LANGUAGE. 443 



them, what they would do if they were attacked by an 

 enemy, when he informed me that they had large stores 

 of arms which he had seen, shields, spears, and bows and 

 arrows, but that they wish to keep the knowledge of their 

 existence in the island, a secret, even from their own 

 people. Beechey remarks, that "the inhabitants of Loo- 

 Choo have no written character in use, which can 

 properly be called their own, but that they express them- 

 selves in that which is strictly Chinese." They have not 

 preserved, even if they ever possessed in their early state, 

 any original written language, but they have adopted that 

 of Japan. Both the French Missionary and A-sung, our 

 interpreter, assured me that it was strictly Japanese. The 

 Loo-Chooans, certainly must originally have been a colony 

 from Japan, although in the present day they disclaim all 

 connexion or acquaintance with that empire. In a con- 

 versation with Gutzlaff, they even affirmed that three 

 Junks from Satsuma in Japan had been driven hither by 

 stress of weather. During our visit, there were numerous 

 Japanese vessels lying in the harbour, no doubt tribute 

 Junks. The Catholic Priest informed me that he had 

 not succeeded in making a single convert, and though his 

 tenets were smiled at as being too absurd for credence, 

 yet he was treated with the greatest respect, mingled, 

 however, with a little jealousy. The higher classes are 

 probably very well contented with the precepts of Confu- 

 cius, and the lower with the doctrines of Buddha, both 

 systems having numerous proselytes among the Loo- 

 Chooans. Many, however, even among the most wealthy 

 and intelligent, are free-thinkers, and seem to trouble 

 themselves very little about superstition in any form. 



