J7p2. en the Chinese language. 51 



black ink. He has a great thirst after knowledge, 

 and seems to conceive readily what is communicated 

 to him j and he scruples no pains that will furtlier 

 his improvement. The gentleman at whose house I 

 met him, having, among other Chinese things, . 

 a drawing or print representing a naked man, 

 like that in our old flieet almanacks, with straight . 

 lines drawn to different parts of his body, he was - 

 alked what this meant ; to which he replied, that it 

 was for the use of the younger practitioners in phy- 

 sic, in order to flievv them to what part of the body 

 the cauterizing pin fhould be applied, to remove a 

 disorder in other corresponding parts. For the 

 Chinese practitioners attribute very great powers to 

 the actual cautery, and have frequent recourse to it. 

 And he himself fhowed a scar, by the side of the 

 first joint in his thumb, where he was cauterized 

 for a pain in his head. . 



" As we Europeans have little knowledge of the 

 Chinese language, it will perhaps entertain you, as it 

 did us, to hear his interpretation of the Chinese cha- 

 racters, upon a stick of Indian ink that was fliewa 

 him, especially as it conveys somo idea of the pecu- 

 liarities of their language, aind Ihews how they sup- 

 ply their want of connecting particles, by a repeti- 

 tion of the leading word. You are proijably aware 

 that they have not an alphabet like other nations ; 

 but that their language consists entirely of a great . 

 number of different characters, forming so many com- 

 plete words, and which in writing are placed one un- 

 der another in a perpendicular column. I will en- - 

 deavour, therefore, to giveycu, in separate columns, . 



