ame
to an anchor in Macao road, than he dispatched an officer with his
compliments to the Portuguese governor of Macao, requesting his
excellency, by the same officer, to advise him in what manner it would
be proper to act, to avoid offending the Chinese, which, as there were
then four of our ships in their power at Canton, was a matter
worthy of attention. The difficulty, which the commodore principally
apprehended, related to the duty usually paid by all ships in the
river of Canton, according to their tunnage. For as men of war are
exempted in every foreign harbour from all manner of port charges, the
commodore thought it would be derogatory to the honour of his country
to submit to this duty in China: And therefore he desired the advice
of the governor of Macao, who, being an European, could not be
ignorant of the privileges claimed by a British man of war, and
consequently might be expected to give us the best lights for avoiding
this perplexity. Our boat returned in the evening with two officers
sent by the governor, who informed the commodore, that it was the
governor's opinion, that if the Centurion ventured into the river of
Canton, the duty would certainly be demanded; and therefore, if
the commodore approved of it, he would send him a pilot, who should
conduct us into another safe harbour, called the Typa, which was every
way commodious for careening the ship, (an operation we were resolved
to begin upon as soon as possible) and where the above-mentioned duty
would, in all probability, be never asked for.

This proposal the commodore agreed to, and in the morning we weighed
anchor, and, under the direction of the Portuguese pilot, steered
for the intended harbour. As we entered two islands, which form the
eastern passage to it, we found our soundings decreased to three
fathom and a half: But the pilot assuring us that this was the least
depth we should meet with, we continued our course, till at length the
ship stuck fast in the mud, with only eighteen feet water abaft; and,
the tide of ebb making, the water sewed to sixteen feet, but the ship
remained perfectly upright; we then sounded all round us, and finding
the water deepened to the northward, we carried out our small bower
with two hawsers an end, and at the return of the tide of flood, hove
the ship afloat, and a small breeze springing up at the same instant,
we set the fore top-sail, and, slipping the hawser, ran into the
harbour, where we moored in