The Sun.
London, England, 1858-05-10 00:00:00

fate with dignity. Yeh was not equal to this. 11. e Inflexible. Yeli'e retinue consists of a cook,
a bar-
shook, he made gestures of sulimissien, he denied her, two waiting servants, and a military attendant.
his identity, he would have fallen had not Captain This last-person was with our usual absurd practice
Key held him up. , n the presence of the Admirals of dignifying Chinamen with European titles called
his fright was ill-conceded by an assemp ion of im- an aide-deacamp. Heis a military Mandarin of the
prudence. When Captain Hall took him on board 'sixtledegree. He is also a dirty fellow, doing me-
the Inflexible he trembled violently as he went up nial offices about the person of his chief,- and mess-
the ladder, and when on board he eagerly inquired hog with the other servants upon the meats that go
whether he was to be put to death. As soon as he from his master's table. If he were an Englishman
had asset teined that it was not our custom to kill we should call him at best a soldier servant, or an
our prisoners he Seemed -quite contented. As he orderly. ..
hid previously coustdered his death certain, so be After Yeh had manifested his acquaintance with
now became c tnYinced ;of his absolute security. entomology, the " aide-de-cemp" and the domestics
During all these early scenes, however much he were compelled to wash, and some strong hints were
suffered from the infirm:ty of bodily fear, his arro- thrown out to their master. The washing was
since never, after the first moment, forsook him. grumbled at as a tyranny, and the hints were thrown
I have in a former letter related he; behaviour to away ; -so nothine was left but to hope almost
the Admiral when interrogated by him as to the against hope that the Mandarin himself is free from
fate of Cooper and oth'er European captives. This, vermin, • and to continue to scrub the attendants.
however, was the ka evidence of despair. When The southern Chinese are for the most part 'of
Capt. Hall took him off in his boat he refused to cleanly habits; but the northerns are dirty. • Yell is
sit by his side in the stern sheets, but squatted on from Hupeh, which is one of the five northern pro-
the thwart opposite, thereby rendering it necessary vinces.
to lay in the No. 8 oar, but still not avoiding fre- Yeh sleeps in a recessin the captailfscabin, which
quent dig* in the back from the knuckles of the he prefers to a separate sleeping berth. He goes
No. 7 oarsman. . to bed about 8 o'clock, and while we are reading see
As aeon as he became composed on board the In- writing, or playing chess, he sleeps the sleep of in-
flexible he took up those childish tricks which have fancy—an utiles, tken slumber, apparently undis-
sometimes embarrassed our diplomatists by 'their . turbed by visions of widowed women. or wailing-,
simple impudence. He had come to the ship solely orphans. This man-killer, after slaying his huir-
to see Lord Elgin, and wonde.red he had not kept died thousand huniurbeings, enjoys sweeter eleep
his appointment. He had determined not to wait than au innocent Lendon alderman after a tur le
for him much longer. He refused his autograph dinner. So false are traditions ;s , false are the
when Sir J his Bowring, with doubtful taste, remorseful scenes of Greek and Roman and English
asked him for it, because he said it was impossibfe tragedies.
to write an indifferent sentence in Chinese—every But, . although our great Mandarin is at peace
word can be distorted to some bidden meaning. . with his own Chinese conscience, he has an evident
The Chinese Minister evidently believed that we i horror of his living . countrymen. He has "lost
considered him still as a person from whom a treaty . face" with them, and.the greatest fear he has is the
might be obtained, and be was prepared to make a 1 being made an exhibition to a Chinese rabble. We
good diplomatic fight. were malicious enough to •ask whether he would
At first he treated Mr. Alabaster, the interpre- like to go to Hongkong. He answered, just as
ter appointed to attend him, with. inffnite rudeness the father of a serious family might answer, that it
and contempt. He was magnificent and theatrical
in his answer to Lord Elgin's message commune- rnaecveesr. had been theecusteun ot. his. family to go to
a. He - The day before we started many curious people
eating to him that he was to go to Calcutt
refused all conversation, telling Mr. Alabaster that came off to see him, and Yeh became very sulky.
