The squadron had scarcely got under way, and cleared the narrow passages between the islands into the Yellow Sea, when it was perceived how very little advantage it was likely to derive from the Chinese pilots. One of them, in fact, had come on board without his compass, and it was in vain to attempt to make him comprehend ours. The moveable card was to him a paradox, as being contrary to the universal practice with them, of making the needle traverse the fixed points, and not the points described on the card to move (by the needle being attached to the card), as in those of Europe. The other was furnished with a compass, about the size of a common snuff-box, being an entire piece of wood, with a circular excavation in the centre, just large enough to admit the vibration of a very fine steel needle, not quite an inch in length, which, however, might be found sufficiently useful, in their short voyages, by means of a peculiar contrivance for preserving the center of gravity, in all positions of the ship, in coincidence nearly with the center of suspension. Nor is it necessary, in so short and fine a needle, to load one end more than the other, in order to counteract the dip, or tendency that the magnetic needle is known to have, more or less, towards the horizon in different parts of the world. The Chinese, however, do not seem to have adopted their small needle from any knowledge either of the variation, or of the inclination of the magnetic needle. Although the needle be invariably small, yet it sometimes happens that the margin of the box is extended to such a size, as to contain from twenty to thirty concentric circles, containing various characters of the language, constituting a compendium of their astronomical (perhaps more properly speaking) astrological knowledge. As numbers of such compasses are in the museums of Europe, it may not perhaps be wholly unacceptable to give some notion of what these circles of characters contain. 1. Central circle, or the needle. 2. 8 mystical characters denoting the first principles of matter, said to be invented by _Fo-shee_, the founder of the monarchy. 3. The names of the 12 hours into which the day is divided. 4 and 5. Names of the circumpolar stars. 6. Characters of the 24 principal meridians or colures. 7. The 24 subdivisions or seasons of the year. 8. The characters of the cycle of 60 years. 9. Numerical characters relating to the above cycle. 10. Characters denoting the 28 signs of the Zodiac. 11. Certain astrological characters. 12. Eight sentences explanatory of the 8 mystical characters on the second circle. 13. A different arrangement of the Chinese cycle. 14. Characters of the five elements. 15. Repetition of the characters on the eighth circle. 16. Repetition of the eighth circle. 17, and 18. Characters of obscure mythology. 19. Names of 28 constellations and their places in the heavens.