LETTER XXII. THE CHINESE PHILOSOPHER'S SON MADE A SLAVE IN PERSIA. To the same. The letter which came by the way of Smyrna, and which you sent me unopened, was from my son. As I have permitted you to take copies of all those I sent to China, you might have made no ceremony in opening those directed to me. Either in joy or sorrow, my friend shall participate in my feelings. It would give pleasure to see a good man pleased at my success ; it would give almost equal pleasure to see him sympathize at my disappointment. Every account I receive from the East seems to come loaded with some new affliction. My wife and daughter were taken from me, and yet I sustained the loss with intrepidity; my son is made a slave among the barbarians, which was the only blow that could have reached my heart: yes, I will indulge the transports of nature for a little, in order to show I can overcome them in the end. True magnanimity consists not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. When our mighty emperor had published his displeasure at my departure, and seized upon all that was mine, my son was privately secreted from his resentment. Under the protection Through the windows of glass appear the scarlet hangings, The congregated buildings have all the aspect of a picture: Their theatres are closed during the long days; It is after dark that the painted scenes are displayed: The faces of the actors are handsome to behold, And their dresses are composed of silk and satin: Their songs resound in unison with stringed and wind instruments, And they dance to the inspiring note of drums and flutes; It constitutes the perfection of harmonious delight, Every one retires with a laughing countenance." Royal Asiatic Soc. Transactions, val, ii. p. 446.) and guardianship of Fum Hoam, the best and the wisest of all the inhabitants of China, he was for some time instructed in the learning of the missionaries, and the wisdom of the East. But hearing of my adventures, and incited by filial piety, he was resolved to follow my fortunes, and share my distress. He passed the confines of China in disguise, hired himself as a camel-driver to a caravan that was crossing the deserts of Thibet, and was within one day's journey of the river Laur, which divides that country from India, when a body of wandering Tartars falling unexpectedly upon the caravan, plundered it, and made those who escaped their first fury slaves. By those he was led into the extensive and desolate regions that border on the shores of the Aral lake. Here he lived by hunting; and was obliged to supply every day a certain proportion of the spoil, to regale his savage masters. His learning, his virtues, and even his beauty, were qualifications that no way served to recommend him; they knew no merit but that of providing large quantities of milk and raw flesh; and were sensible of no happiness but that of rioting on the undressed meal. Some merchants from Mesched, however, coming to trade with the Tartars for slaves; he was sold among the number, and led into the kingdom of Persia, where he is now detained. He is there obliged to watch the looks of a voluptuous and cruel master, a man fond of pleasure yet incapable of refinement, whom many years' service in war has taught pride but not bravery. That treasure which I still keep within my bosom, my child, my all that was left to me, is now a slave.* Good heavens, why was this? Why have I been introduced into this mortal apartment, to be a spectator of my own misfortunes, and the misfor * This whole apostrophe seems most literally translated from Ambulaao. hamed, the Arabian poet.. tunes of my fellow-creatures? Wherever I turn, what a labyrinth of doubt, error, and disappointment appears! Why was I brought into being; for what purposes made; from whence have I come? whither strayed; or to what regions am I hastening? Reason cannot resolve. It lends a ray to show the horrors of my prison, but not a light to guide me to escape them. Ye boasted revelations of the earth, how little do you aid the inquiry! How am I surprised at the inconsistency of the magi! their two principles of good and evil affright me. The Indian who bathes his visage in urine and calls it piety, strikes me with astonishment. The Christian who believes in three gods is highly absurd. The Jews who pretend that Deity is pleased with the effusion of blood, are not less displeasing. I am equally surprised, that rational beings can come from the extremities of the earth in order to kiss a stone,* * or scatter pebbles. How contrary to reason are those! and yet all pretend to teach me to be happy. Surely all men are blind and ignorant of truth. Mankind wanders, unknowing his way, from morning till evening. Where shall we turn after happiness; or is it wisest to desist from the pursuit? Like reptiles in a corner of some stupendous palace, we peep from our holes, look about us, wonder at all we see, but are ignorant of the great architect's design. O, for a revelation of himself, for a plan of his universal system! O, for the reasons of our creation; or why were we created to be thus unhappy? If we are to experience no other felicity but what this life affords, then are we miserable indeed: if we are born only to look about us,† repine and die, then has Heaven been guilty of injustice. * [The Black Stone at Mecca, which, according to tradition, fell from heaven during the life of Adam, and was restored to Paradise at the time of the deluge, but was brought to Abraham at the building of the Caaba.] ["Let us, since life can little more supply Than just to look about us and to die, &za."--POPE.] If this life terminates my existence, I despise the blessings of Providence, and the wisdom of the giver: if this life be my all, let the following epitaph be written on the tomb of Altangi: "By my father's crimes I received this; by my own crimes I bequeath it to posterity !" LETTER XXIII. THE ENGLISH SUBSCRIPTION IN FAVOR OF THE FRENCH PRISONERS COMMENDED. To the same. and Yet, while I sometimes lament the cause of humanity, the depravity of human nature, there now and then appear gleams of greatness that serve to relieve the eye, oppressed with the hideous prospects, and resemble those cultivated spots that are sometimes found in the midst of an Asiatic wilderness. I see many superior excellencies among the English, which it is not in the power of all their follies to hide : I see virtues, which in other countries are known only to a few, practised here by every rank of people. I know not whether it proceeds from their superior opulence that the English are more charitable than the rest of mankind; whether by being possessed of all the conveniences of life themselves, they have more leisure to perceive the uneasy situation of the distressed; whatever be the motive, they are not only the most charitable of any other nation, but most judicious in distinguishing the properest objects of compassion. In other countries, the giver is generally influenced by the immediate impulse of pity; his generosity is exerted as much to relieve his own uneasy sensations, as to comfort the object in dis tress. In England, benefactions are of a more general nature. Some men of fortune and universal benevolence propose the proper objects; the wants and the merits of the petitioners are canvassed by the people; neither passion nor pity find a place in the cool discussion; and charity is then only exerted when it has received the approbation of reason. A late instance of this finely directed benevolence forces itself so strongly on my imagination, that it in a manner reconciles me to pleasure, and once more makes me the universal friend of man. The English and French have not only political reasons to induce them to mutual hatred, but often the more prevailing motive of private interest to widen the breach. A war between other countries is carried on collectively; army fights against army, and a man's own private resentment is lost in that of the community; but in England and France the individuals of each country plunder each other at sea without redress, and consequently feel that animosity against each other which passengers do at a robber. They have for some time carried on an expensive war, and several captives have been taken on both sides: those made prisoners by the French have been used with cruelty, and guarded with unnecessary caution; those taken by the English, being much more numerous, were confined in the ordinary manner; and not being released by their countrymen, began to feel all those inconveniences which arise from want of covering and long confinement. Their countrymen were informed of their deplorable situa tion; but they, more intent on annoying their enemies than relieving their friends, refused the least assistance. The English now saw thousands of their fellow-creatures starving in every prison, forsaken by those whose duty it was to protect them, laboring with disease, and without clothes to keep off the severity of the season. National benevolence prevailed over national |