Sir .John Bowling got very little out of his inter-
he knew he was a spy put over him to report all he
might say. Mr. Alabaster, of course, replied that view. He did not even reciprocate Sir John's com-
he was not a spy, but a public servant ;and that
pliment of asking him his age, and when Sir John
Yeh, himself a great officer, must know that it was
his duty to report to his superiors. In one of the asked whether he could do anything for him, Yeh
only remarked that
earliest interviews I had with him I was careful to . Mr. Alabaster was there, and
make him understand the functions which I was he would tell him. The Admiral was present at
the same time. Yeh is very fond of the Admiral and
spoke to him with more cordiali,y. The B
discharging. Mr. Alabaster exhibited to him a copy
of the Times, at the size whereof he seemed greatly the of
Victoria also sought an interview, not wishing how
astonished. I told him that the learned men of the ever, to be introduced to him by his official title,
lest he should be thought to be paying 100 much
Western World 'were much perplexed upon ques-
tions of Chinese government and philosophy, and
that Ishould consider myself fortunate if he thought respect to such a man. The fear was ungrounded,
for the Chinaman knows nothing of epi-Copal rank,
fit through me to inform them upon these subjects. and if there is any profession fur which a proud
At this time his reply was usually either a grout or
Chinese literate entertains a supreme contempt, it
a grin ;he answered my appeal with a grunt. is for that of the priesthood of alt faiths, Bhuddist
This uncomfortable state of suspicion gave way emphatically included.
under the judicious treatment of the high authori- On Monday, the 23d of February, the Inflexible
ties. When he found that Lord Elgin took no notice
steamed out of Hong Kong harbour, audYeh might
se of him, unless to send curt messages inquiring after if he had pleased, have taken his last look for some
his personal comfort—when he saw that, while
time of the shores of his native land. If he felt any
treating him with all respect, and doing all be
could for his convenience, Captain Brooker paid no of the bitterness of exile he was successful in con
—cealiug it, for he was entirely occupied in smoking
(From did Times' Correspondent.) attention to where he s st, or what he wore, or how 1 his pipe and settling himself comfortably. A few
CALCUTTA RIVER, MARCH 17. he demeaned himself—when he discovered that no
g. he gradually relaxed. I think that before we left minutes after and we had rounded the green island
I told you in my last letter from Hongkong that I one wished to make him sign any treaty, or to ques- and the steamer danced tothe piping of the strong
intended to accompanyYeli to his place of captivity. tion him upontopicswhich he declined reenter upon, north-west monsoon. I was ou deck watching the
I cannot tell whether the public mind of En familiar objects of the harbour as they receded, and
land will take such interest in this man Yeh as I Hong Kong he had recogresed his true position, and . thinking regretfully that some friendships which I
have taken. I have caught at the opportunity of beacon vinced him-elf that the treat msnt he received meet valued there had been dimmed by the strong
accompanying him in this voyage as a chance of was only the respect accorded to a prisoner of high line I had felt it my duty to take upon some public
Chinese character which has never before rank, whose power for good or for evil had passed questions when sounds cams through the cabin
away. He gave up playing the high Mandarin; skylight '
studyinglike
the strains and groans of Etna. The
happened, and which may not soon recur.
Hitherto we have been told, and truly told, that conversed with affability upen indifferent subjects, pipe and the little cakes, flavoured potently with
we cannot judge the ruling class of Chinese from preferred a request for a daily ration of six pounds Pork tat, even the frequent thimblefuls of samshu,
the Coolies, the compradors, and the traders with of fresh pork, presented a portion of his stock of had been unavailing to fortify the great stomach of
whom we are brought into contact, nor from the oranges to the Ward-room mess, and begged to be the great Mande ' The ' ann. " aide-de-camp" was in-
whom for a full supply of Chinese tobacco.en
half educated " theachers" who are retained allowed to send capable of aid ;the servants and the 'cook had crept
Up to this time the only occasions upon which he into corners to die. Poor Captain Brooker's cabin
upon a scanty pittance by our sinologues, nor .
manifested any vivacity were upon discussions as to was in an awful state.
from the occasional interviews we have had with
his food. His Chinese cook was sent for, and' ar- For three days this condition of things continued.
high Mandarins. I have been shut up for many
-4-1, last moment withgreat of Judgingfrom the sounds the
rived at see
days with the great Chinaman of the present day..
Chinese comestibles, to his immense satisfaction. throwing up his two . provinces of Quangsi and
Yeh must be hereafter one of the men of Chinese
history. He is the second man of. the Empire. Visitors annoyed him. He was, or pretended to be, Quangtung. It mu ,t be admitted, however, that
much shocked at the dress of an English lady. He he struggled manfully with his ra :lady. To use
He has exercised high offices for more than a
ke t his ees studiously turned from her and re-quarter of a century. He has ruled with an shag- I) y ,his own expression, his stomach was excruciated
and his bowels re
lute despotism 30,000,000 of souls. his sentences marked afterwards that her throat was not covered.
requited nursing ;but he mani-
tortures, his lightest words have been Mr. Alabaster showed him some portraits in an fe-tee all a Chinaman's courage of endurance. On
have been
He has been to China what Wentworth Illustrated News of ladies in ball-room dress. Yell the fourth day he even returned to his pipe, aid re-
death.
