But I hear the sound of the evening bell; the freshness of the night is augmented; already the rays of the moon strike through the windows of my tent, and with their lustre brighten the few moveables with which it is adorned. I find myself neither uneasy nor fatigued; my stomach is empty, and I may, without fear, go to rest.----It is thus that, with my poor abilities, I have made these verses, in the little spring of the tenth moon of the year Ping-yn, of my reign Kien-long. [22] _Fo-hii_, _Shing-tong_, or _Whoang-tii_--Some of the first emperors of China; who invented the eight qua's, together with the kay-tse, and created colsus. [23] _An eminence in the center_--Meaning Windsor, probably. [24] _Tse-hiu and Chang-lin_--Two celebrated parks, which belonged to the emperors of the Ty. [25] _Yven-ming-yven, and Tchang-tchun-yven_--Are Gardens near Pe-king, belonging to the present Emperors of China. [26] _Joss_--A corruption of Dios, God. [27] _Miao kao, etc._--Muttering expressions from Hoang-fou-tse, or Confucius. [28] _For though pure wine, etc._--It is remarkable, that our Orator draws most of his similes and allusions either from the kitchen or the cellar; whether this particularity proceeded from any skill of his in the culenary art, from his affection for good living, or from any other hidden motive; or whether it was merely accidental, the Editor never could learn with any degree of certainty. [29] In China they have an innumerable multitude of connoisseurs and criticks; who, with a very superficial knowledge, a few general maxims, and some hard words, boldly decide on subjects they do not understand: hence the whole fraternity is fallen into disrepute. They have, indeed, like us, some real connoisseurs amongst them; but these are very rare in China. [30] _The imperial bird_, or foung hoang, is a fabulous being, of the nature of the ph[oe]nix, by the Chinese poets, accounted the emperor of birds, as the dragon is of all the scaly tribe: he is said never to appear, but in great pomp, attended by a numerous train of all the most brilliant and extraordinary of the volatile race. [31] _Hurry of face-making_--The Chinese call portrait painting, or modelling portraits in coloured clay, which was Chet-qua's particular profession, face-making. [32] _Eat rice or drink brandy_--The Chinese call dining, eating rice; and their common liquors, at meals, are spirits, of various sorts. .... Transcriber's note: In this etext the ^ indicates superscript. ....