effe£l produced by this, or the fruit, or both, was a fevere
ficknefs, which continued for feveral days.
W e weighed ' anchor i at day-break, and, with a pleafant
ijreeze, failed in company with the clumfy-lookingy«»¿, which,
how ever, to the furprize o f our feamen, failed quite as well as
the fmart-looking Clarence.
Having anchored before the town, in a fpacious bafon
formed by feveral iflands, and paid the ufual compliment o f a
falute, a few Mandarines (officers o f government fo named
by the early Portugueze from mandar, to command) came on
board. T o every queftion that led to the main point o f our
vifit, thefe people gave us evafive anfwers, affeüing the moil
complete ignorance o f every thing relating to the affairs o f the
embaffy. T h e y faid the Tfung-ping, or military governor o f
the ifland, was, then abfent, but that he would return in the
courfe o f the day, and would be happy to fee us on ffiore the
following morning. Chinefe etiquette, I fuppofe, required that
a day ffiould elapfe before our reception in form.
Accordingly, at an early hour in the morning the gentlemen
•of the embaffy, who had,been fent on this bufmefs, went on
ffiore, and were received by the Governor with great polite-
nefs, and abundant ceremony, in his hall o f public audience,
which, as a building, had little to attrad our notice. The
ufual minute enquiries being gone through, which, it feems,
Chinefe good-breeding cannot difpenfe with, fuch as the health
o f his vifitors, o f their parents and relations, and particularly
the
the name and age o f each perfon, the objed o f our vifit was
explained to him ; and at the fame time a hope expreffed that
there would be no delay in getting the pilots on board. Thé
old gentleman appeared to be much furprized at fuch violent
hafte, and talked o f plays, fcafts, and entertainments, that he
meant to give us. Pilots, however, he faid, were ready to
take charge o f the ffiips, and to carry them along the coaft to
the next province, where others would be found to condud
them ftill farther. On being told that fuch a mode o f navigation
was utterly impradicable for the large Engliffi ffiips, and
that fuch pilots would be o f no üfe to us, he begged to be
allowed the remainder o f the day to enquire for others. W e
little expeded to have met with any difficulties with regard to
pilots, in one o f the belt and moft frequented ports in China,
where, at that time feveral hundred veffels were lying at anchor.
The remainder o f the day was fpent in a vifit to the city o f
Ting-bai ; but the crowd became fo numerous, and the day
was fo exceffively hot, that before we had paffed the length o f
a ftreet, we were glad to take refuge in a temple, where the
priefts very civilly entertained us with tea, fruit, and cakes,'
The officer who attended us advifed U3 to return in fedart-
chairs, an offer which we accepted ; but the bearers were
flopped every moment by the crowd, in order that every one
might fatisfy his curiofity by thrufting his head in at the window,
and exclaiming, with a grin, Hung-mau ! Ènglijhman,
or, literally, Redpate ! Rather difappointed than gratified, we
were glad, after a fatiguing day, to throw ourfelves into our
cots on board the Clarence.
i When