THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
THE IMPERIAL EPISTLE, 
 
 AND 
 
 THE SHADE 
 
 OF 
 
 ALEXANDER POPE 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF 
 
 THE 
 
 PURSUITS OF LITERATURE* 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PRINTED BY H. MAXWELL, FOR A. DICKINS, BOOKSELLER, 
 NOKTH SECOND STREET, OPPOSITE CHRIST-CHURCH. 
 
 1800. 
 
94 / 
 
 M-I3I 
 
 CASE 
 B 
 
 THE IMPERIAL EPISTLE 
 
 FROM 
 
 KIEN LONG, 
 
 TO 
 
 GEORGE THE THIRD 
 

 THE IMPERIAL EPISTLE 
 
 FROM 
 
 KIEJV ZOJVG, 
 
 EMPEROR OF CHINA, 
 
 TO 
 
 GEORGE THE THIRD, 
 
 KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, &c. 8cc. &c. 
 
 IN THE YEAR 1794. 
 
 Transmitted from the Emperor, and presented to his Britannic Majesty 
 by his Excellency the Right Honourable George Earl Macartney of 
 the Kingdom of It-eland, K. B. Embassador Extraordinary and 
 Plenipotentiary to the Emperor of China in the Years 1792, 1793, 
 and 1794. 
 
 TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH VERSE FROM THE ORIGINAL 
 CHINESE POETRY. 
 
 WITH NOTES 
 
 BY VARIOUS PEHSONS OF EMINENCE A.ND DISTINCTION, 
 ANU BY THE TRANSLATOR. 
 
 Ignotum Rutulis carmen coeloque latino 
 Fingimus, et finem egressi legemque priorum. 
 
 juv. SAT. vi. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PRINTED BY H. MAXWELL, FOR A. DICKINS, BOOKSELLER, 
 
 WORTH SE60ND iTREET, OPPOSITE CHRIST-CHURCH. 
 
 1800, 
 
 (VS358875 
 
A PREFACE 
 BT THE TRANSLATOR 
 
 AS no writer ever stood in greater need of 
 an apology than myself, I hope I shall be per- 
 mitted to give a few words in explanation of my 
 labour. I have undertaken to translate into Eng- 
 lish verse the poetry of the Emperor of China, 
 who is styled u The torch of the East, the true 
 " descendant of Taytsoy, and the providence of 
 " Heaven." I have studied almost every princi- 
 pal writer on the subject, but must except this 
 general History of China translated by Father 
 Moyrac de Mailla in twelve volumes quarto, 
 which I just saw, but could not obtain; and 
 I regret it daily with all the fulness of that 
 desiderium which so dear a bead as Father 
 Moyrac de Mailla's demands. I confess also that 
 
C 4 ] 
 
 t have received assistance from the best scholars 
 and interpreters employed in Lord Macartney's 
 Embassy, (though I was unfortunately deprived 
 of the aid I hoped, from the ingenious Mr. Plumb, 
 stiled by way of eminence the Interpreter, whom 
 I regret still more than Father Moyrac de Mailla) : 
 yet I am convinced that it is impossible to do full 
 justice to the imperial Chinese phrases and ex- 
 pressions, which are not always intelligible to an 
 European. I have therefore been under the ne- 
 cessity of supplying many passages from conjec- 
 ture, or by the analogy of meaning; and this must 
 be considered by any person who may have an 
 opportunity of comparing my English with the 
 Emperor's Chinese. Yet if the reader should be 
 of opinion that I have sometimes totally misun- 
 derstood, and sometimes falsely conjectured, 
 the meaning of the Emperor, he will be inclined 
 to forgive me, when he considers for a moment 
 the nature of the Chinese language. 
 
 Father du Halde will inform him, that there 
 was a " Dictionary composed by order of the late 
 " Emperor, and that it did not contain all the 
 
" language, since it was found necessary to add 
 " a Supplement in twenty-four Volumes, though the 
 " first work contained ninety-Jive volumes, the 
 " greatest part very thick and in a small charac- 
 " ter*." I must observe, that I was favoured 
 only with the first ninety-Jive volumes, some of 
 which were a little imperfect; and Sir George 
 Staunton himself could not procure for me the 
 supplemental twenty-four, though he endeavoured 
 to oblige me with the greatest politeness. This 
 must be my first excuse. As to the words them- 
 selves Father du Halde shall give an example or 
 two, which will be sufficient to give an idea of 
 the rest. He says, " The word Tcbu when pro- 
 u nounced slowly, signifies a lord or master; if 
 " with an even tone, it signifies a bog; if pro- 
 " nounced quick, it means a kitchen; if in a strong 
 u and masculine tone, it signifies a column." Again: 
 " The syllable Po, according to its various accents 
 u and modes of pronunciation has eleven different 
 " meanings; it signifies 1, Glass. 2, to boil. 3, to 
 " winnow rice. 4, wise or liberal. 5, to prepare. 6, 
 
 * Du Halde History of China, v. 2. p. 398. English edition 8vo. 
 
C 6 ] 
 
 " an old woman. 7, to break or cleave. 8, inclined. 
 " 9, a very little. 10, to water. 11, a slave or cap- 
 " tivef." Under circumstances like these I really 
 think it impossible, and rather unkind, not to 
 make some allowance for my errors, as I cer- 
 tainly have not the opportunity of hearing the 
 pronunciation, and of conversing so frequently in 
 Chinese, as I could wish; and, I think, if even 
 an embassador should be found to have made a 
 mistake or two, we may be sorry, but we cannot 
 be much surprised. 
 
 My original is an Ode; but for various rea- 
 sons I have been obliged to soften it down to the 
 milder and more familiar form of an Epistle. Be- 
 sides, a political composition requires a discussion 
 of subjects not always lyrical in this country; and 
 the internal ceconomy of a kingdom will not easily 
 submit to an English stanza, however varied: but 
 this is different in the court of Pekin. 
 
 Yet in order to give the reader some idea of 
 the difficulty of translating poetically such sublime 
 
 t Du Baltic History of China, v. 2. p. 390. English edition 8vo. and 
 Abbl- Gros'.er's Amount of China, v. 2. p. 382. Grosier's work is an 
 jagreeable compilation from various authors. 
 
C 7 ] 
 
 writings as the Emperor's, I beg leave to exhibit 
 some part of the same imperial Author's " Ode in 
 " praise of drinking tea." But as it is impossible 
 for an uninstructed European to conceive the 
 form and solemnity, which accompanied the pub- 
 lication of that great national poem, he must for a 
 few moments suspend his curiosity for the work 
 itself, while I convince him of how much greater 
 consequence the poetry of an Emperor seems to 
 be, than his politics. I am informed by Sir Wil- 
 liam Chambers, K. P. S. &c. &.c. &c. in his note 
 upon the Discourse O/"CHET-QU A of Quang-Chew- 
 Fu, Gentleman, annexed to his famous Disserta- 
 tion on Oriental Gardening in 4to. page 118, 
 second edition, that " The Ode in praise of drinking 
 " tea was published by the imperial edict of KIEN 
 " LONG, reigning Emperor of China, bearing 
 " date the twelfth day of the ninth moon of the thir- 
 " teenth year of his reign, in Thirty-two different 
 " types and characters, under the inspection of Yun- 
 " lou and Houng-yen, Princes by the title of Tsin- 
 " Suang; Fou Keng, Grandee by the title of 
 " Taypao; Count, by the title of Valiant; and 
 
[ 8 ] 
 
 " First President of almost all the great tribunals 
 " of the empire ; whose Deputies were Ak-down 
 " and Tsing-pou, Grandees by the title of Taytzee 
 " Chaopao; and these were again assisted by 
 " Isau, Fouki, Elquinque, Tetchi, Mingtee, 
 " Tsoungming, Tchaugyu, Tounmin, and about a 
 " dozen other mandarins of rank and reputation; 
 " so that there is no doubt but the work is per- 
 " fectly correct." This I believe is perfectly new 
 in the annals of poetry to most of my readers. 
 Now in our Europe, we find the reverse in the 
 present time, even in political subjects. Emperors, 
 Kings, Vice-roys, Governors, Dukes, Admirals, 
 and Generals publish their Manifestos and Coun- 
 ter Manifestos with advice or without advice, just 
 as they please, and generally in a noble manner, 
 without any consideration at all, like the Duke of 
 Brunswick, Lord Hood, or Earl Eitzwilliam. To 
 be sure in these manifestos mere trifles are at 
 stake ; such as the lives and properties, the happi- 
 ness or the misery of millions. But in China (hear 
 this, ye Right Honourable Statesmen, William Pitt 
 and Henry Dundas!) when an Emperor's Ode in 
 
[ 9 ] 
 
 praise of drinking tea, is to be published, Princes, 
 Grandees, Counts, First Presidents of all the great 
 tribunals, and Mandarins of high rank and reputa- 
 tion, are summoned to sanction and superintend 
 the publication of the important national work. 
 
