"forms a strong contrast with the other, and exhibits all the "sublimer beauties of nature, in as high a degree as the part "which we saw before possesses the attractions of softness "and amenity. It is one of the finest forest-scenes in the "world; wild, woody, mountainous and rocky, abounding "with stags and deer of different species, and most of the "other beasts of the chace, not dangerous to man.

"In many places immense woods, chiefly oaks, pines, and "chesnuts, grow upon almost perpendicular steeps, and force "their sturdy roots through every resistance of surface and of "soil, where vegetation would seem almost impossible. These "woods often clamber over the loftiest pinnacles of the stony hills, or, gathering on the skirts of them, descend with a rapid sweep, and bury themselves in the deepest valleys. There, at proper distances, you find palaces, banqueting houses, " and monasteries, (but without bonzes) adapted to the situa "tion and peculiar circumstances of the place, sometimes with a rivulet on one hand, gently stealing through the glade, at "others with a cataract tumbling from above, raging with foam, "and rebounding with a thousand echoes from below, or si"lently engulphed in a gloomy pool or yawning chasm.

"The roads by which we approached these romantic scenes "are often hewn out of the living rock, and conducted round "the hills in a kind of rugged stair-case; and yet no accident "occurred in our progress, not a false step disturbed the re

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gularity of our cavalcade, though the horses are spirited, "and all of them unshod. From the great irregularity of "the ground, and the various heights to which we ascended, we had opportunities of catching many magnificent points of "view by detached glances; but, after wandering for several "hours (and yet never wearied with wandering), we at last "reached a covered pavilion, open on all sides, and situated on a summit so elevated as perfectly to command the whole "surrounding country, to a vast extent. The radius of the ho"rizon I should suppose to be at least twenty miles from the central spot where we stood; and, certainly, so rich, so various, so beautiful, so sublime a prospect, my eyes had "never beheld. I saw every thing before me as on an illumi"nated map; palaces, pagodas, towns, villages, farm-houses, plains, and valleys, watered by innumerable streams, hills waving with woods, and meadows covered with cattle of the "most beautiful marks and colours. All seemed to be nearly

tr

M

"at my feet, and that a step would convey me within reach of "them.

"I observed here a vast number of what we call in Eng"land sheet cows, also sheet horses, many pyeballs, dappled, "mottled, and spotted, the latter chiefly strawberry.

"From hence was pointed out to us by the minister a vast "enclosure below, which, he said, was not more accessible to "him than to us, being never entered but by the emperor, his women, or his eunuchs. It includes within its bounds, though on a smaller scale, most of the beauties which dis"tinguish the eastern and the western gardens which we have "already seen; but, from every thing I can learn, it falls very "short of the fanciful descriptions which Father Attiret and Sir "William Chambers have intruded upon us as realities. That "within these private retreats, various entertainments, of "the most novel and expensive nature, are prepared and "exhibited by the eunuchs, who are very numerous (perhaps "some thousands), to amuse the emperor and his ladies, I "have no doubt; but that they are carried to all the lengths "of extravagance and improbability those gentlemen have "mentioned, I very much question, as, from every enquiry I "have made (and I have not been sparing to make them), I "have by no means sufficient reason to warrant me in acced"ing to, or confirming, the accounts which they have given

❝ us.

"If any place in England can be said, in any respect, to "have similar features to the western park, which I have seen "this day, it is Lowther-Hall in Westmoreland, which, (when "I knew it many years ago) from the extent of prospect, the "grand surrounding objects, the noble situation, the diversity "of surface, the extensive woods, and command of water, "I thought might be rendered, by a man of sense, spirit, and "taste, the finest scene in the British dominions."

After this descriptive and interesting detail of the beauties of the two sides of the imperial park or gardens at Gehol, his lordship makes a few general observations on Chinese gardening, and the ornamental edifices that are usually employed to aid the effect, as well as contribute to use and convenience. He observes,

"Whether our style of gardening was really copied from "the Chinese, or originated with ourselves, I leave for vanity to assert, and idleness to discuss. A discovery which is the

