with a
sentinel placed over him.

As there was a scarcity of water, only a pint a day could be supplied to
each prisoner. Of this they could not complain, as the ship's company
had but a pint and a half. Still, they suffered greatly.

All arrangements being made, the _Centurion_ and her prize sailed for
Canton. Captain Anson now heard that the Manilla ship, for which he had
watched at Acapulco the preceding year, had set sail sooner than the
others, and had probably got into the port of Manilla before the
_Centurion_ arrived off Cape Espirito Santo. He had thus to regret his
long delay at Macao. On her arrival in the river of Canton, a boat,
with a mandarin, immediately came off to the _Centurion_ from the forts
of Boca Tigris, to inquire what she was and where she came from.

Captain Anson, in reply, gave him an exact account of the ship. The
officer, on hearing of the number of guns and the amount of ammunition
she had on board, declared that he could not venture to make such a
statement to his superiors, who would instantly become alarmed.

Captain Anson's object was to remain here during the monsoon, and to
obtain a supply of provisions for his voyage home. During his stay in
the river he had to submit to various annoyances. The Chinese
authorities treated him in a way for which they were then and have ever
since been notorious. The provisions they promised were not
forthcoming, and the traders endeavoured to cheat the strangers in all
sorts of ways. The fowls which had been brought on board quickly died,
and the crew thought that they had been poisoned. On examining them it
was found that they had been crammed with stones and gravel, to increase
their weight. The hogs also which had been purchased ready killed had
had water injected into them, and even the live ones had had salt given
them to increase their thirst, so that they had drunk vast quantities of
water, and were inflated. Even at the last, hearing that the
barbarians, as they called the English, never ate anything which died of
itself, the Chinese managed to drug the animals so that they died before
the ship was out of harbour, numbers of boats following to pick up the
carcases. Anson's greatest difficulty was to obtain food, and Anson had
himself to go up to Canton, the contractors not having prepared the
bread they had promised, nor any other articles of food. At last the
authorities had the impudence to demand port dues for the ship.