X78 • VOYAGE TO THE 



consequently near at hand. This event, after which 

 many anxious in([uiries were made by the natives, 

 was, I beheve, generally contemplated with pleasure 

 on both sides ; not that we felt careless about parting 

 with our friends, but we could not enjoy their society 

 without so many restrictions, and we were daily ex- 

 posed to the temptation of a beautiful country without 

 the liberty of exploring it, that our situation very soon 

 became extremely irksome. The day of our de- 

 parture, therefore, was hailed with pleasure, not only 

 by ourselves but by those to whom the troublesome 

 and fatiguing duty had been assigned of attending 

 upon our motions : and they must moreover have 

 looked with suspicion on the operations of the survey 

 that were daily going forward, even had they not sus- 

 pected our motives for putting into their port. 



I was very anxious before this day arrived to pos- 

 sess a set of the pins that are worn by the natives in 

 their hair. From their conduct it appeared that these 

 ornaments had some other value attached to them 

 than that of their intrinsic worth, or there would 

 not have been so much difficulty in procuring them. 

 Seeing they set so much value upon them that 

 none of the natives could be induced to part with 

 them, I begged An-yah would acquaint the mandarin 

 with my desire, and if possible, that he would 

 procure me a set. An-yah replied he would cer- 

 tainly deliver my message to the mandarin, and the 

 next morning brought a set of the most inferior kind, 

 made of brass. As the mandarin had received some 

 liberal presents from me, I observed to An-yah that 

 this conduct was ungenerous, and that I expected a 

 set made of silver ; his opinion he said very much coin- 

 cided with mine, and added that he would endeavour to 



