462 
was given of the expreflions ufed, 
the occafion itfelf fuggefted what 
was intended to be faid; and gef- 
ture often came in aid of words. 
There was, however, fo much em- 
ployment for the Chinefe interpre- 
ter, that a trial was now made of 
the fkill of two perfons belonging 
to the embafiv, to whom the Chi- 
nefe miftionaries had endeavoured 
to communicate fome knowledge 
of their language, ever fince they 
had left Naples together, above a 
yeer before. One of thefe perfons 
applied to this ftudy with the unin- 
terrupted diligence of mature age, 
but had the mortification of finding 
that as yet he could fcarcely under- 
ftand a word of what was faid to 
him by thefe new-comers, to whom 
his pronunciation was equally un- 
intelligible; while the other, a youth 
who certainly took lefs pains, but 
whofe fenfes were more acute, and 
whofe organs were more flexible, 
proved already a tolerably good in- 
terpreter. Many words, it feems, 
of the Chinefe tongue, of however 
oppolite a fignification, frequently 
differ from each other, in the utter- 
ance, only in fome flight variation 
of accent or intonation; and which 
is {ufceptible of being more quick- 
iy caught, and more accurately ren= 
dered by thofe who learn in early 
life, than by any who begin to at- 
tempt it after being advanced in 
years. So clofe is the approxima- 
tion fometimes in the inflexions of 
the voice, inuttering Chinefe words 
of different meanings, that it is not 
uncommon, even among the na- 
tives, in order to avoid miftakes in 
converfation, to add the principal 
terms ufed, the neareft fynonyms in 
fenie, by way of explanation. The 
neceffity of doing fo arifes from the 
wie of monofyllables only in the 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1797. 
Chinefe language, which muft be - 
lefs diftinét as admitting fewer ¢om~ 
binations, as well as from the ex- 
clufion of fome of the harfher founds 
of other nations, among which the 
difference in the pronunciation of 
words is confequently more percep- 
tible. 
The two mandarins enquired if 
the letter brought for the Emperor 
by the ambaffador was tranflated in- 
to Chinefe ; and sequefted at-any 
rate to know the purport of it. A 
compliance with this requeft was 
not urged as an etiquette preferibed 
by the imperial court; nor yet did 
it appear to have been afked from 
the indifcreet eagernefs of curiofity, 
but rather was confidered as a mat~ 
ter of ordinary courfe; and which 
might enable thofe mandarins more 
completely to fulfil the object they 
had in view, of obtaining and con- 
veying to their fovereign every in- 
formation relative to the embafly. 
It was, however, thought more pru- 
dent, and perhaps more decent, to 
referve the communication of his 
Majefty’s letter at leaft until the ar- 
rival of the ambaflador at the capi- 
tal; and therefore an anfwer was 
given, that the original, with the 
tranflations of it, were locked up in 
a golden box, to be delivered into 
the Emperor’s hands. 
_ Concerning the prefents, the 
mandarins were peculiarly folicitous 
to enquire; and a lift of them was 
formally demanded, to be fent to 
his Imperial Majeity. The fame 
demand had, indeed, been made by 
every Chinefe who had any inter- 
courfe with the ambaflador, or with 
the commifiioners at Canton, on the 
fubjectofthe embafly: and itappear- 
ed from the beginning how much 
curiofity had been excited refpedting 
them. A common catajogne, con- 
taining 
