oon as he should be at leisure, when they proposed
to notify Mr Anson's arrival, and to endeavour to fix the day of
audience. The commodore was by this time too well acquainted with
their artifices not to perceive that this was a falsehood; and had he
consulted only his own judgment, he would have applied directly to
the viceroy by other hands: But the Chinese merchants had so far
prepossessed the supercargoes of our ships with chimerical fears,
that they were extremely apprehensive of being embroiled with the
government, and of suffering in their interest, if those measures
were taken, which appeared to Mr Anson at that time to be the most
prudential; and, therefore, lest the malice and double-dealing of the
Chinese might have given rise to some sinister incident, which would
be afterwards charged on him, he resolved to continue passive as long
as it should appear that he lost no time by thus suspending his own
opinion. With this view, he promised not to take any immediate step
for getting admittance to the viceroy, provided the Chinese with whom
he contracted for provisions would let him see that his bread was
baked, his meat salted, and his stores prepared with the utmost
dispatch; but if by the time when all was in readiness to be shipped
off (which it was supposed would be in about forty days,) the
merchants should not have procured the viceroy's permission, then, the
commodore proposed to apply for himself. These were the terms Mr Anson
thought proper to offer, to quiet the uneasiness of the supercargoes,
and, notwithstanding the apparent equity of the conditions, many
difficulties and objections were urged; nor would the Chinese agree
to them till the commodore had consented to pay for every article
he bespoke before it was put in hand. However, at last, the contract
being past, it was some satisfaction to the commodore to be certain
that his preparations were now going on, and being himself on the
spot, he took care to hasten them as much as possible.

During this interval, in which the stores and provisions were getting
ready, the merchants continually entertained Mr Anson with accounts of
their various endeavours to get a license from the viceroy, and their
frequent disappointments, which to him was now a matter of amusement,
as he was fully satisfied there was not one word of truth in any thing
they said. But when all was completed, and wanted only to be shipped,
which was about the 24th of November, at which