 I shall make no excuse for these preliminary 
 articles, but proceed to present the reader with 
 some sublime passages from the Ode itself, digni- 
 fied and ushered in with the solemnity which 1 
 have described, and as it stands in page 119 of 
 Sir William Chambers's Discourse, just men- 
 tioned. The original commences with these 
 words, " Meiboa cbe pou yao, &c." the first verse 
 will be quite sufficient to shew the harmonic 
 power of the original; the translation is as fol- 
 lows, u The colours of the Meihoa are never 
 " brilliant, yet is the flower always pleasing; in 
 " fragrance or neatness the Focheou has no equal; 
 " the fruit of the pine is aromatic, its odour is 
 " inviting. In gratifying at once the smell, the 
 " sight and the taste, nothing exceeds these three 
 " things; and if at the same time you put upon a 
 " gentle Jire an old pot with three legs grown black 
 
" and battered with length of service; and if, when 
 
 " the fire is heated to a degree that will boil a Jisb 
 
 / 
 
 u or redden a lobster, you pour directly into a cup 
 " made of the earth Yue, upon the tender leaves 
 " of superfine tea ; and if you then gently sip this 
 " delicious beverage, it is labouring effectually to 
 " remove tbejive causes of discontent which usually 
 " disturb our quiet." I cannot help observing, 
 that all other Emperors and authors would be 
 happy to have all their causes of discontent 
 limited to five, and removed effectually by a little 
 tea. The imperial poet proceeds, and cries out 
 in rapture, "Methinks I see the virtuous LINFOU 
 " bending into form with his own hands the 
 " branches of the Meiboa-cbou! It was thus, say 
 " I to myself, that he relieved his mind after the 
 "fatigues of profound meditation on the most inter- 
 " esting subjects" But the Emperor's rapture is 
 very short indeed, and he breaks forth, or rather 
 says, " / ship from Linfou to Tchao-cheou, or to 
 " Yu-chouan, and see the first, (that is, Tchao- 
 " cheou,) in the middle of a vast many tea-cups, of 
 " which he sometimes tastes one and sometimes 
 
C 11 3 
 
 " another^ thus varying incessantly his potation j 
 " while the second, (that is, Yu-chouan,) drinks 
 " with the profoundest indifference the best tea*, and 
 " scarce distinguishes it from the vilest stuff" 
 The Emperor then resumes his lyre, which it 
 may be necessary to observe, he never does but 
 at night, and generally by moon-light. " Already, 
 " he cries, The rays of the moon break through the 
 " windows of my tent, and with their lustre 
 " brighten the few mov cables with which it is 
 " adorned." The Emperor's modesty is conspi- 
 cuous at the close of this great ode, and like 
 Pindar, he strikes us with what Lord Bacon calls 
 a virgula divina, I mean, an useful moral sentence 
 very unexpectedly. " I find myself (cries the im- 
 " perial bard) neither uneasy nor fatigued: my 
 " stomach is empty (the Emperor is poetical to 
 u the last) and I may without fear go to rest. It 
 
 * The East India Directors, with that great prudence which distin- 
 guishes all' their well-debated resolutions, have given positive orders to all 
 their Supercargoes, to have no dealings with Tu-cbouan (if alive) or any of 
 his descendants. What would become of the Commutation Act, (not 
 forgetting the new Act in 1795) if this Mandarin's profound indifference 
 for tbe best tea should gain ground in this country? 
 
C 12 J 
 
 ; is thus with my poor abilities, I have made these 
 " verses in the little spring of the tenth moon in 
 " the year Ping-yu of my reign. 
 
 KIEN LONG." 
 
 From these extracts the reader will form some 
 conjecture concerning the nature of my labour, 
 and of the necessity of this preface. 
 
 As my translation of the Imperial Epistle has 
 been much handed about in manuscript, I have 
 been favoured with a variety of notes by persons 
 of eminence and distinction. I value too much 
 the honour of their communications, not to gratify 
 the public with a selection at least of their remarks 
 on the work of an Emperor, now in his eighty- 
 fourth year, and who is esteemed the most learned 
 and accomplished man in his dominions. I must 
 add, that the following Epistle is written in an 
 happy assemblage of the Kou-oucn, or classical 
 language ; of the Oucn-cbang, or that which is used 
 when a noble or elevated style is required; and of 
 
C 15 ] 
 
 the Kou-enba,* or language of the court, the peo- 
 ple in office, and the literati; which consideration 
 will easily account for every allusion, metaphor, 
 or style which the Emperor has thought proper 
 to adopt. 
 
 The translation of it is now presented to the 
 public, in the spirit of strong affection and loyalty 
 to the person of GEORGE THE THIRD, and of rever- 
 ence for the constitution and government of Eng- 
 land. In the course of it will be found the free- 
 dom of just and liberal animadversion on public 
 characters, and on statesmen in power and out of 
 power, neither suggested by envy, nor dictated by 
 flattery. The Translator of THE IMPERIAL EPIS- 
 TLE is also of opinion, that the whole of it is 
 composed with that simplicity and unity, of mean- 
 ing and of intention, which only bold or bad men 
 can misrepresent or misunderstand. 
 
 * Crosier'* Account of Ch : na, v 2. p. 387. 
 
THE IMPERIAL EPISTLE 
 
 FROM 
 
 KIEN LONG, 
 
 EMPEROR OF CHINA, 
 
 TO 
 
 GEORGE THE THIRD, 
 
 KING OF GREAT BRITAIN, &c. See. 
 
 FRIEND of the Muse, a by every muse rever'd, 
 In Europe honour 'd, and by India fear'd, 
 Around whose throne, in freedom's chosen land, 
 In stern defence a guardian people stand, 
 Who feel for Britain, feel their sacred cause, 5 
 Thy just prerogative and equal laws : 
 
 a The institution of the Royal Academy for painting and sculpture, 
 the patronage of poetical and learned merit in Cowper, Beattie, the late 
 Dr. Johnson, and other writers of eminence v/hom it is unnecessary to 
 mention, and the restoration of national taste for the sublime of music, 
 by his persevering and undeviating regard for Handel, are fully sufficient 
 to entitle his present majesty George III. " The Friend of the Muse. M 
 The Emperor notices this in a future part of his Epistle. 
 
 Note by the Translator. 
 
C 16 ] 
 
 Hear, BRUNSWICK, thy Imperial Brother's song, 
 Firm on the base of friendship deep and strong, 
 E'en in my eightieth winter, fancy-free, 
 I build the rhyme to Royalty and THEE. 10 
 
 Here nightly by the moon, b her quick'ning beams 
 I court reclin'd, and call Sidonian dreams, 
 While minstrels breathe around diviner airs, 
 A poet's rapture sooths a monarch's cares: 
 All pomp of words my sober years decline, 15 
 Simplicity and truth illume my line, 
 Soft as the tints Meihoa's foliage spreads, 
 And fragrant as the perfume Fo-sai sheds. 
 
 b It is to be remembered, that the Emperor always composes at 
 night, and generally by moon-light; see his ode in praise of drinking tea 
 mentioned in the Translator's preface: this frequently gives the happy 
 effect of the cblar'-oscuro to the imperial poetry, and particularly in his 
 portrait-painting, but occasions the necessity of notes, which never should 
 be admitted without such a necessity. The Emperor, who is always clas- 
 sical in his allusions, speaks of his Sidonian dreams in the next verse, and 
 reminds me of Milton, P. L. b. i. 
 
 " Nightly by the moon 
 u Sidonian virgins paid their vows and songs." 
 
 N~ote communicated by Benjamin West, Esq. President 
 of the Royal Academy. 
 
 c The Meiboa and the Fa-sai are the names of two beautiful and 
 aromatic plants in China. 
 
