasibly be spared, proceeded into Napa-kiang. " Thr y a ire received precisely as ou the former occasion, except that the number of grandees was greater, and there , appeared a higher degree of state. The prince received' the party at the gate, and conducted them into the ball. TI ree tables acre laid close to each miler, the first ibr the " great man" and the captains, the second for the superior officers, and the third for time young gentlemen. This prince, or chief, I did the humors of his own table, occasionally directing his attention to the others ; but a man of some rank was added toe ach of them, for the purpose of seeing the strangers pro perly treated, as well as to pass and proclaim the toasts ; mid tire this ;impose they were allowed to be seated, all the rest standing round the room, but, at the r' ii-se Vine, joining heartily in the general mirth and glee. The health, of our King and Royal Family were toasted with much respect, and the a 111 l ixersary of his Majesty's accession was a day of real jubilee at Naputiat. The sovereign of Lewchew, the queen and princes, were proposed by our party; whilst they (never deficient in politeness) toasted the wives and childrut oh their It lends, the Engelees." " As the boats shoved oft from the landing place, the crews gave them three cheers, wind) they returned in their own style of salutation. They had sent oft board the ship a great number of cottoned raper lanterns, tor the purpose of Multi listing her at night, iv honour of our King. This was done after dark, the lanterns being regularly auiged along the yards and rig ging. the main deck ports illuminate], sky rockets thrown up, and blue lights burnt at the yard arms, bowsprit, and spanker-boon) ends, reu-dc-joierif muwptetry, thrice repeated round the ship. The whole had a very brilliant effect twin the shore, where thousands of the natives had oolleetod to view the scene. About this time the bout. swain's wife of the Alceste, who had Wen a good deal an shore, and was much noticed by the higher class of natives, had a splendid pro ms:it mule, by a deputation from some great man, toremain IX lend, a grand house to live in, and all manner 111 finery and attentions: great ofli is. were also made to the btaitswain to induce him to comply anti this bargain; but (after two dap' consideration) the negoeia tam 14 as broken off on the part oldie husband, who refusel to part with her. These proposals most likoh ume from the king, for it is not probable that any subject could ha:'c entered intuit treaty of this cwt." Nothing i;oulti be more. kind - or more friendly than the. conduct s? ' these people, when the ships were aboat to quit the island. On the morning of the '27th of October, as they unmoored, the inhabitants appeared drest in their Lest attire, and made otkrings to their Gods, u s their temple, beseechiug them to protect the Emac4vs, and restore them in safety to their native land. hen this ceremony was completed, those with Meer; the Captain and otLers had been most timelier •' crowd ed on board to shake hands and say farewell ! whilst the tears which many of them shed s‘inectl the sincerity of their .attaehumnt ; at the ships got under way, they .lingered along side in their canoes, displaying every sign of atfectionate regard." Did our limits permit, we should give a few umre extracts, particularly from that part which describes the proceedings of thc.crew or the desert island of Palo Lem oiler the Ship►vreck of the Alceste in the Straits of ( ;aspar ;—the volume, however, is not of high-price; anal we recommend its entire perusal to our readers.— One circumstance, we cannot pass over un-noticed, namely the discovery of.a human skeleton in the woods of the island by a liarty,of the crew in searching thr water : " the horrid idea," says Mr. M'Leod, " of his having died from thirst rushed on every mind."—The idea was certainly irresistible, and ►dust, till they were so fortan►ate as to discover water. have added, not a little to their anxieties and the fears of every one for his future fate who shall say that this was nut the skeleton of one solitary being who had es caped from a wreck upon the very same rock on which the Alceste struck ?—We arc told . by Mr. NVl.eod that had the vessel floated again after she struck, she must instantly have gone down, since it was deep water all around, and every soul, in all probability, would have perished. Is it too much then to suppose, that on this fatal reef, some of those Will ships had first struck and then sunk, whose loss is all that has hithertv, been aseettained respecting then' it is hardly possi ble, that the Alceste should have been the first ship to run upon these rocks : if sl►e was, her loss, and the pre s••rvation of the whole of her crew, ►uav be hailed as an interposition of Providence in pointing out another of those hidden dangers which lie in the hack of our Eastern navies. NOV 10 ROYAL VISIT TO BATH. BATH, Nov. 3.—The Queen and the Princess Eli. zabetli, attended by a numerous retinue, arrived at five o'clock this evening, et the spacious and elegant houses in Sydney-place, prepared fiir their reception. It is impossible to describe the scene of bustle and confusion which this town presented from an early hour this morning. A relay of horses from York-house, the post-boys attired in most superb dresses, proceeded to ltotfurd to conduct the Royal Visitors to their destina tion. The road from the city to that town was crowded with people of every description, since 10 o'clock this morning, and flags might be seen flying in every direction. Preparations having been made for a general illumination, the whole city now presents a blaze of light. Great Pulteny-street, at the end of which is her Majesty's residence, surpasses all the rest in brilliancy. The most judicious arrangements of the police having been made, to prevent any accident titan the pressure of the crowd, and to ensure tho proper respect and decorum due to the illustrious visit ors. A large party of the censtables having been sta tioned in the vicinity of the 'loyal residence, dressed in scarlet and blue, and gold lace. Detachments of the 38th regiment mid 15th dragoons are also on duty. At a quarter before six o'clock, his Royal High ness the Duke of Clarence arrived, and afterwards c:ined with his Royal Mother and Sister. LOSS OF THE 117LLIAM AND MARY. [Further particulars lion' the Bristol Mirror of Saturday senuight.] The conduct of the Mate is universally reprobate d. It is quite clear from what has already transpired, that by lak grt ss ignorance and culpable neglect Of ditty, the live, 1/i . 