ADVENTURES OF GILBERT GO-AHEAD (from Robert Merry's Museum, January 1853, pp. 29-33)

I must now proceed to relieve the anxiety of my readers as to the object which was borne along by the four carriers upon the table, and ushered into the presence of Goa-gong, the king, his queen Butta Tung, and the court which was assembled around them.

Doubtless, when I come out with the simple truth, a feeling of disappointment will be felt by all, especially those fanciful young persons who have imagined it to be some wonderful monster--such as a monkey with four heads, a horse all covered with wool, or a serpent that could whistle "Yankee Doodle!" It was, indeed, neither more or less than

ONE OF MY CLOCKS!

I knew it in an instant. If it had been my own child, I could not have recognized it more readily or more certainly. But how came it here? Ah! that was the question. I had supposed all my clocks shipwrecked and lost in the sea when our vessel ran upon the rocks on the coast of Cambodia. How, then, could one of them have got to this city of Hué, and have fallen into the hands of the king? It was, however, no time to answer these questions; for as soon as the table had been placed before the king, a person of the court came and stated that the object before them had been presented to his majesty, and no one had yet been able to explain its nature or its use. He observed that it

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had a face with twelve eyes, that it appeared to have no mouth, but it possessed two long black noses, which turned upon a pivot! In looking into its head, he could discover its brains, which consisted of a very curious collection of brass wheels. Whether the thing was dead or alive, he was unable to say. The purpose of the present assembly was to call upon all the sages, artisans, and philosophers present at the court of Anam, to examine and interpret this astounding phenomenon.

Having thus proclaimed the object of the convocation, an artisan of Hué--a manufacturer of saucepans--came forward and examined the clock. It was laid on its back upon the table. He looked at it, shook his head, and retired. A physician, with a very long, solemn face, now advanced. He was very celebrated for curing diseases with little pills as big as pin-heads; but what was most remarkable, he took the pills himself instead of giving them to the patient. His doctrine was, that all the regular physicians gave too much physic; that the smaller the dose, the more powerful the effect; and carrying out this idea, he came to the conclusion that no physic at all must prove to be the most efficient system of cure fur sick persons. To satisfy the imagination of his patients, who naturally thought that something ought to be done, he used to swallow the little pills, making up mysterious faces, and performing various other antics before the sick person during the operation. He also required the nose of the patient to be stopped, for he insisted that all disease crept in at the nostrils.

This man had acquired an immense practice, and had cast all the other physicians into the shade. He was supposed to know every thing; and, therefore, as he approached the clock, every body present seemed to be in a state of high expectation. The doctor looked at the face of the clock a long time, as if he considered it a patient. He then took some little pills out of his pocket and swallowed them. But the clock did not so much as wink. The wise man was bothered. He at last took hold of it and gave it a shake, upon which it rumbled, and there was a faint sound of a bell. A look of wonder came over every face, and the doctor assumed a very important and mysterious air. He now set the clock upon its legs. It ticked, and the two hands, or rather what were considered the two noses, began to move!

An emotion of surprise and admiration flashed over the assembly. The king uttered a humph! and the Cream of Moonlight clapped her hands! The doctor looked triumphant. What palpable proof of the efficacy of his system was here! He had taken four of his pills, and the mysterious thing before him had come to life. The argument was conclusive; the physic-giving doctors were confounded; the no-physic doctor was vindicated and established.

But Goa-gong was not yet satisfied. "The thing moves," said he; "but what is it? what is its use?" The doctor could not answer. Several persons

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celebrated in art and science were now called upon, but all were at fault. At last, the Thibetan priest was requested to come forward. He advanced, and kneeling first to the king, and then to the queen, he said, "May it please your majesties, it is my vocation to deal with the hearts of men, and not with the wonders of art. Permit me to point to your majesties a man from a distant country, who is a curious artist, and gifted in many things. If I mistake not, he can explain the mystery before us." Having said this, and receiving a nod of assent from the royal pair, he caused me to advance. This I did without hesitation, though I could perceive amid the general surprise some sly winking and tittering among the black-eyed ladies of the court, evidently excited by my somewhat deficient and dilapidated costume.

Having made due obeisance to the king and queen, I turned the face of the clock to their majesties. I then opened the back, and taking the key, I wound it up; I then set it in motion, and having done so, I proceeded to deliver a lecture upon clocks, as follows:

"May it please your most gracious majesty, the King of Anam; and may it please the beautiful Queen, so happily named the Cream of Moonlight; may it also please all the ladies and gentlemen here present, this instrument is a Clock or Time-piece, made to follow the sun in its daily march around the world. The day and night, as you all know, are divided into twenty-four hours. On the face of the clock are twelve marks, indicating twelve hours. Now you observe two long pointers or hands. One moves around the whole circle every hour; the other moves during the hour only, from one point to another. The longer hand shows the minutes, and the shorter one the hours. Thus, in a cloudy day, or even at night, you can, by means of this instrument, tell the time with the utmost precision."

This is a very brief abstract of my discourse, in which I illustrated the subject, and made it comprehensible to my auditors. When I was done, I was rewarded with a nod of approbation from the king and a smile from the queen, with abundant signs of approval from many other members of the assembly. The little pill-doctor, however, as well as the maker of saucepans, cast upon me withering glances of suspicion and hate.

The assembly now dispersed; but I was desired to stay. This I did, and was directed to set up the clock in the queen's apartment. Having done so, a purse of money was given me, and I took my leave. The next day, having enjoyed a hearty meal, and clad myself neatly in the costume of the country, I sought ont the Thibetan priest, and asked him if he knew how the clock had got to Hué. He told me, that as I had informed him of my shipwreck, and the loss of my clocks, he had no doubt this was one of them. From inquiries he had made, he believed that the wreck of the vessel in which I had gone ashore had been visited, after the storm had subsided, by a Siamese coaster; that many articles were found on board and

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taken away. Among them were a number of my clocks. These had been taken to Bankok, the capital of Siam, and one of them had been sent by the king of that country, as a great curiosity, to the emperor of Anam.

This seemed a probable story, and after further inquiries I became satisfied that such was the fact. I began to think of setting out for Bankok, to claim my property, when unforeseen incidents caused a sudden turn in my thoughts and my fortunes.

I had been frequently called in to the palace to regulate the clock, and had received several valuable presents from the queen, so that I had now money and other things to the value of 300 dollars. I had, however, never said any thing about the alarm attached to the clock, for, to say the truth, I was afraid of its effect upon so sensitive a person as her majesty. Unfortunately, I left it one day set in a manner to go off about midnight--go off it did. The queen was asleep in the same room, and at the distance only of half a dozen yards. As all was hushed in silence, the clang of the alarm-bell sounded to the queen like a discharge of artillery. Her sudden screams of terror awoke the maids of honor; the maids of honor awoke the guards. In entered the latter, exclaiming, "What is it? what is it?"

"Oh, it's that terrible thing there!" said the ladies.

"Where? where?" said the guard.

"There! there!" was the reply of twenty voices.

And, sure enough, the unhappy clock spoke for itself,-- clanging away, as if to rouse the whole city. This was enough. Four of the guard took aim, and at one discharge of their muskets shattered it into a hundred pieces. In an instant the painted face, the curious wheels, the varnished case, lay in fragments scattered over the floor. But the cry of thieves, murder, insurrection, fire, pillage! had rung through the palace, and a scene of terror and confusion followed, which words cannot easily describe. It was not till the day had fairly dawned, and the grisly visions of night had vanished, that quiet was restored.

About 11 o'clock in the morning, while I was sauntering along the quay, looking at a vessel loading fur Bankok, and meditating upon taking passage in her, that I was arrested and hurried to prison. Here I remained nine days, immured in a damp, dismal cell, utterly ignorant of the cause of my confinement. I soon sunk into a state of utter despondency; but just at the point when I had given up all hope of escape, I was suddenly released. The Thibetan priest came to my cell, and told me the story of the alarm-clock. He said that the affair was thought to be a device of mine against the life of the queen. This view of the matter had been urged upon her by the saucepan maker and the little pill-doctor, who had a great jealousy of me, and who sought my destruction. All that the priest could do for me, was to procure an order for my release, upon the condition that I should immediately quit the country.

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I joyfully accepted these terms, and in the course of a few hours I was on board of the Siamese vessel before mentioned. The next day we set sail, and I was not a little rejoiced at my deliverance, and the turn my affairs had taken. Sailing along the coast of Siam to the southward, we doubled Cape Cambodia, and entered the great bay of Siam. The Siamese are very good sailors, and our little craft, of 150 tons, made excellent progress. Our voyage of 1500 miles was in the course of 18 days.

The City of Bankok lies on both sides of the river Menam, about 15 miles north from the gulf of Siam. It occupies a swampy tract, and is altogether a most curious place. It consists of three parts, the palace, the town, and the floating town. The palace is on an island, and comprises the residences of the king and chief officers, numerous temples, and some inferior shops. These are encircled by a high wall, with forts, and many gates, by which the people go in and out.

