140 EXPEDITION TO JAPAN. 



lie is, for the most part of the time, away ahout his business ; and the whole concern of the 

 household devolves upon the major-domo, whose duty it is to satisfy every want. There is a 

 very convenient official of these establishments, termed a comprador, whose vocation it is to pay 

 all the bills accruing from the purchases and incidental expenses of the guests, who, however, 

 of course, refund what has been paid. 



While enjoying the luxury of these oriental establishments, one, in fact, might fancy himself 

 in a well-organized French hotel, as he has only to express a wish to have it gratified, were it 

 not that he has nothing to pay in the former beyond the usual gratuities to servants, while in 

 the latter he is mulcted roundly for every convenience. 



There is not much at present to interest the visitor at Macao, as it is but a ghost of its former 

 self. There is almost a complete absence of trade or commerce. The harbor is deserted, and 

 the sumptuous dwellings and storehouses of the old merchants are comparatively emjity, while 

 the Portuguese who inhabit the place are but rarely seen, and seem listless and unoccupied. 

 An occasional Parsee, in high crowned cap and snowy robe, a venerable merchant, and here 

 and there a Jesuit priest, with his flock of youthful disciples, may be seen, but they are only as 

 the decaying monuments of the past. 



At one time, however, the town of Macao was one of the most flourishing marts of the East. 

 When the Portuguese obtained possession, in the latter part of the sixteenth century, they soon 

 established it as the centre of a wide commerce with China and other oriental countries. Its 

 origin is attributed to a few Portuguese merchants belonging to Lampa§ao, who were allowed 

 to resort there and establish some temporary huts for shelter and the drying of damaged goods. 

 Hue, the Chinese traveller, gives a different account ; he states that the Portuguese were allowed 

 to settle by the Emperor, in return for the signal service of capturing a famous pirate who had 

 long ravaged the coasts. From an humble beginning, the settlement gradually arose to an 

 imposing jiosition as a commercial place, for which it was greatly indebted to the monopoly it 

 enjoyed of eastern commerce. It has, however, declined, and is now a place of very inconsiderable 

 importance and trade. The town is situated upon a peninsula at the southward of the island 

 of Macao. 



It is sufficiently picturesque in appearance, built as it is upon the acclivities of the 

 rising ground about the harbor, with its gay looking white houses, which overhang the terraces 

 that bound the shore and look out upon the sea. The houses of the old merchants, though 

 they now bear some appearance of neglect, yet attest, by the spaciousness of the apartments, 

 and the luxuriousness of their appointments, the former opulence of the Portuguese traders. 

 The pleasant walks about the circuit of the neighboring hills and the Praya invite the visitor 

 to strengthen himself in cheerful exercise. The dull look of the place is somewhat relieved 

 in the summer time, when the foreign residents of Canton and Hong Kong resort there to 

 bathe in the waters of Bishop's Bay, and to recreate in the enjoyment of the healthful sea air 

 of the place. 



The harbor is not suitable for large vessels, which anchor in Macao roads, several miles from 

 the town. It is, however, though destitute of every appearance of commercial activity, always 

 enlivened by the fleet of Tanka boats which pass, conveying passengers to and fro, between the 

 land and the Canton and Hong Kong steamers. The Chinese damsels, in gay costume, as 

 they scull their light craft upon the smooth and gently swelling surface of tlie bay, 2)rcsent a 

 lively aspect, and as they ar^ looked upon in the distance, from the verandahs above the Praya, 



