of the Centurion under him, giving him proper
instructions for his conduct; directing him, particularly, if he, the
commodore, should be detained at Canton on account of the duties
in dispute, to take out the men from the Centurion's prize, and to
destroy her; and then to proceed down the river through the Bocca
Tigris with the Centurion alone, and to remain without that entrance
till he received further orders from Mr Anson.

These necessary steps being taken, which were not unknown to the
Chinese, it should seem as if their deliberations were in some sort
embarrassed thereby. It is reasonable to imagine, that they were
in general very desirous of getting the duties to be paid them, not
perhaps solely in consideration of the amount of those dues, but to
keep up their reputation for address and subtlety, and to avoid
the imputation of receding from claims on which they had already so
frequently insisted: However, as they now foresaw that they had no
other method of succeeding than by violence, and that even against
this the commodore was prepared, they were at last disposed, I
conceive, to let the affair drop, rather than entangle themselves in
an hostile measure, which they found would only expose them to the
risk of having the whole navigation of their port destroyed, without
any certain prospect of gaining their favourite point.

However, though there is reason to imagine that these were their
thoughts at that time, yet they could not depart at once from the
evasive conduct to which they had hither to adhered. For when the
commodore, on the morning of the 1st of October, was preparing to
set out for Canton, his linguist came to him from the mandarine, who
attended his ship, to tell him that a letter had been received from
the viceroy of Canton, desiring the commodore to put off his going
thither for two or three days: But in the afternoon of the same day
another linguist came on board, who, with much seeming fright, told Mr
Anson that the viceroy had expected him up that day, that the counsel
was assembled, and the troops had been under arms to receive him; and
that the viceroy was highly offended at the disappointment, and had
sent the commodore's linguist to prison chained, supposing that the
whole had been owing to the linguist's negligence. This plausible tale
gave the commodore great concern, and made him apprehend that there
was some treachery designed him, which he could not yet fathom; and
though it afterw