Throwing off disguise, in our celestial seas, these Barbarians at length discovered their true character. To save our people from the effects of a dreadful poison, to which the lower orders had become habituated, our Illustrious prohibited the importation of this thing, called by the English, Opium (Zle-psi). But these disregarded the just request; wished to pour upon us enormous amounts for the sake of the gains which the bad traffic yielded, and which was monopolised by them; and, when nothing else would serve, assaulted our unoffending people, fell with fire and sword upon our province of Quang-tun, and, rushing upon other maritime parts with their great ships, armed with prodigious cannon, threatened to burn and destroy. In our peaceful Kingdom we had no need of such things; we had no means to meet these destructive engines, contrived by _Christ-god_ worshippers; and our Illustrious, to save further dreadful mischiefs to our unprotected people, granted trade to these selfish and cruel Barbarians! Yet this benevolence of our Illustrious only served to encourage additional demands; and we all remember how, coming with more ships, swifter with _steam_, and greater guns and men, these impious defiers of the Sovereign and Heavenly Justice have more recently fallen upon the Northern provinces, and slaughtered and robbed our people, our palaces, and even the precincts of our Illustrious himself! Who, awaiting and appealing to the Sovereign Lord of Heaven, doubts not the due chastisement of crime, which, in due time, shall heavily fall! Meantime, in all other parts of the great Outer Seas, these English visited the coasts with their fire-ships, and compelled the natives to trade, either by fraud or by open war. In the great Sea towards the sunset, they, in this way, settled upon many Lands; and, in the course of some generations, their settlements in those regions, wishing to trade with others beside the English (which these would not allow) revolted; drove away the armed bands which were sent to subdue them, and formed a new power. In this way, about 100 years ago, the Barbarians, called American [Mel-i-kan], arose. Their ships are known in our Central Kingdom by a flag, named "Starry," because of the _Stars_ [Zen-ti] which are painted upon it. These people are ardent for trade, but not so mad and reckless; and not aggressive in their intercourse with others. They are not so domineering and haughty--humbly submitting themselves, in general, to the Son of Heaven, making tribute, and seeking his Illustrious protection to their trade and to their ships in our Central Waters.