The town proper extends along the two banks of the road, and consists of palm-leaf houses, built on piles, driven into the sand. Each house is provided with a boat, in which the inhabitants traverse the river. The floating town consists of palm-leaf houses, built in rows, on bamboo rafts. Each raft has from four to ten houses upon it. In front is a platform, on which the people expose the articles they have to sell. Half the population reside on the river, and nearly all the trade of the place is thus carried on upon the water. Never was there a more strange-looking city or a more odd congregation of people. Altogether, they seemed like a settlement of water-fowl gliding about hither and thither, quacking and cackling like so many ducks and geese. Such at least was the aspect of things as I first entered the place. On further examination, I formed a rather different opinion, as will appear in the future chapters of my most extraordinary adventures.

[To be continued.]

ADVENTURES OF GILBERT GO-AHEAD (from Robert Merry's Museum, February 1853, pp. 53-60)

In my last, I gave a slight sketch of the city of Bankok, the capital of Siam, and which I found to contain about 100,000 inhabitants. In the greater part of the city merchandise is transported from place to place in small light boats. There are a great many temples, built in a pyramidal form, and covered with gilding and paltry ornaments. Each contains an enormous statue of Boodha, made of metal, and covered with gilding. There are also a variety of other images in day or wood. The chief temple is called Pa-cheh-tappou, and is 200 feet in height, and contains at least 15,000 images. It is really a most strange-looking place. There are always a great many priests there, kneeling, crossing themselves, and walking about in processions. I went into this temple one night about twelve o'clock. The moon was shining, and by the dim light I could see the immense congregation of grinning images; some of them are twenty feet high, and all have a hideous smiling look. Nothing could more clearly show the degradation of the people than that such should be their religious temples, and that these horrid idols should be their gods.

The palace where the king resides is an immense collection of buildings, surrounded by three different walks. It has one splendid room called the hall of audience, eighty feet long, forty wide, and thirty high. It is richly, though rudely, painted and gilded, and is ornamented with rich cut-glass candelabras.

The kingdom of Siam lies between Burmah, and Anam, at the head of the Gulf of Siam. It is a tropical country, lying in about the same latitude as the southern West India Islands. Rice is so abundant that five pounds are sold for a cent. It produces sugar, pepper, tobacco, and a great variety of delicious fruits. The country is about four times as extensive as the State of New York. The greater part of the surface is covered with forests, among which there are valuable woods, as teak, sandal,

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satin, rose, eagle, and other variegated and perfumed woods. There are also numerous species of gums. To these products, we may add iron, copper, tin, lead, and gold. What a rich commerce will be carried on between this country and the United States in the compass of a few years!

The wild animals of Siam embrace a great variety of interesting species. Elephants are very abundant. These are caught and trained for use by the inhabitants. A white variety of elephant is sometimes found, and is held in great estimation. It is the exclusive property of the king, who is called Lord of White Elephants. Several of these animals are kept by the royal court, and are richly caparisoned, being considered the most splendid part of his majesty's equipage. A man who discovers a white elephant is as famous in Siam as a man is among us who has been victorious in battle--as General Harrison, who beat the Indians at Tippecanoe; Colonel Johnson, who killed Tecumseh; or old Rough and Ready, who thrashed Santa Anna at Buena Vista. Such a fortunate discoverer is rewarded with a present of silver, and a grant of land equal in extent to the space of country over which the cries of an elephant may be heard. He and his descendants to the third generation are exempted from all sorts of servitude and every species of taxation.

Besides the elephant, Siam produces the rhinoceros, the tiger, antelope, various kinds of deer, and an immense variety of birds, many of which are remarkable for the splendor of their plumage. Insects and reptiles abound. Some of the crocodiles and serpents are of immense size.

The whole population of Siam is supposed to be about five millions. The true Siamese are very short, with thick stout limbs. The general color of the skin is yellow. The hair is coarse, weak, and uniformly black, covering nearly the forehead and temples. The general form of the face has a curious, square look. The eyes are black and small, and squint toward the point of the nose. Travelers generally represent them as cunning, mean, conceited and ignorant; and, I must add, that I found this representation to be just, though it is but fair to say that they are attached to their children, reverential to parents, exceedingly temperate, and of gentle manners. The upper classes are rude and brutal to those beneath them. Slavery is common, and some of the chiefs have hundreds, and even thousands. Persons are sold into slavery for debt; men sell their wives and children as slaves, and the chiefs in the remote districts seize the inhabitants and send them to Bankok, where they are sold into slavery.

Both sexes dress nearly alike. A cotton garment, reaching downward from the waist, is the common costume. Gambling and cock-fighting are pursued with passionate fondness. Theatrical entertainments are common, and music is cultivated by nearly all classes.

There are a great many Chinese settlers in different parts of Siam. Half

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of the population of Bankok consists of these immigrants and their descendants. A great many foreigners from the adjacent countries have settled in different parts of Siam, especially in the larger towns.

The government is an absolute monarchy. The king claims that he is every thing, and the people nothing. He is called the God Boodh, and named by the people as a deity, or as God himself. He is supposed to own all the land and property of the country, and the people are considered as made for his pleasure and use. There are written laws, but any king can change them, and even set them aside at his pleasure. Still, there is a kind of public opinion, and settled customs, which form the general guide of the administration of the government. No man ever seems to wish to be free, or to be other than his ancestors have been--the subjects and slaves of the king. The nobles engross all the offices, and exercise a cruel dominion over the people, who dare not complain, unless they bring a bribe.

The religion is Boodhism, the same as that of Anam, Birmah, and other adjacent countries. Every male Siamese must enter the priesthood once in his life, though he may quit it again at pleasure. The talopoins, or priests proper, live in monasteries; some of them contain several hundreds. They are endowed by the government, or by pious persons. The Roman Catholic Church of Europe has had missionaries here for 200 years, and there are about 2000 Roman Catholic worshippers in Siam at the present day.

The reader will readily imagine that on my arrival at Bankok I immediately set about making inquiries for my clocks, which I had reason to believe had been taken from the wreck on the coast of Cambodia. I was not long in discovering that the account I had heard on this subject was true, and, indeed, I soon discovered several of them in use among the wealthy inhabitants. I claimed them as my property, but the people laughed at me as a presumptuous rogue. I finally determined to make an appeal to the king, hoping to prevail upon him to do me justice. I found a number of people here from different parts of Europe, and these all tried to dissuade me from such a step. They told me that it was the habit of his majesty, whenever he found a person who was ingenious in any kind of mechanical art, to seize him and compel him to work for him, or perhaps to go to the tin mines and assist in the operations there. I did not heed this advice, and so I went to the palace to ask an interview with the king.

At first the guards and officers, which were in great numbers around the gate, took me for an idiot, but pretty soon they began to examine me with curious and wondering looks. My height, which was nearly twice as great as theirs, excited their astonishment. At last the chief officer condescended to speak to me. After a little conversation, he said he would go and ask the king if I could be admitted. In twenty minutes he re-

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turned, and I was conducted to the great hall of audience, between a double row of soldiers. In one corner, on a raised platform, was his majesty, sitting on a cushion, with his heels under him. A slave stood by and fanned him, for the weather was very hot. The king was a very short, fat, oily, yellow man; his thin hair as white as snow. He looked like a white-headed ourang-outang.

I was made to stand at a distance till the king had looked at me for a long time. I was then ordered to approach. When I was near, I bent down and saluted him in the Siamese fashion, upon which the following dialogue ensued.

King. Who are you?

Gil. Gilbert Go-ahead, of Sandy Plain, New Haven County, State of Connecticut, United States of America.

King. You have got a name as long as a king. Where is your country?

Gil. Round t'other side of the world.

King. Goo!--You know how to lie!

Gil. There I resemble the Siamese.

King. Who is king in your country?

Gil. Millard Fillmore.

King. How many wives has he got?

Gil. Only one.

King. Poor fellow! Has he any white elephants?

Gil. Not one.

King. I will send him one.

Gil. He does not accept presents.

King. Goo!--there you lie again. What can you do?

Gil. I can tell stories.

King. Well, tell us a story.

Gil. Your majesty is all-powerful, and I obey. Once upon a time, in a far-off country, a man who was very ingenious made a curious instrument to measure the hours of the day. This was called a clock, and, being very useful, clocks became very common in the country where this man lived. There were large buildings devoted to the making of clocks, and in some of them a hundred were turned off in a day. Well, the use of clock; in due time, was extended to other countries, and the trade in them became very great. Now, about these days, a certain man bought a ship- load of clocks, and set off to sell them in those nations and kingdoms where the people did not understand the art of making them. As the ship was passing along by a rocky shore, the winds blew terribly, and she was driven on the reef. The sailors left the ship, and the clock-merchant left it also--for they feared that she would go to pieces, and they should all be drowned. But the storm abated, and a ship coming by the place, stopped at the wreck, took out all the clocks, and carried them to a great city, and sold them. After a time, the poor clock-seller heard of all this, and so he went to the great city and claimed his property. But the people scoffed at him, and called him an impudent rogue. Now, the man said to himself:--"I will go to the king; kings claim to be like God, and like him they should promote truth and justice." But the people said to the man:--"Beware of kings; they are like lions and tigers; they are powerful, and make prey of whomsoever they please." The man replied:--"I have no fear; I have

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faith in the goodness of my cause; besides, I am six feet three inches high, and can split a pine board with a blow of my fist." And so the man went to the king, and the king asked him his name, and inquired about his country, and the king thereof. And the man said to the king:--"My name is Gilbert Go-ahead, and I am from America, which lies on t'other side of the world; and the king or chief of my country is called Fillmore, he having only one wife, and no white elephants!"