was to Ireland, .and wishei to be to England. His was scandalised; that women should wear bedgowns quired his slowly recovering cook to prepare him
policy has been "thorough," and he has been able was proper, but that they should be paieted in their bt eaktast. He does not love mutt n—it is Tartar
to work it out in a reign of terror unrestrained. He bedeowns was atrocious. food ; he does noteat beef, for it is written by Cen-
teno with a coarse laugh that he has himself sen- When left alone he would climb up to the stern- fucins, "Thou shalt not slaughter the labouring
tented to death 100,000 of his countrymen and pores and look out upon Hongkong, but.he never ox." This is se t a superstition, but an ethical and
countrywomen, and he boasts that that estimate could be prevailed upon to say any more of the city and economical observance. It is ungrateful to
must be quadrupled if we take into account the of Victoria than that it was " Hao," "Good." If slaughter the animal that produces rice, and it is
towns and villages destroyed by his orders. Yet any one came down while he was looking out he re- contrary to Chinese notions of good policy to kill
after this successful career of ruthless energy he turned gravely to his seat, rather annoyed at being creatures that till the earth. Yeh does not drink
suddenly adopted towards us a conduct which ap detected in so undignified a curiosity.
.
milk, nor will he eat biscuits prepared with milk ;
pears in our eyes to have had no other qualities than Yeh is in his privateb life a very respectable China, but he explains that this is not because he is a
sloth and insolence. He fell, earning from no man._ He is entirely free from an suspicion of those Bhuddist, for that many who are not Bhuddists
Englishman the respect due to a gallant enemy, and detestable habits common to his countrymen, and do not drink milk, while the Bhuddists of Mana. 1
he lives execrated by every Chinaman as a traitorfor which even the virtuous K.,;ying was but' too chouria are fond of ir. If—which I very much
to the ancient suicide-enjoining traditions of his notorious. He smokes no opium ; his ordinary doubt—he is of any religion, he belongs to that 1
country. He rose to his great position under a drink is only warm tea ; he uses samshu only as a higher sect of Bhuddists who are above all forms of
e
system of competitive examination, and in a State y medicine. He has sent his only wife, under the abstinence or idol worship, and place their devotion
where executive ability alone -is supposed to
_protection of his father, to his native village. He in intense inner aspirations for perfections.
lead to high office, and he is acknowledged spoke of his concubines, but, as I could not ten As he recovered from his sea sickness he grew
to be of the very first excellence in all the learning how. far it might be wrong in his eyes to show curio- mot e communicative and conversational than he
sits on this topic,
of China. I did not learn their number or had ever been before. As we left, Singapore bar-
of I fail to destination• H
Such a man must be a great problem. • e has no son, but has adopted a hour he looked like a man who hail hal a load re-
solve it, I may, at any rate, supply to others the ne. phew, who is now 21 years old, and is pursuing moved from his mind. I believe hie feeling was
materials for a solution. I hope this is sufficient his studies at Pekin. that he had got away for a time from his own
excuse for having constituted myself the Boswell of aHe eats twice a-day of four or five succulent countryinie, and was no longer in danger of 'nee--
this terrible Johnson. dishes, and he has the good souse to eat rice with ing the people in whose eyes he had "lost face."
In his personal appearance Yell is a very stout each dish, not reserving it for the end of the dinner, He.now talked fluently upon everysubject to which
and rather tall man about five feet eleven, with the as the Chinese do at their feasts. - Be drinks no- we led him, and I shall best convey his opinions
long thin Chinese moustache and beard, a remark- thing while eating. . by transcribing these conversations discursively -as
ably resedine forehead, a skull in which what the His devotiens consist of sitting in the posture of I noted them. Let me remark here, once for all,
phrenologists call " veneration" is much developed; a Chinese idol_ his len crossed, and his face to-the that Mr. Alabaster is, so far as my experience goes, '
east-.
He
a certain degree of rotundity behind the ear, and a . e mains inbcia abstracted state for about a unique instance of a youth who has learnt to con-
moderate development of the back head. Shorn ten minutes, and the act of devoton is accomplished. verse fluently in ISls.ndarin after only two years'
nearly to the crewn, and very thinly covered with When he first came on board he retired into this study. In terms of philosophy and art difficulties of
hair in that part where the Chinese mostly culti- contemplative state several times a-day. He after- translation must of necessity occur, but apart
vete their hair, our Mandarin offers every facility wards became much
more reriiiss arid once a-day from these I never hear the interpreter obliged to
for craniological examination. His tail is very appeared 1, suffice him. He uses no idol and when a,k Yeh to repeat what he has said, and very
paltry, very short and very thin. The smallest
~asked whether he wished for any facilities for per_ rarely find that Yeh requires the interpreter to
porker in China has a better tail than her highest firming. Ilia devotions privately, replied that he repeat. I consider. myself very fortunate in my
Mandarin. ,wanted nothing of the sort. I imagieed that this medium of conversation with this great Confucian.
