composition, and as hard as the earthen floors we have in use in
several parts of England; as hard as stone, and smooth, but not
burnt and painted, except some smaller rooms, like closets, which
were all, as it were, paved with the same tile; the ceiling and all
the plastering work in the whole house were of the same earth; and,
after all, the roof was covered with tiles of the same, but of a
deep shining black. This was a China warehouse indeed, truly and
literally to be called so, and had I not been upon the journey, I
could have stayed some days to see and examine the particulars of
it. They told me there were fountains and fishponds in the garden,
all paved on the bottom and sides with the same; and fine statues
set up in rows on the walks, entirely formed of the porcelain
earth, burnt whole.
As this is one of the singularities of China, so they may be
allowed to excel in it; but I am very sure they excel in their
accounts of it; for they told me such incredible things of their
performance in crockery-ware, for such it is, that I care not to
relate, as knowing it could not be true. They told me, in
particular, of one workman that made a ship with all its tackle and
masts and sails in earthenware, big enough to carry fifty men. If
they had told me he launched it, and made a voyage to Japan in it,
I might have said something to it indeed; but as it was, I knew the
whole of the story, which was, in short, that the fellow lied: so
I smiled, and said nothing to it. This odd sight kept me two hours
behind the caravan, for which the leader of it for the day fined me
about the value of three shillings; and told me if it had been
three days’ journey without the wall, as it was three days’ within,
he must have fined me four times as much, and made me ask pardon
the next council-day. I promised to be more orderly; and, indeed,
I found afterwards the orders made for keeping all together were
absolutely necessary for our common safety.
In two days more we passed the great China wall, made for a
fortification against the Tartars: and a very great work it is,
going over hills and mountains in an endless track, where the rocks
are impassable, and the precipices such as no enemy could possibly
enter, or indeed climb up, or where, if they did, no wall could
hinder them. They tell us its length is near a thousand English
miles, but that the country is five hundred in a straight measured
line, which the wall bounds without measuring the windings and
turnings it takes; it is about four fathoms high, and as many thick
in some places.
I stood still an hour or thereabouts without trespassing on our
orders (for so long the caravan was in passing the gate), to look
at it on every side, near and far off; I mean what was within my
view: and the guide, who had been extolling it for the wonder of
the world, was mighty eager to hear my opinion of it. I told him
it was a most excellent thing to keep out the Tartars; which he
happened not to understand as I meant it and so took it for a
compliment; but the old pilot laughed! “Oh, Seignior Inglese,”
says he, “you speak in colours.” – “In colours!” said I; “what do
you mean by that?” – “Why, you speak what looks white this way and
black that way – gay one way and dull another. You tell him it is
a good wall to keep out Tartars; you tell me by that it is good for
nothing but to keep out Tartars. I understand you, Seignior
Inglese, I understand you; but Seignior Chinese understood you his
own way.” – “Well,” says I, “do you think it would stand out an
army of our country people, with a good train of artillery; or our
engineers, with two companies of miners? Would not they batter it