King. And so you pretend to have been robbed?

Gil. Your majesty has hit my idea, exactly. I have been robbed by some of your subjects, and when I claim my property of them they jeer and scoff, and call me a thief.

King. You can tell stories; what else can you do?

Gil. I can eat, and pick my teeth after a good dinner, as your majesty shall see if you will give me an opportunity.

King. Well, I take you unto my service. I am not utterly ignorant of your country; I have heard of it before. I have seen Americans and Englishmen. You Americans are very ingenious, and have many arts. You have mines of gold, and know how to work them. I have mines of iron, tin, and gold. I shall send you to the mines to instruct my people. Officers, take him away, and see that my will is done.

It was all over with me, and in two days I was sent off in a boat with a gang of nine men. Our destination was the mountainous country lying four hundred miles to the north, upon the upper waters of the Menan river. I was secured by a chain of iron around my ankles, but my arms were left free, so that I could assist in rowing. Our course was on the Menan river, along the banks of which we saw a great number of towns and villages, all built on piles, sunk in the mud. In nine days we had passed the flat alluvial country, and the banks of the river were now steep, wild, and precipitous.

Having made friends of my guard, I induced them to take off the chain around my ankles, which they did the more readily, as they conceived it improbable that I should attempt to escape, when the country was so rude and uninhabited. I, however, had gone far enough, and was determined to bid my friends good-bye on the first fitting occasion. Two days after this, we had pushed the boat ashore, to avoid the heat of the sun, which blistered our arms and shoulders. It was, indeed, our custom to lay by during the day, and go ahead at night. On this occasion I remained near the boat, and, watching my opportunity, I got slyly into It, and pushed off. I was in the middle of the stream before the men saw me. They now set up a terrible yell, and three of them jumped in and swam at me. The boat, however, was light, and, putting her nose down the stream, I was soon clear of my pursuers. I whistled Yankee Doodle in token of victory, and kept moving.

At the end of two days I began to

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approach the settlements, and, being apprehensive of trouble, I turned into a branch of the river which came in from the west, and seemed to flow with a gentle and placid current. It was about two hundred yards wide, and though its banks were hilly, they were not rugged or savage. I continued to row up this stream for two days, when I met some thing slowly swimming down the tide. It lay directly in my course, and when I came to it, I perceived it to be a basket made of bamboo, and in it lay a boy infant, some six months old, fast asleep. As I stooped over the side of the boat to take the little fellow in, I perceived, immediately beneath him, the ravenous jaws of a crocodile, already half open to grasp him. The monster looked at me with a horrid fishy stare, and at the same moment brought his tail round in such a manner as to give my boat a thump, which nearly upset it. After this I thrust an oar down his throat with a furious plunge, upon which he rolled half over, and went away. I then took the child in, and having given him the name of Moses, I proceeded to consider what was to be done. The little fellow soon waked up, and put out his hands, paddling in the air, as if for his mother and his dinner.

In my whole life I was never more puzzled as to what I should do. I, however, took the infant in my lap, and whistled and sung to it, while I rowed away as well as I could. When he began to cry, I pushed ashore, under the spreading boughs of a tree; here I made a fire, and in my saucepan boiled some rice, and squeezed the juice of it into his mouth. I was never more relieved--indeed I may say I was never more delighted--than when I saw Moses suck away as if he had found his nurse. But what on earth was I to do with him? That was, indeed, a poser! It was a perfect wilderness all around me. I had no doubt that a superstitious mother had set the infant afloat on the river, as an offering to some hideous divinity; and she, perhaps, would have deemed herself happy, if she could have seen it devoured by the crocodile. "Such," thought I, "is Paganism: it teaches the mother to abandon her tender offspring as a prey to monsters; while Christianity calls upon even a rude man like me to become its protector, and, if there is need, to stand in the place of father and mother. Poor thing," added I, "Gilbert Go-ahead is a rough nurse, but he will not abandon thee: he will do what he can, Moses, and that is all that is to be expected of any one."

I now sat down on a hummock of land, and gave the child a tossing up and down, Connecticut fashion. He smiled, and evidently liked it. He was a plump, smooth, soft little cherub; and when he was delighted he crammed his fist into his mouth, just as our babies do. "Well," said I to myself; "we are all of one family: this 'ere dark-skinned young Pagan--the offspring of a mother who never saw Bunker Hill, or heard of pumkin pie--has all the ways of a child nurtured in the fear and admonition of Deacon Smith, at Sandy Plain. All he wants is education to be a Christian.

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Any body can see an immortal soul down at the bottom of the little fellow's eyes. Well, well--that's plain enough: but what shall I do with him! If I were at home I'd adopt him, and send him to Yale College, when he grew up. He might, perhaps, become a shining light in the church or at the bar. At any rate he's got good lungs"--for as I said this the young rogue spread out his arms and legs, and squalled in such a manner as to make a long echo in the woods.

After some reflection, I concluded to abandon my boat, and to march across the country to the west, hoping to reach the Burmese territories, and thus escape all danger of being captured by the Siamese. Taking a bundle containing my rice, a little sugar, and my saucepan, and swinging Moses like an Indian papoose in a sack over my shoulder, I set out upon my journey.

The country over which I now passed consisted of elevated barren ridges, with narrow valleys between, which, in some cases, were well wooded, and covered with a rich tropical vegetation. These places I avoided on account of their impenetrable thickets, and the dangerous beasts and venomous reptiles which infested them. Thus obliged to keep to the hills and mountains, my course was circuitous, and my actual progress very slow. After ten days' severe march, I had probably advanced, in a direct line, less than sixty miles. I began now to find my strength giving way, and a strange apprehension came over me. I had not seen a village, or even a house, during my journey. The country was in general desolate, and calculated to depress the spirits, by its aspect of loneliness. It was the dry season, and the birds, insects, and wild beasts had generally withdrawn to the valleys.

Added to all this, I could not but notice that my little companion was day by day growing pallid and thin. He wailed a good deal, especially when I put him on my back. I then took him in my arms, and carried him as gently as possible. But all motion seemed to distress him. When I stopped and sat down, he became quiet; and when I spoke to him, he looked pleased, and a little faint smile dimpled his chin and cheeks. But this soon passed away, and a wild sadness settled upon his cherub face. I began to feel very bad about him, and deeply pondered as to what ought to be done. I tried to think over all the ways and means I had seen practised at home for the benefit of sick children. But what could I do? I had no medicine; I was not a physician; I was not even a nurse. My heart sank within me, for the little creature had taken hold of my feelings, and I felt as much interest in him as if I had been his father. When the thought came across me that he might die, the tears gushed out, as if I had bean a boy.

I now cast about for a place where we might have shelter, and this I soon found beneath a shelving rock, overspread by trees resembling weedy hemlock. Here I made a bed of leaves for Moses, and when I laid him in it, he seemed quite content. I now rambled about in search

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of water, and was gone for half an hour. Having filled my saucepan, I returned, and, as I approached the bed of the boy, I saw, with horror, an animal resembling a leopard, crouched on his belly close to him, and about to make a fatal spring upon him. I screamed aloud, and rushed upon the beast, which was taken by surprise, and ran away like a cat.

I now did every thing I could think of for the poor sick and sinking child. Night soon set in, and though I was very weary, I did not sleep. I heard a wild, shrill mewing in the woods, and several times it came near, and I saw two bright eyes, like balls of fire, between the trees at a little distance. At another time all this might have excited emotions of fear, but such was my anxiety for Moses, that I felt a kind of relief in watching the wild beast that threatened me, and in contemplating the battle that was certain to follow, if he came within reach of my fist.

The night seemed very, very long, but the dawn at last came. My little patient was evidently fast passing away. He was perfectly still, and showed no signs of pain. His breath was light as a summer breeze. As the sun came up, it shone through the trees, fair upon his face. A faint sigh came from his bosom, and he was no more. Never was there any thing in nature more beautiful than that dead infant--so pure, so cold, and yet with such a sweet mysterious smile over the whole countenance. I shed many tears, and then I buried him on the rock. If I had possessed the means, I should have erected a tomb over him, and put upon it the following lines:

Farewell, my boy--thy skin is dark--
Thy sleeping place is wild and stark--
Yet plants that blossom all alone,
In the wild desert, all unknown,
Have forms as fair as bright a bloom,
As pure, as sweet, as blest perfume,
Seed as immortal in the flower,
As if they dwelt in garden bower.
No mother's arm, my child, doth hold thee--
The sullen rock alone can fold thee--
And yet thou shalt not be forgot--
For He who even marks the spot
Where the light sparrow, stricken, falls,
Shall watch thy bed:  and when He calls,
Thou shalt awake--thy spirit fair,
As if thou wert a prince's heir!

[To be continued.]