His face is heavy. There is more chin than you 'was an act of devotion according to ta„ustom of The topic upon which Yeh talks most freely is
usually see in a Chinaman—more jowl and jaw, the higher sect of the Buddhists ; but one day, his success in putting down the rebellion in Queng-
indicative of will and obstinacy. The- nose is-long when he was in special good humour, he con- tung. He insists that there was no one chief of
and flat, the aostrils forming one side of a very 013- descended to explain vrhy he turned himself to the these rebels, and that their only objects were rape
tune angle. Seen in profile the nose is very re east, instead of to the Ter, st, which is the birthplace and robbery. He says that the persons executed
markable and very ugly ; in the front face) this, of Buddha. He said if he were praying he should by his order were over 100,000, and he reluctantly
the most simial expression of the man's countenance turntth to the west ; but he is not praying, He turns admits that he was unable to. extripate the whole
is mitigated. The eye—that round slit Mongolian
.—thee e r.east. because the east is the " song chi". class. He is able to estimate the euiribere he sent
eye—is the most expressive feature of the man _cleat
of life. as the west is tle principle to execu ion, because he was obliged to make
who is sitting opposite to me, and looking rather I
o with the four He says the four cardinal points agree periodical reports to Pekin of the progress of the
ur kiti,i
suspiciously at me as lam now writing. In hissons—the north is the winter, the work of extermination. The ordinary rule of
A. south is the sum
ordinary mood there is only a look of shrews. • trier the east is the spring, and Chinese law is that no criminal can be put to death
the west is the
ness and quick cunning in this, the only mobile
..sioi,
this autumn. We asked him what without the special warrant of the Emperor ; but
feature of his face ; but I have seen him in the Idh' .it
tt" " was,i "Confucian 1" "Yes." "Bud- this was an extraordinary case. He was armed with
turning moments of his life, when those eyeballs is . es." " Taouist I" " Yes. It is a general warrant to destroy rehels, and he reported
more ancient ever
glared with terror and with fury. He has a large of , than Confucius. It is the ancient his proceedings under it. He declares that no indi-
protruding mouth, thick lips, and very black teeth, Ceremonialtida BuddhaChina.""Are and Leotzn all subordinate to examined by him. The course was this :—They
of his family to use a toothbrush." It is, however, the smite) Tao iof China 1" " Yes ; they are all were first examined by the local authorities, then
a very common custom in same Chinese families, included in it. From the time there was an east they were tried before the judge, then they went
this Taoli "
as any one may see who walks the streets of Canton . there was before the Lieutenant-Governor, and lastly they
aud notices the Coolies and small traders at their .of.
In the practice that virtue which we Westerns were brought before Yeti himself. He says that he
ablutions. are. glad to rank next to godliness Yeh is certainly acquitted a small proportion. Notwithstanding my
He does not wear long nails. He says he has been s A more not consPieu"-e s undesirable messmate repeated questions he would not commit himself to
too busy all his life to do so. His hands,' as is for the comlinclarot_aeship of war can scarcely be any specific proportion,—ta They were not many,
almost universally the case in China, are small and imagined. e spits,_h
hamokes, he eructates, and for they were generally accused upon good evi-
well shaped. The same occupations which have pre- lie blows his nose with is fingers. Capt. Brooker donee." .
vented him from growing his Dells seem to have kept has taught him the comfortf of a pocket handker- I asked whether he ever spared any one on ac-
him from washing his hands. I think I can rcmem- chief, but not to use it
_or this purpose. His daily
count of youth, or because she was a woman, or by
ber, however, that when first taken the nails were of ablutions consist of a slight rubbing of the face ason of station or good character, or whether it
Chinese growth, with a towel utoistene-d1 in hot water. He
orate a was a mere question with him of innocence or
No habit of looking at Yeh deadens the feeling of horror of fresh wentan
deck,while in Chinese rs guilt. The answer was—" I never spared the
repulsion which the expression of his huge face in- never willinglyen He loved to have guilty." 1 asked what the nature of the evidence
spires. The English public are by this time famie the ports closed andthe skylights down. usually was. •
liar with his features, chiefly through a profile He wears thickly padded stockings, the long, "We had our spies among them and their neigh-
sketched by Major Crealock at the moment when he blue-sleeved, quilted cape, and blue pantaloons tied bours informed."
