MISCELLANIES. 



585 



The following day they dis- 

 charged the laige rockets. Early 

 in the morning they carried all the 

 figures and their rockets from the 

 town, and each of these figures 

 was fixed upon a carriage of four 

 wheels, and the rockets were se- 

 cured, by lattan loops, to strong 

 ropes, which passed between the 

 feet of the animal, so that when 

 discharged, they, sliding on the 

 ropes, ran along the groiuid. 

 Some of these rockets wei e from 

 seven to eight feet in length, and 

 from three to four in circumfe- 

 rence, made of strong timber, and 

 secured by iron hoops, and rattan 

 lashings. The last of them, Avhcn 

 discharged, ran ovei' a boy of ten 

 or twelve years old, who died in a 

 few minutes ; three or four grown- 

 up persons were also much hurt. 

 Towards evening a great number 

 of fire-works were discharged, 

 which made a very fine appear- 

 ance. 



The next day was the time ap- 

 pointed for blowing up the corpse. 

 On this occasion, a quarrel arose 

 between the two parties who had 

 pulled the former day; the party 

 which had been unsuccessful in- 

 sisting that the cables had been 

 cut, and not broken, by the oppo- 

 site party ; they therefore pre- 

 sented a petition to Ihe viceroy, 

 re(juesting tluu tiiey might have 

 another trial at pulling. Tins was 

 granted, upon which, having pro- 

 cured fom- new Europe cables, 

 from the ships in the harbour, 

 they re -commenced their trial of 

 strength; however, the party 

 which hiid l^ecn victorious before 

 won again, and broke the cables 

 of the other. Tlie iinsuccessiul 

 party was not yet satisfied, but in- 

 sisted on another trial of streryth. 



the following day. That day nei- 

 ther party obtained the victory, 

 upon which the viceroy issued an 

 order to stop the ^contest, and to 

 burn tiie Telapoy the next day, 

 which was accoidingly done. 



That day the coi pse was burnt 

 in a temporary house, erected for 

 that purpose, in the shape of a 

 Kuim, with a stage in it upon 

 which the coffin was set to be 

 burnt. This was performed with 

 small rockets, fixed upon ropes 

 with rings of rattan, so as to slide 

 along them, from the top of a hill, 

 to the coffin, which was placed on 

 the top of another hill. The rockets 

 being discharged, slided along the 

 ro|)es, over the intermediate valley, 

 to the coffin, which was set on 

 file by them, and, with its con- 

 tents, quickly consumed." 



A SKETCH OF THE GEOGRAPHY OF 

 COCHIN CHINA, 



TVith some Particulars of the Man- 

 ners, Customs, and History of 

 the Inhabitants, and a few Con- 

 siderations on the Importance of 

 forming an Establishment in that 

 Country. By Mr. Chapman. 



(From tlie same.) 



I iiave been impcrccitibly led 

 into a detail of much greater 

 length than I intended ; yet sa- 

 tisfied, as I am, of the great im- 

 ];ortance wliicli a scttleiiient in 

 Cochin China might be of to the 

 British nation, and to the Com- 

 pany, I cannot jirevail <m myself 

 to dismiss the subject, witliout 

 giving a more connected account 

 of the country, and olicring some 

 farliier considerations on the ad- 



vanliiges 



