The Sun.
London, England, 1852-06-10 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

A VOYAGE' TO CHINA. By Dr. Berncastle.
In these volumes Dr. Beracastle gives an animated
account of his eastern voyage, together with an in-
teresting and instructive description of Bombay,
the Mahratta country, Singapore, and Western
India and the Celestial Empire. Many amusing in-
cidents ere narrated of the strange customs of the va-
rious nations and tribes which the author met with in
his travels. One day, whilst examining the ruins of
a Dutch fort in the neighbourhood of False Bay,
during resid,nce at Cape Town, he perceived
ckse by at an inn, 'yclept " The Gentle Shepherd
of SAisbury Plains," having an appropriately painted
bign-board with the following inscription and
verses :
" Lif,'s but a journey, let us live well on the road,'
says the Gentle Shepherd."
Underneath which are these verses—

" Multum in pry°, pro bono publico,
Entertainment for man beast all in a row;
Lckker kost (nice victuals) as much as you please,
Excellent beds without any * * *
Nos patriam fngimus! Now we are here,
Vivamus, let us live by selling beer;
On donne a boiro eta manger ici,
Come in and try it who ever you be."
His graphic and picturesque description of the ascent
of the Table Mountain, and the account of his previ-
ous ascent of Mount Wellington at Hopart Town,
which, from its resemblance to the Table Mountain
at the Cape, is commonly called by the same name,
of which the following in an extract, are well worthy
of perusal :
" Aware of the dangers attending the enterprise, I had
fully made up my mind to undertake it, and guard
against them by proper precautions. Having kindly
been offered by the ex-sheriff, Mr. Beaumont, the ser-
vices of his servant as a guide, we started three in all—
Mr. Beaumont, jun., the servant, and myself—at noon,
expecting to reach the top before dark. We were
equipped with fowling-pieces, a telescope, and pocket-
compass (most indispensable), a tin kettle, a few kitchen
utensils, and provisions for two days.
" Our clothing was light, the heat being excessive; but
we bad reason afterwards, on reaching a colder tem-
perature, to regret not being warmer clad. The first
part of our journey was easy enough, there being a broad
footpath through a partially cleared forest for about
three miles, on leaving which the steepness increased
considerably, and we arrived at the intricate part of our
route. The track lay along a ridge, on each side of
which were deep gullies covered with tall sassafras trees,
and so thickly studded that the eye could scarcely pene-
trate them. It is here that there is most danger of
losing oneself, as it is impossible to see which way to
turn to get to Hopart Town. We pushed on for about
two miles through an almost impenetrable forest, here
called bush, consisting of gum, peppermint, oak, and
sassatras trees, of great height, many reaching from one
to ono hundred andlifty feet. Our march became much
impeded by a stubborn species of grass, breast high,
rendered still more interestins, by our guide informing
us that it abounded with snakes,j which in this country
are very venomous. . . •
" The mountain now presented an irregular appear-
ance. The stones, instead of following any sort of
order, were heaped pell-mell upon each other. They
were all nearly square, and each one detached
from the rest several tons in weight, we had to clamber
from one to the other and cling to each for our lives;
the least faux pas would have sent us rolling headlong
several hundred feet beneath. It is at this part that
many who undertake the ascent give it up, thinking it
becomes more than a joke. Here we felt that our bag-
gage was a great encumbrance, and before we got half
through our task our boots and our clothes were all in
tatters. At last we reached the top of the basaltic por-
tion of the mountain, and entered into the same kind of
bush as that we had left behind, with the exception that
our path was obstructed by quantities of large trees torn
up by the roots and lying prostrate in all directions.
Such is the force of tho hurricanes from off the moun-
tain that the roots of some of the trees torn up were
twenty feet deep. We had now accomplished three
parts of our task, it was getting dark, no incubil at-a,
and but for the cheering hope of soon obtaining water
and bivouacking round a good fire, that kept up our
spirits and renovated our energies, we could not have
completed it. Our physical strength was quite exhausted,
and had we not been tantalized by the spring that our
guide promised to find on the summit, if we could only
muster courage to reach it before dark, we would not
have stirred another inch. We came to a second ridge
of baysalt, but not so steep nor closely heaped together
as the former, so that it was comparatively easy. At this
height a very great change had taken place in the tempe-
rature, and we clearly felt that we were entering a more
rarified atmosphere; the cool air was rather favourable
to our desperate condition and enabled us to hasten our
pace. At last we saw bt fore us the clear well-defined
margin of the summit, and attained it at 8 .at,, having
been seven hours performing the ascent. The cold
here becaMe very intense, and oar great solicitude now
was about finding the spring, which to me appeared im-
possible as it is not bigger than a hand baisin.
Our guide did not despair, having often been there
before. However, after many fruitless attempts, he
began to doubt; but at last, when on the point of giving
it up, we had the good luck to fall in with it. Our joy
may be easily imagined when it is considered that we
had drunk one bottle of brandy out of sheer necessity
only to wet our parched lips, which had the effect of
rendering us still worse, by adding fuel to the flame,
and for years afterwards I had an antipathy to that
spirit, which originated entirely from this circumstance.
Having filled our kettle and bottles, we proceeded in
search of a favourable place to pass the night. The
proper way is to descend the mountain for a few hundred
yards, where the cold is less severe, but the darkness
rendered this step dangerous, so we were compelled to
remain on the top. At last we found three large square
stones, forming a partial iuclosurc. Having collected a
large quantity of fire-wood for the night, we lighted a
large bonfire, and set about cooking our provisions."