was brought in a prisoner. This has been copied at the ankle, common to ail Chinamen. He boasts 1 " Was not this liable to abuse, and might not
and recopied and lithographed by the Chinaman of that he has worn hts bless coat for 10 years, and such testimony Jae adduced for purposes of extor-
Hongkong, and sent home to England in hundreds its appearance
hen
sservon ; it is stiff with tion or revenge r—"lmpossible. They would have
of letters. It has been sometimes thought to be a grease. A hen we
.nrew near to Singapore, within been afraid. Had I found such a case I should
caricature, and in the lithograph there is some ex- one degree of the line, the heat became frightful, have punished the witnesses and his wife and
aggeretion. But the original sketch is the most His practice thenlwas, while steaming with libations children."
striking likeness I ever saw. I stood at the Major's of hot tea, to strip off his coat and sit in his long " Would you hare put the wife and children of
side while he was pencilling, and w© compared the yellow grass cloth shirt, wet and discoloured—a a perjured witness to death 7"—" No."
portrait with the man. It is tine it was taken in a most disgusting object. Did you ever discover such cases I"—Occasion-
moment of mental terror, while the prisoner's eyes Once, after six weeks' confinement, he gravely ally, but very seldom. If they perjured themselves
were ranging '
round a large room in est of a intimated his intention of taking a bath : deeply I cut their heads off, and inflicted minor
headsman and his sword • but in his quie momenta and he was eagerly reminded of what he penalties on their families."
the expression, although mitigated in degree, is the bad been more than once info. that The treatment of European prisoners was it topic
same in character—a face of dull, heavy, stolid, im- there was a most comfortable bathroom on that required to be approached with great caution,
pas able et uelty. the deck, quite at his daily service. That or he would grunt or grin, and retire into silence.
There is strong will, there is dogmatic persever- was not at all Yeh's idea of a bath. The cabin was When he does talk upon this matter he insists that
ante, there is immovable inert resistance, but there given up to him and his domestics, and a small pan no European was ever brought before him. They
is no active courage in that face, nor in that heart of boiling water. We all hoped that he had cleansed were buried, he says, in the malefactors' cemetery,
When Captain Key seized his vast carcase shook himself, but when we saw him insag e was still outside the Eastern gate, and marks were placed
with tt rrer, and he completely lost ad presence of wearing bis old greasy, unwashed j tclr. by which the local authorities can still point out
mind. Perhaps this is not to be much wondered Considerable alarm was at one time entertained the graves. I have sent a note of this statement
at. Fifty blue-jackets, with drawn swords and re- as to whe- her the great man did not enceurage ato Mt. Parkes, and hope it may lead to an investis
volvers, were dancing round him like madmen, class of para'ites not usually tolerated by great gation that may clear up the mystery as to the
flourishing their cutlasses, terowing up their hats, men. Mr. Alabaster saw to his horror an unknown, identity of these persons, and may satisfy us as
and chew ie,g at the top of their voices. He might but most suspicious insect, crawling within the the truth or falsehood of the story of
theltPw"osurld
well believe that his last moment was come. But sacred precincts of the captain's cabin. It itasnot hugs. To the latter I never dared allude.
oit l
.ng
a man who had sent so many thousands to their by the Mandarin's agency that the action of Peter have been of no use. Yeh's talent for adr .yi
have more special oc-
great account might be expected to meet his own Pindat's great epic was re-enacted on Wird the i amounts, as I shall hereafter
•
•• . .

Yeh, however, is a praetiserotwhat" am so.ovil-
minded to think is the real great.Taoli-of,China,—
" Procrastination is the soul of business." . lie
puts off India and the four booksifrona day to day,
and Mr. Alabaster importuna in .vain. He was
for several, succseding d .ystogaged,in deep conside-
ration whether he should 0014 Mr.. Cotton. to cut
off, a ,wart which disfigures is very Well7shaped
C.. • 0 :.
band, •
I. mentioned to him the 'faCt that the Shanghai
Custom-honsepayS annually two and a half nai'lions
t'aelS to thr Treasury. C_ .ireful not to
commit himself he mere ly ol:served, "It is good."
I :,diled tha: -this- must be a. great benefit to the
Enver T. He said- the, IMperial Treasury was•not
wan ing in money. I produced some Pekin Gazettes,
from wi;ich it appeared that the Emperor was of a
different opinion. He grunted., I mentioned that
the Imperial troops, whiff jtistolat-ained posses-
sion of Chekia-ng Foo; had been maintained entirely
by the Shanghai Customs. He had not heard of it,
it was not"-in his proVinoes. I drew an inference
treat a greater fricility of access would. increase Com-
merce and be b'etieficial to the Inipdrial-Treasia
and the Chinese people.
