1780. By means o f m y money, and pointing at different objefts
Li in fight, I had no difficulty in making a man, who feemed
to be the principal perfon o f the company, comprehend the
main bufinefs o f our errand ; and I as readily underilood
from him, that the Chief, or Captain, was abfent, but
would foon return; and that, without his confent, no pur-
,chafes o f any kin d could be made. We availed ourfelves
o f the opportunity which this circumftance afforded us, to
w a lk about the town ; and did not forget to fearch, though
in vain, for the remains o f a fort, which had been built
by our countrymen near the fpot we were now upon, in
.1702 *.
On returning to the Captain’ s houfe, we were forry to
find that he was not yet arrived; and the more fo, as the
time was almoft elapfed which Captain Gore had fixed for
our return to the boat. T h e natives were defirous we
fhould lengthen our f la y ; they even propofed our palling
the night there, and offered to accommodate us in the bell
manner in their power. I had obferved, when we were in
the houfe before, and now remarked it the more, that the
man I have mentioned above, frequently retired into one
o f the end rooms, and {laid there fome little time, before
he anfwered the queftions that were put to h im ; which
led me to fufpeft that the Captain was all the time there,
* The Engliih fettled here in the year 1702, when the fa&ory of Chufan, on the
coaft of China, was broken up, and brought with them fome Macaflar foldiers, "who
were hired to affift in building a fort; but the prefident not fulfilling his engagement
with them, they watched an opportunity, and one night murdered all the Engliih in
the fort. Thofe without the fort, hearing a noife, took the alarm, and ran to their
boats, very narrowly efcaping with their lives, but not without much fatigue, hunger,
and thirft, to the Johore dominions, where they were treated with great humanity.
Some of thefe afterward went to form a fettlement at Benjar-Maflean, on the ifland of
Borneo. Eaji India Eireifory) p. 86.
though,
though, fo r reafons beft known to himfelf,. he did not
choofe to appear; and I was confirmed in this opinion, by
being flopped as I was attempting to go into the room. - At
len gth, it clearly appeared that m y fufpicions were well
founded ; for, on our preparing to depart, the perfon who
had fo often paffed in and out, came from the room with a
paper in his hand, and gave it to me to read ; and I was not
a little furprized to find it a fort o f a certificate in French, as
follows :
P i e r r e J o s e p h G e o r g e , Evêque d’Adran, Vicaire Apoft..
de Cochin China, &c. &c.
L e petit Mandarin, porteur de cet écrit, eft véritablement
Envoyé de la cour à Pulo Condore, pour y attendre et recevoir
tout vaiffeau European q u i aurait fa deftination d ’approcher
ici. L e Capitaine, en confequence, pourrait fe fier
ou pour conduire le vaiffeau au port, ou pour faire palier
les nouvelles qu’il pourrait croire néceffaire.
A S a i -G on, PIERRE JOSEPH GEORGE 10 d*Août 1779. '
Evêque d’Adran-
We returned the paper, w ith many proteftations o f o u r
b eing the Mandarin's good friends, b e g g in g he might be ‘
informed that we hoped he would do us the favour to
vifit the ffiips, that w e might convince him o f it. We now
took our leave, well fatisfied, on the whole, with what had
paffed, but fu ll o f conjectures about this extraordinary
{French paper. Three o f the natives offered their fervices
to accompany us back, which we readily accepted, and
returned by the way we came. Captain Gore fe lt peculiar
fatis fact ion at feeing u s ; for, as we had exceeded our time
near an hour, he began to be alarmed for our fafety, and
was,