112 REMINISCENCES OF 



fought my best, but of course numbers prevailed 

 and I was sent down. Instead of dashing out my 

 brains, they set to work to tie my hands behind me 

 and my ankles together, tied a huge gag on my 

 mouth, and then quietly took a large bamboo and 

 hammered my knee-caps to prevent the possibility 

 of an escape. 



" I was then put into a palanquin, which was 

 evidently kept ready for some such contingency, 

 and we hurried off to the north-west, and fetched 

 a circuit round to the south-west angle of the island 

 of Chusan, to a village about six miles from Sapper's 

 Point, where we waited till nightfall, my conductors 

 comforting me by drawing their hands across their 

 throats as they pronounced the ominous word 

 ' Ningpo '. 



" At about 7 p.m. we got into a boat with a 

 cover, and I laid myself down and slept many hours 

 till we came to Ningpo, where I was forced to get 

 into a cage made of wood one yard long, one yard 

 high, and two feet wide ; a ring was put round my 

 neck (of iron), and my hands put into handcuffs 

 locked to a stick about one foot long, which was 

 fastened to my neck ring. Very heavy leg-irons 

 were now riveted on to my ankles (they weigh about 

 1 8 lb.), and I wore them for four weeks. 



"On the 19th and 20th I was carried up to the 

 mandarins and was questioned about our steamships. 

 I offered to draw one for them, whereon they 

 became very friendly and ordered a bigger cage for 

 me ; this was 3 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft, i in, 