ADVENTURES OF GILBERT GO-AHEAD (from Robert Merry's Museum, March 1853, pp. 90-94)

With a heavy heart and a lingering step I took my leave of the burial-place of my little companion; and, still pursuing a westerly course, at the end of two days came to a region consisting of tall, rugged mountains, traversed by long, narrow, and winding valleys. It seemed to be a huge wall, made to be a perpetual barrier between nations. I conceived this to be the boundary of the Siamese dominion, and so it afterwards proved.

It was, however, nearly a week before I had crossed these mountains; and, when at last I reached the western ridge and began to descend the slope, which shelved down to a wide plain, I was worn out with fatigue. Coming at length to a hill, on the edge of the valley, which was covered with palm trees I determined to stay a day or two, in order to recruit. The place was inviting, for the trees afforded shade from the sun, and by the abundance of monkeys grinning at me from the branches, I concluded I should find cocoanuts and other fruits.

I made myself a hut of a few sticks set in the ground, with a roof of palm leaves, and, as it was now evening, I turned in and had a good night's sleep. It was now June, and the trees which had cast their leaves in May, were new clothed in the most abundant vegetation, improved by light rains which had fallen at intervals. In the morning I got some cocoanuts, and, after a good breakfast, laid down again in my cabin, and snoozed away the entire day.

As evening approached, I perceived a great hurry-scurry in the clouds, and soon the rain began to fall in torrents. The lightning flashed terribly, and the thunder pealed and echoed along the

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mountain slopes, shaking the earth in a most extraordinary manner. I was soon wet to the skin, but there was no help for it, and so I laid still. The wind, however, began to sweep by in gusts, and falling in currents through the open spaces beneath the trees, capsized my hut, and left me to the pelting of the rain.

I passed a dismal night, and in the morning I cast about for some substantial shelter. I soon came to a mass of shrubbery, and forcing my way into the thicket, found the ruins of a Boodhist temple. It was all thrown down; but I perceived a staircase through an opening in the basement, and in I went. I descended some twenty feet, and here I discovered a kind of chapel, with a smooth, level floor. There were deep niches in the sides, and near one of them I found an image of Boodha, but, strange to say, he stood on his head, with his heels in the air. The place was very dark and dismal, but it was no time to be particular; so I gathered some loose stones, made myself a seat, and sat down.

The storm continued to rage without, and I distinctly felt shocks of an earthquake. The huge stone image of Boodha was greatly disturbed, and finally it took a sort of leap, tumbled forward, and assumed an erect position immediately before me. Soon after a whole troop of monkeys came straggling in; I supposed at first that they came to drive me out of my retreat; but they slunk away in the nooks and corners, and sitting down upon their haunches, doubled themselves up, shivering and whining, like a parcel of frightened children. It was obvious that the shock of the elements had deprived them of their wonted vivacity, and that, like myself, they had come to seek security in the recesses of the ruined building. They manifested no fear of me; most of them kept aloof, but they looked at me, and winked with countenances full of respect. When the wind howled louder than usual around the entrance of the cavern, or when the thunder broke over us with unwonted violence, two or three of them crept towards me, and squatted at my side. One of them at last edged along an his rump, so close as to touch me. I offered to shake hands with him, but he rather snappishly declined the honor, and, as if insulted, retreated behind Boodha, where he kept himself snug, occasionally peering at me, round the bulky haunches of the idol.

The whole day passed, and as night approached, it seemed as if the war of wind and rain and lightning was redoubled. The room of the temple, which had been faintly lighted during the day, was now perfectly dark, except that the lightning filled it at intervals with its lashes. About midnight I heard a strange, confused sound, and felt the earth shudder beneath my feet. At the same moment every one of the monkeys started and scampered out of the cavern. I had no idea what had happened; but I thought I might as well go and see.

It is impossible to describe the scene now before me. By the glare of the lightning, I could perceive that the plain

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around me had been converted into a sea, swelling and rushing forward in one wide, foaming current. The top of the waters were already at the very mouth of the cavern, and while I stood on the threshold, they rose and began to tumble in headlong dashes down the staircase.

For a moment I became giddy with surprise, and perhaps with fear. What indeed could I do? Whither could I fly? There was no safety on the whirling tide--there seemed no safety on the trembling earth. I stood paralyzed; and already the waters curled over my feet, and rose to my ankles. The last patch of earth had disappeared. I cast a look upward, and there, on a sturdy palm tree, I saw several monkeys. I fancied there was a fellow feeling in their look; and so, reduced to extremity, I did not consider it beneath me to follow their example. When a monkey does the best thing that can be done, a wise man loses no dignity by following his footsteps. I therefore mounted the tree, and climbing into its top, found quite a comfortable resting-place between two of its upper branches. I even contrived to weave together some of its broad leaves in such a manner as to form a kind of roof, which afforded shelter from the rain. One of the monkeys liked the idea, and, with a face of ludicrous importance, began to imitate me. He succeeded at last in weaving three leaves together, and he put his head under them; but finding the rest of his body exposed to the storm, he pettishly tore his work in pieces, mounted high into a fork of the tree, and sulked like a spoilt child. I believe it was the same chap I had offered to shake hands with. "Well," thought I, "these monkeys greatly resemble other folks; that fellow, as to his temper, is just like my schoolmate, Bill Pitcher, at Sandy Plain. Bill was always getting into the sulks: he took to pouting as naturally as he did to his hasty-pudding. The only way was to let him alone, and after a while he got over it, and was all the better for it." So it happened with the offended monkey. After sitting for two hours in the crotch of the tree, he came down, grieving, and skulked into my cabin, as if he was one of my family. I said nothing, but I gave Sulky a meaning look, which he returned, it being very clear that we now understood each other perfectly.

The rain continued for two days, during which the waters rose to within about two feet of me. Around, and at no great distance, there were about fifty palm trees, whose tops were still above the surface of the tide. These were occupied by monkeys, lizards of various kinds, and serpents, coiling in the branches. At no great distance, I saw a leopard in the forks of a tree, and by his side a boa-constrictor, both so subdued by terror and adversity, that they seemed totally unconscious of each other's presence.

I had before heard of the terrible storms, inundations, and earthquakes that take place in Southern Asia, at the beginning of the rainy season. I knew that these agitations of nature were particularly violent in the Burmese ter-

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ritories, where I now was, but I had never imagined any thing so frightful as what I now beheld. A broad valley had been converted into a lake, in the space of three days; the wild animals had been driven from their hiding haunts; the nature of the venomous reptile and savage beast had been subdued and changed; the inhabitants of the cave and the rock had been driven from their hiding places; the crocodile and the leopard perched on the branches of trees; and man and monkeys alike sought shelter in the frail abodes of the feathered tribes.

But how was all this to end? That was a serious question for me. It is true that I was tolerably well off for the moment. I had caught three or four cocoa-nuts, as they were swimming by, and my seat was tolerably comfortable. But how long was the deluge to last? Was it to be like the old deluge--forty days in its progress, and a whole year in leaving the face of nature? I was a stranger in a strange land, and I should have been particularly happy to have been informed on this subject. I asked my monkey neighbor about it, but he looked very wise and said not a word, which has given me a disgust, ever since, of all those people who roll up their eyes and are silent when there is trouble on hand. There is a great deal more comfort in talking, and being talked to, than most people imagine. I would have given a first-rate Waterbury clock, with an alarm, and a landscape extra, to have somebody near by, just to hear me talk, during those long, tedious days that I was roosting in the top of a palm tree. I hallooed pretty loud several times, but the only consequence was, that the monkeys on my tree showed signs of uneasiness, the leopard crawled up a little higher, the alligator winked, and the anaconda girded the branch on which he clung a little tighter with his tail.

It was at the end of four days that two logs came floating along, and struck broadside across the tree where I sat. They were bound together by a rope of bark; and without hesitation I got on to them, and giving them a turn, put them fairly into the current. I took an affectionate leave of the monkeys, serpents, reptiles, and other monsters, and launched forth upon my voyage. I went along at a great rate, and in a few hours I was taken off by two men in a boat.

These persons were Burmese. The king of the country was at war with England at this time, and these men, supposing me to be an Englishman, took me to Ava, the capital, and delivered me up as a prisoner. I was soon released, however, on making it known that I was an American.

I found Ava to be a much smaller city than I supposed. It does not contain over 30,000 inhabitants, and most of the houses are mere huts covered with thatch. The place takes its name from Aug-wa, which means fish-pond; and it appears that a fish- pond once occupied the site of the city.

Ava consists of an outer and inner city, both of which are fortified. The inner city comprises little more than the

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palace. This place contains many Boodhist temples, one of which has an image of Boodha, or Gadama, 24 feet high, made of a single block of marble. In the markets I saw many British, American, and Chinese manufactures.

Burmah is an extensive country, and contains five or six millions of inhabitants. I did not call upon the king, but I understand that he is almost as black as a negro, though he loves to be called Golden. Thus the people talk of speaking to the Golden Ear; falling down at the Golden Feet, &c. He is very ignorant, and does not know as much as a boy who has been through one of our common schools; yet the people call him Lord of Life and Limb; they even bow down before his palace walls, and if they be riding by, they dismount and take off their shoes. This sounds very strange to us, but ignorant people may be very easily brought up to make fools of themselves by artful and designing persons.

