ADVERTISEMENT

TO THE

PUBLIC.

T is now above Half a Century, fince the French. have been publishing a Collection of the Letters of their Miffionaries; from all the moft diftant Parts of the World. This Collection is already grown very voluminous. The famous Pere du Halde was the Perfon who had the chief Hand in making and publishing it. There were but Eight Volumes that had appeared before he undertook the Care of it, which was in the Year 1711; and he carried it on, in Eighteen more, to the Year 1743; when the Death of that Father, and fome other Incidents, occafioned an Interruption of the Work, for about Six Years. It was refumed in 1749, by F. Pattouillet; who then published the 27th Volume. The following is a Translation of the First Letter, in that Volume; and is, perhaps, as curious as any one in the whole Collection.

A LET

A

LETTER

FROM A

FRENCH MISSIONARY

IN

CHIN A.

PEKIN, Nov. 1, 1743.

SIR,

IT

T was with the greatest Pleasure that I received your Two laft Letters; one of the 13th of October, and the other of the 2d of November, 1742. I communicated the very interefting Account of the Affairs in Europe, which you give me in them, to the rest of our Miffionaries; who join with me in our fincere Thanks. I thank you too, in Particular, for the Box full of Works in Straw, and Flowers, which came very safe to me: but I beg of you not to put yourself to any fuch Expence for the future; for the Chinese very much exceed the Europeans, in VOL. I.

F

those

thofe kinds of Works; and particularly in their [a] artificial Flowers [b]. We came hither by the Command, or rather by the Permiffion of the Emperor. An Officer was affigned to conduct us; and they made us believe, that he would defray our Expences: But the latter was only in Words; for, in Effect, the Expence was almoft wholly out of our own Pockets. Half of the Way we came by Water; and both eat and lodged in our Boats: And what feemed odd enough to us was, that, by the Rules of Good-breeding received among them, we were not allowed ever to go afhore, or even to look out of the Windows of our covered Boats, to obferve the Face of the Country, as we paffed along.

We made the latter Part of our Journey in a Sort of Cage, which they were pleafed to call a Litter. In this too we were fhut up all Day long; and at Night carried into our Inns; (and very wretched Inns they are!) and thus we got to Pekin, with our Curiofity quite unfatisfied, and with seeing but very little more of the Country, than if we had been fhut up all the while in our own Chambers.

[a] Thefe are chiefly made of Feathers; coloured and formed fo exactly like real Flowers, that one is often apt to forget one's felf, and smell to them. The famous Signora Vannimano, at Rome (fo many of whofe Works in this kind are continually brought Home by our Gentlemen who travel to that City) at first learned her Art from fome which were fent from China, by the Jefuits, as a Present to the then Pope.

[b] Here is a Page or two omitted, as relating only to their private Affairs,

Indeed