Barbarian vessels. The English are less in people and in lands than many others; but by their fierceness in war, and the multitude of their big ships, they esteem themselves to be the most powerful of all.

The first account of them is recorded by one of the Romans, who, in our dynasty, Han, crossed the narrow sea from a Roman province, and entered into the island. It was then a Wilderness, and among the forests lived a few savages, clothed in skins. Sometime after, the Romans conquered the country, and established a Roman province their dominion lasting four hundred [quacet] years-contemporaneous with our dynasty, Hewhan.

During the dynasties, Han and Hewhan, the various tribes surrounding the Roman provinces, grown more populous and better acquainted with the Military art, crowded, more and more, upon the Romans; and, gradually, destroyed their power. They were forced to leave England.

On their departure, and for several ages after, down to our dynasty, Song, the history of the Country is merely a tale of ceaseless struggles among the different savage tribes from the Main Land, to plunder and subdue it. The civilization disappeared. Nearly all signs of the Roman occupancy became obliterated; and the knowledge of letters would have been lost, but that the Priests who accompanied some of the savage chiefs had among them some of the Roman learning. These Priests and chiefs had adopted the worship of the new Christ-god.

At length, one of these invading tribes having fairly mastered the country, and established a show of regular authority, the germs of knowledge began to grow. The victorious tribe had lands also on the main parts; fierce and warlike, it endeavoured to extend its power; and repeatedly made assaults upon others of the Barbarians of those chief parts. In these, the remains of the Roman civilization were considerable, and the knowledge of letters more common.

The position of the English, and their need of communication, made vessels indispensable; and they learned to build and to sail many ships. However, but little progress in civilization was made till our dynasty, Ming; when the Sovereign, then a Woman, called by the Barbarians, Queen, sent the first Embassy to our Central Kingdom-bearing gifts, and humbly approaching our Illustrious, begging permission to trade at one of our ports on the sea.

From that time to the present, the annals of these Barbarians are but little more than records of plundering expeditions into distant regions; of their fierce slaughters; their cunning or bold stratagems to extend trade, and establish dominion for the sake of trade and plunder. To obtain trade, by means fair or foul; to get strongholds abroad and subjugate others these have been the great objects of the rulers and the people.

By their ships, manned with the most ignorant and debased, taught only in the work of sailing and fighting; stimulated by love of plunder, in which the meanest have a share; the very name of these Barbarians has become terrible in all the distant seas.

They first appeared within the waters of our Central Kingdom, in the dynasty Tsing, but did not venture then to assault our unoffending people; and only, by cunning and with low prostrations and humility, sought to traffic, in such way as should be acceptable to our Illustrious. Further time was looked to and greater force before showing their fierceness !

They have since seized nearly all the maritime parts of the Hindoos, and, penetrating the country with savage bands, have slaughtered the inoffensive people, and robbed the treasuries of Princes and the Temples of immense riches. They have, finally, subjugated the chief provinces of the Hindoos, and yearly bear away from them the ancient revenues.

Throwing off disguise, in our celestial seas, these Barbarians at length discovered their true character. To save our people from the effects of a dreadful poison, to which the lower orders had become habituated, our Illustrious prohibited the importation of this thing, called by the English, Opium (Zle-psi). But these disregarded the just request; wished to pour upon us enormous amounts for the sake of the gains which the bad traffic yielded, and which was monopolised by them; and, when nothing else would serve, assaulted our unoffending people, fell with fire and sword upon our province of Quang-tun, and, rushing upon other maritime parts with their great ships, armed with prodigious cannon, threatened to burn and destroy. In our peaceful Kingdom we had no need of such things; we had no means to meet these destructive engines, contrived by Christ-god worshippers; and our Illustrious, to save further dreadful mischiefs to our unprotected people, granted trade to these selfish and cruel Barbarians! Yet this benevolence of our Illustrious only served to encourage additional demands; and we all remember how, coming with more ships, swifter with steam, and greater guns and men, these impious defiers of the Sovereign and Heavenly Justice have more recently fallen upon the Northern provinces, and slaughtered and robbed our people, our palaces, and even the precincts of our Illustrious himself! Who, awaiting and appealing to the Sovereign Lord of Heaven, doubts not the due chastisement of crime, which, in due time, shall heavily fall!

Meantime, in all other parts of the great Outer Seas, these English visited the coasts with their fire-ships, and compelled the natives to trade, either by fraud or by open war. In the great Sea towards the sunset, they, in this way, settled upon many Lands; and, in the course of some generations, their settlements in those regions, wishing to trade with others beside the English (which these would not allow) revolted; drove away the armed bands which were sent to subdue them, and formed a new power.

In this way, about 100 years ago, the Barbarians, called American [Mel-i-kan], arose. Their ships are known in our Central Kingdom by a flag, named "Starry," because of the Stars [Zen-ti] which are painted upon it. These people are ardent for trade, but not so mad and reckless; and not aggressive in their intercourse with others. They are not so domineering and haughty-humbly submitting themselves, in general, to the Son of Heaven, making tribute, and

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seeking his Illustrious protection to their trade and to their ships in our Central Waters.

During these events, the English Barbarians also sent their poor people and criminals into the Lands of the far South Seas, to make new places for their poor to toil in, to get rid of them, and to make safe, distant places, to keep their criminals in; subduing the tribes in those parts thus making more trade. And in this way, and with their many big ships and cannons, they boast that they will bring the whole immense world, either to be tributaries, or to be completely subjective. And they please their devotees, because they say that this subjugation will "Convert" all the Pagans to the worship of the gods of their Superstition-and this great boon will abundantly compensate for all the wrongs and atrocities committed! In fact, they impiously pretend that they are commanded to subjugate the Heathen World, that it may be saved from the dreadful Hell!

The domestic events have not been important; though the Barbarians themselves think everything to be inportant which happens amongst them. They fancy that "Civilization and Progress" (famous words with them) depend upon the petty disputes arising-sometimes as to their Superstition, and sometimes as to some trifling thing in their Customs. One of the main events, is the story of a son of one of their Sovereigns, who drove his father out of the Kingdom, and reestablished the Government in such manner, that, ever after, when the matter is referred to, one shall say Glorious [Twang-ba]. As well as I can understand, the things done were, that whereas, before, the Sovereign had been allowed to wor