its significance,
when we come to consider what prospect there may be of our being able
to extend and multiply relations of commerce and amity with this
industrious portion of the human race.

The private journal proceeds:--

_March 24th._--We are gliding through a perfectly smooth sea, with
islands on both sides of us, on a beautifully calm and clear day,
warmer than of late, but still tart enough to feel healthy. We passed
a fleet of some hundreds of junks, proceeding northward under convoy
of some lorchas of the 'Arrow' class, carrying flags which they
probably have no right to. These lorchas exact a sort of black mail
from the junks, and plunder them whenever it is more profitable to do
so than to protect them. They often have Europeans on board. Poor Yeh
has suffered severely for our sins in respect to this description of
craft. We are on our way to Chapoo now, a port not opened to trade,
but one which I am ordered by the Government to induce the Chinese to
open. As it is very little out of the way to Shanghae, I wish to look
at it in passing.

[Sidenote: Chapoo.]

_March 25th._--We reached Chapoo at about 5 P.M. I did not land, but
some of the party did, and mounted a hill from whence they looked down
upon a walled town of no great size, and a plain, perfectly flat,
stretching for any number of miles beyond it. The people, as usual,
were civil, and made no difficulties, although we have no right to
land there. The bay in which we anchored is open, and not in any
particular way interesting. At about three this morning we started,
and have been favoured with as good a day as yesterday. We have had
nothing of the bold coasts of previous days, and passed occasionally
islands flatter than those seen before. We are now in the mouth of the
Yang-tze-kiang, with a perfectly flat and low shore on one side, and
an equally flat one just discoverable with the aid of the telescope on
the other. A good many junks are sailing about us, their dark sails
filled with a lively breeze. Before us is a large man-of-war, which I
am just told is the American 'Minnesota.' So our cruise is coming to
an end, which I regret, as it has been a very pleasant break, and at
least for the time has kept me out of reach of the bothers of my
mission. We have reason too to be most thankful for the weather with