.He did n agree.
once h-- c Aidescended-to argue. He Said the open-
ing of the four ports had increased competition,
and competition disarranges all things. 'ln fo:mer
times, he * said thii foreigners imparted ,go-Al
watches, but since competition had ben- allowed
no more good watches --had been iMported. He
himself had a very good watch before the ports
Were open. He lost • iti,and was obliged to -buy
alio- her; it was always out of repair. I innocently
attempted to explain that it- depended upon. the
consumer wbetber competitiontprodueed cheapness
or quality, but wa-smet only by an incredulous grin.
Sometimes I ventured to talk about the opium
matters, but there is very little to be got by beading
him to talk upon affairs.of public policy. He is not
only very nAurally determined to say nothing that
may be remembered against him, but he-lies with an
aplomb and only placidity -which make one's face
burn, remembering that it is a man of high office
and great:learning who. is emitting the ridiculous
falsehood.
We must ever recollect in dealing with the Chi-
nese that the shibboleth of- Western chivalry—the
scorn of a lie; - as a cowardly and dishonouring
thing—is to them unknown: -
Yeh most usually expresSeS his disbelief by a
grunt or a grin, but ho has no hesitation in giving
you the lie direct. Once or twice he did this in a
very coarse 'way after asking a question about
some matter of fact occurring on deck. The Eng-
lishmen about him, with every feeling for his posi-
tion as a prisoner, were not inclined to endure this,
and he was told that it was considered by our nation
as the gravest discourtesy to use such language.
He couldn't understand this. "I don't intend to
offend you," he said, "but you say it is, and I say
it is not ; that is all." It was evident that he
himself cared no more for being discovered in a
fall hood than for being beaten at a game of chess.
Thus, When I told him that proclamations, had
; been issued levying duties upon opium, he said,
I:.‘, That is not so. ' I produced copies of the; pro-
clamations. He simply remarked that this was out
ofilia province :4, and he had never heard of it. He
believed that the Emperor knew nothing aboot it.
I t egre,ted to hear that high Chinese officials put
forth proclamatiens and -received duties without
the sanction of the' Emperor. He said that the
was impos-i'le. I aske 1 whether these dudes over
reached the Emperor's Treasury, or whether they
w. re enibtzzled He said that embezzlement by
a public officer was au impossibility in China. I
produced half a-dozen Pekin Gazettes, wnich re-
counted such embezzlements and referred the
crime to the proper. board. He said:. that these
Instances- were -not within. his Viceroyalty. I
asked how it happened that public offictrs re-
ceiving almost nominal salaries made large for-
tunes. He said. that no man in office ever did
mike a large I,rtune. I read to him from Wil-
lianis's "'Middle Kingdom" the Emperor's rescript
and the estimate 'of the wealth of Duke Ho (one
hundred and five Tendon of dollars). He said this
was before his time. He was never in the smallest
degree disconcerted by being. directly contradicted
by a-public-document, and I:ventured upon no sub-
ject upon which I was
,not Weil fortified by Pekin
Gazettes. It is true he never disputed the authority
of a public document. That would have been to
damage the official infallibility. It was a curious
spectacle to see this Chinese Mandarin, versed for
25 years iu all the iniquity of official corruption,
enjoying at this moment its proceeds in the shape
of au unlimited credit upon Howqua's house for
any moneys he may think fit to spend, yet gravely
asserting the incorruptibility of all Chinese magis-
trates, and even reasoning upon this most notaorions
falsehood as an :axiom so thoroughly true that no
fact inconsistent with it could be true, and every
proposition contradictory to it must be absurd. To
talk with Yeh upon such subjects was of no possible
use for the pUrpose of information, althoughit was
psychologically interesting. to see a great Chinese
gentleman shafting- and shuffling, and tot at all
-conscious that it was disgraceful to abandon as a
d:scovered falsehood propositions which he had
just before asserted as undoubted truths.
We traversed the Bay of Bengal upon an un-
ruffled sea, and Yeliwas comfortable in his stomach,
and during some portion' of day ready for con-
ver.satioe. One subject upon which it'wlts• never
difficult to draw him out *as that of his own career.
He tells us that he is 52 year old, that he is the
son of a public'effider now SO years old, who was
Secretary of the Board of War (of which Yeh is now
President} .for 14'years, and wlio has now for some
years retired.
, He rec mott:4 the. different high offices he has
held. The list is too numerous for insertion - but it
includes every, kind of judicial and political duty.
He declares that he owed his first appointment as
Prefect entirely to his success iu the public exami-
nations. This gave mean opportunity of inquiring
into the nature of these examinations, about which
so much has been written and so little known.
