former Chinese custom, shaven heads and long tails having been introduced by the Mantchow Dynasty. The features of these Japanese were much better than those of the corresponding class of Chinese. The day following their presentation a note written in Chinese characters was addressed by them to Colonel Marshall. It was very fragmentary and laconic, owing, no doubt, to the small stock of characters in the writer's possession. It was addressed on the envelope: "To the American King-from thirteen Japanese." and the contents were as follows: "We, thirteen Japanese men, have fathers, mothers, young brothers, old brothers, wives, children. You go to Shanghai: go to Japan!"

On Wednesday we continued to advance against a strong headwind, catching but a few and cloudy glimpses of the coast. During the day we passed the mouth of the estuary of Foo-chow-foo, another of the five ports. Before night, we had passed through the Formosa Channel, and were in the Tong-hai, or Eastern Sea, which is bounded by China, Corea, the Japanese Island of Kiusiu, and the Lew-Chew Archipelago. The next morning we were off the province of Che-Kiang. Soon after sunrise we made a small island called the Straw-Stack, and still further a headland called Mushroom Peak, from its shape, the sides being perpendicular, and the summit slightly projecting over them. At the other extremity of the same promontory, there was a tall isolated rock resembling a pagoda. The afternoon was raw and foggy, and as there was a large number of fishing junks off the coast, our steam-whistle was blown repeatedly, as a signal for them to get out of the way.

On Friday there was a dense fog, with frequent showers of rain, and we saw no land until evening, when we made the rocks called the Brothers, at the eastern end of the Archipelago of Chusan. We had had no observation for a day or two, but when the fog lifted and showed the rocks, we were not a mile from our supposed position. The night set in dark and stormy, and as the tides and currents, which prevail in this part of the Archipelago, are very uncertain, we felt our way in the fog into a strait between the islands of Chusan and Chinsan, and came to anchor under the lee of the latter. It blew violently during the night, but the gale had the effect of clearing away the fog, so that we were able to get away again at daylight.

We rounded the eastern point of Chinsan, and running in a north-west course, soon made the two groups called the Rugged Islands and Parker's Islands. The water became yellow and muddy, showing that we were already within the influence of the great Yang-tse-Kiang River, and when scarcely abreast the southern entrance, it was as turbid as the Mississippi at New Orleans. The volume of water brought down by the river must be enormous; the southern mouth, which comprises about two-thirds, or less, of the main stream, is thirty miles in breadth. Parker's Island was

green and beautiful, and appeared to be cultivated. Most of the other islands were lofty, rugged, as their name denotes, and hopelessly barren. The smaller ones were mere rocks, eleft and divided by deep chasms, like those on the western coast of Scotland. The wind was keen, cold, and strong from the north, and the thermometer down to 60 deg. The sky was cool, pale blue, veiled with haze, but the sun shone cheerily at intervals. As we approached our destination, the Japanese desired another interview with the Commissioner. It was intimated that they wished to land at Shanghai, make their way to Chapoo, the Chinese port of communication with Nagasaki, and embark in a junk for the latter place. Chapoo is south of Shanghai, on the Bay of Hong-Chow, and about ninety miles distant.

At noon we reached Gutzlaff Island, at the mouth of the Yangtse-Kiang (Son of the Sea), and commenced the difficult navigation of the river. The island is a round, rocky hillock, rising 210 feet from the water. From its prominence, and position at the mouth of the river, it is a valuable landmark for vessels. The Yang-tseKiang is here about twenty miles broad, flowing between the mainland of China, and the large island of Tsung-Ming. Both shores are a dead level, dyked to prevent inundation, like the banks of the lower Mississippi, and not to be seen from the narrow channel in the middle of the river, which is lined on both sides by extensive sand-banks. We had a strong wind and tide against us, and did not lose sight of Gutzlaff Island until near four o'clock. The water became more dense and yellow as we proceeded, and the paddles of the steamer stirred up large quantities of the soft mud of the bottom. The depth of the stream varried from four to five fathoms.

At six o'clock, as the crew were beaten to quarters, it was noticed that the engines moved sluggishly, and soon afterwards the ship refused to obey her helm. She was immediately stopped, and a careful sounding showed only two and three-quarter fathoms. The previous sounding had been disturbed by the wake of the wheel, and the sinking of the lead into the loose mud, so that we had run about half a mile upon the South Shoal before being aware of it. The engines were backed, but the strong northern gale and ebb tide kept us stationary for about an hour, after which the ship began to move by fits and starts. The guns were run forward to lighten her stern, and the tide setting in her favour, she worked herself off by nine o'clock, and came to anchor in deep water.

We started again the next morning, with the flood tide. The day was crystal-clear, and a bracing wind blew from the north-east. In an hour or two we were hailed by a pilot, who had been taking a French vessel out of the river. He startled us with the news that the rebels had invested Nanking with an army of 200,000 men, captured all the Chinese war-junks in the Yang-tse-kiang, and

cut off supplies from the beleaguered troops-with many other particulars, which, like all rumours afloat at that time, were greatly exaggerated. In another hour the mainland of China was visible on our left-a low shore, covered with trees, and dotted with the houses of the natives. Numbers of junks were anchored along the beach, and the wreck of a European vessel told of the dangers of the navigation. The island of Tsung-Ming was barely visible to the east. We reached the mouth of the Woosung River about noon, and cast anchor a mile from the shore, to wait for the tide to carry us over the bar. On making signals, a junk came out for the mails, with which she started at once for Shanghai. The mouth of the river was crowded with vessels, the greater part of which were native junks. The stream is about half-a-mile in breadth, and is protected by two batteries, the northern one having 126 guns. The shore is well wooded, and the trees, with their thin texture and the greenish-grey hue of their budding leaves, showed that we had again reached a climate where spring is known.

