I
Chinefe: And it fortunately happened too, that the buildings being
all on one floor, and the materials flight, the feamen, notwithftand-
ing their daring behaviour, efcaped with no other injuries, than
fome confiderable bruifes.
The fire, though at lad thus luckily extinguifhed,' did great
mifchief during the time it continued ; I for it confumed a hundred
(hops and eleven ftreets full of warehoufes, fo that the damage
amounted to an immenfe fum j and one of the Chinefe Merchants,
well known to the Englijh, whole name was Sue coy, was fuppofed,
for his own ihare, to have loft near two hundred thoufand pounds
fterling. It raged indeed with unufual violence, for in many of
the warehoufes, there were large quantities of camphire, which
greatly added to its fury, and produced a column of exceeding
white flame, which blazed up into the air to fuch a prodigious
height, that if was diftinflly feen bn board the Centurion, though
ihe was at leaf! thirty miles diftant.
Whilft the Commodore and his people were labouring at the
fire, and the terror of its becoming general ftill polfefled the whole
city, feveral o f the moft confiderable Chinefe Merchants came to
Mr. Anfon, to defire that he would let each of them have one of
his foldiers (for fuch they ftiled his boat’s crew, from the uniformity
of their drefs) to guard their ware-houfes and dwelling-
houfes, which, from the known difhonefty of the populace, they
feared would be pillaged in the tumult. Mr. Anfon granted them
this requeft j and all the men that he thus furniftied behaved much
to the fatisfaftion of the Merchants, who afterwards highly applauded
their great diligence and fidelity.
By this means, the refolution of the Englijh in mattering the
fire, and their trufty and prudent conduft where they were employed
as fafeguards, was the general fubjedt o f converfation
amongft the Chinefe. And, the next morning, many o f the principal
inhabitants waited on the Commodore to thank him for his
affiftance; frankly owning to him, that he had preferved their
city from being totally confumed, as they could never have ex-
tinguifhed the fire of themfelves. Soon after too a meifage came
to
to the Commodore from the Viceroy, appointing the 30th of November
for his audience ; which fudden refolution of the Viceroy,
in a matter that had been fo long agitated in vain, was alfo owing
to the fignal fervices performed by Mr. Anfon and his people at the
fire, of which the Viceroy himfelf had been in fome meafure an
eye-witnefs.
The fixing this bufinefs of the audience was, on every account,
a circumftance with which Mr. Anfon was much pleafed : Since he
was fatisfied the Chinefe Government would not have determined
this point, without having agreed among themfelves to give up
their pretenfions to the duties they claimed, and to grant him all
he could reafonably afk. For, as they well knew the Commodore’s
fentiments, it would have been a ,piece of imprudence, not
confiftent with their refined cunning, to have admitted him to
an audience, only to have contefted with him. Being therefore
himfelf perfeftly eafy about the refult of his vifit, he made the.
neceflary preparations againft the day ; and engaged Mr. Flint,
■ whom I have mentioned before, to ait as interpreter in the con-
. ference: And Mr. Flint, in this affair, as in all others, acquitted
himfelf much to the Commodore’s fatisfadlion; repeating with
great boldnefs, and doubtlefs with exadtnefs, whatever was given
him in charge, a part which no Chinefe Linguift would have performed
with any tolerable fidelity.
At ten o’clock in the morning, on the day appointed, a Mandarine
came to the Commodore, to let him know that the Viceroy
was .prepared, andlexpefted him j on which the Commodore and
. his retinue immediately fet out. As foon as he entered the outer
gate of the city, he found a guard of two hundred foldiers ready
: to receive him; thefe attended’ him to the great parade before
. the Emperor’s palace, where the Viceroy then refided. In this
parade, a body of troops, to the number o f ten thoufand, were
drawn up under arms, who made a very fine appearance, they
. being all of them new cloathed for this ceremony. Mr. Anfon
with his retinue having paffed through the middle o f them, he
was