When they were gone, the soldiers led us across one or two yards, into a joshouse. By the light from the torches, I could distinguish, in a place railed off from the rest of the building, some people lying apparently asleep. At first I imagined them to be Chinese; but to my amazement and great joy, I soon discovered this party to consist of Webb and Wombwell, and those who had left the wreck in the other junk, and of whose fate we had hitherto been in ignorance. In consequence of some misunderstanding, they had been most severely beaten by the Chinese, and from the effects of this beating, two of the marines had died, on their way from the coast to this town. Though dead when they arrived, the Chinese had, nevertheless, put irons on the bodies. The corporal of marines had been so ill treated, that he could not move without assistance; and in fact they had all experienced worse treatment than our party. There were now missing, only the four who had run off when the Chinese stopped us at the cross-way. Of Mrs. Noble, and those in the jolly-boat, we, of course, knew nothing; but hoped that they might have escaped the Chinese, and managed to reach Chusan. Haying related our different stories, and consoled each other in the best way we could, we lay down on some loose straw for the night, and, notwithstanding our miserable condition, we slept soundly. FOOTNOTE: [4] Note 3. CHAPTER III. Temple--Cages--Women--Dinner--Hot water--Taken down a river--City--Guns--Hall of Ancestors--Twizell and the missing party--English prisoner--Corporal of marines--Jail--Other Lascars--Watch. In the morning, when I awoke, I found I was in a temple; outside the railing was a large hall; on each side, rows of seats were ranged, with a broad space in the centre; the sides of the building were quite plain, and so also was the roof. Inside the railing was a green silk canopy, under which were several images, handsomely dressed in different coloured silks. Standing against the walls were four more figures the size of life, one painted entirely black, another red, and the other two variegated; and all armed with some extraordinary instruments of warfare. These I suppose represented their gods, and were tolerably well done, but not to be compared to others I afterwards saw. The whole building was so destitute of any ornaments, that, had it not been for the images, the idea of it being a jos-house would not have struck me.