C 17 ] 
 
 Thanks to the power, whose well-fraught vesse Is bore 
 Thy lov'd MACARTNEY to iny friendly shore, 20 
 Whose various talents strength and grace impart 
 To blameless life and singleness of heart. 
 He came : but with no prodigies on high ; 
 As once, beneath the frore Siberian sky, 
 When sent in Britain's happier hour to prove 
 Imperial CATHERINE'S policy and love, 26 
 
 Coelestial Venus mark'd th' auspicious way 
 In dusky passage o'er the orb of day. d 
 
 When such thy ministers that round me tend, 
 A willing ear to Albion's wish I lend. 30 
 
 Long has her trident aw'd the subject main, 
 Nor e'er unfurl'd her swelling sails in vain ; 
 
 d The Emperor's information is true. Lord Macartney, before he 
 was raised to the peerage of Ireland (and no man is more deserving of 
 that or any other honour than himself) was appointed embassador to the 
 court of Russia in 1767, at the very time when the Empress was making 
 great preparations to observe the Transit of Venus over the Sun, from the 
 frozen regions towards the pole, and on the borders of the Caspian, with- 
 in her own vast Empire. (See the Annual Register for 1767, p. 9.) At 
 present this imperial votary of Mars and Venus seems to be employing 
 her political astronomy in making transits rather more permanent and 
 more formidable. The Empress is supposed to have the best and strongest 
 sighted telescope of any potentate in Europe. Her observatory is valua- 
 ble on many accounts, but in my opinion THE BUSTS of the great orators 
 ancient and modern are its principal ornament. 
 
 Note communicated by tbe Ri^lt Honourable C. J. Fox. 
 C 
 
C 18 ] 
 
 Ne'er did her voice in idle thunder speak, 
 Bat crush'd the haughty and upheld the weak. 
 By THEE inspir'd, her fate unspotted stood, 35 
 No taint of avarice and no guilt of blood; 
 Beneficent and mild from pole to pole 
 Commerce was taught through mercies tides to roll, 
 To pour each cultivated blessing wide, 
 To give new motives to a nation's pride, 40 
 
 And blend with artful, but harmonious strife, 
 The law of int'rest with the light of life. 
 Such course THOU bad'st th' immortal Sailor run, 
 Who made discovery where he saw no sun; 
 Contending nations own'd their common trust, 45 
 And France, (for then her Louis liv'd) was just. 
 Now other climes and other groves among 
 While loud lament is heard, or plaintive song, 
 To Him let China's monarch fondly turn, 
 And twine the wreath round Cook's barbaric urn. 50 
 
 While such thy views, while such thy righteous aim, 
 Her proud pre-eminence shall Albion claim, 
 And meaner jealousies and tricks of state 
 Yield to whate'er is good, whate'er is great. 
 
 But oh, what phrase of love may best befit, 55 
 How most may China's sovereign grace thy PITT? 
 
Arch-chemick minister! his prime decree 
 Refreshed thy land with Commutation-Tea; 6 
 Wholesome and pure the beverage cheers the sight, 
 By strange filtration through earth, air, and light. f 
 Great minister! whose fame may well engage 61 
 The prose of Lauderdale and all his rage; 
 And yet untouch'd by HIM, with Roman claim 
 Who left the shadow of a mighty name. % 
 
 e They who are curious (as ail people should be) about the history 
 of Tea, are referred to Ksempfer's History of Japan, fol. vol. 2. append, 
 p. i. to p. 20... .to Osbeck's Voyage to China in 1751, vol. i. p. 246 to 
 253.... Le Compte's Journey to China in 1685, p. 227 to 230... .Du Halde 
 Hist. vol. 4. p. 21. to 28. ed. 8vo. Engl....Dr. Lettsom's Hist, of Tea, 
 4to. in 1 77 2. ...and Grosier's Account, vol. i. p. 463 to 484. 
 
 Note communicated by Mr. Twining and a Committee of 
 Teamen, highly Sou chonged. 
 
 f We admire the minister's system of promoting political vegetation 
 by natural analogy; for as no vegetation whatsoever can be carried on 
 without ground, air, and the light of heaven, he thought with the great- 
 est sagacity that the circulation of this fluid tax would be best kept up 
 by making it pass through windows, which are at once the conveyance of 
 air and light. 
 
 Note communicated and produced by the joint labour 
 and thought of Sir John Sinclair, president, and 
 of Arthur Young, Esq. secretary to the new 
 Board of Agriculture. 
 
 g Junius.... There is a person now living, emphatically stiled on the 
 highest authority, THE MAN WITH THE PEN. 
 
 Note communicated by the Rigbt Honourable W. G. Hamilton, M. P. 
 
[ 20 ] 
 
 See how the sickening stars, in Portland's train, 65 
 Fade one by one from Opposition's plain, 
 As forth his chosen charms the Enchanter flings, 
 Ribbands and vice-roys, earls, and garter'd strings. 
 Oh, that my longing eye PITT'S form might greet, 
 Triumphant borne through Pekin's crowded street, 
 In boots of silk h and sattin's trailing length, 7 1 
 Cbonlab supreme ! ' my kingdom's grace and strength, 
 Around his waist I'd bind to solemn view 
 The scarf of yellow's proud imperial hue, k 
 Where, broiderd bold, thy Lion's golden might 75 
 With China's five-claw'd Dragon 1 should unite; 
 
 h " People of condition never go abroad but in boots > which are gen- 
 erally of saltin or other silk." Grosier, vol. 2. p. 296. 
 
 Note by the Marquis of Abercorn. 
 
 \ Cboulab, is the Chinese word for Prime Minister...." The whole 
 " number of Mandarins appointed by the Emperor, for the administration 
 " of the affairs of all the provinces, amounts to 8,965. These are all 
 " Great Mandarins." Grosier, vol. i. p. 371. Mr. Pitt's ambition will 
 never rest in the Premier's office in such a little island as Great Britain, 
 after an offer from the Emperor of becoming, Chief of the Chief. 
 
 Note communicated by bis Grace the Duke of Bedford; (en attendant.) 
 
 k The imperial family alone wear yellow, and such mandarins to 
 whom the Emperor grants the honour of the yellow scarf. See Du Halde, 
 Grosier and Bell. 
 
 Nte by the Duke of Montrose and the Lords Cardigan and Sidney. 
 
 1 The Emperor wore a long tunic of yellow silk, interwoven " with 
 " figures of golden dragons with five claws; which device no person is 
 
C 21 ] 
 
 Rubies m should on his cap transparent glow, 
 And peacock's plumes adown his vesture flow: 
 Loungers with lengthen'd nails" should marchbefore 
 And to the nine add one black whisker more. 80 
 Then should the bust of virtuous Lin-fou shine, 
 Lm-fou, who lives in my immortal line: 
 
 " allowed to bear except the imperial family." Bell's Travels, 8vo. vol. 
 2. p. 12. ...We see THE EMPEROR considers Mr. Pitt as one of his 
 family. Note by the Rigbt Honourable C. J. Fox. 
 
 rn The distinction of Mandarins of the highest order is a red trans- 
 parent jewel on the top of the cap, and peacock's feathers trailing down 
 behind it. Mr. Bell explains this : " Most of the ministers of state (he 
 " says) were dressed very plain, having nothing like ornaments about them; 
 " a few only had large rubies, sapphires and emeralds. These precious 
 " stones are cut into the shape of pears, through which a hole is drilled, 
 " to fix them on the top of their bonnets." Bell's Travels, vol. 2. p. 13. 
 Note communicated (with great feeling) by Mrs. Hastings 
 
 and Mr. "Jeffreys tbe jeweller. 
 
 n All the men of fashion in China wear nine or more whiskers, and 
 all the gentlemen have long nails, to shew that they are idle. Perhaps 
 Lord William Gordon and other Loungers and Rangers may introduce 
 this fashion in London, or when they visit Mr. Pitt at his levees. 
 
 Note communicated by the Reverend Mr. Newman, Vicar of 
 Bond-street, assisted by some other learned and labori- 
 ous Divines, in tbe diocese of John Stockdale, political 
 Bishop of Piccadilly. 
 
 o Lin-fou (see the Translator's Preface for the character of that 
 great man) is the virtuous tea-drinker, mentioned by the Emperor in his 
 ode in praise of drinking tea; and is introduced here with great propriety 
 in Mr. PITT'S TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO THE COURT OF PEKIX. 
 
 Note by Sir Stephen Lusbington and Mr. David Scott. 
 
[ 22 ] 
 
 Next in high portraiture, or bold relief, 
 Should gleam THE IMAGE of each British chief, 
 Of all who swell the sails, or guide the helm, 85 
 Hope of thy land, or glories of thy realm; 
 While trophies of the wise, the just, the brave, 
 In orient hues and banner'd pomp should wave. 
 
