192 



154 VOYAGE TO THE 



CHAP, bringing off new visiters to the ship, who continued 

 ^' , to pass between her and the shore the whole of the 



May, day, carrying a fresh set at every trip, so that the har 

 hour, if possible, presented a more lively scene than it 

 did the day before : on shore the walls and housetops 

 were occupied by groups who sat for hours looking 

 towards the anchorage. Our visiters as before were 

 well dressed and well bred people, and extremely 

 apprehensive of giving offence or even of incom- 

 moding us. 



The mandarin, however, fearful we might experi- 

 ence some annoyance from having so maiiy people on 

 board without any person to control them, sent off a 

 trusty little man with a disproportionably long bam- 

 boo cane to keep order, and who was in consequence 

 named Master at Arms by the seamen. This little 

 man took care that the importance of his office should 

 not escape notice, and occasionally exercised his baton 

 of authority, in a manner which seemed to me much 

 too severe for the occasion ; and sometimes even drew 

 forth severe though ineffectual animadversions from 

 his peaceable countrymen : but as I thought it better 

 that he should manage matters in his own way, I did 

 not allow him to be interfered with. 



Among the earliest of our visiters were An-yah, 

 Shtafacoo, and Shayoon ; three intelligent, good-na- 

 tured persons, who, I have no doubt, were deputed to 

 watch our movements. They were the bearers of a 

 present of a pig and some vegetables. As An-yah 

 had promised, several boats commenced supplying the 

 ship with water, bringing it off in large tubs.* In 



* This water proved to be bad, for though it had no very un- 

 pleasant taste, it was found, upon being analysed, to contain in 

 solution a large proportion of magnesia and some salt; a circum- 



