These officers, who are called of the right, of the left, and of the centre, according to their ranks, have the command of the imperial forces, under the prime minister; they are entrusted with the guard of the emperors person:  and when, he takes the field, on any military enterprise, or on any other account, these officers are stationed near him, each according to his rank.  All of these made accordingly the strictest inquiries into the allegations of the merchant, and all separately gave in their reports, assuring the emperor that these complaints were just and well-founded:  and these were followed and confirmed by many other informations.  The eunuch was in consequence deprived of his office of treasurer, find all his effects were confiscated; on which occasion the emperor addressed him as follows; “Death ought to have been your doom, for giving occasion of complaint against me to this man, who hath come from Chorassan, which is on the borders of my empire.  He hath been in the country of the, Arabs, whence he came into the kingdoms of the Indies, and thence into my empire, seeking his advantage by trade; and you would have occasioned him to return across all these regions, saying to all the people in his way, that he had been abused and stripped of his substance in China.  In consideration of your former services, and the rank you have held in my household, I grant your life; but as you have not discharged your duty in regard to the living, I will confer upon you the charge of the dead.”  The eunuch was accordingly sent to take the custody of the imperial tombs, and to remain there for the remainder of his life.

Before the late commotions, the good order observed in the administration of justice, and the majesty of their tribunals, were very admirable.  To fill these, the Chinese chose men who were perfectly versant in the laws; men of sincerity, and zealous in the cause of justice, who were not to be biassed by the interference of the great, and who always administered the laws with impartiality, neither oppressing the poor, nor accepting bribes from the rich.  When any one was to be promoted to the office of principal judge, he was previously sent to all the chief cities of the empire, to remain a month or two in each, inquiring minutely into the various customs and affairs of the people, and informing himself of all such persons as were worthy of being credited in their testimony, that his judgment might be regulated in the future discharge of his high office by this preliminary knowledge.  After going through all the cities in this manner, and making some stay in those which are most considerable, he repaired to the imperial court, and was invested with the dignity of supreme judge.  To him the nomination of all the other judges was confided, after acquainting the emperor with the names of all who, in his estimation, were most worthy of exercising jurisdiction in the various cities and provinces.  Every day, the supreme judge causes proclamation to