 FIRST o'er thy ocean with terrific frown, 
 Victorious grac'd with England's rostral crown, 90 
 The scourge of vaunting France unshaken Howe, 
 With Fabian firmness and unruffled brow. 
 Then be the form of great Cornwallis seen, 
 Sedate, experienced, valiant, and serene; 
 Depicted in the tablet stand below 95 
 
 The filial hostage and imperial foe: 
 Beyond Mysore he thunder'd: the dread sound 
 Appall'd, and circumscribed the tyrant's bound. P 
 Next, with sad registers of treasur'd lore, 
 Financial scrolls, and many an Indian crore, 100 
 Burnish'd in breathing bronze, behold HIM pass, 
 Fearless, who knows alone no change, Dundas. 
 
 HE comes, the motley wonder of the time, 
 Moulded in Nature's and in Fancy's prime, 
 
 p Tippoo Saib. 
 
C 23 ] 
 
 Form'd, like Lucullus, for the wordy war 105 
 To shake the stage, the senate, or the bar ; 
 Whose wit a people's plaudits could secure 
 For gamesters, rakes, and brothellers impure, 
 Could tear from youth the dread of public shame, 
 Drive from their lips e'en virtue's very name, 1 10 
 And train an easy nation to allow 
 A public bankrupt with a graceful bow; q 
 
 q The School for Scandal is the text, and every tutor and every trades- 
 man know where to look for the commentary. 
 
 N'jte communicated by William Wilberforce, Esq. M* P* 
 Additional note in 1796. MONT ANUS in the time of Juvenal, a 
 witness to the unbounded luxury and extravagance of Nero, is thus des- 
 cribed : 
 
 Noverat ille 
 
 Luxuriam imperil veterem, noctesque Neronis 
 Jam medias. SAT. 4. 
 
 I do not remember that Tacitus or Seutonius mention the Specula 
 cubicularia et tabulata adapertilia in the chamber of BRITANNICUS, and 
 indeed as I have not by me the Glossarium media et INFIM.E Latinitatis, 
 I cannot render the terms. Perhaps some architects might conjecture 
 by the help of a marine builder's dictionary. I may add, that in a secret 
 history of the imperial court it is somewhere observed, that it was cus- 
 tomary, about the middle of Autumn, for a chorus of learned Fishermen, 
 wh.le they were spreading their nets on a greenish walk on the coast of 
 Campania, to sing the following words with much emphasis: "NupTUS 
 " delicias Viduse aspernatur ADULTER." But I never could explain the 
 reason of the custom. 
 
 Note communicated by tbe Right Honourable W. C. Han::!- 
 ton, M. P. 
 
C 24 ] 
 
 A stage-man Portland never would respect, 
 But with Athenian i dignity reject; 
 No cabinet for Sheridan, no trust, 115 
 
 While England in her statesmen dares be just. 
 
 HE too, who kindled at a holier flame 
 His wit, his learning, and superior fame; 
 Onward with more than Tully's force he prest, 
 With more than all, but Tully's judgment, blest; 120 
 High truth in large discourse with wisdom fraught, 
 Not better heard in Tusculum, he taught; 
 In every realm of every science found, 
 Plain are his steps in all but Grecian ground. 
 A temple 1 " last he rear'd by art divine, 125 
 
 And plac'd his Csesar in the central shrine; 
 
 q The Athenians by an express law prohibited any member of the 
 great council of the Areopagus from having any concern in a theatre, or 
 from writing any play or comedy upon pain of expulsion. Plutarch in- 
 forms us of this in his treatise on the Glory of the Athenians : TJJ* 
 
 Plutarch, vol. 2. p. 348. ed. Xyland. 
 Note communicated by the Reverend Dr. Parr, and not with- 
 out much reluctance; but tbsrc ivas no resisting the 
 pleasure of-&. little bit of Greek. 
 Templum de marmore ponam ; 
 In medio mihi Cxsar erit, tempi unique tenebit. 
 
 Virg. Georg. 1. 3. 
 
[ 25 ] 
 
 High priest himself, but not with olive crown'd, 
 His forehead was with martial fillets bound; 
 Within some feeble pillars here and there. 
 And idle ornaments for want of care, 130 
 
 But marble still the column and the dome, 
 Wrought from those quarries which he found at 
 
 home; 
 
 Immortal, though unfinish'd, is the work: 
 Why name the architect, s who knows not Burke ? 
 
 The Emperor considers Mr. Burke's three treatises on French affairs, 
 entitled, "Reflections on the Revolution in France; a Letter to a mem- 
 " her of the National Assembly, and his Appeal from the .New to the 
 " Old Whigs," under the allegory of a Temple 
 
 Note by tbe Translator. 
 
 s I feel myself obliged to the Emperor for his opinion on my friend 
 Mr. Burke's compositions on the French revolution, on which they are 
 now writing a dreadful commentary. As I am on the subject I must 
 observe, that I never remember to have seen the French Convention des- 
 cribed in the words of Milton. He indeed knew what a Long Parliament 
 was ; but his overbearing genius seems to have pourtrayed a French Con- 
 vention, when he described 
 
 A shape, 
 
 If shape it may be call'd, that shape has none : 
 Or substance may be call'd that shadow seems, 
 For both seems either: black it stands as night, 
 Fierce as ten furies, terrible as hell, 
 And shakes a dreadful dart; what seems its head, 
 Tbe likeness of a kingly croivn has on; 
 Created thing nought values it, nor shuns. P. L. b. 2. 
 D 
 
C 26 ] 
 
 Next Wyndham, fearless thund'ringfrom his car, 
 Pitt's new Tyrtasus, breathes the blast of war ; 136 
 With parts a splendid station to adorn, 
 He braves the taunt of democratic scorn. 
 With eloquence and strength, his country's friend, 
 To think and act, and what he thinks, defend. 140 
 
 And veering Loughborough, whose unquiet mind 
 Found late that joy ambition scarce can find; 
 He came, though not in Latium to repose, 
 But burn in conflict with a nation's foes, 
 Yet still, though thron'd in Thurlow's rightful place, 
 His words want weight which never wanted grace. 
 
 Lo, the grave Grenville, with a patriot's end 
 Who dar'd to sink the rival in the friend ; t 
 
 For my own part, I distrust them nil: I Irate alike French policy, 
 French professions, French impiety, French vaunting, French versatility, 
 French t'alshood, French cruelty. I am equally disposed to guard against 
 their Republican volcano, whether belching forth the fiery lava of Terror, 
 or smouldering with the more dangerous srncak of Moderation. 
 
 Note communicated bj the Rigbt Honourable William Jl'^id- 
 bam> M. P. Secretary at War, &c. See. Sec. in 1795. 
 
 t It should be mentioned to the honour of Lord Grenville, that he 
 accepted a peerage at the very time when he was the only man on Mr. 
 Pitt's side of the house, who could have contested the palm of eloquence 
 with him, or indeed could 1m e succeeded him us Minister in case of any 
 
[ 27 ] 
 
 Content could leave the Commons, and the Chair, 
 To breathe with Lords a more convenient air. 150 
 There too, upon Hibernia's sainted green, 
 Should Buckingham, without his boots, v be seen j 
 Mark how the citizens suspend in state 
 His leathren trophies on the Castle gate. 
 
 Then He, whom e'en fraternal worth could fail, 
 The plume-pluckt Chatham with a raven's tail; x 
 
 of those little amantium irae, which will sometimes happen among the best 
 regulated statesmen. 
 
 Note communicated (after profound meditation) by George 
 
 Rose, Esq. Secretary to the Treasury. 
 
 v The present Marquis of Buckingham, then Lord Temple, was 
 formerly Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Du Halde has explained the Em- 
 peror's pleasant allusion in substance thus: If a viceroy in China has exe- 
 cuted his office with equity and the love of his subjects, (the word subjects 
 is too strong) many particular honours are paid him. One of the most 
 pleasant is this: the citizens, some of whom weep or pretend to do so, 
 ineet him at a short distance from the city, and pull off bis old boots and 
 present him ivitb new ones: those first taken off are preserved in a cage 
 over the gate of the City. Du Halde Hist. ed. 8vo. v. 2. p. 178, 179. 
 Now though the Emperor observes that the loving citizens of Dublin met 
 upon St. Stephen's, or in the imperial words, on the sainted green, and 
 most certainly pulled off my Lord Marqu : s's old boots, it does not appear 
 that they presented him with a new pair. Whether they never desired to 
 see him accoutred among them again, or whatever was the cause, all that 
 the loving citizens could be prevailed upon to say, was, " Off ivitb bis 
 so much for Buckingham." 
 
 Note communicated (con amore) by the Riglt Honourable 
 C. . Fox. 
 