The people of Burmah are almost exclusively worshipers of Boodha. It is a curious fact that people who have an absurd religion, are usually absurd in most other things. The priests are called Rhahaars, and as they get a good living, and have great power, through the influence of Boodhism, they try to make every body believe it and practice it.

In Burmah there are several races, some of whom live in remote districts, and are almost independent of the government. In general, the people are short and stout, with an olive complexion, and coarse, lank, black hair. The most refined have little education, and more than half are mere barbarians. They do not know how to whistle, and I had some thoughts of setting up a whistling school, but circumstances soon led my thoughts in another direction.

During my late adventures in Siam, and my journey to Ava, I had contrived to keep the greater part of my money, which amounted to about 245 dollars. This was a considerable sum in Burmah, and yet it was very little to take back to Sandy Plain. I had given up, entirely, my lost clocks, and was casting about for some means by which I could gain a fortune, so as to return home and make a sensation.

While I was ruminating on this subject, I chanced to meet with my old friend the Thibetian priest, now on his way back to his native country. He invited me to accompany him, promised to introduce me to the Grand Lama, and do his best to make my fortunes thrive. I thought the offer too good to be lost, and so, without long delay, we took a boat that was going up the river Irrawady and began our journey.

S. G. G.

[To be continued.]

ADVENTURES OF GILBERT GO-AHEAD (from Robert Merry's Museum, April 1853, pp. 124-130)

I must beg my readers who wish to understand my travels, to keep before them a map of the countries I visit. It will be seen that the Irrawadi is not only the greatest river in Burmah, but actually one of the great rivers of Asia. It rises in the mountainous regions of Thibet, breaks through the great border of the Himmaleh range, and pursuing a southerly course of 600 miles, empties into the eastern part of the great bay of Bengal. It passes nearly through the centre of Burmah, and is the greet thoroughfare of its commerce.

The boat in which I was now ascending this river, in company with the Thibetian priest, and whose name, by the way, I found to be Swity, meaning Butter-Pate, was a sort of canoe with two masts, each of which had a small sail of matting. It was a long, narrow craft, made of the trunk of a huge tree, but it got along better than we could have expected. The boatmen showed great skill and activity, and evinced a real genius for their vocation.

The rainy season was pretty much over, but the river was still swollen; and the rapidity of the current, against which we were contending, greatly delayed our progress, though we assisted by a steady wind from the south. There were a great number of boats and vessels on the river, some going up and some down the stream, thus showing that a very active and extended com-

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merce exists in this country. The town and villages along the river were numerous, but we saw none of great size till we reached Bhamo, 170 miles northeast of Ava.

We remained at this city a week, and I found it a most interesting place. Next to Rangoon and Ava, it is the largest city in Burmah--containing about 20,000 inhabitants. It is only 200 miles west of the Chinese frontier. The people consist of Chinese and Burmese, with a sprinkling of Tartars, Thibetians, Shans, &c., all marked with their national peculiarities of language, dress, and personal appearance. There is a very extensive trade here, and I have never seen a more amusing spectacle than that exhibited at the chief market-place or bazaar. Here are cotton, woolen, and silk goods, in great variety.

The Chinese here have pretty good houses, generally of brick; those of the natives are made of reeds, covered with grass-thatch. Each house has a railing of thatch around it. A great many fine villages are found near the town. The trade in woolens, silks, and cottons is in the hands of the Chinese. Several hundreds of Chinese traders arrive here in caravans, during the months of December and January, and then the city is a very busy and lively appearance. The climate is hot, but not oppressive: the country around is prolific and finely cultivated. The market of Bhamo is well stocked with game, fowls, meat, and vegetables, with great variety and abundance of fruits. The Chinese costume, consisting of a short jacket and short loose trowsers, prevails to a considerable extent, even among the Burmese.

I left Bhamo with some regret, for it is really an extraordinary place, from the variety of people to be seen there, from the activity of its trade, the beauty of its climate, and the abundance of its fruits and other products. We now pursued our voyage on the river for two days, and then taking to the land, Swity and I hired two horses, not bigger than ponies, and proceeded in a westerly course towards Assam. The road, consisting only of a bridle-path, passed over a hilly country, covered with wood. In the course of four days' travel we came to three villages. Two nights we sent in little shanties, by the roadside, without inhabitants.

Assam consists mostly of the fine valley of the river Burrampooter; this is surrounded by lofty mountains, the tops of which are covered with snow in winter. The inhabitants are barbarians and there are no large towns. The houses are mostly built of bamboo. Silk is produced by wild insects. Silver, iron, lead, and other minerals, are found. Pepper, ginger, mustard, beans of many kinds, oranges, bananas, and other fruits, are cultivated. The people consist of many tribes, and bear a general resemblance to the Burmese. Rice is the principal article of food, but serpents, dogs, monkeys, and grass-hoppers are esteemed very delicious. the chiefs of the tribes administer the government, such as it is. The whole province is subject to the British, who keep two regiments of Assam soldiers,

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and two gun boats at Luddoga, on the Burrampooter. The whole country, containing 600,000 people, is kept in subjection by this paltry force.

Our route lay along the northern border of the province. We came at one place to an immense road or causeway of stone, built ages ago, and the history of which is entirely lost. Several similar roads cross the country, and one extends, from Bengal, in India, to the centre border of Assam.

This country is remarkable for the number of its rivers, most of which are without bridges. In crossing one of them, my friend, Butter-Pate, came very near being drowned. His little horse was a good swimmer, but the priest was fat and heavy, and the poor beast sank under him. I saw the danger, and the river not being deep, thanks to my long legs, I was able to get him to land. He, however, had lost one of his great toes by the bite of a crocodile. He was so frightened, that he was not aware of his misfortune till some time after he was safe ashore. He then felt a tingling at the extremity of his foot, which caused him to look in that direction. When he saw the blood running, and that a piece of his body was actually gone, he bellowed like a boy. "Ook-a-doo-do--ook-a-doo- do," said he, at least a dozen times, the tears rolling down his smooth, oily cheeks, and his countenance being distorted by a woeful expression of pain.

"My dear friend," said I, "you are a priest and a religious man. You should be consoled. Think how happy you ought to be that the crocodile took only a toe, instead of a leg."

"Ook-a-doo-do!" said he, "you talk to a priest as if he were a common man."

"And why not?--are you not a man?"

"Ook-a-doo-do--not at all. I am a sanctified one. Do you not see this holy amulet attached to my neck?"

"And what is that?"

"It is a ray of the divine essence: it is a piece of a wart cut from the Grand Lama's forefinger."

"If it had been on your great toe, probably it would have turned the crocodile's stomach, and saved you harmless."

"The vain words of an unbeliever, show the sin that festers in his soul. Ook-a-doo-do--ook-a-doo-do!"

["]But really, my friend, do not give way to such unavailing grief. Think of the consolation you have given to others in their trials, and now apply them to yourself."

"Ook-a-doo-do. You talk like a child; the loss of a toe is irreparable; it will never grow again. Besides, it hurts. Ook-a- doo-do--it thrills to my hip, and from my hip to every part of my body. Oh, that this should have happened to Father Swity. Ook-a- doo-do--that it should have happened to me assured of safety by a relic holier than an angel's eyebrow. Ook-a-doo-do--I have been of some mortal sin. Was it eating that leg of a rat on Wednesday?- -or was it that I slept last night with my feet to the west? Ook- a-doo-do--who can tell? Would that some brother of

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the holy faith of Gadama were here to pour the oil of consolation into my bosom."

"That would be very well, no doubt; but the best way to heal the mind, just now, is to mind the body. Come, I am a pretty good surgeon. I have gathered some plantain leaves; pray, let me bind them over the wound. I will engage that you shall be cured in a week."

The poor man said not a word, though he groaned and writhed while I proceeded to tie up his foot. Luckily, as the toe was gone, it had been cut square off, as if the amputation had been performed by a hatchet. I made quite a neat job, of it, and then prepared to resume our journey. The priest's pony had got safe ashore, and was quietly grazing at a short distance. We both mounted, but Swity's foot gave him such pain that he could not proceed. At last I brought his wounded leg up on the shoulder of the pony, and in this attitude we went slowly forward.

It was impossible to rouse my companion from the sadness which brooded over him. I suggested to him that he should find relief in his religion. He replied, snappishly, "I have told you that our religion was made for the common people." I suggested that it was not manly to give way to such grief; for such an accident. "Ah," said he, "you have never lost a toe!" I told him that he should remember that the pain would soon be over. "To-morrow," said he, "cannot annihilate to-day."

"Shall I tell you a story?" said I.

"Speak," said he; and I began, while my poor friend clasped tighter the ankle of his wounded limb, with one of his hands, as if to alleviate by pressure the agony he suffered.

"Once upon a time," said I.

"Ook-a-doo-do," said he.

I went on. "Once upon a time there was an--"

"Ook-a-doo-do."

