144 Of *be Ufefulnefs of Attention 



and modify it according to the fituation of the 

 place. 



Foresight is neceffary againft the fufpi- 

 cion of the Chinefe, and even the lead oppor- 

 tunity ought not to be miffed. A filent com- 

 pany is here neceffary. An old interpreter 

 would be of great ufe, if your finances allow- 

 ed you to keep one. But with a people fo 

 Totally governed by felf-intereft, you feldom 

 arrive at the truth by dirett queftiens. 



We bring the Porcellane clay to Sweden ; 

 but are we fure that the Chinefe give us a true 

 fpecimen of that important manufacture ? I ei- 

 ther do not yet know this nation well, or I 

 have great reafon to doubt it. 



A person who is able to bring them to 

 his own terms when they offer their goods to 

 fale, can bed get the truth out of them unob- 

 ferved, during the carrying on of the bargain. 

 Such a merchant might, if he was befides ac- 

 quainted with natural hiitory, be of double 

 ufe to his country. 



Perhaps the TorceVane is not manufactured 

 at fuch a diltance from Canton as we are told 



it 



