"This promptness is good and bespeaks success," said the chief, laying his hand on a letter which was enclosed in three wrappers of satin, the outer being sealed in many places, adding, "Secure this packet beneath thy inner robe, for upon its safety may depend the fate of the empire. I know not by what means thou mayest reach the Emperor, therefore, when in Pekin it would be well to seek the merchant Yang, in the great square, who will aid the son of the great merchant of the south." Then taking another letter from the table, he added, "As you pass through the city of Hang-tcheou, seek out Father Adam, the chief priest of the Christians, and place this in his hands; but guard it well, for the contents are such that were they to meet the eyeballs of the bonzes it might prove thy destruction." Then placing a valuable ring on the boy's finger and telling him to take what silver he might require, till he reached the merchant of Pekin, who would supply him with more, he bid farewell to Nicholas, who, signalling one of the consort ships, went on board, and was soon landed at the port of Amoy. CHAPTER II. THE DEMON SHIP.--THE BOY CHOW. Taking a passage in a merchant junk bound to the port of Ning-Po, Nicholas continued his journey for some days without meeting with any event of importance. The voyage was, however, rendered very tedious by the idolatry of the sailors, who spent a great portion of their time in offering up presents to a dirty little wooden god stuck behind a small oil lamp, the odor from which was any thing but agreeable. They would moreover frequently stop the ship to offer meat and incense to the images of the sea goddess Ma-tsoo-po, which are perched upon almost every promontory upon the Chinese coast. They had been at sea, or rather along the coast, for these sailors never venture far from land, six days, when the murky atmosphere, the heavy swell of the waves as they rolled inward, and the fluttering flight of the sea-fowl, betokened a coming storm; and the crew, trembling with fear, thought of little else but making offerings to the dirty little god, praying of him to stop the storm. A sailor and a Christian from his childhood, Nicholas was no less disgusted with their cowardice than their foolish superstition, and really fearing that the ship would be dashed to pieces upon a rock, he earnestly entreated them to exert themselves. His efforts, however, were useless, for their faith was firm in the power of their gods, whose protection they sought to purchase in the following curious manner:--