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

ETERATU RE.

A VOYAGE TO CHINA. Ey Dr. Berncastle.
In these volumes Dr. BerocaBtle gives an animated
account of his eastern vo:yi..Ye, together with an in-
teresting and instructive description of Bombay,
the Mabratta country, Singapore, and Western
India end the Celestial Empire. Many amusing in-
cidents are narrated of the strange customs of the va-
rious nations end tribes which the author wet with in
his travels. One day, whilst examining the ruins .of:
a Dutch fort in the neighbaurhood of False Bay,
during his residence at Cane Town, be perceived
close by at an inn, 'yelept ‘." The Gentle Shepherd
of Salisbury Plains," having an appropriately painted
sign-board with the following., inscription 'and
verses : ,
" i Life's but a journey, let esliVe well.
ulys the Gentle Shepherd on the road,'
."
Underneath which are these verses-7

" Multurn in parvo, pro bouo-publico,
Entertainment for men beast all in a row;
Leldcer host (nice victuals) as much as you please,
Excellent bed; without any
Nos patriam fugimus! Now we are here,
Vivawus, let us live by selling beer;
On donne a boire eta manger lei,
Come in and try it who ever you be."
Ills graphic and pio.!uresque description of the ascent
of the Table Mountain, end the account of his previ-
ous ascent of Mount Wellington at liopart 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, steestarted 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 tic kettle, a few kitchen
utensils, and provisions for two days.
" Our clothing was light, the heat being excessive; but
we had 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
tarn 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
sassafras trees, of great height, many reaching from one
to one hundred and fifty feet. Oar march became much
impeded by a stubborn species of grass, breast high,
rendered still more iaterestiet; by our guide informing
us that it abounded with snakes, 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 ono 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 leastfaux pas would have sent us rolling headlong
several hundred feet beneath. It is at this part that
many who undertake the accent 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 tho 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 the 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, noic atra,
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 to 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 wo clearly felt that we were entering a mere
ratified atmosphere; the cool air was rather favourable
to our desperate condition and enabled us to hasten our
pace. At last we saw before us the clear well-defined
margin of the summit, and attained it at 8 roue having
been seven hours performing the ascent. Thu cold
here became very intense, and our great solicitude now
was about finding the spring, which to me appeared im-
possible as it is not bigger than a haw 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 fell in within Our joy
may he 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 largo square
stones, forming a partial inclosure. 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, &c., 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. He describes
the celebrated edible birdenest, 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 cf Camoens, where that celebrated
man wrote the greater part of the Luciade.' his 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 far the mort
interesting spot in Macao."
Although from the title one might be led to believe
that this work is but a narrative of a voyage, it is in
reality a very useful and amusing history of nearly
all the important aLLtions from Europe to China.

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

--- -
FAILUHE OF THE HIINGERFORD BAZAAR.--The
e
1, 7 extensive bazaar and dioramic exhibiting theatre, re-
cently erected out of the old fish-market at the Ilungerford
withth eall
hammer,their
aSuspension-bridLlhdaso,utafttuer
bseevaercaol
minieleetcetfuaaillaaret,teamnpdtsthtoe
keep it going,
shut
labregesodlicoi,raumndaes.r,.
ma-
chinery, are ..
place is now
had passed into
matter main, under more attrac-
Tb ere was
the
ereipitionr report
ssoofmaen time since, that
otrliaraiettatr3ll
edverutpi:etdhteo
fwe,whodwayesr.e
, t. but the announcement seems to have
five ariaueemen -,
there is not theleast
sign of animation
been orernaturc, as
must have been a considerable
about to open the place
about the building. There
i the metropolis, this
paged troll
of the Great Exhibition pa—
,
new edition of the Lowther
sum of money lost by the speculation, for, after the throng
tenantless.
The accounts of the country trade throug,
.
Arcade soon became deslelretuetd andthe
past week state that business has beer! to the in-
interrupted by the, Holidays, which, owing
never been
have nev creasing prosperity of the people, , a greater
considerably
more generally kept, or been atteded with
amoupt 'of rational enjoyment. At Blanchester prices
alai continue firm, and transactions have been Y
in connexion with the home demand. At Birmingham 1
there Ims been little -work of any kind, and the railway ex-
cursion trains have reaped h
heavy profits. The sales of iron
are large, and quotations show a further improvement.
In the woollen, districts the revival of confidence ap-
pears to be maintained. From Nottingham the re-
ports of both the lace and hosiery departments are
more satisfactory than those last received, and the orders
from the United Sates are extensive. The Irish linen mar-
ket has been rather less active. The impulse towards emi-
gration to Australia is felt in all parts of the kingdom, and
the departures, which are numerous would be much greater
were it not for the want of hands at 1391119 and the consequent
, 0
facility OtAining employment,