olaced themselves with stolen interviews. At length the
poor girl, urged by her lover, confessed every thing to her father, and
implored his mercy. He was thunderstruck at this intelligence, for till
that moment he had imagined that his daughter had not a thought to which
he was not privy. The most rigorous discipline was resorted to--the girl
was confined to her chamber, and spies placed to watch every motion.
Those to whom she thought she could trust were suborned by her father,
and to him were conveyed all the letters which she believed to have been
safely conveyed to her lover. His notes being also intercepted, at last
each considered the other as faithless. The poor girl, imagining that
her lover had forsaken her, at last sent to her father, to acquaint him
that she had returned to her duty, and was ready to receive the man whom
he had selected for her husband. They were married: but she deceived
herself; as soon as the ceremony was over, the courage which had
supported her gave way, her former feelings returned stronger than ever,
and she hated herself for her fickleness. Her heart whispered that it
was impossible that one possessing every great and every amiable
quality, as did her lover, could ever have proved faithless, or would
have abandoned one who loved him so dearly. As she sat in the garden and
wept, a slight noise attracted her attention, and she found in her
presence her lover, disguised, who had come to take a last farewell.
Explanations immediately ensued--they found that they had been
tricked--their love and their despair overcame their reason, and they
fled. The father and bridegroom pursued the guilty pair, and after a
most rigorous search, they were discovered. They knew that their fate
was sealed, and they bore up bravely to the last. They were arraigned,
found guilty, and condemned to death; after which their bodies were to
be removed far from any dwelling-place. The sentence was carried into
effect, and their remains were deposited in the cave in which we
discovered them. Many parents might draw a lesson from this tragedy, and
anybody who feels inclined may write a novel upon it; it must not,
however, bear the same title as the Chinese one translated by Governor
Davis, which is styled the "Fortunate Union."

In ten days we completed the survey of the island, and sailed for Batan,
where we arrived on the 7th of February. There we remained a few days,
and then sailed for Hong Kong, having but thre