Among other objects which I visited was the grotto, in which the
celebrated Portuguese poet, Camoens, is said to have composed the
Lusiade. He had been banished, A.D. 1556, to Macao, on account of a
satirical poem he had written, Disperates no India, and remained in
banishment several years before receiving a pardon. The grotto is
charmingly situated upon an eminence not far from the town.
As there was no business to be done, the captain resolved to put to
sea again the next morning, and offered in the most friendly manner
to take me as his guest to Hong-Kong, as I had only agreed for a
passage as far as Macao. I accepted his invitation with the greater
pleasure, as I had not a single letter to any one in Macao; besides
which, it is very seldom that there is an opportunity of proceeding
to Hong-Kong.
On account of the shallowness of the water, our ship was hove to at
rather a long distance from the shore, where it was exposed to an
attack from the pirates, who are here very daring and numerous. In
consequence of this, every precaution was taken, and the watch
doubled for the night.
As late as the year 1842 these pirates attacked a brig that was
lying at anchor in the Macao Roads, murdering the crew and
plundering the vessel. The captain had remained on shore, and the
sailors had carelessly given themselves up to sleep, leaving only
one man to keep watch. In the middle of the night a schampan - which
is the name given to a vessel smaller than a junk - came alongside
the brig. One of the rowers then came on board, pretending he had a
letter from the captain; and as the sailor went near the lantern to
read the letter, he received from the pirate a blow upon his head
which laid him senseless on the deck; the rest of those in the boat,
who had hitherto remained concealed, now scaled the side of the
brig, and quickly overpowered the slumbering crew.
In our case, however, the night passed without any incident worth
noting; and on the morning of the 10th of July, having first taken
on board a pilot, we proceeded to Hong-Kong, a distance of sixty
nautical miles. The voyage proved highly interesting, on account of
the varied succession of bays, creeks, and groups of islands which
we had to pass.
The English obtained Hong-Kong from the Chinese at the conclusion of
the war in 1842, and founded the port of Victoria, which contains at
present a large number of palace-like houses built of stone.
The Europeans who have settled here, and who are not more than two
or three hundred in number, are far from being contented, however,
as trade is not half as good as they at first expected it would be.
Every merchant is presented by the English government with a plot of
ground, on condition of his building on it.
