The broad circumference of the dish is marked off into concentric circles, inscribed with mystical figures.  We say the needle points to the north; they hold that the attraction is to the south, and therefore colour that end of the needle red, a hue that appears to have a mysterious efficacy in their eyes.  I have already told how the Josses were wrapped in red scarves, and bits of red cloth were tied on the rudder, cable, mast, and other principal parts of the vessel, as safeguards against danger.  There was also a large painted eye on either side of the bow, to enable the junk to see her way!  At first I could not understand the meaning of this, and told Chung to ask the Ty Kong for an explanation.  “Have eye,” translated Chung, “can see; no have eye, no can see.”  On occasions of special religious demonstration these optics were decorated with strips of red cloth.  On one occasion when a steamer suspiciously like a Japanese cruiser hove in sight, they tied red rags to their antique guns, or gin-galls, and with this consecration on their defensive arrangements, seemed to feel perfectly secure.  I suppose the English-trained crews of their navy must have been persuaded out of these amazing notions, and taught the European compass, but the ideas of Sam-Sing and his merry men were as old as their vessel.

I have not yet described my mandarin friend.  His name was Ki-Chang; he was a mandarin of the fifth class, his distinctive mark being a crystal button on the top of his cap.  He was forty-six years old, intelligent, amiable, and gentlemanly.  He and I had much intercourse during the voyage, with Chung for an interpreter.  I taught him a little English, and how to write his name in English, an accomplishment of which he seemed extremely proud.  Like most of the educated Chinese, he wrote his own language very beautifully.  He was a wealthy and influential man.

The King-Shing showed herself a remarkably good sea-boat, but desperately slow.  No device could get more than eight knots out of her, and this was much above her average.  We encountered one or two violent storms, in which she behaved wonderfully.  One night the wind, after veering all round the compass with vivid lightning and thunder, settled in the south-west and blew a perfect hurricane.  All sails were lowered, except half the fore-sail, and twenty-five men were required at the mammoth rudder.  We were obliged to start some eight tons of water out of the deck tanks, and everything on deck, fore and aft, was secured.  The junk laboured heavily, but shipped no water.  At day-break the weather moderated, and we were able to set more sail; but in two or three hours the wind chopped round to the north-west, and blew more fiercely than ever, attended by squalls of hailstones as big as marbles, the knocks of which made my countenance look as if I had come off second-best in a middle-weight “scrap.”  We lowered the main-sail again, and set four reefs of fore-sail to scud under.  At three o’clock the vessel