"No, no; not an ook-a-doo-do," said I, "but an old monkey with two children. He was the patriarch of all monkeydom round about that place. He was not only stricken in years and of a venerable aspect, but he was deemed the wisest philosopher of his time. At last, he said to his two sons, 'I am too old to live in the woods; I must retire to yonder cave, and lay myself down amid the bones of my ancestors, and there I must die. Listen to my last words. It is according to the traditions of our family, which belongs to a noble race, that the eldest son should inherit the fortune of the father, that he may transmit it to future generations. Here, Grip, is a golden chain which I stole from a great magician. Take it; keep it around your neck, and be happy. Nothing can harm you, while you have this protection. As for my younger son, Dot, I shall give him advice: it is all I can bestow. Be a good monkey and take care of yourself!' Having said this, the aged monkey retired to the cave and was heard of no more.

"Well, the two monkeys soon parted, and for a long time they did not see each other. But at last there earns a terrible pestilence, and nearly all the

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monkeys in that region died of it. The rest concluded to emigrate to another country, as the only means of safety. In their way they came to a river, and it was necessary to cross it. At this point the two brothers met, after their long separation. 'How are you going to cross the lake?' said Grip to Dot. 'On a piece of bark,' was the reply. 'Poh,' said Grip; 'why don't you swim?'

"'I am afraid of the alligators,' said Dot.

"'Poh!' said Grip, 'that is all well enough for a common monkey, but I shall swim. None of your vulgar tricks for me. I have a chain that saves me from the necessity of such paltry devices. I am a privileged monkey!'

"Saying this, Grip launched into the stream. At the same time, Dot set forth on a broad piece of bark, and using a stick for an oar, he glided swiftly over the water. Pretty soon he saw a terrible plashing at a little distance. Looking in that direction, he heard his brother Grip cry out, 'Boo-hoo! what are you doing, Mister Alligator?'

"'I'm eating you up!' said the latter.

"'But it's all a mistake; you are eating the wrong one. I've got a chain around my neck. I'm the eldest son.'

"'You'll be all the sweeter,' said Alli, and with that he opened his jaws wide, and poor Grip was gone! Dot went

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a-head with his bark boat, and got safe ashore." Here I paused.

"And what then?" said the priest.

"Why, you see," said I, "that the preference given to the elder son was, in fact, his destruction. Thus parents often ruin the children whom they endow with fortune; while those who are left to rely upon their own good sense, are successful in life."

"Your story may instruct others, but it is barren to a priest, who has no children."

"Perhaps even a priest may gather something from it."

"How so?"

"Let me ask you a question. When you were crossing the river, why did you not hold your feet up on the saddle as I did, for surely you saw the crocodiles in the water?"

"Yes, I saw them; but I was armed with the wart of the Sublime Lama."

"And so you lost your great toe."

"It is too true, but I had not faith in my heart."

"You had too much; you relied upon your amulet, and not upon common sense."

"You reason like a child of this world. The amulet must be accompanied by faith. If I had kept my mind upon the holy relic, my toe had been upon my foot at this very moment; however, I shall get it restored when I reach Pootala."

"How so?"

"We have charms there for such things."

"Indeed!"

"Can you doubt it?"

"I do doubt."

"What an obstinate unbeliever!"

"I am an unbeliever in charms and relics, and all that sort of thing, for you see, without them I am safe, and with them you have lost a toe."

"What faith have you, then?"

"I belong to a Christian country. Our religion teaches us to obey God. Now, he has given us reason as our guide. When we follow this, we obey him; when we act against reason, we disobey him. When a person comes and tells us that he has an old man's wart, or some other relic, and that these will perform miracles, our reason tells us such things are false, and if we believe such things, we disobey God. Our religion teaches us that God is good and wise. Now, can he be good and wise if he gives to these paltry relics the power to overturn the laws of nature? Can he be good and wise who rules by relics, which may be true or false, and which may be mere instruments of deception and fraud, instead of ruling by universal laws, which all may know and understand?"

"This is mere worldly philosophy."

"Yes; and good philosophy too, because, as yet, we are in the world. We are here, I admit, as candidates for another. I admit that this life is only the pathway to another and higher state of existence. But we need guides and lights, to show us the way. And these guides should speak a language we can understand; these lights should be adapted to our organs of vision. If our

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guides talk a strange tongue, how do we know what they say, how do we know that they are not mere deceivers? If these lights are not suited to our vision, they serve only to dazzle or bewilder us."

"Do you not believe, then, in a religious faith, higher even than worldly wisdom?"

"Certainly, but it is worldly wisdom that points it out, that proves it to be a religious, and not an irreligious faith. Faith is the higher light of the soul, but in order to see it, to try it, and to appreciate it, the clear sense of the human understanding must be kept always shining."

"But if we give up relics, what advantage have the priests, who are the great support of Buddhism?"

"I am not prepared to answer."

"Remember, the priests make the relics; if they sell them, they enjoy the profit. If they use them, they have a great advantage over other people. I think if you destroy relics, you destroy them, and Buddhism would fall."

"What then?"

"Our holy religion would be overturned."

"Then you can adopt ours."

"That seems to me sheer infidelity."

"And yours appears to me a system of superstition and fraud."

"But I hope to convert you!"

"And I hope to convert you!"

"Ook-a-doo-do, how my foot twinges!"

ADVENTURES OF GILBERT GO-AHEAD (from Robert Merry's Museum, May 1853, pp. 157-161)

My journey, in company with my Thibetian friend, continued several days without any remarkable incident. We crossed the river Bramahpoutra, or Burrampoota, and soon after entered the territories of the little state of Bootan. This lies at the northeast corner of Hindostan, and occupies the lower portions of the southern slope of the Himmaleh mountains. It is a wild, rough region, its whole extent being about twice as large as New England, and its inhabitants 1,500,000 in number.

Our route lay along the middle portion of Bootan; to the north the mountains with tops covered with eternal snow, arising in black pyramids to the clouds, occupied the view; to the south, the country sloped down into level plains and luxuriant wastes--the abodes, as we were told, of innumerable wild animals, such as elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses, &c. We frequently saw among the hills small troops of buffaloes, as here and there a yaik, or grunting ox, which is remarkable for a long tail or silky hair, somewhat like that of a horse. The horses here are fine, and most or them are of various colors, called piebald.

The Bootanees are quite different from the Hindoos, as well as the Burmese. They are generally of good height, and many are six feet. They have wide cheek-bones, the face terminating in a narrow pointed chin, giving them a three-cornered, fox-like outline of physiognomy. The eye is small and black; the beard is light; the hair is black. The climate is cool, and the clothing mostly of woolen cloth. Turnips seem to be the chief garden vegetable that is cultivated here.

The Bootanees are a barbarous people; their houses, consisting of one story, are mere huts. Sometimes a man has many wives, and often a wife has several husbands. In passing through the country, we had great occasion to admire the suspension bridges, which are often of chains of iron, though more frequently of timbers ingeniously locked together. Many of them are thrown across rivers sixty or even seventy feet above the stream below. The people make aqueducts for water, by hollowing out logs and placing them under ground. They manufacture paper and satin from the bark of a tree; they also make idols, swords, daggers, and the barbs or arrows, the latter being dipped in poison. The bow and arrow are used for hunting and war, though firearms are beginning to be introduced.

At the town of Paro, which is not far from the southern frontier of Thibet, we found considerable manufactures of these latter utensils. This place has some trade, and here is the principal market of Bootan. Some commerce is carried on between this town and Bengal at the south, and Thibet at the north; it is, however, in the hands of the government. In this way indigo, English

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woolens, cotton, and linen cloths, sandal wood, assafoetida, sheet-copper, teas, gunpowder, &c., are introduced; coarse woolen cloths, wax, ivory, gold dust, silver, and horses are given in exchange.

From Paro, we proceeded twelve miles north to Tassisudon, the capital of Bootan. Here I learned something about the government. It seems that the nominal chief of the country is called Dharma-Rajah. He is considered to be above mortal men, and, in fact, is deemed a god. The actual business of government is confided to an officer called Deb-Rajah.

The city of Tassisudon is mostly a collection of one-story houses, and the palace of the Deb-Rajah is quite magnificent compared with the rest of the town. I was very anxious to see the great men of Bootan, but the Dharma-Rajah was living at Punakka, and a curious difficulty prevented us from seeing the Deb-Rajah. It seems there is a schism in the Budhist religion here, one sect believing in eating grasshoppers on Thursday, and the other believing it to be a deadly sin to eat them on that day. Tassisudon is full of priests, and in one of their monasteries my Thibetian friend and myself were lodged.

We sent notice to the Deb-Rajah of our arrival, and our desire to present our respects to him. We were accordingly invited to come to his palace the next day at sunrise. We went at the precise hour, and were met at the door by a man in a long black gown, and with the top of his head shaved, who asked us who and what we were. To this we made a proper reply.

"Do you hold, then," said he, "to eating grasshoppers on Thursday?"

The priest seemed to be in doubt how to answer, and pointed to me, as much as to say--"Ask him first."

"Well," said the man in the black gown, "do you believe in eating grasshoppers on Thursday?"

"I don't believe in eating them at all," said I.

"Thou art a heathen," said the man, "and cannot enter here. If grasshoppers are not made to be eaten, they are made in vain, which is imputing folly to the Creator."