Yeh has taken four degrees. He has passed
seven examinations. In three he was unsuccessful,
in the other four he was successful. In his last his
distinction was 80 great that he was named the
second wrangler of the Empire—he was No. 2on
the list of all the candidates who passed at that Im-
'perial examinatiOn...- .
delipaertsmayesnttl haateitthyo,
and
dt
oeoxnasmisittsiatoifon is hdeald,sinwtohrke
uponessays on the true doctrine of thilefouryancient
books.
The second provin-
cialexaminationis-
city, and lasts three day‘s...•
books,
The first day is ap-
propriate-,t in the
the second to
Bacretoci the history of Ceiba
I asked whether.
propriated to the four
the five classics,
This is all that ever is required.
weer
ja or hi et, orJapan was
the history of M.adn
Is No ; the history of China." I
the third
included.
ehaselheard that the examination com-
m.atters such as the science neces-
Calin rivers within their channels. He
told him weil
only expected to speak .Taoli—to
said, We are
sparriysedtoprrae:ttrai
natural history, or try* or the
ft: gilk t%Tr;. Nothing
doctrine."liliatgl oanb so lloftChina ?—We are only expected
to speak Taoli. The only thing required is to ex-
plain right principles, which existed at the -begin-
ning of all things.
The examination for the third degree is.hold at
Pekin. It last nine days and the requirements are
the same as for the second degree, only the profi-
ciency must be greater.
The fourde examination is held at Pekin, and
general y in the palace before the Emperor himself,
assisted by the members of the College ,of the
Forest of Pencils (Elan-lin-Yuan). This exa,mina-
also continues for nine days. It embraces_ all the
ancient books—meaning thereby only the Confu-
cian books, for the Bhuddist and Taouist books are
excluded—and also correctwriting and official style.
It was probably proficiency in official paper
writing which gained Yell his high degree. He
practised this talent with great effect upon Parkes
and Bowring, but was not in a happy vein when he
wrote his replies to Mr. Reed and Lord Elgin.
and Baron Gros.
I asked, " Your Excellency was
judge of Yn-
nan far four years. Did.lou pass any examination
u
in the Ta Tsing- Loo Lee (the Chinese Code) before

"If the Taoli of Bhndda is good and necessary,
why is it not included in the public examina:ions?"
—cc In ancient rimes it was not *so." •
Tnis reply is with Ytth the ending of all contro-
versy. I once tried. to drive him out of it by say•
ing that the custom he spoke of was only of the age
of the Han dynasty, and that, even in our eye!,,
was comparatively modern. He became very sulky
and would not continue the converses len.
Mr. Wade has found a great many divination
schemes among 'the papers seized at the time of
Yeh's capture. I asked him if he had cast any
h rosci;pes with a view to foretell political events.
He said, " No." I then told him it was under-
stood that papers of, this kind were among his docu-
ments. He emphatically denied that this was pos-
sible. I said it was unfortunate that some misiake
had been made, for thas these papers had be. n
translated led reported to the British authorities,
and would be looked upon as big. He said,'—
"I was always busy with official duties ; how
could I have time for such things ?
" Do people in China generally believe in them ?
—Some people among the Chinese believe in such
things, and some do not.
" What is your Excellency's orinionl—l can't
tell you. Sometimes I believe in them, sometimes
Ido not. The English have uo cinch custom, so I
cannot make you comprehend.
" On the contrary, we have such customs. With
us the learned sometimes have recourse to divina-
tion as an amusement ; but the ignorant and iliac-
rate only really believe that events can f e foretold
by such schemes. Perhaps that may be the case
also in China I—To some extent that is the case in
China."
As I was confident as to the fact of the horo-
scopes having been found, I returned to this point.
He grew rather angry, and repeated
" .My hours were occupied with official business;
how on earth could I find time to cast horescopesl
It is true that fortune tellers have been sent to me
on various occasions ; such things have been, hut
they never influenced public affairs.
The finding of these horoscopes has led some
persons to the opinion that they influenced you to
neglect the defence of Canton ? '
The answer very emphatically given was " No."
I ventured one other question, for I felt that I
should never get him on the topic again. The an-
swer was, " Such things were never considered in
public business."
The Bishop of Victoria, after his visit to Yeb,
sent off a Chinese Bible and some tracts wrapped
in a newspaper, begging Capt. Biooker to present
them. The captain did so. leh said be ban long
ago read the Bible ; it was a gOcid.bookall books
of that kind were good—they tend to 'purify the
heart, as do the Buddhist and -the Taouis,, books.
He begged of Capt. Brooker to put the parcel by
for hitu until some convenient season. This time
never cane, but on the fifth day of our voyage Mr.
