such fine things of the power, glory, magnificence, and trade of
the Chinese; because, as far as I saw, they appeared to be a
contemptible herd or crowd of ignorant, sordid slaves, subjected to
a government qualified only to rule such a people; and were not its
distance inconceivably, great from Muscovy, and that empire in a
manner as rude, impotent, and ill governed as they, the Czar of
Muscovy might with ease drive them all out of their country, and
conquer them in one campaign; and had the Czar (who is now a
growing prince) fallen this way, instead of attacking the warlike
Swedes, and equally improved himself in the art of war, as they say
he has done; and if none of the powers of Europe had envied or
interrupted him, he might by this time have been Emperor of China,
instead of being beaten by the King of Sweden at Narva, when the
latter was not one to six in number.
As their strength and their grandeur, so their navigation,
commerce, and husbandry are very imperfect, compared to the same
things in Europe; also, in their knowledge, their learning, and in
their skill in the sciences, they are either very awkward or
defective, though they have globes or spheres, and a smattering of
the mathematics, and think they know more than all the world
besides. But they know little of the motions of the heavenly
bodies; and so grossly and absurdly ignorant are their common
people, that when the sun is eclipsed, they think a great dragon
has assaulted it, and is going to run away with it; and they fall a
clattering with all the drums and kettles in the country, to fright
the monster away, just as we do to hive a swarm of bees!
As this is the only excursion of the kind which I have made in all
the accounts I have given of my travels, so I shall make no more
such. It is none of my business, nor any part of my design; but to
give an account of my own adventures through a life of inimitable
wanderings, and a long variety of changes, which, perhaps, few that
come after me will have heard the like of: I shall, therefore, say
very little of all the mighty places, desert countries, and
numerous people I have yet to pass through, more than relates to my
own story, and which my concern among them will make necessary.
I was now, as near as I can compute, in the heart of China, about
thirty degrees north of the line, for we were returned from Nankin.
I had indeed a mind to see the city of Pekin, which I had heard so
much of, and Father Simon importuned me daily to do it. At length
his time of going away being set, and the other missionary who was
to go with him being arrived from Macao, it was necessary that we
should resolve either to go or not; so I referred it to my partner,
and left it wholly to his choice, who at length resolved it in the
affirmative, and we prepared for our journey. We set out with very
good advantage as to finding the way; for we got leave to travel in
the retinue of one of their mandarins, a kind of viceroy or
principal magistrate in the province where they reside, and who
take great state upon them, travelling with great attendance, and
great homage from the people, who are sometimes greatly
impoverished by them, being obliged to furnish provisions for them
and all their attendants in their journeys. I particularly
observed in our travelling with his baggage, that though we
received sufficient provisions both for ourselves and our horses
from the country, as belonging to the mandarin, yet we were obliged
to pay for everything we had, after the market price of the
country, and the mandarin’s steward collected it duly from us.
Thus our travelling in the retinue of the mandarin, though it was a
great act of kindness, was not such a mighty favour to us, but was
a great advantage to him, considering there were above thirty other