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"result of good sense and reflexion may equally occur to "the most distant nations, without either borrowing from the "other. There is certainly a great analogy between our gardening and the Chinese; but our excellence seems to be "rather in improving nature, theirs to conquer her, and yet "produce the same effect. It is indifferent to a Chinese where "he makes his garden, whether on a spot favoured, or aban"doned, by the rural deities. If the latter, he invites them, or "compels them to return. His point is to change every thing "from what he found it, to explode the old fashion of the crea"tion, and introduce novelty in every corner. If there be a

waste, he adorns it with trees; if a dry desert, he waters it "with a river, or floats it with a lake. If there be a smooth flat, "he varies it with all possible conversions. He undulates the surface, he raises it in hills, scoops it into valleys, and roughens it with rocks. He softens asperities, brings amenity into the wilderness, or animates the tameness of an expanse, by accompanying it with the majesty of a forest. Deceptions "and eye-traps the Chinese are not unacquainted with, but "they use them very sparingly. I observed no artificial ruins, caves, or hermitages. Though the sublime predominates in "its proper station, you are insensibly led to contemplate it, not startled by its sudden intrusion; for, in the plan, cheer"fulness is the principal feature, and lights up the face of the scene. To enliven it still more, the aid of architecture is invited; all the buildings are perfect of their kind, either elegantly simple, or highly decorated, according to the "effect that is intended to arise, erected at suitable distances, "and judiciously contrasted, never crowded together in confusion, nor affectedly confronted, and staring at each other "without meaning. Proper edifices in proper places, The "summer-house, the pavilion, the pagodas, have all their re"spective situations, which they distinguish and improve, "but which any other structures would injure or deform. "The only things disagreeable to my eye are the large porce"lain figures of lions, tygers, &c, and the rough hewn steps, "and huge masses of rock-work, which they seem studious "of introducing near many of their houses and palaces. Considering their general good taste in the other points, I was "much surprised at this, and could only account for it, by "the expense and the difficulty of bringing together such incongruities; for it is a common effect of enormous riches to

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push every thing they can procure to bombast and extravagance, which are the death of taste. In other countries, "however, as well as in China, I have seen some of the most "boasted seats, either outgrowing their beauty from a plethora "of their owner's wealth, or becoming capricious and hypo"chondriacal by a quackish application of it. A few fine places, even in England, might be pointed out, that are la"bouring under these disorders; not to mention some cele"brated houses where twisted stair-cases, window-glass cu

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polas, and embroidered chimney-pieces, convey nothing to "us but the whims and dreams of sickly fancy, without an "atom of grandeur, taste, or propriety.

"The architecture of the Chinese is of a peculiar style, to'tally unlike any other, irreducible to our rules, but perfectly "consistent with its own. It has certain principles, from "which it never deviates, and although, when examined ac"cording to ours, it sins against the ideas we have imbibed "of distribution, composition, and proportion; yet, upon "the whole, it often produces a most pleasing effect, as "we sometimes see a person, without a single good feature "in his face, haye, nevertheless, a very agreeable coun66 tenance,"

CHAP. IV.

SKETCH OF THE STATE OF SOCIETY IN CHINA-.

-MANNERS,

CUSTOMS, SENTIMENTS, AND MORAL CHARACTER, OF THE PEOPLE.

Condition of Women, a Criterion of the State of Society.-Degraded State of in China. Domestic Manners unfavourable to Filial Affection.-Parental Authority.-Ill Effects of separating the Sexes.-Social Intercourse unknown, except for Gaming.-Their Worship solitary.-Feasts of New Year.-Propensity to Gaming.-Influence of the Laws seems to have destroyed the Natural Character of the People.-Made them indifferent, or cruel.—Various Instances of this Remark in public and in private Life.-Remarks on Infanticide.-Perhaps less general than usually thought.-Character of the Chinese in foreign Countries.-Temper and Disposition of the Chinese.-Merchants.-Cuckoo-Clocks. -Conduct of a Prince of the Blood.-Of the Prime Minister.-Comparison of the Physical and Moral Characters of the Chinese and Man-tchoo Tartars.— General Character of the Nation illustrated.

IT may, perhaps, be laid down as an invariable maxim, that the condition of the female part of society, in any nation, will furnish a tolerably just criterion of the degree of civilization to which that nation has arrived. The manners, habits, and prevailing sentiments of women, have great influence on those of the society to which they belong, and generally give a turn to its character. Thus we shall find that those nations, where the moral and intellectual powers of the mind, in the female sex, are held in most estimation, will be governed by such laws as are best calculated to promote the general happiness of the people; and, on the contrary, where the personal qualifications of the sex are the only objects of consideration, as is the case in all the despotic governments of Asiatic nations, tyranny, oppression, and slavery are sure to prevail; and these personal accomplishments, so far from being of use to the owner, serve only to deprive her of liberty, and the society of her friends; to render her a degraded victim, subservient to the sensual gratifications, the caprice, and the jealousy of tyrant man. Among savage tribes, the labour and drudgery invariably fall heaviest on the weaker sex.