[ 28 ] 
 
 And garter'd Richmond, whose unblazon'd shield y 
 Proves honour to cecono my should yield; 
 And Malagrida, z with his wily leer, 
 Sense that misleads, but words that charm the ear. 
 Fresh fro m Hermippus and his doctrine brisk, 161 
 In saffron sock old Cardigan a should frisk, 
 With Aylesb'ry, graceful in his walking-dress, 
 And Dorset, prompt the lively dame to bless: 
 
 x The emperor is again local in his allusions. The Chinese mode 
 is this: When a Mandarin is removed from a very important station to one 
 of less consequence in the government, the peacock's feathers depending 
 from his cap are taken out, and crows feathers are substituted. 
 
 Note communicated (con amore also} by the Right Honoura- 
 ble the Earl Spencer, First Lord of the Admiralty. 
 
 y It is difficult to understand the whole of the Emperor's meaning, 
 but I think my office enables me at least to offer a conjecture. When the 
 late repairs were made in St. George's Chapel at Windsor, with an exem- 
 plary liberality, every Knight of the Garter contributed a sum towards it, 
 and his arms were blazoned on the window over his banner. The D. of 
 Richmond alone thought his fame sufficient without the honour and expense 
 of the sacred glass, and declined them. The glass remains nnornamented 
 to this hour. 
 
 Note communicated by the Right Reverend the Dean of Windsor. 
 
 7. Marquis of Lansdown. See the Lettres Provinciales. 
 a. Cardigan " No ; che mago non e qnesto ; 
 
 " Egli e mi musico, per Bacco." 
 
 Quotation from a favourite opera-, communicated singing (rather 
 of the loudest^ as usual,) by the Earl of Galloway, assisted 
 by Mr. Francis, jun. dall' Academia degli Arcadi e degli 
 Buffi Caricati. 
 
C 29 ] 
 
 And there, insatiate yet with folly's sport, 165 
 That polish'd sin-worn fragment of the court, 
 The shade of Queensb'ry should with Clermont 
 
 meet, 
 
 Ogling and hobbling down St. James's-street. 
 But mark the courteous philanthropic form 
 Of Leed's sagacious of each brooding storm ; 170 
 Of wit well manner'd, skilPd at once to please, 
 Resign with candour, and dissent with ease ; 
 Though wary bold and manly in his part, 
 And England's honour ever at his heart. 
 
 Then should THY sacred Orators appear; 175 
 Horsley in front, while Watson in the rear 
 The chemic dews of peace around him flings, 
 A pluvial prelate, from his lawny wings. 
 And hapless HE, whose sad unworthy tale 
 Is heard in Winchester's opprobrious vale: c 180 
 
 c The translator has improperly rendered the Emperor's original 
 Chinese word Too-paa-josb^ a t?a/e, which my researches in that language 
 enable me to interpret a sacred eminence or hill or temple. He is cer- 
 tainly wrong, and the Emperor was right. My duty in the long absence 
 of my bishop on the continent, which the Emperor cannot mark in too 
 strong terms at such a time and for sucb a cause, (though the bishop is a 
 man of private worth and amiable character) requires a few observations 
 from me. It is notorious to this whole kingdom that the ministry, 
 
C 30 ] 
 
 Forc'd by a fierce, luxurious, gambling wife. 
 From all the hallowed dignities of life, 
 
 from the best motives of mercy, humanity and toleration, originally fitted 
 up the King's house at Winchester as an Asylum for the Emigrant 
 Priests. It is as notorious, that it is now something more than an asylum. 
 It is a sacred college; it is THE HEAD-QUARTERS OF THE CATHOLIC 
 cause in this country; a seminary where NEAR ONE THOUSAND ROMISH 
 PRIESTS are publicly maintained; where ordinations, conversions, instruc- 
 tions, and all the business of their dark divan are held, and which water 
 all their schools old and new. I should think the following words framed 
 for the occasion, if Milton had not written them : 
 
 " Not content 
 
 <; With their audacious neighbourhood ; they build 
 " Their Temple^ right against the temple of God, 
 " On the opprobrious Hill." P. L. b. t. 
 
 See Milton's Account of Moloch at large. 
 
 It is a public cause of consideration. We know what the Emperor 
 did with the Jesuit missionaries in China, when they became troublesome. 
 They should, if possible, be sent out of our country ; if that cannot yet 
 be they should be instantly dispersed. History informs us what Ulysses 
 was; it is the part of government to guard against what he may again be ; 
 and to see that Troy may stand and the citadel of Priam and of Protes- 
 tantism may remain. I speak for the public; and I speak with the expec- 
 tation of being publicly heard. 
 
 Note communicated (ex ofEcio) by the Reverend Newton Ogle, 
 D. D. Dean of Winchester in 1795. 
 
 N. B. This note was written by the Dean of Winchester in 1795, 
 and there are NOW stronger and more powerful reasons for attending to 
 his public remonstrance. It is well known that the whole collection of 
 these priests now consists of not above one third (if so much) of the original 
 emigrants; the remainder being now supplied with boy-priests (little supe- 
 rior to acolythes) who are not emigrants, pert and insolent to the members 
 
[ 31 ] 
 
 His high-paid duties, and his sacred home, 
 ExiTd in lewd Italian climes to roam; 
 Now d while thy Sion in desponding strain 185 
 Invokes the Fathers from her inmost fane ; 
 Why slumbers thy Arch-Pontiff? on that shore 
 Who from embodied dulness rouses Moore? 
 And, while the pillars of thy temples bow, 
 Why circles not the mitre Paley's brow? 190 
 Next see the learned Parr, in judgment weak, 
 Who first lampoon'd a minister in Greek; 
 By merit rais'd above his buff compeers 
 In shag and title, " Master of the Bears;" 6 
 
 of our established church without the least gratitude for the unequalled 
 and inconsiderate protection which they receive from the state. Besides 
 this, nunneries and monasteries are openly and avowedly rising in differ- 
 ent parts of the kingdom, and these Romish conies, burrowing into the 
 heart of it, will shortly be found to be no feeble folk. We discover in 
 these members of the Romish church the same principles with their ances- 
 tors, the same spirit, the same dark intrigues, the same intolerance, the 
 same immortal and unquenchable hatred of Protestant heresy, the same 
 insinuating or domineering manner (as the occasion may require) in the 
 priests and spiritual guides, the same love of the sacred sulphur at their 
 hearts, the same assertions of their original rights and inheritance in this 
 land in short, Viscera magnarum domuum, dominiqus futuri, if Mr. 
 Pitt and the ministry will not attend to the Dean's words, which, beyond 
 all controversy, an true, Jfote added or tke TraJisIctvr in June 1796. 
 d In 1794. 
 
C 32 ] 
 
 He marks the den, whence 'mid the bestial herds 
 The unfrocked Grammarian f hurls his red-wing'd 
 words ; 
 
 e It was some time before we could decyphe-r the latter part of this 
 passage about Dr. Parr. The first part evidently relates to the Bellende- 
 nian Greek and Latin preface, the translation of which into Chinese cost 
 the Duke of Portland above five hundred pounds. But we now find the 
 latter part also to be truly imperial. In the Greek Anecdote of Proco- 
 pius, b. 9. (we read it in English) or the Secret History of the Court of 
 Constantinople in the reign of Justinian, we find that there were two 
 factions in the state, the Green and the Blue. The dissolute youth of 
 Constantinople adopted the blue livery of disorder, and the bonds of society 
 were frequently relaxed and sometimes broken. At that time wild beasts 
 of different species were maintained by the blue (some MSS. have it, and 
 buff) faction in the centre of tbc Metropolis, and one of the most honoura- 
 ble appointments was that of " The Master of the Beasts. "....How learned 
 is the Emperor in his allusions! with what propriety does he conduct his 
 applications 1 
 
 Note by the joint labour and ability of Dr. Coombe, Editor of 
 a splendid, and rather silly, edition of Horace, and of 
 Mr. Alderman Curtis, Brother to the Reverend Mr. 
 Curtis: Arcades Ambo. 
 
 N. B. The Chinese Translation of Dr. Parr's Bellendenian Preface 
 had nearly produced a revolution in Pekin, which the Duke of Portland 
 never intended; till it was confuted in Chinese by the Mandarin Chum- 
 Hoar Ti-Fu. 
 
 f Home Tooke.... In August 1771, The Divine wrote thus of him- 
 self: " Monument I shall have none; but over my grave it will be said, 
 " in Junius's own words, HORNE'S SITUATION DID NOT CORRSEPOND 
 " WITH HIS INTENTIONS." Junius's Letters. After his acquittal 
 from the charge of high treason in 1794, Mr. Home Tooke felt that he 
 'iad lived to be his own Commentator. Note by the Translator. 
 
