out that the thief (hould certainly be (hot; but as he then fore-
faw that he ihould be forced to take (belter in their ports a fecond
time, when the influence he might hereby acquire over the Ma-
giftrates would be o f great fervice to him, he at length permitted
himlelr to be perfuaded, and as a favour releafed his prifoner 5 tho’
not till the Mandarine had colMed and returned all that had been
ftolen from the officer, even to the minuted: trifle.
Butnotwithdandingthisindanceof the good intelligence between
the magiflrates and criminals, the flrong addiaion of the Chinefe to
lucre' often prompts them to break through this awful confederacy
and puts them on defrauding the authority, that proteas them of
us proper quota of the pillage. For not long after the above-mentioned
tranfaaion, (the former Mandarine, attendant on the (hin
being, in the mean time, relieved by another) the Commodore loft
a top-mad from his dern, which, on the mod diligent enquiry
could not be traced out. As it was not his own, but had been borrowed
at Macao to heave down by, and was not to be replaced in
thaKt.P.?rt,0f the 7 ° rldf.,he was “ tremely defirous to recover it, and
pubhlhed a confiderable reward to any who would bring it him
again. There were fufpicions from the fird of its being dolen
which made him conclude a reward was the likelied method offsetting
it back. Hereupon, foon after, the Mandarine informed
him, that feme o f his, the Mandarine's attendants, had found the
T T u ’ - e i ;'ng thf Comtnodore fend his boats to fetch it
which being done, the Mandarine’s people received the promifed
reward. ^ It feems the Commodore had told the Mandarine, that
he would make him a prefent bef.des, on account o f the care he
had taken m dire&ng it to be fearched fo r , and accordingly,
m be M ”/ aVC 3 I™ u ^ t0 MS Linto the M andate s but the Linguid, knowin«gu tihfta’ t tt0h eb eC hdineeflei vhiadd
been paid, and ignorant that a farther prefent had been promifed.
nePM e 7 ^ hlmff B E lheMandar™ fully confiding
L nn > S - , # fufpeainS the LinSu;ft. he took occa?
fion, one morning, to admire the fize of the Centurion’s mads,
and
and thence, on a pretended fudden recollection, he made a di-
greffion to the top-mad which had been lod, and alked Mr. Anfon
i f he had not got it again. Mr. Anfon prefently perceived the
!bent of this converfation, and enquired of him if he had not received
the money from the Linguid, and finding he had not, he
offered to pay it him upon the fpot. But this the Mandarine re-
fufed, having now fomewhat more in view than the fum which had
been detained. For the next day the Linguid was feized, and was
doubtlefs mulcted of whatever he had gotten in the Commodore’s
fervice, which was fuppofed to be little lefs than two thoufand dollars;
being befides fo feverety badinadoed, that it was wonderful
he efcaped with his life. And when he was upbraided by the Commodore
(to whom he afterwards came a begging) with his folly in
rifquing this fevere chadifement, and the lofs of all he was worth,
for the lucre of fifty dollars, the prefent o f which he defrauded the
Mandarine-, he had no other excufe to make, than the drong bias
of his Nation to diflionedy, replying, in his broken jargon, Chinefe
man very great rogue truly, hut have fajhpm, no can help.
It were endlefs to recount all the artifices, extortions and frauds
which were pradtifed on the Commodore and his people, by this
intereded race. The method of buying proviflons in China being
by weight, the tricks the .Chinefe made ufe of to augment the
weight of what they fold to the Centurion, wéte almoft incredible.
One time a large quantity of fowls and ducks being bought
for the (hip’s dore, the greateft part of them prefently died:
This fpread a general alarm on board, it being apprehended that
they had been killed by poifon ; but on examination it appeared,
that it was only owing to their being crammed with, ftones and
gravel to increafe their weight, the quantity thus forced in to mod of
the ducks being found to amount to ten ounces in each, j The hogs
too, which were bought ready killed of the Chinefe Butchers, had
water inje&ed into them for the fame purpofe j fo that a carcafs,
hung up all night that the water might drain from it, hath lod
above a done of its weight. And, when to avoid this cheat, the