Alabaster reproduced the package, and bsgged to
have hisopiiiion upon some of thetracts, Yeh opened
one of them with an evident effort of pelitenesse
but soon closed it with a slight grimace. He had
apparently been chocked by some solecnin of style.
Mr. Alabaster proposed to put the Bible and tracts
among some Buddhist books which Yeh's father
had ssnt on board for him ; but Yell, affecting to
misunderstand this proeesition, replied, " Yes, I
think it will be convenient that you replace thein
in tire captain's drawer." Mr. 41,baster continuing
to turn thtra over, Yeh get up from h s chair and
said, " If you will not put them up in the packet as
I received them, I will do so myself." There was no
more to beclone. The hooks were returned to their
envelope and con-igned to the oblivion of one of
the lockers, and the Mandarin loofced pleased at
being relieved from an unpleasant
,importunitys
Tuis was the only time we attempted to force the
attention of the old dignitary to this matter. Upon
one- other occasion we -invited bird to-wards the
subject by asking him Why,,since Buddhism was
introduced into China in the Han dynasty, Chtisti-
anity should not be introduced in the reign of toe
sixth E:uperor of the Abntchou Tartar dynasty.
" L lei weiyu cheko yangtsu" ("Hitherto this has
nut been so"). It is the same answer as you coll-
et oatly get from Chinanien of lime King in Can-
ton-English—" Betere time no catchee."
Tuis is the answer with which he always termi-
nates a discus-iou, when he finds it taking the holm
of an argument. We then always leave him undis-
turbed to his owls occupations. These are to smoke
his pipe, to choose out rho tot en orauges from his
large store, and distribute them among his domes-
tics, carefully replacing the sound fruit ; to give
directions about his dinner, to expostulate with the
captain that if lie and *his officers will not eat some
portion of his Chinese cakss, they' will only he
spoiled. He never reads, and he very eel tom in-
quires. He has condescended to inquire concerning
the French, whether they ate not a nation who
drink a good deal of coffse and make a great deal
of wine, and he seems quite satisfied with this
amount of information concerning the most polite
people of the world. He is fond, also, of exhibit-
ing his stock of quack medicines to Mr. Cotton,
the ship's surgeon. Report says, although we
have been unable to get Yeh to tell us this,
that the Viceroy's father was. an apothe-
cary, The son manifes,s great interest in
European surgery. The most liberal admission
I ever heard him make was Upon this subject. Mr.
Cotton asked him whether, the Chinese surgeons
study anatomy. He answered "No; it would be
impolitic to do so in China," Mr. Cotton replica-
that, in former times it, was so with cur people.
Their objection to dissection was se great that snr-
goons were obliged to study by stealth, bat now
people were se alarmed at having to be attended
by surgeons who had not studied the human body
• that the practice, is rendered legal.
Yeh answered, that he could only say the people
would nut endure such dthiug in China.
" But do you think it objectionable I My in-;
dividual opinion is, that dissection for knowledge
sake is not wrong."
Ho has asked also from time to time questions
about the distances from point to point, the situa-
don of Calcutta; and the distance to England. lie
remarked also when he saw me writing with a gold
pen, " What extravaeance !" He generally, how-
ever, declines all argument and believes no expla-
nation. When I explained that we use gold pens,
not because that metal is more , valuable, but be-
cause it is more flexible, and therefore better
adapted to the purpose than any other metal, this
reply only elicited an unpleasant laugh, which in its
different modifications sounds sometimes like an
angry sneer, sometimes like an exclamation of
" Fudge !" " Humbug t" When Mr. Alabaster
to'd him that at Calcutta he would find among the
State captives the last of the ancient Emperors of
India, and a king of a great Indian kingdom Feb
laughed his bitterest and most incredulous sneer.
When, I told him that if we were geing to Etiglitnd
instead of Calcutta his voyage would extend over
45,000 lei, and that at every spot where
cast anchor he would find a British gove the
e s_lup
soldiers, and the British flag,-
ri
ably laughed " Fudge !" he mtake-
WEI
We asked him one day what his estimate_ was of
the difference between the English and Chinese
E
character ;he said T_
‘heglish are Ning-kau'
anything.n The Chinese
—ready and able
must have teaching
g d'
inothge-y must have precedent.
The first, he saidewkai ya chiao')." This he
ea earned to mean that
as a good'quality, but the latter
was not a bad one.
He once manifested some degree to know some-
thing • of the history of British India. Whether his
curiosity was awakened by religious or poltiical rea-
sons he did not explain ; but Mr. Alabaster offered
to make a compast with him to read together a
short history of India if Yeh would agree to read
with him the four sacred books of China. Here is a
chance which all the sinologues of Europe and
China may envy this young man. I doubt, however,