Mr. P. S. Forbes, U. S. Consul at Canton, and Mr. Cunningham, English Vice-Consul at Shanghai, who had ridden down to Woosung in expectation of the Susquehanna's arrival, came on board shortly after we dropped anchor. At four, p.m., the tide being again flood, we stood into the river through the fleet of junks at its mouth. It was a delicate piece of manoeuvring, but the vessel minded her helm admirably, and threaded the mazes of the crowded anchorage without touching one of the craft. The tide carried us safely over the bar, and we kept on up the river at nearly our full speed. The stream was covered with junks lying at anchor or sailing up and down. Our steam-whistle warned them to clear the track, and they obeyed with alacrity, the crews gathering upon the high poops to survey us as we passed. Most of the junks had inscriptions across the stern and along the sides of the hull. Some, which Dr. Parker read, denoted that the vessel was in Government service: others had fantastic names, such as "The Favourable Wind," Happiness," &c. All the larger ones had four masts, each mast carrying a single oblong sail, made of very closely-woven matting, crossed with horizontal slips of bamboo, so that it could be reefed to any extent required. The people had a lighter complexion and more regular features than the natives of the southern provinces, and in lieu of the umbrella-hat, wore the round black cap of the Tartars.

The country on both sides of the river is a dead level of rich alluvial soil, devoted principally to the culture of rice and wheat. The cultivation was as thorough and patient as any I had seen, every square foot being turned to some useful account. Even the sides of the dykes erected to check inundations were covered with vegetables. These boundless levels are thickly studded with villages

and detached houses, all of which are surrounded with fruit-trees.. I noticed also occasionally groves of willow and bamboo. The country, far and wide, is dotted with little mounds of earth-the graves of former generations. They are scattered over the fields. and gardens in a most remarkable manner, to the great detriment of the cultivators. In some places the coffins of the poor, who cannot afford to purchase a resting-place, are simply deposited on the ground, and covered with canvas. The dwellings, but for their peaked roofs, bore some resemblance to the cottages of the Irish peasantry. They were mostly of wood, plastered and whitewashed, and had an appearance of tolerable comfort. The people who came out to stare in wonder at the great steamer as she passed, were dressed uniformly in black or dark blue. Numerous creeks and canals extended from the river into the plains, but I did not notice a single highway. The landscape was rich, picturesque, and animated, and fully corresponded with what I had heard of the dense population and careful agriculture of China. I was struck with the general resemblance between the Woosung and the lower Mississippi, and the same thing was noticed by others on board.

Before sunset, we discovered in the distance the factories and flagstaffs of Shanghai. The town had a more imposing appearance than I was prepared to find. The river makes a sharp bend to the south-west at this point, and over the tops of the trees on the southern bank, we could see a forest of masts, a mile in length, belonging to the native junks. The number of foreign vessels. anchored before the factories did not exceed twenty. Roundingthe point, we swept between the shipping, past the stately row of tall European residences, and a neat church. The English warsteamers Hermes and Salamander, and the brig Lily, lay anchored there, and the French war-steamer Cassini, a little farther up the stream. Beyond them commenced the wilderness of junks, packed side by side in one unbroken mass. As the anchor dropped, our band struck up 66 Hail Columbia," followed by the English and

French national airs.

Mr Cunningham invited the Commissioner and his suite to take rooms at the Consulate, where that splendid hospitality which distinguishes the foreign communities in China is practised to its fullest extent. We found various and contradictory rumours afloat with regard to the Chinese rebels, but it was generally believed. that Nanking had fallen into their hands. The merchants were in. hourly expectation of hearing that the great city of Soo-Chow, the capital of the silk-growing district, and only seventy miles from Shanghai, had been invested.

CHAPTER XIV.

AN ATTEMPT TO VISIT NANKING.-SHANGHAI.

THREE days after our arrival, the Commissioner decided to star for Nanking. The near approach of the rebel forces to the foreign settlement of Shanghai, the uncertainty with regard to their views towards foreigners, and the utter impossibility of obtaining reliable accounts from the seat of war through the Chinese authorities, led him to this step. The visit was projected with the sole view of obtaining information, that he might best know how to guard the interests of American citizens in China. Like the representatives of England and France in Shanghai, he determined on preserving the strictest neutrality during the civil war then raging in the North. But if, as all accounts concurred in representing, Nanking had already fallen, it was a matter of importance that the rebel leaders should be assured of this neutrality, and of the necessity, on their part, of respecting the rights of foreign citizens. The adoption of this course rendered still more imperative by the falsehoods which the Chinese authorities, and especially the Taou-tai (Governor) of Shanghai had published and circulated concerning the enlistment of foreign aid.

was

Two hundred tons of coal were taken on board the Susquehanna, and application was made to the Taou-tai for native pilots who knew the river. These he readily furnished, hoping perhaps that our appearance off Nanking would be interpreted to the advantage of the Imperialists. Hundreds of Chinese continued to visit the Susquehanna, up to the hour of her departure. Several residents made application to accompany us on the voyage, but, with the exception of Mr. Forbes, no other passenger was taken on board. Previous to sailing, four of the Japanese left our ship. One of their countrymen-one of those who were turned back from Japan in the Morrison, in 1837-was then residing in Shanghai, and he promised to assist them. Neither Capt. Buchanan nor the Commissioners had any authority to keep them on board. They desired their countrymen, Otokitchi, to say that they thanked the officers and men of the ship from their hearts, and would never forget their kindness towards them. Two of them wept like children when they left.

We started at flood-tide, on the afternoon of the 1st of April. The bund, or quay, of Shanghai was crowded with spectators of our departure. We were two hours and a half reaching Woosung. The rich plains on either hand were greener, and more beautiful

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