In the morning the jailer came in, an old man, with a loud voice, cross look, and a piece of thyme, or some other herb, always stuck on his upper lip. He opened the lids of the cages of the eight Lascars, and took the irons off their wrists, thus enabling them to stand upright, and shake themselves; we had no such indulgence, but were kept fast. At eight o'clock our breakfast was brought in; it was jail allowance, two small basins full of rice, and one of vegetables: the cages were opened, and the irons taken off our hands, whilst we ate our scanty meal, which we had no sooner finished than we were fastened down again. We remained in this state all day, and after our evening allowance, were again secured for the night. A little before dark, the watch was set, and a large gong, at a short distance, was struck once; upon which a number of smaller gongs struck up, and when they had finished, a boy outside the room began to strike a piece of bamboo with a stick, which noise was continued without intermission the whole night. This horrid noise most effectually prevented my sleeping. The large gong was only struck when the time changed, striking first one, then two, and so on, till it struck five; thus regulating the watches of the night, which, in China, I imagine, is divided into five; at any rate I always found it so. The following morning the jailer unlocked the lids of our cages, and took the irons off our hands; so that we were at liberty to stand upright, and stretch our limbs; which, from our cramped position, much needed this relaxation. The large place we were in, was, as I have said before, divided into four smaller apartments, three of which were occupied by us in our cages; whilst in the fourth were some Chinese prisoners, who lived in it by day, but slept in another part of the jail. Outside was a covered passage, in which were several stoves; and here the greater part of the Chinese prisoners cooked their rice and other victuals. They had all chains on their legs, but were otherwise free; and they gave us to understand that they were imprisoned for smuggling opium, or for using it. Some were of the better class, being well dressed, and eating their meals with the mandarin of the place. Two of the commoner sort had lost their tails,[8] and one was minus his nose, which gave anything but a prepossessing appearance to his countenance. FOOTNOTES: [5] Note 4. [6] Note 5. [7] Note 6. [8] Note 7. CHAPTER IV. Captain Anstruther--Kindness to marines--Mandarin's questions--Chinese music--Jolly-boat party arrive--Privations--Medical treatment--Removed--Sedans--Town--Joshouse--Apartment--Guard-room.