I was about to reply, when the man waved his hand in token of silence. He then turned to my companion for his answer. The latter spoke as follows:

"The question you propose is too important to be answered hastily. I am myself a man of religion: I am a lama of Thibet. I have knelt at the feet of the thrice divine Grand Lama, of the holy temple of Pootala; and his breath is the dew of heaven! I have a right to ask thee questions, and to require an answer. What is the day of the week?"

"Wednesday," amid the man.

"Yes; and to-morrow, what will you have for dinner?"

"Grasshoppers and turnips."

"I should be happy to dine with you."

"So; you eat grasshoppers on Thursday?"

"Certainly."

"Oh! I see--you are of our faith--I

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will introduce you to the Deb-Rajah, but your unbelieving attendant cannot enter."

There was no help for it, so I turned away and wandered about the town. I soon came to the river on which Tassisudon is situated, and here, at the bank, I saw a great collection of people. Pretty soon there came a long procession of priests, and I saw that four of them had something quite heavy, bearing it along on a sort of rude litter. When they came near the water, they put it down on a pile of brush. I then saw it was the dead body of a man. After some prayers and other ceremonies were performed over the body, the faggots were set on fire and the corpse was speedily reduced to ashes; these were then taken upon a shovel and thrown into the river. The priests who officiated in these ceremonies are called Gylongs. They are a brutal-looking set, and their horrid shouts and groans and grimaces in these rites, were truly shocking. I returned to my lodgings quite sick at spectacle I had witnessed.

Having remained three days at Tassisudon we took our departure, and proceeded northward in a direct line toward Thibet. We had some severe traveling before us. The route lay over steep mountains and tremendously deep valleys. The paths were rocky and often encumbered by trees which had fallen across them from the shaggy sides of the impending cliff. Every day we rose higher and higher upon that stupendous bulwark of mountains which separates Thibet from Hindostan.

We were mounted on the two little horses--or rather, ponies--which we had purchased in Assam. They were tough, vigorous fellows, and performed their task admirably: still it was hard work for them, and often as we rode along the dizzy edges of the rocks, hanging over deep and dismal precipices, it seemed as if they would inevitably fall over and carry us to destruction.

At length we arrived in the region of snow. All around had now the aspect of perfect winter, though it was the month of August. We continued to ascend higher and higher, while far beyond we could see the mountains, like blueish clouds, still rising above us. Every vestige of life now disappeared. The wild goats were no longer seen skipping over the glaciers; the snow-white owls that flitted before us were gone, not a blasted or stunted fir tree--not even a creeping lichen over the rocks was visible. The whole scene consisted of glaciers as hard and unchangeable as granite. It seemed a land of destitution and death. How terrible was the thought of that freezing atmosphere, which converted the most beautiful elements of nature into solid rock!

I confess that never in my life did I feel such a state of loneliness and helplessness as in those terrible peaks of the Himmaleh mountains. Nor was mental depression the only thing I had to suffer. I found it exceedingly difficult to breathe the air on account of its elevation, being so thin and so different from what I was accustomed to. Several times I was so suffocated that the blood gushed out of

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my mouth and nostrils, and I should have perished but for some balsam administered to me by the priest.

I became exceedingly weak, and finally was so faint I could not sit upon my horse. I got off with difficulty, and while every thing seemed to swim around, I saw a shaggy-looking being approach me. I thought to myself that I was about to be seized by a bear, when all consciousness left me, and I fell to the ground.

When I awoke I was in a cavern,, the priest reposing at a distance, and the shaggy creature, which I now saw to be a hermit, sitting by me. I soon recovered my senses, and, after a short time, was entirely restored. I thanked the hermit very sincerely for his kindness, and remarked that he had certainly saved my life.

"You need not give me the credit," said he, "it was all the work of the Kotooktoo."

"And who, pray, is the Kotooktoo?" said I.

"He is here," said the priest, taking a little misshapen stone image from a nook in the cave, and showing it to me.

"Indeed!" said I, "this seems to me only a bit of stone, cut into the hideous semblance of a man, or rather a monkey."

"It was once stone," said the hermit, "and it has the semblance of a monkey: but it is consecrated, and is now a thing of power. The spirit of generating the gift of life is in it. Pay your thanks to it."

"Well," said I, "good Kotooktoo, I'm much obliged to you; and to prove it I here give you five dollars." So saying, I handed the money to the idol.

"Bah!" said I, "the good Kotooktoo can't take it. He has the power of generating--he can save life--but he can't take pay for it."

"Leave such worldly matters to me," said the prist. "The Kotooktoo is too holy to soil its fingers with gold." So saying he greedily took the cash, and slid it into his pocket. Soon after this I set out with my friend, and we proceeded on our journey. I had got a little used to the peculiar atmosphere, and I suffered less from the difficulty of breathing; but the cold was intense, and the scene continued to be a complete solitude of interminable ice and snow.

At last we reached the very pinnacle of the mountains--nearly 30,000 feet, or six miles above the level of the sea. The air was clear, and we could see far away to the north over the vast plain of Thibet, and to the south over the spreading savannahs of Hindostan. These remote objects were indistinct, but there was a grandeur of outline which gave an impression entirely beyond the power of description.

We now began to descend the mountains, and as the country of Thibet is very elevated, it was not long before we reached its boundaries. This remote region, celebrated as being the seat of the Grand Lama, the head of that worship which has more believers than any other, is little known to Europeans. It is generally described as a vast plateau or table land, six or seven thousand feet above the level of the sea, and surrounded by

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the most stupendous ranges of mountains on the globe.

A few travelers have crossed these formidable barriers, and given imperfect sketches of the people and the country encircled within them. But still Thibet is a strange and almost unknown land, and hence my adventures there, which are not a little extraordinary, may be interesting to my readers.

S. G. G.

ADVENTURES OF GILBERT GO-AHEAD (from Robert Merry's Museum, June 1853, pp. 185-190)

Thibet has been regarded as a remote, strange, unapproachable country, and though a few European travellers have visited the western portions of it, still its name always excites wonder and curiosity. Feelings of this kind had a great deal of influence in persuading me to go there. It is true that I had some idea that I might turn the journey to account in the way of trade, especially as my friend Butter Pate was familiar with the country, and being a lama or priest, was a man of sagacity, and power, and promised to promote my views.

When, therefore, I had crossed the terrible ranges of the Himmaleh mountains, which shut the country out from the warm and fertile regions of the south of Asia, I experienced strong emotions of excitement. I must confess, however, that the aspect of the country greatly disappointed me. It seemed to consist of rocky hills and hedges covered with stunted forests and dreary plains between. The climate I found to be exceedingly cold, though it was only the beginning of September. The thick woollen garments we had bought at Tassisudon are insufficient for comfort, so that I supplied myself with a large goat-skin cloak, which I bought of one of the shepherds.

I found the people of Thibet to be what we call Tartars; they resemble our American Indians, especially those who have partially adopted the ways of civilized life. In dress, there was a sort of China cut in the attire, though many of the people in the country wear sheep and goat skins, almost without being shaped to the figure.

Though Thibet seems poor and meagre in its vegetable production, it abounds in animal life. The country is teeming with game, the domestic animals are very numerous and valuable. The flocks of sheep and goats are the great resource of the country. There is a peculiar variety of sheep--very small, with black hips and black faces; but the wool is exceedingly fine, and the mutton is the best I ever tasted.

The Thibet goat is certainly the most beautiful species of the numerous goat family. The colors are black, fawn and white, the latter being tinged with blue. They have stumped horns, and very short legs. Their long silky hair is used for the shawls, so famous all over the world.

There is a small breed of cattle like ours used for agricultural labor; but the Yaik which I have already mentioned, is the most valuable species of ox, to the Thibetians. The cows furnish an abundant supply of milk, and both males and females are excellent beasts of burthen. Their long silky tails are sent to Hindostan, where they are in great request as chowries, to brush off flies with.

Most of the animals, as dogs, wolves, hares, &c., have a thick furry coat to protect them against the rigor of the cli-

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mate. The next curious wild animal is the musk deer, which is about the size of a common hog, and its body has the shape of that animal. Its head is small, and its legs extremely delicate. It lacks the usual finish of quadrupeds' beauty--a tail! The creature is covered with thick bushy hair, in some parts three inches long. The perfume which we call musk, is obtained from a cut or bag which grows upon the belly of the male musk deer. These animals belong to the government, and this only is permitted to take the unguent, which is a source of considerable revenue.

The food of the people of Thibet consists largely of flesh, either of game or sheep, goats, and cattle. Milk is extensively used. The chief crops are barley, wheat, and a coarse kind of pease. Turnips and radishes are almost the only garden vegetables. Fruits are scarce. Rice is not cultivated, but is brought from India. The poorer classes never eat wheat bread.

The houses of the country people generally resemble brick-kilns, being low mean mounds of rough stones, heaped upon each other without cement. Bedsteads are unknown in Thibet: a thick mattress serves for a seat by day and a bed by night. The scarcity of timber, subjects the people to many privations. In their dress, yellow and red colors prevail. Their meals are at no stated times, but are taken as hunger requires. The business of the day begins by prayer--and ends at night by music, dancing, and other amusements.