[ 33 ] 
 
 And mourns, transfixed by the prelatic spear, 
 Expiring Priestley on his western bier. 
 
 Then Bedford, late by public views inspir'd, 
 Cool at Newmarket, nor at hazard fir'd; 200 
 
 Oeconomy the order of his day, 
 In lease, in love, in building, or in play : 
 Reversed see now the youthful statesman start, 
 Splendor and greatness beating at his heart, 
 Full to the goal he pants for dubious fame, 205 
 And slights the virtuous honours of his name. 
 
 Next feeble Portland, whom Pitt call'd to share 
 A forced alliance and distracted care : 
 Fitzwilliam too! but fate conceals the page: 
 Hibernian policy and Romish rage, 210 
 
 Hot from the hell of Loyola, may rise 
 With discord starting to unmeasur'd size, 
 Struck with unhallow'd phrenzy to divide 
 A sister land from Britain's guardian side: 
 Pause, while ye may, yet friendly chiefs! the care, 
 The cause, the blood, are ONE: forbear, forbear, s 
 
 g The Emperor in these lines seems to make a delicate allusion to 
 one of the most finished passages of consummate art in the jEneid: 
 
 E 
 
[ 34 ] 
 
 In Anglo-Russic bronze should Fox come forth; 
 I'd spare the blushes of degraded worth: h 
 
 IlJse autem, paribus quas fulgere cernis in armis 
 Concordes animze, dum nunc et nocte premuntur; 
 Heu quantum inter se bellum, si lumina vitae 
 Attigerint, quantas acies stragcmque movebuntl 
 Ne, Pueri, ne tanta animis assuescite bella, 
 Neu patrix valldas in viscera vertite vires: 
 Tuque prior, tu parce, genus qui ducis Olympo ; 
 Projice tela manu, sanguis meus EN. 6. 
 
 The words are figurative: the dum nunc et nocte premuntur are evidently 
 expressions which denote the D. of P. and Earl Fitzwilliam, or any other 
 Dukes or Earls, when in opposition, which generally has a tendency to 
 create the Concordes animjc paribus in armis. This is confirmed by what 
 follows ; si lumina vitas attigerint, which can have no other meaning than 
 this; if ever they should make part of the ministry: the lumina vitx, the 
 aur'a'i simplicis ignis, the pabulum or nutriment of life can be found in no 
 other region. Pueri is a term peculiarly adapted to all Ministers. The 
 tu prior, tu parce, is not so clear, but I should not refer it to Earl Fitzwil- 
 liam : weapons may however be forced from hands which use them incon- 
 siderately. The bellum acies and stragem are a little prophetic of Ireland ; 
 but I trust England will avert it, by that tender address.. ..Projice tela 
 mauu, SANGUIS MEUS ! 
 
 Note communicated (in 1795 during the short and imprudent 
 administration of Lord Fitzivilliam in Ireland) by Earl 
 Mansfield^ ci-devant Lord Stormunt, one of the best-in- 
 formed and best-read scholars in Europe, in the Trans- 
 k lator's opinion....Th\s note is preserved to explain the 
 Emperor's meaning to posterity. (1796.) 
 
 h It is impossible to ascertain the peculiar degradation of this great 
 orator and statesman (for such he is and ever will be esteemed) to which 
 the Emperor alludes: whether to that degradation arising from the honour 
 
C 35 ] 
 
 Oh had he ever to himself been true, 
 Nor chang'd the pristine patriot for the new, 220 
 Discretion had repressed Burke's headlong { rage, 
 And England wanted one immortal page. 
 
 Mark disappointed Thurlow's scowling mien ; 
 Happy " had Pepper Arden k never been; 
 
 which the Empress of Russia conferred on him, or from the pension which 
 he enjoys from private benevolence, equally disgraceful to the subscribers 
 and to himself. 
 
 Note communicated by George Rose, Esq. M. P. Secretary 
 of the Treasury, from a MS. by the Right Honourable 
 William Pitt, &c. Sec. Sec. &c. 
 
 i The Emperor, always just, admires Mr. B. yet can see and censure 
 his defects. But as to his eloquence taken upon the whole, to him, alone 
 of our English Orators can the following words belong. u En /LIE, qui 
 " saxa devolvit et pontem indignatur, et ripas sibi facit ; multus et torrens 
 " judicem vel nitentem contra fert, cogitque ire qua rapit; hie iram, hie 
 " misericordiam inspirat; hie defunctos excitat; apud hunc et Patria 
 " ipsa exclamat; hie deos ipsos in congressum prope suum sermonemqiie 
 " deducit." Quintil. 1. i2i c. 10. 
 
 Note communicated by the Right Honourable William Wynd- 
 ham, M. P. &c. &c. 
 
 ii Et fortunatum, si nunquam, &c. 8cc. Virg. Eel. 6. 
 
 k The famous contest between Mr. Pitt and the ci-devant Chancel- 
 lor Thurlow for Pepper Arden, always reminded me of the dispute between 
 Agamemnon and Achilles for the beautiful Briseis. 
 
 Note communicated by Joseph Jekyll, Esq. M. P. and author 
 of many other pretty little Jokss... .principally on Mr. 
 Pitt; but Nunquam animam talem dextra hac, &c. 
 
[ 36 ] 
 
 Him shall the wool-sack, him the Chancery mourn. 
 And Thurlow, Thurlow, every bench return. 226 
 With candid Scott, ] impassion'd, but serene, 
 Lo, where appears Macdonald's m polish'd mien ; 
 And angry Kenyon, from state -troubles turn'd, n 
 Just, and in all, but graceful learning, learn'd; 230 
 
 1 Sir John Scott, Attorney General; from whom proceeded what- 
 ever is honourable and of good report in principle and practice, and with 
 great ability, at the late State-trials in 1794 (particularly in Mr. Home 
 Tooke's) which trial, from the conduct of it, I should rather call a legal, 
 judicial, and criminal conversazione round the table at the Old Bailey. 
 When Sir John Scott made his reply to Mr. Tooke's Advocate Mr. 
 Erskine, I could not help observing to rny friend who sate next to me; 
 u Cum ilia dicendi vitiosa jactatio inter plausores suos detonuit, resurgit 
 *' verte virtutisfortiorfama." Quint. 1. 12. c. 9. 
 
 Note by the Honourable Mr. Perceval, junior , counsel for the 
 
 prosecution. 
 
 m Sir A. Macdonald, Chief Baron of the Exchequer, late Attorney 
 General. 
 
 n A Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench, who gives himself up 
 to his legal profession and turns from politics, must at all times be a 
 valuable man, and particularly so at present. There are perons who enter- 
 tain some doubt of the propriety of the opinion anciently delivered of the 
 C- ;tor, or, as we construe the word, the Barrister or Pleader by profes- 
 sion, yet we believe it strictly true with a few rare exceptions. " Multi 
 <>c erant prseterea prxctari in philosophia et nobiles, a quibus omnibus una 
 " pene repelli voce Oratorem A GUVERNACULIS civifATUM^ ac tantum in 
 " jud'.cia et conciimculas, tanquam in aliquod pistrinum, detrudi et com- 
 " pingi videbam." De Oratore, 1. i. 
 
 Note communicated by the Right Honourable Edmund Burke 
 
 and the Right Honourable C J. Fox. Lords Tburloiv 
 
 and Lougbborougb dissent. 
 
C 37 ] 
 
 And the Bar-pleader, whom mobs call divine, 
 Known by the symbols of i, ME, and MINE : 
 With the boy-candidates for public praise, 
 The Whitbreads, Cannings, Lambtons, Jenkyns, 
 
 Greys, 
 
 All, from the promise of whose rising ray 235 
 England expects a brighter, steadier day. 
 But last, in regal grandeur once erect 
 Now in wan splendor and with eyes deject, 
 HASTINGS, that great, that injured, dubious name, 
 The glory of thy India, or the shame ; 240 
 
 Through truth, through lies, through eloquence, 
 
 through pride, 
 
 Borne down in Burke's unnavigable tide. 
 How fades the laurel on that haughty brow 
 Jove's thunder spar'd ! who made the nations bow, 
 
 o The Emperor means me^ by G....: be effects to insinuate that my 
 eloquence is confined to the bar; and never can have the least effect in 
 the senate. Next to myself however, I think Cicero the best Orator: no 
 man ever spoke so well of himself. I admire that perpetual ornament of 
 his unblushing phraseology, the Ut ad me revertar: though his discovery 
 of Catiline's plot, and his PLEADINGS AGAINST fHAf coNSPiRAcr are not 
 much to his honour. Note communicated by the Honourable T. Erskine. 
 
