The banks of the river appeared to be well cultivated; here and there some military stations might be seen, distinguished from the other houses by their flag-staffs. Many junks were moored alongside the bank, some very large, one in particular, whose long streamers flew gaily out in the breeze.
We stopped at a town on the left bank, where the soldiers got some firewood, and immediately set to work to prepare breakfast; rice, and some compounds of I know not what, for themselves, and sweet cakes and tea for me and my companion; but he was too ill to eat, and was constantly craving for water, which was never denied him. On our arrival at this town, the people crowded into our boat, nearly capsizing her; and to my surprise our guards made no attempt to keep them out, but on the contrary rather encouraged them. They had not long to satisfy their curiosity, for as soon as the soldiers had procured all they wanted, the boat was shoved off, and they hoisted the sail again. We continued our way down the stream till we arrived at another large town on the left bank. Here we stopped again, and I could soon see we were to be disembarked. The people crowded to see us as usual, but one of the soldiers, throwing part of the sail over the tops of our cages, kept watch over us, and would allow no one to molest us.
On the sail being removed, that we might be taken out of the boat, the first thing that met my eye was one of our guns, with the carriage belonging to it; soon after I saw another gun and its carriage. To enable the Chinese to get these guns, the tide must have fallen considerably after we left the wreck. The sight of these guns, as may be imagined, caused me anything but pleasurable sensations, as they proved beyond a doubt to our captors, that we had come to their coast with warlike intentions; and though they would perhaps be ashamed to kill a few shipwrecked merchant sailors, they might not hesitate to do so, if they could be certain that we had been concerned in the recent warfare, and these guns were strong evidence against us.
On being taken out of the boat, a long bamboo was passed between the bars of my cage, and two men, placing the ends on their shoulders, lifted it off the ground; and in this manner I was carried through an immense crowd, the bearers sometimes stopping to rest, and placing my cage on the ground, upon which the people gathered round and began to torment me, as they had done in former cases. At length, after passing through a great many streets, some of them very gay, we arrived at an open space, at the end of which were large folding gates; through these I passed, and after going up one or two passages, I found myself in a large hall. It was a large plain room, with a balustrade running down each side, behind which were several rough horses, saddled and bridled. At the end opposite the door was a large red silk canopy, under which was a small table, covered with a green cloth, and on it several metal plates and vases, dedicated to the manes of the ancestors of the person to whom the house belonged.[5] Many of the prisoners in their cages had arrived before me, and the rest followed in due time. The Chinese ranged us in our cages in two lines, one on each side of the hall; and at the end of each line they placed one of the guns, with its muzzle towards us. When we were thus arranged, like beasts in a show, many well and richly-dressed people came to look at us; and none but the better sort seemed to be admitted, for, with the exception of the soldiers, there were no ragged people in the place. Our visitors were mostly dressed in fine light silks, beautifully worked with flowers and figures of different descriptions. All of them had fans, some of them prettily painted, and others plain. One or two of the men had enamelled watches, which they wore hanging to their girdles by a gold chain. We were treated pretty well by them, as they gave us fruit and cakes, and sent water to those who asked for it.