reverently than he had hitherto done of the
Chinese military power: For this purpose they were equipped with much
parade, having a great number of colours exposed to view; and on
the castle in particular there were laid considerable heaps of large
stones; and a soldier of unusual size, dressed in very sightly
armour, stalked about on the parapet with a battle-axe in his hand,
endeavouring to put on as important and martial an air as possible,
though some of the observers on board the Centurion shrewdly
suspected, from the appearance of his armour, that instead of steel,
it was composed only of a particular kind of glittering paper.

The Centurion and her prize being now without the river of Canton, and
consequently upon the point of leaving the Chinese jurisdiction, I beg
leave, before I quit all mention of the Chinese affairs, to subjoin
a few remarks on the disposition and genius of that extraordinary
people. And though it may be supposed, that observations made at
Canton only, a place situated in the corner of the empire, are very
imperfect materials on which to found any general conclusions, yet as
those who have had opportunities of examining the inner parts of
the country, have been evidently influenced by very ridiculous
prepossessions, and as this transactions of Mr Anson with the regency
of Canton were of an uncommon nature, in which many circumstances
occurred, different perhaps from any which have happened before,
I hope the following reflections, many of them drawn from these
incidents, will not be altogether unacceptable to the reader.

That the Chinese are a very ingenious and industrious people, is
sufficiently evinced, from the great number of curious manufactures
which are established amongst them, and which are eagerly sought for
by the most distant nations; but though skill in the handicraft arts
seems to be the most important qualification of this people, yet
their talents therein are but of a second-rate kind; for they are much
out-done by the Japanese in those manufactures, which are common
to both countries; and they are in numerous instances incapable of
rivalling the mechanic dexterity of the Europeans. Indeed, their
principal excellency seems to be imitation; and they accordingly
labour under that poverty of genius, which constantly attends all
servile imitators. This is most conspicuous in works which require
great truth and accuracy; as in clocks, watches, fire-arms, &c. for in
all these,