 N. B. Qm ACI'ORIS captat elegantiam, perdit viri boni et gravis 
 auctoritatem. Quintil, 1. n. c. 3. 
 
 al note communicated by the sober and steady Couri-> 
 sellors Mansfield and PI inner. 
 
C 38 ] 
 
 While in his grasp, by fame and honour grac'd, 245 
 Britain thy delegated sceptre plac'd. 
 State-victim now, deluded while secure, 
 Flesh'd for the altar, and for Pitt mature; 
 Though vers'd in every wile, he learn'd too late 
 That love in ministers is secret hate: 250 
 
 For HIM, thus humbled in Impeachment's weeds. 
 To tardy justice England bends and pleads. p 
 
 While thus they pass, my Mandarins should bend, 
 And to my throne PITT'S palanquin attend ; 
 Trumpets of Outong-chu q his praise unfold, 255 
 And steely crescents r gleam in semblance bold; 
 
 p While these lines weje printing fas I should believe) the Lords 
 publicly pronounced the ACQUITTAL OF MR. HASTINGS in the chamber 
 of Parliament, after a trial of seven years and three months^ on St. 
 George's clay, the 23d of April 1795. * shall ma k e no remarks but in 
 the words of Shakespeare : 
 
 " ON THESE CHARGES 
 " CRY, GOD FOR (HASTINGS) ENGLAND AND ST. GEORGE!" 
 
 Note communicated (maestoso con brio) by Lord Tburlow. 
 
 q " Drummers and Trumpeters march before the Emperor (blowing) 
 " with their trumpets, which are three feet long, and made of a wood 
 " called Outong-chu, and ornamented with rings of gold." Grosicr, v. 
 2. p. 330. 
 
 r " Behind these march a hundred soldiers armed with halberts, the 
 '* points of which terminate in a crescent ; with mace bearers," See. Gro- 
 jier, v. 2. p. 331. 
 
[ 39 ] 
 
 With repercusslve notes from impulse strong 
 Air thunders, rolls the drum, and groans the s Gong; 
 Flambeaux of odorous wood, and lanterns t bright 
 In Eastern prodigality of light; 260 
 
 The cluster'd radiance of the field above, 
 And pictured planets v in their orders move, 
 Seraphic emblems! and in azure car 
 Thy Herschel pointing to his Georgian Star. 
 For PITT the portals of the south x expand, 265 
 And on my marble ^ HE alone should stand, 
 
 s The Gong is an instrument of a circular form made of brass, which 
 the ChhSese strike with a large wooden mallet covered with leather; the 
 sound is heard to a great distance. 
 
 t " Four hundred large lanterns of elegant workmanship next make 
 " their appearance, borne by the same number of men ; and four hundred 
 " flambeaux, made of a kind of wood which burns long, and diffuses a 
 " great light." Grcsier, as above.. ..N. B. For the account of the famous 
 Feast of Lanterns throughout the empire of China, see Grcsier, v. 2. 
 
 P- 3 2 3- 
 
 v " After these twenty-four banners upon which are painted the 
 " signs of the Zodiac ; and fifty-six other banners, on which are repre- 
 u sented different clusters of stars, according to their arrangement in the 
 * heavens." Grosier, v. 2. p. 331. Note by the Duke of Marlborougb. 
 
 x " The southern gate of the palace is never opened but for the 
 ** Emperor himself." Du Halde Hist. v. 2. p. 24. English ed. Svo. 
 
 Note by Lord Hawkesburj. 
 
 y " There is a causeway paved with white marble, and none feat the 
 ** Emperor may walk in this path." Du Halde, v. 2. p. 26. 
 
[ 40 ] 
 
 While from the mountain of the agate seal z 
 His titled worth my Jasper should reveal ; 
 Then, as in natal splendor, should be brought 
 The chequer'd vest a by learned fingers wrought; 
 While with slow-pacing steps in gorgeous rows 
 The solemn pomp my sons of science b close. 
 Their heads aloft my elephants should toss, 
 Morton cry, Morgu, and Sir Clement, Boss ; c 
 
 z " The patents and imperial acts are all sealed with the Emperor's 
 " own seal, which is a fine Jasper, near eight inches square and is taken 
 " from the mountain Tn yu Cban, that is, the mountain of the agate 
 11 seal." Du Halde, v. 2. p. 19. 
 
 a u The Literati among the Mandarins pay a peculiar honour to a 
 a good Governor of a province. They cause a dress to be made for him 
 " of small pieces of satin, red, blue, green, yellow, See. His birth day is 
 u chosen as the proper time for presenting him with it. He at first refuses 
 " it; but at last yields to the intreaties of the Literati. They then make 
 <{ him put on this chequered garment, the different colours of which are 
 " supposed to represent all the nations that wear different dresses, and to 
 " inform the Mandarin that he is worthy of ruling them all." Grosier, v. 
 2 p. 340. ...N. B. This is a kind of imperial anticipation of that chequered 
 Chancellor's robe with which the Literati of Cambridge will one day 
 invest Mr. Pitt, IF he should continue to be the Minister; IF NOT, -those 
 good men will not be at a loss where to discover TR AN SCF.NDENT. MERIT. 
 Note communicated (con fiiria) by Lord Tburlow. 
 
 b " The grand cavalcade is closed by two thousand Mandarins of 
 " Letters." Gros. v. 4. p. 332. 
 
 c Morton and Sir Clement. I suppose the Emperor means two offi- 
 cers of high ceremony in his palace, whom, out of compliment, he names 
 
C 4! ] 
 
 The full Tartarian chorus sounding far, 
 Hail, minister of peace but not of war ! 
 
 Ah me! too fondly does my fancy dream: 
 PITT hears not ; and would slight the imperial theme, 
 Though all my wealth Macartney's voice should 
 
 speak, 
 
 Or learn'd Sir George in Chinese or in Greek, 280 
 Or CHET-QUA'S self, admir'd by beau and belle, 
 CHET-QUA, d whom all the world knew passing well ; 
 
 after the Earl of Morton, Chamberlain to the Queen, and Sir Clement 
 Cottrell, Master of the Ceremonies, of whom he cannot but have heard. 
 As to the words they are to pronounce before Mr. Pitt, Mr. Bell informs 
 us of their meaning ; " The Master of the Ceremonies (he says) stood by 
 " and delivered his orders in the Tartar language by pronouncing the 
 " words Morgu and Boss } the first meaning to bow, arfd the second to stand; 
 " two words which I shall not easily forget." Bell's Travels, 8vo. v. 2. 
 p. 9. ...These emphatic words Morgu and Boss should be pronounced by 
 the Speaker and Mr. Dundas whenever Mr. Pitt makes his triumphal (I 
 mean his daily) entrance into the House of Commons and at all his levees. 
 Note communicated by George Rose, Esq. M. P. Secretary 
 to the Treasury, (1794.) 
 
 d Chet-qua was a Chinese who visited England many years ago, 
 and was an intimate friend of Sir William Chambers. He afterwards 
 returned to China. As Sir William's friend seems to have been a plea- 
 sant fellow, and as the knight's account of him is very plesant too, I shall 
 transcribe a part of it. " All the world (says Sir William) knew Cbet- 
 11 qua ; and how he was born at Quang-Chew-Fu ; also how he was bred 
 " a face-maker, and had three wives, two of whom he caressed very much 
 " and the third but seldom, for she was a virago and had large feet. He 
 
 F 
 
C 42 ] 
 
 Ne'er shall my eyes behold in Tartar gown 
 The chosen Minister of England's crown. 
 
 I hail thy favour'd Island, that can boast, 285 
 Foster'd by tbee, those arts which Athens lost : 
 Apelles in thy Reynolds shall revive, 
 And in a Bacon great Lysippus live. 
 Thine too the Poet's care ; nor Cowper s strain, e 
 Nor Scotland's Doric Minstrel sounds in vain; 
 But chief that care shall Johnson's virtue prove, 
 Led by the day-star beaming from above. 
 A nation's taste to rouse and to refine, 
 Handel by tbee was rais'd to strength divine ; f 
 The monumental marble breath'd: from high 295 
 His woncl'ring spirit stoop'd, and own'd the harmony. 
 
 " dressed well ; wore nine whiskers and four long nails, with silk boots and 
 " callico breeches; equalling* therein the prime Macaronis and sc/avoir- 
 u vivres not only of Ouang-chew, but also of Shum-tienfu. He played 
 "divinely on the bagpipe, and made excellent remarks; was fond of 
 u smoaking, and was then always vastly pleasant and very communica- 
 " tive." See Sir William Chambers's Discourse annexed to his Disserta- 
 tion on Oriental Gardening. 2(1 edit. 1772, page 1 15. 
 
