ll him that my brow is ever
on the outer edge of his footstool. As I understand my office--having
pondered over the same ever since the ship left the shore of my beloved
country--it is, to give you a report of the manners and customs of the
inhabitants of this extraordinary land, and smooth the way for the sending
forth of an ambassador from the immaculate emperor to the governor of this
nation. I have completely executed your commission, O excellent
Cho-Ling-Kyang! and this was the manner of the doing thereof. When I
embarked on board of the large ship with the three masts, which had for
name the Walter Scott--after a great general who conquered a province
called Scotland, and was presented with a blue button as a reward for his
magnanimity--I was entirely ignorant of the language spoken by the
mariners, with the exception of the short form of prayer which they
constantly use when speaking of each others' eyes, and a few phrases not
easily translatable into our refined tongue; and I accordingly experienced
great difficulty in making myself understood. Notwithstanding, I soon got
friendly with the captain, and also with the men--who pulled my back hair
whenever I passed them, in the most warm and affectionate manner possible.
I took greatly to study when I had overcome the sea-sickness; and although
I could not master the pronunciation of their words, I soon arrived at a
degree of skill, which enabled me to read their printed books. There was a
large library on board of the ship, and all day long--with the aid of
Morrison's wonderful dictionary--I toiled in the delightful task of making
myself acquainted with the masterpieces of English literature. And this I
considered the best preparation for the duty set before me; for without
books, how could I furnish my mind with a knowledge of the past?--and
without mastering the language, how could I understand the characters and
modes of thought of the men who now are? I therefore studied history; but
their historians write so much, and differ so greatly from each other,
that it was perplexing to know if what they told was true--and I was
utterly confused. But, fortunately, there was in the ship a young person,
who had been sent out by his friends to a merchant's office in Canton; but
had discovered that he was a great poet, and very clever man, and was
going back to tell his father he would not hide his talents any more, but
be a wonder to all men for his genius and abilities; an