pier proceeded to Alexandria, where he
entered into a convention with Mahomet Ali, who agreed to evacuate Syria
and to restore the Turkish fleet as soon as he had received final
notification that the sultan would grant him the hereditary government
of Egypt, which, the Turkish fleet being given up, the sultan soon
afterwards did. On the return of the _Powerful_ to the fleet, before
proceeding to Malta, the ships manned the rigging and cheered, the bands
playing "Charlie is my darling."

This terminated the duties of the fleet on the coast of Syria.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN.

FIRST WAR WITH CHINA, AND EFFORTS TO SUPPRESS THE SLAVE-TRADE--A.D.
1840.

The Chinese had long designated the English, as well as all other
Europeans, the "outer barbarians," and treated them in the most
insulting manner. At length the Chinese government, finding that silver
alone was given in exchange for opium, was afraid that the country would
be drained of that precious metal, and resolved to put a stop to the
importation of the drug. Commissioner Lin was sent to Canton for that
purpose, and, to prove that he was in earnest, he ordered the first
Chinese opium smuggler he could catch to be strangled, shut up the
British merchants in their factories, and then demanded the delivery of
all the opium ships in the river. At the same time the British flag was
fired on, British ships were detained, and a Chinaman having been
accidentally killed by a British seaman, the life of a British subject
was demanded in return. Captain Elliott, R.N., acting at that time as
chief superintendent of trade, immediately sent home an account of the
state of affairs, summing up altogether a long list of complaints
against the Chinese. On receipt of the news a squadron was sent out of
3 seventy-fours, 2 forty-fours, 3 38-gun frigates, and several sloops of
war and brigs, which, on their arrival, were joined by 4 of the East
India Company's armed steamers, and to meet them on their arrival about
4000 troops were despatched from India. Before this the _Volage_ and
_Hyacinth_, while lying in Canton River, had a sharp engagement with a
fleet of war-junks, under the Chinese Admiral Kwang. Gallantly as Kwang
behaved, in a short time one of his junks blew up, three sank, several
were shattered and deserted by their crews, and the remainder fled in
the greatest confusion, Kwang's junk being in a sinking condition.
Captain Smith, not wishing to cause any unnecessary blo