 Nule by tie Reverend W. Masvn* 
 
 e See the note on the first line of the Imperial Epistle. 
 
 f The Emperor alludes to the grand musical performances in West- 
 minster Abbey in commemoration of Handel, in 1784, &c. They arc 
 recorded very properly on a tablet OH the monument of Handel. 
 
 N.te by jo^b Latcs, Msg. 
 
C 43 ] 
 
 Such the instruction, such the grace, secur'd 
 By balanced rights, and policy matur'd. 
 While I, reclin'd on Camusathkin down, 
 Careless forget the labours of my crown ; 300 
 Or chance some playful Vice-roy's doom deplore, 
 HurPd by dread Venus s to the fated shore. 
 For gravest Mandarins, in hours of joy, 
 Here oft with tittering pleasure-misses toy, 
 Chartered, unquestioned libertines of love, 
 Heirs in expectance of the myrtle grove ; 
 With them in lunar halls h and odorous bow'rs, 
 Voluptuous, shun the blaze of sultry hours, 
 
 g The Syphilis rages in China among persons of the highest distinc- 
 tion, as in Europe. The physician and surgeon to Lord Macartney's 
 Embassy relieved many of the Viceroys and Mandarins from their embar- 
 rassments at Pekin, Canton, and other places. 
 
 Note communicated by Sir George Baker> Bart. Physician 
 to the King. 
 
 h Myau-Ting, the Halls of the Moon^ or beautiful vaulted saloons, 
 the concave of which is ornamented with stars and painted to represent a. 
 nocturnal sky; where the Chinese Princes retire with their favourite 
 ladies in the heat of the summer days, " as often as they are disposed to 
 " see them and be particular," as Sir William Chambers happily expresses 
 it. Dissertat. as above p. 32. 
 
 Note communicated (affettuoso con brio) by Lord .William 
 Gordon. 
 
[ 44 ] 
 
 Skill'd with light spells of wantonness to chase 
 The murky Man-cbew [ from the enchanted space. 
 For them I frame, whom trifles best may please, 
 A smile of softness or a sonnet's ease; 
 Not as for THEE, with more than Theban fire, 
 Sustain the weight of my imperial lyre. 
 
 THEE last I trace with reverence, and survey 315 
 The awful wonders of thy various day; 
 Thy nation's darling still ; though Scotland's star 
 Shed brief malignant heat, and scorch'd afar, 
 Till proudly rising on the vantage ground 
 Great Chatham stood, and shook the realms around; 
 Prophet of future fate!, his potent word 321 
 
 Thy people o'er the vast Atlantic heard ; 
 And as the winds his voice ill-omen'd bore, 
 Methought the sceptre sunk to rise no more. 
 
 Close we that scene: for other scenes are near; 
 Darkness, and discontent, distrust, and fear, 326 
 And brooding policy in novel forms 
 Call o'er the deep of empire clouds and storms. 
 And wide those storms would rend Britannia's field, 
 Should patriot bands the rod of faction wield, 330 
 
 i J\fan-cbcnv is the name of the genius of sorrow, among' the Chinese. 
 
C 45 ] 
 
 While law, religion, property they seize, 
 And senates tremble at their own decrees. 
 Sweeping with Reformation's iron sway, 
 They crush each hand that scruples to obey, 
 From splendor's robe each proud distinction wipe, 
 And place a barren bauble in thy gripe. 336 
 Then mitred fathers, and the ermin'd peer, 
 And ancestry, and all to honour dear, 
 The fond well-earn'd rewards of ancient worth, 
 All spirits disembodied, leave the earth: 340 
 
 These are state-blots which, in their dread intent, 
 Will be ras'd out in their first parliament. 
 For each empiric, quacks of state or church, 
 Now hate all truth, but truths of grand research; 
 They round their phrase with studied nothings, call 
 Sophistic pomp, and meaner minds appall, 
 Then unawares the strong conclusion draw, 
 The master of the Prince is master of the Law. 
 Nor THOU, in fancied strength too safely wise, 
 Their base-born dark original despise. 350 
 
 Whence draws the Sun dire vapour ? whence conspire 
 The thund'rous tempest and the lightning's fire ? 
 From lake, and lazy pool, and weeds obscene, 
 (The abode of putrid pestilence unclean,) 
 
[ 46 ] 
 
 The elemental fury from afar 355 
 
 Collects and scatters wide ethereal war, 
 Ranging without confine, without control ; 
 E'en heav'ns own firmament oft seems to roll, 
 And from the fated momentaneous shock 
 Eternal impress marks the riven rock: 360 
 
 The arch of majesty, the temple's dome, 
 The pillar'd hall, the peasant's low-rooft home, 
 Alike in undistinguished ruin fall, 
 And shapeless desolation equalls all. 
 
 Through Europe^ bounds, 'tis her devoted age, 
 Fires from within and central thunders rage. k 
 On Gallia's shores I mark the unhallow'd pow'r, 
 Her godless regents feel the madd'ning hour, 
 Dread architects of ruin and of crime, 
 In revolution's permanence sublime, 370 
 
 And cruel nonsense! o'er the astonish 'd world 
 The flag of dire equality unfurl'd, 
 Drizzling with blood of millions streams in air, 
 The scroll, fraternal freedom, death, despair. 
 
 k Tins picture of ths state of Europe was drawn by the Emperor in 
 the year 1794, true and just at that period, and is now finally consigned 
 by his Majesty to posterity. Note by tbc "Translator in 1796. 
 
C 47 ] 
 
 They pass: nor Rhine nor Rubicon they know; 
 Torrents may roar, or tranquil streams may flow, 
 In unappalPd protrusion on they burst, 
 All nation's cursing, by all nations curst. 
 Lo, Belgium yields to unresisted fate; 
 Within her ministers of terror wait; 380 
 
 Nature with rod petrific smites the land, 
 And binds the floods in adamantine band, 
 Till Gallia's Chief in right of William sways, 
 And freedom once with life -drops bought, obeys. 
 See where dismember'd trembling Spain resigns 
 Peruvia's radiance, and Potosi's mines. 386 
 
 The pillars of THE ETERNAL CITY bow, 
 And the tiara from the Pontiff's brow 
 Drops to the dust: no more in Peter's fane 
 The Consistorial Brotherhood shall reign, 390 
 Yet see; the turban nods by factions torn; 
 A length'ning, sad, and sullen sound is borne 
 Around Sophia's hallow'd conscious walls, 
 Mutt'ring the doom denounc'd: her crescent falls. 
 Still view, in western * climes Death's palest horse 
 With pestilence and slaughter marks his course, 39 
 
 1 The West Indies. 
 
C 48 ] 
 
 While dusky tribes, with more than maniac rage 
 Rending their brazen bonds, in war engage: 
 For France still burns to make with dire intent, 
 Hell and this world one realm,) one continent I 400 
 
 Yet once attend, great Brunswick; nor in vain 
 Hear thy Imperial Brother's closing strain. 
 THEE from thy people may no thought divide, 
 The Statesman's rashness, or Reformer's pride; 
 Reason and her fond visions still distrust; 405 
 What > but experience, makes a kingdom just? 
 Fix'd on her ancient base let England rest; 
 And public danger arm the public breast; 
 On British sense depend. On foreign fame 409 
 To proud Versailles the fatal stranger m came, 
 New laws, new policy, new truth to tell, 
 And by new maxims the vast fabric fell. 
 
 Oh, should thy nation slight her just alarms, 
 Nor Gallic TRUTHS dread mere than Gallic arms, 
 Thy diadem must fade; the Tyrian die 415 
 
 Sink in the scarlet of democracy; 
 All dignities of brighter times will fail; 
 No wisdom o'er the midnight lamp grow pale, 
 
 m Neckar. 
 
[ 49 ] 
 
 But knowledge, fancy, genius, all retire, 
 And faint and death-struck learning will expire: 
 Look round the land, there nothing shall be found 
 But swords to guard, and ploughs to till the ground. 
 
 Though now awhile beneath the afflictive rod 
 SUPERNAL POWER may bid THY Albion nod, 
 Humbled in- due prostration may she bend, 425 
 And her far-fam'd beneficence extend: 
 Then, all her ancient energies erect, 
 Strength from herself and from her God expect 
 And on her rocky ramparts bold, alone 
 Maintain HER laws, and vindicate THY throne. 430 
 
 THE END. 
 
 G 
 
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