ACCOUNT OF BOOKS. 
reprefentative of the King of Great 
Britain, was confidered by the Chi- 
nefe court as particularly honoura- 
ble and diftinguifhed: ambaffadors 
being feldom received by the Em- 
peror on his throne, or their cre- 
dentials delivered by them into his 
own hands, but into that of one of 
his courtiers. Thefe diftin¢tions, 
fo little material in themfelves, 
were however underftood by this 
refined people as fignificant of a 
change in the opinions of their go- 
vernment in refpect to the Englifh; 
and made a favourable imprefiion 
on their minds. 
~ His Imperial Majefty, after a lit- 
tle more converfation with the am- 
baflador, gave, as the firft prefent 
from him to his Imperial Majeitv, a 
gem, or precious ftone, as it was 
called by the Chinefe, and account- 
ed by them of high value. It was 
upwards of a foot in length, and 
¢urioufly carved into a form in- 
tended to refemble a fceptre, 
fuch as is always placed on the 
Imperial throne, and confidered 
as emblematic of profperity and 
peace. 
The Chinefe etiquette requiring 
. that ambaffadors fhould, befides the 
pean brought inthe name of the 
overeign, offer others on their own 
part, his Excellency and the Minif- 
ter, or, as the Clhinefe called him, 
inferior ambaflador, refpeétfully 
prefented theirs ;- which his Impe- 
tial Majefty condefcended to re- 
teive, and gave in return others to 
them. Thofe prefents were pro- 
bably, on both fides, lefs valuable 
in the eflimation of the receivers 
than in that of the donors; but 
were mutually acceptable, upon the 
tonfideration of being tokens of 
re{fpect on the one part, and of fa- 
Your and good-will upon the other. 
During the ceremonies, his Ims 
477 
perial Majefty appeared perfeétly 
unreferved, cheerful, and unaffeé- 
ed.—The frontifpiece to the firft 
volume of this work, is a portrait 
of him, from a drawing by Mr._ 
Alexander, one of the draughtfmen 
to the embaffy. It was made un- 
der unfavourable circumftances ; 
yet the perfon, drefs, and manner, 
are perfectly like the original; but 
the features of the face, which were 
taken by ftealth, and at a glance, 
bearalefs {trong refemblance. This, 
of all the drawings made by Mr. 
Alexander throughout the route, 
the gentlemen of the embaify, who 
had an opportunity of comparing 
them with the originals, thought 
the only one which was defetive. 
To the facility and truth with which 
he caught with his pencil the moft 
ftriking objects, and cofume of the 
country, as the embafly pafled ra- 
pidly along, this work is principally 
indebted for the ornamental part of 
it, in which every plate is a faithful 
copy after nature. 
To render the portrait of his Im- 
perial Majefty more correét, itmight 
have been proper to draw the eye 
more full and clear, and the coun= 
tenance. more open and cheerful. 
Such at leaft it was during the in= 
terview with the Ambaflador, which 
was lengthened by interpreting 
whatever was faid by either party- 
His Imperial Majefty, adverting 
to the inconvenience arifing from 
fuch a circumitance, inquired from 
Ho-choong-taung, whether any 
perfon of the embafly underftood 
the Chinefe language; and being 
informed that the ambaflador’s page, 
a boy then in Iris thirteenth year, 
had alone made fome proficiency 
in it, the Emperor had the curiofity 
to have the youthbrought up to the 
throne, and defired him to fpeak 
Chinefe.” Either what he taid, or 