33 per. sons were sacrificed. It is probable that the sailors viiiald have acted very differently, ft the mate had set them the ex ample. A %OTHER AC COUNT. 'f Cardiff, Oct. 27.--The melancholy catastrophe that has * just occurred within a few miles of this place, in the loss of a par kit trim Bristol to Waterford, with so many valuable lives on board, demands the most serious consideration of every reflecting mind. "'Tut a vessel solely employed in the conveyance of pas mme, s to and from Bristol to Ireland, should, on such a night as 1 litir,olay last, the wind a gentle breeze from E.N. E. the moon at full, the night, nearly As clear as the day .shish pre. seeded it, become u wreck within four hours after her de parture from Kingroad, and between Zoll and 40 unfortunate iudiviJuals hurried to a watry grave, seems almost incredi. blc ; yet such is the lamentable fact; and the public will naturally feel anxious to learn the causes which could produce mirth dreadful conseoplences in detailing which the heart , sickens at the knowledge, that to the most flap a l it ;111(1 dis. g aeau I conduct of one in command, to whose care the Ikea of all on board were intrusted, the whole is to he attributed. .• The hollowing account is given by one of the pa:onto:gen saved, and who, with several others, are waiting the assis. lane , which a subscription now carrying on here is intended to atiord them . He inhirms us, there was a gentleman's homily uu [maid, having a carriage belonging to them, whisk via. lashed to the deck,,,- that about eleven o'clock, the wea ther being so 1:1%1111141)11', the Captain retired below, leasing die vessel in charge of the mate; that he observed this fellow previously romping and playing with a girl on board, and that very soon after the Captain omitted the deck, this Aida. dotted wretch gave up the helm to one of the sailors, and (at the time the narrator was going below) was endeavouring to foree the girl into the carriage, in which it appe.rs he stir. retired, and shortly after the vessel struck upon a tuck, call( the W °lves, a little to the N. W. of the Flat Holmes. The inforatind Immediately hastened upon deck, and saw the Mate and three sailors in possession of the boat (stater for ring from its guimel a holy, whose hualmad, an officer in !ine at my, had sireceeded in putting her in. and sir consequence v. as drowned) and alio made oil fur the land. The number saved, about 13 (exclusive of the crew be fore mem ioued), secured theunielves in the ri2ging, t;11 t: ken oil in about two hours afterwards, by the boats frt, tt th, • ,;tre; 411 the rest, including the Captain, went dont) in the Sach,Bir, is the dreadful (to ail. "The Mate, I imeorstatid, is gone to Bristol, not d it ing to meet the reproaches which would await bin, so near , retie of his 11161111 V and cowas dice ; yet I cannot but liiipe that the Society of Merchant Venturers in your city will tats some steps to bring, it possible, such a wretch to exrniphti y pu nishment , and take into consideration what means can best be adopted to prevent, as tar as can he effect e d, the recur rence of such dreadful accidents in future ; to attain which, 1 will just venture to suggest, whether it might not he pro• molest, by establishing in the large maritinie ph llrei of the country, a court of experienced naval men, who •huuld ex amine ali candidates for the continaml int merchant ships, " I am Sir, v our übtoiient survanr, `• S %Ml_ •.L IiEtNI:IIEN." The I , alifax pt.pers to the 10th Sept., just recciv.d, state the me lancholy fact, that the ship Lantaro, Captain Ike,itanin Mathews, bound from Greenrx-k nor t harleston, with a crew of 14 persons, in cluding the captain, 4 cabin pa-sengers, and 29 nien, women. and children, in the steerage, foundcr,tl at sea on the 10th Sept. of these 27 perished. The others, including the captain, were picked up by the Jessie, bound from Ihunfries to St. Andrew's, and carried into Halifax. Among the sufferers were 13 relatives of Mr. Black, clerk in a commercial house in c a bi n p",,,,engcte saved.-31essrs..linsley Hall, Wm. Hall, Wit. Weston, and John C. Ross. Steerage l'assettgers.—Mesrs. Duncan Darmek, J. 31`Euchern, Thos. 31• Gregor, and Peter Gaines. Benjamin 31amt ws, master; Hugh I.iyinfrton, John Smith, 1,4 t. and ttl mates; John Evans, carpenter; William Morgan, stcwant ; John Polhinick, John Picknel, JaintsClarke, James Smart, John II ii ; g!ris, seamen; John Bernard, Hector 11 . 1'herson, apprentieea.— Total, 2.4 k Loss in the ship--Pake,m;; , rs.-1.. 31•Ncil, wife, and two chil dren; .lirchiltald M'lhmald, wife and 5 children; 31r. Black and wife ; II mom hi, mother, and sister ; Dor aid Campbell, his lather, mother, mint sisrer ;—sinith and wire; Ihir.can. . hr. Mur ray, anti 011 e 111:111, 1111110 unknown; Ellison Cuter, cook; W. Bradbury, sem:in.—Total, 27 per: on. The captain Lud ti of the a. - auuea w.re put ou board a schoonc for flu of I J.; jug ant per )101 Fu. TllOl Ball per if the au di! pri aft, Sou ill' 4/Lit s4ll and Stu the :in bun pia LUII and S.:11