After giving the reader a history of the Mahratta
tribes, and a description of the inland country, and
a full account of Bombay, its defences, the military,
the hospitals, Ste., Dr. Berncastle conducts him
through the Straits of Malacca to Singapore, and
thence to the Celestial empire, into which he gives him
an insight as far as the Chinamen will allow, and
gives a long account of the depredations of the
Chinese pirates, and the apathy of the Chinese Govern-
ment
with regard to their suppression. Lie describes
the celebrated edible birdanest, which is considered
such a luxury, and is found in Java, Sumatra,
and in most of the rocky islets of the Indian Archi-
pelago. It is the nest of a small swallow, and is
composed of a mucilaginous substance resembling ill-
concocted fibrous isinglass. The method of procuring
these nests is not unattended with danger, the caves
in which they are found being sometimes many
hundred feet down the perpendicular side of the rock,
which are reached by ladders of bamboo and rattan,
over a sea rolling violently against the rock. After
the nests are obtained they are carefully separated
from feathers and dirt, are dried and packed, and are
then fit for market. The white or best quality com-
mands an extravagant price, costing four thousand
dollars per parcel (about one hundred and thirty-three
pounds avoirdupois), which is nearly twice their
weight in silver. On the author's visit to Macao, be-
longing to the Portuguese, he remarks :
" One of the most remarkable things in Macao is the
Cave or rather Grotto of Camoens, where that celebrated
man wrote the greater part of the Luciade.' It is situ-
ated in the middle of an opulent Portuguese domain, is
taken great care of, and is surmounted by a bust of the
poet, the rocks being covered with suitable inscriptions
and verses to his memory. The owner allows free ac-
cess to all visitors to the cave, which is by tar the most
interesting spot in Macao."
Although from the title one might be led to believe
that this work is bat a narrative of a voyage, it is in
reality a very useful and amusing history of nearly
all the important stations from Europe to China.

ROYAL MARlNES.—Woomvicn, JUNE B.—Eleven
volunteers from the Woolwich division, and sixteen from the
Chatham division, will leave Woolwich to-morrow tor Ports-
mouth to join the artillery companies. One corporal from
Chatham to act as schoolmaster, and six privates from the
oolwich division, vohmteers, are to embark in the David
Malcolm freight ship,,ldr service at the Island of Ascension.
Lieutenant Delacombe will take charge of the volunteers for
the artillery companies to Portsmouth.

dioramicUGEitronD BAZAAR.--The
veryFAelxLtUe
nEsEi v
elDbFa z
aTartrEandll
re-
cently erected out of the old fish-market exhibiting theatre,
Suspension-bridge, has, after several ineffectualat the Hungerford
keep it going, turned out to be a completefailure, attempts to
place is now shut up, the large dioramas, with a and the
all their ma-
chinery, arc advertised to be sold, under the hammer,
few days. There was a report some time since, that the
in a
matter had pasted into the hands of an English proprietary,
who were about to open the place again, under mor attrac-
tive a
tive arfangemente, but the announcement seems to have
been premature, as there is not the least sign of animation
about the building. There must have been a considerable
sum of money lost by the speculation, for, after the throng
of e Great Exhibition passed from the metropolis, this
new edition of the Lowther Arcade soon became deserted and
tenantless.
The accounts of the country trade throughout the
past week :fate that business has been considerably
interrupted by the holidays, which, owing to the in-
creasing prosperity of the people, have. never been
more generally kept, or been attended math a
er greater
amount of rational enjoyment. At lanchest prices
continue firm, and transactions have been chiefly
ill connexion will the home demand. At Birmingham there has been little the railway
work of any hind, and •
ex-
cursion trains hav fl, The sales of iron
are large, and reaped heavy pro ~..
In the woollenc.luotations show a further improvement. , GERMAN Y.
pears to be madiaieripr.icts the revival of confidence ap- ,
.A letter from Vienna, of the 2d inst ,
Ports of both the tried. From Nottingham the re- ,
" The ordinance on the press just promulgated,.says :—
more satisfactory than " and hosiery departments
emu f • , t t li. h-
from the United Staten those last received, and the oreers taints en‘tc, men s w ;c ar© less severe than were ex.
are extensive. -11 Che liberty
ket has been rather less active. The Irish linen mar- pentt • of the presa is subjected to some
' gration to Australia is felt in all The impulse towards emi- restrictions. Copies of thejournals must be deposited
the departures, which are numerous of the kingdom, and
were it not for the want of hands at 1 would be much
in the hands of the authorities one hour before their
greater ~,: ;
nu, liCat,OD, and for works, three days previous. The
facility 0 otAilli" topiquieut. hours and the consequent , r`j deliv
I Goverucaeut wit eX pep:4Bo2a for tie sole