s the chief passed them;
the latter took no notice of their acclamations, but advanced in a very
stately dignified manner towards the captain, apparently keeping time to
the music, which was played by a band of men, dressed in a very
fantastic manner, on cymbals and instruments resembling our clarionets.

The negotiations were now opened: the captain expressed his surprise and
disgust at the treatment he had experienced at the point, where he had
been taking observations. The chief inquired of the captain, in reply,
why he did not shoot the offenders? and assured him that, if the next
time he was annoyed by the rabble he would shoot a few of them, it would
have a very salutary effect upon the remainder. In the course of
conversation, the captain informed the mandarin that England possessed
ships carrying 120 guns of larger caliber than those on board of the
vessel he commanded; and that altogether, including large and small,
the Queen of England had 800 vessels. This account was evidently
discredited, as it always was when such an assertion was made in those
seas, for looking round him and explaining the nature of the
communication to his followers, they all laughed. Asang, the
interpreter, then gave them a history of the Chinese war, on which he
dwelt upon our immense resources, the size and number of our vessels,
and the fire ships (steamers) which we had employed; but it was evident
that the Quelpartians did not believe one word of his assertions. Before
the conference was over, rice, cakes, and sam-schoo were handed round,
and the captain promised that he would visit the chief mandarin on the
following day. By this time, the ship had come to an anchor in the bay,
and we returned on board.

The next morning we got the ship under weigh, and brought her nearer to
the town, so that her guns could be brought to bear in case of need; but
when within 100 yards of the shore, and in the act of going about, the
ship struck with great violence against a rock. Hawsers were laid out,
and with our usual good fortune, we again got into deep water, and in
half an hour anchored off the town in a favourable position for
cannonading it. We then landed our force, consisting of all the marines,
with the drummer and fiddler, besides a party of small-arm men from the
blue jackets, all armed with muskets, bayonets, and cutlasses. The
officers, in addition to their swords, carried pistols in their belts. A
feu-de-joie was now fired, for th