As we travelled along toward Lassa, the capital, we found the roads and bridges to be miserable. In Bootan, goods are generally carried on the shoulders of the people, especially females--here they are transported on yaiks, mules, asses, and horses, the latter being brought from Turkestan, where they run wild in herds.

We met several caravans of traders going from Lassa to India, with various kinds of Chinese merchandise, which it appears is obtained at the town of Sinning, near the northern frontier. This traffic is in the hands of the government, and the great officers of state. Sugar, tobacco, indigo, pepper, rice, gums, silk, &c., are received from India, Nepaul, and Bootan.

Thibet is a very elevated country, and hence many of the great rivers of Asia have their source: among them are the Indus, the Ganges, the Irrawada, and the Burrampooter. This latter which we had crossed in Bootan, we now crossed again, it being here reduced to a few rods in width. Along the banks there were some marks of fertility, but the country generally was dry, and the vegetation withered as it is in New England in the frosty days of November.

Our course now lay in a north-easterly direction, it being our intention to visit the city of Giga Gounggar before proceeding to Lassa. We met with a few small villages in our way, but no considerable towns. Everywhere we were kindly received by the people, and in consideration of the clerical character of my companion, we were often gratuitously entertained.

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Butter Pate also did a good business in selling charms, disposing of no less than sixteen little finger-nails of the Lama of Teshoo-Lomboo in one village of about fifty people. He exchanged with a poor woman a roll of clay as big as a pea, which he declared had been consecrated by the spirit of the Grand Lama, for a Thibet shawl which it had cost her four months to spin and weave!

I took the priest to task for all this, telling him that it seemed to me no better than robbery.

"Pooh, pooh," said he, "such things are done by all lamas."

"then I should say that they are all rascals."

"Not at all; you are constantly confounding us lamas with the common people. Religion and morality are two different things. We lamas are not bound by morality. We are consecrated, and whatever we do is right, provided it be done in the name of Boodh. Common people are forbidden to lie, steal, rob, &c., nor is a lama to do these things, if he can as well get along without. But Boodh is above all. He made the laws of the universe, and he can break them if he will. The sublime Dalai-Lama is the essence of Boodh on earth, or, as some believe, of Boodh himself. In consecrating his priests he gives his own power to them, and if they see good reason for it, they can also set aside his laws."

"That is, if they find it convenient to lie or steal, they are at liberty to do so?"

"You speak at random, my son. A lama never lies, and never steals. These words are only used in application to the common people. If I, a lama, say what is not true, for a good end, it is a holy act and not a lie; but if you or any other unsanctified person were to do the same, the punishment would be to wander forty thousand centuries in the Gulf of Green Lizards."

"Is there no way by which I can avoid each a terrible doom?"

"None--unless you could get the prayers of some pious lama, for that object."

"And how could I obtain such prayers?"

"By giving gold, or silver, or jewels, or some other precious things, to the lama, for the use and benefit of the cause of Boodh."

"Yes, yes--I think I begin to understand your religion. What a great privilege it is to be a lama, for he may do what he pleases here on earth, and be sure of Heaven afterwards. Our Christian religion is very different."

"How so?"

"It teaches that the Creator of this universe is not only the author of these visible objects around us, but that he has also devised a system of religion which all are bound to reverence. He made the earth, the sky, the sun, moon, and stars. These are governed by certain laws, which they always obey. The sun rises and sets at his bidding; the planets revolve steadily in their orbits; the seasons come and go. Thus order and beauty are introduced into all the works of nature. There is another sys-

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tem--that of religion and morality, and here, also, God has given a code of laws."

"I should like to hear what they are."

"I will repeat them, in substance. They are as follows:

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2. Thou shalt not worship, or bow down to any graven image, or the likeness of any created thing.

3. Thou shalt not profanely use God's holy name.

4. Thou shalt keep holy the sabbath, or seventh day.

5. Do honor and reverence to thy father and thy mother.

6. Thou shalt not kill thy fellow-man.

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8. Thou shalt not steal.

9. Thou shalt not be guilty of falsehood.

10. Thou shalt not covet what is not thine own.

These are the fundamental laws of the moral world, according to our faith, and no man, priest, king, potentate, or private person, may set them aside. What is it that gives to nature its grandeur? It is its order, its regularity--visible even in its infinite variety. We see in it, and through it, a Divine Governor superior to nature, and of which nature is but an image. If the laws which control the elements, and govern the movements of the heavenly bodies were to be set aside by every priest or lama, according to his whim, or for what he might deem a good cause, what confusion would be introduced into the world! How would God himself be degraded, by thus giving up his government to men? And so of religion. God no doubt listens to the prayers of his children; he no doubt hears the voice of his people and his church, wherever they may be. But he never surrenders the reins of government into the weak hands of man. He never allows any man, or set of men, to alter or modify his laws. What he requires of one, he requires of all. The king, the peasant, the beggar, all are alike bound by the code of morality and religion."

"And where is this religion written?"

"In a book called the Two Testaments; or, the Book of Books."

"And how do you know it is true?"

"It has been proved true by the testimony of holy men, in a long series of ages; by the TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST, who lived as no man ever lived, who spoke as no man ever spoke, and whose words, for almost two thousand years, have carried to the bosoms of men an irresistible conviction of their divine origin and eternal truth."

"And have you no lamas?"

"We have ministers and priests, who devote their lives to the propagation of religious truth."

"Are you a priest?"

"No, indeed."

"How, then, do you know so much about your religion?"

"In my country nearly all the people have the Bible. We are brought up to read it, from childhood. It is read in schools and in families. It is read in the religious houses. It is expounded and

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enforced by the ministers and priests. My father read a chapter in the Bible every morning, before breakfast. I have heard him say that he had read the Bible through thirteen times."

"Was he a priest?"

"No, he was a common man, a farmer."

"I understand how it is that you know so much about your religion; but I think it very absurd. What can the mass of the people, after all, know about holy writings, and the deep and the mysterious meanings of God?"

"We can at least understand his commandments, and learn to obey them. We can study his holy word, and seek to commune with him. Our bible, our religion, brings every man into the immediate arms of God; to him we are all responsible. How purifying is it to live always before a holy judge; to submit our action to a perfect God, rather than imperfect man? With us, if a man has sinned, he must seek forgiveness of one who is beneficent and just. With you, if a man sins, he must settle with a lama. He may pay for it in cash, or in penance. He may even settle for a crime beforehand. Does not this make religion contemptible? Does it not degrade the author of a religion, who permits and encourages such practices? Can such a religion fail to debase its votaries? Does it not invariably lead to immorality, vice and crime? Does not the ascendancy of lamaism invisibly break down the independence of the human understanding, and does it not make the natives subject to its influence ignorant, superstitious, and bigoted?"

"You talk like a child: you seem to set the mass of mankind above the priesthood. This is a fundamental error. Boodh, or Gudama, is first. He is the only true existence. All beside are a shadow. The Dalai-Lama is the perpetual, undying Boodh on earth. He is all in all. He is heaven and earth, sea, and sky, and air. In him, however, the lamas live and breathe and have a being. He is a tree and they are its leaves. The leaves may fall but only to be reproduced again in the bud. The bud falls, but then comes the bloom. So it is with the lama. He is a leaf--a bud--a flower, of the Eternal, always advancing to perfection. But the mass of the people are as sand and gravel, and have no other use than to feed the roots of the tree of Life--the thrice holy Dalai-Lama, and his branches."

"A comfortable doctrine, this, for the priests, certainly, but how do the people like it?"

"They have only to submit to it."

"Well, well, my friend Butter Pate, now be honest, and tell me the truth. Do you believe this religion of yours?"

Do you take me for a hypocrite?"

"Well, to be fair with you, I do."

"You are mistaken. Men seldom believe against the influence of education, and, above all, against their inter-

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est. I was educated in lamaism, all my family and friends are devoted to it. And besides, if I reject this religion I sink to the level of ordinary men. As a priest, I enjoy great favors and privileges. I exercise dominion over the concerns of the mass. Through their fears I can extort their money and their goods. I can compel them to serve me in any way I please. I am not bound by the same rules of duty and morality which restrain the vulgar herd. Do you think I will doubt a system which endows me with such advantages? Before you leave Thibet you will understand what I mean. You will see that all the wealth and power of the country are in the hands of the priests. The mass of the nation are poor, ignorant, and degraded; do you think I will sink myself to their level?"

"It is doubtless too much to expect."

Here our conversation was brought to an end by the appearance of the city of Giga Gounggar at no great distance, situated in a valley before us. the country around had, indeed, by its better cultivation, announced our approach to a considerable town. Still proceeding on our course, we soon entered the town, and, as usual, took up our abode at a monastery. My companion was now almost at home, and he found many of his old acquaintances, as well among the lamas as the people of the town. I observed that he was everywhere well received, and appeared to be a universal favorite. He was in fact a kind-hearted man, and much better, I have no doubt, than his religious creed would lead us to expect. Nevertheless, a false religion is very destructive to the higher gifts of humanity, because a man's principles are formed by his religion, and it is very rare that actions rise higher than the sources from which they flow.

S. G. G.

[To be continued.]

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