60 REMEDIES TO THE EVILS OF THE OPIUM TRADE. set a mark upon his victim, dooming him to an untimely grave. There are sad scenes among Opium-smokers, as there are, indeed, among drunkards; but as few strangers would like to mingle among them, so are they for the most part hidden from view. There are Opium-smokers in China of all grades and shades, from the mandarins to the coolies; but the great body of them is principally composed of the idle, the vicious, and the abandoned. Some smoke a little; but few of them can long practise the moderation with which they begin. Opium-smoking is a sort of inclined plane, down which he who ventures to slide a little way is tolerably sure to go to the bottom. Let us look about us, that we fall not into evil they may be stung by the ant who are not injured by the elephant; they may be led away by the intoxicating glass who never smoked Opium. What says Holy Scriptures on this subject? "Who hath wo? who hath sorrow? who hath contention? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine: they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not, then, upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup: when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." Some people, who propose remedies to the evil of the Opium-trade, think it would be better if the ADMIRAL CHIN AND COMMANDER TOW. 61 Chinese government would admit Opium, like any other commodity, on paying a duty, and thus do away with the smuggling-trade altogether; while others say that before the Opium-trade is discontinued, China must have a more liberal government; foreign commerce must shed its healthy influence on the country, changing the manners of the people; institutions encouraging temperance and good conduct must be established; and the Gospel of the Redeemer, the great restrainer of all evil, must be spread abroad in the hearts of the people. When the Chinese had made up their minds to do away with the Opium-trade, they warned the English to quit the station they occupied. The name of the Admiral of the Fokien squadron was Chin, and the name of the Commander of the garrison of Kinmuh, and other places, was Tow; and you would have thought, judging by their valorous proclamation, that Chin and Tow were desperate fellows, indeed. They launched their wordy thunderbolts freely against the foreigners who dared to disobey the laws of heaven's dynasty," commanding them to quit the coast at once; but you must hear a little of their language: "Along the boundaries of our country we shall place a thousand ships-of-war, numerous as the stars, and disposed in array like a chessboard. At the first call they will immediately respond. One cannot resist a host; and it is to be feared, that when 62 BOASTING CHARACTER OF THE CHINESE. the Admiral of the station and the Commander of the garrison unite their troops, thick as the congregated clouds, you will not be able to sustain their attack; but we military and naval commanders do not wish to kill you in cold blood, without warning you of the consequences of your present line of conduct: therefore, we specially proclaim to you beforehand, and if ye have any wisdom you will immediately return,—a circumstance at which we shall truly rejoice." This idle boasting is a part of the Chinese character. In contending with Europeans their words are mighty, but their blows are feeble : Not their's triumphantly to ride In battle's iron car; To wield the lightning, and to guide It would be easy to sum up the whole Opium affair at once, by telling you that when the Chinese government determined to stop the trade, Governor Linn repaired to Canton as High Commissioner; that he placed in confinement, for six or seven weeks, two hundred British merchants and the British Commissioner, threatening them with death; and that he seized and burned more than twenty thousand chests of Opium, worth twenty millions of dollars; but as these and other proceedings were the immediate, though not the sole, cause of GOVERNOR LINN'S MISTAKE. 63 bringing about a war with China, I must dwell upon them a little longer in another chapter. Governor Linn thought that he had effected his purpose of putting an end to the Opium-trade; but he was mistaken. He only increased his troubles by his severity. If ever man fulfilled the old adage, of leaping "out of the frying-pan into the fire," it was he. CHAPTER VIII. THE LATE EMPEROR OF CHINA, KEA-KING. Kea-king's Cruelty, Profanity, and Cowardice.-Horrid Punishment of an Eunuch.-The Emperor's dissatisfaction at his Ministers. He visits Tartary.-His Death.-Suspicions respecting his Decease.-The whole Empire goes in Mourning.-Kea-king's Will. BEFORE I give you any points about the Expedition to China, let me say something of the late Emperor Kea-king. He was the son of the Emperor Kien-lung, who, when he himself had reigned sixty years, resigned the throne to him. A virtuous monarch is a blessing to a nation, and Kien-lung was one of China's best rulers; but Kea-king had either never heard the adage, or did not regard it : "Follow thy father good son, And do as thy father has done," for he became a very dissolute and unworthy monarch. Instead of maintaining the imperial dignity he tarnished his reputation, and became an object of contempt. His cruelty, his profanity |